Another, larger question arises: should the Nimitz, presumably unable to return to its own time, and with armaments and aircraft two generations more advanced than anything in 1941, engage the Japanese fleet and air force and prevent the attack on Pearl Harbor? Dan Thurmond believes so while Lasky is torn by the idea, stating that this type of interference in history could have very serious consequences. Yelland is, of course, opposed to simply executing the Senator and orders him held until they can figure out how best to deal with the disruption they've started. By interfering with the attack on Chapman's yacht, the presence of the Nimitz has altered history and Chapman's survival may severely disrupt the space-time continuum. Chapman himself was considered to be a strong contender to beat Franklin Roosevelt for the presidency of the United States. Owens also shares the story of Chapman himself just prior to the Japanese attack, Chapman and Scott were both declared lost at sea under unsolved circumstances. Owens determines that the storm that swallowed the Nimitz hours before has displaced the carrier in time and deposited them in the Pacific Ocean on December 6, 1941, one day before the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Chapman, angry at being held against his will, is identified by Commander Owens. Back on board the Nimitz the three survivors are sequestered belowdecks. A helicopter is dispatched from the Nimitz to pick up Chapman, Scott and one of the Zero pilots who survived. The Zeros open fire on the Tomcats, and when radar shows the Zeros are on a course toward the Nimitz, Yellend orders the American pilots to open fire both Zeros are easily downed: one pilot uses his plane's cannons, the other launches a missile. At the urging of Yelland's XO, Dan Thurmond, the captain orders the F14 pilots to make a supersonic run over the Zeros in an attempt to frighten them off. The F14 pilots witness the attack but are given sharp orders not to engage the Zeros. The pilots also strafe the survivors in the water, killing the crew member. Chapman, Scott and the yacht's other crewman all abandon ship, which explodes when the Zeros make another pass and again open fire. The Zeros suddenly execute sharp turns and open fire on the boat. A few minutes later, the Zeros fly over Chapman's boat. The F14s then receive word of another pair of radar contacts and when they're spotted, one pilot excitedly reports that the two contacts are World War II era Japanese "Zero" planes. They spot the two F14s as they pass over the boat, unable to comprehend the speed of the jets. The nearby boat is a yacht, the personal boat of a popular United States Senator, Samuel Chapman and his personal assistant, Laurel Scott, whom are enjoying a day in the sun. Yelland has two F14s launched to investigate. The ship's radar operator reports the presence of a small boat several hundred miles from the Nimitz. A photo reconnaissance aircraft is sent up to take photos of Pearl Harbor, and when it returns the photos prompt Yelland to bring up the ship's Wing Commander, Richard Owens, who is also a World War II history expert he compares the shots to several from a book he has and he determines that they are nearly identical and that fleet in Pearl at the present moment was sunk by the Japanese Imperial Air Force nearly 40 years before. The radio operator of the boat receives strange broadcasts from Hawaii they sound like classic radio from the pre-World War II era, leaving everyone puzzled. Yelland orders reports from all stations and the ship appears to be in perfect order. The Nimitz emerges from the storm unharmed and is able to land the stray Corsair that went through as well. Yelland orders alert just before the storm overtakes them and swallows them. When Yelland orders the ship's course to be changed, the storm follows - just as a Corsair reports it cannot land on the ship due to damage to the plane's tail hook. One of the ship's sonar crew notices a large and unusual storm approaching the Nimitz. Also on the carrier is Warren Lasky, a systems analyst for one of the corporations that designed and built the ship he is to observe the Nimitz on its maneuvers. The ship's captain, Matthew Yelland, oversees training flights of the ship's compliment of F14A Tomcat fighter jets and A7 Corsair fighter-bombers. The USS Nimitz, one of the United States' largest aircraft carriers, is on maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii.
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