Arrival

July 26th, 2022 - Tokyo - Japan

"Good morning, Hasegawa-san!"

A young man's voice called out across the room. Its source was a young man named Tanaka Yoshiro. He was an intern at the design office of JIJ Marine United, the largest shipbuilding firm in Japan, located in Tokyo. The man he was talking to was Hasegawa Kenji, one of the junior designers of the office. He had been working at JIJ for almost 10 years, and had worked on its last few projects for the navy. When it came to combat vessels, he was one of the most experienced people in the office.

"What to do you need, Tanaka-kun?" Hasegawa spun his chair around, turning to face Tanaka. 

Tanaka held out a paper cup to him.

"Got you some coffee. Figured you could use it."

Hasegawa took it from him gratefully. 

"Thanks."

Hasegawa took a long sip, before turning back to his computer. Tanaka came over to him and glanced over his shoulder at the news article on his screen.

"What is it, Hasegawa-san?"

"Another shipwreck was found from WWII. USS Hoel, lost in the Battle of Samar."

"Oh, really? I'm surprised they haven't found all of them yet. After all, its been eighty years."

"According to the divers, there's some kind of technology on the ship that shouldn't be there."

"What does that mean?"

"No idea. Here, read this!"

"Let's see... 'the object is a solid sphere, made of a luminescent metal. It emits a strong amount of radiation comparable to that of a nuclear reactor. It could not have been built using the technology of the time. It was found wrapped in a skeleton, which analysts believe to be that of a teenage girl. Experts on shipwrecks and maritime history have drawn comparisons between the object and similar artifacts depicted in artworks by seafaring civilizations around the world dating back to almost ten thousand years ago... Atomic analysis of the object has revealed an engraving on the surface of the object at the molecular scale, spelling out the Japanese hiragana characters that read Hasegawa... Kenji.' ... What the hell?"

"It doesn't make any sense..."

"Ha-Hasegawa-san..."

"Hmm? What is it, Tanaka-kun?"

"Look! Outside the window!"

Hasegawa turned his head to where Tanaka was pointing. Hovering a few feet outside the window was a blue ball that looked just like the object in the news article. 

"...How...?"

It was all that Hasegawa could manage.

"It's coming towards us!"

Tanaka was right. The orb was slowly moving towards the window. Tanaka quickly backed away, accidentally spilling the coffee on Hasegawa's shirt, but neither of them cared. Hasegawa was frozen in place. It was less that he was too shocked to move, but more that something about the orb was pulling him towards it. 

The orb passed through the window, and began to grow in size until it covered Hasegawa's entire body. Tanaka could do nothing but watch as his mentor was completely engulfed in the orb. The orb vanished in a flash of light, leaving Tanaka alone in the empty office.

***

Hasegawa Kenji awoke to a throbbing pain in his head and the spray of cold water. As he slowly came back into consciousness, he realized where he was. Or rather, where he wasn't. 

He had expected to find himself in his bed, or maybe at his desk at work, since the whole affair seemed so much like a dream. If it really had been real, then he expected he would be in a hospital bed after being hit in the head by that strange orb. Instead, he was lying on a flat, circular rock, about three meters across, in the middle of an ocean. As far as the eye could see in all directions, there was nothing but water all the way to the horizon. 

The sun was beating down on him, and in his dress pants and button down shirt, he could already feel himself starting to get dizzy. The cool wind whipped up the water at him, splashing him with cold water. The wind was also bringing a wall of dark clouds with it, and a constant thunder could be heard coming from it. Between Hasegawa and the storm was a patch of fog, lying just above the water, and coming towards him with the wind. 

Out of nowhere, a sharp, grey shape burst out of the fog, and Hasegawa knew what it was as soon as he saw it. It was the prow of a warship, followed by the rest of its hull. It was small and nimble, and resembled a First World War-era destroyer. As it sailed, it fired shots from its aft gun back into the fog, which was following it closely. As he heard the shots ring out, Hasegawa realized that that was what the sound of thunder had been. 

A second ship, almost identical to the first, burst out of the fog only moments later. As it sailed clear of the fog, two large jets of water erupted on either side of it, before quickly dissipating. Every few seconds, more jets erupted, always in pairs. It took Hasegawa a moment to realize that those were shells hitting the water. 

"This shouldn't be possible..." Hasegawa didn't know who he was talking to. Himself? No one? it didn't really matter. 

His brain was preoccupied by the fact that two century-old destroyers were engaging in open naval combat with another ship. Hasegawa wasn't sure exactly which ships they were, but he was certain that they had been sunk long before he was born. 

Before he had time to gather his thoughts, a third ship burst out of the fog. It was a lot bigger than the destroyers, and looked a lot more advanced. It had a long, curved bow, and large superstructure. It had three turrets in the forward position, each one housing two guns. Its funnel was angled back, and two seaplanes waited on catapults behind it. In the after position, two more turrets stood, unused. 

The forward three turrets were firing at the destroyers, and Hasegawa watched as a shell hit one of the destroyers in its aft gun, starting a large fire. The two destroyers continued to flee, and they were quickly gaining distance. No, it wasn't that they were escaping, it was that the larger ship was letting them leave. It was turning away from them, and starting to head back towards the fog, in the direction of the storm. 

Redirecting his attention towards it, Hasegawa decided that it was a heavy cruiser, of Imperial Japanese design, from the Second World War. Because of the gun placements and the superstructure, he could tell that it was either a Myōkō- or Takao-class heavy cruiser. It hadn't taken him long to realize. They were ships that he had been fascinated with since his childhood, as well as the way that they had forced American shipbuilders completely change the way that American battleships were built. 

Except that it was impossible. All of those ships had been sunk more than seventy-five years ago. It was impossible for one of them to be there in front of him. But the sound of the guns, the bite of the wind, the smell of the smoke, and the details of the ship, more perfect than any blueprints or models? All of his senses told him that it was real. He couldn't make sense of it. 

As it was nearing the fog, Hasegawa realized that he was trapped on this rock. If he wanted to get off, and go anywhere, or have any chance of figuring out what was going on, that ship was his only chance. He quickly stood up, and began to wave his hands above his head, trying to catch the attention of one of the crew.

"Hey! Hey! I'm over here!" he called out, but to no avail. The cruiser was several kilometers away now, and heading off towards the horizon. 

As the ship's prow entered the fog, the aftermost turret turning to face right at him. In an instant, the cruiser was turning around. It steamed ahead towards the rock, the guns trained on Hasegawa.

It slowed to a halt a few dozen meters away from him, with the rock on its starboard side. Now that he was closer, Hasegawa realized that he couldn't see a single person onboard. A ship like that would have at least seven or eight hundred men onboard to crew her, but she was empty. As he was thinking that, a door on the side of the superstructure swung open, and a young woman walked out onto the deck. She was wearing a black uniform with gold buttons, and a black cap, like the type worn by the officers of many historical navies. She had auburn hair that was cut uniformly just above her shoulders, except for a loose braid draped over her left shoulder.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the woman called down to him in a loud and clear voice, "This is an active warzone,"

"My name is Hasegawa Kenji," he called back up to her, "I'm a Japanese citizen,"

"Japanese?" the woman answered, in a confused tone, "Never heard of it. Do you have any documentation?"

She had never heard of Japan? That was impossible. She was onboard a Japanese ship, so how was it that she had no idea what Japan was?

"I have documentation with me; it's my passport, does that work?" he called back up to her. 

There was a pause, and he heard no response from her. After a few moments, she called back to him.

"Come aboard. I am the Myōkō-class heavy cruiser Myōkō, of the Yamato Empire. I'm taking you into custody as a person of interest."