Not a proper chapter, sorry. But in looking through my snip thread it occurred to me I never posted this in the actual Indy threads. With the last chapter going to the past with Seydlitz, I figured it was a good time to go ahead and post something else from the past that will become relevant when Sara is a bigger character in Arc 2.
...that and I figured I could at least give something to read while I work on updating Destiny. After it's done I'll post a proper chapter in here again.
(cleaned up or not, this was still written in July. Not quite at the current quality
and I added a couple little hints about the British)
"I see...the British were resistant to the idea of scrapping those new battlecruisers?"
"Far more than resistant, Admiral. Admiral Beatty was quite clear on the subject. Britain will not scrap the Indestructible-class, nor will they give up an equivalent tonnage in battleships."
Admiral Robert Coontz rubbed his scalp, a frustrated sigh escaping his lips.
"I can't say I am surprised by this, Mr. Secretary," the old Admiral turned to look at his nominal superior, the Secretary of State Charles Hughes. "We all know that Japan is the new threat to world security, now that Germany is no longer an issue. But the British are nothing if not cautious." Coontz sighed again, resisting the urge to complain. Complaining was pointless. "They know that we won't fight the battle Germany did, if a war were to break out. Those battlecruisers are useless in a conflict against us, and that's why they want the Iron Dukes."
Hughes nodded, "So I have been told. While it is far from ideal, the British delegation has at least agreed that our navy- and unfortunately the Japanese -can build equivalent tonnage in our own battlecruisers. I believe the Lexington-class is currently under hold pending the results of the treaty, correct?"
"They are."
The first and so far as Coontz had believed only battlecruisers of the United States Navy. Ships that should, by all rights, have been completed long ago. But a tortured design process and the need to build a credible fleet to serve in the Great War had put them behind, to the point that not one of those ships was near completion. There were nebulous discussions of converting two of them to carriers, as part of the clause in the Naval Treaty that allowed for that. But...
It had never occurred to the Admiral, once the idea of limiting naval construction had come to being, that they may actually complete a ship as a battlecruiser. But...the British were as stubborn as ever.
The Indestructible-class were the ultimate evolution of the pre-Great War British battlecruiser design school. Superior to any ship of their type remaining, now that the High Seas Fleet was rusting at the bottom of Scapa Flow. Superior even to their half-sisters in Japan. Hood and the new battlecruisers under construction in all three major powers- Britain, the United States and Japan -were superior in turn, but with the treaty...
Well. The only thing to hope was that the British did the same as America had planned and converted carriers of their own. Those fancy battlecruisers they built after the Indestructibles might be a good option...
"The Royal Navy guards the exact specifications of the Indestructible-class as we do our own ships," Coontz rubbed his forehead again, shaking his head in frustration. "We are not even sure exactly what they displace."
"Nor has the British delegation informed us." Hughes easily replied, though he didn't look particularly happy either.
In point of fact, he was more unhappy than Coontz. The Washington Naval Conference had been his and President Harding's plan. Their best hope at limiting the chance of a runaway arms race, the likes of which had lead in part to the Great War. And now part of it was rendered moot.
"However," the Secretary continued, nodding down at the paper between the two men. One with dark black ink, barely dried before Hughes had brought it to this meeting. "They have agreed to allow us to convert two of the Lexington-class to aircraft carriers, and two of them as battlecruisers."
Four ships that collectively blew the ideal tonnage limit out of the proverbial water.
And had the young man- for his position at least -sighing heavily and shaking his head in clear annoyance. "I'm not a military man, and I make no claim to be one. Which of our ships would you recommend converting and saving?"
Coontz had papers of his own ready, and reached down by his side to grab them. Unclasping his briefcase, the sound of rustling parchment filled the room as the Admiral placed his papers atop the Secretary's.
"The first is simple to answer. The original plan, had we merely converted warships, would have seen Lexington and Saratoga converted. They are the two furthest along in construction, and it would take far less work to complete them. However..." Coontz sighed himself while tapping a finger on the paper beneath his hand. "If you are asking me to convert two of our battlecruisers and preserve two of them as well, I would suggest Lexington and Constellation for converting."
Hughes frowned, "And the reason for the change?"
"Simple. Saratoga is the furthest along with her barbettes ready for mounting. To move those to an entirely different dockyard would take more time and effort than merely completing her as is." The Admiral replied, an ever so slight shrug of his shoulders accompanying the words. "That leaves Lexington and Constellation, in that order, as the next closest to completion. As for the remainder...I believe that..."
"Come one, come all! The moment of the decade, as America officially commissions our first battlecruiser! Don't miss this historic moment!"
The magnified voice echoed over the calm waters of Camden, New Jersey. Hundreds of excited citizens mulled around the waterfront, some coming from as far as Georgia or Iowa to see the proud warship in the distance. The launching of a warship was usually what attracted such a crowd. USS Arizona's launching a decade before in 1915 had attracted a large crowd in Brooklyn for just one example. But… this was different. When launched, in any way other than her sheer size, this warship hadn't been that special.
Newly complete and off sea trials on the other hand... she was now unique. The first, and for now only, battlecruiser in the United States Navy. A warship that had barely come into being, and one that was the darling of the press. The most powerful warship in the Navy, they called her. And for the first time returning as a commissioned warship to dock, the press had decided to make it a spectacle.
That the Navy was somewhat eager to prove they weren't wasting Congress' money on the ship also had something to do with it.
I'm the darling of the Navy!
And aboard that ship, her dull plates gleaming in the sunlight there was a blonde young girl smiling brightly. She stood on the very foremost part of the battlecruiser's bow in a place where no man or woman should ever be. Her arms were flung wide and her grin hadn't faded in the slightest. This despite the spray of water flying up at her. Actually, if anything, she smiled wider at the feeling of the water. How could she not?
She was actually sailing under her own power, and it felt so liberating. Even now, after she had finished her sea trials. For while Saratoga may be young, she understood what it felt to be moving on her own without anyone watching to see if she sank.
"She's a fine ship, Captain."
That voice had the young girl spinning on her heel, her smile refusing to leave her face. Her Captain was a good man, fair and even in his dealings with the crew. He didn't quite understand how to use her though.
Not that she had ever blamed him. Couldn't blame him honestly. It wasn't his fault she was so unique!
But the man with him was different.
He understood her.
"But I can't help but feel we aren't using her to her full potential." The older man, his back bowed by age continued to speak.
His sharp eyes stared out from under a shock of grey hair. For all that his face was lined and his age was very apparent he still had a fine mind. A mind that had once belonged to the most forward thinking young officer in the entire Navy.
"I'm afraid I don't see what you mean, sir?" Her Captain, on the other hand, lacked that particular spark. He was a good man and a good officer. Yet, he didn't really understand Saratoga.
Frowning slightly now, the battlecruiser walked up to the men. Naturally neither saw her. No one could see her as anything but a beautiful- and powerful! -warship. Now she was quite a nice ship to look, true... but not a young woman.
Still, she couldn't help the frown when she looked at the men, "Admiral Sims is right! I'm not a battleship, or a cruiser!"
They didn't hear her of course. But she didn't expect them to.
"You must understand son," Admiral Sims may not have heard her, but the retired Admiral who had fought so hard to make her into a proper warship didn't need to.
In fact, his sharp eyes stared her Captain down. And Admiral Sims' lack of an active rank did little to quell the Admiral Stare.
"Saratoga is a battlecruiser, like Hood. Perhaps, without the armor that convinces me Hood is a battleship. But Saratoga is most certainly neither a battleship, nor a cruiser. Not even one of the new Omahas the Navy is so proud of."
The smile was back on Saratoga's face, as she nodded along with The Admiral. Her blonde hair flew around her face with each movement. Not 'the' Admiral. The Admiral. He was the one she looked up to, who had made sure she was as good as she could possibly be. Who understood what it meant to be a battlecruiser when not one other man in the Navy really did.
It was really too bad he had retired...she wouldn't have minded serving under him.
"Saratoga is a ship that needs to be used like a cruiser, but at the same time, you have to understand her purpose." Sims continued to lecture the Captain as he held out an aged hand.
He gestured out at the water on either side of the mighty warship, though the buildings of Camden were soon to overtake her.
"Scouting for the enemy, and hunting down the enemy's scouts. Not like an Omaha. No...Saratoga can sink any other cruiser on the face of the Earth. I guarantee you that."
Bringing his hand back in, the old Admiral rubbed at his scalp with a small frown crossing his face as he did so. "However, don't even think of facing a battleship. Her guns are powerful, her armor is not."
"Exactly!" Saratoga nodded sharply, her hat almost flying off her head. She hardly noticed, too busy smiling at the Admiral.
For his part at least, her Captain also nodded. The man bit his lip though, scratching at the thin mustache on his upper lip. "I see. So, like the British use their battlecruisers?"
Sims barked out a short laugh, shaking his head in clear amusement, "Much as Hood may impress me, don't copy the British. At least, that fool Beatty. Jutland shouldn't have happened the way it did, from what I've read on the subject since I retired. I can't say I would have done any better. That any of us would have done any better, with the shape the Navy was in at the time. But..."
An explosive sigh came from the Admiral's lips. Sims continued to rub at his brow, if only out of exasperation now.
"Saratoga should never, ever, be near the battleline."
That was the one truth about her, and Saratoga knew it. Fighting anything bigger than a cruiser was too much for her. No matter that she was the darling of the Navy. She was a fast ship with big guns and no armor. If someone shot at her… well it would hurt. Hurt quite a lot actually.
I may not be strong, but I'm good! I won't give up no matter what!
Squaring her shoulders, Saratoga thrust her modest chest out. If it came down to it, she would fight to the end! That was what she was built for, and she wouldn't let anyone down!
"You can count on me Admiral, even if I have to fight a battleship!" Saratoga sent a blinding grin at the old man across from her. Beneath their feet, her boilers may have burned a bit brighter. Her screws may have turned a bit harder.
She was happy and wanted to prove herself, after all. Saratoga was the Darling of the Navy and she wasn't going to let them down. After all, how could the newest ship in the Fleet not want to prove herself agai...
"What about those Japanese battlecruisers?"
And just like that, the mood was ruined. For Saratoga's Captain had made no notice of her childish eagerness, and instead, was focusing on her most likely enemy. The Hiei-class battlecruisers of Imperial Japan.
The ships that the Lexington-class had been designed to fight. The only reason she was built in the first place.
"If you mean the Hiei-class, I wouldn't worry," Admiral Sims paid little heed to the fact that Saratoga's bow had gone a bit lower in the water, or the equivalent slump of the blonde little girl's shoulders. No, he focused entirely on the Captain, nodding at the younger officer. "Saratoga is newer, faster, better armed and armored than they are. I couldn't tell you what the Amagi-class is like."
The Captain nodded himself, scratching his chin, "I agree, Admiral. Then, I suppose my mission is to scout for the enemy and defeat their own scouts in detail. What of the carriers?"
Sims finally frowned, looking out at the water. More specifically, past the buildings of Camden, towards Massachusetts. Towards where Lexington had recently been launched.
"I will admit, not even I know how the Navy will get use out of Lexington and Constellation. However," Sims gestured down at the ship under his feet, before nodding to the north again. "I imagine that you will escort them. Saratoga and United States are the only ships fast enough to do so, beyond our cruisers and destroyers."
Saratoga's Captain nodded along with that, but the ship? The young girl, who was so proud of her status in the Navy?
She felt her shoulders slump yet further, tears pricking at her eyes. She had never cried before. Why should she? Saratoga was proud, a wonderful ship that the boys serving on her loved. She was the pride of the Navy, darling in the eyes of the press. But she was also...also...
I'm not her sister anymore...
She wasn't a little sister anymore. While she was under construction, all alone, Saratoga had dreamed of meeting her sisters. None of them were built where she was, so she hadn't even had a chance to talk to them. Lexington, Constellation, Constitution, Ranger, United States.
Saratoga knew their names, from the workers aboard her hull.
But she didn't know them.
"Lexington...Constellation..." Saratoga held a hand to her heart, the other reaching up to wipe at her face. She looked in the same direction that Admiral Sims had looked, wishing she could at least see her si...her half-sister. If she could even call Lexington that now.
The young battlecruiser had long imagined that when she met Lexington, at last, that her sister would be a doting elder sister. Like she had heard Utah talk about Florida, or North Dakota and Delaware. But...that couldn't happen now, could it? Lexington and Constellation would be fancy new Aircraft Carriers. They weren't the same, they were completely different ships now. Could she even claim they were sisters now?
After all, she wasn't even a Lexington-class ship now. She was the first of the Saratoga-class. It was her who was the big sister to United States now. And what could she do about that, but to do her best?
If she was going to be escorting Lexington though...
I hope she still considers us sisters. I want to meet you, so much Lexington. I have so much to talk about! Please...please...
Saratoga wiped her eyes again, turning back to the rapidly approaching dock in front of her. To the cheering crowds welcoming home the Darling of the Navy. Watery it may have been, her smile returned at the least. Saratoga waved out at the crowds, their energy buoying her spirits. Making her smile widen, since if nothing else, her people were proud of her.
I will talk to you, Lexington. We'll be sisters, no matter how different we are now! Right! I'm the Darling of the Navy, and I won't give up!
