RE: Small Ship, Big War

RE: Small Ship, Big War (Full Version)

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Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/22/2007 12:10:38 AM)
July 21, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 6 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- Lieutenant Miharu chooses to walk to his house from the train station in Kanazawa. It is not all that far, and he wants to see his old neighborhood. It is his opinion that you get a much different impression of a place by walking through it as opposed to driving through it, and he wants to revel in the experience of coming home as much as possible. It is not quite the experience he expects, though. Everything he sees is familiar. To be sure, there have been a few small changes in the year he has been gone, but for all practical purposes the streets are the ones he remembers. Yet as he walks somehow the lieutenant feels out of place, almost as if he was a stranger here. It’s as though he was walking through the set of a movie about his former life. This is unsettling. The feeling diminishes as he approaches his house, but lingers in the background. He wonders what causes this feeling of strangeness. Perhaps I just need some time, he thinks. Then he is walking down his street and standing in front of his house. Nothing has changed. He feels as though he walked out this door just yesterday. He feels as though he has not been here in a hundred years. He muddles through this strange double vision and opens the door. Once inside he slips off his shoes and steps into the front hall. Then his wife is there, alerted by sound of his entrance. For a moment they just look at each other, and then they embrace. For the lieutenant the feeling of strangeness recedes, at least for the moment. She is here, and he is home. Quite a long time later he is wearing his favorite robe and seated on the floor beside a table while his wife pours them some tea. Kojima then also sits. The lieutenant admires the grace with which she does so, then becomes aware that she is gazing at him with a serious look on her face. “What is it?” he asks her. She takes a deep breath. “My husband, there is something I must tell you,” she says. She then relates how she took in his wounded brother, hid him in the garden shed, and nursed him back to health. “I have not seen him since he left,” she says. “I know I have disobeyed your wishes. I will accept whatever punishment you decide.” Lieutenant Miharu leans forward a little, his hand on his chin. He thinks for a moment. “While it is true that you obeyed the letter of my orders by not allowing him into the house,” he says, “you have certainly disobeyed their spirit.” He pauses and switches to his best command voice. “I therefore order you confined to quarters for the next ten days.” Kojima lowers her eyelashes demurely. “As my husband commands,” she murmurs. Somehow they manage not to spill any of the tea. --- Chief Petty Officer Shun locates Riku at the paymaster’s desk in the corner of one of the storerooms. Riku is seated at the little desk filling out more of the inevitable forms. He looks up as Shun steps in, then quickly stands to attention. Shun regards him for a moment, just long enough for Riku to feel increasingly nervous. “I have a question about yesterday,” says Shun finally. “Why did that idiot Tokeitai officer approach you in the first place? Why did he select you of everyone on the ship to try to get at the Captain?” Riku maintains his best poker face. This is the question he has worried about the most. He also knew it would be asked, though, and has carefully prepared his reply. “I am not certain why, Chief,” he says slowly. “From what he said, though, I think he came across a report that I had been seen talking to a man named Ito, a submarine commander. Ito is kind of a legend. He has a reputation as a man who can get things done, you know?” Shun nods. He has known such men before. “There are some strange stories about him,” Riku continues. “They say he once had an American general aboard his submarine as part of some top secret mission.” “So why were you talking to this man?” Shun says. Riku braces himself. It is a fatal mistake to think of Shun as all brawn and no brains. He must not underestimate the Chief. “In the course of my duties,” he says, indicating the desk, “I talk to a lot of people. Lieutenant Kataoka knows, as I do, that it is often necessary to go outside official channels to fill the needs of the ship and the crew. I spoke with Ito several times at Kwajalein because I had been told he had access to goods I needed.” Not a word of this is a lie. It is also not the truth. “I see,” says Shun. “So Umeda thought you were involved in our ‘plot’ and tried to blackmail you into turning against the Captain.” Riku nods. It is one of his guiding principals that you never interrupt someone who is busy talking themselves into something you want them to believe. “And you let him think he had succeeded and then went to the Captain,” Shun continues. “Clever, very clever.” “Thank you, Chief,” says Riku. “You are a very clever man,” says Shun. “Sometimes I think you are too clever.” Riku says nothing. At the moment he happens to agree with the Chief. “You jumped in front of the Captain when Umeda tried to shoot him,” Shun says. This change of subject jars Riku. “Yes, Chief,” he says. Shun remains as immobile as ever, but Riku has the impression that he wants to pace back and forth. “In a moment such as that,” Shun continues, speaking slowly, “when a gun is leveled and there is no time to think, that is when a man shows what is in his heart. Many would have frozen. Many would have thrown themselves to the floor. You chose to protect your captain.” He stares down at the ground for a long moment. “That tells me more than all your clever plans and schemes,” he says finally. Then he opens his mouth again as if to speak. Riku says nothing. He does not even breathe. For just a moment his world tilts on a balancing point, and all things are possible. Suddenly Shun closes his mouth with an almost audible snap. He spins on his heel and walks out. The moment passes. Riku lets out a long breath and sits back down. He must be imagining things, he thinks. For a moment he had the strong feeling that Shun was going to talk about Nanami. Then he shakes his head. Not likely, he thinks. Whatever he does, it will never be enough. Slowly he lowers his face into his hands. He suddenly feels very tired.

Skipjack -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/22/2007 4:16:23 AM)
Cuttlefish, I am amazed at how interesting you can make a destroyer refit. You have me on the hook for the rest of this AAR. In the meantime, I will try to catch up from the other end - on page 8 right now, its all good [:)]

Onime No Kyo -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/22/2007 4:25:49 AM)
Poor Riku, the guy dodged two bullets in one day....[:D]

princep01 -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/22/2007 4:47:09 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock Beautifully done! Umeda should have quit while he was ahead. (Well, less behind than he is now.)[;)] Regrettably, people like Umeda never learn to quit when ahead, as they are life's perpetual losers. Now, he is a loser with a badly broken wrist and an unpleasant career move in store.

alaviner -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/22/2007 5:08:06 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: princep01 quote: ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock Beautifully done! Umeda should have quit while he was ahead. (Well, less behind than he is now.)[;)] Regrettably, people like Umeda never learn to quit when ahead, as they are life's perpetual losers. Now, he is a loser with a badly broken wrist and an unpleasant career move in store. Since he has had his malarial punishment, His next posting should be along the Mongolian-Rusian border doing cavity searchs on Yaks crossing the border.

dekwik -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/22/2007 7:00:28 AM)
Very enjoyable Cuttlefish. For everybody who posts, there's 10 of us enjoying quietly!

cantona2 -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/22/2007 10:32:54 AM)
I do hope you tell us about Umeda's fate. Maybe the IJA has something akin to the Wehrmacht's 999 Penal Battalions or the Red Army's schtraft (sp) companies for Umeda to spend some time in [:D]

AU Tiger_MatrixForum -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/22/2007 10:51:53 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: cantona2 I do hope you tell us about Umeda's fate. Maybe the IJA has something akin to the Wehrmacht's 999 Penal Battalions or the Red Army's schtraft (sp) companies for Umeda to spend some time in [:D] THAT will improve his attitude! Sensitivity training may be more in order for him, instructed by BMC Shun of course.

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/23/2007 6:35:00 AM)
July 22, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 5 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- Taiki is walking along the street that parallels the waterfront, heading back to Hibiki. He waves to Mrs. Yoshino at her bento cart as he passes her on the other side of the street, and she waves back. He continues on for a short ways when suddenly he is hailed from behind. “Mr. Takahashi! Hey, stop!” He turns in surprise and sees a woman hurrying along the street behind him. She is fairly tall, dressed in a blouse and monpe, the loose-fitting pantaloons that have become the standard dress for women in the factories. With surprise and pleasure he recognizes her as Sayumi Komatsu, the plasterer he helped a few days ago. She comes up to him and stops. “I have been trying to track you down for the last two days,” she says, slightly out of breath. Taiki regards her, bemused. This woman is not like any other woman he has ever met. “You were very kind to me the other day and I was unforgivably rude,” she says. “I could not rest until I found you and apologized.” Taiki blinks. “That’s all right,” he says. “You were angry, it was understandable.” “I was angry, all right,” she says. “But that isn’t an excuse.” She sighs. “I am always angry these days, it seems,” she says. “I do not wish to be. But I am.” “Why are you so angry?” Taiki says. She spreads her hands. “Why?” she says. “I am a woman trying to make a living doing men’s work. My husband is dead. My family disapproves of everything I do and will have nothing to do with me unless I get married again so I can produce healthy children for the Emperor. What do I have to be happy about?” Her voice has risen throughout this speech. Taiki raises his hand. “Peace,” he says. “I am not among your enemies, I hope.” She blushes slightly. “No,” she says. “You aren’t. Again, I am sorry.” She looks up at him. “Do you have some time? I would like to take you to dinner. It is the least I can do, you saved me a great deal of money the other day.” Taiki is astounded. This woman is asking him out? That is just not done! Sayumi watches his face as if she guesses what he is thinking. Her dark eyes are almost challenging. That is it. Taiki suddenly feels as though he will be a coward if he refuses. And while she may be strange she is undeniably attractive. “I accept,” he says. --- “Well?” says Riku later. “What happened after dinner?” “We talked about plastering,” says Taiki. Riku rolls his eyes. He knows little of the plasterer’s art, of how each plasterer has his own secrets and techniques. How much fiber and what kind to mix in, what proportion of lime and other ingredients to put in each layer, how far apart to set the lathes so the plaster keys properly, he doesn’t know and doesn’t care. He does know that on a first date you do not talk about plaster. Taiki smiles. “She did tell me a bit about herself,” he says. “That’s better,” says Riku. “What did she say?” “She was raised by an aunt who was socially prominent,” Taiki says. “I gather the aunt was active in some of the social movements of the 20’s.” Feminism was quite a strong movement in Japan until the rising militarism of the 1930’s put an end to it. “As a result she has rather unconventional views. When her husband was killed she decided to try to keep the business going rather than return to her family. It hasn’t been easy for her.” “I would say not,” says Riku. “A widow, eh? Ah, Taiki, I can tell you that such women can be a real treat for a sailor on leave. They know what they…” He stops when he sees the look Taiki is giving him. “Sorry, sorry,” he says. “I forget what a stick you are sometimes.” Taiki’s frown turns into a grin. “I am seeing her again tomorrow,” he says. “And I may be a stick, but I have spent a lot of the time in the past week with attractive women on my arm. What have you been doing?” Riku sighs. “Counting nuts and bolts and dodging the Tokeitai,” he says morosely. “You win.”

Onime No Kyo -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/23/2007 2:00:54 PM)
Wow.That was a low blow, even from a superior. [:(]

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/23/2007 8:57:53 PM)
July 23, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 4 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- “They are used to people so they are easy to handle,” Yoshitake tells the ensign from Isuzu. He lifts the snake out of the crate to demonstrate. The young python, now about two feet long, twines itself lazily around his forearm. “Don’t startle him, though, they can bite pretty hard when they want to.” He deposits the snake back in the crate and closes the lid. “Perfect,” says the ensign. He hands Yoshitake a small roll of yen. “Is there anything else I should know?” “Well, sir, they don’t deal with cold very well,” says Yoshitake. “And they only eat live rodents. Dead ones don’t interest them at all.” The ensign thanks him, then hoists the crate and sets off down the pier back to his own ship. That is the last of Benzaiten’s offspring to leave the ship. Oizuma sold most of them before he went on leave. They have not been hard to get rid of. The rumor that the snakes are good luck charms that will protect a ship has spread throughout Okayama, and there are few warships that call at the port this month that leave without one. Down in the bunk area Benzaiten herself does not seem to miss her children. The Borneo native sleeps contentedly in her crate, dreaming whatever dreams snakes have. --- Captain Ishii meets with Captain Shimura of the Tokeitai in his cabin. The meeting, as it turns out, is amicable and relatively brief. “To sum up, Captain,” Shimura says, “we have found no evidence at all that Umeda’s charges are true. He seems to have built a case in his mind based on his desire for revenge for the wrongs he imagines you have done him.” “I am sorry it came to this, though,” says Ishii. “He really was ill, I gather. Based on the little I saw I imagine the fever has somewhat addled his brain.” “Indeed,” says Shimura. “It is regrettable.” “What will become of him, sir?” Ishii asks. Shimura shrugs. “He has been reduced in grade and is obviously no longer reliable enough to serve with the Tokeitai,” he says. “By the time he is done serving several months of confinement for assaulting an officer he will be well enough to return to active duty. Regular navy, I would imagine. Perhaps a berth can be found for him on one of the patrol craft based in the Kuriles.” “I see,” says Ishii, with only a small amount of sympathy. “There is one more thing, Captain,” Shimura says. “Yes?” “That man of yours, Ariga,” says Shimura. “He roped in Umeda like a man tethering a goat. I don’t blame him, he did the best he could in a difficult position. It is not easy for an enlisted man to think clearly when being braced by an officer like that.” “I agree, sir,” Ishii says. “And I take full responsibility for what happened. He suggested the plan, but I am the one who ordered it carried out.” Shimura waves his hand dismissively. “No one is talking about responsibility or blame,” he says. “I admire the cunning he used. No, I wanted to offer him a job. The Tokeitai can always use men like that.” I will see myself in hell before I allow that young man to fall into your clutches, Ishii thinks. He can think of nothing more likely to ruin Ariga than to allow him to join the Tokeitai. “That is a generous offer,” says Ishii aloud. “I will talk to him about it personally.” “Excellent,” says Shimura. He rises. “Once again, my personal apologies for what happened.” He salutes. Ishii returns it and Shimura leaves, courteously escorted off the ship by Ensign Handa, who is waiting in the companionway outside.

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/24/2007 2:12:28 AM)
July 24, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 4 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- The first third of Hibiki’s crew to get leave begins to come back to the ship, while the last third eagerly prepares to depart. Among those who return today is Shiro, who excitedly goes to find Riku. He tracks him down in one of the storage lockers. “Hey, Kuramata, good to see you!” says Riku. He has missed his friend. “Leading Seaman Kuramata, if you please,” says Shiro proudly. “The promotion came through while I was on leave.” “Good for you!” says Riku. “About time, too.” “Thank you,” says Shiro, pleased. “It looks like the work on the ship is nearly done. I hope things haven’t been too dull for you, stuck here for the last two weeks.” Riku just looks at him for a moment, and then bursts out laughing. --- “So you and your father and grandmother will be leaving for Okinawa tomorrow,” Taiki says. He is escorting Nanami on her morning walk. Nanami nods. “Yes,” she says. “It will be good to be home again. And you, you are going home too?” “Yes,” says Taiki. “My last leave was very brief because of my promotion. I am looking forward to seeing my parents for more than just a day.” “What about this woman you have been seeing?” Nanami asks. They stop at a sea wall overlooking the harbor. From here they can see the bend in the harbor and the channel south that leads to the Inland Sea. “I don’t know,” says Taiki. “I like her, I think I like her a lot. But I don’t know what my parents will say. I think that if she and my father get a chance to talk he will be charmed immediately. All she needs to do is start debating with him whether horse hair or ox hair works best for the first coat and he will immediately grant his approval. “My mother…I don’t know. Sayumi is a widow, and she is very outspoken, and she does not dress traditionally…I don’t know what my mother will say.” Nanami reaches out and touches his arm. “You have done so much for Riku and I,” she says. “I think if you put as much energy into your own problem you can solve it.” “Perhaps you are right,” says Taiki with a smile. “Though somehow the fury of a man such as your father does not seem as intimidating right now as the hurt silence of a mother who thinks you are making the wrong choice.”

ChezDaJez -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/24/2007 6:32:03 AM)
quote: “No one is talking about responsibility or blame,” he says. “I admire the cunning he used. No, I wanted to offer him a job. The Tokeitai can always use men like that.” A few months ago that would have been like asking the fox to patrol the henhouse... might still be. Chez

tocaff -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/24/2007 3:37:47 PM)
Very good writng CF. The faces and personalities of the main characters are well done as the stories about them are intertwined with the war.

Onime No Kyo -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/25/2007 5:53:38 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish “Perhaps you are right,” says Taiki with a smile. “Though somehow the fury of a man such as your father does not seem as intimidating right now as the hurt silence of a mother who thinks you are making the wrong choice.” Taiki has a Jewish mother?! [X(][:'(][:D]

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/26/2007 5:37:37 AM)
July 25, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 3 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- The next morning Sayumi meets Taiki near the ship and drives him to the train station. Most women would give up the wheel and let the man do the driving; Sayumi does not. When they get to the station Sayumi parks. They sit in silence for a moment watching travelers stream in and out of the station. Many of them are in uniform, many are not. “You will not be coming back to Okayama,” Sayumi says at last. “No,” says Taiki. “Hibiki will be ordered to Tokyo when the work is done. I will rejoin the ship there.” “The last man I took to this station was my husband,” says Sayumi quietly, looking ahead out the windshield. “He did not come back.” “I would like to make promises and assure you that I will come back,” says Taiki. “But I can’t. I have seen too many people die to make such a promise.” Sayumi turns and looks at him. “That is one of the things I like about you,” she says. Taiki does not know what to say to this, so he kisses her. When it ends she leans back and touches him on the cheek. “Goodbye,” she says. Taiki, still slightly stunned from the kiss, feels as though he should say something. But he remains tongue tied. “Goodbye,” is all he can think of. She just nods, obviously holding back tears and not trusting herself to speak. Taiki grabs his duffel and leaves the cab of the battered little truck. He stands in the parking lot and watches her drive out of sight before he turns and heads into the station. --- Life at Kawasaki prisoner of war camp number 2-B is not easy. Ensign Mark Turnby and many of the other prisoners return to the narrow two-story barracks from a hard day of work at the Mitsui warehouses nearby. Turnby aches everywhere, but the pain is nothing compared to the hunger. They simply almost never get enough to eat. Sometimes a guard can be bribed for extra food, or even less often one will give some out of some impulse of kindness. But that is rare. Beatings are more likely, sometimes for no reason at all that anyone can tell. Fatigue and hunger take their toll, and illness is common among the 236 prisoners. On a slat bunk nearby he can hear his friend Jack shaken by coughing. Turnby is worried about the young lieutenant. It is starting to sound like pneumonia. Last week a young Dutch corporal died of the same thing. There is no medical help to be had, and the chances of recovery from anything serious in their weakened condition is almost nil. Turnby leans back on his own bunk and tries to rest. Life in this industrial area on Tokyo Bay, just north of Yokahama, goes on in endless hunger and work, with little to differentiate one day from another. And Turnby knows it will get worse. There are marines here from the Japanese capture of Wake who have been here much longer than he has. They rarely talk much any more. A bored-looking guard steps into the room. He looks around, then call out. “Turnby!” he barks, the name mangled in Japanese. Oh god, thinks Turnby, this is never good. He wearily rolls to his feet. “Here!” he says. The guard gestures at him. “You, come,” he says. Turnby has learned enough Japanese to understand him, and at any rate his meaning is plain. He forces himself to walk quickly; the guards do not like to be kept waiting. The guard leads him out the main door and around the side of the building. There under a wooden overhang is a bench. Sitting on it is a young Japanese sailor. Turnby recognizes him immediately. “Ariga?” he says incredulously. The sailor smiles. “I am glad you remember me,” he says in English “Call me when you are done,” the guard tells Ariga in Japanese, and leaves. The Japanese sailor stands and looks Turnby over. His eyes widen as he takes in Mark’s condition. “You…you look terrible!” he says.

cantona2 -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/26/2007 9:53:56 AM)
[&o]

tocaff -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/26/2007 12:41:33 PM)
Masterful! A NY Times bestseller! Hollywood next!

Terminus -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/26/2007 3:26:39 PM)
NO! Hollywood will RUIN it!

tocaff -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/26/2007 5:52:27 PM)
Yeah but if CF is good he can write the script and keep creative control. The money will probably equal out to about $1.00 per hour for the WITP PBEM making it all worthwhile.

rtrapasso -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/26/2007 6:13:01 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Terminus NO! Hollywood will RUIN it! Well, i certainly don't think it could go into general release with an "alternative history of the war"... you might be able to do an anime cartoon kind of thing with an alternative war history.

Feinder -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/26/2007 10:36:01 PM)
"Sieze him!" I love it. I doubt the Japanese say that, but I love it anyway. I think Umeda should get his own theme music. I can't decide whether it should something ominous like the "Emporer's March" form Star Wars, or something denoting complete buffoonery such as Wile E. Coyote's theme from Looney Toons. -F-

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/27/2007 1:14:04 AM)
July 26, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 2 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- Riku Ariga sits by himself in a waterfront dive in Kawasaki and stares moodily into his drink. On his face is the expression of a man who has seen the face of evil and is afraid that it is his own. The condition of the prisoners he went to visit has shaken him deeply. What really bothers him, though, is his awareness that had he not felt a personal connection to the two Americans he might not have given it much of a thought. He knows why prisoners of war are treated as they are and had never really considered the matter before. He knows how brutal the life of the typical Japanese soldier is. It is easier in the navy, a little, but he has still experienced some of this himself and accepts it. He also knows what the prevailing attitude is about surrendering, and again this is something that he shares. Yet if Hibiki went down and he was left bobbing about in the water would he grab a rope flung down from an enemy ship, as those Americans did? Riku rather thinks he would. He felt shame while talking to Turnby. More than anything else this is what tells him that something is wrong somewhere. And he is honest enough to admit to himself that if he is shamed by the way these men are treated then he himself deserves a part of that shame. He is not an introspective man by nature, and these are uncomfortable thoughts he is having. Riku isn’t even sure why he came here in the first place. He was in no hurry to get home, and had been wondering about the two men he had helped rescue and take prisoner. They weren’t hard to find. Yet now he is rather wishing he had not made the trip. He was happier not knowing what he now knows. He sighs. He does know, that is what matters now. The question is what if anything is he going to do about it. He has an idea, but it will take money. Since giving away a small fortune a year ago he has become quite frugal and has saved most of his pay. This is easy to do when you are at sea for a year. Yet it won’t be nearly enough. He needs additional resources. He finishes his drink, then hoists his bag and heads for the train station. He is not going to find the money he needs here in Kawasaki.

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/27/2007 11:39:06 PM)
July 27, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 1 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- “I confess, Seaman Ariga, you are not among those I expected to turn up on my doorstep,” says Lieutenant Miharu. He and Riku are sitting cross-legged on the floor on either side of a low, beautifully lacquered table. Kojima, his wife, enters wearing a kimono and bearing a tray. She sets it on the table and then proceeds to serve tea to both men. Her movements are graceful and her manners impeccable. Riku thanks her and looks around. So this is how the other half lives, he thinks. The lieutenant’s house is not large but the furnishings are tasteful and expensive. And his wife is a beauty. He wonders for a moment how hard it is for the lieutenant to make the transition back and forth between this and the spartan conditions aboard a destroyer. “Sir,” he says, “thank you for seeing me. I hope you will forgive my intrusion into your time off.” “You would not be here, I think, if it were not important,” says Miharu. It seems odd to Riku to see Hibiki’s executive officer looking relaxed and comfortable in civilian dress. He almost seems like a different person than the quiet, efficient officer Riku knows. Riku thanks him and apologizes for the intrusion once more. Again the lieutenant assures him that it is no bother. The forms thus observed Riku launches into an account of his visit to Kawasaki prisoner of war camp 2-B. “Turnby thinks that the junior lieutenant, Jack, will not survive without medical care,” Riku concludes. Lieutenant Miharu sips his tea and remains silent for a long moment. His face is imperturbable. Riku would give a great deal to know what he is thinking, but the officer is one of the hardest men to read Riku has ever met. “What did you think of conditions at the camp?” Miharu finally says. “Sir…well, sir, I…it seems…” Miharu holds up a hand. “Nothing we say here will leave this room,” he says. “Speak your mind, please.” Riku takes a deep breath. “While I was there, sir,” he says, “I saw us the way Turnby sees us. It made me feel ashamed, sir.” The lieutenant nods slowly. “I think it is something to be ashamed about,” he says. “We could talk about why it is so, about the effect of rapid modernization on our society, about the influence of the Army and the hard-liners on our policies, about other things. But that won’t change anything right away or help those two men. So tell me, Ariga, why have you come here? What do you want of me?” “Sir,” says Riku, “I have a plan, but it needs more money and influence than I have. I thought that because you had a connection to Ensign Turnby you might want to help.” “That,” says the lieutenant, “depends on what you have in mind. I do take seriously the obligations of the uniform I wear.” “Sir,” says Riku earnestly, “believe me, it wouldn’t occur to me that you would do otherwise. I would not ask you to do anything wrong. All I want you to do is help me bribe people.” The lieutenant cocks his head to one side and regards Riku curiously. “There’s nothing wrong with a little honest bribery and corruption,” says Riku defensively. “They are just like any other tools. They are not right or wrong in themselves, it’s the use to which they’re put that makes them one or the other.” Lieutenant Miharu bursts out laughing. “You,” he says to Riku after he recovers, “are a thoroughly dangerous man. Have you thought of what you will do after the war? I see a career for you as a philosopher.” “Actually, sir, I was thinking of business or politics,” Riku says. “May our ancestors protect us,” says Lieutenant Miharu.

Capt. Harlock -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/28/2007 10:17:20 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish I would not ask you to do anything wrong. All I want you to do is help me bribe people. I love it! Action, romance, and now philosophy![:D]

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/28/2007 11:58:44 PM)
July 28, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 0 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- The work on Hibiki is completed. The dockside workers pack up their tools and leave the ship. On the platform behind the aft turret the new anti-aircraft guns sit under canvas covers, ready for use. There is new glass where needed on the bridge and all the bullet holes have been repaired. Everywhere there is new wiring and new paint. Hibiki will remain at Okayama until the end of the month. By then two thirds of the crew will be back aboard and the ship will proceed to Tokyo Bay. There they will await whatever assignment the Imperial Navy gives to them next. It is not immediately clear what that will be. Since the fall of Buna things have been mostly quiet in the Pacific, though fierce fighting is raging around Port Moresby. If there is any action taking place elsewhere rumor of it has not reached Hibiki’s crew. Whatever assignment they draw both ship and crew are in better shape to meet it than they were three weeks ago. Time in Japan has worked wonders for morale. They do not know what lies ahead, but for the moment they are content. They will deal with whatever the future holds when it happens.

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/29/2007 4:05:42 AM)
July 29, 1943 Location: Okayama Course: Disbanded in port Attached to: None Mission: None System Damage: 0 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: Proceed to Okayama for refit --- Lieutenant Miharu makes the financial arrangements with an accountant who sometimes does work for his family. The account thinks that, as structured, the arrangements are not strictly speaking illegal. Still, he agrees that it is the sort of thing that is best not advertised. For his part Riku spends some time finding and selecting just the right guard within the prisoner of war camp. He has to be senior enough to have some clout and smart enough to handle unexpected circumstances. That he will be corrupt enough to accept the deal Riku accepts as a given; he has yet to meet a prison guard who isn’t. Fortunately Riku excels at this sort of thing and quickly has his man, a Kempeitai captain. The deal is simple; the captain gets a payment each month that both of the two prisoners, Jack and Turnby, are alive. Individually the payments are modest, but over time they will add up to a nice sum. The guard captain quickly makes arrangements to protect his nest eggs. Jack gets medical care, and they both get more rest and food almost immediately. These benefits, to some extent, have to be extended to other prisoners to ensure that undue attention isn’t called to the two PT boat officers. Few complaints are heard from the prisoners on this score. Though somewhat complicated, it is a modest enough act of kindness on the part of Lieutenant Miharu and Riku. Life will remain hard for the two Americans, but they have a chance to survive where many other prisoners of the Japanese will not. Neither Riku or Lieutenant Miharu have any idea that they have just placed their hands on the lever of history and given it a profound shove.

histgamer -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/29/2007 5:23:08 AM)
How did they find that damn lever I have looked for it all my life and cant find it anywhere. On a more serious note I wonder what kind of ramifcatons you are refering to when you say they have given the lever of history a shove... hmmmm I trust you WILL make us wait till the end of the war to find that out?[:(]

Grotius -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/29/2007 5:57:22 AM)
quote: I wonder what kind of ramifcatons you are refering to when you say they have given the lever of history a shove. I suspect he means that Riku and Lieutenant Miharu may have just saved the life of the 35th President of the United States. One question for Cuttlefish: you said in your dramatis personae that Frank Barnwell was not a historical person. But there was a Frank Barnwell who was a British aviator and aeronautical engineer. He died before WW2, but he did have three sons, a couple of whom served as pilots in the RAF in the war and apparently died while flying Blenheims. For a brief bio of Barnwell Sr., see this wikipedia entry. For a more extensive account of his accomplishments, see this page. Anyway, I'm wondering if your Frank Barnwell is any relation to Barnwell the aeronautical engineer, or his sons. :)

Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War (11/29/2007 6:36:30 AM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Grotius One question for Cuttlefish: you said in your dramatis personae that Frank Barnwell was not a historical person. But there was a Frank Barnwell who was a British aviator and aeronautical engineer. He died before WW2, but he did have three sons, a couple of whom served as pilots in the RAF in the war and apparently died while flying Blenheims. For a brief bio of Barnwell Sr., see this wikipedia entry. For a more extensive account of his accomplishments, see this page. Anyway, I'm wondering if your Frank Barnwell is any relation to Barnwell the aeronautical engineer, or his sons. :) Very, very good! I named my Barnwell after the real one. I wondered if anyone would spot that. I should have guessed someone would, given the amazing range of knowledge the people on this forum have.

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