The Gray Ship

by Russell Moran

  Lincoln looked at Ashley, and they both smiled. Jefferson Davis was covering her ass.

  Lincoln continued reading.

  "Sir, as President of the Confederate States of America, I wish to present for your consideration the following steps that may lead toward peace:

  There shall be no arrests of any Confederate citizens for treason.

  The soldiers of the Confederacy shall be allowed to keep their weapons.

  The United States Government shall render financial assistance to the states of what shall formerly have been the Confederate States of America.

  Slavery shall be abolished in all of the Confederate States of America.

  Lincoln looked at Ashley after this last point. Ashley lost it with dignity. She didn't break down and sob, or jump up and fist pump. She just closed her eyes and let her tears wash down her face onto her uniform.

  Lincoln continued to read Davis' letter:

  The United States Government shall make interest-free loans, for a period of time to be determined, to enable farmers and plantation owners to make a transition to employment based enterprises.

  I shall welcome the opportunity to discuss these matters personally.

  I am, very respectfully,

  Jefferson Davis

  ***

  Ashley, concluding that composure was overrated, broke down and sobbed. Gideon Wells, his great white beard looking like a slushy ski slope, also wept. Lincoln joined in, although with a handkerchief over his face.

  "It's over," Ashley choked, "it's over."

  Lincoln knew, of course, that it wasn't over. Feathers would need to be smoothed, factions to be satisfied, appointments to be bargained for, and deals to be cut, both North and South. There would be fiery oratory, calls for recriminations, and demands for arrests. But all that is the stuff of politics, something Lincoln knew he could handle. He would have his work cut out for him, and so would Jefferson Davis. But the alternative is young men in blue and gray uniforms slaughtering each other for years.

  "With malice toward none, with charity for all..."

  Those words just popped into Lincoln's head. He'd have to work them into a speech some day, he thought.

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  Friends never say farewell. They say, see you later, until next time, catch you around the campus. They say, ciao, aloha, later babe, fuggeddaboutit, don't be such a stranger, don't forget to write, or let's do lunch. They don't say farewell. It's too final. It's too painful.

  But sometimes it's time to say farewell.

  Abraham Lincoln and his entire cabinet stood on the dock to see Ashley off. Both Lincoln and

  Wells decided to try something from Ashley's time. They both hugged this amazing Captain from the twenty-first century. Lincoln held it together. Wells cried, as did Ashley.

  Petty Officer Donizzio had grown accustomed to his role as boat captain for the famous and powerful. As he assisted Captain Patterson aboard, he switched on the boat's powerful Bose stereo system.

  "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" sounded off both banks of the river as the launch motored down the Potomac.

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  Ashley radioed ahead to speak to Father Rick. As prearranged, she gave him a simple message.

  "It's a go, Father."

  The boatswain's pipe screeched throughout the ship, followed by the boatswain's mate of the watch saying, "Attention all hands, attention all hands. Attention to Chaplain Richard Sampson."

  Father Rick leaned into the microphone and said, "I have just spoken to Captain Patterson who is on her way to the ship. My friends, we're going home."

  The launch was about two miles from the California. Ashley and Donizzio would later swear that they could hear the cheering from the ship. Donizzio looked at the Captain and shrugged his shoulders. "That means we're going home, Mike," Ashley said. "We're going home."

  ***

  "California, arriving."

  For those who still had a voice after Father Rick's announcement, they let out a cheering scream that could probably be heard at the White House. Executive Officer Ivan Campbell grabbed the microphone and led the crew in a few stanzas of "For she's a jolly good fellow."

  Ashley stepped onto the bridge and saluted as the Officer of the Deck yelled, "Attention on deck."

  She walked over to the Navigator, Lt. Wayne Bellamy and said, "Wayne, let's go wormhole hunting."

  "Aye aye, Captain." said Bellamy. He then gave the course setting to the OOD.

  Ashley then looked to the OOD, and gave him a jerking thumbs up motion to raise the anchor.

  As the California's anchor cleared the bottom, the Navy theme "Anchors Aweigh" blared throughout the ship.

  ***

  Ashley couldn't wait to gather her diplomatic brain trust together to tell them about her meeting with Lincoln and Wells. She called Father Rick and Jack to come to her office.

  "The White House photocopy machine was on the blink," Ashley joked, "but Lincoln let me transcribe Davis' letter." She read the letter out loud.

  Father Rick and Jack were especially impressed that Davis had intimated in the letter that the three of them had been arrested, to cover their butts in case they faced punishment for unauthorized diplomatic activity.

  When she read the part of Davis' letter about abolishing slavery, the emotional impact on the Chaplain and Jack was the same as it had been on Ashley, Lincoln, and Wells. She always knew her friend Father Rick was willing to let go of his emotions, but, before now, she had never seen Jack cry. She reached across the table and they squeezed hands.

  "Father Rick, Jack, I honestly don't know how I can thank you two," Ashley said.

  "Now let's find that wormhole. I'll see you guys later."

  "Oh, one thing, Captain," Father Rick said. "Mike Donizzio, the motor launch captain, gave me this for you." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket. "A soldier gave him this letter from Jefferson Davis to you. Davis specifically asked that it not be given to you until after your meeting with Lincoln. I think Jack and I should let you read the letter in private."

  "No, I want you and Jack to hear it as I read it."

  Ashley began to read Davis' letter.

  My Dear Captain Patterson:

  As you read this letter, you shall already have met with President Lincoln and have given him my letter. I trust that my entreaties to him shall put us on a course toward peace. But in this letter, Madam, I wish to express to you my personal thoughts on your diplomatic mission along with your two able colleagues. I wrote this letter after I retired to my home for the evening. I was greeted at the door by my trusted servant, the head of our household servants, Mrs. Ida Mae Bardwell. Yes, Mrs. Bardwell is a slave. As I looked at the woman, who my wife and I hold with affection, and I believe it to be likewise with Ida Mae, my thoughts went back hours earlier to my meeting with you, Captain. Ida Mae is, I believe, about your age. You, Madam, if I may be so bold, are a courageous and talented woman of proven deeds. Your Nation has entrusted you with the Command of a powerful warship, and I am sure that such trust was not granted lightly. I looked at Ida Mae, and realized that she would never have the opportunity to achieve your accomplishments, for one reason. She is my property.

  I have long been uncomfortable with the institution of slavery. You, Captain Patterson, have turned my discomfort into action. As you read this letter, Captain, I am pleased to inform you that Ida Mae Bardwell is a free woman, no longer my slave. It is because of you that I made this decision. Ida Mae is pregnant with the child of her husband, Joseph, also my property until this morning. I have freed Joseph, as well as all of my other slaves. I am happy that Ida Mae and Joseph will stay on with me as salaried employees. I told them about you. They asked me to tell you that their child, whether boy or girl, will be named Ashley.

  God bless you.

  Jefferson Davis

  Father Rick looked at Jack, gave him a squint and a sideways shake of the head, indicating that

  they should give Ashley some privacy.
>
  Ashley hugged each of them before they left.

  Ashley walked to the door leading to the weather deck. She wanted to breathe in some fresh salt air, and to be with her friend the ocean.

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  At 0800 on August 5, Ashley met with the ship's navigator, Lt. Wayne Bellamy, in her office. She also invited XO Ivan Campbell to the meeting.

  "We're going to do a bunch, and I mean a bunch, of modified Williamson turns," said Bellamy. "The Williamson Turn is the good old fashioned lifesaving turn that we used to pluck Lt. DeLouker from the water during the storm. We turn the rudder on specified and timed commands and wind up where we started, but facing 180 degrees in the opposite direction. I call it modified, because we don't want to wind up in the same spot, but a spot a few yards to starboard. We then steam for three miles and do it all over again. We don't have satellite navigation, of course, so we'll be plotting by dead reckoning, marking a fix based on our known speed and compass heading."

  "I know you two have worked on this plan, but tell me," said Ashley, "are there any downsides?"

  "Yes, Captain, there are two big downsides," Bellamy said, "monotony and seasickness. We're going to be spinning in the ocean like a top until we hit that sweet spot of a wormhole that Lt. Jack is looking for. I recommend that we have a quartermaster next to the OOD at all times with a stop watch so we can execute the turns correctly. I also recommend that we have two people qualified as OOD on watch and that the watch be two hours, not four. I can't overemphasize the monotony of these repeated maneuvers. The Williamson turn is designed to get the ship to the approximate spot of the guy who fell overboard. It wasn't designed to be executed every three miles."

  "Nobody ever said getting home would be easy," Ashley said. "I accept your recommendations gentlemen. Ivan, post the watches accordingly."

  "Aye aye, Captain."

  ***

  After the Navigator and the XO left, Ashley met with Father Rick and Jack. She told them about the Navigator's warning of monotony as they carved circles in the ocean. She wanted to talk about morale, and what could be done to help during long and sickening maneuvers.

  Father Rick talked about his most recent meal with the crew, which was yesterday after he made the announcement that the California was heading for home. It was a different experience from the sad, sullen and angry emotions he had seen.

  "Handling periods of monotony and a rocking ship should not be a problem," said Father Rick.

  "I don't want to throw cold water on people preparing for a big party," said Jack, "but I want to talk about something we have to face. Nobody on this ship, and that includes me, can guarantee that we'll ever find the wormhole. We've been making our plans based on my book research and my personal experiences. Find the place where you crossed the threshold and just cross back. It sounds easy and logical, but, as I've said before, I’ve never heard of this being done on the ocean. All of my interviews as well as my own experiences have always involved a specific spot on land. I recommend that we don't put out a lot of 'any day now' reports. Truth is, we don't know what's going to happen. We've all heard stories of the Bermuda Triangle. What if all of those lost ships, boats, and planes went through a wormhole and could never find a way to get back."

  Ashley looked at him.

  "Jack, I want you on the ship's TV. I'm thinking of a sort of call in show where you tell the crew what you know, including a sprinkle of reality like you just gave us, and then take calls from the crew."

  "I couldn't agree more, Captain," said Father Rick. "Jack is the obvious person to talk about hunting for a wormhole."

  "We'll arrive on location where we start our search tomorrow," said Ashley. "Jack, could you be ready to go on tonight?"

  "No problem, Captain."

  The ship's TV station operated throughout the day. It was a valuable outlet for the Captain to get word out to the crew. Ashley called Petty Officer Wally Cabrerra, the host of TV California, and told him to start announcing that tonight's special show will be entitled, "Lt. Jack Thurber Talks About the Hunt for the Wormhole."

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  "This is Petty Officer Wally Cabrerra, host of TV California. I realize that I haven't been much of a Leno or Letterman substitute these last four months, but hey, you get what you pay for. Tonight, however, you will get a break from my endless bad jokes. You will get to listen to a man who has a lot to tell us about something we're mildly curious about – How the hell do we get home? Lt. Jack is a highly accomplished author of ten non-fiction books and three novels. He even won a Pulitzer Prize for an article he wrote about the Gulf of Tonkin Incident, something that happened before a lot of us were born. The book that we're really interested in hearing about is Living History – Stories of Time Travel Through the Ages, which was on the New York Times Best Seller List for 48 weeks. This guy is no slouch. I think this is a man we should listen to. Lt. Jack has agreed to take calls from our viewers, which means I get to do my Larry King, Murray from Sheboygan, Michigan, You're on." Cabrerra prided himself with his excellent imitation of Larry King.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Time Travel himself, Lt. Jack Thurber!"

  "Good evening, Wally, and good evening to my shipmates," said Jack. "Some of you know me as Seaman Jack, some as Lieutenant Jack. In a pinch, Jack works fine. The Captain has asked me to talk to you about something I have done a lot of research on for the book that Wally mentioned. When I reported aboard the California I never thought I'd get the opportunity to plug my book, so I figure this is just a hidden Navy benefit."

  Jack discussed his book, especially the interviews with the six time travelers, how they crossed the portal and how they got back. He also went into detail about the time lapse in past and present time, and how when they got back to the present, they were amazed that so little time had passed.

  "So the good news, folks, is that we may have been gone a short period of time, maybe hours or days from 2013. But Captain Patterson has asked me to be frank with you. I have never, in all of my research, encountered a person, not to mention a ship, that crossed a time portal or wormhole in the middle of the ocean. As I said before, the way to get back seems to be to find the way you got in. But the ocean presents something new to me. Now, I'll be happy to answer any questions."

  "Lieutenant Cheryl Goveia from the engineering department — By any chance are you from Sheboygan? I love that word. You're on Lieutenant," said Wally the showman.

  "I'd like to ask Lt. Jack if there is any chance that we may not make it back," said caller Goveia.

  "No," Jack lied. "In all of my research and interviews there was a way back in time and a way back to the present. Sure the ocean complicates things a bit, but I'm absolutely confident that we'll find our way back to 2013." My lips to God's ears, thought Jack.

  "Yes," said Ashley as she slapped her desk. She was watching the Jack Thurber show with Father Rick. "That's leadership. That's called taking command."

  It occurred to Father Rick that Jack could have belched and Ashley would have thought it was wonderful.

  "Here's a caller on line 2, Lieutenant Tom Lawlor from CIC. Talk to us Lieutenant," said Wally.

  "It seems to me that we changed a lot of history in the last few weeks," said Lawlor. "Will the world be different when we get back?"

  "I don't know," said Jack, "I really don't know. We're still in 1861. Whether our actions changed all history going forward or whether we carry our own time with us is something I don't have an answer for. Some people believe that there is such a thing as a parallel universe, two realms of existence separated by a wormhole. We'll find out soon."

  "Caller on Line 1 – Lieutenant Donna Perricone from Personnel. Go ahead Lieutenant Perricone."

  "I realize that this is a tough question, Lieutenant," said Perricone, "but do you have any idea, any guess, how long it will take us to hit the portal?"

  "I wish I did," said Jack. "Once we hit the wormhole, it will be a matter of moments, but how long it takes us to find it is anybo
dy's guess. Our Navigation department has plotted a well thought-out series of maneuvers to try to get back to our last position in 2013. But I can tell you this. It may be a good while before we get there. On the other hand, it may be a short time. It won't be comfortable. We're going to be making circles in the ocean every three miles. It's likely to get rocky, maybe even rough. But we're going to do what we need to do."

  "We have a caller on line 3, Warrant Officer Phyllis Ozarin from Personnel. Fire away, Ma'am."

  "I'd like to ask Lieutenant Thurber if we can expect the same event that got us here, a bumping followed by bright daylight," said Ozarin.

  "All we have to go on is what happened before," said Jack. "Whether we cross the portal in daylight or darkness is something I can't predict. In April, we experienced that strange bumping sensation and then the Daylight Event. My guess is that we'll feel it again, but it's only a guess. I hate to be evasive, but there's no book out there called Time Travel for Dummies. We can only take guesses based on the small amount of data that I've found in my research."

  "Caller on line 2, our very own favorite Chaplain, Father Rick Sampson. Talk to us Padre." "Lieutenant Jack," said Father Rick. "I'm going to be holding a special prayer service at 0730 every morning. Will you join me?"

  "Count me in, Father. I'll be there."

  "We have a special caller on line 3, the Commanding Officer of the California, Captain Ashley Patterson. Please go ahead, Captain."

  "I'd like to ask Lieutenant Thurber if he could share with the ship his personal thoughts on the last four months," Ashley said.

  "That's a tough question, Captain, but I'll give it a try," Jack said. "I think, like everybody on the California, that the last four months have been a time of fear, sadness, fascination, and wonder. But my most intense thoughts on the last few months involve the friendships that I've made. Some of those friendships are very deep and I have no intention of ever letting go. Whatever happens, these friendships will last."