Small Ship, Big War - The Voyages of the Hibiki

[kaleun]

I so much have to restart reading this thread!

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

May we see a news report from the action with the RN carriers? Please.

I’ve tried to think of a way to work some of the details into the AAR but haven’t come up with anything plausible. As the battle unfolded, though, I was really wishing I had kept Hibiki at Saigon or sent it to Singapore. The IJN distinguished itself in a series of engagements off Alor Star and that is not easy to do in March 1945. As a player I am proud of the accomplishment and would like to tell the tale, if only to brag a little.

Maybe when Hibiki reaches Inch’on they will pick up some of the details (whose accuracy they will probably cynically dismiss as the usual bull) or perhaps it’s time for an entry from Morris Elliott Samuelson, who can talk about a wider range of topics than just what concerns our favorite destroyer.

[Cuttlefish]

March 16, 1945

Location: 100 miles southeast of Shanghai
Course: North
Attached to: TF 27
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 1
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 325

Orders: Proceed to Inch'on

---

Sayumi Takahashi walks swiftly down the street, the fabric of her linen monpe pantaloons whispering together as she walks. She is carrying a covered shopping basket and taking her usual long strides. Sayumi is tall for a Japanese woman and there was a time when her dress and her walk set her apart and drew curious and sometimes disapproving looks. No more. Now most women are dressed as she is, in monpe and a simple kosode.

The shopping basket is full but not as full as she would like. Food is not yet impossible to come by but the recent rice harvest was a poor one and she only got half as much as she wanted, and that took most of her money. An assortment of vegetables, a little barley, and a couple of eels constitute the remainder of her take.

It isn’t enough but it will have to do for the three of them, herself and Taiki’s parents. The sea lanes to the cornucopia that is the Southern Resource Area are not yet closed but they are narrowing and everyone is having to make do with less.

As she walks Sayumi thinks about Taiki and wonders where he is. She has not heard from him in several weeks. Mail from overseas has virtually stopped, leaving she and countless others to worry and pray and wait. Noboro, Taiki’s brother, was here a couple of weeks ago but now he and his ship, Mutsu, have also disappeared. Everyone talks about the war but no one really knows anything. The radio talks about glorious victories but the “silver bees” roam over Tokyo and Osaka and other places sowing destruction and no one seems able to stop them. They are taught new songs to sing about how the enemy bombers will not dampen their spirits and will come only to be destroyed, but songs do not shoot down the bombers or put out the fires they cause.

Nearing the Takahashi’s modest home Sayumi overtakes a trio of children. The eldest, a girl of about eleven, is arguing with her younger brother and sister. She too carries a shopping basket and all of them look unhappy.

“What is the trouble?” asks Sayumi, taking note of their thin and patched clothes. Poor things, she thinks, they look cold. It is March and the wind still has a lot of chill in it.

As is proper the children all bow slightly to Sayumi, an elder, before addressing her.

“We were sent to the market but Mother did not give us enough money,” says the older girl gravely. “We could not get much food. Mother will be very unhappy with us when we return.” Sayumi notes that all three are thin, with pinched faces that make their eyes seem very large.

“She will say that Father will be cross with us when he gets home,” says the little boy, who is around seven.

“I see,” says Sayumi. “And where is your father?”

“He is on Tinian,” says the boy proudly, “defending it from the enemy.” Sayumi opens her mouth to say something and then closes it again. That their father is dead is almost certain, but they do not need to hear that from her.

“I am sure he is fighting well and is very brave,” she says. “Here.” She reaches into her basket and dips into her own meager store of rice. “This should help your mother be less angry with you.” The children accept the offered rice politely and with many thanks.

As Sayumi watches them go her stomach growls. She cannot regret her act of kindness but wishes there was more food. It would be grand to sit down cross-legged before a table covered with good things to eat, to just once be able to eat until one was sleepy and full. But Sayumi knows it will be a long time before that happens. Maybe a very long time.

[NormS3]

One vote for Morris Elliott Samuelson, here.

Great job, and keep it up. I joined this forum so that I could get regular up dates. Your work is and has been masterful.

Thanks for all the hard work in keeping the rest of us inspired and entertained.

[Capt. Harlock]

Maybe when Hibiki reaches Inch’on they will pick up some of the details (whose accuracy they will probably cynically dismiss as the usual bull) or perhaps it’s time for an entry from Morris Elliott Samuelson, who can talk about a wider range of topics than just what concerns our favorite destroyer.

One other possibility is to have a new crew-member come on board Hibiki from a ship involved in the action off Alor Star. (Where any IJN ships sunk or damaged enough so they'll be in dry-dock for an extended period?)

[FeurerKrieg]

Yes, we could use a new character!

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

May we see a news report from the action with the RN carriers? Please.

I’ve tried to think of a way to work some of the details into the AAR but haven’t come up with anything plausible. As the battle unfolded, though, I was really wishing I had kept Hibiki at Saigon or sent it to Singapore. The IJN distinguished itself in a series of engagements off Alor Star and that is not easy to do in March 1945. As a player I am proud of the accomplishment and would like to tell the tale, if only to brag a little.

Maybe when Hibiki reaches Inch’on they will pick up some of the details (whose accuracy they will probably cynically dismiss as the usual bull) or perhaps it’s time for an entry from Morris Elliott Samuelson, who can talk about a wider range of topics than just what concerns our favorite destroyer.

I could only have WISHED for a good engagement with the RN in 1944 or 1945. That you did ANYTHING positive CF is a credit to your play!

[John 3rd]

ORIGINAL: Norm3

One vote for Morris Elliott Samuelson, here.

Great job, and keep it up. I joined this forum so that I could get regular up dates. Your work is and has been masterful.

Thanks for all the hard work in keeping the rest of us inspired and entertained.

Welcome to the finest AAR you will ever read!

[gladiatt]

It's seems were are like in a Shakespeare drama: we all know danger is lurking and that the fate or the ship could go wrong quickly, but we hope for the character.
Really, it's one of my favorite reading these days

[Cribtop]

I vote for a Morris Elliott Samuelson entry!
 
The focus on story and characters is what makes this unique, but I find one element of that uniqueness is occasionally (but not too often) knowing more about an event than even the crew of the Hibiki does.

[Hornblower]

Bump...  and CF?  Your fans await...

[Cuttlefish]

March 17, 1945

Location: 110 miles southwest of Inch'on
Course: Northeast
Attached to: TF 27
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 1
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 282

Orders: Proceed to Inch'on

---

As evening falls Chief Engineer Sakati stops by Captain Ishii’s cabin. The conversation passes is due course from matters concerning the ship to general conversation and Captain Ishii breaks out a couple of glasses and a small bottle of sake.

“Ah, thank you, sir,” says Sakati, sampling his glass. “No bad.”

“There isn’t much of the good stuff left,” says Ishii, “but there’s no point in hoarding it.”

“Aye, while we live let us live,” says Sakati, taking another drink. Ishii raises his glass in agreement.

“We will reach in Inch’on tomorrow,” says Ishii. “Perhaps the pickings there will not be as slim as in Japan.”

“We can hope,” says Sakati. He sets down his glass on the desk. “I have not been there in a long time, but I have fond memories of the place.”

Sakati does not talk much about himself, or about anything other than his boilers and engines. Captain Ishii leans back, encouraging him to go on.

“My ship – that was Satsuki, back then – called there once,” Sakati says. “We were there for a couple of weeks. I was a dashing young ensign, she was the wife of a member of a Japanese trade delegation. We were inseparable for two weeks, then Satsuki was ordered to Shanghai and I never saw her again. But I still remember her. Still young and beautiful, in my memory.”

“It’s nice that they stay that way, isn’t it?” says Ishii. “Still, there’s something to be said for growing older with someone. In a good marriage you age and mellow together, rather like good scotch.”

“Good scotch,” sighs Sakati wistfully. “Oh, I don’t doubt it. I somehow never found the time, though, or maybe I never found the right woman. Engines I understand. People take more work. They are more complicated.” He lifts his glass again. “To women, old and new.”

Ishii lifts his glass in return. “To good scotch,” he says. The two men drink and then sit in companionable silence for a time, each dwelling on his own thoughts and memories.

[Cuttlefish]

March 18, 1945

Location: Inch'on
Course: None
Attached to: TF 27
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 1
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed to Inch'on

---

Chemulpo was a small village only a few decades ago. But it was located on an estuary with a good harbor and it was inevitable that a port would be established there. Renamed Inch’on, it quickly grew into a city. The Japanese have had a major presence here for some time and as the six destroyers steam into the harbor it is almost like coming into a port at home.

There are already a number of naval vessels here, a scattering of destroyers and cruisers and, to Taiki’s delight, battleship Mutsu. It is probably the most formidable collection of Japanese warships currently concentrated in one place. That that place is a port that is, with luck, safely out of the way says a great deal about Japanese fortunes at this point in the war.

[kaleun]

Bump!

Can't let it fall off the front face!

[Cuttlefish]

March 19, 1945

Location: Inch'on
Course: None
Attached to: TF 27
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 1
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Proceed to Inch'on

---

“There really isn’t much to tell,” Noboro tells Taiki. “”We were stationed in the Kuriles for what seemed like forever. It was cold and foggy and quiet most of the time, and the night life there is not much, I can tell you.” The two are seated across from each other at a table at a bar near the waterfront. Taiki leans back and looks at his brother. The burn scars on the left side of his face, sustained when Mutsu was hit off Wake island almost two years ago, have faded a bit but are still prominent. Otherwise Noboro looks fit and cheerful.

“Where did you go after that?” Taiki asks. Noboro shrugs.

“We moved to Okayama a while back and just sat there,” he says. “Old Mutsu was deemed too slow to use in all the bombardments and raids your ship got in on, I guess. Anyway, we were there until Osaka got hit. Then we moved here.”

“I do not think we have many battleships left,” says Taiki somberly. “You may see action soon.”

“I hope so!” his brother says. “ He sets down his drink. “I tell you, Taiki-san. I envy you. I have heard much about Hibiki’s exploits, and I am always quick to tell people that that is my brother’s ship.”

Taiki thinks about it. As many times as he has wished for some quiet and rest over the last two years would he have traded places with his brother? He decides that he would not.

“My part in everything has been very small, I assure you,” Taiki says.

“Certainly,” says Noboro with a smile. “That is why my brother the enlisted man is now a Petty Officer First Class.”

“All I have done is what I have had to do,” Taiki says. The praise from his older brother is very good to hear but also makes him a little uncomfortable.

“Exactly,” says Noboro. He picks up his drink again. “You have seen your duty and met it. No one can ask for more. I always suspected there was some steel under that quiet, studious exterior, little brother, and I was right.”

“Since you are an officer, you must be correct,” Taiki says with a smile.

“Quite true,” Noboro says. “And I am still your older brother, too. Which means…hey, who is that?” He points behind Taiki. Taiki turns and as he does so Noboro pounces across the narrow table. He knocks Taiki’s cap off, loops an arm around his neck, then digs a knuckle into his scalp and rubs vigorously.

Taiki yelps in protest but it is no use. Some things, it seems, never change.

[Capt. Harlock]

“Quite true,” Noboro says. “And I am still your older brother, too. Which means…hey, who is that?” He points behind Taiki. Taiki turns and as he does so Noboro pounces across the narrow table. He knocks Taiki’s cap off, loops an arm around his neck, then digs a knuckle into his scalp and rubs vigorously. Taiki yelps in protest but it is no use. Some things, it seems, never change.

Yup. That's what older brothers are for.[:D]

[Cuttlefish]

March 20, 1945

Location: Inch'on
Course: None
Attached to: TF 27
Mission: Surface Combat
System Damage: 1
Float Damage: 0
Fires: 0
Fuel: 475

Orders: Await further orders

---

Riku Ariga is seated in front of a crate in one of the storerooms. He is bending over a stack of supply reports on top of the crate, looking through them and every now and then making a note on one sheet or another. The door is open and when a shadow obscures the light coming in from the passage outside Riku looks up.

Standing there is Paymaster Lieutenant JG Kataoka, Riku’s immediate superior. Ordinarily Kataoka would enter with a booming greeting or perhaps a crude and cheerful insult. Today, however, he is merely standing there, a somber expression on his plump face.

“Yes, sir?” inquires Riku. A cold feeling begins to grow in the pit of his stomach. Kataoka clears his throat.

“I thought you would want to know,” he says. “A large enemy invasion fleet has been spotted in the Philippine Sea. It seems to be heading for the Ryukyus.” The cold in Riku’s belly turns to ice.

“I see, sir,” he says quietly. “Thank you for letting me know.”

“Certainly,” says Kataoka. He hesitates, as if about to say something more, then turn to go.

“Sir?” says Riku. The paymaster turns back. “Does Chief Shun know?” Riku asks. Kataoka nods.

“He knows,” he says. Then he turns and leaves. Riku does not move. He stares at the reports in front of him, not really seeing them, his thoughts for the moment far away.

[John 3rd]

I imagine Mother Shun and 25 dead Marines around her!  She and the others are tough and will make it!

[tocaff]

Mama Shun and all of the other characters will do exactly what CF tells them to do, proving that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: tocaff

Mama Shun and all of the other characters will do exactly what CF tells them to do, proving that the pen is indeed mightier than the sword.

I would agree with you, but...I have found at times that it almost feels as though some of the characters in this story have minds of their own. They insist on saying and doing things other than what I had planned for them. I know it sounds strange, but that's how it seems sometimes.