SAN FRANCISCO entered the first of the proliferation of tiny island nations that constituted the South Pacific. Most contained land areas of a few square miles of coral atolls dotted across thousands of square miles of territorial seas. Kiribati lay across both the Equator and the International Dateline and was made up of several small groups of islands, with the Gilbert's being the largest. Tarawa, the main island and capital, was several hundred miles off to the Northwest .
The sub’s planned track brought them within a few miles of the intersection of 180 degrees longitude and zero degrees latitude, the point where the day starts and North meets South. Nav slipped in a slight deviation to the planned great circle route to allow the crew the bragging rights of becoming that rarest of all mariners, a Golden Shellback, someone who had sailed directly through 180 degrees West and 0 degrees North. Hunter believed these traditions were important for crew morale and to keep them in touch with their naval roots. The few miles of extra transit were easily worth the gains in morale.
Master Chief Hancock and XO, the two most senior Shellbacks onboard, were responsible for planning the elaborate ceremony necessary to properly commemorate the occasion and to initiate new Polliwogs into the Royal Order of King Neptune’s Golden Shellbacks. A visit by King Neptune was expected to be the highlight of the ritual. Polliwogs, including Hunter, were forbidden to enter the mess deck as it was transformed into King Neptune’s throne room.
All was in readiness when Nav proclaimed, with appropriate solemnity, over the 1MC, “USS SAN FRANCISCO is now passing through one-eight-zero West and zero-zero North in the watery realm of His Royal Highness, King Neptune.” He then rang the ship’s bell once. As the deep tone of the bell died out, sonar reported a contact close aboard on the bow. They also reported hearing underwater communications that sounded like a trumpet salute and the words “All hail King Neptune.”
A loud commotion erupted in the torpedo room as Nav announced on the 1MC, “His Royal Highness and All Powerful Sovereign of the Seven Seas, King Neptune, arriving.” He rang twenty-one strokes of the bell.
King Neptune, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Doc Pugh with a ratty fake white beard, emerged from the torpedo room dressed in his royal robes of seaweed, wearing his golden crown and carrying his trident. He proceeded at a regal pace to his throne room as the crew paid homage and looked on with somewhat exaggerated deference.
Once seated upon his throne, which looked suspiciously like one of the stainless steel commodes from the goat locker attached to the top of the after most mess table, King Neptune decreed that only Shellbacks be in attendance at his court. All Polliwogs, as the lowest of life forms, were banished to the torpedo room in order to prepare themselves for the rigors ahead.
Each Polliwog was individually escorted by a Shellback sponsor and brought before the Royal Court. Appropriate tests of the mariner’s skills and knowledge were given to ensure that the Polliwog was of sufficient caliber to become a Shellback. Any lack of skill or knowledge resulted in the Polliwog drinking deeply of the Royal Truth Serum, an evil-looking concoction the COB had been brewing from secret ingredients for days. After liberal doses of the Truth Serum, each Polliwog was deemed worthy of induction into the Most High Order of Golden Shellbacks and paid homage to King Neptune. This involved kissing his rather rotund and well-greased belly.
The first Polliwog to submit to the testing was CDR Hunter. After proving his maritime skills, although his initial answer to the number of buttons on Nelson’s coat cost him a taste of the truth serum, he laughingly paid homage to King Neptune. The King had struck him on each shoulder with the Royal Trident, proclaiming him the newest and most junior member of the Most High Order of Golden Shellbacks. The Skipper reminded the King that the Doc would be responsible for treating any health problems resulting from the truth serum.
9
01 Jun 2000, 1900LT (0700Z)
“Gentlemen, it’s time that you know where we are heading,” Hunter started the briefing.
The assembled group included all the officers, with the exception of the supply officer who did not have the necessary security clearances. Also attending were Master Chief Hancock, the Chief of the Boat (COB); Master Chief Holmstad, the leading sonarman; Chief Jones, the leading electronics technician; Chief Tyler, the leading radioman and Quartermaster First Class (SS) Buell, the leading quartermaster. This small group, out of the whole crew, were those who had a “need to know.”
“To start off, this briefing is classified Top Secret. It is Specially Compartmented Information and is code-worded “Golden Dawn.” The code word is classified Top Secret, so don’t let it out of this room.”
“Nav, show them the first chart,” he directed.
LCDR Jacobs removed the sheet covering a large-scale chart of the Southwest Pacific, Oceania, and Southeast Asia. On it, he had laid out a green stripe showing their projected track. Tapping the chart with his pointer, Jacobs explained, “As you can see, we are heading South through the Solomons, then between Papua New Guinea and Australia. We will then transit the Arafura and Timor Seas. We will pass South of Java and then through the Sunda Straits, between Java and Sumatra, into the Java Sea. Our destination is one of the small islands in the Nusa Tenggara Group."
Hunter stepped over to the chart and took the laser pointer. He put the little red dot on a small area on the lower left-hand side. “This chain of islands, East of Bali, is known as Nusa Tenggara, the Islands of the South East.
