The door to the Admiral's Office bursts open, as the base alarms continue to blare out their warning of the incoming threat. "Sir we need to get you to a secure location," the aide says. Not wasting any time, the Admiral stands up and follows his aide out of the office.

"I guess I'm not a priority," I muse as I follow them out of the office to a path leading away from the main administration buildings. On reaching the road running along the front a scene of total chaos greets us.

Countless people are running in all directions, civilian contractors and administration staff sprinting for the nearest bunkers in the hopes of riding out the incoming attack. Naval officers and sailors are either running towards an assigned post or driving mobile base defenses into their required positions.

Keying the radio still in my hand, "Bogue. Are you able to intercept the incoming planes?"

Over the sound of a passing mobile Anti-Aircraft gun, I barely hear Bogue's reply. "Repeat Bogue. I missed that message."

"Can do," I finally hear Bogue reply, "But I'm heavily outnumbered and it appears they know where I am as I have some fighters headed my way."

Looking around I find the girls almost exactly where I had left them before the meeting looking around in confusion. Turning away from the Admiral who was busy issuing orders to a group of assembled Staff Officers. As I approach, Prinz Eugen speaks up first, "My air radar is picking up more than three hundred aircraft heading for the base and roughly fifty heading for my ship."

"Bogue didn't say how many she could see," I answer, "But did mention being outnumbered and under threat of attack. Can you handle air defense remotely out there and here as well?"

"I can," Eugen begins, "But my effectiveness both here and out at sea will be limited."

Without any hesitation at hearing her assessment I reply, "Okay go. Link up with Spee and Bogue. Do whatever you need to defend yourselves."

Nodding once Eugen turns and strides off towards the harbor, activating her rigging as she passes in front of the Admiral and the remaining officers still receiving their orders, causing many of them to jump aside in shock.

"That's certainly an impressive sight," I comment to myself, before keying the radio once more, "Bogue, just an update. Eugen is heading back to your position. The three of you are clear to engage as you see fit. I'll join you as soon as practical."

"Harrison! What are you playing at?" Jensen yells in my direction, "You don't have the authority to give orders here."

I wave the piece of paper still in my hand from the meeting, "My ship, my rules Admiral. The Captain is in charge of the safety of the ship at all times. That's the law of the sea." Jensen looks at me as though he's about to dig his heels in for a verbal fight on the matter, however he is interrupted by the incoming sound of the first wave of aircraft.

Looking across the harbor at the adjoining airfield the sight of a dozen aircraft diving down through the clouds before releasing their payloads and pulling out of their dives and climbing back up into the cloud cover and out of sight of the handful of antiair systems that have slowly started to respond to the air raid.

A series of loud thuds reverberate across the distance as the bombs land in turn on hangers, aircraft and one of the civilian terminals attached to the airfield scattering building debris and flaming aircraft parts across a wide stretch of the field, creating spot fires in the grass along the runway edges.

From behind me I hear Kaga comment, "Pathetic!"

Turning to her I ask, "What is?"

"The groupings," Kaga replies, "Too many missed targets. It's almost as if they aren't serious."

"Seems effective from here," I reply, "All that debris will prevent them from using the northern runway."

As I say this a second wave of dive bombers emerges from the cloud cover, unleashing another payload of explosives, hitting a group of heavy bombers parked on one of the aprons, before the group turned and race along a few feet above the ground and just after starting their climb back into the cloud cover, the rear most in the formation drop their bombs hitting a number of the taxiways connecting the four runways.

One bomb explodes at the base of the control tower blowing a hole almost twenty feet in diameter in the side. The tower shakes from the pressure blast, before slowly toppling over, scattering more debris across the airfield.

A quick scan across the naval yard reveals that the enemy aircraft are slicing through the base's defenses rapidly and that none of the anti-air defenses are having any effect on the fast-moving planes.

The sound of rapid heavy gun fire followed shortly by a number of loud explosions from the direction of the main harbor channel draws my attention. It takes a moment to find the source as I notice a number of attacking aircraft that had been coming in for another strike on a target could be seen plummeting out of the sky in an uncontrolled dive surrounded in flames.

The final fate of the aircraft is hidden as they crash beyond view behind one of the few remaining warehouses lining the commercial docks, however the lack of a fireball seems to indicate that they had crashed into the water rather than over land.

With my curiosity over knowing what had finally managed to down some of the attacking aircraft, I run towards the docks, ignoring the yells from the Admiral as I sprint past him.


On reaching same the dock we had arrived at earlier in the day, I find Prinz Eugen is almost halfway down the channel skating rapidly out into the bay leading to the Pacific Ocean, all guns on her rigging deployed and pointing skywards rapidly firing at anything that dares to come within range.

Even as I see this, it's clear that the number of enemy aircraft is too great for a lone stand-off and the waters around her show telltale splashes were dropped bombs from the those manage to maneuver through the hail of anti-aircraft fire crash harmlessly into the low swells.

Turning to the girls who had followed me, "You still think they aren't taking this seriously?"

With a slight nod Kaga activates her rigging and casually steps off the dock with Akagi following not far behind leaving me to stand there and watch them head out to sea. As the pair clear the last of the piers where the smoking remains of four destroyers are slowly sinking next to the docks that they were moored too, Kaga launches her first wave of Zeroes, rapidly followed by Akagi's which climb into the skies before banking hard and engaging the dive bombers that are still trying to land hits on Prinz Eugen who is now clear of the main channel.

As I continue to watch on from the dock, I get the sense of someone standing close by behind me. Turning around I see that Arizona is standing only a short distance away staring wide eyed at the scene playing out in the harbor. Approaching her I take note that she is shaking slightly, "Are you okay?" I ask carefully.

Arizona doesn't respond to my question and continues to stare out at the battle raging over the harbor as despite being massively outnumbered the Zeroes launched by Akagi and Kaga slowly start to turn the tide of combat and begin to press the attacking forces back away from the naval yard.

Watching on as a large group of attacking aircraft circle around a dog fight between a handful of their allies and one of the fighter groups from Kaga, only to be intercepted by a fresh wave of Zeroes from Akagi.

As I'm trying to figure out the strange behavior of the attackers and why they seem single mindedly determined to only target the naval yard buildings or any shipping floating out in the harbor and not taking any serious measures to either engage or evade the new threats from the air unless directly challenged, I hear Arizona quietly speaking as though to herself.

"No more… Make the screaming stop!"

Looking back towards Arizona, I find that she is now cowering down on the pavement clutching her head rocking back and forth. Before I can say or do anything about the situation in front of me, Admiral Jensen arrives at the dock followed by a number of staff aides. "Harrison!" he shouts over the sounds of another building collapsing on the other side of the dock, "I assume you are responsible for this?"

"Responsible for what exactly?" I ask in confusion.

"Take a look around you Harrison," Jensen spits angrily, "This facility is in complete ruins."

"Listen Jensen," I bite back, "I'm not the one that attacked your base. In case you haven't noticed, the only effective defense today has come from the three girls I brought with me."

"I don't want to hear it, Harrison!" Jensen rages, "Whatever this attack is, has something to do with you and whatever madness you've gotten yourself involved in. I want you and them off my base NOW!" he finishes pointing and me and then Arizona in turn.

"Fine," I reply after taking a moment to ensure that the shore boat I had arrived on earlier in the morning was still afloat. "I need to ensure that the others are safe from whatever forces are behind this attack anyway."

Turning away from Jensen, I crouch down next to Arizona, "Come on," I say quietly, "I'll take you away from this place."

Arizona doesn't reply to my words, but simply leans into me, still shaking uncontrollably. Wordlessly I carefully pick her up and carry her down the dock, before carefully stepping over the side of the shore boat and placing her down on one of the bench seats near the helm.


It takes almost an hour before we finally clear both the harbor and the main channel. After starting the engine and releasing the mooring ropes, I had spent much of that time maneuvering around the scattered remains of the numerous aircraft from both sides that had been shot down during the girls break out for the open sea.

Debris from aircraft weren't the only obstacles in the channel either, as a number of ships had been caught in the raid and were floating listlessly around both the harbor and the channel as crews fought to extinguish fires raging aboard and plug up any holes below the waterline to keep them afloat.

Some however had already surrendered to their fate and a number of life boats could be seen slowly making for the shores, whilst the ships sank into the channel creating one obstacle after another I had to steer around.

Once finally clear of the channel and out in the open swells of the Pacific Ocean, I pick up the portable radio I had placed next to the helm, "This is Harrison. Bogue, can I get your current position, speed and heading so I can meet up with you?"

Whilst I'm waiting for a reply, I scan both the horizon and the skies looking for potential threats, despite it having been over an hour since the last enemy aircraft had been spotted anywhere near the navy yard thanks largely to the efficiency of Akagi and Kaga in quickly overcoming the sheer number of enemy fighters and driving them away from the naval yard.

"Are you sure you want to join the fun Commander?"

Keying the radio, I reply, "I'm going to assume that Bogue is occupied if you have the radio now Eugen."

"Indeed, she is Commander," Eugen answers back, "She's currently putting out a few fires on the deck."

"Okay…" I say, not quite sure of what else I can say about that situation, "Anything else I should know?"

"Akagi and Kaga are keeping their aircraft busy," Eugen informs me, "I've just arrived at my ship, and am about to join Spee in engaging the enemy fleet."

"What's your current position, as I'm now heading roughly in the direction of where the air raid came from." I ask.

"Well, if you insist on joining us," Eugen teases, "The enemy fleet is only ten miles north-west of the harbor and heading south on a course of two four six."

Marking the open chart next to me and calculating the required course from my current position, I turn the shore boat onto an intercept course.

"It's not like I was given a choice Eugen," I admit, picking up the radio once more, "The Admiral decided that today's air raid was somehow our fault and he kicked us off the base. Truth be told I'm surprised that he didn't arrest me."

"And after all we did from them today," Eugen says sounding slightly annoyed by the situation, "So ungrateful."

"Not much we can do about that now," I admit, "Given the speed difference, I'll never catch you guys in this boat," I add finishing my calculations.

"I'll turn back and pick you up Commander," Eugen replies.

"No," I answer, "Go support Spee, we need to keep them away from the harbor, until the US Navy can respond to this."


The next three hours feel like the longest watch shift I have ever done. Between the silence from the radio, the lack of any sights on the horizon aside from the endless ocean, and the fact that to this point Arizona had to this point been unresponsive to all my attempts to strike up a conversation the only thing to pass the time was to continually scan the skies and listen to the sounds of the waves splashing against the hull.

Another check of the charts to ensure that I was still heading on the right course, I resume my scanning of the horizon in hopes of spying anything to pass the time.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't able to do anything back there."

Looking over to my right, I find that Arizona is now sitting up on the bench next to the helm, looking down at her feet. I had been so focused on the watching the horizons, I had barely heard her comment.

"Don't worry about it," I reply with a smile, "From what little I could tell, it sounded like you were experiencing something from your past."

Arizona slowly nods her head in response, "It was terrible." She begins.

"It's okay," I interrupt quietly, "You don't have to explain it, if it's too painful."

Looking up at me, a faint smile crosses Arizona's lips, "Thank you. It seems like the others were right about you."

Further conversation is interrupted however, as in the distance I hear the sounds of approaching aircraft. Rapidly scanning the skies, I soon spy a pair of approaching fighters. Quickly realizing that neither aircraft belong to any of the girls I pick up and key the radio once more, "If you girls aren't too busy, I could really use some support here. There are two enemy aircraft bearing down on my position."

A moments silence is finally ended by the radio buzzing back to life, "Sorry Commander, we are a little busy right now. No one has any fighters available to intercept."

Wordlessly placing the radio down, I steer the shore boat away from the incoming aircraft in the hope that they have yet to see us. Luck however is not on my side as the planes both alter their course and begin a long decent towards the boat.

Looking around me, the only chance of surviving this, is seated next to me, looking out at the approaching aircraft wide-eyed.

"Any chance you feel up to this?" I ask already guessing the answer.

"I don't think I can do this," Arizona replies nervously.

Silently cursing to myself, I turn my attention back to the incoming fighters, keeping one hand on the wheel to steer and the other on the throttle controls. As the first fighter zeroes in, it opens up with some form of laser cannon, rapidly firing multiple bursts towards us.

I attempt to throw the boat into a sudden violent turn and move the throttles to maximum. The boat is sluggish to react to both the requested course change and increase in speed, however despite this, the opening shots fail to find their mark, as numerous telltale splashes in the water mark where the enemy fire falls.

"What are you doing?" I manage to hear Arizona ask over the roar of the aircrafts engine as it screams overhead.

"We're sitting ducks out here," I call back, not taking my eyes off the second incoming fighter, "This boat was designed to carry people between ships and onto shore. Not fight an anti-aircraft battle. All I can do is make it difficult to hit us."

Arizona looks in my direction, finally taking her eyes off the enemy planes.

"Nothing else I can do," I continue answering an unasked question, "I don't even carry a personal firearm, so I can't shoot back either."

As I say this the second aircraft levels off just above the wave tops, before releasing a torpedo. Without hesitation I spin the wheel once more to change direction and move the throttles to full reverse. The boat barely has a chance to respond before the torpedo streaks past the bow, narrowly missing.

Before I can re-engage the throttle to forward however the first fighter has returned and opens up again with its laser cannon, I throw myself to the deck as the floorboards just in front of the helm explode in a hail of splinters.

Coughing from the smoke, I pick myself up off the deck to find the entire front third of the shore boat ablaze. Not wasting time to determine where the enemy is, I engage the throttle only to hear the engine cough once, then a second time before falling silent.

Behind me I hear the incoming sound of death.

Turning to face the incoming attack, I barely register the sight of one of the fighters before I'm thrown to the deck as all hell breaks loose.

Ears now ringing and with blurred vision I stagger back to my feet. Looking around whilst blinking rapidly to try to clear my vision. After a moment I'm able to make out the flaming wreckage of one of the aircraft, slowly sinking into the Pacific a few feet off the starboard side of the boat.

Still struggling to understand what had just happened and with my vision gradually returning, I spy the second fighter heading in on a direct course for the disabled shore boat only a few feet above the water's surface.

As the fighter rapidly closes the distance, it launches opens fire whilst simultaneously releasing a torpedo. Seeing no other options available, I scramble to the stern rail and dive off the boat. Just before I hit the water, I hear a second close range loud explosion.