Norfolk, Virginia November 23, 2014
New Jersey raced into Norfolk as fast as she could, just behind her apprentice Arleigh. Her mind flashed back to the moment, hours earlier, when the destroyer had approached her berth at Camden and told her the awful news.
...
New Jersey rested against the dock, eyes closed and humming contentedly as she soaked up the sun and her caretaker's touch. "Mmm..." She purred. The moment was broken by the sound of a blasting horn. "Get out of the way you seaslug!" swore a loud voice. The speaker was a large missile guided destroyer and the object of her swearing, a river tug, backed away with a scared whimper. New Jersey winced. "I thought I taught you to have better manners than that Arleigh!" She growled as she turned to face her apprentice as she approached. Further repremanding died on her lips when she saw the look in Arleigh's eyes. "What's the matter, what's happened?!" She demanded. "Wisky, she's asking for you." Arleigh panted. New Jersey thought her heart would literally break in two. Her youngest sister, Wisconsin was down in Norfolk serving as a museum ship. A few years ago she'd been diagnosed with lung cancer. New Jersey and her sisters had done what they could to help, getting some of the best hospitals in the country to lend them their staff. When this all began Wisconsin had told New Jersey that she'd only ask for her if she was certain she would die. New Jersey didn't need any further explanation from Arleigh, she could see everything in her apprentice's haunted eyes. "Lead the way!" She ordered gruffly. Her men worked quickly and had her engines renabled within 2 hours, cutting the lines to let New Jersey race down the Delaware River at nearly top speed.
...
From a distance of 2 miles, New Jersey's keen eyesight located her sister. And she could see instantly that Arleigh was right in calling her here. It'd been nearly a 10 year long fight and it was one that Wisconsin, despite her best efforts, had lost. The once proud, indomitable battleship lay slanted against the dock, using it to support her weight. Always the stubborn one, she refused to lie on her side, even now as she fought to stay alive. Her eyes were closed and her breathing ragged though she appeared to be asleep. New Jersey couldn't hold back the whimper that escaped her at the sight of her dear sister. Wisconsin's eyes flickered open and slowly the glassy ice blue eyes gazed up into New Jersey's forest green. "Hey." Wisconsin croaked weakly. New Jersey smiled. "Hey you." She licked her muzzle, earning herself a slight giggle from the other battleship. "Missed you." Wisconsin said. "And I missed you." New Jersey replied. "Has Arleigh been good to you?" "She always is, sweet thing. You chose well." Wisconsin murmured. New Jersey chuckled. "I like to think she chose me." She nodded. "Arleigh?" She asked. "Already on it." The destroyer replied from nearby, her gaze shifted upwards in concentration. "What?" New Jersey asked. "I want all of us to be here." Wisconsin murmured. "It wouldn't be right, if we weren't together." Since Iowa and Missouri couldn't reach the east coast in time, instead Alreigh patched them through the comms, using them like a cellphone. "Mo, you there?" Wisconsin asked. "Here sis." Missouri's voice was strained. "Iowa?" "Hear ya loud and clear Wisky." Iowa's voice sounded as bright and cheerful as ever but underneath there was a current of deep concern. "Is Big J with you?" Iowa asked. "I'm here and don't call me Big J, only Wisconsin is allowed to do that." New Jersey growled. "Big J." Wisconsin whispered in her ear. New Jersey smiled, licking her between the ears. Wisconsin laughed slightly. "Help me up please New Jersey." She said. "You sure?" New Jersey asked, worried that Wisconsin couldn't stand in her condition. She nodded and New Jersey let her sister lean on her as she drew herself up, head held high. She was weak but her eyes still held that lively spark that had been there since Desert Storm. It hadn't left since.
"Now that I have you two on the line, I want you to listen to me." Wisconsin growled. "We're listening sis." Missouri replied. "Iowa?" Wisconsin questioned. "Right here." Iowa replied. "Okay, now Missouri first. You know why I called you?" Wisconsin questioned. "Yes." Missouri's voice shook. "I've fought a good fight. I've done my duty. You know what you must do." Wisconsin said. "I won't." Missouri replied. "I won't ever release you from active service. You have been and always will be USS Wisconsin, battleship of the United States Navy, my sister." "And I'll be proud to hold that title among my brethren in the Ancients." Wisconsin said. "Please..." Missouri's voice turned pleading. "Please don't go." "It's not my choice to make." Wisconsin replied softly. There was silence on the other end as Missouri struggled to compose herself enough to speak. "Wisconsin, my dear sister... I love you." She replied at last. "And I love you, always." Wisconsin murmured. She raised her voice. "Iowa?" She asked. "Still here. I'm always here." Iowa replied, a hoarseness in her voice that meant she'd been crying. "Iowa don't grieve. Please don't. I don't want any of you to do that. It's pointless, it won't bring me back." Wisconsin murmured. "I know, it's just..." Iowa broke off. "I know, I know." Wisconsin sighed. "And I love you too Iowa, I always will. Know that I'm not gone, I'll be watching over you. And I'll have Arizona with me and Hood and so many others. I'll be fine. I'll be happy but I'll only be happy if you will be. Do you get that Iowa?" There was silence for a moment before Wisconsin heard a reply. "Yes." Her eldest sister replied. "Missouri?" Wisconsin asked. "I heard everything Wisconsin and I must say, you were so brave. Every night, I'll look up at the stars and think of you. Come to me in dreams Wisconsin, don't leave us alone." Missouri begged. "I wouldn't think of such a thing in a million years." Wisconsin replied with a smile. She grimaced and lowered her bow. New Jersey pressed against her. "Why is it that the kidneys are always the first things to go?!" Wisconsin grumbled. New Jersey smiled sadly. "Just unlucky I guess." She replied. Wisconsin leaned on her, her breathing growing more irregular as her heart became weaker. "She doesn't have long." New Jersey said. Her eyes flickered to the ship beside her. Long Shadow sighed and nodded. She'd arrived not long after New Jersey and had been keeping silent so far. "She has 18 minutes max." She said. "Shadow, how long have you been there?" Missouri asked. "Long enough." Shadow replied. "I'm sorry.." Iowa said. "So am I." Shadow sighed, nuzzling Wisconsin who weakly but desperately nuzzled back, craving the contact. "Stay with me?" She begged as the sailing ship backed off. "Always." Shadow replied. "I'll be the first ship you'll see in your new life, I promise." She turned and sailed away, giving New Jersey these last few minutes alone. Arleigh followed her, standing ready should the sailing ship do anything. Though Shadow would never harm Wisconsin the old ship had been through quite a lot. The psychological effect of losing her apprentice could result in anything. Shadow had nearly been broken when Wisconsin was almost killed in Desert Storm. When she died, Arleigh wasn't sure what she would do. She was ready though if Shadow decided to try any form of self harm.
New Jersey bore the brunt of Wisconsin's weight as her sister was unable to take it herself. Already she felt cold, small shivers worked their way up and down her hull. New Jersey soothed her as best she could. "Shh, shh..." She whispered. Wisconsin whimpered in fear and pain. "Sing to me, New Jersey." Wisconsin begged. New Jersey held her tighter at this. "Please..." She begged. Sighing, New Jersey granted her sister's wish and began to sing. "Rest now, my warrior. Rest now, you're hardship is over." Iowa and Missouri joined in. "Live. Wake up. Wake up. And let the cloak of life cling to your bones. Cling to your bones." Wisconsin smiled, a low weak purr escaping her. She'd always loved it when New Jersey sang. "Wake up. Wake up. Live. Wake up. Wake up. And let the cloak of life cling to your bones. Cling to your bones." New Jersey felt it when the hot breath on her neck stopped. She could feel it when the soft drum of Wisconsin's heart within her hull ceased. She could feel her sister's body go limp against her and yet she sung on, hoping that somehow her words would bring her back. "Wake up. Wake up. Live. Wake up. Wake up. And let the cloak of life cling to your bones. cling to your bones. Wake up." "Wake up." New Jersey whispered brokenly and she broke down in tears. She was vaguely aware of Iowa and Missouri questioning her. She managed to find her voice enough to speak to them. "She's gone. Wisconsin's dead." She heard wailing on the other end as Iowa and Missouri mourned their sister. New Jersey set Wisconsin down to find her ice blue gaze still fixed upon her, glassy and misty, the spark of life that had once existed now gone. Once, New Jersey had asked her that when she would die, would she die with her eyes open or closed. Wisconsin had replied "open." When New Jersey had inquired as to why Wisconsin had smiled and replied "because the last thing I want to see on this earth, in this life, is your face. The face of a loved one." This memory brought on more tears as New Jersey's grief brought her down on her side, holding her sister's lifeless form.
Outside the harbor, Arleigh sighed. She'd heard New Jersey's cries of grief and she knew that Shadow could too but she didn't need that to know that her apprentice was dead. She'd shared a bond with Wisconsin, and she felt it when she died. Her whole body had stiffened and tears came to her eyes. Arleigh approached her now. "What will you do now?" She asked. Long Shadow gave a heavy sigh, one that did not hide her broken heart. "Escort her spirit to the afterlife and continue on. I still have a duty to the souls lost at sea." She replied. "So many have died and so many will die but I must live on. It is my gift and it is my curse. Once there were many ships like me, roaming the seas. Not all collected souls like I did, some rather had their mischievous side, liked to interfere in land affairs." Arleigh chuckled. "But now they're no more, lost ages ago in the last great war." Shadow sighed. Her green eyes having turned a sparkling gold that swirled and shined with power and wisdom of all the years gone by. "We will meet again one day, my dear Arleigh." Shadow said. She touched noses briefly with the healer and turned her bow to the open sea. The wind whistled around her and she vanished into a cloud of fog of her own making, disappearing into the night.