Box Set - The Time Magnet Series Read online

  The Time Magnet Series

  The Gray Ship

  The Thanksgiving Gang

  A Time of Fear

  The Skies of Time

  A pulse pounding series of four books about time travel, friendship, love, and courage.

  Beginning with The Gray Ship in the Civil War (“Wildly entertaining and profoundly moving” – Kirkus Reviews), this is the saga of Jack Thurber, a man who has a talent for slipping through wormholes and time traveling, earning himself the nickname, The Time Magnet. You’ll also meet Ashley Patterson, the woman Captain of the USS California.

  In The Thanksgiving Gang, Jack puts together a group of friends to help him travel back to the past – and to save his wife’s life, as well as his own, from a terrorist attack.

  In A Time of Fear, Jack and his friends travel in time to prevent a nuclear terrorist attack on five American cities.

  In The Skies of Time, Jack and his wife find themselves in World War II, with no way to get back to the present.

  You will love the characters and the amazing adventures that awaits them in this four book series.

  The Gray Ship

  Russell F. Moran

  Coddington Press

  PO Box 419

  East Islip, NY 11730

  Copyright © 2013 by Russell F. Moran

  All rights reserved.

  ISBN: 0989554600

  ISBN 13: 9780989554602

  Library of Congress Control Number: 2013910857

  LCCN Imprint Name: Coddington Press

  Preface

  A story begins with an idea, which then develops into a concept that eventually becomes the story. Like most of my work, this book began with conversations with my wife, Lynda. I have always been a Civil War buff, fascinated by its grandeur and its horror. The idea of a modern warship in the Civil War popped into my mind during one of those conversations. To pull that off, of course, I knew that the book would be based on the science fiction sub-genre of time travel. That’s the only way I could get a nuclear powered cruiser to 1861. I enjoyed The Final Countdown by Martin Caidan, the 1980 novel about the USS Nimitz getting caught in a time portal during a freak electric storm and time travelling to Pearl Harbor on the eve of the Japanese attack. Lynda and I talked for hours about the captain and his (or her) character. Ashley Patterson became part of the concept.

  The Gray Ship is Book One in The Time Magnet series. Book Two, The Thanksgiving Gang, was published in June, 2014; A Time of Fear, Book Three, was published in September, 2014; The Skies of Time, Book Four, was published in December, 2014.

  This is a work of fiction, and any similarity between a character and a living person is a coincidence. There are, however, historical figures in the book, including Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis and President Barack Obama. Although these are real people, the scenes in which they appear came out of my head.

  The Gray Ship isn't a book of history, although I tried to accurately portray historical events and facts as closely as good storytelling would allow. For example, Robert E. Lee did not take command of the Army of Northern Virginia until 1862, a year after his depiction in The Gray Ship. I gave him provisional command of the army in 1861 to empower the story. You'll see why.

  How many times have you read a novel and meet a character on page five, and the next time on page 95. By then you've forgotten who she is. That's why I've added a list of characters to the book. Bookmark the list of characters and refer back to it. I will make your reading easier and more fun.

  Acknowledgments

  An author can’t be his own editor. You’re too close to the subject. You skip over the grammar and punctuation because you’re concentrating on The Story. No matter how many revisions you go through, you are bound to miss a lot of errors. An editor looks for grammatical and punctuation errors, but he also brings a fresh eye to the story itself and spots inconsistencies. I thank my friends Bill Holland from Olympia, Washington and Nick Wartella from Sayville, New York for their bi-coastal efforts. I also thank my wife Lynda for her countless hours of input into this novel.

  I also thank my friend Lloyd (Hoss) Miller, Rear Admiral, Retired, United States Navy. Admiral Miller was the first commanding officer of the USS California, the ship that plays the pivotal role in the story. His technical input was invaluable, but I must emphasize something here. This is a work of fiction, and because it’s a novel, I changed some facts to serve the story. For one thing, I had to bring the California out of mothballs for The Gray Ship because the ship had been decommissioned in 1999. Although the historic California didn’t carry them, I added Tomahawk cruise missiles to the ship’s arsenal. I also disabled the ship's inertial navigation system to serve the story.

  Admiral Miller makes a cameo appearance in the book, but obviously the scene is fictional. I won’t tell you why it’s obvious. You’ll find out. In the scene, Admiral Miller is a strong leader, a gentleman, and a very likeable person. That’s not fiction. That’s the truth.

  I hope you have as much fun reading this book as I had writing it.

  Characters in The Gray Ship

  Minor characters and those who make only one appearance in the story are not listed here

  Ambrose, John, LT - Assistant Ship's Medical Officer

  Beauregard, P.G.T. - Confederate General, South Carolina

  Bellamy, Wayne, LT Navigator (replaces Ivan Campbell)

  Bingham, Matthew, Colonel USMC

  Braden,William - Commander and lawyer, Judge Advocates General Corps

  Bradley, Philip, Commander - Executive Officer, USS California

  Burns, James, Colonel - Aide to General McDowell

  Cameron, Simon - Secretary of War

  Campbell, Ivan, LCDR, Navigator of the USS California

  Campo, Pete, SEAL Petty Officer and martial arts instructor

  Carney, Jay - White House Press Secretary

  Carrubba, Richard, Major, USMC

  Cinque, Andrew, LT - Drone Pilot

  Colombo, Russ, LT - Apache helicopter pilot

  Conroy, Frank, LT - Commander of the SEAL detachment

  Cooney, Kathy, LT - Ship's meteorologist

  Daly, William - White House Chief of Staff

  Davis, Jefferson - President of the Confederate States of America

  Donizzio, Mike - Petty Officer, captain of the ship's launch

  Donnelly, Rick - SEAL Petty Officer

  Durbin, Cyrus - SEAL Petty Officer

  Esposito, Vera, Captain - Aide to Chief of Naval Operations

  Falanga, Robert, Corporal USMC

  Forrest, Nathan Bedford, Confederate General - The Wizard of the Saddle

  Friese, Robert, Rear Admiral - Deputy Chief of Naval Operations

  Gates, Robert - Secretary of Defense

  Giordano, Tony - SEAL Petty Officer

  Jackson, Duane - SEAL Chief Petty Officer

  Jacob, Jamal, LT - Cruise Missile Battery Officer

  Jordan, William, PO - Sailor who suffers a heart attack

  Juarez, Emilio - SEAL Petty Officer

  Lincoln, Abraham - 16th President of the United States

  Lopez, Emilio, PO - Hospital Corpsman

  Mallory, Stephen - Secretary of the Confederate Navy

  McDowell, Irwin, Brigadier General - Commander of the Army of Northeastern Virginia

  Nathan, Robert, LT - Drone Pilot

  O’Day, Maureen - Childhood Friend of Ashley

  Orzo, Frank, LCDR - NavOps Duty Officer at the Pentagon

  Patterson, Ashley - Captain USS California

  Pendleton, Thomas, Professor - Photographic expert

  Perino, Joseph, Commander - Ship's Medical Officer

  Planck, Simon, Seaman - The bul
ly magnet

  Reilly, Walter - SEAL Petty Officer

  Roebling, David, Union Navy Commander, Aide to Gideon Wells

  Roughead, Gary, Admiral - Chief of Naval Operations

  Rubin, Andrea, LCDR - Weapons Officer

  Seward, William - Secretary of State

  Smith, Smitty - SEAL Petty Officer

  Sobel, Karen, LCDR - Ship's Personnel Officer

  Sorese, Sergeant, USMC

  Talierco, Fran, LT- Deputy NavOps Officer at the Pentagon

  Tarback, John, SEAL PO - Horse Whisperer

  Thurber, Jack, Seaman/Lieutenant, Time Travel Expert

  Toliver, Bea, LT - Combat Systems Officer

  Weinberg, Benjamin - Psychiatrist NYPD

  Wells, Gideon - Secretary of the Union Navy

  White, John, LCDR - ship’s Communications Officer

  Chapter 1

  “Captain, we have a problem.”

  Captain Patterson hit the reply button on the intercom next to her bed.

  “What is it, Lieutenant?”

  “It feels like we’re going aground, ma’am.”

  Because the captain’s sea cabin is only 10 feet away, Captain Patterson was on the bridge in seconds. She always wore fresh fatigues to bed so she can respond to an emergency in uniform, not a bathrobe. The time was 0307 (3:07 A.M.).

  The ship went through a strange turbulence, an underwater commotion the likes of which no one on the ship had ever experienced, a soft bumping sensation, not like waves, but more like the ship was riding over a herd of whales. In 30 seconds, the bumping stopped.

  “What’s our depth, Lieutenant?”

  “Sonar shows 200 feet, Captain.”

  “Any sign of marine life?”

  “No, ma’am. Sonar shows nothing between us and the bottom except water.”

  “Damage control report?”

  “Nothing so far Captain except for a few broken dishes in the mess hall.”

  What happened next was an event that would forever change the lives of the crew of the USS California. At 0309, the dark night changed to a bright noon. The sun was high in the sky, and the sweet smell of ozone, when the bright sun mingles with the ocean, was as pleasant as it was terrifying.

  All departments reported to the bridge in order of protocol.

  “Captain, we’ve received reports from almost every department,” said the officer of the deck. “Engine room, AOK; reactor room, AOK; after-steering station, AOK...”

  “Lieutenant, please tell me what’s wrong, not what’s right.”

  “Aye, Captain. We’ve lost all GPS navigation, ship-to-shore communications, and ship-to-ship communications. We have no Internet connections, email, or cell phone service.”

  ***

  Petty Officer Third Class Andrea Dunne was exchanging text messages with her mother in Norfolk, Virginia. Her mother has liver cancer, and she is getting worse every day.

  “Mom, please tell me the truth. Don’t try to make me feel better, I want you to feel better.”

  “Well, honey, the doctor was just here and he said...” There was no more message. Dunne was frantic. Her mother was about to tell her something important and the message stopped. She tried to send email, but the send command didn’t work. The message on her IPhone said that there was no cellular network available. She tried to phone, but got the same message: no cellular network available.

  ***

  Lieutenant Kevin Fitzpatrick stood watch in the Combat Information Center doing a routine check of satellite positions. The software displayed a computer simulation of satellites in range of the California. Suddenly, all satellite images disappeared from his screen. He tried to “ping” the code for each satellite. Not one responded. He assumed it was a software malfunction. Dozens of satellites can’t just disappear, Fitzpatrick thought.

  ***

  At the Pentagon, Lieutenant Fran Talierco was on watch at the Office of Naval Operations, NavOps. Her job, as deputy watch officer, was to monitor the positions of all Navy ships in the Eastern Atlantic via Global Positioning System or GPS.

  “Oh my God,” yelled Talierco, “where’s the California?”

  Lt. Commander Frank Orzo, the Duty Officer, hurried to Talierco’s station. “What happened Fran?”

  “The California just disappeared,” said Talierco. Because every ship had multiple redundant GPS devices aboard, they both knew it was impossible for a ship’s position to disappear if one malfunctioned. That could only happen if a ship sank.

  “Call them by phone,” said Orzo. Talierco called the satellite number for Captain Ashley Patterson, the CO of the California. A recorded message said, “The number you are calling is not in service at this time.” She tried the number of the Executive Officer of the California. Same message.

  “I’ll try the Ticonderoga to see if they can get the California on radio,” Talierco said. The USS Ticonderoga steamed twenty miles east of the California’s last position. Talierco spoke to the Officer of the Deck (OOD) on the Ticonderoga who immediately radioed the California.

  “I get no response, Lieutenant,” said the OOD on the Ticonderoga.

  “Get Admiral Friese on the phone, Fran,” Orzo said. Talierco hit the emergency line for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations.

  ***

  Lt. Commander Dominic Valente, the California’s Supply Officer, arose early so he could get some work done without interruption. He ordered supplies for the next two months using newly installed supply software. He went through the on-screen menu of items, which calculated the amount needed based on the size of the crew and the length of deployment. Valente loved that the software was “cloud based,” meaning that the data was on a distant server farm somewhere in the Midwest and could be updated instantly. His screen flashed the message that the network wasn’t responding. This is crazy, thought Valente. We must have a dozen different Internet connections on this ship. But his workstation could not pick up one of the ship’s networks. Wow, thought Valente. We’re totally off the Web. He called Lieutenant Jason Terhune, the ship’s IT officer.

  “Any idea what’s going on, Lieutenant?”

  “Beats the hell out of me, Commander. The whole ship seems to be out.”

  ***

  At 0309 Petty Officer Third Class James Randolph sat on a gun turret looking at the sky, playing with a new iPad app to learn astronomy. The screen was darkened, a great idea because if it were backlit it would be no good for viewing at night. A tiny point of light represented each star, with the star’s name appearing at the bottom of the screen when he tapped on the image. He committed himself to learn astronomy, something he could share with his seven year-old son. He looked at the sky, trying to match the star to what he saw on the iPad screen. Suddenly, the sun appeared where his eyes were focused. With a shout he covered his eyes, shaking his head from the sudden pain.

  ***

  “When was our last good fix, Lieutenant?” Captain Patterson asked.

  “At 0250, about 30 minutes before the event, Captain. The quartermaster of the watch tried to get a position right after the event, but that’s when he learned that our navigation systems are out.”

  “Well let’s get a land fix now, Lieutenant. I can see the shore lights from here.”

  “It gets worse, Captain. The navigator tried to get a fix using the charted landmarks, but the landmarks and buoys aren’t where they should be. We got a position line from the flagpole at Fort Sumter, but that’s it. Our charted buoys and towers just aren’t visible.”

  Piloting, or what some call close-in navigation, is a simple matter. You look through a telescope on an instrument called an alidade. You line up your “target,” say a lighthouse, and read the bearing from the ring at the base of the alidade. You then take a parallel ruler, line it up to the bearing on a compass rose on the chart, which is a circle with all points of the compass. Next, you take the parallel ruler and “walk” it over to the dot you’ve made, and then draw a line on the chart on that bearing. One line is not a
fix, because your position can be anywhere along the line. With a second line from another known target, you have a fix, but not a great one. Once you have a third line from yet another target, and all three lines intersect, you now have a good fix, or navigational position. All you need are updated charts and a good alidade. If your charts don’t conform to the targets you’re looking at, you can’t get a fix. And that was the California’s problem.

  “How’s radar and sonar?” asked Captain Patterson.

  “They appear to be working, Captain, but what we see on the scopes isn’t what we expect to see when we look at our charts. Based on the harbor chart, there should be eight buoys in sight or visible from radar, but we can only see three, and they aren’t where should be. We know our approximate position based on our last fix, but another thing looks weird. Our depth readings from sonar are way off. We should be in 200 feet of water according to our charts, but sonar thinks we have only 160 feet under us.”

  “Sound General Quarters, Lieutenant.”

  “Aye aye, Captain.”

  The ear splitting clang of the general quarters alarm sounded in every space on the ship, followed by the announcement, “General Quarters, General Quarters, All Hands Man Your Battle Stations. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill.”

  “Order right full rudder and come to course 090, Lieutenant. Until we can figure out what the hell is going on, I want some sea between me and the land.”

  “Aye aye, Captain. Right full rudder, steer course zero niner zero.”

  ***

  At the Pentagon, Duty Officer Frank Orzo was on the phone with Rear Admiral Robert Friese, the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations. “Admiral this is Lieutenant Commander Orzo, Duty Officer at NavOps. We’ve lost all contact with one of our ships, the California, off the coast of South Carolina.”