John Schettler - Armageddon

It was as good a plan as any they might have devised, risky, impossible, yet the only way forward at that moment. Fedorov reached Vladivostok with a heavy heart, the grey skies and late autumn mist still folded about the hills that surrounded the city and the port of the Golden Horn Bay. It seemed a lifetime or more since he had come here on the battered battlecruiser Kirov, standing on the weather deck with Karpov as they watched the shoreline grow closer. There they had tried to make sense of the mystery that had taken them to the fire of past. Was it all a dream, a nightmare? The scars on the ship dispelled that notion with their cruel mark of war.

He had watched, dumbfounded, as the ship dueled with British carriers and battleships in the North Atlantic, and he saw the awful fire of atomic weapons unleashed on an unsuspecting foe. He had stood in awe at Admiral Volsky’s side as he greeted the famous John Tovey, Commander of the British Home Fleet. He stood astounded and shaken as the battleship Yamato burned in the dark of the Coral Sea. Now all these memories and impossible experiences piled one on another in his mind as he contemplated what they had to do.

“It’s the only way, Admiral,” he said, a sadness in his eyes. “We started this, and now we must finish it. A submarine is the only way we could get there and still have any authority. It’s already clear that Karpov will not listen to reason, at least not from me.”

The men were meeting in the deep underground bunker at Naval Headquarters Fokino, and the atmosphere there was now very tense. Fedorov had come in with Chief Dobrynin, and it was a very happy reunion until they realized the enormity of the situation before them now.

“Suppose I were to come with you,” said Volsky. “Yes, I think I must do this. I could add the weight of my own authority to the situation. A direct order to Karpov to desist and rendezvous with us may be all that is required. What do you think, Director?”

Kamenski raised an eyebrow as he spoke. “Perhaps, Admiral. I was thinking to invite you on a little vacation with me, but now it seems this will not be the wisest course. Yes. I think you should go with this bright young man here, and if you wouldn’t mind my company, I should like to come along as well. Perhaps there is something I could contribute to the situation, another mind and voice in the mix.”

“Very well, then it’s agreed, but this will be a very perilous journey, Kamenski.”

“Most likely-are there any other kind when the world is at the edge of Armageddon and it has come down to the four of us here to save it from certain oblivion? Yes, that’s a tall order for any chef I know. I must be sure to bring along my very best tea.”

Volsky smiled, feeling just a little more hopeful. Something in the manner of this ex-KGB man was most disarming. He had a quiet inner strength that might see him calmly lighting his pipe or brewing up tea as the world came tumbling down in its final, terrible crash. That thought set Volsky’s mind on the urgency of their situation, and he reached for the secure line to Moscow, knowing their time could be running out, even as he spoke.

“I think we had better see if Moscow is getting ready to burn down the house. I will put a call through to Suchkov, Chief of the Navy. He will certainly be in on any final decisions to be made on this matter.”

It took time, as the persistent electromagnetic effects in the heavily occluded atmosphere due to the Demon Volcano eruption were impeding normal radio communications. In the end he had to switch to a land line.

“That monster in the Kuriles has everything fouled up. Communications are spotty all through the region. The ash cloud is so massive that it is generating its own weather! Imagine lightning in the midst of all that. The only consolation is that the Admirals and Generals may have trouble ordering their sailors and soldiers to kill one another.”

Volsky smiled wanly as he continued to wait on the line. Eventually he was able to get through, and they all listened on speaker phone as he and Suchkov spoke of the current situation, discussing the sudden escalation that was now expected after the bold Chinese riposte in detonating a nuclear warhead over the west coast of the United States.

“Listen Suchkov. You and I have had our disagreements in the past, but there is no time for that now. Everything depends on what may happen here in the next twelve hours.”

“Events are taking their course, Admiral.” The voice of Suchkov was thin and drawn on the speakerphone. “The Chinese reprisal for those American missile bomber strikes on their satellite facilities was unexpected, and we both know the Americans will not let it go unanswered. We have brought the strategic arm of our forces to a high level of preparedness as a signal to the Americans. Perhaps they will be cautious now, or at least have second thoughts before they lob a missile at Beijing.”

“Yes, but this could also force the Americans to their DEFCON One! They will prepare all their missiles for launch as well. Then we stand on the razor’s edge, and anything could tip the balance into utter chaos. You must do whatever you can to prevent a strategic missile launch now, not start one!” Volsky’s voice was strident with his effort to persuade the Navy Chief and, as he finished, Kamenski leaned in, whispering something in his ear.

“Hold on, Suchkov,” said Volsky. “There is someone else here who wishes to speak to you.” He gestured to Kamenski, who sat down slowly, leaning forward heavily on the table.

“Greetings my old friend.”

“Pavel?…Pavel Kamenski?”

“One and the same, Suchkov. I am here with Admiral Volsky, and I must concur with everything he says. We are going to try something here, and we need time. You must do whatever you can to give us that time. Understood?”

There was silence on the line for a good long while, and they heard other voices murmuring in the background. Then Suchkov’s voice returned, more subdued now, yet edged with a tone of fatalism. “What is it you are planning? What are you going to do?”

“You must leave that to me, Suchkov, but rest assured, we have a plan. There are others in the room with you that will know something of what I speak of now, but I can say nothing more here, not even on this secure line. I have come to learn in my day that things are seldom as secure as one might believe. You must trust that Admiral Volsky and I will manage the situation. Once the missiles launch they cannot be called back. So do everything in your power to delay that final moment. Call Beijing at once.”

“But what about the Americans? What if they launch first?”

“Then you will have plenty of time to launch second. What difference will any of that make if this happens, Suchkov? You have already shown the Americans your fist. Now I advise you to stand down the missile bastions for twenty-four hours, and tell the Americans you are doing this. That will send another signal, yes? This too will give them reason for second thoughts about answering the Chinese missile attack. As for Beijing, tell them that unless they desist from any further actions of this nature they will not have our support should the Americans target their homeland. They have seen you readying your missiles, and this only emboldens them. Without us they could never hope to prevail or even deter a strategic strike from the Americans. When they see us stand down to a lower level of alert, that will give them reason for second thoughts as well. Then perhaps Admiral Volsky and I will have the time we need to see what we can do here.”