So: in my never-going-to-happen remake of “The Final Countdown,” the first of two movies ends with the Japanese attacking Pearl Harbor and getting comfortably swatted by the USS Ford carrier battle group.

The second movie picks up immediately, with only a handful of Japanese planes making it back to their carriers, each with tales of unbelievable American rocket planes – many with apparently no pilots – that performed beyond belief. The Japnese task force immediately turns tail and runs back to Japan. The Japanese attacks in the far east proceed as per history, but subsequent pushes in the central Pacific – such as the invasion of Wake Island – are stalled. The Japanese declare war on the US on the historical schedule.

In Hawaii, the contemporary US Navy – which has suffered some damage due to the brief Japanese attack – is rather surprised to see the Ford battle group show up on the 8th. The continental US is flooded with very confused news reports… first of a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, then of reports of fantastical American aircraft driving the attackers off. The War Department of course has no idea what has happened, and initial press releases simply assume that American fliers stationed at Hawaii simply did a bang-up job of repelling the Japanese. After the Japanese declaration of war, the us declares war the following day. However, due to Pearl Harbor *not* being a massive tragedy, FDR’s speech is less impressive, with no “day of infamy.” Still, the US public is incensed at the attack, and impressed with their own military.

The Ford battle group captains meet with the military leadership in Hawaii and explain what has happened. This, of course, requires some doing, including a helicopter ride to the Ford. Escort is provided by a pair of US Marine Corps F-35Bs… chosen specifically for their ability to land and take off vertically, further driving home the futuristic aspects of what has happened. This is all done in public view… not only does the news of terribly advanced US military hardware flash home to the US, but it also gets sent to Japan, Britain, Germany and elsewhere.

The question among the captains of the Ford battlegroup is: what do we do? it is not capable of prosecuting the whole war on its own… at the very least it would run out of missiles and torpedoes and such. And turning themselves over to the contemporary military and civilian leadership seems a recipe for wasted time and lots of bureaucratic trouble. So… the Ford battlegroup informs the contemporary military that they will integrate, but they have a few things to take care of first. The local military leadership is of course unhappy about this, but there’s not much they can do. And of course, they do not notice the Virginia-class submarine slip away from the fleet.

Coded communications go back to the Pentagon and the White House informing them of what has happened. These messages are met with appropriate disbelief, but they don’t stop coming. Over the next few days, secure communications lines are set up between FDR and the Ford, allowing co-ordination of near-term policy. Of course, efforts on FDRs part to order the Ford group around meet with failure; under the circumstances, he is forced to go along with their ideas and plans, even though they are incompletely explained and largely incomprehensible.

As a result the State Department issues a “Surrender unconditionally or *else*” message to the Japanese. The Japanese know that their air fleet was trashed, but of course do not believe that thy are in any real danger. Admiral Yamamoto, however, is getting *really* twitchy.

The Japanese task force is ordered to return directly to Tokyo to explain their failure. On December 20, the task force is 20 miles from Tokyo bay when the Japanese leadership receives yet another “surrender now” message, this one complete with detailed descriptions not only of the ships that took part in the Pearl Harbor attack, but also detailed *current* position data on the task force.

The Japanese leadership issues a prompt “Bite me” response. Almost instantly, they receive yet another message, this time broadcast in the clear on multiple frequencies, both military and civilian. Unbeknownst to the Japanese, a long-range UAV is orbiting 35,000 feet over Tokyo, equipped with powerful broadcast equipment. The message, in Japanese and tuned to the most popular radio frequencies, simply tells the Japanese military and people to look east towards their task force. Thirty seconds later, a single Tomahawk cruise missile, launched by the Virgina-class sub, explodes in the midst of the task force. The bulk of the task force is sent straight to the bottom. More importantly, thirty seconds later the UAV resumes broadcasting, telling the people of japan that if they do not force their military to withdraw its war against virtually the entire norther Pacific rim, this type of devastation will rain down upon their entire nation.  Other UAVs in the region collect video of the nuclear strike from many angles, beaming it to the sub, which in turn sends it on to the Ford. From there the footage is converted to contemporary film (simply: film cameras pointed at HD plasma screens) for further dissemination in newsreels around the world.

Previously: on December 11, Hitler declines to declare war on the US. The staggering failure of the attack on Pearl Harbor has convince the Nazis that the Japanese cause is one they have no interest in joining.

From here my ideas get fuzzier and more tenuous. In December 1941, the Japanese are feeling on top of the world. Convincing them to surrender, or orchestrating a coup, seem like pretty difficult tasks without reducing the whole nation to rubble (what was required the *first*) time. However, I have clearer ideas for Europe.

Over the first half of 1942, a good fraction of the Ford battle group goes from Pearl to San Francisco. The future is of course known to the eight thousand or so crewmen from the future. This includes knowledge of who the traitors would turn out to be. Thus they can be arrested, diverted or simply shut out. The Manhattan Project continues, but at a greatly accelerated pace due to the input of nuclear experts from the future. The first contemporary nuclear bomb is detonated in late 1943 (the first hydrogen bomb, 1947). Rocketry also progresses at an incredible pace, as does electronics: microchips are of course impossible, but transistors are not. They are introduced in late 1942, and begin to be incorporated into radios, radar systems and proximity fuses in early 1943.

In early 1942, the fact that the US has atomic weaponry and aircraft capable of flying faster than the speed of sound is unleashed upon the world. The fact that these are weapons from the future, however, is not released.  One of the future subs transits to the Atlantic and sails to Britain along with a convoy of cargo ships. even though the Germans have not declared war on the US, these cargo ships are a mix of American and British. A German wolfpack of U-Boats sets upon it… and every sub is promptly sent to the bottom with a single futuristic torpedo. This fact is immediately radioed to Berlin.

One of the people to get off the sub in Britain is a new ambassador to Nazi Germany. He is a US Navy Commander from the future, with specific orders. Once in Berlin, he immediately proceeds to have a little chat with the Nazi high command. There, he calmly lays out maps of concentration camps, troop concentration secret testing sites such as Peenemunde, diagrams of weapons system under development, etc.  Additionally, an Ipad loaded with high-def videos not only of the Tokyo nuclear strike but also other nuclear detonations (many taken from “Trinity and Beyond”) to demonstrate that not only does the us have incredibly advanced tech, but also a scary supply of atomic weapons and a complete knowledge of Germany and its military, industrial and political infrastructure. The US has no desire to nuke Germany silly. But it also wants Germany to not only halt its war against Britain, but to pull back from France, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, etc. Further, the “Final Solution” will promptly come to an end Or Else. Jews and others are to be released and returned to their homelands, and are to be molested no further.

However: the Ford group has knowledge of the future… including the knowledge that the Soviet Union will replace and surpass Nazi Germany as the greatest evil on Earth. So… the US takes no position on the war between the Nazis and the Communists. Let them beat the crap out of each other.

The Nazi atomic bomb project is not mentioned. The US is not especially worried about it… those from the future know that the Nazi bomb project was a mess. Without the likes of Norwegian heavy water – and with the knowledge that the Nazi project can be infiltrated and sabotaged more or less at will – it’s believe that the Nazis will have a hard time making meaningful progress.

So… will a futuristic US military be able to basically bully the Axis into giving up? Hell, I dunno. But it seems like it’d make a good yarn. And if people can write with a straight face a screenplay that has a planetary queen and successful galactic senator fall stupid in love with a whiny emo psychopath, I can suggest that popping off a few nukes will shut down the Germans and Japanese with a minimal loss of life.

So there.

Other bits: when the new ambassador talks to the Germans, especially if he talks to the higher-ups, hints are dropped that the advanced technology is actually the result of taking advantage of magic whipped up by Jewish types who emigrated to the States. Play on the anti-science, pro-supernatural gibberish that the likes of Hitler and Himmler apparently were so fond of. Known enemy agents will be fed data that supports this… say, the A-bombs aren’t powered by uranium, but instead by red mercury. That’ll tie ’em up in knots for decades.

Also: It’s important to note that resources, from fuel and oil and spare parts to bullets, bombs and nukes, will be a strictly finite commodity, at least for a while. But I believe it would be fair to include a scene early on with the carrier battle group being not only stocked up on supplies… but being confusingly *overstocked* on expendables. Lots of extra stuff being packed on board, by DoD order, no reason given. Extra ships added to the battle group. Mysterious persons flitting about. Why is this fair? Think about it: even if you accept the concept of the “time storm” that throws ships into the past… to throw a US Navy carrier to December 6, 1941, strains credibility if you think it’s a purely natural phenomenon. A fair dollop of Intelligent Design would be expected. Does that mean the storm was created by the DoD? Does it mean that DARPA knew the storm was coming, and was able to divert it in space and time? Did the Roswell aliens do it, and clue the Navy in? No need to explain it, but it’s fair to have the characters discuss the possibilities.