From here to...well...it SEEMS like an eternity

[tabpub]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: tabpub

ORIGINAL: Wellard

Ok Chet,your the boss

Dear Mr Wellard:

This is Chet's mom, Alice Nimitz. He was up late and didn't have any of his milk yet, so was quite cranky. He was also upset that his precious subs hadn't found some Jap ship called the HOO-YOU or something; and that the Army Air Corps had. I don't understand this, I thought we are all in this together; but, Chet keeps walking around murmuring "G*d d*mn Air Corps flyboys are stealing the show..." and drinking his milk and burping out "Where the f**k are the Kaga and Akagi, the world wonders".

He seems to like that phrase, the world wonders; he used it when Bill Halsey docked the other day after being rescued from the Enterprise.
Here's Bill, standing on the dock at attention in someone else's uniform (as they had to burn his old one it was so oil-soaked) and Chet walks up to him and looks like he is going to do the Eskimo nose rub with him, they were that close. "WHAT THE F**K WERE YOU THINKING!? DID YOUR BRAIN FALL ASLEEP FROM YOU SITTING ON IT?! THE WORLD WONDERS IF YOU EVEN HAVE A BRAIN! JUST LIKE THAT G** D**M SCARECROW IN THAT KID'S MOVIE!! YOU'RE ON THE BEACH; PREPARE TO TAKE OVER SOUTH PACIFIC FROM OLD FUSSBUDGET GHORMLEY, YOU CAN SIT OUT THE WAR DOWN THERE. Dismissed....."

Enclosed find an artist's rendering of the Enterprise sinking....

Yours,

Mama Nimitz

How come the ocean looks like a hideous blue-green carpet and the smoke looks like a close-up of fiberglass insulation[:D]

Jeez...I'd hate to step on one of those babies in my bare feet.

BTW..was Halsey really in command of Enterprise on that fateful Dec 9th? Was Lexington set to follow Enterprise? If so, we can blame Halsey's impetuousness. Lastly why didn't he go down with the ship in a manly fashion like Capt Brown?

As this is becoming a CoI, the answers are the following:
Yes.
No one remembers.
ADM Brown would have made it to the boats, but the heel of his dressing room slipper caught in the grate on the hangar deck; he would not leave without freeing it and was last heard to be saying "I got these for 25 dollars at that cute little store in Hollywood, they match my dressing gown and I'll be damned if I leave one of the pair here!"

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: tabpub

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Looks like the Hermes...

Nope; here's the original. I don't have a shot of an Yorktown class, so had to use these from the convention. Kurita's wet dream scenario.

Hmm..."Shake your Laffy Taffy"...or something along those lines.

[Terminus]

Hmmm... Never was much of a boardgamer...

[Wellard]

ORIGINAL: tabpub

ORIGINAL: Wellard

Ok Chet,your the boss

Dear Mr Wellard:

This is Chet's mom, Alice Nimitz. He was up late and didn't have any of his milk yet, so was quite cranky. He was also upset that his precious subs hadn't found some Jap ship called the HOO-YOU or something; and that the Army Air Corps had. I don't understand this, I thought we are all in this together; but, Chet keeps walking around murmuring "G*d d*mn Air Corps flyboys are stealing the show..." and drinking his milk and burping out "Where the f**k are the Kaga and Akagi, the world wonders".

He seems to like that phrase, the world wonders; he used it when Bill Halsey docked the other day after being rescued from the Enterprise.
Here's Bill, standing on the dock at attention in someone else's uniform (as they had to burn his old one it was so oil-soaked) and Chet walks up to him and looks like he is going to do the Eskimo nose rub with him, they were that close. "WHAT THE F**K WERE YOU THINKING!? DID YOUR BRAIN FALL ASLEEP FROM YOU SITTING ON IT?! THE WORLD WONDERS IF YOU EVEN HAVE A BRAIN! JUST LIKE THAT G** D**M SCARECROW IN THAT KID'S MOVIE!! YOU'RE ON THE BEACH; PREPARE TO TAKE OVER SOUTH PACIFIC FROM OLD FUSSBUDGET GHORMLEY, YOU CAN SIT OUT THE WAR DOWN THERE. Dismissed....."

Enclosed find an artist's rendering of the Enterprise sinking....

Yours,

Mama Nimitz

Dear Mrs Nimitz,
Thats all he did huh? I would have had Halsey watersking to Dutch Harbor behind a destroyer.(Yes from Hawaii) or shot him.... from the Arizonas main guns...into Manau Luai(hope I spelt that right).He may have lost us the war. FDR is most upset that the carriers he approved whilst in the Navy Department seem to have been ...misused is the term he prefers...I would use a stronger term.

If your son Chet doesn't extract his manipulative digit out of his fundament soon the president regrets that he will have to consider a replacement as ComPac. Mr Churchill has already offered to lend us some British Admirals who might fit the bill perfectly.

Yours in hope of Victory

Frederick N Wellard
Special Assistant to the President

[Cap Mandrake]

[font="Courier New"]Dec. 6...The entire province of Kalentan is electric with the news that the Japs have crossed the Magic Line with their troop transports. If true, and we or the Dutch Governement in exile invoke the mutual defence agreement, it may mean the Americans will come in. It could be a bluff on Japan's part, but I don't think there will be any backing down on the oil embargo. For my part, I have no illusion that war can be avoided. Even if the Americans don't come in, I am confident that a few thousand tons of Sheffield steel in the form of the Prince of Wales will cause the Japs to reconsider their bellicosity. In the meantime, it is only prudent to make some plans. I am going home early to help Edith pack. As soon as we get confirmation, I am sending her and the baby down to Kuantan in the Packard. Awang has promised to drive her and stay in Kuantan until this is all sorted out. I am to stay behind as the KVF is almost certain to be called up to augment those portions of FMSV in and about Khota Bahru. Chee Sern has promised to maintain the shop, though it is unlikely their will be much call for our services. I am more expectant than frightened, though Edith is a bit of a wreck. Uncertainty is the mother of rumor and she has fallen prey to some of the wild notions granting the Japs a superman status. Running over Chinese peasants in Manchuria is one thing. Taking on the flower of the British Commonwealth is quite another.[/font]

[Cap Mandrake]

[font="Courier New"]Dec. 7.....The balloon has gone up for real. Jap bombers came in over the South China Sea at dawn this morning and pounded the Khota Bahru airfield. The Bofors gunners claimed two shot down but it looked like a one sided afair to me, with the Japs in the catbird seat. That's not the whole story, either. Something like 20,000 Jap infantry, perhaps two division's worth, came ashore near Kuantan and cut the coastal road. Captain Thistlethwaite claims there are four Jap battlewagons off shore shelling anything that doesn't have a red meatball on it. Even worse, the RAF hasn't scratched them and the Prince of Wales is a no-show. I had no idea the Japs had these kind of resources. Had I known, Edith and the baby would be in Johore by now. I have failed them. I can't let Edith know, but I fear for their safety. The Japs have apparently landed on the Kra Peninsula too. I can't believe how the mood has changed here in 24 hrs. We were all naive and shall now have to make a reckoning for our foolishness. All suitable land routes are now closed and it is too dangerous for the coastal ferries. The staff of the Swiss legation from Kuantan are in Khota Bahru now and I instructed my staff to be very genrous with any supplies they might need. They are hoping the Embassy in Singapore can send a plane. Perhaps they will be kind enough to find a spot for Edith and the baby. God, what have I done to brig a baby into this?
The company has formed up and has been issued rifles and 50 rounds of ammunition. We are tasked with a security detail at the aerodrome for now as there is some concern about paratroops. FSMV Brigade is getting ready for a move. Perhaps they will go South to open a road? [/font]

[VSWG]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake
The jpg conversions suffer, however.]

Judging from your screenshots, you're saving the jpegs with quality = 90. Try setting quality to 95, or even lossless (=100), if file size doesn't matter.

Good AAR, I like the pictures. [:)]

[Onime No Kyo]

I demand an update, Mandrake! [:@]

[tabpub]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

I demand an update, Mandrake! [:@]

<phone answering machine> Cap Mandrake overindulged last night, celebrating his successes in the campaign so far. His head is now the size of a Zeppelin and he is trying to find a hanger big enough to store it in. Please leave your message now...<beep>.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: tabpub

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

I demand an update, Mandrake! [:@]

<phone answering machine> Cap Mandrake overindulged last night, celebrating his successes in the campaign so far. His head is now the size of a Zeppelin and he is trying to find a hanger big enough to store it in. Please leave your message now...<beep>.

Two really cute waitresses handing out free champaigne as you step on board, then free drinks on the reception deck(pouring Tanqueray and the like) with a really cute bartender (female [:)]), then free drinks on foredeck to watch the sunset and ogle the fantastic houses, flirt, blah, blah, blah, then back to the reception deck for a toast/appreciation speech which entails drinking, of course, then dinner with 2 varieties of wines for the various courses, then back to the reception deck for cognac, desert and coffee (5 cups), then, when finally leaving the parting gift is a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin Champagne (I have a feeling its kind of pricey), then back to the car and drive really, really carefully.


Life in the US Navy doesn't seem bad at all. The God Damned coffee gave me a headache though.


Oh yeah....the POW went on a pleasure Cruise of the South China Sea. The Admiralty may want a reimbursement of the fuel costs, but nobody is going to complain about the rate of expenditure of main gun ammo [:-]

HMS Danae is hurt bad and may not make it. The invasion of Kuching seems to have been turned back for now. I'm not sure, but I think some of the ships diverted to Miri.

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: VSWG

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake
The jpg conversions suffer, however.]

Judging from your screenshots, you're saving the jpegs with quality = 90. Try setting quality to 95, or even lossless (=100), if file size doesn't matter.

Good AAR, I like the pictures. [:)]

VSWG;

That sounds like a good idea. Can I do that with MS Paint?

[VSWG]

MSPaint is probably the only graphic program without this setting. But I find it hard to believe that you are using MSPaint for those excellent illustrations. [X(]

You could, however, save as .bmp and then use IrfanView for converting and compressing to jpeg, it's small and free:

http://www.irfanview.com/

[Cap Mandrake]

[font="Courier New"]Dec. 8 We just got word that Kuantan fell last night! The situation is so bad that the FSMV has been ordered to try to escape across the mountains to Taiping. As there is no proper road for most of the distance, this will certainly mean abandonment of heavy weapons. We are ordered to support RAF ground support personnel at Khota Bahru aerodrome. The RAF has ceded air control to the Japs who have bombed the field heavily today, again. Bill Thomas, a plantation manager and KVF volunteer was killed today while he was passing ammo to a Bofors crew during the latest Jap attack. Edith went to offer some solace to his wife. Having a purpose helps hide the panic, which is everywhere under the surface. There is no word yet on the Swiss legation and their effort to get a plane to Singapore. I am doing my best to show a sense of confidence to all around me, but I fear they can perceive the pretense.[/font]

[Onime No Kyo]

I'm sorry if I missed it Mandrake, but who are you quoting there?

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

I'm sorry if I missed it Mandrake, but who are you quoting there?

That would be a certain Arthur Dent, recently of Uxbridge, now gone to Malaysia with his new bride and infant son to find his fortune among the Colonials in Khota Bahru, Kalentan Province, Malaysia.

Swept up in nationalist fervor (and to protect his business), he has joined the 138-man strong Kalentan Volunteer Force, comprised of mostly English Colonials but also a few Malay and Chinese. This is what is supposed to throw back the Imperial Japanese Army landing force [:(] [:)]

[Terminus]

Arthur Dent??? BWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

Arthur Dent??? BWAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!

And Sgt. Marvin T. P. Android? [&:][X(]

[Onime No Kyo]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

ORIGINAL: Onime No Kyo

I'm sorry if I missed it Mandrake, but who are you quoting there?

That would be a certain Arthur Dent, recently of Uxbridge, now gone to Malaysia with his new bride and infant son to find his fortune among the Colonials in Khota Bahru, Kalentan Province, Malaysia.

Swept up in nationalist fervor (and to protect his business), he has joined the 138-man strong Kalentan Volunteer Force, comprised of mostly English Colonials but also a few Malay and Chinese. This is what is supposed to throw back the Imperial Japanese Army landing force [:(] [:)]

138? Force? What are they planning to do once the nationalist fervor wears off and reality sets in? [&:]

[Cap Mandrake]

138? Force? What are they planning to do once the nationalist fervor wears off and reality sets in?

Isn't that true of about 90 % of the Commonwealth units in Malaysia? BTW..the KVF was a real unit. Kalentan was an independant Sultantate, therefore they were not part of the FMSV (Federated Malaysian States Volunteers) Brigade.

[VSWG]

Lets hope Mr. Dent took a towel along.&nbsp;[:)]