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Residual Effects By sherlockette
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This one
follows Contingencies and Sound Effects and while it can stand alone it
might be more enjoyable to have read Sound Effects. Thanks to my special
beta ;-) ~~~~ “Why
the devil didn’t they tell us before now?” shouted Admiral Harriman
Nelson, designer and owner of the submarine Seaview, as he picked up the
ten-page neatly bound report and shook it. “They’ve known for over
two months where Janek was and what he was working on! Why did they have
to wait until we were in the middle of sonar trials to drop this in our
laps? Now we’re supposed to just stay here advertising our presence
and practically asking to be attacked while they send Crane on some
‘mystery mission’? I don’t care if the President ordered it. He
might as well cut off my right arm!” The admiral was ranting to Admiral
Jiggs Starke, his long time friend and the COMSUBPAC, about the
intelligence brief and set of sealed orders he had received when Seaview
had made a short stopover at Nelson slammed the report down on
the desk in his cabin then turned back towards the videophone just in
time to see Starke back away from the screen. Amused by his old
friend’s reaction, Nelson grinned. “Sorry, Jiggs.” After a pause
to pull out and light a cigarette Nelson’s anger flared again. He
paced back and forth a couple of times before stopping to take a long
drag. “If we’d known about this before we finished designing the new
sonar we could have made adjustments. You know retrofits are far from
ideal!” “I know, Harriman, I know. I
asked the CNO about emergency funding. But you and I both know those
political hacks in “It’s not just the money Jiggs,
and you know it.” “I got him to agree that we need
to know everything that’s known about any device and he’s sure ONI
will pass that information along when they get it.” Nelson exhaled loudly. “You
don’t believe that any more than I do.” There was a period of
silence as both men considered what to do next. Starke was the first to
speak. “Harriman, what’s really bothering you?” Nelson slowly shook his head and
flicked his cigarette ash into the desktop ashtray. “I have a very bad
feeling about all this, Jiggs.” “What do you mean by that?” “It’s all a chess game… and
we’re in check.” “Meaning what?” “They know all our possible
moves. They have Ellison Janek and after that fiasco in Hilton Head the
PR surely knows that we are in the middle of sonar trials and exactly
where to find us. Humphhhhh. With as many leaks as we have, they
probably know Crane will be temporarily out of the picture. And here we
wait…and for who knows what?” Starke shook his head. “Never
thought I’d say this, Harriman, but you have one of the best crews
afloat. They can handle whatever is thrown at them. They’ve proved
that often enough.” Nelson grinned inwardly as he
ground out his cigarette. He knew how difficult it had been for Starke
to admit what he himself already knew. “You’re right about that,
Jiggs, but they shouldn’t have to ‘handle’ this. They’re just
learning the system, and…I have a couple of officers that spent the
last few months working their sixes off to see this project through.
They’re tired, and frankly, so am I.”
Starke knew better than to respond
to the comment and could not offer any concrete suggestions. He and
Nelson continued their discussion of the contents of the brief for a few
minutes, exchanged courtesies then signed off from the call. Admiral Nelson then walked over
and opened his safe and practically threw the onerous documents inside.
After closing the door he spun the dial with more force than was
necessary and walked back to his chair and sat down. Resting his elbows
on the desk, he ran both hands through his hair. He wasn’t merely
frustrated he was tired, dog-tired. The work on the sonar had taken a
lot out of him as it had his captain and exec and while the system had
been well designed, the trials had uncovered a few glitches with the
various components. There had also been a few unanticipated equipment
issues on Seaview he had to tend to, the most recent one involving
damage to two of the special helium mixture dive tanks. The latest news
from ONI guaranteed that in the immediate future he and his men would
get little, if any, rest. The admiral was also fighting a
major headache, one of many he had experienced in recent weeks. After
opening the desk drawer he reached in a pulled out a large plastic pill
bottle and shook it. Finding it empty, he cursed both his misfortune and
his oversight. He had purchased the large quantity of extra strength
pain relief capsules at a local pharmacy in Santa Barbara rather than
ask his chief medical officer William Jamison for some, primarily
because he wanted to avoid revealing to anyone how badly his head had
been hurting and for how long. Now it looked like he was going to have
to pay a visit to the good doctor, whether he liked it or not. After he
returned he would inform Lee about the contents of the document from ONI
and about his other assignment. He anticipated fireworks from Lee for
being forced to leave the boat during trials, and that was one show best
experienced headache-free. The admiral stepped outside his
cabin, pulled the door closed and walked down the corridor. He turned
the corner just in time to catch a glimpse of the ~~~~
Lee Crane leaned back against the
bulkhead in the wardroom and drained the last drops of coffee from his
mug. After eating a half-sandwich and downing two cups of the extra
strength brew he had begun to feel a bit more alert than he had for
several hours. He knew the boost was temporary, but with the sonar
system trials underway, he was reluctant to retreat to his cabin or to
relax. The stakes were high for the
trials. With sonar being the eyes and ears of any submarine it was
imperative that any equipment installed on a boat be state of the art
and free of malfunctions. Seaview, with her many complex missions and
unexplained surprise encounters, needed something a cut above the rest
and Lee intended to see that she got just that. He had entrusted the
initial installation of the new sonar to Chip, knowing that he was
highly qualified and would give everything he had to the project, but
Lee was not about to let Chip carry the entire burden of the
installation, training and trials. As a hands-on captain there was never
any doubt that he would be involved with every aspect of training and
testing. It was the completion of two deep
dives to disentangle the towed array the previous day that contributed
to his current fatigue. Following the dives he had developed a mild but
lingering headache and a touch of nausea, both anticipated side-effects
of breathing the helium-air mixture. As a result, he had not slept much.
He had also spent much of the present day helping Chip chase down some
problematic electrical circuits and he had not eaten more than a few
cookies up until he reached the wardroom some twenty minutes ago. Planning to head towards Chip’s
cabin for the latest updates Lee stood, placed his plate and mug in the
dish receptacle and turned to leave. Upon hearing loud, angry voices in
the corridor he immediately stepped outside and caught sight of two of
his officers, Lieutenant Cermak and Lieutenant (jg) Vance rolling around
on the deck as if they were in a bar fight. “Stop! Now!”
Lee ordered angrily, as he walked briskly towards the two men. When he
reached them and saw that they were not responding to his command he
latched onto the first arm he could grab, that belonging to the more
senior officer. He yanked it and twisted it behind the man’s back
causing the lieutenant to grunt. The fight suddenly went out of both men
and they sat on the deck staring blankly, first at each other then up at
their captain. Lee was seething at the display he
had just witnessed. He clenched his fists and rolled his shoulders back
before ordering the men to their feet. The officers rose and with their
anger somewhat subsided, they schooled their features and stood at
attention. “What’s the meaning of this?
Cermak?” “Sorry, sir. No excuse, sir.” “Vance, do you have a better
story?” he snapped. “No sir. No excuse, sir.” Lee looked at the pair as he
considered how to best handle the serious situation before him. While he
could punish the men, having observed their misbehavior directly, by
tradition discipline was the purview of the executive officer and he
typically left those decisions for Chip. However, he knew these men well
and while not soft on discipline, he felt that something had to be
seriously wrong to cause the two friends to go after each other. He
decided to delay any decision on punishment until after the officers had
been checked over by the “Very well, the two of you are
going with me to see the Doc. We’ll see about sending you to see Mr.
Morton after we finish there.”
~~~~
Chip Morton leaned back in the
desk chair in his cabin and stretched his arms above his head in an
effort to release some of the tension in the back of his neck. After
months of intensive work supervising the installation of Seaview’s new
sonar and training of the crew, he was now heavily involved in the sea
trials of the instrumentation and its companion computer system. Several
minor but nagging malfunctions had kept him busy. The one involving the
launch system for the towed array had finally been resolved, only to be
replaced by an intermittent power surge that caused the recording
devices in the system to fail. Twelve hours and three missed meals later
the pair of problem resistors had been located and replaced. Unfortunately, the sonar system
problems were not the only issues Chip had faced on Seaview’s
relatively short cruise. Seamen Kowalski and Garza, two of his most
seasoned ratings and part of the small group that had received extensive
training on the new system, had to be disciplined for fighting while
several other members of the crew were placed on report for inattention
to duty. As the XO it was his responsibility not merely to mete out
punishment but to address the underlying problems. Since the behavior
issues were so uncharacteristic of the men he planned to discuss them
with Jamison to see if there could be a tangible, perhaps medical,
reason for the lapses. Only if he was unable to pinpoint the problem and
resolve it would he discuss what had been occurring with Lee. For the moment, the solitude of
his cabin gave him some relief. He
could feel the gentle thrumming of the engines through the decking and
except for the occasional closing of a door, all was quiet. Seaview was
now in familiar waters, running search patterns at various speeds and
depths to allow the operators of the new system to get a feel for its
dynamics and he had not been contacted for a couple of hours about a
problem. Things are looking up. Now I
can get to that report for the admiral to send to COMSUBPAC on the
status of the trials then go talk to Jamie.
He barely had time to reach into
his desk drawer and pull out the required documents before he heard a
sharp rap on the door. “Now what?”
he moaned to himself and closed the drawer with a loud thump. He
flipped the papers upside down on the desk and took a few seconds to
also hide his annoyance, before responding. “Come in.” The door opened to reveal the “Sorry, Mr. Morton. These bozos
felt the need to try out a few boxing moves on each other.
Unfortunately, they broke the valve stems on two of the special helium
dive tanks in the process.” Chip stood and slowly crossed his
arms. His steely expression left no room for doubt as to how he felt
about this latest news. As his eyes bored into each of the men in turn
they visibly shook. Even Sharkey swallowed hard and pursed his lips in
anticipation of what was to come. When he finally spoke, the XO’s
tone was the equivalent of an Arctic blast in winter. “Explain yourselves. Isaacs?” “Sir,” he gulped. “No
excuses, sir.” “That’s not an explanation,
seaman. Latrobe?” “No excuses, sir.” Chip shook his head. He knew the
men would not be forthcoming with the cause of the argument and at this
point it didn’t matter. He was in no mood to forgive this particular
transgression. The damage to the special tank valves was significant and
could have a serious impact on the crew’s ability to make adjustments
or repairs to the external components of the sonar or to Seaview when
she was running deep. He looked the men over once more before announcing
to them that after they were cleared from sick bay they would report
back to Chief Sharkey to receive their penalties. He guaranteed that
they would be significant. Chip sent the ratings on their way before
inquiring about the tanks. “Chief, is there any chance at all of
making repairs?” “No, sir, ‘fraid not. Even if
we were to rethread ‘em, the o-rings wouldn’t seat right and it
could be risky to send anyone out with ‘em.” Chip slowly shook his head then
asked another question, though he already knew the answer. “Did you
inform the admiral and the skipper of the damage?” “Uh… aye, sir. The admiral’s
thinking about sending out FS-1 to pick up two new tanks from the
Institute.” Chip nodded. He guessed that after
hearing about the damage the “Okay, Chief. I want those men
to remember the date of their little bout as well as they do their
birthdays. No free time for the rest of the cruise. Bilges, pump room,
packing bearings, cleaning the heads. Keep them busy, too busy to get
into any more trouble…and Chief… keep them apart!” “Aye, sir. Is there anything
else?” “That will be it, Chief.” “Aye, sir.” As “General quarters, general
quarters, man your battle stations!” The distinctive voice of
Lieutenant Bob O’Brien, Seaview’s second officer and present OOD,
reverberated over the boat-wide intercom. The announcement was followed
immediately by the bell tones of the warning klaxon and both men
immediately sprang into action. The chief headed for the aft missile
room while Chip took off running for the control room, arriving there
via the spiral stairs at the same time the admiral and Lee entered
through the aft hatch. Lee immediately took the conn and ordered Chip to
monitor the sonar and hydrophone operators as he and the admiral spoke
with O’Brien. The lieutenant reported that
hydrophones had picked up another submarine, one that failed to announce
its presence on the ELF bands and continued to shadow them from a
distance of three thousand yards. When asked why he hadn’t notified
the senior officers prior to calling for the alert, O’Brien answered
confidently. “Sirs, that sub that’s tailing us just dove to thirty
five hundred feet, and she’s still intact!” Lee and the admiral exchanged
knowing looks. Each had immediately understood the implications of the
officer’s report. Seaview had encountered a sub with the capability to
dive to that depth only twice. One of those meetings was in the Atlantic
near Norfolk, and the other near the shipping lanes between Hawaii and
California, the very same waters where they now were putting sonar
through its paces. Both encounters had been decidedly hostile. It seemed
now that the tests they were undergoing might be a trial by fire. Lee began snapping out commands.
“Status report, Mr. O’Brien.” “Heading two-ninety true,
cruising at standard. Depth is ninety feet, sir.” “Fathometer?” “Clear to ten thousand feet,
sir,” responded Riley. “Very well,” he said as he
turned to Nelson. “At least we have maneuvering room. We sure can’t
put her on the bottom.” The admiral nodded. “What’s
our current position?” The trio walked over to the plot
table where O’Brien pointed out their location. Lee and the admiral
studied the chart briefly, each verifying that there were no apparent
underwater hazards in the area. No hazards also meant there were no
places to hide and the Seaview and its predator would both have to rely
on stealth, sonar decoys or thermal layers to avoid detection. In order
to make use of any of those tactics Seaview would have to move deeper.
Right now they were an easy target, and that did not sit well with
either of the command officers. Still, they had to consider the primary
advantage of remaining near the surface; communication with the outside
world. The admiral grabbed up a pencil
and jotted down their coordinates and stepped over to the navigational
computer to check the figures. He then proceeded to the radio shack and
handed the paper to the communications officer. “Sparks, send a coded
message with these coordinates to COMSUBPAC. Inform him that we are
being tailed by a deep diving sub and might need to engage it. Wait for
confirmation then institute radio silence.” “Aye, sir,” said Sparks as he
took the message and began to encode it. “Kelly, go passive on sonar,”
ordered Lee as he snatched up the microphone. “Engineering,
all stop.” Once the admiral rejoined Lee and O’Brien at the plot
table, the three officers considered their options. “That sub showing itself was no
accident,” mumbled the admiral, under his breath. Lee looked at him quizzically,
sensing his CO knew more than he was telling. “Admiral?” Though the admiral knew that he
needed to talk to Lee about Seaview’s mission and the intelligence he
had received, they were in a potential crisis situation so he offered
the captain a plausible if incomplete reason for his concern. “The PR
knew we were replacing our sonar. They might well be trying to update
the profile by getting us to react.” Lee nodded. “If it’s the same
sub we encountered a few months ago we have to assume she’s a danger
so I’m not taking any chances.”
The admiral briefly drummed his
fingers on the plot table then nodded his agreement. Lee
again picked up the mic and ordered that four torpedoes be loaded into
their tubes in each of the forward and aft missile rooms. After
establishing that Sparks had reached COMSUBPAC, he gave the orders that
would have Seaview move down to a depth of two-thousand feet. Within
minutes the boat had reached the designated depth and the engines had
again been cut. After allowing a few minutes for
the towed hydrophone array to stabilize, Lee and the admiral both
approached the partially enclosed booth that now made up the sonar
station. There they scrutinized the display screens on the console and
noted they were static, an indication of no recent activity. Lee
verified his assumptions with Patterson, the rating manning the
hydrophones. “She’s disappeared, sir. Not a
peep,” he whispered. “Very well, keep at it,” said
Lee, equally quietly. While the admiral and Lee had been
assessing the boat’s situation, Chip had stood next to Patterson and
Kelly watching the distance and depth readings flash on the digital
display. He had also picked up the third set of headphones and listened
to the incoming signals then studied the spectrograph of the unknown
sub. If the profile had matched closely to one they already had in their
data banks the graph itself would have flashed red on the display
screen. It had not so he reached over and tapped a sequence of keys on
the computer to reduce the stringency of the search. Unfortunately there
were still no matches, even partial ones. Disappointed, he out a long
slow breath. At that moment Lee came up directly behind him and tapped
him on the shoulder. “Anything?” Chip shook his head. “No, sir,
nothing even close. Could be a different sub or they have engineered
some extensive modifications.” Chip then handed the headset to Lee as
he again hit the playback switch. Lee listened for about a minute before
handing the set to the admiral, who was had come to stand to his
immediate left. When he had heard enough, Nelson handed the set back to
the exec. “Chip, make sure we have clear
recording that we can transmit to fleet headquarters.” “Aye, sir.”
Chip immediately began to make a
copy of the tape as the admiral and Lee stepped back to the plot table.
A sudden loud moan broke the silence and almost everyone in the control
room turned to see Tatic, the hydraulics specialist assigned to monitor
the ballast controls, slump to the floor. The admiral rushed over to
assist the rating as well as to quiet him as O’Brien ordered a crewman
to run and get the doctor. Within two minutes Jamison and two corpsmen
arrived and the During the disruption Lee had kept
an eye on the sonar operators and all appeared to be oblivious to the
commotion going on behind them. Patterson was still listening intently,
and Kelly was helping him to monitor and adjust the array. When Lee came
up behind him, Kelly gave him an okay signal, indicating the unit was
responding to controls. Lee then glanced at Chip just in time to see him
wince. “What is it?” he mouthed. Chip shook his head. “The
recorder is out again. And we’re getting fluctuating signals.” “That resistor?” “Could be.” Without warning, a tremendous
nearby explosion rocked the boat and many of the men in the control room
were tossed around like tumbleweeds before a storm. They also found
themselves in semi-darkness for several minutes. A few battery powered
warning lights provided their only illumination until the emergency
lights flickered on and cast their red glow on everything. Several of
the men began to groan but eventually all were able to raise themselves
from the deck and assume their stations. Lee had landed on the deck by the
periscope island and managed to pull himself up to his knees before
locking eyes with the admiral who was already on his feet next to the
plot table. “Torpedo?” the two asked in
unison, then nodded in agreement. Lee stood up completely and
reached over and snatched the microphone from the plot table bracket.
“Secure silent running. Damage control, report!” The disembodied voice of the
damage control officer was heard over the boat-wide intercom. “No
structural damage. Several electrical circuits blown, forward torpedo
controls are out. Estimated repair time is one hour.” “Cut it in half!” Lee yelled
then clicked off and at that moment regular power was restored. While Lee worked to get the boat
under control and repaired, a stone-faced admiral walked over to the
sonar station where Chip and Patterson were already attempting repairs
to one of the panels. “Chip, did you pick up anything
at all just prior to the explosion?” “No, sir, the recorder went out
some time before we felt the blast and the computer is showing no data
was received. I’m checking for malfunctions.” “Never mind the recording, were
you picking up other traffic or any other new signatures at all in the
few minutes before?” Chip turned to Patterson to answer
the question. “Now that you mention it sir, it was pretty quiet to be
this close to the shipping lanes.” “Chip, is there any possibility
that the system was receiving interference from some other system on
board, enough to cause an outage?” “No, sir, it would have shown up
prior to now if that was the case. We
ran those checks for weeks before we left the dock and we’ve installed
no other new equipment.” “All right, Chip. For now I want
you to reinstall the old system as a backup. Call me once you get it up
and running. I’ll be in my cabin.” “Aye, sir.” Chip had been fully expecting the
admiral’s notorious temper to erupt and to direct his ire at him over
the sonar issues, so he was surprised by Nelson’s relatively calm
demeanor. Out of the corner of his eye he watched as the OOM whispered a
few words to Lee then made a hasty retreat up the spiral stairs. He
continued to flip switches in faint hope of restoring the system to
working order but after several more minutes of tinkering, he
begrudgingly replaced the cover to the console and walked over to the
microphone on the periscope island. “This is the exec. Kowalski and
the duty electrician, report to the control room immediately. Kowalski
and the duty electrician to the control room, immediately.” Within a
minute the ratings arrived, and Chip instructed them to reconnect the
old system, including the reattachment of the leads from the old sonar
mast. Lee stepped over to the sonar
station and watched for a short time before informing Chip that one of
the two of them would remain at the conn until both systems were up and
running. Chip nodded his agreement. “Aye, sir, but with these
malfunctions I suggest surfacing and heading towards home.” “I’ll see about it. I need to
go talk to the admiral first. For the time being, keep her at two
thousand feet and boost her to ten knots and plot an irregular course.
You have the conn. If you see or hear anything from our friends, call me
at once.” ~~~~ Lee made his way to Officers’
Country and upon arriving at the admiral’s cabin door, he rapped
twice. To his surprise
Nelson yanked it open, ushered him inside then closed it quickly behind
him. “Sit down, Lee,” ordered the
admiral as he pointed to the chair across from his desk. “This isn’t
going to be pretty.” The brusque warning raised the
hairs on the back of Lee’s neck but he did as he was instructed and
sat on the front edge of the chair, awaiting the bad news. The admiral
picked up the ONI report from his desk and handed it to him and he
opened it and read the first three pages before looking up. “Admiral,
when did you receive this report?” “When we stopped over at Pearl.
I told you it wasn’t pretty. I’m waiting to hear more details from
ONI, but even if they haven’t perfected it yet it’s clear enough
that we’re dealing with a dangerous weapon in the hands of an
unfriendly nation.” “Sir, what is this weapon,
exactly?” “A type of anti-sonar device
that uses a something called noise cancellation. They bombard us with
sound waves that effectively cancel out our pings. They can also
neutralize most other noises, rendering most sonar systems totally
ineffective.” “I didn’t know the technology
had advanced that far.” “It hadn’t…at least until
Dr. Janek completed a research project on that very subject just six
months ago.” “So the PR knew the specifics of
Janek’s work?” “So it seems. I know Janek well
enough to know he would never sell secrets. Some of ONI’s surplus of
double agents must have clued them in to what he was doing and that’s
why he was targeted for kidnapping.” “Hmmm.” Lee chose to take the
high road and ignored Nelson’s latest swipe at the intelligence
agency. He didn’t want the admiral to rehash the many problems they
had encountered when working with ONI. There would be time to place
blame later. He scrubbed his face before closing the report and placing
it back on the desk. He
stood and paced for a moment, then turned back to his CO. “They were
using it on us,” he stated bluntly. “No doubt about it. When sonar
didn’t pick up the torpedo and Patterson confirmed things had been
unusually quiet, I was sure.” “Why Seaview?” “It does seem like we’re at
the top of everyone’s guest list.” Lee grinned then both men paused,
each lost in his own thoughts. It was Lee who broke the silence.
“Admiral, they didn’t mind letting us know they were out there, and
it was definitely a war shot, so it’s obvious they intended to sink
us. What do you think caused the premature explosion? Some kind of
accident?” “My guess is they copied the
Mark 37 torpedo design. You know the Navy has had serious issues with
the batteries failing due to electrolyte leakage.” He chuckled at the
irony of the situation. “Nothing like spending millions on a brand new
technology and delivering it in a paper boat, though we were quite
fortunate they did.” “Maybe we shouldn’t leave the
conn…” “I suspect they are rethinking a
few things and will leave us alone for the moment.”
The admiral pointed to the chair
and after Lee sat back down he took his own seat, pulled out a cigarette
from the pack on the desk and lit it. He took a long drag before
continuing. “Right now we have two problems. There is a sub out there
with unknown capabilities using a weapon we don’t fully understand and
are not yet equipped to deal with.” “Admiral, my immediate concern
is those stealth torpedoes. We can’t count on another failure. Is
there any chance of us disrupting the weapon instead of just waiting for
them to release another surprise on us?” “We’re at a disadvantage
without reliable sonar. We can’t go after the sub or the weapon like
this. And they know it.” “But Admiral…” “I didn’t say we couldn’t do
anything.” The admiral reached over to tap his cigarette on the edge
of his ashtray but stopped midway. “Let’s look at a few
alternatives. Since we worked on that sunspot study we already have an
instrument to measure incoming electronic interference. Let’s put it
to better use. Set it to constant scanning mode, then check to see if
the past scans show anything unusual, particularly at the time just
before the explosion. Perhaps some type of signal is emitted by the
weapon itself.” “I’ll also check Seaview’s
internal electronic profile and see if there were any anomalies around
the time of the explosion. I want to rule out sabotage to the internal
systems.” “Good idea, Lee, but let Chip do
it …and have him check back several weeks.” Why ask Chip to do it?
He’s already up to his
elbows in alligators. Lee scrutinized his friend and CO’s face.
There was something he was holding back. Before he could ask what it
was, the admiral continued. “While I don’t like the idea
of making major changes during a cruise…we do need to make a few
modifications to Seaview’s computer systems as soon as practicable.”
“Sir, do you have specifics in
mind?” “I do. I’ll work with Chip on
a couple of changes to the program. Meanwhile I don’t want her to get
within striking distance again so make some adjustments to the array and
set our scan patterns wider. I would also plan to stay active. She
obviously can track us without a problem, at least on the surface.” Lee reached over and pressed the button on the speaker box on the admiral’s desk and called the control room. He relayed the admiral’s orders regarding the settings for the sonar and also instructed the exec to examine several weeks of electronic data logs, and if he detected any irregularities to inform him immediately. Lee leaned back in the chair and
rubbed his temple. The admiral looked at him with a mock scowl, but said
nothing. “Admiral, what do you think about heading back to Santa
Barbara? We can check out everything and make the modifications while in
port just as easily. And we can gather more information on the weapon,
figure out a way to counter it.” “Ordinarily I would agree with
you, but I said we had two problems. There’s something you need to
take care of first.” The
admiral picked up an envelope from his desk and pulled out a single
sheet of paper and a sealed envelope and handed them to the captain. Lee took the document and read it
then abruptly stood up and looked at the admiral with fire in his eyes.
“He’s got to be kidding! Now?” ~~~~ After the call from Lee, Chip had
the sonar operators make the adjustments to the instruments and the
array. He also reviewed Seaview’s electronic profile for the entire
cruise and compared it to those generated while she had been in port. He
discovered no irregularities until he tried to pull up data from the
minutes just prior to the explosion. For that specific time frame there
simply was none and he had no idea why. He notified Lee about the glitch
and told the captain he would try and determine the source of the
problem. He spent over an hour querying the computer before he had to
move out of the way to give the ratings room to work on the station. As he stood by the plot table
observing the activity in the control room, Chip’s thoughts soon
returned to the apparent sonar system failure and its possible causes.
After several recent sabotage attempts they had instituted more
stringent security protocols for dealing with contractors who performed
work on or for the boat. He had checked every system he could think of
and found no technical explanation. He was finally forced to admit that
operator error was as likely a cause as an electrical or mechanical
problem. Though Kelly and Patterson had been on Seaview since she was
launched and both had performed exceptionally, it was not a forgone
conclusion that no mistakes had been made by the ratings…or by him.
The crew’s recent behavior and performance problems had convinced him
of that. Which reminds me, I need
to talk to Jamie and at this rate I’ll never get up to see him. The sound of footsteps on the
spiral stairs interrupted Chip’s thoughts and he turned to see a very
stern looking Lee, who immediately approached him. “Any sign of that sub?” “No, sir.” Lee looked around the control room
and once satisfied that things were running smoothly he picked up a mic
and called for O’Brien to come forward. When the officer arrived he
had Chip hand over the conn and ushered the XO into the observation
nose. “Close the doors.” Chip did as he was told, but his
level of apprehension soared with the coolness of his captain’s voice.
It was a tone he had seldom heard in the many years he had known Lee
Crane so he stood at attention, anticipating a well-deserved reprimand
for the sonar malfunctions or for the crew’s poor performance or both.
What he heard was totally unexpected. “We’ve received a report from
ONI that the PR is using a new type of anti-sonar device and it appears
they have it up and running. All we know right now is that it blocks
active sonar with its own sound generator. It cancels out our pings and
any other noise, as long as they know the wavelength and frequency.
Since they profiled us pretty extensively, they know exactly what to
use.” Chip felt a moment of relief that
the sonar malfunction was likely due to the weapon and not crew error.
His solace was short-lived as he recognized the implications of what he
had just learned. “That’s why it was so quiet! They snuck that
torpedo in right under our noses.” “Yes.” “So what do we do about it?”
“The admiral is working out a
plan and when he finishes there will be work for you to do on the
computer program. Keep him informed of your progress with the scans.” “Aye, sir.” Lee turned around and faced out
the nose windows, effectively cutting off any questions Chip might have.
As he stared out into the blackness he twisted the ring on his left
hand, a sure sign to anyone that knew him that he was under significant
stress. Chip wanted badly to know more
specific information about the weapon. If there were adjustments he
could make that would counter its effects, it would greatly improve
Seaview’s tactical position. However, Lee supplied no additional
information and after working side-by-side with the man for several
years, Chip knew when things were open for discussion. Lee made it clear
by his body language that this was not one of those times. After a couple of minutes Lee
dropped his shoulders and turned back around. “The admiral also
ordered that Chief Sharkey be sent to pick up the replacement air tanks
and a package from Admiral Starke in San Diego, so prepare the Flying
Sub for launch. If you need me, I’ll be in my cabin.” “Sir, what about our course?” “We have our orders, Mr. Morton.
You will stay in this general vicinity and continue with the trials. If
that sub gets anywhere close, blow her out of the water.” Lee turned
to go but stopped short, turned back around and pointed his index finger
at Chip. “There’s one other thing. Pass the word that I expect every
man on this boat to be on his toes. I will not tolerate any form of
misbehavior or goldbricking and I expect you to keep every man in line.
Earlier today I caught Cermak and Vance fighting like a couple of
schoolboys.” “Fighting?” “Yes. I had to pull them
apart.” So far, whatever was affecting the
crew had been confined to the enlisted men so despite what he knew, Chip
was surprised at the revelation. However, his training allowed him to
respond without comment. “Aye sir, I’ll take care of it.” It was
one more thing he would put on his list of unusual occurrences that he
needed to investigate. “Is there anything else?”
“Isn’t that enough!” Lee
snapped then shook his head. “No, that’s all.” Chip had a déjà vu moment as he
watched Lee climb the stairs to Officers’ Country. The captain left
without stopping at each control room station as was his custom and had
shown no interest in the results of the electronic scans. Despite their
alert status he had also chosen to go to his cabin rather than stay in
the thick of things in the control room. He
said you stay…and complete the trials…blow her out of the water…Damn
it! He won’t be here! He’s
going on a mission for ONI! Chip clenched his fists and grimaced at
the thought of Lee departing on another dangerous and unpredictable
foray for the agency. He personally wanted to tie Lee to the nearest
steel support to keep him from leaving but the pragmatic exec knew Lee
would continue to take missions when he was called and nagging Lee to
refuse the mission at this juncture would only serve to undermine his
confidence and concentration. He would never put Lee at risk in that
way. It did not bode well for any of
them that Lee was being sent while Seaview was on high alert so whatever
had called him away had to be significant. What Chip did know was that
without more information, he could do absolutely nothing to help. He
couldn’t dwell on it either; he had his own problems to address. He
shook off his anger and concern and sighed, put on his poker face then
opened the crash doors. ~~~~ On his way to his cabin, Lee began
to massage his throbbing temples with his fingertips as he replayed his
conversation with Chip in his head. It was not the exec’s fault that
he had again been tagged for an off-boat mission, but he admitted to
himself that worry over his assignment had caused him to take his anger
out on his friend. Chip had responded with perfect military courtesy and
he knew the exec would continue performing his duties with the same
attention he always did. He would have to make it up to his friend for
adding to the man’s already sizeable obligations. As he stuffed a few things into
his pack Lee could only guess what scenario could be important enough to
take him away from his boat while she was in such a vulnerable position.
He had confidence in the admiral, Chip and all the men, but it was not
fair to any of them to be left juggling so many balls at once. Though he
had not had time to discuss it with Chip, he knew there were issues with
the crew beyond a single fight between two officers and those issues now
concerned him as much as sonar or the stalking sub. While Seaview was a
technological miracle, it was her officers and crew that made her the
most powerful craft afloat, a feat achieved only when they were in top
form. Lee finished packing and sat on
his bunk, forcing himself to block out Seaview’s ills and to focus on
his mission. A number of things about this assignment left him
discomposed. With most missions for ONI he was informed of some details
which helped him to bring the right clothing and equipment and to become
familiar with the territory he would be visiting. He
also was typically allotted time to get in the correct mindset and focus
in on the mission. This time he had only been told that he was to be
dropped off at specified coordinates where another submarine would be
waiting to pick him up and only then would he be briefed further.
Unfortunately, he had to leave within the hour and had no time for the
mental preparation that gave him an edge in tight situations. It really
stuck in his craw that he was told to discuss nothing about the mission
with anyone, including the admiral. Considering how many times Nelson
and Seaview had served as his only backup system and come to his rescue,
he felt as if he was being sent on a suicide mission. Releasing one last long breath,
Lee grabbed up his pack from the bunk and exited his cabin, closing the
door quietly behind him. He grabbed the microphone on the wall in the
corridor and requested Chief Sharkey to meet him at the Flying Sub. At that moment the admiral
appeared in the doorway to his cabin. His eyes met Lee’s and without
words the two said their goodbyes. ~~~~ The time he had spent preparing
the Flying Sub for launch had given Chip some time to come to grips with
the latest unexpected turn of events so by the time Lee arrived wearing
camouflage fatigues and carrying a water proof pack, he had put on the
stoic mask for which he was famous. He stood at the railing next to the
hatch and as Lee prepared to climb down into FS-1 the two men locked
eyes and each nodded subtly, sharing a brief moment of mutual concern. “Good luck, Captain.”
“Thank you, Mr. Morton. Take
care of Seaview.” “Aye, sir, will do.” As he closed and dogged the hatch,
Chip wondered once again if he had seen the last of Lee Crane. Chip knew that without a sharp
crew none of Seaview’s missions would succeed so he stood at the plot
table and thought for a good while about how to tackle the problem of
crew fitness. In their current circumstances the standard drills would
divert his and the crew’s attention from tracking the sub and possibly
interfere with completing the sonar trials. The best he could do was to
ensure that the instruments and equipment were functioning and that the
crew was aware that they would be under intense scrutiny. He called all
the junior officers to the nose to relay his concerns. Once behind closed doors, Chip
looked into the eyes of each officer standing before him. Each had been
hand picked for Seaview and had shown tremendous courage under fire. He
never expected to be saying the words that he was about to utter, but it
couldn’t be helped. Quietly and coolly he addressed the eleven men. “You should all be aware by now
that we are being followed by another sub of unknown capabilities that
has already fired a torpedo at us. Fortunately, that torpedo missed but
we might not be so lucky next time. We will, therefore, be on high alert
status until further notice.” Chip looked again at each man before
continuing. “It has also come to my attention that since this cruise
began there have been a number of reported incidents of lax attitudes
and unacceptable behavior. This cannot and will not be allowed to
continue. I want you to pass the word to the crew that there will be
zero tolerance for anyone stepping out of line and that I expect every
one of you to report each and every infraction to me. Is…
that… understood?” The assembled men nodded. “Good. Since we will be
remaining in these waters and continuing the sonar trials we cannot
perform our typical readiness drills. Instead, every section is to
perform complete system checks at the beginning of each watch. Check and
double check everything. I also want to see no idle men on duty. Is that
understood?” Again the officers nodded. “You are also to monitor the
crew during their down time. I don’t want any
dust ups, even minor ones. Is that
understood?” Another nod followed.
Chip nodded. “I also need to
inform you that for the time being, Captain Crane is not aboard.” The men glanced at each other but
no one commented. They all knew about the captain’s missions for ONI
and they could easily read between the lines. “All right, that’s it, men.”
The crash doors were opened part way and the men started to filter out.
Chip was not finished with two of them, however.
“Cermak, Vance, front and
center.” The two officers stopped and stood
to the side until the others left. Once the doors were again closed,
Chip came nose to nose with each man in turn. “I want an explanation and you
both know what about.” The men stood without saying
anything for a very long minute. Chip was growing more impatient.
“Well…” It was Cermak who spoke first.
“There’s no excuse for our behavior, sir.” “I said explanation, Lieutenant
and that’s what I want.” The men looked at each other and
then back at their exec. “Permission to speak frankly,
sir?” asked Cermak. “Go ahead.” “Sir, I don’t even remember
what the fight was about. That’s what’s so strange. I
just had this sudden ... compulsion… to argue with him. There was this
weird pounding in my head and before I knew it, I had taken a swing.” “Vance?” “I didn’t know why he tried to
hit me but I also had a throbbing pain in my head. I had it for a couple
of days. Once I started swinging I couldn’t stop.”
The accounts given by the officers
were similar to those of several other crew members who had been caught
acting out. Hoping to gain insight into the source of the problem, he
pressed the men further. Unfortunately, neither could provide specific
information regarding the onset of their reported symptoms. Since
Seaview could ill-afford to have any of its officers sidelined, after
warning them that the issue was not yet resolved, he dismissed the men
back to their assignments. He then called for Jamison to come to the
control room as soon as he was available. In about five minutes the “Sorry, not this time.” Chip
grinned and shook his head, then nodded towards the meeting area in the
nose. Jamison walked over and took a seat and Chip closed the crash
doors about halfway then sat on the edge of the table facing the control
room. “This must be serious for you to
call me up here,” said Jamison, slightly above a whisper. “It is, Jamie, or at least it
might soon be. Just to let you know, Lee is off boat for now.” “I heard. For how long?” Chip shrugged then changed the
subject. “How’s Tatic?”
“I released him to his quarters.
He should be able to go back to duty tomorrow. He thinks whatever it was
had something to do with what he did on leave. He was at a family party
and he had all kinds of strange foods and didn’t get much sleep.” “Could he have picked up a virus
or something?” “Maybe, there’s really no way
to tell. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t anything bacterial, he had no
fever, and he seems fine now.” Chip nodded then sat thinking for
a few minutes before quietly posing another question.
“Has any of the crew reported to you with unusual symptoms?” “Unusual?” “Something you wouldn’t expect
this early in a cruise, or a large number of them with the same
symptoms.” “No, I don’t think so, just
the normal minor ailments that we usually deal with after they return
from shore leave. A little nausea, indigestion. I passed out quite a few
doses of Pepto. Even the admiral came by for some aspirin. Is there
something I need to be looking for?” Chip turned around and lowered his
voice even further so it would not carry out into the control room.
“I’ve been getting reports of fights between members of the
crew…even had two officers go at it.” Jamison furrowed his brow. Chip nodded. “And if that’s
not enough, a number of them have been caught daydreaming and not
responding to alarms or commands. It could have caused some serious
problems had we been under attack at the time.” “Did they describe any
symptoms?” “Headaches that come and go,
some nausea. Two of them reported they felt ‘compelled’ to fight.
Others said they felt angrier than they’d ever been with no
explanation for it. Some were very tired. I know it’s all pretty
vague, but that’s what I have. If we have a possible contagion on
board I need to know about it ASAP.” Jamison thought for a few moments.
“It doesn’t sound like a pathogen. I’m more inclined to think
poison… maybe something akin to that nerve gas that we dealt with
before. Any chance of that?” “None of our monitors are
picking up anything unusual, but we can’t count it out. I’ll have
some men pull out the portable detectors and check more closely. Still,
if it’s a poison it could be in the food, the water or the air
supply.” “I want to check with the
corpsmen and see if they’ve noticed anything unusual then we’ll
check the food and water. I’ll let you know immediately if we do find
anything.” Jamison then
looked over his XO with the eyes of an experienced man of medicine.
“And what about you, Chip? Any of those symptoms yours?”
“What do you mean?” “I know you haven’t slept or
eaten much lately, and you won’t tell me but if…” Chip knew where the conversation
was headed and stopped it cold. “Doctor, you have a lot of work to do.
Carry on.” “Aye, sir,” said Jamison as he
stood to leave. Before departing up the spiral stairs he reached into
his bag and pulled out several small packets of analgesic and bismuth
tablets and set them on the table. “In case you need them.” Chip smiled to himself at
Jamison’s thoughtful gesture and grabbed up the envelopes and before
opening the crash doors he put them in his pocket. Taking a deep breath
he again checked the boat’s status then stood in front of the control
panel to the EMI scanner and entered the new setup codes and restarted
the instrument. A sudden sharp pain in his temple caused him to take a
step back and shake his head, but once it subsided he completed his
task. Over the next two and a half hours
Chip alternately monitored Seaview’s course and the work on the sonar.
He also sent four crewmen to check on the air revitalizing unit, and to
test the air in various parts of the boat. They checked for carbon
monoxide, chlorine, fluorine, cyanide, aerosolized nitric acid and
kerosene as well as excess carbon dioxide looking for any measurements
that were out of the ordinary. Nothing was noted by the instruments and
the men reported no unusual odors. Jamison was also unable to locate
anything suspicious in the food stores and after performing several
tests on water samples from various sources, he was unable to locate a
problem there. Though the mystery of the crew’s
ills was far from solved, at least one thing was accomplished. Kowalski
was finally able to report that the old sonar was fully functional.
Taking nothing for granted, Chip listened himself and once satisfied he
sent the two men to eat and to get some much deserved rest. He also
notified the admiral about the successful reinstallation and as he
waited for O’Brien to arrive to take the conn, he made one last status
check. ~~~~ After Lee had departed on his
mission, the admiral sat down at his desk and jotted down a few notes on
the various changes to the sonar programming that he felt were needed. He
also performed numerous calculations and finally settled on new formula
for triangulating the location of a sound’s source. Eventually he set
his notes aside, knowing it could be hours before Chip was available. He
flipped through several research papers he had retrieved from his files
hoping to gain some new insight into the science of noise cancellation.
He soon found his mind wandering and it was not the first time on the
cruise that he had found it difficult to concentrate. He had chalked up
the previous experiences to being tired, since he certainly had not
slept much. Maybe that’s it. If I just take a little catnap, I can shake this off.
He put his head on the
desk and it was the last thing he remembered until the intercom on his
desk squawked and his name was called. It was Chip, informing him that
the old sonar was working. Deciding he needed some water to
wash down a few more aspirin, he stood, grabbed his coffee mug from atop
his desk and stepped over to the small sink in the head. As he reached
for the cold water valve he found his vision suddenly blurred. He set
the mug in the sink and rubbed his eyes with his fingertips but the
problem persisted. Managing to get the water turned on, he stuck the mug
below what he thought was the stream but instead the liquid splashed
across his sleeve and onto his pants. With increasingly severe pounding
in his head and a sudden shortness of breath he fought to stay conscious
and in desperation he grabbed onto the edge of the sink and lowered
himself to his knees. With a
low moan he finally passed out on the deck. ~~~~ Chip knocked on the admiral’s
cabin door and received no response. It was certainly not unusual for
Nelson to be too distracted by his work to hear someone calling him, so
he knocked again and called out. After several tries, he tentatively
opened the door and as he looked around caught sight of a shoe sticking
out from the doorway to the head. He stepped closer and discovered the
admiral sprawled on the deck, moaning. “Admiral. Admiral, are you all
right, sir?” Nelson didn’t answer, but continued to moan. Chip
checked his pulse and after finding it was unusually rapid, he stood up,
pressed the desktop mic button and summoned Jamison. While waiting for
the doctor to arrive, the admiral came to and tried to push himself up
from the floor. “Sir, I don’t think that’s a
good idea,” said Chip as he tried to prevent Nelson from rising on his
own. The admiral raised his hand.
“I’m all right, I’m all right.” “Hold on, Admiral,” said
Jamison as he arrived then bent down to perform his preliminary exam.
“Let me see where the damage is first.” “I tell you I’m all right.
Just felt a bit dizzy.” “I’ll bet you did. Your heart is racing. Did you feel this coming on?” Without answering, the admiral rubbed his eyes and straightened up to a sitting position. He then grabbed the edge of the sink in an attempt to pull himself up. He gave up and sat back down when another wave of dizziness passed over him. “Ah hah! Admiral, let me get you
to sick bay. I can’t tell much with you down there.” In a few more minutes the two
corpsmen arrived and helped lift and escort their patient to sick bay.
Chip turned to Jamison for information but all the medic could do was
shrug. “I’ll let you know.” Chip didn’t wait to take action.
“Control, this is the exec. Take her up now! We need to scrub the
air!” ~~~~ Once informed by Lee of the first part of his assignment, Sharkey directed the FS-1 to a heading of due west. It was obvious he wanted to know more about the purpose of his captain’s mission but there was nothing Lee could tell him. After a few minutes of small talk, the two men fell into an awkward silence that lasted the remainder of the trip. With little to distract him, Lee’s thoughts returned to the problems on Seaview. He had a nagging feeling that things would get worse before they got better. The flight lasted almost two hours and the pair reached their designated coordinates at dusk. Upon landing on the surface they received a radio call and shortly thereafter a Sturgeon class submarine broached the surface some five hundred feet from them. Lee ordered Sharkey to return to Santa Barbara and pick up the dive tanks and bring them back to Seaview as planned then he grabbed his pack, lowered the ladder to the hatch and scurried up. Once outside he saw a zodiac approach and in minutes it had arrived, plucked him from FS-1 and returned to the sub. The sub remained at station keeping barely long enough to snatch him from the raft before it disappeared below the surface. Lee was quickly escorted to the tiny captain’s cabin and once in the confines he met with the boat’s skipper, Commander Ted Barnett. The two shook handles warmly. “Ted, long time, no see.” “Lee, good to see you, too. It
seems we have a bit of an adventure ahead. I hope you’re up to it.” Lee chuckled. “To tell you the
truth, Ted, I have no clue about what I’m expected to do.”
“It seems that we are equally
unenlightened,” said Barnett with a chuckle. He then pulled a chart
from his desk drawer, unfolded and spread it out on the desk. Pointing
to an area on one of the larger islands in the western Pacific he
explained. “We received a set of coordinates that will put you here.
You are to head for this little cove at the south end of the island.
Once there you will go ashore and meet your next contact. The man’s
name is Jin Ho.” The captain then handed Lee a small drawing of a gold
bird with one red tail feather and with a snake in its mouth. “Jin
will show you this emblem to verify he is who he says. Beyond that I
don’t know what your mission will involve.” Lee ran a hand through his hair in
frustration and at the same time he grinned. “I
suppose it beats being compromised.” “That it does. We’re about six
hours from the drop off point. Why don’t we get you something to eat,
then you can get some shut-eye?” Lee cringed at the suggestions and
his reaction was not lost on Barnett. He avoided any explanation by
picking up the chart and studying the landing area. Barnett invited Lee
to bring the chart with him to the wardroom, and Lee was unable to think
of a reasonable excuse to refuse the captain’s hospitality. In just a
few short minutes the two entered the empty wardroom. When a bowl of beef stew was set
in front of Lee he pushed it aside and continued to examine the maps.
Only after he felt thoroughly familiar with the lay of the land did he
hand the chart back to Barnett and make some attempt to nibble on the
stew. “You know Lee, we have agents
with us all the time, but I don’t think I have ever seen one who eats
as little as you. We won’t poison you.” Lee ducked his head and grinned.
“It’s not the food…or the company, Ted. I’m worried about
Seaview.” “Why?” “Let’s just say when I left
they had their hands full.” “I’ve heard stories. Any of
them true?” Lee smiled. “I can tell you
every cruise is a learning experience. You can’t tell me you haven’t
seen and heard some unusual things.” Barnett chuckled then nodded in
agreement. “No aliens and no mermaids, though.” Lee could do nothing but grin. Lee managed to eat about half of
his stew before again pushing the bowl away. He also decided it was in
his best interest to try and nap so Barnett let him borrow his cabin,
informing Lee that he would wake him an hour before they arrived at
their destination. Lee thought he would have difficulty sleeping but
several days of deprivation had taken their toll and he nodded off
fairly quickly. The next thing he was aware of was Barnett calling his
name. After splashing some water on his face he and the captain sat for
a few minutes and discussed the details of the drop-off and pickup. “I need some time to check out
my equipment.” “Of course,” replied Barnett
as he opened the door. He then ushered in two men who had been waiting
in the corridor. “Mr. White and Mr. Black will be assisting you with
whatever you need. They’ll also follow you in and meet you upon your
return.” Lee had learned that recognizing
faces rather than the fictitious names used by the SEALS was more
important in a crisis so he committed each face to memory. He then
followed the SEALs to their equipment room where his gear had been
assembled. In short order he had everything checked over, donned the
wetsuit and packed some clothing and equipment, including several
grenades, in a bag. One of the men handed him a loaded .45
semi-automatic pistol and two spare magazines. Lee checked the gun to
see that it was operational then set it in place in a waterproof holster
attached to his weight belt. After the SEALs were fully dressed and
equipped they reviewed the plans and the three left through the dive
hatch. It took the men some twenty
minutes to swim to their target area. Once they reached the edge of the
narrow, darkened beach, Lee climbed out of the water and immediately
began stripping off his tank and wetsuit. He pulled the lightweight
fatigues from his bag and shrugged them on and transferred the holster
to a woven belt which he then secured around his waist. He placed the
spare magazines in the left thigh pocket of his pants and the grenades
in the right then grabbed the canteen and latched it onto the belt. As
Lee pulled on and laced up his boots the SEALs gathered up his diving
gear and bag then slipped below the surface of the water once more. Lee
guessed they would be nearby until he made contact with Jin, if nothing
else but to be able to report the contact had been made. For the next
part of the mission he would be on his own. ~~~~ Chip arrived in sickbay and found
a fully dressed admiral seated on a stretcher in the center of the room
and he and Jamison in a heated discussion about the flag officer’s
state of health. As usual, Nelson was claiming to be “fine” while
the doctor took exception to the self-assessment.
“I don’t know what caused it,
Admiral so I don’t know it won’t happen again.” “If it does, I’ll come back
and see you.” “Admiral, you know that’s as
likely as my winning the Lotto.” Chip knew the exchange could go on
indefinitely and he was in no mood to wait for a truce. “Excuse me
Admiral, we need to talk.” The admiral’s attention and
temper were suddenly redirected to the XO. “Chip, why are we on the
surface? We need to stay submerged.” “Ordinarily I would agree with
you, sir, but there are some crew issues that you might not be aware
of.” “What issues? This is no time to
keep secrets from me,” snapped Nelson. The combination of his own
headache and the accusatory tone of the admiral caused Chip to wince.
“No, sir, it’s not, that’s why I am here now.” Taking no chances
he would be overheard he pointed to the doctor’s office. “Let’s go
in there.” After the three were seated, the
admiral turned and looked at his XO with some skepticism. “All right,
Chip, spit it out. We still need to make those changes to the computer
program.” “I understand that, sir, but
there is something making the crew sick and I think we need to deal with
that first.” “What do you mean, sick? Why
didn’t you say anything about it before now?” “Sir, we’ve all been a little
busy.” The admiral admitted to himself
that Chip was right. The exec had just been doing his job in trying to
solve a problem that on the face appeared to be a personnel issue. It
also wasn’t the man’s fault that he himself felt lousy. Shrugging
off his fatigue he forced himself to listen as Chip related details of
the incidents with the crew, the various symptoms they had exhibited and
what steps he had taken to determine the cause including consulting with
the “And whatever is affecting them
could have caused you to pass out as well,” suggested Jamison. Adopting a more conciliatory tone,
the admiral responded. “It sounds like the two of you have covered the
bases. How long before we finish scrubbing the air?” “We’ve totally cycled three
times but I would like to move at least fifty miles away from here to
take on clean air.” The admiral thought for a moment.
“That’s not a bad idea but let’s make it a quick trip. We
have orders to stay in this general area.”
“Orders, sir?” The admiral looked at the doctor
and Jamison acknowledged the hint and excused himself, closing the door
behind him. “Chip, I think it’s time I told you some of what we’re
up against.” ~~~~ It was after midnight when Seaview
finally returned to her assigned area. Since the air exchange had been
performed there had been no new reports of illness, a fact that made
everyone aboard cautiously optimistic that at least one major problem
had been solved. With the enemy sub still out there somewhere in the
darkness, upon their return the commanding officers pushed hard to
complete the modifications to sonar. Preliminary
tests showed the program to be functioning as designed but the acid test
would only come once the sub and the weapon reappeared. They didn’t
have long to wait. At 0430 hours the boat-wide
intercom squawked to life. It was a call to general quarters that could
only mean that Seaview was once again under the gun. Both the admiral
and Chip threw on their uniforms and were still buttoning up their
shirts when they met up in the corridor.
“I knew it was too quiet. You
take on sonar. Let’s see if our hard work was worthwhile. We
need to find that sub and take her out before she takes us out.” “Aye, sir, I doubled the missile
room watches and O’Brien’s heading that way so they should be
ready.” The pair arrived in the control
room as additional crew members were taking up positions. Patterson and
Kowalski were assigned to the new hydrophones and sonar respectively
while Kelly took a seat at the old hydrophones console. Chip once again
donned the spare headset and stood behind his men. “Where did you pick her up?”
inquired Nelson of the OOD, Lt. Chavis. “About two miles out at three
thousand feet, sir. We got two flash readings then she disappeared.” “Sparks get anything on the
ELF?” shouted the admiral. “Negative, sir.” Nelson and Chavis then stepped
over the sonar station. Sensing their presence Chip spoke
without taking his eyes from the console. “Admiral, we had her at 127
relative, depth three-two-zero-zero at three minutes and thirty seconds
ago. Nothing now.” “Moving which direction?” “Not enough information to
project her path, sir.” In a rare move the admiral
formally took the conn. “Helm, planes, I want hard right rudder and
twenty degree down bubble to two-five-zero-zero feet in thirty seconds
on my mark.” He then snatched up the microphone on the periscope
island. “Engineering, I want half speed, no more. Mr. Chavis forget
about our course, keep an eye on our trim.
Seven…six…five…four…three…two…one. Now!” Seaview and her crew executed the
maneuvers without a hitch. “Helm, hard left rudder,”
shouted Nelson some thirty seconds later.
“Hard left rudder,” repeated
Chavis. “Any sign?” inquired the
admiral who once again stood beside the sonar station. Patterson shook his head. “No,
sir.” “Mr. Chavis, rig for silent
running then slow to one third.” The lieutenant repeated the order
boat-wide and soon the control room fell into a tense quiet as every man
waited for the other sub’s next move. Nelson pulled Chip aside and the
two spoke in hushed tones. “We need to draw her out.” “She knows our profile. I
can’t think of anything we could do that would make us sound like
something else.” The admiral had been standing with
his arms crossed and an index finger to his lips. Suddenly he began to
wag the finger in the air in front of his XO and a small smile crept
over his face. “We can’t sound like something else…but…something
else can sound like us.” Chip looked at him, somewhat
perplexed. “We have a recording of our own
profile.” “Yes, sir, we had one made after
we attached the array.” “What if we were to transfer a
recording to our high quality tape player and launch it?” “In the mini-sub?”
“Precisely.” “If they go active it won’t
work, she’s too small.” “We only need a brief
distraction. We should be able to fool her long enough to get her to
fire the weapon. What we lack is a way to make it sound loud enough.
I’m going to the lab to rig up an amplifier. Keep us on this course as
long as you feel it’s safe but don’t wait for me to take evasive
action.” “I’ll send a message to
O’Brien to get the mini-sub ready and have the electrician to wire it
for three new devices.” “Three?” “We need to know where the
mini-sub is and make sure we’re far from her if she’s hit. I
think we should attach an emitter with a unique frequency that they
wouldn’t anticipate.” The admiral considered the
suggestion. “I have just the thing. Good thinking, Chip. You have the
conn.” Though he had climbed halfway up
the spiral stairs, a low rumble that could be felt through the deck
plates caused the admiral to again descend and rush over to the
seismometer. “Of all times for an earthquake,” he snarled as he
pulled the strip of graph paper from the instrument and shook his head.
“We should be in for a sizeable shock wave. We can’t risk giving
away our position but….” “Mr. Morton, I think we have
her. About fifteen hundred yards astern,” shouted Kelly. Patterson tapped Kowalski with his
fist and gestured for the rating to pick up the headset abandoned by the
exec. He did so and what he hard caused him to cock his head. “Nothin’,
Admiral, we can’t hear a thing.” Immediately the admiral grabbed up
the mic from the plot table and shouted an order that he hoped would
save all their lives. “Aft missile room, fire all torpedoes, maximum
spread!” ~~~~ A short time after the meeting of
the world’s two most advanced submarines, an enormous underwater
explosion sent shockwaves in all directions. Soon several large pieces
of foam popped up above the surface of the vast ocean and as the minutes
passed, debris that included fragments of a life vest, several
waterproof food canisters and a human torso soon appeared and began to
roll with the waves. Like a final touch added to an artist’s macabre
work of art, an oil slick over one hundred yards in diameter formed and
began to move along with the current. ~~~~ Holding his pistol in his hand,
Lee alternately sat and crouched, hidden by the vegetation at the edge
of the beach. Time was passing by slowly and since it was critical to
stay alert he was now glad he had managed to get a few hours sleep. At
dawn he caught sight of a small boat about two hundred feet off the
beach. When it neared the shore the lone occupant jumped out and dragged
his craft onto the sand. The man then pulled out a fishing pole and
after stepping a few feet away from the boat he cast his line into the
surf. Lee could only see the
side of the man’s face and the fisherman gave no indication that he
knew he was being watched. Once the sun was above the
horizon, Lee got a good look at the man’s features. He was obviously
of Asian descent and appeared to be in his fifties. His skin was deeply
tanned, with the creases of someone who spent a great deal of time
outdoors. He was also dressed the part. No one looking at him would
think he was not a fisherman, or at least subsisted by catching his
daily meal. Lee expected that once the man finished reeling in his
breakfast he would make some type of move towards him but he took
nothing for granted and remained in his hiding place. The man continued
with his task long enough to catch several fish. He strung them up then
set them in the boat and climbed inside. He
then launched the small craft into the water and was soon out of sight
around the bend. Lee was
disappointed that this man turned out to be only what he seemed, a
simple fisherman. He now had to wait a little longer before he
discovered what his next move was to be. “Whappppppp.” At
lightning speed Lee jumped up and scurried to find a more secure hiding
place. After moving away a short distance, he crouched down and took a
quick look around. It was obvious someone knew exactly where he was but
he was unable to glimpse any movements. He waited for further signs of
an attacker but none came, so after several minutes of silence he
doubled back around to where he had been sitting. He
was not surprised to see an arrow imbedded in the tree right beside
where his head had been. He reached around the tree and attempted to
pull out the arrow but it broke off at mid-shaft. Stooping down, he
examined it trying to determine if it belonged to one of the natives or
to a more modern predator. There was nothing unique about the fletching
but when he closely examined the shaft a small smile came to his face.
The recognition symbol that had been provided by Barnett was painted on
it. Lee quickly glanced at the beach
but saw no one. He took a chance and stood up next to the tree and waved
the arrow fragment as a signal to its owner. Contact was not long in
coming. A young Asian woman holding a bow stepped into a clearing about
thirty feet from him. He
warily approached her, and when he was about fifteen feet away the
fisherman from the beach appeared from behind a tree to his left,
startling him. “You are Crane, I assume?” “Yes. You are?” “Jin Ho. You saw the symbol.” Lee nodded towards the woman.
“And this is?” “My daughter. She will help you
reach your next contact.” Lee was aggravated that he did not
seem to be nearing the end of his journey but he was not about to let it
show to the strangers. He had no choice but to trust them. Jin waved. “Come.” The trio trudged through the
moderately dense vegetation for nearly a half hour before arriving at a
small village where four heavily armed men guarded one of the huts. Jin
led Lee over to it and held his arm out, indicating he should enter and
Lee stepped inside. Once his eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness he got a
good look at the man seated on a bench and his mouth dropped open.
~~~~ Seaview’s command officers stood
by the plot table with the current OOD, Lt. Cermak and considered the
latest damage control and casualty reports. While the conditions on the
boat were not yet critical they were definitely serious. Much of
Seaview’s crew that had been stationed in the aft portion of the boat
had been battered and bruised by the huge explosion that had among other
things damaged part of her drainage system. That in turn was seriously
affecting her trim. Chip was giving the others a rundown on what he
found when he had inspected the aft missile room. “We took on a lot of excess
water from the leaks around the pitometer log, dive and escape hatches
and torpedo doors and we need to pump it out. But… we have a blockage
in one of the bilge drain lines and we haven’t pinpointed its location
so we can’t get the pump going. What we do know is we are sinking over
two feet a minute.” ‘What about the backup?”
inquired the admiral. “We tried, sir, but we can’t
get it going either. At this point I would argue against blowing
ballast. The way we’re taking in water there won’t be enough in the
tanks to compensate and we won’t make it to the surface. They’re
working on it but I’ll just have to stay on top of the crew and find
the block.” “Agreed. Mr. Cermak, keep a
close eye on that trim and inform me of any major changes. As for
casualties, we have four men confined to sickbay including Mr. O’Brien
who sustained a concussion. Ten others were treated and sent back to
duty. We’re short on the repair crews but I’d say all in all we were
pretty lucky.” The exec and the lieutenant nodded in agreement. The trio then stepped over to the
sonar and Nelson quizzed the ratings who were now assigned there. Both
reported everything to be in working order. Despite their active pinging
there was no sign of the submarine. Chip looked over at the admiral.
“She must have exploded…but our torpedoes never reached her.” “We may never know what
happened. Right now you had better push those repairs.” Chip acknowledged the order then
quickly headed aft. ~~~~ “I told you never to call me
that!” Chip arrived at the missile room
expecting to find it a hive of activity but discovered only three of his
men and they were in a heated discussion that was on the verge of a
turning into a full blown fight. Though normally the epitome of self
control he glared then vigorously shook his head and raised his voice.
“This boat is sinking and you’re arguing over being called a name?
Of all the …did you finish fixing those leaks?” The men stared blankly at their XO
for some time. Chip lost all patience and bellowed at the ratings.
“Well, did you?” Finally, Seaman Braxton managed a
small nod. Not relying on the man’s
questionable response Chip hustled over to take a look for himself. He
carefully checked the integrity of the escape hatch seals by running his
fingers along each seam and satisfied with those he did the same to each
torpedo door. One of them did not meet with his approval and he pointed
it out. “Get the wrench and tighten that down, on the double!” The
men responded but much more slowly than he would have liked. After the
repair was completed Chip had further unpleasant news for the men.
“I need crewmen to check all of
the filters, pumps and lines in the bilges and the three of you just
volunteered!” He walked over and pointed to the hatch that led below
to the aft pump room then suddenly, he stopped and looked around. Not
finding the subject of his search he asked the men of the whereabouts of
Chief Panos, the non-com that he had assigned to supervise their detail.
“He’s in the head, said he
felt real sick.” Chip was alarmed that the malady
that had affected the crew had returned with such a vengeance. He
grabbed up the mic and informed the admiral of the development and then
asked for additional assistance. The repair crews were already spread
quite thin but Nelson promised to send men his way when and if they
could be spared. Chip then returned to supervise the ratings, not
wanting to let them out of his sight. As they opened the hatch they
could see standing water and the level was rising notably. It was a sure
sign of a blockage, and the only way to repair it was to go into the
compartment. The men slowly gathered up the necessary gear to work in
the contaminated water. In an attempt to instill some sense of urgency
in the trio, Chip held the lantern and stood watch over them. The men
were not pleased to be wading in the oily mess and they openly
complained as two of them removed the screens and passed them up to the
third. The officer observed as the rating examined and cleaned each one
then handed it back down to the others to be reinstalled. The ratings
had replaced the fourth screen when Braxton called out to the exec that
he needed some assistance. Chip questioned him about the problem but the
explanation he heard was inadequate for him to answer. He slipped into a
pair of oversize rubber boots and descended into the compartment. The
men were some distance forward, standing around one of the pumps. He had
a feeling something was not quite right so he approached warily.
“What’s the problem?” “We…sir, we can’t get the
bolt off the filter. We think it’s stripped.” Chip looked down at the bolt then
up at the men. “So cut it off!” Chip started to turn back around to
inspect the work that had already been done when all of a sudden he felt
a shove and he pitched forward. Unable to gain his balance he hit his
head on the edge of one of the pumps then landed face down in the water.
Though he was close to blacking out he made an attempt to rise but felt
a foot on his upper back and it was forcing him back under the water.
When the pressure was suddenly released he managed to grab one of the
pumps and pull himself to his knees. As he coughed to clear the inhaled
fluid from his lungs he turned to look at the men, disbelieving. It was
the last thing he saw as he slipped back against the machinery,
unconscious. “What did you go and do that
for?” “That’ll get him off our
back,” said Braxton without a hint of conscience. He took the wrench
and beat on the pump head then made his way along the drain pipes
angrily striking each of them in rapid succession. All of a sudden one
of the pipes separated from its flange and water started to pour into
the room. As if the light finally went on in their heads that they were
in danger the two ratings scurried up the ladder to escape what would
likely be their deaths. ~~~~ “What the devil...” The
admiral had been monitoring the repair crews throughout the boat and had
returned to the control room just as the bow rose up fifteen degrees and
sent everyone who was not seated sprawling to the deck. Both he and
Cermak made their way over to the trim control panel and after quickly
sizing up the situation Nelson snatched up a mic. “Mr. Morton, what is going on
down there?” Getting no response, he turned to Cermak. “You have the
conn. Riley, you’re with me.” Despite the boat’s significant
pitch the two reached the aft missile room in record time but found it
deserted and water was beginning to overflow the pump room. The admiral
immediately ordered Riley to dog the hatch but knowing his fellow
crewmen were likely still inside the compartment, and possibly dead the
rating hesitated. Nelson immediately snapped out another command.
“Now, Riley! We have to stem this flooding!” Over the intercom the admiral
ordered the repair crews working on the forward tanks to head aft at
double time and the first four men arrived in a little over a minute.
The second detail was two minutes behind them. “We need to enter
through the second access. If it’s flooded there won’t be much hope
for us.” The men quickly moved to the
secondary hatch, opened it and peered inside. While the deck appeared
wet they saw no standing water. “Come on,” snapped Nelson as he
grabbed the lantern and descended. He shone his light around and
assessed the condition of the remaining lines and pumps then glanced aft
to see if there was any evidence that his crewmen had survived. He let
out a slow breath when he could neither hear nor see any sign of them.
As he put his foot up on the ladder his beam caught on something that
drew his interest and he stepped back down. “What the …Chip!” In the shadows behind the sump, a
drenched Chip Morton was lying face down on the deck. Expecting the
worst, the admiral bent down to check for signs of life. Though he found
the XO ice cold to the touch he was able to detect a faint pulse. Upon
rolling him over he observed that Chip was bleeding heavily from a
sizeable laceration to his scalp. He quickly ordered Riley and another
man to help him get the exec out of the compartment and into the decon
shower then take him on to sickbay. The remaining ratings would search
for bodies of the remaining men and see to repairs. The search took less than ten
minutes. In the end all the admiral could do was shake his head. He
couldn’t understand what happened to the other men but they could not
delay repairs to resolve that mystery. “We need to rig a bypass drain.
Now hop to it!” With the boat so out of trim it
was a struggle for any of the men to stand and attaching a pipe to the
bilge sump and routing it through to the forward drain system was a
time-consuming struggle. Despite a rapidly escalating headache that
nearly brought tears to his eyes, the admiral watched their progress
closely, as no one aboard could afford another slip-up. Once it was
finally accomplished, the next trick was to get the water pumped out of
the bilges. The admiral was aware he had to
use the utmost caution in releasing the excess, so before giving the
order to start pumping he made his way to the control room to gather
data and perform some calculations. When he arrived there he was
surprised to find Lt. O’Brien at the conn. He was relieved to have a
more experienced officer with the watch and asked for a status report.
All things considered, the boat was in fair condition. The same could
not be said for the men. “Sir, we’re getting reports of
widespread nausea, headaches, rapid breathing and short tempers among
the crew. When I was in sickbay it was like a revolving door.” “Do we have enough to man all
vital stations?” “Yes, sir, if we don’t man
weapons or have any major damage to repair, but we won’t have any to
relieve the current watch.” “Hmmm. Any sign of the men who
were working in the missile room?” Chief Panos stopped by and got
some meds from the doc. I didn’t see the others.” “And how’s Mr. Morton?” “He was still unconscious when I
left, sir. That’s why I came up here.” “All right, Mr. O’Brien,
let’s get back in trim.” The two got down to work and
within thirty minutes had a plan for getting the boat to the surface.
When the admiral finally gave the order to start pumping the bilges
every man in the control room held his breath. The ascent was not a
smooth one but they finally reached a level where they could safely blow
ballast. A cheer went up in the control room when Seaview finally
broached the surface. He turned to O’Brien. “Pump as necessary.
I’ll be in my cabin.” Before leaving the control room
the admiral walked over to the radio shack. “Sparks, get me Admiral
Starke on a secure line and put it through to my cabin.” ~~~~ Lee Crane was more than surprised
to see a grimacing Chief Sharkey inside the hut in the isolated village,
he was angry. “You could have scuttled the whole mission coming here.
What do you think you were doing?” Though Sharkey did not like it he
had to take the brunt of Lee’s anger. He had received his own orders
from Starke to follow his captain but had also been warned that if he
was discovered he was to say nothing about them. “Sorry Skipper,
I…uh…” “Where’s the Flying Sub?” Jin stepped inside the hut and
interrupted Lee’s lecture. “We have made sure your submarine is well
hidden. I cannot guarantee that no one saw it arrive, however.” Lee nodded. “We can’t do
anything about that now. What’s our next move?” “We were asked to get you to the
next checkpoint and to give you this.” Jin handed Lee a nondescript
metallic box about the size of a car battery. Lee picked it up and ran
his fingers along the seams. He finally managed to open it and
discovered it was some type of electronic device. He was about to flip
the switch to start it when Jin put his hand on his. “You will know
when the time is right. Now I must insist you begin your journey. We
do not wish to draw attention to our activities here.” The man then
handed Lee a pack in which to carry the device. “Go, now!” Leaving Sharkey behind with the
FS-1, Lee and Jin Hua headed out in a northerly direction along one of
the narrow paths. Jin Hua carried her bow and her quiver was strapped
across her back. Lee followed behind carrying his pistol in his hand and
the device secured in the pack, now slung across his shoulder. The two
kept up a rapid pace for over an hour before Jin Hua stopped suddenly
and crouched, pulling Lee down with her. She put a finger to her lips
then pointed to a well-hidden tree stand some twenty yards ahead. She
raised and aimed her bow at the center of the stand then pulled back and
let the arrow fly. Almost silently it met its mark and a man fell from
the stand to the ground below. Now Lee knew why that particular type of
armament was chosen for the task they were given. Since it appeared they were
approaching monitored territory the pair began to proceed much more
cautiously and they soon located two additional guard nests in the
trees. Each sentry was dispatched with ease and Lee was impressed with
the skill and coolness demonstrated by the young woman guiding him. As
they approached yet another stand Lee wondered why no attempt was made
to remove its occupant. When they were within fifty feet of the base of
the tree Jin Hua let out a low whistle and a similar whistle was
returned from inside the covered stand. The woman instructed Lee to
climb up the makeshift ladder and he reluctantly did so. As he reached
the top he turned to check behind him but Jin Hua had disappeared into
the jungle. “Quickly! Inside!” came a
stern voice from inside the stand. Not expecting to find any fellow
countrymen in the area, Lee was taken by surprise upon hearing the
man’s distinctly American accent. Once he climbed onto the platform
and pulled the flap closed he gave the stranger a once over. The man had
Asian features and was dressed in camouflage clothing. His face was
painted various shades of green and black and he had his rifle pointed
directly at Lee. For his own part Lee stood with his pistol in his hand
and his stony command expression firmly in place. “Crane?” “That’s obvious, and you
are…?” “My name is not important. I
will only be with you for a short time. Lee nodded slowly. “You’re
American?” “No, but I did receive an
excellent education in your country, don’t you agree?” he asked with
a smile that did not reach his eyes. “I see you have the device,”
he said as he pointed to Lee’s pack.” “What do you know about it?” “I sent it to you. I could not
keep it here and risk being caught with it before the time was right. I
sent it to friends for safekeeping.” “What’s it for?” “That’s the million dollar
question, isn’t it? Though I have as you say ‘no love lost’ for
your country, I am one of many of my people who object to the use of our
homeland for the purpose of human experimentation. Dealing with your
countrymen was the lesser of two evils, and…it suits our purpose.” “So what does your personal
philosophy have to do with the device?” The man remained silent for
several long moments. “By your question I take it no one told you why
you’re here.” Lee’s silence effectively
confirmed the man’s suspicions. “They are using my people as
test subjects to create weapons with tremendous destructive potential.
There is also something in that compound that your country wants badly
to reclaim. We were not told what that something is, only that you would
recognize it. We would not object if in retrieving what you lost that you also lay
waste to the entire facility. I obtained that device from my man inside
to enable you to do that.” “Why didn’t you just destroy
the place yourself?” “If we fail, my people will
suffer the consequences. If you fail, they will place the blame on your
country and things will be no worse for us than they are now.” For several minutes Lee considered
what he had been told and wondered about what he had not. He turned to
peer through the slits that served as windows and stared out over the
lush vegetation. He could see the signs of some type of structure some
two miles in the distance, and assumed that it might be their target.
His concentration was interrupted by a question from his contact. “Why do you suppose they have
snipers in the trees here in this God-forsaken corner of the world?” “Obviously they are trying to
keep people away.” The man shook his head. “Those
guards are there to kill anyone who tries to escape. Keep
that in mind. They can ill-afford to let their secrets out to the
world.” The man studied Lee waiting for his reaction but seeing none
he continued his explanation. “They want to rule the planet. I and
others like me intend to see that no one ever does that.” “You keep talking about they,
who are they? And what are these weapons you talk about?” “They
are but one in a long line of despot governments seeking favor with the
People’s Republic and the ones who built this vile place. However, if
I described the weapons to you, fear might prevent you from succeeding.
You will discover their power soon enough.” After holding up his had
to prevent any further discussion the sentry whistled out another
signal. From out of nowhere a small band of heavily armed men encircled
the base of the tree. “It is time.” ~~~~ The admiral lit up a cigarette and
sat on the corner of his desk, staring blindly at the videophone,
awaiting his connection with COMSUBPAC. His head felt like a timpani was
being repeatedly struck inside and like the other occupants of the boat
he was experiencing repeated waves of nausea. He reflected back on the
previous twenty four hours trying to make sense of the nonsensical. He
was so engrossed in his thoughts that he failed to hear the booming and
excited voice of Admiral Starke as it projected over the speaker. “Harriman, it’s great to see
you! We heard all kinds of chatter that you were history.” “We almost were, Jiggs,” said
Nelson solemnly. Starke caught the grimace and
furrowed brow on his friend and his relief turned to concern.
“Harriman, you look like crap! What happened out there?” “From what we can tell, that sub
exploded and we didn’t cause it. The blast wreaked havoc on us and we
were leaking from every seam. We have that part under control but we
still need to make permanent repairs.” “I can have a tender out to you
in a couple of hours.” “No, Jiggs.” “Whaddya mean no?” “If word has spread as you say
the PR thinks we went to the bottom. Don’t do anything to make them
think otherwise. “All right, but are you going to
be able to make repairs submerged?’ With a slow shake of his head he
responded. “I…don’t… know.” “Harriman, for God’s
sake…” Nelson interrupted the approaching
tirade. “We’re a sick boat Jiggs. There is some …affliction…
among the crew. I might even have it myself. I
don’t want to risk exposing anyone else.” “Want us to round up a medical
team? We can put them on another sub to deliver them to you.” Nelson paused to consider what he
should do. Under normal circumstances he could make difficult decisions
at lightning speed but he was struggling with even simple ones. Starke
recognized the change in his friend and interceded. “Tell you what,
Harriman. I’ll have some of the docs contact your “Just about every man is sick
and some have practically gone off the deep end. It’s a mix of
physical symptoms and mental confusion. I….I’ve never seen anything
like it.” “Hold on a minute.” Starke immediately started barking
orders to his aide, directing him to set up a conference call with the
Seaview and the toxicologist and infectious disease specialists at the
naval hospital at Pearl Harbor. While Nelson had always been amused by
his friend’s pompous command style this time he couldn’t even manage
a grin. Instead he began to have short fleeting thoughts similar to
dreams and none of them made any sense. And he couldn’t stop them.
When he started to sway Starke interrupted. Harriman…Harriman?” Nelson shook off the long ash and
ground out what was left of his cigarette and held up his hand.
“Jiggs, how long are we supposed to stay here?” “I was told when Crane gets back
you will be given your next orders.” Nelson looked skeptical. Starke
always knew more then he would reveal, even to a friend. “Honest, that’s all I was
told.” “Well, have you heard from
Crane?” “I do know he made his contact
and if all goes well his mission should be complete today. You only have
to hold out for another day.” Another day? In another day we could all be dead. It was a rare circumstance the Admiral Harriman Nelson
experienced such negative thoughts but they were now assailing him. He
shook his head as if doing so would force an improvement in the
situation. “Jiggs, I need you to do something for me. Keep Crane from
returning here. Find something else for him to do but don’t let him
come back to Seaview until this is resolved.” “I’ll do what I can but if his
mission calls for it, there’s not much I can do. And you know how
hard-headed he can be, especially when it comes to his missions or to
you.” “I don’t care about the
mission!” he shouted. Then almost whispering he added, “I don’t
want him to die here with the rest of us.” Starke frowned at the last
statement. His friend the survivor sounded like anything but at the
moment. “Harriman I’ll do what I can, you know that.” “Thanks, Jiggs. I need to go
check on the crew. Keep me informed of any developments.” “You do the same, Harriman.” ~~~~ Chip rose to full consciousness
slowly. He was so very cold. His lungs hurt, his head was pounding and
he didn’t want to face what might be waiting for him. With his eyes
still closed he could feel the corpsman lift his arm to check his vital
signs then he heard the sound of retching from somewhere nearby. Forcing
himself to open one eye he tried to locate the source of the sound.
Several crewmen in and out of bunks were holding buckets and it didn’t
take long for reality to set in. Things had gotten much worse. Jamison had been leaning against
the door to his office and noticed that Chip had come to and walked over
to the exec’s bedside. “Commander, can you hear me?” Chip turned his head slightly and
that only served to exacerbate his symptoms. He managed a raspy response
before Jamison put the disk of his stethoscope on his chest. “Jamie,
what’s the status…of the men…of… Seaview?” he said as he tried
to rise. “The illness, or whatever it is,
is pretty systemic and there is absolutely nothing you can do personally
so just lie back. I managed a short nap a while ago,” Jamison lied
then continued with his exam.
“The admiral, where’s the
admiral?” “He got us to the surface. He
and O’Brien are straightening things out.” At that moment Jamison
reacted reflexively to his own nausea and bent over slightly and covered
his mouth with his fist. Concerned, Chip tried again to
rise but dizziness prevented him from doing much more than lifting his
head. “Jamie, I need you to honest
with me. I need to have an accurate picture of what’s going on.” “You need
no such thing. You need to
rest.” Jamison then raised his voice significantly. “You also know I
can’t sedate you so you will have to be responsible for once in your
life and just lie down!” Chip was not exactly surprised by
Jamison’s outburst. Deciding this was no time to cause the overworked
physician more problems and that he himself was in no shape to be up and
around, he lay back and remained quiet. Jamison continued his
assessment, but to Chip’s surprise, after sticking a thermometer in
his patient’s mouth the doctor started railing at him again. “If you’d been more careful
you wouldn’t be here. Safety officer, my eye. You of all people should
know better!” Chip spit out the device. “Hold
on just a minute, Doctor,” he managed to squeak out angrily. “You
got this one all wrong.” Jamison squinted in pain and
shoved the thermometer back in the exec’s mouth and stepped away
without any apologies for the attitude he was showing a superior
officer. Chip studied Jamison’s face and
sensed it was more than overwork causing his anger so he removed the
thermometer and calmly and quietly called to the doctor. Jamie…Jamie,
would you come here?” Appearing totally oblivious to the request the The admiral had been standing in
the corridor listening to parts of the conversation and he chose that
moment to enter sickbay. When he saw Jamison go into his office he
called to him but the doctor continued inside and closed the door. The
admiral saw that Chip was staring after the physician and walked over to
his bunk. “What did you say
to him?” “Nothing to cause that kind of
reaction.” Chip paused and struggled to take a deep breath. “He’s
sick too,” he added as he rose to his elbows. “What happened in the pump
room?” “I’ll take care of it, sir.”
“I didn’t ask you to take care
of it, I asked what happened!” Knowing he was about to color the
truth, Chip could not hold the admiral’s gaze and turned away from his
CO. “I failed to properly supervise the men, sir. They attempted a
repair in an unorthodox manner and it resulted in my getting injured.”
The doubting admiral shook his
head. “If that’s your story it better hold water when I start asking
the men.” “Yes, sir.” The admiral knew Chip was doing
what he should do as an officer by trying to resolve a conflict before
bringing it to a superior. The exec’s personality would not allow him
to do otherwise and it was one of the things about Chip he admired and
appreciated. In turn it was his job to let Chip know he expected the
problem cleared up and he wanted to be apprised of the outcome. “Since you need to know where we
stand…” Over the next few minutes the admiral quietly relayed what repairs had been completed along with what he and Starke had discussed. When he finished and Jamison had not left his office he strode over to look in and inform him of the pending conference call. The doctor had his head down on his desk and appeared to be sleeping. It was the best thing for him right now so he made no attempt awaken him. The call would have to wait. As he ran a hand through his hair
in frustration he walked back over to Chip’s side. He then lowered his
voice and grinned. “Ironically, you seem to be the healthiest of the
lot. Ordinarily I wouldn’t ask and risk Will’s wrath, but I need you
to keep an eye on things here. I don’t mean getting out of bed but if
Will gets too overwhelmed or there’s something he can’t handle have
one of the corpsmen call. I’ll be in my lab. I have a lot of thinking
to do.” As he turned to leave he saw several packets of medication set
out on a tray table. He scooped them up and headed off. Chip was not fooled. He knew the
admiral was in no better condition than anyone else. Though he wanted
badly to help Nelson solve the crisis his head was not cooperating and
every time he moved it his world spun out of control. For now he was
stranded, and all he could do was watch… and wait. ~~~~
As he and the small group of men
approached the compound Lee continuously scanned the scene looking for
obvious and not-so-obvious security measures. If the occupants were
experimenting with new and deadly weaponry, he would expect a high level
of security but he counted only four sentries and none of those appeared
to be heavily armed. All his personal alarms were sounding at once. When
the men turned to see why he was lagging, he reluctantly followed but he
could not shrug off his apprehension. Using hand signals the leader
ordered his men to stop then he squatted, picked up a stick and drew a
sketch in the sand. One at a time he marked the locations of the various
entry points on the “map” then pointed to one of the men directing
him to head to that location. Lee wondered how such a small band of men
would be able to make a successful assault, given the size of the
compound. Then it occurred to him that the men were probably decoys who
would sacrifice themselves to allow him to enter with the device he
carried. Each of the men checked his watch before sprinting off. The leader then pointed to a
location on his drawing where he had made a small “x”. In
a whisper he explained. “The structure is solid concrete but it will
not be difficult to get inside. You have the tools and the knowledge.
Now go, your time is limited.” The men had given Lee just ten
minutes to get to his entry point. It took him only slightly less and as
he tried to catch sight of where the other men were situated he heard
the sound of gunfire. Taking his cue he made his way over to what looked
like an entrance to a long low building. While he leaned against the
adjacent wall as closely as he could, he reached out with one arm and
pushed on the door. It did not budge so he put his body up against it
and shoved. This time it gave way and he jumped back against the wall
once again. After some delay to wait for any booby traps to be sprung he
carefully peered inside. The first thing that assaulted him
was a wave of heat that emanated from the opening. That was not
surprising, since the building appeared to lack any type of external
ventilation. The structure was larger than it appeared and in contrast
to the thick outer walls, the inside had the typical thin walled
construction characteristic of buildings in the region. There were
lights attached to a wire that was strung along the top of some of the
walls that illuminated the hallways sufficiently for Lee to find his way
through the unfamiliar maze. As he neared one room with an open door he
suddenly heard voices and he remained out of sight until they faded.
With an unknown amount of area to cover he had to keep moving. After some time inside, Lee caught
a whiff of an odor that seemed out of place considering where he was.
Hamburgers? Curious, he tried to localize the smell, and after a few
more minutes he found what appeared to be a kitchen where a small Asian
man who looked to be about eighty was standing over a tiny stove. As Lee
stood in the shadows and watched, the man finished his preparations he
placed the burgers on a plate, picked it up and carried it down the
hallway. Once the cook returned to the kitchen Lee headed for where the
man had just come. Glancing inside each of several
rooms on the hall Lee soon caught sight of another man, this one with
his back facing him. He was working at a bench which held a number of
electronic devices and off on another table near him was the plate of
burgers. Lee continued to watch as the man slowly and methodically
assembled some type of apparatus. Then the man mumbled, then cursed
aloud in English and shook his hand as if injured. Without warning, the man sat
upright and turned and Lee could not jump away from the door fast enough
to avoid being seen. When the man stuck his head out into the hallway
Lee grabbed him, pressed him against the wall and covered his mouth to
keep him from calling out. Once the two were eye to eye Lee did a double
take. The man was Ellison Janek the missing scientist! Lee loosened his grip slightly and
spoke into Janek’s ear. “I’m Lee Crane of the submarine Seaview
and I’m here to get you out but I need you to remain quiet. Do you
understand?” The man nodded, but as soon as Lee
removed his hand he began to ask questions and Lee grabbed him again.
“Keep quiet or I’ll have to gag you, got it?” The man nodded
again. “Where can we go to talk, in private?” Janek pointed to a
room down the hall but he was frozen in fear and Lee had to practically
drag him there. Once inside Lee released his hold and stood between
Janek and the door. The scientist started towards a row of switches on
the wall and Lee pulled his gun and pointed it at him. “I need to turn this on,”
Janek half whined, half whispered. “It’s white noise.” Lee had read up on sound systems
in recent months and easily recognized the benefit of masking their
conversation. He nodded for the scientist to continue. The hum created
by the generator was loud enough for the two to speak in normal tones. “I know who you are. But
you’ll fail just like all the others and I won’t risk it.” “What others?” “The ones sent in here to get me
out.” “I don’t know anything about
them,” Lee scowled as he put away his gun. He was not at all surprised
that others had tried to get to the scientist. The man was a valuable
acoustics researcher who had worked with the Navy for many years. “What is it you’re working on
here?” Janek stood silent and Lee soon
grew impatient with the man’s reticence. “There’s more involved
here than just you, Doctor!” When there was still no response Lee
practically snarled at the man. “Dr. Janek, they tried to sink the
Seaview and used a noise cancellation device. Is
that it?” The downcast look on the
scientist’s face told Lee he was hiding something. “What is it? You
have to tell me!” Suddenly he blurted out a
response. “I…I…was just told my work was successful and that your
submarine has been sunk. They made me do it. I’m sorry, I…I…” Lee swallowed hard. The news was
worse than a shot to the heart. Thoughts of what the last minutes might
have been like for his friends, his men and his boat filled his head and
he had to fight hard to keep them from crippling him. He balled up his
fists and turned to hit the wall, stopping just short. Focus
on the mission, Crane, on the mission. There would be time for anger
and grief later. He turned quickly and again faced Janek. “What do you
know about any other weapons?” he spat. “I can only guess what they
are,” he responded quietly. “My concentration has been on the
anti-sonar technology.” “Doctor, are there any other
scientists here?” “There were some….” “What happened to them?” “Some were killed after their
job was done, some by their own carelessness and ineptitude. As long as
I remain useful they will keep me alive.” “What about other people? Who
else is in this compound?” “Technicians…and test
subjects.” “Test subjects?” “Sound weapons are used
primarily against people. They need subjects for their tests.” Lee’s blood ran cold at the
thought. “What about guards?” “They let us move freely through
this building, but we were warned to never step foot outside unless
escorted.” “Do you know why?” “All I know is that faces I saw
one day were often gone the next. I filled in the blanks and kept to
myself and my work.” The scientist then picked up a pitcher from the
table and poured some water into a glass. His hand shook as he began to
drink. Lee wanted specifics of what
exactly had been developed but what he already knew was frightening
enough. Searching for information to bring back with him without someone
to point out what was significant might cost him time he did not have.
His primary goal now was to get Janek safely back to the States and he
needed to move now. “Dr. Janek we need to go.” The wide eyed look on Janek’s
face caused Lee to turn his head. Standing in the doorway was the
elderly cook. He was pointing a gun directly at him.
“I do not believe you are going
anywhere,” said the man with a Cheshire cat smile. ~~~~ The admiral entered the laboratory
and flipped the light switch. He squinted at the harsh glare produced by
the overhead lights, something he had not really noticed before. Once he
stepped inside he leaned his back against the door and at the same time
he kept one hand on the knob, wishing by that simple action he could
lock out everyone and everything. It was already a long day and though
Seaview might survive their current predicament, if they didn’t come
up with a solution to the problem soon there might be none of the crew
left to save. He was frustrated and angry with himself for not being
able to concentrate and he knew Jamison had been right that whatever
malady had afflicted the crew had affected him as well. He laughed out
loud before a sigh bordering on self-pity escaped his lips. “Phhhhtttt.” He mentally shook
himself, stepped away from the door then slowly walked along the bank of
lighted aquariums that lined the bulkhead, running his finger along the
glass. While most of the tanks had been carefully designed and stocked
with the types of fish that he considered important for his research in
the areas of physics, water chemistry and biology, one had been filled
very colorful freshwater species that he simply enjoyed watching. He
stopped in front of that tank and as usual, the fish inside moved
towards him in anticipation of their daily meal. He reached up to open
the cabinet containing the small shaker that held the fish food but a
sudden pain in his head followed by a new wave of nausea caused him to
stop. As he bent over and rested his hands on his knees in an attempt to
lessen his distress he happened to glance at the fish in the tank and
noticed that they had begun to swim at first erratically, then rapidly
in circles. Suddenly curious, he forgot all about his misery and looked
into each of the other tanks. Most of the other fish seemed to be
exhibiting the same frenzied behaviors. Was
it possible that the fish were being affected in the same way as
Seaview’s crew? “How?”
he asked aloud. Unconsciously drumming his fingers
on the top of the lab bench he continued to study the fish. The swirling
school had a hypnotic effect on him so he barely noticed that the motion
was creating turbulence inside the tanks. The loud beep of an alarm
jolted him back to reality and he looked over at the control panel where
he noticed the warning light from the filter pump system was flashing.
He stepped over and lifted the housing to check the pump. Clickclickclickclickclickclicklickclickclickclick…
The
fan to the motor that drove the pump to the largest of the tanks was
vibrating causing it to click uncharacteristically. The admiral stood
and looked at it. Something in the back of his mind was trying to get
out. Something important.
Something that might resolve this. Something... “Why didn’t I think of this
before?” he berated himself as he then walked over to the wall mounted
mic and snatched it up. “Mr. Chavis, this is the
admiral. Surface the boat. Sparks, get me the Institute.” ~~~~
Dr. Janek dropped the glass he was
holding and the sound of it shattering on the concrete floor startled
the older man, causing him to glance over at the scientist. Lee took
full advantage of the situation and swiftly kicked the gun from the
cook’s hand and jumped him, pinning him against the wall. The man was
strong for his age and Lee had to struggle to maintain control. “I
need something to tie him up!” Janek scurried off and soon
returned with some wire. With his help, Lee was finally able to secure
his captive. Next he scrounged around and found an old rag to stuff into
the man’s mouth to keep him from calling out. He then picked up the
gun from the floor, handed it to the scientist and scooped up his pack. “Let’s go, now!” No longer convinced he would be
safe staying in the compound, Janek didn’t think twice and guided Lee
to the nearest exit. Lee
peered outside and seeing no signs of any guards he pointed the
direction he wanted the two of them to go. They covered the first twenty
yards quickly but as they reached the edge of the cleared area an
ear-splitting screech forced them to cover their ears. As they continued
to move away from the buildings the noise seemed to envelop them, rising
in volume until it became excruciatingly painful. Soon both men dropped
to the ground and began to writhe. In all his years of exposure to
ships and weapons Lee had never experienced anything so loud and so
debilitating. It was becoming harder and harder to think or even to
move. No …need for… guards. When he saw Janek panting, and he felt his
own chest tightening he almost lost his grip on reality. From his
position on the ground he glanced back towards the building and caught
sight of his pack. Device…got
to…get the…device. Lacking the strength to rise, he was forced
to crawl the entire distance. He struggled mightily to remove
the device, and finally freeing it he again put his hands over his ears.
Tears first soaked his long lashes then began to flow down his face, and
for a moment he doubted he would be able to survive, much less turn on
or operate the instrument. With one last mighty push he managed to get
the metal box open. The tears continued as he shook his head and tried
to locate the switch. Seemingly from out of nowhere a hand reached in
and hit the appropriate button. The display lit up and as suddenly as
the noise had begun it ceased. Lee looked up to see Dr. Janek standing
over him and this time he was ushering Lee to leave. Lee was on his feet
in seconds. With Lee now hand-carrying the
device, the two dashed towards for the cover of the vegetation. Lee
again looked back towards the building, regretting he would not be able
to destroy the compound. He vowed that he would come back and take care
of that part of his mission. The men who had sacrificed to help him
deserved that much. The pair made their way through
the jungle at a breakneck pace. Fortunately, Lee had paid close
attention to his earlier path of travel and was able to again locate the
tree stand. He climbed up the ladder and peered inside and upon finding
it vacant he waved for Janek to join him. With his ears still ringing from
the exposure to the sound weapon Lee knew it would be useless and
probably painful to try and hold a conversation. He was in no mood for
one anyway. With his adrenalin rush subsided and his mission nearly
complete, his only thoughts now were of his friends and his boat. At
best, Janek could only offer a hollow apology for his part in the demise
of the Seaview and he didn’t care to hear it. For several minutes the two just
stood at the portals and stared out at the expanse of green. “My,
God!” exclaimed Janek as a huge fireball lit up the sky in the
direction of the compound. The roar of a shock wave soon reached them,
flattening the tree stand and sending them cascading to the ground.
After several minutes the dust started to settle and slowly the men
pushed away the debris that covered them. Once on their feet each
assessed the condition of the other. All things considered, they had
been lucky and sported only a few bruises apiece. Lee had forgotten he had given
Janek a gun and when the man suddenly raised and pointed it in his
direction, Lee was surprised. “You don’t need to do that.” Janek
wagged the gun. “No, behind you!” “Captain Crane.” Lee had not heard someone come up
behind him. He turned around slowly and relief washed over him when he
recognized the armed man. “Mr. Black, nice to see you again.” ~~~~
Chip sat up on the edge of this
bed and despite the vertigo that threatened to send him falling forward
he managed to focus on the admiral’s words. “Vibrations. That has to be it,
Chip. Research has shown that some animals are particularly attuned to
them. When I saw the fish swimming in circles it came to me. I’ve
requested the CHENG to do some calculations and run the Chapman numbers.
If there is a piece of equipment on board causing low frequency
vibrations it could very well be resonating and causing us to feel
disoriented or worse.” “I can see that happening on a
smaller scale, sir, but enough to affect everyone? That would have to be
some vibration and our scans showed nothing.” “Early researchers were able to
flatten buildings with vibrations from a single off-kilter fan motor and
the sound was virtually undetectable with instruments. It’s why we do
such extensive calculations and testing during trials…to prevent that
kind of thing. I put in a call to the Institute to go into my vault and
pull up the data from our various refits. We’ll check what we read now
against those old numbers.” “Do you think it might have
anything to do with the new sonar?” “Nothing is being ruled out, but
I doubt it. By now we know everything about that system.” Still feeling guilty about the
issues with the instruments, Chip winced. He then had to grab the rail
of the overhead bunk to steady him. “Don’t worry about it right
now, Chip. Lie back before you fall.” Chip didn’t need coaxing; he had
reached the limit of his strength. “Oh…there are a couple of men
safely ensconced in the brig awaiting your attention when you get to
them. I also put an order out that all weapons were to be locked up and
only the Master-at-Arms and I have keys.” “Thank you, sir.” Chip watched the OOM as he walked
into Jamison’s office to give him the latest updates. He admired
Nelson and had admitted once to Lee that he still had a touch of
hero-worship for him. There had been numerous times the admiral had
pulled the veritable rabbit out of the hat to rescue Seaview or the
world and it appeared he might have done it once more. The
admiral sure doesn’t miss much, even when he’s ill. So
what’s wrong with me? Why
can’t I string two thoughts together? He tried unsuccessfully to
jot down some notes to update the log as soon as he was able. Finally
his injury took its toll and he fell asleep with pen still in hand. Sitting in the bunk at the
opposite end of sickbay, Seaman Patterson held his head. If things were
going to get better he hoped it would be very soon. He had been unable
to eat anything solid and the chicken broth he had recently swallowed
was threatening a re-appearance. Crewmen and officers alike had paraded
past him seeking help but nothing seemed to work…for any of them. He
closed his eyes and suddenly felt a chill, as if he had been standing in
front of an open freezer. He opened them to see what was causing it and
couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Dancing in front of him was what
he thought was an apparition, a ghost. The silvery, shimmering
human-like object was about six feet tall and two feet wide and remained
even after he closed and reopened his eyes several times. He jumped up
from the bunk. “Mr. Morton. You see it, don’t
you, sir?” Chip was startled awake by someone
calling his name and he looked around, confused. Several men were
standing facing the far wall of sick bay and he couldn’t tell why. He
struggled but managed to pull himself upright, then ignoring the
dizziness he felt he stared in the direction the rating was pointing. He
saw nothing out of the ordinary. “What is it, Patterson? What
do you see?” At that moment the admiral stepped
from the doctor’s office and shivered. “What’s going on here?” Patterson pointed to the wall and
Nelson turned and caught sight of what had his men’s rapt attention.
Certain he was hallucinating, the admiral rubbed his eyes with his
fingertips but when he stopped he found the manifestation was still
there. As entranced as a curious child, he watched the figure dance
before him until the sound of a bucket crashing to the floor broke his
concentration. He then stepped closer and reached out to touch the
specter. Almost immediately the shimmering ceased and the air felt much
warmer. Within seconds the intercom
crackled to life. “Admiral Nelson, this is the conn. Please report.” The admiral snagged the microphone
and Chavis informed him that there were widespread reports of what he
referred to as visions and he hesitantly included himself and the watch
crew among those who had experienced them. He also advised he had sent
two men to check on the status of the air conditioning units because
many of then men reported being overly cool. The admiral concurred and
indicated he would be en-route to the control room in a few minutes. After he hung up the mic, Nelson
thrust his hands into his pockets and paced. The simplest explanation
that he could come up with was they had all just experienced a mass
ghost sighting. However, since his past contacts with the spirit world
had been distinctly different from what he had just perceived he
dismissed that idea. He finally concluded that the image was likely a
hallucinatory effect of whatever was making them all sick. He would need
much more data to prove or disprove that hypothesis. Walking over to Chip, who was
leaning on the bunk rail appearing confused by everyone’s behavior, he
quizzed him about his experiences. “You didn’t see anything did
you?” Chip pursed his lips. “No,
sir.” “No apparitions? No rush of cold
air?” “No, sir, not a thing.” It
wasn’t the first time in his several years on Seaview that Chip had
been the odd man out, not appearing to have the same receptors for
things that many might consider to be paranormal. In fact, he had the
reputation of being a skeptic, and this latest situation had done
nothing to change other’s assessment of him. The admiral passed no judgment as
he informed Chip of his plans. “I’m going to find out who else
didn’t see anything and see if you have anything in common. I should
have that data from the Institute, too. In
the meantime, you get some rest. I have a feeling we’re getting close
to solving this paradox.” Once the admiral turned to leave,
Chip managed a smile. Having no real choice in the matter, he lay back
down and quickly drifted off. ~~~~
The admiral’s questioning of the
men gave him nothing new to go on but his tour of the boat had allowed
him to see first hand the significant decline in both productivity and
morale. Forcing himself to try and remain on task, he spent some time
poring over the data he had received from the Institute and culled from
Seaview’s computer. His hope of finding something to explain the
diverse physical symptoms displayed by his men was to no avail. In the
meantime, his symptoms continued to get worse. Fatigued beyond belief,
he sat and stared at the columns of numbers until they began to dance
off the page. Fear began to creep into his psyche and he suddenly
didn’t want to leave his cabin. Recognizing his own cognitive
deterioration, the admiral shook his head vigorously and walked over to
open the door. He reached for the knob but he could not force himself to
turn it. “Damn foolishness!” he yelled out loud, as he snatched open
the door and stuck his head out into the corridor. Suddenly sure that
someone was lurking around the corner he shouted for whoever it was to
come out. When no one appeared he stepped back inside, slammed the door
and locked it. Stepping over to his wall safe he spun the dial. It took
three tries but finally he managed to open it. He briefly stared at the
cold steel object inside before grabbing it and once again heading out
the door. ~~~~
Chip awoke with a start. At first
he thought he had been dreaming but he was now sure he heard gunshots
somewhere close by. He recalled the admiral saying that only he and the Intent on ascertaining what was
happening beyond the walls of sick bay he climbed out of the bunk and
slowly straightened up. With his balance a good bit better than it had
been earlier, he was able to scan the room. He immediately noticed that
all the bunks were occupied and several men sat on the deck leaning
against each other and the bulkhead for support. Most appeared
unconscious, but a few moaned quietly. He
stepped around the men and looked into Jamison’s office. There he
found that neither the doctor nor the corpsmen were there. Their absence
could only mean there was a more critical need for their services
elsewhere. He closed his eyes for a moment and bowed his head.
Seaview’s situation was grave. Though he was nauseous and his head was
pounding he knew he had to do something to help while he still could. Once in his cabin Chip eventually
shrugged on a uniform then sat down in the chair to tie his shoes. Not
since he was five years old had he had so much trouble tying a bow. He
stopped to laugh at himself, imagining his struggles would make an
amusing comedy routine. The crew must have thought it hilarious that he
was wandering the corridors barefoot and in shorts. He continued to
laugh loudly until tears came to his eyes. He
abruptly stopped laughing as a feeling of dread washed over him. He
fought back against the foreboding with a voluntary shiver. Got…
to go. Chip made it halfway down the
spiral stairs and his heart sank when he peered around the rail and
caught a glimpse of the watch. O’Brien was leaning against the
periscope island and appeared to be staring off into space. Chavis was
sitting on the island itself, his head in his hands. Each of the
critical stations was manned, but many of the ratings had their heads
down or were nodding off. Chip didn’t even bother to
question the duty officers. He knew his foremost duty now was to the
boat. He stopped by sonar, where Kowalski greeted him with significantly
less respect than he was known for. Chip ignored his insolence and
stepped over to the navigational computer. While he normally could
remember long strings of coordinates he found he could not recall where
they were supposed to be or even in which ocean they were situated. He
had to look at the chart that was laid out on the plot table. “Mission….presidential
mission,” he mumbled to himself. Chip picked up the mic and called
to Sparks to ask if they had received any further messages from
COMSUBPAC or the President. Receiving no reply, he looked over to the
radio shack. Not surprisingly it was empty. Concerned they had missed a
rendezvous or a crucial message he rushed over and sat down at the
console and scanned the log. Seaview’s communications officers all had
excellent handwriting, but what appeared on the pages looked more like
chicken scratch. Chip had already established Seaview was too deep for
him to send a standard radio message but there was nothing and no one
stopping him from using the ELF. He donned the headphones tuned to the
proper frequency and began to transmit. “Seaview to FS-1, Seaview to
FS-1, come in please.” He repeated the message every thirty seconds
for about five minutes and got no results for his efforts. Frustrated,
he tossed off the headphones and with a new wave of dizziness overtaking
him crossed his arms and rested them on the desk and put his head down.
This time he lost the fight to remain conscious. ~~~~
Thanks to the SEALs, Lee already
received word that Seaview had not been sunk by the mysterious sub but
he still knew nothing about her or his crew’s status. When he left,
the crew was not operating to its usual high standards so when he
approached within one hundred yards and could see the boat was moving
downward rather quickly one of his many internal alarms began to go off.
The failure of anyone on the boat to respond to his hails only
heightened the tension. After a somewhat tricky docking
Lee shut down the small craft and ordered his two passengers to stay
put. He slid his pistol under his belt, ascended the ladder and
un-dogged the hatch. Before sticking his head through the opening he
pulled the pistol and turned so that his back was to the bow. Instead of
being greeted by the admiral or Chip he saw men either slumped at their
stations or in heaps on the deck. Quickly deciding it was imprudent to
move in further, he scooted backwards and descended the ladder, pulling
the hatch closed behind him. Lee stood silently for about a
minute before lashing out and striking the back of the pilot’s seat
with his fist. Sharkey managed to stammer out the obvious question.
“What is it, Skipper?” Lee swallowed hard and scrubbed
his face with his hand. “It looks like… they’re all dead,” he
whispered. ~~~~
When the symptoms had first been
reported to him, Nelson had taken steps to ensure that in the event
there was no hope for Seaview or her crew, someone could determine what
had happened to them. He had provided Starke with a good bit of detail
about their experiences and symptoms and what had been done to find the
source of their problems. He had also sent telemetry that included
Seaview’s recent electronic scans. Upon receiving Lee’s radio call
and hearing the pain and anger in his voice, Starke wasn’t sure just
how much of it he should share with the impetuous captain. He wanted to
abide by Nelson’s wishes to keep Lee safe but knowing Crane would
throw himself into danger despite his orders he relented and began to
relay what Nelson had told him. Lee knew some of the crew was ill
before he left on his mission but what had occurred after he left
surprised even him. “While they were watching out
for that sub, they were also dealing with widespread nausea, headaches,
constant fighting, ever increasing fatigue and finally, paranoia…” Lee scrubbed his face to mask the
emotion he felt coming to the surface. “On top of that they started
feeling cold air and seeing visions. Admiral Nelson described them as
ghost-like, dancing. He thought that vibrations had something to do with
it. He called the Institute for data. The last thing he said to me was
he regretted that he couldn’t find anything. He sounded … tired.” Lee quizzed Starke on every
detail, desperately hoping he could change the situation. Starke
answered, but he could provide little by way of explanations. Janek had been sitting quietly in
his chair, listening to the conversation. Suddenly, and loud enough for
Starke to hear him over the microphone, he shouted. “They’ve done
it!” Lee snapped around. “Done what
Doctor?’ “They’ve made their ultimate
weapon. They created their monster! ” ~~~~
Assured that he was not likely
dealing with poisons or pathogens, Lee once again docked FS-1. All three
men carried pistols as they cautiously climbed up and into the nose.
With Lee in the lead the trio moved slowly through the control room,
checking the condition of the men as they went. To their relief, all
were alive but that was little consolation to any of them. “Sharkey, on the planes!”
ordered Lee as he pointed to the critical station that was currently
unmanned. Sharkey took the seat as Lee moved over to the trim board. He
didn’t know why but they were substantially out of trim, and sinking
faster than would be expected. Hoping against hope that he would receive
a response, he put out a boat-wide call for assistance. There was no
answer to his call so he repeated it. He sighed at the continued
silence. Suddenly he had a thought. “Dr. Janek, do you think you can
control the planes?” The man looked at him, confused. “I need
Sharkey in engineering. I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t critical for us
to get this boat underway.” Janek nodded his agreement then
replaced the “Down on your knees,” Nelson
said coolly. “You,” he said, nodding to Janek. “Out of there.” Both men followed their
instructions. Lee chastised himself for setting his own gun down to show
Janek how to operate the planes. He continued to watch the admiral,
trying to assess his condition before deciding on a strategy. Nelson’s
expression was as stony as he had ever seen it. “Admiral, don’t you recognize
me? It’s Lee.” The admiral scrutinized his
captive carefully. Something about him was familiar but the voice in his
head was telling him he had no friends and to trust no one. “I know
why you’re here. You want to take over my submarine. Well, before that
happens I will send us all to Davy Jones.” To show he meant business
he fired off a round, hitting the helm console. As several minutes passed Lee saw
no kinks in the admiral’s armor. The man was an excellent shot and
these were close quarters so he was not about to attempt anything that
might disable him and prevent him from rescuing Seaview. When a figure
appeared behind Nelson and grabbed the arm holding the gun, Lee lunged
and tackled both men. The gun flew out of the admiral’s hand and Janek
snatched it up and stuck it in his belt. Lee struggled with his CO for
nearly a minute before the older man collapsed, the wind driven
temporarily from his lungs. Though he hated to do it, he had to secure
the admiral so he told Janek to remove O’Brien and Chavis’ belts and
the scientist promptly responded. The OOM did not resist being tied, but
his accusing stare made Lee feel extremely guilty.
Knowing he could do little for the
admiral at the moment he turned and reached down to assist the man who
had helped him out of his fix and who was still sprawled on the deck.
“Thanks, Chip.” Lee then
looked over his exec and made a smart comment on the large bruise and
bandage on his head. “Gee, Lee, it’s great to see
you, too,” Chip replied, dripping sarcasm. He managed a grin before
his eyes rolled back and he started to spiral down to the deck. Lee
caught him by the shoulders and lowered him to a seated position. “Looks like I got up a little
too quick.” Lee nodded. “I have some
information for you that might explain all this but first we need to get
Seaview out of this area. Can you tell me what happened to the trim
system?” Chip briefly relayed how the boat
had been affected by the explosions, then the two made plans to get
underway. Knowing he didn’t want Chip to be alone in his weakened
condition Lee suggested he remain with Janek. He then he took a few
seconds to introduce the two. “I’ll work on the reactor then
come back up and join you.” Chip nodded and slowly rose to take the
seat beside the scientist. ~~~~ Finding it a bit disconcerting to
walk and work around the unconscious crewmen that were sprawled
everywhere, Lee and Sharkey made the necessary adjustments to get
Seaview up to the surface and moving forward. Though the men all needed
medical attention Lee knew it was paramount to get them away from their
current location. He had Sharkey pour on the speed while he returned to
the control room to monitor sonar. Amazingly, after traveling two
hundred miles some of the men began to rouse. While they were still
languid, it was a hopeful indication to Lee that they would all recover.
Even the admiral was showing signs of lessening hostility. Unable to
handle everyone’s medical care alone and knowing he had an obligation
to provide an update, Lee decided to contact Admiral Starke. He placed
the call then headed for the admiral’s cabin, leaving Chip with the
conn. ~~~~ “How is
Admiral Nelson?” Lee was not about to mention the
scenario in the control room and he was intentionally vague in his
response. “He was conscious when we found him and he is improving all
the time, sir.” Starke looked at the captain with
some skepticism. “Very well, then…what about your boat?” “I’m sorry, Admiral, but we
won’t be able to complete whatever mission was set out by the
President. The boat and the men are in no shape to take on any
assignment, much less one so demanding.” “Captain Crane, I spoke with the
President two hours ago. He informed me he ordered your mission, but
there were no orders issued by him for the Seaview. It seems someone was
trying to make sure your boat was exactly where she needed to be.” “Who this time, sir, and for
what reason?” Starke was holding some
blockbuster information that might answer the captain’s questions but
in old Navy form he chose not to share it, saving it for the senior
officer of the Seaview. Without taking a breath he summed up the
situation. “Apparently that submarine and noise device you tangled
with was only the tip of the iceberg. They were testing a new weapon all
right but all of us missed the bigger picture, a much more powerful
weapon. Admiral Nelson warned me that something was not quite right and
I didn’t listen. We need to find out what exactly is out there but first things first. Right now I have a tender
headed for you. They will offload your men and get them help. I also
ordered a temporary substitute crew.”
“Admiral, we certainly have a
mission now so I’m staying here, on Seaview. I would also like to keep
some of my men here since they are more familiar with her. Dr. Janek is
staying too. He has been invaluable and he might be the key to solving
this thing. We’ll take a couple of days off to recuperate and gather
data.” “I assumed you would say that,
Captain. I have a medical officer waiting to meet you, and if he says those men are healthy enough to remain, they may.” Lee signed off then began to rub
his temples. Whether he had ignored it or it had returned he had a
tremendous headache. He noticed the packets of pain reliever on the
admiral’s desk and snatched them up before heading back to the conn. ~~~~
With the admiral and other
officers and crew safely transferred to the tender for assessment and
care, Lee received notice that the medical officer had arrived. Lee and
Chip stood by the sail ladder, both trying to appear in perfect health.
“Permission to come aboard,
Captain?” Lee smiled at the sound of the
familiar voice. “Permission granted, Doctor!” The burly Lt. Commander Jack
Miller had served as a temporary physician for Seaview in the past and
was well aware of the interesting situations her crew often found
themselves in. “Glad to keep this in the family, Jack.” “Don’t think that will help
you get anything past me, Captain,” he said with a wink. “Why
don’t I start with the two of you?” “The admiral and the men need
you more than we do.” Lee knew immediately that he had made a big
mistake in testing the doctor’s resolve. “Perhaps, but he isn’t going
to be commanding this submarine. If you expect to be, you better be up
to par. Mr. Morton I saw you grab that railing so I will see you in sick
bay in five minutes. Captain, I expect you in thirty.” Chip looked at Lee and grimaced
then reluctantly followed the doctor. Lee took the short reprieve he was
given to speak with some of the utility crewmen. Before he knew it
almost forty five minutes had passed. He reluctantly arrived in sick bay
to find Chip still sitting on the stretcher in the center of the room.
Since he was dressed only in his skivvies Lee could see the extent of
the bruises that his exec had collected while he was away. He couldn’t
resist teasing his long time friend. “Since when do ghosts leave
bruises on your back?” “Funny, Lee. Let’s just say I
had a couple of problems trying to fix the bilge pumps.” The comment piqued Lee’s
interest. “Problems? Since when do you involve yourself with fixing
the pumps?” “They needed fixing, all right?
And…” Chip hesitated, not wanting to say too much. “After we get
out of this mess I’ll tell you all about it…over a beer.” “If there is anything I need to
know now…” “Nothing that can’t wait until
we’re all back on our feet.” Miller walked back over to the
exec and handed him several pills. “Antibiotics to stave off the
pneumonia, and there’s a lot of fluid in your inner ear, so I’m
giving you an antihistamine and a decongestant.” Chip set down the pills and
slipped off the stretcher, intending to get dressed. The doctor soon
came up behind him. “Whoa, Commander, I’m not done. You haven’t
made your donation,” he said pointing a thumb to the head. “With
possible damage to the kidneys from your earlier accident I want to see
that there’s no blood.” When Chip ignored him and continued to get
dressed, Miller reached out and grabbed his patient’s arm. “I think
I need to check your hearing, too.”
Chip scowled and sat back down as
Lee looked on with concern. The doctor performed several tests and it
was obvious to Lee that the results were less than stellar. When it was
announced that Chip was currently only hearing at sixty percent of
normal and knowing that good hearing was a requirement to serve on subs,
the exec lost his temper. “How could that be? There must be something
wrong with your instruments!” “I’m sorry, but there’s no
problem there. Did you get exposed to loud noises for any length of
time?” “No,” Chip responded bluntly. “Explosions? Or maybe a bad ear
infection that wasn’t treated?” Chip shook his head. “I know how
important good hearing is. I was fine yesterday morning. I worked on the
new sonar and had no problems…at all.” Miller looked to Lee. “What
exactly happened here over the last thirty hours?” Lee shrugged. “I wasn’t here
most of it.” He then thought for a minute. “Doc, do you think that
exposure to excessive vibrations could cause hearing loss?” “Of course, that’s why ear
protection is required on construction job sites and in the cockpits of
airliners. Why, do you know something?” “Chip told me the admiral
thought vibrations might have been responsible for making the crew ill
but he couldn’t prove it.” The Doctor cocked his head while
he considered the comment. “Maybe there is something to it. I’ll
check on the rest of the men to be sure.” When Lee then announced he had an
idea and needed to run an errand and would return shortly, Miller could
only shake his head. The doctor then returned his attention to Chip.
“If your urine screen is negative, I will let you return to limited
duty. I won’t clear you to take the conn or man sonar without a vast
improvement. Now take your meds. And get some rest!” Since the doctor would be
reporting directly back to Admiral Starke, Chip knew it was useless to
argue. While he was fortunate to be allowed to remain on the boat for
the time being, it was unlikely he would still have his job if the
problem did not clear up. He felt like he had been punched in the gut.
Dejected beyond his experience, he gave up the required sample, finished
dressing and left sick bay.
~~~~ “It’s beautiful isn’t it,
Dr. Janek?” Lee was referring to the view out the observation nose.
Once the initial crisis aboard Seaview had passed the scientist had
taken a seat there and not moved, even to get something to eat. Janek started then nodded slowly.
“You know I’ve spent most of my adult life designing weapons of war.
Now I regret I didn’t use my talents for something of more value.” “But there is value in what
you’ve done. Weapons are used to deter aggression, not just to
destroy.” “An idealist’s perspective
perhaps? In any event, after
what I’ve seen I cannot go back to do what I was doing.” “That’s your decision of
course, but with this situation far from resolved, I hope you will be
willing to see through helping us remove the threat. As far as being an
idealist, it certainly helped me to hang my hat with Admiral Nelson.” Janek nodded but said no more and
Lee turned to go. He hesitated and turned back around. “Dr. Janek, I need some
information.” The scientist turned around.
“What type of information?” “This weapon that you think the
PR has developed… can you tell me more about it?” “Have a seat, Captain, this may
take awhile.” Lee slipped into one of the other
chairs and faced Janek. “Have you ever heard of
infrasound?” Lee nodded. “I’ve heard of it.
Don’t whales communicate in the lower frequencies?” “Yes, they do, but there are
many things that generate low frequency sound. Land animals such as
rhinos and horses that stomp the ground are actually sending infrasound
signals to their competition. They are successful in establishing wide
territories because the low frequency waves they generate travel much
farther than those of higher frequencies. Even the whales you mention
can send sound across oceans. Of course, natural phenomena also create
infrasound. Take thunder for example. Do you know why animals often
sense a storm long before humans? It’s partly because they feel the
low level vibrations that travel a great distance ahead of the actual
storm.” “That’s interesting
information, Doctor, but how could it be adapted as a weapon?” “True infrasound…sound waves
in frequencies in the range of 20 hertz or less is not heard, only felt
as vibrations or pressure waves. It is not detected as a sound per se
and it cannot be recorded on a tape recorder. That’s alone makes it
very dangerous. Can you imagine being bombarded with intense waves that
you can’t hear and your instruments can’t detect? When waves enter a
cavity they begin to resonate and that can wreak havoc on whatever they
pass through. If that object happens to be a human body, then you can
imagine the damage that might result.” Lee’s level of concern ratcheted
up several notches. “So vibrations, waves, can cause such things as
hearing loss?” “Among other things. Various
frequencies have differing effects on the body and at certain
frequencies, sound can kill by exploding matter, including vital organs.
There are already precedents in nature. Some whales emit so-called
gunshots or pressure waves to stun or kill their prey.” “So you think they are
developing lethal weapons?” “That remains to be seen. A
weapon can be just as effective if it merely disables or disorients. I
think that’s what happened to your crew.” “Can it account for the other
symptoms?” “Very possibly, but I don’t
know enough of those details, only what I heard you say on out trip
here.” “Is the damage permanent?” “I’m not a physician, but like
any injury, some healing will take place, though it may take some time.
You certainly want to avoid any additional exposure, since damage is
cumulative. It’s why the building where I was housed and worked was
solid concrete, including the roof and the doors. Ultra low frequency
sound can enter through any opening, even a crack in a window, and
continued exposure would disable and could eventually kill the
researcher. Loud noises are dangerous as well. We experienced high
decibel bombardment and I think you will agree it became debilitating
pretty quickly. Regardless
of the type of sound weapon they have employed you must take
precautions.” “You’ve certainly given me a
lot to think about, Dr. Janek,” Lee said as he rose to his feet. “I
would like you to be examined by our doctor, just to be on the safe
side.” Janek nodded. “All right,
Captain.” Lee’s conversation with the
scientist had given him a more complete understanding of what had taken
place on the Seaview but there were still a lot of unanswered questions.
He had spoken to some of the
men as they left the boat, and they related some of the peculiar
occurrences they had witnessed. He decided he would seek specific
explanations for those later. Right now he needed to ensure sure his
crew, Janek and the Seaview were taken care of. Lee held out his hand. “This
way, Dr. Janek.” ~~~~ Chip stepped inside his cabin and
looked around before quietly shutting the door. For the second time in
several months he was forced to consider that he might not be able to
return to the job and life he loved. He had no real control over either
situation, a fact that added to his pain and frustration. Instead of dropping into his desk
chair as he normally would he sat down on the edge of his bunk, where he
had full view of the few personal items he kept on the boat. Taped to a
tiny shelf was a small totem of Dakuwaqa the shark god of Fiji that he
received from the grateful mother of a toddler that he had saved from
drowning. Though he knew Lee was proud of what he had done he had
jokingly told Chip that he should display it to remind the crew that he
could and would eat them alive. Chip chuckled aloud at the memory but
became more subdued as he caught sight of the small but not
insignificant medal he had been awarded by another island country for
disarming a bomb that had been planted in the president’s office. It’s all a matter of timing, I guess. The remaining items were all
framed photos. One was of his family, one was a formal pose of the
admiral and Lee and another was him standing beside the newly laid keel
of the Seaview. He stared at that photo for several minutes, reliving
the events of that day and while he was not prone to overt
sentimentality, he was feeling more emotion than he wanted to admit to.
He ran his hand through his short blond hair and after accidentally
hitting the injured area on his forehead he let out a slight yelp. Another
souvenir. He then stood up then stepped over to the small sink in
the head and splashed water on his face. Knowing work was the best way to
shake off his despondency Chip picked up a clipboard and attached the
repair checklist. He turned to leave but heard a fairly loud knock on
the door. “Come in, Lee,” he said as he pulled the door open. The
visitor was indeed the captain of Seaview. “Need to talk?” “About the boat, sure.” It was a rare circumstance where
Lee could get Chip to discuss his personal feelings when there was
something to be done on the boat. Lee could sense Chip had no desire to
discuss his future and he was not about to cause his friend more stress
by forcing the issue. There would come a time where it had to be done,
but now was not it. “So where do we stand?” Chip went on to explain what he
thought were their priorities and Lee made a few minor adjustments to
his list. With Seaview at station keeping and manned by a temporary
skeleton crew, the officers would be free to monitor the repair crews
and to take care of their own needs, things that had been neglected over
that previous two days. Things like eating and sleeping.
~~~~ Upon waking from a long period of
sleep the admiral had received a personal briefing from Lee but he
wanted to see what was happening on Seaview for himself. So after
spending a full day and a half under the care of Miller he demanded his
release. Once onboard he obtained the latest status report then sought
out his long time acquaintance Ellison Janek. The two shook hands
warmly. “Admiral, it’s good to see
you. I’m sorry it wasn’t under better circumstances and I regret
that a lot our current problems may be due to my own stubbornness.” “Nonsense. They would manage to
complete their work whether it was with you or with someone else. Now
that you are here I need you to tell me everything that you know about
infrasound research. I have to make a call but I would like to get with
you as soon as possible after that.” Janek agreed and the admiral
immediately headed to his cabin to contact Starke. Before long the two
were once again on the topic of failed intelligence and once again
Nelson was breathing fire. “Spit it out, Jiggs. I
know when you’re hiding something.” “You always could read me
Harriman.” Starke reached down to his desk, opened the drawer and
pulled out a three page brief. “I received this…don’t know how
accurate it is.” “Read it… to me …anyway,”
sang Nelson. Starke cleared his throat. “We
preface this by saying this intelligence is based on items of mail
retrieved in the post office drop boxes of several of the dual agents
involved in the operation and can be considered suspect. However, it
appears that sometime last year the People’s Republic put out a notice
to its agents ordering them to recruit scientists performing acoustic
research for a special project. Those agents were allowed to offer a
substantial reward for the services of the scientists. At some point,
that system of rewards transformed into a contest of sorts in which
scientists competed to become the preeminent researcher for the PR with
all its perks and privileges. The ultimate goal of the contest was to
develop the most effective acoustic weapon in the world.” Admiral Nelson was stunned. “So
all of this, Volz, Zhu, Teller and Reece. All
of them were involved?!” “As well as a few of ONI’s
agents if this intel is to be believed.” “And they targeted us to make
sure the world noticed their work! What about Mandel?” “Looks like he might be behind
the faked orders. He had the inside information about the investigation
and he had motive.” Nelson was disgusted by both the
news and that it had taken so long for it to trickle down to those most
affected. It explained a great deal but not everything. He spent the
next thirty minutes discussing the recent developments and Seaview’s
new mission, one Starke swore was assigned by the president after having
spoken to him directly. “Okay, Jiggs. If you find out
anything new, how about letting me know right away?” Starke raised his hand in a Boy
Scout salute. “I promise. Take care, Harriman.” ~~~~ While Seaview was being whipped
back into shape, her officers and crew continued to show steady
improvements in their health. In some cases the healing was considered
nothing short of miraculous. Kowalski, Patterson, Kelly and Garza had
all returned to the boat and were manning their usual stations. Most of
the remaining men were catching up on much needed sleep. Lee continually updated the
admiral on everyone’s progress while Nelson and Janek remained in the
lab discussing weapons and their options for countering them. Finally
the admiral decided to speak to all his officers and the “Gentlemen, I’ve garnered a
sizeable amount of information about what we might be up against from
COMSUBPAC, the Institute files and from Dr. Janek, and I wanted you to
hear about it first hand. This mission is going to be dangerous, and I
want to take all possible precautions to avoid what happened over the
last week from happening again. Dr. Jamison, I want a full accounting of
any symptoms of exposure from the start.” Jamison nodded his agreement. “You all remember Captain Adams
and his research into ultrasonics?” There were a few groans of
recognition at the mention of the naval officer. “How could we
forget?” asked Jamison. “He stirred up that manta and it about
destroyed us. Do you think someone is using a new ultrasonic weapon on
us?” “No, because of that experience
we made sure that when the new hydrophones were designed we could detect
in that range. What we’re likely dealing with is sound from the
opposite end of the spectrum, or infrasound.” The admiral turned around and
pointed to a diagram that hung from the bulkhead behind him. “Just to
explain a few of the differences, ultrasounds are high frequency waves
that are very short in length. They are detectable by existing
instrumentation, are highly controllable and it’s relatively easy to
create a barrier to block them. There are a number of peacetime uses for
them, like those you are familiar with in medicine.” He
stopped and turned to face the small crowd. “Infrasound is the term
for ultra low frequency sound waves. They are more correctly called
pressure waves because we don’t actually hear them, we feel them as
vibrations. The waves are much longer that ultrasonic waves so they
travel much further than other sounds. That, and because they can
penetrate any opening, it is difficult to defend against them.” At that moment Janek chimed in.
“Infrasounds bombard us daily. They are generated by such things as
thunder and the waves hitting the beach…even some engines emit them.
Since we don’t hear them, our brains don’t register them as sound in
the typical sense. They do register, though. You have all felt nauseous
over the last few days? Well that nausea is one of the things that
caused me to think of an infrasound weapon as a cause. Nausea is one of
the early warning signs… your body’s way of telling you that you are
being exposed to excessive pressure. The headaches you experienced were
also a sign and because your exposure was persistent, the headaches and
nausea never really went away, even after taking high doses of
medication. The only thing that helped either symptom was moving away
from the source.” “So it could have caused the
fighting and the anger?” asked Lee. “Yes, Captain. Researchers have
found that at a certain frequency, most people begin to exhibit
hostility. At decreasing frequencies you can add heart palpitations,
depression, paranoia, severe muscle pain, middle ear disruptions,
vertigo, loss of bodily functions and finally, death. Exposure to
frequencies around seven cycles per second for any length of time will
kill humans.” “How exactly?” asked Jamison. “Let me use an analogy. Part of
the destruction of earthquakes is cause by infrasound pressure waves
moving in and out of cavities in the earth. The spaces expand and once
the wave passes the layers of earth quickly collapse. When exposed to
waves of seven cycles per second body cavities expand then collapse in a
similar manner. The person is literally flattened.” “That’s frightening,”
commented the doctor and nearly every man in the room nodded his head in
agreement. “Dr. Janek, how did we learn
about the effects of these weapons on humans?” queried Chip. The admiral answered before the
scientist had the chance. “There have been a number of accidental
exposures to various frequencies of sound, some man-made, some in
nature. A great deal of knowledge was gained through post-accident
analysis.” “Can we predict what will
happen… to us…based on signal strength and length of exposure?” “To some degree,” answered
Janek. “However, playing with infrasound is a risky business and has
not been studied nearly as much as ultrasound. Unfortunately, some of
those exposed did not recognize what was happening to them and did not
survive to report on their work.” “So without research no one can
accurately predict what level of exposure is considered safe?”
Janek shook his head. Lee wondered where Chip was headed
with his questions. They sounded almost challenging in their tone and
that was not typical of the Chip Morton he knew. When it looked like the
exec might ask another, Lee stepped in. “Our best bet is to limit all
exposure. Dr. Janek has explained to me that the exposure is cumulative
so we must be very cautious.” Chip took the hint and remained
silent for the rest of the briefing. “Is the ultimate goal of this
weapon to kill?” inquired Chavis. “Not for most acoustic weapons.
As I explained to your captain earlier, it can be much more effective to
have a device that disables everyone. I am aware of an instance where it
became easy to dismantle and remove a valuable piece of equipment from a
ship after the crew guarding it was merely made inattentive due to
incapacitating nausea.” “So how do we fight something
like that?” asked O’Brien, as he rubbed his temple. “That’s simple. We build its
‘anti-weapon’.” ~~~~ “You wanted to see me, sir?” “Yes, Chip, come in and sit
down.” Normally when he visited the
admiral the man was busy with a thousand different things, and only
looked up at him on occasion as if to punctuate his orders. From
Chip’s perspective it was not a good sign that Nelson was showing him
his full attention. He remained stiff-backed as he seated himself in the
chair farthest from the flag officer’s desk. The admiral lit up a cigarette and
stared at the young man before him. He was going to hate this
conversation because he knew how much a part of Seaview’s legacy Chip
had become. He had been chosen over a large pool of capable men to be
the Seaview’s first, and so far only, executive officer. His skills at
organization and attention to detail, as well as his technical prowess
and his good sense had always made him an exceptional officer. His
loyalty to the boat and the men was beyond measure. And now all of that
was in jeopardy. “Dr. Miller told me, and Will
agrees that you should see a specialist for your hearing. I’ve
discussed this with Lee and he wanted to wait until this mission was
complete, but I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” He paused long
enough to take a drag on his cigarette before continuing. “The doctors
feel there would be no problem with you remaining on Seaview provided
you are not exposed further. Since I can’t guarantee that for any of
us, I think its best you remain on the tender until we return from the
mission. Since you need to avoid diving and flying due to pressure
changes, I’ll arrange a trip on a cruiser back to San Diego, where
Will has made arrangements with the specialist. Before I finalized all
that I wanted to talk you.” Chip had prepared for this moment
and thought he could deal with the situation unemotionally but he once
again found himself struggling. The admiral knew it was a very difficult
position for Chip to be in and he could see the signs of tiny cracks in
his emotional armor. He tried to offer him a little bit of hope. “If
you are able to, you will certainly be restored to full duty. I do want
what’s best for you.” “Thank you, sir. I appreciate
that and I understand and accept your position. But, sir, if I may, I
have a few questions before I go.” Thinking that Chip was going to
press for specifics about his future on Seaview and having no idea
himself what that might be the admiral reluctantly told him to proceed. “Is it possible that you…and
I… were subjects of experimentation while we were being held in that
music studio?” The admiral was taken by surprise
by the odd question and since neither Lee nor Chip had been apprised of
the information about the contest between the scientists he was curious
where the questions would lead. “It would be a good bet, why?” “I think they were collecting
data on the effects of infrasound.” The admiral raised his eyebrows.
“What makes you think that?’ “The description of symptoms
given by Dr. Janek, the recent interest in making infrasound weapons and
maybe just a little intuition. I might not perform experiments but I
have done enough of them to know how to set one up. They needed test
subjects and control subjects. We were available and when they were done
they tossed us back in this cage for observation so to speak.” The admiral waved his finger in
the air. “You may be onto something, Chip. I promise I’ll look into
it later. Now I’m afraid I need to work on our current problem.” “I think they’re related,
sir.” “How do you mean?” “I think I was a
bit…well…resistant to whatever frequency they were using and they
had to expose me for a longer period to get a response.” “And?” “And they found out we reacted
at very different rates. That would be important to know if they wanted
to make sure every last one of us on Seaview was disabled.”
The admiral ground out his
cigarette, sat back and began to swivel back and forth in his chair. It
was apparent to Chip that his mind was moving at flank. He waited and
watched while Nelson processed the information he had just received and
he was not at all surprised when after a few minutes the admiral
abruptly stood up and punched the intercom button. “Captain Crane, this is Nelson.
Bring Dr. Janek to my cabin, immediately!” Once the two men arrived and began
discussing weapon design theory, Chip managed a smile, then stood up and
quietly left the cabin. ~~~~ Lee arrived in the wardroom just
before 0600 to get a reinforcing shot of his favorite pharmaceutical,
Cookie’s potent coffee. He found Chip already there reviewing the
information on his various clipboards as he drank from his own mug. “I wondered where you went,”
commented Lee as he slid into the seat across from his friend. “You
missed the best part. The admiral actually agreed with Janek on his
first proposal.” “For?” “His anti-weapon. It’s modeled
after the noise canceling device I used to help him escape but much
larger in scale. Your suggestion that the weapon might employ multiple
frequencies was a huge part of the discussion. Good job, pal.” “I only said what I thought, the
idea was theirs.” Chip continued to look at the clipboards. “Before
I left I wanted to make sure you have coverage at all critical stations
so I spent a bit of time last night going over these schedules. It seems
Tatic will be out for a while longer, and Braxton… let’s just say
he’s out of the picture.” Lee looked quizzically at his
exec. “So he’s the one that gave you that,” he said pointing to
Chip’s injured forehead. Chip replied with a barely
perceptible nod. “I don’t think Chief Panos should be left to handle
the missile room since he was one of the sicker ones early on, so I
moved him...” “Chip, I’m sorry.” “About?” “Your having to go.” Chip held up his hand and looked
Lee in the eye. “The admiral is absolutely right, Lee. I’m not only
at risk I am a risk… to
everyone’s safety. You know that. It has to be this way.” Lee bit his lower lip and nodded
in agreement. “But I don’t have to like it.” Chip then gave Lee a look that
said thanks for the support. Though he wouldn’t be a part of
the mission, out of respect for his friend Lee took the next few minutes
to lay out the rest of the admiral’s plan. “Since we had less of an
exposure the admiral has decided that Sharkey and I will take FS-1 out
to try and narrow down the location of any weapon. He’s building the
anti-sound device and we should be leaving with it sometime this
afternoon.” Chip swallowed hard. Lee was once
again sticking his head in the lion’s mouth. Chip had seen first hand
what the weapon had done to the men and to him and an incapacitated Lee
Crane would be no value to anyone. Chip also knew Lee would not take his
assignment lightly, and rather than argue about the inevitable the exec
quickly made up an excuse for leaving, piled up the clipboards and left
the room. Whether due to his frustration or his impairment he didn’t
hear Lee calling him to come back. ~~~~ Lee and Sharkey headed off towards
the now familiar coordinates and upon arrival they followed one of the
search patterns that Seaview had used to test sonar. Since the various
detectors on FS-1 could not pick up ultra low frequencies the admiral
had installed a special barometer for monitoring wide fluctuations in
pressure which would serve that purpose. Lee manned the sonar hoping to
locate the actual device, dubbed by Janek as the “whistle”. He also
kept his eye on the barometer as Sharkey guided the craft through its
paces. After several hours of fruitless
searching, Lee had the craft surfaced and called Seaview to give his
report and to discuss their options. While everyone was disappointed
they would not bring the mission to a close quickly, they were not
giving up. “Lee why don’t you try staying
in one place for a while and see if you pick up anything that way?” “I’ll try it, admiral. We’re
about fifty miles out from you. I’ll send you the coordinates. I’m
going to ….check…the…” “Lee, you broke up. Can you
repeat your transmission? Captain Crane, please respond. Sharkey, Chief
Sharkey respond!” The admiral repeated his call several times but he
received no answer. Thinking the worst, he ordered Seaview to head for
the last known location of FS-1 at full speed. The shivering Lee and “It looks that way, Chief.” Lee still had the presence of mind
to glance at the barometer and the repeated swings of the needle told
him what he needed to know. The apparition was
likely a result of pressure waves. Suddenly the needle on the
instrument virtually exploded into pieces leaving them with nothing
besides their own symptoms to track the deadly vibrations. When the
wavering image suddenly disappeared, Lee thought they might be out of
danger. That thought was dismissed when he began to feel his chest
tighten and he began to salivate excessively. He looked around and
almost frantically began to make adjustments to the dial of the
cancellation device that he admiral had attached to the control panel. Suddenly, Lee felt the pressure on
his chest lessen. “I can breathe again, Skipper. I
think it’s…it’s...it’s working.” Lee nodded then switched on his
throat mic. “FS-1 to Seaview, FS-1 to Seaview. Come in Seaview.” Sparks had clenched his left hand
into a fist as if he could will the captain to answer so when he finally
did he was almost gleeful. “Admiral
we have FS-1,” he shouted out into the control room. “This is
Seaview. We read you FS-1. State your condition.”
The admiral hurried over from his
position at sonar and snatched up the auxiliary mic and headset. “Lee,
what happened to you?” Lee carefully omitted some of the
more descriptive symptoms that he and Sharkey had experienced. “I
won’t doubt you again, Admiral. We met your visitor from the spirit
world. Once your device was turned on it went away. We must be close,
but we haven’t located the doctor’s whistle.” “I’m not surprised. He says it
need not be any bigger than a set of dive tanks to function.” “In that case we’ll need a
visual. So where do we go from here, sir?” “I have an idea.” Lee smiled.
He had long ago lost count of how often he had heard the phrase
“I have an idea” from his genius CO. ~~~~ “We’re going to bring Seaview
in and use the diving bell to attempt to spot the whistle.” “Admiral, that’s way too
risky!” protested Lee as he slapped a hand on the bench top. It’s
not just those in the bell. With Seaview above it everyone is sure to
feel the effects! Besides we
don’t know that it didn’t sink that sub!” “It’s short term and worth the
risk, Lee. I’m thinking the… “ Over the intercom the admiral, Lee
and Janek heard the announcement that a large shockwave from an apparent
earthquake would soon reach them. They braced for impact and once it
passed the trio picked up the papers that had been scattered across the
floor of the lab. The admiral looked across the table at the scientist
and he saw a reflection of his own expression, that of an inventor in a
eureka-like moment. “Earthquakes? A whistle that can produce
earthquakes?” “If the structure of the whistle
is in contact with the ocean floor and if the frequency settings…” The admiral finished the
scientist’s thoughts. “If the frequency settings on the whistle are
adjustable, it could be programmed to generate waves of the correct
frequency and the resulting resonance would cause an earthquake. Why
didn’t I think of that sooner?” Lee was trying to follow the logic
of the men. “Wait a minute. What you’re both saying, is the purpose
of the weapon might be to cause earthquakes, not to wreak havoc on ships
and crews?” “I’m saying it’s possible
they were trying to do both, or all. Who knows? A weapon with multiple
uses is valuable as well and highly dangerous…” Janek’s voice
trailed off as he reflected on his own role in weapons research. “Lee, I need to examine all the
data on recent seismic activity in this vicinity. I also want you to
contact Geophysical Headquarters and ask them for anything they have
from the last two weeks for this region. Have them send us any telemetry
they have and feed it into our computer.” “I’ll get right on it,” Lee
said as he took off for the control room. “Dr. Janek, I have an idea how
to solve the problem of locating the whistle more precisely. Once I
receive the data from the seismic reports, I will see what else I need.
In the meantime it would be helpful for us to develop a plan to reach
the whistle and remove the threat once and for all.” “I’ll need data and a lot more
information about your systems.” “Yes, and I have just the man to
assist you.” ~~~~ “Just our luck they set it down
in a seismically active area, Jiggs. I have more data than I have
answers right now. I’m still sifting through everything Geophysical
Headquarters sent us. Fortunately the device is still causing seismic
waves.” “So what other assistance do you
need?” “We need to narrow down the
location to a half a mile or less to be able to search the whole sea
floor in the time frame we have to work.” Nelson ran a hand through
his hair then tapped the eraser end of his pencil on the desk. “Jiggs,
I need at least three ships with seismographic equipment to take
measurements and feed them to us.” “That’s too dangerous, man!”
“They don’t have to get too
close; in fact, it would work best if they were about fifty miles
out.” “If you can use the tender, I
can get you two cruisers from fleet command. The Port Royal is about one
and one half hours out, the Gadsen is a little over three. What else?”
“That should be it for now,
Jiggs. Once I have everyone in place, we’ll go from there.” “All right Harriman. Keep me
informed.” Lee was sitting on the edge of the
desk out of sight of Starke. When the two admirals signed off from the
call he stood and faced his CO. “Admiral, why involve more ships?” “As you know, seismographic data
is used to show an approximate location of the epicenter. In most cases
that’s sufficient. If we want to triangulate this epicenter, we need
data that’s very specific.” Lee gave a nod of understanding. “Seaview will need a clear
channel of communication with each of those ships. Lee, see to it.” “On my way, Admiral.” ~~~~ Chip had been alerted that he
would have a visitor and was surprised when it turned out to be Dr.
Janek. When he was then handed the assignment of assisting the scientist
with a plan to destroy the whistle he took it eagerly, figuring it would
likely be his last hurrah in working with the Seaview and her crew.
Janek was also relishing the idea of destroying the weapon, motivated in
part by guilt to over the building of the noise cancellation weapon that
had almost resulted in the Seaview’s demise.
“To be effective an explosive
charge would have to be in direct contact with the whistle. That would
require much more precision than we’re dealing with at the moment. It
would require a visual sighting. Dr. Janek, the bottom is nearly four
miles down in this area. How are we going to get that close?” “Commander, you have just
installed a new sonar system. Would it be possible for me to see the
schematics?” “Of course, I’ll arrange to
have them brought over. What do you have in mind?” “In noise cancellation a sound
generator is programmed to cancel out waves of specific frequencies.
Sonar is, in effect, a sound generator and I think it’s possible to
program your sonar as if it were a noise canceling weapon.” “And we can lower the explosive
directly from Seaview!” Though he maintained a neutral expression,
Chip was pleased that the sonar system that he had worked on for so many
months could possibly be part of the solution to their problem. “How
do you plan on …?” ~~~~ The admiral was bent over the plot
table when Seaman Garza stepped over and handed him the latest printout
from the computer. Nelson scanned it then examined the chart before him
and he grinned. At that
moment Lee came up beside him. “We’re getting close Lee, the data is
looking good. Barring a natural quake nearby we should be able to narrow
it to about a half mile square area to search.” “Chip says the programming is
about done, too. He has already had Kowalski make some adjustments to
the instrumentation and Dr. Janek is on his way back here to run some
preliminary tests.” “Is the diving bell prepped for
deployment?” “I have Sharkey on it right now.
He inspected the cable and there’s no problem there.” “That leaves the explosive
device. I’ll check it out before you leave.” Lee nodded, and then observed his
CO for a few minutes. He
knew the man was only running on adrenalin. “I know this will work,
Admiral.” “It had better.” The admiral
reached in his shirt pocket and handed Lee a decoded radio message that
he had received an hour before. It indicated that based on new
intelligence there were at least three more devices planted in areas
with heavy military ship traffic.
Lee frowned “You know, sir,
I’m really not surprised. At least once this is over we will have a
protocol in place for others to follow.” “Well let’s make sure we
succeed before we count any chickens, shall we?” ~~~~ Seaview set out on a course for
the search area identified by the latest seismic data and the admiral
remained in the control room while Kowalski and Kelly operated sonar and
Patterson manned the hydrophones. Their goal would be to maintain a
force field of pings in the immediate area of Seaview and the diving
bell. Since it was imperative that someone have a complete picture of
what was happening with sonar, Janek was placed in that role and he
stood next to the sonar station and monitored the readings. He was also
given full authority by the admiral to order any necessary changes. When Seaview was within a mile of
the search site, the admiral ordered a full stop and Janek and the
operators set out to test the equipment against the device. When the
seismic emanations from the area suddenly ceased to be detected by
Seaview’s sensors, they knew they had succeeded, at least in part. As they moved in closer to the
device the admiral left O’Brien with the conn and headed for the
missile room. Once there he watched as Sharkey operated the winch and
three ratings stood by the cable drum with a hose and fire extinguishers
at the ready. Nelson got a thumbs-up from Sharkey and picked up the
nearby mic. “Are we ready, Mr. O’Brien?”
O’Brien looked to Janek, then to
Cermak who was now monitoring the seismograph. Getting nods from both,
he responded in the affirmative. “Ready, Lee?” “Ready, Admiral.” The men in the missile room
carefully lowered the bell through the hatch opening and watched as it
disappeared into the darkness below. Alone in the bell, Lee donned a
special headset similar to one used in space. It was designed to limit
the effects of pinging but would still allow him to communicate with the
boat. He checked his connection then gave the okay to continue with the
descent. He knew that it was going to take several hours for him to
reach the depth necessary to search for the whistle, so he sat back and
read over some of Dr. Janek’s research reports. When he suddenly
became nauseous Lee called out for an adjustment to the sonar and within
minutes his discomfort ceased. Everything seemed to be proceeding
according to plan. ~~~~ Chip had gained permission from
the tender’s skipper to maintain a secure channel to the Seaview and
had called in at thirty minute intervals checking on sonar operations.
It was transparent to anyone who knew him that he also had another
motivation which was keeping tabs on Lee. He was receiving good reports
and that helped lessen the tension he felt, but when after two hours
contact with Seaview was suddenly cut his angst rapidly escalated. Then
he heard the announcement. “All hands prepare for heavy
weather.” Chip sighed to himself at his
oversight. He had paid little attention to the weather since arriving on
the tender, a bad habit he had developed by being a sub driver who could
move below bad weather whenever it threatened. Unfortunately the
presence of the storm meant Seaview had moved deeper to avoid the
turbulence and had ceased all radio connections. He and the rest of the
world would just have to wait, and hope. ~~~~ The lights on the bottom of the
bell could effectively illuminate an area of about fifteen hundred
square feet, so when Lee was nearing a hundred and fifty feet of the
bottom he ordered Sharkey to stop his descent. Lee looked out the ports
and used the onboard viewer to size up the surface and he was pleased to
see it was fairly smooth. That made sense, since an irregular surface
might cause the weapon to be unpredictable, something the designer would
want to avoid. He had earlier discussed the design of the whistle with
Janek so he would know what to look for so when he saw nothing of what
the scientist had described he ordered Seaview to begin to move ahead.
Because of the length of the cable, once the boat moved forward it took
the bell nearly fifteen minutes to move. It was going to be a very slow
process to locate the whistle. ~~~~ “Seaview, I think I’ve found
it!” Communications with the diving
bell had been routed through the boat-wide intercom so that everyone
could track its progress. There were a few shouts at the news from the
captain but the men quickly calmed and returned their attention to their
duties. The admiral had returned to the control room to monitor the
entire process and upon hearing Lee’s announcement he immediately
pushed him for details. “It’s about twelve felt long
and only four feet high and across. Shaped like, well, a police
whistle.” “Is there any visible
activity?” “It appears to be fluttering,
but now I’m not sure if it’s me or the whistle.” “All right, Lee, get you photos
then get that explosive charge in place.” “I need to move down another
forty feet.” “Chief Sharkey, let her out
forty more feet, slow-ly.” “Aye, sir, forty feet.” Cermak studied the strip of paper
from the seismograph and turned. “Mr. O’Brien, we’re picking up an
earthquake, a real one.” O’Brien took a few seconds to
glance at the strip then out of habit immediately stepped over to check
sonar. However, the men were busy with the activities of the force field
and were too busy to monitor for other objects in their vicinity. He did
the only thing he could do and turned and grabbed up the mic from the
periscope island. “All hands prepare for shock wave!” The admiral warned Lee about the
anticipated disturbance and Lee acknowledged. The shock wave that hit
Seaview was not severe and they felt only some minor rocking that lasted
a little over a minute. Everyone was more concerned with what had
happened at depth but when the admiral called out to Lee to report he
received no reply. Repeated attempts to re-establish contact with the
bell were unsuccessful and after hearing nothing for five minutes he
finally lashed out at Sparks in frustration. “Get him, back, damn it!” “I’m trying, sir.” Somewhat embarrassed, the admiral
rubbed his eyebrow. ‘I’m sorry Sparks, cut the feed to the
intercom.” The admiral walked over and
grasped the microphone by the seismograph. “Sharkey, is the line still
intact?” “Yes, sir, the tension slacked
off for a minute but it’s back to normal.” “Okay, Chief.” “O’Brien watched the admiral
for a moment before approaching him. “Sir, we have no reports of
damage. What should we do now?” “We show faith in Captain Crane
and wait while he does his job. We give him twenty minutes to drop the
explosives then we pull up the bell.” ~~~~ Chip stood by the tender’s
seismograph station to watch the activity there. There were no spikes,
but unlike the Seaview, the tender could still read the activity
generated by the device. His eyed widened when the needle began to
fluctuate widely. He knew that serious turbulence was headed their way
but he was helpless to do anything but clench his fists and watch. ~~~~ Tired of pacing, after fifty more
minutes had passed the admiral visited the missile room to inspect the
work of the men there. He observed and the diving bell cable was being
reeled in slowly to allow for the decompression of her pilot. “Everything okay here, Chief?”
“Everything is good, sir, well
at least those things that we have some...everything’s fine, sir.” The admiral patted Sharkey’s
arm. “Good work, Chief. Carry on.” After too many hours of tension
the sonar crew in particular was showing signs of major fatigue and once
the admiral returned to the control room he ordered them relieved. The
men were reluctant to go, but after updating Garza and Riley on their
boards, Kowalski and Kelly headed aft. After settling in with the new
men, even Janek took a brief break. ~~~~ “Admiral!” called O’Brien
from his position at the electronic scanner. “We’ve picked up a
signal from somewhere below the Seaview.” When the boat then began to rock
heavily, everyone knew immediately there had been an explosion. It
appeared their bomb, which had been attached to the bottom of the bell
for easy release by the captain had detonated prematurely. The original plan called for the
bomb to be dropped on top of the whistle then Seaview would move away to
safe distance and in plenty of time. Now that plan would need to be
altered. “Mr. O’Brien, surface the
boat!” ~~~~ Chip had seen signs of an
explosion on the seismograph and he was momentarily stunned. He knew it
was too early for Seaview to have completed its mission so he decided to
make his way to the sonar station of the tender. Once he saw both the
Seaview and the bell on their screens he let out a deep breath. He
turned to see the boat’s skipper wearing an amused grin. “I just got word from Seaview,
Commander. They have surfaced so you can go and speak directly with
them.” No one had ever seen Chip Morton
move so fast.
~~~~ After the explosion in the
vicinity of the whistle had been confirmed by the tender, the men on
Seaview had reeled the bell in as quickly as possible. The admiral,
Jamison and the corpsmen with a stretcher joined the other men in the
missile room to await the bell’s arrival. Once it was on the deck and
the hatch was opened, everyone stood and stared in amazement. “That was some, trip, but next
time, let’s send a drone.” Lee was smiling but obviously feeling the
effects of his rapid ascent. “I’m pretty sure we need to look at
that helmet design too. I think there’s a short.” The admiral was smiling as he
grabbed the microphone. “Attention all hands. Captain Crane has
returned safely to the boat and is heading for decompression. Mr.
O’Brien, let’s get out of here!” ~~~~ The officers and crew of the
Seaview stood on the deck at parade rest as the Coast Guard cutter
pulled up alongside. When the familiar figure in dark blue suit stepped
onto the cutter’s deck everyone felt a buzz. “Atten-tion!” boomed the voice
of Seaview’s executive officer. The men snapped to the order and stood
as straight as standing on a sub would allow, and awaited the special
announcement. As he stood at the microphone and
scanned the sea of faces in front of him, the Secretary of the Navy
smiled. “It is my honor and privilege to present to the officers and
crew of the SSN Seaview this Navy Presidential Unit Citation for acts of
heroism carried out under the most extreme of circumstances. If it had
not been for their service…” ~~~~ The admiral, Lee, Jamison and
O’Brien, were seated around the conference table holding their
end-of-mission debriefing and discussing several new missions that were
scheduled in the coming months. Three weeks had passed since they
returned to Santa Barbara and everyone had been prodded, poked and
tested until they couldn’t take any more and they were all ready to
take some well-deserved time off. “I heard from the SECNAV this
morning and it looks like they’ve located all the devices and
eliminated them. He wanted me to tell you all again how much he
appreciated the work you all did.” “That’s good news, Admiral,”
said Lee with a smile. He then became deadly serious. “Has he said
anything more about what happened to the sub?” “They are doing a post-mortem
assessment but as we’ve seen the effects of infrasound can cause all
kinds of mistakes to be made. It’s likely they died on their own
sword.” “That’s a good lesson.”
“Changing the subject a bit,
Admiral, I’d really like to look into the effects of these sounds on
our crew. That’s from the standpoint that I would prefer to avoid any
more exposure whenever possible. It might mean looking at the designs of
most of our equipment and spending a bit of money on new ear
protection.” “Okay, Will, why don’t you see
what the Navy is developing? After all this I suspect there will be a
glut of new products out there pretty soon. It would also pay dividends
to keep detailed records of exposures of the crew…as well as the
officers. You can use them as your research subjects.” Imagining himself a lab rat Lee
put on an exaggerated mock scowl, giving everyone a good laugh. “Speaking of test subjects, how is
Chip?” Lee responded matter-of-factly.
“I spoke to him yesterday and he was in pretty good spirits. He was
supposed to get the final results of all his tests, and go from
there.” “So we can’t make any
decisions until…” “Well speak of the devil,”
interrupted Jamison as Chip entered the room. “Afternoon, Admiral, Lee.”
Chip also nodded to the other two men. “Just got back from San
Diego.” “And…?” asked Nelson “I have been ordered to take it
easy, and quiet, but if everything goes well I should be back to full
duty in about a month.” There were smiles all around but
none bigger than Chip’s own. “That’s great news, Chip!”
responded Lee with gusto. Chip looked around. “So what did
I miss?” “We were just talking about
hearing protection. Do you have anything to add?”
“We owe it to the men to protect
them. We don’t think about all the things we do to abuse our ears
until something happens. In my case it was all the shooting, flying, and
diving.” With a grimace he added, “then there were all those things
I couldn’t control.” Everyone nodded. “Is there any other business to
take care of, gentlemen?” Lee looked around the table.
“Nothing else pressing from me, Admiral, but I would like to hear your
opinion on the visions we all had, oh sorry, almost
everyone had.” Chip turned to Lee who was now
seated to his left and cocked an eyebrow. He then schooled his features
folded his hands in front of him and directed his full attention to the
admiral. “It just so happens I’ve done
some library research on that very topic. It appears that at a certain
frequency, the pressure waves cause the eyeballs to flutter. The optic
nerve simply forwards the message to the brain but the brain interprets
the object as a ghost like figure. What I found fascinating was the cool
air that we felt at the same time. It
was also related to the vibrations. It would be interesting to pursue
research into some of the so-called ghost sightings in the drafty old
castles of Scotland to see if they were actually due to infrasonic
resonance generated by their design.” “Is it possible there’s a
scientific reason why I didn’t see them, sir?” inquired the exec. “Not only possible, but likely.
It would make another interesting study to compare how differently each
of us physically senses as well as perceives things.” Lee and Chip exchanged glances.
They had both seen that determined look on Nelson many times before. The admiral pretended to ignore
the exchange. “I’ve always chalked up our differences to
personality, but there has to be a bit more to it than that. Even if we
could explain it I certainly wouldn’t want to change it. The
differences are our strength.” “So, Admiral, could there be a
scientific basis to my being skeptical?” “It’s possible.” “And based on science, when the
ratings say I’m insensitive, there could be more than an ounce of
truth to that rumor, sir?” Lee and Jamison guffawed at the
comment and Chip’s deadpan delivery. O’Brien just smirked. “Pounds, Chip, maybe pounds,”
said the admiral with a smile. Finis Comments welcome at sherlockette@earthlink.net
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