Roger Ellis - AK-239

Vasili, looking worried, “Is it armed?”

Now I’m worried, “I sure hope not.” I hesitate then say, “However some of these things have the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), that system is above my pay grade to know what it does. Doesn’t look like any weapons are on those sponsons.”

I can see I’ve really worried the captain. But that was nothing compared with what we saw next:

U.S. Navy’s newest class of destroyers, USS Zumwalt, (DDG-1000) steams around the southern-most corner of Prince of Wales Island.

Our escort, Skull, in his small rubber boat puts up the “All stop” signal.

Vasili understands.

He picks up his phone and says, “Conn to engine room, all stop.”

“Engine to conn, aye, captain, all stop,” is heard over the conn speaker.

I yell down to Skull,

“You getting any radioactive readings here?”

Skull shakes his head no. Then yells,

“Negative.”

Vasili looks at the Zumwalt and her two 155mm guns aimed at us and says,

“I’ve read about the Zumwalt . Now I get to see her in person. I’ll bet no other Russian can say that!”

I smile at this guy’s excitement for all things American.

I ask, “All right, here’s a question for you: How many nautical miles can those 155s shoot?

“Accurately?”

I nod affirmative.

Vasili then says, “I think it’s fifty-nine nautical miles but Russian propaganda says that’s just American propaganda.”

I smile, “Impressive. You know your propaganda or as I’d call that: Facts!”

“Here’s a few other facts for you: Someone can control that ship from thousands of miles away. It’s here to make sure we don’t have hostile intent.”

Vasili says, “What’s the skill in killing someone from an armchair, thousands of miles away?”

I answer, “Oh the Navy kills up close and personal too. That’s when they send me. At least that’s the way they used to do it.”

I’m now thinking about those weird ghosts I saw.

Vasili could not believe all of these strange and surreal new weapons of war.

“I think she looks beautiful,” says Jen.

I am thinking the same of her. Uh oh, she seemed to catch that ‘cause she smiles at me.

I quickly change the subject back to my prior thought,

“As a SEAL I killed up, very close and very personal. Personally, I’m jealous of Navy kids. More and more are out of the danger zone.”

Then I thought of those ghosts again.

Are Navy SEALs like me: Obsolete?

(From my next diary: Projekt 252: Californium I would say: Definitely not!)

Vasili says, “Count me out of that war.”

The sleek looking USS Zumwalt is now alongside us. A wide variety of sensors, intelligence inputs, cameras and radiation devices are focusing on TK-20 .

Both ships are at all stop and crews are tying together.

A side door opens on the Zumwalt and a sailor gives me a hand signal.

I say to Vasili, “We’ve just been invited aboard.”

Vasili climbs down the conn, “All right, then.”

Jen and I follow.

The three of us pop open the side conning tower door and head for the Zumwalt. U.S. sailors check us for weapons.

A man in dress blues then appears at the side door on the USS Zumwalt. I quickly recognize the admiral bars.

“Admiral Kenneth Baker, United States Navy, welcome to: The Gulf of Alaska Yacht Club.”

That’s funny, but no one, including me reacts.

“You must be Captain Vasili. Welcome to America. And on behalf of the President of the United States he says, thank you.”

Vasili’s not impressed.

However, he is impressed by the commander’s opening joke.

“So that was a joke then? Yacht Club?”

The admiral smiles, “Yes, that was a joke, captain.”

Vasili smiles.

The admiral teasingly then says, So, how long do you intend to visit the United States, captain?”

“Visit? I intend to stay!” says Vasili. He continues, “You think any of us can go back to Russia after giving you a billion-dollar secret sub? Every Russian sub is probably on its way here, right now.

This concerns me as I know there is at least one other Typhoon lurking out there somewhere.

Admiral Baker seems totally unconcerned. “We now know what your unique caterpillar signature looks like and we know the closest Typhoon has just turned around under the Arctic and is headed back to Russia.”

Vasili looks a bit sad.

Admiral Baker tries to cheer him up: “Looks like the three people I’m standing in front of right now single handedly avoided a nuclear war. I salute you lady and gentlemen.”

Jennifer looks to have some sense of satisfaction. She said she never, ever received that when she was in the Navy.

Suddenly there is a commotion coming from the front hatch. Armed sailors on the Zumwalt train their weapons on TK-20.

A Russian sailor is trying to pull Stone out of the front hatch.

“Damn it, I’m too fat to get out of this one too!”

The armed U.S. sailors still have their weapons trained on Stone as the rest of us laugh.

I say, “That is one large target.”

Admiral Baker says to his men,

“Stand down, sailors. That may be a threat but not to us!”

Jen and I smile at each other again for a long time before we realize the admiral may be on to us too.

Vasili clearly didn’t see or get much of that, saying,

“I’m concerned about my three missing officers, they’re real fighters, especially my second in command. He will fight to the death.

The admiral starts to say, “I deeply regret the actions …”

Vasili interrupts, “Try to take him alive. His father and the president of Russia are close friends.”

“We will do everything to take him and your other two officers alive but they have already wounded several FBI agents.

I have my wounded arm covered up with a shirt Vasili gave me.

Behind us, many of TK-20 ’s crew are being taken off the boat.

The admiral notices Vasili is seeing this and again looks very sad.

Admiral Baker tries to cheer him up again saying, “Can we not talk any more shop? I’ll bet you haven’t had breakfast. What would you like to eat, captain?”

“Ham and eggs?” quickly replies Vasili.

“Ham and eggs it is!” just as quickly replies the admiral.

A short time later the admiral, Jen and I, along with Captain Vasili, two Russian officers, Stone and Tony sit together in one long table in the officers’ mess eating breakfast.

Considering the situation, the mood seems light and airy among the Americans.

However, the two Russian officers look long faced and quiet.

The Admiral directs his fire to Jennifer,

“So commander, I’m glad you returned to commanding submarines but you did you really have to defect to a Russian sub to do it?”

The Americans laugh but the Russians don’t.

Vasili translates this into Russian for them.

Now the Russians laugh.

Jennifer is still not laughing.

“Do you miss it?” asks the admiral.

After pondering the question Jennifer answers,

“I do.”

She pauses thinking about this and the admiral sees he’s hit a painful subject and goes back to eating. Everyone goes back to eating, following the admiral’s lead.

Stone chimes in, “I’m just glad you didn’t drop a bomb on my fucking head!”

All silence in the room as Admiral Baker looks at this guy up and down.

“So you’re the foul mouth Pinnacle has been cussing and swearing about?”

“Damn straight!”

Admiral stands.

Everybody freaks out, standing, not knowing what will happen next.