Bright Red Line (Backyard Starship #22)

by J.N. Chaney

“Brankilin, there’s a proud tradition in at least some Earthly navies, including the navy of my homeland, the United States, of perpetuating the names of ships by doing just what you’re proposing. As an example, over the past two hundred and fifty years or so, there have been at least a half a dozen ships to bear the name Enterprise⁠—” “Actually, eight,” Perry said. “Although, technically, the first two of those belonged to the Continental Navy, not the US Navy, and one was a motor boat purchased by the US Navy for service as a noncommissioned patrol vessel. The ninth Enterprise, a Gerald R. Ford-class carrier, was commissioned in 2028. There was also the space shuttle Enterprise, and then Starfleet had nine ships called Enterprise, although the Kelvin timeline kinda screws things up, and⁠—” “Getting kinda fictional there, bird, but point taken. All of which is to say, yes, Brankilin—I think that naming this ship the Iowa is a fine idea,” I said.