The Iowa Sisters #1 Pacific Fire

Chapter 27

Movement at the entrance of the harbor caught my eye and I looked to see Texas racing in. "We've done it, our forces in Europe have breached the gates of Berlin. It's now only a matter of time before Germany surrenders." She announced. The surrounding ships gave a cheer. Texas approached me and saluted. "At ease." I ordered.

"How many causalities?" I asked. "Our forces have fared well so far but Russia's got the worst of it. They've been fighting this war from the outset and the bodies add up." She replied.

"What's the total now?" I asked. "A little over a million in Russian lives alone." She said. "A million?" I whispered. "Yeah, I was a bit shocked when I heard that number. I knew Russia was taking heavy losses but I didn't know how bad it was." She replied.

"It's a good thing we arrived when we did. From the sound of it, the Russian Army must've been in need of our help." I said. "They did need us, but they've managed to hold their own against Germany for this long. They could've taken Berlin at any time. They just wanted to see if we'd keep our promise or not." She explained.

"Of course we kept our promise. Who do they think we are, imperialists? Really, we have more important interests than land. They can have Berlin and the whole of Germany for all I care. We just want unconditional surrender." I said.

She nodded. "Either way, one half of the war's all but over and we won." Texas said. "Now we just need to win the other half." I muttered. "What help can we expect from our allies?" I asked her. "Britain's sending all the aid they can. Their colonies in Australia and New Zealand are more than willing to help us kick some Japanese butt." She said.

"And Russia?" I asked. She grimaced. "Stalin's being difficult, again." She said, stressing the last word. "When is he not difficult?" I asked, sighing. She shrugged. "Churchill and Roosevelt are doing what they can to convince him to help. They're a good team, they'll bring him around." She replied.

"I sure hope so." I muttered. "Roosevelt's on his way to Yalta now." Texas replied. "I sure hope he and Churchill can straighten Stalin out." Missouri muttered. "It won't be hard. Just buy the man a few rounds of vodka and he's your best friend for life." Texas said. We all laughed.

"Enough of that, what we need to do is send a team down to Australia. Maryland, Tennessee, and Nevada you're to form the main force." I said. They nodded. "Raleigh, Fletcher, Kidd, Young and Charrette, you escort them." I ordered. The destroyers dipped their heads.

"North Carolina, I'd like you to lead them there." I said. "Will do, Pennsy." She replied. Raising her signal flags, she led her task force out of Ulithi southward to Australia.

A few days later, I was pacing back and forth anxiously. I was waiting for an update from Indianapolis and it was overdue. "Relax Pennsy, she could be taking her time. It is a rather volatile cargo she's carrying. She'd be wise to take it carefully." Texas assured me.

"Still, whether she reached Tinian or not, she was supposed to call in over an hour ago." I grumbled. "What am I going to do with you?" Texas muttered, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

I saw two ships appear over the horizon. One stopped just outside the entrance of the harbor while the other continued in. It was Vestal. "You're just the ship I wanted to see." I exclaimed, racing over to her. She laughed. "Give me a minute Pennsy." She scolded.

She turned to Enterprise. "How much yarrow do we have?" She asked. "Plenty." The carrier replied. "Get some." Vestal ordered. Enterprise dipped her head and raced off.

I looked closely at the ship anchored offshore. "You're cleared to enter Yamato. As long as you're with Vestal, it's fine." I called. The big battleship nodded and came into Ulithi. Her eyes flickered back and forth uneasily at the glares she was receiving from the anchored ships.

I approached her. "Relax, my fleet won't attack unless you do something stupid." I assured her. "Then I won't do something stupid." She muttered. Her hazel eyes were dark, she was an entirely different ship than the one I'd seen less than a year ago. Clearly, Mushashi's death had affected her more than I realized.

"It wasn't your fault." I assured her. She sighed. "I convinced her to travel with us. She didn't want to go to Leyte, but I ordered her to. If I'd just listened to her, she never would've been in such danger." She moaned.

"She was already a target, just like you. I know why Halsey's planes singled her out like that, chose her as their target over you and I despise that kind of warfare. If my fleet does end up winning this war, it will be because we fought fairly and not because some idiots decided to kill your healer." I growled.

Yamato nodded. Vestal returned with a mouthful of yarrow. "Here you are, in exchange for the lavender." She said. Yamato managed a small smile and traded the small plant for the yarrow. "Low on it are you?" I asked. "More than you know." Yamato muttered.

"Did you find any potential healer while you were there?" I asked Vestal, avoiding the word replacement as Yamato was here. "There's no ship willing to take up a permanent post so I've got a few battleships handling the duties." She turned to Yamato. "Use that carefully, I don't know when or if I will be back." She instructed.

"Will do." Yamato replied. "Out of curiosity, how is Sigma coming along?" She asked me. "T401 is in its final stages and B433 will be activated the second this war's over. It already has been activated in Europe." I replied.

"That's good to hear. At least I'll have some good news to bring to the fleet." She sighed. Bowing low, she turned to go. (Ah, don't wanna hear it Tennessee!) "Yamato!" I called. She paused, looking back at me. "It's not safe to be going out here alone. California and Texas will escort you to the border." I said.

The two battleships moved forward alongside Yamato. The Japanese leader nodded her thanks and let her escorts take her home.

Sighing, I resumed my pacing. "Would you give it a rest already?" West Virginia called. "What?" Vestal asked. "Its Indianapolis, she was supposed to report in by now." I replied.

"What am I going to do with you, Pennsy?" Vestal asked. "Texas already asked that question." I grumbled. "Good, then I'm not the only one who thinks that you're being ridiculous." She hissed.

"I'll tell you what's ridiculous." I said. "What?" She asked curiously. "That." I replied, nodding towards Missouri and Wisconsin. Both battleships had received their daily share of ice cream and were burying their bows in the bowls, scarfing it down. They were being far from clean.

When they'd eaten most of the ice cream, they proceeded to lick the bowls clean. As they pulled back, I could see that the area around their mouths was covered in white.

"I thought this was June, not December." I called to them. "Oh, sorry." Wisconsin replied, swiping her tongue around her mouth. "You missed a spot." Missouri said. There was a large glob on Wisconsin's nose which she quickly picked at with her tongue. I shuddered. "That's disgusting Wisky!" I complained. "But it works." She replied.

I rolled my eyes. "If I could, I'd vomit." I muttered, turning away. Vestal laughed. "Ignore them, they're young and have much to learn. If you want me to start teaching them table manners then I'd be happy to do so." She said.

I looked back at Missouri and Wisconsin. The two sisters were now using their empty bowls as imaginary swords and were clanging them together. "You better start soon, or else those two will be throwing their ice cream at each other next." I muttered.