lightning-fast Japanese of his own. Even Gar could tell the difference in their accents. Hashimoto listened carefully, nodded twice, said the word hai, and then asked Tanaka another question.
“He’s asking why your ship is going into the Seto.”
Gar glanced over at Forrester for a cue as to what he could reveal, but the chief of staff’s face was a professional blank. Understood.
“Well, Commander,” Gar said to Tanaka, “I’m supposed to open sealed orders after we leave Guam. All I’ve been told unofficially is that we are to try to penetrate Bungo Suido and, assuming we succeed in getting through, conduct a special mission. Hell, you work at CincPacFleet—perhaps you can enlighten all of us?”
“Sorry, sir,” Tanaka said.
“Cannot or may not?”
“ May not, sir. Truth is, I thought I knew what you were going to be tasked to do, but once this passenger business emerged, all of us snuffies on the intel staff were cut out of the loop. Anyone asking questions gets his head bitten off.”
“Well, then, you answer Mr. Hashimoto’s question, because I sure as hell can’t.”
Tanaka said something in Japanese to the old man, who grunted.
“What’d you tell him?” Gar asked.
“It’s a secret,” Tanaka said.
Got that right, Gar thought. He got up from the table and went to the windows overlooking the sub-base finger piers. A secret mission within a secret mission. The carrier was the ostensible objective, although he had no idea of how they would manage that. Either way, he wasn’t going to talk about that in front of a Japanese civilian, and a POW to boot. What upset him even more was that all these clever staffies didn’t trust him, the commanding officer, enough to tell him what the hell was going on here. Besides hurting his pride they were possibly compromising the mission: If he knew what they were really doing, he might be able to do some planning that would enhance their chances for success, preferably before they cut all ties with Pearl and went west. Taking a foreign national, an enemy foreign national, along for the most dangerous run of their lives was outrageous. They could get his chart translated if they had to, but there was no reason to let a Japanese, even one who now professed loyalty to the American side, come along.
He made a decision. “No,” he said. “I won’t do this.” He turned to the chief of staff. “I’m the commanding officer of Dragonfish, and obviously I don’t really know what this whole mission is about. I don’t think you do, either. The intel officer here says he doesn’t know. On top of that, I’m being asked to take a Japanese POW on board on what is an obviously either a highly classified mission or a harebrained idea that nobody wants to own up to. I think you need to get somebody else.”
Captain Forrester stared at him in shock. “Are you asking to be relieved of command?” he asked finally.
“I say again: If my superiors don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s really going on here, then yes, I’m asking to be relieved of command.”
“Think about what you just said, Captain, “Forrester said. “Think hard.”
Gar laughed out loud. “You think I don’t know what people say about me? That I’m some kind of nutcase because I hunt destroyers? You like the results well enough, as I recall, but I’ve seen the looks from the other COs at the Royal. Great score, man, but damn! Well, here it is: You want me to take the Dragon through Bungo Suido? With a Japanese national as my navigator? Then somebody better tell me why.”
He signaled to Russ, nodded to Tanaka and Hashimoto as politely as he could, gathered up his cap, and left the conference room. Forrester looked as if he’d just been slapped with a wet fish.
* * *
Gar finished his dinner at the Royal that night and asked for a Scotch and some coffee. Needless to say, he’d been thinking all day about what he’d said at the meeting with the chief of staff, and
“He’s asking why your ship is going into the Seto.”
Gar glanced over at Forrester for a cue as to what he could reveal, but the chief of staff’s face was a professional blank. Understood.
“Well, Commander,” Gar said to Tanaka, “I’m supposed to open sealed orders after we leave Guam. All I’ve been told unofficially is that we are to try to penetrate Bungo Suido and, assuming we succeed in getting through, conduct a special mission. Hell, you work at CincPacFleet—perhaps you can enlighten all of us?”
“Sorry, sir,” Tanaka said.
“Cannot or may not?”
“ May not, sir. Truth is, I thought I knew what you were going to be tasked to do, but once this passenger business emerged, all of us snuffies on the intel staff were cut out of the loop. Anyone asking questions gets his head bitten off.”
“Well, then, you answer Mr. Hashimoto’s question, because I sure as hell can’t.”
Tanaka said something in Japanese to the old man, who grunted.
“What’d you tell him?” Gar asked.
“It’s a secret,” Tanaka said.
Got that right, Gar thought. He got up from the table and went to the windows overlooking the sub-base finger piers. A secret mission within a secret mission. The carrier was the ostensible objective, although he had no idea of how they would manage that. Either way, he wasn’t going to talk about that in front of a Japanese civilian, and a POW to boot. What upset him even more was that all these clever staffies didn’t trust him, the commanding officer, enough to tell him what the hell was going on here. Besides hurting his pride they were possibly compromising the mission: If he knew what they were really doing, he might be able to do some planning that would enhance their chances for success, preferably before they cut all ties with Pearl and went west. Taking a foreign national, an enemy foreign national, along for the most dangerous run of their lives was outrageous. They could get his chart translated if they had to, but there was no reason to let a Japanese, even one who now professed loyalty to the American side, come along.
He made a decision. “No,” he said. “I won’t do this.” He turned to the chief of staff. “I’m the commanding officer of Dragonfish, and obviously I don’t really know what this whole mission is about. I don’t think you do, either. The intel officer here says he doesn’t know. On top of that, I’m being asked to take a Japanese POW on board on what is an obviously either a highly classified mission or a harebrained idea that nobody wants to own up to. I think you need to get somebody else.”
Captain Forrester stared at him in shock. “Are you asking to be relieved of command?” he asked finally.
“I say again: If my superiors don’t trust me enough to tell me what’s really going on here, then yes, I’m asking to be relieved of command.”
“Think about what you just said, Captain, “Forrester said. “Think hard.”
Gar laughed out loud. “You think I don’t know what people say about me? That I’m some kind of nutcase because I hunt destroyers? You like the results well enough, as I recall, but I’ve seen the looks from the other COs at the Royal. Great score, man, but damn! Well, here it is: You want me to take the Dragon through Bungo Suido? With a Japanese national as my navigator? Then somebody better tell me why.”
He signaled to Russ, nodded to Tanaka and Hashimoto as politely as he could, gathered up his cap, and left the conference room. Forrester looked as if he’d just been slapped with a wet fish.
* * *
Gar finished his dinner at the Royal that night and asked for a Scotch and some coffee. Needless to say, he’d been thinking all day about what he’d said at the meeting with the chief of staff, and
Similar Books
