CARRIER 9: ARCTIC FIRE By: Keith Douglass
CARRIER 9: ARCTIC FIRE By: Keith Douglass
Synopsis:
The Cold War may be over, but in the Bering Sea, its far from
quiet on America’s Western front. A Russian splinter group has
captured the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. Rear
Admiral “Tombstone” Magruder and Carrier Battle Group Fourteen are
sent to the Aleutians on the mission they prayed would never come:
repel invaders from American soil. 9th novel in the “Carrier”
series, 1997.
Also by Keith Douglass
ThE CARRIER SERIES:
CARRIER
CARRIER 2: VIPER STRIKE
CARRIER 3: ARMAGEDDON MODE
CARRIER 4: FLAME-OUT
CARRIER 5: MAELSTROM
CARRIER 6: COUNTDOWN
CARRIER 7: AFTERBURN
CARRIER 8: ALPHA STRIKE
THE SEAL TEAM SEVEN SERIES:
SEAL TEAM SEVEN
SPECTER
NUCFLASH
DIRECT ACTION
THE CARRIER NOVELS
CARRIER
The North Korean Navy has captured a U.S. Intelligence ship in
international waters. They dare Washington to retaliate. The U.S.
response? The ultimate military power play …
VIPER STRIKE
A renegade Chinese fighter group punctures Thai airspace–the
spearhead of a giant invasion force streaming across the Burmese border.
The skies are about to blow wide open …
ARMAGEDDON MODE
India and Pakistan are on the verge of nuclear destruction, and
Carrier Battle Group Fourteen must shift into Armageddon Mode–the ultimate
battle by land, air, or sea …
FLAME-OUT
After a hard-line military takeover, the Soviet Union is reborn.
Norway is invaded. Finland is crushed. And the President orders Carrier
Battle Group Fourteen to smash the Soviet strike force at all costs …
MAELSTROM
The Soviet occupation of Scandinavia continues as Carrier Battle Group
Fourteen struggles to keep up in conventional weapons combat, and avert
all-out war …
COUNTDOWN
Carrier Battle Group Fourteen must launch marine and aerial assaults
to prevent the deployment of Russian Typhoons. They are the largest
submarines in the world. And they may have nukes …
AFTERBURN
As the Russian Civil War rages on, Carrier Battle Group Fourteen is
ordered to the Black Sea as a show of American strength. But if the U.S.
thinks they can sail into traditionally Russian waters without a fight,
they’re dead wrong …
ALPHA STRIKE
When American and Chinese interests collide in the South China Sea,
the superpowers risk waging a third World War …
CHAPTER 1
Sunday, 25 December
1600 Local
Kilo 31
South of Aflu Island, Aleutians
Russian Colonel Kamir Rogov braced himself against the icy side of the
Kilo diesel submarine’s conning tower. Five hundred meters away, the snow
and ice-covered island loomed forbiddingly. Forty-knot winds kicked up
loose snow, at times reducing visibility to less than the distance of the
island.
Even as he felt the cold cut through the wool scarf wrapped around his
face, he welcomed the chance to escape the cold, dark confines of the
submarine. After three weeks underway, submerged most of the time, the
stench of cooking, diesel fuel, and too many humans packed in too small a
space had grown almost unbearable.
“Almost ready, Comrade Colonel,” the submarine’s skipper said.
Rogov acknowledged the report with a sharp nod of his head and glanced
down at the yellow inflatable raft slamming into the submarine’s side. The
weather was barely within minimum standards for attempting to launch the
raft from the submarine, but there was no help for that. Nothing could be
permitted to delay this mission–nothing.
A young sailor poked his head out from the small igloo-shaped craft,
which had a superstructure of domed plastic to provide some protection from
the wind. The sailor looked pale and queasy after only five minutes inside
the bobbing boat. He waved to attract his captain’s attention, then
nodded, making a thumbs-up gesture. The captain turned back to Rogov.
“Now, sir?”
“Da.” Rogov turned and looked down the open hatchway behind him. He
made a come-along motion with his hand. The Spetsnaz commander smiled up
at him, an unholy look of glee under the circumstances, and started up the
ladder. The four other Russian Special Forces soldiers were crowded around
the base of the ladder, chivying for their turn to escape the metal hull.
Russian Spetsnaz, trained and groomed for offensive operations
anywhere in the world. This cadre was a select group, each member chosen
not only for his technical skills and aggressiveness, but because of one