You kneel, and snarling, Rich does as well.  Lucy is already done on the ground.

"Now, I am Lieutenant Hiero Monsogai  of the Imperial Japanese Army.  You will provide your papers, and explain this place."  He points his katana at you.

"Od E Peal Mih?" Rich mutters.  "Eh's tun."

"Speak English, dog." He threatens a back hand, and Rich just smiles at him.

"Ah, I... umm have no papers, Lieutenant. This place is foreign to us as well; although, we believe we are somewhere in the mid-Pacific, sir."

"I kin take him, say da woid." Rich says through compressed teeth.  "You tangle his steel with ...."

And that earns him a backhand across the face.

You can see underneath the imperialism, which is odd, is stark terror. And you can see Rich is ready, like a trigger to leap.  And Miss Lucy is looking shocked at something she saw. And in the water you can see out of the cornerof your eye that long shadow.  And at your hands is loose sand, and a small crab, and in your right hand a cane.

It does seem true as Samuel Johnson said that the gallows does concentrate the mind wonderfully.

Perhaps it was knowing that Rich was fully capable, perhaps it was death staring me in the face, who can say. With a courage I previously didn't know existed, I push myself forward, swinging my cane to bat aside the katana. Not having hands to catch me as I stretched forward, I land face down in the sand. It was either the bravest thing I'd ever done or the stupidest... I could only hope Rich took it for the signal to pounce that it was intended to be.

Smack. The jolt runs up your arms, and you get the pleasure of seeing the startled face of your opponent before you pitch face down...

And CRUNCH. Then thud.

Then..."I got the sword thing!" from Miss Lucy.

Spitting out sand, you pull yourself up.  The Japanese guy is laying on the ground, where he had been tossed several yards away, groaning. and Miss Lucy is inexpertly menacing him with the katana, and Rich comes over to you, and lifts you to your feet with a ....

"Whoo-yeah. We did it!"  He's grinning ear to ear.  It occurs to you that for someone like him, all this uncertainty, it must have felt cathartic to just be able to solve a problem by hitting someone.

OOC: Do you have a fighting skill with canes?  If not, I'll give you one, and if you do, I'll give you a bonus for new use.

Slowly rising to my knees again, then on hands and knees, eventually I rise to stand again with the aid of my cane. I hobble over to the Japanese man. "Good work everyone, thanks for your help." I offer Rich and Lucy both a nod of thanks. "Now, Lieutenant, would you like to speak civilly about this situation we all have found ourselves in together? Or perhaps you'd like to be our prisoner for a while?"

OOC: Nope, no cane fighting skill... just desperation and an incredible amount of luck.

OOC: You had a limited goal, and you caught him by surprise.  1@2 Cane Fighting (1@5 is normal amateur).

"You are all going to hang.  You have assaulted an officer of the Imperial Japanese Domain of California."  He speaks through shivering teeth.  You know his look; he sees his Doom at hand.  "What do you know of civilization? I am mayor of small town, provide order. You send an assasin to attack me, in my bed.  And then drag me here to this island."

Miss Lucy points out his badge on his sleeve.  Looking closer you see an outline of western America up to the Rockies is in red, while the rest is gray.

The shock of seeing the patch held me silent for a moment, while I pondered the possibilities. I had seen enough movies and read similar books depicting alternate realities, to see it in the patch. "We have done no such thing, Lieutenant. We simply woke up on the beach of this island, same as you. We don't know how we got here or why we are here, either." I decide not to speak of the Imperial Japanese Domain of California at this time, for the poor man is scared enough without speaking of alternate realities. Regardless of my curiosity. It was the only explanation for his commitment to the belief that the Imperial Japanese Domain of California existed and he wore a uniform depicting it, despite the unbelievability of it. What secrets did this mysterious island hold? Could it really be a cross-dimensional rift, do all roads lead... here?

He looks about to say something in retort, but then sighs.

Rich asks you to come off to the side.  When you do, he whispers.

"What's this Imperial Japan junk?  Everyone knows Japan got smashed by The Bomb."

Miss Lucy is still guarding the prisoner, althugh he looks resigned, and she looks unhappy.

Talking quietly to Rich, but watching the Mayor and Miss Lucy just in case, "I don't know, Rich. He's got that strange uniform and he sounds like he believes what he says." I don't know how to explain my theory of alternate dimensions coming together to Rich. I don't really see him as the type to comprehend, even if I did explain it, either. "The only thing I can think of... well, did you ever watch any Sci-fi type shows or movies? Like Sliders or Fringe?"

"I watched some Eleventh Hour, I didn't get much of it, and I enjoyed Firefly."

"Imagine a world like ours, only we didn't discover the bomb... Japan kept going, actually winning the Hawaii and the West Coast before we could stop them. What if that world was real, just like ours, and this island is somehow a crossroads where all worlds meet. Why we are here or how we got here is still a mystery, but that's what I think here is."

He blinks.

"Whoa.  You mean, like a world where someone other than Webb is President? Wild."

"Well, that's the only explanation I can come up with anyway." I shrug my shoulders.

"Ok." Rich accepts it with a calmness that is a bit unnerving as it shows his trust in you.  He fetches Lucy, and takes the sword from her to guard the Mayor.  He puts the sword down out of range, and just relies on his size to keep the prisoner out of trouble.  He's far calmer than Lucy about it.

Lucy comes over to you....

That certainly went better than expected. I take a deep breath as Lucy comes over, now it was time to explain my theory to her. Giving her a comforting smile, I begin the process with her. "Alright, this maybe hard to believe but it's the only explanation I can come up with. He's got that strange uniform and he sounds like he believes what he says. We have to be dealing with multiple realities here.

Imagine a world like ours, only we didn't discover the bomb... Japan kept going, actually winning the Hawaii and the West Coast before we could stop them. What if that world was real, just like ours, and this island is somehow a crossroads where all worlds meet. Why we are here or how we got here is still a mystery, but that's what I think here is.

She looks frightened when you speak of this, and she runs over to the Japanese officer, and demands of him several questions.

He tells her that 'FDR died in the Burning of Philadelphia when the Nazis nuked the East Coast.'  and later he says 'Its 1967 by your Christian calendar.'

At that point she turns to you, and says 'but how do I get home? My parents were about to go on the Saturn Mission.'  She's keyed up.

The Nazi's got the bomb first... what a scary world that would be. However, I don't have time to reflect. I need to calm Lucy down, so she can think rationally. "It will be alright, Lucy. We'll all get home, but it will take time to figure out how." I go over to her, placing my free arm around her shoulders.

"Its not just that, but we're lost in time and space, Tyler.  I have to get back to 1975, my 1975 with my dad, Commander Randall..."  She pauses.  "Neither of you know that name?"

She's trembling under your arm.

"Am I in the Twilight Zone?"

I shake my head, "No, I don't know your dad. I'm from your future, or at least a world similar to yours in the future. But it will be alright, we will find a way home regardless." I turn to face Lucy, gently kissing her forehead, "I don't know how, but we will find a way, Lucy."

"Ok, who's the last four presidents, cause I'm thinking none of us are from the same world.  For me its, James Webb, Lamar Alexander, Patrick Buchanan, and Dukakis.  And the year is 2010.  I'm a second string National Football League lineman, on the bench right now because my back is acting up." Rich says.

Lucy accepts the kiss with a hug, and straightens up.

"Lucy Randall, IT Girl om the ground for the round-trip to Saturn Mission.  President is Reagan, before that was LBJ who no one liked, and then JFK for two terms, and Ike.  I don't know much of use...I mean, I know how to code in Cobol and Fortran, a bit, and how to activate a nuclear propulsion device.....I had the best fireworks display for my Sweet Sixteen two years ago."

Rich is staring at her with his mouth open over her head, and he mouths at you 'atomic bomb fireworks? Are they nuts?'

"The last American president was FDR.  Since then the west coast has been governed by the governors appointed by the Emperor."  He lists off a number of names.  "I have basic combat training, and judicial training.  My sensei says my sword skills are 'acceptable'.  If i meet him again, he will be gravely dissapointed in me for underestimating a cane."  He flickers a smile.  "I do have a good memory for poetry, and my tea ceremony is said to be 'quite good'.'

"Well, I am from the year 2015 and my last four presidents were Obama, Bush junior, Clinton, Bush Senior. I'm currently disabled and unworking due to my back problems, I was studying chemistry and physics at college, planning on a career in nuclear chemistry until my life fell apart. Reagan, LBJ, and JFK were all presidents in my world's history though JFK didn't have two terms in my world. James Webb, Lamar Alexander, Patrick Buchanan, and Dukakis were all the losers in my world, running for President and not succeeding."

Rich seems to recognize Bush, but otherwise they are "Clinton? Obama?"

You and they talk a bit, and you get the feeling of a more middle-class, blue jeans world from Rich.  He mentions a brother who works in the steel factory, and another factory he used to work in himself.   As he points out, he's not in the National Rugby League, so he's not making the big money.

With Lucy, the Soviets are on the verge of surrendering because the USS Constitution, a seven thousand ton nuclear armed space battleship driven by an Orion drive is a very potent threat.  A similar device is going to take ten people to Saturn.  She cheerily assures everyone that 'a little extra radiation is good for you, hormesis, don'tcha know.'

Rich is deeply skeptical of 'randomly tossing nukes around', but he's unable to answer her arguements.

Your stomach grumbles, and that reminds you that you're thirsty as well.

I chuckle at Lucy's assurance that radiation is good for you, I've never heard of hormesis, so I assume it's a joke. I'm impressed; however, by the talk of an Orion drive and spaceships.

"Is anyone else hungry and thirsty? I think we need to find something, soon."

I start looking around for banana trees or berry bushes.

OOC: I believe we walked into the jungle, correct me if I'm wrong.

A few minutes search reveals a grape vine, a bannana tree that is bent over, but still heavy with fruit, and a berry patch.  There are also some fronds the mayor is willing to eat.

In your search you stumble across a small creek.