FAB1 touched down on the airstrip at Gibraltar's Airfield. As well carrying Lady Penelope and Parker, Lord Patrick Creighton-Ward was also aboard. Being a former Navy man himself, he was very interested to be a part of Gibraltar's Navy Day. he was long time friends with Admiral Hart and the two had been looking forward to catching up.
"Very smooth landing, Parker," observed Patrick. "I had no idea you were such a good pilot as well as a regular driver."
"H'I learned from the best, sir," replied Parker. He was of course referring to Jeff Tracy but Patrick did not know that.
"How long has it been since you last saw Admiral Hart, Father?" asked Penelope,
"Oh, a good three years at least, Pen," replied Patrick. "It's a damn shame your mother wouldn't come but then she hates flying as you well know."
"Yes, a great pity," agreed Penelope.
As FAB1 moved towards the exit of the airport, they were stopped by a security guard. "Excuse me. May I see your identification, please?"
They complied, but with confusion. Parker in particular seemed reluctant to do as the guard asked.
"Pardon me, soldier, but we've never been asked for that before," said Patrick.
"My apologies, Your Lordship," said the guard. "But I'm afraid you'll most likely have to get more thoroughly checked as you go around The Rock. security has been tripled in the last hour."
"Why is that?" asked Penelope.
"I'm afraid I cannot answer that, Your Ladyship," said the guard grimly. "I don't know the reason either. All I'm doing is following instructions. They come from Admiral Hart himself."
Penelope and Patrick exchanged worried looks as the guard let them proceed.
FAB1 headed along the short coastal route past the main port as they headed for the Navy Headquarters on the South-Western point of The Rock. as they went, they saw a pair of tugs moving what looked like a line of blue buoys connected by strong cables across the bay towards mainland Spain.
"Cor!" remarked Parker. "They must be h'expecting a great catch with that!"
"Parker, what are you talking about?" asked Penelope.
"Fish, m'lady," said Parker. "With h'a net that size they'd get quite the catch!"
Penelope was bewildered. She'd never heard of fishing being done with tugboats before. But Patrick, being the ex-navy man that he was, knew exactly what the tugs were doing. "That's not a fishing net, Parker," he said. "It's an anti-submarine/torpedo net. It's what we've used for over a century to protect our harbours from enemy attack."
"But why are they doing it here?" asked Penelope. "The war ended years ago."
Patrick shrugged. "I would have said possibly testing it in case of future war or that it could be part of the Navy Day demonstrations," he said. "However…given the sudden increase of security, I get a feeling there's something else going on."
The small convoy of Queen Alexandra and her escorts was making good progress. The sea was calm. The wind was low. It was a typical Mediterranean day where one wouldn't even think that danger could be lurking nearby.
Fallowfield walked to the stern of the Dragonfly with two buckets of food waste. Working down below in the galley could be hot, uncomfortable work and the heat was getting to her. She felt grateful for the sea air blowing in her face but she was still a bit hot tempered with having to dispose of the waste. "Come and get it, you hungry buzzards!" she called out as she threw the waste of one of the buckets over the side. She put the bucket down and did the same with the other. "Here's another one!" She wiped the sweat from her brow and carried the two buckets over to one of the depth-charge launchers where Wright was talking with another crewman by the name of George Shrapnel.
"Feeding the sharks again?" asked Wright.
"Damn nuisance," grumbled Fallowfield.
"They're just fish," remarked Wright with a laugh.
"What do you make of her, Millie?" asked Shrapnel. "Neil and I were just admiring the pretty bird that's following our tail."
Fallowfield looked back. "I presume you mean the liner?" she asked, for the only thing noticeable was the large shape of the Queen Alexandra following in their wake.
"But of course," said Shrapnel. "Wouldn't you rather be aboard her right now? Sunbathing or drinking cocktails?"
"I'd rather be back on dry land," said Fallowfield simply. She picked up the buckets and headed back to the inside of the vessel.
Friend joined Hayley on the starboard wing of the Dragonfly's bridge. "Anything?" he asked.
"No, nothing," Hayley replied. "Kind of hoping it stays that way?"
"Same," said Friend. He handed her a small white cup. "Squash?"
"Oh, thank you," said Hayley gratefully. She took the cup and took a swig of the orange squash. Her throat had been getting a bit dry in the heat. "Ah, that's better," she said.
Friend had taken the moment to scan the area with his binoculars. "Ah, The Rock!" he said. "That's always a welcome sight."
Hayley put the cup down and looked in the direction he was pointing. In the distance they could just make out the shape of Gibraltar or The Rock as it was known as through the haze.
"A few more hours and we'll be there," said Friend.
Hayley nodded. "A lot can happen in a few hours though," she said. "Let's pray it doesn't."
Guarding the starboard side of the Queen Alexandra was HMS Verulam, a Type 24 Frigate. Like how the Dragonfly was an updated version of the Type 45 Destroyers, the Verulam was an updated Type 23. The design remained very similar although it was slightly more streamlined with curved superstructure, masts and funnel. Armed with weapons to deal with aircraft and submarines, it was a force to be reckoned with. Its firepower was not as great as the Dragonfly's but it wasn't far off.
Commanding the Frigate was Lieutenant-Commander Amelia Rowley. She was the latest in a long line of members of her family that had served in the Royal Navy. Her Great-Great Grandfather had served on the previous HMS Verulam during the Second World War - not as the skipper, but she felt the honour of serving on a ship with the same name very strongly.
She had been off-duty for a short while and returned to the bridge to resume. "Thanks for the call, Mr Cooper," she said as she sat in her chair and checking her watch. "Anything to report?"
"No, ma'am," replied Cooper. "However we have re-established visual contact with The Rock. We're on the home straight now."
Rowley looked through her binoculars at Gibraltar through the haze. "Excellent," she said. "Anything on radar or sonar?"
"Negative," replied the operator. "Nothing for several miles."
"TORPEDOES! STARBOARD BOW!"
The shout came from the young seaman on guard on the starboard bridge wing. Everyone on the Verulam's bridge sprang into action. Rowley and Cooper aimed their binoculars in the direction he was pointing to.
"Sound the alarm, Mr Cooper!" ordered Rowley.
The alarm blared out across the Frigate, also alerting the other ships in the formation.
Captain Hart joined Friend and Hayley on the wing of Dragonfly's bridge. "What's occurring?" he asked. They couldn't see any torpedoes or wakes but decided not to chance it.
"Verulam's going to Action-Stations," said Friend. "They must have seen something."
Captain Hart hurried back into the bridge. "Taylor, full sonar sweep! Anything on scope?"
Taylor performed a full sonar sweep of the area. "No contact, sir. Area's clear."
Verulam had begun a slow turn to starboard. As yet nobody other than the seaman had noticed any torpedoes incoming.
"Where are the fish, sailor?" asked Cooper.
"I've lost sight of them, sir!" said the seaman. "Wait, there they are!" He pointed.
Cooper looked and now could see what he was pointing at. He then lowered his binoculars and gave the young man a hard stare for a moment.
"Can't you see them, sir?" asked the seaman.
Cooper did not answer. He simply went back inside and got on the loud-speaker. "Ship's company from First Officer. False alarm! Repeat - false alarm! Secure from Action Stations."
"What is it, Mr Cooper?" asked Rowley.
"It's fine, ma'am," said Cooper. "We're not under attack."
The confused seaman came into the bridge. "But, sir, I saw them!" he protested.
Cooper adjusted his collar. "What's your name, son?"
"Bailey, sir."
"Ever seen a dolphin, Bailey?"
"No, sir."
"You have now," said Cooper plainly.
Rowley looked back out across the sea with her binoculars to where it was believed the torpedoes were. Instead she saw a small group of dolphins briefly appearing above the surface of the water, and realised what had happened. "Ah, I see them, Mr Cooper," she said. "Helm, return to escort position."
"Aye-aye!" said the Verulam's helmsman.
Bailey was still confused. "I'm sorry, Captain. I don't understand. What dolphins?"
"What you saw were dolphins, not torpedoes," Rowley replied.
The colour drained from Bailey's face as he now realised his mistake. "Oh…"
"Oh?!" said Cooper, suddenly turning angry. "Is that all you can say, sailor?! Your mistake nearly sent us after a false target!"
"Mr Cooper!" Rowley snapped, silencing him. "In his defence, at the wrong angle they could easily be misidentified. Back to your post, Mr Bailey. Please."
Bailey was embarrassed, but relieved that Rowley wasn't going to hold it against him. "Aye, ma'am." He hurried back out to his position on the bridge wing.
The communications officer then rang on the bridge buzzer. "Captain, I've got Captain Hart from the Dragonfly on the line for you."
"I'm not surprised," replied Rowley. "Put him through, Hendricks."
Hendricks complied.
"Verulam here. Go ahead, Dragonfly."
"Amelia, this is Rob. is everything okay?"
"Yes, Rob," replied Rowley. "Apologies. One of my crew mistook some dolphins for torpedoes. False alarm. Nothing to worry about. Radar and sonar are still showing clear."
"That's a relief," said Captain Hart. "Be extra vigilant, just in case. We're all on edge at the moment and I reckon we'll remain so until we reach Gibraltar."
"Agreed," said Rowley. "Verulam, out."
Having passed through several recently set-up security checkpoints, FAB1 was finally given permission to enter HMNB Gibraltar - the headquarters of the Royal Navy in the Western Mediterranean. Patrick and Admiral Hart were soon shaking hands.
"Dave, long time no see," said Patrick.
"Pat, it's good to see you," replied Admiral Hart. "And this must be your daughter?"
"Indeed," said Patrick. "Penelope, meet Admiral Hart."
"Pleased to meet you, Admiral," said Penelope.
Admiral Hart kissed Penelope's hand. "Heard a lot about you, young lady," he said. "I must say I can see the resemblance with your mother. Two fine roses you have, Pat."
Penelope blushed.
"I wish I could be more welcoming," Admiral Hart went on. "But unfortunately as you have no doubt seen, security has been stepped up considerably in the last few hours."
"We did notice, yes," said Patrick. "Also noticed that there seems to be an anti-submarine net being put up across the bay. May I enquire what that's in aid of?"
"You remember my son, Rob?" asked Admiral Hart.
Patrick nodded. "Got command now, hasn't he?"
"Yes. He's in command of Dragonfly," said the Admiral. "This morning they discovered the lifeboat of the cargo ship Andromeda. The ship disappeared off radar in the early hours of this morning. No other trace of the ship or the crew have been located. The lifeboat was empty."
"Pirates?" asked Penelope.
"Unlikely," said Admiral Hart. "These waters have remained pretty much trouble-free since the end of the war. Rob and I have our suspicions though. Over the past couple of decades ships have vanished without any trace. Ever since the end of the Global Conflict and since those four Bereznik submarines went missing."
"You don't think one of them is lurking offshore here, do you?" asked Patrick, worried.
"Pat, I certainly hope not," said Admiral Hart. "But I cannot afford not to take the chance that one of them is. With the Valiant heading this way, she might be a tempting target if Heyon-Ban was to learn of her presence."
"Of course," said Patrick. "When does the Valiant arrive?"
"About five hours," said Admiral Hart. "But right now the Dragonfly is escorting the Queen Alexandra in along with two other ships. Right now we need to make sure that she arrives safely. Like the Valiant, she too could be too much of a tempting target for a misguided submarine captain.
Thirty minutes had passed since the false alarm had taken place on the Verulam and everything was quiet again. However, everyone on the four ships was even more on the lookout for anything that could jeopardise the safety of the Queen Alexandra.
Taylor adjusted the sonar and radar screens. There was nothing registering on the sonar but she had just become aware of a very tiny blip on the radar scope. "Sir, I may have something," she said. "Contact at Three-One-Seven degrees. Range 2,900 yards."
Captain Hart, Friend and Hayley scanned the direction with their binoculars. "I have no visuals," said Captain Hart. "What about you two?"
"I see nothing," said Friend.
"Me neither," said Hayley. Then suddenly she froze. "Hang on. Yes. Yes - there!"
Captain Hart and Friend adjusted their binoculars to look and they saw it too. In the distance they could just make out three very thin masts very close together moving very slowly through the water in their direction.
"That's a snorkel!" exclaimed Friend.
"And a radar mast!" added Hayley.
"And if my eyes don't deceive me the other one is a periscope!" said Captain Hart. He dashed back inside and grabbed the phone. "Langford! Have sighted masts in water off the starboard side of formation. Alert Verulam and send her to investigate. Then tell Virginia and Queen Alexandra to break to port and proceed at full speed on course Two-Two-Four." He put the phone and spoke urgently into the tannoy. "ACTION STATIONS!"
The Dragonfly's alarm now began to blare as the crew ran to their stations. Langford immediately got onto the radio to alert the other ships to the danger. "Dragonfly to all ships. Submarine periscope and masts spotted bearing Three-One-Seven. Range - 2,900 yards. Verulam, you are to head for the target. Queen Alexandra and Virginia, turn to course Two-Two-Four and increase to maximum speed. Condition red!"
The orders were swiftly received by the other ships. Cooper and Rowley soon caught sight of the masts from their viewpoint on Verulam.
"There he is!" said Rowley. "Starboard ten! Steer Two-Nine-Zero! Full ahead!"
"Starboard ten, steer two-seven-zero, full ahead!" acknowledged the helmsman.
The radio operator on the Queen Alexandra raced onto the bridge. "Captain! The Dragonfly's reported a submarine off the starboard side and we're to head Two-Two-Four at full speed with the Virginia!"
"Hard a-port! Full ahead both!" ordered Captain Cotterill.
"Hard a-port! Full ahead both, sir!" said the helmsman.
The formation began to break with the Virginia and Queen Alexandra turning to the left whilst the Dragonfly and Verulam turned to starboard to make their way over towards the where the masts were.
Captain Cotterill also knew to ensure his passengers were prepared for any eventuality. "Seal all the bulkhead doors! Sound the alarm!" he ordered.
The General Emergency Signal began to blare out across the ship. Seven short blasts followed by one long blast on the ship's whistle and alarm bells alerted all the passengers to hurry to their Muster Stations, located on the boat deck where access to the lifeboats was easily done.
"Come on, hurry!" crewmembers urged the alarmed passengers as they were given life-jackets as there wasn't time for anyone to go back to their cabins and retrieve their own.
Concealed beneath the surface was the Bereznik submarine B-926. From his position in the control room located in the conning-tower, the Captain observed the ships. As Admiral Hart had predicted, seeing the Queen Alexandra had proven too tempting a target for him to ignore. He was so busy focussing on the giant CUNARD ship that he failed to notice that the ship was beginning to turn, let alone that two of its escorts were now turning in his direction. As far as he was concerned, he was about to make history by becoming the first submarine commander to sink a passenger ship since the Second World War.
"Тorpedo Оdin - Huǒ!" he ordered. With a whoosh of bubbles, a sleek jet-black torpedo with a red warhead was fired from one of the tubes in the submarine's bow. Its gyro adjusted and it began to race through the water heading towards its target - the Queen Alexandra.
Running out onto the boat deck, the passengers on the Queen Alexandra could see the distant white trail of bubbles being left by the torpedo as it made its way towards them. It was also spotted by those on the Verulam and Dragonfly and they were horrified by it. Their worst nightmare was coming true.
"READY THE AA-GUNS!" Captain Hart bellowed. "PREPARE TO ENGAGE THAT TORPEDO!"
Still oblivious to the approaching danger, the B-926's Captain readied his second shot as he observed the trail of the first heading towards the Queen Alexandra.
"Тоrpedo Dva - Huǒ!" he said. There came another whoosh as the second torpedo left the tube and began to make its way towards the Cruise Ship.
Seeing the bubbles ahead of the masts confirmed to the crew of the Verulam the exact position of the submarine.
"Oh, no. You're not getting away with that!" said Rowley furiously. "Ready the depth-charges and homing torpedoes. We'll blow him to kingdom come if we have to!"
Whilst the B-926 wasn't actually registering on the sonar properly due to its cloaking technology, they could use the masts as a point to head for.
It was only at this point that the radar operator on the B-926 finally realised that two of the escort ships were heading directly towards them. "Duìzhǎng! K nam priblizhayetsya korabl'!"
The Captain turned the periscope to the left. His heart skipped a beat when he saw the grey shape of the Verulam charging directly towards him. "Nyet!" he exclaimed in alarm. "DIVE! POGRUZITES' SEYCHAS! Cōngmáng! Cōngmáng!"
The B-926 began to dive to try and escape from its attacker.
The masts may have disappeared from view, but the crew of the Verulam had a rough idea of where the submarine was. As they passed over where the masts had been, a set of four depth-charges were fired off from the stern whilst the homing torpedoes were readied for launching. The depth charges went off a short distance from the fleeing submarine. That was pure luck and the shockwaves caused the vessel to shudder violently. Inside the Captain screamed at his men for more speed and depth. At that moment, two homing torpedoes were launched from the port-side of the Verulam. They had no fixed target, but the special homing devices in their warheads allowed them to acoustically track the propeller noise coming from the submarine. They soon locked on and began to pursue their target. Not realising they were there, the crew of the B-926 made a sharp turn to starboard in the hope of avoiding more depth-charges, and in doing so sailed right into the path of the oncoming torpedoes. They struck the hull of the submarine and blew it clean apart. The explosion ripped right through and totally obliterated the vessel, sending a massive column of water high into the air alerting everyone that it had been destroyed.
"Captain! We got him!" exclaimed the radar operator.
Rowley shared no excitement though. "It's not over yet, Swanscombe," she said grimly. "Let's hope the Dragonfly can stop their own fish."
The threat of the submarine may have been over, but the danger wasn't. The torpedoes were still heading straight for the Queen Alexandra and despite the best efforts of the crew of the Dragonfly, one had gotten past and they could no longer shoot at it with the ship's Anti-Aircraft guns for fear of them accidentally hitting the Cruise Ship. they therefore had to focus on the second torpedo which they did successfully manage to hit the warhead and it detonated. Now they could do nothing but watch and hope that the Queen Alexandria could turn clear of the oncoming torpedo and let the Virginia take a shot at it.
As the torpedo got ever closer, the terrified passengers began to back away from the railing. "STAY BY THE LIFEBOATS!" ordered one of the ship's officers. "IT'S THE SAFEST PLACE TO BE! REMAIN CALM!"
That was easier said than done for the passengers, several of which were frozen in fear at the sight of the torpedo.
What the Queen Alexandra needed was a miracle. And she got it. The hard left turn the ship was doing was just enough for the bow to clear the path of the torpedo. It missed them by centimetres and continued on towards where the Virginia was waiting.
"FIRE!" yelled the Virginia's Captain. The ship's Anti-Aircraft guns opened fire, peppering the water around the torpedo with bullets until one scored a hit on the warhead. It exploded harmlessly away from the ships. The danger was over.
A huge cheer erupted on all four vessels as everyone realised they'd won the battle.
"Phew!" exclaimed Captain Hart, removing his cap. "That was a near thing."
"It sure was, sir," agreed Hayley. "It sure was."
Penelope and Patrick were still with Admiral Hart when they received the call from Dragonfly regarding the attack of the submarine and its destruction.
"Fantastic news, Rob," said Admiral Hart. "Let's hope that'll send a message to the remaining three subs, wherever they may be hiding. They'll realise from that that they're no longer invincible, once they realise one of theirs has been found."
"I couldn't agree more, Dad," said Captain Hart over the phone.
"We will have a drink to celebrate when you get in," said Admiral Hart. "I have Admiral Creighton-Ward here and his daughter Lady Penelope. I am sure they will join us?"
"Most certainly," said Patrick.
"Excellent. Looking forward to it," said Captain Hart. "Our ETA is one hour."
"Very good," said Admiral Hart. "We'll watch you from the balcony as you come in. Goodbye." He ended the call and turned to Patrick and Penelope. "Well I guess that's that over with then."
BOOM! A horrendous blast shook the entire building, shattering all the windows.
"WHAT THE DEVIL?!" exclaimed Patrick.
The door burst open and Tracci ran in, white as a sheet. "ADMIRAL!" she cried. "THE LIPARUS HAS GONE UP!"
Penelope ran out onto the balcony and looked around for the cause of the blast. Her eyes widened as she saw it. A large super-tanker was anchored out in the bay. She had noticed it when they'd flown in, and now it was somehow burst into flames. Flames roared several feet into the air above the ship creating a colossal cloud of thick black smoke which rose high into the sky.
Patrick and Admiral Hart ran out as well as saw the carnage.
"My God!" exclaimed Patrick. "What happened?!"
"I don't know," replied the stunned Admiral. "That tanker was here to resupply all our ships. There are people aboard her working!"
Upon hearing this, Penelope knew what needed to be done, but she had to ensure that neither her father or the Admiral were aware of what she was going to do. Making sure they weren't looking, she snuck back inside the building and concealed herself from anybody's view before pulling out her compact radio. "Calling International Rescue. This is Lady Penelope. We have a situation!"