Ice Station Nautilus by Rick Campbell

always merchant ships, and there were no merchants under the ice.
    Chief Bush followed up, “Conn, Sonar. Hold the contact at zero elevation. SNR has increased threefold since we gained contact and continues to rise.”
    The Sonar Supervisor’s report made no sense. How could Signal-to-Noise Ratio triple in only twenty seconds? He glanced at the MFA display on one of the sonar consoles, noting the white-banded return from their active pulse, painting the image of an underwater ice ridge. A ridge they were passing under now.
    It was at that moment that Tolbert understood. The broadband contact they had picked up was Dolgoruky, dropping below the ice keel she had been hiding behind. They had picked her up on broadband, which meant she was close, and if signal strength had tripled in twenty seconds, that meant—
    North Dakota jolted upward, knocking Tolbert off balance. He grabbed on to the navigation plot as a metallic screech tore through the air. Seconds later, everyone in Control was thrown forward as North Dakota slowed suddenly and the bow tilted downward.

 
    10
    USS NORTH DAKOTA • K-535 YURY DOLGORUKY
    USS NORTH DAKOTA
    The second jolt was more violent than the first, knocking every watchstander not buckled into their chairs to the deck and launching every unsecured item toward the forward bulkhead. The loose items crashed to the deck as the metallic screeching ceased, and North Dakota ’s bow swung up to an even keel. The silence lasted for only a few seconds. The Flooding Alarm sounded, followed by a report blaring from the emergency 4-MC system.
    “Flooding in the Engine Room! Flooding in Shaft Alley!”
    The Co-Pilot reached toward the Ship Control Station and turned toward Commander Tolbert, awaiting direction to Emergency Blow. As Tolbert caught the Co-Pilot’s eyes, he realized an Emergency Blow would send them careening toward the surface in an uncontrollable ascent, smashing into the ice cap.
    “Do not Emergency Blow!” Tolbert shouted.
    The Pilot announced another crisis. “Maneuvering reports all stop!”
    A 7-MC report from the Engineering Officer of the Watch followed. “Conn, Maneuvering. The shaft has seized. Unable to answer bells.”
    Tolbert acknowledged, then called out, “Secure the Fire Control Tracking Party.” He turned to Lieutenant Commander Sites. “Take charge in the Engine Room.”
    As the XO headed aft, accompanied by the Engineer Officer, North Dakota ’s bow began tilting upward. They were taking on water aft. Tolbert checked North Dakota ’s depth on the Ship Control Station. They were at three hundred feet and sinking. The Co-Pilot had lined up the drain pump to the Engine Room bilges, but more water was flooding in than was being pumped off.
    Tolbert ordered, “Co-Pilot, line up the trim pump to take a suction on the drain system.”
    The Co-Pilot complied and both pumps began dewatering the Engine Room. Tolbert checked the ship’s depth again. They were at 350 feet, still sinking.
    The lights flickered in Control, and Tolbert realized Maneuvering had split the vital and non-vital electrical buses. That meant they were about to lose the turbine generators.
    The 7-MC report explained. “Control, Maneuvering. Loss of all condensate pumps due to flooding.”
    The condensate pumps sent water from the turbine hotwells into the feed system, where it was sent into the steam generators to be turned into steam. No condensate pumps meant no steam, and no steam meant no propulsion or electricity. As North Dakota sank toward the bottom of the Barents Sea, Tolbert realized the situation was spiraling out of control.
    YURY DOLGORUKY
    Stepanov knew instantly they were in dire straits. The Compensation Officer was flooding all variable ballast tanks to increase Dolgoruky ’s descent rate when Stepanov felt the first impact. A metallic grinding from above pierced the Central Command Post, and Stepanov concluded the top of Dolgoruky ’s conning tower had impacted the underside of the