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Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (6/20/2008 9:20:38 PM)
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April 4, 1944
Location: 60 miles northeast of Iwo Jima
Course: South
Attached to: TF 12
Mission: Transport
System Damage: 0
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 396
Orders: Escort troop ships to Iwo Jima
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Chief Engineer Sakati enters the officer’s wardroom. Lieutenant Sugiyura looks up from the manual he is reading and greets him.
“Ah, it is the intrepid Lieutenant Sakati! Welcome! I can feel from the trembling of the deck plates that you and your gallant men are keeping the ship’s heart beating strong and true.”
Sakati looks over at the table where Lieutenant Kuwaki and the medical officer, Lieutenant JG Nakagawa, are playing a game of shogi. “What’s gotten into him?” he says, indicating Sugiyura.
“He’s been reading too many manuals about leadership and morale,” says Kuwaki, looking up from the board. “As a result he is determined to set a good example by being enthusiastic about everything.”
“It is remarkable how fast it becomes annoying,” says Nakagawa, moving a piece.
Sakati shakes his head and goes over to a small cabinet. He unlocks it and opens the door. From inside he pulls a bottle of scotch out of its padded cradle and then gets out a small glass.
“Would anybody care to join me for a small nightcap?” he says. “For medicinal purposes, of course. I am sure the good doctor here will attest that it aids the digestion and helps promote a good night’s sleep.”
Nakagawa watches Kuwaki reach out towards a piece and then pull back his hand. “I think that most of what passes for liquor around here actually eats holes in the stomach and large intestine,” he says, “but that stuff of yours is so smooth that I might agree with you. I had better have a glass to test it and be sure, though.”
“Very good,” Sakati says. “Anybody else?”
“I go on duty soon,” says Kuwaki. “I had better not.”
“How about you, Sugiyura?” Sakati asks. He expertly fills a glass halfway, not losing a drop to the motion of the ship, and hands it to Nakagawa.
“An officer should abstain from habits that set a bad example to the men,” Sugiyura says. It sounds as though he is quoting something. He looks wistfully at the Scotch, though.
“Don’t be daft, lad,” says Sakati. “There are no enlisted men here. This is the officer’s wardroom, it says so right on the door.”
“An officer’s inner character speaks as much to his men as do his actions,” Sugiyura replies.
Sakati sighs. “Well,” he says. “I happen to agree with that. Which does not mean that you should become a monk! It means that you must keep yourself calm and balanced, able to meet any situation with reserves of inner strength. And to be able to do that, my friend, you must keep yourself properly fortified!” He carefully pours another half glass.
“Are you sure that isn’t just an excuse for self-indulgence?” Sugiyura asks suspiciously.
“Well, aye, if you were to down half the bottle and then hang from the mast singing old sea songs!” says Sakati. “But I am talking about one small glass, lad, not about going on a spree.”
“Well…I guess that makes sense,” says Sugiyura. Sakati hands him the glass. The torpedo officer hesitates, then takes a sip. “That’s good,” he says appreciatively. “I should know better than to argue with you, Sakati. You could coax even the most determined of abstainers into a life of drunken debauchery.”
“Aye,” says Sakati proudly, pouring a drink for himself. “And that, my boy, is leadership!”
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