Tidal Rip

by Joe Buff

  “Every time we tried, it was a draw! We’re low on ammo! We don’t know what else we might face as we head for the convoy!” Then Jeffrey saw it with total clarity. “The Golden Bridge, XO!”

  “What?”

  “Sun-Tzu! He said always give your enemy a Golden Bridge, a way to back down but save face, so you avoid mutual annihilation!

  “So where’s the Golden Bridge? Who built it for whom?”

  Jeffrey worked his keyboard and called up a nautical chart. “There!”

  “South Africa?”

  Jeffrey nodded. “He’ll limp there for repairs! Think politically, XO! Beck built the bridge for himself, to cover his backside with Axis High Command!…We won the psychological fight! We’ve beaten him strategically! We’ve got him on the run, retreating for real!”

  “Why are you turning away?” von Loringhoven demanded.

  “Baron, our best choice now is to preserve von Scheer as a force-in-being. If we make it to the Boers’ underground pens at Durban, we can put in for repairs. We can also get liquid hydrogen there. Remember, we still have those two Mach Eight missiles in our silos aft. They’re useless without fuel. With fuel, they’re unstoppable.”

  “But you’re accepting defeat. You’re letting Challenger and the convoy get away!”

  “Baron, be realistic. Fuller has defeated us. We’re a floating wreck and he knows it. He’s faster, he has a better rate of fire because of the damage he inflicted, his ship is in much better shape because of the damage we didn’t inflict or he repaired, and he’s between us and the convoy. If we head north past the acoustic wall we forced him to help us make, we’re dead for sure. If we stay on this side of the wall, he’ll hesitate to pursue because he won’t know what might smack him in the face.”

  Von Loringhoven was torn.

  Beck went on. “We’re in extremely deep water, ideal for antisubmarine detection. He planned that part too. Look at the nautical chart. Except for a couple of isolated seamounts which Fuller can easily send a brace of Mark Eighty-eights behind to flush us, there’s no bottom terrain we can hide in most of the way from here to the Cape of Good Hope! He hasn’t come through the bubble clouds yet because we’re shallow, and we can use our non-nuclear Series Sixty-fives point-blank…. We need to get away from here while we can, before Allied planes with atomic depth-charges close in.”

  “Durban?”

  “You can blame it all on the sabotage in Norway. The convoy might have gotten through intact enough in spite of our Mach Two point five missiles. By withdrawing and staying alive, we buy ourselves time. We also tie down major Allied forces, who have to stay on high alert simply because we exist. With two Mach eight missiles ready to fire, we’ll be a far, far more dangerous threat than now. You can put all that in your report. Say we led Fuller on a merry chase all over the South Atlantic, and kept him from guarding the convoy directly. Say we allowed our other U-boats to get in closer and score more kills because Challenger couldn’t be there. Say that from Durban we can threaten the Allies anywhere: the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, the Arabian Gulf. Say we outsmarted HMS Dreadnought sneaking through the G-I-UK Gap…. Say anything you want to save our careers! You’re the diplomat!”

  Two hours later, Jeffrey had his ship sneak east of the lingering bubble clouds and noisemakers and the decoys that sounded like von Scheer but were too small to really be her. The air was clean enough now that the crew were out of their air breathing masks.

  With no more off-board probes in stock, Milgrom and her people did a careful search on passive sonar. Nothing. Jeffrey ordered her to ping on maximum power, a final raucous screech to find Ernst Beck and say good-bye and really rub it in. He’s good, but I beat his ass decisively.

  Milgrom reported a faint detection on the real von Scheer. Beck was far to the south, and heading east to hide under Boer land-based air support.

  “Looks like he used his Golden Bridge, Skipper,” Bell said. “A bridge you forced him to build, and take.” He grinned.

  Jeffrey was too lost in thought to respond. He had believed that he would certainly die along with his ship and his crew; to suddenly find himself reprieved by his own tactical skill and cold psychological calculation was stunning. Jeffrey had faced mortality before, often in combat. But never had he believed he’d really have to make the chilling word expendable come true…. And yet it hadn’t come true….

  This was no time to get maudlin or philosophical, or congratulate himself either.

  “XO, we’ve got a convoy to help protect.”

  “Aye aye, Captain.” Bell was crisp and lively now.

  “Helm, make your course due north. Ahead full, make your depth ten thousand feet.”

  EPILOGUE

  Two weeks later

  T he relief convoy made it more or less safely to shore, and the Central African pocket was strongly reinforced. The Axis land offensive was beaten back, and the German and Boer armies failed to come even close to linking up. And tactical nuclear fighting stayed confined far out at sea. Challenger was ordered to the Newport News Shipbuilding Yard, near Norfolk, Virginia, for repairs and upgrades.

  Jeffrey, rested and formally dressed, now sat in front of Admiral Hodgkiss’s desk, facing the admiral alone in his office. His patrol report sat on Hodgkiss’s immaculate desktop.

  Hodgkiss, that man of birdlike build and iron will, peered at Jeffrey intently. It was impossible to read his face, and this made Jeffrey very nervous.

  “I wanted you all to myself,” Hodgkiss stated, “before you start through the debriefing mill.”

  “Yes, sir,” Jeffrey said politely. He fought to keep his voice even and neutral.

  Hodgkiss picked up Jeffrey’s patrol report, weighed it in his hand, and dropped it back onto his desk. The report was long and heavy, and landed with a thump.

  The thump seemed to echo in the pregnant silence that followed. Jeffrey waited for the admiral to speak, to pronounce sentence on him, to inform him of his fate.

  “I told you to show some initiative, Captain, but good Lord!”

  “Sir?”

  “All your machinations in South America caused some heavy political flak in Washington. You practically started a war between State and SECDEF!” The Department of State and the secretary of defense.

  “A war for my head, sir?”

  “Still such a direct lad, aren’t you?”

  “I did what was needed at the time, Admiral.”

  “And then there’s the matter of the von Scheer.”

  Jeffrey grew crestfallen.

  “You performed brilliantly.”

  “Admiral?”

  “I didn’t tell you to go out there and commit suicide. I told you to protect the convoy at all costs. And you did. The convoy was protected from the von Scheer as a direct result of your actions. Case closed.”

  “But the von Scheer escaped.”

  “Yes. On the one hand, you’ve left yourself more work to do about that, down the road. On the other hand, you’re still alive and your ship is intact to conduct that work. And on the third hand, Challenger will be ready for sea again well before the von Scheer. At least, that appears to be the situation from what your report here indicates and what our sources in South Africa say. Net net, you increased Allied options at Axis expense.”

  “Temporarily.”

  “Temporarily can be like forever in a war of this kind.”

  “Yes, Admiral.”

  “Anyway, to return to the main point, you’ve presented us all with a quandary.”

  “Sir?”

  “Ultimately, bending or disobeying orders, or interpreting them too creatively or aggressively, is judged by the results, not the ways and means or good intentions.”

  “I understand, Admiral.”

  Jeffrey waited for the reprimand.

  “You’re being awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.”

  “Admiral?”

  “We considered another Medal of Honor, but it didn’t seem quite
the thing. That’s more for individual valor, conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, blood and gore and that sort of thing.”

  Jeffrey kept his mouth shut.

  “What you did showed broader leadership and judgment talents. Good communication and negotiation skills with an important new coalition partner, handled superbly under adverse and trying circumstances. And outstanding weighing of your tactical versus strategic alternatives in an important part of one of history’s most decisive fleet engagements.”

  “Sir, I don’t know what to say.”

  Hodgkiss peered at Jeffrey again. “You thwarted the Axis plans in South America completely, and turned a skeptical neutral into a friend. You helped maintain the status quo on land in Central Africa, when we were really on the ropes there for a while…. The Axis have reached their high-watermark. The last few weeks were like Stalingrad, or El Alamein, or Midway, in World War Two. The enemy threw everything they had at us, everything, set the sneakiest traps they could possibly think to invent. And we held the line, and made significant gains, and gave the bastards a bloody nose they’ll never forget. The tide is starting to turn, thanks in part to your efforts.”

  “Thank you, sir.” It was all still sinking in. The Defense Distinguished Service Medal.

  Hodgkiss’s phone rang.

  He picked it up and snapped, “I said we weren’t to be disturbed!” Hodgkiss listened. “Of the Naval War College?” He listened again.

  Hodgkiss handed the phone to Jeffrey. “It’s for you. The president of the United States.”

  Jeffrey stood up and took the phone. He almost dropped it, he was so flustered. “Commander Fuller speaking, sir.”

  “Welcome home, Captain,” that familiar voice said from the other end of the line.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “I’m sure you’re busy with all sorts of navy things down there, but can you come up to Washington the day after tomorrow?”

  “One moment please, sir.” Jeffrey put his hand over the phone. “He wants to know if I can go to Washington in two days.”

  Hodgkiss glared at him. “When the president asks you something like that, you say yes! Worry about juggling your schedule later!”

  Jeffrey spoke into the phone. “Yes, Mr. President.”

  “Good. We’re having a ceremony I think you should be at. That SEAL lieutenant who worked for you, Felix Estabo, is getting the Medal of Honor. And our new ally, Getulio da Gama, will be in town talking cooperative tactics.”

  “I’d be delighted to attend, sir.”

  “I already spoke to the secretary of energy. He’s passed my invitation on to your parents.”

  “My parents?”

  “Of course. We’ll kill a few birds with one stone, and you’ll get your new medal all in the same show.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  They ended the call.

  “Nice reunion in D.C.?” Hodgkiss asked.

  “You knew about this in advance?”

  “The gist of it. I didn’t think he’d actually call you in person…. By the way, Lieutenant Reebeck did a very good job here on my staff. I might pull strings and keep her for a while. But both of you have leave due. Take it while you can.”

  “Yes, Admiral.” Jeffrey was still standing. Now his head was spinning.

  Hodgkiss came from around his desk and shook Jeffrey’s hand, then escorted him to the door. “She’s in the building somewhere. Go say hello. She’s very good at reading your mind long distance. But I think you ought to renew the acquaintance face-to-face, before the telepathic connection wears off.”

  “Yes, sir.” Jeffrey started out the door.

  “Oh, one other thing.”

  Jeffrey braced himself. When an admiral threw in “Oh, one other thing” at the end of a meeting, it was usually a humdinger.

  “That was absolutely terrific, Captain, the way you convinced Ernst Beck you really intended to sacrifice yourself and your ship to destroy him. That fabulous subterfuge was the pivot point in your confrontation with von Scheer. Once you got him to swallow that, the rest was smooth sailing. Beautiful work.” Hodgkiss ushered him out of his office, and went back in and shut the door.

  Jeffrey stood there for a moment in the anteroom, thinking. The admiral’s aide and yeoman glanced at him quickly. They were used to people leaving formal audiences with the Great Man with big things on their mind.

  Then it struck Jeffrey. Hodgkiss, SECDEF, the President, they think I was bluffing in the battle with Ernst Beck…. Nobody here realizes I was willing to die to sink the von Scheer.

  GLOSSARY

  Acoustic intercept: a passive (listening only) sonar specifically designed to give warning when the submarine is “pinged” by an enemy active sonar. The latest version is the WLY-1.

  Active out-of-phase emissions: a way to weaken the echo that an enemy sonar receives from a submarine’s hull by actively emitting sound waves of the same frequency as the ping but exactly out of phase. The out-of-phase sound waves mix with and cancel those of the echoing ping.

  ADCAP: Mark 48 Advanced Capability torpedo. A heavyweight, wire-guided, long-range torpedo used by American nuclear submarines. The Improved ADCAP has an even longer range, and an enhanced (and extremely capable) target homing sonar and software logic package.

  AIP: Air Independent Propulsion. Refers to modern diesel submarines that have an additional power source besides the standard diesel engines and electric storage batteries. The AIP system allows quiet and long-endurance submerged cruising, without the need to snorkel for air because oxygen and fuel are carried aboard the vessel in special tanks. For example, the German Class 212 design uses fuel cells (see below) for air independent propulsion. Some other systems burn high-test hydrogen peroxide, which has its own oxygen built in chemically.

  Alumina casing: an extremely strong hull material that is less dense than steel, declassified by the U.S. Navy after the Cold War. A multilayered composite foam matrix made from ceramic and metallic ingredients.

  Ambient sonar: a form of active sonar that uses, instead of a submarine’s pinging, the ambient noise of the surrounding ocean to catch reflections off a target. Noise sources can include surface wave-action sounds, the propulsion plants of other vessels (such as passing neutral merchant shipping), or biologics (sea life). Ambient sonar gives the advantages of actively pinging but without betraying a submarine’s own presence. Advanced signal-processing algorithms and powerful on-board computers are needed to exploit ambient sonar effectively.

  ARCI: Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion; COTS stands for commercial-off-the-shelf. The latest software system designed for Virginia-class fast-attack submarines (see below). The ARCI system manages sonar, target tracking, weapons, and other data, through an on-board fiber-optic local-area network (LAN). (The ARCI replaces the older AN/BSY–1 systems of Los Angeles–class submarines, and the AN/BSY–2 of the newer Seawolf-class fast-attack subs.)

  ASDS: Advanced SEAL Delivery System. A new battery-powered mini-submarine for the transport of SEALs (see below) from a parent nuclear submarine to the forward operational area and back, within a warm and dry shirtsleeves environment. This permits the SEALs to go into action well rested and free from hypothermia—real problems when the SEALs must swim great distances, or ride while using scuba gear on older free-flooding SEAL Delivery Vehicle underwater “scooters.”

  ASW: Antisubmarine warfare. The complex task of detecting, localizing, identifying, and tracking enemy submarines, in order to observe and protect against them in peacetime, and to avoid or destroy them in wartime.

  Auxiliary maneuvering units: small propulsors at the bow and stern of a nuclear submarine, used to greatly enhance the vessel’s maneuverability. First ordered for the USS Jimmy Carter, the third and last of the Seawolf-class SSNs (nuclear fast-attack submarines) to be constructed.

  Bipolar sonar: a form of active sonar in which one vessel emits the ping while one or more other vessels listen for target echoes. This helps disguise t
he total number and location of friendly vessels present.

  CACC: Command and Control Center. The modern name for a submarine’s control room.

  CAPTOR: a type of naval mine, placed on or moored to the seabed. Contains an encapsulated torpedo, which is released to home on the target.

  CCD: Charge-Coupled Device. The electronic “eyes” used by low-light-level television, night-vision goggles, etc.

  COB: Chief of the Boat (pronounced “cob”). The most senior enlisted man on a submarine, usually a master chief. Responsible for crew discipline, and for proper control of ship buoyancy and trim at battle stations, among many other duties.

  Deep scattering layer: a diffuse layer of biologics (marine life) present in many parts of the world’s oceans, which causes scattering and absorption of sound. This can have tactical significance to undersea warfare forces by obscuring passive sonar contacts and causing false active sonar target returns. The layer’s local depth, thickness, and scattering strength are known to vary by many factors, including one’s location on the globe, the sound frequency being observed, the season of the year, and the hour of the day. The deep scattering layer is typically several hundred feet thick, and lies somewhere between one thousand and two thousand feet of depth during daylight, migrating shallower at night.

  Deep sound channel: a thick layer within the deep ocean in which sound travels great distances with little signal loss. The core (axis) of this layer is formed where seawater stops getting colder with increasing depth (the bottom of the thermocline, see below) and water temperature then remains at a constant just above freezing (the bottom isothermal zone, see below). Because of the way sound waves diffract (bend) in response to temperature and pressure, noises in the deep sound channel are concentrated and propagate for many miles without loss to surface scattering or seafloor absorption. Typically the deep sound channel is strongest between depths of about three thousand and seven thousand feet.