by Lee Thomas
“There are only a handful of people I let question me like that. Jeff I have known since we were in middle school, and he is basically my brother. I let him do it because he keeps me on track, helps me think things through completely. He will follow my orders though, but he makes me make sure it’s not a bad order. Roger I have known even longer. I trust their judgement, and I trust them to tell me I’m being a retarded asshole if I am being one.” I replied to him. I wanted him to know he could trust me with the safety of the group, because if he did, then the sailors would.
“That’s a good explanation, even though you didn’t owe me one. I think the sailors will respect that openness. Just remember though, an order is an order, and they will follow them as such.” he reminded me. I remembered my time in, and the almost blind obedience to orders the military fostered.
“So tell me Lt, how many do you have onboard?” I asked. I needed to know what I was taking on, and what skill sets I had.
“I believe the count is 244 sailors and around 250 civilians if I’m not mistaken. I can have a list brought to you, we have a list of everyone onboard, including their rates and skills.” He responded. Once inside the tower, we walked up a flight of stairs to the bridge. The Lt. told a sailor to make the announcement to meet, and he then led us back down towards the hangar bay. Apparently the platform he mentioned was in hangar bay 3, the farthest aft, and just to the side of the machine shop door.
We stepped into hangar bay 2, the middle one, which was directly below the tower. Something had been bothering me since we first got onboard and walked through the hangar bay, and it finally hit me as we walked through bay 2 again.
“Wait, where are all the planes? I thought something looked off, and it just hit me. I saw the two choppers on the flight deck, and that one there, but no planes.” I stopped cold when the realization that on an aircraft carrier, there were no aircraft.
“I wondered when you would notice that, once you said you were stationed aboard a carrier before. We have two pilots left. Once we realized what had happened, and decided to stay, we launched the planes and landed them at the air field on base. It seemed like a good idea, and gave us extra space. The two choppers up top are search and rescue birds, and as you can see, the last one down here is an Apache attack chopper. The Apache was on the base airfield, so the pilots opted to bring it back as a defense option. Luckily, we have not had call for it.” Lt. Levine informed me. I looked around at the empty space and started thinking of ways to utilize it. We kept walking aft as sailors started filtering in from all directions.
The Lt. led me up on the platform and we waited for the majority of the sailors to show up. So far, most of the ones that had showed up were in full uniform, but a few were in civvies or p.t. clothes which led me to believe they still had some form of duty rotation. Quite a few of civilians had filtered in as well. They were talking in small groups for now, glancing up at me and Lt. Levine, and if I knew sailors, they were all coming up with their own ideas on who I was and what was going on. I assumed scuttlebutt, or gossip, had not died in the Navy.
“Alright everyone, listen up. This is Sheldon Friend. He is the leader of a group that he has brought here with the intention of taking a carrier and living on it. We threw a kink in his plan by being here, but I have listened to his plan, and it is extremely viable. I have decided that we should join with him and his group for our long term survival. I want you all to listen to him. If anyone has any objection afterwards I’ll be happy to talk to you about it. Mr. Friend, the floor is yours.” Lt. Levine introduced me and then stepped aside. I stepped up to the rail and looked out over the assembled sailors and civilians. A few more were filtering in, but I knew the word would get around quickly to the last few that didn’t hear the intro.
“Hello. Thank you all for listening. I am from Oklahoma, and like the Lt. said I have led a sizeable group here to commandeer a ship and have a long term survival plan. I knew a ship, especially a carrier, would be the perfect place as we could close the hangar bay doors and raise the elevators and be perfectly secure. That fact that the Nimitz was here and I am now standing on her is great, as I am former Navy myself, and the Nimitz was my ship. I am ecstatic to be back on her, and I know she would make the perfect safe haven to survive on.” I explained. I again spent the next hour or so explaining my plan, answering questions, and trying to show the group that I knew what I was doing. They had plenty of questions, and I answered them all to the best of my ability.
“Now that everyone has heard the plan, and knows what I want to do, I will tell you that it is going to be a lot of hard work for everyone. I plan on working just as hard as I ask anyone else to, but I expect everyone to do their part. I understand there is somewhat of a chain of command here already, and I plan on establishing one with my people as well to make things flow easier. A good part of my group is either former military themselves or military family, so there shouldn’t be any conflict there. This is my good friend Roger, who I consider a brother. I had four other men with me, who I know some of you saw earlier. They are on their way to get the rest of my group and bring them here. I want to merge groups into one large one, but I need your support to do so. While I have been leading this group, I have not been leading it as a dictatorship. I have advisors, an inner circle who I consult with, whose judgements I trust. They keep me in check and make sure I am always acting in the best interest of the group. Does anyone have any other questions?” I finished. Several of them started talking amongst themselves, and I waited patiently, glancing back at Roger, who shrugged, then at Lt. Levine. I finally looked back over the crowd. After about twenty more minutes, I waved for everyone’s attention one last time.
“If no one has any more questions, I have some planning to do before the main group arrives. I would like to speak with Lt. Levine, as well as whoever is in charge of guard detail and whoever knows what your supply and inventory situation is like. I need to know what you all have, and what is needed. Please meet me back in Ready One shortly with that information. Over the next week or so I would also like to meet each of you personally to find out what skills you have. Thank you all.” I said to the group.
“Aye, Captain.” one of the sailors yelled out. A few more called out as well after that. A few even saluted before walking off. Apparently they were taking to the plan and accepting I was in charge.
“Lt., I need to hit the head, then I’ll head up to the ready room. Roger, come with me for a minute please.” I nodded at Lt. Levine then stepped over to the ladder and climbed down off the platform. Several sailors were still standing around chatting, and some walked up to me to introduce themselves. I shook each of their hands and tried to remember their names. I knew I probably would not remember them right now, but I tried. With Roger following me, I headed to the stairwell and up towards the flight deck. Stepping out onto the flight deck, I led Roger aft and port to look out over the water.
“What do you think?” I asked him as we got close to the edge.
“They seem to be willing to take on the group and none of them seemed to want to be in charge. It sounds like you won’t have to change the plan at all, just plan for more people. Are we up for it?” he asked me.
“I think I’m going to have run it more like a ship with a military chain of command than I wanted. I knew I would have to make some people in charge of certain things, but with the sailors here I’m afraid it may be more military than I wanted.”
“With the amount of vets and active duty we have, I don’t think that will too much of a problem though.” Roger replied.
“True, but not everyone in the group was military, or military family. Especially Michelle, people like her don’t do well with military rules. It may be a tough sell, and I didn’t want to be “in charge” like that.” I responded. It was true I didn’t want to run things that strictly like a military installation, but with this many sailors onboard, and the amount of vets in my group I thought it might work.
“Man, how did yo
u ever get around this beast without getting lost?” he asked me. I laughed and turned to look across the deck.
“It’s actually not that difficult once you learn how to read the space designators. Plus, since this won’t be an active running ship, there are only certain places we will be using regularly, so you’ll get the hang of it shortly, no worries.” I told him. “Let’s go inside and talk to the sailors. I need to know what we are dealing with supply wise here.”
I led him back across the deck and we entered at the tower. We headed down the stairwell to the next deck to head towards the ready room. I did have Roger head that way while I hit the head, which was the Navy term for a bathroom. Once I finished I stepped into the ready room to see Roger, Lt. Levine, Ensign Harper, and another Chief I hadn’t met yet already there.
“Hello guys, and lady. Let’s get started shall we?” I said as I made my way to the front of the room. I saw that Lt. Levine left a notebook on the podium for me. I opened it and grabbed the pen, ready to take any necessary notes.
“I have a list here of crew members, along with any training and special skills they have. We don’t have departments anymore, but I have listed them all by what function they do as well.” Lt. Levine said, handing me a folder and starting the meeting off.
“I have a map of each bunk room with the names of who is in what bunk, as well as empty bunk rooms.” Ensign Harper said next, also handing me a folder.
“Chief Brandon Smith, sir. I’m in charge of ship security and posting guards. I also make sure there aren’t any fights, and would run the brig, if needed.” He introduced himself. I thanked all of them for the info and gathered the folders for future reference.
“Who knows what kind of food, medical supplies, and ammo inventory there is on board?” I asked.
“That would be Chief Crystal Smith, she has been keeping track of our food and medical supplies. She went to get her lists and should be here shortly. Lieutenant J.G. Jay Daniel is our ammo man. He also went to get an accurate list of what we have.” Lt. Levine told me.
“Good, good. I could tell from the fact that not everyone was in uniform that there is still some sort of duty rotation going on. That works, and I have some night owls in my group as well, so a night shift would definitely be happening. I also have some excellent hunters and snipers, so I would for sure be adding them to the guard list. I have some excellent cooks as well. I don’t how you are all on that front, but more people who can cook is a good thing on a ship. I will definitely be reviewing all this, and determining who goes where from my group.” I said. The door opened then, and a woman in khaki walked in, who I assumed to be Chief Crystal Smith. She introduced herself as such, handed me a folder, and sat down.
“Thank you Chief, I appreciate it. Let’s see what we’ve got here. I’ve got some wonderful cooks, and I have someone in mind to lead the kitchen, if that is not already set. I will get them with you tomorrow.” I said, opening the folder.
“As you can see, medical supplies are not really in short supply. We really haven’t had cause to use any, and we raided the other carrier as well. Food on the other hand, is an issue. We raided the other carrier for food supplies as well, along with the smaller ships. We gathered enough to fill our freezers and pantry at first, and we have rationed it, but without being able to refill our stock, we are starting to run low.” she told me as I reviewed the list. There still seemed to be plenty of canned goods left, but meat was low, as she said. I would definitely have to work on getting a hunting party out soon, and probably often. While I was still reviewing the food list, Lt. J.G. Daniel walked in. He introduced himself, handed me his list and sat down, talking to Lt. Levine. I scanned the list of weapons and ammo he provided me, impressed with the selection we would have here.
“I knew there would be an impressive list of weapons onboard, but I didn’t know it would be this good. Was this already here or have you guys raided the other ships for weapons and ammo as well?” I asked.
“We raided the Jefferson, the Princeton, and the Vicksburg. All the ships were raided for food and medical supplies, but we only stripped the first two cruisers of ammo. As you can see, we have plenty so it was deemed an unnecessary risk to go for more.” Lt. J.G. Daniel reported.
“Not a bad call, especially with the list you have here. We have a few sniper rifles, hunting rifles, and handguns, but only things civilians or law enforcement can get their hands on. Several bows, crossbows and arrows as well. I carry swords, as well as a few others, and several of us are very proficient with them. I would be more than happy to teach anyone that wants to learn how to use a sword. Roger here is also very good with a sword, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind teaching a class as well.” I said, pointing him out to the two that hadn’t met him yet.
“I have the weapon qualifications of everyone listed on the crew list, so you will be able to see who is good with a gun and not. So what is the next step in this plan of yours?” Lt. Levine asked.
“Well, first, once the group gets here, we get everyone onboard, get the supplies and vehicles onboard, then just take a night to relax. Shower, eat, play some games, things like that. I want to find bunks for everyone for tonight, and I will have my cousin Valerie get with you tomorrow, Ensign, so we can arrange permanent bunk assignments for everyone. We have been on the road for a week solid now, and quite a few of the group have been having a hard time dealing with the trip, and the situation. Tomorrow I will organize a hunting party, get some hunters out to get fresh meat in here for us. I also want to get some raiding parties out to find things such as fishing poles and such, camping gear, things like that. I will review these lists tonight while my people rest, then tomorrow we all start working. Sound alright?” I replied.
“Aye, sir” Lt. Levine responded with a chuckle. I sighed, realizing that the whole ‘captain’ thing that one sailor started earlier was going to stick. I would have to think about whether or not to let it stick for good, or try to squash it. If I decided to run with it, I would have to find some kind of hat, or shirt with insignia on it to show me as captain, to make it official.
“Alright, Lieutenant, dismissed. Let’s meet tomorrow at 0900, here. I want all of you, plus department heads, or whatever you call it now. I will have the ones I planned on putting in charge of certain things, and we will get things meshed out” I said with a laugh. Everyone stood, shook my hand, and left, presumably to go about whatever business they had left to do today. Roger hung back and watched them leave.
“Captain Friend, huh? Has a nice ring to it.” he laughed. I punched him on the arm playfully, then led him out of the ready room. I started walking forward down the passageway, wanting to check something out. I had the folders with me with all of the crew and inventory lists, meaning to review them later, once I got everyone onboard and safe.
We went up the stairwell to the bridge, intending to find out if the group had radioed in yet. It had only been a little over an hour since the left, and I knew that meant they were probably only just getting back to the base. I left instructions with the radioman to page me as soon as they made contact. Stepping back into the main part of the bridge, I saw there were three men on watch. All three had binoculars, and it appeared they were simply watching the pier, what we could see of the base, and the bay itself, looking for boats. A first class petty officer was the highest rank here.
“Captain on the bridge.” the second class petty officer who spotted me first said. That made all three turn to look at me.
“Well, I see word gets around on ship just as fast as it did while I was in. As you were gentlemen, I’m not going to be that formal.” I replied.
“OS1 Allen Trainor, sir.” the first class introduced himself, reaching out his hand. I knew the OS was his rate, or job, and the ‘one’ behind it meant he was a first class petty officer. OS was Operations Specialist, if I recalled correctly, and they actually performed a similar job function as I did being a STG, or Sonar Technician, Surface.
“OS, huh. I
was an STG myself, I loved it.” I responded to him.
“SH2 Bobby Crowe, sir.” said the one who called me out. I also shook his hand, then turned and looked at the third man, only a Seaman, or E-3, according to his badge.
“MCSN Ryan Quill, sir.” he said, shaking my hand as well.
“Enough with the ‘sir’ guys. I was only an E-2 before I got out, so you would all three outrank me right now.” I tried to tell them.
“Maybe so, sir, but you are in charge now, according to Lt. Levine. That makes you the captain in our eyes, and I can tell you the rest of the crew will be the same way. I hate to break it to you like this sir, but you’re going to have to get used to it.” Mr. Crowe told me, chuckling. I just sighed and shook my head, leaving that fight for another day.
“Fine. One quick question though, is anyone using the XO’s quarters?” I asked.
“No sir, nor the captain’s cabin for that matter.” Mr. Trainor informed me.
“Thank you gentlemen. I asked the radioman to page me as soon as my group makes contact. If they don’t make radio contact first, page me as soon as they are seen.” I ordered them. If I was going to be ‘captain’, I needed to start acting the part.
“Aye, sir.” they all three said, then turned back to their watches as I led Roger out of the bridge and back down the stairwell.
“Well, that was interesting.” Roger said as we made it to the bottom of the stairs.
“Welcome to Navy life. That will happen every time I step onto the bridge, or into a meeting room.” I replied, leading him around the corner to a room I was looking for. I stepped up to the door, took a quick breath, then opened it and stepped in.
“Wow, dude. Why is there an apartment onboard the ship?” Roger exclaimed with a whistle.
“Welcome to the captain’s cabin. You see the kitchen here, bar area, living area over there, complete with couches and TV. That small hallway there has a bedroom and full bathroom, with shower, off of it. Between yeoman bringing him messages, and usually a personal chef as well, there was actually little need for the captain to come out of his cabin most days. If they are going to insist on calling me captain, this is where I’ll be staying. I doubt they would let me pick another cabin anyways.” I told him, giving him a short tour of the area, setting the files down on the bar. Even choosing to take these quarters, I knew I would not be spending a lot of time in them. Making my people do all the work while I kicked back and relaxed was not how I planned on leading,