This chapter was...interesting...to work with. To say the least. Primarily because a certain Admiral is an interesting person to write. I know enough, but it's probable that I still mucked something up.
Chapter 13:
"Welcome aboard, Admiral."
"Thank you, Lieutenant Commander."
James felt distinctly...odd...walking aboard USS
Enterprise. For all that this was not the girl who had become a legend, it was still the same ship. If boarding Arizona or Sara was odd, this was ten times more odd. It felt like he was walking on hallowed ground for the Navy. James managed to keep his reaction enough under wraps that it wasn't
obvious, but he could feel eyes on his back. Then again, now wearing his Admiral pips, it was hardly surprising. It would hardly be a regular situation to have an Admiral from a different task force aboard Enterprise...not this early in her career.
And, of course, there was his reaction. Hesitation. Awe he did his utmost to conceal. Even if it were perfect, someone would have noticed. Thompson knew better than to think it was
perfect. Not with this girl.
Still, nothing to worry about. No one will walk up and ask me. The rumor mill will be busy though.
Snorting softly at the thought of the aforementioned rumor mill, the Admiral followed Baxter as the man lead him through the halls of the carrier. Inside, Enterprise didnt' look all that different from Sara. The same steel walls greeted James. The same old light fixtures. Sara may have been older, but at this point? There was very little difference between the girls at this level. Well...other than the crew anyway. Enterprise's crew was not his, and he could tell. They weren't as familiar around him.
"Where exactly is your ready room?" James asked, as the pair of officers walked around crewmembers.
"Near the hangar. We'll be there soon enough, sir." To his credit, Baxter didn't make any comment on James asking about the ready room.
If anything, there was a bit of an impressed look in his eyes. Granted, it was probably rare that an officer his rank actually knew about the procedures...
"Hm." The Admiral didn't voice that, clearly. "I've never been aboard a
Yorktown."
"Spent all your time on Sister Sara, sir?"
"Her and Arizona."
And now Baxter raised an eyebrow, "Arizona?"
"What can I say, have a soft spot for that old girl." James shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips. "Not that it's important where I go to spend my time."
The Lieutenant Commander didn't outwardly react, beyond turning to face forward. And his shoulders tensing slightly. James
didn't let his smirk fully form, not at all. Regardless, they were reaching the ready room anyway, so he would have to be more serious.
I almost wonder how they'll adapt.
Putting on his best 'Admiral' expression, Thompson strode in behind Baxter. The room in front of him was deathly silent, as the Admiral followed the Lieutenant Commander. A group of pilots were watching both men, quite intently watching them at that. Thompson didn't allow that to change his stride however. He had done the same thing with his own pilots, though they were
his pilots. These men were Baxter's, and the CAG was showing a remarkable amount of trust in letting him do this. In
asking him to do this.
Proven effectiveness of the tactics aside, of course.
"Hello," James stopped in front of the blackboard at the front of the room. "I am Admiral Thompson, Commander First Carrier Division. Lieutenant Commander Baxter has requested I teach you the same tactics my pilots use. To start..."
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It was quite a bit later when a, somewhat haggard, Admiral Thompson left the ready room. He could give Big E's pilots this much...they knew what questions to ask, and asked a
lot of them. It almost made him wonder how much had spread from Yorktown or Lex, by this point. Sighing softly, James' face bore a bemused look. Did it really matter in the end? His goal was to spread these tactics as far and as quick as possible. If he co-opted the rumor mill for that, it worked in the long run, didn't it? And part of him did enjoy the teaching.
"Admiral?" Baxter came out of the room himself, the CAG looking significantly less ruffled.
"Yes?"
"I need you to see my Admiral, so that he knows we're done."
Right, his Admiral would know I was he...wait.
"Lead the way." James nodded, even as his brain kicked into high gear.
After all, he knew who was most likely in charge of Enterprise. And where the girl in question most likely was.
"Follow me, sir." Baxter didn't notice the internal conflict in the older man, as the Admiral followed the CAG.
Which was a good thing, since meeting the Admiral in charge of Enterprise had him sweating. Why wouldn't it? The man in question was arguably just as famous, or infamous depending on who one asked, as the ship herself. Meeting Admiral Kimmel or Kidd...or hell, even Admiral Nimitz...was one thing. Meeting Enterprise's officer? Well, that was another thing entirely. Presuming it was who he thought it was, of course.
Regardless, James followed Baxter. Followed him through the carrier, towards the island. Followed him up to the bridge, where men went about their jobs. Where a certain man stood. Square shouldered, greying hair. A man who slowly turned around, severe features that had helped earn his nickname looking at the younger Admiral.
Needless to say, Thompson snapped to attention on instinct.
"Admiral Thompson, requesting permission to enter the bridge."
"Granted," the older man grunted. "Admiral Halsey, though I don't see a need to stick on formalities. Call me Bill."
"..."
Halsey's expression didn't shift, even as the man snorted, "You, Admiral Thompson, have done more for the carriers than anyone I've ever met. Anyone in charge of one of these ships owes you. I see no reason to act formal, not after all that."
"Right," James managed to get his mouth working again, "James, then."
"Hm," Halsey waved the younger man to his side, "I have something I want to show you."
Walking forward, the Admiral blinked at what he saw. Halsey had
his report spread out over the plotting table. James' heavily annotated report, filled with writing and markings presumably made by Halsey himself.
Well, on the one hand, I've gotten the notice of Admiral Bull Halsey himself. On the other hand...I have the interest of Bull Halsey...
"You've done a damn fine job, James." The man in question planted a hand on the plotting table. "Damn fine job. I almost want to know where you picked this up, because a lot of these tactics hadn't even occurred to me."
Thompson shrugged, doing his best to appear truthful as he said, "I've studied a lot Adm...Bill."
"Studied a lot." Halsey repeated slowly, his rugged features finally shifting slightly. Shifting into an amused half-smirk, to be precise.
"Yes?"
Halsey just shook his head, as he turned back to the chart. James almost followed, if he hadn't noticed someone else standing behind the Admiral. More specifically, someone female.
Enterprise?
The blonde carrier waved cheerfully, her youthful features quite different from what he remembered. Sure, James could see the girl he knew. The blonde hair, and red eyes. Her soft smile. But he also noted the differences. This Enterprise lacked the world weariness he remembered. She didn't have the pain hiding in her red eyes. Nor was her hair long, instead cut short around her shoulders. And of course...she had an aura of happiness around her, and not just at seeing him. The E he remembered was always sad, at some level or another.
It was enough that he missed Halsey tapping at the report, until Enterprise nodded at her Admiral.
Shaking his head, James turned his attention back to the other man. Halsey had made no acknowledgement of what James had done, or at least no vocal one. The Admiral's sharp eyes were focused on the younger man rather heavily, however.
"Regardless, I have one important note to make on these tactics." Halsey tapped a finger on the board. "These are almost all defensive."
"They are," Thompson could hardly deny that point. "I believe keeping our pilots alive is the most important thing we can do, so I have them training in tactics built to..."
"All well and good, but not what we need to learn." The older man cut him off. "Hit hard, hit fast, hit often. Carriers are offensive, and I noted you aren't focusing on that. Damn shame too, you've got a good head for carrier warfare."
Technically speaking, James had a good head for working with ship girls. Most of what he knew about carrier warfare was study, and Sara's influence.
"I know that. However, if our pilots are not surviving the attacks, it is not worth it."
"Damn right it isn't. Even so, I want to see what you can do with offensive tactics." Halsey's eyes sharpened, as he slapped his hand down on the board. "I want to get our boys to any enemy, hit them, and kill them. That is our duty, and the United States Navy will not fail."
All James could do was nod, "I'll do what I can."
"Excellent. Now, there is one other subject I want to talk to you about."
"Ad...Bill?"
Halsey didn't say anything, merely walking off the bridge. James followed, Enterprise following
him, the three leaving the bridge behind.
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All three of them soon ended up in Halsey's personal cabin, the Admiral turning around to look at Thompson. Who, for his part, felt like he was being examined under a microscope. Why shouldn't he? All alone, save for Enterprise, with Bull Halsey? Certainly not a situation he had ever expected to be in. With nothing else to do though, James stood in front of the other Admiral's desk, waiting for the man to say whatever it was he needed to say.
Not that he had to wait long.
"Admiral Thompson," Halsey was back to using titles now. "There is something I need to know."
"What, exactly, do you need to know?"
"The radio."
And now James was back to sweating nervously, "Radio?"
"Don't play dumb with me, James. My TBS set has been acting up, and it has been far too regular to be a malfunction." Halsey's steely eyes narrowed. "This is a fleet wide problem, but it only began after
Saratoga came back from the Fleet Problem. It started with her, and has spread."
James tried to avoid showing what he was feeling, "A coincidence, Bill. I've been working at finding who started this, but my crew is large and it takes..."
"Bullshit."
Wincing slightly, Thompson looked at Halsey. The Admiral in front of him clearly didn't believe him. Equally clearly, he had a no-nonsense look on his face. Well,
that part of his reputation wasn't a lie...
"If it were just one or two sets, that would be a coincidence. It is every ship in the damn fleet, and it all started with
Saratoga. Even
Enterprise has the issue now and I just got to Pearl."
Here, Halsey's eyes narrowed further.
"And there was no issue
until you returned."
This was...well, this was worrying. James shouldn't be surprised. Say what you would about Bull Halsey. There were numerous flaws with the man, and it was quite easy to point to those. But the man hadn't gotten as far as he did, or been as successful as he was, without a keen intellect. Now, it was entirely possible Richardson had made the same connection and just not called James out on it. That didn't really matter though. Not now.
What mattered now, was that Halsey had called Thompson out on the problem.
And James had no idea how to work around that. Halsey was a man who would rush ahead until he got his answer, and trying to mislead him was pointless. In fact, it would be a
very bad idea. The man was tenacious and quick to anger. Right now, the
last thing James wanted to do was make Halsey an enemy. He had enough issues with the battleship skippers. Having Halsey as an ally was something Thompson desperately needed.
"Don't worry Admiral."
James turned his head, noting Enterprise's wide smile.
"I'll work harder to talk to him! I'm sure I can convince him to let off you, if I can just get through to him." Enterprise looked at Halsey, an almost fond look on her face. "Admiral Halsey is like my father, almost. I know him well enough to convince him you aren't a threat."
"And then there's
that."
Both Enterprise and Thompson snapped their heads around, as Halsey tapped his desk.
"Admiral?" James asked on instinct.
"Bill," Halsey corrected him, even as he stopped tapping. "And you heard me. Hear
her I believe."
Enterprise's eyes went wide, as she walked past James, "You can hear me?"
"You can hear her?"
Both carrier and Admiral held back amused noises, though it was James who truly held back. He didn't even look in her direction, preferring to focus on Halsey. The man looked more annoyed than anything, really.
"And here I thought I was going crazy." Halsey frowned deeply. "I've been hearing a female voice for some time now. Thought I was hearing things, but Commander Jones over on
Utah says the same. And so do you."
"I thought
I was going crazy." Thompson replied, carefully schooling his features once more.
Halsey's frown didn't go away, as the man pulled himself to his feet, "Sailors are superstitious by nature. You know that as well as I do James. Now, we both know what that means."
"That if this gets out we'll be strung up?"
"Damn right." Halsey sent an appraising look at the other Admiral. "And I'm convinced this has something to do with the radios. So, I want you to help me."
Well, that was better than Halsey considering him insane. Though this was not what Thompson had expected in the least. He had expected Utah to be the first to make a breakthrough. That it was Enterprise and Halsey who were this close? On the one hand, that wasn't surprising. Enterprise had always had a soft spot for Halsey, despite everything. That she could connect with him so easily probably wasn't that big a surprise. That said, it was difficult as well. Halsey...he was amazed the man wasn't calling them both insane.
Why?
"Are you sure we aren't just hearing things?"
The other Admiral scowled, "You think I haven't thought of that? No, that was my first thought James. If it is more than just me hearing this, then the damn thing is either a mass hallucination or there is something more to it. And that is why I want you to look into it, and keep an eye out. Sooner we figure this out the better. I have too many projects to work on to deal with being haunted."
You'll always be 'haunted' though.
"I'll do what I can."
And, well, the best James could do was get back to Sara and contact Utah. Let her know whatever she was doing was working, and to push harder. If they could figure this out before he had to leave harbor...they would
all be better off.
