The war has been hard on all of us. The brunt of the fighting had been burdened by the US Navy. From the beginning, its ships fought valiantly against an overwhelming enemy. Now, there were less than a hundred ships left. The first ships to go were Nimitz and Ford, defenseless as they sat in Norfolk. With the commissioning of Enterprise later that month, the hole left by the sinking of those two ships lessened. Now,there are only three carriers left in the world. They sit, tied up at a pier, in the only ocean big enough to lose a carrier, that is if the enemy was a conventional force. The only hope for the world lay in the destroyers that were still in action, but that changed overnight. Five months ago, the Japanese debuted what they called kanmusu, they claimed they were ships given human form. Soon after, many countries were summoning ships from their pasts. The United States was the last of the major navies to be successful, their long term failure solved by modifying the summoning process. It seemed that the war had turned for the better.
Date: 5 March, 2016
Time: 10:00 Pacific Standard Time
Location: Naval Air Station Alameda
Enterprise stared out into the ocean, somewhere,out there,her sisters lay. All three of them sank defending their country, and all three distinguished themselves in the beginning years. It only seemed fitting for the Navy to continue their tradition, giving their names to brand new ships. In this way, Yorktown, Hornet, and Wasp would always be remembered; not because of their heroics, but because of the lineage they produced. Now, Enterprise had another war to win. As the one of the first carriers to return, she was in high demand. Her experience now kept her in the classroom teaching Essexes and escort carriers. It was ironic, however, that she taught onboard herself. The latest Enterprise, CVN-80, sat tied up at the pier, hanger bay and reactors empty. She had no purpose in the war, her class was too vulnerable to Abyssal attacks. It was only a matter of time before she too would be sunk, just like Victory and Constitution, another great ship reduced to scrap. Soon, she would fight again, Enterprise felt it. But would the Navy even allow their most decorated carrier a chance? That was a question that none of her friends knew.
"Yo, E," a voice called. Enterprise knew who it was.
"What do you want, Dragon?", she asked.
"Me and some of the Standards were having a poker game tonight. Wanted to see if you would join."
"Jersey, you know I would clean all of you out the minute I walked in. Go and ask Lexington, heard she just put in from Corpus Christi. Seems like she would need something to get her mind off of CV-16."
"You know as well as I do that Lex can't play cards even if her life depended on it."
Enterprise smiled at that. "So, how's Iowa holding up? Last thing I heard, her deck had been completely replaced."
"She's looking good these days. The war has really been a help to her upkeep. Apparently, the museum staff is restoring Turret One to working condition."
"That seems nice, although she wouldn't like another turret blown out from her hull. Turret Two should be still fresh in her memory." A small noise came from behind Enterprise.
"Shit, is that the time? Sorry, E. I promised Cali I would help with turret recalibrations today. Nice chatting with you." And Enterprise was alone once again.