USS Indianapolis was launched successfully on the 7th of November, 1931. I smiled proudly at the crew, who I had come to think of as my men. My ship streamed out of the New Jersey harbor that had been its berth for the past year and headed towards open water. The boys whooped, excited to do their part in the war effort.
I had come to understand that most of these boys - these men - had volunteered. They wanted to serve on a glorious warship, even in peace time.
We performed tests over the next several weeks, going over each of the ships systems to ensure that they worked before traveling too far away from the repair docks.
The boys got bored, as did I, but I knew that these tests were important and necessary. They had to understand how to use the systems if they were ever going to be the best crew they could. To liven things up I would play practical jokes on the crew. The cooks would one day find that their apron now had a mysterious stain that took at least a day to soak off and usually spelled out a random word. The captain's aid would find himself blinded by a beam of sunshine from a conveniently-placed hand-held mirror. Bunks would be unmade, shoes swapped, and dirty underclothes hung out for bunk-mates to notice.
My boys took it all in turn. They would laugh as their friend snatched their underwear off of their bunk-post, but then they would be blushing as that night they were doing the same. Rumors circulated as to who was pulling these pranks and how. They seemed to happen when everyone was in the mess hall or up on deck performing more test runs. I spread out the pranks, making sure to not overdo things. Whenever the fingers started flying- and if I didn't catch it soon enough, fists - I would hault whatever shenanigans I had planned for that week. Peace would reign once again, or at least until I got a new idea for a prank.
As the months dragged on, I got more comfortable with the crew and Captain McVay. I started to wish that I could dress like the crew, sleep like the crew, and laugh with the crew. But I was stuck in my Maiden-regulated outfit of a knee-length white pinafore. My raven hair was down to my shoulders, and i had my bangs clipped to the side. Maidens were not allowed to wear anything else, much less a man's Navy uniform.
But I did enjoy being a Maiden and watching over the entire ship.
My ship.
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Maiden of the USS Indianapolis
Historical FictionEver wonder why ships are reffered to with female pronouns? Well, way back at the christening of the first ship, it was named after a girl who was no longer alive. It was said that her ghost haunted the ship. Ever since then, a spirit has been assig...
