“General, I asked for this truce in the hope that we might save lives. As you know, the Allied armies have advanced to surround Sevastopol and now sit on its outskirts. Our fleet is sitting off your harbor. Throughout this campaign, you and your people have fought well and bravely. We do not wish to prolong the suffering of your troops or the civilian population. Although we are ready to enter the city by force, I am sure you know what outcome that will bring. I hope we might come to an agreement where the fighting ends and we can bring food, supplies and power back to this city,” Richardson said.
All the while, Jeffers translated her words. They noticed the glances between the men. The general looked slightly angry while the others more contrite.
“You are enemies of my country,” Leftvorno said in a huff. “We have enough men and supplies to drive you out of the Crimea. Already we are expecting reinforcements from Moscow.”
Richardson gave him a tired look. “General, we both know that is not the case. No supplies are on their way. Right now we estimate you have around five thousand people defending the city. We saw your artillery on the hill and the gun in the old fort. We also know you deployed some rockets. We know what remains of the fleet is sitting cold in their berths. The rest we destroyed at sea weeks ago. We have the survivors of those ships aboard one of our vessels even now. I am in command of over two hundred thousand troops, not to mention the fleet in the Black Sea. Do you really want us to come in here and tear everything apart? Sevastopol is a beautiful city. It would be such a shame to level it,” she said.
The mayor spoke up. “I do not wish this either. We must come to some sort of agreement, if nothing else to save my people,” he almost pleaded.
“Mayor Trodenko, nothing would please me more. But I must be assured that all fighting will cease. Once done, I have a container ship loaded with food and fuel to bring in and electrical generators to return the city’s power. I would much rather my troops help with that than using their weapons,” said Richardson.
“But we have our orders,” said Leftvorno.
“From a government thousands of miles away, which cannot give you the support to get the job done, much less provide for the citizens of this city,” said Richardson.
“I will not let you kill half my people in this insane determination to commit suicide,” Trodenko nearly shouted.
“Perhaps we might hear your terms,” the colonel said calmly. His remark seemed to anger Leftvorno, but he kept quiet.
“I will offer you the same terms I offered the North Koreans when I entered Pyongyang,” said Richardson. “All fighting must cease. If you and your men desire to go home, I will provide food and fuel to get back to Russian territory. If you decide to stay, you will remain in your camps and we will provide food and fuel to stay warm. You will be held responsible for your people, but we will need to make sure they no longer take up arms against us. All weapons will be collected and placed in a safe place. If you desire, your people can work alongside ours to help bring food and supplies into the city. I know we are planning on having the sailors we return to you help us out. Once done, you can all sit out the remainder of the war here in safety and relative comfort,” she said.
“You do not send us to a camp?” asked the General.
“What would be the use? There is no place to go since I already offered to transport you back to your own lines. Wouldn’t it be better to keep your troops together and help out the people of Sevastopol?” she asked.
Jeffers turned and asked for permission to add something of his own. Richardson nodded.
“General, I would like to share something with you,” he said. “My mother and her family are from Russia. They are very proud of their heritage. My grandfather often related to our neighbors of the things Russians had accomplished over the years. They left Russia in the nineties when my mother met my father and they got married. I was raised feeling that pride they felt. Although they all eventually became American citizens, their feelings for Russia never changed. I have to ask myself, if my grandfather were still alive, what would make him proud here in Sevastopol? What can we do here that would make Russian citizens proud again? I am an American, so I cannot make that decision. With all that is happening right now, what would make my grandfather proud?” Jeffers concluded.
The general smiled at Jeffers. “You are proud to be an American?”
Jeffers nodded. “Yes. And because of my grandfather, I am also proud to be part Russian,” he said earnestly.
The three smiled at Jeffers. Leftvorno slapped him on the arm. “You speak well, Commander. Too bad you are on the wrong side,” he said with a wink.
“May we have a few minutes alone, please?” asked Trodenko.
“Of course,” said Richardson. She and Jeffers got up and left the room. Once outside the door Jeffers went to the adjacent pantry and listened in at the pantry door.
“The young man is right. What shall we be proud of?” Trodenko asked. “The Allies have swept across the Crimea as if on a holiday. Do you really think your meager forces can stop them?”
“Yes, but we are at war!” shouted Leftvorno. “My job…”
“Your job?” asked Colonel Sovatich. “Just three months ago you were a major and I had just finished military school. We have done our job despite the fact we were abandoned down here, simply because our illustrious President is fixated on the rest of Europe. I for one do not want my name associated with a massacre. That, I can be proud of. We fought as best we could. Now, for once, let our people know we are looking out for them. Let them feel like their lives matter more than just a strip of land. This war is over for us. Let the others fight it for a while. If you want to leave, so be it, but I’m staying here to help out. I’ve had it with my government and with our leadership,” he argued.
“Some may consider that treasonous,” said Leftvorno.
“It’s common sense,” said Trodenko. “Did you not see the guns on this ship? They alone could lay waste to this city. There are two more like her outside the breakwater. You and your men, along with many innocent people will be killed. The government talked about taking care of all Russian speaking people, well, it is time to start doing it. All we have seen so far is death, starvation, cold and suffering. This can change that,” he said tapping his finger on the table.
“Look,” said Sovatich, “even the guns you sent to shell this ship for some reason didn’t work. Neither did the rockets, a helicopter, two tanks and our remaining navy. The few ships remaining all had problems and couldn’t respond. I don’t know why, but nothing seemed to work. Out of all that, nothing! I have a feeling we will keep running into problems like that. We really have no choice.”
Ledtvorno hung his head. The man was right, there really was nothing more he could do. His people had little food and barely enough ammunition to last a week. The thought of surrender was almost more than he could bear, but he had to face the fact that he would be leading his men to their deaths. The young man had touched a nerve. That would not be something to be proud of. He looked up at the others and nodded. “We will do it. We will also stay and help the people of this city as much as we can. I will take responsibility,” he said softly.
Richardson and Jeffers were called back into the room. After a few minutes the three left, but not before another ship entered through the breakwater. They stopped to watch a moment. This was more like a transport ship than a warship, but all along her decks were cheering, shouting Russian sailors. They noticed that a number of the Iowa’s crew were on deck waving back. Perhaps this was an omen of good things to come.