Cuttlefish -> RE: Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki (3/5/2007 9:44:37 AM)
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March 14, 1942 Location: Kwajalien Course: None Attached to: TF 6 Mission: Surface Combat System Damage: 5 Float Damage: 0 Fires: 0 Fuel: 475 Orders: None as yet. --- It is midafternoon at Kwajalein. Less than an hour earlier Hibiki had slipped through one of the passages and anchored within the sheltered waters of the lagoon. Now the door of the naval quartermasters shack bursts open and Captain Ishii strides in. The clerk behind the desk tries not to flinch as the captain strides up to him. Captain Ishii: Well? Quartermaster: Sir, um, welcome back. May I make known to you Commander Kanzaki, sir? *he indicates a naval officer standing off to one side* Captain Ishii turns and looks the man over. The Commander salutes Captain Ishii. Captain Ishii automatically returns the salute. Commander Kanzaki: I am pleased to make your acquantiance, Captain. Specifically, I am captain of torpedo tender AD-3161. We arrived from Ominato just a few days ago. Captain Ishii: *smiles broadly* I am most pleased to make your acquaintance as well, sir. Commander Kanzaki: With your permission we will tie up alongside this afternoon. We have eighteen Type 93 torpedoes for you to deliver to the Americans. Captain Ishii: Permission granted! --- It is an hour later. Captain Ishii has arrived at 6th Fleet headquarters, and is now speaking with Vice Admiral Shimizu. Admiral Shimizu: Captain, I need to detach two more destroyers to escort Shokaku and Kaga back to Japan. How would you feel about going? Captain Ishii: Sir, Hibiki is ready to do whatever is asked of her. Admiral Shimizu: I do not doubt it, Ishii. But that is not what I asked. You may speak your mind freely. Captain Ishii: Thank you, sir. It is my feeling, if I may be bold, that Hibiki has already done her share of playing nursemaid to stricken aircraft carriers so far this war. The Americans are not going away, sir. The men and I want to be out here fighting them. Admiral Shimizu: *nods* I thought you might feel that way. Very well. You will remain under Admiral Goto's command. Get your ship ready quickly, Ishii, you depart in the morning. Captain Ishii: Yes sir. Thank you. What is our mission? Admiral Shimizu: You are needed at Wake. We have been shuttling task forces between here and Wake, raiding the island and intercepting shipping. So far we have caught and sunk something like five destroyers or destroyer transports and maybe seven or eight frieghters. Our submarines and planes have been active as well, so it hard to get an accurate count. *he chuckles* The men are calling the run "the Kwajalein Express". Admiral Goto has already been fully briefed, of course, and will give you further details. Be careful! American bombers are active in the area once the sun rises, so you need to be well clear of the island by then. So far we have been lucky, the only ship hit was Ise, and the damage was minor. Captain Ishii: Very good, sir. We will be ready to sail. Admiral Shimizu: Good hunting, Captain. --- On the docks at Roi-Namur, Kwajalein. Two sailors face each other for a moment, not speaking. One is a sailor, one an ensign. The sailor begins a salute, but is wrapped in a fiece bear hug by the ensign. Noburo: None of that! I wish for now to torment you as an elder brother, not as an officer. Taiki: Yes sir...I mean Noburo... Noburo releases his brother and laughs. Noburo: You look well, Taiki! I hear you and your ship have been busy! Taiki: We have! And how about you? It is so good to see you safe! Noburo: We have been riding the Kwajalein Express. Your turn tomorrow, I hear. Taiki: Yes, we sail tomorrow. And you? Noburo: The same. Not to Wake this time, though. The Mutsu has other orders. But come, we have much to talk about and little time. Walk with me. I hear you saw mother and father! How are they? The two men fall into step, the war forgotten as they talk. For a short while they are not just two sailors on a bit of coral a very long ways from home. They are family again, and neither man could ask for a greater gift.
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