Jack of Harts

Kings Bay expanded their submarine fleet from a handful of big old Boomers during the Second Great Depression to dozens of smaller subs in the next century. The new subs lacked the vertical launch systems of the older Boomers, but carried torpedo-launched missiles with similar range to the old Tridents they replaced, in addition to standard anti-ship torpedoes. These much smaller submarines were cheaper to build and operate, especially since they used smaller micro-nuclear reactors in place of the massive reactor spaces of older submarines. They were a revolution in submarine technology, pressed into service by finite budgets that proved less and less capable of keeping up with the missions the old boats had to perform. Those technologies were cross-developed for use in space, tested on the submarines, and then used in Georgia’s first steps in their exploration of the Solar System. They launched from Georgia’s best launch facility. Kings Bay.

Today is Flag Day, the commemoration of the adoption of the flag of the United States of America on June 14, 1777, by the Second Continental Congress. They were standing up against a tyrannical government and needed a new flag of their own. So they passed a resolution of a new flag with thirteen stripes and thirteen stars on a blue field, one for each of the Colonies. One of the most famous versions of that is the Betsy Ross Flag, with the thirteen stars in a circle. We have a few more stars now, but the same number of stripes to remember the original thirteen States that risked everything to form the nation we live in now.

Kings Bay in Georgia erased decades of lax security and personnel procedures in the months following the sinking of USS Georgia with all hands. One operational method they used was never admitting when or how they spent time in dock, even when undergoing long term repairs or maintenance. As the months turned into years and then decades, historians know that Georgia retired or lost some of their ballistic missile submarines as maintenance became harder and more expensive. But they never admitted it. All boats remained on their fleet registers and were officially “on patrol” at all times. Even their funding and expenditures remained at a level required to operate their entire official fleet. They banned funerals and memorial stones for crewmembers who died in the line of duty. Social media presences remained active, and letters continued to go to family as usual. Pay accrued and was deposited into family accounts as usual until they officially died of old age or a random illness that had nothing to do with their duty on board a nuclear boat. Because all of Georgia’s boats continued to operate as the final deterrent to any foreign power that may have ill intent towards America. Everybody knew it was a lie at the time, but no one knew where the lie was, so they had to treat the lies as possibly true.