After tying the launch to the visitors' dock, I lead the girls towards the security hut at the shore end of the pier.
"Name and reason for your visit to Pearl Harbour today?" the guard asks tersely.
"Nathan Harrison," I reply, "I have a meeting with Admiral Jensen."
"And them?" the guard asks pointing to the girls standing behind me.
Looking back quickly to see that the girls are all looking around at the various buildings with interest. "Top secret research project," I answer hoping the guard won't press the issue, "A need to know assignment. The Admiral wants to see how the project is progressing first hand."
The guard gives me a blank look, opening and closing his mouth a few times, trying to process what I've just said and how he can remain in control of the moment. "Research you say."
"Yeah, Top Secret," I say again.
"Fine, whatever you say," the guard finally relents, "Just sign here whilst I call ahead to let them know you're here."
Signing the visitors' sheet on the clipboard and handing it back, I wait patiently for the guard to finish his call to the Admirals office.
"Yes, a Nathan Harrison and three guests he says are part of a research project," the guard says into the phone.
Looking around I notice that the girls are taking in the nearby sights. Eugen appears to be paying rather close attention to one of the Destroyers docked across the harbour.
"Well, that's what he's claiming," I hear the guard say, "They arrived about five minutes ago at the visitors dock in a shore boat."
The guard listens to the person on the other end of the line before turning to me and asking, "They want to know where your boat is?"
"Depends on which boat they are asking about," I reply.
"The one you arrived here on," the guard states.
Quickly calculating how far I can take this without giving away potentially sensitive information away to a civilian I reply, "It's tied up to the dock down there," I indicate pointing to the shore boat from the Prinz Eugen.
"Listen pal," the guard says starting to sound frustrated, "Even I know that, that boat isn't capable of a long ocean transit. Where's the other boat. The one that one belongs too."
"About fifteen kilometres off shore," I reply, "You want to know any more than that, you'll have to put Jensen in front of me."
The guard looks at me in slight shock, before speaking into the phone once more, "Okay, I understand."
After putting the phone down the guard passes four Visitors Badges to me, "You wait here. They are sending someone down to take you to the Admiral."
Taking the badges and passing them to the girls, "I really don't see the need this is not my first visit to the Naval Yard."
"Not my call," the guard replies, "I'm told you are to wait here for an escort."
With a shrug of my shoulders, I turn back to the girls, handing them a Visitors Pass each.
"This isn't going as you planned is it?" Kaga asks.
"Not even close," I admit, "Normally, I'd dock over there." I continue indicating a row of docks where a handful of commercial ships where being loaded. "But without the Intrepid and not wanting to start a shooting match by bringing the Prinz Eugen in to port this was the next best option."
"You should have said there was a chance to have some fun," Eugen comments with a light laugh.
"How long until they come for us?" Kaga asks getting back to the point.
"Not long," I reply, "Jensen runs a tight ship as they say. He'll have sent an Ensign down to collect us."
It only took five minutes before a staff car arrived and one of the Admirals aides steps out and approaches the security hut.
After the aide and the security guard have a brief conversation, the aide makes their way to where we are waiting, "I take it you're Nathan Harrison."
"The one and only," I reply, "And before you say that the Admiral is busy in meetings, I'm already aware."
The aide looks at me blankly for a moment.
"So, if you'll be so good as to take us over there," I continue pointing across the harbour, "I'm sure I'll find something useful to do to occupy my time whilst waiting for my scheduled appointment time with Admiral Jensen."
During the short journey from the dock to Ford Island, I spent most of the time avoiding answering questions, simply stating that only the Admiral had the required security clearance.
None of this pleased the aide any, however it became clear they were under instructions to keep us out of the Admirals way until whatever meetings he had on were over.
As soon as the car rolled to a stop, I climb out and make my way down the slope to the waters edge and look out across the harbour.
After what feels like hours, Akagi breaks the silence, "Not much seems to have changed."
"I don't know about that," Kaga comments, "I can see something that is very different now to the last time we were here."
Following Kaga's gaze, I finally spy what she is referring too, "Well if they had those back in '41, the outcome of that day might well have been very different."
"Are they that really that good?" Kaga asks in a serious tone.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Eugen interjects.
"We're discussing the advances in military technology," I reply, "And as I said before, military weaponry has come a long way since World War II. And we are in the backyard of the leaders in that advancement."
"Surely there's nothing that beats German engineering," Eugen boasts.
"So, explain to me why Germany buys military gear from America then?" I quip back, "Most of the world does for that matter." I add.
When Eugen fails to say anything else, I turn to both Kaga and Akagi, "To give you a little insight into how out matched you are now. It would only require four of those aircraft to not only wipe out your entire air wing, but probably also sink both of you along with half your escort fleet in the process."
"So, if the Americans are that powerful now," Akagi begins, "How is it that they lost an entire fleet to Peace Breaker, yet we were able to drive her off?"
"That's the million-dollar question Akagi," I say, "The Americans are in this position where they are largely untouchable in a military sense. But they do seem to get kicked in the teeth by either under-developed military forces or freak situations quite a lot."
My last comments are met with silence. Turning to look once more out across the harbour, it is becoming clear to me that there is very little to be learned on the ground that I didn't already know from reviewing the satellite photos.
The Arizona Memorial looked exactly as it always did after it's completion, however the wreck of the ship herself was nowhere to be seen. And with no signs that the area had been host to a large-scale recovery effort, it was almost as if the ship had never existed.
I turn to walk back up to the road, when Eugen stops me.
"What's wrong?" I ask, seeing the slightly concerned look.
"We're not alone here," she replies.
"Where in the middle of a Naval facility," I state, "There's bound to be others around."
"No," Eugen presses, "I can sense someone other than Akagi and Kaga here."
"Could it be either Bogue or Spee out there?" I ask pointing out to the mouth of the harbour where the hull of the Prinz Eugen was remotely patrolling along with Bogue and Graf Spee.
"No," Eugen replies shaking her head slowly, "I can sense them out there, but there are three readings here."
"And I'm going to assume that I'm not one of them," I say.
"Correct," Eugen states, "My surface radar can not track a target as small as a person."
"Right," I reply, "Can you tell where this new contact is?"
"Over there," Eugen answers, pointing along the shoreline.
I look in the indicated direction, pause for a moment to take in the sight before me, before turning to face Eugen, "Alright, let's go then. I've always wanted to tour the USS Missouri."
Eugen shakes her head slowly, "Not there," she says, "Over there," indicating a bench overlooking the harbour a short distance away where a solitary figure was seated.
"Enter!" a voice from within calls out at the knock on the door from the Admirals secretary.
The secretary opens the door before stepping aside to allow me past. "Afternoon Admiral," I call out cheerfully as I walk up to the single desk and place the almost two dozen folders of reports, I had brought with me.
The Admiral looks up from the report on the desk in front of him, "What's this about a Top-Secret Research Project?" he asks sternly.
"That's a long story Admiral," I begin, "However, I believe that what we've been looking into over the past four months will explain what happened to that carrier fleet you asked me to try to find and also your missing ship wrecks."
"You found the Gerald R. Ford?" Jensen asks with a hint of hope, "You have no idea how much grief I've been getting over that."
"The short answer is no," I reply shaking my head, "However, I have enough reason to believe that the Gerald R. Ford and her entire escort fleet met up with something from another world and were sunk."
"And what evidence do you have to support this claim?" Jensen asks with a sigh of resignation.
I flick through the pile of folders I had placed on the desk earlier, eventually reaching the one I was looking for, which I handed wordlessly over.
"You guys either have a unique report naming system or there's more you're not telling me," Jensen states reading the title on the jacket cover.
"Nothing special with the report names," I answer, "And the title of that one should be self-explanatory as too the contents within."
"So, you're telling me that not only do you believe that an entire US Carrier Group has been destroyed but that your own ship has also sunk?" Jensen queries.
"I can only speculate as to the true fate of your Carrier Group," I admit, "Although the evidence leads to only that conclusion at this time. As for the RV Intrepid. I was aboard when we were first rammed and then torpedoed."
Opening the folder after a momentary pause, Jensen reads through the written account and scans through the screen captures taken by the Intrepid's onboard cameras.
"Okay, I've got a number of questions," Jensen says placing the folder down and taking a few of the screen captures out and placing them facing me on the desk, "Firstly what is that?"
With a quick glance at the print I reply, "That is the vessel that rammed and then torpedoed the Intrepid."
"And what if anything did the crew aboard that ship say?" Jensen asks.
"We never saw any signs of a crew," I reply, "It's possible that it's a drone ship similar in operation to the drones you and the Airforce use."
"Okay," Jensen says with a slight nod of his head, "So what is that?"
"That," I begin, "Is a sentient being. Calls herself Peace Breaker. And believe me my one encounter with her proved that she is not shy about escalating to violence rapidly."
"Your proof?" Jensen asks.
"The video on the flash drive can answer that question, along with the entire sequence involving that unidentified ship and its attack on the Intrepid," I reply.
"I'll review that in due course," Jensen states, "If you can just tell me what happened for now."
"I was investigating what sounded like an argument from the forward deck, during the evacuation of the Intrepid," I answer, "I clearly struck a nerve when I interrupted with my choice of words and Peace Breaker decided to shoot me."
"I guess whatever weapons capabilities this Peace Breaker possesses are that not effective given the fact you seem to be unaffected by that event," Jensen concludes.
"Not entirely," I admit, "I'd hazard a guess that the weapons platform operates similar to the test programs the Navy ran exploring Railguns. I was out for the count for over two days."
"Anything else?" Jensen asks.
"Aside from an expanded knowledge of nuclear fusion and sharks I didn't possess prior to the attack," I admit, "And before you ask. We still can't explain that."
Jensen looks at me for a moment before asking, "Okay final question. Who are the two in this photo?"
"Before I answer that," I begin picking up two folders and handing them across, "You should read through the overview these two folders first."
Giving me a quizzical look, Jensen complies and quickly scans through the overview reports from both folders, "So, you're now telling me that there are two young women who have some mental delusion that they are the human personification of German warships from World War II?"
"Not quite," I explain, "I'm telling you that there are six young women who are the human personification of warships from World War II."
"And we thought that Strickland was mad with some of his theories," Jensen exclaims, "That has to be the wildest theory I've ever heard."
"I know it sounds crazy," I reply.
"Crazy doesn't begin to cover it," Jensen says, "But let us assume you're right. How exactly do they compare to an actual warship?"
Wordlessly, I flick through the folders one by one and take out a couple of photos from each, before handing them over.
Flicking through them, Jensen asks, "Are these real?"
"Yes sir," I reply, "They can activate something the research teams looking into this have dubbed rigging. This allows them to skate across the water's surface and also fire long range guns and torpedoes at anything they want."
"And you know that last part for a fact?" Jensen queries.
"We conducted a live fire test just outside the atoll at Midway a couple of weeks ago," I answer.
"You guys truly are insane," Jensen says resignedly, "You do know that atoll is a protected area?"
"Don't worry," I say, "We didn't do any damage to the atoll. We were far enough off shore and cleaned up the remains of the targets."
"Well, that's something then," Jensen says, "It's going to be hard enough to explain this to the English without also having to answer to damage to a protected land area to my own government."
"Believe me, we've been trying to work out how to explain this one to the relevant nations as well," I add.
"Indeed," Jensen says, "However neither of these two are in that earlier photo I asked about."
"You are correct," I answer, "The two in that photo are these two." I finish handing over another two folders.
Jensen once more reads through the overviews contained within the folders. This time he continues to read through the reports until he reaches the end of each in turn.
When he finally looks back up at me, the expression on his face is unreadable.
After what feels like hours, Jensen very calmly asks, "How long have you been aware of this?"
"We've been looking into this matter for close to five months," I answer.
"That's not what I was referring too," Jensen states, "And you know it."
"Everything is in the report in your hands," I answer, "Including the dates of when we first encountered each of the girls and where."
"Meaning you lied to me when I spoke to you, regarding the whereabouts of both Akagi and Kaga," Jensen spits, the anger in his tone rising by the second.
"No," I answer, "You asked if there was anyone aboard my ship with those names. At the time you called. Both of them where in one of the research labs on Midway."
"Don't get smart with me," Jensen snaps, "You know full well that the entire Pacific Fleet are out there looking for two rogue Japanese carriers and here you are hiding them on Midway Atoll!"
"Firstly Admiral, there's a difference between hiding them. And not understanding how they came to exist in the first place," I say raising a hand to stop Jensen from continuing his rant, "And secondly neither you, any of your fleet Captains or even your own base security knows what they are looking for."
"Care to explain that one?" Jensen asks calmly down slightly.
"Well, if you actually knew what was going on and what to look for, your base security would have already told you that both Akagi and Kaga arrived this morning with me," I answer.
Jensen stares at me with a blank expression for a moment.
"YOU DID WHAT!" he screams, "Do you realize how much chaos those two caused last time they were in this region. And you simply signed them in as your research project!"
"That about sums it up," I reply, "Besides it's not all bad news. I also brought Prinz Eugen with me, and we found Arizona today while I was waiting for this meeting."
"Wait, what?" Jensen asks.
"Here," I say handing over yet another folder, "Prinz Eugen arrived at Midway six days ago. That's how I got here today."
"So, the entire shipwreck turned up at Midway," Jensen says running through the report, "And in full working condition."
"Certainly, surprised us as well," I say, "Also these requests are also for your approval." I add handing over two sets of documents.
"You're claiming rights of salvage?" Jensen asks, "You've got some nerve."
"Not really," I claim, "Neither the Prinz Eugen or Bogue are considered war graves as one capsized during a storm after you towed the ship to the Marshall Islands after using it as target practice for your nuclear program. And the Bogue was sold for scrap."
"Hold on a second," Jensen interrupts, "What's this about Bogue?"
"Escort Carrier, part of the Atlantic Fleet during the war and scrapped in the sixties," I reply.
"And where does she fit into the story?" queries Jensen.
"One of the research team was transporting a cube between buildings," I explain, "When long story short, it got hit by a bolt of lightning. One moment the researcher is looking at a cube on the ground. Next minute there's a girl standing there who we'd never seen before and an Aircraft Carrier floating just outside the Atoll."
"And this cube is responsible for all this madness?" Jensen asks.
"We don't know for sure," I admit, "All we know for sure is that they react to electrical current and when hit with enough transform."
"And where is she now?" Jensen asks.
"Currently Bogue is patrolling about fifteen kilometres off the coast along with Graf Spee and Prinz Eugen." I reply.
"Fine," Jensen relents signing the documents and handing them back over, "For all the good it will do you. I know the US Navy won't want anything to do with this madness. Now you mentioned that you found the Arizona as well."
"Yes and no," I begin, "The wreck of the Arizona is still missing; however, we did find Arizona herself sitting in one of the parks near the Missouri."
The Admiral was about to say something else, however the radio clipped to my belt buzzed. Unclipping it and pressing the transmit button, "I hope this isn't just another score update Bogue?"
"Not at all," I hear Bogue's voice through the radio, "Although the Twins are currently up by two over the Rangers."
"Bogue," I start, "Firstly I'm in a meeting with the Admiral of the Pacific Fleet right now. And secondly when it comes to baseball there's only two things that matter to me, that the Blue Jays keep winning and that whoever is playing the Yankees are giving them an arse kicking."
"Oh, those games haven't started yet," Bogue answers cheerfully, "But I was calling to give you a heads up that one of my recon planes has spotted what appears to be an incoming attack."
Before I can reply a series of alarms all over the base scream to life.
