“Sir… and this may be difficult to explain. I was told by a certain gentleman, who might best remain undisclosed now, that there may be a means of locating that key.”
“Beneath the Atlantic Ocean?”
“Not quite. It may be there now, and unreachable, but that was not always the case. As our presence here testifies, movement in time is now an impossible possibility. A moment ago you stated the key was just sitting in the British Museum for decades. And it was somewhere else before that.”
“You’re suggesting that we might move in time to fetch the thing? My friend Mister H.G. Wells would love that. Have you read his tale?”
“I have sir. It’s a bit of a classic.”
“Yet we don’t seem to have a time machine handy. Otherwise your suggestion would be a splendid idea.”
“Well sir, we might have a time machine handy after all. My ship moved in time, that much is clear. The Russian ship moved in the same way, though that mystery is a horse of a different color. All that aside, something along those lines might be done, though I can’t confirm anything at this moment. Yet I think we had better have a look at Saint Michael’s Cave just the same. Might I have your permission to proceed there?”
“Of course. I’ll see that the navy knows you’ll be coming. But Miss Fairchild… What do you think you will find there? If there is a door of some kind, what might it lead to, another box like the one on your ship?”
Elena hesitated a moment. She had her suspicions, but no real certain knowledge. “All we know is that we have these keys, and with minutely engraved numerals that correspond to geographic coordinates. Those on the key within Rodney point directly to Saint Michael’s Cave.”
At that Churchill raised an eyebrow, slowly lighting a cigar.
“You have seen this first hand? How would that be possible?”
“No, I haven’t see it myself, but this was confided to me by a reliable source.”
“Yet one you prefer not to disclose.”
Elena relented. “Mister Prime Minister, this information does not come from this era, but from a future time.”
“Ah… Then your source is a gentleman, or lady, from the future?”
“Precisely. It would make sense, actually, for more would be known about this the in future years.”
“Then the key itself was obtained at some future time. That at least is hopeful. That being the case, Miss Fairchild, doesn’t it speak to the futility of looking into this further? You have just established that it will not happen until some future moment.”
Elena inclined her head. “My dear sir, I have history books on my ship that related the events of this war in great detail. In them, the German army never attacked Gibraltar, nor did they ever occupy the Rock. They never reached Moscow either, and I could go on to relate any number of events that have clearly happened here, but never happened in the history I know. The point I am making is this—things change, the history is not chiseled in stone, and interventions in the course of these events from travelers originating in the future are likely the cause of these changes.”
Churchill nodded, taking a thoughtful drag on his cigar. “In that light, I can see how keen your interest is to visit Saint Michael’s Cave. Please do so at your earliest convenience, and do let this old man know what you find there, if anything. And speaking of your history, it might also be interesting to take a little peek at one of those books of yours, and see what I might have to deal with in 1943.”
“Of course, sir, we’ll do anything we can for you.”
Churchill thought about that, recalling what the young Russian Captain had said to him about the danger of knowing too much, and how it might influence him to reach decisions he might not have otherwise taken, changing the history he sought to grasp in the first place.
“On second thought,” he said, watching the smoke slowly rise from his cigar. “I think I’d better confine myself to reading reports written in the here and now. We’ve a new year on our doorstep, and trying to walk in my own shadow simply won’t do. I think I’d prefer to face it head on, and not know what that other self of mine once did, or failed to do. Beyond that, you might consider that this is the true course of history now, not that written in your books. These events may never reach an accord with you library, and we must live them through.”
“Aye sir,” said MacRae, and Elena nodded.
“Let’s drink on it then. I always like to follow a good cigar with brandy. To 1943 then!”
* * *
He never could sleep on a submarine. The dreams always bothered him, but nothing like this. He awoke with a start, sitting up with a gasp, as if he had stopped breathing in his sleep, and nearly hitting his head on the bunk above. A bright light glared at him, and he blinked, holding up his hand to ward it off.
“Sorry to disturb you sir,” came a voice… He knew that voice, the quiet, steady tones, the sureness when it spoke. Then his eyes adjusted to the light, and he could see the other man’s face, framed in the open hatch to his room. It was Captain Gromyko.
“The officers were going to have a little New Year’s celebration in the wardroom, and we thought you might want to join us. If you’d rather sleep sir, that’s fine. Sorry to disturb you.”
Gromyko looked at him now, his face suddenly registering concern. “Are you alright sir?”
Was he alright?
His mind was spinning with sudden recollection. Gromyko… the submarine… Kazan…. The mission…. It was all coming back, a flood of images that washed over him like a tidal wave, saturating his mind in a confusing and disorienting rush. Yet the mission was over, was it not? They had found Karpov in the Sea of Japan, or at least they found the ship. They had slipped beneath it like an unseen demon, and the workings of that arcane magic in the reactor room had saved the day… yes…. Rod-25. How could he be here now, back on the submarine; back on Kazan?
“Sir?” said Gromyko. “Shall I call the ship’s physician?”
He held up a hand, reassuring the Captain that he was alright. “All is well, Captain,” he said still struggling to place himself here in the mad rush of recollection. Other memories were there, beneath the torrent that now cascaded into his mind. “Yes, I will join you,” he said, still seeming groggy with sleep. “I think I need some air.”
The man shifted out of the bunk, feet heavily on the deck, and stood up on unsteady legs. “My sea legs aren’t what they used to be,” he said, gripping the side of the bed rail hard. Gromyko stepped forward to render assistance, still worried. He knew the other man was an old surface warrior, and they had been down under the ice a good long while. Some men never really could find their sea legs on a submarine, and it seemed that Admiral Volsky was one of them.
“Here sir,” said Gromyko. “Let me give you a hand. Then we’ll both raise a toast to the new year—unless you don’t feel up to it.”
“What?” said Volsky. “Captain, I was just dreaming, but I can still drink most any man I have ever met under the table. What year have we gotten ourselves into this time?”
“Why, 1943, sir. 1943.”
The Saga Continues…
Book 27 in the Kirov Saga
1943
The presence of an old Sea Dog aboard Kazan introduces an unexpected twist as the new year begins, and the fate of the original Kirov now becomes clearer. Who is this Admiral, and how much does he know of all that came before?
The Pacific War heats up again with the return of Admiral Halsey. And with him comes a rejuvenated fast carrier force. Ready for battle at last, Nimitz and Halsey plan a daring new direction for the war. Recalled from the Indian Ocean, Captain Harada and crew join Yamamoto and the Kido Butai to seek the decisive battle that could decide the balance of power in the Pacific for 1943. Meanwhile, their alliance renewed, Karpov and Fedorov take the battlecruiser Kirov out of the frigid north to seek battle in the warmer waters of the South Pacific. With both men now determined to fight and win this war, Vladimir Karpov takes off the gloves and
gets serious.
Meanwhile in North Africa, the Allies launch a bold new offensive aimed at breaking Kesselring’s line of defense in Algeria. Involving amphibious landings to the rear of the enemy position, the Royal Navy is called to action to cover these operations. Now Admiral Raeder must decide the fate of his Mediterranean Squadron, as Bismarck rejoins the fleet to lead the Kriegsmarine to battle.
In the east, General Zhukov plays out his last cards in the Soviet Winter Offensive, and plans for the new year centered on two key cities. First, the showdown at Kursk to resolve the fate of Model’s 2nd Panzerarmee, and then the buildup for Operation Untergang, the drive on Leningrad that the Germans hope will bring the downfall of Soviet Russia
1943 begins with action on three fronts, on land and at sea!
Reading the Kirov Series
The Kirov Series is a long chain of linked novels by John Schettler in the Military Alternate History / Time Travel Genre. Like the popular movie “The Final Countdown” which saw the US Carrier Nimitz sent back in time to the eve of Pearl Harbor in 1941, in the opening volume, the powerful Russian battlecruiser Kirov is sent back to the 1940s in the Norwegian Sea where it subsequently becomes embroiled in the war.
Similar to episodes in the never ending Star Trek series, the saga continues through one episode after another as the ship’s position in time remains unstable. It culminates in Book 8 Armageddon, then continues the saga in Altered States, which begins the second “Season” in the series, extending through Volume 16. The series is presently in Season 4, covering the Allied offensives in North Africa, and the winter battles of late 1942. Boldly enters the crucial year of 1943 in Book 27, aptly titled “1943.”
How to Read the Kirov Series
The best entry point is obviously Book I, Kirov, where you will meet all the main characters in the series and learn their inner motivations. The series itself, however, is structured in “seasons” with 8 books in each season. In Season 1, the first three volumes form an exciting trilogy featuring much fast paced naval action as Kirov battles the Royal Navy, Regia Marina (Italians) and finally the Japanese after sailing to the Pacific in Book III. Book 4, Men Of War stands as a sequel to that trilogy and the bridge novel that links it to the second segment of Season 1, beginning with 9 Days Falling.
The 9 Days Falling trilogy focuses on the struggle to prevent a great war in 2021 from reaching a terrible nuclear climax that destroys the world. It spans books 5, 6, and 7, featuring the outbreak of the war in 2021 as Japan and China battle over disputed islands, and the action of the Red Banner Pacific Fleet against the modern US Fleet. It then takes a dramatic turn when the ship is again shifted in time to 1945. There they confront the powerful US Pacific Fleet under Admiral Halsey, and so this trilogy focuses much of the action as Kirov faces down the US in two eras. Several subplots are also launched that serve to relate other events in the great war of 2021, and deepen the mystery of time travel as discovered in the series. The season ends at another crucial point in history where the ship’s Captain, Vladimir Karpov, believes he is in a position to decisively change events, the season finale, Armageddon.
Season 2 begins with the Altered States trilogy, where Kirov becomes trapped in the world made by its many interventions in the history, an altered reality beginning in June of 1940. It is here that a sequential alternate history retelling of WWII begins that will extend to the war’s conclusion in 1945. The opening volume sees the ship pitted against the one navy of WWII it has not yet fought, the Kriegsmarine of Germany, which now has powerful new ships from the German Plan Z naval building program as one consequence of Kirov’s earlier actions.
The Altered States saga spans books 9 through 16, initially covering the German attack on the carrier Glorious, the British raids on the Vichy French Fleets at Mers-el Kebir and Dakar, and the German Operation Felix against Gibraltar. Other events in Siberia involve the rise of Karpov to power, and his duel with Ivan Volkov of the Orenburg Federation, one of the three fragmented Russian states. (And these involve airship battles!)
The second half of Season 2 begins with Three Kings. It covers the action in North Africa, including O’Connor’s whirlwind “Operation Compass” and Rommel’s arrival and first offensive, Operation Sonnenblume. The main characters from Kirov and other plot lines from the opening 8 book saga figure prominently in all this action, with a decisive intervention that arises from a most unexpected plot twist. Book 13, Grand Alliance continues the war in the desert as Rommel is suddenly confronted with a powerful new adversary, and Hitler reacts by strongly reinforcing the Afrika Korps. It also presents the struggle for naval supremacy in the Mediterranean as the British face down a combined Axis fleet from three enemy nations.
Book 14, Hammer of God, covers a surprise German airborne attack, and the British campaigns in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq. It continues in Crescendo of Doom, the German response as Rommel begins his second offensive aimed at Tobruk on the eve of Operation Barbarossa. At the same time, the action in Siberia heats up in a growing conflict between Vladimir Karpov and Ivan Volkov.
Book 16 is the Season 2 finale, Paradox Hour, where the ship faces the prospect of annihilation on the day it first arrived in the past, 28 July, 1941. This impending event overshadows all else as Kirov joins Tovey in a pursuit of Hindenburg and Bismarck as they break out into the Atlantic.
Season 3 then begins with Book 17, Doppelganger, where the aftereffects of the Paradox are finally sorted out. Fedorov is strangely displaced, and appears on the newly arrived ship, while Vladimir Karpov survives in Siberia, even as another version of himself defies paradox and appears on Kirov. Now Fedorov struggles to prevent the same dominoes from falling and keep the ship from engaging the Royal Navy as it did in Book 1. At the same time, the Siberian Karpov plots to seize control of the ship, and that action invariably involves Ivan Volkov, who has his own plans to strike at Ilanskiy in Nemesis.
The war then heats up on the East Front as the Germans launch Operation Typhoon, reaching a dramatic event on the outskirts of Moscow in Book 19, Winter Storm. These actions continue through Tide of Fortune, as Japan enters the war at Pearl Harbor, and the British again tangle with Rommel in Operation Crusader. The action then depicts the Japanese Malayan Campaign and the battle for Singapore, naval actions off Java and the invasion of the barrier islands, and then Operation FS, leading to battles in the Coral Sea and of the Fiji Island group.
In Knights Move, Montgomery is brought in to try and save Singapore, and coordinate the defense of Java. In the West, as the Germans battle for Gran Canaria in Operation Condor, Admiral Raeder turns his fast raiders loose in Operation Rosselsprung, but the Germans find something far more than they ever expected in the deep South Atlantic.
Turning Point resolves the fast naval actions in the Canaries as the German raiders attempt to return to Casablanca with their mysterious prize of war. Meanwhile, the Japanese invasion of Java is interrupted by an event that threatens to change the balance in the Pacific. A most unusual challenger to the ship they call Mizuchi appears on the scene. Meanwhile, in the Western Desert, the British launch Operation Supercharge to try and push Rommel off his Gazala line and liberate Cyrenaica.
In Steel Reign, the Japanese offensive reaches its high water mark as Yamamoto launches Operation FS in a bold attempt to storm the Islands of Fiji and Samoa and isolate Australia. He is opposed by a determined stand made by Admirals Fletcher and Halsey in the desperate battles of the Coral Sea and Koro Sea to decide the fate of Empires. Meanwhile Vladimir Karpov continues his long planned invasion of Sakhalin Island, but Japan now has a powerful new champion as the Destroyer Takami is detached north to join Admiral Kurita’s task force. The showdown is resolved in the season finale, Second Front, as the Allies storm ashore at Casablanca and Lisbon in September of 1942.
The series continues in the premiere of Season Four: Tigers East, where Rommel regains his lost glory in the deserts of Libya while Patton drives east in an attempt to enfilade Von Arnim’s defense in
Algeria. Manstein takes his hammer east as well to Volgograd, where the grueling fight for the city begins in Thor’s Hammer. As the new year of 1943 dawn, the Allies now begin their war in earnest, and the outcome of the battles looming ahead will decide the course of the war.
You can enter the series at any season by reading the novel that immediately precedes your desired entry point, as it also acts as a prelude to events beginning that season. Information on the battles covered in each book is available at www.writingshop.ws.
KIROV SERIES - SEASON 1: Kirov
1) Kirov
2) Cauldron of Fire
3) Pacific Storm
4) Men of War
5) Nine Days Falling
6) Fallen Angels
7) Devil’s Garden
8) Armageddon – Season 1 Finale
KIROV SERIES - SEASON 2: Altered States (1940 – 1941)
9) Altered States
10) Darkest Hour
11) Hinge of Fate
12) Three Kings
13) Grand Alliance
14) Hammer of God
15) Crescendo of Doom
16) Paradox Hour – Season 2 Finale
KIROV SERIES – SEASON 3: Doppelganger (1941 – 1942)
17) Doppelganger
18) Nemesis
19) Winter Storm
20) Tide of Fortune
21) Knight’s Move
22) Turning Point
23) Steel Reign
24) Second Front – Season 3 Finale
KIROV SERIES – SEASON 4: Tigers East (1942 – 1943)
25) Tigers East
26) Thor’s Anvil
27) 1943
With books 28-32 to be announced
Discover other titles by John Schettler:
Award Winning Science Fiction:
Thor's Anvil (Kirov Series Book 26) Page 32