Nimitz, Admiral Chester, USN. Commander in chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet.

Roosevelt, President, Franklin D. Thirty-second president of the United States of America.

Spruance, Rear Admiral Raymond A., USN. Commander, Task Force Sixteen.

1942 ALLIED PERSONNEL

Black, Lieutenant Commander Daniel, USN. Assistant operations and planning chief to Admiral Spruance. (USS Enterprise.)

Curtis, Ensign Wally, USN. Assistant payroll clerk, USS Enterprise.

Davidson, Able Seaman James “Slim Jim,” USS Astoria.

Evans, Lieutenant Commander Peter. Acting commander, USS Astoria.

Mohr, Chief Petty Officer Eddie, USS Astoria.

Molloy, Able Seaman Michael “Moose,” USS Astoria.

Ryan, Warrant Officer Peter, New Guinea Volunteer Rifles. Patrol officer.

MISCELLANEOUS

Cherry, Detective Sergeant Lou, Honolulu PD, Homicide.

Einstein, Professor Albert, Nobel laureate.

AXIS HIGH COMMAND

JAPAN

Kakuta, Rear Admiral Kakuji, IJN. Commander, Second Carrier Striking Force. (HIJMS Ryujo.)

Yamamoto, Admiral Isoroku, IJN. Commander in chief, Combined Fleet. (HIJMS Yamamoto.)

GERMANY

Göbbels, Reichsminister Josef. German propaganda minister.

Himmler, Reichsführer Heinrich. SS chief.

Hitler, Reichschancellor Adolf.

AXIS PERSONNEL

Brasch, Major Paul. Engineer.

Hidaka, Lieutenant Commander Jisaku, IJN. Chief of staff to Rear Admiral Kakuta. (HIJMS Ryujo.)

Skorzeny, Colonel Otto. Personal bodyguard to Adolf Hitler.

Steckel, Franz. SS-Obersturmführer of the SD-Ausland, a lieutenant in the Nazi Party’s foreign intelligence service.

SHIPS OF THE MULTINATIONAL FORCE

USS Hillary Clinton. George Bush–class supercarrier.

USS Kandahar. Bagdhad-class littoral assault ship.

USS Leyte Gulf. Nemesis-class stealth cruiser. *1

USS Garret. Cobb-class air warfare destroyer. *2

USS Providence. Harper’s Ferry–class amphibious landing dockship.

USS Kennebunkport. LPD 12 landing assault ship.

HMS Trident. Trident-class stealth destroyer (trimaran).

HMS Vanguard. Trident-class stealth destroyer (trimaran). *3

HMS Fearless. Aden-class helicopter assault ship. *4

HMAS Havoc. Savage-class attack submarine (conventional).

HMAS Moreton Bay. Jervis Bay–class troop-carrying catamaran.

HMAS Ipswich. Newcastle-class light littoral assault ship.

KRI Sutanto. Reconditioned Parchim-class frigate of the Indonesian navy (TNI-AL). *5

KRI Nuku. Reconditioned Parchim-class frigate of the Indonesian navy (TNI-AL). *6

Dessaix. Sartre-class stealth destroyer of the French navy. *7

Part One

PART ONE

*                  *                  *                  *                  *

TRANSIT

Chapter 1

1

EAST TIMOR, ZONE TIME: 0942 HOURS, 15 JANUARY 2021

The Caliphate spy, a Javanese carpenter known simply as Adil, resettled himself against a comfortable groove in the sandalwood tree. The small, shaded clearing in the hills overlooking Dili had been his home for three days. He shared it with an aged feral cat, which remained hidden throughout the day, and an irritable monkey, which occasionally tried to shit on his head. He had considered shooting the filthy animal, but his orders were explicit. He was to remain unnoticed as long as the crusaders were anchored off East Timor, observing their fleet and sending reports via microburst laser link, but only in the event of a “significant development.”

He had seen nothing “significant” in seventy-two hours. The infidel ships were lying so far offshore they were often lost in haze and distance. Only when night fell did he have any real chance of seeing them, and even then they remained little more than a blurred constellation of twinkling, faraway lights. Such was their arrogance they didn’t bother to cloak themselves in darkness.