Chapter 5
Five days into the transit Lee had the conn on the late watch and was puttering around when he noticed a blip on Kowalski's screen. "Whatcha got, Ski?" he inquired.
"Looks to be a super tanker, about 10,000 yards ahead on our starboard side."
Lee smiled at the confirmation of his evaluation. "Excellent. What's her course and speed?"
"She heading north-northeast course 0-1-5, traveling at 23 knots," Ski replied and looked up curiously at his skipper's face. "Something wrong, sir?"
"No, nothing's wrong. In fact, this is great," Lee answered, his smile growing wider. He crossed back to the chart table and quickly reviewed his map. "Helmsman come to course 0-1-5, increase speed to 25 knots."
"Aye, sir. Coming to course 0-1-5, increasing speed to 25 knots," the helmsman acknowledged.
The subtle shift in course was barely perceptible as Seaview moved slightly to the right, but the deeper thrum of the engines as they kicked in was easily recognized. After about a minute, Chip came rapidly down the staircase to investigate their change in course and speed.
"What's up, Lee?" he said as he finished cinching up his tie. "Problems?"
"No, not at all," Lee replied and chuckled lightly. "We just happened upon a super tanker going generally our way. I thought we'd go along for the ride and cover more ground a little faster than we've been going. Plus, I could use the practice."
"Huh?" Chip asked.
"Sonar, what's our position?" Lee asked.
"We're directly behind her, closing fast," Kowalski answered. "Four thousand yards and closing."
"Call out when we're within a thousand yards," Lee ordered.
"Aye, sir," Ski acknowledged, still confused about what was going on.
"Helm, bring us up to 110 feet."
"Aye, Skipper, coming up to 1-1-0 feet."
"Skipper, 1,000 yards and closing," Ski reported.
As Seaview reached her depth, they could clearly make out the hull and propellers of the super tanker ahead through her front windows and feel the wash of her wake over the hull.
Lee quickly began issuing course and speed adjustments as they came in through the wash between the ship's propellers. Once they passed the props and were roughly amidships on the tanker, he ordered the helmsman to match course and speed with the vessel and drop back down to 200 feet. They were now doing a very respectable 23 knots and their sound signature was covered by the diesel engines of the behemoth above them.
"Very nice job, Skipper," Chip remarked. "I wondered what you were up to. It's rather nice having an escort for part of the way. Hopefully you can do it that smoothly when we play with the PR."
Lee smirked at Chip. "As if there's any doubt," he said sounding somewhat indignant then started to laugh. "I think the PR may be a little more alert as to what's around them than our friend above."
"So, what are you doing up at this hour anyway?" Chip asked.
"Just couldn't sleep, so gave Bobby a break. He'll be back in a few then I'll head up to bed," Lee replied. "So, what got you out of bed so suddenly?"
Chip glowered at him for a moment. "Someone started messing with the normal operation of the boat on this cruise and had to check out which putz was in command."
"Really?" Lee said returning his glare.
"Really," Chip replied seriously, then started grinning. "Actually, I couldn't sleep either and felt the shift in the boat's position. I figured it would be more interesting checking on that than finishing up the paperwork I was working on."
Lee smiled and nodded knowing exactly what he meant. As he completed updating the course on the chart, O'Brien returned from his break. He was somewhat chagrined to find the XO now in the conn with the captain and wondered what had been going on.
"Nothing to worry about, Bobby," Lee said smiling at the younger man's concerned expression. "I've just given us a hat for however long it lasts and kicked our speed up accordingly. Keep a close eye on the tanker and when she starts to diverge significantly from our desired course, drop Seaview back down to 15 knots and resume our course to the Arctic Ocean."
"Yes, sir," O'Brien acknowledged.
(((())))
Much to their delight, the tanker was headed to Greenland, and provided cover for nearly four days delivering them well into Baffin Bay. As the tanker moved in a more easterly course, Crane reduced speed and turned Seaview to the west as they began encountering ice and would soon be under the cover of the polar ice cap.
Another two days travel had them completely under the ice and they then turned west and slowly made their way across the vast expanse of ice. Eight days later they emerged into the Chukchi Sea. Once free of the ice, they deployed their surface antenna to get an update on the trawler movements and estimated location of the next round of trials.
"This just came in on the VLF, sir," Sparks reported and handed a slip of paper to Crane.
"Thanks, Sparks." Lee quickly skimmed over the text then nodded and headed to the chart table where he regarded the map laid out before him.
"Whatcha, got, Lee?" Chip asked as he joined the captain.
"According to this, a trawler called the Gremlin, will be deploying in 10 days and heading for this area here," Lee replied pointing to an area in the upper Bering Sea. "She'll be operating between St. Lawrence Island and the Gulf of Anadyr."
"Interesting choice, especially since according to intel, they've already pissed off the Russians by coming in and bouncing them," Chip responded as he scrutinized the map. "Seems like kind of a busy area to be testing their sonar."
"Could be they're looking to determine if they can distinguish individual signals in a high traffic area," Lee conjectured. He returned his gaze to the map and traced possible courses from their current position to the test site. As he and Chip went over the options, Harri came down the staircase and joined them at the table.
"I take it we have a location for the tests now?" Nelson inquired.
"Yes, sir," Lee replied and handed him the message they had just received.
Harri quickly read over the message then looked down at the map Lee and Chip were working on. He watched as Lee traced a number of courses and was interested to find he kept going back to the ones closer to shore.
"Any reason you're favoring an approach closer to shore?" Nelson asked.
"I'm thinking of keeping closer to the littoral zone making it more difficult for anyone to pick up our signal. This time of year, there tends to be some heavy storm action and the noise generated by other vessels keeping closer to shore, along with the waves making contact with the shoreline should significantly mask our signal. Once we get here along the Alaska mainland, we'll make our way into the area around St. Lawrence Island, bottom the boat and wait for our prey to venture out."
Nelson and Morton nodded in agreement.
"It's nice our contact was able to get the transponder signal for the trawler so we have something to hone in on," Chip remarked.
"Yes, that's a huge bonus," Lee agreed. "It makes it a hell of a lot easier than having to bop up to the surface and check out each trawler that happens by, I just hope it's the right one."
"Definitely," Harri concurred. "Well, since it looks like we still have a little time, I'm headed down to the lab to work on a couple of my experiments. Let me know if anything changes, Lee."
"Aye, sir." Lee returned his scrutiny of the chart. "Helmsman come to course 0-9-5, one third speed."
Chip repeated the orders to the helmsman which was quickly acknowledged and Seaview turned slightly towards the east as she continued her slow trip down the Alaska coastline.
(((())))
Chapter 6
It had been a long 10 days as Crane had slowly maneuvered Seaview down the coast, then eased out by St. Lawrence Island. The last 5 days had been spent playing flat fish as they waited patiently on the bottom for their quarry to emerge.
"Skipper!" Sparks called out excitedly.
"What is it Sparks?" Lee replied as he moved over to the radio shack.
"I just got a hit on the trawler's transponder. She's showing a position approximately 400 miles due west of our position."
Lee regarded the video screen showing the various marine vessels using transponders in their area and smiled as Sparks pointed out the one that was of greatest interest. As he scanned the digital chart, there were three other smaller fishing vessels in close proximity that were no doubt escorts for the trawler.
"Good work, Sparks. Keep an eye on them and let me know if they deviate from their current course," Lee said as he patted the man on the back. He then moved to the sonar station and peered over the operator's shoulder. "Patterson, any submarine traffic that could also be associated with that boat?"
"The scope is currently clear of any underwater signatures, Skipper. Of course, that's not to say anybody else has been out here just waiting for them too," Pat answered with a quick grin.
"Keep your eyes and ears peeled for any such rude surprises, okay?" Lee answered as he gave Pat a quick nod. He then moved forward to the chart table to review their position and to plot an intercept course for the trawler. Deciding on his course of action he moved over to the helmsman. "Helmsman, 5 degrees up bubble, bring us to 1,200 feet, course 2-7-5, ahead two thirds."
Rodriguez confirmed the order and immediately put Seaview in motion. Within seconds Lee heard the hurried click of oxfords on the staircase as Morton descended into the Control Room. As he made eye contact with Crane he was graced with a quick smile and a bounce of his eyebrows indicating the game was now afoot.
"So, they've come out to play," Chip commented as he moved to the chart table and updated himself on their new course.
"Looks that way, according to the transponder traffic Sparks is following," Lee replied. "It also appears that she's got three vessels acting as escort but no subs detected at this point."
"That's good to hear. I truly hope we're the only ones out here hunting," Chip responded.
Lee smiled and nodded. "Ditto." He reached over and picked up the mic and clicked it twice. "Attention all hands, this is the captain, we are now in pursuit of our quarry. As I have stressed throughout this mission, silence is our best chance of sneaking in and relieving them of their prize. Keep noise down to a minimum. When we're within striking distance we will go to silent running, so be prepared. Crane, out."
The captain's announcement sent a surge of energy through the boat and the crew now that they were actively on the hunt. They had been fully briefed and knew what was at stake, and how it now fell to them to make sure they got the array to ensure they kept themselves, and other friendly submarine crews safe from the PR threat. Their vigilance snapped up to the next degree, as they were charged with a sense of excitement as they began their very dangerous game.
(((())))
Twelve hours had passed since Crane's announcement and Seaview had begun actively hunting the Gremlin. Lee had paced the Control Room almost non-stop as he moved between stations touching base with his operators and checking the displays. As he began to head forward to the nose, Patterson caught his attention.
"Skipper," he said softly. "I've got four vessels ten miles ahead, traveling in a triangular pattern. I think these are the guys we're looking for."
Lee hurried back to the sonar station and regarded the screen over Pat's shoulder. He smiled slightly as this very much looked like who they were after. "Good job, Pat. Sparks, what does your digital readout say?"
"I agree, sir. Transponder signal indicates the same lat/lon for the vessels we're after," Sparks replied.
Morton joined Lee at the sonar station and they watched the blips of the boats above them. "Show time?" Chip inquired.
"Close to it. The stage seems to be set, just waiting for the overture and the opening curtain," Lee answered. "Any indication they're towing anything, Pat?"
"I would say no, sir. Their course has varied too much for them to be towing anything."
"Any other traffic in the area, Pat?"
"Negative underwater contacts, but there are a few surface vessel contacts at varying distances," Patterson responded.
"Sparks, check the Alaska Marine Exchange and see what vessels are in the area," Lee ordered.
"Aye, sir," Sparks replied and pulled up the display showing surface vessels with transponders registered with the service. "There are six container ships, two super tankers, and a host of fishing boats scattered around the area." He then toggled over to the feed from the Pentagon. "There don't appear to be any military vessels in the area other than the Gremlin and her escorts."
"Good. Head on down and get your gear ready to deploy, Chip," Lee ordered.
"On my way, Lee." Chip headed out through the aft hatch and down to the Missile Room to ready the ROV.
As he entered the missile room, Sharkey and crew had already positioned the ROV so Chip could activate the unit and it could be rapidly deployed. He nodded and smiled at their readiness. "Good job, Chief," Morton said as he moved to the control panel on the drone and activated unit.
The ROV readily fired up and illuminated the various panels. Chip ran the internal diagnostic program and received green lights on all components. He then walked to the chest containing the controller, opened it up and removed it. He powered it up then flipped on the digital display and engaged the camera. He toggled the switch panning the camera around the room and got a clear picture. Satisfied that everything was operational, he shut off the systems.
"Chief, when given the signal to launch, just depress this switch here to activate the ROV," Morton instructed. "It will beep twice indicating all systems are go."
Sharkey looked over the drone and nodded. "Aye, sir. Just give the word and we'll have it hot and out the hatch."
Chip smiled and nodded. "Great. It shouldn't be long now," he said and crossed his fingers. He then headed out the hatch with the control unit back to the Control Room, ready to go when the time came.
(((())))
Chapter 7
"Captain," Kowalski called out, having replaced Patterson on sonar.
Lee moved quickly over to the sonar station. "What is it, Ski?"
"Sir, the vessels have been proceeding in a straight line for that last 20 minutes and have now come to a stop. I think they're getting ready to deploy their array."
Lee regarded the screen intensely, then as he and Ski watched they both noticed a momentary small blip on the sonar, then the vessels resumed their course and speed. Both men smiled. "Touchdown," Lee said as he patted Ski on the shoulder. "Okay, here we go. Give me the numbers, Ski."
Ski nodded and after a moment spoke. "She's traveling at 10 knots, due east course 0-9-0. One vessel is riding point, and the other two are in flanking positions on either side. All moving at 10 knots."
Lee nodded. "Mr. Morton, signal silent running."
"Aye, sir," Morton answered. He grabbed the mic. "Attention all hands, rig for silent running." Sounds on the boat immediately dropped to only the soft reports of equipment reporting the location of their quarry and other critical operating systems.
Crane moved to the chart table to refresh his memory of the area they were about to cover. The bottom was above their crush depth and was littered with outcrops and sea mounts; a perfect location for an array to naturally catch on a subsurface hazard and become separated from its tow line.
"Kowalski, any other contacts?" Lee asked.
"Negative, sir."
"Helm, come to course 2-7-0, bring us up to 150 feet, ahead slow."
Chip repeated the orders as did the helmsman, and Seaview slowly rose and edged her way forward waiting to meet up with the advancing boats. As they eased their way ahead, Harri trotted down the stairs to observe the operations.
"We find what we're after?" Nelson inquired.
"Yes, sir, I believe we have. We've got four boats dead ahead that match the transponder signals we were given. Also, they came to a dead stop, dropped something overboard and are now moving ahead in formation in a straight-line course," Lee replied. "We're now on an intercept course and once they pass overhead we'll do a 180 and begin to follow slowly behind."
"Any guess on how much cable they'll play out?" Harri asked.
"I would bet on 6 miles, that's fairly standard for a surface ship, unless their new system has found a way to tune out the boat on a shorter lead," Lee answered.
Harri nodded, concurring with Lee's assessment. "Is everything ready to go once we reach them?"
"Aye, sir," Chip replied as he held up the remote. "I've run the ROV through all the diagnostics and she's green across the board. Sharkey already has the unit rigged for immediate deployment and will activate the drone and launch it once given the signal."
"Skipper, we are in direct alignment with the Gremlin," Kowalski said.
"She still on a course of 0-9-0?" Crane inquired.
"Affirmative, sir. Holding steady at 10 knots."
"Helm come to 0-9-0," Lee ordered. The helmsman immediately complied gently turning Seaview in a tight U turn to follow the vessel above. "Let me know when she's passes overhead, Ski."
"Aye, sir," he acknowledged.
"Go ahead and launch your drone, Chip," Lee ordered.
Chip nodded and picked up the mic. "Missile Room, launch the ROV."
"Missile Room, aye, initiating ROV launch," Sharkey instantly acknowledged. "Control Room, ROV is away," he confirmed a minute later.
"Copy, Missile Room. Morton out."
Chip moved forward to the windows and toggled the switches on his control unit directing the ROV to engage its motor and activate its camera. They were instantly provided a picture of the underside of Seaview as the drone began moving forward towards the nose.
"So far so good," Chip said with a smile as all readouts indicated the unit was operating perfectly. Within a minute, the small drone pulled out ahead of Seaview in full view of those inside.
Chip flipped a switch and the aft camera activated sending a picture of Seaview back to the sub. "Everybody wave, and say cheese." They all chuckled, then Morton maneuvered the little drone back towards Seaview and carefully sat it down on the hull to catch a ride until it was time to go after the cable. Once it was securely in place he made eye contact with Lee, smiled and nodded.
"Excellent," Lee replied matching Chip's smile. "Ski, where's the Gremlin?"
"The lead boat is just passing over us now, Skipper. The Gremlin is about a thousand yards behind. The flanking vessels have moved off to the sides about fifteen hundred yards and have dropped back about a thousand yards behind the boat. I would say they are definitely towing now."
"Good. How close to the main array do you intend to make the cut, Chip?" Nelson asked.
"It worked best between 100 and 200 yards. Once the cable is severed, the weight should be enough to pull the ROV directly to the bottom. If they've got location telemetry on it, it should make it look like the separation happened naturally. Once it has settled, we need to center up on the unit and pull it through the bell hatch," Chip explained.
"Skipper, the Gremlin is passing over us now," Kowalski called out.
"Helm take us to 100 feet," Lee ordered. The order was acknowledged and carried out. They could clearly see the hull of the vessel above them and Seaview was buffeted slightly in the prop wash from the large boat. As the boat passed through the wash, Lee smiled. "Hopefully now we'll be mixed in with their noise. Helm, take us down to 200 feet and cut speed to 9 knots. Nose watch, let me know the minute you see the cable."
"Aye, sir," was echoed from both positions.
Within a few minutes, there was a call from the watch in the nose. "Skipper, I've got the cable in sight. It's off to our port side angling down," Martin reported.
"Good eyes, Martin," Lee replied. He, Chip, and Nelson moved forward and regarded the cable.
"I wonder how deep they're trolling?" Nelson asked, quietly.
"Only one way to find out," Crane replied. "Helm, one degree down bubble."
"Aye, sir," came the immediate response. Seaview slowly began to slip further beneath the surface as they traced the umbilical to the array.
"Kowalski, give me a read out on how much cable they've played out," Crane ordered.
"Aye, Skipper. So far, we've traced 3 miles," Ski replied.
"That's probably about half," Nelson commented as he watched the array descend deeper into the ocean depths.
"What's our depth, Helm?" Lee asked.
"Passing 2,100 feet, sir."
Lee returned to the chart table and regarded the chart. This area of the ocean bottomed out at about 4,000 feet with three charted thermoclines between the surface and sea floor. He figured they were shooting for the middle region and would position the array either above or below the area to try and locate anyone stalking them.
"Looks like the rate of descent is levelling off, Lee," Chip said as he joined Lee at the table.
Lee nodded at the report. "Ski, how much cable?"
"We've tracked 5.58 miles, sir."
"Helm, zero bubble." Seaview immediately stopped her descent and levelled out as they proceeded forward towards their goal.
"Skipper, looks like we've found it," Martin called out.
Lee and Chip returned to the nose and peered out the window. In the narrowed beam of Seaview's powerful spotlights, they barely made out the bulk of a large ROV attached to the cable providing the guidance for depth.
"I wonder if they've got a camera on that thing?" Nelson wondered.
"That's a distinct possibility," Lee replied. "Chip, kill the lights. We don't need to give them any hint we're here."
"Aye, sir." Chip flipped off the light leaving a black void in front of them. He then picked up his unit and activated the night vision camera on the ROV, which returned a grainy, green image of the cable and ROV in front of them. "I've got a visual on it, Lee."
"Good," Lee acknowledged. "Ski, what is their speed?"
"Still moving at 10 knots, sir."
"Helm, match speed," Crane ordered.
"Aye, sir." Seaview quickly responded to the adjustment and now maintained a constant position relative to the object ahead of them.
"You ready to rock and roll, Mr. Morton?" Lee inquired.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Chip replied.
Lee smiled, then returned his attention to the chart on the table. He noted their current position and the rugged contours of the bottom below them. They were passing over a region with a number of rock outcrops and sea mounts. "This looks to be the most opportune time to make a grab for it, there are enough things below to get snagged on and all it takes is one uncharted bump to do it. Get going, Chip."
"Yes, sir," Chip replied then turned his attention to his control unit.
He toggled a switch and the drone dutifully lifted up off the hull of Seaview and surged up and forward towards the cable. He deftly manipulated the joysticks bringing the unit closer and closer towards his goal. As he prepared to clamp on, the silence in the control room was suddenly shattered along with his concentration.
"Skipper, Russian Victor Class submarine, 20,000 yards and closing," Ski called out.
"Damn," Lee swore as he made eye contact with Harri and Chip. "Where the hell did that come from?"
"Apparently PR security has more leaks than a sieve," Nelson remarked snidely.
"It would seem so," Lee responded. "Ski, have they detected us?"
"Not that I can tell, sir. They're making a beeline for the array, coming in from our port side."
"Chip, get moving. Get that thing clamped on and working on the cable, ASAP," Lee directed.
Chip nodded. "I'm on it." He resumed his scrutiny of the readouts and images from the drone and pulled it even with cable one more time. Blocking out everything around him, he gingerly edged the ROV forward, opened the cable clamp, eased it down over the cable and snapped the jaws shut.
"Got it!" he reported triumphantly. Harri and Lee smiled. Nelson gave him a quick pat on the back as Chip activated the gnawing blades that chewed their way through the cable.
"Where's that sub, Ski?" Lee inquired.
"Twelve thousand yards and closing. She's coming in behind the Gremlin."
"How's it coming, Chip? We need to get out of here in a hurry," Lee said.
"It's over three quarters of the way through, we can drop away any time, Skipper," Chip answered.
"Helm, cut engines, 10 degrees down angle on the dive planes. Time to play rock," Lee directed.
Seaview immediately nosed down as she headed towards the bottom below. As she silently sank deeper, Chip continued to focus on his readouts as the ROV continued its work on the cable. After nearly a minute he uttered a quiet 'Yes!'.
"She's through. ROV is now descending rapidly as the weight of the cable and array are dragging her to the bottom," he reported.
"Well done, Chip," Nelson replied and gave him another clap on the back. "Is the ROV sending telemetry on its position?"
"Yes, sir. Everything looks to be working perfectly."
"Helm, what's our keel to bottom?" Lee inquired as he perused the chart.
"Eight hundred feet, sir," Martin answered.
"Okay, zero bubble, level us out and hold steady," Lee ordered. Rodriguez repeated the order as he returned Seaview to an even keel and halted her descent. "Has your toy hit bottom yet, Chip?"
"Not yet, about 1,500 feet to go," Chip reported.
"Skipper!" Ski called out. "I've now got a Chinese Shan Class submarine on the scope. She's coming in on our starboard side, 18,000 yards and closing fast. The Victor is still to port now at 8,000 yards but slowing."
"Double damn," Lee hissed under his breath. "How deep are they, Ski?"
"The Victor is at 1,200 feet and the Shan is riding higher at 500 feet," Ski replied.
"Helm, what's our depth?"
"Thirty-three hundred feet, sir," Rod answered.
"All right, let's hope they haven't seen us yet. We're right in the middle of the lowest thermocline so they've probably haven't noticed us… so far. Have you got a fix on your drone, Chip?"
"Aye, Skipper. She's on the bottom about 1,200 yards dead ahead," Morton reported.
"Helm ahead slow, 3 degrees down bubble," Lee ordered. His order was rapidly repeated and Seaview eased forward and down towards the ROV and their prize. He moved next to Chip and regarded the blip on the control unit screen indicating the ROV's location. "Keel to bottom, Helm?"
"Ninety feet, sir." Martin replied.
"Zero bubble, hold trim. Hit the lights," Lee continued to watch the ROV's display and issued a series of commands that resulted in the diving bell hatch lining up directly above the drone. "That's the best I can do, the rest is up to you."
Chip looked at him and rolled his eyes at Lee's excessive precision, which did not go unnoticed by Harri, eliciting a snort of laughter. "You're an eighth of an inch off," he remarked sarcastically gaining a raised eyebrow and smirk from his CO.
"Get down there and get your toy so we can get out of here," Lee replied sternly, then winked and smiled.
"Aye, sir. On my way, sir," Chip answered and fired off a quick salute as he headed for the aft hatch.
"One heck of a display of boat handling, Lee," Nelson offered as he joined his captain at the chart table.
"Thank you, sir. The real fun will start when we try to get out of here without attracting attention."
"Skipper!" Kowalski called out.
"What is it now, Ski?" Lee responded, a hint of exasperation in his voice at all the activity around them.
"You're not going to believe this, but I just picked up another sub in the area. PR Barracuda class is now bearing down on the area. He's making sure everyone is aware of him, actively pinging away, probably trying to back the others off."
Lee blew out a gust of air. "Can't say I'm too surprised. What's his location, Ski?"
"He's 20,000 yards directly ahead of us at 2,100 feet," Ski answered.
"That's not much above her crush depth," Nelson remarked. "Think they've lost control of the situation?"
Lee chuckled a bit. "Could be. With all these subs in the area, it's like the I-5 freeway on Friday night. Getting out without a fender bender might be difficult. Where's everybody else, Ski?" Lee and Nelson moved to the sonar station to get a look as Ski began identifying where all the players were.
"The surface vessels have turned around and are heading back along their transit path. The Russian sub is now holding steady at 9,000 yards off our port side, at 1,500 feet. The Chinese sub is advancing slowly off our starboard side, 12,000 yards and closing, now at 1,000 feet. The PR boat is steaming at us head on, she's now 10,000 yards and closing holding at 2,100 feet."
"Any chatter between them, Sparks?" Lee asked.
"The PR boat is sending out a message telling both vessels to back off and exit the area," Sparks replied. "No mention of us, Skipper. Doesn't sound like they've detected us."
"Any response from the other two subs?" Nelson inquired.
"The Russian has responded indicating that they are in international waters and have no intention of vacating the area. Nothing from the Chinese, yet."
Lee and Harri exchanged concerned looks. This had all the makings of turning nasty if one side or the other decided to push the issue.
"We really need to get out of here," Lee said quietly.
"I agree, I'll head down and check on Chip's progress," Nelson responded.
(((())))
Chapter 7
Chip made his way down to the missile room as quickly as he could without running. As he entered he nodded and smiled in appreciation at Sharkey and crew's preparedness. They already had the recovery equipment staged and ready for deployment. "Well done, Chief."
Morton toggled a switch powering the ROV back up and activated its propeller. The drone raised up from the ocean bed, and slowly began to ascend towards Seaview's bell hatch. Within 10 minutes the drone surfaced in the well, its clamp securely latched to the array tow cable. Riley sprang into action and attached a hook to the lift ring on top of the unit.
Sharkey gave a quick grin then signaled to the winch operator to begin pulling in the ROV and the attached array. As the drone cleared the well rim, Patterson quickly snagged the cable and pulled the unit to side at which point Sharkey signaled the operator to lower the unit to the deck. Once it hit the deck, Patterson and Riley moved into action disconnecting the cable from the drone and splicing it to the cable on the diving bell drum.
As they prepared to begin pulling in the cable and bringing the array aboard, Chip recalled their discussion regarding the PR ROV used for regulating how deep the array was towed and use of cameras on it, and if that camera was still active. "Hold for just a minute, Chief," he said as he walked to the mic on the escape hatch. "Control Room, this is Morton."
"Go ahead, Chip," Lee responded immediately.
"We're all set to begin hauling cable, but I have a concern. I'm wondering if the PR has a wireless camera sending pictures back to the surface. If they do, they're going to get a good shot of the only flat-bottomed submarine in the world."
"I see your point," Lee replied after he quickly mulled over Chip's concern. "Do you have a recommended solution?"
"If we have time, I could send my drone back out, come in behind it and try and take out the cameras or even attempt to put a tarp or something over it," Chip offered. "As long as it's blinded, even if they know someone grabbed it, there are other suspects in the area."
Lee chuckled, momentarily glad for all the company. "The admiral should be there any second, run your recommendation by him then call me back with what you think will work best. At the moment the PR and Russians are verbally sparing about who has rights to this patch of ocean and the Chinese have yet to engage, but I'm sure that's only a matter of time."
"Copy that," Chip answered. "The admiral just arrived, I'll call back shortly. Out."
Nelson moved quickly over to Chip's side as he replaced the mic. "Problems, Chip? I thought you would be hauling cable by now."
"As we were getting ready to move something occurred to me. Odds are the PR has a wireless camera on their array ROV that would continue to monitor the area even with the cable cut and if we were to just haul cable it would dutifully record the flat-bottomed keel of Seaview as it was pulled aboard totally exposing our efforts. I was thinking we could try and take the ROV camera out or try to cover it," Chip explained.
Harri gave a deep hmmmm as he considered Chip's problem and solution. "Do you have an idea how much cable you freed when you cut it off?"
"I'd say at least 200 yards," Chip answered.
Nelson nodded. "At these depths, given the limited range of an ROV light source, the visibility is going to be limited to 50 feet at most even using night vision. What if instead, you go back in with your drone and sever the cable between the ROV and the array outside the influence of its vision. My guess is the ROV was placed about 150 yards from the array and streamers. We need to have Lee raise Seaview a little higher in the water column giving the drone a wide berth, then you redeploy, make your cut and we haul the array aboard."
Chip smiled as he nodded at Nelson's solution. "I think that would work well, sir. We've got a good fix on the array and the cable and can drop back down where we need to. As long as Lee can keep things quiet and get back over the spot, it should work."
"All right, then call him back and relay our new plan. We need to get out of here before things get out of hand with all the traffic around here."
"Aye, sir," Chip replied. He quickly grabbed the mic, hailed the conn and filled Lee in on what needed to be done.
(((())))
Within ten minutes, Morton and Sharkey had the ROV prepped and ready for launch once more.
"Control Room, this is Morton."
"This is Crane, go ahead."
"ROV is ready for launch. You can move the boat at your leisure."
"Copy that. I'll move us back about 100 yards and keep us a little higher in the water to avoid any chance of being picked up by video equipment. You need to make this quick, things are starting to heat up around here as the Chinese have now asserted their right to be here as well. We don't need to be spotted by anyone else's ROV as they come looking for the array," Lee replied.
"I'll do my best, Lee. Just let me know when we can launch. Morton out."
Lee walked forward to the helm. "Helm, come up to 150 feet above the bottom, take us back slow for 100 yards."
"Aye, sir," Rod replied quickly making the changes necessary to move the boat. Seconds later he replied. "On location at 1-5-0 feet keel to bottom."
Lee picked up the mic. "Crane to Morton, you are clear to launch. Make it snappy, Mister."
"Morton here. We're deploying now."
In the Missile Room the drone was quickly released from the crane and immediately dispatched to locate the cable on the seafloor. Moving the unit just above the bottom, Chip spotted the cable. "Got it," he said, letting them know he'd found what they were after. He manipulated the controls positioning the ROV on top of the cable and engaged the clamp and the cutter. Within a couple of minutes, the cable parted. He then ordered the unit to return to Seaview with the cable in tow.
Chip continued to deftly maneuver the unit back to the boat and it popped up in the diving bell well just as before. The ratings jumped into action securing the ROV and pulling it aboard. They once more attached the cable to the bell drum and began recovering the array.
"Control Room, this is Morton, we're hauling cable now. We should have the array on board within a few minutes," Chip reported as he watched the cable from the array wrap around the drum at the opposite end of the Missile Room.
"Copy that, Chip. Let me know as soon as its cleared the well so we can get a move on," Lee answered.
"Will do, Skipper. Morton, out." He moved over to the well and stared down into the darkness below anxiously awaiting the first sign of the array they hopefully had secured.
After a few minutes, Riley sang out. "I see it Mr. Morton, it's coming up now."
"Slow the cable, get your gaffs ready to grab that," Sharkey barked to the ratings.
Chip and Nelson moved back allowing the crew to do their jobs. As the top of the array appeared in the well, Patterson grabbed the cable with his pole and pulled the unit to the side where Riley threaded the hook from the crane through the hoist ring on the top. Once that was done, Sharkey motioned to the drum operator to continue lifting the unit out of the water. When it was clear, Riley activated the overhead crane and moved the unit away from the well, then lowered it to the floor. They immediately set to recovering the attached streamers and had the entire thing aboard within 10 minutes.
As the array was placed on the floor, Nelson was eagerly inspecting the device looking for any obvious advancements from previous models. Chip bit back a smile as he watched the older man, looking very much like a kid having just unwrapped a new toy, move excitedly around the array checking out its parts.
"Morton, this is Crane, is that thing aboard yet?"
Chip grabbed the mic. "Yes, sir, we just pulled in the last streamer."
"Thought so. Things upstairs, have just gone nuts. I think Seaview's hull is blocking any signals they may have had with the unit and the PR is not pleased. They've pretty much accused both the Russian and the Chinese boats of stealing their property," Lee reported, eliciting smiles from the men in the room. "Get that thing secured, we're getting out of here now."
"Already in the works, I'll be up shortly," Chip acknowledged. He turned and observed the ratings securing the array and all its parts, along with Chip's ROV to the deck to prevent any damage to equipment or personnel should Seaview shift suddenly as she made her exit.
Nelson also watched, a smile on his face, pleased at having purloined the item they were sent to retrieve. "Great work, Chip. You handled that ROV like a pro." Chip returned Nelson's smile and blushed slightly at the praise. Harri laughed. "Shall we head to the conn and see if Lee needs a hand?"
"Yes, sir. I'm right behind you." They exited the Missile Room and headed quickly to the Control Room.
(((())))