'Helm,' ter Horst said, 'thirty degrees down angle as we near the cliff. Take us to the deeper bottom smartly.'
'Thirty degrees down angle, aye aye, sir,' the helmsman said. Van Gelder braced himself as Voortrekker nosed over. 'Captain, we lost the contact. They may have made a knuckle while masked from us by the shelf edge.'
'Very well,' ter Horst said, 'time to launch another 65. Number One, make tube two ready in all respects including opening outer door. Tube two, firing point procedures, generated bearings on the Seawolf.'
'Torpedo room is ready,' Van Gelder said.
'Enable active search three thousand meters from target,' ter Horst said. 'Shoot.'
'Torpedo in the water!' Sessions shouted. 'Bearing two two zero relative!'
'Sir,' COB said, 'we're about to hit live mines.' Jeffrey hesitated, for just a moment. 'Maintain course and speed! Tube three open the outer door! Firing point procedures on tube three, snap shot own ship's course!'
'Sir,' Sessions said, 'if we keep ignoring Master 27, they'll continue firing at us.'
'We can't afford to turn and fight them now,' Jeffrey said, 'much as I would like to. Our rate of fire's too low.' Challenger's damaged weapons compartment was down to World War II reloading technology, and as good as Kerr and Scutaro were, they weren't the first team — the boat's best torpedomen were on eternal patrol in the meat locker.
'Tube three shoot!' Jeffrey ordered.
'Set,' Bell reported over the sound-powered phone. 'Stand by. Fire…Tube three fired electrically.'
'Unit is running normally,' Sessions said. 'Sir, incoming torpedo has gone active!'
'Range and range rate?' Jeffrey said as he launched more countermeasures.
'Twelve hundred yards and gaining on us ten yards every second!'
'Classification?' Jeffrey said.
'Strong 1420 tonal,' Sessions said, 'gas turbine powered…It's a German-licensed Russian series-65!'
'Weps,' Jeffrey said, 'on the AT rocket battery, target incoming torpedo. At one-second intervals, fire a salvo of three.'
'Antitorpedo rocket noises!' Van Gelder said, watching the sonar screens and the live feed from the torpedo's fiber-optic wire. 'Unit from two tube has been destroyed!' The blast wave struck, deafening through the hull and sonar speakers. Voortrekker seemed to stagger for a moment on her course.
'Torpedo in the water!' the sonar chief shouted. 'Closed-cycle Rankine steam turbine, a Mark 48 Improved ADCAP, range from us increasing.' Another blast, followed by a series of crackling explosions.
'What a waste of mines,' ter Horst said. 'Very well, prepare to fire tube one, another 65. This time use maximum attack speed.'
'Tube one, aye aye,' Van Gelder said, 'maximum attack speed.'
'Make tube seven ready in all respects including a water slug,' Jeffrey said. 'Open the outer door. Ignore ISLMM way-point presets, pass weapon control to me.'
'Aye aye,' Lieutenant Bell said.
'Firing point procedures on tube seven, snap shot own ship's course, shoot.'
'Set,' Bell said. 'Stand by. Fire…Tube seven fired electrically.'
'Unit is running normally,' Sessions said.
Jeffrey watched the tactical display. The ISLMM moved forward slowly, its speed at first— even with the water slug — barely more than Challenger's. Then it accelerated away. Jeffrey brought the unit to 400 feet from the bottom. He programmed the first mine to detonate ten seconds after jettison, then commanded the ISLMM to drop the warhead. It should go off at about 150 feet. He brought the ISLMM itself down to 150. It was moving even faster now with the weight of just one warhead. On his ten count Jeffrey fired the second warhead. The resulting concussions once more jarred his bones.
'Loud explosions bearing zero nine zero!' Sessions said. 'Both ISLMM warheads and seven enemy bottom mines!'
'Very well, Sonar,' Jeffrey said.
'Torpedo in the water!' Sessions said. 'In our baffles, another 65!'
'Weps,' Jeffrey said, 'stand by on the AT rockets.'
'Second torpedo in the water!' Sessions shouted. 'Relative bearing two six five. Otto fuel closed-cycle engine, wide-field hydrophone effects — a CAPTOR'S after us!'
'Keep your voice down, Sonar,' Jeffrey said, 'you'll get hoarse…Weps, take out the CAPTOR.'
There was a roaring sound, diminishing quickly, then a dreadful double crack.
'Incoming CAPTOR-fish destroyed,' Sessions said.
'Good shooting, Weps,' Jeffrey said, but the AT rocket supply was running low. 'Helm, hard right rudder, make your course zero nine zero.'
'Hard right rudder, make my course zero nine zero, aye,' Meltzer said. The boat banked into the turn.
'Sir,' COB said, 'more live mines are dead ahead.' Jeffrey glanced at his weapons board — all tubes were empty.
'Weps, how much longer to reload an ADCAP?' Bell paused. 'Thirty seconds, sir.' Too damn long. 'COB and Sonar,' Jeffrey said, 'the LMRS probe — we're catching up with it now. Any sign of Master 26?'
'Nothing, Commander,' Sessions said.
'Negative contact,' COB said. 'If she's smart, that diesel's clearing datum fast.'
'Sonar,' Jeffrey said, 'get the LMRS specs from Weps. We'll try to use its active sonar as transducers, send a signal through the fiber-optic wire and put out a signature like Seawolf.'
'Aye aye, sir,' Sessions said. 'Second 65 still gaining on us fast.' Jeffrey fired more noisemakers as Challenger rushed past its own probe. 'COB, put the LMRS on a reciprocal course, make noises like a Seawolf — now.'
'Unit from tube one has passive lock on target,' Van Gelder said, 'depth six hundred meters…Sonar re-ports target reversing course!'
'So he's turned to fight at last,' ter Horst said, 'or he's hoping to bottom in shallower water. Tube two status?'
'Tube two reloaded with another high-explosive series-65.'
'Tube two, target the Seawolf. Program maximum attack speed and fire on generated bearings.'
'Torpedo room is ready,' Van Gelder said.
'Shoot,' ter Horst said.
'Target is reversing course again!'
'Hah!' ter Horst said. 'We've got them on the run. Her captain's lost it, Gunther. It's almost over now.'
'Helm,' Jeffrey said, 'all stop.'
'All stop, aye,' Meltzer said. 'Maneuvering acknowledges all stop.'
'Another torpedo in the water!' Sessions said. 'Another 65 incoming in our baffles!' Challenger began to coast. Jeffrey fired more noisemakers — he had few left, he needed to parcel them more carefully, and this deep they didn't work well from the pressure.
'COB,' Jeffrey said, 'bring the LMRS back to us and then lead it around to port and out in front.' 'Understood,' COB said.
'Sonar,' Jeffrey said, 'increase probe's active signal intensity by three decibels now.'
'Doubling signal intensity, aye,' Sessions said. 'Status of incoming torpedoes?'
'Sir, the first one's tracking the LMRS — it's got passive lock. The second one's in passive search, coming in our direction.'
'COB,' Jeffrey said, 'the 65s are biggies. Put the LMRS three hundred yards off the bow, hold it there at two five zero feet up from the bottom.'
'Understood.'
'First incoming torpedo passing down our port side now,' Sessions said. 'Torpedo speed is seventy-five knots.'
Jeffrey heard its awful scream first swell and then diminish, the whining of the gas turbine and counterrotating screw props.
'Weps,' Jeffrey said, 'stand by on the AT rockets. Target the second torpedo.'
