Scuttling The Admiral Baruskov

After a Russian invasion of Japan, A U.S. Navy SEAL team is deployed to sink a aircraft carrier supplying troops to the region.

Chief Petty Officer Taylor sat in a Zodiac with three other Navy SEALs Team Six operatives. Her eyes surveyed the waters of the Sea of Japan as her nostrils were filled with the scent of the salty sea water. She was burning up in her body armor. The dark waves slapped the sides of the Zodiac as it sped towards an object in the distance; the Admiral Barsukov.

“How long?” Taylor asked fellow SEAL, Cooper, whom was piloting the Zodiac.

“One minute,” Cooper responded.

Taylor nodded and checked her Heckler and Koch 416. She pulled the magazine out, making sure it was fully loaded; slammed it back in, and pulled the charging handle back. In the pocket of her vest was a new experimental weapon that the Research & Development division; a device capable of creating a shortwave electromagnetic pulse capable of wiping out all electronics within a mile radius. She went over the plan in her head. It was simple; infiltrate the Russian warship, disable its radar and anti-aircraft capabilities , and pave the way for an airstrike.

It had all started just a week earlier. Taylor had been hiking in the Rocky Mountains when she got the call from her superior officer. Russia had launched a pre-emptive strike against the island nation of Japan. The U.S. had responded almost immediately, moving the Seventh Fleet to the southern portion of the Sea of Japan.

Their target was the only thing standing between the Americans and Russia-occupied Sapporo. They needed to take Sapporo from the Russians if they planned to push them out of Japan. Equipped with state-of-the-art Anti-Aircraft weaponry, the Barsukov was an aircraft carrier housing at least 35 MiGs and a number of Hinds.

     Cooper slowed the Zodiac down as they approached the bow. Taylor, along with Rains and Sphinx, readied their grappling hooks. They launched the hooks over the side of the ship and scaled it. As they reached the top, they quickly disposed of the hooks and pulled their HK416s off their backs.

     “Kingpin, this is Dragonfly. We have boarded the target and are proceeding to the objective, how copy?” Taylor said, crouching down.

     “We read you, Dragonfly. Just be sure the A.A. is down so the Air Force boys can mop up,” Kingpin responded.

     “Copy,” Taylor said, signaling the team to move forward.

     The team moved like ghosts in the night. They dodged patrols and spotlights shining over the flight deck. They temporarily took cover behind a MiG. 

     “Rains, get over to the fuel pump. Set the C4 charge and return to the Zodiac,” Taylor ordered, handing off a charge.

     Taylor continued, with Sphinx, and found the entrance to the lower decks. Taylor took point, opening the hatch. She aimed her HK416 down the hall and signaled for Sphinx to follow up.

She stopped as a drunken Russian soldier stumbled up the stairs. He began to walk up the next flight. Taylor moved forward. As she stepped forward, she stepped on a piece of broken glass. She winced at the noise, hoping the sailor had failed to notice it. The sailor’s footsteps stopped, as he said something in Russian. He began back down the stairs, causing Taylor to ready her HK416. He looked around, stumbling forward. He shouted in Russian, pulling his Makarov. Taylor fired a single 5.56mm round.  The round hit the sailor in the chest. He fell back, dropping his Makarov.

“Bagrov,” Another voice came from the top of the stairs.

Another sailor came down the stairs. He stopped half way, spotting the body. He ran back up the stairs, shouting. Next came more shouts, then an alarm. Taylor exchanged worried looks with Sphinx as a Russian voice came over the intercom.

“Kingpin, this is Dragonfly. We’ve been compromised. I say again, we’ve been compromised,” Taylor said.

“Copy, Dragonfly. If possible, complete your mission, then haul a*s out of there,” Kingpin said.

“Roger,” 

Taylor and Sphinx both knew that the ship would be on high alert. They nodded to each other and took off running, heading for the engine room. They encountered heavy resistance, several dozen sailors armed with AK-12s . The SEALs gunned down anybody in their way as they made their way through the ship. As they reached the hall to the engine room, a sailor got a shot off.

Sphinx yelled as a 5.45MM round pierced her thigh and became lodged in her hip. She dropped to the ground, bleeding profusely. Taylor pulled Sphinx to the side, still firing at the Russians.

“Go on without me,” Sphinx said, choking on blood.

“I never leave a man behind,” Taylor said, getting into her first aid kit.

“Ma’am, you’ve the only hope we got. I’ll only weigh you down,” Sphinx said, stopping Taylor. “Get out of here, ma’am. Go!” 

Taylor took off into the engine room. She closed the hatch, breathing deeply. Sphinx shouted obscenities, between bursts of automatic fire. Then the shouting stopped. Taylor hit her head against the hatch and breathed a long, deep breath. She looked up with anger in her eyes, taking the the prototype from her vest pouch. She set it on the turbines and exited from the other side of the room. Before leaving she looked back and lowered her head in sorrow.

     “Dragonfly, this is Kingpin. Have you completed your objective yet?” Kingpin said as Taylor made her way back to the main deck.

     “Affirmative, Kingpin,” Taylor said, before diving off the side of the ship.

     She hit the water hard. She surfaced, looking around for the Zodiac. She spotted it and swam to it, pulling the detonator from her wetsuit. As she climbed into the Zodiac, she saw that Rains had made it back. No words were needed when they saw Taylor was alone.

     “Kingpin, this is Charleston. Ready to laze target,”

     “Kingpin copies all. Jester-Two-Three is standing by,”

As they drove away from the ship, Taylor signaled for Rains to detonated the C4. As the fuel tanks exploded into a huge plumb of fire and smoke, Taylor activated the EMP. Suddenly, the lights on the ship all went dark. A MiG taxing on the runway stalled and shut down.

Taylor turned on the infrared laser attached to her HK416. She aimed it at the Baruskov’s flight deck, as the sounds of jet engines roared closer. Taylor instinctively ducked as a flight of three Harriers flew overhead.

“Weapons away. Weapons away,” The pilots reported, as several AGM-65 air-to-surface missiles launched.

The aircraft carrier bursted into flames as the missiles made contact. Water poured in through the breached hull and men panicked, trying to get to safety. The bow started to sink beneath the ways, slowly at first. MiGs and Hinds skidded into the water. Another series of explosions lit up the night as the Harriers made another pass. There was another, larger explosion as the fuselage caught. No life was present on deck as the carrier slipped further into the dark sea. The smoke and fire was still visible as they returned to the USS Dallas 10 miles away.

END