Jake sidestepped behind seats and conferred with Remy.
“The Tai Ping is on top of the contact and has started pinging,” Jake said.
“That means they’ve identified the contact.”
“But we can’t,” Jake said. “It’s still too far—”
“High speed screws!” Remy said. “We have the submerged contact, now. It’s running!”
“Designate as contact one,” Jake said. “Track contact one and make every effort to classify.”
“Give me an intercept course,” Renard said. “Put us on its track, five miles ahead of it.”
Renard waited as the Subtics system accumulated enough data to calculate the target’s course and speed.
“The contact is making fourteen knots, almost due west,” Jake said. “At our speed, it will take us twenty minutes to get to his track. That should work. Course zero-two-five.”
“Henri,” Renard said. “Left five-degrees rudder, steady course zero-two-five.”
Henri nodded. The young Taiwanese sailor seated beside him at the ship’s control panel reached for a joystick. The deck angled into the turn.
“Since the helicopters are backing off, I assume this is no Kilo,” Renard said. “Otherwise, they would sink it.”
“I’m just starting to hear the main electric motor,” Remy said. “It’s a Romeo.”
“Very well,” Renard said. “This is why we’re here.”
“Launch transients,” Remy said. “Torpedo in the water!”
Jake hunched over the French sonar technician’s shoulders again.
“Looks like contact one just shot at the Tai Ping.”
“I trust that it is a poor shot?” Renard asked. “Over the shoulder, while running — I expect it is a desperate attempt to force the Tai Ping to break pursuit.”
“The Tai Ping is hitting evasive maneuvers,” Jake said. “The torpedo has passed aft of the Tai Ping. The Tai Ping is re-engaging.”
“Contact one is pinging now,” Remy said. “Low frequency sonar, but short intervals. It makes no sense.”
“What the hell could he be looking for?” Jake asked.
Sensing his plan unfold with perfection, Renard reclined in his chair and exhaled smoke.
“He’s not looking,” he said. “He’s calling for help.”
CHAPTER 24
Renard arrived ahead of the fleeing Romeo and loitered. Like a wounded prey, the targeted submarine would attract attention.
Renard’s monitor showed that the helicopters and frigate had reversed course, detaching to escort the Taiwanese tanker convoy through the corridor they had swept and leaving the stealth patrol craft Tai Ping and the submarine Hai Lang to hunt the Chinese submarine.
If nothing else, Renard thought, the distraction will enable the convoy to pass.
“Sporadic active sonar from the Tai Ping,” Jake said.
“The Tai Ping holds the Romeo with its blue-green laser,” Renard said. “That sensor is insignificant at long range but inescapable at short. The pinging is to remind the Romeo that the Tai Ping is there. It is instilling fear.”
“New submerged contact!” Remy said. “Moving fast.”
Jake huddled beside Remy and studied the data.
“It just raced by us,” Jake said. “Another Romeo, running in to help his buddy. It was rattling on multiple frequencies and was deaf to the world.”
“Let it go,” Renard said.
Several heads turned to Renard, the most accusative glare coming from Commander Ye, seated in front of Jake where he handled weapons control.
“The Tai Ping can manage against two Romeos,” Renard said. “We will not reveal our position for less than a Kilo.”
Minutes passed in which Renard sensed the disgruntlement of the Taiwanese for his having let a Romeo pass unscathed. He began to doubt his decision of leniency when Remy pressed his headset to his ears, closed his eyes, and raised his finger.
“Medium-speed screws,” he said. “Bearing three-five-zero. Seven blades!”
“Kilo class!” Renard said. “Correlate speed. Let the integrators process and give me bearing rate. We know its destination, so apply your judgment to the solution.”
Jake bounced between Remy and Ye, iterating raw acoustic data towards a solution that targeted the Kilo.
“Range is sketchy,” Jake said. “But we’ve got something tight enough for a good shot. Recommend you take it. Tube one is ready.”
“Shoot tube one!” Renard said.
A muffled whine emanated from the torpedo room and Renard’s ears popped as high-pressure air relieved into the compartment.
“Successful launch,” Ye said. “Torpedo course is zero-two-five. It will turn its seeker on in three miles.”
Jake appeared in front of Renard.
“Let’s make it a passive shot,” he said.
“Passive?” Renard asked.
“We can always make it active again, but with that Kilo moving — best we can tell at fifteen knots — that torpedo is going to hear him. And if we keep the active seeker off, he’ll never hear it coming. No evasion.”
“Indeed,” Renard said. “Do it then.”
Jake hunched over Ye.
“Seeker is commanded to perform passive search, optimized for the Kilo’s screws,” Ye said.
Two minutes later, the torpedo’s speed leader shortened on Renard’s display.
“Our torpedo has slowed. Its seeker is conducting a passive search,” Ye said.
The petty officer seated beside Ye rattled off quick words in Mandarin. Ye translated.
“Our torpedo hears the Kilo,” Ye said.
Jake studied the monitor over Ye’s head.
“Between our own sensors and the weapon, we’ve got him nailed,” Jake said. “Our torpedo’s a mile and a half away from the target.”
“Turn on the active seeker at five hundred yards,” Renard said. “Just to be certain.”
The weapon closed. Ye tapped his console.
“Active seeker is engaged,” Ye said. “Our torpedo switched straight into range-gating and is shortening its ping interval. The Kilo is accelerating.”
“Countermeasures!” Remy said.
“Guide the weapon through if needed,” Renard said.
The deep rumble reverberated through the Hai Lang’s hull. The throbbing hiss that followed indicated that vaporized water had bubbled to the surface. Renard even heard a metallic creak.
“Hull rupture,” Remy said. “The Kilo is sinking.”
Renard realized that he had defeated one of the world’s most feared submarines. He also felt an uneasy sickness in having killed dozens of his submarining brethren. He sat and calmed himself, but the veins in his neck throbbed.
“Keep your wits about you men,” he said. “There may be other submarines nearby. There will be plenty of time for celebration later.”
A distant explosion filled the operations room with less vigor than the prior detonation.
“Explosion on the bearing of contact one, the first Romeo,” Remy said. “Hull fracture. It’s going down.”
“The Tai Ping was weapons free as soon as it heard our warhead,” Renard said. “And it wasted no time taking out an old Romeo.”