Terminal Run

His vision blurry, Pacino strapped on the scuba mask, grabbed his gear, and climbed the ladder with one hand, his other on his flippers and personal effects case, until he was inside the escape trunk. The emergency survival pack was ready, with his life raft for inflation an hour from when he left the ship. The emergency radio beacons, one set to a Navy frequency and one to an international distress code, were hooked to his buoyancy compensator harness. He looked down at the four officers and waved. The lump in his throat felt as big as his fist. Chief Keating shut the lower hatch.

“Put on your flippers, Mr. Patch,” Keating said. “Here’s how this will go down. We’re already at PD. The ship will slow to a hover. We’ll flood the trunk, then equalize pressure, then, when we get permission, we’ll open the upper hatch and latch it open. I’ll swim out first and help you out. Make sure you tap on the hull twice before you leave — it’s good luck and a goodbye signal. You let go of the hatch and I’ll take care of shutting the hatch behind you. Ready?”

Pacino nodded, his flippers on. He pulled the mask on and waited for the trunk to begin flooding.

“Set for shallow speed transit at maximum attack velocity,” Krivak commanded Unit One Oh Seven.

Possible target zig, Krivak. The target seems to be slowing. Turncount on the propulsor is gone. She’s hovering.

“Very good, One. Status of the weapons?”

Bulkhead doors open, port and starboard units rigged out, firecontrol solutions loaded but not set, all units powered up.

“Very well, shoot port and starboard Mark 58s.”

Krivak, you need to tell this unit, “Firing point procedures, port and starboard units.” Then you have to wait until this unit announces that the ‘set’ and ‘standby phases are complete. After that you can order this unit to shoot.

Krivak grunted in frustration. “My mistahe. Firing point procedures, port and starboard units.”

Firing point procedures, and firecontrol solution set in port and starboard units. There was a pause. Why would Piranha be hovering at periscope depth, Krivak? It makes no sense. Once again, perhaps the mutiny is over.

“Our orders stand. Keep going.”

Set starboard. Standby starboard.

“Shoot starboard.”

Fire starboard. Unit one engine start, unit one turbine wind-up complete, full thrust. Power disconnect, unit one on internal power, wire guide continuity checks, disconnect in three, two, one, mark! Unit one launched electrically. Sonar module reports unit one, normal launch. Set port. Standby port.

“Shoot port.”

Fire port, unit two engine start, full thrust, disconnect to internal power, we have a wire, and mark! Unit two launched electrically. Sonar module reports unit two, normal launch.

“Report torpedo flight time.”

Six minutes, Krivak.

“Then we will sit back and wait for torpedo impact. Turn toward the target and close the range at twenty knots. It doesn’t matter if they hear us — there are two sixty-knot torpedoes in front of us.”

Turning toward. Should this unit disconnect the wires and rig out two new weapons?

Krivak thought for a moment. He had the choice of loading two new weapons on the outriggers, but it would cost him the guidance wires on the first launched units. If they detected a target zig, with the guidance wires they could at least order the torpedoes to turn. Without them it was possible they would miss. In addition, with the wires streamed to the torpedoes, they would know the second the units detonated.

“What range will they be at when they are in homing mode?”

The torpedoes will be at their terminal run three miles from the target. Until then they will run in passively, and will then ping active in the last three miles.

“Can you change that while the torpedoes are in flight?”

Yes. This unit can reprogram settings so that the torpedoes will run in on passive mode all the way to detonation. But that will open up the probability matrix of a miss’I don’t want to alert them with a bunch of pinging.”

Perhaps you would like to have them ping at the final quarter mile. That would be three pings in fifteen seconds.

“Fine, do that. Only ping in the last quarter mile.”

That will require the torpedoes to slow down three miles from the target in order to acquire the target in passive sonar mode. This unit is ordering the torpedoes to slow to passive acquisition speed of three zero knots at the three-mile range point. Torpedo run time five minutes, units one and two five miles downrange, distance to impact fourteen miles, impact time in five minutes.

“Excellent work, One.”

Thank you, Krivak. This unit is only sad that this attack had to be conducted and that there has been a mutiny. When the attack is over, we will of course send a situation report.