Maiden of the USS Indianapolis

Part four

On December 8th, 1941, everything changed.
I felt it first, the day before any of the crew found out. Multiple Maidens had just been wrenched from their ships. Somewhere, there had been a mass sinking.
But how?
I discovered the answer shortly. While the USS Indianapolis had been performing a mock run on a Japanese island base, the actual Japanese had attacked on of our bases.
Pearl Harbor.
On the 7th, the Hawaiian station had been caught unawares in the surprise attack and left 6 ships sunk, 13 ships damaged, and 2,335 military personnel dead.
As the news spread throughout the ship, I could sense the crew's anger and resentment towards the Japanese. Sinking to my knees, I listened to my crew cursing and promising to repay the Japanese tenfold. My head hung low as I sobbed. Many of my close sisters had been stationed there.
No more than ever I felt alone on this massive ship. No one could hear me, or comfort me. The crew didn't even know that I existed.
When Captain McVay's voice rang out over the intercoms, the ship fell into an erie silence. I sat up, whipping tears from my cheeks.
"I know by now that all of you have heard of the bombing that occurred yesterday at Pearl Harbor. Believe me, this sickens me just as much as any one of you. But we signed up to defend our country, and while we may have failed yesterday, we will not fail in the future. The USS Indianapolis and her crew will rise above the rest to take her place at the forefront of this war."
His voice gathered strength, rising to a shout. "We will not be placated until we have avenged our brothers in Pearl Harbor! We will fight for them; for their honor and their memory! So do not curse the Japanese with words alone, but with the actions of this ship! We will win this war, men! We will fight until we have nothing else!"
Here a great cheer rose up, drowning out the last of the Captain's speach. I stood, amazed at how quickly the crew was rebounding, at how fast they were railed together again.
Something deep within me stirred.
If these men-these mortal teenagers-could rise up from the ashes of this horror, then I could too. I could avenge my Maiden sisters and help my ship all at once. Hope fluttered inside my heart, a war cry ringing out to the other Maidens. I knew they felt it too, that they felt anger and sadness at the death of their sisters, and that they wanted revenge.
Right then and there we banded together, my crew and i, my heart and my sister's hearts, to form together and create a force that the Japanese would shake to behold.
We were coming for them, and we would not stop until we won.