Kirov Saga: Devil's Garden (Kirov Series) (24 page)

“Of course! He knew that if they came in force he could then use
the real power of this ship to try and convince them they were overmatched.”

“Yes, I saw his little demonstration when he fired that first
missile into the sea. The strange thing was the reaction of the crew. They
seemed ebullient. A couple even came by to tell me what Karpov had done, and
they were literally shaking a fist in approval.”

“And look what happened to the
Admiral Golovko.”

“That was a hard thing to see. I can only wonder what happened to
Orel
as well. We felt time’s cold hand on our neck again and escaped a hard fate
there. I wonder if
Orel
moved in time as well? It may have gone
somewhere else—to another year. I hope Yeltsin keeps his head if that was the
case.”

“It isn’t Yeltsin I’m worried about now, Doctor.” Rodenko got
round to the point of his discussion with Zolkin again.

Zolkin nodded. “Let’s get to the heart of this, Rodenko. You came
to me to sound me out regarding Karpov’s state of mind. Yes, he’s been under
stress, as we all have. Yes, his moods have shifted considerably, but is he
incompetent? This is what you are getting at here, yes? At the moment I think it
would be difficult to make such a case against him. He may seem to be making
irrational decisions, yet who do we take the matter to? When Volsky was here
there was always some superior authority aboard, but that is not the case now.
If you want my advice, you must do what you have been doing up until now.
Observe, and report any unstable behavior to me. Otherwise do your duty for the
ship and crew. Should the time come when things take a darker turn, I think you
may rely on me to use my professional judgment. This is what you came here to
learn, yes? So now you have heard it.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

“Do not thank me yet, Rodenko. If anything happens to Karpov, then
this whole mess is yours. I hope you understand that and make yourself ready should
you ever find yourself in that Captain’s chair.”

Rodenko thought about that, but then the sound of a deck cannon
cracked and he found himself looking out the porthole to see what was
happening. He could see a pair of steamers, commercial traffic, and
Kirov
was running parallel to them about five kilometers off their port side. There
was just enough sunlight to catch the small plume of seawater as the first
round fell in front of the lead steamer.

“Here we go again,” he shrugged. “The Captain has fired what looks
to be a warning shot on a steamer.”

“A trade ship? What could he be doing now? Why bother with that?”

“I think he means to do the same thing he did in 1945 when he
attacked those American destroyers in the Kuriles. He’ll sink a steamer; the
Japanese will send a warship to investigate. He’ll attack that ship and on we
go—another war.”

“Perhaps you had better get to the bridge and see what is going on
first hand, Rodenko. Remember what I said. You must do your duty, but yet you
are still
Starpom
, and second in command here now. Your voice counts, so
if you have anything further to say about the matter, you must say it to the
Captain’s face.”

The sound of the deck gun firing was enough to get Rodenko moving,
and his heart beat faster with the anxiety of anticipation as he went.

“Thank you, Doctor.”

He was through the hatch and gone.

Chapter 21

Karpov
was in the flag room of the bridge, pouring over charts and
several old books from Fedorov’s old library. He found them most useful for the
research he was conducting now, sizing up his potential enemy. The ship was
still off the Tsugaru Straits in a blockading position. After sinking the
Tatsu
Maru
, he watched at a distance while the second steamer attempted to rescue
the stricken crew, and when he saw the steamer turn about and head back for the
friendly shores of Japan, he was finally satisfied.

Rodenko had come to him in the midst of that action, returning to
the bridge shortly after the Captain ordered Samsonov to fire.

“Marching to the sound of the guns, Rodenko?”

“Yes, I heard the forward deck gun, sir, but there was no call to
action stations.”

“That was not necessary. We just happened across a pair of
Japanese steamers bound for Dailan near Port Arthur. That traffic stops now. We
will not permit the Japanese to resupply their forces in Korea or Manchuria.”

That remark surprised Rodenko. “But sir, how can we possibly
enforce such a quarantine? We are one ship. There could be ten or twenty ships
en-route to those harbors even as we speak, most likely well south, coming from
the bigger Japanese ports. There is no way we can stop them all.”

“I understand that, but what we can do is set an example to show
what will happen to any ship we do find in violation of this order. Once we
slap a few around, the others will think twice about the voyage. We can have a
great effect, even if we cannot be everywhere at one time.”

“Violation? What order are you speaking of, sir? Have you
communicated with the Japanese?”

“Not yet, Rodenko, but that is coming in due course.”

“Then how can they be expected to comply? If you just attack
unarmed ships like this it is tantamount to piracy.”

“Piracy? Don’t be silly, Rodenko. You act as though we are bound
by the laws these little men devise to regulate their affairs. Quite the
contrary! What you should realize is that
we
are now the sole authority
here. Who do you think that sea Captain out there will complain to after I put
his ship on the bottom? He will complain to his government, correct? This is
exactly what I intend. In my judgment, the next ships we encounter will be
warships, and then we can make our position understood even better. I don’t
expect a steamer Captain to be my envoy to Tokyo, but if I shake up the tree a
bit, the military command structure here will do that for me soon enough.”

Rodenko seemed troubled by this. It was exactly what he suspected.
The Captain was going to slowly escalate this situation just as he had in 1945.
At present they were a great unknown, but soon he could envision that the whole
of the Japanese fleet would be mustered against the threat posed by
Kirov.

“Do you really mean to push this, sir? Are you looking for war
here again?”

“What of that, Rodenko? You don’t expect us to take a pleasure
cruise here, do you? We were sent to sea as a warship in the service of our
homeland. We have fought twice with that charge already. We don’t lay it down
simply because we find ourselves here now.”

“Respectfully, sir… May I speak my mind freely on this?”

“Of course. Let me hear what you have to say.”

“Are you certain you do this in the service of our homeland?”

Karpov gave his
Starpom
a long look at that, as if he were
trying to see into his real mindset and discern what his objection was.
“Alright, Rodenko. I sense you do not approve of what I have done here with
this cargo vessel. Let me hear your reasoning.” He folded his hands on the desk
where he had been studying Fedorov’s books, waiting, a look of impatience
belying the apparent openness he offered at the moment.

“Well, sir… We have no commission to fight in these waters, not if
this is, indeed, the year 1908. Anything we do here could have dramatic
repercussions on all future history, and I think we should be very cautious.
You have announced yourself at Vladivostok, and they will soon learn that St.
Petersburg knows nothing about us. I thought that was very unwise—in fact, I
thought it somewhat pretentious. Now you have attacked these unarmed merchant
ships, and it will certainly lead to more trouble here.”

“Yes, it will, and that is by design, Captain Lieutenant.” The use
of Rodenko’s rank in place of his name was ample evidence that the Captain did
not appreciate those remarks. “Now…It is my intention to gain the attention of
our adversaries here, and let them know what they are dealing with. Only then
can we make demands they may heed.”

“But why, sir? Why start another war here that was never fought in
the history we know? Haven’t we done enough already?”

“Because the last war that
was
fought in the history ended
quite badly for Russia. Wouldn’t you agree? If Orlov were here he would put it
quite plainly. We got our asses kicked, and by a third rate emerging state. It
may have been pure chance that we arrived here after that last detonation, and
frankly, I see no way home again short of firing off another warhead. That I
will not do. So we are here, and with the power to redress a century and more
of hardship for our country. I’m going to use that power, and this is only the
beginning. The real game remains to be played. Soon they will begin moving
their pawns and minor pieces about, but we are the great black Queen now, and
we can defeat them all. You doubt this?”

“We can certainly beat any ship they have, sir, but their entire
fleet? Won’t that just be a repeat of what we just faced in 1945?”

“Of course not. These ships are no match for us now. They are mere
toys in a bathtub compared to
Kirov
. The sooner the Japanese learn that
their Imperial Navy is useless as a tool of foreign policy as long as we sail
these waters, the better. The lessons start today.”

 “And what about the Japanese Army? We will be entirely powerless
to influence any outcome on land, sir. If the present Japanese government does
not comply, what can you do? We certainly can’t put men ashore on the Japanese
mainland. For that matter we could not even control Port Arthur with our
present naval infantry contingent.”

“That remains to be seen. My hope is that the Japanese will not
wish to sacrifice their precious navy and be relegated to the status of a
feudal power here again. I have been reading Fedorov’s books! The development
of the Imperial Japanese Navy is essential to their ability to project power in
the Pacific. We can break that navy as it stands, and prevent any further
development. If they fail to comply after that, other measures can be taken,
but I do not anticipate this. These are not the Japanese of the 1940s, Rodenko.
They defeated Russia, yes, we all know that history and have studied it in our
naval academy, but now we have a chance to reverse those losses. We have a
chance to prevent Japan from getting rooted in Manchuria and the Pacific as a
major power. Don’t you see this, Rodenko? We can prevent the war in the Pacific
from ever being fought. We can stop Imperial Japan from rising like a shadow on
the world scene—right here, right now.”

Rodenko still had a sullen, troubled expression on his face.
“That’s another tall order for twenty-one missiles and four thousand rounds of
deck gun ammunition, sir.”

“It isn’t the amount of force that matters now,” Karpov said quickly.
“The fact that we can apply that force, wherever needed, and without putting
this ship at risk, is decisive here. Understand? And don’t forget that we can
also count on the support of our own countrymen here. You saw the welcome we
received in Vladivostok.”

“Is that what all this nonsense about the Viceroy of the East was
about, Captain?”

“That was mere theater,” Karpov waved his hand dismissively. “What
else would I call myself with these men? I simply use a title they might
understand.”

“So you intend to provoke a fight here? You are looking to sink
more ships; seek a major engagement?”

“Whatever it may take to achieve my objective, Rodenko. And don’t
get squeamish on me now.” He pointed a finger at his Executive Officer,
somewhat annoyed. “I made you
Starpom
because you were senior bridge officer;
more mature, and with more experience than any of the others. But now you begin
to sound like Doctor Zolkin! This is war. You know the old quotation—war is the
continuation of politics by other means. If you do not have what it takes to
stand at your post, I can find another officer to replace you. Otherwise, I
expect your voice to second mine in these matters, particularly in combat.
There is no room for equivocation in battle. You must either commit yourself or
stand down.”

Rodenko could see that there was no room for negotiation with the
Captain now. It was as if he had crossed some inner Rubicon, and now saw the
days ahead as the decisive moment of this entire affair. On the one hand, he
could see what Karpov was aiming for. If they could stop Japan and prevent the
war in the Pacific while bettering Russia’s position in the world, it seemed a
noble objective. But something told him there was a darkness behind that
outwardly glowing aim in Karpov’s mind. He had seen it in the Captain before,
and feared it was emerging again, bolder now than ever.

They left it there, with Rodenko leaving the bridge to resume his rest
shift, but it was not long before the radar station again reported contacts in
the Tsugaru Straits, heading west, and approaching the ship, and this time they
were not simple steamers.

* * *

The
9th Torpedo-Boat Division had been training in the bay off Amori
for the last week before returning to Sasebo to rejoin the main fleet. It was
composed of four Torpedo boats, forerunners of the ship class that would be
called destroyers in the years ahead. Commander Kawase flew his Broad Pennant
aboard the
Aotaka
, the first of its class, and he led three more boats
behind him, the
Kari, Tsubame
and
Hato
. They were no more than
small patrol craft 150 long tons each, but very fast at 29 knots. Lined up end
to end the 45 meter boats would seem puny next to
Kirov
, and they
carried small 2.2 inch, 57mm guns. Their real purpose was to rush in and deliver
their three 14 inch torpedoes to a larger enemy ship, and in this they had
considerable success against the Russians in the last war.