Off the Coast of the Senkaku Islands
East China Sea
Contacts?” Captain Isao Matsuoka asked.
“No change, sir.”
He looked out at the calm water for a few more seconds, then turned to scan the bridge of Japan’s newest battleship. It was magnificent even by American standards—a testament to flawless design manned by sailors he believed to be unparalleled in all the world. And yet it meant nothing.
The truth was that the JDS Izumo was little more than twenty thousand tons of scrap metal—an antique before the first steel plate had been welded into place at the shipyard. Still, it had been his honor to command her. And it would be an even greater honor die with her.
He returned his gaze to the glass, examining the helicopters lined up on the flight deck and the open sea beyond. The sun had risen from the water only half an hour ago and he squinted into it, searching for the enemy along the horizon.
Both Japan’s forces and those of the Chinese had retreated to safer distances on the orders of their governments. It created a deceptively peaceful scene of blue skies and gentle swells. The calm before the storm.
“Captain,” his XO said, coming up behind him. “We have a secure call coming in for you on the satellite link.”
Matsuoka nodded. “I’ll take it in my cabin.”
He walked quickly, giving respectful nods and even a few smiles and clapped shoulders to his men as he passed. It wasn’t his normal custom—poor for discipline in his experience. But this day was different. A captain was only as good as the men beneath him and this was the finest crew he’d ever had the privilege to command. He was confident that they would face what was to come with courage and resolve that would be remembered for centuries.
He entered his cabin and closed the door behind him before retrieving the satellite phone from his desk.
“This is Matsuoka.”
“Good morning, Captain.”
He stood a little straighter, suddenly feeling the urge to look around his utilitarian quarters for anything out of place. It would be a pointless exercise, of course. There had been nothing out of place in his life since he was a child. “Good morning, General Takahashi.”
“Situation report?”
“Calm seas under clear skies, sir. The Chinese have retreated from their forward positions and are holding at the locations outlined in my last report.”
“Can you confirm for me that there’s still a single Song-class submarine within torpedo range?”
“As of two minutes ago, that was correct, General.”
Matsuoka lowered himself into the cabin’s only chair, suddenly feeling an unfamiliar weakness in his legs. Was this to be the moment? The beginning of a new Japan?
“It has been a great honor to serve with you, Isao.”
“The honor has been mine, sir.”
The line went dead and Matsuoka switched off the handset. He didn’t understand the general’s plan. In fact, he knew almost nothing of it. All he could be certain of was that Takahashi was the greatest patriot and most brilliant military man he had ever known. His family had served Japan for centuries and after the war had been one of the driving forces behind the country’s rise to economic power. It was only fitting that a Takahashi would be the one to lead Japan into a new era.
Matsuoka reached for a photo on his desk—one of the few personal items visible in the room. It depicted his wife and his two young boys. He wouldn’t see them grow up or have a hand in what they would become. But they’d remember him. And everyone they ever met would know that they were the sons of Captain Isao Matsuoka.