enemy has for using countertactics."
"You're right," Wilson said. "So how do you propose to halve the range unnoticed, given the clock's still ticking?"
"Well, if we go shallow and go fast, we'll cause a surface-wake anomaly and thermal scarring, which would be visible to long-range Axis airborne and spaceborne sensors, and any cavitation sounds would be worse from the lower water pressure. But if we stay deep and make a sprint, we'll be on the same side of the layer as Master 1 and Master 2. They're much more likely to hear us coming."
"So which of these wonderful choices is it?" Wilson said.
"Sir, my recommendation is to approach at top quiet speed at two thousand feet. Then we can come up to maybe one fifty carefully and open fire."
"Why move in so deep?"
"Sir, at the ranges involved, putting a wider chunk of the thermocline between own-ship and target depth might help shadow us acoustically. Because of temperature-induced sound wave diffraction, our radiated noise would bend down toward the bottom isothermal zone. Miss Reebeck's data suggest two thousand feet is optimum for us."
"Very well, Fire Control," Wilson said. "Helm, make your course three four zero and make your depth two thousand feet. Ahead two thirds, make turns for twenty-six knots." Ilse listened to Meltzer repeat the orders, then she saw him working his controls. She was almost used to it by now. The deck tilted forward uncomfortably, but there was no other sense of motion, no vibration. A sound on the threshold of hearing grew slightly louder, a kind of whooshing with an underlying visceral rumble. It wasn't coming from the air-conditioning ducts.
Ilse glanced aft. This is the closest I've ever been to a
nuclear reactor, she told herself, and I can't jump in my car and flee if something goes wrong. She fidgeted with the dosimeter on her belt, but no one else seemed worried. Soon Ilse felt the boat leveling off, and she watched the digital depth gauge on her screen. It steadied at exactly 2,000 feet. Aren't there supposed to be popping, screeching noises this far down? Don't rivets start flying around the control room so close to crush depth?
Suddenly the danger of their actions hit. If we make a peep, they could hear it. They'll shoot atomic bombs at us for sure. We're too far away for a good attack, the captain and Jeffrey said so. We have to get in closer, before they fire at Diego Garcia. And even if they fire prematurely and their cruise missiles fall short, they'll stir up a fearful shock wave and tsunami.
Rut if we go in faster, they could hear us, and Captain Wilson said to go in fast. I don't want to die, Ilse told herself, not like this so soon. I have something to do first, dammit.
"'Time's running out, Mr. Fuller," Wilson said. "What do you think?"
"It would be ideal, sir," Jeffrey said, "if we could time our shots to hit them just as they come up through the laver to launch their missiles."
"Devoutly to be wished," Wilson said, "but unrealistic. By the time we got in close enough for a good attack, they'd almost surely make a counterdetection and gel off a snap shot at us with a nuclear torpedo. So how could we tell they're going for the surface, assuming that's their plan, if we can't even hear them?"
"We couldn't, sir," Jeffrey said. "But if they rise above the layer prematurely, they'll hear our own fish coming In plenty of time to evade and counterfire."
"At close enough range they might even hear the
ADCAPs through the layer," Wilson said. "You know acoustic shadow masking's always an iffy thing."
"I'm starting to change my mind on something, sir," Jeffrey said.
"Oh?" Wilson said.
"I think maybe we should use a single weapon, a fission warhead. Set for highest yield, one-tenth KT. It's got a lethal radius big enough to catch them both, even if they run, even with some error in the firing solution." Relying on just two stale data points was not recommended practice, Jeffrey knew.
"Concerned that we're outnumbered?"
"You're right," Wilson said. "So how do you propose to halve the range unnoticed, given the clock's still ticking?"
"Well, if we go shallow and go fast, we'll cause a surface-wake anomaly and thermal scarring, which would be visible to long-range Axis airborne and spaceborne sensors, and any cavitation sounds would be worse from the lower water pressure. But if we stay deep and make a sprint, we'll be on the same side of the layer as Master 1 and Master 2. They're much more likely to hear us coming."
"So which of these wonderful choices is it?" Wilson said.
"Sir, my recommendation is to approach at top quiet speed at two thousand feet. Then we can come up to maybe one fifty carefully and open fire."
"Why move in so deep?"
"Sir, at the ranges involved, putting a wider chunk of the thermocline between own-ship and target depth might help shadow us acoustically. Because of temperature-induced sound wave diffraction, our radiated noise would bend down toward the bottom isothermal zone. Miss Reebeck's data suggest two thousand feet is optimum for us."
"Very well, Fire Control," Wilson said. "Helm, make your course three four zero and make your depth two thousand feet. Ahead two thirds, make turns for twenty-six knots." Ilse listened to Meltzer repeat the orders, then she saw him working his controls. She was almost used to it by now. The deck tilted forward uncomfortably, but there was no other sense of motion, no vibration. A sound on the threshold of hearing grew slightly louder, a kind of whooshing with an underlying visceral rumble. It wasn't coming from the air-conditioning ducts.
Ilse glanced aft. This is the closest I've ever been to a
nuclear reactor, she told herself, and I can't jump in my car and flee if something goes wrong. She fidgeted with the dosimeter on her belt, but no one else seemed worried. Soon Ilse felt the boat leveling off, and she watched the digital depth gauge on her screen. It steadied at exactly 2,000 feet. Aren't there supposed to be popping, screeching noises this far down? Don't rivets start flying around the control room so close to crush depth?
Suddenly the danger of their actions hit. If we make a peep, they could hear it. They'll shoot atomic bombs at us for sure. We're too far away for a good attack, the captain and Jeffrey said so. We have to get in closer, before they fire at Diego Garcia. And even if they fire prematurely and their cruise missiles fall short, they'll stir up a fearful shock wave and tsunami.
Rut if we go in faster, they could hear us, and Captain Wilson said to go in fast. I don't want to die, Ilse told herself, not like this so soon. I have something to do first, dammit.
"'Time's running out, Mr. Fuller," Wilson said. "What do you think?"
"It would be ideal, sir," Jeffrey said, "if we could time our shots to hit them just as they come up through the laver to launch their missiles."
"Devoutly to be wished," Wilson said, "but unrealistic. By the time we got in close enough for a good attack, they'd almost surely make a counterdetection and gel off a snap shot at us with a nuclear torpedo. So how could we tell they're going for the surface, assuming that's their plan, if we can't even hear them?"
"We couldn't, sir," Jeffrey said. "But if they rise above the layer prematurely, they'll hear our own fish coming In plenty of time to evade and counterfire."
"At close enough range they might even hear the
ADCAPs through the layer," Wilson said. "You know acoustic shadow masking's always an iffy thing."
"I'm starting to change my mind on something, sir," Jeffrey said.
"Oh?" Wilson said.
"I think maybe we should use a single weapon, a fission warhead. Set for highest yield, one-tenth KT. It's got a lethal radius big enough to catch them both, even if they run, even with some error in the firing solution." Relying on just two stale data points was not recommended practice, Jeffrey knew.
"Concerned that we're outnumbered?"
Similar Books
