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And now we continue our story.
The Janus Campaign
Chapter 3: Where Are We Now?
The Pacific Allies now found themselves responsible for nearly 20,000 uninvited guests. The sheer logistics of the problem should have been the final nail in the argument of some Japanese Nationalists who even now wanted to declare this situation an 'internal matter of the Japanese people'. This was despite the fact that the fighting had involved non-Japanese, threatened non-Japanese, and with the assault on various embassies, had; in terms of diplomatic covenant, concerned non-Japanese soil. Certainly, the Imperials did not consider themselves to be Japanese.
Even the 6,000 odd prisoners taken by Japanese forces were proving to be problematic. 6,000 prisoners represented an eight percent increase on an already overcrowded Japanese Prison system. It was equally obvious that the Japanese had no experience in holding military prisoners in the past several decades and that they would be under intense scrutiny from the international community. Even domestically, the mere rumor that Prime Minister Hojo's government intended to hold prisoners in former US bases on Okinawa had resulted in very vocal protests by Okinawans. Complicating matters further was the presence of a number of demi-humans among the Imperial troops. In the end, it was decided to hold both these prisoners and the prisoners held by the United States on the island of Io To, known to Americans more famously as Iwo Jima, the island having no current civilian population but having a JSDF outpost and an American airstrip in active operation. The only exceptions were prisoners needing significant medical care and unable to travel. Both the US Army Corps of Engineers and US Navy Seabees quickly deployed men and equipment and, joined by JSDF combat engineers, set to work building the facilities for what came to be known as "Camp Charon'. Prisoners on the volcanic island began to call it by another name., a name that American guards initially understood as ''Hades' Hole', but to the prisoners, this was 'Hardy's Hole'.
To add to security, military prisoners were blindfolded and flown out at night aboard blacked out C-130 transports after having been given a full medical check and a preliminary 'interview'. Once processed and flown to Iwo, the prisoners were separated by recorded rank with separate facilities for housing and dining. The goal was to disorientate the prisoners to facilitate questioning and to reduce mischief among the prisoners as it was anticipated that officers would be the ones most likely to stir up organized trouble. Prisoner schedules were organized by the hut and included daily calisthenics and classes in reading and writing. Those desiring luxuries such as additional or desirable food commodities, spare clothing or bedding could volunteer for work details around the camp. The theory being that idle hands were best avoided.
Naturally, their living spaces, eating areas, indeed all areas accessible to prisoners were under constant electronic eavesdropping and surveillance. Every conversation recorded and saved for analysis.
The noncombatants were a thornier matter. While they had to be detained, they were not enumerated as prisoners. Sending them to Iwo Jima was immediately ruled out as an additional safety concern. Compounding the issue was that there were 4,000 individuals who had no concept of how to live in a modern, technological society. In the end, the US Navy erected temporary accommodations at Fleet Activities Yokosuka while it considered negotiating with Japanese officials to lease and renovate the Negishi Housing Annex.
From the start, it was clear that the full support and cooperation of Legate Germanicus' wife Octavia would be required to maintain a safe and secure environment for both the detainees and the population around them. Fortunately, the revelation that there was at least some shared language helped as her hosts provided a liaison officer.
The officer; one Junior Grade Lieutenant William Taylor, USN, was politely introduced by Captain West, Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka and Octavia soon found she had inherited another son to watch over and fuss upon as she had been doing ever since her husband had been a ranking centurion. This son was just a bit more unusual than most.
Whether that was true when counted among his own people, Octavia had not yet determined but while his physical appearance was unremarkable with dark brown nearly black straight hair, an average height for a human, with perhaps a little less muscle than her husband might prefer in casting about for their daughter's future husband. Of course, her husband would inevitably find some criminal failing in any young man associated with his daughter but Lucilla was about to turn fourteen. Her prospects for marriage would have been excellent, given the family bloodline and her father's prominence in the Imperial Army. But that had been last week. This week, Octavia and her children were prisoners and her husband's whereabouts unknown to her. In protecting her children's' futures, Octavia would consider a great many things. Better perhaps her daughter might take a husband from among the conquerors than to see her children as slaves.
But at any rate, the Lieutenant's brown eyes bespoke a gentleness that seemed at odds with a warrior. He was a learned young man, a trait which Octavia approved, though it struck her that this society as a whole seemed to be considerably more educated than her own. Despite a complexion not too unlike her husband's, his facial structure seemed closer to the high bloodlines. It was a curious combination to be sure. According to Captain West, Lieutenant Taylor's assignment was to assist Octavia and the other noncombatant 'detainees' (a curious terminology for captives of war.) in adjusting to their new environment and making certain that the needs for their health and well-being were met.
For the moment that meant everyone getting a medical examination and basic vaccinations and immunizations. To allay the possible concerns of Lady Octavia and the other mothers and the fears of the children, Taylor agreed to let one of the doctors perform a full physical, complete with drawing blood and shots on him with Octavia, her children, and her house guards all watching. Never mind that I have had a fear of needles since childhood, Taylor mused to himself.
Still, it paid dividends to see 5-year-old Marcus calmly enduring his examination and shots while Felecia, his warrior bunny guard sternly watched the doctor without incident. Taylor carefully explained to Octavia the concept of vaccination and that among the injections were protections against certain illnesses, showing her a text describing the symptoms of a number of maladies; While Octavia did not know Typhoid or measles by name, she was well aware of their symptoms. And smallpox, while called variola in Popularii, smallpox was a name she recognized. A disease that inspired dread throughout the Empire. And these people have virtually eliminated it? That her children were now protected from its grasp was a matter for no small thanks
Then she addressed a matter that was of personal concern to herself and every other wife present.
"Lieutenant, we must know which of us are still married and which of us are now widows from this foolish venture."
"I can get lists of the names of prisoners held by both my government and the Japanese. That will be a start. After that, there are hundreds of patients currently in the hospital that haven't been identified. I'll need a list of names to check against the prisoner lists. Next, we will start taking the names and descriptions and try to check them against patients. After that, any personal identifiers such as rings, signets of office… anything we can use to check the dead. I have to warn you that the bodies might be hard to identify."
"I am a soldier's wife, whether my husband breathes still or not, Lieutenant. I am no stranger to the ugly sights of war."
"Fair enough. Ma'am." Taylor accepted the truth of Lady Octavia's statement.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. I know you will do everything you can. But for now, let us speak of other things." Octavia managed a genuine smile. "For instance: How did you end up here?"
"I volunteered," Taylor told her mildly. "Your people are a complete mystery to us but there are too many things about you that suggest there has to be a connection to our own history. It can't just be a coincidence. It's a puzzle I couldn't resist!" For once, the fact that he had gained his commission through the NROTC program instead of the Naval Academy had worked in his favor, since he had been able to take more credits in the humanities than an average Annapolis graduate would get. This might not have been how he envisioned his career to go but it felt like the universe had given him a good roll. And he intended to make the most of his luck.
Octavia regarded the young officer with amused interest. "Of course to us, it is your people who are proving so very inscrutable. A mystery for a mystery then! Shall we pierce the fog between us?"
Yokota: Headquarters, United States Forces Japan
Winston Churchill famously noted that the only thing worse than waging war with allies was waging war without them. There were many in Japan in the days following the Battle in Tokyo who would have disagreed. As for Lieutenant General Hazama, he would note in a reversal of Clausewitz that 'Politics is warfare by other means.'
At any event, exercising command in a coalition tended to be a delicate matter but in the event, the Operation into the Gate was organized under the Commander PacCom as the 'Janus Theater Command'. (The designation 'Janus' for the world beyond the Gate was first applied by an intelligence officer on PacCom's staff and soon gained wide acceptance in opposition to the designation of 'Special Region' applied by the Japanese Government.) This placed the senior US Admiral in the Pacific in overall command of the Allied effort. It was considered an auspicious sign that this officer was the son of an American father and a Japanese mother. As such, he came to symbolize the unity of the Allied command structure in the eyes of the general public.
Directly commanding 'Task Force Janus' was JSDF Lieutenant General Hazama, who had led the counterattack against Germanicus' legions in the Battle of Tokyo. His forces were built primarily around his own tested 1st Division and the 1st Air Assault Brigade. The American contingent consisted initially of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 101st Airborne Division.
The USAF saw little call to deploy 5th Generation air superiority fighters but the Japanese assigned the 301st Tactical Fighter Squadron. The US 16th Special Operations Squadron was assigned to add its AC-130 gunships to the festivities. There obviously seemed to be little need for conventional naval power, but the USN was even at this point considering that some type of brown water capability might at least be called for. Obviously, the Navy Seabees would be of vital need in the coming campaign.
Although there would be small contingents from other nations, these formations would provide the majority of allied fighting power. Thus, it was here at Yokota, in front of PacCom, designated, Supreme Commander Allied Forces that General Hazama laid out his plan for penetrating beyond the Gate.
"Our first concern; of course, is that we have the same lack of intelligence that seems to have hindered the enemy's own invasion. We estimate that some 30 to 40 thousand enemy troops escaped. I would not want to have them waiting for us the minute we cross to their side. We propose to conduct a very basic reconnaissance using unmanned remote vehicles. Once we at least have a general picture of the ground, we can formulate a plan to take and hold the other side of the Gate."
"Assuming we don't have a signal disruption when the drones transit." Colonel Emerson, the Commander of the 31st MEU noted.
"It is a possibility," Hazama admitted. Given his druthers, he would have already conducted such scouting. The problem was that containment was an absolute priority. Construction of the fences, checkpoints, and the massive dome that would become iconic was already well underway. It was not an environment conducive to drone operations, and while it pained the General to know that there were fellow Japanese taken and trapped on the other side of that Gate, they had to make sure that this side of the Gate was secured before pushing on to the other side. "But we have to start somewhere. At any rate, we have to seize the hub and quickly establish a ring of firebases to hold our perimeter until we can fully deploy and dig in. Until we can get our main base up and running, we will be at our most vulnerable. Casualties may be heavy."
"No one said our line of work was guaranteed to be safe," Emerson remarked.
ComPac nodded in grim agreement. "Let us only pray that if we must spend good men's lives in battle, that those lives are not needlessly wasted."