“That’s another thing that bothers me,” said Volsky. “I’ve seen the weather change suddenly at sea many times, but that looked to be a major storm brewing yesterday, which is why I was rushing to complete these live fire exercises as soon as possible. Now the sea seems eerily calm…. Unnatural.”
“Perhaps it is merely an algae bloom,” said Zolkin. “Such things are not that uncommon. The ocean is as temperamental as Karpov. It’s just a mood. It will pass.”
Volsky nodded, heading for the bridge, but the Doctor’s suggestion would soon raise many more questions than it answered.
Chapter 23
Fedorov could not believe what his eyes had seen on the bridge, yet he heard the man speak, he could feel his steely presence. He had been so shocked by what he experienced that he was speechless, nearly collapsing again when his legs felt so rubbery. For a brief moment he thought it was his own problem, that he was hallucinating, another bad after effect from their recent time displacement. Yet something within him knew the reality of what he had seen. It was Karpov, dark, brooding, wound up like a coiled spring. Yet how was this madness possible?
The medical team rounded the last turn and was hastening down the corridor to sick bay, edging aside when the looming presence of Admiral Volsky appeared. Fedorov finally found his voice, dry and thin as he looked at Volsky.
“Admiral…. I must speak with you!”
“Not now, Mister Fedorov. Let these men get you to the Doctor. I will check on you later. For now I have too much to consider on the bridge.”
Fedorov was going to speak again, more urgently, until a pulse of warning made him hesitate. He leaned back, resting his head on the stretcher pillow, and breathed deeply.
The shift, he thought. Something went crazy during the shift, but what in god’s name has happened? I was heartened to first think Orlov and Tasarov had finally re-materialized. Their disappearance might have simply been a phasing issue. They might have been out of sync when we first disappeared. Yet Karpov? How could he be here now? This makes absolutely no sense!
Now the little things returned to mind, after the numbing shock of seeing Karpov there on the bridge. He recalled his earlier conversation with Doctor Zolkin as they carried him into sick bay, and the odd little incongruities that had cropped up. Zolkin knew nothing of Kamenski, yet he seemed to think Orlov, Tasarov, Dobrynin and Lenkov were all alive and well. I was worried his memory might be affected, but my god, this is something entirely unexpected. Karpov? He was right there, standing three feet from me, just as I remembered him. How could this occur?
His mind raced through everything he had discussed with Director Kamenski, and all his speculations over what might happen to the ship when it finally faced the question of Paradox. Was this some strange effect from that moment? Think, Fedorov, he chided himself. What could have happened here?
“Back again, Mister Fedorov?” Zolkin gave him a warm smile. “I see I was a little too hasty in discharging you. Perhaps that medication I gave you did not settle with your system well. Get him up here, gentlemen.” He slapped the examination table, and the men shifted Fedorov over from the stretcher station.
“Good enough,” said Zolkin. “You two can return to your posts, and, as I have no line outside waiting for my attention, I can give Fedorov here a proper examination.”
The men saluted and left, shutting the infirmary hatch as they went. Zolkin folded his arms, just giving Fedorov a quiet look at first, making a general assessment of the man. He could perceive much in that, the obvious anxiety on Fedorov’s face, the sweat on his brow. Then he proceeded to take more note of his vital signs, fetching a stethoscope to check his heart rate and pulse, and ready to check blood pressure.
“Stressful business, all of this,” he said to Fedorov. “It was no surprise to find a line of men half a kilometer long outside my door after that accident. Tell me, Fedorov, did you see what happened?”
“Accident? No. All I remember was the sudden jolt, and then …” He hesitated remembering the strange tingling and other sensations he had felt during the shift, but something told him not to talk about all that with Zolkin now. He needed to get his bearings, find his position in the scheme of things here, like the navigator