Джон Шеттлер: Condition Zebra: The Next War - 2025

“Of course! And I thank you for your consideration. You have grown, Admiral. We give ourselves these names and titles, and we wear these uniforms to play the part, but sometimes certain men grow so large that no tailor can ever really fit them. We saw some of the truly great men of the last century, Churchill, Kirov, Roosevelt. The thought that our names might ever be mentioned in the same sentence with such men never occurred to us, but we now have a good deal to say what happens when they write the history of this century.”

“Well said. Yes, we grow. Ambition is one thing, and some men never get beyond its grip. Only the truly great men accomplish that. I won’t soft sell this to you. There will be difficulties ahead, for both of us. The Chinese cannot be underestimated. This is their century, and they are rising now in a way that few clearly see. And there are other forces, other men out there, all serving their own ambitions. We must speak now of one man in particular—Ivan Volkov. He is not here. I had Fedorov try and sleuth him out in this history, but nothing was found.”

“I can confirm that,” said Tyrenkov.

“But this is not to say that we are rid of the man,” said Karpov. “Frankly, when I learned you had taken up with him in the past, I was quite surprised. You know how ruthless and conniving that man can be. He made his bed with the likes of Adolf Hitler, betraying Russia in that devil’s bargain, and then simply disappeared when we prevailed in WWII. Yet I wonder what really became of that man. Then, imagine my surprise when you send him over to me for a nice little chat!”

“Ah, but that was not the man we fought in the last war. I got to him early, before the weed took root, and I thought I was able to prune him well.”

“I would not fool myself in thinking that,” said Karpov. “A weed is a weed, no matter where it sits in your well sculpted garden. Volkov may yet be a problem, and now I am talking of the man we just left behind in 2021. Both you and I were able to make good an escape from that world, but we both know the missile that struck near the airfield at the Northern Shamrock was meant for you, and I don’t have to tell you who was behind it.”

“Yes,” said Tyrenkov, “it was Volkov. I knew he was never a reliable partner. The two of us pulled the same carriage for a while, two horses lashed together in the same team, but he was always scheming, and never satisfied. I took steps to seal off any avenue he might find to cause further trouble, either in this future, or in the past. I burned Ilanskiy to the ground once, then rebuilt it to serve my needs. And as for that amazing airship you built, I gave orders that it should be destroyed before we embarked on this ship.”

“Yet we must be wary,” said Karpov. “We must remain vigilant. Volkov is a very resourceful man, and while this version of the man may not have lived out the enmity we engaged in during the war, Fedorov and I have learned that the memories and recollections of a man can emerge, either by slow degrees, or all in one wild rush. When I was very young, I learned to play the balalaika. Then with the business of life, I set it aside for decades. Yet once I picked one up, twenty years later, and I could still play. It’s old memory, Tyrenkov—muscle memory. Volkov already acts and moves in ways that belie that old muscle memory of enmity with us. I clearly saw that, and I think you did as well.”

“Quite true,” said Tyrenkov.

“Then we must not put him out of the equation here just yet. You took precautions, but he knows about Ilanskiy. That said, I do not think he will have time to do anything with that, given the situation we hurriedly left behind in 2021. We have no further history to read of what may have followed those nukes in Korea, but Fedorov and I have seen its end, and with our own eyes. It wasn’t speculation. No, we knew what was going to happen, because we sifted the ashes long ago, when my own wanton use of a special warhead pushed the ship forward into a shattered world, in a future where none of us could ever hope to find a home again. So we must be careful here, not only in shaping the outcome of this war, but also in making sure that Volkov never gets a toe-hold here, or a chance at finishing his dastardly unfinished business.”

“Yet how could he reach this time?”

“I don’t know, but what I can say is this…. Anyone who has managed to escape the world of 2021 has ended up here. We came here, then Argos Fire and Kazan . Was that mere coincidence? I think not. There is a reason why this is so, and it is a very dark one. It may just be that there is no other place to go—no other future that has survived our thoughtless intrusion in the past. So we must beware. If there is any way that Volkov might move, then he may just get to this time as we did. Remember what nuclear detonations do to the continuum—they open holes, create rifts, and things move through. Remember also that Volkov is Prime Mover in all of these events.”

“Undoubtedly,” said Tyrenkov.

“Well,” said Karpov, “there is an old saying that goes something like this…. if we keep heading in this direction, we might just get where we're going. Volkov is the last missing actor in this little play. Everyone else is here, all ready to take their part on the stage. So we must be wary. There could be a few more nightmares heading our way.”

“I understand.” Tyrenkov nodded. “So then, will you want me in Siberia soon?”

“When you are ready. Yes, you set the hour and day now, Mister Prime Minister. I have every confidence in you, and I know you will not disappoint me. No, not a second time. Are you the man I think you truly are? I suppose we shall see in good time. Pack your sea chest, Tyrenkov. You’re getting a big promotion!”

In November of the year 2019, an aging old diplomat, Henry Kissinger, warned that the trade war between the US and China had put the two great nations in ‘the foothills of a Cold War’ that could easily escalate, even over a minor incident, into a conflict worse than the wars of the last century. He was correct….

Admiral William J. Pearson, Royal Navy Command Singapore, was alerted just after 08:00 on the 18th of November. The satellites had seen an alarming congregation of Chinese naval assets in the south China Sea, and they appeared to be heading his way. He wasted no time in calling a war council with the senior fleet officers present.

The Royal Navy presence in Singapore had a long history, a bastion in the east that Churchill called his Pacific Gibraltar. In this history, he had relieved General Percival after his timorous treatment of the situation in Malaya following the Japanese landings, and instead sent a man who would later be called “The Rock of the East,” Sir Bernard Law Montgomery. Under Monty’s generalship, the Japanese Army was fought to a standstill on Singapore, and eventually forced to withdraw. It was only after they abandoned that siege, taking units to bypass Singapore and land on Java, that the British saw their position there as untenable, and retreated to fight the Japanese elsewhere. The Dramatic eruption of Krakatoa soon followed, and in time, Montgomery was recalled to North Africa to join the fight against Rommel.

After the war, the British settled back into their long held nest at Singapore again, roosting at Changi Naval Base with a permanent Far East Squadron. It was composed of the light carriers Illustrious and Invincible , each with a dozen new F-35B’s and numerous helicopters. Three destroyers, including two Daring Class, and ten frigates were in support, along with one older Trafalgar class sub, the lead boat in that group. These fifteen warships held the fort, and for a long time there was no direct threat to Singapore, until the Chinese began to move south.