Rising Tides
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 3 - Yap Island (Shikarrak)
CHAPTER 5 - Yap Island (Shikarrak)
CHAPTER 10 - North of Tjilatjap (Chill-chaap)
CHAPTER 13 - North of Tjilatjap (Chill-chaap)
CHAPTER 16 - North of Tjilatjap (Chill-chaap)
CHAPTER 18 - Yap Island (Shikarrak)
CHAPTER 21 - North of Tjilatjap (Chill-chaap)
CHAPTER 22 - Yap Island (Shikarrak)
CHAPTER 25 - Off Tagran Island
CHAPTER 27 - New Scotland, Sunday, December 4, 1943
CHAPTER 29 - New Scotland Dueling Ground
THE DESTROYERMEN SERIES
Into the Storm
Crusade
Maelstrom
Distant Thunders
ROC
Published by New American Library, a division of
Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,
New York, New York 10014, USA
Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,
Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)
Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,
Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)
Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124,
Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)
Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,
New Delhi - 110 017, India
Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0632,
New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)
Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue,
Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa
Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:
80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England
First published by Roc, an imprint of New American Library, a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
First Printing, February 2011
Copyright © Taylor Anderson, 2011
All rights reserved
REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Anderson, Taylor.
Rising tides /Taylor Anderson.
p. cm.—(Destroyermen)
eISBN : 978-1-101-47557-7
1. World War, 1939-1945—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3601.N5475R57 2011
813’.6—dc22 2010036622
Set in Minion
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
TO: ALL MY “BEST GALS”—REBECCA, CHRISTINE, JENNIFER, AND NANCY
FOR: THE PURPLE HEARTS. GOD BLESS YOU.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, I’d like to thank my friend and agent, Russell Galen, as well as Ginjer Buchanan and all the great folks at Roc. I can’t stress that enough. Unlike a lot of authors, I suppose, I live “out in the country” and don’t have a long list of literary clubs, writers’ roundtables, and constructive critics to thank. I do have a lot of good friends who are generally highly educated—both academically and in the less-forgiving “University of Hard Knocks,” attended during the course of real, adventurous lives. These friends are not always
completely
objective, I fear, so Ginjer and the copy editors at Roc are my last line of defense.
My parents, Don and Jeanette Anderson, remain my first, primary editors, since they’re the ones who have to thrash through the initial rough drafts and try to make sense out of gibberish. As members of the generation that I write about in this series, they also prevent me from saying some stupid stuff that people “back then” wouldn’t have said. In that same affectionate vein, I want to thank Tom and Jody Thigpen for their lifelong friendship and support. Tom’s knowledge of petroleum engineering will also become increasingly valuable as this series progresses. (I like to joke that my dad invented the first means of “out of sight” communications, and Tom pounded the first hole in the ground looking for “black stuff ”—around the time Methuselah was born.) Being childhood pals, they probably managed both feats together, with the assistance of gallons of yucky Scotch, and were likely trying to do something completely different at the time.
Otherwise, all the people listed in previous volumes remain high on the list of “usual suspects” and all have contributed in various ways, from technical expertise to character inspiration. Many of my characters are “real,” though none are specific people. They are composites. Virtually every goofy stunt described in the series is based on some real event, and I’m somewhat dubiously honored to have witnessed quite a few of them firsthand. One of the great advantages of knowing a lot of people from all walks of life is that you never run out of characters!
For various reasons, I must add a few names to the “usual suspects” list. Long overdue is an appreciative mention of my many friends—and occasional colleagues—at Tarleton State University. They probably think I’ve lost my mind, but I think some of them have secretly read my books. Also overdue is an appreciative hug for my aunt Terry, whose grit, stoicism, and friendly cheer always remind me of what “stern stuff ” Brits are made of. Kate Baker is a swell gal, and she’s been doing great work to update my Web site and blog. A facsimile of “Tikki’s” “Killer Kudzu”—submitted to the “Order of Darwinian Delight” contest on my Web site—will make an appearance. Additionally, Tom Potter, Michael Walsh, Bruce Kent, R. P. Scott, John Schmuke, Aaron Wehr, and a guy named “Ed” all made valuable suggestions. Colonel Dave Leedom, Mark Wheeler, and my barnstorming dad continue to do their best to keep the “Allies” airborne, and (Bad) Dennis Petty never lets me forget that throughout human history, something, somewhere, has always needed killing. Of course, Jim Goodrich never fails to provide constant examples that no matter how weird or ridiculous a situation seems, it can always get weirder.
The Tides of The sea rise and fall, with great energy and exuberance. At certain Times, They rise higher Than others. The moon is The chief engine behind This, I am Told, but it moves Them with a singularly predictable, faithful regularity. The flood of war similarly flows and ebbs, but with a wild, ungovernable capriciousness That cannot be anticipated with any degree of confidence. It is more like a storm, a Tempest, often unforeseen and almost never adequately prepared for. It can ebb with a breathless suddenness That leaves one wondering what all The fuss was about, or it can rise against The highest, most invulnerable peak in a mad rush of relentless violence. Also unlike The dependable Tides, war need not necessarily ebb. Like nothing in nature, it appears, war seems able To flow and flow, and build endlessly upon itself like an ever-mounting gale, flailing vengefully about, long after its contingent parts have been exhausted. When all is said and done, one must contemplate the possibility that such dubious intangibles as “luck” might actually exist, because They, and God, remain The only Things worthy of faith.
—Courtney Bradford,
The Worlds I’ve Wondered
University of New Glasgow Press
1956