John Schettler - Devil's Garden

“It is your job to sort through all the cobwebs in the diplomatic cupboards, Baron. I will confine myself to the military realities of the situation. If this ship is heading south as reported, and if it does intend to create a major incident, then the military solution to this is very simple.”

“What do you suggest?”

“This ship cannot get into any position to enforce a blockade in the Sea of Japan. That is too much area to be patrolled by a single vessel. No, it must reach the seas off Weihaiwei and the region reaching to Inchon in Korea. That is the bottleneck that we must always keep open-a very strategic stretch of ocean. This is why the British were wise enough to establish their China Station there at Weihaiwei. And to reach those waters this ship will first have to transit the Tsushima Straits. We will sortie with the Imperial fleet from Kure and Sasebo, and sail to Port Arthur with a large convoy of supply ships. If we move quickly we can close the Tsushima Straits and catch this ship in a nice net of steel, just as we caught the Russian Baltic Fleet in 1905.”

“Yes… another victory there would put a perfect bookend to this little affair.”

“Correct. If this man Karpov wishes to attempt to stop our convoy from reaching Port Arthur, then he will have to show himself and fight. Pecking at a few cruisers and running away will not avail him. At some point he will have to make a stand, and he will have to use something more than a 6 inch naval gun when he sees the Imperial Japanese Navy darkening his horizon. If he does flee, then he only increases the shame and humiliation we have already forced upon the Russians, and we become stronger yet.”

“Well said, Admiral. I completely agree. Perhaps you are correct to assume this is a renegade sea Captain with delusions of grandeur or a thirst for revenge. In fact, diplomatically, that would be the best possible line to play out in all this. It might allow the present treaty to stand unblemished, and then after all this is over we can make our displeasure known and request reparation for the loss of Tatsu Maru and the damage this ship has inflicted on any of our other warships. I have every confidence that, with your plan, this matter will be easily resolved.”

“That is good to hear, Baron Saito. Yet if I were you I would cable Port Arthur and make sure they are not surprised by a maneuver on land as well. If this ship is sailing with the knowledge of the Russian government, then it will certainly need support on land.”

“Yes, I will do so. But what about the Americans, Admiral Togo? What if my suspicion is correct?”

“Then we will have a very uncomfortable greeting for them when they arrive,” Togo said quietly. “Instead of visits to the Imperial Palace and the Tea Gardens, we will visit them at sea with the whole Imperial Fleet. I do not advocate this, or even believe it will be necessary, but you should realize that we are more than capable of defending ourselves. Our fleet is bigger than it was before we defeated Russia. No other power can match us in the Pacific at the moment, not even the British. If the world did not learn that lesson of war in 1905, then we will teach it to them again.”

“That said, we must keep close watch on the progress of the Great White Fleet. Speaking of that, the British are allies, are they not? Their China Squadron at Weihaiwei might come in handy in this situation.”

“Possibly…but I do not think it will be necessary. In fact none of this may even be necessary. Kamimura returned to Maizuru to replenish his ships, but he has every intention of sailing out yet again to cover the coastline south of that harbor. It may be he will find this ship again before we do, and finish the job. This may be nothing more than a tempest in a teapot, Baron.”

TheRMS steamer Monteagle was yet another ship of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company arriving from the Atlantic in 1906 to augment trans-Pacific service. She was a stolid, twin-screw vessel of 5,478 tons, with a single stack aft that would allow her to steam at a sedate 12 knots on a good day. Unlike the other ships in the service of Canadian Pacific, she did not have the sleek and elegant lines of a clipper-steamer, nor would she ever set any records for speed. Her freight had been varied over the years, from cattle boats and coal during the South African War, to refrigerated goods kept in her ice coolers. Bearing the designation “R.M.S,” she was also an official mail ship carrying the Royal Mail. Of late she had been refitted with cabin-class accommodations for 97 passengers with room for as many as a thousand more below decks in steerage.

She had just recently completed a mail run from Vancouver to Yokohama, and then on to Shanghai. Now Monteagle was east-bound again in the Sea of Japan, having transited the Tsushima straits the previous day. She was heading for the Tsugaru Strait between Hokkaido and Honshu for a stop at Amori, and from there she would make a brief port of call in Dutch Harbor before swinging down to Vancouver again.

It was just her bad luck that day to be wallowing along in the exclusion zone Karpov had drawn in his mind. The Captain knew he could not patrol the entire sea, but wherever Kirov sailed, no other ship had leave unless he decided to permit the passage. This was the first ship he encountered since the sinking of Tatsu Maru and that brief scrap with the Japanese Navy. He thought he might teach a lesson to other powers in the region that their shipping was also unwelcome in Japanese waters. At the same time, a hard line here might renew his own resolve, and that of the crew, as he considered what to do. Fedorov’s sudden appearance in the mix had been most disconcerting.

So the Captain received the news of the new radar contact with quiet satisfaction. In fact, he had deliberately turned fifteen points to port three hours ago to take the ship closer to the coast of Japan to see what he might find.

“Signal that steamer, Mister Nikolin. I want to know their registry, cargo, and what ports they are bound for.”

He had his answer soon enough and quickly told Nikolin that their cargo of mail from China was to be considered contraband and they could not proceed unless it was first inspected and all mail bound for Japan removed.

“Sir,” said Rodenko, not understanding what the Captain was doing. “Why bother with a ship like this?”

“There could be significant military and diplomatic parcels in that mail cache, Rodenko. It is time we disrupted the flow here. Besides, it is not only Japanese registered vessels we will have to concern ourselves with, but those under foreign flags as well. Once we make an example of a few ships, the sea traffic to Japan should thin out considerably. News of an angry shark in these waters is exactly what we want here. We will board that ship and seize their mail cache. I want a party of twenty naval infantry ready in fifteen minutes.”

“Very well, sir.” Though it was clear Rodenko was not happy about the situation, he nonetheless sent the order down to the helo bay where the Marines would hold forth. They were to prepare a launch to make the boarding approach, and while they did so, Karpov maneuvered the ship in very close.

“That should give them a good long look at what they are facing, and it will certainly make the impression I want here.”

Yet the Captain on the other ship, even if intimidated by the sudden appearance of this monstrous warship off his starboard side, still had the pluck to make a strong protest.

“Captain, they are citing international laws of the sea and claim immunity as a neutral country undertaking commercial enterprises.”

“Well, tell him these waters are no longer considered safe international transit zones. This is now a military exclusion zone.”