Chapter 4
Angie met them dockside at NIMR. "Welcome home, Chip, Lee. If you can wait an hour, an extra voltage regulation module for FS1 will be here."
"Original equipment?"
"No."
"Then no, we'll go. No worries," Lee said.
"You are worried though, about Seaview?"
"As Chip likes to remind me, it's why I don't have much of a life outside the boat."
"You know I'd be happy to help you change that anytime."
"Eh hem," Chip interrupted. "I could use a hand loading these tanks and the parts."
Lee's arm had maneuvered onto Angie's back. "I'm sure you can find someone over there to help."
Chip shrugged and did as told. On his two hopeful dates with Angie, she'd spent a lot of time fishing about Lee. Chip attempted his best moves, failed, then took the hint and bowed out gracefully. Angie had not been derailed even slightly.
Chip threw the occasional glance back at the two. Angie was just as neurotically responsible as Lee. It would never work, not that Chip would mind seeing them try. No one could avoid a serious relationship like Lee. His excuse always came down to one thing, his other girl - Seaview - and her crew. The demands of Admiral Nelson and the boat were daunting. How many times had Lee's dates or rare vacations been interrupted by some emergency or other, just like this weekend?
A brief hug, friendly but not excessively so, told Chip that Lee had concluded his business with Angie. Lee did seem a little more buoyant afterwards.
"She's a dynamite gal, Lee."
"No question about that."
"Maybe you should get a little more aggressive."
"We're too much alike, Chip."
"I know, but still. It's not like you have any other irons in the fire. Except maybe Darlene?"
Lee gently slapped Chip on the back. "You are relentless."
"That's what makes me so valuable."
"Sadly true, my friend, sadly true. Let's get moving."
"Nothing new still?"
"No."
"Then why not wait the hour for the part for FS1?"
"A commercial airplane module will be twice as large as FS1's custom one. We won't be able to secure the panel closed."
"There's always duct tape."
"Do you want to count on duct tape at supersonic speed?"
"Might be fine. Last year, I was flying to Denver on a commercial flight and we were delayed for an hour for a repair. We're about to take off, but the guy behind me calls the flight attendant because he sees something loose hanging off the edge of the wing. A bunch of us look out, and at least three people said it aloud at once: 'duct tape.' Some of the passengers looked really rattled, so the flight attendant went to talk to the pilots and a mechanic went to check it out. This guy then starts using more duct tape to tape down the piece of loose duct tape. People are still edgy, looking at each other as if maybe they aren't so eager to fly in that crate. Finally the pilot comes on and explains that repairs have been made and that what was used was 'high grade aviation tape, like tape used on NASCAR cars."
"That made them feel better?"
"Those cars go as fast as that plane did, so yes."
"Please explain to me how anyone could watch that?"
"For the crashes, is my guess. As much as you love your Cobra, you can't see any attraction?"
"Driving in circles for hours on end does not appeal to me, at least as a form of entertainment."
"Well, it's more exciting than driving a sub."
"I wouldn't spend my time watching someone else do that either, not just for fun."
"Oh, but the things that go wrong, and the adventures we've had."
"Maybe for a total of forty-five minutes of excitement once a week, but the rest, not so exciting to watch."
"Well, no one ever accused you of being the common man."
"How about we stop analyzing me and get a move on?"
"Right after I make sure these extra air tanks are properly secured." Chip waved his right arm in front of Lee to exhibit the roll of duct tape. "It's the high grade aviation type."
"After we take off, I think you should get some shuteye. You're punchy."
"I'll take you up on that offer, kind sir."
After a smooth takeoff, Chip quickly fell asleep in his chair. About two hours into the flight, soft little snores from Chip had Lee's head starting to loll in his chair. Lee reached out for the autopilot control, but then went for the radio instead.
"FS1 to Seaview, come in."
"Seaview here, FS1."
"Is Mister O'Brien available?"
"One moment, sir."
"O'Brien here, Skipper."
"Anything new?"
"We're running out of relays. Still not sure if it's bad voltage regulation modules or the relays themselves."
"I think I can say with some assurance that it's the relays. FS1 has similar issues but uses a different kind of voltage regulation module. I think it's time to pull the plug on the computerized control and run air revitalization manually."
"Yes, sir. I've been talking to the engineers about that. We expect to be able to disengage from the automatic system in about twenty minutes after the diagnostic checks are finished."
"So much for my indispensability, Mister O'Brien."
"We're not completely out of the woods yet, Sir."
"What else is going on?"
"The main pump is showing signs of premature failure, probably caused by electrical feedback."
"We do have a functional back up pump on board, I know that."
"Yes, sir, but we'd need to surface for at least a short time to swap that out."
"How are the seas?"
"Extremely large swells."
"Then get her moving at flank speed and get out to calmer water before you need to surface."
"I just have to convince you know who."
"Let me talk to him."
"If you want."
"I do, but let's think this all the way through first. Even if you replace the pump, there are still two relays in the pump system separate from the automated control system. Do we know if these are from the bad batch?"
"We'd have to pull them to be certain, sir."
"I suppose it's likely, because of the pump beginning to fail. Feedback from those relays is far more likely to be the cause than feedback from the ones in the automated control system. Do we have any relays from other production lots that you can find?"
"No."
"There are similar relays in use elsewhere. See if the engineers can cabbage a couple that aren't critical and adapt them as necessary. Otherwise, I'd hesitate to pull the existing pump if it means risking the back up pump by using faulty relays. It seems to me as if there's an exponential failure rate in the system as these relays are going bad. Only replace the pump before we get there if absolutely necessary."
"Agreed, Sir."
"I should advise that we also picked up an extra back up pump, just in case. Bobby, do you have any idea why the Admiral is being so adamant about not leaving the area?"
"Yes, Skipper. Something about a once in a lifetime opportunity to fully observe and document the live birthing of dugongs, which will then help save them from extinction."
"Oh, right, the dugongs. Manatee relatives. Well, I think the lives of the men take priority. Patch me through to the Admiral."
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir."
"Lee, it's the damn middle of the night. What's the problem?"
"I've been talking to Mister O'Brien about the air revitalization issues."
"He had no business bothering you."
"He didn't." Lee worked out the white lie as he told it. "I had called Angie to check on things and she told me about a parts issue. After Chip and I talked, we decided to come back early and bring spare parts out to Seaview."
"I know for certain that there are at least two lies in that part of your tale."
"Anyway, we'll be there in about eight hours with a different lot of relays, another voltage regulation module and a back up pump."
"Fine, if you want to throw your leave away like that, be at it. We'll be right where we were when you left us."
"How about moving a couple of hours in our direction, just to be in smoother water if the pump in use fails? It'd make me feel much more comfortable."
"How about you not be a remote control Captain?"
"I'm only thinking about the welfare of the men, Admiral."
"You are thinking about the absolute worst case scenario, Lee. We don't have that. The engineers can have the back up pump virtually installed so that if the main fails, they can switch it over in under five minutes. There would be no urgent need to surface for that. We should be able to get by without the pump for five minutes without surfacing."
"There also remains the risk of the replacement pump shorting out before we get there. Then you'd have no choice but to surface."
"Run through the back up pump in eight hours? That's highly unlikely."
"How often has the highly unlikely bitten us in the ass, Admiral?"
"If that happens, we'll surface and wait for you."
"Up to eight hours in huge swells and monsoon weather?"
"You can get here in three hours if you go supersonic. If you're so darn worried, hurry. We'll be here. You and the engineers can replace the pump and relays in less than thirty minutes."
"On the surface, in rolling seas? Many of the men have never had that experience, Admiral. Maintenance will be scrubbing the decks round the clock."
"A baptism of fire, if it comes to that, which in my estimation, it won't. So the ball is in your court, Lee. You can hurry if you like or poke along if don't."
"Okay, sir. I tried. What part of my story didn't you believe?"
"The worst of your lies was that Chip willingly left a party in New Orleans early."
"Fair enough. Just do me a favor and give an objective listen to Mr. O'Brien if he says the situation is escalating."
"Yes, Lee. Nelson out."
Chip peered at Lee through one squinty eye, keeping the other one shut. "I'd say that could have gone better."
"I agree. I played too many cards, too early."
"He's a sharp one."
"Don't I know it! And he's probably right too. Still . . ."
"Let me guess, you have a feeling?"
"Wake your sleepy self up and we are going to take this baby in the fast way."
"Aye aye, Skipper."
