The USS Texas BB-35. One of 8 US battleships still in existence, the oldest of the US battleships, having been commissioned on March 12th, 1914, the second oldest battleship in the world, and the last Dreadnought-Era battleship on Earth. She saw service in WW1, and all through WW2, giving supporting fire all during Operation Torch, D-Day, the Battle of Cherbourg, and Operation Dragoon, before being transferred over to the Pacific in time to participate in the battles of Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. She also participated in Operation Magic Carpet to help US troops get home after WW2 ended, before being decommissioned in 1946. However, in 1947, the ship was given over to the State of Texas to be opened as a museum ship, the first battleship to do so. She was towed from where she was moored in reserve in Baltimore, all the way down the East Coast, and across the Gulf of Mexico until she was finally towed up the Houston Ship Channel where she reached her new home, the San Jacinto State Park, just outside of the city of Houston, Texas. It was here that many came from far and wide to admire this amazing vessel, which at one time was the most powerful warship in the world.

At the time of her decommissioning in 1946, the Texas was 573 feet long, had a beam of 106 feet, a draft of 31.6 feet, had a total displacement of 32,000 long-tons, was powered by 6 Bureau Express oil-fired boilers, as well as 2 vertical triple-expansion steam engines driving 2 screws, a top speed of 19.72 knots (23mph), and had an endurance of 17,722 miles, and a crew of 1,810 officers and men. For armament, the ship had 10 x 14in guns in 5 turrets, 6 x 5in guns, 10 x 3in AA guns, 10 x quad 40mm Bofors AA guns, and 44 x 20mm Oerlikon cannons. For armor, the ship had 10-12in armor on her belt, 10in armor on her bulkheads, 5-12in armor on the barbettes, her turrets had 14in of armor on their faces, 5.75in of armor on their tops, 8-9in of armor on their sides, and 8in of armor on their backs, the decks had 1.5-3in of armor, and the conning tower had 12in of armor on its sides, and 4in on the top. For sensors and processing, the ship had 2 x SG surface search radars, 1 x SK air search radar, 2 x Mk 3 fire control radars, and 2 x Mk 10 fire control radars. The ship also once carried 3 x OS2U Kingfisher floatplanes, and had a catapult on top of Turret 3, however, 2 of these planes were later removed, as was the catapult on top of Turret 3, and the last plane was removed upon the ship's decommissioning.

For many years following her journey to San Jacinto, the USS Texas was slumbering peacefully. However, over the years, Time, the weather, and neglect by the group who was supposed to be caring for the ship, the Battleship Texas Commission, were not kind to her, and by 1983, the Texas was in pretty rough shape. Her hull was rusting and corroding, and seawater was coming in through many holes. Entire compartments were flooded, the deck was rotting, and many structures inside of the ship were rusty, corroded, and in danger of collapsing. Following outcries over this, the Texas State Legislature turned over ownership of the ship to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, who immediately began to hire naval architects to fully inspect the ship, and figure out the best plan to restore the ship. When the full scope of the damage was realized, a fundraising campaign to raise the $15 million needed to dry-dock the ship, and finish the necessary repairs was begun. 5 years later, in December of 1988, Texas was pulled from her berth by 6 tugboats, and towed 56 miles to the Todd Shipyards in Galveston, TX.

Once she was there, the ship's exterior was sandblasted, all rusted and corroded metal inside and outside the ship was stripped out and replaced, totaling almost 15% of the ship's overall metal. Also while she was in dry-dock, Texas was repainted in the dark blue camouflage of the US Pacific Fleet, replacing the battleship-gray that she'd been repainted in following WW2. Texas was in dry-dock from 1988-1990, where she was then towed to a ship repair facility in Green Bayou, where she would be given a brand-new pinewood deck, and the rest of the repairs to the ship were complete.

On September 8th, 1990, following her return to San Jacinto, the Texas was reopened to the public. Efforts were still underway to slowly restore the ship's interior spaces, and it looked like the future of the USS Texas was secured, but while the ship was in good condition for a number of years, it was sadly not to last.

In 2014, the Texas celebrated her 100th birthday, but as Time marched on, Texas's condition once again began to deteriorate. Her hull began to leak again, interior structures were rusting, her deck was rotting, and rust was also found on other structures around the ship. Her paint was fading, and the ship soon required pumps to keep her afloat, and some spaces had to be closed off from tours, as they were now active construction zones. By 2018, the situation on Texas was getting critical. The hull was badly deteriorated, holes were letting in seawater faster than it could be pumped out, and interior metal structures were rusted, corroded, and threatening to completely fall apart, and if that happened, Texas would collapse in on herself. If something wasn't done soon, USS Texas BB-35, the last Dreadnought battleship on earth, and one of only 6 ships left, and the only warship, to have served in both World Wars, would be no more.

However, while the ship's condition was dire, plans were underway to once again save the veteran 104 year old battleship. Beginning in late 2018, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department once again sent in naval architects to figure out what the best way to restore the ship would be, and what they found was troubling. Once again, the USS Texas would have to be dry-docked to fix her rusting hull, as well as rusting internal structures, but this time there was a serious problem; there were no more dry-docks in Texas. Todd Shipyards? They went bankrupt soon after Texas finished her restoration back in 1988-1990. Another shipyard would have to be found, but the nearest ones to Texas were in Mississippi, Alabama, or Florida. Texas's condition was very poor. A way would have to be found to keep the ship afloat during travel, or she would sink before reaching a shipyard. Work was beginning on getting Texas ready to even be moved, but it was slow-going.

Finally, in 2019, the Texas State Legislature gave $35 million to the TPAWD to clean the Texas up, keep her afloat, tow her to a shipyard, and fully restore her once again. Once the TPAWD had the money, they began to send out bids to shipyards with dry-docks, as well as getting the Texas ready to be moved. Debris were removed from the ship, and a system of floats was devised to cradle the hull, and keep it afloat as it was moved. Around this same time, another problem arose. Where she was kept currently in San Jacinto, the ship wasn't bringing in enough money to keep her in good condition following her second restoration. The Texas would need a new home, and bids were also being sent out to various city governments in the hope that a good new home for Texas would be found.

On August 25th, 2019, the Texas closed to visitors for the last time prior to her restoration, and on Monday the 26th, the work crews came in. These crews were composed of volunteers, naval engineers, retired US Navy personnel, and US Navy reservists, several hundred at any given time. This is where I come into this story. Hi, my name is David Gardner. I'm 20 years old, a Texas native, and have light brown hair, blue eyes, stand 5'11, and weigh 165lbs. I'm a native of Corpus Christi, Texas, and I've been fascinated by naval warfare for years. I wanted to join the Navy when I was old enough, but at the same time, my Mom also insisted that I had to go to college, so I had to compromise. I would join the US Naval Reserves while I was going to college, and then once I had my Bachelor's Degree, then I would join the regular Navy.

Growing up in Corpus Christi, I visited the aircraft carrier USS Lexington CV-16, aka the Blue Ghost, which was moored there as a museum ship. However, several times as I was growing up, my family would take a vacation to Houston, and it was there that we would visit the USS Texas. I was well and truly enthralled with the battleship, and my bedroom at home was filled with posters, pictures, and even a few models of the ship, as well as a few pictures, photos, and models of the Lexington. It was my love of these 2 ships that sparked my love for the Navy, and sure enough, when I graduated high school in 2017, I was both going to college, and training with the Naval Reserve. However, in early 2020, a call came out for more volunteers from the US Naval Reserve for the Texas's restoration project. I was almost 2 years into my degree, so I decided to wait until Summer of 2020, as then I would be able to focus on it full-time, at least for a season. If I liked it, then I might stick with the project until it made it to the dry-dock. (Oh who am I kidding, of COURSE I was going to like it, and stick with it until the end!)

Finally, in May of 2020, myself, and a number of others, including my best friend and fellow Corpus Christi reservist Ted Walker, age 20, traveled from Corpus Christi to Houston, and once again beheld the sight of the impressive battleship, and we were soon eager to get to work. For the most part, our work was somewhat boring. We'd help remove debris from parts of the ship, sweep up piles of dirt and debris, carry tools, throw things into dumpsters, set other things aside for restoration, help take down barriers that were previously used to keep guests at bay, help move portable fans, air conditioners and ventilation systems, (summer heat in Texas can be damn near lethal, ESPECIALLY in an enclosed space like on the Texas!) helping lay more cables for portable generators, helping operate the pumps to keep the water out, and helping to assist with beginning the assembly of the special device that would help keep the Texas afloat once she was underway. Our work was seemingly mundane, though the work done by others, such as welding, diving to inspect the hull, operating heavy machinery, and using tools to cut metal had to be left to the professionals, and volunteers who were specially trained. Our work was important too, but it could get rather boring at times. By the end of the Summer though, the ship was all ready to go. The device cradling her hull was fully in place, and providing extra buoyancy, the ship was clear of roughly 60,000lbs of debris, 6 large tugboats were attached to the ship, the ramps connecting the Texas to the shore were disconnected, and there were maybe 400 of us on the ship, a crew of engineers, volunteers, former naval personnel, and US Naval Reservists. Our job was to keep the Texas afloat until she reached the dry-dock in Mobile, Alabama where her restoration work was going to take place, and then the real work could begin.

On August 6th, at about 8am, with a crowd gathering to watch along the Houston Ship Channel, the tugboats began to pull the Texas away. The ship was now free of the mud at the bottom of her berth, and was being moved slowly backwards towards the ship channel. The crowds were cheering, and we were also cheering at our great achievement. However, getting the ship free and into the ship channel was only the beginning of our journey. Now we had to escort the ship roughly 500 miles across the Gulf of Mexico to Mobile. Thankfully, the weather was clear, and the temperatures were warm, and it looked like it was going to be smooth sailing. I was standing on one of the wings of the ship's bridge, looking out at the shore of the Houston Ship Channel as we slowly sailed past it. The Texas was being towed backwards, so by looking forwards towards the bow, I was looking at where the Texas had been moored slowly getting farther and father behind us. As I was standing there, I was soon joined by Ted.

"Hey Pump."

I winced. I'd been given the nickname "Pump" following an unfortunate incident with a pump deep within the hull of Texas. I'd been trying to fix it after it quit working, and just as I unhooked one of its hoses to check for a clog, one of my boots slipped, and hit the switch to start the pump. Moments later, I was being hit full in the face by gallons of seawater, which were also tainted with rust and silt. Thankfully someone shut the pump off soon after, but I was still soaking wet, and pretty upset. Ever after, I was known as "Pump", as the rest of the Naval Reservists just couldn't let it go.

"Come on Ted, stop calling me Pump! That was ONE TIME!"

"All it takes is one mistake to get a nickname David, but enough about that. I still CANNOT believe that we're on the Texas as she's moving!"

I agreed. "Yeah, I know what you mean Ted. It just feels so surreal. It'll take us 2 days to get her to that dry-dock, and then we can catch a plane back to Texas. I'm just hoping that we're both still around in late 2022 when they're ready to bring the ship back to Texas."

"So am I. That's only about another..............eh........roughly 2 years, give or take an extra few months for pier-side repairs, such as redoing the wooden deck, work on her various AA guns, and more interior restoration."

I thought about that. "Yeah. Hopefully by then I'll have finished my 4 year degree, and will then be eligible for the regular Navy."

"Is that what you're planning on doing once you're out of college?"

"Yeah. And what about you Ted? What do you see yourself doing in the long-term?"

He shrugged. "I dunno. I'll probably go to college once the fall semester starts, but I don't know what my major will be yet."

"Well, whatever you pick, I know that you'll do good with it."

He smiled. "I hope so too David."

2 days later, in the early afternoon of August 8th, the USS Texas arrived at the World Marine of Alabama Commercial Ship Repair Facility, where she was quickly ushered by the 6 tugs that were moving her into a waiting dry-dock. Here the Texas would remain until 2022, when she would then be returned to Texas, and towed to her new home, which was still being decided. I was sad when I disembarked from the Texas in Mobile. I'd been working with her since early May, and now it was time to leave her, and return to Corpus Christi for the next 2 years and X-months until the ship was ready to be moved again.

I saluted her one last time before I left the shipyard. "Farewell USS Texas. Your time for restoration has come, and soon, you'll be a proud battleship once again. Hopefully one day soon I will be able to return here, and if that time comes, I'll be able to escort you back to your native State. Until we meet again, Lone Star of the Pacific". I then snapped one final picture of the ship, and then myself, the rest of the reservists, some of the volunteers, and some of the retired naval personnel left the shipyard, then caught a train into Mobile, and then got on a plane, and headed back to Texas.

Over the next 2 years, I eagerly kept up with all of the updates about the ship while she was in dry-dock in between working on my schoolwork, and I waited for any news about a crew being needed to escort the ship back to Texas. I hadn't heard anything yet, but I kept watching, waiting, praying, and of course, trying to finish my bachelor's degree. I had a feeling that my time with the USS Texas wasn't over yet, but little did I know just what kind of an adventure lay ahead.

Author's Note

And, that was the Prologue. Yes, I know that it was slow, and contained a LOT of statistics-porn, but when I put that warning in the description, I meant it. There will be a LOT of details about the ship being given, as well as history, and this was one of those times. For all of those who sat through this, if you enjoyed it, then congratulations, you must love US naval warships like I do. If you sat through this, and you didn't enjoy it, or if you sat through this, and were wondering when the action will start, hold on. The real adventure starts in Chapter 1, and that's where the action starts to pick up as well. I just had to introduce the USS Texas, give her statistics, introduce the Main Character, talk a little bit about his life, and begin to set up the adventure ahead. So what will happen next? Will David be among those chosen to escort the Texas back to Texas? Where will her new home be? And how does the Texas end up in Equestria? Well, you all know the drill, stay tuned and I'll tell you!

In the meantime, as always, comments, feedback, questions, as well as spreading the word about this story are always appreciated, and I'll see you all again in Chapter 1!

ScarFox out for now!