“Please. We do not want to die. Give us more time,” she pleaded.
DaJadar looked down at her for a moment then started around her. She grabbed his arm and pulled on it. DaJadar brushed her aside and she fell to the floor. Peter ran over to her and helped her up.
“You jerk, you are really tough with women. What’s the matter DaJadar, are you afraid of humans? Afraid we will develop the technology to kick your butts?”
DaJadar stopped and turned to face Peter and the others.
“Peter...good. Female...good. DaJadar...not...kill... you. DaJadar...give eight Earth hours.”
“Thank you,” Susan said.
“All right, but don’t be shoving women around,” Peter challenged.
DaJadar continued on.
“Go,” he said without looking back.
Two large Bhakktah sentries came into the room and indicated that they were to follow. They fell in between the creatures.
“Are you all right?” Peter asked Susan.
“Sure. I just wasn’t ready for a push and he caught me off balance. You know it was strange. When I grabbed his arm it was...different.”
“Different how?”
“Soft. It felt kind of like rubber or latex. I was expecting something different. Muscle or something hard,” Susan told him.
“Humm. I wonder?” Peter muttered.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just something I can’t put a finger on,” he said.
Then he said to Marcus, “There is something I have to do. You go on and get the Chameleon ready. I’ll be right back.”
He turned before they could answer and sprinted past the guard. He was going as fast as he could.
“Wait. Come back,” he could hear Susan yell.
“Peter. Stop. Don’t do this,” Luke yelled out.
It was too late. He was committed. He kept running. The last guard was trudging along after him but was falling further and further behind. Peter ran back to the room they had just come from.
“DaJadar,” he shouted.
“DaJadar. I want to talk to you,” he yelled again.
His words echoed off the walls. He yelled his name over and over. Two Bhakktah entered the room but did nothing to interfere with him. A second door opened and DaJadar entered. He walked over and stopped inches from where Peter stood.
“DaJadar. I need to talk to you. I have to know something,” Peter said.
“Human....go...now,” he said raising his voice for the first time. Peter flinched but held his ground.
“No, DaJadar. I have questions for you and I want answers. I will not leave until we talk.”
“DaJadar...not...want...kill...Peter. Go.”
“DaJadar, you are not listening. If you must kill me rather than talk to me then you are just going to have to do it. I will not leave until I have some answers,” he said defiantly.
“Talk.”
“That’s better. Look, something just doesn’t add up for me. I want to understand you and your race better but I am confused. If the Bhakktah are so strong and mighty why are you concerned about us coming to your world? Why not just kick our butts when we get there? It should be easy for you.”
“Bhakktah...not...war.”
“What does that mean? DaJadar, I know you can understand and communicate better than you are showing me. Why the masquerade?”
“DaJadar understands plenty. Bhakktah do not want to fight with humans. We have never had a war with any planet,” he said in a halting but normal speech pattern.
“Are you saying you can talk the talk but can’t walk the walk?”
“I do not understand this talk,” he responded.
“I am saying that you don’t really know how to fight. You don’t have the capacity to defend yourselves. You need to blow up the Earth because you couldn’t fight us in a war.”
“DaJadar can destroy the Earth.”
“Oh, I believe you all right. You can destroy it by detonating the devices you buried on the earth floor but you couldn’t stop us if we invaded your world.”
“The Bhakktah are mighty. You humans are frail.”
“Hey, let’s stop this. You can destroy the Earth because you captured our weapons. You either cannot or do not produce weapons of you own. That’s why you need to stop us here. If we reach your world we will discover that you have no defenses to stop us. That explains the situation doesn’t it, DaJadar?”
“Peter is a wise human. DaJadar hopes Peter is a trustworthy human as well. If Peter tells others, DaJadar must detonate the devices.”
“I understand. DaJadar I have no intention of telling anyone else. I just want to understand what this is really all about,” Peter said.
DaJadar looked down at him for some time then said, “Peter will learn.”
Peter’s eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. There before him stood the real Bhakktah called DaJadar.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
- USS KEY WEST SSN 772 -
“Use the emergency transmission link. I want the Clay and Honolulu to join us here. I know the Chameleon is in this area someplace. I can feel it,” Zoren told the Captain of the Key West.
“Sir. They must have gotten past us. It couldn’t have taken them this long to get here. If they were even coming here. This a large area and it can go right under us and we would never even know it” the Captain said.
“I am well aware of how long it’s been Captain and what they can and can’t do. They are coming here all right. I intend to catch them and sink them. Coming in or going out, it makes no difference to me and it accomplishes the same goal. I will not let them destroy the very principles that this country was founded on. We will find them and we will sink them” Zoren said.
“But isn’t that already the case? I mean, the President has sanctioned their action. It’s a moot point now, isn’t it?” he asked.
“Never. You let me worry about Beland. Presidents have been known to change their minds. Especially when we demonstrate that the aliens really are a threat to us. You just worry about finding that damn DSV. I will handle the political repercussions. You have only one job at the moment. Find that damn sub and sink it.”
“Yes sir, Admiral.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
- CHAMELEON DSV-1 -
Marcus had been waiting anxiously on the outer conning tower for Peter to arrive. He was relieved to see him at last. He didn’t ask any questions but simply followed him down the ladder and secured the hatch.
“Make preparations for getting underway,” Marcus ordered.
“I don’t suppose you are going to tell us what that was all about?” Luke said to Peter.
“I don’t suppose. All I can say is that it was very important to me. I needed the answers to some questions that only DaJadar could supply. You will all just have to trust me on this,” he said.
“Alright. You will tell us when you’re ready. For now we need to get underway. Luke, the console please. Susan, would you mind checking out the monitor. The vertical hold is malfunctioning. Can you do something about it?”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said, reluctant to let go of Peter's arm.
“All secure,” Okeefer said after making his rounds.
“Now all we need is water,” Marcus said.
“No need to get impatient,” Peter said, “We are going to take a short nap before they flood the bay.”
“How do you know?” Marcus asked.
“I told DaJadar we couldn’t spend the rest of our lives with the telepathy devices attached to our heads. He was reluctant at first, but finally agreed.”
“What about time? We don't have much of it,” Luke said.
“No need to worry about that. They will give us the time we need,” Peter said.
“Hey. What’s going on? I feel really.......” was all that Luke got out before he slid to the floor.
The others followed in rapid succession. Within minutes they were all fast asleep.
***
/>
- USS CHAMELEON DSV-1 -
“Wow. What hit me?” Luke asked when he sat up.
“That was some knockout punch,” Marcus said.
They were disoriented at first but it passed quickly. They shook off the effects and felt their heads. Only two small round scars were evident on the sides of their heads. Peter felt down the back of his neck and discovered a larger round disk.
“Does this mean they are through with us?” Susan asked.
“Not entirely. We still have to keep our end of the bargain if we want to save our world.”
“I understand that. What I am asking is, are they still able to communicate with us or are we finished with all of that?”
“Not exactly. They will still be able to contact us but not in the same way. That disk you feel serves as a facilitation for communication.”
“Like I said earlier, all we need is water and we can get on with our mission,” Marcus said.
He had no sooner gotten the words out of his mouth than they heard water rushing in. Within minutes the Chameleon was starting to float.
“As soon as we are a few feet off the floor I want to hover,” Marcus told Luke.
The water continued to rush in and a short time later the room was flooded and they were making their way out of the opening.
“Turn on the lights. Steady doctor. Right down the center, 5 percent power,” Marcus ordered.
They cleared the dome and entered the narrow channel leading back to the trench. The passage was tight and narrow and required intense concentration for Marcus and Luke. It took around two hours for them to exit on the other side.
“I sure wouldn’t want to make that commute every day,” Luke said with a sigh of relief.
“What next?” Peter asked.
“We go up to 15,000 feet and locate the Key West. Then we attempt to communicate with them.”
“Won’t they locate us and try to sink us?”
“That’s the point of the 15,000 feet. They can’t come close to this depth so we will have the protection of distance and thermal layers,” Marcus explained.
“Sounds sketchy to me,” Peter said.
“If you have a better plan, I’m willing to consider it,” Marcus said.
“Oh it’s worth a try but I’m willing to go on record and say that we won’t have much success with talk,” Peter said.
“You’re not going to get me on that sucker bet,” Marcus said, “Still, we have to try.”
“Let’s do it,” Luke chimed in.
They leveled off at 15,000 feet. An hour had passed when they located a faint signal.
“Skipper, I have a faint signal, bearing 066 degrees, 1,200 feet at 8 knots. Skipper we have too many thermal layers between them and us to get a good fix.”
“Where is the next layer?” Marcus asked.
“13,000 feet.”
“And the one after that?”
“8,000 sir.”
“That would still leave how many layers between us and them?”
“Three if they stay at the same depth. They are right on top of one at 1,200 feet,” he informed Marcus.
“Luke, come to 8,000 feet. We need to make sure we have the right boat. Course 066, 10 percent power.”
Luke repeated the command. As they passed the 10,000 foot level the sonar man reported he had picked up a surface ship heading in their general direction at 18 knots.
“Anything else?”
“I got a signature match. It’s the Key West. The surface ship is the Henry Clay, DD839, sir.”
“Good work. Now, here is what I intend to do. We are going to slip under the Key West like before. With our propulsion system and the layers, they will never know we are here. The surface ship is not a threat at this time.”
“But she could be?”
“Forget it. It is not a part of the equation right now. We can worry about her later. We need to contact the Key West. We will force her to the surface if necessary.”
“How will you do that?”
“She will clear baffles again at some point. When she does, we will come up behind and just slightly above her just as soon as she resumes her normal course. We will have plenty of time. We can easily outmaneuver her so she won’t be able to do anything about it. Her own noise will mask any that we might make so her torpedoes will be useless. We will ping her and shake her up until she realizes we could take her out any time we wanted to. They will talk to us then.”
“Skipper, the Key West is slowing. I think she is going to clear baffles.”
“Now?” Luke asked.
“No. Wait. They have to take in the tow array. They won’t have any ears out the back then. We will get behind and above them before they know what happened.”
“Sir. They are retracting their sonar array.”
“Let me know as soon as they get ready to resume their normal course. Just as soon as they start the turn. Understand?” Marcus told the sonar man.
“Aye skipper.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
- CHAMELEON -
They waited for what seemed like an eternity.
“Sir, she is turning back.”
“Luke. Heading 150 degrees. Bring us to 1000 feet. Now,” Marcus said.
The Chameleon came through the thermal layers and leveled off at 1000 feet. Marcus turned her to fall in just behind the Key West, following their same course. They were 200 feet above her and 1,000 yards astern.
“Match her speed. I don’t want to get any closer. I want to hang out behind her and see what she is up to for a while,” Marcus said.
They followed the killer sub as she roamed the length of the trench. Marcus would match any course change the Key West made. Waiting and listening.
“Sonar, where is the surface contact?”
“Bearing 160 degrees, 18 knots, just over 6,000 yards.”
“Good. She is heading away from us. She won’t be a problem. Now everyone hang on. We are going to ping the Key West and see what happens. She will take evasive action immediately so you need to hold on to something solid. My guess is that she will dive and turn starboard but you never know,” Marcus informed them.
“Luke, we are going to try to stay right behind her. If for some reason we lose her, be ready to go to 70 percent power, 20 degrees down. We will head for the bottom as fast as we can.”
“Understood. Ready when you are,” Luke replied.
“Sonar, anything new to report?”
“Nothing sir. Surface ship is still heading away from us.”
“All right. Son, give the Key West one good ping on my mark.”
“Aye skipper.
Marcus took a quick glance around the room to make sure they were all braced and ready. He put the VGA glasses on and made sure he could identify the readings. It was time.
“Sonar. Mark.”
PING.
The sonar wave sped through the water and struck the hull of the Key West. They could hear it bounce off her and it reverberated through their own hull.
“Hold it. Steady. She isn’t doing anything just yet. Steady.”
“Sir, contact. Active torpedo. Bearing 180 degrees, 1,500 yards. The Key West has stopped.”
“Damn. Another sub has been following us. Dive. Dive. 70 Percent, 20 degrees down. Now,” Marcus yelled.
Luke had already started as soon as the sonar man mentioned the torpedo. The Chameleon started her steep nose down descent. Luke pushed the dive steeper to 25 degrees. He wanted to get as much depth between them and the torpedo as possible.
“Talk to me,” Marcus said to the sonar man.
“1,200 yards. She is active and has acquisition. Skipper, she has us.”
“Change course. Come to 090 degrees. Increase speed to 80 percent.”
“We are at 80 percent, 25 degrees down,” Luke said.
The Chameleon was speeding toward the bottom and turning at the same time. Everyone was hanging on for dear life.
“Sir we are passing very, very close to
the Key West.”
“Never mind that. Distance to torpedo?’
“800 yards and closing.”
“Deploy noise makers. Now,” Marcus ordered.
Two canisters shot out the back and started to churn the water in an attempt to throw off the torpedo that was closing in on them.
“We just slid by the West, skipper.”
“Copy sonar.”
“600 yards. She still has acquisition.”
“Come to 120 degrees. 100 percent power.”
Marcus could see in his glasses that they were starting to pick up speed. They were passing 1,900 feet and dropping fast. He knew they couldn’t outrun the torpedo but maybe they could hit a thermal and lose it at 2,000 feet.
“Skipper, it’s lost us. Hold it. It’s looking. Looking. It has re-acquired,” the sonar man said. They all literally held their breath.
“Sir, she re-acquired on the Key West. They are taking evasive action. Deploying noise makers and turning. She is heading up.”
A tremendous explosion rocked through the hull followed almost immediately by a percussion shock wave that slammed into the side of the Chameleon. It caught her broadside in a steep dive. She yawed over on her port side. The shock was going to tip her over.
“Level out. Zero power,” Marcus shouted.
Luke was fighting with the controls. The Chameleon was being pushed further and further over. She was going to go over. The DSV went dark as the generator tripped off line. Emergency battle lanterns came on casting an eerie glow on the compartment. You could not see people, only shadows.
“Full power to port thrusters,” Marcus ordered.
Luke immediately responded. A line let loose and caused a shower of sparks from one of the electrical panels. They were being tossed around like ragdolls. A small fire broke out but everyone was too busy hanging on to worry about it.
Peter reached over and grabbed on to Susan just as she was losing her grip on the railing she had been holding on to. Ever so slowly the thrusters took hold and started to counteract the force of the shock wave. They started back to an even keel.
“Sonar?”
“The Key West is breaking up. She is going down. It damaged the other sub as well. She has lost power and is taking on water.”
THE BRINK - OPERATION DEEP FLIGHT Page 43