Day of Infamy

December 6th, 1941

It was another beautiful sunset at Pearl Harbor, the jewel of the Hawaiian Islands. The sun was slowly dipping below the Pacific Ocean, as a young strawberry blonde girl clad in a maroon bikini was strolling along the beach. Her grey-blue eyes gazed across the sparkling water, and the foamy crests as they crashed into the sand bars. Captain Samantha Laddon was a PBY-5a pilot, only 15 years old when she completed basic combat flight training in the US Navy. As something of a prodigy, she was highly regarded among the army air force and navy pilots alike. Next to her on the beach was a girl with short, wavy brunette hair, which was tied up in a ponytail similar to Samantha's, although much shorter. She wore a white and blue striped bikini, and her dark silver eyes looked like steel radial saws, ready to cut through anything. Her name was Alexis Laddon, Samantha's sister. Unlike her older sister, Alexis never embraced the skills of a pilot, and found her place in the steelworks and engineering industry, which landed her a position in the navy shipyards at Pearl.

"I love this place. It's so… peaceful." Samantha said wistfully.

"It's a little too quiet and gleeful for my tastes. It's hard to believe this is actually a military installation, when it's sitting on an island paradise." Alexis scoffed.

"Well, it's not like we're at war. Sure, we do practice exercises and gunnery training, but hopefully we'll never have to fire our guns in anger. 'A great leader finds a way to not get involved in war.'" Samantha admonished her younger sister.

Alexis laughed at this. "I hear Churchill and Stalin are ringing Roosevelt's phone off the hook in D.C., asking him how long we're going to pretend there isn't a war going on with the Neuroi."

"Even if Hades himself crawled out of the Pacific to attack, the Air Forces will give him a licking." Samantha smirked.

"That's my line. Everyone knows the battleship is the capital defensive mechanism against any enemy in the ocean." Alexis challenged.

"Speaking of, I heard you finally got assigned to a ship?" Samantha inquired.

"Yeah, I'm tired of hanging around the drydocks all day, it gets boring seeing the same stuff everywhere. Whatever happened to 'Join the Navy, see the world?'" Alexis said scornfully. "I got assigned to a Pennsylvania class, the USS Oklahoma. She was on a training exercise in a fog bank, when she mistakenly crossed in front of the USS Arizona, and took a chunk out of her bow. The ships out of drydock, and we moved her to Battleship Row where we'll finish tuning the boiler and propeller shafts. I'd like to have a good smack down with the captain responsible for the damage, cause he's not the one that has to fix that."

"Oh Alexis… Don't you ever change." Samantha laughed, ruffling her sister's hair. Alexis protested, and chased Samantha down the beach.

By the time they had dressed and returned to the barracks, it was already dark. As Samantha climbed into her bunk, she pulled out a white lily that Alexis had given on her graduation from flight school, and set it on the nightstand. Next to that, she set the locket that hung around her neck, containing a monochrome photo of the two sisters together. Samantha smiled, and rolled over as her head filled with sleep.

December 7th, 1941

Samantha woke up, put on her pilot's fatigues, and started off for the mess hall to get breakfast. On the way, she passed Alexis, who was wearing her coveralls and welding helmet as she headed for the dock. She didn't seem very happy, so Samantha waved her down and came alongside.

"Morning lil' Lex. Sleep well?" Samantha smiled.

"Not a wink. I had this horrible dream last night, and it all seemed so real…" Alexis groaned sleepily, and pouted. "It was loud, almost like we were under fire… I kept reaching for the sky and all I could feel was cold steel."

"Oh, I'm sure you just ate too much last night. Just an average nightmare, that's all." Samantha laughed.

"You don't get it, do you? I only have bad dreams when I know that something's about to happen. Sometimes I wish you'd just try to believe me." Alexis huffed, and jogged down to the pier.

Samantha was dismayed, it wasn't usual for her sister to get so upset about something like that. Maybe there was some truth to her words, after all. Samantha proceeded to get breakfast, and then got on the bus for the floatplane base. Her PBY-5a bomber units were stored in a special ready rack, to be deployed at a moment's notice into the water if needed. Being floatplane based, she could take off from the water, offering her more runway space than any pilot could ask for. The view from the Kaneohe Air Base was spectacular, being several miles north east of the harbor.

Soon Samantha had launched for her daily patrol, a sweep around the harbor perimeter using hydro acoustic sonar instruments. She was met mid-flight by another bomber witch who was on training at Pearl. A slender and tan girl with long black hair, and brown leather clothing like native Alaskan dress.

"Technical Sergeant Ila Yakone, callsign 'Attu Warrior,' reporting for duty." The girl said with a smile, as her fluffy polar bear familiar stuck out from her hair.

Her bomber units were a royal dark blue on the bottom, and sky blue on the topside. The PV-2 'Harpoon' units were developed as a medium bomber capable of maritime patrol in the Aleutian Islands, where temperatures were below freezing, and constant vigilance was necessary. The 'Harpoon' could be equipped with a variety of payloads, ranging from 5-inch rockets, 325lb depth charges and 500lb bombs, to 1005kg torpedoes and life rafts. Ila was equipped with a .50 caliber machine gun, 4 x 325lb depth charges, and 2 x 500lb bombs.

"Tech Sgt. Yakone, good to see you. How's training at Kaneohe?" Samantha asked.

"Not so bad, but I really want to complete my weapons training and return to Attu. I'm far more used to the frigid weather." Ila said, fanning herself with her hand.

"I can understand that. Meanwhile, these daily patrols are really getting on me. There's no way that any submarine could just pass through the ASW net." Samantha laughed.

"I wouldn't be so sure…" Ila said, her tone worrisome. "I'm picking something up with my instruments, it's very faint, but it looks like an underwater contact."

Samantha's smile faded, as a distinct 'ping' sound rang through her headset. "It could just be a fishing boat, or maybe a whale. The destroyer USS Ward is nearby on patrol, too."

"Samantha, how long are you going to keep up that arrogant façade?" Ila scolded. "Only a fool would be so overconfident, and overlook the possibility of an attack. A smart enemy will hit you where you think you are safe."

As they got closer, Samantha made a slow pass over the contact, and spotted a small periscope sticking out of the water. It wasn't US Navy, and did not correspond with any scheduled arrival. "Enemy submarine spotted!" She cried out, giving the bearing to Ila.

"Roger that. Of all the times to be right…" Ila muttered, preparing a depth charge. "We need to sink this thing, and contact USS Ward!"

The explosive Torpex-filled barrel plopped into the water, and sank a couple feet before exploding violently. There was a high-pitched screeching, as it damaged the submarine's ballast tanks and forced an emergency surface. The red and black profile of a Neuroi submarine floated to the surface, as it tried to regenerate the damaged bow of the ship.

"Enemy submarine surfaced, it appears to have been damaged!" Samantha called out. "Lining up for a torpedo run!"

Samantha flew perpendicular to the submarine, gently adjusting her throttle and altitude to allow for clean torpedo drop while the USS Ward fired a salvo from her 4-inch main guns. The air launched 1005kg torpedo dipped into the water like a professional diver, and sped towards the Neuroi ship with a bubble trail behind it. A column of water rose from the ocean, as the Mark 13 warhead ripped the target apart, exposing the core.

"Standby for bombing run!" Ila shouted, switching to her 500lb bombs. "One away! Two away!" She said, as the first bomb missed and the second struck the conning tower, and the Neuroi shattered into silvery shards.

"Yes! Nice job Ila!" Samantha cried gleefully.

"No time for celebration. The Neuroi aren't stupid, they wouldn't just send one submarine into the largest naval base this side of the Pacific. That's suicide." Ila wondered.

"Surely, it's just an exercise… Yeah…" Samantha muttered, trying to regain her composure. But she couldn't shake the feeling that it was something more important, and she started checking her instruments again. "Aerial contacts reported over Wheeler Field in the north… It's probably just that B-17 flight inbound from the mainland, but... I need a visual." She said, climbing to higher altitude with a pair of binoculars. One look through the binoculars proved more than enough, as she grabbed Ila's hand and they raced to the main harbor.

No sooner had they gotten underway, when they heard a high-pitched screeching noise like nails on a chalkboard. A wave of dark grey and red aircraft roared through the sky, enough to blot the sun out. They weren't man made aircraft, but Neuroi fighters launched from a mothership. The strawberry blonde girl calculated their speed and direction, and gasped in horror when she saw that Pearl Harbor was in their path. The warships were neatly arranged in Battleship Row, and the Warhawks were in a perfect line at Hickam Field.

"Hickam Field! This is Captain Samantha Laddon, callsign Miss Pick Up! I've made visual contact with a large, unidentified aerial force approaching Hickam Field. Repeat, large unidentified aerial force approaching Hickam Field. Possible hostilities imminent, request you raise status to Alert 1."

No sooner had she called Hickam Field, when the first aerial torpedo dropped into the harbor, cruising towards the USS West Virginia. The engineers sat on their suspended platform on the battleship hull, and looked over the side just in time to see the torpedo. The warhead bit hard into the steel hull, before exploding violently and sending a column of water fifty fight into the air. Before long, more torpedoes fell into the water, striking the USS Oklahoma and the USS California in the port side.

Amidst the explosions and screaming, the klaxon siren began roaring as a voice called out, "AIR RAID! AIR RAID! ALL PERSONNEL TO BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL!"

Then came the high-level dive bombers, falling out of the sky like trapeze artists in a circus. They released their armor piercing bombs, which fell at such velocity you could hear them whistle through the air. One of them pierced the deck of the battleship Arizona, right near the no.2 gun turret, as it penetrated all the way to the shell magazine and detonated. The ship lurched, as the bow of the ship lifted into the air and fractured, sending flames spewing seventy feet into the air, like a solar flare in space.

Samantha was watching as she flew over to Hickam Field, and turned paler than the moon when the Arizona began belching flames. "Oh no… Alexis!" She cried, boosting to WEP and roaring towards Battleship Row.

When they arrived over Hickam Field, it was far worse than they could've imagined. Battleship Row was ablaze with thick, oily smoke, and the P-40 Warhawks had been strafed on the ground, as their aviation fuel was rapidly licked up by the flames. Samantha soon alighted on the hull of the Oklahoma, as it was burning end to end. The ship had been struck by multiple torpedoes, and was capsizing rapidly. As she tried to infiltrate the inferno, another bomb struck one of the fuel oil reservoirs, igniting it. Samantha watched in horror as sailors jumped for their lives, covered in oil and burning from head to toe as they careened into the water. She then identified one of the smaller figures as Alexis, and picked her up, although her oil stained coveralls and face were still ablaze. Alexis screamed and flailed in pain, as Samantha lowered her into the harbor water to extinguish the flames. When she emerged from the water, Alexis was scarred by 2nd and 3rd degree burns, and her face was almost unrecognizable. Samantha held her sister close, even as Tech Sgt. Yakone was still shooting at the incoming planes.

"Samantha…" Alexis said weakly, inhaling sharply from the pain.

"I'm here. Alexis… I'm so sorry, I should've listened to you…" Samantha admitted, tears rolling down her face.

"That doesn't… matter now." Alexis managed, coughing violently. "It's not over yet… you need to protect what's left. And promise to me… that our deaths will not… be in vain…"

"I solemnly swear…" Samantha managed, through her tears. "That your lives will not be lost in vain. I'm going to get you to a field hospital, you're going to survive this, Alexis." She said, starting her engines.

"No… no." Alexis said, coughing up blood. "I'm already done for… you need to protect the fuel… reserves… and the drydocks…" She was interrupted by another fit of coughing. "The fleet's going to need that oil… and a place to repair… Do me a favor: Shoot one down for me…"

Samantha watched in horror, as Alexis' burnt eyelids slowly shut, and the small chest ceased to rise, as she breathed her last. Alexis was smiling peacefully, somehow knowing that everything would be alright. Samantha wiped the tears from her face, and lowered her sister into the body filled waters. The body floated off with the other unfortunate sailors, like a mass burial at sea.

"Samantha?" Ila inquired, hovering over.

"She would want to rest with her shipmates." Samantha admitted.

"Samantha. There was nothing more you could do." She said in a soothing voice.

"I should've listened to her… I wish I hadn't been blinded by my arrogance, and overconfidence…" Samantha wept again.

"We need to go. Pearl is still under attack." Ila beckoned worriedly.

Samantha looked up, her eyes red from crying, and her eyes came to rest on a nearby Liberty ship that had been moored next to the Oklahoma for repair duties. Her Catalina units revved, as Samantha hovered over and picked up the 40mm Bofors AA gun from the starboard gun tub. The gun was ripped of its mount, and she grabbed several boxes of the flak shells, soaring up to combat altitude.

"Ila, try to draw their attention so they'll group up. These Bofor shells work well against group targets." Samantha radioed.

"How did I end up being the bait…" Ila laughed, shaking her head.

Soon the Neuroi had acquired Ila again, and began chasing her through the harbor. Ila wove through the falling masts of the USS Nevada, and over a group of destroyers that had managed to get under way. The 4 Farragut class destroyers Farragut, Monaghan, Aylwin, and Dale had been lucky, since they were relatively ignored by the Neuroi bombers, and now they were making for the harbor exit. They were joined by the Omaha class light cruiser, USS Detroit, as they prepared for anti-air combat. The 28mm "Chicago Piano" anti-aircraft mounts on the Detroit clacked loudly, accompanied in their warrior symphony by .50 caliber Brownings, 20mm Oerlikons, and 76mm flak guns. The 5-inch dual purpose guns aboard the destroyers also lobbed flak shells into the burning sky, as the second wave of Neuroi dove in to attack.

Suddenly, a hail of 40mm flak shells rained down from the sky, as Samantha loitered around the harbor with the Bofors gun. She was orbiting slowly in a left turn, which allowed her more stability, as she raked the Neuroi with armor piercing high-explosive shells. The tide was beginning to turn, and there was no point of the Neuroi pressing their attack, having dropped all their ordnance. The second wave bombers began retreating to the north, as their fighter escorts continued to strafe the AA positions, undeterred by the riflemen with their M1903 Springfields.

"You're not leaving just yet!" Samantha roared, firing from extreme range at the retreating bombers with her 40mm, accompanied by flak shots from USS Detroit. A few more planes were destroyed, but they were now outside of firing range, running back to whatever hole they came from. The fighter escorts had taken heavy losses from Samantha and the ground fire, and began to retreat as well. Ila flew up to meet Samantha, who was fuming almost as much as the Bofors gun. "They'll pay for this." She growled.

"All in due time, Samantha." Ila said comfortingly. "At least there wasn't a third wave, but it looks like Liberion won't be neutral much longer…"

Aftermath

In the coming days, Samantha found herself training even harder than before, pushing to become the best PBY pilot in the US Navy. It wasn't long before command took notice of her, landing her under the command of Jamie Doolittle for 1 ½ years in the pacific. After which, she was transferred to Great Britannia and assigned to the 8th JSF where she would remain for the duration of the daylight bombing campaign in Europe.

Ila Yakone returned to Attu in the Aleutian Islands, partaking in the defense of Dutch Harbor, Kiska Island, Adak Island, and her home base on Attu Island. When the assault on the Aleutians finally ended, she went on to fly support missions from Attu to northern Hokkaido, as well as search and rescue missions in the Bering Sea. On several occasions she spent time interacting with the Soviet Pacific Fleet, as exchanges of goodwill between them and the US Navy.

Alexis' body was never recovered from Battleship Row, and she rested at the bottom of the harbor with her fellow sailors, and the battleship Oklahoma. All attempts to rescue sailors from the Oklahoma were met with disastrous failure, and many engineers and metal workers had drowned in the lower decks while trying to cut an escape route. The world was shocked in the coming morning, as the enflamed dreadnoughts appeared on the front page of every US newspaper. The attack was labeled by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as "A Day Which Will Live in Infamy," during his national address on December 8th. With this speech, the United States of Liberion officially joined the war against the Neuroi, in both the pacific and European theaters. It has often been said that the United States was likened to a sleeping giant, who had been awakened and filled with a terrible resolve.