Free Kirov by John Schettler Page A

about. But what is going on up topside, Admiral? The ship took
quite a jolt there. Did we hit a mine?”
    “I
wish it was something that simple, Dmitri.” It was plain the Admiral was quite
distressed. He quickly shared details of the situation with his physician, tipping
his head to one side when he had finished, and feeling better already just to
have unburdened himself. “It is the strangest situation I have ever
encountered. What do you make of it, Dmitri?”
    “What
you suggest about Orel suffering the same fate as Kursk makes a
lot of sense to me, assuming we go by the official story. But this business
about Slava is somewhat puzzling, is it not? Neither ship responds to
communications hails? Then you will have to conduct a thorough search. Better Slava than Orel . Easier to find a surface ship than a submarine, and also
easier to spot any sign of flotsam.”
    “We’ve
sent the KA-226 out, but they have seen nothing conclusive yet.”
    “I
see,” said Zolkin. “And the explosion?”
    “I
am thinking we have lost Orel ,” Volsky said heavily.
    “An
attack?”
    “Karpov
believed this. I am not so sure.”
    “Any
deliberate attack would not happen in isolation, Leonid. A surprise attack upon
a Russian naval task force would be a major international incident, yes? It
would have to have some context to make any sense.”
    “Things
were getting very difficult in recent weeks, my friend,” the Admiral explained.
“Why do you think we are out here for live fire exercises? This business in
Georgia has the Americans all up in arms again. They want the place to keep the
back door firmly closed on Iran, yet the presence of three of our motor rifle
divisions just over the border is most unsettling for them. They rattle their
sword, so we rattle ours.”
    “A
little more talking and a little less rattling would be so much better,” said
the Doctor. “Have you tried listening on shortwave to see if the world has gone
crazy again?”
    That
very simple idea had never occurred to Volsky. If there had indeed been a
surprise nuclear strike upon his homeland then something as simple as a short
wave radio might provide information he needed. Why not simply tune in civilian
radio stations and monitor that traffic for a while? Nikolin had been on
secured military channels all this time.
    “Good
idea, Dmitri. Now…can you give me something for this headache?”
    “Certainly,
but I don't think it's the headache that's really bothering you.” The doctor
gave him a cursory examination to assure himself that the Admiral had not
banged his head on the bulkhead. Then he looked at him with a warm expression
on his face, puttering amongst his medication trays to fetch a couple of
aspirin. “That's a lot of crew to be worried about now out there on Slava and Orel . It's a heavy burden to carry them on your back, but if this was
an accident, Leonid, you can do little more than what you have suggested.
Investigate the matter thoroughly, satisfy yourself as to the whereabouts of
these two ships, and then report home to Severomorsk.”
    “Karpov
is edgy again,” said the Admiral. “He is convinced this was a deliberate
attack.”
    “Perhaps
so, but why? The political situation was deteriorating, why else would we be
here shooting missiles in the middle of nowhere like this, just as you say. But
it was not all that bad. I do not think the world is crazy enough to
start World War III. We are still really not over the scars left by the first
two.”
    The
Admiral nodded, forcing a smile.
    “Don't
let Karpov get under your skin,” said the doctor. “He's your canary in the
mineshaft. Listen to him, but use your best judgment. He'll fret and fume for a
while, but things will settle down soon enough, you'll see.”
    “I
had best get back to the bridge,” said Volsky. “This idea about the shortwave might
allow us to get our bearings again. Have you looked outside? Did you see the
ocean?”
    “Every
crewman who has come in here in