Fukada thought about that, and his own arguments to Yamamoto. He realized that Harada was correct. They had mismanaged their attack. Communications were in place, but the pilots off those carriers had trouble adapting to the last minute change of plans. They were late, and now they die out there alone, with our only consolation being the fact that the Russians have to expend ordnance to kill them. The Captain summed it up pretty good. All we are now is a candle in the wind of this war. Yet he’s right about those 36 missiles. If we hold those, we might make a difference somewhere else, against the Americans. That’s what we should have done in the first place. Why wouldn’t Yamamoto listen to me?
He knew the answer to that the moment he asked himself the question. They appeared here in a daze, unbelieving, shocked by what had happened to them. Then they hatched this plan to get to Yamamoto. It did one good thing, he thought. It put us on the right side of this argument. We had to stand up for Japan, even if it meant we turned our backs on the allies that designed and built the technology we’re using now. This ship is basically just a knock off for a Burke Class Destroyer, with a few more bells and whistles.
But look at us now. Our SSMs are gone, and 40% of our SAMs, and all we did was cost the other fellow 13 missiles. We walked into Yamamoto and Ugaki like we were demigods, miracle workers, with the ship that would turn the tide here in the Pacific. I suppose that’s why Yamamoto set us loose up here. He knows that Russian ship, Siberian ship, is his real nemesis for the time being. It will take the Americans some time to get back on their feet after losing those two carriers in the Coral Sea.
So now we must make a shameful withdrawal here, and then explain all this to Yamamoto. That will be somewhat humbling, won’t it? But at the moment, I don’t see anything more we can do here. “Alright,” he said aloud to the Captain. “I agree with your assessment. In fact, I argued it from the very first. Let’s get out of here, before this Karpov tries our defense again.”
Harada nodded. “Helm, come about. Make your heading 180 degrees south. Ensign Shiota, advise Admiral Kurita that we are redeploying south—don’t use the word withdrawal or retreat. State that all air assets must return to the carriers immediately. Make it urgent. Send it to Kobayashi, and he’ll deliver it to Kurita.”
“I understand, sir.”
When Kurita got that message read to him by the liaison officer, he clenched his jaw. “Redeploy to the south? Why? The enemy is here—somewhere. We must be very close now.”
“Sir,” said the Lieutenant. “In order to properly defend the fleet against the missile weaponry you have witnessed in play here, it is imperative that we now form a unified battlegroup. We are too far north for Takami to adequately protect us.”
“Protect us? That is a cruiser! I am sitting on a battleship, and there is a second one off our port bow.”
“Sir, respectfully, that did not stop the rocket weapons that struck this ship earlier. And you witnessed many such weapons pass our position heading south. They were fired at Takami, and I am happy to report that each and every one of them was defeated by our own rockets. If, however, they had been directed at this task force….” He let a moment of silence underscore his message. Kobayashi was a bright young officer, and he had been selected because of his uncanny way with his seniors, who invariably came to admire him. He seemed to know every nuance of the culture and language, even with these men, ghosts from Japan’s distant past.
“Respectfully, sir, if we join with Takami as a single task force, then your ships can be shielded from harm, and your guns may then get their chance. Yet we must redeploy south, out of range of the enemy to consolidate. Captain Harada makes this urgent request, and begs you to come to a heading of 180 true south. As for the air strikes, he requests they should be recalled to Kaga and Tosa immediately, the planes were unable to time their arrival properly, and Takami remains too far south to defend them as they approach.”
Kurita stared at the man, the anger evident in his eyes. Yet he was no fool, and one thing was now perfectly clear to him, this ship—the Takami—was overmatched. Yes, the attack was not properly coordinated. This is what happens when I allow a Captain to dictate deployments here. I should have taken complete charge of this mission, as I was ordered by Admiral Yamamoto. Under these circumstances, however, it would be foolish to press on without support of all our remaining fleet assets, particularly the carriers. As reluctant as I am to do so, the best course would now be to regroup as this Captain suggests.
“Very well,” he said. “Signal Takami that we are redeploying south as requested, whereupon he will meet with me personally on this ship to explain the incompetence that has put us in this position. That is all. Dismissed!”
When Karpov got the news that the enemy battleships had turned south, he smiled. Yes, he thought, I called their bluff and they folded. Now I savor the satisfaction that comes only to those who truly have power. This unexpected intruder is largely irrelevant. There is no sense wasting more missiles on it, let alone a special warhead. I’ll knock down those planes if they persist, then hasten this other surface action group along, and that alone will show this Captain Harada just how futile his situation is. That ship was never a match for Kirov, but then again, they knew that. This is why they tried to coordinate their surprise attack with these air strikes, but it was badly done.
We were Achilles here today, they were Hector, but lucky that I spared them. Now all of Troy lies before me for the taking. I’ve beaten the one champion they had with any chance of putting a dent in my armor. There is nothing they can do to stop me now, at least on the sea. The rest will be up to our troops on Sakhalin Island. If they do the job, then we will prevail.
I tested Fedorov just now to see how he might react to my proposal to use special warheads. While I expected resistance, I must say his analysis was quite sound. Even though he has been a lot of trouble in the past, he can be quite an asset now. He was completely correct in pointing out that, while we are harboring tactical nukes in our magazines, their real power here lies in strategic application.
And there was one other thing that restrained me, even if he failed to mention it—the exotic effects of a nuclear detonation. I mustn’t forget that we still have Rod-25 aboard. From what I can gather in speaking with Fedorov, Time is rather warped and bruised here now. We must be very cautious about putting any more cracks in Fedorov’s mirror.
This other matter he brought up was also somewhat unsettling. He’s worried, as he always is, about the history, only this time there is something darker, more frightening in his manner than I ever perceived before. He is thinking our actions here are already starting to migrate forward, changing the history in the far future, in our time. He is worried that we will do something that will completely undermine the line of causality, and render our position here null and void. That would be very inconvenient.
I like my position here. In fact, I have no intention of ever trying to return to 2021. I saw quite enough of that world, that war. This one I can manage. Here I am a god on the sea, and a real player in these events. Back there, I am just another sea Captain, just another target when the ballistic missiles start to fly. ‘If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy, my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies.