Disclaimer: Obviously I don’t own the characters of “24”. Those belong to Fox and the “24” creators. This is written just for fun and entertainment. All characters in this story that do not appear on “24” are simply fictitious. I have not based any of this story on the works of others. Any similarities are pure coincidence.

Setting: Sometime between Seasons 2 and 3.

Author’s Notes: As I’m a naval historian (well, working on the final degree) I’ve wanted to work a naval element into one of my stories and I finally thought of a way to do it.

It was sometime after 6:00 A.M. on a Saturday morning and Tony and Michelle were enjoying the fact that they did not have to be at CTU. Michelle was lying with her head on Tony’s bare chest as he played with a curl and gently caressed his wife’s naked body. They had woken up during the night and had just enjoyed an hour of marital bliss.

“We should just quit CTU and spend the rest of our lives in bed” Michelle said, sounding dreamy.

“You won’t get any arguments from me” Tony replied before sitting Michelle up. “You’re such an amazing woman ’Chelle” he whispered as he gently caressed the soft skin beneath her eyes. As he gazed into them, Tony felt himself turn to a puddle of goo from the pure and innocent love in his wife’s eyes.

As he gently pushed Michelle onto her back, Tony was suddenly interrupted by the phone ringing. After sighing, he reached over and answered it.

“Almeida, it’s Ryan. I need you and Michelle at CTU right away. We have an urgent situation that is going to be going interagency.”

“Do you know what time it is?” Tony grumbled.

“Of course I do. It is 6:47 in the morning. Now, get yourselves dressed and over to CTU at once.”

With that, Chappelle hung up and Tony just mumbled something about killing all the world’s bureaucrats.

“Let me guess. That was Ryan and he wants us at CTU?” Michelle asked.

“Yeah, right away. Something is going on that’s going to be interagency.”

Tony stood up and helped his naked wife to her feet. Even though Chappelle had said “right way,” Tony still took the time to kiss his wife several more times and admire her body as she got dressed.

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By the time they arrived at CTU, Chloe had already made it back in as had Jack. Ryan decided Chase and Kim weren’t necessary just yet so he didn’t bother to call them in. Leticia, Chloe’s counterpart on the night shift, was busy bringing everyone up to speed.

“An hour ago we received a mayday call from a Hawaii bound cruise ship, the Twilight Empress which left the port of Los Angeles almost 3 days ago. The message was cut off, but from what we were able to gather, there was a hijacking in progress. Several satellite phone calls reported the same thing before they were silenced as well.”

“Do we have any clue as to who is behind it?” Michelle asked.

“Not yet. We’re running the passenger manifest now, but it will take time to confirm the identities of everyone onboard and sort out who the terrorists are” Leticia replied.

“Of course they might not even be passengers” Tony added. “They could have boarded the ship while it was at sea.”

“Yes, that is also a possibility and we’re trying to find out if DOD had and satellite coverage of the area at the time the mayday call came in.”

“Michelle, you need to get all of your analysts on the identification process of the hijackers” Ryan said. “Tony, coordinate with Washington and DOD. It is likely a military response is going to be involved sooner or later.”

The Almeidas acknowledged Ryan’s orders and headed off to do their job. Chappelle went up to Tony’s office for a conference call with Division.

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Six hours later, there was still little to go on and Ryan had called everyone back to the conference room.

“What’s the status of the Twilight Empress?” Tony asked.

“The terrorists have control of the ship, but the apparently the engineers managed to sabotage the propulsion system. It will likely take the terrorists, or whoever they force to repair the engines, several hours to fix it. By then the Navy should be in position to stop the ship.” Chappelle replied.

“I assume the President has decided it will not be allowed to enter an American port” Michelle inquired of Ryan.

“Correct, we don’t know what the terrorists have in mind. For all we know they might have a nuclear weapon onboard.”

“Let’s hope not. How many nukes do we have to keep dealing with?” Michelle grumbled.

Before Chappelle could answer, his phone rang and he left the room to answer the call. When he returned a minute later, everyone knew something was up.

“The President has decided a show of force is necessary. He’s ordered the U.S.S. Montana to intercept the Twilight Empress before she can get underway. Nothing like the largest battleship on Earth to make a statement. To that end, a representative from CTU-Los Angeles is to chopper out to the Montana to act as liaison between the Navy and the civilian agencies.”

Ryan turned and looked right at Michelle, which made Tony tense up. “An MH-53E Sea Dragon will be landing on the rooftop in 20 minutes. It will take you out to the Montana where you’ll be the liaison until this crisis is over.”

“Why can’t you send someone else for once?” Tony barked.

“Because Michelle is the best we have at coordinating multi-agency operations and if you want to argue about this, I’ll have security lock you in holding. The decision is already made and it is not going to change.”

“Now, you need to get changed before the helo gets here” Chappelle said turning back to the curly haired chief of staff.

“Is there a problem with what I’m wearing?”

“For CTU? No. But for a Navy ship with a crew of over 3,000 men, yes.”

Michelle looked down at her outfit and couldn’t help but giggle. She didn’t mind dressing a bit sexy now and then, mostly for her husband, but she knew Ryan was right; her current outfit would not be the best idea on a naval vessel.

“Alright, I’ll go change” she said before getting up and heading out of the conference room.

Ryan turned back to Tony to see the CTU Director looking a bit red. “Do you have a problem?”

“Just that I’m sick of you always sending my wife on these assignments. Why can’t you send Jack, Chloe, or even me? It’s always Michelle. In the last two years she’s had to go undercover with Jack, then to Minneapolis with you where she went through hell, the incident with Jackson, and let’s not even start with Kansas City. My wife deserves a break from all of this.”

“Then she should resign from CTU. You of all people should know what this job is, and despite your preference to keep Michelle safe, she knows it too and accepts it. Now, get down to the bullpen. You’ll continue to run the CTU part of this operation.”

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After changing from her favorite black outfit to a more modest, professional one; Michelle strapped on her H&K .40, grabbed a small suitcase with extra clothes in it, and went to tell Tony goodbye before she left. She found him in the bullpen, clearly annoyed by the whole situation.

“Honey, everything is going to be fine. The Montana is a floating fortress, nothing is going to happen.”

“It’s not that; I’m just sick of Chappelle sending you off on all of these assignments. I know you’re the best we have, but I just wish now and then he’d pick someone else. It scares me that one of these days you could be hurt or…” he paused for a moment. “…might not return at all.”

“Sweetheart, it’s going to be okay, but we’ll discuss this when I get back” she said with a smile and kiss.

A moment later the entire building rumbled with the approach of the MH-53E. Michelle kissed Tony goodbye one more time before heading to the roof. Ryan caught her and gave her a briefcase with all the documentation she’d need. As they opened the door, the wash from the MH-53E’s massive rotors nearly blew Michelle over. Putting her head down, she quickly ran to the helicopter and was helped onboard by one of the Marines. As soon as the door closed, the MH-53E lifted off into the sky and headed west.

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After more than six hours in flight and a midair refueling by a KC-130J tanker, the MH-53E was on final approach to the stern of the U.S.S. Montana. When Michelle saw her, she was amazed. The vessel, the first new battleship commissioned by the United States since World War II, was over 1,400 feet long, displacing 150,000 tons, and armed with twelve 20 inch main rifles, secondary 6 inch guns, as well as both surface to air and surface to surface missiles. Powered by two nuclear reactors, the Montana could make well over 35 knots and would soon be joined by her sister ships, New Hampshire and Louisiana, both of which were under construction at Newport News.

As soon as the helo touched down, the door opened and a waiting sailor helped Michelle down and took her toward the hanger bay. Once they got inside, Michelle was able to remove the helmet she had to wear for ear protection during the flight.

“Welcome aboard ma’am. Commander Stephen Hull, executive officer of the Montana.”

“Michelle Dessler, CTU-Los Angeles. It’s a pleasure to be aboard.”

“Right this way” Hull motioned to one of the doors and they headed out of the hanger bay.

“Commander, I assume you’ve been fully briefed on the situation?” Michelle asked as the reached one of the maglev cars that ran the length of the Montana and allowed easy movement throughout the ship.

“Yes, we have. Now that you’re aboard, we can make full speed toward the Twilight Empress. There are already two destroyers shadowing the vessel which still has not gotten underway.”

“What about rescue plans? When I left CTU, nothing had been decided upon.”

“We have three SEAL teams onboard Montana as part of our standard compliment. The plan is for them to deploy by submersible to board the Twilight Empress. They’ll then take the ship by force.”

“It seems the Navy has this well in hand; why did you request a CTU representative?”

“We didn’t, you’d have to ask Washington as to why you’re here. All we know is we were told to work with CTU-Los Angeles during this operation and a representative would be choppering in.”

The maglev quickly traversed the length of the battleship, arriving just off the bridge. Hull and Michelle quickly exited and headed for the bridge.

“Ms. Dessler, allow me to introduce you to our commanding officer, Captain Mark Callaghan” he said.

“Ma’am, it’s pleasure” Callaghan replied holding out his hand which Michelle shook. “We’re almost up to flank speed now and should reach the Twilight Empress in just over three hours. We have a station setup for you to use. Lieutenant Childress here will get you setup.”

“Thank you, Captain” Michelle replied with a smile before joining the Lieutenant who logged her in and explained how to use the system as it was fairly different from what she was used to at CTU.

“Tony, it’s Michelle. I’m setup here on the Montana. What’s the latest intel on the Twilight Empress?”

“Satellite shows she is still stationary, but there is a heat bloom in her engineering section so it likely means they’ll have her underway within the hour.”

“Alright, we’re on our way to intercept. Is the President still adamant that we keep her away from the United States?”

“Yes he is which means deadly force is authorized. If the Montana has to fire on the Twilight Empress in order to stop her, they will.”

“Tony, there are almost 3,000 people onboard that ship. It’s a big difference in sacrificing an airliner like Palmer did a couple of years ago.” Michelle paused and remembered that Tony had lost family on that flight. “I’m sorry sweetie.”

“It’s okay. You’re right, but we have to remember these very well might be men who are on a suicide mission and their goal is to take as many people as possible with them. I’m sure the Montana is capable of stopping the Twilight Empress without sinking or severely damaging her.”

“Has CTU learned anything else that might be beneficial to us? I’m sure you know that a rescue mission is already being planned.”

“Yeah, Chloe thinks she is getting close to identifying the group that is likely behind the hijacking. We’ll pass that along to you as soon as we can confirm the intelligence.”

“Alright, I’ll be standing by. Montana out.”

Michelle switched off her earpiece and spent the next twenty minutes going over some intel that Chloe had already forwarded. Eventually Tony informed her that it would be another hour at least before CTU had the id of the terrorists.

“Agent Dessler, if you’d like to take some time before we reach the Twilight Empress, I can have someone show you to your quarters or you can get something to eat?” Callaghan inquired of Michelle when he noticed she didn’t seem to have anything else to do at the moment.

“That would be nice; it was a very long flight over here. Thank you.”

Callaghan nodded and summed over a young, female officer. “Ensign, please show Ms. Dessler to her quarters” he ordered.

“Yes sir, right this way ma’am” the woman motioned to a hatch at the rear of the bridge.

“We’ve selected quarters for you in the female officers’ section” the ensign said as they walked down the corridor. Michelle had to deal with the constant stares from the numerous young men they passed, but she just silently laughed it off, not taking any offense.

“Ensign, what’s your name?” Michelle asked as they paused to allow some sailors to move a large piece of equipment down the corridor.

“Samantha Hitchcock, ma’am.”

“Do you go by Samantha or Sam?”

“Most people call me Sam, except my mom. She always thought that Sam is a boy’s name.”

“Well Sam, you can call me Michelle. No reason for ma’am.”

“Yes ma… Sorry, Michelle.”

“So how long have you been in the Navy?” Michelle inquired as they continued on down the corridor.

“I graduated from the Academy last year, third in my class. The Montana is my first sea duty. She’s the ship everyone wants to be on, the first new battleship in over 60 years and the first in commission since 1991. Oh, here we are. These are your quarters as long as you’re onboard.”

Samantha opened the door and showed Michelle how to use the ship’s comm. system, shower, and other things she might need while onboard. “Someone will come get you in about an hour or if there are any developments” she said. “Is there anything else you need?”

“If I needed to have some clothes washed, how would I go about that?”

“Umm…” Sam looked around the room for a moment. “There it is. Just put them in this bag and fill out the attached card. Be sure to put your name and cabin number which is on the door and someone will come by and pick it up.”

“Thanks, Sam. One more question. What would I do about getting something to eat?”

“Follow me. I’ll take you to the wardroom. The food is actually eatable and most people consider the Montana’s wardroom to be the finest in the fleet.”

A short trip down the corridor found Sam and Michelle at their destination.

“Sam, I thought you were on duty?” another ensign asked as they walked in.

“I am, about to head back to the bridge. This is Agent Michelle Dessler with CTU-Los Angeles. She’s working with us until the incident with the Twilight Empress is resolved. Michelle, this is Ensign Rob Shoop. He and I went through the Academy together. Rob, think you can behave yourself if I leave Michelle with you?”

“I’m always on my best behavior, Sam. Except of course when you’re around.”

“Michelle, you can toss him overboard if he causes trouble. I’ve got to get back.”

“I guess I’ll see you on the bridge later?” Michelle asked as Sam prepared to leave.

“My duty shift is until 0:00 hours so I’ll still be on duty when we intercept the Twilight Empress.”

Sam headed back to the bridge and Michelle sat down with Ensign Shoop. He told her what was good to eat and while they waited for the food, had an interesting conversation. It turned out they both had gone to the same high school albeit more than 10 years apart.

When the food arrived, Michelle was surprised to find it very good. She and Rob talked for a while longer, until the food was gone. Michelle decided she just wanted to take a shower and get out of the clothes she had been wearing during the helicopter flight so she bid Shoop farewell and headed back to her quarters. She found the shower to be on a preset timer so Michelle was in and out as quickly as possible, not worrying about washing her hair which would take forever to dry. Tossing her dirty clothes into the bag, she set it out to be washed and decided to try and catch a quick nap.

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A knock on the door awoke Michelle and she quickly got up to answer it. “The Twilight Empress is underway. We already have her on radar and are less than 30 minutes from intercept” Sam said when Michelle opened the door.

“Alright, let’s get going” she replied grabbing her briefcase and quickly following Hitchcock to the bridge.

“Ms. Dessler, CTU is online for you. A Chloe O’Brian is on sat-com channel 7” Callaghan said.

“Thank you Captain” Michelle replied before going back to her station. “Chloe, what do you have for me.”

“I’m uploading you a briefing packet on the men behind the hijacking of the Twilight Empress. It took me forever, but I managed to back trace them through their finances which they used to purchase the tickets. It’s not good. They’re all dedicated radicals; this is clearly an Al-Qaeda operation.”

“Which means they’re likely prepared to destroy the ship rather than be taken prisoner” Michelle added.

“Exactly, however, the President is adamant. The ship must be stopped and not allowed to reach the United States, but when the SEAL teams go in, we’re expecting the terrorists to likely blow up the ship or try to somehow scuttle it.”

“Alright, I’ll brief the SEAL teams, thank you, Chloe.”

Disconnecting from the sat-com, Michelle began to read over the intelligence file that Chloe had uploaded. All of the men suspected to be the hijackers were known to be well trained fighters who had been engaged in terrorist activates for at least a decade.

“Captain, visual contact, 20 degrees off the port bow” Hull announced.

“Helmsman, new course, heading 160. Move the Montana directly in front of the Twilight Empress” Callaghan ordered. “And XO, sound general quarters, make it no drill.”

The ship’s klaxon sounded followed by “this is not a drill, this is not drill, general quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations.”

Everyone on the bridge started to don helmets and Sam handed one to Michelle although it didn’t fit due to Michelle’s abundance of curly hair.

“Sir, battle stations are manned and ready” Hull announced a few minutes later. “We’ll be in the direct path of the Twilight Empress in less than two minutes.”

“Thank you, XO. Let’s give them a show of force. Turn all turrets to starboard and activate every external light.”

On the bridge of the Twilight Empress, the largest capital ship in the world suddenly emerging from the darkness with 12 giant naval rifles pointing right at you was enough to cause the men at the controls to throw the ship into reverse and she quickly came to a dead stop.

“This is Captain Mark Callaghan of the United States battleship Montana. Surrender and prepared to be boarded!” he announced over the external loudspeaker.

Onboard the Twilight Empress, the terrorists at the helm attempts to turn the ship around, knowing the Montana would not use its main guns to stop them.

Callaghan called the officer in charge of the ship’s secondary guns and asked if it was possible to use them to stop the Twilight Empress. When he replied it was, Callaghan gave permission to fire. A minute later, as the Twilight Empress turned its stern toward the Montana, a single 6 inch gun opened fire. Three shells were fired in rapid succession, striking below the Twilight Empress’ stern. Just as intended, the detonation destroyed the engine pods that housed the propellers and the vessel came to a slow stop.

“XO, escort Agent Dessler to the briefing room. The SEAL teams are already preparing to deploy and she needs to pass along any information CTU has obtained” Callaghan ordered once it was clear that the cruise ship was dead in the water.

“Yes, sir. Right this way” Hull motioned and he and Michelle left the bridge.

After another ride on the maglev, Michelle and Hull reached the briefing room where the SEALs were waiting.

“Gentlemen, this is Michelle Dessler from CTU-Los Angeles. She’s here to provide you with additional intel regarding the terrorists that are in control of the Twilight Empress.”

As Michelle walked to the podium, there were a few wolf whistles which just made her smile. Considering the fact these men might not be coming back, she figured it would do them some good to see a beautiful woman. It took less than 10 minutes to go over the intel that Chloe had forwarded and once she had presented it all and answered several questions, the SEALs prepared to depart.

Michelle bid them good luck as they exited the room before she and Hull returned to the bridge.

“The SEALs have undocked and are on their way to the Twilight Empress. They’re going to enter through the garbage shoot as well as through a port side cargo door. We have two squads of Marines ready to fast rope from helicopters if the SEALs need backup” Callaghan said as Hull and Michelle emerged on the bridge. “CIC will be feeding them infrared satellite imagery and coordinating the assault. XO, I want you down there. Dessler, you remain here on the bridge.”

After Hull left, Michelle took a seat at her station, put on her ear piece to monitor, and just waited which is all everyone on the bridge could do. On her screen, Michelle was watching the satellite feed and could see the SEAL teams as they boarded the Twilight Empress. They quickly made their way toward the bridge, engineering, and the locations where the majority of the hostages were located.

All of a sudden gunfire erupted as one SEAL team encountered a group of AK toting terrorists. They quickly gunned down the enemy and stormed the bridge. After several concussion grenades were tossed inside, the SEALs overpowered the terrorists, killing all but one who was taken prisoner.

On the promenade and main ballroom, the SEALS struck simultaneously, but the terrorists had the rooms rigged with explosives. The terrorists on the promenade were killed before they could reach the detonators, but the men in the ballroom managed to detonate the explosives which blew out a section of the starboard hull and was clearly visible on the Montana.

“Son of a bitch!” Callaghan barked. “Helmsman, get us in close, now! Bridge to damage control, there has been an explosion on the Twilight Empress. We’re bringing the Montana in closer. Get our fire hoses on her!”

Down in the CIC, Hull ordered the two helos of Marines to deploy to assist the SEALs as well as to conduct rescue operations. Until the vessel was secure, standard search and rescue personnel could not be sent over.”

Two MH-53E’s quickly lifted off and dropped their Marines onto the bow and stern of the Twilight Empress. One headed for the ball room while the second linked up with a SEAL team and began to sweep the ship, deck by deck.

The Montana pulled along side the burning Twilight Empress and quickly turned her fire hoses on the vessel. Onboard, the Marines reached the destroyed ballroom only to find most of the SEAL team dead and almost 1,000 civilians dead or wounded. As quickly as additional Marines could be transferred from the Montana to the Twilight Empress, they joined the effort to sweep the ship for additional terrorists as well as booby traps.

“Agent Dessler, I think this is the main reason you were sent here. I’m going to need your help in interrogating the one surviving terrorist. He’s been transferred to the Montana’s brig. Now, DOD regulations will not allow us to use certain techniques, but CTU is not bound by those regulations. Will you be able to handle it?” Callaghan inquired.

“Yes, I’m fully qualified to conduct interrogations. What are we trying to learn?”

“We need to know how many terrorists were onboard, what their ultimate plans were, and if they set additional IEDs.”

“Alright” Michelle nodded in reply.

“Ensign Hitchcock, please escort Agent Dessler to the brig. Lieutenant Childress, secure the ship from general quarters.”

Michelle and Sam left the bridge and disappeared into the depths of the Montana. They arrived at the brig to find the suspect stripped naked and chained to a chair. Michelle dismissed Sam, only wanting the Marine guard nearby in case there was trouble.

“Do you speak English?” Michelle asked, not really expecting an answer.

“I speak it very well, thank you” the man answered in a perfect American accent.

“Where are you from” she replied, realizing he was probably a U.S. citizen.

“I was born and raised in Detroit. You look like a California girl.”

Figuring that torture might not be necessary, Michelle decided to try the friendly approach.

“I live in Los Angeles now, but I was raised in Portland, Oregon.”

“Something tells me you’re not here to talk about our childhood. What are you, CIA?”

“CTU, Los Angeles branch. Now, I’m authorized to do whatever is necessary to gain the information I want, but I would rather not have to do that. However, know this, I have no qualms in using every method at my disposal to obtain it.”

“If I tell you everything I know, what do I get?”

“You won’t be tortured.”

“That’s not enough. I want a Presidential pardon.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. You and your ilk are responsible for a lot of deaths. Since they’re all dead, there is no way the President is going to let you off. Now, if you’d like the death penalty taken off the table, I can arrange that.”

“What if I provide you with information that can stop another terrorist strike? One that is even bigger than this.”

Michelle had to think for a moment. If he was telling the truth, the information was priceless. If he was lying, it would send U.S. intelligence agencies on a wild goose chase. “Alright, I see what I can do” she finally replied.

“I thought you might see things my way. Now, can I at least have a towel? It’s getting cold in here.”

Just nodding in reply, Michelle left the room and had a guard bring the man a towel. She called the bridge to inform Callaghan of the situation. He had Michelle patched through to the White House. President Palmer was not happy with the prospect of letting the man go, but agreed to the pardon on the condition his information proved accurate.

When Michelle returned to the brig, she showed the man the pardon, but made it clear that if he was lying, he would likely be executed for his crimes. After giving a detailed recount of everything involving the Twilight Empress, he provided Michelle the details of a terrorist strike that was planned against San Diego. Terrorists had acquired an LNG (liquefied natural gas) tanker and were planning to sail it into the harbor before detonating it, preferably next to a docked aircraft carrier. The force of the explosion would be equal to a low yield nuclear bomb.

“And where is this ship now?”

“It’s already on its way from Russia where it was loaded with LNG. If they’re on schedule, then they should be a hundred or so miles away from us right now on course for San Diego. Like I said, the entire purpose in hijacking the Twilight Empress was to keep the U.S. Navy busy to ensure the LNG ship slipped past unnoticed.”

“Alright, if your information is accurate, the agreement will be honored. I want you to finish the debrief with the sergeant. I have to report to the bridge. Just remember if you lie, the deal if off” Michelle said as she prepared to leave to inform the Captain about the floating bomb.

“I have no reason to lie. I know what will happen if I do.”

“Good, always remember that” she replied before exiting the brig. A Marine Sergeant entered a moment later and continued the interrogation.

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“Captain, we have a serious problem” Michelle said upon entering the bridge.

“Are you referring the ship out there with almost a thousand dead Americans or a new one?”

“A new one. The Twilight Empress was simply a diversion. There is an LNG tanker under terrorist control on its way to San Diego. If the information is accurate, it should be less than three hours away from our current position, roughly East-Northeast.”

“And you learned this from the man you’ve been questioning?”

“Yes, I did.”

“You actually believe him?”

“I do. He has nothing to gain by lying to us. If he tells the truth, the President has offered him a pardon.”

“Alright, I’ll pass this along to CINCPAC and see how they want to proceed now that other ships have arrived to assist here. Thank you, Agent Dessler.”

Michelle nodded and decided she’d wait around on the bridge to see what was going to happen. It wasn’t long before she had her answer.

“Helmsman, prepare to get underway. As soon as we’re clear of the Twilight Empress, set course 040, all ahead flank” Callaghan ordered.

“Aye, aye sir. 040, all ahead flank.”

Within a minute Michelle could feel the ship begin to move and soon the Montana accelerated as rapidly as a vessel of her size could. Within short order they were knifing through the water at over 35 knots.

Due to its slower speed, it did not take the Montana long to catch up with the terrorist ship, but due to the nature of its cargo, stopping it was not going to be an option as an explosion of the vessel at close range would cripple the Montana. Taking position 20 miles away, the Montana prepared to stop the terrorist ship in the most efficient way possible, but first helicopters would be sent to attempt to contact the vessel in case the man had been lying.

Two Seahawks were launched and when they approached the vessel, they signaled for the ship to stop and prepare to be boarded. The LGN tanker didn’t slow down and when the Seahawks came in closer, they began to take fire from automatic weapons.

“Montana, we’re taking small arms fire” came over the radio. “Request permission to return fire.”

“Negative, return to base at once.”

“Roger, we’re RTB.”

“I never thought I’d have to do this twice in one day. XO, sound general quarters, make it no drill” Callaghan ordered.

Once again the ship’s klaxon sounded followed by “this is not a drill, this is not drill, general quarters, general quarters, all hands man your battle stations.”

“Sir, battle stations are manned and ready. Turret one loaded and ready to fire” Hull said.

“Very well, XO. Close the bridge blast shields and prepare to fire.”

The metal covers for the bridge windows closed in order to deflect the shockwave from the concussion produced when the main guns were fired.

The sound of turret one rotating was clearly heard on the bridge as everyone watched on the video monitors. The three barrels were elevated into firing position and the gunnery officer requested permission to fire which Callaghan gave.

When the guns were fired, the entire ship shuddered and the three, 20 inch shells went screaming toward their target. A minute later, a blinding flash appeared on the horizon as at least one of the shells struck its target causing the tanker to explode in the thunderclap.

A mushroom cloud rose into the sky and the men and women of the Montana could hear the detonation shortly after they saw the explosion as the sound finally reached the ship.

“Secure from general quarters and open the blast shields” Callaghan ordered. “Helmsman, set course for the final location of the tanker.”

The Montana changed course and headed toward the still burning fire on the horizon.

“Agent Dessler, if you’d like, we can fly you back to Los Angeles in the morning” the Captain said turning to Michelle. “You’re welcome to get some sleep for the rest of the night.”

“Thank you, Captain. That sounds like a good idea.”

“Alright. Also, we’d be honored if you’d have breakfast with my officers and I in the morning.”

“I would be my pleasure” Michelle smiled. “Goodnight Captain, Commander.”

Michelle exited the bridge and headed for her quarters. She found her clothes had been washed and returned to her and she hung them in the closet. As soon as that was done, she decided to call Tony, knowing he would still be at CTU.

“Hey honey, sorry I couldn’t call earlier” she said when Tony answered the phone.

“It’s okay sweetie. I know it was probably pretty hectic onboard.”

“I guess you know everything that happened?”

“Yeah, we’ve been monitoring everything from the assault on the Twilight Empress to the sinking of the tanker. That was one massive explosion when the Montana shelled it.”

“You should have seen it in person. It was strangely beautiful.”

“I bet, but enough about that. How are you, ’Chelle?”

“Very tired, but otherwise okay. I’ll be flying back tomorrow morning after I have breakfast with the Captain and senior officers.”

“Guess you made a good impression. You should probably get some sleep though. I’m about to head home from CTU.”

Michelle yawned, barely able to keep her eyes open. “Yeah, you’re right. I love you, Tony.”

“I love you too, Michelle” he replied before hanging up the phone.

Not having brought any clothes to sleep in and knowing that the only people in the entire section were women; Michelle decided she’s sleep just in her panties since it was fairly warm on the ship. As soon as she was under the covers and her head hit the pillow, Michelle was fast asleep.

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The next morning Michelle was awoken by the sound of Samantha knocking on her door. She quickly got dressed and went with her to breakfast. Sam bid her goodbye as she was not going to stay and Michelle went inside.

“Good morning, Agent Dessler” Callaghan said as she came in.

He made introductions of the officers she had not met including the ship’s chief engineer, chief medical officer, and commander of the Marine contingent stationed on the Montana.

The breakfast was excellent and Michelle found most of the men and women in attendance to be easy to talk too although it was mostly about work. She had to answer questions about life at CTU and then returned a few about life on the Montana.

Once breakfast was over, the officers slowly filtered out, eventually leaving just Callaghan and Michelle.

“Agent Dessler, I can offer you one of two ways back to Los Angeles. You can take an MH-53E, but it would be just as long of a flight back as it was out here. We’ve moved further west during the night for a rendezvous with the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan battle group. Or, if you prefer, we can transfer you over to the Reagan. They have a COD departing at 11:00 hours for Point Mugu. It would take about three hours off your flying time.”

“I guess I’ll go over to the Reagan” Michelle replied. “I just need to gather my things.”

“Of course. We have a Seahawk transferring some personnel over to the Reagan in 30 minutes. I’ll have Ensign Hitchcock come get you when it’s time to depart. Before you leave, I wanted to say it’s been an honor to serve with you” Callaghan said holding out his hand.

“Likewise” Michelle replied shaking it.

“Have good flight home” he added.

“Thank you” Michelle said before she left the room.

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Returning to her quarters, Michelle packed all of her CTU material into her briefcase and stuffed her dirty clothes into her suitcase. As she waited, she decided to call Tony and let him know when she’d be back in California.

“Good morning, sweetie” she heard his voice come on the line. “Did you sleep well?”

“Actually I did. I guess the rocking of the ship was soothing. How are you?”

“Much better knowing you’ll be home soon. Any idea when that will be?”

“I’m catching a flight from the Ronald Reagan to Point Mugu. We’re scheduled to arrive just after 2:00 p.m.”

“Alright, I’ll have the CTU helicopter waiting to pick you up.”

A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. “I gotta go honey. I’ll see you soon. I love you, Tony.”

“I love you too, Michelle.”

“Hey Sam” she said opening the door.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me grab my stuff. I thought the helo wasn’t leaving for another 20 minutes?”

“It’s not, but I thought you might like a quick tour of the ship on the way to the hanger bay.”

“Sure, sounds like fun. Ready whenever you are.”

Michelle followed Sam up several decks until emerging onto the main deck, just below a dual mount of 6 inch guns. Off in the distance they could see the Ronald Reagan and a Ticonderoga class cruiser. They started walking aft and Sam would point out different parts of the ship as they went including the various weapon systems.

“Sam, what’s up there?” Michelle asked pointing to an area were Marines are on guard.

“Well, officially I can’t say what, but I can tell you it is a cluster of vertical launch tubes for anti-ship and land attack missiles.”

Since Sam was being vague, Michelle realized what she was referring too. “Ah, in other words the missiles have nuclear warheads.”

“I can neither confirm nor deny the presence of special weapons onboard the Montana, but we do have the capability of deploying such weapons should National Command Authority so authorize.”

Michelle knew Sam couldn’t say anything else on the subject so she just smiled as they continued to walk. They passed the giant guns of the aft turrets which the crews were busy inspecting in preparation for general maintenance.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye” Sam said as they reached the hanger bay. “Seaman, Agent Dessler will be choppering over to the Reagan.”

“Ma’am, I’ll put your bags onboard” the young man said to Michelle. She handed him her suitcase and briefcase which he took over to the Seahawk and Michelle turned to Sam.

“It’s been a pleasure” she said, holding out her hand.

“Likewise, Michelle.”

“If you ever in Los Angeles, stop by CTU. I’ll show you around and we can have lunch.”

“It might be a while before I can take you up on that offer. As soon as the COD departs for Point Mugu, we’re heading to the Western Pacific with the Reagan battle group for a six month deployment.”

“Well, the offer is always open. Stay safe out there” Michelle replied with a smile.

“Thank you. It should be an uneventful mission. Now, I have a briefing in 15 minutes so I need to get going. Have a good flight home.”

Samantha left the hanger bay, leaving Michelle to stand around for a few minutes until they started boarding the helo. Most of the sailors and Marines went around doing their job although Michelle got more than a few stares and a couple of wolf whistles which brought a Marine Sergeant down on the offending sailors.

Eventually the other passengers arrived and the Seahawk was towed out for takeoff. As soon as everyone was loaded onboard, the helo lifted off from the Montana for the short flight to the Reagan. As there was a rush to get the COD off on time, the passengers transferring to it were quickly taken to the C-2 that was already being readied for departure.

A sailor helped Michelle into the aircraft before putting her bags onboard. She found a seat and strapped in to await the takeoff.

“Is this your first time launching from a carrier?” a lieutenant asked while the C-2 was being hooked to the catapult.

“Yes it is” Michelle replied.

“Then I suggest you get ready for a little jolt in about 30 seconds” he said.

A moment later, the engines of the C-2 began to accelerate, and everyone held on. When the catapult fired, Michelle was thrown back into her seat and the C-2 was launched into the sky.

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Just over three hours later, the C-2 touched down at Point Mugu Naval Air Station. When Michelle disembarked, a sailor took her to the side to wait for her bags to be unloaded. The CTU helicopter had already arrived and once Michelle had her cases, she was escorted over to the waiting helo.

“Good afternoon, Michelle” the pilot said as she got in.

“Hey Mike, how are you?”

“Oh not bad.”

“Alicia and the girls doing okay?”

“Yeah, they’re fine. Ready to get out of here?”

“Am I ever” Michelle replied.

Mike started the helo’s engines and soon they were on the way back to CTU. When it touched down on CTU’s helicopter pad, Tony was waiting and Michelle ran over to him. He grabbed her into his arms and spun around.

“I missed you so much” she said in between kisses.

“I missed you too, especially having to sleep alone last night.”

Michelle giggled and kissed her husband one more time. Mike came over and handed her the suitcase and briefcase. She thanked him and Michelle and Tony went inside for a debriefing with Ryan.

It was a long, boring two hours as Chappelle droned on and on. Michelle had to recount everything that occurred on the Montana, especially the interrogation of the captured terrorist.

“Before we conclude this debrief, there is one thing I have to say” Ryan said. “Michelle, just before you arrived, I read Captain Callaghan’s report on your performance onboard the Montana. Your ability to quickly obtain valuable intelligence from a suspect without having to resort to torture prevented a terrorist strike that could have killed millions had the Nimitz been destroyed and its reactors breached. We believe this was the ultimate goal of the terrorists onboard the tanker. While it is not official as he is military and we’re a civilian agency, Callaghan has recommended you for a commendation for your work. I will be putting in the official recommendation later today with his attached letter. I expect it to be approved within the week.”

Michelle sat there, not really expecting any kind of acknowledgement of her work. After all, she was simply doing her job to the best of her ability.

“Ryan, I… um” she paused for a moment to find the right words. “I’m humbled. I know commendations are fairly rare within CTU.”

“Well, you earned it. Now, I’m sure you two would like to get home. Oh, and take tomorrow off for doing such a good job. I’ll cover for you here at CTU.”

Tony and Michelle rose to their feet, thanked Ryan, and were ready to get home as quickly as possible.

“’Chelle, what would you like to do the rest of the day?” Tony asked as they drove toward home.

“Well, how about some of your good home cooking to start the evening off right?”

“And then?”

“I was thinking we pick up where we left off when Ryan interrupted us.

Tony reached over and put a hand on Michelle’s shoulder. “I like the way you think.”

Author’s Note:

The story behind the battleship is an interesting one in U.S. naval history.

During the days of battleship building, late 1890’s to 1945, Montana was the only state in the Union (Alaska and Hawaii were not states at the time) to never have an active duty battleship named for it. The first Montana (BB-51), a South Dakota class battleship, was canceled as part of the Washington Naval Treaty and scrapped on the slip.

The second Montana (BB-67) would have been the lead ship of her class. Designed as the successor to the Iowa class, the Montana would have carried twelve 16-inch main rifles and had more armor than any battleship in history.

However, by 1943 it was obvious that the aircraft carrier had succeeded the battleship as the primary capital ship in the Navy and the 5 Montana class battleships were canceled on 21 July before being laid down.

This is why I chose the name Montana. Louisiana and New Hampshire would have been two of the 4 sister ships to the Montana (BB-67) so of course I used them as well. I still believe the battleship has a place, even in the modern navy. Of course the idiots in Washington don’t agree.