Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[Capt. Harlock]

“Are you sure it is her?”

“She is a small elderly woman named Rin who has taken command of an entire ward,” he says. “All the doctors, corpsmen, and nurses love her and fear her and obey her every whim. Does that…”

“Oh it is her!” interrupts Nanami happily.

Beautiful!

[vettim89]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

American efficiency? I've always thought we were kind of looked down upon in that regards - at least by Germans, to whom efficiency is sacrosanct. American abundance and productivity and inginuity, yes!

Your reference to chocolate reminds me of the scene in the "Battle of the Bulge" movie in which two German officers are marveling over the fact that American infantry troops in the Ardennes had chocolate cake that had been flown over from the states.

P.S. I should add that this isn't a complaint about your story! Far from it - like everyone else I continue to marvel at your ability to weave such an engaging narrative.

Certainly a case could be made that the US military had its issues. Look up the meaning of SNAFU and you get the general feeling of the average GI. That said, the USN beachmasters had been honed to a razors edge by this point after two and a half years of hard fighting. They knew how to get stuff ashore and off the beach as quickly as posible by this time.

[SierraJuliet]

Brilliant.  CF; are you planning an epilogue for when the war does finish?

[Hornblower]

Yeah, and will you pick another ship for an AE AAR.. Perhaps a CA or a USN CV?? 

[Panther Bait]

In support of Nanami, she probably can't comprehend that the actual American uber-abundance can overcome their typical inefficiency, based on the austerity of the typical Japanese military effort.  She probably just assumes that their ability to provide what is needed comes from high efficiency rather than truly unimaginary logistical largesse.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: SierraJuliet

Brilliant.  CF; are you planning an epilogue for when the war does finish?

ORIGINAL: Hornblower

Yeah, and will you pick another ship for an AE AAR.. Perhaps a CA or a USN CV?

Yes, when it is done I will do both a complete recap of the game as a game and an epilogue, or more likely a series of epilogues. I'd also like to see if I can get my opponent to comment on the game.

As for an AE AAR, there will certainly be one but I don't know yet what form it will take. Following a single ship is a real gamble and I have been absurdly lucky this time around. Doing something from the Allied side is a real possibility, though.

[Cuttlefish]

May 20, 1945

Location: Hakodate
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Await further orders

---

It is a cool, misty morning in Hakodate. A light drizzle mists Hibiki, coating rails, weapons, and lines with droplets of water. The destroyer is at anchor about 300 meters offshore and the city is only dimly visible in the distance.

Captain Ishii stands on the port observation wing sipping from a mug of hot tea. Water beads on his oilskins but Ishii does not mind. There is almost no wind and he rather likes mornings like this, quiet and shrouded and damp. At the moment the loudest sound is the growl of Hibiki’s boat as it recedes in the distance, heading towards shore. Ishii sips his tea and watches the boat’s progress.

After a moment a much louder throb of engines reaches his ear, faint at first but slowly growing. There are unexcited calls from the starboard lookouts and Ishii ambles through the bridge and steps out onto the starboard side.

Emerging out of the mist is a line of warships. In the lead is a trio of destroyers and following them are a pair of heavy cruisers. It is the shape dimly glimpsed behind these that draws Ishii’s attention, however. It is a battleship, looming out of the drizzle like some large gray prehistoric beast. An apt comparison, Ishii thinks. Battleships in these latter days of the Imperial Japanese Navy are almost legends out of the past.

He borrows a pair of binoculars from a lookout and scrutinizes the ship. It is a Kongo-class, that much is quickly apparent, but he has to wait for the warship to become more clearly visible before he sees that it is Hiei. Another heavy cruiser and a pair of destroyers bring up the rear.

Hiei shows no obvious signs of damage and sprouts new radar aerials. Ishii does not know where the battleship has been but it has obviously been refit and is ready for a fight.

Ishii hands back the binoculars stands and finishes his cooling tea as the newcomers disperse and drops anchor. There are now, in addition to Hiei, seven heavy cruisers, three light cruisers, and twenty destroyers in the anchorage. It is enough force, used properly, to command respect even from the Allied fleet. Used poorly it is only a nice collection of targets. Ishii wonders which it will turn out to be.

The drizzle begins to intensify into a steady rain. Ishii wanders back inside to finish his tea.

[Tomasek]

The superstructure of Hiei was completely different compared to the rest of the class... Thus, if Ishii knows that it is Kongo class, then he would not need to wait more time to recognize Hiei...

Nevertheless, breath-taking story...

[ChezDaJez]

ORIGINAL: Tomasek

The superstructure of Hiei was completely different compared to the rest of the class... Thus, if Ishii knows that it is Kongo class, then he would not need to wait more time to recognize Hiei...

Nevertheless, breath-taking story...

True, but when viewed bow on, she would be more difficult to ID.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: ChezDaJez

ORIGINAL: Tomasek

The superstructure of Hiei was completely different compared to the rest of the class... Thus, if Ishii knows that it is Kongo class, then he would not need to wait more time to recognize Hiei...

Nevertheless, breath-taking story...

True, but when viewed bow on, she would be more difficult to ID.

Two more points: Hiei was the first of the Kongo-class to be sunk, after the famous close-quarter action off Guadalcanal. (Which, AFAIK, is the only battle in which two American admirals were killed.) Since in this timeline, Hiei has survived until 1945, it is highly likely there has been some extensive refitting. Second, there was a fair amount of mist for Ishii to peer through . . .

[Xxzard]

Agree with mist, but Hiei was quite different from her bretheren.

[Capt. Harlock]

ORIGINAL: Xxzard

Agree with mist, but Hiei was quite different from her bretheren.

But, would she still have been so in May 1945?

[Cuttlefish]

May 21, 1945

Location: Hakodate
Course: None
Attached to: TF 21
Mission: Surface combat
System Damage: 3
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Await further orders

---

Excerpt from a letter from Sayumi Takahashi to her husband, Taiki:


I have important news for you, my husband. Your brother has come home. His right arm is gone but otherwise he has mostly recovered from his wounds. His body has recovered, I should say. I think his spirit will take longer to heal.

Oh, he makes jokes about his scars and his missing arm. He will often say things such as “Here, let me give you a hand with that. Oops, looks like I already did.” He smiles when he says them but I can tell his jokes mask a great deal of pain and confusion over what has happened to him. From what you and others have told me he was always the strong one, the capable one. Now he is scarred and crippled. And what is worse for him, I think, is that he is no longer capable of serving in the war.

Your mother, I think, is just relieved to have him home alive and safe. Your father perhaps understands his feelings better but cannot find the words to talk to Noboru about what has happened. They speak of the war, of your father’s business, about politics and other things, but not about Noboru’s wounds. Never about that.

I have urged him to write to you but he just says that he is sure that you have more important things to do than read silly letters. Would you write to him? It would mean so much to him, I know it. Even if you do not mention what has happened to him. Maybe especially if you do not mention it but you know him better than anyone and I trust your judgment about that.

As for me, every time I look at him I worry about you. I know that in public I am supposed to smile and say what an honor it is to have you risk your life for Japan but in my letters to you I can say that if you do not come back to me alive I will be very, very angry with you. I do not care if the censors read it or not. You are to come back to me safe and sound, do you hear me?

That may not sound properly obedient or docile. Well that is just too bad. Maybe I am not a proper wife. But come home safe, sailor, and I will show you just how obedient I can be.

[Xxzard]

My thoughts are yes. Although she might sprout radar antennas, the top part of the control tower is significantly thinner looking in the fore aft axis, and it is more like a single cohesive tower like yamato. Of course, this thread can virtually be considered a book, so I won't say one should see it in any specific way, that would be splitting hairs.

[thegreatwent]

CF your writing is amazing, I hope you chronicle this story if only so I can share it with my wife. She won't sit through 150 posts to read it. A small volume would be a good read. A comic format would also work but a couple of artists and a publisher would need to get involved.

Once again, hats off to the good ship and crew.

[SVEN HASSEL ITA]

Greetings from Italy.[8D]

I'm only on page 46, but this is a spectacular AAR.[&o]

Thank you CF[;)]

[Durbik]

He will often say things such as “Here, let me give you a hand with that. Oops, looks like I already did.”

Is this idiomatic expression also a part of japanese language?

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Durbik

He will often say things such as “Here, let me give you a hand with that. Oops, looks like I already did.”

Is this idiomatic expression also a part of japanese language?

Yes, it is the same expression in Japanese as in English. I thought of and discarded several other phrases because they didn't translate before settling on this one.

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish
That may not sound properly obedient or docile. Well that is just too bad. Maybe I am not a proper wife. But come home safe, sailor, and I will show you just how obedient I can be.

Zoiks! My vow!

[Alikchi2]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

ORIGINAL: Durbik

He will often say things such as “Here, let me give you a hand with that. Oops, looks like I already did.”

Is this idiomatic expression also a part of japanese language?

Yes, it is the same expression in Japanese as in English. I thought of and discarded several other phrases because they didn't translate before settling on this one.

This is wonderfully illustrative of the amount of thought you've put into this. Kudos.