Jack of Harts

Kings Bay in Georgia had been a ballistic missile submarine base for over half a century when the Second Great Depression began. The crews were famous for remaining underwater, acting like holes in the ocean, for months on end. Always ready to fire missiles that could end civilization as we knew it. Aware that if the balloon ever went up, they could be the last surviving Americans in the world. Or that some Soviet or Chinese attack submarine could kill them before they knew it. Mutually Assured Destruction was the entire basis of their existence. They hoped they would never be required to fire their weapons, but if they did, they would kill as many Soviets, Russians, Chinese, or whatever the target of the decade was. Then one of their number fired missiles on America. On Virginia. The worst part for the crews of Kings Bay is that the crew that fired on home was not a phantom threat to them. They knew each other. They went to the bars together. Many had served on every boat. They were faces and names and friends. And then other Americans killed them after they followed the worst orders in the world. It is impossible to underestimate how that affected them.