Voyage of the Devilfish

Not that it would have done him any good. His underway uniform would have offered slight protection from the cold. He would have died from exposure within minutes in the subzero temperature outside. Finally Vlasenko sat on one of the pod benches. There was no ventilation in the pod, no fresh air, no heat. It was not long before he was shivering, the taste of terrible frustration acid in his mouth. Novskoyy took his seat in the padded chair in front of the communication console. It was time to type in the message to be transmitted to his fleet. Behind him, in the periscope well, Ivanov looked into the optics of the combat periscope, training it in slow circles, watching the storm above the Kaliningrad. An arctic blizzard had rolled in from the dark featureless thick overcast of the sky. The flakes were as big as bullets. Visibility was shrinking. Below the Kaliningrad, a U.S. Piranha-class nuclear submarine named Devilfish floated to a halt, over 200 meters further below in the blackness of the frigid arctic water. Eight thousand kilometers from the Kaliningrad, 120 nuclear attack submarines awaited Novskoyy’s transmission. The admiral finished typing and went over the message one last time.

********** MOLNIYA **********

FROM NORTHERN FLEET COMMANDER/EMBARKED FS KALININGRAD

TO ALL UNITS SUBMARINE TASK FORCE NF-ONE

DATE 19 DEC

TIME 0850 GMT

PURP LAUNCH PREPARATION PER SEALED ATTACK INSTRUCTION NF-211-9

ACTION

1. THIS MESSAGE AUTHORIZES AND ORDERS ADDRESSEES TO MAKE ALL PREPARATIONS FOR SSN-X-27 LAUNCH ON TARGETS OF PRIMARY CONTINGENCY AS LISTED IN NORTHERN FLEET SEALED ATTACK INSTRUCTIONS NF-211-9 OF 13 DEC.

2. UNSEAL ATTACK PROFILE NF-211-9 AND PROGRAM SSN-X-27 MISSILE FOR PRIMARY TARGET LISTED THEREIN.

3. ON 18 DECEMBER UNITED NATIONS INSPECTORS MONITORED DESTRUCTION OF SSN-X-27 NUCLEAR CRUISE MISSILES.

4. CURRENT DEPLOYMENT INTENDED TO FORCE UNITED STATES TO DESTROY OWN SEA LAUNCHED CRUISE MISSILES. WARSHOT SSNX-27 MISSILES WITH EXERCISE-UNIT MARKINGS HAVE BEEN LOADED ABOARD NORTHERN FLEET SHIPS AS CONTINGENCY.

5. DO NOT EXECUTE MISSILE LAUNCH UNTIL INSTRUCTED TO DO SO BY AUTHENTICATED MOLNIYA EXECUTION MESSAGE SCHEDULED FOR0910GMT.

6. TRANSMITTED BY SUPREME COMMANDER, NORTHERN FLEET, ADMIRAL ALEXI NOVSKOYY.

CHAPTER 15

SUNDAY, 19 DECEMBER 0859 GREENWICH MEAN TIME

ARCTIC OCEAN

BENEATH THE POLAR ICECAP

“Captain,” Stokes said, “ship is ready to hover. Depth is six seven five feet, speed zero, depth rate zero.”

“Very well.” Pacino stood at the periscope watching the distant glow of the ice overhead. “Attention in the firecontrol team…” The room quieted, the eerie silence filled only with the whine of the computers and the bass of the ventilation fans.

“… Here we go. After we upset this guy, be ready to make the recovery and get deep. Off sa’deck, to all spaces, rig ship for collision and prepare to report any damage. Diving Officer, engage the hovering system and give me max blow until Aux 2 is dry, report ascent rate.” This dangerous maneuver might go sour, Pacino realized. If the Devilfish’s hovering system failed they might rise up with a drift to the side and collide with the ice. Trying to induce your enemy to lead so you could counterpunch was a risky business. If he started the ascent from a shallower depth it might not be enough to affect the OMEGA. To a ship that massive, even a blow from Devilfish from a mere 200 feet would scarcely jar it. There were just no guarantees, too many variables, too many ways his maneuver could turn against him. But to do nothing was to risk losing the OMEGA if she left the polynya and went deep. The thing was too damned quiet. He’d never catch up with it. The time was now. Chief of the Watch Robertson at the wraparound ballastcontrol panel reached for the hovering joystick and pushed it to the BLOW position to put high-pressure air into the aux tank and blow out the ballast water to lighten the ship.