Island Warriors

our boat, the possibilities for confusion and disaster are endless.”

“I’ll deal with briefing the sub CO,” Coyote said. “All I want to know is that you’re certain that the Marshall P’eng can’t detect that boat on passive only.”

“I’m certain.”

“That’s what I thought. So,” he continued to the TAO, “Tell him now — passive only until I say otherwise. On second thought, get Major Ho in here. I don’t want any misunderstanding about this, so have him make the call in their language. That way, there’s no confusion.”

Major Ho walked into TFCC, saluted immediately, and asked, “How can I assist the admiral?”

Coyote regarded him for a minute, still not certain what to make of this young man. “I want you to tell Captain Chang I’m setting a restrictive emissions condition, an EMCON. Passive sensors only subsurface. Do you understand? I don’t mean the radars, of course. Keep those online. And he can stream his tail whenever he wants to. Just no active sonar transmissions. We have some people conducting special operations in the area,” he embroidered on sudden inspiration, “and if active sonar blasted the wrong area it would kill them.”

Major Ho bowed slightly. “Of course. I understand, and will convey that to Captain Chang.” He glanced up at the display and the area marked off. “But I understand that Captain Chang is attempting to gain contact on the Chinese submarine at this moment. It would be natural for him to go active in order to maintain a perfect firing solution, should he gain contact.”

Coyote glanced at the submarine officer, a movement that Ho did not miss. “Yes, it would. But so far, they have committed no hostile act. Let’s keep tracking them passively and not give them any reason for assuming we’re preparing to attack.” He clapped Major Ho on the shoulder, as he would have one of his own officers. “Don’t worry, Major. When there’s a submarine to kill, your guys have first shot. I promise you.”

Major Ho bowed again, then reached for the microphone connecting him to tactical. He made the call up, in English, then switched to Mandarin. “The American admiral, he asks me about your tracking solution,” Major Ho said carefully. “He wonders whether you intend to use active sonar at this point?”

Captain Chang’s answer came back, also in Mandarin. “I can if he wishes, but I had thought I would not spook the submarine if he is in the area. If I go active, he will know that he has been detected.”

“The admiral thought that might be your decision,” Ho said, choosing his words so as to convey the slightest disapproval. It was a subtle move, one that he was certain only Chang would understand.

“Of course, I can go active, if that is what the admiral desires,” Chang responded immediately. “Here — I will demonstrate now.”

USS Seawolf

0820 local (GMT +8)

The single, sharp sonar pulse blasted through the hull of the American submarine, and every man onboard flinched. Normally, this would be the precursor to a torpedo in the water, a final ranging ping to establish a precise firing solution before releasing weapons.

“What the bloody hell?” Captain Tran said, his voice soft with the slightest trace of a British accent in it. He turned to his XO. “Didn’t that message get out changing our operating area?”

The XO nodded. “We got acknowledgement from the satellite that they picked it up, too. There’s no question that they got our message.”

“Then how come I’m getting blasted by some idiot?” the captain demanded. He reined in his legendary temper, and focused on the solution. “We’re going to have to clear the area. How far how can I move off and still maintain some form of contact on the Chinese boat?”

“Maybe fifteen thousand yards, if we’re lucky,” the chief sonarman spoke up. “Captain, I can find him again for you, but I’d rather not.”

The captain thought for a moment. The damage had already been done by the active ping. Their cover was blown. Furthermore, the Chinese sub would have heard it as well, and would be doing its best to clear the area.

At this point, he needed to destroy any firing solution that the pinging platform might have. “Who was it?” he asked the sonar chief.

“Had to be the Taiwanese,” the chief answered. “We’re not carrying that kind of sonar on our ships anymore.”

“Then how come — never mind, doesn’t matter.” He’d address the coordination issues in a P4 to the admiral. What they had to do now was get the hell out of Dodge, try to maintain contact on a Chinese diesel doing the same thing, and then reacquire the contact if they lost him. A pain in the ass, but that’s the way the game was played.

Marshall P’eng

0821 local (GMT +8)

“Captain!” The sonarman’s voice was slightly quieter than normal. “Captain, I have two subsurface contacts—two!” The sonarman looked up at him, confused. “But there is only one Chinese submarine in the area, Captain. I’m certain of it.”

Chang thought for a moment, then his face cleared. Perhaps this was the admiral’s way of expressing confidence in Marshall P’eng, of revealing to him secrets that he was not otherwise allowed to. The captain smiled slightly in pride. He had not thought the American admiral so subtle.

And if this was a test, then what was he expected to do now? As he paused, Major Ho’s voice came over tactical again. “The admiral asks if you would be so kind as to secure your active sonar now. He is setting an emissions condition, in which only passive tracking is allowed.”

That confirmed Captain Chang’s suspicion. It had been a test, and one that they had passed satisfactorily. The admiral had intended them to know that there were two submarine contacts in the area, so that later, should attack be necessary, Chang would know why certain precautions were taken.

But now what was he expected to do? To report both submarine contacts, or just one?

Just one, Chang decided. The admiral would not want a U.S. submarine location transmitted over the circuit, for the same reasons that he had not been permitted to tell Captain Chang directly that the submarine was in the area. And based on what he’d seen of the battle group’s orders, Chang had a pretty good idea which one was the American and which one was the elusive Chinese diesel.

“Report the presence of only the one you believe to be the Chinese submarine,” he said, still quietly warmed by the admiral’s confidence. “But go back over the last hours of data. See if now you see any acoustic evidence of an American submarine in the area. For that is what the second contact is — of that I’m certain.”

USS United States

0822 local (GMT +8)

“What the bloody hell!” Coyote roared, as the graphics depicting an active sonar ping flashed on to the screen. “What is he doing?!” Immediately, reports began pouring in over the tactical circuit from the other surface ships. The admiral sighed, then turned to Ho. “Okay, I guess there are going to be some screw-ups. But you know what I mean now — no active sonar, right?”

Ho bowed slightly. “Yes, Admiral. I made that very clear to Captain Chang Tso-Lin.”

“Okay, then. What’s done is done — no sense whining about it.” Coyote paused as though he wanted to ask something else, then turned away. Just then, Captain Chang’s watch officer’s voice came over the circuit, giving the bearing and range to the Chinese submarine. Everyone in TFCC breathed a sigh of relief.

Coyote relaxed. However things had gotten screwed up, evidently the location of the American submarine had not been compromised. The Marshall P’eng had detected only the one she was supposed to, the Chinese one.

Good news in the short term, but perhaps not so good in the long run. He was hoping that Marshall P’eng could contribute to the ASW effort. However, given the ranges that were involved, she should have detected the American submarine as well. And if so, why had she not reported it? Perhaps Chang had realized something had gone wrong, and had decided not to report it. Or perhaps he hadn’t detected the U.S. submarine. To ask about a second contact now would simply make a bigger deal out of it, and that was the one thing Coyote fervently didn’t want to do.

So ignore it for now. Figure it was a screw-up, and go on. He knew what the submarine was doing — clearing the area, then returning along a different bearing to resume stalking her prey. If he could keep the Taiwanese frigate on passive now, she should be able to do that without interference, and without running the risk of being