Kirov Saga: Devil's Garden (Kirov Series) (37 page)

Chapter 32

The
RMS steamer
Monteagle
was yet another ship of the Canadian
Pacific Railway Company arriving from the Atlantic in 1906 to augment
trans-Pacific service. She was a stolid, twin-screw vessel of 5,478 tons, with
a single stack aft that would allow her to steam at a sedate 12 knots on a good
day. Unlike the other ships in the service of Canadian Pacific, she did not
have the sleek and elegant lines of a clipper-steamer, nor would she ever set
any records for speed. Her freight had been varied over the years, from cattle
boats and coal during the South African War, to refrigerated goods kept in her
ice coolers. Bearing the designation “R.M.S,” she was also an official mail
ship carrying the Royal Mail. Of late she had been refitted with cabin-class
accommodations for 97 passengers with room for as many as a thousand more below
decks in steerage.

She had just recently completed a mail run from Vancouver to
Yokohama, and then on to Shanghai. Now
Monteagle
was east-bound again in
the Sea of Japan, having transited the Tsushima straits the previous day. She
was heading for the Tsugaru Strait between Hokkaido and Honshu for a stop at
Amori, and from there she would make a brief port of call in Dutch Harbor
before swinging down to Vancouver again.

It was just her bad luck that day to be wallowing along in the
exclusion zone Karpov had drawn in his mind. The Captain knew he could not
patrol the entire sea, but wherever
Kirov
sailed, no other ship had
leave unless he decided to permit the passage. This was the first ship he
encountered since the sinking of
Tatsu Maru
and that brief scrap with
the Japanese Navy. He thought he might teach a lesson to other powers in the
region that their shipping was also unwelcome in Japanese waters. At the same
time, a hard line here might renew his own resolve, and that of the crew, as he
considered what to do. Fedorov’s sudden appearance in the mix had been most
disconcerting.

So the Captain received the news of the new radar contact with
quiet satisfaction. In fact, he had deliberately turned fifteen points to port
three hours ago to take the ship closer to the coast of Japan to see what he
might find.

“Signal that steamer, Mister Nikolin. I want to know their
registry, cargo, and what ports they are bound for.”

He had his answer soon enough and quickly told Nikolin that their
cargo of mail from China was to be considered contraband and they could not
proceed unless it was first inspected and all mail bound for Japan removed.

“Sir,” said Rodenko, not understanding what the Captain was doing.
“Why bother with a ship like this?”

“There could be significant military and diplomatic parcels in
that mail cache, Rodenko. It is time we disrupted the flow here. Besides, it is
not only Japanese registered vessels we will have to concern ourselves with,
but those under foreign flags as well. Once we make an example of a few ships,
the sea traffic to Japan should thin out considerably. News of an angry shark
in these waters is exactly what we want here. We will board that ship and seize
their mail cache. I want a party of twenty naval infantry ready in fifteen
minutes.”

“Very well, sir.” Though it was clear Rodenko was not happy about
the situation, he nonetheless sent the order down to the helo bay where the
Marines would hold forth. They were to prepare a launch to make the boarding
approach, and while they did so, Karpov maneuvered the ship in very close.

“That should give them a good long look at what they are facing,
and it will certainly make the impression I want here.”

Yet the Captain on the other ship, even if intimidated by the
sudden appearance of this monstrous warship off his starboard side, still had
the pluck to make a strong protest.

“Captain, they are citing international laws of the sea and claim
immunity as a neutral country undertaking commercial enterprises.”

“Well, tell him these waters are no longer considered safe
international transit zones. This is now a military exclusion zone.”

Nikolin’s signal was sent, but the steamship Captain continued his
protest, stating that any boarding would be illegal under international law and
he was well within his rights to prevent it.

“Prevent it?” Karpov smiled. “I believe this man needs a little
lesson or two. Mister Samsonov, if you please.”

“Captain?”

“Forward bow gun, as before with the Japanese tramp steamer. Give
them a shot across the bow.”

“Aye, sir.” Karpov watched the deck gun quickly rotate to bear on
the target with a single sharp recoil as the round was sent on its way. Then
they waited, and the protest coming now from the
Monteagle
was ever more
strident.

“Sir,” said Nikolin. “They now threaten to file a formal protest
with the Russian government and state our conduct amounts to piracy and is
outrageous.”

“Outrageous? My, what a colorful man. One more round, Mister
Samsonov. I want you to hit the aft quarter of the ship if possible. Aim for
that solitary smokestack.” Then to Nikolin he said: “Let them know we will
disable their engines if they fail to cooperate.”

The sound of the gun was sharp in the air again, and the round hit
home with a bright flash. It ignited a fire aft and Karpov laughed as he looked
through his field glasses seeing how the other ship’s crew scrambled to put out
the flames.

“Ask that upstart sea Captain if he wants me to repeat the lesson,”
said Karpov, a smug look on his face.

The steamer quickly flew a white flag in return, and the boarding
party had no further trouble making their inspection of the ship. There they
found and confiscated five sizable mail bags, and removed them. When they
returned to
Kirov
the Captain told them to store the material and he
would look it over later.

“Did you have any trouble, Sergeant?” he asked over the intercom.

“No sir, but there were casualties on the ship when we got there.
The second round aft killed three civilians.”

“Regrettable,” said Karpov. “Well it can’t be helped. Perhaps that
sea Captain over there will get the wax out of his ears and listen the next
time he’s given an order.”

To strengthen the lesson Karpov had Nikolin send over one last
blunt message of warning.
“RMS Monteagle. You are instructed to make for the
nearest port and if you are found in these waters again, you will be sunk.”

Nikolin sent the message, but it went much farther than he or
Karpov ever could have imagined, for among the 97 passengers booking
accommodations on the
Monteagle
that day were several American citizens
who had the unfortunate luck to be watching the incident from the aft gunwale
of the steamer. Samsonov’s second round ended three lives, and the lives of all
their successive generations, in one swift blow. And it also lit a fuse that
burned all the way to the fiery heart of a most extraordinary man, and one
determined to protect and defend the lives of American citizens, no matter
where they were found in the world.

*
* *

Theodore
Roosevelt was in a good mood that morning, looking over reports
on the progress of his latest grand venture. “Yes, we’ve fairly well kept all
European powers at bay for the last hundred years, lately finishing with the
Spanish, Mister Mahan.” The noted naval strategist was with the Roosevelt that
day at the Presidential hunting camp in Yellowstone. “That was, in no small
part due to our adoption of your policies concerning naval power, as you well
know. As this new century begins the world has been impressed by only two
things achieved by the United States. The first was the Panama Canal project,
joining two oceans in a grand feat of engineering. The second is the voyage of
our Great White Fleet in circumnavigating the world. Nothing has occurred in
the history of the navy of greater and more significance to this country. It is
the most important service I have ever rendered in peacetime to this nation
when I secured funding for the voyage and forced it down the throats of those
dandies in Congress. After we finish with this leg of the voyage nobody will
forget that the American coast is on the Pacific as well as the Atlantic.”

“I agree wholeheartedly, Mister President. Sea power is the fundamental
prerequisite for national greatness, the British being the most outstanding
example of that in centuries past.”

“Yes, well what do you think of the Japanese? They seem to have
read your books and papers as well Mister Mahan. The defeat of the Russian
Pacific and Baltic Fleets was truly stunning in 1905. I don’t have to tell you
that the United States might soon have to face Japan as a major Pacific power.”

“That may indeed be our national destiny, Mister President. We now
control Hawaii, and the Philippines with our own recent victory over a European
power—with much thanks to your efforts in that hot little war. The Spanish
certainly learned a good lesson. Yes, it may come to a confrontation with Japan
in time as well.”

“Our fleet is already in the Pacific and heading west, though in
spite of the rumors circulating, I don’t think the Japanese have any plans to
confront us there. Do you agree that the situation in Europe remains stable for
the moment?”

“I do, sir.”

“Then we have nothing to fear by sending the whole fleet west into
the Pacific.”

“Not at the moment, sir. There will be trouble in Europe soon, I
fear, but not where we are concerned. Germany is the one to watch there. In
time it could come to war. In the meantime, however, this voyage west is the
perfect demonstration of our ability to move the fleet from the Atlantic to the
Pacific any time we choose. And it will establish the fact that we have strong
Pacific bases to support that fleet, and friends in Australia and New Zealand
as well.”

The reception of the Great White Fleet had been overwhelming on
the West coast, with over 300,000 turning out in San Francisco to see the fleet
off to the Pacific. They were well on their way to achieving Roosevelt’s goal
of circumnavigating the globe, but now the greatest ocean on earth lay before
them, and there was a very long way to go. Thus far the voyage from the east
coast had gone very well, and the fleet ships held up admirably under some very
difficult sea conditions, particularly in rounding the straits of Magellan.

By the time the fleet reached San Francisco, however, two
battleships had to stay there due to mechanical problems, the
Maine
and
the
Alabama
, but they were replaced by
Nebraska
and
Wisconsin
.
At the same time an ailing Admiral Evans who had commanded the fleet on its
journey from Hampton Roads was also replaced by Admiral Sperry. Two Squadrons,
each with two divisions of four battleships, would leave San Francisco, sixteen
warships attended by several storeships, tenders, and the hospital ship
Relief
with the repair ship
Panther
. It was indeed a grand venture, an amazing
show of both seamanship as well as America’s growing industrial and military
prowess. But it would soon be darkened by the shadow of a war that no one of
that day had discussed or expected.

A rider came pounding into the camp on a swirl of dust,
dismounting quickly and huffing up to Roosevelt where he sat by the morning
campfire. He stepped smartly up, saluting as he came, and reached into a
leather dispatch pouch at his hip.

“Mister President, sir. News from the Pacific!”

“Well what is it that needs a special courier, soldier? Couldn’t
it wait until I get the morning Paper? You look like you’ve been riding all
night.”

“It’s from Mister Root, sir. There’s been a new outbreak of
hostilities between Japan and Russia.” Root was the former secretary of war,
replaced by William Howard Taft after Roosevelt won the election of 1904. Now
he served as the current Secretary of State, and he was a strong proponent of
military preparedness as well.

“Japan and Russia? I thought we settled that affair years ago. Let
me see it.” Roosevelt reached for the dispatch, reaching into this buckskin
shirt pocket to fetch out his eyeglasses. “Well, well, well…Your presence here
may be fortuitous, Mister Mahan, though we may just have to postpone our hunt
this morning.”

“I certainly hope the Russians haven’t crossed the border into
Manchuria again, Mister President.”

“Nothing so pedestrian, my man. Why this situation is right up
your alley. There’s been an engagement between Russian and Japanese warships in
the Sea of Japan! A Russian battleship has apparently sunk Japanese commercial
shipping and what’s this bit here?” The President leaned in closer, adjusting
his eyepiece. “Well, by God, the Russians have fired on a Canadian steamship as
well. American passengers were aboard and three were killed!”

“That is regrettable, sir. Why would the Russians do such a
thing?”

Roosevelt folded his arms, clearly unhappy, a smoldering anger in
him now. “Well God damnit, I thought I made it very clear what would happen
when American citizens are harmed or interfered with overseas. That business in
Morocco some years back was a strong lesson that we are not to be trifled
with.”