Through Darkened Skies

Chapter 1

Pearl Harbor - USS Utah - December 7, 1941

A beautiful, quiet December morning. Stephen had woken early to watch the sunrise, just as he had done most mornings since arriving in Hawaii. It had reminded him of when he and Scarlett would watch the sunrises. Scarlett. The wife he hadn't seen since he was drafted. Waiting at the station for the train that would carry him off to the Navy for the next few years, he could tell he was trying to stay strong for him. 

From receiving the draft letter to basic training to gunner's school to deployment, he had been terrified that he would be thrown in the fires of the Atlantic. Convoy duty. Which, sometimes, didn't go so well. They had been following the war over in Europe. They thought for sure that Hitler and his goons would be coming for America. Except Britain had held on by the skin of its teeth, and the threat of invasion seemed really unlikely.

It didn't mean that the situation was any less dangerous.

Even so, Steve could finally breathe a sigh of relief when he was assigned to the Utah currently stationed at Pearl Harbor. Even with the Japanese on the rampage, seemingly gobbling up everything in sight, Hawaii seemed comparatively quiet, and safer. On the other side of the world, and not engaged with a hostile force? What could go wrong?

When Steve wrote home telling her this, Scarlett could finally breathe a sigh of relief. It seemed like she had been holding her breath for months. 

She had saved that first letter; the one he sent when he first arrived in Hawaii. He seemed so excited. Enclosed was a photo of him standing in front of the Utah's main gun turrets. She guessed it was the one he was going to be working on. She was so proud of him. She had told him so, and that was a letter he had read and re-read over and over. Even to this day, he could still smell her perfume. 

Something he would need as he prepped for the task for the day: giving a fresh coat of paint to the Utah's outer hull. A seemingly perfect task for a day like this. Lowering himself on a scaffold, he gets to work. Going on auto-pilot, his mind drifts away to the woman he had left at home. 

At the train station, he nervously sits on the bench, holding the hand of the woman he loves. Soon enough he would be on a train, speeding away from her for what might be forever. Even on the crowded platform, there's seems to be a long line heading for one end, over by the ticket booth. "I'll be right back." He says. 

Checking it out, there's a man with a table that Steve recognized as the man who owned the only jewelry store in town. he was selling rings to other couples, who were getting in line to see a priest. An idea springs into his head. Him and Scarlett had been dating for almost two years, and she was practically living with him at his apartment. 

While they had discussed the idea of getting married, it wasn't something they were rushing. Maybe this would be the perfect time. Thinking quickly, he gets in line. The train wouldn't be arriving for another couple of hours. There would be enough time if the line kept moving. 

Scarlett was getting nervous when Steve wasn't coming back. She was holding his spot on the bench, despite some annoyed people who wanted it. She assumed he went to the bathroom, but that was over half an hour ago. She spots him pushing his way through the crowd, something clenched in his fist. A small box of some sort. 

"Marry me." He says. 

Scarlett is taken aback by this. It was the one thing she wasn't expecting him to say. "W-what?"

He opens the ring box. A simple gold band with a modest diamond. "Marry me!" He takes out the ring, holding it out to her. "I love you. I want to be with you. And spending the ret of my life with you will give me something to look forward to when I get back."

She needs only a moment to think about it. "Yes!" She replies excitedly, tears in her eyes. "Yes, I will marry you!"

With the priest administering the quick ceremony, and a notary public signing the wedding certificate in less than 5 minutes, Scarlett Winters became Mrs. Scarlett Franks. Of course, they went from pure happiness and wedded bliss and happiness to sadness. 

He saw the black smoke coming around the corner, announcing the arrival of the train. Getting in one final hug, and more than a few kisses, he waves good-bye to his newlywed bride from his seat. She had kept it together all morning. Now, however, her tears freely flow. Even Steve, not prone to public displays of emotion, had let a few tears of his own go. 

"Girlfriend?" The man next to him asks. 

"My wife." Steve whispers. 

"Me too." He points to a blonde woman. "Mark Hawkins."

"Steve Franks."

During basic, they had become best buddies. Steve had been disappointed when Mark went and became a Fire Controlman. Supposedly, he was being assigned to a destroyer. 

Steve pauses his painting, looking over his work. For having never held a paintbrush, his paint job looked really good. Wiping a few beads of sweat off his forehead, he gets set for the next patch. He dips the brush in the can, wiping the excess. His thoughts are interrupted by a constant droning. And it's getting louder. 

Looking up, there's planes in the sky. First a few. Then dozens. Then maybe hundreds. 

At first he thought they were Navy planes. Maybe Army. As they get closer, he can see a red circle on the wings. Barely able to process what's actually happening, he watches a plane dip low, unleashing a torpedo in his direction. Not being able to get out of the way in time, Steve can only watch as it speeds through the water. 

It slams into the hull of the Utah, the resulting explosion making Steve's world go dark.