Chapter 2; The beginning of an adventure.
Date: 25/10/1944 (presumed)
Location: unknown forest
Time: 08:30
POV: Third Person Limited (Task Group 77.4, Taffy 3)
It was relatively warm, about 75 degrees Fahrenheit, a comfortable temperature to Gambier Bay. Even though there was a slight wind chill of minus 3 degrees, it was still a nice day, especially this early in the morning. With her average knowledge of the weather, Gambier knew it would get to about a maximum of 80 degrees Fahrenheit, with a minimum of 65 degrees. A nice, pleasant day, perfect weather for anyone.
But to Gambier, this meant little cover from the weather to hide in. She was still on high alert, checking for every possible line of attack, any choke point, and every point of escape. She didn't want a repeat of Samar. There would be no risk-taking on her part.
"So," Johnston said, snapping Gambier out of her mental planning, "How are we going to wake everyone up?"
"Hmm, I've got an idea," Gambier said, "They're going to be upset, but it'll get them up."
"What's your idea?"
"Singing "Idźmy, bijmy Moskali", loudly."
"Oh," Johnston said, a devious smirk creeping up her face, "Oh I like that, prank them, and get them up. Go for it Gambier."
Gambier took in a deep breath and then began to sing.
"Chcecie, bym wam zaśpiewał, Nutą serca rozgrzewał, Pilno na to zważajcie, Co wam powiem, słuchajcie:
Idźmy, bijmy Moskali, Świat nas za to pochwali, Walczmy za swą krainę, Pędźmy licho za Dźwinę.
Idźmy, bijmy Moskali, Świat nas za to pochwali, Walczmy za swą krainę, Pędźmy licho za Dźwinę.
Naród niegdyś szczęśliwy, Krwi i łupów nie chciwy, Niewolą dziś stargany, Dźwiga srogie kajdany.
Idźmy, bijmy Moskali! Świat nas za to pochwali, Walczmy za swą krainę, Pędźmy licho za Dźwinę.
Idźmy, bijmy Moskali! Świat nas za to pochwali, Walczmy za swą krainę, Pędźmy licho za Dźwinę.
Sprzedali nas panowie, Wspólnej Matki synowie, Więc dziś na nich nie łomży. Sami sobie pomożemy.
Idźmy, bijmy Moskali! Świat nas za to pochwali, Walczmy za swą krainę, Pędźmy licho za Dźwinę.
Idźmy, bijmy Moskali! Świat nas za to pochwali, Walczmy za swą krainę, Pędźmy licho za Dźwinę!
W bójce przeszło rok minął, Naród przecież nie zginął, Bóg nam sprzyja widocznie, Więc niech żaden nie spocznie.
Idźmy, bijmy Moskali! Świat nas za to pochwali, Walczmy za swą krainę, Pędźmy licho za Dźwinę.
Idźmy, bijmy Moskali! Świat nas za to pochwali, Walczmy za swą krainę, Pędźmy licho za Dźwinę!"
As Gambier finished, everyone began to get up, all in differing states of mind.
"Urgh, Morning to you too, Gambier," Butler said, slightly annoyed.
"Ugh, why did you have to do that, Gambier? I was in the middle of a good dream." Raymond said, noticeably annoyed.
"*groans* did you have to wake us up like that?" St. Lo said, "I was in the middle of a Prayer in my dream."
"Of course, you'd wake us up with Polish music," Fanshaw said, slightly disappointed.
"Oh thank goodness, you woke me up right before things got too intense in that dream," Hoel said in relief, "If that went any further, well, I'd be panting."
"I'm honestly fine with you singing, Gambier." Kitkun said, "I was already awake, just wanted to let my body rest for 5 minutes."
"In all honesty, you're a great singer, Gambier." Kalinin said, "Just wish you didn't do it at that moment."
"I'm with you Kalinin," Heerman said, slightly annoyed.
"Heh, good singing Gambier," Samuel B. Roberts, AKA Sammy, said.
"I'd be in awe of your talent," White Plains said, "If you didn't use it when I'm sleeping."
"I agree with White Plains," Dennis said, "you're good at singing, you just did it at the most annoying time."
"Weell," Johnston said, "we needed to get everyone up quickly, and Gambier had that as a plan. Sooo, yeah, I told her to do it."
"Let's not get too upset," Fanshaw said, being the voice of reason, "we should probably get ready to move in about 15 minutes. If we don't get moving, we'll be easy pickings for any hostiles."
"Yeah, you're right." Heerman said, "Let's get ready to move."
"Yeah, you all heard Fanshaw, let's get ready to move." Kalinin said, "We don't know what's out there or what's going to happen. Everyone, check your equipment, we need to be in the best possible shape if we want to get out of this forest."
"While you all were unconscious, I managed to find a river nearby." Johnston said, "It should be deep enough for our rigging, so let's follow its flow, we should be able to get to the coast from it."
"That's good, Johnston," Fanshaw said, "Follow the flow, get back to sea, and get back to the Philippines. Lead the way, Johnston, get us to the river."
"Great, now, everyone, follow me to the river!"
Johnston proceeded to lead Taffy 3 through a beautiful scenic route to the river. Along the way, Heerman and Hoel began to go on a tangent of a conversation. Gambier, curious about what it is about, listened in.
"So, Hoel, why do you think that you have a form of precognition?" Heerman asked.
"It's because I do! I mean, I knew what was going to happen in that battle, and I knew there was nothing I could've done without there being major repercussions in the future. I know we are going to win the war, I know that humanity will find out how to split atoms, and I know our home country will drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I know that Hitler is going to kill himself in a bunker in Berlin, I know that there will be an unofficial war between the US and the USSR over capitalism versus communism, and I know that the USSR will collapse on December 26, 1991. Japan will become an ally of ours, its population will cope and cover up their atrocities with animated shows, literature, rated 18 drawings, and other things. Germany will be very tolerant with every nationality and minority, they'll ban anything related to the Nazis, and they'll become an economic powerhouse." Hoel said in a slightly annoyed voice, "Hitler's statement about how "Germany will either be a world power or not exist at all" will be true, just not in the way he expected. The US will be a superpower, they'll land on the moon in 1969, and on September 11, 2001, a terrorist attack will occur in NYC, 285 Fulton St, New York City, NY 10007. It is a blessing and a curse, I know what will happen, but there is nothing I can do to change the events without major repercussions. I could have done something that would've allowed us to avoid fighting the center fleet, but then they would've wreaked havoc on the rest of the fleet. Sorry for going on another tangent, I, I just needed to get that off my chest."
"Damn, I, I'm sorry for you, Hoel. Just, having to live with the fact that you know what'll happen but be unable to do anything about it, I can't even begin to imagine that."
"Neither could I," Gambier said, pitching in her thoughts.
"What the- how long were you listening in on us?!" Hoel said, surprised.
"I heard the whole thing from start to finish," Gambier stated simply. "But anyway, now that I know that you can see the future, how's Poland in the future?" She asked.
"Oh, Poland? They're in good shape. They have a powerful military, a strong, secured border, and have the best equipment they can get their hands on. As a man from the future once said, "This time, the speed bump has teeth". The Poles are determined to make sure the last maps of Borders for Earth include Polish borders."
"Well, that's excellent news. What about Czechoslovakia?"
"The country was split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. But, it was a peaceful, democratically voted split. Yugoslavia had something similar happen, only it was very violent. A series of wars for independence, with a lot of Serbs becoming war criminals. It was a very rough period for the civilians."
"Okay, didn't expect that, but ok."
"Hey! Everyone!" Johnston said, "We're almost at the river, finish up your conversations and get ready to use your riggings."
"Well," Heerman stated, "that was an interesting conversation, but let's get ready to get back on the water."
The group then arrived at the river and got into position to use their rigging.
As they got onto the water and brought out their rigging, they all noticed something a little strange.
"Hey, does anyone else feel a little bit stronger?" Johnston asked.
"Yeah, I also feel the same," Heerman responded.
"Uh, Guys," Hoel said, "I think I know why we feel stronger."
"Why's that Hoel?" Gambier asked.
"Our turrets on our rigging are not the usual mark 30s, they're mark 42s. They reload faster, have a longer range, and are more accurate." Hoel said in slight surprise, "All of us have the Mark 42 turret instead of the Mark 30, and I think our FCS has also been upgraded."
She took a look back to confirm her theory. "Yep, that's a Mark 68 GFCS, very accurate, and has the AN/SPG-53 dual-purpose radar. We won't be missing any shots any time soon. Also, don't worry if your SC class radars aren't there. They've been replaced by the AN/SPS-73 and the AN/SPS-49. Basically, all of our systems have been upgraded to be able to deal with enemies with relative ease."
"Well, that's, that's good, at least we won't have to worry about missing shots or being unable to communicate," Fanshaw said, "thanks for letting us know, Hoel."
"You're welcome, Fanshaw, but I've wasted enough time, let's move!" Hoel said as she sped ahead, going 50 knots.
Not the typical speed of a Fletcher class. Johnston and Heerman followed suit, also speeding along at the same pace. Sammy, Butler, Dennis, and Raymond were hitting 43 knots, and the carriers were hitting 40 knots.
"Huh, seems like our engines have been upgraded as well, that'll be useful," Johnston said in a satisfied tone.
"This is Gambier Bay, testing comms, you copy Johnston?"
"This is Johnston, I copy you Gambier."
"Hey, Gambier, launch some fighters to scout ahead." Fanshaw said, "If we know what is up ahead, then we can plan out our route."
"Copy that Fanshaw, I'm launching fighters," Gambier said following Fanshaw's order.
"Hey, Johnston, could you, Heerman, and Hoel slow down to our speed? Gambier's going to launch fighters to scout ahead." Fanshaw radioed.
"Johnston here, I copy." Johnston replied, "Hey, Heerman! Hoel! Let's slow down, let the carriers catch up! "
"Alright, I'm slowing down," Heerman said, "Hoel, tone down your need for speed and let the carriers catch up! They're launching fighters to scout ahead."
"*sigh* Fine, I'm slowing down." Hoel responded, "Still, I like the fact that we're faster now. No surface threat will be able to escape us now!"
The destroyers of Taffy 3 proceeded to let the Carriers catch up to them. After the carriers caught up, all elements of Taffy 3 continued to head down the river. About five minutes later, Gambier's fighters found a bay within a cave.
"Hey, everyone!" Gambier said, "My fighters found a good place for a temporary base! It's a bay within a cave, a good place to hide from enemies."
"That's great news, Gambier," Fanshaw said, "I'd like it if you'd guide the rest of us to the place your fighters found."
"I copy you Fanshaw. C'mon everyone, follow my lead!"
It took Taffy 3 about 15 minutes to reach the cave, where they then settled in for the night.
"I'll take first watch for the night," Johnston said, "Gambier, are you okay with taking the second?"
"Tak, yes, I could use a little rest for the night."
AN: so yeah, I had this second chapter ready for a few days. I just wanted to put some spacing in between the post-dates of each chapter.
Now, in terms of the issue of fuel and ammo, there's a reason why I gave Hoel the ability to see the modern-day and all events leading up to it. Hoel can give the rest of Taffy 3 the blueprints for what they need to make. on the Issue of Fuel and Oil, their riggings have infinite fuel, but their ships don't. And before anyone says that Remnant doesn't have oil, it does. The people of Remnant don't have the proper tools to find it and extract it.
Now then, have a good day, evening, or night reader. I'll see you in the next chapter, where things might get a little confusing and interesting, and Taffy 3 realizes their situation. Viel Gluck Mein Freunds.