“But what will we do? You want to use the keys again?”
“That would appear to be our only recourse.”
“Yet we’ll have no way to know where we will end up.”
“Well, there were two arrows on that box, the red one and the green one. We already know the green arrow takes us forward in time, so it’s no great leap to guess where the red arrow takes us. We could use the box to reach some other future, but who knows how far it might take us. I don’t think we want to go to the past again.”
“Agreed,” said Fedorov. “The future… Kind of scary to take a leap forward beyond this point. What if we end up in another situation—the war you say will come when China regroups. The war you say is inevitable.”
“Fedorov… Do you remember when we talked about this Grand Finality thing?”
“Yes, what about it?”
“Well correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that some great gloom and doom in the future? Wasn’t there something about a shadow washing backwards from that calamity?”
“That’s what Dorland told me, the American Physicist. He said that when we created this loop with Kirov, it had to be resolved, or the future could not be born. If that happens, the future dies. Normally, if you go back in time and make some major change that transforms things like we did, the Heisenberg Wave moves forward from that point, and here we are in the future made new by that energy. But if that far distant future did die, then there would be a similar wave of annihilation moving backwards in time. Somewhere, the two waves meet, and it isn’t pretty.”
“The Grand Finality.”
“I guess so. See why I’m just a little nervous about using that box again? We don’t know how far out that backwash is. What if we jump forward, right into its path?”
“Well, in that case, we just face things a little sooner than we might,” said Karpov. “Like I said, a man’s fate is a man’s fate.”
“And life means very little….”
Karpov returned to the bridge as Fedorov went below, both men thinking heavily on all they had discussed. The thought that the very source of his strength and power, Kirov, was now unstable, left Karpov very edgy. He was standing on a deck that could melt away beneath his boot soles at any moment. He had been an almost symbiotic part of the ship from the very beginning, and now he wondered what their fate really was in the months ahead.
I must stand by the crew, he thought. They have been steadfast, loyal to a man. We took them from friends, family, wives and loved ones, and into impossible circumstances, and yet they have remained a cohesive force, reliable, dedicated, unconquered. I must protect them; serve them. A voice came, jarring him from his reverie as Rodenko gave him a status update.
“Sir, the Americans report they have cleared the undersea threat in the Makassar Strait. Enterprise reports they are proceeding into the Celebes Sea at 25 knots, and we are presently on course to follow them, speed 30 knots.”
“Very well. Tovarich, how far are we from clearing the strait?”
“Sir about 130 miles, a little over four hours at this speed.”
“Rodenko, what is the present range to the main Chinese fleet?”
“Just under 600 nautical miles, sir. That data is from the last satellite pass, which is now 24 minutes old. No heading or speed information. The Americans have another submarine up there, the Chancellorsville, so we may get an update from that boat in time.”
“Very well… How long since that last Chinese bomber strike?”
“About 15 hours, sir.”
“Then that means they could be nearing a ready state for another strike. I doubt if anything will be headed our way, as their primary mission seems to be focused on the American Pacific island bases at the moment.”
“Any report from Kazan?”
“No sir. They are still on station ahead. Tasarov has them about eight miles ahead of us, and Kursk is still about a mile off our starboard aft quarter.”
Karpov turned, regarding Tasarov, and went over to tap his shoulder. He sat up, sliding his ear phones aside.
“Yes sir?”
“How are you, Comrade Tasarov? Are you well rested?”
“Yes sir. Fine sir. Thank you for asking.”
“Good. Have you heard anything unusual of late—any sounds that may have puzzled you in any way?”
“No sir. Just screw noise from the Americans, and normal background sonics. I heard that submarine duel, but all is quiet now.”
“Good. Well, if you should hear anything that seems unusual, anything at all, I want you to let me know immediately. Yes?”
“Of course, sir.”
“As you were.”
Now Karpov turned to approach Nikolin. “Ready a message transmission to both Kursk and Kazan, Comrade Nikolin. Ask Captains Molotov and Gromyko to make a general status report. I want to know if they have any problems, how the crew is doing, or if there are any other concerns.”
“Yes sir. I’ll format it right away and submit for your approval prior to transmission.”
“Good. But Nikolin, before you do that, riddle me this… What goes on four legs at morning, two legs at noon and three legs in the evening.”
Nikolin blushed, thinking Karpov was after him for his secret game of riddles, which he often played via the internal text messaging system. Then he gave his answer, ready to accept his fate if he was to be disciplined.
“A human, sir. We crawl on hands and legs after birth… in the morning. We walk on two legs in our prime, but in old age, we take a cane, that third leg. Sorry sir. I won’t be riddling while on duty.”
“Good answer, Nikolin. My, you are good at this. And don’t worry about it. As long as it does not interfere with your duties, or those of anyone else, feel free to play your game. It’s fine.”
He patted Nikolin on the should and the Communications Officer smiled. “Thank you, sir.”
Tasarov looked over, and gave him a wink.
“Sir,” said Rodenko. “I have heading information on the Chinese fleet from Chancellorsville now. They are bearing 080, at 23 knots.”
“Where does that take them, Comrade Tovarich?”
“Sir, that’s a direct heading to the American base at Palau.”
“How far out are they from that base, Rodenko?”
“About 440 nautical miles, sir.”
“Ah,” said Karpov “They’re getting into missile range. Gentlemen, I think they will go offensive very shortly. Nikolin, give the Enterprise my assessment.”
“Yes sir. I also have that status request message ready now, sir.”
All this was typical activity on the bridge, particularly when a new officer assumed command, as Karpov did by default whenever he was present. He was getting information on the general situation, noting where all his assets were, and what the enemy was up to. The Admiral looked at his watch, checking to see if it was in sync with the ship’s chronometer.
“I think the Chinese bombers will be taking off from the Philippines about now. Losing Clark AFB was a real slip for the Americans. I’m amazed they let that happen. The Chinese bombers will be up before noon. Any Chinese satellites scheduled, Rodenko?”
“Yes sir. In fact, Yaogan-20A just overflew the Celebes Sea, and Yaogan-15 passed over Borneo at the same time.”
“Then they will see the Enterprise in the Makassar Strait, but they will be too far away to strike it, even if those satellites get a good position fix. So with Enterprise nearly 600 miles off, here’s how this is going to play out. The Chinese bombers are going to launch their long range cruise missiles at one or more American bases in the next hour. Those missiles should be on target somewhere around 15:00. But this is getting interesting. The Enterprise move into the Celebes Sea will certainly weigh on the Chinese Commander’s mind. That move threatens his LOC, but then again, this fleet may be relying on Davao now as its primary support base. I think the Chinese will also use ship launched cruise missiles to hit Palau, and after that, we’ll see if they make a heading change. The Americans still have a Surface Action Group screening Palau, so that will be a factor in this upcoming strike.”