Chapter 10:
"Welcome back to Pearl, eh?" James looked out at the crystal waters of the harbor, as his taskgroup pulled in.
"I feel like we spend more time here than at sea, Admiral." Sara smiled at him, green eyes dancing in the light reflected from the harbor.
"No argument there. Then again, at least we're making progress."
"Yes."
Nodding at his friend and confidant, Admiral Thompson looked back out at the harbor. Not much had changed, reasonably speaking. There was clear construction work underway, fortifying the harbor. He didn't know enough of how the defenses had originally developed to know if Admiral Richardson had pushed through more work or not, however. All he did know, was that more anti-aircraft batteries were springing up around Ford Island and the Naval Station. Nodding gratefully at that sight, James cast his eyes out at the ships in harbor next.
At the moment, that amounted to Utah- the old girl undergoing maintenance, last he knew -and a few battleships, cruisers and destroyers. Of those girls, three caught his eye in specific. The familiar form of Ari, that had a smile crawling across his face. It was always nice, to see Arizona after all. Moored in front of her, was West Virginia. And that caught his eye, as James had yet to talk to Virginia. Moored in a different position from the rest, was arguably the most famous of all these ships...at least to him.
USS
Enterprise, CV-6.
Hmm. I do need to talk with her. I don't know, and neither did the Big E I remember, how much her survival came down to luck as opposed to skill.
A small chuckle came from the Admiral as he thought about that.
And I'm not sure it matters. I need to talk with her. A prepared Enterprise can work wonders.
Now wasn't
that an understatement of the century.
"Sir?"
Turning his head, James noted that one of his crew had come up to him, "Yes?"
"Admiral Richardson sends his congratulations on a well-performed exercise, but requests you meet with him as soon as possible."
"Thank you."
As his subordinate went back to his post, James shrugged at the look on Sara's face.
"Admiral?"
Thompson merely shrugged again, "I know why he wants to see me. I took a risk putting in the need to test the Mk. 14 and 15 in the report."
A rather large risk, honestly. BuOrd were a force to be reckoned with, even for CinCUS. Admiral Richardson would be understandably wary of doing anything that may reflect badly on his command. The man was a stubborn old sea dog, but he was far from
stupid. So James was well aware how big of a risk he was taking- and asking Richardson to take -by mentioning those two torpedoes. It was hard enough to get permission to live-test, what was needed, the Mk. 13. Testing the sub and destroyer launched variants was pushing things.
But it
needed to be done. Fixing the Mk. 13 would be great, but a lot of subs didn't perform well because they didn't have good torps.
At any rate though, that was in the future. Right now, James turned to return to his room. If asked, it was to retrieve his report and notes thereof, to deliver in person. In actuality, he- knowing Sara was at his heel -planned on using the temporary privacy. It was time to contact Ari and the others.
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"Is everyone connected?"
"I'm here Admiral!" Ari's cheerful voice made a smile cross James' face.
"As am I." West Virginia's quiet and formal tone was quite unlike the older battleship. The Admiral could see her leaning against her hull, deep purple dress shifting in the wind, her long brown hair blowing around as well. Violet eyes would be looking at him, watching for any sign of him doing something wrong. Good 'ole WeeVee was quite the serious girl.
"Here." Yorktown, on the other hand, still sounded a
little bitter.
The final one to reply was Enterprise, and she had James doing a double-take, even as Sara smiled in an almost motherly fashion.
"So am I! Yorktown told me all about you Admiral, and I can't wait to talk about those new tactics! I hope I can use them well!"
For the voice was...so
unlike the quiet and reserved girl he knew, that it had him blinking in shock. It was similar to Ari in a way. But where Arizona was just cheerful and unusually eager to talk to
him in particular, Enterprise sounded...like a younger sister. A younger sister who wanted to impress her siblings. If anything, the tone in her voice reminded him of the younger destroyers he remembered. Always eager to please, and trying to do their best to show they could fight. But why would
Enterprise of all carriers have that tone in her voice?
Hadn't she...
No. Don't think that way, Thompson.
James shook his head, forcing himself to look at the situation from a different angle. Enterprise didn't have the experience that made her what he remembered. By all rights, she
should be extremely different.
"Did I say something wrong sis?" That familiar-yet-unfamiliar voice spoke up again, worry in it as she asked Yorktown that question.
"No, not at all Little E." For her part, Yorktown had ill-hidden pain in her voice.
"Sis?"
"Tell you later."
Coughing slightly, Admiral Thompson tried to get the conversation back on topic, "Right. Ari, Yorktown and Sara already know what I'm going to talk about. But Virginia and Enterprise need to know this."
"Know what?" The battleship girl asked, curious tone to her soft voice.
"That I can only talk to you, because I am from a future where all you girls came back as...well, girls."
"Hm."
"Future? What happened?"
Still twitching slightly at the different Enterprise- it was, in a way, even more shocking than Ari or Sara -James sighed, "A lot of things, that would take more time to explain than I have. At any rate, what I
need to explain, is that war is coming soon."
Virginia's voice changed, ever so slightly, "
War?"
"Yes. War with Japan, more specifically. If you've noticed any new work at Pearl, that is because I am trying to improve the defenses here. I hope it works, but I can make no guarantees there. That is why I am talking to all you girls. And why Utah is trying to find a way for you all to talk with people other than me."
Now, James was
very well aware of the risks inherent in what Utah was trying to do. But he knew better than to try stopping her, now. Roll with the punches, and do his best was all that could be done. If that took more work than he necessarily liked? So be it. And...if it came down to it, Utah's work may help in the long run. She was a smart girl, and he didn't worry that the old battleship would do anything
wrong. Moreover, having the girls able to talk to other officers could prove beneficial to his goals. If nothing else, it would make it easier if he was ever ratted out.
Pushing that aside for the moment however...
"I would suggest talking with Utah about that however. What
I need to tell you girls, is to be ready. As long as I'm the harbor, I will tell you- those I haven't told already -what to expect. And how to prepare for it."
"Thank you, Admiral." Virginia sounded genuinely thankful.
"...I..." Enterprise, by contrast, sounded completely floored by what she had heard.
James would have said something to comfort her, but rapid knocking on his door put paid to that idea. Nodding at Sara to cut the transmission- with apologies that only he could hear -the Admiral moved to open his door. Standing outside the hatch, was his Captain, the man as professional as ever.
"We have finished docking, Admiral."
"Thank you." James nodded back.
His Captain turned on his heel, returning to the bridge. For his part, James made sure he was alone, before turning back to Sara. The carrier smiled at him, already knowing what needed to be said. Not that James was particularly happy about cutting his little meeting off like that, but, well. Duty called, and all that.
"Time to see the other Admiral." He smiled at Sara, who simply laughed softly.
"Yes it is. Good luck, sir."
"Thanks Sara."
James had the feeling he would probably
need that luck, in the long run.
At the other end of the meeting, however, one girl held a hand to her chest. Soft red eyes looked out at the shimmering harbor, her young features twisted with worry. Blonde hair fell around her face, framing it in the sunlight. Her hand clenched in the thin fabric of her top, as the girl shifted to lean against her hull. USS Enterprise bit her lip worriedly, as she looked over at the familiar form of her elder sister. Yorktown was moored relatively close by, this being perhaps the first time that all four of the major fleet carriers were in the same harbor like this.
Which
should have been a happy occasion.
But...what Admiral Thompson had said, worried her. War? War with
Japan? She didn't know much about the Japanese herself, but the idea of any war had her biting her lip. Not that Enterprise was worried about fighting, not at all! She wouldn't call herself
eager to go to war, her own Admiral Halsey's doctrines aside. But she would fight to the best of her ability.
Even so...
"You okay, Little E?"
Enterprise smiled, hearing her beloved sister's voice, "I'm okay."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure."
The fondness in her sister's voice had Enterprise flushing slightly. Yorktown had always been like that, a great sister. Ever since they were both fitted out in the same dockyard. Enterprise...she looked up to her sister so much. Her greatest desire was to have Yorktown be proud of her.
That was why she didn't like the idea of going to war. What if she didn't measure up to her sister?
Or, even worse...what if her
sister got hurt?
I...if anything happened to her...
"E?"
"Yes?"
Yorktown sounded uncharacteristically somber, as she continued,
"Admiral Thompson told me something about that war. Do you want to know?"
Her sister would only say that if it was something she
knew Enterprise wouldn't want to hear. The younger sister recognized that tone of voice, and it had her worriedly biting her lip once more.
Did she want to know? Yorktown wouldn't ask that, without good reason. But...
"Tell me."
Enterprise had to step up, some time. If she wanted her sister to be proud of her, she couldn't hide in her skirts forever.
There was silence on the line, before Yorktown sighed heavily. Enterprise could imagine the somber expression on her sister's face, despite never seeing her up close. She just...
knew...that her sister would have a little frown. Red hair falling in front of her eyes, as she looked down.
"Admiral Thompson told me what happened to all of us in the war. I...I..." Yorktown sucked in a shaky breath.
"I didn't make it. Neither did Wasp or Hornet."
"You...sis..."
To say the least, Enterprise felt like someone had slapped her. She had just been worrying about the idea of her sister being hurt in the war. The thought hadn't even crossed her mind though, that Yorktown could
die. It was impossible. Her strong, brave sister couldn't die. She just...she...couldn't. It wasn't possible. Yorktown was her rock, the one she looked up to. The one that Enterprise wanted to see proud of her. She couldn't even
imagine her sister not being there for her. It was impossible to think about.
Not to mention...her
own younger siblings? Little Wasp, who only the Yorktown sisters really considered their sister and not a one-off made just to get planes in the water? And Hornet, who hadn't even been launched yet? Enterprise couldn't imagine losing all of them. She didn't
want to imagine losing all of them. It hurt too much to think of that. It hurt like someone had sent a torpedo into her flank, and twisted at the hole.
Wait...
"Yorktown...big sis..." Enterprise whispered.
"
Yes, Little E?" Yorktown's own voice was shaking.
"Did I make it?"
Her sister hadn't mentioned
her sinking.
"You did." A sigh came over the line, a weary sigh.
"He said you were a hero, sis. Big
E vs. Japan."
Enterprise shook her head. She didn't
want to be a hero. She didn't
want to be 'Big E'. Not if it meant her sisters weren't there. It was not an understatement to say that her sisters mattered more to her than anything else. Enterprise couldn't imagine surviving without them. Being a hero? Sure, she could enjoy that. But only if she had Yorktown there to be proud of her. Wasp and Hornet to support her, and look up to her. What was the
point of being a hero, if all her sisters died? The answer was simple...there
was no point.
All she wanted was her sisters to be proud of her. Enterprise didn't want to fight alone.
I would never want that. I would rather die myself, than be lucky
enough to survive where they don't.
Times like this, she wished it were possible to leave her hull. Despite never feeling it herself, Enterprise wanted nothing more than to be hugging Yorktown. Be held in her sister's strong arms, and not think about what may come to pass. She would be perfectly fine, staying as Little E, if her sister was still there.
"Enterprise."
Yorktown's voice had her sister's head snapping up, "Yes?"
"That won't happen now, you know that? I don't care what I have to do. But you're my Little E, and I won't let you go through that again. I can't say that I wouldn't throw my own life away if it meant you would live." Yorktown's voice shook.
"But believe me. I won't let that happen, if I can avoid it. I love you sis, and I don't want to you to have to fight alone."
"Sis..."
"Don't worry, Little E. Damn, if I have to fight until I fall apart, I will. They will not
take us apart, not this time. Am I right?"
Enterprise smiled, "Yeah, you're right!"
"Of course I am."
Both sisters knew the false bravado in that statement. But still, Enterprise felt warmth in her chest, as she looked over at her sister. Still, her red eyes shifted from her sibling, to where the sleeker Lex and Sara lay. The Admiral who had told them this...Enterprise needed to talk to him. He knew a possible future for her. One that she didn't want to think about, but that may help. If he could tell her what she had done, to become 'Big E', then she could
do it again. Except, this time, it would be in defense of her sisters.
Just as Yorktown would do everything she could to keep
her alive, Enterprise would do the exact same for her sisters.
"I won't lose them, not again. No matter what I have to do."
For context on my version of (Little) E:
I feel that Enterprise, at the time, would be something of an untested girl who probably felt a bit inadequate in comparison to her contemporaries. Lex and Sara, the veterans who trained the entire American Naval Air Forces, more or less. At least for carrier operations. Yorktown, the new 'proper' fleet carrier, who was the most advanced in the world (in her mind). Who, also happens to be her elder sister, that she looks up to and really wants to prove herself to.
Thus, we have a somewhat insecure girl who wants her sister to be proud of her, more than anything else.
Which makes the tragedy of Big E, all the more poignant. Don't it?
