“Our cannon rounds have taken out its port side torpedo tubes.”
“Target the engineering spaces. But if you get a clear shot at the starboard torpedo tubes, take them out.”
“Targeting engineering spaces. Our torpedo is away, and we have wire control.”
“What’s going on?” Renard asked.
“We’re under attack. The Kim’s been hit. Has the crew reported any damage to you?”
“There’s been no report received here yet.”
A voice in Korean filled the net.
“He says they’re fine,” Doctor Tan said.
“Let him know I’ll have them out of cannon range soon, if not already.”
After the doctor translated, Cahill reported to Renard.
“I just encountered a hostile Taechong class patrol boat coming out of a rainstorm. I’m going to send it back to hell with me cannons and a torpedo for good measure, but I’d really like to know if there are torpedoes coming at me without having to slow and listen for meself. I took out three of its tubes, but I couldn’t get at the ones on its far side.”
“At least one of your escort submarines should hear what’s going on. Keep running until I get data from them. I’m sending helicopters your way, too.”
“What for?”
The pause in Renard’s response confirmed his mortal danger.
“To evacuate your crew and that of the Kim if necessary.”
As the Goliath raced from its adversary, Cahill considered how to squeeze every knot from his ship.
“Pierre?”
“I’m here.”
“If I want to go faster, what’s the limit?”
“The motors’ internal torque. They’re already enhanced from the standard submarine design. I’m afraid you’re already sustaining your top speed.”
“What about an unsustainable top speed?”
“Not worth the risk for an extra half knot. You’d likely lose propulsion completely if you pushed the limit.”
“Damn. I’m maxed out then.”
The Frenchman’s voice rose half an octave.
“I’ve got confirmation from your nearest submarine escort. Three torpedoes are in the water.”
“Tell me that they have good solutions on them and that I can escape them all.”
“They have solutions on them all, and they’re fanning out. One was aimed at you, one ahead, and one behind, to cover all your evasion options. I’m sorry. The best you can do is escape two of the three.”
“Am I on a good course?”
“Yes. You’re evading the lead and center torpedo. The lagging torpedo is seven and a half miles behind you, coming at you with fifteen knots of closure. The torpedo is active and appears to have acquired you.”
Cahill’s sonar supervisor announced that he heard the incoming weapon’s seeker.
“Agreed. It’s acquired me. So what do I do for half an hour before a torpedo blows up under me arse?”
“May I recommend an evacuation? Get your crew and the Kim’s onto rafts. I’ve equipped your ship with the best inflatable life rafts available, and helicopters will be there before you could be overcome by the weather.”
“But not before we get hit.”
“No. I’m sorry.”
Cahill’s mind raced for solutions and found nothing. He then sought a means to mitigate the destruction.
“It’s a lightweight torpedo coming at a pretty damned large ship,” he said. “The Goliath isn’t necessarily lost, you know.”
“I’ve been considering this,” Renard said. “I agree.”
“I’ll have all watertight compartments closed. One hull should be intact, and if the other has any sort of buoyancy after impact, we may just have a salvageable ship.”
“Perhaps. You’ll have to release the presses on the Kim, however, just to assure that you don’t drag it down, if it comes to it.”
Fifteen minutes later, the crew from the Goliath’s port hull had crawled to the starboard side, and Cahill heard the report from his starboard weapons bay.
“The Kim’s crew is gathered on its fantail and crawling over to the Goliath using the hydraulic presses. There’s a guy with a belly wound that’s getting help from his crew, but I’m not sure he’s going to make it.”
“He’ll make it,” Cahill said. “I’ll give him credit that he’s too tough not to.”
“There’s also some older guy that’s got to be almost fifty years old.”
“That’s the guy this mess is all about. How’s he looking?”
“Fine, I guess. Spooked like everyone else. Now that I notice it, he’s getting a lot more attention and a lot more hands on him than the average crewman.”
“That’s because he’s the most likely candidate to jump overboard and try to drown himself. It’s a good thing that they’re not allowing that.”
The watchman’s pause suggested that he was absorbing the desperation of the prisoner.
“What about me crew?” Cahill asked.
“We’re on the starboard fantail with the life rafts. Everyone is snapped to tethering lines so that they don’t get swept overboard.”
“Let me know when everyone is ready to jump. Then I’ll give you a few minutes to join them.”
“You’re planning on staying?” Walker asked.
“I’m the captain, mate.”
“Then I’m staying, too. I didn’t come this far to abandon you.”
“Don’t be a fool. You could get yourself killed.”
“Then why should I let you be a fool?”
“As I said, I’m the captain. I’ll be a fool if I wish.”
“You don’t have some crazy plan to evade this torpedo, do you?”
“No, just a plan to see what I can do to minimize the damage.”
“Then why can’t I stay with you?”
“Because it’s your duty to lead the evacuation. God knows what sort of dangers they’ll face in the water. They need a leader.”
“Terry!”
“I’ll be fine. There’s practically more danger getting them into the water and looking after them than there is here on the bridge. Get off me damned ship, Liam. That’s an order.”
“Alright then. Good luck, mate.”
Cahill shook Walker’s hand and dismissed him.
Minutes later, the starboard bay’s watchman announced that the executive officer had joined the crew top side. Cahill ordered his final crewman to join the others and to have them head overboard when he slowed the ship.
He counted four minutes and then stopped the Goliath’s shafts. Putting on a backing bell to drag his ship towards motionlessness, he allowed his men ease of escape, and then he stopped his engines to let the ship drift at all stop.
When life rafts appeared in the view of his external cameras, he brought the starboard engine to five knots but kept the port engine silent. Driving away from his men, he lured the torpedo from them.
He then ordered a hard turn to the left, the automated ship obeying his silent tapping of icons. He continued to turn to offer the port bow as the closest point of contact to the torpedo.
He pumped water overboard from the trim tanks to make the ship light, and then he disobeyed Renard’s order and kept the presses tight against the Kim.
“How are you doing, Terry?” Renard asked.
“Fine, given the situation.”
“What’s going on? I’ve noticed that you’ve slowed.”
“To let the crews off. They’re safely overboard. It’s just me now.”
“Get off the ship.”
“No. I’m staying.”
“I appreciate your heroism, but consider how difficult it is for me to replace you. I’m not patronizing you for your courage. You’re genuinely a nearly impossible talent to replace. Think of the missions that await you. I urge you not to get yourself killed.”