Yegor hung his coat and hat on the hanger attached to the back of the door. He pulled the trash can over to the edge of the desk and in a sweeping motion, sent it all into the can. Coffee cups and glasses clattered together, some breaking, which was making the Lieutenant even more nervous as he sat waiting.
Yegor sat down and rummaged through the desk drawers. Much of what he found went into the trashcan with the other junk. At exactly 06:30 he called for the Lieutenant.
“Junior Lieutenant Sidorvo, come.”
“Junior Lieutenant Sidorvo reporting as ordered, Sir.”
“Sit,” Yegor said indicating a chair while he was reading a file in front of him. He closed it and looked at the young Lieutenant. He tapped the file on the desk.
“Your napeelneek,” he said.
“Yes sir. I can explain…”
“I’m sure you can. I would certainly hope so. Let me ask you this, how do you know what is in your file?”
“Sir?”
“These are supposed to be for the commander’s eyes only. How do you know what your file contains?”
“Ah...Captain Mihailvo allowed me to see it.”
The General just looked at the Lieutenant. His eyes flickered away and then he looked at his hands. He was lying. Yegor just sat, waiting.
“Captain Mihailvo left his office and file drawer unlocked most of the time. When he had to attend an important meeting he would often rush out and have me lock up,” the Junior Lieutenant finally confessed.
“These important meetings. They were with his mistress?”
“Mistresses. He had three or four at various times.”
“Three or four? I thought he was married,” the General said.
“Yes sir. His wife is quite beautiful. She lives in town but the Captain is quite a lady’s man, or so he thinks.”
“Meaning?”
“Occasionally some of the compound’s supplies get delegated to various charities. This is what makes him so attractive to the women.”
“Charities, meaning his mistresses?”
“I believe so,” Sidorvo said.
“Quite a commanding officer you have had here,” Yegor said.
“Quite.”
“And I take it from your file that you did not think much of the Captain’s behavior.”
“No sir I did not, but I knew what he was saying about me and so after a while I simply stopped saying anything and let whatever happened, happen. Every time I made a fuss he would give me a negative review. It’s all in the file as you know.”
“Junior Lieutenant Sidorvo, I want to ask one thing. Can you make these men into a viable unit again?”
“Yes sir, with the General’s support.”
“Then you have my full support. I want to have this base ready to respond to any situation in no more than fifteen minutes from the time any orders are received. Do you still think you can do that?”
“It will take a few weeks but I can do it. I believe the standard is eighteen minutes but I understand what you are stressing. The standard will not be good enough here.”
“That is precisely what I am saying. I am promoting you from junior lieutenant, to лейтенант immediately. If you fail, then you will no longer be a Lieutenant or even your current rank of Junior Lieutenant. You will be старший прапорщик. Are you sure? Going back to being a Senior Warrant Officer would not be very pleasant.”
“Major General, I can have the men ready. Your support is all I will need.”
“I have given you my word on that Lieutenant Sidorvo. I will await notice of when you are ready for my inspection. Do not keep me waiting too long.”
“Yes sir Major General. I will have the men gather immediately.”
“Remember, I will be talking to each of the officers. If I feel they will not fit in, they will be shipped off immediately.”
“I understand sir. I will make that clear to the men as well.”
“Please do. You are dismissed Lieutenant,” Yegor said.
“Thank you sir,” the new Lieutenant said, standing to attention and saluting. Yegor stood and returned the salute.
That should buy him some loyalty, Yegor thought as he called for the next officer. He spent the entire day talking to each of the officers.
He divided the officers into four categories. Category ones were those he felt he could put back in place and would make good military men once they understood what was required of them.
The second category ones were the ones that may be salvageable. Some were key personnel in the launching of the missiles and the technical aspects. They would be hard to replace but he would do it if necessary.
The third category ones were the ones he had real doubts about but they had some redeeming qualities. Once they were given direction they might come around and be useful again.
The last group was the one with officers that he intended to get rid of. They were slackers that had no real interest in the military. They would be sent off before the week was over.
Almost overnight changes began to happen. Everyone was dressed in clean and pressed uniforms and officers were acknowledged by rank and saluted. Yegor had to smile; nothing like shooting someone to get everyone’s attention.
Lieutenant Sidorvo was proving to be a diamond in the rough. He had immediately taken charge and did not hesitate to identify those that did not carry their weight. The entire atmosphere of the camp changed.
Three weeks into the process, Yegor allowed them one night of freedom to go into town. Those who had duty were allowed to go the following night. It was interesting to see what one night would do for morale. The married men were much more relaxed and the single men mostly had hangovers but kept working in spite of them.
~~
“Major General, I believe we are now ready for your inspection,” Sidorvo said.
“Excellent! Excellent news! You still have a few more days. Are you sure you don’t want to take the additional time?”
“We are ready,” he said confidently.
“Then let us proceed,” Yegor said, putting on his coat, hat, and heavy mittens.
The snow crunched under their feet as they walked to the operations building. The alarm was situated there and Yegor took out a stopwatch from his pocket after he sat down.
“You have fifteen minutes until the ready light comes on. Are you ready to proceed?”
“Yes sir. The men are ready.”
“And you have not warned them that this was coming?”
“No sir. Those were your orders. They have no idea. Most are either in the mess hall or the bunkroom.”
“Then we shall proceed. Good luck Lieutenant Sidorvo,” the General said and turned the alarm.
A loud klaxon started blaring.
“I need to go as well, General.”
“By all means. Do what is necessary.”
As soon as Sidorvo left the General walked down the hall and looked out of the window. Men were running in several directions but there appeared to be no panic. That was a good thing. They were simply going about the business of doing what was necessary to get the job done in the amount of time allotted.
The missile launch tubes were located nearly 40 meters underground. There were four hardened silos at the compound, each holding two, R-36M two stage intercontinental missiles that used Unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) as the liquid propellant and nitrogen tetroxide as the oxidizing agent.
What made the system so deadly was the fact that each silo could launch the other’s missiles if necessary. Upon launch, the missile is shot out of the tube by a piston that is driven by the expansion of gases from a slow-burning black powder charge located inside the piston itself.
The missile's main engine is ignited above the ground and this arrangement helps to prevent any damage to the internal equipment of the silo itself. This cold start process enables the second missile to be rapidly loaded into the empty launch tube from the silo and quickly launched before the any retaliatory s
trike arrives.
Each R-36 can carry different types of warheads, a single twenty megaton, a MIRV, or Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle that contains ten 750 Kiloton nuclear warheads.
The Lieutenant was in the command center watching his stopwatch as well. He spoke into the headset that connected him to the other three silos.
“One minute,” he said, watching the activity taking place.
The men were sweating but they were not panicking. He watched as the launch officer opened the triggering device and placed his key in the slot.
“Ready sir,” he said.
“Thirty seconds.”
“Ready on Three. Ready on Two.”
He waited, watching the second hand move faster toward the deadline.
“Ready on Four,” the last station reported.
Sidorvo placed his key in the triggering device. He pushed the ready button. Ten seconds to spare. He smiled at the launch officer. They had done it. No one said anything yet.
The phone rang and he picked it up, “Lieutenant Sidorvo.”
“Lieutenant. Very well done except for one detail.”
Sidorvo’s heart leaped into his throat. They had done everything. He had been checking off each item as it was reported done. He quickly scanned the list. Everything had a check mark next to it.
“Sir. I don’t understand. We have followed the protocols as per Form Z.1K1.”
“Perhaps you did but what about the other protocol?”
“Major General. I do not know of any other...oh. You mean checking to make sure the Commanding Officer is secure in the hardened shelter as well,” he said, rubbing his eyes.
How could he be so stupid? He felt like a total idiot. He wouldn’t be surprised if the General decided to shoot him.
“Sir, I am at fault. The men performed their duties as directed. I am the one to blame,” he said with a dejected voice.
“Relax Lieutenant Sidorvo. Any Commander who has to be reminded to get his ass into a hardened bunker deserves to die anyway. It is a stupid rule and totally unnecessary. You can relax and pass along my congratulations to the men. You have done well Lieutenant Sidorvo.”
“Thank you sir. But I do feel rather stupid.”
“Forget it. I already have,” Yegor said as he hung up.
“Well?” the launch officer asked.
“He sends his congratulations on a job well done. The men let out a yell and cheered. They had done what they thought would be impossible just three weeks ago. Sidorvo could hear the others yelling over the headset.
~~
Yegor was proud of what had been accomplished. All of the malcontents had been shipped off and Captain Mihailvo had been demoted to Junior Lieutenant. He was now posted at the military weather station in Siberia. His wife stayed behind, and seemed glad that he was going someplace far away.
Yegor bumped into her in town one day when he was coming out of a bookstore.
“You are the new Commander,” she said as a statement, not a question.
“Yes I am. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?” Yegor asked, having no idea who she was.
She was very beautiful and he thought it may be one of the Captain’s former mistresses. Her hazel eyes were particularly striking. She was almost as tall as he was and had beautiful skin, long legs and a very nice figure.
“I am Matryona Mihailvo. I believe you shot my husband,” she said matter of factly.
“Ah...Captain Mihailvo’s wife. It is a pleasure to meet you,” Yegor said.
“Tell me General, are you a good shot?”
“Yes, I believe I am. I was the national small arms champion in Moscow three years in a row.”
“Then why did you miss?”
He looked at her puzzled, “Miss? I didn’t miss.”
“You did as far as I am concerned. I would have preferred it if you had shot him in a more appropriate place,” she said.
Yegor looked at her in surprise, his mouth open.
“Good day, General,” she said, walking on.
Yegor turned to watch her go. He suddenly burst out laughing and she quickly looked around and gave a quick wave. Her name was Matryona, meaning lady but she obviously had had her fill of the womanizing Captain Mihailvo.
~~
Now that the camp was operating efficiently he decided to sponsor a celebration in honor of May Day. There would be two events, one for officers and their wives or guests, and one for the enlisted men. It was almost unheard of for a party to be given for the enlisted.
The Officers would hold their dance in the large auditorium and the enlisted party would take place in the recreation gym. Lieutenant Sidorvo was in charge of the events and he had managed to round up two bands to play.
Yegor loved it when everything was humming along and the morale had never been higher to hear the Lieutenant talk. The enlisted men and officers were in their dress uniforms and a lavish array of food was lining tables. Punch, which undoubtedly contained a generous amount of vodka, was flowing at a very fast pace. The music, while not the best, was made up for in volume. It didn’t seem to matter, everyone was just happy to have something like this happen.
Yegor was shocked when Matryona Mihailvo walked into the party. Several people stopped and stared but it didn’t seem to faze her at all. Lieutenant Sidorvo hurried over to her and they talked for several seconds.
He came over to the General and said, “I am sorry sir. I did not invite her here tonight. She heard about the party and decided to come on her own.”
“We should have invited her. She has as much right to be here as any military wife I suppose. I should have instructed you to extend the invitation.”
Sidorvo looked at him to see if he was just pulling his leg but his look did not convey that.
Yegor got two glasses of punch and walked over to where she was standing alone.
“Matryona Mihaidvo. It is so nice to have you join us. I must take full responsibility for your not receiving an invitation. I should have ensured that you were invited, my apologies.”
“General, that is very kind of you to say but as you see, it takes more than not receiving an invitation to keep me from the only party that this base has had since I ended up here,” she replied.
He held out a glass of punch to her.
“You look lovely, no wonder the other wives are looking at you,” he said and then immediately realized how inappropriate the comment was.
“What a lovely thing to say. Are you blushing Major General Nitikin?”
“Perhaps just a little,” he said and laughed.
She had on a full length white silk dress that was cut fairly low but not gaudy. Her hair was up and she had small flowers pinned in it. Where she had gotten them with all the snow still on the ground was a mystery. She was by far the most attractive woman in the room and when the wives were not looking, the men were checking her out as well.
Probably to a man they were thinking what in the hell was wrong with Captain Mihaidvo? Yegor invited her to dance at one point and she accepted. He considered himself to be an excellent dancer but Matryona was amazing. She was so fluid it was like they had been dancing partners for a very long time. They sat and chatted for several hours, getting up to dance occasionally. The rest of the night progressed without incident and Yegor was very definitely glad when he thought he could make a graceful exit. He had wanted to leave much earlier but felt the men deserved to have a good time and he had enjoyed the company of Matryona.
He waited until almost midnight before he excused himself and congratulated Lieutenant Sidorvo on a splendid evening. As he was leaving Captain Mihaildvo’s wife came up behind him.
“General, you are leaving so soon?”
“I am afraid so. I have a very busy day tomorrow and I am afraid I am not as young as the others.”
“Come now General. Surely they have much more eventful parties in Moscow.”
“I am afraid I am not much for parties. I hope you had a pleasant evening.”
“I did indeed. Please, if you wouldn’t mind, I would love to be included on any future gatherings you decide to have.”
“I would be delighted to make sure you are included,” he said and bowed slightly.
“I have one other favor to ask of you if I may be so bold.”
“A favor? What kind of favor?”
“In all the time I have been here I have never actually seen where my husband worked. Would it be possible for you to arrange a tour of the base for me?”
“I’m very sorry. That is not possible.”
“But it was done in the past for certain friends of my husband.”
“Ah. Yes I suppose that would be true but I am afraid those days are gone. I simply cannot allow civilians to visit the installation.”
“Is it because of the missiles?” she asked quietly.
“Missiles? I am afraid you have been misinformed. This is certainly not a missile facility,” the General said, “Now I really must be going.”
“I find that strange. Several of my husband’s friends said they have actually seen them.”
“Just idle bragging. There are no missiles. Goodnight Matryona Mihailvo. I will make sure your name is put on the invitation list.”
“Thank you General Nitikin. It was a lovely evening,” she said and walked away.
What was that all about, Yegor wondered? Did that fool of a husband of hers actually take his mistresses down into the missile silos? If he had known that he would have shot the son of a bitch in the head instead of the leg.
When he stepped outside he was glad to see it had stopped snowing. He could hear the enlisted men over at the gym and had to smile. He was sure their party was a lot more interesting. They were probably all drunk as skunks by this time.
Yegor was still puzzled by Matryona comments. Why had she even brought the subject up? Did she really think that he would let civilians go down into the silos? Had she been asked to keep an eye on him? That was certainly a possibility. It would not be the first time that he had been subject to surveillance. After all, he had shot her husband and then had him shipped off to Siberia. That would certainly not win him many points no matter what she said.
THE BEGINNING Book Two (THE EVENT) Page 7