Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[Barb]

It looks that one of my new AAR ship is a bit luckyer than your Hibiki. [8D] Two night combats with superior Japanese force (2xBB,CL,6xDD IJN vs US 1xCL,9DD) wihtout a single hit on it. Although 5 US flushdeckers were lost.
AAR: War and rememberance by barb. PBEM Barb vs Elladan, BigB mod

[Cuttlefish]

June 14, 1942

Location: 285 miles southeast of Bonin
Course: North
Attached to: TF 87
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 26
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 254

Orders: Return to Japan for repairs.

---

Captain Ishii and Lieutenant Miharu are in the Captain’s cabin going over several routine matters.

Lieutenant Miharu: …and so if we shift Seaman Taniushi to the forward ammunition hoist we can leave the others on damage control.

Captain Ishii: *nods* Fine, Exec. Do it that way. Anything else?

Lieutenant Miharu: No sir. Well, there is one other thing.

Captain Ishii: Yes?

Lieutenant Miharu: It’s Midshipman Izu, sir. I’ve been worried about him since we left Kwajalein. He seems to be on edge and his performance is off. If I’m any judge, sir, he isn’t sleeping much.

Captain Ishii: Really? His actions during the attack were commendable. The last time we talked about him you agreed with me that he deserved a promotion.

Lieutenant Miharu: Yes sir. It’s been since then that he’s had trouble.

Captain Ishii: I see. All right, I will look into it.

Lieutenant Miharu: Very good, sir. Sir, something else has been worrying me.

Captain Ishii: Go on.

Lieutenant Miharu: Well sir, we had not planned on being back in Japan nearly so soon. I was worried about that Tokeitai lieutenant you threw overboard.

Captain Ishii: *sighs* I probably shouldn’t have done that. But he angered me, trying to boss me around on my own bridge. At any rate that’s on me, Exec, not on you.

Lieutenant Miharu: Sir, it’s my problem. I appreciate you trying to protect me, sir, but I don’t want to see you in trouble on my account. It’s my fight, sir.

Captain Ishii: *eyes glinting* Exec, if I thought you had done something to deserve having the Tokeitai or the Tokko or any other of that damned rabble give you trouble I might throw you overboard myself. But you haven’t. Further, you’re a valued member of my crew and I am not about to try and run this ship without you. That makes this my fight. If you - or your wife - have any further trouble from those people let me know.

Lieutenant Miharu: Yes sir. Sir, thank you very much.

Captain Ishii: They’re idiots. If they are that eager to find enemies of Japan let them be first off the barges at Wake. They’ll find all the enemies they can handle then.

[Cuttlefish]

June 15, 1942

Location: 100 miles northeast of Bonin
Course: North
Attached to: TF 87
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 26
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 225

Orders: Return to Japan for repairs.

---

From the diary of Seaman First Class Taiki Takahashi:

We’re almost home. The repairs to the ship will probably take several weeks. That should give me a chance to visit home and see Noburo. At least, I think he’s probably home. He was a little vague about his injuries, but they didn’t sound minor. I have tried not to worry too much, but it somehow seems harder not to worry the closer I get to seeing him.

Word is we are headed for Kobe again. That’s okay. Riku seems pleased about it, he says he has contacts there. What kind of contacts? I know people there too, but that doesn’t seem to be what Riku means. I wish I knew what he was up to. It seems silly to think he could be a spy. Unless…

Everyone on the ship knows what happened to that Tokeitai officer when we left Tokyo last time, but no one is really sure why. But something strange must be going on. What if Riku is spying for our side? What if he is really a member of the Tokeitai?

[kaleun]

[Cuttlefish]

June 16, 1942

Location: 60 miles north-northwest of Tori Shima
Course: North
Attached to: TF 87
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 27
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 197

Orders: Return to Japan for repairs.

---

Captain Ishii is seated at the small desk in his cabin, writing a letter. There is a knock at the door.

“Enter,” says Ishii. The door opens to reveal Midshipman Izu. The midshipman steps forward and salutes sharply.

“Sit down, Izu,” says the captain, waving towards to a chair beside the small desk, the only other chair in the cabin. Izu steps over to it and sits down, though his posture remains stiff and he looks uncomfortable.

Captain Ishii leans back and looks at the young man. He notes that Izu’s eyes are bloodshot, and that there are lines around them that were not there before. It gives the young officer a troubled look, almost a haunted look. It is a look that Captain Ishii has seen before.

“I sent for you because I wanted to let you know personally that I am submitting your promotion to Ensign as soon as we reach Kobe,” says the captain. “It should be official before we sail again.”

“Sir, I…” begins Izu, but Captain Ishii holds up a hand.

“No need for thanks,” he says. “You have served this ship well. I am told that your prompt action during the air attack off Wake was vital in sparing us worse damage.” Midshipman Izu takes a deep breath.

“Sir, your words are kind, but I simply did my job. I don’t think…I really don’t believe that I am ready for promotion yet,” he finishes almost desperately. Captain Ishii shakes his head.

“I am the captain of a vessel in the Imperial Japanese Navy,” he says. “I do not speak out of kindness. I can’t afford to be that sentimental. If I think you are ready to be promoted to Ensign than that is the job I think you are capable of doing. That is the job you will have to do, as we must all do what has to be done in this war.”

“Yes sir,” says Midshipman Izu. To Captain Ishii there is a tone of resignation in his voice. The captain leans back again.

“Well” he says conversationally, “at least we will all come out of it with stories to bore our children and grandchildren. For example, have I ever told you about what happened to me at the China Flower warehouse in Shanghai, back when I was an ensign?” Midshipman Izu shakes his head.

“No sir,” he says.

“This was back in 1924,” says Ishii. “Long before the China Incident, of course. As I said I was just an ensign, aboard the Inazuma. The Chinese government was very weak at the time, and we were on patrol in the Yangtze River to help guard Japanese nationals and business interests there.

“We got word that bandits had attacked the China Flower warehouse complex. This was a Japanese company, and we were sent to chase them away. It was fairly routine for the time. Once a Japanese destroyer showed up the bandits would disperse. Anyway, we reached the area and I was part of the boat crew sent to land a dozen naval landing force troops on the dock while Inazuma stood off and looked threatening.

“As I said, all very routine, but this time the bandits did not cooperate. As the troops moved down the dock towards the nearest warehouse rifle fire broke out. One of the soldiers fell.

“I was on the dock with a mooring line when the shooting started. I don’t even remember thinking about it, but the next thing I knew I had picked up the fallen man’s rifle and was moving up the dock with the soldiers, shooting back. As we advanced the man in front of me took a bullet through the neck. I didn’t even know I was covered with his blood until after the battle.

“I led the troops into the warehouse and we killed or drove off all the bandits. I got a promotion out of that. Do you want to know the funny thing about it, though, Izu?” Izu, enthralled by the Captain’s tale, only nods at first, then hastily clears his throat and answers yes.

“The funny thing is that at the time I was not scared at all. It happened too fast. But to this day I sometimes dream about it. The bullets are zipping past me and the neck of the man in front of me explodes in blood and I am always convinced I am about to die. I wake up with my heart pounding after these dreams, and getting back to sleep is always difficult.” He shrugs.

“Well, I’ve doubtless bored you long enough with my old war stories,” he says, and stands. Midshipman Izu stands as well. “Keep up the good work, Izu.”

“Yes sir. Thank you,” says Izu, saluting. Captain Ishii returns the salute crisply and Izu exits, looking thoughtful.

After he departs Captain Ishii sit back down. He rubs his eyes with the thumb and forefinger of one hand, then picks up a pen and returns to his letter.

[kaleun]

Very, very good.

[Capt. Harlock]

Impressive. So Capt. Ishii can treat post-traumatic stress syndome?

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Capt. Harlock

Impressive. So Capt. Ishii can treat post-traumatic stress syndome?

We shall see. My opponent, who has served a couple of tours in Iraq, has my permission to view all but the most recent pages of the AAR. Among his other comments was one to the effect that the crew of the Hibiki might have issues dealing with stress, especially when at home.

That got me to thinking. Contemporary Japanese attitudes towards combat stress were pretty simple: they never, ever acknowledged that it existed. From accounts I’ve read it’s pretty clear they were not immune to it. But cultural attitudes prevented them from really even thinking about it. American attitudes about the issue at the time were not exactly enlightened, but even Patton got in trouble for slapping those soldiers. In Japan he would have been well within his rights to take out his revolver and shoot them. Japanese troops were expected to be willing to die. What they could not do was show cowardice or fear.

Anyway, I wondered how a Japanese commander might deal with the problem if he recognized the signs. He probably wouldn’t think of it in the terms we think of it today, but he might have circumspect ways to try and deal with it, ways that would not even acknowledge there was a problem.

[Cuttlefish]

June 17, 1942

Location: 60 miles south-southwest of Kobe
Course: North
Attached to: TF 87
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 27
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 168

Orders: Return to Japan for repairs.

---

Hibiki rounds Shiono Point at the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula and heads north for the Inland Sea and Kobe. The crew is cheered to see Mt. Koya and to know that they are nearly home.

The temporary repairs made at Kwajalein have held up remarkably well, aided by good weather on the voyage. There has been no significant flooding. The number three boiler is beginning to make alarming wheezing noises, though, and Chief Engineer Sakati is relieved that the repairs he and his men have made are not going to need to hold up much longer.

While no enemy submarines have been spotted in the Inland Sea yet during the war the crew maintains a sharp lookout. They remember their encounter with a submarine not too far from here just a month ago, and have no desire to come to grief now that they are so close to home.

[Cuttlefish]

June 18, 1942

Location: Kobe
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
System Damage: 27
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Repair the ship and get back in the war.

---

By late afternoon Hibiki is in drydock at Kobe. It is estimated that repairs will take three to four weeks. This is the first time the destroyer has been out of the water since the war began, and while the opportunity permits her hull will be scraped, cleaned, and repainted. The hole in her side will be mended, and the damaged sections of her interior will be torn out and repaired. The pipes and fittings in the number three boiler room will be completely repaired and routine maintenance done on all the boilers and engines. Other routine maintenance work will be done as well.

Once again Captain Ishii authorizes rotating leaves for the crew, this time for one week. Those remaining on board will be kept very busy indeed with repair work.

For the moment Hibiki is out of the water and out of the war. As out of the war, at least, as it is possible to get in Japan in June of 1942. All around them the harbor bustles with war traffic, and information and rumor about the war dominates most conversations and news broadcasts. But right now no one is actively trying to kill them, and to the crew of the Hibiki that is the definition that really counts.

[DuckofTindalos]

A well deserved breather for the men of the good ship Hibiki...

[Cuttlefish]

June 19, 1942

Location: Kobe
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
System Damage: 25
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Repair the ship and get back in the war.

---

As mentioned, news of the war is everywhere one turns in Japan. As they work on Hibiki or travel about Japan, as they get information from contacts in the military or from the news, the crew of the Hibiki picks up a pretty good picture of what is happening in the war.

The major topic of discussion within the military regarding the Pacific is the question of further expansion. Japan has already secured her goal of a defensive perimeter. There are voices, however, that argue that the Allies have suffered significant setbacks and that Japan should continue to strike while they can. Plans are proposed to invade Midway, Fiji, New Zealand, or even Australia. In the end these plans are dismissed as unrealistic fantasy. Japan will fortify and defend her perimeter and dare the Allies to attempt to break it.

The only active point in the Pacific right now is the struggle the Hibiki left behind, the campaign to retake Wake Island. The invasion is expected any day. It is believed that the cost of this defeat and the obvious impossibility of breaching Japan’s defenses will force the Americans to make peace with Japan.

In the Philippines, on Java, and in the rest of the Southern Resource Area all opposition has long since ceased. Little news comes out of this area, but oil, ore, rubber, and many other goods are now flowing freely to Japan from this treasure house.

News comes from China of sweeping victories. Kweilin and Wuchow have recently fallen, and word is that over 200,000 Chinese troops attempting to advance from Homan have been cut off. Their inevitable destruction is expected to open the gateway to further Japanese conquests.

The reports from Burma are slightly less clear. A long battle has been raging for Akyab, but recent news broadcasts have gone from speaking of victory to speaking of the decision to “realign the axis of advance” in Burma away from the coast. Further news reports speak of a recent victory at Mandalay, which is a little confusing to some as Mandalay was conquered over two months ago.

The air war is raging more hotly here than anywhere else in the war, and the Japanese public thrills to tales of the exploits of famous aces such as the Kurikane brothers, who vie almost daily to outdo one another’s kill totals.

Some officers aboard the Hibiki learn that it is here that the division between the Army and the Navy has flared most bitterly. The Army had pushed for a move to outflank Burma by invading Ceylon and mainland India, but had been overruled by the Navy. The Navy claimed there simply were not enough transports, warships, or carriers to support such an operation. The Army now complains bitterly that their recent struggles in Burma are thus the Navy’s fault.

All this, however, is a minor issue in the overall strategic picture. There are few in Japan, in the military or out of it, who do not think the war is as good as won. To the crew of the Hibiki this attitude is an odd contrast to the bitter resistance from the Americans they encountered out in the far reaches of the Pacific, the resistance that put Hibiki in drydock. The men work hard at repairing their ship. Whatever the politicians and the top brass say, the crew suspects that Hibiki will be seeing action once again before this war is over.

[kaleun]

Anyway, I wondered how a Japanese commander might deal with the problem if he recognized the signs. He probably wouldn’t think of it in the terms we think of it today, but he might have circumspect ways to try and deal with it, ways that would not even acknowledge there was a problem.

Acknowledging the problem would make his subordinate "lose face" and make it worse, IMHO

[DuckofTindalos]

Sounds about right... In the extreme, it would lead to the suicide of the subordinate...

[kaleun]

Many cultures are sensitive to 'losing face' Spaniards are quite sensitive to it, but it does seem like Asians (Meaning Chinese, Vietnamese, Koreans and Japanese) are specially punctilious about it.

[Cuttlefish]

June 20, 1942

Location: Kobe
Course: None
Attached to: Disbanded in port
Mission: None
System Damage: 24
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Repair the ship and get back in the war.

---

Taiki, Riku, and Shiro are walking down a street in Osaka. Riku has lured the other two along with the promise of buying them a good dinner. Riku has every intention of doing just that, as he has plenty of cash. Too much, in fact, for him to feel comfortable walking the streets by himself. He intends to turn most of it into gold for his money belt, a fact he does not intend to reveal to even his good friends.

Ahead is one of the better restaurants in this part of the city. Standing outside are two women. One is an elderly woman with an upright carraige and alert demeanor. The other is a maiden of perhaps seventeen. She is dressed in a modest kimono and is looking about with a bright, eager glance. Even from some distance it is apparent that she is possessed of a delicate beauty, with a kind smile and large, expressive eyes.

The old woman appears to gently chide the younger one, and the girl subsides slightly. As the three sailors approach she lowers her head in genuine modesty. Taiki notices that Riku’s usually springy step is faltering, and gives him a friendly nudge to move him along. They start to detour politely around the two women when the older woman speaks.

“My pardon,” she says, “but would you gentlemen by chance be from the destroyer Hibiki?” The three men come to a stop.

“Yes ma’am, we are,” says the gregarious and friendly Shiro. “Is there something we can do for you?”

“Forgive my rudeness in disturbing you, but we are waiting for my son, who is a shipmate of yours. I wonder if perhaps you have seen him?” She speaks with a bit of a Ryukyan accent. Taiki glances at Riku, expecting him to answer, and is startled to see Riku staring at the young woman. He has the look of a man who has just been stunned by a blow to the head. Riku’s success with women is legendary aboard the ship, and Taiki has never before seen his friend at a loss for words when meeting one. Shiro also glances at Riku, then continues.

“It’s no bother, we are glad to help if we can,” says Shiro. He introduces the three of them. Taiki murmers a polite greeting, but Riku remains rooted to the spot. “Who is your son?”

“I am the widow Rin Shun, and this is my granddaughter Nanami. My son is Chief Petty Officer Shun,” says the old woman. For a moment Taiki stands amazed. It is not possible that the beautiful, delicate young woman in front of him is the daughter of the famously ugly Chief. Riku’s eyes widen in surprise, and Shiro attempts to cover his gasp by pretending to cough.

“We saw him as we were departing,” says Shiro at last. “No doubt he will be along shortly.”

“Many thanks,” says the old woman. Shiro and Taiki take a step, but stop when Riku does not move. Taiki feels the first stirrings of alarm. Riku stirs, and looks as if he is about to speak. Taiki’s alarm changes to true fear when he hears a low sound, rather like a growl, coming from behind.

The three men turn and see the powerful, stocky figure of Shun standing close behind them. Taiki realizes that until this moment he has never seen the Chief truly angry. The most frightening thing about it is that to outward appearances Shun’s face is calm, almost pleasant. But his eyes are blazing and there is a hunched tension in his posture that speaks to Taiki of murderous fury.

“Have these men been bothering you, Mother?” Shun says. His voice sounds like rocks grinding together. The widow Shun shakes her head.

“No, no, they have been the soul of courtesy,” she says. “In fact it is I who bothered them, asking if they had seen you.” Shun disgests this and relaxes slightly. He turns to the three men and somehow manages a smile. It is the most frightening thing Taiki has ever seen.

“I see,” he says. “But I am sure they have business elsewhere and we should not continue to detain them.” This is obviously a command, and even Riku steps quickly as they murmur farewells and depart. By the time they are halfway down the block they are almost running.

[kaleun]

[:D][:D] This was rich[;)]

[princep01]

ORIGINAL: kaleun

[:D][:D] This was rich[;)]

Richer only if Riku had said something "colorful" to the Chief's daughter. All the gold in his money belt could not have saved him from the wrath of Shun. Hodaddy.....there are some women that are truly off limits. This is one of them, though Riku may yet make a "move". He was clearly thunderstruck.

[Barb]

UFFF! seems like Riku had fallen deep into a BIG PROBLEM with Shuns daughter 

[DuckofTindalos]

A new way to commit suicide: putting the moves on the chief's daughter...