Designated Targets

difference—and the rest unconscious as had been the case on the Sutanto, the vessel was easily captured. It made Oshima wonder what else might have come through from the future and remained undiscovered, or what might yet arrive.

The Dessaix had significantly altered the balance between the two principal Axis powers, leaving Japan reliant on the Reich to deal fairly with the changed circumstances. The ship was almost infinitely more powerful than the two Indonesian vessels that Japan had taken, but then her crew had proved to be much more difficult to manage. Only a handful had agreed to cooperate, and some of them had later been exposed as saboteurs and double-crossers. Removing the land-attack missiles from the ship and redeploying them to Donzenac had been difficult enough without their interference. The ambassador silently cursed the two-timing Frenchmen even as he stood to address the German leaders.

“Firstly, allow me to extend the thanks of the emperor. He is deeply grateful for the friendship and support of the Reich.

“As Reichsfuhrer Himmler has pointed out, if we are to survive this war and correct our histories, we need to confine America behind her ocean walls long enough to develop the means of keeping her there. You will all have seen the news out of Australia. It looks grim, on the face of it, but I can assure you that apart from one or two tactical setbacks, events there proceed exactly as we had planned.”

Gobbels, the master of the lie, raised an eyebrow. Oshima bowed in his direction and gave the propaganda minister a brief, knowing smile.

“In dealing with General Homma, we calculate that Kolhammer’s land and sea forces in the Southwest Pacific have used up eighty percent of their war stocks. They appear to have overcome some logistical problems, such as fuel supply. But they simply cannot replace the missiles, or shells, or even the bullets they have expended. They do not have the factories to do so, even with the establishment of this Special Zone in California, or the smaller, less significant industrials efforts in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.”

General Oshima asked for the lights to be dimmed. He used a small, handheld controller to power up the tiny projector that sat at the end of the conference table. It was no bigger than a packet of cigarettes. Just one of hundreds of marvelous devices taken from the Dessaix, it projected a large, crystal-clear movie onto an old roll-down screen.

A computer-generated map of the world appeared. Himmler wondered if there would be a musical soundtrack. On the advice of Fraulein Riefenstahl, he always had appropriate music composed for his own PowerPoint shows. It soon became apparent that Oshima did not.

The Japanese ambassador brought up four separate windows, showing maps of the English Channel, the Middle East, Hawaii, and the Southwest Pacific.

“You will be more familiar with your own preparations for Sea Dragon than I,” he said. “So, too, with Operation Grun in the Middle East. With the departure of the Clinton for the West Coast of America, Operation H.I. is now under way.”

World time clocks ticked away in all the relevant time zones.

“The Dessaix will be in position to launch her strike on the U.S. air and naval facilities in Hawaii within twelve hours,” Oshima said as another window opened up, featuring video of the amazing French vessel. “Unfortunately, as Reichsfuhrer Himmler pointed out, we will not be able to bring the full power of this ship to bear, because of the unwillingness of most of the crew to cooperate, and because of sabotage to some of the important systems by a handful of individuals who misled you into believing they were trustworthy.”

Himmler had personally attended the punishment of those swine. The memory was still vivid enough to make him blanch.

“However,” Oshima continued, “with the help of a few patriots among the crew, who have helped train enough of your men to form a skeleton crew, along with some of the Indonesian sailors we took off the Sutanto, and because of the Dessaix’s amazing ability to do so much herself, the grand admiral is confident of success.

“The first shots from Operation H.I. will land on the Americans in less than twelve hours. The Eighty-second Marine Expeditionary Unit in Australia will almost certainly be withdrawn to try to reclaim Hawaii. They may be accompanied by other elements of Kolhammer’s Task Force in the Southwest Pacific, but they will have been significantly weakened by the fighting in Australia, and of course, the Australian government may not release any forces to help if they feel they themselves are still threatened.”

The cgi window covering the Pacific theater inflated to twice its previous size. Rising sun flags appeared over the harbor of Rabaul in recently conquered New Guinea, and moved southwest, threatening the long, isolated and almost entirely undefended coast of Western Australia.

More flags designating Japanese air units appeared over New Guinea and sortied south, where animated bomb blasts popped up over the Australian cities of Darwin and Cairns. Cartoon parachutes descended on Darwin as landing barges traversed the gap between New Guinea and northern Australia, and larger forces established themselves around the small coastal town of Broome in Western Australia.

Some red arrows then pushed south toward Perth, while others moved inland, across the desert toward a flashing icon that everyone now recognized as the symbol for radioactive material.

“Significant deposits of easily mined uranium lie here and here,” said Oshima, twirling his laser pointer over the center of the Australian continent.

Before he could speak again, the fuhrer interrupted him. “General,” he said slowly. “I do not believe you have the capacity to carry out a successful invasion of Hawaii and Australia at the same time.”

“No.” The ambassador smiled. “We do not. But if the Allies can be misled into thinking that we will attempt a second, coordinated series of landings in Australia, their response to the attack on Hawaii will be affected, perhaps crippled. General Homma was instructed to use the most severe methods to subdue his conquered subjects in Australia. The government there will be loath to release any of their forces, contemporary or otherwise, to the Americans if they think another such campaign is imminent. The effect will be all the more profound, of course, if the Allies suspect we will make an attempt to seize those uranium deposits in the Australian desert. Even the Americans may balk at just handing those to us. The combination of factors might even be enough to tip the balance against an immediate mission to retake Hawaii, allowing Admiral Yamamoto to consolidate our hold there.

“I believe the Reichsfuhrer has a plan in hand to help with this.”

Oshima bowed slightly in Himmler’s direction. They had worked this out between them weeks before.

Himmler nodded briefly. “The Ausland SD has successfully inserted a small number of agents into the United States.”

An audible gasp sounded from around the table. The fuhrer, who already knew the broad outlines of Himmler’s plan merely gestured for him to continue. Oshima was just as keen to hear the details.

Himmler spoke from a handwritten note in front of him. “Three special agents have been in the U.S. for a month, preparing for their mission. They will receive their orders by secure channels just before the attack on Hawaii. They will bomb a number of targets on the East and West Coasts. Herr Gobbels will receive the transcript of a propaganda broadcast I wish him to make after the bombings. The effect will be to sow fear and uncertainty amongst the American populace, causing them to believe an attack on the mainland is imminent. It will further complicate any response to Hawaii.”

“But how?” asked Goring with considerable bad grace. “You have never had any success at sabotaging their defense facilities before now.”

Himmler smiled. “We won’t be hitting airfields or naval bases. Their bombers have been targeting our civilian populace. Now, in a small way, our bombers will be targeting theirs.”

“Excellent!” said Hitler, smashing his open palm down on the desk. “You are right, of course, Hermann. They are a degenerate race, and they won’t be able to absorb punishment like our own Volk. Or even like the Britishers, I’ll wager.”

The fuhrer chortled. “I shall look forward to hearing more of this when your plan comes to fruition. But now, Mr. Ambassador. Please return to your briefing.”

Oshima bowed and worked the controller in his hand. On the screen behind him, the window displaying the Australian theater collapsed into the background, to be replaced by a display hovering over Hawaii, and another with a wider scan of the western Pacific. The latter contained two icons, one representing the Dessaix