Twenty minutes later the airboat had entered the huge stern hatches of the Chaka and come to rest in the specially modified hangar adapted from the two lowest decks. An electric lift bore us upwards into the depths of the massive ship and soon I stood with my feet in the soft, scarlet plush of the control room carpet. The control room had windows all around it, but they did not look out from the ship but into its interior. From the windows could be seen the main battle-deck, the big guns jutting through their portholes, the bomb bays (mostly empty now) and the war-weary officers and men standing by their positions. General Hood had had, by the look of him, even less sleep than had I, but Una Persson seemed extraordinarily fresh. It was she who greeted me first.
'Good morning, Mr Bastable. Congratulations on surviving the battle!'
General Hood said, half-proudly, 'It was probably the fiercest and biggest sea-battle in the history of the world. And we won it, Mr Bastable. What do you think of us now? Are we still nothing more than barbarians who pick upon the weak and the innocent, the wounded and the defenceless?'
'Your men and your ships acquitted themselves with great bravery and considerable skill,' I admitted. 'And in this case I would say they had everything to be proud of - for the Australasian-Japanese fleet attacked us, without even bothering to parley.'
'Us?' Hood was quick to pick up the word. 'So you identify with our cause, after all.'
'I identified with my ship,' I said, 'for all that I had precious little to do aboard her. Still, I gather I am here as an observer, not a participant.'
'That is up to you, Mr Bastable,' retorted Hood, running his black hands through his greying hair. 'I have merely given you the opportunity to make your choice. We are about to have luncheon. Won't you join us?'
I made a stiff little bow. 'Thank you,' I said.
'Then, come.' He linked his arm in mine and ushered me from the control room into his private quarters which were linked to the bridge by a short companionway leading directly into his cabin. Here lunch had already been laid out -an excellent selection of cold food which I could not resist. A fine hock was served and I acccepted a glass readily.
'Conditions aboard airships seem rather better than those on ordinary ships,' I said. 'It's freezing down there, almost impossible to get warm unless you're actually in the boiler-room. At least an old-fashioned iron-clad, powered by coal, heated up in almost any temperatures.’
'Well, we'll be making landfall by tomorrow,' said Hood dismissively as he ate. 'However, if you would be more comfortable aboard the Chaka I would be glad to have you as my guest.'
I was about to reject his invitation when Una Persson, seated beside me and wearing a long, simple gown of brown velvet, put a hand on my arm. 'Please stay, Mr Bastable. It will give you a better chance to witness the invasion of New York.'
'Does New York require invading? I had heard that there is hardly anyone living there now.'
'A few thousand,' said Hood airily. 'And about a third of those will doubtless join us when we arrive.'
'How can you be sure of that?' I asked.
'My agents have been active, Mr Bastable. You forget that I have retained contacts all over the United States - it is my home country, after all…'
If I had entertained any doubts concerning Hood's ability to attack and take the city of New York, they were quickly dispersed upon our arrival in what had been one of the largest and richest harbours in the world. New York had sustained if anything a heavier bombardment than London. She had been famous for her tall, metallic towers which had gleamed with a thousand bright colours, but now only two or three of those towers were left standing, stained by the elements, ravaged by explosions, threatening to collapse into the rubble which completely obscured any sign of where her broad avenues, her shady, tree-lined streets, her many parks had stood. A cold wind swept the ruins as our ships came to anchor and our aircraft began to spread out in formation, scouting for any signs of resistance. The Chaka made several flights over New York, dropping sometimes to a height of fifty feet. There were plenty of signs that these ruins were inhabited. Large fires burned in the hollows formed by tumbled concrete slabs, groups of ragged men and women ran for cover as the shadow of our great craft touched them, while others merely stood and gaped.
Elsewhere I had the impression that some form of order existed. I thought I glimpsed dirty white uniforms - soldiers wearing what might have been helmets which obscured their faces. No shots were fired at us, however, by the small groups which hastily made for the shadows whenever we approached.
The scene was made even more desolate by the presence of great drifts of snow, much of it dirty and half-melted, everywhere.
'I see hardly any point in bothering to take the place,' I said to General Hood.
He frowned at this. 'It is a question of destroying the morale of any defenders - here or in other parts of the country,' he said. There was an expression of almost fanatical intensity on his bkck features and his eyes never left the ruins. From time to time he would say, with a mixture of nostalgia and satisfaction, that this was where he had had his first flat in New York; there was where he had worked for one summer as a student; that the heap of rusting girders and shattered stone over which we flew was some famous museum or office building. It was not pleasant to hear him speaking thus - a sort of litany of gloating triumph. Slightly sickened, I turned away from the observation window, and saw Una Persson standing behind us, a look of quizzical and yet tender melancholy on her face, as if she, in her way, also regretted having to listen to Cicero Hood's morbidly gleeful remarks.
'It will be nightfall in three hours,' she said. 'Perhaps it would be best to wait until morning before making the landing?'
He turned, almost angry. 'No! We land now. I'll give the command. Let them see my power!' He reached for a speaking-tube, barking orders into it. 'Prepare for landing! Any resistance to be met without mercy. Tonight the Ashanti celebrate. Let the men have whatever spoils they can find. Contact our friends here. Bring the leaders to me as soon as they have revealed themselves. Tomorrow we continue towards Washington!'
It was with pity that I returned my attention to the ruins. 'Could you not spare them?' I asked him. 'Have they not suffered too much?'
'Not from me, Mr Bastable.' His voice was savage. 'Not from me!'
He refused to continue any sort of conversation, waving a dismissive hand both at Miss Persson and myself. 'If you cannot share my pleasure, then pray do not try to spoil it for me! Go, both of you. I want no whites here!'
Miss Persson was plainly hurt, but she did not remonstrate. She left when I left and we went together to another observation deck, forward, where we probably had a better view of the landing.
First came the infantry, brought ashore in the boats and lining up in orderly ranks on what remained of the quays. Next, huge ramps were extended from the ships and from out of their bowels began to rumble the great armour-plated 'land ironclads'. It hardly seemed possible that so many of the cumbersome machines could have been contained even in that large fleet. Rolling over every obstacle, they manoeuvred into wedge-shaped formations, all facing inland, their top-turrets swinging round to threaten New York with their long guns, their lower turrets rotating slowly as their crews ran a series of tests to make sure that they were in perfect working order. Although the Ashanti had lost about half their force during the Battle of the Atlantic, they could still field a good-sized army and it was doubtful if the United States, crushed by the terrible War Between the Nations, could find anything likely to withstand them. The U.S.A. must now depend on the Australasian-Japanese Federation for support (and we all were sure that they would make some new attempt to stop General Hood).