The Americans continued in their approach of slipping around the city to take up the Japanese fleet's former position of attainment. Their number was down by half.
Tears in his eyes Captain Hiro turned away from the burning oil field that was all that was left of nearly a thousand brave men. He reentered the bridge at almost the same moment that the cruiser took several more hard hits from the city's towers.
Fires had broken out both forward and aft and he thought he even felt the sound of deeper inner explosions within the ship. For a moment he thought they'd go up in flame, but the explosions stopped.
Coughing he got back up to his feet and staggered to the com tube.
"Damage control report!" He bellowed down the pipe.
It took a moment, but a voice made harsh by smoke and exertion came back wearily, "Its bad Sir! We're taking on seawater, but the pumps are handling it for now. We've lost all forward propulsion."
"Are you telling me we're dead in the water?"
"Pretty much so Sir. We still have reverse, but that's about it."
Captain Hiro looked up. The city was behind them.
Decision made he called down the com tube, "Give me all that you've got!"
"Reverse Sir?"
"Full speed sailor!"
"Yes Sir!"
The flagship cruiser started backward sluggishly at first as it was listing off to the one side heavily, but it soon picked up speed as it left a trail of acrid black smoke. The city was hard to see through all the smoke given off by the burning oil field that marked the grave site of the American battleship.
Captain Hiro called out, "Tell rear gunnery crews to cease all fire until I say otherwise. I want what available personnel not involved in damage control to start loading as much heavy explosive material as they can toward the rear of the ship."
A junior officer swallowed and said, "You intend to ram the city Sir?"
"Yes I do and I'm going to go right through there!" Captain Hiro said pointing at the oil slick fire where the battleship had been blown apart not so many minutes before.
"The smoke will shield our approach and we will finish what our friends started. Now see that my orders are carried through!"
"Yes Sir!"
The young officer said saluting before he ran off to accomplish his Captain's orders.
Captain Hiro made his way to the woman, who had never stopped praying.
*****
I looked up at the Captain's approach. In broken English the Captain said, "I'm sorry. The island perhaps would have been safer."