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Page 151
lutsiyaa ship Aleyev, in other times, might have claimed for his Pacific Fleet flagship. The original Kresta was here and the last new cruiser built during Andropov's time, the Molotovsk, now called The Rights of Man. A dozen old Zulu-class submarines formed a black bridge across the harbor, and beyond them lay the last three Typhoon-class missile submarines in the navy. In the outer harbor Aleyev could see the upper works of a dozen Krivak-class destroyers.
The smaller ships in the anchorage, those few still in commission, all flew the white, red, and blue ensign of Russia. I yearn for the sight of the hammer and sickle on the field of red, he thought morosely. It was a symbol of Soviet supremacy, of power.
Aleyev had once been one of the young officers personally chosen by Admiral Grechko for future high command. But that was all in the past. Grechko was dust, as were Brezhnev and Andropov. As was the great Red Fleet. The bitterness of it made Aleyev grimace with pain.
Across twenty kilometers of sea lay the main Russian naval base on the Gulf of Finland, where dozens more of the beautiful ships the Russian people had sacrificed to build were being dismantled. Even worse was the fact that they were being stripped and readied for sale to entrepreneurs of a half-dozen eager third world countries. The admiral blinked to clear the hot tears from his eyes. Weeping at this moment would not be seemly. He must be strong, resolutea leader.
Soyuzhe was to tell them about Soyuz. Invite them to join in the great crusade. He could explain that, for himself, the transition from loyal officer to conspirator had not been as difficult as he had imagined it would be. Should he mention some of the requirements for becoming a member of Soyuz? Not yet, he decided. When he was asked (as were all recruits to his particular branch of Soyuz) to supply the organization with the names of five Jews, he had been dismayed to realize he did not know five Jews he could denounce. But he made it his duty to find six names to give to the newly formed Black

 
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