So here is the final chapter for this week. Enjoy~
USS John Paul Jones, 2012
The skipper will know what to do. Kept going through Hopper's mind as he cast an apprehensive glance at the repair crew trying to deal with the wreckage from the hit they'd taken. The medical crew took Stone away from Beat who had carried him aboard. Stone had a slight plus, but he had lost way too much blood and they was no telling when he would wake o, or even if he would wake up. At least this ship wasn't listing, so obviously nothing fatally catastrophic had happened to it. Yet.
Once they returned to the ship, Beast really should have gone to the engine room to make sure his beloved engines were continuing to function and hadn't sustained any damage during the assault. Raikes should have returned to weapons, where she doubtless would've taken comfort in having all the fire power of the John Paul Jones at her disposal, instead of just a single .50 cal machine gun. And Alex wanted to run to the medical room and sit by Stone till he woke up and fixed everything. Instead Beast and Raikes were following Hopper, who was heading straight toward the bridge, to bring his commander up to speed and to find out what the next course of action would be after getting the survivors of the Sampson aboard.
The skipper will know what to do. The man may be an audacious jerk, and he's never liked me, but he's forgotten more about strategy than most naval men ever learn. He's probably already got an entire plan in place He's probably already figured out a weakness that went past the rest of us. He's got this covered; he'll be totally on top of it.
Hopper walked into the bridge, Beast and Raikes behind him, and glanced around, not finding the person he was most expecting to. "Where's the skipper?" he asked.
There was dead silence. All Hopper saw was an array of young, terrified faces, looking at him... no, looking to him. Lieutenant J. G. Raj Patel, a young and efficient officer, and Ensign Anthony Rice, still so wet behind the ears he was practically dripping, looked as if they had frayed nerve between them. Ord was also there, staring at him expectantly. Expectantly? What in the world was he expecting?
Hopper heard explosions in the distance. He turned and saw that the Japanese vessel the Myoko was under attack from the stinger. The stinger was firing singles of cylinders, rather than barrages, and the weapons were falling short of the destroyer. Warning shots. They don't have infinite number of things. The Myoko was backing off, talking the hint, and that seemed to satisfy the damned stinger, as is cased fire. Why the hell aren't we coordinating attacks? Why are we just sitting here? Why isn't the skipper giving-?
"Orders, sir?" said Ord.
"Why are you asking me?" Deep down he knew the answer, but he didn't want accept it. "Where's the skipper?"
"Dead sir." Ord sounded as if he were talking from somewhere far, far away. A dead man walking, emotionlessly reporting on the fate of those who had already walked down that path.
"What did you say?" He knew what Ord had said, but he need time to process what he had just learned, time that none of them had.
"Skipper's dead." said Ord. Anticipating the next question, he continued, "XO's dead."
The debris. The debris from where we were hit. They're under the debris somewhere. Oh my God, they're trying to dog out the bodies...
Focus. Focus.
Who's in charge?" asked Hopper. He saw the flicker of disbelief in Ord's eyes before the young man replied.
"You are, sir." Ord was starting look like he wanted to be somewhere else.
"No." Hopper shook his head. "I fight the ship."
"You're doing that, too. You're all of it, sir. You're in charge."
Hopper stared at him for a moment, not comprehending. He looked to Patel, who nodded.
He looked to Raikes who nodded. "It's your ship, sir," she said firmly. "You're senior officer. What are your orders?" Hopper wanted to smirk at Raikes and Beast at being able to give them both orders without someone above him telling him no.
"Orders, sir?" Ord prompted him again.
Slowly he shifted his gaze to Raikes. His eyes hardened and narrowed to slits. Rage began to fill him. Don't give in to it. Channel it. Use it. "Guns hot?"
"Aye, sir," said Raikes.
"Engines good?" he asked Beast.
Beast was on the horn to the engine room, getting updates, doubtless in anticipation of the question. He glanced toward Hopper. "Yes, sir."
He felt hot tears beginning to surge in his eyes: not from grief, but from pure fury. These bastards... They'd almost killed his brother. They were going to pay for ending the loves of the sailors he saw burning alive. Sons of bitched will pay. "Do we have ship to ship?"
"We're holding it together with split and bailing wire, but yes, sir."
"Good. Raise Nagata. Tell him we're going to attack."
"Attack" Really?" That was obviously not what Ord had been expecting to hear.
"Those are the orders," affirmed Hopper. "Raikes, get your ass down to CIC. Ready all guns."
Raikes wanted to say something, but this wasn't the Hopper she enjoyed to mess with. This was a combat zone and he was in charge of the whole damned ship. "Roger that, Captain," said Raikes.
With all that done Hopper took a moment to call the medical room to check on his brother. Who was still hanging in there.
So I finally found out who John Paul Jones was name after. Does anyone want to guess? Please leave a review if you could spare the moment.