The USS Liberty and the Unopened Presents

Posted on 18 Jul 2020 @ 3:04pm by Lieutenant JG James Fox
Edited on 19 Jul 2020 @ 7:00pm

Tyler tossed his shirt onto the couch, then slumped into the nearby chair. Resting his face in his hands, he let out a long groan. When he was finally done wallowing in his out self-pity, he let his hands fall to the sides of the chair and glanced around the room for work to do. He finally noticed the presents from his birthday nearly a month ago. He had nearly forgotten to open them! He pulled himself out of the chair and walked over to the pile, craning his neck this way and that as he pondered a way to attack this clump of gifts. Snapping his fingers, he knew exactly how to do it.

Collecting all of the gifts into a bag, he slumped it over his shoulder and rushed out into the corridor. Realizing he was missing his shirt, he swore under his breath and rushed back into his quarters. Leaping towards the couch, he grabbed it and haphazardly threw it on before rushing back out into the corridor. After 6 steps, the thought occurred to him that the sack of gifts was very light. Then he stopped himself and groaned, heading right back to his quarters and picking up the forgotten sack of gifts. Finally prepared for his journey, he set out to the holodeck.

Ignoring the curious glances he got from other members of the crew, Tyler managed to reach the holodeck without having to explain himself too much. He then set about carefully placing the gifts around the holodeck. Once the sack was empty, he tossed it over his shoulder and spoke to the computer.

“Computer,” he began his command, “I want you to set up Tyler Beta 3. Using that program as a framework, I would like you to craft an adventure in which I collect my gifts.”

Pausing for a moment, he heard the computer beep and accept his commands.

“Good. Computer, begin program.”

The holodeck materialized around him. Feeling himself, Tyler realized he was wearing a captain’s dress uniform. Looking around him, he realized that blue must be his lucky color for the day. He was surrounded by blue. He had seen this room before, somewhere. He couldn’t quite place it until he spotted a figure that had been standing behind him.

“Captain Fox, I am so glad that you were able to make it here so quickly. The issue presages the need for urgency. I have great confidence in your ability to handle the situation admirably, however.”

It took Tyler a few moments to realize the figure standing before him was President Jefferson. Taking a moment to look one more time around the room, he realized he was in the Blue Room of the White House. Pausing for a moment, he wondered if this was how the room was supposed to look. Not that it mattered. This was a holodeck after all, more than likely the holodeck was juggling accurate representation with recognition on his part as to where he was.

Turning back to Jefferson, he responded, “I am ready for whatever you need, Mr. President.”

“Good,” Jefferson said. “As you may have read in the papers, Secretary Madison and I have managed to get the Louisiana Purchase passed through Congress. All that remains to increase the size of these United States immensely is the payment to Napoléon Bonaparte. A ship is due to leave port and sail down the Potomac come sunrise. I would like you and the USS Liberty to accompany the vessel to the port of Carnac. Since the outbreak of hostilities between Britain and France, we must ensure that the British do not get their hands on this gold.”

“I have confidence in my crew and ship. We will have that gold in French hands, Mr. President. Do not worry.”

Jefferson nodded, then said, “I knew I could count on you. Now go, quickly. You don’t have much time before the vessel leaves.”

Tyler took the hint and left the White House. Looking around at Washington, he was surprised at how… quaint it seemed. It was not the major metropolitan city that it would become. He did know exactly where he needed to go, however: Washington Naval Yard. That’s where the Liberty would be. It was the same class of ship as the Constitution, a seventh vessel for the United States fleet. It didn’t actually exist, of course, but that was all part of the program and its fantasy.

Finally reaching the ship, he paused for a moment to take it in. It was beautiful.

A beautiful vessel indeed, it was massive. Tyler swelled with pride, ignoring the fact that it wasn’t actually real. He didn’t care. Even if all of this was fake, he couldn’t help but see it as his. It exhibited power, and once they had set sail it would represent the absolute freedom that the crew enjoyed. They would be a town of their own, far away from the societal constraints that the mainland demanded of them.

Tyler stepped up on to the vessel after discussing some issues with the crew. He had ordered them to prepare to set sail for France, accompanying the vessel to Carnac. He was wondering how his gifts were involved in this adventure, however, and he realized that he may need to speed things up. He had forgotten to give the computer a timeframe. Clearing his throat, he prepared to give a command.

“Computer, skip to the chapter in which I find the gifts.”

The scene around him changed. It was dawn, the sun rising in the east. Tyler squinted as he looked that way, noticing a shape in the distance that was partially blocking the sun.

“A ship!” He shouted. “A British one! They’re using the sun to obscure themselves.”

He went to grab a telescope to get a better view of the ship that they were approaching. Able to maneuver the telescope so as to see the ship well, he realized that it wasn’t approaching them but trying to get away. Pausing for a moment, he thought.

It must be coming from Canada. That would explain their location and direction. Why they had gotten so close to him didn’t make much sense, unless… unless they were trying to get intelligence on him. They must have spotted him and gathered intelligence, and are now headed to the British mainland. A merchant ship being accompanied by one of America’s finest vessels approaching Europe would certainly raise alarm in Britain. He didn’t want to encounter top of the line ships when he reached Europe, however. He needed to catch up to that ship.

“I want us to catch up to that ship! Get those sails going as fast as possible, and prepare the cannons for chain shots. We’ll be aiming for their sails. Get to it!”

There wasn’t much to say about the battle itself. The Liberty managed to get close enough for a few cannon shots, turning left and then right as it fired its front cannons at the ship. Getting some good shots in at its sails, the ship ahead of them was slowing down. As the Liberty nearly made it to the ship, Tyler noticed that they had struck her colors. He smiled at their surrender. Good, this would make his getting his presents easier.

After about half an hour, he was boarding the other ship and the other captain was waiting there with his sword in hand, ready to signify his surrender, when a loud chirp sounded in the holodeck.

“The time allotted for Lieutenant Tyler’s holodeck privileges has expired. Please end the program and allow the next user to enter the holodeck to use for their purposes.”

“Damn it…” Tyler sighed as he realized that he had run out of time.

“Computer, end program.”

The scene around him vanished to reveal once more the holodeck. He grabbed the sack and began putting the presents back in to the sack. Once he had, he exited the holodeck and waved for the ensign sheepishly waiting outside. Once it was clear that he had handed the keys over to them, he made his way back to his quarters. Tossing the sack into the corner of the main room, he sighed. Well, he supposed that he could open his presents another time.