“Blake, I’ve got your crew list here. I see you have experienced choices for XO and COB but after that they’re all new.”
“Sir, their all top of their grade and have good reports from their commanding Officers. She’s a new boat and I wanted a fresh crew. People who are hungry for it sir.”
“I see. Very well Commander, run the list by your XO when he reports. He’s important, he can make or break the boat.”
“I will sir.”
He was putting the phone down when the Admiral spoke. “Sorry sir, what was that?”
“I got notice from the CNO’s office, the boat now has a name. She’ll be commissioned into the fleet as USS Stonewall Jackson,” Nathan grinned, “did you request that?”
“Yes sir. Her code name was Legend, it seemed appropriate.”
“Yes, good choice Blake, good choice.” He met his XO, Larry Sayers in Groton two days later, they got on well. The pair of them went down the list. Sayers recommended a few crew members he knew, Nathan accepted them all.
“That’s it Larry?”
“Just one more sir, CPO Benson. I worked with him on the Santa Fe. Young, but probably one of the best pair of ears in the fleet. He’s an underwater brain to match, the man’s part fish.”
“Sounds good to me. Get him.”
The crew assembled, and she carried out two shake down cruises.
Nathan was summonsed to Admiral Cernio’s office.
“Is your boat ready?”
“Yes Sir, she’s ready for deployment.”
“Good Blake. Eastern fleet wants to borrow you for a mission. You’re lucky, you have the choice of two. It’s always good to play the bad guys. You can be assigned to the submarine open water exercise area off The Bahamas. You’ll be the bad guy, the one they all want to sink. You’ll get to piss on their parade and sink them. You’ll enjoy that. The other mission is to deploy to Arctic waters, the Barents Sea, sneak around and see what Ivan is up to. You can let me know tomorrow afternoon, have a think about it.”
Nathan smiled. “I can tell you now sir.” The Admiral raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, go on.” Nathan told him.
The Admiral sat impassively. “I’ll issue you your orders this afternoon.”
“Thank you, sir.” Nathan left.
Cernio laughed. “We’ve picked a good one there.”
USS Stonewall Jackson left Groton on her first patrol at midnight. Nathan stood in the sail at 00.09 hours, the wind blew cold and gusted from the west. The lights of New London receded.
“This is it Larry, let’s show them all what we know she can do.” The two men climbed down into the sail, Nathan closed the hatch and spun the wheel shut.
“Trim for and aft for diving.” Air spouted from vents into the air, spitting seawater high into the air.
“Plansman, dive, dive, dive. Down bubble fifteen, speed 14 knots. Make your depth two hundred.”
The deck tilted forward, up above, the boat slipped away from the New England night and down into the black depths.
“Two hundred feet sir.”
“Left rudder one third.”
“Aye sir.”
Nathan picked up the intercom.
“All hands, this is your Captain. Your boat has commenced her first patrol. We are a new boat with a new crew. You will all come of age aboard this boat. Let’s make the navy proud of her. Captain out.”
“Surface traffic Benson.”
“Clear in this area sir.”
The voyage was over it was time to taste fresh air. “Trim fore and aft for surfacing. Plansman make your up angle ten degrees.”
“Seventy feet sir.”
“Surface the boat.” The boat rose from the depths bow first, water poured from her sailplanes. She was soon fully surfaced.
“XO, let’s go up there.” The two of them climbed the sail and opened the hatch. Nathan climbed out, the XO followed. He stood and looked around. It was a dull cloudy morning with a light breeze. Several miles to either side of the boat were green hills, a few houses and the odd village dotted around. Low at sea level where the outlines of buildings. Towns, low rise but populated. Industrial and residential. A distant ferry, its hull red and its upper works cream, made its way east.
“This is it XO. My first time in Scotland.”
“Me too sir, our home port for now is around eight miles north. HMNB Clyde. Faslane, Gare Loch, around 25 miles from Glasgow.” The boat entered Gare Loch and the XO conned her into her mooring to the east of the Sea Loch. Faslane was the largest of the Royal Navy’s submarine bases.
Nathan paid a visit to the base commander, by his Dolphins he was an ex-submariner.
“Commander Nathan Blake sir.” They shook hands.
“You’re off up around the corner I believe?” In Royal Navy parlance “up around the corner” was north and around the north coast of Norway and into the Barents Sea. Home of the Russian Northern Fleet.
“Yes sir, just three days ashore and reprovisioning.”
“You’ll find he usually has an Akula class loitering around off Northern Ireland. I’d come left, make it look like you’re off back over the Atlantic and then curve back in. We call it a left hook in the Barents.” He smiled. “It’s more commonly known as a left hook in the bollocks. That’s Ivan’s nether regions.”
“I’ll do that sir.”
“Let me know your exact departure time, Ambush is available, she’ll distract the Akula.” Three days later she left port, submerged and headed for the north of Norway.
“What’s our current position Kaminski?” She was the Navigation officer, to the male crew she was a trim blond haired twenty something with a pony tail. A piece of ass, they said privately.
“Fifteen miles north of the coast, forty miles to the Russian coast sir.”
“Make your speed six knots Plansman.
Kaminski make for the Norwegian coast and sail into Russian waters. No more then one mile offshore.” She looked up at him. “One mile sir. That’s in to…”
“I know where it is. If you can get to less than half a mile, do it. Work with CPO Benson for soundings or contacts. We’re here to sneak in Lieutenant Kaminski and that’s what we’ll do.” The boat crept forward.
Kaminski worked at her chart, both physical and a large hi-res screen. “Now in Russian waters sir,” After an hour of sailing close to shore Benson called out.
“Akula class three miles to port. He’s turning toward us sir.”
Nathan looked to his XO, who shrugged. “Could be a patrol turn or he could have us sir.”
Nathan ran his fingers through his hair. “Weaps, what’s our warload.”
“Tubes one to four Mk48, tube five Harpoon, tube six Pointer.”
“Designate Akula as Tango one. Get me a firing solution on Tango one.” Nathan waited a couple of minutes. “Benson, what’s he up to?”
“Tango one, still heading shoreward, his heading is to our rear.”
It was tricky, Nathan knew they were well inside Russian waters. The crew’s welfare mattered but so did the mission. He could try to sneak away or press on. Or…it took him a few seconds to decide. It would be the Akula class or USS Stonewall Jackson.
“Weaps, flood tube one, make ready for action.”
“Sir, tube one ready in all respects. Fish is hungry.” Now, who’d blink first thought Nathan.