ZERO MINUS TWO
Chapter One
Admiral Harriman Nelson along with the entire Control room crew watched the blowing up of a salvage Russian submarine in the North Sea. Bids had been put into the Nelson Institute from eight different countries for the salvage.
This included Russia, China, and mostly the United States. Admiral Nelson along with four other billionaires were bidding as well for the salvage.
The Russian submarine Tiger had been in service for the past 15 years until it was sunk in the North Sea by a rogue submarine for which the Russians weren't able to find out the truth of the matter.
It was a long fight for the salvage of the Tiger. Even though it was the Seaview's job to bring it to this location. Even though Admiral Nelson had to wait for clearance from the United States and the Defense Department.
After it was all over with the destruction of the Tiger. All of a sudden Kowalski working at his radar station. Patterson would be next to his friend of a very long time noticing an echo on the screen and sonar.
Kowalski asked Captain Lee Crane to come to their stations in the Control Room. "What is it Kowalski?" he asked with his usual response to his crewmen.
"Sir, I am afraid to say this. It seems we are being followed and I have no idea just who it might be." He says to the Captain looking down at his screen. He needed to call Admiral Nelson to let him know the situation.
Captain Lee Crane watched the Admiral walking over to him with a stern look on his face needing to know what exactly was going on.
"Lee, what 's going on to have your face looking scared?" Nelson remarked as Patterson continued to check his screen.
"Sir, Kowalski tells us that we are being followed at the moment. I don't know what to think of it right now?" he says with a dry lump developing in his throat.
With the shake of his head and shoulders briefly. "If I were you, Lee, I think it would be beneficial to call general quarters before we are caught with our pants down?" he noted moving to the plotting table to check the location for which the Seaview is located.
Throughout the Seaview, every department went into General Quarters to each of the departments on board. This included the Missile room with Chief Francis Sharkey in charge of the shift right now with six others getting six missiles ready in case they are attacked.
Sickbay and Doctor Alverez now the Chief Medical Officer had his personnel getting ready with any injuries that might be brought into the sickbay.
Doctor Alverez had called the radio shack to let the Control Room know that the sick bay was ready for anything that hit them.
ALL OF A SUDDEN, THE KLAXONS COULD BE HEARD ALL OVER THE SUBMARINE.
Commander Chip Morton's voice will say the following. "ATTENTION ALL HANDS BRACE YOURSELF FOR A MISSILE ATTACK IN 30 SECONDS." He cried out over the intercom.
Kowalski was screaming out the distance of the missile coming from 2,000 feet away from the submarine. Admiral Nelson, Commander Chip Morton, and Captain Lee Crane will hold onto the sides of the chairs.
Moments later ….
Nothing happened as the missile had blown up in front of them causing a concussion to knock the Seaview and crewmembers onto the ground. This included Crane and Nelson falling hitting their backs and shoulders.
Seaview was bounced around a few times with Sickbay to be lucky with too few injuries. However, Admiral Nelson wasn't hurt that bad. But Captain Lee Crane had a mild concussion.
Doctor Alverez arrived at the Control room with two of his corpsmen in tail bringing a stretcher to bring him to Sickbay.
"Doctor, please let me know how it goes with Lee's head concussion?" Nelson had to ask with the sensitive nature of the question.
"Of course, Harriman, I will let you know the Captain's condition." Doctor Alverez asked the two corpsmen if the Captain was strapped down well before they could bring him to sickbay.
Commander Chip Morton with a shake of his shoulders along with Admiral Nelson. "I just don't understand it, sir. Where on Earth did that missile come from?" he tried to control his own emotions.
"Good question, Commander," Nelson said asking Kowalski and Patterson to search for the vessel the missile had come from.
Kowalski and Patterson placing on their earphones will go to work with Doctor Alverez coming into the Control room with an update on the injured listing.
Nelson now standing at the plotting table will see his Chief Medical Officer come over to him with a report.
"Here you go, sir. A full report on the crew and Captain Lee Crane." He hands him the tablet with the listing of the crew and their injuries.
After a moment of reading his tablet listing the injuries to be almost nothing at all. Except for Captain Lee Crane having a concussion for the most part. "His spirits are high Harriman, even though he does not like the idea of staying in sickbay overnight. Unless you speak with the Captain telling him that he has no choice from his Chief Medical officer."
Admiral Nelson had to chuckle at the idea once again he had to order his captain that he's forced to stay in sickbay." Doctor Alverez said strongly.
"Fine, I will talk to Lee. But in the meantime Doctor, I have a submarine to run, and right now we have an unknown submarine after us." Nelson reported anger with his right hand hitting the side of the plotting table.
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A corpsman had been taking care of Captain Lee Crane lying down in one of five rooms with a concussion. Lee hated the idea of being washed and cleaned by the young male corpsmen transferring in from a San Francisco local training hospital.
Corpsman Jack Weinberg also liked the idea of serving on the privately owned submarine in Santa Barbara, California. His family mostly his wife Ann works at the Nelson Institute and his father a police Captain for 35 years in the department.
Admiral Nelson slowly walked into sickbay asking for where Captain Lee Crane had been located. He was pointed to one of the rooms down the short hall before reaching the door with Corpsman Weinberg coming out of the room.