THE BRINK - OPERATION DEEP FLIGHT

by Marshall Huffman

“Listen Peter, I need your advice.”

  “Sure, how can I help?”

  “Help keep an eye on Price. I don’t know him and I don’t trust him.”

  “I had already planned on it,” Peter replied

  “Good man. Get some sleep,” Marcus said,

  “Like that’s going to happen.”

  Peter found Susan just as she was leaving the boat for the night.

  “Headed out?”

  “This girl is ready for bed. This last minute stuff has kept me tossing and turning for the last two nights. I just don’t want to miss anything,” she said.

  “I have a cure for that,” he said grinning.

  “I’ll bet you do. I’ll be glad when this is all over. Maybe we can find out if your cure really works,” she teased back.

  * * *

  - GOOSE NECK CREEK –

  “Liz?”

  “Yes? Is that you Peter?” came the sleepy reply.

  “Yeah. I couldn’t sleep. I know it’s late but....”

  “Late? Peter it’s 2:30 in the morning. What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

  “No. Yes. Well, I don’t know. Liz, I just had to call you. It’s really important,” Peter said fumbling for words.

  “At 2:30 a.m., it had better be really important. Is it about Luke? Is he all right?” she asked.

  “Yes. It’s about Luke and no, he isn’t all right. I’ve never seen him like this Liz. He is coming unglued. He thinks his world is crashing down around him. What is going on?”

  “Pete, this is between Luke and me. You have no place in this.”

  “But I do Liz. I’ve grown up with Luke. I’ve known him since he was six years old. Luke is my best friend. Liz, you’re my friend too. I can’t just stand around and let you two of you self-destruct.”

  “Peter, I appreciate what you’re trying to do, really, but this doesn’t concern you. There is nothing you can do. Let it go.”

  “Sorry. I can’t do that Liz. Do you know he is considering divorcing you? I mean it. He is actually giving it serious thought,” Peter said, hoping to shock her.

  “That’s his choice. What do you want me to do, beg and plead with him to not do it? Pete, if that’s what he wants, then so be it.”

  “Liz you can’t mean that. Do you remember when you two first met? Luke the boy wonder, a bit of a klutz? Remember how you took him in, like a lost kitten? Liz, Luke is the same lost little boy right how. He is the same guy. It’s you who has changed. Why? The baby? Liz, quit feeling sorry for yourself. Women lose babies every day in this world. It has been going on since the beginning of time. Luke lost a child too. It wasn’t just you. Hell, Liz, I know the level of grief is different, but I lost a godchild as well. We are all devastated, but life goes on. We all grieve and we all suffer the loss of that child but we aren’t giving up on life. It’s time to get on your life. Luke wants to continue his life with you. I want him too as well, but it’s up to you Liz. It’s time to buck-up and quit acting like you were the only victim. What you do with your lives from this point on is the important thing. You can’t change the past but you can control the future. Liz, don’t let this destroy both of your lives.”

  “Peter, stop it. You have no idea how I feel. You can’t. It’s not your place to lecture me,” she said, crying.

  “I’m not lecturing you Liz. I'm just pointing out that we both love you and want to help you get through this but you have to take the first step. You have to let us in. You have to want to be helped. Don’t lose Luke over this. Once he is gone he will be gone forever. You know Luke. Once he leaves, he will turn the page and get on with life. He will move on and not look back. Don’t give all that up out of pity for yourself and your unborn child. You can't change what happened. Your life together is the important thing now,” Peter said in a quiet voice.

  “I just don’t know Pete,” she said sobbing.

  “Liz. Don’t throw your life way for what might have been but keep it together for what it can be.”

  “I hear you Pete. I’ll think it over. I don’t know if I can do what you ask but I’ll think about it. I don’t know if it can ever be the same again,” she said.

  “I don’t know if it can ever be the same again either but I do know that you will both be miserable if you don’t try. Luke is willing. You initiate the action and see what happens. He will work with you. I know Luke. Liz, he loves you more than life itself. Give the two of you a chance,” Peter told her.

  “Let me think about it Pete. You’re a good friend to Luke and to me. I’ll think it over, honestly,” Liz said.

  “That’s all I can ask. Good night Liz.”

  “Good night. Love you Peter.”

  “I love you too Liz,” he said replacing the phone.

  CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

  - NEWPORT SHIPYARD –

  The sun hung in the sky like a big orange ball. Mist was rising from the water all around the DSV-1 Chameleon as she sat at the pier. The ropes creaked as she moved gently in the water. Sleek and deadly looking, she was ready to go to sea.

  Sailors in dungarees stood by at each cleat, ready to cast off the lines. Peter and Admiral Marcus stood on the upper conning tower. It was much shorter than the normal ones associated with submarines, not much more than a small raised area. They watched as the last crew member and trainer came aboard.

  “Sleep well?” Marcus asked Peter.

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I guess so. I didn’t get much either,” Marcus confessed.

  “It’s kind of nippy up here,” Peter said shivering slightly.

  “Here, put this foul weather jacket on. It will keep you warm,” Marcus said handing him a green coat.

  “Are we all ready?” Peter asked.

  “All on board accept one. Dr. Hall hasn’t come on board yet.”

  “Luke? I don’t get it. I saw his lights on when I was leaving for the helicopter,” Peter reported.

  “All I know is that he isn’t here yet. We cast off in seven minutes. He had better get a move on,” Marcus said.

  “We can’t leave without him. He is critical to the mission. He is the most familiar with the navigational system. Without him we would be in serious trouble,” Peter said.

  “We have you,” Marcus added, “I know you Peter. You could handle it if necessary. We will give it seven more minutes then we go, with or without Dr. Hall,” Marcus said.

  “Do you want me to send someone to look for him?”

  “That would be a waste of time. Either he makes it on his own or he doesn’t,” Marcus said.

  Below, everyone went about getting ready, marking off items on the final checklist. Each person was checking and double checking every possible item. At last it was time to cast off.

  Marcus picked up the bull horn.

  “Make ready to single up all lines,” he said. He looked over the list one last time.

  “Single all lines,” he ordered.

  The sailors on the pier began to take in one of the lines holding the DSV to the pier.

  “Make preparations for getting underway,” he called down below.

  “All lines singled up,” came the report from the pier.

  “Remove the gangplank,” Marcus ordered.

  “Wait. Here comes Luke,” Peter said, pointing to a figure running toward the submarine.

  “Hold the gangplank,” Marcus ordered. Luke dashed across the plank and waved toward them as he went straight down the hatch.

  “Nice timing,” Marcus said dryly, “Remove the gangplank,” he ordered again.

  “Stand by to cast off. Everyone ready?”

  “As ready as we will ever be,” Peter replied.

  “Cast off all lines,” Marcus said into the bull horn.

  The sailors removed the remaining ropes. The Chameleon was free at last.

  “Thirty percent port thrusters,” Marcus ordered and Peter relayed the message.

  “Thirty percent,” he reported to Marcus. The Chameleon eased away
from the pier.

  “All stop.”

  “All stop.”

  The Chameleon drifted further away from the pier. When she was twenty feet out by his estimate he said, “Back main thrusters, ten percent.”

  “Back main thrusters, ten percent,” Peter echoed.

  The Chameleon, at long last was slipping her bonds. A gurgle came from behind the boat and she started slowly backing away from the dock.

  Once in mid-channel, Marcus ordered, “Starboard forward thrusters, twenty percent. Port back thrusters ten percent.” The Chameleon wheeled around and pointed to the open river.

  “All stop. Main propulsion, forward twenty percent,” Marcus ordered.

  A few seconds later Peter reported, “Mains at twenty percent, forward.”

  She was underway and heading up river.

  “You should go below now Peter.”

  “So far so good.”

  “We haven’t even scratched the surface yet,” Marcus said to Peter.

  “Still, this should be some adventure,” Peter replied.

  “You can count on it. We will hit deeper water in a few minutes. I’ll be coming down in a minute or two.”

  “On my way,” Peter said and gave a quick salute. The Admiral was taken aback but returned the salute.

  “Sorry,” Peter said, “You just looked so darned nautical standing there.”

  “My boy, I am nautical. Now get your civilian butt below.”

  “Aar, Aar Captain,” Peter said.

  “That’s Aye, Aye, you landlubber.”

  Peter went below and found that everyone was at his or her assigned station. Doctor Morgan reported that the boat was ready to dive. A few minutes later the skipper came down from the con and secured the hatch.

  “Thirty percent forward. Make ready to dive,” he said.

  “The boat's ready to dive skipper,” Morgan reported.

  “Dive. Course 121 degrees, 100 feet,” he ordered. A few minutes later the Chameleon was at one hundred feet and heading toward open water. She was heading into her element.

  “All secure, skipper,” Peter said.

  “Lay in a course to New London.”

  “Already programmed in,” Susan said.

  * * *

  Susan was seated next to one of the sailors whom Marcus had selected.

  “Just set the ‘waypoint’ on the desired heading,” She said, showing the man how to set the dial.

  “186 degrees?”

  “Yes. Now shove the control stick over, easy now, and we will come around. Ease off. A little more,” she coached, “See the ‘carrot’? The degrees are moving as we swing around to the heading we just laid in. When the carrot lines up with the dialed in degrees we will we on the correct heading. It will maintain that heading until you program in another heading. Of course we can put in as many as ten different settings.”

  “Got it. Man this is really simple once you get the hang of it,” he said.

  “Yes it is. Now I’ll show you how to set in multiple headings. We can set up the entire course corrections for the trip to New London.”

  Susan went about teaching him how to program in the information and the refinements of the navigational system. The system they had modified was based on the well tested SECOR satellite navigational tracking system. They had modified it to interface with the NAVSTAR system so that they could work at depths of up to 15,000 feet below the surface and still maintain accurate guidance. Below 15,000 feet it would be necessary to use the new SINLOCK system that incorporated the MicroPuff Passive range sonar and the AN/BQR-24 towed array sonar. These images would be combined and enhanced by the forward sensors. This would then be intensified so that the image could be projected on to the view screen allowing for visual navigation.

  The surrounding terrain would show up in 3-D and be projected on to an interlaced black matrix screen. Susan liked teaching the various capabilities of the system. She activated the SINLOCK and the ocean floor image jumped onto the screen.

  “Wow. Way cool. Is that what’s out there in front of us right now?”

  “You've got it. It’s set for the maximum range now,” Susan explained, “The range and clarity will vary to some degree with density, temperature, and the speed of the boat. Right now we are moving rather slowly. See here?” she said pointing to the knots indicator on the lower portion of the screen.

  "Distance out is 750 feet from the furthest point of the boat. The water temperature is here, depth here and salinity is here.”

  “Water temperature 54 degrees, depth 103 feet,” the trainee replied.

  “Correct. As those factors influence the distance you can see changes. Faster, deeper and colder will result in some loss of distance.”

  “And when we slow down or come up, the projection distance will increase?”

  “That’s exactly right. SINLOCK has sideboard looking capabilities as well,” she said showing him how to switch to the different views available.

  “Man. You can see all around this baby,” he said excitedly.

  “And below as well,” Susan said turning to the last setting.

  “Incredible,” was all the control man could think of to say.

  “Luke is going to take over now. I need to work with the Captain.”

  “This is so cool. Thanks.

  “My pleasure.”

  Luke replaced her at the helm.

  * * *

  Susan was going over the various capabilities of the main computer and backup systems with Marcus while the observer listened in as well. Peter was busy showing one of the machinist mates the air system and the various interconnecting systems. The monitors for the CO2 buildup system were linked to the scavenging system and required monitoring from time to time. The boat's main computer monitored them as well but it never hurt to double check. Everyone on the ship was in deep conversation about the various components.

  “Hey. The waypoint changed,” the control man said.

  “Yes. The computer told the navigational system to respond to the course corrections you laid in earlier. Notice we dropped a little in depth?”

  “110 feet.”

  “Right. You will need to correct for that manually. Bring it back to 100 feet and reengage the depth control,” he told the man.

  In the control room Peter and Marcus were going over the various options.

  “Peter,” Marcus said.

  “Yes?”

  “We will be coming up on the pilot point for New London in a few minutes. Do you think I should take her in?”

  “Not just yet. I think I would feel better if we handled her the first time. If all goes well you can take her out,” he answered.

  “No problem. I just wanted to be sure everyone was clear on the procedures.”

  A few minutes later Marcus said, “Attention all hands. Make preparations to surface.”

  Everyone sprang into action and the trainers took over the various stations. When they reported that all was ready, he gave the order to surface. Marcus and Peter went topside immediately once the DSV-1 was up. Peter hadn’t realized how late it had gotten. He was surprised to find the sun was starting to set. Time had slipped away quickly. It was amusing to watch the startled look on the face of the harbor master sent out to guide them in.

  “What in the world is this thing called?” he asked, scratching his head.

  “You are on the USS Chameleon, DSV-1. First of her kind,” Marcus told him.

  “This is some boat. It looks like it means business,” he said appreciatively.

  “Believe me, it does.”

  “Does it maneuver like a normal boat?” he asked.

  “Not exactly. We are calibrated in percentage of power. We don’t have the usual rudder system to change directions,” Marcus explained.

  “Too much to try to learn with it getting dark. Captain, I suggest you remain in control and I’ll just point you in the right direction. What does this Chameleon of yours draw?”

  “Just 12 feet.”r />
  “Amazing,” he said shaking his head.

  It took them about thirty minutes to get to the pier and tied off. They decided the fewer number of people around, the better.

  Loading and securing the four Mk71 torpedoes took the better part of three hours. Once finished loading, they topped off the water tanks once more for good measure. The crew grabbed food whenever they could. It was almost 2100 hundred hours by the time they dropped off the harbor master and headed to open sea again.

  Once clear of the harbor they immediately went to 50 percent power and dove to 500 feet. The closer they got to Georges Bank, the deeper they went. By midnight they were at 1500 feet. The Admiral and Peter took turns giving orders to the crew to see how they were progressing with their responsiveness. At 0100 hours they decided to call it a night. The first routine watch was set. Peter and others went to get some much needed rest. Peter would relieve the skipper at 0500 and then they would go on a six hour on, six hour off, rotation. Peter caught up with Luke as he was getting ready to hit the rack.

  “All in all, a very successful day.”

  “Exceptional. The General Dynamic engineers did one hell of a job on this baby. Absolutely staggering,” Luke said.

  “Yes, everything seems to be working as well or better than expected. You seem happy with the navigational system.”

  “Delighted actually. Of course the real test will start tomorrow but I am sure it will be equal to the task.”

  “You seem rather chipper today,” Pete said.

  “Yeah. I guess everything seems a little brighter today. Liz called just as I was leaving this morning. She sounded like her old self. We had a good talk. I don’t know what happened but all I can say is that I’m darned happy about it.”

  “Excellent. I told you she would come around. Liz is a good woman,” Peter said smiling.

  “Heck, I knew that. I guess she just needed time to work things out. She is talking about trying to have another baby. That’s the first time she's said anything like that since the miscarriage.”

  “From the way you have been carrying on you won’t remember how to do it. If you need pointers let me know. I’ll be glad to help,” Peter said laughing.

  “If it wasn’t for your hand you would never get any,” Luke shot back.