the ship. I have seen it each and every day as we sailed and fought together. We stand now aboard the finest ship on this earth, and you are the finest crew to ever stand a watch at sea, as god is my witness. And so I thank you—for your courage… for your perseverance… for your steadfast loyalty… for Kirov…”
He reached slowly, replacing the handset, and as he did so, the sound of men cheering resounded through the ship, echoing in every hall and passage, vibrating the bulkheads and hatches, and quavering in the dull fog enfolded all about them. Then the cheers became a song, and every officer on the bridge smiled.
* * *
The smoke-white fog seemed to deepen at first, and then glowed as though illuminated by the cold light of an unseen moon. They heard a strange sound, vibrating throughout the ship, a fearful dirge that filled them with dread. Soon the light around them glimmered and glowed, the fog suddenly thinning, the sea gleaming with a witch oil of phosphor green.
Then the sound deepened, falling… falling…. Until it finally resolved in what sounded like a great kettle drum resounding from the depths of the sea, a heavy rumble, low an ominous. A sudden chill took them all, frosty cold and bone deep, and Admiral Volsky found himself clutching the arm of the Captain’s chair, his tooth, the tooth that always bothered him when bad weather came, a sudden throb of pain. He closed his eyes, whispering one word to himself, a silent invocation… Remember…
There came a shudder throughout the ship, and when Fedorov looked out the fog was gone, and he could see the stars seeming to move in a wild, wheeling dance, as if the heavens, and all eternity, were spinning about the ship as it fell into some unfathomable void. God go with us, he breathed inwardly. Then something passed over him, threw him, a wave of energy unlike anything he had ever felt before, tingling in every fiber of his being. He had the distinct feeling that it was reaching for him, a yawning hunger, greedy and cruel.
He felt a sudden heat at his side, his hand reflexively moving to his pocket, and finding there the hard metal of the strange key he had found in Kamenski’s quarters. It was warm to the touch, and now he found himself surrounded by a strange cobalt glow, that intensified until he could see nothing else around him. The feeling of dread and doom passed, and he felt as though he lay in the palm of God’s own hand, protected from the ravages of time and eternity, safe and sound. His hand closed about the key and he felt it slowly cooling with each second.
The light around him dissipated, and for a moment he thought he caught a glimpse of blue light from within his jacket pocket. He looked down at his feet, wondering, fearful, hoping that wherever they were, he would all be there in one piece. A sensation of solidity returned to him, feet firmly on the deck, and boots all intact. Then he heard a voice, his eyes widening with shock and surprise.
“What in god's name was that? Certainly not thunder…”
There came a blinding white light, and Fedorov instinctively flinched, shielding his eyes. The searing light flashed and vanished, leaving the air alive with what looked like a hundred thousand fireflies all around the ship, strange luminescent particles that spun on the cold airs, whirling and dancing as they slowly faded to milky green. When it passed, he instinctively looked out of the forward viewing panes, surprised to see that the ocean itself seemed to light up for miles in every direction with an eerie phosphorescent color. Then the sea erupted in the distance, boiling up in a wild convulsion of sound and motion. The ship shuddered with the impact of a strong blast wave, rolling heavily.
Fedorov spun about, looking to find Volsky in the Captain’s chair, but soon realized his greatest fear. The admiral wasn’t there! Was he gone? Vanished? Had he fallen out of sync with the shift? Everyone on the bridge braced for further impact. Fedorov extended his hand to the nearest bulkhead, not so much to keep from falling, but to assure himself that the ship and crew around him were real and substantial things. What was happening?
He saw one man thrown from his seat near the helm, his eyes wide with fear and astonishment, as if he could