Kirov Saga: Altered States (Kirov Series) Read online

  Kirov Saga:

  Altered States

  Volume I

  By

  John Schettler

  A publication of:

  The Writing Shop Press

  Kirov Saga: Altered States, Copyright©2013, John A. Schettler

  Discover other titles by John Schettler:

  The Kirov Saga: (Military Fiction)

  Kirov - Kirov Series - Volume I

  Cauldron Of Fire - Kirov Series - Volume II

  Pacific Storm - Kirov Series - Volume III

  Men Of War - Kirov Series - Volume IV

  Nine Days Falling - Kirov Series - Volume V

  Fallen Angels - Kirov Series - Volume VI

  Devil’s Garden - Kirov Series - Volume VII

  Armageddon – Kirov Series – Volume VIII

  Altered States– Kirov Series – Volume IX

  Award Winning Science Fiction:

  Meridian - Meridian Series - Volume I

  Nexus Point - Meridian Series - Volume II

  Touchstone - Meridian Series - Volume III

  Anvil of Fate - Meridian Series - Volume IV

  Golem 7 - Meridian Series - Volume V

  Classic Science Fiction:

  Wild Zone - Dharman Series - Volume I

  Mother Heart - Dharman Series - Volume II

  Historical Fiction:

  Taklamakan - Silk Road Series - Volume I

  Khan Tengri - Silk Road Series - Volume II

  Dream Reaper – Mythic Horror Mystery

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  Kirov Saga:

  Altered States

  Volume I

  By

  John Schettler

  “Mother Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations.”

  — Faith Baldwin

  Kirov Saga:

  Altered States

  By

  John Schettler

  Foreword

  Part I – Altered States

  Part II – The Spin

  Part III – Glorious

  Part IV – Resurrection

  Part V – Encounters

  Part VI – Deja Vu

  Part VII – Intervention

  Part VIII – Ride of the Valkyries

  Part IX – Altmark

  Part X – Shadow of Death

  Part XI – War Councils

  Part XII – The Witching Hour

  Foreword:

  At the end of Book 8 in the Kirov Saga five new novels were proposed as put to a vote by the readers. It was not surprising that this continuation of the Kirov Saga in a 9th volume entitled Altered States ranked #1 in the reader poll, and was also the #1 vote getter in all the many emails I received, which constituted the bulk of the voting. The #2 proposal was the alternate history of the WWII naval campaign in the North Atlantic that was entitled Hindenburg and predicated on the assumption that in 1936 Germany initiates an aggressive naval building program to produce ship designs conceived under the code name “Plan Z.”

  As Altered States was to present the world that was born as a consequence of Kirov’s many interventions in the past history, it seemed plausible to me that the Plan Z alternative could have easily been one of the many things that changed. I therefore decided to please as many readers as possible by combining those two top proposals into one new story here under the title Altered States. In so doing I will present all the historical material for the Hindenburg / Plan Z story, as integral to the continuation of the ongoing trials and travails of the mighty Kirov.

  Though this story is a fiction, I have made every effort to underpin it with sound research concerning ships that fought this campaign and the men who led them to sea and served on them. All the old characters you have come to know aboard Kirov are here, along with several new historical characters I will be developing as this portion of the saga both continues the story from where it last ended while also beginning a new series that will take you through the naval campaign in the West.

  Historical characters are real persons who lived, fought, and sometimes died in the actions described…and some fated to die live here in my story when fate or chance changes their personal destiny. LtC. Christopher Wells, for example, died aboard HMS Glorious on that ill fated day in June of 1940 when she was caught by Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Yet here I have given him a new life, with all respect to those that knew and loved him, and I sincerely hope my fictional depiction is deemed worthy of the man he truly was.

  The Kirov Series itself has gone through many evolutions, and though I have thought to bring it to a conclusion several times, it keeps finding a way to carry on. At present it is structured as a set of trilogies linked by what I call “bridge novels.” The opening trilogy comes to some satisfying end at the conclusion of Book III, Pacific Storm when Karpov spares the Key West. It was then that I wondered how their contemporaries would have received them upon their return to Vladivostok, and how they would explain their strange disappearance and unexpected return. This gave birth to Men Of War, where Fedorov hatches his plan to go and find Orlov, thinking it was essential that they leave no unfinished business from their jaunt through time.

  The second trilogy was born from Men Of War, beginning with 9 Days Falling and extending through Devil’s Garden. I could have left Karpov in 1908 at the end of that volume, simply sending Kirov back to 2021 and then showing the consequences of Karpov’s intervention. This would have been another point of possible ending for the story, but Fedorov again refuses to permit the contamination, thinking he can somehow still preserve the time line and the history he so loves. The plan he hatches this time became Armageddon, another “bridge novel” which served not only as a sequel extending the 9 Days Falling trilogy, but a prelude to what is now before you—Altered States.

  I conceive this part of the saga as extending at least through three books, at which point I will see if anything remains unsaid in this long tale that would compel me to continue it. I realize that it is more a long episodic story within its own world now, much like the never ending Star Trek saga which saw so many rebirths. In some ways the main characters on the ship are as familiar to me as Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Scotty and McCoy, or the all new cast that I also came to know and love in the “Next Generation.”

  Here now is the next generation of the long Kirov Saga, and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. There is so much more to come.

  ~ John Schettler

  Part I

  Altered States

  “Things alter for the worse spontaneously

  if they be not altered for the better designedly.”

  ― Francis Bacon

  Chapter 1

  It was over…finally done, or so they thought. They stood on the bridge with heavy hearts, each man silent with the inner weight of his own conscience. Then Admiral Volsky closed the book he had been reading from, slipping it slowly into his uniform breast pocket. The poem he had read carried a dour sentiment, and an equal burden of guilt. He knew that the ship had been responsible for much harm, fighting in three wars across two centuries. The damage they had inflicted on the mirror of time was easily seen, the cracks webbing out through the months and years to change the reflection of history. Yet there was no way to fully understand exactly what they had done, or so they thought...

  We have been blundering about with good intentions for the most part, thought Volsky, yet blundering still. Fedorov launched his mission to find Orlov for every good reason, yet he could not control the outcome. It seems that every mark we have left on the days of the past must inevitably work its way forward in time to some resolution,
some consequence, and we cannot hope to measure or even know the whole of what we may have done.

  This was what he had tried to convey with his words. Yes, they could not measure it, could not hold it, yet it was nonetheless theirs. They had to own it and accept the responsibility for what they did, for whatever reason—to preserve the ship, to save their own lives, or to embark on the bolder agendas that grew in the Devil’s Garden of Karpov’s mind.

  What had happened to the Captain? Volsky saw the blood, still wet on the gunwale of the weather bridge. Rodenko had told him they heard gunshots, yet no body was found. Could he have fallen from that high place and careened into the ocean? If that were so he would have been pulled into the void right along with the ship. Did that mean his body was out there somewhere, adrift on the heartless sea?

  “Well now,” he said. “Time to grieve it all later. At the moment we must determine where we are, and look to the safety of the ship and crew. He turned to Rodenko to ask about Kirov’s overall condition and the Starpom gave his report.

  “Chief Byko is working below decks on the situation in the bow, sir. We struck a mine and there was a minor hull breach. Three compartments flooded but they have been contained and the pumps are working now. I’m afraid we have lost the Horse Jaw sonar dome, and we will need to make repairs to the bow.”

  “That means no active sonar from that system…Well, we will have to rely on Kazan. Their systems were completely operational, so I will be sure Nikolin establishes a direct communications link and monitors it at all times.”

  “That would be prudent, sir.”

  “And how are the men here?”

  “We are fine, Admiral. The situation we just faced was difficult, but I think the men can continue this watch and we can make regular relief rotations as scheduled. Facing the Captain in his rage was no easy task, but it is certainly better than what we were facing in that impending battle.”

  “Yes, Armageddon, you fought it here on this bridge and saved Admiral Togo and his lot for another day. It must have been very difficult indeed. Thank God no one else was hurt. All things considered, the crisis resolved itself fairly well. Yet I cannot help but wonder what happened to Karpov. Was a search made for the body?”

  “Yes sir. Byko put divers in the water to inspect the damage while you were touring the ship. I gave those men orders to have a look around, but nothing was found. Just a few fishing boats off near the island that I hope belong to this day and time.”

  “Very strange,” said Volsky, still very disturbed by what had happened. “We will arrange for a sea burial ceremony at an appropriate time,” he said heavily. “We owe the man our lives many times over and, in spite of what he became in the end, we owe him at least that respect.”

  “I agree, sir,” Rodenko said solemnly.

  Volsky shrugged, looking about the bridge and seeing the men smartly at their stations again, which gave him heart “A fine day,” he said looking out the viewports at the sea. “This damage to the bow—will our speed be affected?”

  “Byko has asked that we do not attempt to exceed 20 knots.”

  “Is it repairable while we are underway?

  “The flooding can be controlled, but to adequately repair the outer hull we will need to be in a stable environment. Dry dock would be best, but that is impossible. He thinks the divers could do something, but we would need to be anchored.”

  “Well,” said Volsky, “until we know just where we are, I think it best to maintain a modest cruising speed. What is the status of our radars and electronics?”

  “The Fregat system is returning out to a 50 kilometer radius at the moment. That seems to be gradually extending, almost as if we were in some kind of expanding bubble, sir. I think we should have normal coverage in about an hour.”

  “What is our course?”

  “We are hovering just off that island, Admiral.”

  “Then let us set a course for Vladivostok at sixteen knots until we know where this time displacement has sent us. I think I would feel better in familiar surroundings.”

  “I’ll get the ship moving , sir.” Rodenko moved off to instruct the helmsman.

  As always, Fedorov huddled with Nikolin first, and the two men were monitoring signals all through the radio band. At first they had heard nothing more than the backwash of static, but now the garbled sounds of voice transmissions were picked up, though they could not make anything out yet. Like the radar systems, the radio was slowly recovering as the effects of the time shift wore off by degrees.

  Oddly, it was the lookout on the main mast that Rodenko posted above the bridge that saw it first. There was something in the sky, a gleam of sunlight on a sleek surface, the yellow glint of light on metal. Just as the sighting was sent down to the bridge radar reported the contact close in, the operator shocked to see something this close unnoticed.

  “Someone is curious about us,” said Volsky. “It must have been just launched from beyond those hills.”

  “Most likely, sir, or we would have certainly seen it this close on radar long ago.” This was very unexpected, but Fedorov immediately realized they should be in range to communicate with the contact. He asked Nikolin to switch to standard AM bands to see if they were picking anything up and, sure enough, there was a stream of unintelligible language in his headset on a low dial position.

  “It’s Japanese,” said Nikolin, handing off the headset to Chekov, who spoke the language.

  “They are asking us to identify ourselves,” said Chekov directly.

  “Of course, what else,” said Volsky. “Well if they have a good telescope or a pair of field glasses they will have already seen the naval ensign flying from the main mast. I think it best to strike those colors. We do not yet know what our situation is and for all we know Russia and Japan may have not healed the rift Karpov opened here in 1908.”

  “What do I tell them, Admiral?”

  “Say nothing for the moment. I think we will just be on our way. Sixteen knots. No rush about it, but Mister Samsonov, if you would stand ready and see to the ship’s defensive systems that would be prudent—just as a precaution.”

  “Aye, sir. Shall I come to condition two alert?”

  “Not just yet. But be prepared in the event we run into anything unexpected.”

  So they eased away, leaving silence behind them like the thin foaming wake on the sea; leaving the island and everything that had happened there behind them as they went. Signals traffic soon convinced Fedorov that they had not been able to advance much more than twenty years into the future.

  “I’m not sure why, sir,” he explained to the Admiral. “It could be that the mass involved was too much to move. Remember that the test reactor in the Primorskiy Engineering center left a man behind. We were lucky that Rod-25 was able to move both Kirov and Kazan, but we’re not home yet.”

  “Then we will try again,” said Volsky.

  Kamenski had come aboard the ship in the last hour and so the Admiral convened a meeting in the officer’s stateroom to determine what to do. Chief Dobrynin had also come aboard to check on Kirov’s reactors and was seated with them to provide technical advice.

  The old ex-KGB man spoke first. “We could find ourselves hopping through the cold war next if Rod-25 can only nudge the two vessels a few decades at a time.”

  “That might be better than finding we are in another hot war,” said Volsky. “What do you suggest?”

  “We have three control rods—two that have never been tested for this application. We might try one of those here on Kirov, and then see what Rod-25 can do with Kazan.”

  “Chief?” The Admiral looked to his reactor engineer, giving him the floor.

  “A couple things come to mind at once, Admiral,” he said. “First, while we have three control rods, I cannot be in two places at once to monitor the shift. I could control one shift, but the other ship would be on its own.”

  “A good point. What are the dangers involved?”

  “Perhaps n
one at all, sir. We could dip the rods and everything might work out just as we hope. Then again, given all that has happened, I tend to doubt that will be the case. The first problem we face is that the two rods may perform differently. Rod-25 is older, more weathered by continuous use, yet it has proven to be very reliable. It tends to pop into the 1940s every time it shifts, one direction or another, but it was able to get us home once, and it was also able to get us to 1908. One day soon, however, it will go the way of all spent control rods. There is a limit to the radiation it can absorb. It will have to be removed and retired.”

  “The other two rods—they are completely new, yes?”

  “Yes sir, they have never been tested, as Mister Kamenski indicated. So they could perform in unexpected ways, or perhaps even fail to perform at all. This remains to be seen.”

  “What do you recommend, Chief? We must rely on your experience in these matters.”

  “Well, sir, Rod-25 is beginning to present some telltale decay signatures in the absorption spectrum data. I was just looking that over and comparing it to logs from our earlier shifts with the rod aboard Kirov. I would not suggest trying to move both ships again, even if Kazan was right beneath us now.”

  “I see… Then we must install one of the other control rods.”

  “If we do this I recommend we leave Rod-25 aboard Kazan. It is radioactive, and difficult to manage. The other two rods are still inert, and much easier to transport and install here aboard Kirov.”

  “You would use both rods?”

  “No, just one at a time. But Kirov is a dual 24 rod reactor system. I could place these new control rods in the number 25 spot in each of those two reactors, so the second would be immediately available should it ever be needed. It takes several hours to install these rods, and we have been in situations where our displacement in time literally saved the ship from almost certain destruction.”