I used to want to do that when I was younger.”
“You Isaak, flying those things. Not for me. I don’t care for them, they have their uses; but not for me,” said Captain Orlov, laughing.
“I did once, but not now.” They walked into Peter’s and took a table on the left.
“Two big ones,” said Kuzma.
“You want Kirov’s stuff?” asked Peter.
“Yes, his Vodka is better than that normal shit. But we’re only allowed three, OK?”
“Ok, two Kirov’s coming up. You want burgers, onions?”
“You feed us like Hank the Yank. You’re a bad man. Yes, go on, why not.”
Peter served them the vodka. “There you are, Captains. Are you going out to sea today?”
“No,” said Isaak Sokolov, “some maintenance today.”
After a few minutes, Peter served the burgers. “ Fine sirs I bet they don’t serve those on a submarine.”
“We’ll take you out on one when we do a test dive. You can cook.”
Peter smiled. “Not with all that nuclear shit down there.”
The two laughed and tucked into their burgers.
“How is Volk?” asked Kuzma.
“She’s nearly ready. We’ve had a couple of software wizards on board upgrading the Mk 540. It needed it.”
Captain Kuzma Orlov smiled. “Yes, I had them aboard Leopard two months ago. The 540’s good at times, but you’ll find the sonar is a lot better after the upgrade.” The two Captains eventually left Peter’s and walked off down the hill.
“Look, Kuzma. There’s a fine sight.”
“Yes, Isaak. There’s a beauty about the beast, and that sight’s the proof.”
Alongside the pier were two Akula class submarines. The Leopard and the Volk.
“The Leopard and the Wolf, two of the most beautiful and deadly hunters that there are.”
The two boats were a work of underwater beauty. Three hundred and sixty two feet long by 45 feet in the beam. When you faced an Akula, you faced 12,700 tons of submerged hell with a curved sleek hull and swept sail. The protruding teardrop shaped pod raised above her stern streamed her passive towed array sonar. Up forward she had eight torpedo tubes arranged in two horizontal rows of four. She was quiet; the submarine’s ace card. Even the USN admitted that.
A car pulled up to a stop.
A sailor climbed out and saluted Captain Orlov, the squadron commander.
“Sir, we have an urgent communication from Fleet Command. It’s War State two.”
Orlov hadn’t expected that today. He motioned to his friend and colleague.
“Come on Isaak, get in.”
The men climbed into the car and it made its way down to the pier. Sokolov followed Orlov onto the boat’s deck, the Captains climbed the Leopard’s sail and made their way into the control room.
The XO saluted, Orlov returned it.
“Pavel, let’s look.” The Communications Officer handed the slip to Orlov. He let Captain Sokolov look over his shoulder.
ВОЕННОЕ ГОСУДАРСТВО 2
RNAZ 864T33 BSF
СЕВЕРНЫЙ ФЛОТ НАВИАЛЬНЫЕ СИЛЫ РОССИИ. NF7Y902
ЧЕРНОМОРСКИЙ ФЛОТ
В ЛЕОПАРД
ФЛОТ НАВИАЛЬНЫЕ // ID N7FF5IK //
MSGID / ФЛОТ НАВИАЛЬНЫЕ ФАКТИЧЕСКИЙ //
HАЧАЛО СООБЩЕНИЯ: //
ПУТЬ К МОРЕ НЕМЕДЛЕННО. ВЫПОЛНИТЬ ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИЮ ЧЕРНЫЙ ШТОР.
CООБЩЕНИЕ ЗАКАНЧИВАЕТСЯ//
TRANSLATION:
WAR STATE 2
RNAZ 864T33 BSF
NORTHERN FLEET NAVAL FORCES RUSSIA. NF7Y902
VIA BLACK SEA FLEET
TO LEOPARD
NORTHEN FLEET// ID N7FF5IK//
MSGID/NORTHEN FLEET ACTUAL//
MSG BEGINS://
PUT TO SEA IMMEDIATELY. EXECUTE OPERATION BLACK STORM.
MSG END//
“That’s it Isaak. Operation Black Storm.” He turned to his comrade. “It means only one thing.”
“Yes, Kuzma. We’re at war.”
Captain Orlov had dreaded the day; yet he’d yearned for it too. As squadron commander, he’d lead the two boats. “Put to sea, Sokolov. I’ll flash signal you west of the breakwater.”
“Aye sir.” Captain Isaak Sokolov left the Leopard and returned to the Volk.
The two Akula class boats passed the breakwater in bright sunlight, with a strong breeze from the north.
Captain Orlov looked out over the ocean; she was a glorious sight. To his starboard side was Volk, pushing her way gracefully against the waves. Orlov flashed his signal light to his comrade on Volk’s sail. It was acknowledged. He flashed out his signal.
It was an adaptation of Foreign Secretary Molotov’s message after Germany's invasion of June 1941.
“Each one of us must demand of himself and of others discipline, organization and self-denial worthy of real Russian patriots, in order to provide for all the needs of the Army, Navy and Air Force, to ensure victory over the enemy.”
Orlov climbed down into the sail, closed and sealed the hatches.
He looked around the control room, his crew were ready, they knew this was no ordinary patrol.
“Flood forward one and two. Open and trim all vents fore and aft. Make for depth. Planesman, down bubble ten, make your depth one hundred metres. Speed 20 kmh.”
On that bright sunlit day, Leopard and Volk slid below the waves, down into the dark depths of the Black Sea.
THE CHIEF OF NAVAL Operations Admiral Manning sat after finishing his presentation.
“Did we have any advance warning of this Operation Black Storm?” asked NSA Collins.
“No,” said the Director of the CIA.
“There was a lot of static flying over Ukraine, but that’s what you’d expect.”
“Mr President. I request that we go immediately to DEFCON 3,” said the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Do it,” said the President.
“So the Russians can just do it,” said NSA Collins. He shrugged and raised his palms. “Just mobilise the Black Sea Fleet and flood out of the Black Sea into the Med, and that’s it? The sixth Fleet just has to put up with it?”
“Pretty much, yes,” replied Admiral Manning.
“So just how big is this Black Sea Fleet?” asked NSA Collins. “What are we facing?”
Admiral Manning took a document out of his brief wallet.
“One Guided Missile Cruiser, one Guided Missile Destroyer, five Guided Missile Frigates, six Diesel Attack Submarines, seven Landing Ships, seven Corvettes, eight Minesweepers, eight Guided Missile or ASW boats. Air power: 25th Independent Anti-submarine Helicopter Regiment with 20 helicopters. 43rd Independent Naval Shturmovik Air Squadron with 22 Su-24M strike aircraft. They have some ships and submarines transferred from the Northern Fleet.” The Admiral looked up over his glasses. “All in all, it’s a very sizable force. It’s to be treated with great respect.”
The NSA sat back and sighed. “So, this is revenge for our infiltration of Sevastopol and the sinking of their Kilo submarine?”
The Director of the CIA crossed his arms on the table. “There is some background to this. You’ll all be aware of Russia’s activities in the Eastern Ukraine. We have an asset who’s made contact with the Ukraine resistance. We’ve had some notice that the Russians were looking to make a move. From what we can tell, Sevastopol and the Kilo are smokescreens.”
“The Russians in Sevastopol did open fire first on the USS New York City. The Kilo was about to attack,” said Admiral Manning.
The Director of the CIA carried on. “Like I said: smokescreens. Let’s face it, Admiral, we did infiltrate their main naval base with an SSN. It did feed their hawks. We think they fear a move by us into the Black Sea over the Ukraine situation. They expect us to take advantage of the crisis. So, this Fleet flooding out into the Med is to counter that.”