HMS Caledonia's last hurrah part 1
Chris POV
January 6th 2014
"All engines ahead to eighteen knots please" I shouted out.
"Roger that Captain" Benny my second in command replied.
As benny shouted my orders to the engine crew, I felt the deck quiver beneath me as the huge engines kicked into life and began to move the huge ship forwards.
I was sad of course; this voyage would be the last journey I made in the Royal navy battleship HMS Caledonia before the mighty ship was retired.
Even now Caledonia was a beautiful sight. Even though there was more rust than actual ship. But what made the ship special was her unique armament. She had 12 22inch guns in four triple gun turrets. Two forward and two aft. Her 444 anti-air guns were still there and her 5 torpedo tube mounts were still there as well. I was surprised at how long Old Call had been in service for.
Caledonia was launched in 1920 and had seen action in both the Atlantic and the Pacific during WW2. She was also present during the Korean and Vietnam wars. Most recently she had helped out the Rebels in Libya. The reason the Navy had kept the ship was because they couldn't decide what to do with it and also they didn't have any surface vessels that could match the firepower that Caledonia possessed. But now I was taking Caledonia on her final Voyage from Japan to Portsmouth naval base. The ship itself looked like an Iowa class battleship that had grown and had an extra few bits attached.
Of course before Caledonia was decommissioned she would participate in the Rim Pac exercises. Anyways as the ship left Tokyo harbour, people were crowding the water and water sides, trying to get some last pictures of HMS Caledonia. I gave the Japanese one last blast from Caledonia's whistle and a gun salute from the 22 inch guns. I then turned around and swiftly walked into the bridge. The interior of the ship was only marginally better than the outside.
"Good afternoon sir" chief medical officer Carlisle Cullen said.
"Good afternoon to you old friend" I replied.
Carlisle Cullen and his small detachment of elite troops were very good friends of mine. Even though they were American. I was giving them a lift in HMS Caledonia back to the States.
"It's sad to see such a wondrous ship sail on her last voyage" Carlisle said.
"It is but at least we can show the world that Caledonia will never go down without a fight" I agreed.
7 days later
Caledonia was making good speed into the Pacific. The storms that came our way didn't make the ship roll anywhere. But then I saw something on the Horizon. It was a bright flash of light. I was curious and I ordered the ship to turn in that direction. The deck quivered again as the ship turned. It seemed as if the Ship itself was expecting a fight to take place. It took the ship several minutes to reach visual range of what the Flash of light was. It was an island. From what I could see it was covered in forests. But then I saw something that surprised me. I could see 5 pale skinned women sitting on the Beach. They were staring at the Ship. But that was not why they stunned me. Their skin was sparkling!