Men don’t rise to be the captains of submarines if they’re prone to indecision. The captain’s answer came back immediately. “Roger, conning officer, come right, steady course two-four-zero, flank speed. Engineer, give me everything you’ve got. We’ll be noisier than a pig, but let’s see what this old tub can do.”
Beside him, Jacobs looked sick. “We’re going to be back within range, then,” he said, “And noisier than a bitch in heat.”
“Not a problem, Renny,” Pencehaven said with more confidence than he felt. “Like I said, these are stupid torpedoes. They went for the noisemakers once — they’ll go for it again. And we both know she’s probably only carrying two. After that, she’s going to have to cut and run, and then we’ll nail her ourselves.”
“We haven’t been so good at that so far,” Jacobs pointed out.
Pencehaven shook his head, waving away the comment. “She’s mine, Renny. She’s all mine.”
Everything inside the submarine was shaking now as the submarine approached max possible speed. The water was coursing over her like a thick fluid, sound echoing through her limber hulls, vortices creating noise as the water flowed over every protuberance in her hull. The submarine was built for silence, but it was almost impossible to run silently at flank speed. The equipment required to maintain the engineering plant, the water over the hull, even the rattle of the periscope in its tube all contributed to the cacophony now pouring into the water.
As they watched, the contact turned back to meet them.
“Okay, bitch. Let’s see what you’ve got,” Pencehaven said softly. As they watched, the other submarine accelerated to her own flank speed. No new torpedoes appeared in the water. For a moment, Pencehaven marveled. They’d pegged it that time, hadn’t they? Two torpedoes, that was all. And now she was out of weapons, and running for safety. But she wouldn’t find it, not anywhere in this sector of water, not as long as USS
“Captain, she’s headed back to the
“Roger, that’s the plan,” the captain’s voice said, now firmly in control. “Go active, stay in a search mode. As soon as we lose contact. Let her think we’re clueless. Then secure on my command, and we’ll close the
It was the Army officer’s turn to look puzzled as the naval officers and Coast Guard officer clustered around the table turned pale. He looked from face to face, searching for a clue, then looked back at the tactical display. “What’s that funny symbol?”
Finally, Magruder spoke. “An enemy torpedo. And it’s headed straight for us.”
“But what’s
They all stared at the screen as the
“I’m gonna owe that man a beer,” Batman said softly. He turned his attention back to the TAO. “How many more fighters have we got to launch?”
“Six more, sir,” the TAO replied. “All standing by and ready to go.”
Batman turned to Tombstone. “Just like the old days, isn’t it?” he asked softly.
“Not quite,” Tombstone said. “We’re not in a cockpit.”
TWENTY-ONE
“Conning officer. I want you to listen to me very, very carefully.” The captain’s voice was calm, betraying no hint of nervousness. “This is just like making an approach on the pier. You just can’t see it. We’re going to use the same speeds, the same tiny course corrections. And on my signal, let engineering know that I want this boat backing down as hard as she’s ever backed in her life.”
The conning officer nodded nervously, and glanced at the Chief of the Boat, who was positioned behind the helmsman and the planesman. The chief nodded. “Piece of cake, Captain,” the COB said, more for the conning officer’s ears than for the captain’s. “Done this a hundred times in my sleep.”
The captain grunted. “Well, if you were contemplating a nap now, I suggest you put that off for a while.” Although the joke was lame, pent-up nervousness in the small compartment sent a wave of quiet chuckles through the crew.
“Okay, men — here we go. All ahead one-third, indicate turns for one knot.”
The submarine’s movement was not perceptible, but everyone watching the speed indicator saw it creep slowly up. It quivered, barely moved off the zero mark, and held there. “Good job, engineer,” the captain said softly, noting how well the engineering personnel were maintaining steam pressure in the main turbine. “A really sweet job.”
They crept forward for what seemed like an eternity, and then the captain ordered, “All stop.” He glanced around the control room, then said, “Sound the collision alarm.” A red light began flashing in the compartment in a distinctive pattern to indicate an impending collision, albeit one that was intentional. “All hands brace for shock,” the captain continued, his voice still quiet.
Suddenly, the submarine jolted. Violent movement were not a normal part of the submariner’s life, and even the more experienced crew members gasped. A horrible grinding noise rang through the submarine like a hollow bell, and equipment shuddered in its racks. Pencils and papers not secured were flung to the deck. Then one sailor let out a moan of panic.
“Steady, steady,” the captain warned. “Remember, we’re doing this on purpose.”
The noise and shuddering seemed to go on forever, growing louder and deeper as the submarine’s hull made contact with the ancient battleship now permanently at rest on the Pacific floor. Finally, there was a perceptible decrease in the motion. Then it ceased just as suddenly as it started.
In sonar, Jacobs and Pencehaven had taken off their headsets to avoid damage to their ears. They listened to the noise of the collision through the overhead speaker, then slapped their headsets back on as soon as the noise ceased. Softer, but clearly discernible, they heard the groan of old metal shifting in its position, of tons and tons of World War II steel moving from where it had been planted so many years before. The
“I hear her!” Jacobs shouted, his sensitive ears the first to catch the sound of a new noise. “Propellers turning — she’s going to try to make a run for it.” But even as he spoke, he could tell it was no use. The
“We got it,” a voice howled over the SEAL circuit behind him. Batman turned to stare at it, and a grim smile broke out over his face. He turned to Tombstone.
His former lead nodded, then said, “Weapons free on all Chinese units. I want that ship a blackened, smoking
