Джон Шеттлер - Condition Zebra - The Next War - 2025

“Then you would not want to take up the reins where your brother left off?”

“And rule Siberia? No Fedorov, no…. I have sea water running through my veins. What do they call them, these men of the sea?”

“Old Salts.”

“Yes, I’m an Old Salt. I took my post in Siberia, because it was necessary at the time. I had to get rid of Kolchak, because he was incompetent, and Volkov would have eaten him alive. I held Siberia Free, and forged the alliance with Sergei Kirov so we could save Russia and win that war. That we did, but I have no desire to take over as head of state there. Why, it would mean I would have to leave the ship and crew—leave you, Fedorov, and that I cannot do.”

Fedorov smiled.

“We’ve come a long way together since you were last shooting missiles at my helicopter. Very well. I can say that the entire crew is pulling for you, and that they wish you well. I don’t know this for a fact yet, but I can feel something in them, as if they also carry the memories of all we did in the past. It’s not obvious, more a latent thing, but it’s there. I can sense it.”

“You say Orlov remembered everything?”

“Yes, but that was the man who disappeared on the stairs of Ilanskiy. Tyrenkov and Volkov got rid of him. As for the man we have here now, he’s bound to be carrying the latent memories of all we experienced, which is why I’ve been checking in on him from time to time. While I don’t think he would experience a flood-tide like you just went through, he’s a Prime Mover in all these events as well. He’ll start to remember in time, and wake up as before.”

“That may be dangerous,” said Karpov. “To begin with, he carried quite a grudge concerning my first attempt to take the ship, and that’s understandable. Hell, I used him. I can admit that, but I was another man then too, young and foolish in so many ways, and too god-awful greedy for power.”

“I spoke with Tyrenkov earlier when he asked about your condition,” said Fedorov. “He sends his best regards.”

“Does he? Big of him,” said Karpov. “Fedorov, there’s a man we might want to send to Siberia to stand in for my brother. Erkin Kutukov is a fighter, a military man, but now that you’ve told me things are moving to the negotiation table, Tyrenkov is tailor made for that role. Here on the ship, he’s a useful asset, but suppose we put this to him. Wouldn’t he be better used in Siberia?”

“You want to make him head of state there?”

“Why not, assuming the locals will accept that. I don’t need his shadow here on the ship any longer. He’s efficient, but vastly underemployed here.”

“He might say the same of you,” said Fedorov. “Are you sure you do not want to stand at the head of the nation you helped build, and led in the last war?”

“More than sure. I’m staying here, on Kirov . I don’t know why, but I just feel that needs to be so. Let’s see if Tyrenkov might be interested in taking up a position in Siberia.”

“Are you sure we should risk that? You know how dangerous he could be. We had him over a barrel, as they say, because he needed us to make his escape from the situation in 2021, but are you certain we should empower him like this again? After all, here on the ship, we’ve got the man on a proverbial leash, and we might want to keep him there.”

“I understand what you’re saying, but that’s just the sort of situation that will fester trouble between us. We can’t lord it over him. He’s a proud man, Fedorov. I’ve tried to show him respect, and I think he knows that, but I do not really need an intelligence chief on this ship. Looking at things another way, we will have to trust one another now if we ever resolve this. If we think of Tyrenkov as our enemy, that is exactly what he will become. My vote is that we make this offer, and then see if it will be acceptable to the Siberians. Send him to me. I’ll endorse him if he wants the job. Tyrenkov can handle the Chinese. He’s just the man Siberia needs right now. I have no taste for that. I’ll stay here on Kirov .”

“Which brings up another question,” said Fedorov. “If Tyrenkov does this, and negotiates a peace, then what? We’re the Free Siberian Navy here, and he could be talking us right out of a job.”

“I doubt that,” said Karpov. “The Chinese will negotiate to make sure they get back the cities and territories our army just rolled through, but I don’t think they’ll look upon us as friendly neighbors any time soon. Erkin Kutukov will have to stand a watch on that border with the army now, and I would not put anything off the table when it comes to the Chinese. They’re in things up to their knees now, but soon it will be eyeballs.”

“Why are they doing this?” asked Fedorov. “They just shut down most commercial traffic through the Med, and closed Suez. Now the Royal Navy is mustering to push into the Indian Ocean, and the Saudi’s are getting very nervous about Iraq. Remember how China used its ally in North Korea to add pressure on the US position in the Pacific? Well, in this history, China has backed Iraq and Iran heavily, while the US backs the House of Saud.”

“Yes,” said Karpov. “Which is why this war may just be getting underway. My brother took a great risk crossing the Amur River as he did to cut off the Rhino’s Horn and liberate Vladivostok. Volsky was here yesterday, and he told me the port is useless, but at least it will no longer be called Haishenwei. It’s the Golden Horn Harbor, and it’s ours again. One day soon we’ll go there for a visit.”

“That may depend on the Chinese Navy,” Fedorov cautioned.

“Yes… They put up a damn good fight in the Sea of Japan this time around. We caught them by surprise earlier, but they have reinforced. The war here is dangerous, Fedorov, which is why I feel such a strong need to remain here and stay involved. We can make a difference here— Kirov and crew. We may only have two ships to float for Siberia, but we can fight like hell at sea, and the Chinese know it.”

“If we clash with them,” said Fedorov, “won’t that exacerbate the situation on the border?”

“Possibly, but we’ll let Tyrenkov solve that problem. Right now, this war is going to be fought at sea in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. If the Chinese persist, particularly in holding on to the Ryukyu Islands they seized, then we’ll have some hard decisions to make with the Americans. This is far from over. My brother’s whirlwind three week campaign into Manchuria was just the overture. I think China is in this for the long haul.”

“I can’t see how that benefits them. Soon trans-Pacific trade will falter as well. This war will crush the economies of everyone involved. The British have already run the Chinese Navy out of the Med. How do they see any victory here?”

“I don’t think the British really beat them,” said Karpov. “In fact, the Royal Navy took the worst of that fight. No, China redeployed those ships to the Indian Ocean, and that is what I would have done too. They could not support them in the Med, and by closing Suez, they put the thumbscrews on that trade route to Europe and the US. Now they’ll beef up in the Indian Ocean and make a fight there. Mark my words.”

“What do you think they’ll do?”

“Raise hell, just like they did in the Med. Tanker and sea carrier insurance rates must be through the roof by now. Commercial carriers can’t use the Med, so they’ll have to go around the Cape, which is why the Royal Navy is mustering there.”

“Yes, and the Fairchild Group is with them.”

“Good for them,” said Karpov. “Well, the war moves there next. The Chinese have a lot of bases in East Africa, and even in Pakistan. They can still route Middle East oil south of Sri Lanka to the Bay of Bengal and their terminals in Myanmar.”