“Considering that we’ll be joining the fight here, one way or another, I suppose that would be inevitable. Could you arrange a meeting, even if it is via this secure radio protocol? I haven’t resolved the issue of chain of command insofar as it concerns this task force, and I’d like to discuss this with him.”
The thought of speaking directly with the legendary Admiral Yamamoto was lure enough for Kita. Seeing the man alive was even more, and it would put a face to this impossible scenario in a way the sailors aboard the IJN tanker could not quite do. The decision they had made to intervene in this war would begin by attempting to remove the contagion of Kirov from the scene, but it may not end there, and Kita wanted to set the ground rules for future operations.
In all this deliberation, the Japanese had no way of knowing that Karpov himself was now operating with a new agenda, one also aimed at eliminating the contamination of modern influences on this historical milieu. At least that is what Karpov agreed to on the surface in his meeting with Fedorov, Volsky and Gromyko.
“So we’re agreed on a common aim here,” said Fedorov. ‘The question now is how to proceed?”
“Then we can safely say this mission Kamenski dreamed up is dead?” Karpov did not want to leave any stone unturned. He eyed Gromyko, sizing up the one potential adversary here that he would prefer not to have a disagreement with.
“If we are agreed on this common purpose,” said Gromyko, “then I can assume my mission is being collectively undertaken by all of us.”
“Then let’s be clear,” said Karpov. “There will be no hostilities between us, correct?”
“You have my word on that, if you’ll give me the same.”
“Done,” said Karpov. “Frankly, neither one of us could operate here worrying about the other putting a missile into our backsides when we weren’t looking. With your agreement, I will data link with you to make the handshake official. That means we will each see the other’s location at all times. So we can dispense with this theater of sneaking the Admiral ashore here and you lurking in the depths.”
“A submarine Captain is, by his very nature, a cautious man,” said Gromyko. “But I will agree to this.” Gromyko knew he would not be operating close to Kirov in any case, and if this truce were to break down, he could terminate the data link at any time.
“Alright then,” said Karpov. “We’re allies, united in a common purpose, and let no one stand to oppose us. First order of business—this rogue destroyer… It’s clearly thrown in with the Japanese, and if I am to cease my intervention here, which is asking a great deal of me, then we must assure ourselves that ship will not be interfering here either. It must be destroyed.”
“We had a good chance at doing that earlier,” said Fedorov, “but we determined it wasn’t worth the missile inventory required. That was because you intended to use those missiles another way, but if we hold to this agreement, then the sole purpose of everything we have under that forward deck is to enforce the understanding we have reached here—that all modern day influences must be purged from this timeline, including ourselves… Kirov, Kazan, Captains and crew, including Admirals and heads of state.” He glanced at Karpov with that.
“Yes, yes,” said Karpov. “Let’s begin with this Japanese destroyer. When we last locked horns, it was in the Sea of Okhotsk, and operating with an IJN task force. We warned off the battleships with a missile, then ignored them to go after this Takami. I suspected they may have had carriers, which I should have killed, but we never located them. In any case, we must determine how to locate this rogue ship and coordinate our efforts to kill it. Their SAMs are quite effective, but they can’t stop torpedoes with them, can they.” He looked at Gromyko.
“Frankly,” said the Captain. “The weapon I best use to kill a ship is my stealth. It doesn’t matter whether I use a missile or torpedo to do the job. Stealth gives me my firing angle, and I take it. But a good sub Captain never takes a shot unless he thinks it will kill his adversary…. unless ordered to do so, like that engagement we fought with the Americans off Japan in 2021.”
“It was necessary to saturate that carrier with as many missiles as we could put on it,” said Karpov. “But let’s not refight that old battle. It was already won. Here is my theory on how we can locate this Japanese destroyer. All we have to do is threaten a key asset of the IJN. That was partly my reason for striking Truk as I did, and now I propose that we up the ante and move to strike their forward base at Rabaul, just as you advised earlier, Mister Fedorov.”
“But we decided we will no longer intervene here.”
“True, but a threat to intervene might flush out our quarry.”
“That’s a fine line. Even the threat compels the Japanese of this era to take countermeasures they would not have undertaken if we were not here. Don’t you see? They would deploy ships to try and defend against such an attack. I’ll bet Yamamoto is pulling what little hair he has left out over our presence here.”
“Perhaps he ordered that rogue ship to try and ambush us,” said Karpov. “All I’m proposing is pushing on them a little to get them to calling their sheep dog. I understand what you are saying, Fedorov, but do you have a better idea as to how we can locate Takami? You want me to burn aviation fuel and run the KA-40s all over creation trying to find that ship?”
Karpov hesitated a moment, reaching to his service jacket collar and pressing a hidden button there. Fedorov heard a tinny voice, and he realized Karpov’s jacket was wirelessly receiving a signal voice transmission, undoubtedly from Nikolin aboard Kirov.
“One moment…” Karpov held up his hand, listening, then spoke aloud, but to Nikolin at the other end of that transmission. “You say it was a direct call—in the clear?… Very well. Stand by, Mister Nikolin. Have the KA-40 vector back into my position here on this island. We’ll be returning to the ship directly.”
Karpov looked up at the others. “How is it the Americans say it? Bingo! Nikolin just received a voice transmission from the Captain of Takami. He wants to have a little chat!” Karpov beamed. “I guess this solves our problem. Who knows what this Captain Harada may want to say to me, but I’ll certainly listen, and all the while, I’ll put Nikolin—along with your man on Kazan, to work triangulating his position. We’ve got the bastards. I suggest we get back to Kirov immediately. Admiral, you are welcome to join us aboard Kirov if you wish—but with the understanding that command of that ship, in every respect, resides with me.”
Volsky thought about that, pulled by the desire to see the ship and crew again, to walk those decks, revisit his cabin and stateroom aboard, listen to the ship again at night as he so often did. Yet Karpov’s last statement gave him pause. There he would be, standing in the dark shadow of Vladimir Karpov. The memories of how he felt when Karpov arranged his ruse to seize control of the ship at Murmansk were also still bitter in his mind. While he longed to see those old faces again, particularly his dear friend Doctor Zolkin, he had second thoughts. Being there, would bring an obvious palpable tension aboard with him. The crew might become involved with that, and so he thought the better of Karpov’s offer, and declined.
“No, Mister Karpov, I think one Admiral is enough on any ship. Two will invariably step on one another’s toes. If you don’t mind, I will return with Captain Gromyko to Kazan.
This scenario was most unexpected. The Japanese had devised a strategy to flush out Kirov, thinking Karpov considered them nothing more than a nuisance. Harada’s ploy to call out Karpov like Achilles before the walls of Troy was about to backfire on him in a way he could not imagine. He thought Karpov wouldn’t waste another shot at his missile defense shield, but now, by directly revealing himself, he was walking towards the lion’s den.