Against the Tide Imperial: The Struggle for Ceylon (The Usurper's War: An Alternative World War II B by James Young (story reading txt) 📕

9 August

“You know, people are going to start to wonder about any man who lays about next to the island while a war’s on,” Lieutenant Charles Read said, plopping down next to Eric.

Well it’s about time we actually got to see one another, Eric thought, grinning as he extended his hand. Charles took it with a nod, the section leader and his former wingman both having a moment to appreciate each other still being alive.

“I think, at this point, it’s just generally accepted I’ve lost my mind,” Eric said, holding up the letter in his left hand. “Especially according to my sister and Jo both.”

“I’m just glad our damn mail finally caught up to us,” Charles replied. “Who knew it would take the slow boat to Australia, then an even slower boat out to get to the ship?”

Eric shrugged, looking out over the ocean.

Makes me wonder if they just waited for enough of it to accumulate before sending it or just realized a lack of contact with what we're fighting for is how mutinies happen. Still missing about three weeks of letters and clearly none of ours have arrived back in Hawaii.

“The powers that be, apparently,” Eric replied. The two of them were momentarily interrupted by Yorktown launching a Bonhomme Richard TBF for anti-submarine patrol. The two men watched as the ungainly looking torpedo bomber rumbled down the flight deck with its three-man crew.

That’s one bad thing about having so large a force: The poor bastards doing sub hunting and other things are having to cover a lot of ground. He looked astern of Yorktown to the large battleship trailing her, then out to her starboard quarter where the U.S.S. Houston also kept station.

At least the surface boys rejoined back up temporarily. I’ll have to tell Jo that I “saw” her father finally.

“Another fine mess we find ourselves in, I have to say,” Charles said after the noise had passed. “I think the Japanese have sent everyone and their brother to conquer Ceylon.”

Going to be one hell of a surprise for those bastards and the British when we show up with two extra carriers.

“Who knew that rubber was that damn important to them?” Eric quipped. “I mean, with all the fuss out this way, it makes you wonder why they even started a fight with us. Pretty sure we would have let them take the Queen’s rubber.”

Charles raised an eyebrow at that.

“I thought the Queen and you were friends,” Charles joked.

“I would never presume to believe in royal friendship,” Eric replied. “The ‘we’ in question was America, however.”

“It does seem like an awful lot of folks President Roosevelt has us brawling with,” Charles said. “Although the British appear to have sent a lot of help our way. More at Hawaii if you read between the lines of Patricia’s letter.”

It’s a little unnerving to talk with someone who knows my sister’s subtle comments that well. Not that I can say anything. His former fiancée had been one of Patricia’s good friends. Eric was surprised to realize Joyce Cotner had not crossed his mind in almost a month.

Maybe there is something to time heals all wounds. Eric mused. Or maybe I’ve just developed a better taste in women. Even if I made a mess of things with the one I want.

“You look lost in your head there for a second, Eric,” Charles said, snapping him back to the present.

“Thinking about how nice it will be to rejoin up with Admiral Cunningham’s force before we go north,” Eric lied easily. “The thought of–”

“Pilots report to the ready room,” the radio crackled. “I say again, all pilots report to their ready room.”

Eric and Charles looked at each other, then heard the shouts and bustle of the Yorktown’s plane crews beginning to grow quite agitated.

Well, that’s not a good sign. Looks like something is going to Hell in a handbasket.

“Gentlemen, approximately one hour ago, the Japanese launched an attack on the British Far Eastern Fleet here.”

Commander Montgomery’s finger rested on a point on the map roughly six hundred miles to Yorktown’s southeast. Yorktown’s CAG had decided to personally brief VB-11 rather than having Lieutenant Commander Brigante do so.

I know the CAG was going to choose one of the squadrons to sit in on. It does seem like he chooses us an awful lot for these sort of things though.

Brigante seemed nonplussed at Montgomery giving the briefing, sitting front and center in the first row.

“The Japanese have hit the Victorious and Eagle along with some other ships,” Montgomery continued. “It is unknown how many Japanese carriers there are, but judging from the reports it would appear that their main striking fleet has come to the south of Ceylon.”

Eric looked at the map, squinting.

“Lieutenant Cobb, you look perplexed,” Commander Montgomery said.

“Sir, the last intelligence report stated that the Japanese fleet carriers were east of Ceylon,” Eric said. “I’m no mathematician, but I don’t think there’s been enough time for them to sail that far south, has there?”

“It would appear that the intelligence reports were incorrect,” Commander Montgomery said. “This thing seems to happen quite often when the Japanese carriers are involved.”

That brought a grim chuckle from several in the room.

“The British have sent a general azimuth the enemy aircraft returned towards, but they have no firm information as to the location of the enemy fleet.”

So our friends could literally just be over the horizon and not expecting us, or about to do to us what they apparently did to the British. That’s just peachy.

“Don’t they have any flying boats in the Maldives?” someone asked, looking at the map.

I'm more concerned we have to pass in that narrow area between the uppermost Maldives and Ceylon.

“The British sent all their flying boats north to Ceylon for reinforcements,” Commander Montgomery stated.

The men looked at him, eyes wide in wonder, until he continued.

“The British gave Vice Admiral Fletcher a copy of their operational plan to better affect combining our fleets.”

Then we went and sank a bunch of other British sailors