Day 21—Tuesday
The USS Tucson was berthed alongside a wharf at a U.S. Navy base in the western Pacific Ocean. The attack submarine slinked into Guam’s Apra Harbor the previous evening. A prefabricated cover composed of heavy-duty aluminum struts and Kevlar reinforced nylon fabric spanned SSN 770’s sail. The awning concealed the damage to the submarine’s superstructure from spying satellites and aircraft.
A collection of senior American naval officers and civilian employees hovered under the awning this afternoon. They were atop portable aluminum scaffolding that surrounded the entire sail. Most in attendance had arrived late morning aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.
Standing beside the jagged remains of the bridge station, Tucson’s commanding officer, Commander Scott Arnold, continued with the rundown. “As you can see, the device latched onto the leading edge of the fairwater in this area and—”
“What did it sound like,” interrupted one of the onlookers, “when it attached itself?”
Arnold glanced at the Navy captain. “I don’t recall hearing anything other than the detonation. We were running at flank and had launched decoys so it was noisy inside the control room.”
“Got it, thanks.”
Arnold pointed to the sail’s damaged leading edge. “The explosive used in the device appeared to be some form of a linear shaped charge. Note the severed surface where it detonated.”
“It looks like a line charge alright,” commented one of the civilians. “What’s the overall length of the detonation pattern?”
Commander Arnold shifted his stance while turning to address the visitor. “At least sixteen feet.”
“That’s incredible…what kind of weapon could do that?”
“Something quite radical, that’s for certain.”
Arnold took a couple of steps aft on the scaffold deck, beyond the remnants of the peeled back cowling that had covered the sensor masts and periscopes. Prior to heading to Guam, part of the damage had been cut away with a torch to free the radio mast and the search scope. The torched fragments lay on the aluminum deck.
Commander Arnold pointed to the marks that ran along the aft section of the sail. “Gentlemen, you can see the indentations of the coating in this area. Identical marks are on the port side.”
The navy Captain who had commented earlier ran a hand across the abrasion. “Looks like something cut right into the steel, like a clamp or some kind of a grapple device.”
“Yes, sir. It’s right in line with the line charge area, which makes me believe they are connected.”
“Misfire?”
“That’s my thinking at this time.”
“What’s the circumference of the fairwater?” asked another officer.
Arnold was ready for the expected question. “About sixty feet.”
It took several seconds for the revelation to sink in. The captain connected the dots first. “How the devil could something that long chase down and wrap itself around a six eighty-eight running at flank?”
“I don’t know, Captain. At least two of those damn things attacked us. If just one of ’em had managed to attach itself to the pressure casing rather than the sail, we would not be having this conversation.”
* * * *
Two thousand nautical miles northwest of Guam, Dr. Meng Park and Captain Zhou Jun met in Zhou’s office at the South Sea Sound Surveillance System. Meng had arrived half an hour earlier at S5, taking a commercial flight from Hefei to Sanya. It was late afternoon. Like the Americans who also caucused in Guam, Meng and Zhou conducted their own post-mission debrief.
The pair had just finished listening to an acoustic recording of the undersea battle that took place offshore of Hainan Island the previous week. The soundtrack was an amalgam of data collected by subsea hydrophones spread across the South China Sea and a mini acoustic recorder left aboard Viperina Six. The digital device housed in V-6’s computer compartment had been used to collect test data after it returned to its seabed base—Viper Hub Station 1. Captain Zhou was awestruck with the results revealed by the recording; Dr. Meng less so.
“Something failed,” Meng said. “The Americans escaped.” She wore a silk blouse and a pleated skirt cut an inch above her knees. A pair of three inch heels completed the assembly.
Captain Zhou wore his summer whites. He countered Meng’s doubt. “The submarine was obviously damaged. For the first strike of the system, that is most impressive.” Over the objections of Dr. Meng, Fleet had ordered S5 to activate the first Viper station.
Meng’s eyebrows arched, hardly marring her lovely face. “The recording clearly revealed that V-5 detonated. I just don’t understand why it didn’t sink the submarine.”
V-5 and V-6 hunted as a pair. V-6 broke off the pursuit when its battery reserves reached the mandatory minimum. It had just enough juice to return to the hub. V-5 had not yet reached its minimum and prosecuted the attack.
“It’s impossible to tell from the recording just where V-5 attached itself to the hull.” Zhou rubbed his chin. “It may have latched itself to a non-critical part of the casing…the bow cap covering the spherical sonar array, the rudder assembly, diving planes. Maybe even the fin. The weapon detonates but does not breach the hull.”
Meng said, “Perhaps I should refine the attack parameters to prioritize specific target areas.”
“That would be helpful.”
“But I’d still like to find out exactly what went wrong with Viper Five.”
“Other than analyzing the recording data, I don’t know what else can be done.”
“What about using a submersible?” Meng offered.
“To do what?”
“Search the bottom below the attack area for possible remnants of V-5. We have the coordinates from V-6.”
Captain Zhou considered the request. “We could try that but you know it’s unlikely we’ll find anything.”
“I know but we should still try—before the American’s do the same.”
The specter of the U.S. Navy returning to investigate the attack galvanized Zhou. “I’ll set it up for tomorrow.”
“Thank you.” Meng peered at the tile floor, another frown broadcasting her disappointment. “I just don’t understand what went wrong.”
“Park, you have much to be proud of. What you have developed is a true game changer. When Serpent is fully deployed, the Americans will no longer be able to intimidate us with their submarines.”
Meng looked up. “Thanks, I really do appreciate your support.”
“You’re welcome.” Zhou checked his wristwatch. “Let’s wrap this up. I have a table reserved at the Red Sun.”
Dr. Meng beamed her approval.
Meng Park had anticipated the pending rendezvous, even fantasizing while aboard the Airbus during the southbound flight. Although Zhou Jun was ten years her senior she longed for his company. With legions of younger men available for sex back at the university, Park preferred the navy captain. Jun was the consummate lover, focusing first and foremost on her pleasure.