can’t possibly be that good. The same people don’t think it’s possible that the Japs have giant battleships, either. Or even better torpedoes than we do. Christ, the stubbornness of some people in command is enough to make you want to punch someone, but you didn’t hear that from me, did you?”
Dane grinned. “Not a word.”
“Good. I submitted your paper regarding their suicidal tendencies, and the reaction around the fleet and the Marine Corps has been less than overwhelming. Some of those I talked to don’t believe humans would do that. One of our admirals actually said it wasn’t Christian. He got a little annoyed when I reminded him that very few Japanese were Christians. Well, fuck him. The Marines said they weren’t planning on taking prisoners anyway, which is good thinking.”
“So once again we’re doomed to learn the hard way.”
“Looks like it, Dane. You going to watch the Saratoga leave?”
The Pacific Fleet’s one remaining carrier, along with three of Admiral Pye’s old battleships and a handful of cruisers, would be departing San Diego that night. It had been determined that she was just too vulnerable in the narrow confines of the bay and, since there was a civilian population of more than a hundred thousand in the area, there was little possibility of keeping her presence a secret. Once upon a time, this particular incarnation of Task Force 16 would have been a powerful force. Now, her ships were going to run for their lives and hide from the overwhelmingly strong enemy. The battleships were there not because they were strong, but because they might delay or distract a Japanese assault, and possibly pay with their lives, permitting the carrier to get away. Dane wondered if their crews understood that.
How the hell did the United States Navy ever get itself into this position? Dane wondered. Where the Sara and her sisters would go, neither Dane nor Merchant knew. Perhaps Halsey, sick but still commanding America’s one remaining carrier force in the Pacific, didn’t know either. Maybe he’d make it up as he went along. With a touch of whimsy, Nimitz had told the staffers and newspaper reporters that the Sara was headed for Shangri-la, the mythical takeoff point for Doolittle’s raiders for their attack on Tokyo.
Later that day, as Dane and a number of others looked on the empty anchorage, he realized that Amanda must have felt much the same sense of loss when the three submarines left Pearl Harbor. At least he hoped she had, he thought, and wondered if he was being greedy. Sometimes the depth of his feelings for a woman he’d known for such a short time surprised him, but she had moved him and he thought he’d at least gotten a little bit to her too.
He laughed harshly. Maybe someday the gods of chance would smile on them and they’d be reunited only to find out that they didn’t care for each other at all. He realized that he desperately wanted to know one way or another.
Damn it to hell, he felt like a lost kid.
* * *
Tonight they would leave. To Amanda and the other two women it was both exhilarating and frightening. It was a long way from Hawaii to California, and so much could go wrong on a journey that was dangerous to begin with and could easily prove fatal. Granted, they had all learned a lot about sailing and each other in the last few weeks, but did they know enough to make it across the Pacific? There was only one way to find out.
Every spare inch of the catamaran was packed with food and water. Each person was allowed one small suitcase, which meant that a lot of personal treasures would be left behind. Amanda was fortunate in that all her really important possessions were still at her parents’ house back in Maryland.
Mack had decided to leave this night because of still more rumors of Japanese ships in the area, coupled with the fact that their preparations were beginning to attract attention. He said he was afraid that a panicky mob might storm the boat
Dane grinned. “Not a word.”
“Good. I submitted your paper regarding their suicidal tendencies, and the reaction around the fleet and the Marine Corps has been less than overwhelming. Some of those I talked to don’t believe humans would do that. One of our admirals actually said it wasn’t Christian. He got a little annoyed when I reminded him that very few Japanese were Christians. Well, fuck him. The Marines said they weren’t planning on taking prisoners anyway, which is good thinking.”
“So once again we’re doomed to learn the hard way.”
“Looks like it, Dane. You going to watch the Saratoga leave?”
The Pacific Fleet’s one remaining carrier, along with three of Admiral Pye’s old battleships and a handful of cruisers, would be departing San Diego that night. It had been determined that she was just too vulnerable in the narrow confines of the bay and, since there was a civilian population of more than a hundred thousand in the area, there was little possibility of keeping her presence a secret. Once upon a time, this particular incarnation of Task Force 16 would have been a powerful force. Now, her ships were going to run for their lives and hide from the overwhelmingly strong enemy. The battleships were there not because they were strong, but because they might delay or distract a Japanese assault, and possibly pay with their lives, permitting the carrier to get away. Dane wondered if their crews understood that.
How the hell did the United States Navy ever get itself into this position? Dane wondered. Where the Sara and her sisters would go, neither Dane nor Merchant knew. Perhaps Halsey, sick but still commanding America’s one remaining carrier force in the Pacific, didn’t know either. Maybe he’d make it up as he went along. With a touch of whimsy, Nimitz had told the staffers and newspaper reporters that the Sara was headed for Shangri-la, the mythical takeoff point for Doolittle’s raiders for their attack on Tokyo.
Later that day, as Dane and a number of others looked on the empty anchorage, he realized that Amanda must have felt much the same sense of loss when the three submarines left Pearl Harbor. At least he hoped she had, he thought, and wondered if he was being greedy. Sometimes the depth of his feelings for a woman he’d known for such a short time surprised him, but she had moved him and he thought he’d at least gotten a little bit to her too.
He laughed harshly. Maybe someday the gods of chance would smile on them and they’d be reunited only to find out that they didn’t care for each other at all. He realized that he desperately wanted to know one way or another.
Damn it to hell, he felt like a lost kid.
* * *
Tonight they would leave. To Amanda and the other two women it was both exhilarating and frightening. It was a long way from Hawaii to California, and so much could go wrong on a journey that was dangerous to begin with and could easily prove fatal. Granted, they had all learned a lot about sailing and each other in the last few weeks, but did they know enough to make it across the Pacific? There was only one way to find out.
Every spare inch of the catamaran was packed with food and water. Each person was allowed one small suitcase, which meant that a lot of personal treasures would be left behind. Amanda was fortunate in that all her really important possessions were still at her parents’ house back in Maryland.
Mack had decided to leave this night because of still more rumors of Japanese ships in the area, coupled with the fact that their preparations were beginning to attract attention. He said he was afraid that a panicky mob might storm the boat
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