Dec 7th, 1941
Yamamoto was pacing his office, unable to keep still due to the nerves welling up in him. This was the day of decision, a throw of the dice - it could lead to great victory or end in calamity. All he could do in the mean time, however, was wait and worry. Suddenly the phone rang and he dashed to the nearby table where it was stationed to answer it. The subordinates in the communications room had been collating the various reports from all throughout the front of attack: like a great octopus, Japan's various tentacles of military might were spreading out to conquer the Pacific. Forces had landed at Kota Bharu on the Malayan Peninsula with more on their way to Singora by rail, the landings at Miri in Sarawak and Laoag on Luzon had also been conducted without incident (though a small minelayer took a torpedo from a Dutch sub and sank off Malaya). In the air, Japanese bombers had even managed to sink several transports and a British "D" class light cruiser north of Singapore, and the port at Manila had been hit decently hard, damaging and sinking submarines, transports, and more.
Yamamoto knew, however, that these movements south into the Southern Resource Area were precarious, deliberately done on a shoestring budget so as to allocate more forces to the great prize he so desperately sought. He had pondered it for long: how to deal with America's industrial might and her ability to drown Japan through quantity in the long run? A strong first blow had to be delivered to knock America's fleet out of the war for the foreseeable future, it had to be crushing, decisive, annihilating.
"And what of the Hawaiian operation?"
Great success!
Tora, tora, tora! The First and Second Mobile Forces were reporting complete surprise, with the airfields at Pearl severely damaged, as well as her battle line and various other ships either severely mauled or worse. Two battleships were said to be outright sunk! This was good news. With the airfield so hardly put upon and her navy so weakened, the mobile fleets could stick around and continue to deliver punishment. As for the American carriers, they were worryingly nowhere to be seen, but that could wait. For now, the boats at Pearl Harbor had to be completely destroyed. And for that...
"And the Third Mobile Fleet?"
The Third Mobile Fleet was reporting Midway's airfield decently damaged and most planes there damaged or destroyed on the ground. Patrols operating from there would find the going a bit rough, the US Navy would be blinded, at least temporarily. This was important, as surprise was needed. Yamamoto turned around to the figure sitting in a chair by his desk behind him, a European-looking man of all things, out of place, a bit of an anachronism, and for some reason wearing a dark black hooded robe. Yamamoto looked to him and nodded.
"Everything is going to plan; Midway seems to have been denied its eyes and Pearl is looking in rough shape."
"We are undetected then?"
"Yes, so far your plan seems to be working. I doubt the US Navy will come steaming out of Pearl anytime soon."
"Everything is preceding as I have foreseen...haha...muahahahaha....muahahahahahahah!"
*cough* *hack*
" - BBfanboy
