Kirov Saga: Devil's Garden (Kirov Series) (39 page)

“Concentration of firepower is always best, at any range,” came a
voice behind him. Tovey had his arms folded and did not know who made the
remark, but he batted it aside with the sharp intelligence he would become
known for at sea. “At any range? On my watch I would use my cannon at the best
range suited to them. If that means a little reliance on speed and armor to
achieve a better firing solution, so be it.” The complete silence after his
remark prompted him to turn his head, and there was Captain Baker, lips pursed
with disapproval. He had come into the mess hall in the heat of the discussion
and threw out the remark to test his young officers.

Later that evening he summoned Tovey to the bridge and took him
aside in the plotting room for a private chat. “See hear, Mister Tovey.
Concerning your remarks in the officer’s mess this evening… If you chance to
contradict another officer ever again, you had bloody well better turn your
head first and look the man in the eye so you will know who you’re speaking
to.”

“Yes sir. Of course, sir. I’m terribly sorry. I meant no offense.”

“No offense taken, Tovey. This is simply a matter of decorum.”

“Yes sir.”

“Very good then. That will be all.”

“Sir!” Tovey saluted and went to leave, but the Captain scratched
his ear, adding one last word.

“You were correct in one thing,” he said quietly.

“Sir?”

“That bit about reliance on speed and armor. I gave it some
thought and find it sound advice, depending on the circumstances of course. But
just remember that
King Alfred
is the flagship of this squadron, young
man. In that role she will be at the head of her formation and expected to lead
the battle line in. So in nine cases out of ten we will not be talking about
single ship broadside, but that of the entire squadron. This is concentration
of firepower, Mister Tovey. Don’t forget that.”

“Of course, sir. And thank you, sir.”

Tovey never did forget it, and he came to understand that the essence
of combat at sea was to somehow find that perfect balance of firepower, speed,
and armor that would win the day. It was a chemistry of steel, sea conditions,
wind, and the fall of shot at selected range, and it could make all the
difference between victory or defeat in the barest fraction of a second. There
also was one more thing, he knew. You have to know your enemy first, and know
him well.

He would get his chance to test his theories soon enough, and face
a man in combat on the high seas that he was destined to encounter again many
years hence, on the cold swells of the North Atlantic, in another life that
would never even exist unless he first found a way to survive this one.

Part XII

The Ninth Circle

“The banners of Hell’s Monarch do come forth        

Toward us; therefore look,” so spake my guide,        

“If thou discern him.”

―
Dante: The Inferno, Canto XXXIV

Chapter 34

The
y had lingered in the Sea of Japan for days now as Karpov tried to
decide what to do. It seemed to him just as his campaign had begun, Fedorov
appeared to cast the shadow of guilt on him with his obsession over not
breaking the eggshells of history. Well, I am sorry Mister Fedorov, a ship with
this much power leaves a wide wake. I barely flicked my little finger at those
Japanese cruisers, and they could do nothing about it. That Canadian steamer
was merely a distraction. I need to decided whether to commit myself here or to
try to get the ship home.

He knew what he wanted to do, deep inside, but now that the men
knew there’s a way home it could be difficult to burn this last bridge
deliberately. Zolkin would certainly have a fit.

The decision weighed heavily on his shoulders, but that thought
suddenly presented him with a possible solution. Zolkin! The Doctor’s words
returned to him in the heat of his rumination.

“We are like blind men in a dark closet looking for the right coat
here. Whatever you decide, consider the men on this ship. They may not share
your dream of conquest. Have you even bothered to consider asking what they
might want to do?”

Of course! That was the answer. He would explain their
circumstances to the men and see what they would do. They would vote in a
secret ballot. No man’s name would be compromised. They could speak their mind
without fear, and then at least the Captain would know where he stood.

He had given them all his reasons for the action he planned. “We
have beaten off every enemy we have faced and survived to fight again,” he said
over the ship’s PA system. “Now we are here, far from home and, short of
detonating another nuclear warhead, we are likely to remain here, or so I
believed. Yet we have just discovered that Captain Anton Fedorov has managed to
get back to this year and time as well, only in the Caspian Sea aboard
Anatoly
Alexandrov.
He proposes to bring us new control rods by helicopter, though
if we use them, we have no guarantee as to where they will take us, if anywhere
at all. We might move forward, or even further back in time. This cannot be
known. So we can now do one of two things, either try to rendezvous with
Fedorov and see what happens, or remain here in this decisive era where we now
find ourselves, and change the sad future our nation must face in the decades
ahead.”

He went on to describe the history of this time and place, the
prospect of restoring Russia to power in the Pacific, the idea of preventing
Japan from ever rising as a military power here and bringing the Americans into
the Pacific in WWII. “Russia has some hard years ahead,” he finished. “The
revolution is coming, and it will be shaped only by those men who dare to do so
here and now. Yes, we can try and go home to our world of computers and
conveniences, and all our loved ones there. But, as we have seen, that world
may not be so comfortable after all if the war we were fighting has continued.
Who knows, we may get there and find only the ashes of the history I hope to
change. Now, here, we have a chance to prevent that war and shape the future
ahead. I realize this asks every man to sacrifice much, the entirety of the
life you left behind, and to begin again here. So I leave this decision to you,
the fighting crew of the battlecruiser
Kirov
. We have come a long way
together. Now you decide where we will go together in the days ahead.”

He gave the men time to talk among themselves and decide how they
felt about the situation, still lingering in the Sea of Japan. On the twentieth
of July the vote was finally taken and the Captain was pacing fitfully on the
bridge. Nikolin tabulated the results and made the announcement on the bridge. “Captain,
sir. I have counted all the ballots and the crew votes 128 in favor of sailing
to rendezvous with Fedorov, but a strong majority of 582 vote in favor of remaining
here with you at the helm.”

Karpov had his eyes closed as Nikolin read the results, and now he
opened them with a smile. “Five to one,” he said quietly. “Very well. You may
make the results known to the crew, and then we must get about the business of
building that new world I promised them. If that means that we must first make
some changes to
this
world, so be it.” He looked at Rodenko now, looking
for his reaction. He nodded, and the Captain took that as his assent, though he
had no way of knowing how his first officer had actually voted.

It was decided.

At 18:00 hours on that day Karpov joined Nikolin at the
communications station and they began broadcasting on the shortwave radio again
as he had promised Fedorov. Now there was only one more man to convince, he
thought, knowing that Fedorov would definitely not approve of this decision.
Ten minutes later Nikolin had a clear signal.

“Fedorov, here,”
came the familiar voice.
“We’ve been waiting to hear from you,
Captain.”

“Well enough, Fedorov. We have considered your plan, and I have
discussed it with the officers, Doctor Zolkin, and the entire crew. Over.”

“Good to hear it, Captain. Which option seems most feasible to
you. Do you think you can make it to the Arabian Sea? If not, the Bay of Bengal
should be close enough. We wish we could come all the way to the Pacific, but
we had to use fuel to search for Orlov, and that leaves us no margin of safety.
It’s a very long way. Over.”

“You will not have to worry about that, Fedorov….We have decided
to stay where we are.”

“Say again, Kirov? What have you decided? Over.”

“We are remaining here, in the Pacific of 1908. Our mission was to
defend Russia, and this we will do, but from this place and time, when a ship
like this battlecruiser can really make all the difference in the world.”

There was a considerable pause before Fedorov came back.
“Did I
hear you correctly, Captain? You are staying here? But you can’t do that, sir.
The danger—”

“We can and we will, Fedorov.” The Captain cut in, sending right
on top of Fedorov’s incoming message.

“What in God’s name do you think you are going to do?”

“It may not be in God’s name that we do anything, Fedorov. That is
the nature of war. You know the history as well as anyone. We will restore
Russia as a Pacific power and prevent Japan from becoming the militaristic
power that leads her into World War Two. What do you expect us to do back home?
All we could do is sit there waiting for the ICBMs to arrive. Besides, Fedorov.
You have no idea whether or not those other control rods will even work, or
where they might send us if we try to use them. Am I not correct?”

Again the long pause…
“Yes, that is so, but Captain, anything
you do here could have terrible consequences—things you cannot foresee now. It
may seem so easy from the bridge of Kirov now, but it never is. We should at
least try and get the ship and men home safely. I came all this way just to
find Orlov, and by God we finally have the man. What you propose now is utter
madness! It will change everything!”

“They is exactly the idea, Fedorov. Yes. We are going to change
everything.”

“I cannot believe this! You have no idea what you are doing. You
are betraying more than your own pledge to me and to Admiral Volsky here,
Karpov. Do you remember it? What about the Russia you pledged to defend? Our
homeland is in 2021, not here! We have no business even being here!”

“Do not think this is entirely my doing, Fedorov. You will want to
make me out as a traitor and consign me to the Ninth Circle of Hell. Better to
rule here than to serve in heaven, eh? So be it. Yet you should know that I put
this question to the entire crew, the vote was decisive, five to one. We stay
here
.
How is it we even find ourselves here? Have you wondered about that? We are
here for a reason, Fedorov, and I think I know what that reason is now. If you
must return to the future we came from, then do what you must.”

“…You must reconsider, Karpov. This is insane what you propose
now.”

“That has yet to be proven, Captain. If you do make it back, you
may read the history we write here yourself and see if we prevail. Once we
finish here we will contact you again. If you still remain marooned in this
time, as we are, then we will reconsider your plan. But do not get your hopes
up, or wait for us. We have a world to change, Fedorov. I know that is the
worst thing possible in your mind. You want to keep all the eggs in the nest,
safe and sound, but that is clearly impossible now. We could not do that in
2021, nor even in all our battles in World War Two. But here, we are
invincible, my friend. You know that. Here we make the real decisive
difference! That is all that matters now. There is nothing more to be said. I
wish you and the Admiral well. Yes, I know you will judge me, but so will time
and fate.
Kirov,
over and out.”

“Captain…Listen to reason here! You cannot do this!”

Karpov gave Nikolin a hard hand signal to cut the transmission,
and he did so, though he could see pain in the young officer’s eyes. He looked
at Rodenko and the others, knowing this would be hardest part of the decision
before them.

“I know you all loved Fedorov,” he said quietly. “Yet you also
know he would do anything to set the table as it was before we left Severomorsk
so long ago. Understand that he cannot assure that in any wise, no matter what
he does. He had no intention of ever arriving here, in 1908; any more than we
did. So you see he really has no control over what happens. Yes, it is hard to
turn our back on him now, but this we must do. We are here, on these waters, in
this ship, at this moment. The men have decided to stay and fight. So God bless
Fedorov, but he will not understand what we must now do. He was always the
white Angel, I was the demon of shadows. He would
never
understand me
any more than white can know black.” He sighed, walking slowly toward the
Captain’s chair. “Helm, come to 180 and steady at twenty knots.”