Three Kings

“I must also tell you that we are not the only men from our time at large in this world.” The name Ivan Volkov was soon on his lips, and the Admiral had Fedorov explain the situation concerning Volkov, and how he must have made his way down the stairwell of Ilanskiy to 1908, even as Fedorov had, to find himself a witness to the dreadful Tunguska event. The Orenburg Federation was the result, and now Fedorov also revealed that the man they had stalked together, the former Captain of Kirov, was also at large.

“Karpov? Here? He’s alive?”

“Very much alive,” said Volsky. “And true to that man’s nature, he has wormed his way into a position of power in the Free Siberian State. Both of these men are dangerous, and even more so in the positions they now hold. Our only consolation at the moment is that they appear to be squabbling with one another.”

“Amazing,” said Gromyko.

“Indeed. But we are dangerous men as well,” Volsky held up a finger. “Together we can make a real difference here. Fedorov will brief you as to what has happened. The war, Gromyko. That is the issue now. This damn war will lead to the next as sure as winter follows autumn. We thought we could do something about it, and we have undertaken a few operations to prevent the German navy from mischief up north. I must also tell you that we have established a firm alliance with the Royal Navy of England. We fought against them the first time we found ourselves here, largely because they became our enemy after this war ended. Yet if the friendship and alliance between Russia and the west can be preserved, perhaps that is the key to saving that future we have come from. We have made contact with a good man here in the British Admiral Tovey, and we are coordinating with him to see what we can do. But the war, Gromyko. Things have taken a sudden turn for the worse. Fedorov?”

“The British have lost Gibraltar,” said Fedorov. “The Germans launched an operation that had been planned in our history, but never executed. It succeeded. The place is now in German hands. They’ve moved in artillery, placed heavy guns to cover the straits, and they have just moved troops to Morocco. They will undoubtedly build airfields there. That threat, plus the presence of German U-Boats operating from Gibraltar has effectively closed the Western Mediterranean to British shipping.”

“And what about Russia?”

“Hitler did not invade us until later this year, and so far that history seems to be holding. There is an ongoing buildup on the Polish frontier, but after Gibraltar, the Germans launched operations into the Balkans. They have invaded Yugoslavia, and the Italians have attacked Greece. Under threat of German invasion, Bulgaria has joined the Axis, and there is fighting in Greece. This will open that entire southern front and the enemy will surely deploy there, ready to go into the Ukraine if so ordered later this year.”

“What can we do about it?” Gromyko folded his arms, asking the obvious question.

“That is the dilemma. Our power is redoubled now that you are here. On the sea, we are a force unmatched, but your question points out the other side of that coin. We cannot stop German armies when they move on land, not unless we opt for the final solution with our heavy warheads, and that we have not yet decided. The thought of trying to prevent an all out nuclear war by starting one here is somewhat unpalatable to me.”

“I understand, sir.”

“That said, Hitler must be confronted, somewhere, and we must do what we can to stem the Nazi tide if possible. I have kept a watch on the Atlantic, discretely, as the Soviet Union and Germany are not yet at war and we are not eager to change that just yet. But we have been following the news of the German advance into the Balkans, and we know where it will inevitably lead.”

“Istanbul,” said Fedorov. “The Bosporus. Ivan Volkov and the Orenburg Federation has all the oil and the resources Hitler needs, and once he is finished in the Balkans only Turkey will stand between him and what he most desires. Germany prevailed in their attack on Gibraltar, and it has had the effect of bottling up the British in the Middle East, with a supply line by sea that now must go all the way around the Cape of Good Hope here, over 12,000 miles long. The war is shifting that way now, at least for the foreseeable future.”

“And so we will shift with it,” said Volsky. “The British are set on relieving our watch on the Atlantic. In fact, they have already done so. The Germans managed to slip a few heavy ships through-not on my watch-but what does that matter. They now have battleships based in the French Atlantic ports. Fedorov?”