“Good, Volkov. Very good. Yes, I will drink with you now, and we have much to discuss. Oh… One other thing. Rename that damn airship, and have it done before I leave here today.”
At this Volkov laughed, reaching in his pocket again. But this time he pulled out a pair of good cigars.
Part V
“How puzzling all these changes are! I'm never sure what I'm going to be, from one minute to another… I wonder if I've been changed in the night. Let me think. Was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I'm not the same, the next question is 'Who in the world am I?' Ah, that's the great puzzle!”
Chapter 13
June 21, 1940
Kirov winked out a lamp signal in farewell as the ship turned north, easing away from HMS Invincible. In the heat of the battle they had made a very timely intervention. Just as the second air strike was vectoring in on the stricken Hood, five lethal S-400 SAMs had swatted the leading elements from the sky. Then a single P-900 had been sent directly against the presumed fleet flagship, the Bismarck, and its dramatic approach and impact had the same effect on Lindemann that it had on Hoffmann.
When Rodenko got the radar report that the Germans appeared to be breaking off to the north there was only one more consideration- Scharnhorst and Gneisenau had been hastening to the scene, and might arrive right on Tovey’s rear left flank. Approaching on that same flank, Volsky decided to put on speed, and show his silhouette to the Germans. The sudden appearance of the same mysterious ship he had seen earlier, along with Lindemann’s orders to alter course and withdraw, had been enough to cool the ardor of Hoffmann, eager as he was to lock horns with their adversaries.
“Don’t count the Germans out just yet,” said Fedorov. “They were not beaten here. Absent our intervention I would have given odds that the Kriegsmarine would have written a decisive victory into the history books in this engagement. My God, look at Hood!”
Once the pride of the fleet before HMS Invincible took those laurels, Hood looked like a beaten and broken fighter who had barely managed to hang on to the late rounds and was saved by the bell. Her B-turret was out of action, a boiler room severely damaged, her aft funnel all but shredded, leaving a constant pall of acrid smoke over the ship as it steamed pathetically along in Tovey’s wake. Admiral Holland was wounded, but would recover, as would many other senior officers, though Captain Glennie had been killed in action and the ship was currently being mastered by a relatively inexperienced Lieutenant Commander Warrand. Tovey made arrangements to immediately have a ranking officer flown out from Rosyth to Reykjavik to take over command of the ship, Captain Ralph Kerr.
Admiral Volsky had decided not to arrange a second meeting with Tovey just yet. He felt that it was necessary to first meet with those in power in the Russian homeland, realizing that he alone could not in any way guarantee or deliver on any offer of support or alliance.
“I am master of this ship, Fedorov,” he had explained, “and I think we have won a measure of good will here that will come in handy in the months ahead. Yet we cannot commit Russia to a wartime alliance with Britain on our own, nor should our actions here be interpreted as such a grace by Admiral Tovey. What we must do now is meet with the man this ship was named for-Sergie Kirov. So I want to press on north as soon as possible. We can herd the Germans along as we go.”
“I understand, Admiral.”
“Where do you think the German fleet will head now?”
“I doubt that the fleet commander here had full authority in this engagement, sir. It is very likely that his commitment of capital ships to open battle with the Royal Navy was conditional. I think the attack we made on Graf Zeppelin was very shocking to the Germans, even if we apparently did not hit the carrier itself.”
“Yes, I suppose they will be wondering just where the ship was that attacked them.”
“Indeed, sir. Radar returns showed they flew wide area search patterns all around the ship’s position. It seemed clear to me that they were trying to answer that very question. That uncertainty, the damage we put on Gneisenau, the loss of their destroyer and that tanker we sunk, and the hit we put on Bismarck all seemed to be enough rocks in the wheelbarrow to give them pause. It is my belief that Admiral Raeder gave orders that the fleet was not to be put at risk of sustaining serious losses.”
“You believe they will return to Germany?”
“That depends on the extent of the damage they have actually sustained. These were very tough ships, well armored, very durable. I don't think we really hurt Bismarck that badly, though the damage we put on Gneisenau appeared to be more extensive. That ship may need to return to a German shipyard for repairs. Scharnhorst will most likely return to Trondheim or another Norwegian port. If the history I know holds true, that ship will need work on its engines and turbines soon, but for now it should still be considered an operational threat. As for the battleships, I cannot see that Raeder would want them in any Norwegian port at this time. They are too important to leave exposed to potential attacks by the R.A.F. My guess is that they will return to Bremen.”
“Then if we sail north in their wake we may not have to face this entire battle group again anytime soon I hope.”
“Once we get out of the Denmark Strait there is a lot of sea room in the Norwegian Sea, Admiral. I think we could sail North and safely avoid engagement, but you are correct, the Germans may no longer have battle on their mind until they can learn more about what has actually happened here. They will be very curious as to what these weapons we used are, and what ship fired them.”
“Then I think we will pay our respects to Admiral Tovey, and be on our way.”
“You're going to meet with him again, sir?”
“No, I think I will have Nikolin send over a message, and perhaps we might send a boat over with a box of good cigars.”
That is what Volsky decided he would do, and in the box he enclosed a personal note to Admiral John Tovey, which he hoped would keep the door open for better days ahead. In this way they avoided the inevitable questions regarding the weapons they had put on full display here. The less said the better, thought Volsky, but he had at least avoided the scenario they had already lived through once in these waters-a hostile engagement with the powerful Royal Navy. As to their future cooperation, Volsky wrote that he would do everything possible to further such an arrangement and hoped to meet again soon.
Admiral Tovey, he wrote. So today you have seen that there is a little more on the deck of my ship than three 5.7-inch gun turrets. We were pleased to be able to render assistance in this engagement, and look to better days ahead. I will speak with my government soon, and you should expect to hear from me again in the future. It may be that Kirov will sail south again and I would be most willing to shake hands with you if a welcome remains there for us. My respects to you, and regrets for any loss of life your fleet may have sustained in this engagement. I find it fortunate that the German Navy wisely elected to return home, and I will see to it that you are informed if any of their ships take a wayward course to the south. For now, I bid you farewell as I point the bow of my ship north, and think of home.
Highest regards,
Admiral Leonid Volsky
The lantern winked out ‘fair weather, farewell.’ Then Kirov eased away from the big British battlecruiser, put on speed, and slowly slipped ahead into the night that would never be born that day. His intention was to sail north for the island and Jan Mayen, the frigid Arctic outpost that had been so instrumental when they first appeared here, a lifetime ago it seemed now. It was there that Fedorov had his first flash of genius, saying that all they needed to do was to overfly that island with a helicopter to look for the weather installation facilities to determine whether they were still in their own time or not. So it had been a key piece of the incredible puzzle they had put together to make it clear that something impossible had happened to them, and they were no longer in their own time.