electrically.'
'Conn, sonar, units from tubes one and two running hot, straight, and normal,' the sonar supervisor reported as the two torpedoes executed their wire-clearance maneuvers and accelerated to slow speed for the long inbound run.
'Sonar, conn, aye,' Mack replied. At dinner earlier, he had told his officers they might have to be innovative against the Akulas. He hadn't forgotten. 'Take charge and steer the weapons,' he said. 'Unit one off course thirty degrees to the right and unit two off course thirty degrees to the left.'
The fire-control party immediately knew what Mack had in mind, and they loved it. When the torpedoes were close enough for passive acquisition, they would be steered back in the opposite direction. Upon acquisition, the incoming torpedoes would make it appear that they had come from two separate U.S. submarines, lurking to the west and the east, instead of only Cheyenne closing from the south.
'Time to turn the units?' Mack asked. 'Twenty-three minutes, forty-five seconds, Captain,' the combat systems officer replied.
The torpedoes were turned on cue, bearing down on the Akula. To increase their chances, one torpedo led the target while the other lagged slightly behind.
'Time to acquisition?' Mack asked the combat systems officer.
'Nine minutes, Captain.'
That was his best guess, and it was wrong. Only five minutes had elapsed when the combat systems officer announced, 'Unit two has acquired.' A moment later he added, 'Unit one has acquired, but it's not Master 74.'
That could mean only one thing: the torpedoes had each detected a different Akula-the one they had first targeted and a bonus. Mack didn't have time to celebrate. 'Cut the wires, shut the outer doors, and reload tubes one and two,' he ordered.
The silent ocean didn't stay silent for long. 'Conn, sonar,' the sonar supervisor said with tension in his voice, 'we have two torpedoes in the water, bearings 350 and 010.'
Mack smiled to himself as he heard the bearings. The Russian CO had launched snapshots at the bearings of the incoming torpedoes, but Mack's ploy had worked. The Russian torpedoes were not headed for Cheyenne.
'Conn, sonar, the hornets' nest is emptying.' Six new contacts on the spherical array as well as Master 74 indicated that the Akulas were running for it. But they were also turning to the south to avoid the easterly and westerly bearings of the invading Mk 48s. Spherical-array depression-angle changes indicated they were also coming down to Cheyenne's depth.
'All ahead flank. Do not cavitate. Make your depth one thousand feet,' Mack ordered.
Cheyenne was already deep beneath the second layer, so it took less than a minute for her to reach flank speed, on course due north, and at one thousand feet. The nearly zero bearing rate she presented to the Russians meant that Cheyenne would give them a taste-if they detected her-of the Chinese kamikaze runs weeks earlier. But Mack didn't think they'd detect her, even at flank speed and deep. The range was too great, and the Akulas were running too fast for a TB-16 and BQQ-5-equivalent sensor suited to detect any but the closest targets.
'Conn, sonar, two explosions, bearings 359 and 002, range hard to discern, estimate 18 to 20,000 yards.'
Mack picked up the OOD's JA sound-powered phone and spoke to the officers and men of Cheyenne through the compartment phone talkers: 'This is the captain. Gentlemen, Cheyenne has won again. Excellent work. We still have a number of Russian SSNs out there, and they aren't too happy.' Hanging up the phone, he turned to the chief of the watch and said, 'Chief of the watch, stand down but do not secure from battle stations.'
Even as he gave the order, though. Mack knew that the stand-down from the tension could easily be short lived, especially if the remaining Akulas continued heading to the south.
'Conn, sonar, we have multiple underwater telephone contacts bearing 355 to 005.' The Akulas had slowed and were conducting range checks with each other. This was exactly why they'd brought the RuLings aboard, to help with range inputs to the BSY-1 by translating the ranges being passed between the remaining five Akulas.
Captain Mackey ordered the towed array housed. They wouldn't need it during the short-range tracking currently in progress.
When that order had been acknowledged and confirmed, he turned his attention on the remaining Akulas. 'Torpedo room, fire control, make tubes three and four ready in all respects, including opening the outer doors.' 'Make tubes three and four ready in all respects, including opening the outer doors, fire control, torpedo room, aye.'
Even in the aftermath of their latest kills, the officers and crew of Cheyenne maintained their crisp, efficient, and professional performance.
As soon as the torpedo room reported completing the ordered evolution with the torpedo tubes, the executive officer relayed the information to Captain Mackey. 'Captain, tubes three and four are ready in all respects. Both outer doors are open.'
'Very well, fire control,' he replied. Only two of the five Akulas were being tracked, but Cheyenne now had contact on all her sonar arrays. When the BSY-1 operator and the fire-control coordinator were satisfied with the TMA solution on Masters 76 and 80, Mack gave the command, 'Firing point procedures, Master 76, tube three and Master 80, tube four.'
As before, the combat systems officer at the BSY-1 reported the course, speed, and range of the two targets.
'Sonar, conn, stand by.'
'Conn, sonar, standing by.'
'Match sonar bearings and shoot, tubes three and four.'
'Match sonar bearings and shoot, tubes three and four, aye.'
'Tubes three and four fired electrically,' reported the combat systems officer.
'Conn, sonar, units from tubes three and four running hot, straight, and normal,' the sonar supervisor reported as the two torpedoes executed their wire-clearance maneuvers.
Unlike the torpedoes Cheyenne had fired at the first Akula, these were set to run at slow speed until acquisition. Once they had acquired, they would increase their speed and head up from their deep search depth. When they breached the layer, the torpedoes would pitch up and complete their acceleration to attack speed.
'Sonar, conn, aye.' responded the captain. 'Time to acquisition?'
'Fourteen minutes, fifteen seconds. Captain,' answered the combat systems officer.
By now, Mack had learned that a minute never lasted so long as when you were waiting for torpedoes to acquire the enemy-unless, of course, you were waiting for an enemy torpedo to acquire you.
'Both units have acquired.'
'Conn, sonar, Masters 76 and 80 are increasing speed, cavitating heavily.'
Sonar reported noisemakers launched by the two Aku-las. Mack responded by ordering 'steer the weapons.' In order to do this, Cheyenne needed to change her course to the left by ninety degrees so that the bearings to the incoming Akula would diverge from the bearings to the stationary noisemakers.
As soon as the course change was completed, sonar detected the other three Akulas. They were to the northwest of the ones being attacked and were heading for the Paracels.
When a bearing spread was obtained, the combat systems officer reported the torpedoes on course for intercept.
'Cut the wires, shut the outer doors, and reload tubes three and four,' ordered the captain. 'Make tubes one and two ready in all respects, including opening the outer doors.'
He didn't expect to need them, but another melee situation was always possible, and it was better to be prepared for an emergency that never happened than to save the effort and regret it.
'Conn, sonar, we have four torpedoes in the water, bearings 358, 359, 006, and 008. Both Akulas have
