1275psi
Posts: 7979
Joined: 4/17/2005 Status: offline
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San Jose is a barren, blasted place A great plain, dusty, nominally a an airfield. On one edge, the remains of shattered buildings, what once were hangers. About the field, scattered everywhere, wrecked and abandoned planes. If it has flown for Japan in this war, you might find the remains of one of its kind in this bleak place. Diogowa looks about him with disgus. Is there any support here?, any chance of a meal?, let alone a bed? Disconcently he wanders over towards the remains of the buildings, his fighter cooling with its tinkling chorus behind him. And discovers many things. San Jose has gone underground......... from a narrow dark gash in the ground figures emerge, ground crews, a smart looking Naval Leutenant. The gash dives deep, an underground bunker......and looking around, there appears to be many more And those grubby, tangled bushes piled over there, and there............and there. A closer look...........reverents, cunningly camoflaged, fighetrs hidded under the grass, the brush. San Jose, it seems, is still very much alive The Officer approaches Diogowa, ........."Welcome!.......Command HQ is at the base of that tree.........do not worry about your fighter, it will be ready for you tomorrow!" Diogowa almost reels from the enthusiasm, the stunningly correct uniform....... 'And Commander Ogowa sends his regards............can you join him please?" Commander?.............gods, what next, Cin C air force? he makes his way to the tree, another slit trench, steps, a descent, a heavy door, a deep, wide, dry electrically lit ole in the ground, radios aligning one wall, the busy sounds of a HQ at work. Ogowa is sitting on a chair, a sheaf of papers on his lap.......... Diogowa smailes "I do not know whether to salute you, or punch you!" Ogowa shrugs..........."Live long enough in a war.......you know.........." the smile vanishes. "Business tomorrow. Our fleet is going to pass us tomorrow, make a dash across the Sulu sea......." "last ride of the valkyries and all that?" 'and all that" Ogowa waves the papers..........'Long range CAP roster...." Ogowa hesitates..........."friend, I am asking you not to fly tomorrow, to stay here, co ordinate the flights..........." his voice fades in embarressment Diogowa, stunned, cannot answer. Not fly tomorrow?, not fight?..........not journey together...........? "But........." Ogowa stands, comes close, takes his friend, his brother in arms, this inseperable companion......"The war is winding down , and we have come so far. Do you remember all those who started, our happy little mess on Zuiho?. Now we are all but gone. And I want one of us to live, to tell the world their story, so that they will never be forgotten..........." Diogowa cannot answer "I will think on it"
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