Chapter 5: The transit.
Philippine Sea, near the island of Palau:
The international strike force continued its transit throughout the length of the enormous Philippine Sea to avoid traffic. Fighters conducted standard patrol while the replenishment ships refitted the task force. The three huge Gontengo class warships were also in the water so as to recharge their engines and to allow the flyers to rest.
Admiral Shuichi Sakai watched the view from the bridge with a grim look on his face as the fleet transited through the area. He remembered the last time he ventured here, which was during 1944 when the Imperial Japanese Navy's Mobile Fleet attempted to smash the American invasion of Saipan. He closed his eyes as the events of the battle flashed across his mind: American submarine attacks claiming two of Japan's finest carriers while American aircraft claimed another carrier the following day.
The Japanese admiral turned to see several of the older crewmen having the same thoughts and also thinking about the irony of the situation of which they were now working with the very country that destroyed a lifetime of service to their home. It had taken a while for many of them to adjust to the new realities in Japan during and after the occupation.
Suddenly, the communications net started to activate with a communications link arriving in from the USS Constellation. Taking a deep breath to shake his thoughts, Sakai activated the ship's communications console and asked, "Yes Admiral Maxwell, what is it?"
The American admiral on the other end of the line replied, "Admiral, I've just received the word from Washington and am preparing to detach my ships to Southeast Asia".
Sakai nodded and replied professionally, "Good luck and I hope to see you in Antarctica when we arrive".
The American laughed and replied, "I'd rather be in Arctic then in the sweltering jungles of Southeast Asia, any advice on dealing with the tropics".
The Japanese veteran replied, "Unfortunately I never served in that part of the Pacific so I can't give any advice". The American admiral grunted before signing off and soon the three American carriers broke formation and headed southwest. Sakai observed their departure before returning to his brooding.
In the quarters assigned to him, General Kitagawa looked over the latest weather report of the battlefield when Colonel Hakauyate arrived in his quarters. Kitagawa replied in greetings, "So what do you think of this operation so far"?
His subordinate took a deep breath before stating, "It is one massive undertaking with a lot of risks". The general nodded before allowing Hakauyate to continue, "First we have to deal with operating so far from home and in very unfamiliar terrain", "Then we have to work with people with some still wanting us to die horrible deaths so that will be a problem for morale and then finally we fighting against a nearly invincible enemy". The stressing of the word caught the attention of his superior officer who understood the meaning behind his subordinate's words. They would eventually overcome all of the other problems with but the fact that Godzilla has proven immune to all their weapons thus far did not inspire hope for the success of Operation Final Strike. Both Japanese commanders as well as their international counterparts thanked kami that they managed to keep the information from their subordinates, no matter much their conscience would haunt them for it.
In an attempt to lighten up the subject, Kitagawa asked, "How is the training of the men so far"? His subordinate shrugged before stating, "So far it's been going all right but there have been the usual fistfights and all onboard some of the ships and that's just with the crews".
Kitagawa breathed a huge sigh and replied, "Even though it is to be expected, it is trouble to hear such news". He then paused, "What about the commanders, how are they working out"?
Hakauyate replied quietly, "Most have decided to avoid each other and at times when they eat their meals, they sit on different sides so as to avoid each other and not cause trouble". He then also paused before continuing, "The only time they even attempt to talk to each other is during the strategy sessions although a few have attempted to talk personal matters". The colonel didn't add his own difficulties with talking to the Americans and the Russians when he ran into them in the corridors since he had served as a private during the war and had fought in Burma before heading up to Manchuria.
The room became silent again before the colonel asked his boss, "You haven't had much sleep sir".
The general nodded and the colonel understood for if there was one thing common among everyone thus far was that they did not get much sleep. It was common that the decks of most ships would be crawling with sleep deprived men, wondering if their number would be up this time and none of the senior officers blame their men for they were undergoing the same stress. Suddenly feeling hungry, Kitagawa asked his subordinate, "You mind joining me for a little meal".
Hakauyate nodded and both headed to the ships mess hall where Reynolds was already working through his own meal. He immediately waved his Japanese counterpart over to his table and they sat together for a while before Kitagawa asked the American, "You couldn't sleep as well"?
Reynolds took a deep breath before stating, "With the fact that I'm about to lead the United States military into the type of combat that we all thought World War II dealt with and perhaps equivalent to the American Civil War, do you think I could sleep at all". Both Japanese commanders nodded at his understatement since they too had nightmares of their own during the war and both remembered their nation's military history in all of its savage glory. Reynolds immediately apologized before stating, "I'm sorry if I've seen out of line but I had hoped that with the creation of the UN, we have seen the last of warfare on this scale".
Kitagawa nodded in assent, "After what we all went through during the war I think many here share your sentiments". He paused before continuing, "But it seems fate had another option in store when the legacy of the darkness of mankind unleashed Godzilla on us". That silenced the room to that of a graveyard as Kitagawa's words hung over them all.
After a while, Reynolds attempted to switch the conversation to personal matters with some success. They continued on for this for the duration of the meal before heading back to their respective quarters.
USS Constellation, In Gulf of Tonkin at point designated Yankee Station two weeks later.
From the bridge, Maxwell observed the view of the operations from the Constellation as F-4B Phantoms and F-8 Crusaders catapulted off the deck and headed towards the Vietnamese coast to attack suspected North Vietnamese and Viet Cong positions. Though the attacks on Viet Cong positions in South Vietnam (mainly for air support)proceeded smoothly, the attacks on targets in North Vietnam worried the admiral because the regular orders arriving in from Washington denied him the chance to use his carriers they should have used them, thereby exposing his pilots to unnecessary dangers. Also, the reports from his pilots of enhanced anti-aircraft defenses greatly worried the admiral. Maxwell thought that he had seen the worst of it when he flew through Japan and then Korea but right now, Vietnam was on the way to proving him wrong on that account.
It took a while before his XO shook him of his thoughts of and the admiral immediately replied, "Are all our fighters back on board". The XO nodded and replied more quietly, "Sir the reinforcement carriers are nearly on station". Maxwell nodded and replied, "Send a message to Washington on our situation and a confirmation of our instructions". He wanted to be sure that he had the full support of the commander in chief when he left Yankee Station and headed southward. The XO walked off while the admiral continued to observe flight operations, wishing that he himself could get back into the cockpit.
On the Constellation as well as the Midway and the Ranger, most of the pilots left to get some R and R as they could after flying back but the CAGs immediately headed to their quarters to plan out their next missions both in Vietnam and more importantly in the Antarctica since they all knew what was going on. Ironically in contrast to their commanding officers, they would prefer to stay in the area since they all read the reports and many wondered how the hell they would prevail without resorting to extreme measures that chilled even the most hardened soldier.
Later in the evening, while Maxwell rested in his quarters, a sailor arrived with a priority one message. As soon as he took the message into his hand, Admiral Maxwell dismissed the sailor, locked the door and sat down in his chair to read the message. He read it for a few moments to ensure that he understood it correctly word for word before picking up the phone to the bridge. In a moment he had a line to the bridge where the duty officer was, "Send a signal to all ships in the group, and commence operation ice transit".
The officer on the other end of the line immediately put the phone down and soon the ships in the three battle groups also got the message. As one, they speed out of the Gulf of Tokin to Australia and then to link up with the rest of the strike force.
At the Victoria Land area of Antarctica, designated Landing Beach Omega, a few days later:
For the past few weeks, the teams of soldiers on the continent struggled to deal with daily life in this barren icy hell. Several already had cases of frostbite and other health problems common to long exposure throughout the continent. Worst of all was the sheer boredom that they dealt with every day with living under the shadow of a dark evil. Sometimes, the more fatalistic ones wished that their prey would come out of hiding so they could get on with it. While they didn't know it, the more fatalistic ones would get their wish to the danger of themselves and their comrades.
At the beachhead called Omega, a few sentries stood out looking at the sea while squads prepared to go about their duty. As they went about their duty and as the wind picked up, some of the more perceptive soldiers suddenly stopped in their tracks as they tried to designate the different mix sounds out here today. They soon shook in fear as they realized that the loud booms in the distance were footprints and that they were heading straight for them. Belatedly, the commander of the beachhead yelled out, "To your positions now". He then ran to the communications center to the stunned sight of the other officers and replied, "Send word to headquarters that Godzilla is heading for us at maximum speed".
Back outside, the troops immediately readied their heavy weapons and waited for the arrival of the kaiju. Alongside them were small platoons of American M60A1 Patton, Japanese Type 61 and Russian T-55 tanks, which struggled into their firing positions. Everyone armed with a weapon swore to do their best but they all knew that they stood little chance of preventing Godzilla's departure from Antarctica.
Godzilla roared into the windy sky in challenge as he advanced towards the human forces. Though snow was everywhere, his eyes spotted the fortifications and he instantly headed straight for them.
To the soldiers in the trenches, the sight of Godzilla heading towards them sent another round of chills into their spines and some started to curse out at the fate that awaited them. Without a second to lose, the commander yelled out, "All units commence firing".
Machine guns, heavy mortars, and tank cannons soon fired by the score and explosions occurred all around Godzilla's body. Though the firepower was intense, all it did was irritate him and he continued to advance on the positions, his eyes glowing blood red. All the firepower really did was to light up the human defenders for Godzilla and he responded accordingly with a long blast of his atomic breath.
When the explosion cleared, Godzilla's atomic breath demolished the first defense line and the few survivors struggled through the snow for their very lives. Those further back tried to provide cover fire but it was miniscule against Godzilla's enormous form. He fired again at the ground, killing more soldiers as well as inflicting terrible damage on the landscape.
As the soldiers scattered and continued to battle the monster, they all wondered if help was going to come soon if at all.
The international strike fleet, 30 miles off Wilkes Land, Antarctica:
When the Amatsukaze received the report from landing beach omega, Admiral Sakai immediately turned to the other officers, "Sound general quarters and signal the carriers and the Gotengo squadron". Alarms rang out throughout the ship while the admiral activated a headset that linked to the other ships, "Are you guys ready to go"? The voices on the other end of the line replied in the affirmative and Sakai ordered, "Launch aircraft and head to landing beach Omega, the rest of the fleet will head in as soon as possible". He then sat back down in his seat and watched as it sprung into action.
When Captain Nakano received the news from the Amatasukaze, he turned to Ueda and told him, "Sound general quarters and get everyone to their battle stations". That meant breaking everyone out and putting them to use. As the captain ran his seat and prepared for takeoff, he saw his entire crew operating with professional efficiency despite the problems that plagued them during the journey, with some of them started by Douglas Gordon now sitting at the weapons station waiting expectantly along with everyone else for the captain's orders. The captain mused to himself, "Like all soldiers suffering from long stretches of boredom, once the gunfire starts, they're eager to jump in and get it over with".
As soon as Saki Ueda told him that everything was ready, the commander replied, "Activate the engines and prepare to take off". The ship soon filled with the engines pumping out the water and then they helped the ship and her two ascend to the sky, with the Gontengo rotating her huge forward drill. Her sisters soon followed and after they ascended to an optimum altitude, their hangers opened up to the icy weather to unleash their complement of fighters into the Antarctic sky.
At the same time, the carriers of the task force turned into the wind to launch their fighters. Scores of flight deck crews hurried to launch every plane they could into the frigid air, while checking one last time to ensure that the systems of each plane functioned in the extreme temperatures. Soon they linked up with the aerial battleships where the pilots stood with mouths open at the sight of the large warships hovering in the air. When the last of the aerial fleet assembled, they headed for the battle zone, the explosions clearly visible in the sky. The question every human in the task force wondered was whether they would arrive in time to save their comrades already on the continent.
Notes:
If you haven't noticed thus far, I've put in a lot of World War II and Cold War information to try and make this story somewhat close to reality.
I'd thought that I might as well start the battle right here with Godzilla heading back to the sea and the meager garrisons trying to hold them off while the strike fleet, hoping for a clean landing, moves in to assist and engage Godzilla sooner than planned.
Questions:
How well am I doing so far in getting the different aspects of the story right (in terms of character (and especially how well have I portrayed the people on the Gotengo, technologies used (both in the Godzilla series and in the real world)
What do you guys think of me starting the battle this early and how should I proceed?
As always, please read and review and sorry if this doesn't turn out well.