there could be damage.”
Orlov
was a practical man, big, rough hewn, and easily irritated. Yet he held his
emotions tightly in hand in spite of the obvious danger inherent in the
situation. Something had exploded. Something was wrong. His was a mind and hand
that would first reach for a wrench or spanner to fix the problem. Afterwards
he would find out who was responsible and grill them to a hard char. His thick
woolen cap was pulled low on his forehead, heavy brows frowning as he spoke.
And when he mentioned possible damage, the Admiral could also perceive just a
hint of blame in his voice, as if Orlov was already running down the system
maintenance roster in his mind, looking to single out an unfortunate mishman ,
or midshipman, to goad and blame for the mishap.
“Very
well,” the Admiral intervened. “Initiate full, ship-wide systems checks. Every system,
every component. Then, until we hear from Severomorsk, we will continue south
to rendezvous with Slava's last known position. If there was such a
pulse as you describe, Orlov, then she may have sustained damage as well. This
would account for the radio silence.”
“But
it could be an attack, Admiral.” Karpov still had a nervous, anxious look on
his face.
“A
single missile? A single torpedo? Perhaps, Karpov, but would you attack in such
a manner?”
“With
nuclear weapons, one is enough, sir.”
“True,
but to miss by a margin sufficient to leave us afloat? This is very unlikely.
And no follow-on attack? You are assuming that the enemy sensors are damaged as
well, and that they do not know we are still here, steaming quietly at 10 knots
with active sonar pinging away just a moment ago?”
Karpov
raised his eyebrows. It didn't make sense. And when things did not fit into his
carefully ordered perception of the world he was soon at his wits end. If the
ship were his to command he would be on an alternate evasive heading at thirty knots.
“Have you considered the possibility that Slava may have been destroyed
as well, sir?”
“I
am considering every possibility, Captain. And I take your concerns under
advisement. That is why we will investigate this matter further. If Slava is there, then we will find her, or at least the targeting barges she was
towing. If this was an attack, I do not think the enemy would have any interest
and sinking them.”
“But
what if Slava was also targeted with a nuclear warhead, sir? The barges
would have been destroyed as well.”
“Time
will tell. And to shorten the wait, let's get the KA-226 up immediately. It
will be over Slava's position in 10 minutes.”
He
was referring to the KA-226 scout helicopter carried on the aft quarter of the
ship. It was ideal when used in an extended reconnaissance role like this.
“See
to it, Karpov. Let us answer your questions once and for all. Tell them to rig
radiation detection sensors and drop sonar and infrared detection buoys if they
make no visual contact with Slava after they reach her last plotted
position. If this was an attack, then it should be obvious to us very soon.
Even if Slava were sunk, we should still be able to detect the wreckage
on the seafloor, particularly on infrared. In the meantime, the ship is at
action stations and we will complete our systems diagnostics to assure
ourselves we can function should it come to a fight. At the moment we have no
targets, gentlemen. So there is nothing more to be done. Now, get that helicopter
into the air at once.”
Twenty
minutes later they got their first report, yet even the radio transmission
seemed distant, distorted and almost garbled at times. This merely added to
Karpov’s suspicion that the atmosphere was still experiencing effects of a
recent nuclear detonation. And when the KA-226 reported no sign of the Slava ,
or of any of her towed barges, the Captain was even more certain that the task
force had been attacked. He paced anxiously on the bridge, his eyes searching
the thickening fog ahead of them as if he
Orlov
was a practical man, big, rough hewn, and easily irritated. Yet he held his
emotions tightly in hand in spite of the obvious danger inherent in the
situation. Something had exploded. Something was wrong. His was a mind and hand
that would first reach for a wrench or spanner to fix the problem. Afterwards
he would find out who was responsible and grill them to a hard char. His thick
woolen cap was pulled low on his forehead, heavy brows frowning as he spoke.
And when he mentioned possible damage, the Admiral could also perceive just a
hint of blame in his voice, as if Orlov was already running down the system
maintenance roster in his mind, looking to single out an unfortunate mishman ,
or midshipman, to goad and blame for the mishap.
“Very
well,” the Admiral intervened. “Initiate full, ship-wide systems checks. Every system,
every component. Then, until we hear from Severomorsk, we will continue south
to rendezvous with Slava's last known position. If there was such a
pulse as you describe, Orlov, then she may have sustained damage as well. This
would account for the radio silence.”
“But
it could be an attack, Admiral.” Karpov still had a nervous, anxious look on
his face.
“A
single missile? A single torpedo? Perhaps, Karpov, but would you attack in such
a manner?”
“With
nuclear weapons, one is enough, sir.”
“True,
but to miss by a margin sufficient to leave us afloat? This is very unlikely.
And no follow-on attack? You are assuming that the enemy sensors are damaged as
well, and that they do not know we are still here, steaming quietly at 10 knots
with active sonar pinging away just a moment ago?”
Karpov
raised his eyebrows. It didn't make sense. And when things did not fit into his
carefully ordered perception of the world he was soon at his wits end. If the
ship were his to command he would be on an alternate evasive heading at thirty knots.
“Have you considered the possibility that Slava may have been destroyed
as well, sir?”
“I
am considering every possibility, Captain. And I take your concerns under
advisement. That is why we will investigate this matter further. If Slava is there, then we will find her, or at least the targeting barges she was
towing. If this was an attack, I do not think the enemy would have any interest
and sinking them.”
“But
what if Slava was also targeted with a nuclear warhead, sir? The barges
would have been destroyed as well.”
“Time
will tell. And to shorten the wait, let's get the KA-226 up immediately. It
will be over Slava's position in 10 minutes.”
He
was referring to the KA-226 scout helicopter carried on the aft quarter of the
ship. It was ideal when used in an extended reconnaissance role like this.
“See
to it, Karpov. Let us answer your questions once and for all. Tell them to rig
radiation detection sensors and drop sonar and infrared detection buoys if they
make no visual contact with Slava after they reach her last plotted
position. If this was an attack, then it should be obvious to us very soon.
Even if Slava were sunk, we should still be able to detect the wreckage
on the seafloor, particularly on infrared. In the meantime, the ship is at
action stations and we will complete our systems diagnostics to assure
ourselves we can function should it come to a fight. At the moment we have no
targets, gentlemen. So there is nothing more to be done. Now, get that helicopter
into the air at once.”
Twenty
minutes later they got their first report, yet even the radio transmission
seemed distant, distorted and almost garbled at times. This merely added to
Karpov’s suspicion that the atmosphere was still experiencing effects of a
recent nuclear detonation. And when the KA-226 reported no sign of the Slava ,
or of any of her towed barges, the Captain was even more certain that the task
force had been attacked. He paced anxiously on the bridge, his eyes searching
the thickening fog ahead of them as if he
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