AK 239: The Enemy Is Already Here

TK-20

Captain Vasili’s Diary

This is the most difficult thing that I have ever done.

The easy part was torpedoing a submarine full of men who just helped kill our friends. A much more delicate task will be to convince my own Russian men to surrender our boat to the Americans. I have some key officers assembled on the conning tower and I’m worried mutiny may be next.

I don’t even have the words to speak to my men.

I speak very soberly,

“Gentlemen, I appreciate your hearing me out before you decide anything. I believe the Americans will not let us escape to Mother Russia. We might have gotten under the polar ice cap but it’s likely the USS Alaska or her replacement is still sitting there. They would be waiting for us. At this point the Americans think we just attacked the United States. There would be an order from the President of the United States to kill us.”

“We would all die and for what?

“Nothing.”

“Absolutely nothing.”

I think to myself as I’m speaking, it’s hard to tell what my officers are really thinking. I know most of them like family.

However, a few of them I don’t know at all.

Are they going to kill me right here?

Are they going to grab me and charge me with treason?

Like all good Russians, you play close to the vest and with your best poker face. I’m just putting all my cards on the table now. Am I doing the right thing? I continue to speak with the men:

“If the Americans don’t put me in jail, I intend to spend the rest of my natural days on this earth watching corn sway in the breeze of a hot Nebraska summer. I’m choosing that over a certain death in Russia. Any man who wants to return to Russia, I’m sure can eventually do so. I know most of you will want to return to your families so let’s get our story straight. If our president and state run media don’t buy your story, you will be beaten, tortured and maybe killed because you did something I ordered, which was in direct contravention of our president. I could never live with myself if any of you suffer because of me. So if you all wish, you can blame me and try and return me to Russia to stand trial. The decision is yours.”

“We’re now in America, a democracy, so this must be put to a vote.”

“Majority wins.”

“Do we surrender?”

“Or do we fight and die?”

“Moscow has been screaming to our radio man for at least five minutes so we better have our story straight, understand?”

“Are there any questions?

Captain Nikolai Alexi, President Mironovich’s hand-picked officer, stares at me without feeling or uttering a word.

Not a single sailor, including my officers, says a word.

“All right, we stay.”

“Here’s what we tell Moscow…”