The Gray Ship

by Russell Moran

  In the spirit of Robert E. Lee and other brave patriots who fought on the Southern side, I make this decision.

  Very truly yours,

  Philip Bradley, former Commander, United States Navy

  Chapter 61

  Ashley's head pounded, her heart raced, and she was perspiring. She heard the sound of a whining little girl jumping rope. "You blew it Ashley," said little Splashy. "You wanted to jump in and be a hero and now you've managed to fuck it all up. Why did you trust that asshole, just because he's a man and older than you?" At ease, you little bitch, thought Ashley. I'm in command. Dismissed.

  Ashley didn't need a meeting. She didn't need to talk to Father Rick, Jack, or Ivan Campbell. She didn't need to talk to anyone. She had all the information she needed. Those weapons are now in enemy hands. They need to be destroyed. She has to act, now.

  "Get me Battery 3 on the phone," she said to Toliver. Battery 3 was the Cruise Missile battery, the most destructive weapons on the ship.

  "This is Battery 3, Captain, Lieutenant Jamal Jacob speaking."

  "Arm one missile and aim for the target on the drone signal," Ashley said.

  "Missile one armed and ready, Captain."

  "Fire one," said Ashley.

  The California shuddered from the blast of the Tomahawk missile as it rocketed away from the ship. In CIC they had a visual from the missile as it raced toward its target.

  ***

  The soldiers and sailors were chatting at the weapons camp. Bradley's hand-picked sailors were explaining each weapon and its proper use. They were sipping fresh coffee, a few pots having just been made.

  Three miles away at General Beauregard's headquarters, the General and Bradley enjoyed a lunch of fresh chicken and collard greens while they discussed Bradley's future and his role in the war effort. Beauregard drilled Bradley on the big weapons aboard the California. Bradley was proud of his foresight at having left aboard his main conspirator, Chief Ray. Bradley explained how Ray would disable the main weapons. Two other trusted sailors were with Ray, Bradley noted.

  The men at the weapons camp, as well as Beauregard and Bradley, heard a strange sound in the sky. Bradley knew the sound very well, having taken advanced weapons courses. The men at the camp had no idea what it was.

  The Tomahawk struck in the middle of the weapons cache with a ground shaking explosion, pulverizing the weapons and anyone near them. A plume of smoke and fire shot up 200 feet into the air. It left a crater 12 feet deep and 20 feet wide. No one survived the attack. All of the horses perished as well.

  At Beauregard's headquarters three miles away, the shock wave from the blast tore through the trees like a hurricane. Fifteen horses in a corral jumped the fence and stampeded. The dinnerware on the table bounced two inches into the air. Both men instinctively ducked under the table.

  His ears still ringing, Beauregard looked at Bradley and said, "I believe, Commander, that you were just telling me about your colleague's plan to disarm the weapons aboard the ship."

  Chapter 62

  Ashley turned to drone pilot Nathan and said, "Hover over the area until the smoke clears so we can get some BDA (battle damage assessment)."

  “Aye aye, Captain." said Nathan, shaken by what he had seen on his monitor.

  "I need to see Col. Bingham, NOW." Ashley said to her aide Corporal Nesbitt.

  When Bingham walked into CIC, Ashley grabbed him by the arm, looked into his eyes and said, "Matt, I want your entire platoon guarding our weapons systems, absolutely fucking immediately." She quickly explained the Bradley defection and the possibility of more conspirators on the ship. Weapons guard duty was the Marines' battle stations so they were ready to go. "And, Matt," Ashley said, "safeties off. Shoot to kill anyone who approaches a weapon."

  Within four minutes, at least three Marines guarded each weapon battery.

  ***

  The smoke had cleared from the sight of the blast at the weapons camp. What they saw wasn't pretty, but it did show that the Tomahawk did its job. "If any weapon survived that blast," Conroy said, "it will be useless."

  The drone then circled Beauregard's headquarters. The site was one of chaos, with horses and men scattering across the monitor. Ashley hunched over the monitor next to the pilot. She was looking for Bradley and Beauregard, but they weren't in sight.

  Chapter 63

  Ashley realized that she needed to communicate with her department heads as well as the crew. You don't fire a cruise missile and not explain it to people, Ashley thought.

  When the officers assembled, Ashley got right to the point.

  "Our Executive Officer, Commander Philip Bradley, has committed treason and murder. He has defected to the Confederacy, taking eight sailors with him." She read the letter from Bradley to dispel any doubts.

  "A few minutes ago I fired a Tomahawk to destroy the weapons. There was no choice. They were already in the hands of Confederate forces. The SEALs have been murdered." She passed around a still shot of the four graves with the SEAL caps on top of them.

  "We don't know if Bradley left any co-conspirators on the ship," said Ashley, "but it's likely that he did. Disabling our main weapon batteries would be an obvious part of his plan. I've ordered Colonel Bingham to assign marines to guard every battery, and they're doing so as I speak. I've also ordered Master-at-Arms Ciano to put on extra security in the engine room, the reactor room and CIC. From this point forward, I want every officer on this ship to carry a side arm."

  Ashley then announced that the new Executive Officer of the California would be Lt. Cmdr. Ivan Campbell and that he would now have the rank of full commander. This surprised no one because it was obvious that Campbell was the de facto second in command for weeks. She also announced that Lt. Wayne Bellamy would be the new Navigator.

  "Ivan Campbell has my full trust and support and I expect everyone to show him the same. He did a great job as navigator. Hey, he never got us lost," said Ashley, attempting to inject a bit of levity into the tense situation.

  "Never got us lost?" said Nick Wartella. "Then what the hell are we doing in the nineteenth-century?" They all enjoyed the laugh, a welcome one.

  The open secret in the room, as Ashley and everyone there knew, was that a co-conspirator could be at this very meeting.

  Chapter 64

  Ashley's phone rang. "Captain, a word with you please?" said Father Rick.

  "Come on up Father. Bring Scotch."

  Father Rick walked into the Captain's office wearing his usual smile.

  "Father, I hope what you have to say begins with 'Two guys walk into a bar.' "

  "I take it, my friend, that you have had a somewhat stressful day," said Father Rick.

  "Well, let's see. My XO defects to the Confederacy, steals half the ship's weapons, commits treason and murder, causing me to fire a Tomahawk Cruise Missile, and I missed the bastard. Yes, it's been a trying day, Father."

  Father Rick reached across the table and grabbed his friend's hands, saying, "Let's bow our heads in prayer, Ashley."

  "Heavenly Father, please watch over and bless those in peril on the sea, and please bless and give strength to your daughter, our leader, Ashley Patterson."

  That was it. Ashley lost it. She broke down, which is exactly what her friend hoped for. Her shoulders heaved as she sobbed. Father Rick didn't attempt to console her; he wanted her to let it out. When she stopped crying, she said, sniffling. "You know Father, you're the only one on this ship that I could do that in front of.

  "I know," said the chaplain, "that's why I'm here."

  "Tomorrow, with your permission, I'd like to have a memorial service at 0800 for our fallen SEALs as well as for the misguided kids who died in the blast. And I would like you to speak at the service."

  "Of course. I'll be there."

  "Anything else, my friend?" Ashley said as the chaplain got up to leave.

  "Yes, one thing. How's little Splashy doing?"

  "She's in the brig until further notice."

&n
bsp; Father Rick smiled and made the sign of the cross, giving her his blessing.

  Chapter 65

  Ashley called Jack Thurber's line. "Could you come to my office please, Lieutenant." said Ashley, trying to affect a command voice.

  Jack sat down across the table from Ashley. Their eyes locked for a few moments before either of them spoke, something that was happening more frequently.

  "How was your day, Captain?" asked Jack without any sense of irony or humor. He knew she had been through hell.

  "Well, Jack," said Ashley," I just spent a few minutes with Father Rick. I'm feeling much better now. And thank you for asking."

  "Jack, I don't have to review for you the last few hours. We have a defector who committed treason as well as murder, and I had to destroy half the ship's small weapons as a result. Our drone tells us that Bradley wasn't at the site of the blast but three miles away having a meal with Confederate General Beauregard. What we know is that a high ranking officer from this ship has gone over to the enemy, and is presumably spilling secrets all over Beauregard's headquarters. But we also must assume, and I'm not alone in this, that there may be other conspirators on the ship. I've ordered high security for all of our weapons batteries as well as critical spaces on the ship, but we're at risk. I've been combing my brain, imagining one of those actors from CSI, NCIS or Criminal Minds, and what they would do or think. Hell, they do it every week in less than an hour."

  Jack laughed.

  "Then the thought occurred to me that we have one of the best investigative journalists in the country right on this ship, actually sitting across the desk from me. You know how to get into a person's head and to think like a detective, as you've done in so many of your books and articles. You can pick up nuances in speech and behavior."

  "Well, thank you for those kind words, Captain. I do admit that I have a sixth sense for picking up subconscious signals from people." Good, thought Ashley, then let's run away and get married. Cut this out, NOW.

  "Tell me about Bradley, Jack. Psych this guy out for me."

  Jack looked uncomfortable. "I've been thinking about this man constantly for weeks. But before I get into my thinking about him, Captain, I want to give you an apology."

  "Apology? For what?"

  "I saw trouble with this guy weeks ago, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn't think it was my place as a recent seaman to be giving you my opinions of a senior officer. I should have blown a whistle, loudly."

  "Jack, you're a fellow officer and a confidant. I also think of you as a friend." Not to mention, I think I'm in love with you, she thought. STOP!

  "Tell me about Bradley, including everything you noticed or heard about him."

  "I always look for a person's incentives, something journalists share with micro-economists. What drives people in certain directions has as much to do with objective incentives as it has to do with subconscious thoughts. Although I haven't seen his personnel file, I've spoken to a lot of people who know him. Bradley is a man at the end of his career. He's had a drinking problem and has been passed over for promotion twice. If his career wasn't dying under its own weight, his confrontation with you in the wardroom probably nailed it. And the most significant part of that scenario is that he must have realized it as well. He's 10 years older than you and below you in rank. You have the job he thinks he deserved. He knows that you're on the track for admiral while he'll muster out on the pension of a three striper. I believe that he not only resents you, he hates you. Here is a guy, divorced with no immediate family, at the end of his chosen career. Here is a guy who believed that the twenty-first century wasn't treating him right. He's a man with no future. Except for the Confederacy that is. Looking at incentives, what could be more appealing to him: washing out of the US Navy or becoming a big shot in the Confederate Navy? Now let's pile on some more incentives, the incentives of the Confederate Navy. The Gray Ships have become a fixation in the South, judging from all of the newspaper reports."

  "And thanks to your excellent articles that have been plagiarized all over Dixie."

  "Well, thanks Captain, but they wouldn't print those articles if they didn't believe them."

  "Let me ask you Captain, what are you worried about with Bradley?"

  "The two obvious worries, or at least they're obvious to me, is that first, he blows the cover on the Gray Ships deception, and second, he convinces the South to avoid the Battle of Bull Run."

  "I have a different view," said Jack. "Bradley is a man looking to trade things to get to his incentives. He wants to be a Confederate Admiral, something that's beyond his grasp in the United States Navy, in 1861 or 2013. He wants to be the guy who can show them how to handle the Gray Ships Fleet, not just one Gray Ship. The South is very big on honor and chivalry, although somehow owning human slaves never worked its way into that thinking. They're probably looking at this guy as a simple turncoat, a traitor. Yes he can be useful, but he needs to have a lot to trade to convince them he's one of them. Also, Bradley wants Bull Run to happen because it will enable him to tell the Confederacy 'I told you those weapons were bad.' I would place bets on Bradley lying to the South as he's lied to you."

  "Do you think we should try to capture him, Jack?"

  "The man's a traitor and a murderer, Captain. The consequences of that are beyond my pay grade. But, yes, I would try, just in case I'm wrong, and he spills all of his knowledge."

  "Let's change subjects, Jack. What about the possibility of conspirators who may have remained on this ship?"

  "As I've been thinking about Bradley, I kept my reporter's antennae up. I've been looking at a few sailors who I think may be with Bradley. I base these observations on snippets of conversation and questions I've asked other people." He handed Ashley a list of 11 people he had doubts about.

  Ashley perused the list. "Oh, my God," she yelled. "All eight of the sailors who went ashore with Bradley are on this list. So far, Jack, you're pitching a perfect game." She looked at the three who were still on the ship.

  One name jumped off the page. "Holy shit. Chief Albert Ray. He's the ship's Chief Gunnery Mate, just below Andrea Rubin, the Weapons Officer. He knows every weapons system on this ship."

  "We'll continue our talk in a minute, Jack."

  ***

  "Colonel Bingham please pick up a phone," Ashley almost screamed over the PA system.

  "Yes, Captain," said Bingham.

  "Matt, I have some strong evidence that Chief Gunner's Mate Ray may be a conspirator. He knows our weapons better than anyone on the ship."

  "I'll track him down immediately, Ma'am, and take him into custody for questioning." Each of the Marines wore ear buds for instant communication. Bingham said to all of them, "If you see Chief Gunners Mate Albert Ray, arrest him immediately and call me."

  Bingham then went to the gun deck to visit with each of his Marines. As he walked around the wooden structure on the stern that had been erected for a costume change, he noticed a pool of blood spilling out across the deck coming from Battery 3, the Tomahawk missile battery. His training took over. He stepped behind the structure and cocked his Colt 45. Chief Ray jumped from behind the structure and fired a silencer equipped handgun directly at the Colonel. Bingham died immediately.

  Petty Officer Simon Planck was walking along a weather deck two levels above when he saw Colonel Bingham fall. Planck had completed 20 classes in Pete Campo's Martial Arts training. Now feeling physically fit, he raced down the ladder to give assistance. As he stepped around a turret he startled Chief Ray, who was looking in the other direction. He saw that Ray had a gun in one hand and a printed circuit board in the other. As Ray raised the gun, Planck delivered a swirling karate kick to his face, knocking Ray to the deck. He then grabbed Bingham's gun from the deck and pointed it at Ray. He hoped that the safety wasn't on because he hadn't fired a weapon since boot camp. He trained the gun on Ray, making sure that he wasn't moving. He kicked Ray's gun from his hand and it went skidding across the deck. Planck had no idea what to
do so he just screamed, "Marine down!" Four Marine guards came running. Planck raised the gun over his head and said, "That's the one" pointing to Chief Ray." As the Marines approached him, Ray suddenly spun and took another gun from a holster. He pointed it at Planck and fired, landing the shot in Planck's left shoulder. The Marines shot and killed Ray.

  "Good work, Sailor," Sergeant Charlie Sorese said to Planck as he collapsed to the deck. "Corpsman!" shouted Sorese into his mouthpiece. "Corpsman to main deck stern. Man down, man down."

  Ray had killed Marine Sergeant John Newfield as well as Colonel Bingham before the Marines shot him.

  Sergeant Sorese called the Officer of the Deck on the bridge, who immediately dispatched Warrant Officer Ciano. The OOD then called Captain Patterson to report the event. Ashley called Sergeant Sorese to her office, telling Jack to stay there.

  "What's going on?" asked Jack.

  "Your perfect game is still running hot, Jack. Chief Ray just killed two marines and wounded a sailor. Ray is dead. That leaves two from your list."

  Ashley announced over the PA. "Master at Arms, pick up a phone." She told Ciano the names of the two remaining suspects, and told him to turn the ship upside down and shake it if he had to.

  Both sailors from Jack's list were located within minutes and were taken to the brig for interrogation.

  "Congratulations, Jack, you pitched a perfect game."

  "Perfect?" said Jack. "Two good guys dead, one wounded."

  Ashley turned to Sorese. "Who is the sailor who was shot?"

  “Petty Officer Simon Planck, Ma'am. That kid deserves the Navy Cross. If it wasn't for him, Ray would have gone on killing."

  Ashley swallowed hard. "What's his condition Sergeant, do you know?"

  "Just a shoulder wound, Captain. It hit some bone and tissue but I'm sure he'll be okay."