My Family or My Country

"My Family or My Country"

Author: CdnJAGScribe

E-mail:

Rating: T

Classification:

Spoilers:

Summary: (Animal/Meg Timeline) When the aftermath of actions taken in 1990 during a trade war gone hot with Japan is found out as Animal gets called to the Japanese Consulate to hear about the death of a family member; Animal learns the true cost of serving his country as a naval officer in the United States Navy. And Meg learns just what that choice has cost him.

DISCLAIMER: The characters Harmon Rabb, Jr., Sarah "Mac" Mackenzie, Meg Austin, AJ Chegwidden, Bud Roberts, Harriet Sims-Roberts et al. belong to CBS/Bellisarius. Animal and all OC characters are the property of Heather and Hugo Chikamori. No profit is being made from this story, nor is any infringement intended

Author's Note: I just have to love my muse…I was in the midst of writing Animal and Meg's redone wedding story for this timeline…and of course THIS idea has to fall into my lap… So I had to put the wedding story on pause and then work on this one…and complete it.

MEG AND ANIMAL'S APARTMENT, BETHESDA; MD; THURSDAY MARCH 16, 1995 2225 ZULU

It's rather dull and quiet. Animal thought to himself as he looked out the window of his apartment. He'd started rehabilitation on his shoulder in January of 1995 and Meg was telling him to take it nice and slow so that he didn't over-exert himself and end up in a worse situation that he was in. The kinesiologists seemed to happy with the progress he was making and it appeared that he was enroute to a late June 1995 return to the cockpit for a refresher training stint with VF-101 Grim Reapers.

And his squadron slot appeared to be waiting for him after RADM Jim Pointer who had just received his second star and Vice-Admiral Campbell had gone to bat for him so that he could get back in the cockpit. Commander Dale "Rattler" Kinnick had mentioned that he wasn't going to fill the XO slot in because it was being held in waiting for Animal to take over when he had finished his rehab stint and F-14 NAVAIR Systems and Tactical Training with the VF-101 Reserve Air Group. The one advantage Animal had over the cone-heads that were going to VF-101 for the very first time, was that Animal already knew the curriculum and was already studying it to be ahead of the power curve. Not only had he learned the curriculum prior to his nugget cruise, but he had ended up teaching the curriculum for three years. So he was well aware of what he needed to do. So in order so that he could ace the written exams, he studied his NAVAIR and NATOPS Manuals so that he knew what he had to do to make sure that his return to the cockpit was as seamless as possible. On top of that, he had someone in his life that he had to make sure that he flew in a way that allowed him to go home in the evening to her.

Ever since September of 1994 when he'd first laid eyes on Meg Austin; she'd been the light of his life and he relished the thought of being with her. And the more he thought about her, the more that he realized just how lucky he was; the fact that they bought an apartment together and were slowly laying the groundwork for a life together meant that he was in the happiest stage of his life that he'd ever been.

THE JAPANESE ALPS; JAPAN (SIX WEEKS PRIOR)

The SH-60J Blackhawk of the Japan Air Self Defense Force flew over the rocky terrain of the Japanese Alps. They had said that there had been a dogfight here between an American Navy F-14 Tomcat and a JASDF Mitsubishi F-2A somewhere over the Alps in March of 1990. The F-2A pilot had been declared missing and presumed dead. Unfortunately it was not going to be an easy task to locate the wreckage as the terrain was exceedingly rocky and the estimated crash site was at an elevation of 15,000 feet; hopefully there was enough space for a helicopter to drop off a search team that was Alpine equipped. And hopefully they would be able to bring the body of the missing pilot home to his family and hopefully they would be able to appease his family who had never wanted their grandson to serve in the military to begin with after what their grandfather had gone through in order to survive the Second World War.

It was an old Japanese family clan who was demanding the search; the Nakamura clan had lost one of their own who had been serving in the Japan Air Self Defense Force when he had gone missing in September 1990. The trade war between the United States and Japan had gone hot and Japanese Ground Self Defense Forces had overrun US bases in Japanese territory in a whole-sale effort to remove the Americans from Japanese soil. This had involved American carrier planes attacking Japanese targets on the mainland. All of this war had come about from the hardliners in Japanese government who were all for returning Japan to its glory-days in WWII. This meant dismantling the trade agreements that were in favor of the United States and building up its military by designing their own ships and plans were on the table for a full-size aircraft carrier that would rival the Nimitz class from which Japan would have launched another attack on the US fleet in Pearl Harbor for a second time that century.

The Japanese right-wing had always resented the fact that US interference in their rightful territory had cost them sovereignty of their nation. In fact the rest of the world seemed to think of the Japanese as the American's puppets – complete with US fingers up the Japanese's asses wiggling for good measure. And it was to that end that the hardliners in the Japanese government had taken over power in elections fanning the resentment of Japanese citizens against the Americans. And thus the Japanese had leveled an ultimatum against all US forces in Japan – you have two weeks to remove yourselves from Japanese held territory or be forced to turn over all US military equipment to Japanese control.

Needless to say, the United States had not taken that ultimatum very kindly and put their military on a war-time footing with their forces evacuating Japanese soil and their sea assets sailing before the time limit was up. It was the fact that US enlisted and US staff officers (all non-combat personnel) were still in the process of evacuating when the Japanese forces pulled up and took them all as prisoners of war that caused a major clash between the two.

The sergeant who was watching the ground go by as the SH-60J traversed the Alps doing a criss-cross pattern in order to be able to search the area thoroughly called out, "I see a wreckage"

"Where is it?"

"Just down below us to our right side of the door"

The JASDF Lieutenant looked down. "Ah so… I see it. Let us bring the helicopter down so that we can examine the wreckage more closely to see if it matches the missing plane."

It was about ten minutes later that rotor wash from the rotor blades of the helicopter blew snow off the wreckage. "What is the number on the side of the aircraft?" It was in so many pieces that it was hard to read. "Is the cockpit intact?"

"No, sir…oh wait, sir… I see a large piece of the tail intact. It reads O3-8505, sir."

The Lieutenant let out a sigh. "It is the wreckage of the missing plane. At least the Nakamura family will now rest easy knowing that their grandson is finally going to come home to rest…in their family cemetery."

US JOINT BASE ATSUGI; (TWO WEEKS PRIOR)

The Japanese Air Self Defense Force Lieutenant General looked over at the USAF General who was in command of the US contingent at Atsugi. "We have found our missing pilot who was involved in the incident with your Navy's aircraft over the Japanese Alps. We doubted that it would be good news considering the number of years and how long has elapsed since the aircraft went down. It appears as though your Navy's F-14 pilot was exceedingly well-trained as our pilot was one of the top pilots in the JASDF and yet your pilot was able to best him."

"It has been a rough few years for Japanese-American relations." The USAF four-star stated. "I certainly hope that once this news goes through to your missing pilot's family, that this will not start yet another feud between our two nations."

"I'm certain that it will not, however the family wishes to see their son buried and we will give them the body after we have found out exactly what happened. The family may wish to know who it was that shot down their son."

US JOINT BASE ATSUGI; (ONE WEEK PRIOR)

The JASDF LGEN Kintaro Matsumoto looked over at the USN Admiral of Seventh Fleet based out of Yokosuka who had flown in to let him know about who the opposition pilot was.

ADM Dale Mitchell nodded, "I'm afraid that this may shock you…General. But the naval aviator in the F-14 who shot down your pilot's F-2A was a Japanese-American; a Navy Lieutenant Commander; now a Commander. No we did not intern our Japanese-American citizens this time around" The Japanese General looked surprised – having served in the United States on an overseas military exchange capacity; he'd learned about the Internment of Japanese Americans, "We learned our lesson and chose to let them serve. Twenty one Medals of Honor in one unit alone; the Japanese-American unit in WWII pretty much drove that point home." The Admiral looked over at the Japanese Lieutenant General.

"Oh…" LGEN Matsumoto looked over at the Admiral and the General who were sitting across the table from him. "Would you be able to tell us who this…your naval aviator…is?"

The General and the Admiral looked at each other. "The family of the deceased pilot will not seek revenge?" There had been instances where the families of the deceased were seeking to have revenge on the person who killed their son under the tenets of Bushido which really wasn't an equal way of doing things as the Americans didn't believe in the Code of Bushido…or as their naval aviators would have called it sarcastically Bullshitto; they were more than happy to knock the Japanese aircraft down when they came up to play. Roll the dice and take your chances. If you decided to play with USAF, USN and USMC fighter aircraft; prepare to have a bad day.

"Yes…they will not. All the patriarch wants to know is who the pilot was who fought their grandson. He will be deeply disappointed if the information was not to be given to him."

"You may not like the information that we have on the naval aviator who flew the F-14 Tomcat…"

LGEN Matsumoto nodded, "I see...but for the sake of the family…"

"Very well…Lieutenant General…" the Admiral passed over a dossier. "Our pilot was a Top Gun graduate and went on to become a MiG Killer in Desert Storm after the conflict with your country; he shot down a MiG 29 and a Su-27. He was highly experienced in air to air combat and he was one of our top naval aviators in the F-14 Tomcat. He is highly decorated and is now a candidate for the Medal of Honor for actions in Korea."

Matsumoto looked over the dossier and then saw the name. "Toshio…Nakamura? Oh…no…this must be a mistake…"

"Why do you say that? Lieutenant General."

"Our F-2A pilot was named Kunitake Nakamura." Lieutenant General Matsumoto said soberly.

"What are the chances of your pilot being related to our pilot; even if they have the same last name?" Admiral Mitchell asked.

"Admiral, we have done our due diligence. I have sought out the temple records for the Nakamura family and all the family line just so that we can be certain that we identified the body correctly. Here is translation of the temple records from Japanese to English. It says here that the patriarch is one step removed from the grandfather, Osamu Nakamura, the grandfather of your pilot. Osamu Nakamura is the first cousin of Tatsuhide Nakamura the grandfather of our pilot. They are family. Nakamura Tatsuhide will not be happy at all…"

The USAF General and the USN Admiral looked at each other; oh this was not going to be good at all.

KYOTO; JAPAN; (THREE DAYS EARLIER)

"Naruhide…I heard the doorbell at the door. Can you see who it is?" Fumiko Nakamura asked her second oldest son. Their family patriarch; her husband's father, was sitting in an armchair. He was nearing seventy years old and he was weary; his oldest grandson had joined the Japanese Air Self Defense Force. He was proud of his accomplishment, but had wished that his grandson had stayed out of uniform. The cost had been too high.

Tatsuhide Nakamura, the patriarch; had been in the Imperial Japanese Navy as a sailor on the Akagi when it was attacked by United States Navy TBM Avengers. He had not been happy when he found out that his oldest grandson had been deemed missing in action against US forces in the latest confrontation between the two nations.

"Grandfather…it is the Japanese Air Self Defense Force General and he has a US Navy Admiral with him." His grandson told the patriarch of the Nakamura family.

"What does the US Navy have to do with my grandson?" Tatsuhide said; a note of irritation coloring his voice as he turned to his second grandson.

"I think we need to discuss this; Nakamura-san." Lieutenant General Matsumoto said bowing to the Nakamura family patriarch.

"Why did you bring an American into my house?" The patriarch said, his whole demeanor showing displeasure with the fact that someone who he deemed was an enemy was in his house.

"He has the answers as to who shot down your grandson."

"Well then let him tell me and then tell him to be gone." Tatsuhide glared at the US Navy Admiral.

"Your cousin Osamu…" the US Navy admiral said in English which was then translated to Japanese by the JASDF Lieutenant General. "had a son who subsequently had a son who joined the United States Navy and became a naval aviator."

Tatsuhide's eyes narrowed as he digested what the USN admiral was saying via the direct translation from LGEN Matsumoto.

"That son flies an F-14 Tomcat."

"What are you saying?" Tatsuhide asked, anger coloring his voice. His statement in Japanese was translated by LGEN Matsumoto.

"The worst possible eventuality happened. "Your grandson and Osamu's grandson met in the air over the Japanese Alps. Osamu's grandson was the one who shot down your grandson's F-2A fighter."

The silence was palpable. The only sound that could be heard was the angered breathing of the Nakamura family patriarch.

"Tell him to leave…now!" Tatsuhide growled low under his breath. The USN Admiral got the message without need of translation. He nodded to the family patriarch and left. Tatsuhide did not even give him a response.

"Do we tell your cousin's grandson?" LGEN Matsumoto asked.

The silence grew more ominous. Then Tatsuhide spoke in Japanese. "I have no cousin…Leave now…"

LGEN Matsumoto bowed to the family patriarch and took his leave as well. He knew that he had a long trip to plan to the United States and to the Washington DC Japanese Consulate. Despite the Nakamura family patriarch's insistence that his cousin's entire line was to be removed from the Nakamura family tree; Lieutenant General Matsumoto felt that it was necessary to inform the other side of the fatal air combat; especially since it was a family member who shot down another family member. He was not happy about the prospect, but he felt that it was only fair to the grandson of Tatsuhide's cousin that he hear that from the Japanese general.

MEG AND ANIMAL'S APARTMENT, BETHESDA; MD; THURSDAY MARCH 16, 1995 0035 ZULU

Meg had just walked through the door when the phone rang, "Can you get that; honey?" Meg called out. Animal picked up the telephone and said, "Hello? Nakamura!"

A heavily accented Japanese voice asked, "Nakamura-san. I am glad that I reached you. We would like you to come to the Japanese Consulate. We need to discuss some family matters with you."

Animal's warning sense went up. "Is this a private matter, because as a serving US Navy officer, I am not comfortable with going to a foreign consulate or embassy without adequate legal representation present?" He said cautiously. Going to see a foreign consulate alone could bring about some heavy problems; especially when someone was serving in the United States military.

"You may bring a lawyer for this matter if that makes you feel comfortable." The voice on the other end of the line was concessionary. "When would you be able to come by our Consulate?"

"When I speak to my legal representation, sir. I will have him call to set up a time."

"Very well…" the person on the other end of the phone line stated. "I will look forward to his call…Thank you…"

Meg was looking at him with some concern, "What's going on, sweetheart?" she asked Animal.

"I don't know, but I got some weird phone call from the Japanese Consulate who said that they wanted to talk to me about some family matter. I have no idea what that family matter is and I don't want to run afoul of the UCMJ so I'm having Harm represent me…and be present when I go there."

"I'm coming with you…" Meg insisted. "I don't intend for you to go there without me there with you. At least then you have a witness as well as Harm who will be your legal representation."

Animal nodded as he enfolded Meg in a tight embrace; their foreheads touching as they tried to draw comfort from each other. "I think we need to notify the admiral about this too." He said looking over at Meg. Meg nodded that she felt the same way. At least if JAG was notified, they'd be aware of the situation and not looking at anything untoward; such as espionage on the part of her boyfriend or on the part of the Japanese government trying to recruit him.

First of all, they called Harm who insisted that he come over and discuss the matter with them. At least now that they were living in Bethesda, it wasn't that far of a journey for Harm to come over than when they were residing in Reston. Considering the fact that in 1990; they were on a war-footing with Japan, Harm said, when he got to Animal's and Meg's place; that it would be advisable that he had legal representation that were going with him to the Consulate and that Animal was doing the right thing in calling him as well as informing the JAG of the telephone call which he would do tomorrow in person. At least this way, he would be able to let the Navy's Legal Command's Judge Advocate General know that there was something going on and that since he was the one that was contacted; informing JAG and taking legal representation with him when he went to see the Japanese Consulate would keep the US Navy satisfied as far as due diligence was concerned.

"If he said that they were alright with having legal representation there then it's more than likely on the up and up. If they were trying to contact you for intelligence matters; they wouldn't have wanted me present so that they could talk to you privately and recruit you without us knowing. But it's a good thing that you contacted me."

"I'm going to see Admiral Chegwidden too tomorrow about it." Animal informed Harm. When Harm notified Mac on the cell-phone; Mac said that she insisted on coming to the Japanese Consulate as well as being a secondary legal counsel for Animal. After all, she'd been a part of the attack group that rescued the POWs held at Atsugi which after the spat was back in joint control and she wanted to know exactly what was going on that the Japanese government would want to contact Animal in the first place. So that would be three sets of extra eyes at the meeting. Mac even drove up from Georgetown once Meg had given her the address that Meg and Animal were living at. So all four sat around the couch and coffee table discussing the matter and all four decided that it was best to go in to see Rear Admiral Chegwidden, the JAG; about the matter.

AJ'S OFFICE; JAG HEADQUARTERS; FALLS CHURCH, VA; FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 1995; 1300 ZULU

"Commander, it's good that you contacted me about this enquiry by the Japanese government. Yes, you were very wise in contacting Lieutenant Commander Rabb and Major Mackenzie instead of going up to the Japanese Consulate on your own." All four; Animal, Meg, Harm and Mac were standing in AJ's office at ease. "At least this way; any suspicions will be allayed that there is anything untoward going on. However I do intend that it should be me making the overture to the Japanese Consulate as it will show the Japanese that the Judge Advocate General's office's eye is on them. In fact…" AJ grinned a wicked smile. "It'll be much more effective if I join you there just so that the CNO's office and that Japanese consulate are well aware that the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy is present there insuring that the Japanese don't do anything they're not supposed to. Then they won't be likely to use guilt-tactics to try to get you to do something that they want you to do. Not that I doubt your loyalty in any way shape or form, Commander. You've proven yourself in that you went and shot down enemy Japanese aircraft when we were at war with them. It's just to protect you from any fall-out from their inappropriate overtures directly to one of our serving officers."

"Thank you, sir." Animal said appreciating the JAG's frankness and his willingness to root out what it was that the Japanese wanted with him.

"Now let's see what they wanted you to come by about. I'll make that appointment." He picked up the phone and hit the speaker button.

"Japanese Consulate; How may I help you?" the accented voice of the Consulate secretary sounded through the phone's speaker.

"Good morning, this is Rear Admiral AJ Chegwidden; the Judge Advocate General of the United States Navy."

The accented voice sounded shocked, "Yes, Admiral…what may I do for you?"

"I just wanted to set up an appointment to meet with whoever it is that contacted a US Navy officer of Japanese-American descent. Evidently he contacted the officer directly on a private matter. That officer in question has approached me to let me know of the situation and I wanted to make sure that everything was strictly on a professional basis."

"Very well, I will notify Lieutenant General Matsumoto, Japanese Air Self Defense Force, who is here wishing to speak with Commander Nakamura…" She pronounced Animal's last name the Japanese way. It was about five minutes later that the heavily accented Japanese voice who had spoken with Animal last night came on the phone.

"Good afternoon, Rear Admiral Chegwidden…Thank you for calling."

"You wanted to talk to Commander Nakamura; I'm calling to set up the appointment. Be advised that I will be present as will three of my officers as witnesses. Would Monday around nine be all right?"

"Monday would be fine…" The Lieutenant General sounded surprised that a high-ranking officer such as a Rear Admiral would be making a Commander's appointment.

"Just letting you know that as the Judge Advocate General for the United States Navy, I'm just making sure that due diligence and protocol is adhered to. It's not regular when a foreign consulate makes private contact with a United States Navy officer. Rules have to be followed and my officer is doing due diligence by informing me of such contact. You have a good day, sir and I will see you on Monday."

"Very well, Admiral…" the Japanese Lieutenant General stated.

"Thank you; kindly…" Rear Admiral Chegwidden grinned as he hung up, "There, that probably brassed off the guy's hide. But anyone makes contact with one of our officers behind our back… the person responsible for initiating said contact deserves the third degree. What they should have done was to come to the Bureau of Personnel and then the Bureau of Personnel would inform us. We would find out what they want then determined if we needed to send legal representation with you when you went down. But we still managed to make it work; Commander…so we five will head up there Monday morning. 0900hrs."

"Thank you, sir…" Animal responded, relieved that the JAG knew about what was going on so that he wouldn't be on the hot-seat.

"Keep being careful, Commander, that trait will stand you in good stead."

"Yes, sir." Meg grinned at Animal as he replied to the Admiral. At least her boyfriend was being careful in making sure that her boss, the admiral was notified. It was smart of him to be suspicious of any foreign government that made an overture to him behind the Navy's back. As a serving officer in the United States Navy he always remembered that he had to make sure to not run afoul of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and he always followed the US Military Code of Conduct. And that meant that he was to make sure that he always remembered that he was American first and foremost.

"They probably figured that since it was a Japanese-American officer that contacting you privately was the better bet. Well, guess we dissuaded them of that notion." The admiral hypothesized. "There's no colors in the Navy…just uniform Navy Blue." He grinned at the four of them. "Good work, Commander."

"Thank you, sir."

Animal took his leave of the JAG office and headed back home to the apartment to relax and read his NATOPS manuals so that he could be prepared to take over the XO's position in VF-41 when he finally got back in the saddle again after his retraining stint in VF-101. He missed the F-14 and the freedom that it gave him to fly. For an aircraft the size of a tennis-court, it was surprisingly agile in the air.

It was a quiet weekend and Meg and he spent most of it curled up on the couch together resting and enjoying each other's closeness. Animal still wondered what it was that the Japanese consulate was contacting him about. But he didn't let that distract his weekend with Meg since the weekends allowed him to relax with the person he loved the most; even if that relaxing didn't take the form of the hottest passion possible. Of course, Monday would be when he found out what the Japanese government wanted to talk to him about and since the JAG; Harm, Mac and his girlfriend Meg would be there, then the JCS wouldn't be the slightest bit suspicious of what went on at the consulate. Four JAGs including the top legal officer in the United States Navy being present at his meeting with the Japanese should allay any fears that Animal wasn't being a loyal United States Navy officer.

JAPANESE CONSULATE; WASHINGTON DC; MONDAY; MARCH 20, 1995; 1445 ZULU

Animal, Harm, Mac, Meg and the Admiral decided that it would be better to all go in one single car to the Japanese Consulate so that they could all stay together when they went in – it would prevent any unsavory eventuality from occurring if there were witnesses. All four Navy officers were in US Navy dress blues to ensure that they looked official. Mac had on her Class A Greens with the jacket with medals and the Marine Green Officer's Cap. Each put on their covers as they got out of the car and they all strode towards the gate of the Embassy where a JGSDF security officer ushered them in; asked them in English if they had any weapons on their person…and when he was told that they didn't, he then sent them through a metal detector which went off at the ribbon-racks which they were not about to remove – and abjectly refused to remove as they were a part of the uniform. Especially since part of the beeping was as a result of Mac's shooting qualification devices: her USMC Rifle Expert and Pistol Expert. The Naval Aviator wings on Harm and Animal and the SEAL Budweiser on the Admiral's uniform also set the machine beeping as did Meg's ribbon holder. Oh it was a fun time at the ol' metal detector today and the Japanese security officers were completely disconcerted by the time it was all over. They didn't tell the Japanese that the admiral and Animal were pretty much human weapons as they had the ability to kill with their bare hands if necessary. And it was pretty likely that all the Japanese security specialists knew martial arts.

The five officers sat down in the room provided; they were offered drinks but the admiral shook his head. One didn't take any chances in a foreign consulate that was an enemy at one point in recent history and the other officers followed his lead.

It was about at the fifteen minute mark that an attaché and a civilian suited man walked into the room; both evidently Japanese. The attaché identified himself as Nobutake Miyamoto and Miyamoto identified the man in the civilian suit as Lieutenant General Kintaro Matsumoto. The attaché and the Lieutenant General sat down on the opposite side of the table from where the five US officers sat. Animal was the sole Asian out of the five officers sitting with the US contingent, so naturally the two Japanese knew who he was.

The attaché spoke as he looked over at Animal with what appeared to be a conciliatory look, "Commander Nakamura; you were the F-14 pilot who engaged our F-2A over the Japanese Alps on March 28, 1990?"

"I do recall having an engagement with an F-2A on or around that general time. I can't recall the exact date." Animal stated. "Is there a reason for this question?"

"You are Commander Toshio Nakamura?"

"Yes." Animal replied meeting the attaché's look stare for stare.

"Are you aware of the Nakamura family in Japan?" The Lieutenant General asked.

"All I know is that I have family in Japan, but I wouldn't know 'em if I tripped over 'em. I've never seen them."

Lieutenant General Matsumoto passed over a JASDF dossier. "Please…look inside…this is the records of the pilot who was killed on that day." He didn't bother adding by your hands. It was unnecessary; they all knew that Animal had gone up against this pilot and come out the victor.

Animal looked over at Meg who looked concerned and then opened up the dossier.

"It has been translated by one of our translators so that you can read it in English…"

Animal nodded silently as he took a look through the dossier and then his eyes narrowed as he looked at the name of the F-2A pilot: Kunitake Nakamura; the same last name as his. Meg saw him become silent.

"The family is extremely saddened that they have lost their grandson in this manner…" the Lieutenant General stated.

Animal looked over at him and stated with some fire in his tone. "Sir…I am a United States Naval Officer. When your country started firing on us, it was my duty to protect my nation and my fellow citizens; some of whom were held prisoner on Japanese soil. I'm not going to make an apology, sir, for doing my job; if that's what you and the family are looking for."

"Commander Nakamura, it is not our intention to make you feel guilty for doing your job as a United States Navy officer; however one of your family has died fighting the United States and we wanted to inform you of that. The pilot of the F-2A was the grandson of your grandfather's cousin. We searched genealogical records in family temple to find connection between you and the pilot of the Mitsubishi F-2A." he passed over another set of records that had been painstakingly translated from what was the koseki – the Japanese family temple records for all Buddhist families.

Animal looked over at Meg who had a pained look in her eyes. She had just realized when Animal had passed the dossier to her that Animal had in that aerial engagement shot down his own third cousin, once removed.

"The family wants to remove your side of the family from the family records." The Lieutenant General informed him.

"That's their prerogative…" Animal said; it appeared almost like he didn't care what the family did to his side of the family, "But what they decide does not affect me on this side of the water. I will still be using the Nakamura name regardless of their wishes." However Meg saw the look of pain in his eyes as he stated, "If my family on your side of the ocean did not wish to lose a grandson then maybe he should have made the decision to avoid engaging me in aerial combat and stuck to training to engage North Koreans. When a pilot comes at me with an aircraft loaded with missiles, my only assumption if I want to stay alive is that he's trying to kill me…and in that case it doesn't matter who he is…at that particular moment he is an enemy and I will do whatever it takes to stay alive; up to and including shooting him down which happened in this case." He met the general's look with a look of ire; stare against shocked stare.

"The family is asking why you did not choose to avoid fighting if there was a chance that you could be involved in fighting family?" the attaché asked; his eyebrows furrowed trying to understand the situation.

"Do they understand what the role of a military officer is? Our job is to engage the enemy. Your country was the enemy at the time. And my job as a US Naval Officer was to stop your country with any means possible." He stared at the attaché and then took a shot. "It was my job to prevent another Pearl Harbor." That struck home as the Japanese attaché flinched, "If I chose to disobey my lawful orders during a time of war, my own life would be forfeit. Our code of military justice involves the death penalty for refusing a lawful order in a time of war."

"Then I guess there is nothing more to say…" the Lieutenant General stated; he sounded annoyed that Animal would bring in the Pearl Harbor sneak attack into the conversation. Well, sucks for them; if they didn't want that old sawhorse brought back up to be thrown up in their face; maybe they shouldn't have attacked Ford Island in the first place in 1941.

"Just so you are aware, sir." Animal's tone was cold to the point where Meg thought that the Japanese general would receive frostbite, "I am an American first and foremost. I have no loyalties to the country that my forefathers came from. When I received a commission as an officer in the United States Navy, I swore an oath to protect the United States with up to and including my life. It is to the United States to which I swore loyalty; I have no such loyalty to Japan. So it is my suggestion, sir; that the next time that you wish to speak to me regarding any matter that you approach the Bureau of Personnel of the United States Navy first and they will determine if your request has any merit." Animal got up and nodded to RADM Chegwidden who nodded in return.

Animal placed the dossier back on the table and pushed it back towards the Lieutenant General as all four other officers stood up to leave. Chegwidden looked over at the attaché and stated with a look towards the Japanese military officer in civvies, "Attaché Miyamoto; General, it is customary for all requests to speak to any of our military officers to go through regular channels. Your call directly to his residence could have subjected Commander Nakamura to all sorts of problems within the United States Navy up to and including consorting with a foreign nation which would fall under espionage. It is lucky that Commander Nakamura and Lieutenant Austin who is my subordinate JAG officer had the foresight to determine that it would be in their best interests to come talk to me first; which is why I was here to insure that everything was proper and not subject to interest by the Office of the Judge Advocate General Corps of the United States Navy. As the Judge Advocate General of the US Navy; I hope that I am making it clear on this for future reference."

They were able to leave the Japanese Consulate with no problems. Animal said to Harm, "I guess you could say that I was overly harsh in there."

Harm shrugged as he gave Animal a sympathetic smile, "They asked for it when they tried to make you feel guilty for doing your job as a US Naval Aviator. Still remember what you taught me, Animal. You said yourself…go one hundred percent when you're in aerial combat."

"Yup…that was definitely the case in that engagement." Animal said soberly, his eyes meeting Harm's. "There were several times that I thought the guy had my number; but I wasn't going to back down against him, saw an opening and took the shot. Turns out I got 'im with that shot."

Mac sighed as she looked at him, sympathy evident in her eyes, "But to learn that your cousin was up in that aircraft; that has to hit hard…"

"Well, Major; a lot of things are hard-hitting in a time of war…" Animal looked over at her. "I think you and I both know that…considering you were a part of the attack that got those POWs out; when Japan decided to take prisoners; I knew that there was a possibility that I could be fighting family. But I was not going to let that stop me from doing my duty." Their eyes locked on each other; they both knew that the past was the past and that they would leave it there. They knew that in a time of war all they had was each other to rely on; the camaraderie of fighting men and women. And that the horrors of war forced people to take solace in each other. But the years had gone by and each had their own life to deal with. Mac was now interested in Harm and well, Animal had Meg and they'd both moved on in life. And they both decided that it was something that their respective love interests didn't need to know about; at least until they were ready to talk about it. Harm did know; he was there with VF-41 as Animal's squadron-mate; but he chose to just nod and let Animal know that he knew that Mac and Animal were saying good-bye to each other in a sense; it was the fact that in the transit prior to that attack, Animal and Mac had turned to each other to deal with the internal pressures that boiled leading up to the events at Atsugi, their uncertainties on whether they would survive the attack on Atsugi; that they'd went to each other for solace; each holding onto each other tightly. Animal and Mac would always remain in each other's lives as friends which Harm's mouth tugged wryly in a smile that maybe that was the natural course of things. You take what comes along until the right person comes along to complete your life. Back then Harm had Diane to turn to. And fate had taken Diane away from him and replaced her with Mac.

Animal had actually shot down two Japanese aircraft; an F-2A and an F-15J over Japan but only one counted – the F-15J over Atsugi (which Grumman was gleeful about but McDonnell Douglas wasn't); the other one; Kunitake's F-2A; was fired on by Animal, but he wasn't sure if he'd known if the guy was hit fatally; but as he recalled the encounter, he realized that he had known as if in slow motion, he could see in his mind's eye that there was an explosion in the rear port quarter of the F-2A as the AIM-9L impacted and blew the tail right off the aircraft. It was no longer flyable; and it was only a matter of time as gravity took hold of the wreckage as it headed down in a terminal arc towards the rocky cliff face below. He'd chosen to report it as a probable since he was at bingo fuel and needed to feet-wet before he was on vapor and didn't see the wreckage hit the ground but probable kills didn't count on the kill-tally as the other one had not been discovered until now and he certainly was not going to claim the one that was his cousin's F-2A on his aircraft now that he knew it was a definite kill. He may have sounded that cold to the Japanese attaché and Lieutenant General, however he certainly wasn't going to be cold enough to the point where he would count his cousin's shoot-down as a kill and put up a second Japanese kill flag on his aircraft.

When they had reached the Navy vehicle, RADM Chegwidden stated, "I think we have a place to visit before heading back to the office…" He looked over at Animal wryly with a mouth tugged up in an understanding smile; that hardly looked like a smile; just a look as if to say that he knew the anguish that Animal was feeling at this point and that for the sake of the Commander's that he knew that there was a place that Animal should go to in order to seek comfort.

Animal, Harm, Meg and Mac looked at him with some surprise. The Admiral just said one word to his driver who had been waiting patiently in the flag officer's limo, "Arlington…"

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY; 1600 ZULU (SAME DAY)

RADM Chegwidden's limo pulled up to the cemetery gate and drove through; when they got to the parking area, they got out and decided to walk. "Why don't we take a walk? Commander." Animal noted that the Admiral's footsteps were directed towards the WWII veterans section of the cemetery. The Admiral and the Commander walked silently side by side towards that section of the National Cemetery with Meg, Mac and Harm bringing up the rear.

When they stopped it was close to a Medal of Honor grave and Animal knew exactly where they had walked to. His grandfather was in this section. He walked over to his grandfather's grave and rested his hand on the white marble headstone that marked his grandfather's final resting place. Meg stepped to his side, "I don't know what my grandfather would say about this:" Animal said to her, as Mac, the Admiral and Harm also walked over to stand by them "…whether he'd say that I was doing my duty or would be disappointed in me for killing a family member on the opposing side in a time of war." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He now remembered the encounter as it played out in his mind. "Scooter and I saw him at our ten o'clock low about fifty miles away…" He said slowly as the admiral, Harm, Meg and Mac listened quietly; Meg's pain-filled eyes looking into his. "It was on my AWG-9…he turned toward us…and I made the decision to engage when he came in at six hundred knots pointing his nose towards us and closed in past twenty miles. I could see the vapor coming off his wing-tips and that was a big beacon telling me where he was. I pulled hard left to meet his attack and as he passed my three nine, I rolled in on him. He tried to go evasive. I tried to give him enough time to make the decision to bug out and extend – get up enough energy to make a run for it. But he thought he could go after an F-14 Tomcat and win. He turned back into the fight instead of lighting burner and getting the hell out of Dodge. Maybe I could have decided to let him go, but when he turned back into me; it was a challenge. He wanted to shoot me down and likewise. We both made the decision to turn this into a prize fight. He was good; there were several times that he forced me out front and then tried to pepper my six with twenty mike mike. It went on like this for a while; he'd extend then turn back into the fight. Even when I had his number; he would still try and reverse the tables. And he wouldn't give up. And neither would I. We started the fight at Angels three five and then by the end of it, we were at about Angels twenty. We went into a rolling scissors with each one of us not gaining an advantage at the time. When he'd attempt to force me out front, I'd go into a rolling reversal which basically put us canopy to canopy with each other with only about thirty feet of separation between the two of us. I could see his face with the oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth. It was only after about sixty seconds of trying to gain an advantage on the other that I realized that he was starting to get low and slow. He tried to go into another rolling scissors, but I yoyo'd out and then back in with a roll over the top of his bird…and pitched my nose up so that he'd be forced ahead of my aircraft. When he passed my three-nine this time forced out front; I pulled my nose on him and selected AIM-9L and then as the killbox turned red, I fired a Lima at him. That was my opening to get him and my Sidewinder slammed into his aircraft and exploded. I don't know why, but he didn't eject. Maybe the explosion knocked him out before he could reach the handles and he rode his aircraft in…I don't know. All I know is that I never saw a chute." Animal looked up at the sky and sighed as he stared off into the distance, his mind elsewhere. "I can't pull back my actions that day. All I know is that I did my duty as a naval aviator. My job was to close with the enemy and take him out so that he couldn't come back at us the next day." He looked over at the other four and they knew all too well, just how high a price that Animal had paid by following his duty. And they also knew that Animal had no other choice in the matter.

The Uniform Code of Military Justice didn't allow for any second guesses. The four who were listening knew that when Kunitake chose to engage Animal in the air; Animal had no choice but to take him out. As a US Naval Aviator, he was duty bound to meet the challenge if an enemy decided to engage – anything else would have resulted in dereliction of duty; cowardice in the face of the enemy.

Harm knew for a fact that the knowledge that his mentor had shot down one of his family had to be a pain that Animal would carry for the rest of his life; knowing that his actions had resulted in the death of one of his extended family, but that choice he had made was for the love of country; the fact that he put his country over his family; the very definition of loyalty. He saw his mentor square his shoulders and turn back to them; a look on his face.

"I love the United States…" Animal stated, the conviction in his voice still could not mask the pain that he felt. "When I swore my oath to the United States Navy, our country and our citizens, I swore to defend it with my life. If I had to do it again, even with the knowledge that I would be going up against my own family members, I'd make the same decision. When they chose to raise up arms against the very country to which I swore my commissioning oath, it was my duty to defend her; to oppose those who would threaten our way of life. My grandfather taught me that when he went to do his duty and fought the Nazis even when his entire family was thrown into Tule Lake. No matter what the cost; no matter what would result in our actions in a time of war. My grandfather didn't have a choice in the matter. His very loyalty was questioned. He was thought of as the enemy. I did have a choice; I could have chosen to not wear the uniform after university but then I wouldn't be doing my duty. My grandfather did his duty; my uncle gave his very life in the performance of those duties in Viet Nam and I chose to do my duty; no matter the cost."

The admiral looked over at Meg and nodded. Meg understood what he meant; that he meant for her to comfort her boyfriend; that he was relaxing the PDA regs and went to Animal putting her arms around him.

The admiral; Harm and Mac as well as Meg all knew that Animal was hurting. He had paid the price for being loyal to America.

And the price of that loyalty was oh…so high…

Post-Script:

SECNAV'S OFFICE; THE PENTAGON; WASHINGTON DC; THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 1995; 1730ZULU

The SecNav looked over at AJ Chegwidden; "So…AJ…what did the Japanese Consulate want with one of our boys? I just received a call from the US State Department. Evidently the Japanese Ambassador lodged a formal complaint saying that his attaché and a Japanese Lieutenant General were insulted at the meeting by one of our naval officers."

"Evidently, sir; the Japanese just wanted to guilt-trip Commander Nakamura by telling him that he had shot down one of their boys. And asked him why he didn't abstain from fighting?"

SECNAV Nelson asked him, "So what did our Commander tell them?"

"He said and I quote: "I am an American first and foremost… It is to the United States to which I swore loyalty; I have no such loyalty to Japan." AJ told him with a smug expression on his face. "Then he promptly told them to go through proper channels the next time they wanted to talk to him. In other words, he told them to go to hell."

"Is it true that he downed one of his own cousins? AJ? The Japanese Ambassador told the State Department representative that he considered that our Commander was a cold-blooded killer because he shot down his cousin." SECNAV said.

AJ looked over at SECNAV Nelson with a look that stated that the Japanese Consul was way out of line. "Well, they started the whole matter by taking our citizens hostage. And in the fact that we were asking the Commander to fight the nation from which his ancestors were coming from, it was only a matter of time before something like that happened. So yes, sir, that did happen. We saw the dossier; the ancestral records that were provided by the JASDF general and the name of the Japanese F-2A pilot that was downed. It was his third cousin once removed. Commander Nakamura did his duty as a United States Naval Officer and as a naval aviator."

"A helluva war; AJ…it was a helluva war…" SECNAV Nelson said as he shook his head sadly. "Well, I'll just return State Department's call and let them know that they can file that complaint in the circular file. They initiated the call and didn't do it through proper channels. So they've got nothing to complain about. Your boy was smart to come to you. It certainly reflected that he knew his due diligence to keep from being tagged with divided loyalties."

AJ looked at the SECNAV. "And sir, I think the Commander just reaffirmed our lesson from the last war that sometimes those that we consider our enemies can turn out to be our most loyal citizens."

*****THE END*****