42
ON STATION, U.S. NAVY, CARIBBEAN BATTLE GROUP
ON STATION, U.S. NAVY, CARIBBEAN BATTLE GROUP
The Captain walked unsteadily onto the bridge. His expensive worsted uniform shirt was stained from vomiting. Glaring at the First Officer, he asked, burping, "Why aren't we under way?"
Before the bridge officer could answer, the Captain added another question. "Why are all the Marines on deck?"
The Lt. Commander turned to him and excused himself, hurrying quickly to the head a few steps aft. Returning, he faced the Captain to report. "The Marines are on deck because they are so sea sick their quarters won't accommodate them. Everybody on board is green to the gills as of this morning. That includes me, and from the looks of it, you, too, Sir."
"The infirmary reports that this is nothing but sea sickness. No bug. No food poisoning. Sea sickness. We have hands on board who have sailed longer than I've been alive. They've never been sea sick, but they are today."
"The ship is dead in the water. Every system that makes this ship combat ready has electrical problems. Systems that aren't electrical, everything from steerage to our power plant, are either just jammed or acting weird. We have no computers, radar or communications. I have taken the liberty of raising the Des Moines and the Sacramento by signal light. They report similar conditions. Our communication is limited to line of sight."
"All ordinance on board is fouled. Everything from ammunition for the deck guns to the guided missiles is useless. Even if the deck guns and the launchers weren't jammed, we could fire so much as a flare."
The Captain raised his hand to his mouth, hesitating to see if he was going to be sick again. "Fleet must be trying to reach us. Can we receive messages?"
"No sir. We have had F-18's flying over us this morning, so they know where we are. They were not from the carrier group, wherever it is. They were mainland planes. I have a feeling that the Helms is not launching any aircraft."
"We are working on everything." the First Officer concluded his report before rushing to the head.
