Kirov II: Cauldron Of Fire (Kirov Series) (26 page)

The presence
of the two Italian Battleships had been a dangerous surprise to him, shaking
his confidence in the future course of events. They should not have been at La
Spezia, or in any position to intervene here. He thought that the heavy Italian
ships were all still at Taranto, which was another reason he had discarded the
journey to the Black Sea.

Now, as he
looked at the route ahead, he mused darkly over what the British may have
learned about their battle in the Bonifacio Strait. They knew that none of
their own ships were deployed in that region. Who would they think the Italians
were engaging? This thought filled him with misgiving as he reached the sick
bay and knocked lightly on the hatch.

“Mister
Fedorov,” Zolkin greeted him as he entered and removed his hat, smiling at the
amiable doctor. The young navigator was also relieved to see Admiral Volsky
awake and looking much more alert than the day before.

“I was
hoping someone would come down here and tell me what all this shooting has been
about. How is an old man to get any sleep?” The Admiral forced a smile, then
asked the most important question on his mind. “Is the ship safe, Fedorov? What
has happened? Zolkin has had me strapped to this cot and refused to let me go.”

“Doctors
give orders too, Leonid,” said Zolkin, his brows lowering with admonition.

“Don’t
worry, Admiral, the worst is over and we should have safe waters for at least
the next twenty-four hours or more.” He gave Volsky a briefing on all they had
been through, finishing up with an account of that surprise engagement with
Veneto
and
Littorio
.

“Battleships?”
said Volsky. “So that is what was shaking things up down here. I thought it
might be bombs from aircraft. The concussion was severe.”

“A few big
rounds fell a little closer than I would have liked,” he explained. “We may
have some splinter damage on the bow hull area, and Tasarov is having trouble
with his sonar. We’ll put divers over the side near dusk to have a look.” He
ran down the details of Byko’s damage control report and then asked if he might
summon Captain Karpov to discuss the route ahead in more detail. While they
waited Volsky took a moment to sound out another matter.

“How are
things on the bridge,” he asked. “Have the men accepted Karpov? Do you feel
comfortable with him there?”

“Yes sir,”
Fedorov did not hesitate. “In fact, his knowledge and ability to fight the ship
in combat is invaluable. He can make quick decisions, put weapons on target,
and the other officers seem to hold no grudge over what happened. I think
Karpov is legitimately trying to rehabilitate himself. Yes, his pride is
wounded, but he has lost that arrogance and argumentative edge, and frankly, he
does not seem so obsessed with effecting some decisive blow, though I cannot
say that has entirely left his thinking.”

Zolkin spoke
up: “You mean he won’t be trying to fire of another nuclear bomb off any time
soon. That is a relief.”

“I have told
him that option is out of the question, and he did not argue,” said Fedorov.

“And you,”
said Volsky. “How do you feel at the helm, young man?”

“It’s a
great deal of responsibility, sir. I have much to learn, and I’m grateful for
Karpov’s assistance and the competency of the other officers. Now we have some
hard decisions to make, and so I wanted you to guide us, and express your thoughts
on what we should do.”

“Not what we
must
do?” said Zolkin.

“I’m afraid we
must consider both, my good Doctor.”

Karpov
arrived and stepped in to the room, looking as tired as Fedorov, and somewhat
haggard. “Rodenko has the bridge,” he said. “All is quiet for the moment. But
Fedorov thinks we have some difficult hours ahead of us.”

“Alright,”
said Volsky. “Let us hear your briefing Fedorov, and then we will decide.”

Chapter 18

“If the
history
remains
intact,” said Fedorov, then Force Z should turn back for Gibraltar at 1855
hours, or just before sunset this evening. At most they can make twenty knots.
That's all the speed the heart of that task force can muster, two battleships,
Rodney
and
Nelson
. They have 16 inch guns, and 16 inch armor on the belt,
main turrets and barbettes. These are slow but durable ships. They may never be
listed among the top battleships in the war, but they are dangerous and should
not be underestimated. Captain Karpov drove off the Italian battle squadron with
six Moskit-II hits above the weather deck. I do not think the British will be
moved so easily.”

“You believe
they will fight to the finish?” asked Volsky.

“I do, sir.
For one thing, we will be threatening one of the most strategically important
bases in the British Empire. Look at what they committed here to the defense of
Malta. The British know they have to hold three places at this stage of the
war: Suez, Malta, and Gibraltar. They will fight, sir. We cannot expect the them
to break off, even if things go badly for them.”

“What will
they know about us?” Volsky’s question was pointed and had been nagging at
Fedorov for some time.

“I’ve been
considering that, sir. If they learn of the engagement we just fought with the
Italians then we may have created quite a conundrum for them.”

“Yes, we’re
a big fish in this very small tank, and we’ve been nipping at the other fish. They
will have to wonder who the Italians were slugging it out with just now, and
why we can’t seem to decide who’s side we are on in this war.”

 “And remember,
they had aircraft over us as well yesterday in the Tyrrhenian Sea. We could
have been photographed. At that time they probably believed we were an Italian
heavy cruiser, but after the engagement at Bonifacio, I don’t know what they
will think. Perhaps they might consider that we were a renegade French ship out
of Toulon. That is my hope. There was a great deal of dissatisfaction in the French
Navy about Vichy French cooperation with the Axis. Remember that the Allies are
planning the Invasion of North Africa right now, and Eisenhower is urging the
French fleet to join them. They will make an agreement with Admiral Darlan and use
him as a standard to rally the fleet. Hitler was suspicious about all this, and
he planned
Operation Lila
to attempt to seize that fleet intact and turn
it over to the Italians. These events were to occur in just a few months time,
but one thing I have noted is that things are happening sooner than they did
historically. There has been a subtle shift in the course of events. Perhaps we
could confuse British intelligence if Nikolin were to broadcast that we were a
renegade French ship. They would have to overfly Toulon to verify that, and it
might buy us some time.”

“You think
we could pose as a French vessel as we approach Gibraltar?”

“It’s worth
a try sir, though we have no real idea what the British may know about us now,
and they may see through the ruse in time. Even if they do believe us, they
will still send out ships to escort us, and then, well, the bear is out of his
cave.”

“We must
assume as much,” said Karpov. “They are not going to simply let us sail on
through with the tip of a hat. What we need to know now is how they would plan
to
defend
the Strait of Gibraltar.”

“Our
experience in the Bonifacio Strait will be your guide in that, Captain.” Fedorov
rubbed his brow, very weary. “Only it will be a much stronger defense. There’s
a hundred ton gun installation at Gibraltar, at Magdala battery over looking
Rosia Bay. It’s an old gun, but can still fire an 18 inch, two thousand pound
shell to a range of five or six kilometers. It’s not very accurate, but it we
would be wise to sail south of that range line as a precaution. There may also be
submarines, minefields, and the British will have planes at Gibraltar as well.
Many more than we have encountered so far. We can avoid their coastal guns, but
not the Royal Navy. We must assume that we’ll be facing at least two
battleships, three cruisers and many destroyers. If the history repeats itself,
their best carrier,
Indomitable
, will take serious bomb damage tonight.
This will still leave them with our old friends
Victorious, Furious,
and
perhaps the smaller carrier
Argus
.”

Karpov shook
his head sullenly. “I tried to sink them earlier, but no one would listen to
me. Now we may have to finish the job.”

“Anything
more that we might face?” Volsky had a gloomy expression on his face already,
clearly not happy with their situation.

“Well, sir,”
said Fedorov, “I doubt they could bring reinforcements down from Home Fleet.
Those ships would have to be underway now to reach Gibraltar in time. I think
we can safely say that Force Z, probably Force H again after it arrives at
Gibraltar, will be our principle foe.”

Volsky
seemed to be weighing something in his mind. Then he spoke, suggesting another
alternative. “Mister Fedorov, Captain Karpov… Might the British be receptive to
negotiations concerning our safe passage of these waters?”

Karpov’s
brows raised with surprise. “Negotiations? I hardly think so. What would we
tell them, that we were out on a pleasure cruise when suddenly one of their
fighter planes attacked us and we were only defending ourselves?”

Fedorov’s
eyes brightened a bit at the prospect of negotiations, yet he knew that even
this was a double edged sword. “I understand your point, Captain, but it still
might be preferable to battle. If we fight, a great many men are going to die.
We have already ripped a hole in the history of these events, and every ship
and plane we destroy, every man that dies when our missiles strike, will be
something that time will find missing from her balance sheets that day. There
will be consequences—this we have seen.”

“I don’t
think we could possibly make things any worse than the nightmare world we have
just come from,” said Volsky.

“And we
might even change things for the better, Fedorov,” Karpov put in. “Yes, I know
my decisions and actions may have caused the Americans to enter the war early.
So perhaps I am responsible, Vladimir Karpov, the man who destroyed the world. Don’t
you think I’ve carried that in my gut ever since? So consider this—might we
have a chance to correct this now?”

“How?”
Volsky looked at him with a blank expression, yet open to his suggestion.

“Well…
considering that our initial aim was to bring about post war conditions more
favorable to Russia, my thought was to strike a decisive blow against the
Allies.”

“Yes,” said
Zolkin. “And if you had finished your dirty business you would have probably
dropped another nuclear warhead on Roosevelt and Churchill!”

Karpov
frowned, a flash of resentment in his eyes. “I’ll admit that thought did cross
my mind, Doctor. Such action may seem insane to you from the quiet of your
infirmary here, but from the bridge of a fighting ship under attack things look
a little different. That said, such drastic measures may not be necessary now.
The mere
threat
of action can be as effective as the thing itself. If we
do consider negotiation, as Admiral Volsky suggests, then I hope we will
remember that we have power in our hands here—real power—and not simply to sink
a few more British ships. The British need Gibraltar, yes? Tell them that
unless they stand down we will flatten that rock and everything on it. This is
negotiating with strength. Don’t forget that.” He folded his arms, his hand finding
the pain in his side.

The Admiral
rubbed the stubble on his chin, thinking. He could see that Fedorov seemed
somewhat anxious now, and restless. “Something more, Mister Fedorov?”

The young
man spoke, a tentative edge to his voice, as if he were still feeling his way
through his argument. “I favor the idea of negotiation,” he began, “but even
that course is not without risk. I might point out that there are over 40
kilometers of tunnels under the rock at Gibraltar, a complete military city.
That aside, if we communicate with these men, of this era and time, they will
want to know who and what we are. Can we tell them? Remember that any
information we divulge can also have an impact on the future course of events.
Information was, in fact, one of the principle weapons of this war. We know a
very great deal, and that is also power—real power, Captain—to change the future
that may unfold from this encounter.”

Volsky
smiled inwardly. He had walked this same corridor in his own mind as he
considered the prospect of negotiating with Churchill and Roosevelt earlier. In
the end he realized that any such contact was fraught with as much peril as
opportunity. “I don’t think we can pass for a French battleship for very long,”
he said at last. “That ruse might buy us a little time, but the British will
see through in due course. Then any negotiation we have with them must be
tightly controlled. Perhaps we could simply ask for safe passage through the
Strait in exchange for our pledge of neutrality for the duration of the war. We
could tell them we will sail to the southern hemisphere, and stay as far as
possible from forces on any side in this conflict.”

“And when
they demand to know who we are,” said Karpov, a little too sharply. “Then
what?”