A Kirov Series Special Edition, Volume #67
It was only a pleasure cruise, sun, white sand, and island girls, until a Devil in the Banda Sea finds Kirov and crew and casts them ashore into a grim future ruled by one of their their most ardent enemies, Imperial Japan.
When Ivan Volkov gave Japan the bomb a year before the
Americans completed theirs in WWII, the Japanese Empire set a dangerous trap at
Truk Lagoon that destroyed much of Halsey’s Fast Carrier fleet. As a result,
the Pacific War ends by treaty instead of Japan’s unconditional surrender, and
Japan survives to become a powerful modern day Pacific Power.
Yet the empire has a weakness, its soft and unformed center.
The young crown prince will not take the throne for another five years. Until
that time, the Empire is ruled by powerful Daimyos serving as Regents,
each commanding fleets of modern warships. In a brilliant depiction of this
modern day Japanese Empire, rival Clan leaders struggle to obtain the best new ships
and further their own devious aims while also fending off the incursion of the
United States Navy into the neutral Zone in the Central Pacific. The Americans
set their sights on recovering both Truk and the Marianas, and a new modern day
clash at sea is imminent.
Enter Kirov, the ship and crew once again cast into
this strange and dangerous future in the year 2030. Grounded and marooned by a
terrible storm, Typhoon Setan, the ship’s hull is under repair when the Japanese
Captain Sato appears with a heavy cruiser and three destroyers. He remembers
this old nemesis, for he has fought Kirov before, just three months
earlier when the Siberians last appeared on this Meridian. Tense negotiations
ensue, which soon see Fedorov and Karpov swept into the convoluted Imperial
intrigue between clan leaders when the head of the local Regency, Odo Nobunaga,
discovers Kirov is the ship that has plagued Japan for decades, Mizuchi.
Realizing Kirov is indeed that ship, Odo soon learns the secret of its
tremendous power, and strives to take it for his own.
Meanwhile, the Toki-Akechi Clan that Odo commands must face
down another old enemy, the United States Navy. Odo struggles to bring other
rival clans into the war and forge a union in the face of this powerful enemy,
and we get a tale that is reminiscent of a modern day Shogun, the title Odo seeks as military dictator to unite the
entire realm.
It’s the most comprehensive look at this altered future yet,
a Meridian engineered by the late Ivan Volkov. This time, Kirov is lost
in a crucible of fate, and brought to a fateful hour when they must finally
face the consequences of their meddling in the business of Mother Time, and
Imperial Japan. With the Kamenski Device damaged, they cannot simply flee to
safe waters elsewhere, and now Kirov fights a harrowing battle with the
Japanese. As their missile count thins, they also face an even more serious
threat that cannot be defeated by Zircons—for their plan to escape this world
leads to Paradox.
A Kirov Series Special Edition, Volume #67
