Chapter 8

Boomer's people guided the drone in a circle, cut the engine, and dropped it down on top of the giant hull of the Retvizan. Already, the USS Texas was busy downloading the telemetry and decrypting the messages. Boomer's spooks were waiting on the Russian sub and hovered as the compartments were opened.

Inside was a carnet of CD Roms, marked for its various recipients. One was addressed 'letters for the crew, ' and another contained additional historical information for Retvizan's database. Gorshin had specifically asked for information about the various ships mentioned by Tatsuta Kitakami, the Japanese pilot. One CD Rom was marked for Commander Gorshin's eyes only, from Admiral Ustinov, C in C Northern Fleet.

'Request for clarification concerning command structure has been sent to Moscow for consideration, ' it read. 'American side is insisting Texas be returned home as soon as practical. A replacement crew is being briefed and will attempt transition within one month. Likely, the Americans will use USS Virginia, which is on deployment in the Atlantic. Search for the Texas's crew is your first priority and, with this in mind, more search vessels are being considered to assist.'

'Of secondary importance is our base of operations at the location you call Eden. I have gained permission from Moscow to establish a more permanent presence and I would value any advice with regards equipment. We are keen to send aircraft and would like you to inspect various areas for a landing field... '

"Landing field?" Gorshin laughed aloud, "just what sort of topography does Ustinov imagine we have here?"

'A transport with several helicopters aboard is being sent. We will send bunker oil, diesel, and the necessary J5 jetfuel for continued operations. In light of your security concerns regarding Japanese hostile forces we will send additional anti-aircraft systems and a fully equipped Marine company. We have no date for these reinforcements so you must take all practical security steps available to you with the force at your disposal. Both the American side and ourselves insist you defend the integrity of the mission and may take such aggressive measures you deem necessary.'

"'Defend the integrity'?" Gorshin said out loud, "he is letting slip the leash for whatever war I care to make upon these people." He saw no qualification about protecting the lives of civilians nor even a reference to the Geneva Conventions. It seemed he was given permission to cause whatever mayhem he could justify in pursuit of the lost crew of the Texas.

'Helicopters?' he thought. He'd no doubt they'd include Mi-24 gunships as well as Search and Rescue. Was such hardware necessary, or a deliberate overkill? Was Ustinov's intention to completely overawe these people? It seemed to him a typical over the top reaction to real and imagined threats Russian forces had always been accused of.

Then a thought struck him. Although Ustinov made no mention of it, such a force required an officer of more senior rank than himself to command it. There would need to be a base administration and security, support and logistics, and an operational command for sea, land and air components. Gorshin considered a possible personnel figure of around 2, perhaps 3000. In that case there'd need to be enlarged medical facilities to cater for such a number. Food and supplies? He wondered what provision Ustinov had made, and what was the length of deployment?

'Commander, ' Ustinov had written as a personal note to Gorshin, 'I have full confidence in your ability to co-operate with the Americans. In the future, however, there'll probably be a concerted attempt by Washington to take over, as it's their way of doing things. They beat us to the moon and Putin is adamant they won't get one up on us on this expedition.'

"Hence the reinforcements," Gorshin said to himself, "to ensure we're thick on the ground should the Americans arrive with more force. Just once I thought we'd get along without politics," he sighed.

Somewhere off the coast of the Southern Desert, one of the Skarsgard's sailing ships was hove to with kedge anchors deployed. Typically, it was three masted, but barquentine rigged, with square sails on the foremast and fore and aft on main and mizzen. The reefed sails were a pale gold, and there was a red standard fluttering from the mizzen backstay featuring the 'landwaster, ' a black raven in flight.

General Firebird was down below the poop, where he'd installed Eden's base radio. The Russian set hadn't been all that hard to figure out and it had some pretty neat tricks. It automatically scanned across a range of frequencies and had both DF and IFF facilities.

That's how he'd located the Germans, of course. Their signal was encrypted using 'Enigma' but one of his boys was an Etranger who'd some code breaking experience in the US army. He'd figured it out pretty easily, as it turned out.

U-38 was calling up Berlin, but getting no answer. He reported being hailed 'in clear' by an American battlegroup, but complained about not being able to fix his position. The German captain seemed confused and asked for instructions.

Having broken the code; 'Enigma' had been one of the exercises used during Army training; Firebird got his boy to send a message to the wolfpack. The Germans were low on fuel, having sailed from Hong Kong over a month before. The flotilla had arrived there the previous winter of 1942 to co-operate with the Japanese in operations in the Indian Ocean.

U-38 was a type X-B, larger than her mates, and used as a supply and command boat. The other 5 were type 7-Cs of slightly over 700 tons each. As the most senior captain, Kapitain zur See Hans Manfred Schoemann from the U-38 commanded the flotilla.

Firebird watched as the grey wolf emerged from the ocean in a whirlpool of white, foaming water. U-38's gun crews sprinted rapidly from the hatches and readied their weapons for action. Firebird's ship, the 'Uhu, ' had it's swivel gun loaded as a precaution, although the round shot would be unlikely to do much against the U-Boat except leave a dent in the hull.

"Heil Hitler!" Firebird yelled across.

Unimpressed, Schoemann ordered the Uhu to stand by to receive a boarding party. Armed German seamen were soon swarming over the sailing ship and Firebird was unceremoniously bundled into a boat and taken back to the U-38.

At first Schoemann was convinced Firebird was mad. He raved about time rifts, Vikings, and Russians in giant submarines. His translator had a bemused grin all the time he explained what the crazed American was saying. But he'd few explanations for the anomalies they'd encountered so he heard the man out.

Schoemann listened carefully to the report of the boarding party, how the ship was a late 19th century design, had little modern equipment and a radio of unknown type, but clearly of Russian origin. Firebird gave plausable explanation to all of this and, through an interpreter, finally asked the question.

"So, why have you called us and what do you want?"

"Well, sir," answered Firebird, "you and me think alike. It seems to me we could help each other."

"How can you help me?" Schoemann asked.

"Well, I might find you some fuel."

"And what do you want in return?"

"A little assistance with a mutual problem."

"You think the German Navy is for hire?" the captain asked, indignantly.

"In 1945, the Aryan race was beaten down by commies and Jews. Maybe you folks can't change that, but, just maybe, you might want a little payback."

"And, perhaps, we might want to go home and leave this problem to you?"

"You can't go back, captain," Firebird told him, "so why not join us and rebuild white civilisation right here?"

"General, I'm sure there'll be some of the crew that will share your sentiments. But I'm a serving officer in the German Navy, not one of Heinrich Himmler's bullies. I do my duty, that is all, and I'm not interested in your Aryan civilisation. You tell me this Russian submarine was built 40 years in the future? What hope, therefore, does our flotilla have against such a vessel? You say the Russians defeated Germany? That doesn't surprise me, but surely now we are no longer enemies? Or is Germany at war again?"

"You going to give up? Let them win?"

"I'm going to do my duty. That is all an officer is required to do."

"And what is your duty, captain?" Firebird asked, contempt in his voice, "what're your orders? What you goin' to do now?"

"That is for me to determine. Seaman? Put this man back on his vessel. Firebird, I suggest you get that ship away from me before I open fire on it."

Sometime later, however, the radio operator of the U-38 at last began receiving a signal. Excitedly, he copied it down on his pad and sent it off for decryption.

Similarly, Firebird's radioman also received the same signal on the base radio plundered from Eden.

At Eden, itself, the scanners on both Retvizan and Texas captured the signal. The Enigma code had been broken for over 50 years and was child's play to decrypt.

'Sho-2 to Rudelschwarm 'Schoemann' stop. Rendezvous Grid K-4 IJN Ro-23 three days stop.'

"What's this Sho-2, Boomer?" Gorshin asked his American colleague.

"Sir," ventured one of his two intelligence men, "the Japanese word for campaign, or large operation. Sho-1 was the operation to defend the Philipines, which resulted in the Battle of Samar."

"I see," said Boomer, "'Rudelschwarm?'"

"Wolf Pack."

"Grid K-4?"

"I'd say," said the intelligence man, "that it refers to the U-boat grid system. They'd overlay a grid onto a chart, which gives them boxes of 50 square miles or so. It was how they used to meet up with each other and with their supply ships. IJN, Imperial Japanese Navy, and Ro-23 is the hull number of a submarine, a big one, I'd say, perhaps one of their large transport subs."

"Hmm, so we can deduce that this Jap carrier group is up to something?" Boomer asked.

"Whether the target is ourselves, who knows?"

"We ought to assume it is, Commander." Gorshin nodded, warily. "Can we work out where this position is?"

"We don't have a reference nor a firm idea of the size of the grids. It will have to be a 'best guess' scenario."

"Do it," Boomer told his man.

"Where will that get us, Boomer?" Gorshin asked, "we'd come up with a number of likely locations, and then what? Intercept? They may not have any warlike intent."

"I think that view's naïve, Commander," Boomer told the Russian commander, "the Japs are describing themselves as some kind of task force. That's good enough for me."

"Even so, an air attack on Eden by World War Two aircraft should be easily defended by the weapons at our disposal without going out hunting. If the Retvizan sails out to intercept this wolf pack, doesn't that cut our defences here by over half? In the circumstances, given we can only guess at the co-ordinates of this rendezvous, might the Retvizan end up sailing between battles yet not taking part in either?"

"Just like Admiral Halsey at the battle of Samar?" grinned Boomer, "his Task Force was fooled by a Japanese decoy force, leaving the Samar landing beaches unprotected. You know your history."

"I think we ought to stay concentrated, here. This radio message might be meant for our ears, also. Likely they're aware we can crack the Enigma code."

"Hmm, makes sense, Commander. I just don't like leaving enemy assets out there with any freedom of movement. I think it's time we had a joint air defense command, also. An attack would probably develop using those valleys for approach. Maybe we should break out all our MANPADS, make sure the sensors are adjusted for piston aircraft, get some positions worked out?"

"Your Harpoons have multi-mode sensors?"

"Sure, with command airburst. I take it yours are all anti ship?"

"Unfortunately. We have horizontal-tube launched Vodopad cruise missiles, which ought to be useful against their surface assets. Nine, low altitude, Igla SAMs, as well as our version of your Harpoons."

"Ok, perhaps, commander, you'd be more effective underway? Maybe stationed off the entrance to the fjord?"

"Undoubtedly. In which case, we need someone to take charge of base air defense. Perhaps, Captain... ?"

"Sure, commander, my pleasure. You giving me authority over your men?"

"Unavoidable, Boomer. The Texas has a more modern and flexible operations suite. It seems logical. You may borrow any of my specialists you need, nearing in mind any security reservations..."

"Well, see, I was still a ranking officer last time I looked. This is an issue affecting the security of my ship and I'll damn well use anyone, Russian or American, who'll assist me on that. I ain't a 'by the book Admiral, ' commander."

"Very well. Give me a list of your needs and I'll see to it."

"Thank you, commander."

Firebird's man also correctly interpreted the signal as coming from a Japanese source to the German wolf pack.

"In 1942, Germany and Japan were allies, right?"