The casket team lifted the American flag from Brackman’s casket and held it waist high, stretched taut over Brackman’s casket, and the chaplain began the committal service. As the chaplain read the scripture, approaching the final moment when Brackman would be lowered into his grave, Christine grappled with her guilt; her responsibility for Brackman’s death.
It was her recommendation that resulted in Brackman joining her on the trip to the polar ice cap. Compounding her culpability, Brackman would have already transferred to his next job if she hadn’t convinced him to remain the president’s senior military aide for another year. Her motive had been selfish. She and Brackman agreed on almost every issue, and she didn’t want to lose her dependable ally in the political wars waged among the president’s staff. Finally, she had closed the watertight door and sealed Brackman in Compartment Eight.
There was no avoiding it. Brackman was dead because of her. She wondered how many people gathered around Brackman’s grave understood her guilt. She glanced at Brackman’s parents and his sister. They were seated in front of her, looking away toward Brackman’s casket, and Christine was grateful she did not have to look them in the eye during the ceremony.
The chaplain stepped back from the gravesite and the OIC signaled the firing detail, ordering them to attention. The president and military personnel saluted as the firing detail fired three volleys. As the echo of the last round faded, the bugler sounded taps. The long, lonely notes from his bugle filled the air. Christine knew only the first line of the lyrics:
Day is done, gone the sun.
She looked up into the overcast sky, the sun hidden by clouds. The weather, at least, was appropriate. As the last note from the bugle faded, the chaplain resumed his position at the head of Brackman’s grave and offered the benediction. The casket team folded the American flag they had held over Brackman’s casket, then handed it to the president, who presented the flag to Brackman’s parents.
“On behalf of a grateful nation and proud Navy, I present this flag to you in recognition of your son’s years of honorable and faithful service to his country.”
Brackman’s mother accepted the flag as tears streamed down her cheeks. The president stepped back and saluted, then the casket team marched away from the gravesite. The OIC signaled the firing detail, who also turned and headed down the slope.
The president offered his condolences, followed by members of his staff and cabinet, as well as Brackman’s friends from the many commands he served on. Christine remained behind, searching for the right words, but they eluded her. The line of mourners wound down, and when there was no one left, she could put it off no longer.
Christine stopped in front of Brackman’s parents, and as they met her gaze, she decided to keep her condolences short. “Your son saved my life. I cannot thank him, so I thank you.”
Brackman’s parents nodded their appreciation.
Christine wanted to say more, but wasn’t sure if they harbored resentment toward her. After all, their son had traded his life for hers.
Brackman’s sister stood and offered Christine a hug. As Lisa pulled away, she said, “We understand why Steve did what he did. He spoke highly of you.” It looked like there was more she wanted to say, but then she noticed Christine’s pain. Lisa hugged her again, this time whispering in her ear, “Don’t feel guilty. It was Steve’s decision, not yours.”
She had stopped by to offer condolences, but it was Lisa who did the consoling. Her words helped, and the lump in Christine’s throat diminished. Brackman’s family stood, then headed down the slope to their sedan. The president also departed, as did his staff and cabinet, followed by Brackman’s friends, leaving only Christine, the chaplain, and the OIC. The two men bid her farewell, then joined the congregation making its way toward the cemetery’s exit.
Christine remained behind, standing at the foot of Brackman’s grave. She thanked him one final time, then looked up into the dark gray sky, blinking as heavy snowflakes hit her face. The snow was falling harder now. She pulled the collar of her overcoat around her ears, then tucked her chin down as she headed into the bitter wind.
THE END
COMPLETE CAST OF CHARACTERS
AMERICAN CHARACTERS
UNITED STATES ADMINISTRATION
KEVIN HARDISON, chief of staff
CHRISTINE O’CONNOR, national security advisor
DON RICHARDSON, secretary of defense
DAWN CABRAL, secretary of state
LARS SIKES, press secretary
STEVE BRACKMAN (Captain), senior military aide
PENTAGON
MICHAEL MCFARLAND (Admiral), Chief of Naval Operations
GARY RILEY (Rear Admiral), Director, Undersea Warfare Division (N97)
COMSUBFOR / COMSUBLANT
BOB TAYMAN (Vice Admiral), Commander, Submarine Force
RICK CURRENT (Captain), chief of staff
VINCE HARMS (Electronics Technician Second Class), Communications Center Watchstander
MARC ARSENAULT (Chief Electronics Technician), Communications Center Supervisor
JOE RUSCIGNO (Commander), C4I Watch Officer
ANDY WHEELER, C4I Watchstander
USS NORTH DAKOTA (VIRGINIA CLASS FAST ATTACK SUBMARINE)
OFFICERS
PAUL TOLBERT (Commander), Commanding Officer
GEORGE SITES (Lieutenant Commander), Executive Officer
ROGER SWENSON (Lieutenant Commander), Engineer Officer
MARK LIVINGSTON (Lieutenant), Weapons Officer
SCOTT MOLITOR (Lieutenant), junior officer
JP VAUGH (Lieutenant), junior officer
CHIEFS
PAUL MURGO (Sonar Technician Master Chief), Chief of the Boat
MIKE MORAN (Electricians Mate Chief), Electrical Division Chief
LARRY JOHNSON (Machinist Mate Chief), Auxiliary Division Chief
TONY SCALISE (Machinist Mate Chief), Machinery Division Chief
BOB BUSH (Sonar Technician Chief), Sonar Division Chief
PETTY OFFICERS AND SEAMEN
ART THOMPSON (Electrician’s Mate First Class), Electrical Division
TIM BRANDON (Electrician’s Mate First Class), Electrical Division
ALLEN TERRILL (Electrician’s Mate Second Class), Electrical Division
SCOTT TURK (Machinist Mate Third Class), Engine Room Forward Watch
BOB HORNSEY (Electronics Technician Second Class), Quartermaster
JOE HIPP (Electronics Technician First Class), Propulsion Plant Operator
TOM PHILLIPS (Fire Control Technician Second Class), Plots Operator
REGGIE THURLOW (Sonar Technician Second Class), Broadband Operator
DAVID LORMS (Seaman), Phone Talker
USS MICHIGAN (OHIO CLASS GUIDED MISSILE SUBMARINE)—CREW
MURRAY WILSON (Captain), Commanding Officer
TERRY SPARKS (Lieutenant Commander), Executive Officer
KELLY HAAS (Lieutenant Commander), Supply Officer
MARCUS BENJAMIN (Lieutenant), Weapons Officer
BARBARA LAKE (Lieutenant), Junior Officer
MARK DECRISPINO (Lieutenant), Junior Officer
PAT LEENSTRA (Electronics Technician Second Class), Quartermaster
CHRIS MALOCSAY (Fire Control Technician Second Class), Fire Control Technician of the Watch
USS MICHIGAN—SEAL DETACHMENT
JOHN MCNEIL (Commander), SEAL Team Commander
JAKE HARRISON (Lieutenant), SEAL Platoon Officer-in-Charge
LORIE ALLEN (Lieutenant), SEAL Platoon Officer-in-Charge
JEFF STONE (Special Warfare Operator Chief), fire team leader
TIM OLIVER (Special Warfare Operator First Class), sniper
BRAD KRATOVIL (Special Warfare Operator Second Class), breacher
JIM HAY (Special Warfare Operator Second Class), communicator
JOE ALEO (Commander), Medical Officer
UNDERSEA RESCUE COMMAND
NED STEEL (Commander), Commanding Officer
MARLIN CRIDE
R (Lieutenant Commander), Executive Officer
PETER TARBOTTOM, lead contractor for Phoenix International
BOB ENNIS, Pressurized Rescue Module (PRM) Attendant
ART GLOVER, Pressurized Rescue Module (PRM) Attendant
EDDIE STANKIEWICZ (Machinist Mate Chief), Disabled Submarine team member
ROY ARMSTRONG (Navy Diver First Class), Atmospheric Diving Suit pilot
ARCTIC SUBMARINE LABORATORY
BOBBY PLEASANT, director
VANCE VERBECK, technical director
PAUL LEONE, ice pilot
ICE STATION NAUTILUS
ERIC DAHLENBURG (Vice Admiral), On-Scene Commander
MIKE NAUGHTON (Captain), Coordinator, Rescue Forces
NED STEEL (Commander), Rescue Element Commander
VANCE VERBECK, ice camp Officer-in-Charge (OIC)
PAUL LEONE, ice pilot
ALYSSA MARTIN, above-ice sonar array operator
SCOTT WALWORTH, RATS operator
FRANK SALIMBENE, Casa C-212 pilot
SALLY FIREBAUGH, cook
OFFICE OF NAVAL INTELLIGENCE
PAM BRUCE, supervisor
GREG HARTFIELD, Borei class submarine expert
STU BERMAN, Bulava missile expert
RUSSIAN CHARACTERS
RUSSIAN FEDERATION ADMINISTRATION
YURI KALININ, president
BORIS CHERNOV, minister of defense
MAKSIM POSNIAK, director of security and disarmament, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
FLEET COMMANDERS
GEORGIY IVANOV (Fleet Admiral), Commander-in-Chief, Russian Navy
OLEG LIPOVSKY (Admiral), Commander, Northern Fleet
LEONID SHIMKO (Rear Admiral), Commander, 12th Squadron
K-535 YURY DOLGORUKY (BOREI CLASS BALLISTIC MISSILE SUBMARINE)
NICHOLAI STEPANOV (Captain First Rank), Commanding Officer
DMITRI PAVLOV (Captain Second Rank), First Officer
ANTON TOPOLSKI (Captain Third Rank), Navigating Officer
MIKHAIL EVANOFF (Captain Lieutenant), Central Command Post Watch Officer
IVAN KHUDOZHNIK (Senior Lieutenant), Torpedo Division Officer
ANDREI POPOVICH (Senior Michman), Torpedo Division Leading Petty Officer
OLEG DEVIN (Starshina First Class), Torpedo Division Petty Officer
ERIK GLINKA (Michman), Electric Navigation Party Technician
EGOR LUKIN (Chief Ship Starshina), Senior Enlisted
IVAN KOVALESKI (Captain of the Medical Service), Medical Officer
K-157 VEPR (AKULA II CLASS NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINE)
MATVEY BACZEWSKI (Captain Second Rank), Commanding Officer
PETR LUKOV (Captain Third Rank), First Officer
LUDVIG DOLINSKI (Captain Lieutenant), Central Command Post Watch Officer
EUGENY CHABAN (Lieutenant), Duty Officer
K-329 SEVERODVINSK (YASEN CLASS NUCLEAR ATTACK SUBMARINE)
JOSEF BUFFANOV (Captain Second Rank), Commanding Officer
ANTON NOVIKOFF (Captain Third Rank), First Officer
DMITRI RONIN (Captain Lieutenant), Central Command Post Watch Officer
ICE CAMP BARNEO / MIKHAIL RUDNITSKY
DEMIL POLESKI, ice camp director
JULIUS RAILA, Chief of Search and Rescue Services
POLAR SPETSNAZ UNIT
JOSEF KLOKOV (Captain First Rank), Commanding Officer
GLEB LEONOV (Captain Second Rank), Executive Officer
ERIK TOPOLSKI (Captain Lieutenant), platoon leader
KIRIL BOGANOV (Captain Lieutenant), platoon leader
NICHOLAI OVECHKIN (Starshina First Class), patrol
AS-34 DEEP SUBMERGENCE RESCUE VEHICLE
MIKHAIL GRUSHENKO, rescue team member
PAVEL DANILOV, rescue team member
OTHER RUSSIAN CHARACTERS
DANIL KRASINSKI (Michman), Operations Center Radioman
EDUARD DAVYDOV (Captain Second Rank), Intelligence Center Watch Officer
AUTHOR’S NOTE
I hope you enjoyed reading Ice Station Nautilus!
This was both a fun and difficult book to write, in that it allowed me to explore a region where submarines do not routinely operate, taking the reader both above and below the ice. Although I have not operated below the ice, I was fortunate to have visited a base camp atop the polar ice cap a few years ago while two submarines were shooting exercise torpedoes at each other, and I assisted with the torpedo recovery through the ice. I broke my hand while I was up there, and I’d like to say it was while saving the ice camp by wrestling a polar bear, but the truth is less exciting.
There are a lot of technical issues I did not explore in Ice Station Nautilus. I only scratched the surface with respect to the issues USS North Dakota’s crew would have to deal with if trapped beneath the polar ice cap without power. You could write an entire book covering the plethora of problems that would arise and how they would need to be addressed, plus there are issues with reactor cooling and recovery that make my head hurt when I think about them. Addressing every issue and how each would be resolved would have bogged Ice Station Nautilus down with technical details that are more appropriate for a nonfiction book on the topic rather than a novel, where the focus is plot and pacing.
Also, some of the tactics described in Ice Station Nautilus were generic and not accurate. For example, torpedo employment and evasion tactics are classified and cannot be accurately represented in this novel. The dialogue also isn’t 100 percent accurate. If it were, much of it would be unintelligible to the average reader. To help the story move along without getting bogged down in acronyms, technical details, and other Navy jargon, I simplified the dialogue and description of shipboard operations and weapon systems.
For all of the above, I apologize. I did my best to keep everything as close to real life as possible while developing a suspenseful, page-turning novel. Hopefully it all worked out, and you enjoyed reading Ice Station Nautilus.
ALSO BY RICK CAMPBELL
The Trident Deception
Empire Rising
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RICK CAMPBELL is a retired navy commander who spent more than twenty years on multiple submarine tours. On his last tour, he was one of the two men whose permission was required to launch the submarine’s nuclear warhead–tipped missiles. Campbell, the author of The Trident Deception and Empire Rises, lives with his family in the greater Washington, D.C., area. You can sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Main Characters
Prologue: USS Michigan—Barents Sea
Twelve Days Earlier
1. Norfolk, Virginia
2. Gadzhiyevo, Russia
3. USS North Dakota
4. Barents Sea
5. Moscow, Russia
6. Barents Sea
7. Marginal Ice Zone
8. Washington, D.C.
9. Arctic Ocean
10. USS North Dakota • K-535 Yury Dolgoruky
11. USS North Dakota
12. K-535 Yury Dolgoruky
13. Suitland Park, Maryland
14. K-535 Yury Dolgoruky
15. USS North Dakota
16. Norfolk, Virginia
17. North Island, California
18. Point Loma, California
19. Washington, D.C.
20. USS Michigan
21. Moscow
22. St. Petersburg, Russia
24. St. Petersburg, Russia
25. K-329 Seve
rodvinsk
26. USS Michigan
27. Arctic Ocean
28. Severomorsk, Russia
29. Gadzhiyevo, Russia
30. Pechenga, Russia
31. USS North Dakota
32. K-535 Yury Dolgoruky
33. Ice Camp Nautilus
34. USS North Dakota
35. USS North Dakota
36. K-535 Yury Dolgoruky
37. USS North Dakota
38. Ice Camp Nautilus
39. St. Petersburg, Russia
40. Murmansk, Russia
41. USS Michigan
42. K-329 Severodvinsk
43. K-157 Vepr
44. Pechenga, Russia
45. Ice Station Nautilus
46. USS North Dakota
47. Washington, D.C.
48. Ice Camp Barneo
49. Svalbard, Norway
50. Ice Station Nautilus
51. USS Michigan
52. K-157 Vepr
53. K-329 Severodvinsk
54. K-157 Vepr
55. Ice Station Nautilus
56. Ice Camp Barneo
57. Ice Station Nautilus
58. Ice Camp Barneo
59. USS North Dakota
60. K-535 Yury Dolgoruky
61. Ice Camp Barneo • Ice Station Nautilus
62. USS North Dakota • Ice Station Nautilus
63. Ice Station Nautilus
64. USS North Dakota
65. Ice Station Nautilus
66. USS Michigan
67. K-157 Vepr
68. USS Michigan • K-157 Vepr
69. Ice Station Nautilus
70. USS Michigan • K-157 Vepr
71. Ice Station Nautilus
72. USS Michigan
73. Ice Station Nautilus
74. K-157 Vepr • USS Michigan
75. Ice Station Nautilus
76. K-157 Vepr
77. USS Michigan
78. Ice Station Nautilus
79. K-157 Vepr • USS Michigan
80. Ice Station Nautilus
81. USS Michigan
82. Ice Station Nautilus
83. Ice Station Nautilus
84. PRM-1 Falcon • USS North Dakota
85. USS North Dakota
86. Ice Station Nautilus