Ice War: The Next War by John Schettler

Author:John Schettler
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: The Writing Shop Press
Published: 2019-07-30T03:00:00+00:00

Part VII

Ardent Fire

“Great results can be achieved with small forces.”

― Sun Tsu, The Art of War

Chapter 19

“There is one more reason I made this trip personally,” said Volkov. “Given our presumed ‘history,’ the drama of meeting you here was somewhat compelling, but the Prime Minister also asked me to make an inquiry, and this was another reason I wanted the matter regarding the Zampolit resolved first.”

“Inquiry? Concerning what?”

“The disappearance of the fleet some weeks ago.” Volkov waited, his eyes searching, but patient.

“Ah,” said Karpov, “you want to know where the Demon sent us.”

“Correct. I know you discussed this with Tyrenkov earlier, but that was a very brief meeting, and he wanted me to get more details.”

“Very well, Fedorov, why don’t you brief our guest.”

“If you must know,” said Fedorov “the explosive force of the eruption displaced us in time. We were not merely lost in all that ash and smoke. This time we moved forward.”

At that, Volkov raised an eyebrow. “To 2025?”

“Correct. It was just a little hop compared to some of the other displacements the ship has endured. Perhaps the fact that Rod-25 was removed had something to do with that. It had an affinity for vectoring displaced objects to the past, but this time, we reached the year 2025.”

“Interesting,” said Volkov. “My, then you have a bundle of intelligence in your sea chest now. Yes? You know who wins this war.”

“I’m afraid not.” Fedorov explained. “We did not remain on this meridian. It was not the 2025 of this timeline, but another. In fact, we reached the meridian we came from, before we took Tunguska forward to this timeline to prevent Kirov’s initial displacement. That said, there was a war underway there when we arrived, the same sad business in the Pacific involving the Chinese, only this time things were quite different.”

Fedorov explained how the alternate ending of WWII had affected events in the Pacific, with no retreat by Chiang Kai Shek to Formosa, and no occupation of Korea by the United States in the south.

“Stunning,” said Volkov. “Tyrenkov told me this, but these details certainly paint the picture. China’s control of Korea and Taiwan would give it an enormous strategic advantage.”

“Yes,” said Fedorov, “but the United States remained a strong foe. Their Navy was smaller, but still quite potent. We participated in a major battle, and for what it’s worth, we sunk a Chinese carrier.”

Volkov laughed at that. “I see our enterprising Admiral here is effective in any milieu. That must have been very odd, to find yourselves allied with our current enemies, and at war with our allies.”

“Indeed,” said Karpov. “Yes, in many ways, it felt better than the situation we have on our hands here. There was no cold war, Volkov. Russia was united under Sergei Kirov after the war, including your precious Orenburg Federation. Siberia remained a Free State, but was a strong confederate of the Soviet Union, yet we quarreled with China. It was inevitable. Mark my words… we may be allied with

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