THE BRINK - OPERATION DEEP FLIGHT

by Marshall Huffman

  “Okay, let’s not get you two started again,” Susan said.

  “When do the rest of the team members get to go home?”

  “Most will when this is over. I’m sure none of you have mentioned anything about the mission to the others, right?”

  “Of course not. None of us want to see them stuck here,” Paul said.

  “Just checking,” Peter said.

  “So what do we do next?”

  “I guess this is as good a time as any to go over whatever last minute problems you may have encountered. Does anyone have any problems or issues to discuss?”

  “Besides being here?” Paul asked.

  Peter ignored the remark.

  “Yes Luke?”

  “That thruster that we replaced is still not at 100 percent. I was going to try to change it out one more time but I guess that will have to wait.”

  “Maybe we can get to it in the air. I’ll give you a hand. Did you load a spare onboard?”

  “You bet.”

  “The torpedo door on the right side is making a slight grating noise when it opens,” Paul said.

  “Really? I didn’t pick that up.”

  “I didn’t either the first time but when we went to launch the ROV, I caught it. It’s not serious but considering that we are trying to be totally stealth, it is concerning.”

  “Right. Why don’t we start a punch list of items that we need to accomplish before we get to Guam? It’s a long trip and we may be glad to have something to occupy the time.”

  “Add the vertical hold on the main view screen for the control panel. It flickers every once in a while. That and the contrast on the overhead viewer,” Susan said.

  “The number three fuel cell is not performing as well as the others. I need to check it out,” Phillips added.

  “The nitrogen scrubber has a small rattle in it. I would like to get that fixed.”

  “Luke, anything else?” Peter asked.

  “Not on my end.”

  “Paul?”

  “Two of the pods are not responding correctly. It must be the thermostats. I have backup ones. I’ll try to get them changed out.”

  “Good. Okeefer?"

  "I noticed a small leak in a fresh water valve. It’s probably the packing gland. It’s no big deal but since we have the time, add that to the list.”

  They went over the boat space by space and in the end, they had a list of twenty-three items that needed attention. It would keep them from going brain dead during the long trip. They decided to call it a night and take care of any last minute personal needs.

  Susan held back as the rest were leaving.

  “Boy, you’re a hard man to get alone.”

  “Some life we’re leading just now isn’t it? I’ve been trying to get a chance to talk to you too.”

  “So talk. I’m here.”

  “What do you think?”

  She laughed, “That’s some opening line. Think about the mission? Think about us, or about life in general?”

  “All of them. Start with us.”

  “Us. I guess it’s safe to say that I am very attracted to you. I admire your ability to take charge and get things done. I like being around you, even though it’s not been as often as I would like. I like your sense of humor. You try to be fair. I don’t always agree with what you do or say, but overall, I just like you as a person. This hasn’t been easy. We both want to have the proper professional appearance but it complicates things as far as a relationship goes.”

  “You can say that again. Susan, you know I really like you as well and I want to give our relationship a chance to develop. Once we get back from this mission I would like for you to consider taking time off and we can spend some time together away from the pressures of the job and the world.”

  “I think I would like that too Peter. Hey, and if it doesn’t work out there is always Barbara.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “Oh, she told me that if I wasn’t interested in you she would like to have a shot. She indicated that it was all right with you.”

  “I never said that. All I said wa........”

  “It’s okay,” Susan interrupted, “I know her very well. When she has the hots for someone, she isn’t very tactful.”

  “Hots? Well, you didn’t mention, hots. That changes everything,” he joked.

  “I’ll change your facial features if you get too cheeky,” she shot back.

  “Just kidding.”

  “I’m not. Anyway, getting back to the subject. You plan the time and I’ll be there.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  “We’re going to have to,” she said, indicating to the door.

  Admiral Marcus had just entered and was headed for them.

  “Hi, Susan. Peter. Am I interrupting?”

  “Heavens no. We were just going over the list of repairs to deal with during the trip,” Susan said.

  “Good. We have taken along a complete tool assortment. If you need anything special let me know.”

  “Will do. We are pretty much ready to go. How is the loading of the Chameleon coming along?”

  “It’s a real chore to get her into the plane and secured but it seems to be progressing rather well. We should be able to leave a little earlier tomorrow. That’s what I came to tell you. Can you have everyone ready by noon?”

  “I don’t see why not. Everyone is pretty much ready now.”

  “Great. The sooner we get there the sooner we can get the mission started. I take it you’re all going?”

  “Indeed we are. Not a problem,” Peter confirmed.

  “Good. I have already informed Commander Price of the change. It would be a shame if he missed our departure.”

  “Somehow I don’t think that’s likely,” Susan said.

  “Unfortunately, neither do I.”

  * * *

  Peter had finished packing and was just about ready to call for a car when his phone rang.

  “Peter, its Arthur. How are you doing, my boy?”

  “Arthur. I wasn’t expecting you to call. How is everything?”

  “Couldn’t be better. I just wanted to call and wish you good luck. I talked to John Taylor and he said you had been recruited for a mission at the request of the President and that you have been to the White House. Very impressive. He didn’t go into details but said that you had represented DigiLabs and yourself quite remarkably. He was very complimentary.”

  “That was very nice of him. How are things going at DigiLabs in general?”

  “Excellent. That’s the other reason I called. John has asked us to do a couple of other projects for the Navy. It seems like everyone is impressed with the way you have handled the Deep Flight Operation. I am too.”

  “Thank you Arthur. That’s always nice to hear.”

  “I told him I would have to wait until you got back to make a decision. Actually, it will be yours. Oh, and another thing. Well, a couple more things. The Cryogenics lab is done and the Navy picked up the entire tab. It’s actually fancier than we asked for. It didn’t cost us one dime. You sure have a way with getting things done. The second thing is I received a check for 5.5 million dollars from the government. The first third of the payment for the systems we developed for Deep Flight. The next third is being sent next month. Quite a remarkable job Peter.”

  “Arthur, I really haven’t done anything all that spectacular.”

  “Someone sure thinks you have. I do too. You just take care of yourself. I’m looking forward to your safe return. God be with you.”

  “Thank you Arthur. I’m looking forward to getting back too. See you soon.”

  “Goodbye Peter. Tell Susan Long I said hi. I know her from way back,” Arthur said.

  “I’ll be happy to,” Peter said and hung up the phone slowly, wondering what the comment about Susan was all about?

  He called for a car and was picked up and deposited at the C5-A. Most of the rest of the crew was already there. Admiral Marcus arrived a sho
rt time later and they all boarded. They did a quick head count and found that only Commander Price was missing.

  “I want wheels up at 1200 hundred sharp,” he told the pilot.

  “Will do, Sir.”

  They had started the engines and were just removing the chocks from under the wheels when a car came racing up. Commander Price waved and headed for the door. He jumped in and made his way to the seating area. Admiral Marcus didn’t even bother to acknowledge his presence.

  The plane taxied out to the runway and at noon sharp it was airborne and on its way to California. The trip was long and most of the people had made their way down to the Chameleon to go over systems. Peter and Luke replaced the thruster but couldn’t find anything wrong with the one they took out.

  The flight seemed to take forever but at last they arrived. When they all disembarked, they were taken to the base BX for a hot meal. When they were returned to the C5-A, they found that a problem had developed. A small fuel leak had been discovered in one of the plane's wing tanks and they would have to spend the night. The scientists and officers were taken to the base BOQ and the other men were deposited at a barracks. They would all assemble at 0700 for a 0730 departure.

  * * *

  Peter awoke at 6:30 a.m. and stumbled around getting ready. Not having a Diet Coke handy was a real hardship by his standards. Once he got moving it didn’t take him all that long. It was getting started that took all the time. The bus arrived at 0750 and they were all taken to the waiting C5-A. It was repaired and ready to go. After a quick preflight inspection they were again taxying to the runway. Another long boring trip awaited them. Over water it seemed even more boring. Luke was wishing he hadn’t done so much of the repair work on the first leg. He read for a while and then wrote a long letter to Liz. He had called her again last night and things were definitely better. She seemed anxious for him to get home. It was a good feeling. He drifted off from time to time as did almost everyone else. They were all getting restless by the time they reached Pearl Harbor.

  The refueling didn’t take long. They had time for a quick look around and a bite to eat and they were off again on the last leg, on a long and tiring flight. They were all bushed by the time they arrived in Guam. The flying part had been as hard on them as the actual work load they had been handling. At least it seemed that way.

  The weather was hot and sticky when they finally got off the plane. A blue military bus took them to their quarters so they could freshen up. Once that was done, they felt more human. When Susan looked in the mirror she let out a small yelp. Her hair was plastered to her head. That was a definite no-no for her. She immediately set about taking a hot bath and washing her hair. She soaked for the better part of an hour. When she got out of the tub she dried off and looked at herself in the mirror. Not bad, she thought. Maybe not model material but not bad either. She dressed and walked outside to see what was around in the area. Luke was just coming out as well.

  “Hi Luke. Where are you headed?”

  “I’m not sure, really. You want to come along?”

  “Why not? I think I saw a shopping center over there,” she said pointing to the west.

  “Shopping center?” he said.

  “PX or BX, whatever. I can never remember. It doesn’t matter as long as I can find some lipstick. I must have lost mine someplace along the way.”

  “Well, that will never do,” he kidded her.

  “You have no idea,’ she said smiling.

  They walked along and soon found the Base Exchange. Susan found lipstick and hair spray. It was just what the doctor ordered. They bumped into Admiral Marcus and he invited them to dinner at the Officer's Club. They gladly accepted.

  The Admiral turned out to be an excellent host and they had a fun time talking to him and about his travels. He gave them an abbreviated version of the incident in the North Sea when he was on the USS Yarnell. They listened, fascinated at his encounter.

  “No explanation was ever given?”

  “Not really. Just the official version, and we all know that wasn’t the case.”

  “Something tells me we are about to encounter the truth,” Susan predicted.

  “I couldn’t agree more. Would anyone like more wine?”

  “Please,” Susan said, holding out her wine glass. “That must be a Merlot,” she added.

  “Why yes,” Marcus said, impressed, “Do you know a lot about wine?”

  “You never take me to Miami,” she said in a whining voice.

  “Not that kind,” he laughed.

  “I know a little. Merlot is one of the few red wines I really like. It is perfect with this blackened swordfish.”

  “Goes well with my New York strip,” Luke offered.

  “Merlot is good with almost any food. I prefer red wine,” Marcus said.

  “Not me. Usually I like Chardonnay, Vouveray, and Pinot Grigio the best, especially the Chateau St. Michelle Chardonnay,” she said.

  “Chateau St. Michelle? That’s a California wine isn’t it?”

  “Washington State. They have an excellent selection. I’ve had several of their wines. Since you like red wines so much, you should try the Cabernet Sauvignon and their Merlot. Both are excellent.”

  “Thank you,” he said taking out a pen and writing the names down, “I’ll give them a try.”

  “Believe me, they are very, very good.”

  “I like Boon’s Farm,” Luke piped in.

  “Strawberry Hill, no doubt,” Marcus joked back.

  “Finest kind.”

  The Admiral had them dropped off at their quarters at the end of the meal. They were just starting to go to their separate apartments when Dr. Morgan yelled.

  “Hi guys. Did you just get back from dinner?”

  “Sure did. How about you?” Susan asked.

  “Yes. I had a less than adequate burger at the base greasy spoon.”

  “Maybe the food will be better on the DSV.”

  “I hope so. What we had during the trials was better than what I just had. How about you?”

  “Oh, ours was just fine,” was all that Luke said. No use rubbing it in.

  “See you tomorrow. I guess we are still supposed to meet at 8 o’clock for a briefing.”

  “As far as I know, that’s still the plan. See you then.”

  * * *

  They all sat at the tables, blurry eyed. The time lag had caught up with them. Only Admiral Marcus seemed unaffected.

  “Good morning. You found the supply of Diet Cokes I had sent over?” he asked Peter.

  Peter just nodded. It was too early to be cheery.

  “All right then. We will spend the day getting the Chameleon ready for sea. I’m sure you already know that we need to do a very thorough check of every system. I take it most of the repairs were completed on the way over. We are scheduled to depart at 1600 hours if all goes well. I will need to know immediately if you run into anything that might set us back. A bus is outside and ready to take you to the boat. If you need to get anything before we depart, now is the time to do it. It will make another trip in one hour. Does anyone have any questions?”

  No one did. Most of them climbed on the bus but a few had some personal errands to take care of. They were dropped off at the boat.

  During the night it had been unloaded from the plane and was now tied up to the pier. The gangplank was in place and armed soldiers were stationed all along the pier. They had to show their badges to get by. Even the Admiral was required to show his. They began checking out the DSV from bow to stern.

  Checklists were gone over two and sometime three times. No one wanted to visit the Mariana Trench with something overlooked. Peter and Luke made sure all the water and LOX tanks were properly topped off. Peter showed Machinist Mate Rawlings how to light-off the evaporator units and the LOX plant which is Navy speak for turn the thing on. Susan went over the subprograms and made sure everything was working properly.

  The Admiral spent the better part of the day on the ph
one and making plans. He arrived at the sub at 1500 hours and checked in with each department. It looked like their scheduled 4 o’clock departure was going to be right on time. Final preparations were made, and at last, the crew and Chameleon were ready to go. As they were starting to take their places, Dr. Phillips came up to Peter and Admiral Marcus on the conning tower.

  “Peter. Admiral. I don’t want to cause any trouble but a rather disturbing thing just happened and I thought you might want to know about it.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I was heading to the forward observation port when I saw Lieutenant ...what’s his name?”

  “Lieutenant Price,” Marcus said.

  “Yes. Well, I saw him coming out of your sleeping quarters. I didn’t think much of it until I realized you were up here. It might not mean anything but he did act strangely. He couldn’t see me but I could see him looking around before he closed the door. He got out of the area pretty quickly.”

  “That’s fine. I sent him to get some charts. It is very appropriate of you to tell me but this time its okay,” Marcus said.

  “Alright. Like I said, I’m not trying to cause trouble.”

  “You did the right thing. Thank you,” he said, and Fred went below.

  “What was that all about?” Peter asked.

  “I don’t’ know but it can’t be good. I’ll have to go over my quarters with a fine tooth comb when I get a chance.”

  “It looks like it’s starting already,” Peter said.

  “I didn’t think he would wait long. There is little we can do about it right now. I guess we had better get on with it,” Marcus said, “Would you check and see if everyone is ready?”

  “Sure thing,” Peter said and went down the ladder to check on things. He talked to each person and found they were ready. He went back topside and told the Admiral. The Admiral then gave the order to single up all lines.

  “Stand by,” Peter called down.

  “Cast off,” Marcus ordered, “Starboard thrusters 25 percent.”

  The Chameleon moved away from the pier. The sailors were busy coiling up the ropes as the Chameleon headed to the open channel.

  “Twenty percent mains ahead,” he ordered. The boat started forward.

  “Right ten degrees.”

  A few minutes later, “Right, five degrees. Ahead thirty percent.”