AK 239: The Enemy Is Already Here

“Good morning. The President sends you his warmest greetings. He is sorry he could not be here personally but he assures you he is working hard to make this project successful.”

“Each of you now has sealed orders directly from the president.”

“Your president has tried everything to be friendly with America.”

“We have invited business leaders and U.S. Senators to Moscow.”

“We paid them over five billion Rubles for a few speeches.”

“We have wined and dined and come up empty handed.”

“Those days are now in the past.”

“The United States is pushing Russia into what we Russians know will be disaster.”

“The U.S. is waging proxy wars in Eastern Ukraine and Syria and creating unnecessary confrontations in the South China Sea. There is an increasing likelihood that these tensions will flare into an all-out military conflict with the United States. Should this occur, Proyekt 239 would be necessary for us to have leverage against the United States and their military superiority in terms of sheer numbers. But we Russians like to play chess and we are a few moves ahead of the Americans.”

“Last time the Americans and Reagan forced us into an arms race they forced us into bankruptcy.

“This time it is us that shall force the United States into bankruptcy.”

“The Americans have unsustainable debt just as we had in 1990.”

“The difference is: The United States dollar is the reserve currency of the world and will take the rest of the world into bankruptcy soon.”

“We will not let that happen, will we?”

All the generals present mumble, “Nyet.”

“When the dominos fall this time we want to be the last ones standing. While the Americans are talking about turning aircraft carriers like the, USS Peleliu, into homeless shelters we’re building bomb shelters capable of withstanding a nuclear attack.”

Sokolov continues, “U.S. and NATO are now conducting war games on our borders regularly. US destroyers are in our Black Sea to ‘promote peace.’ Their planes and submarines are coming closer and closer to our homeland.”

“It is time we increase our military operations in the United States of America.”

“The Americans have noticed we have increased our submarine operations by fifty percent in retaliation to their aggression. It is only a matter of time until one of our submarines are found and sunk just like during the days of our fathers and grandfathers.”

“The Americans have been trying to flood the world with cheap oil and gas to bankrupt us again. They have allowed ISIS and Iran to sell oil to undercut their own allies like Saudi Arabia, all for one sole purpose:

“To once again drive our Russian oil and gas companies out of business.”

“Now we move quickly.”

“We have President Mironovich’s full authorization to proceed.”

“You will see his signature and instructions in your orders.”

“Phase I of Projekt 239 is now complete.”

“The President has given the order to proceed to Phase II, the AK Phase.”

“Any questions?”

“I have a journalist asking questions about 239,” says General Aleksandrov.

Sokolov looks long and hard at this seasoned general before choosing his words carefully, “Russian journalism can be a very dangerous business, general. Handle it!”

TK-20 , Juneau, Alaska

Captain Vasili’s Diary

^{Three days ’til Christmas}

^{139 miles South-southeast}

One of the advantages of being on a submarine is that you could travel anywhere without a visa.

On the other hand, you had a much greater chance of winding up dead, especially if you were on a Russian ballistic missile submarine just off the coast of Alaska.

My crew’s spirits were pretty good. Pretty good considering and we are thousands of miles from home and will not be back in time for Christmas on January 7^th.

My last diary entry was:

Oh God, no!

I think I had just realized part of my mission.

Now I had it confirmed in writing:

I didn’t like my new orders one little bit. First, I’m told there are rooms on my sub off limits to my own crew and me.

Then I open my ‘Top Secret’ orders given directly to me by my old friend Admiral Victor Perchinkov. The orders state that this kid, my second in command, Kapitan Nikolai Alexi, would be in charge of Phase II of the mission.

I knew it!

I’m no longer trusted by my “old friend.”

My thirty years of command has been taken over by some arrogant kid.

I joined the Navy before this kid was born!

And then, to add insult to injury, I don’t find this out until we’re in American Waters!

These were the kinds of things the old Soviet Union did, not a healthy democracy.

I really wished he had sacked me before I left Russia!

I would be home now enjoying life with my wife.

No!

Admiral Perchinkov waited to tell me this until after I safely snuck past the USS Alaska sitting at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

I engaged our Top Secret caterpillar drive and flew through American waters which is:

An act of war in and of itself!