[FIC] First Impressions (part 17)

[dd]

Tessa sat in her chair, tugging at her ponytail.

Both the tow array and sphere array had picked up signs of multiple undersea craft. The incoming enemies were traveling above the thermocline, at speed estimated to be in excess of fifty knots.

“Mr. Dejileny?” Tessa asked the sonar operator. She watched the big screen, seeing yellow marks appear on the sea chart where the other vessels were.

“Mike 9 and Mike 10 have been assigned to the closest two vessels. Mike 11 and 12 have been assigned to the two just now entering detection range. I think… let me listen more to be sure…” The young operator had improved dramatically since his performance during the Pacific Christmas mission. Cmdr. Mardukas had made sure of that.

“It’s OK… take your time…” Tessa’s kind and considerate approach might not follow the command manual, but it often got results.

“Captain… yes… the sound is familiar… it’s the same kind of submarine we faced before with Cmdr. Mardukas in command.” Dejileny began to sweat. They had been victorious, but it had not been a picnic by any stretch of the imagination. Now, they had at least four opposing vessels, and very like six. Either that, or four Leviathan and some unknown threat that they’d never faced before.

“It looks like your supposition was correct,” Tessa told Mardukas. “Two more vessels have just been confirmed. Their spread suggests a desire to contain us first, and then sink us with some rapidity.”

“Yes, Captain.” Not acting as Captain himself, Cmdr. Mardukas had not reversed the cap upon his head. Just the same, he felt himself growing excited in his calm and controlled way. He was entering ‘the zone’. “I take it you wish to rush one group, destroy what we can, and then launch the missiles?”

“I think that’s the best option we have. We have to get Sgt. Sagara airborne, no matter what the cost. We can’t place our hopes in anything the Russian’s may belatedly choose to do.”

“Understood, Ma’am.” Mardukas set his jaw and managed a bit of a smile. This would be another challenge…. One worthy of the greatest submarine in the world. “As you know, in your absence, we have handled the Leviathan class two man submarines before. They are formidable, especially with their Buryas. But, we have the prototype rocket propelled torpedoes onboard in small numbers.”

“Yes. I wish we had been able to carry out our trials on those. We will use what we have, but we can’t make decisions based on theories and blueprints.” Tessa tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair “Alright. It’s time to enter ASW. Turn to port. Speed… gradually bring us to fifty knots. Depth… one-fifty. Course… 0-9-0.”

All collected data on the Undersea Fighting Crafts they were facing was brought up on a screen within the screen. There wasn’t a lot. Spy work had gathered some information on shipbuilders and broad documentation had been sniffed out.

The vessels were built with Arm Slave operating technology and were shaped like a spearhead or throwing knife. In some ways, the shape was similar to that of the TDD-1, but the craft were far smaller. Each had a pair of side mounted arms, for close in fighting. A monomolecular cutter was carried for that kind of work, complementing the Burya high speed torpedos.

“Mr. Mardukas, do you suggest we engage to EMFC to start?” Tessa was referring to the electromagnetic device that could help hide turbulence noise around the boat.

“Yes, Captain. For now. The enemy still knows where we are.” Cmdr. Mardukas watched the sea chart, calculating possible courses of action, should his Captain ask his assistance or opinion.

“Alright. Activate the EMFC. Helm, course 1-1-0. Up angle twenty degrees.” Tessa looked around the control room. “For those that don’t know the gravity of the situation, the entire planet is in grave danger. Whether or not they know it, each and every person in the world is depending on us. Let’s do our best. If we don’t, there will be no second chances.”

“Like I said before,” Mardukas added with his Captain’s approval, “Keep a calm head. Don’t overreact to the enemies speed. Impatience can lead to irreversible error.”

“Fire Control officer, I need your report.” Tessa bit her lip, but forced herself to stop. There was no time to be a teenage girl. She was in command of the most important undersea vessel in the world.

“Weapons systems all in working order, Captain. Standing by to load mission ordinance.” The FCO’s hand hovered over his control board.

“Load torpedo tubes with ADSLMM. Load all MVLS with ‘maglocks.’ Have the Barras ready for loading following discharge of mines.” The Barras that Tessa mentioned were the experimental torpedoes, named after the Gaelic word for ‘spear’. The hope was that the Barras would act like any weapon built on the mythical forge of Goibniu, hitting there target without fail. The ADSLMM were self propelled mines, and the ‘maglocks’ were anti-submarine missiles shot from underwater, which would then speed along above the surfaces until they attained sonar lock on their target.

“Aye, Captain.” The FCO did as directed.

“Inform Sgt. Sousuke of our current status. Program the chute on the nuclear weapon for slow descent. Slave its GPS steering system to coordinate with Arbalest’s.” Tessa hated using nuclear weapons. She had almost balked at them being kept on board. But, if any situation warranted their use, it was this one. “Commander, it looks like we’re going to be very busy. Just the way you like it.”

“Yes Ma’am,” Mardukas answered. He watched as a number of yellow markers on the sscreen converged on the large blue arrow that represented the TDD-1. “Hide-and-Seek with the navies of the world can only teach our crew so much. Battle is a much better instructor.

“Helm, set course 2-1-0, to port. FCO, on my signal, open doors one and two. Slow advance, and disengage the EMFC.” Tessa was beginning to feel apprehensive. She might seem calm on the outside, but there was so much at stake here. She couldn’t afford to make any fatal mistakes.

“Aye, Sir.”

“Sonar officer, let me the moment you hear cavitation.” Tessa pushed a button on her chair arm. “Sgt. Sagara, we read your status as ‘ready’. Please confirm.”

A few moments later, Sousuke’s voice came over the speaker system. “Ready, Captain.”

“Very good. We’ll do our best to get you away. Don’t go getting into any kind of spat with your partner, OK?” Tessa was amused by Sousuke’s ‘relationship’ with the ARX-7’s A.I. She much preferred that situation to the one where Sousuke wanted nothing to do with Arbalest, not trusting it or any of its systems.

“Understood, Captain.”

“If it looks like we will be destroyed, we will jettison your missile launch chamber. Variable air pressure and gyroscopic correction might still allow for launch. If launch aborts, you might still survive by exiting the missile, but…” Tessa didn’t need to say any more. Unless some other group could cripple or destroy the scalar apparatus, the survival of Arbalest and Sousuke Sagara would be brief and of no consequence.

“Yes, Captain. I am aware. It’s a long walk to Kamchatka.”

“Con, this is sonar. Cavitation is estimated in five seconds. “three… two… one… cavitating.”

“FCO, open doors one and two.” Tessa said. A few moments later, she gave the order to fire. “ADSLMM, fire one. Fire two.” The mines would make their way silently to the targeted coordinates. Their launch was masked by the cavitation sounds of the TDD-1, allowed by the shut-down of the EMFC. “Helm, hold this course for twenty more seconds. Then, decelerate to twenty five knots, continuing forward at reduced power. Engage the EMFC at my mark… now.”

“Sir?” The FCO awaited his next instructions.

“Load two Barras. I suspect that we will pick up signs of a torpedo launch in a few minutes.” Tessa said. “Program the warheads for wide dispersion. If we cab disrupt the bubble membrane formed around the Buryas, they will be subject to shear forces from the water, hopefully tearing themselves apart.”

“Aye, Sir.”


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“Sergeant Sagara, do you read?”

It was Lt. Kalinin’s voice.

“Roger, Sir.” Sousuke minimized a novel he had been scrolling through on the ARX-7s HUD. He had needed something to take his mind off of the coming mission. There was still time to do his pre-flight and in-flight checks. It was nerve-wracking, sitting in Arbalest, while the fate of the TDD-1 lay in the balance. There was nothing he could do to help. The crew of the submarine might feel the same way themselves, when he went alone into the Lion’s Den.

“We have received confirmation enough for launch. We need only buy ourselves the opportunity to do so.” The Lt. Commander patched through some information to Arbalest’s view screen. “One of our agents reported the presence of multiple Venom class Arm Slaves in the vicinity of Klyuchevskaya Sopka. He was the best man we had working inside the country, but he was killed before he could transmit everything that he had discovered.”

“We have stronger suspicions , then.” Sousuke nodded. “But, it is impossible to gain total confirmation. That raises question of political ramifications if we have misinterpreted something.”

“True,” Kalinin admitted. “But you need a sharp axe to cut a strong bough. We cannot afford to walk softly on this, as you are well aware. Unfortunately, the Russian officials that we have contacted have acted strangely disinterested and detached. It may be that they are saving face, and will move to take matters into their own hands.”

”Or, such men could be in league with our enemies, especially if they are unaware of their true intentions.” Sousuke could imagine a spider web of intrigue and misinformation. There was no time to untangle the weave.

“They may also be of the mind that ignorance will make problems go away. That would be foolish in the extreme, but no out of character for the current regime. Regardless, no matter how fast a horse runs, it cannot escape its own tail.” Kalinin sighed. “For all extensive purposes, any troops you see are the enemy, whether or not they might seem to be acting towards a common goal with you. Is this understood?”

“Yes, Sir! We can always apologize to the survivors.” Sousuke’s point was blunt and to the point. “Do the men you spoke with realize that we intend to use nuclear weapons within their borders?”

“No. We do not need any complications. Even if they sovereign forces could not destroy you, it might prove fatal if they slow you down in the slightest.” Kalinin took a page from Sousuke’s book. “Only the living need concern themselves with political ramifications, Sergeant.”

“Sir… uhhh… do you think it is permissible for me to ask a favor…” Sousuke sounded uncertain.

“If we wake up tomorrow, but you do not make it back alive, you wish for someone to look after Miss Chidori?” Kalini was very shrewd. He knew how Sousuke thought. “No matter which country she may end up residing in?”

“Affirmative.”

“I cannot speak for the High Council, Sergeant. But, I will make you this promise.” Kalinin spoke in a voice that showed more emotion than customary. “If need be, I will personally move to America and look after her. Her father may find himself with a new neighbor. Her school might find itself with a new teacher or groundsman. It is not something you need worry yourself about.”

”Thank you, Sir.” Sousuke let out his breath, unaware of the fact that he had been holding it.

“Perhaps it would give me the opportunity to teach Miss Chidori to cook Borscht,” Lt. Kalinin said slyly. He was well aware of his subordinate’s dislike for beet soup.

“I will make every effort to return, Sir!” The only thing that might have made the disastrous dinner at Chez Pierre worse would have been cold or warm Borscht.

“Excuse me, Sir. Could you keep the line open. There’s someone who wants to talk to Sousuke.” It was Kurz’ voice.

“Sgt. Weber, this is no time for your usual shenanigans,” Kalinin stated with sense of finality. “Oh. Miss Chidori. This is somewhat irregular, but if you don’t tell anyone, I won’t either.” There was a notable change of tone in the Russian’s voice.

“Thak you, Sir. Sousuke, can you hear me?” Kaname sounded somewhat tentative.

“Over.” Sousuke spoke in a perfunctory manner.

“Huh? Over what?” Kaname’s voice was more forceful.

“You should say ‘over’ when you are finished speaking. I will say ‘roger’ or ‘over‘. It’s the way things are done.”

“If you don’t stop this otaku stuff at a time like this, things will be over alright. Do you hear me?”

“Over.”

“Oooooooh…. Sousuke….”

“Children,” Kalinin said, a rare touch of humor in his voice. He missed his own children. His daughter would be just a bit younger than these two. “When I gave permission, I thought that you actually had something important to say to one another.”

“Sousuke… I…” Kaname swallowed hard. Tears came to her eyes. “You come back, OK. It’s very rude and inconsiderate for you to leave this way, you know.” Silence followed. Kaname bit down on her lip, wondering what Sousuke must be feeling. But why isn’t the big imbecile answering? Oh! Damn his otaku hide. “Over.”

“I will return if I am able, Kaname. Over.” Sousuke suddenly thought about stories he had read about chivalry and the age of knights. He wished that he had brought something of Kaname’s with him. It was too late now, sitting in Arbalest, was cocooned in a delivery missile, sealed away in one of De Danaan’s launch tubes.

“You better, mister!” Kaname paused. “I am not going to say ‘over‘!” She stood straighter and pushed her hair aside some. “You go take care of business, Sousuke. I will take care of you when you get back.”

“The book, Sousuke.” It was Kurz butting in. “Remember the ooopppfff…” Melissa had caught up with her teammate.

“Uhhh…”

For a moment, Kaname felt her throat tighten, Her fears were talking to her. Would that be the last ‘uhhh’ she would ever hear?

“I’ll… I’ll cook you the best dinner you ever had… OK?” Kaname dabbed at her eyes with her frilly sleeve.

“I accept,” Sousuke said. “As long as there are plain rolls.” Sousuke had a thing for plain rolls. “Though, I think I would prefer another gourmet dinner. With your father.”

“What?” Kaname was shocked at first. Then she smiled. The big idiot was joking with her. It was good to see that he still had a sense of humor at a time like this. It wasn’t a good sense of humor, but for Sousuke it was a start. “OK. You got it, mister. And it will be my treat.”

“Sixty four Arts, Sousuke… owwwww… I’m just trying to help.” Kurz yelped, sounding like a dog that had its nose smacked with the Sunday Edition.

“Good luck, Sergeant. Do us all proud. Like you always do.” Kalinin told Kaname that it was time to leave Sousuke to his pre-launch preparations. He then spoke to his young subordinate. “It is a bad workman that has a bad saw. You are not a bad workman. Your saw will cut fine.”

“Sir!”

“Give’em Hell, Sousuke. If you make it back, I’ll give you a case of Westvleteren 12, specially made in very limited quantities by a revered brewing community of Trappist monks in Belgium.” Melissa said. “And, I’ll give you my last few cartons of Natural American Spirit smokes.”

“Hey, Babe, Sousuke doesn’t smoke or drink.” Kurz rubbed his sore shoulder.

“I will give them to you, Kurz.” Sousuke knew what that would do.

“F-ck that!” Melissa said. “You bring your ass back in one piece, you hear?” Feeling more emotional than she would ever admit to, she followed after Lt. Commander Kalinin.

“You trying to get me killed, Sousuke?” Kurz asked, feeling somewhat solemn. It was the way that any of the SRT members felt, when one of their own was going into battle without the others.

“Affirmative,” Sousuke said. His feelings were tugging him every which way. But, pushing fear and uncertainty aside, he realized how good it was to have friends. It was an amorphous and almost ambivalent thing, saving the world. He had a better motivation. There were people he wanted to come back to.

“I knew it,” Kurz said. His smile faded. “Come back man.”

When Kurz left, Kaname was the last one standing at the com console.

“Sousuke… I love you…” Kaname looked at the small screen on the console. It showed Sousuke, snug in his harness.

Sousuke nodded, finding those words hard to fathom. Someone like Kaname Chidori loving somewhat like him. Amazing. What was even more amazing was the fact that he found himself feeling what he did for her. Nashla kosa na kamen. ‘The scythe has hit a stone‘. He had met your match, in more ways than one.

“Training question, Sergeant. When a female of the species tells a male she has strong feelings referred to as love, is some kind of response expected?” The A.I. chose that moment to interject with a question.

Kaname waited expectantly. That question had her scowling. The machine had better sense than Sousuke.

“It would appear so,” Sousuke answered. “However, in this instance the female… I mean, Miss Chidori… is the one giving the response. I previously expressed my feelings to her.”

“Ooooooh….” Kaname tensed up.

“I think you are mistaken, Sergeant. I judge that last utterance to be an indication of displeasure at best.”

“You can say ‘I love you’ more than once… you… big… idiot…” Kaname was very glad that now one was watching. She shouldn’t have to fish for this kind of thing. Sousuke made everything so difficult!

“I see. Using that important phrase will not dull the edge and make it less effective?” Sousuke nodded his head. “Duly noted.” He paused. While he was clueless to a fault, he was not without feelings. “Before I leave, would it suffice to say that if I could save either you or the world, I would choose you?”

“Oh…” Kaname brought her hand to her mouth. “You’re going to make me cry, you big jerk.”

“Sergeant. Training question. If you were to save the girl but not the world, she would still die, wouldn’t she?”

Sousuke closed his eyes. Kaname sighed. Sousuke Sagara had met his match, alright. It did her heart good. With all that she had to put up with at school, when that scruffy otaku first showed up, it served him right to find something even more clueless than himself.

“I love you, Kaname…”

After saying that, Sousuke read an incoming message scrolling across his HUD. The precise coordinates for delivery were now validated and locked in. All that was needed was an opportunity to launch.

For the moment, things were out of his hands.

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“Seargent Sagara, do you read?”

It was Lt. Cmdr. Kalinin again.

“Affirmative.” Sousuke had finished his pre-flight checks, and had begun reviewing geographical data from the target area.

“I am patching through Lt. Vavilov. She is at Merida base, and informs us that there is some possible good news. I will let her explain it to you.” Kalinin switched the feed over to the Intelligence officer.

“Have you done your check on the Lambda Driver, Sergeant Sagara?” The young Russian woman asked. “It will save your life from your enemies, but will also be crucial in protecting you from your friends.”

“Lieutenant?” Sousuke wondered what was up. Had the desperate nature of the situation driven one of the major powers to expose and use one of their secret technologies? He knew of a number of such projects, many of which had generally been thought to be failures. That could be a clever ruse. “Al… the Arbalest’s Artificial Intelligence… has evaluated things as thoroughly as possible. There are no obvious abnormal fluctuations.” Sousuke clenched his teeth. The periodic troubles with the system never announced themselves in advance.

“Sergeant, I prefer ‘Al.’ I conjecture that Bunny Morita arrived at that name upon seeing a lower case ‘a’ next to a lower case ‘i’. The ‘i’ could have looked like an ‘l’. If you wish, I can project a visual representation on any of the secondary displays.”

“Be quiet. That is an order. Listen to what the Lieutenant tells us.” Sousuke sighed a sigh of exasperation. “My apologies. Please continue.” That was meant for Vavilov.

“Russia was not the only country to use the early 1900s work of the Nikola Tesla to spearhead large scale military applications, Sergeant. The Americans created HAARP, and opened it to public perusal and criticism. Most experts wrote it off as a costly and potentially hazardous experiment.” The Intelligence operative accessed a file and sent an image to one of Sousuke’s view screens.

“HAARP. High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program. I have read about that in a limited-access journal. It is a joint effort of the Air Force and the Navy at an isolated base near Gakona, Alaska. It uses 72 foot tall antennas… 360 of them…spread out over 4 acres. Put simply, the apparatus for HAARP is a reversal of a radio telescope; the antenna send out signals instead of receiving them. There are conjectures that the test system secretly gave rise to a powerful radio wave-beaming technology that lifts areas of the ionosphere by focusing a beam and heating those areas.” Sousuke would have been sitting on the edge of his seat if he wasn’t locked down in his harness. This was fascinating stuff.

“Very good. You seem to be more than a dashing young pilot. If you ever find yourself on Merida Island needing a place to stay…” That was a pure come on. After the near crippling of Mithril by Amalgam, there were plenty of empty rooms at the newly rebuilt facilities.

“Uhhh…” Sousuke was glad that Kurz wasn’t privy to this conversation. Kurz, or Kaname. What was the woman doing. This was not a time for him to start feeling uncomfortable.

“I should return to the briefing.” The Lieutenant said. “HAARP sends a focused and steerable electromagnetic beam to the upper atmosphere It is an advanced model of an ‘ionospheric heater,’ with the ionosphere of course being the electrically-charged sphere surrounding Earth's upper atmosphere. It ranges between 40 to 60 miles above the surface of the Earth. But I’m certain you knew that.”

“Affirmative,” Sousuke said. “The electromagnetic waves then bounce back onto earth and penetrate everything… living and dead... in the targeted area. There are practical military uses. It could serve as a tool used to replace the electromagnetic pulse effect of atmospheric thermonuclear devices. Extensions of the technology could replace the huge Extremely Low Frequency submarine communication system with a new and more compact technology. It might also be used to replace the over-the-horizon radar system that was once planned for the current location of HAARP, with a more flexible and accurate system. Projected against an enemy position, it might provide a way to wipe out communications over an extremely large area, while keeping the military's own communications systems working .”

“You are truly remarkable. If you were not unique in your usefulness, I would say that you are wasted as pilot and foot soldier.” The Intelligence officer was merely flirting. She knew everyone’s profile backwards and forwards. Sousukle Sagara’s vast store of knowledge came from his obsession with military details and information, not from any latent genius or superlative mental abilities. That didn’t matter. He was cute. That scar made him look mysterious.

“Uhhh… thank you, I think…”

“One of its supposed abilities might prove invaluable. The device can be used to perform wide area earth-penetrating tomography which, if combined with the computing abilities of EMASS and Cray computers, would make it possible to look inside the planet to a depth of many kilometers, in order to locate underground munitions, minerals and tunnels. That will help us locate your precise target, Sergeant. Things are looking up.”

“From the bottom, everything is ‘up’, Ma’am.” Sousuke wasn’t truly feeling fatalistic. He would gladly accept any help he could get. “How about the conjectured ability to cause mild to severe physiological disruption, perceptual distortion, and disorientation? Such a capacity could render enemy soldiers combat ineffective, if they not protected by a Tesla shield or other defensive system.” He was actually enjoying himself. If he used the name Tesla around Kaname, or let slip anything about Low Frequency communication or over-the-horizon radar, he would get a severe tongue-lashing.

“No one will admit to that part. You can understand the repercussions, if that kind of thing ever reached public awareness.” The Lieutenant tapped her finger nails against her cheek. “Another possible plus for us is the ability to cause Nuclear-sized Explosions without Radiation. We may not need our nuclear weapons after all. But, just as we can’t be certain what effects scalar technology will have upon the Lambda Driver, the same can be said for the American analogues. As the Americans say, this is all one big crap shoot.”

“Pardon me, Lieutenant. But why would anyone want to shoot fecal material?” Sousuke frowned. Surely there were better things to shoot, and more suitable targets to shoot at.

“Look it up,” the A.I. said, aping Sousuke’s common orders. “‘It's a crap shoot’ is said, usually with a sense of mild scorn or resignation about the chances of success of a given activity or venture. It means that the end result is out of one's hands… that it's left up to chance… and that the odds are probably slightly against you. The phrase owes its existence to the gambling world, in particular a dice game craps which requires more luck than skill to win.”

“There is of course a catch.” The Lieutenant simply shook her head, realizing that she was feeling more amusement than the situation warranted. “Isn’t there always!”

“Ma’am?”

"The ionosphere is prone to catalytic reactions," the Intelligence officer explained. "If a small part is changed, a major change in the ionosphere can happen." She describing the ionosphere as a delicately balanced system, sharing her mental picture of it. “Imagine a soap-bubble-like sphere surrounding Earth's atmosphere, with movements swirling over the surface of the bubble. If a big enough hole is punched through it, it could pop.”

“That would be … unfortunate…” Sousuke thought of the saying between the devil and the great blue sea. It was not what many people made it out to be. In sailing ships, the devil seam was the curved seam in the deck planking closest to the side of the ship and next to the scupper gutters. If a sailor slipped on the deck, he could find himself between the devil and the deep blue sea.

“Well, a drowning man clutches at straw. We will be thankful for any help we get. This should at least provide some comfort for you, Sousuke. I may call you Sousuke, may I not?” Lieutenant Vavilov smiled a rather fetching smile. Any man but Sousuke would have found himself smitten. Doubly so when she unbuttoned her collar to feel more comfortable.

“Uhhh… Ma’am?”

“You may find help coming how, when, and where you least expect it.”

“I see.” Sousuke set his jaw. When dealing with unknown powers, surprise could just as easily be detrimental as they could be beneficial.

When the Intelligence operative signed off, and the display screens darkened, Sousuke began to sweat. He had been told that Kurz showed Kaname and the others a copy of the last intelligence briefing. He prayed that he would find no reason to repeat that act.

If Kaname ever witnessed some of the things that the Lieutenant had been saying and doing…

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“We confirm six enemies, Captain”

Tessa nodded her head. So far, her actions had been directed towards setting a trap and looking for any available opening. Whoever the opponent was, they were good. They’re actions were confident and well-paced, without any moves that spoke of arrogance.

“Yes,” Tessa said. “I doubt their superiors told them what’s going on.” There had been no mad suicidal rush by all six craft. That would have been difficult to stop.

“Con, sonar. Multiple torpedoes incoming. Heading 0-5-0 and 2-2-0. From Mike 12 and 14.”

“What speed?” Tessa asked.

“In excess of one hundred knots, Sir.”
“Buryas for certain,” Cmdr. Mardukas said. “Rocket-propelled and very fast, but nothing we can’t handle if we play it close and make use of our opportunities.” He spoke louder. “Now’s the time when we test our mettle. Obey the Captain without thinking. You will be quick, and you will be loyal. Those who are neither will answer to me.”

“FCO, open tubes one and two.” Tessa was taking a risk, using two Barras in this situation. There wouldn’t be time to load and fire conventional torpedoes from tubes one and two. But, standard load was on standby in the other tubes. “Helm, set course to 1-5-0. Increase speed to sixty knots. We aren’t worried about cavitation.”

“There’s three more torpedoes. Same speed as the others. One on Mike 10 and two on Mike 11. Headings 0-9-0, 1-1-0, and 3-8-0.”

“Target the closest targets. Turn to course 1-6-0. Fire number one. Helm, give me five more degrees. Fire number two.” Tessa didn’t mention anything about safety devices. The Barras had built without them. “Open doors three and four.”

Both torpedoes roared away from the De Danaan, their rocket motors pushing them through the water at a speed comparable to that of the oncoming Buryas. The warheads were extremely powerful, but because of the compressive effect of the water, even the wide dispersal pattern would have a small blast radius. Hopefully, it would prove sufficient for the task at hand.

“OK. Reload tubes one and two with Barras.” That would use up the last of their experimental weapons. “Fire tube three. When we reach course 2-0-0, fire tube four.”
Everyone watched the screen, seeing the paths of their own torpedoes as they rushed towards those fired by their foes.

“It’s certainly an interesting time to have guests aboard,” Tessa remarked to Mardukas, wondering where that urge had come from. She was glad that her acceptance of Sousuke’s request had brought him back onboard the submarine. It might have been catastrophic, had the enemy used the scalar device while he was somewhere in Tokyo or in transit. But, she felt guilty, having the Chidori’s here. It really didn’t matter, though, their dying with De Danaan’s crew, if the world was doomed any way.

She still had hope, though. Sousuke seemed blessed with as much good fortune in battle as he was with skill. Crossing her fingers, she hoped that this would not be the mission that showed otherwise.

“Yes. If the situation were not so drastic, I would have invited Shunya Chidori to the bridge.” Mardukas said. “But, especially now, this area is for command crew only.”

Things took place in rapid succession. The Barras performed remarkably well, each taking out a targeted torpedo. The conventional torpedoes took out two more, but their were more Buryas incoming, including the one fired earlier.

Deft headings choices had Cmdr. Mardukas smiling approval for his pupil. She was getting very good, this young woman. The job might not be doing her social development much good, but Teletha Testarossa was a credit to the submarine and the organization.

“Time to see if your net catches any fish, Captain.” Mardukas ran his finger along the brim of his hat.

“Yes,” Tessa replied. “FCO. The timing will be critical. When you hear the next set of explosions, fire all of the ‘maglocks’ loaded in the MVLS. We need that noise to cover sound of our launch.”

The carefully arranged spread of mines had served its purpose admirable. A number of the approaching torpedoes had been destroyed by the independently targeting explosive devices. It was a modification of Cmdr. Mardukas’ ingenious ploy that used a complex spread of mines to take out Leviathan craft.

“Firing ‘maglocks’, Sir!”

The missiles sped to their targets. The enemy had been caught off guard. Three Leviathans disappeared from the screen. By good fortune and clever planning, it was the three closest vehicles, all adjacent to one another.

“All ahead full,” Tessa said. “Set a course for the center of the opening. Increase up angle. Bring us to the surface and come to full stop, before the remaining enemies change course and move to intercept. We don’t have much time.” She toggled a switch. “Bridge to Sgt. Sagara. ETA for launch estimated at two minutes. Good luck, Sousuke.”

“We may yet get this launch done,” Cmdr. Mardukas said with a sense of relief. “Though, we still have ourselves to worry about. Although prepared for martyrdom, I prefer that it be postponed.” His quote from Churchill had a number of people nodding their heads.

“Yes,” Tessa said, before answering with a pair of her own quotes. “It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time. I will remain an optimist; it does not seem to be much use being anything else.”

Cmdr. Mardukas smiled. They were indeed in good hands.

“The enemy vessels have changed course and speed,” Lt. Godart said. The sonar room called and gave precise headings.

“Alright. Let’s see if we can get those missiles off.” Tessa twirled her ponytail. She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer. The enemy had been unprepared for her tactics, but there might be quick learners amongst the remaining foe.

Just a little while longer…