April 18, 1943
South Pacific
"Incoming American fighters!" yelled the pilot of the Mitsubishi G4M transport/bomber.
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto looked outside, through the window, and saw his escorts moving off to engage the American fighters. Six Zeros moved toward what he could see as over a dozen American aircraft, and he knew that his time on Earth was over.
He thought back to before he left Rabul, about the warning of possible attack by the Americans. He dismissed them, but now it seemed as though those fears were well based. All those years in service to the Emperor, from conflict with Russia to this war in the Pacific, he remained loyal. Now, the Americans were going to end it in a surprise attack. It was ironic in a sense. He was the person who executed the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, and now he was the one on the receiving end of one.
He said a small prayer, asking for his family to be ok after he left this world, and that those in the Imperial Navy would be able to restrain the ambitions of the Army. They were fools and he had mentioned it many times in the meetings of the Imperial General Staff. He had a feeling that things would be bad for Japan after he was gone, but it was out of his hands.
He looked out the window again and saw the American fighter, a P-38 Lightning, firing its cannons at him. That last thing he remembered before the rounds hit him: one in the shoulder, and the final one to his jaw.
...
Unknown Location
He gasped for air, as if he hadn't breathed for ages. Isoroku Yamamoto took several breaths to try and calm himself. He tried to remember where he was, and his mind kept returning to the plane he was on. But he wasn't on the plane, or in any sort of medical facility. He found himself in what he recognized as his quarters on Rabul, but it was different. It looked more modern than anything he had seen, even from his time in America. He did recognize a few things: his admiral uniform, his ceremonial katana, and a few other personal affects. He also saw a strange glowing pad. Picking it up, he saw writing on it and brushed his hands against the screen, only for the "page" to change.
What is this? he thought. He began to read what he would later learn to be his journal. He read several entries, realizing that he was fighting the Pacific War again, and according to what the last entry was, he was supposed to be leaving this very day. He knew what was going to happen if he did, so he immediately began to get dressed.
As he fastened his belt holding his katana, he heard a knock at the door. "Enter," he said.
In came a lieutenant who gave him a customary bow. "Good morning, Admiral. I am here to tell you that your transport—"
"I'm not going," Yamamoto said, cutting the lieutenant in mid-sentence. "Assemble the command staff and prepare to have a message sent to Tokyo. Tell them that our codes have been compromised and we need new ones immediately."
"Yes, Admiral. I will see to it." The officer turned and left, leaving the admiral alone.
He didn't know what to do. From what he read in his journal, his home had already lost the initiative and were on the defensive. He didn't know what he could do then, but he decided that maybe he could make the price for fighting more costly than it could be, and maybe buy the Emperor the time needed to try and negotiate a settlement, but that would have to involve the Army, and he knew that they could be very difficult when it came to military matters.
I'll deal with that when the time comes, he thought. Right then, he had more important things to focus on, like ensuring that their encrypted communications could not be heard by the Allies.