“Understood, Dmitry.” The sonar ace rattled off commands to the technicians seated with him at Subtics tactical consoles. Then he made another announcement. “Launch transients from the California.”
“Countermeasures?”
“Possibly. I’ll know soon… Yes. I hear bubbling. The torpedo’s approaching the California’s gaseous countermeasures.”
Volkov grabbed a handle on the plotting table as the deck rolled under the waves.
“The torpedo’s passing through the gaseous countermeasures. Also, I hear screws and propulsions sounds separating from the bearing of the California. It’s probably a torpedo-launched decoy.” A shadow overcame Anatoly’s face. “No, wait. It’s making turns for twelve knots.”
Commander Hatcher gave an exuberant smile. “Excellent! It’s a UUV. I knew there was a good explanation. The California sprinted towards a robot and took control of it. The sonar team will make it sprint towards themselves, they’ll turn it broadside to the torpedo’s seeker, and make it send out recordings of a Virginia-class propulsion plant. It’s a brave move, but it’s completely rational.”
Volkov watched his sonar ace for a sign. “I pray it works.”
Grinning, Anatoly looked at his commander. “Down-Doppler. The torpedo’s turning towards the robot. And now the California’s altering course away from the robot.”
“Very well. It appears our heroes are saved.”
A minute later, a loud detonation echoed through the Wraith’s hull, and the sonar ace announced his findings. “The weapon exploded under the decoy. The California’s slowing.”
Slumping his shoulders in relief, Volkov let his head droop. Amid sighs and subtle cheers, he heard warranted praises for the bravery and cunning of the California’s crew. When he looked up, the lithe form of his friend stood across the table.
The trainer’s pained face was heavy ballast in an otherwise enlightened room. “My babies, Dmitry. They’re gone!”
CHAPTER 9
The deck rolled in the swells as Jake took the Specter shallow. “Get our radio mast up, Henri. I need to hear from Pierre.”
After a gentle click of a hydraulic actuator, the silver-haired mechanic bounced his voice off his panel. “The radio mast is up. We’re connected.”
Jake watched his boss’ face appear on his monitor. Seeing a uniformed naval commander seated beside the Frenchman, the Specter’s commander waited for Renard to speak first.
“Can you hear me, Jake?”
“Yeah, Pierre. Go ahead.”
“I assume you know the outcome of the hostile torpedo?”
“I saw it on the low-frequency update. It sounds like a real close call with some ballsy moves.”
“Indeed. Needless to say, the mood here was tense until the ships were safe. However, we must deal with the displacement of the Wraith and the California as well as the exposure of the Indiana.”
“I should head back and hover over the Indiana until the California can replace me.”
Renard looked towards the officer seated beside him. “That’s the consensus here, and it will require some new software for you. With the recent changes to our tactical scenario, I’ve been moved to a private room, and Commander Johnson has been assigned as my personal liaison to the Fifth Fleet.”
Jake noticed the lack of background noise and moving bodies as compared to his prior links. “Liaison? As in, he’ll feed you whatever classified information you need without giving you full access to the tactical nerve center.”
“More or less, yes.”
“I guess they can’t allow a Frenchman entrance into an American fleet’s command center.”
“Correct, but Commander Johnson has been quite helpful. In fact, he’s shared an image with me I think you’ll find interesting. A Predator drone is overflying your mission, and the Americans turned its camera over Dmitry when they learned of the torpedo. I’m sending it now.”
An overhead view of the Iranian coast and the Gulf of Oman appeared and then zoomed in on two dark forms on the surface. Jake recognized them as dolphins wearing vests forward of their dorsal fins. “That’s Mikhail and Andrei.”
With a sardonic grin, the Frenchman’s face supplanted the Predator’s photograph. “No, my friend. I thought so as well at first, but if you look again, you’ll see that there are no warheads, and their vests are black, not blue like those of our mammalian friends.”
“No shit.”
“It’s true. Those are Iranian dolphins. The California will send recordings of its sonar system for analysis. We may be able to discern how the Persians control their dolphins and learn how to counter any future threats, like the Israelis did against us.”
“Sure. Let me tell Antoine.”
“Of course. We’ll wait.”
The Specter’s commander aimed his voice at his sonar ace. “Antoine?”
“Yes, Jake?”
“The Americans figured out that the Iranians are using dolphins to find submarines, much like the way we use them.”
The toad-head offered its profile. “No kidding?”
“That’s how they found Dmitry. Can you review the last six hours of sonar for strange noises that could be dolphin commands and have the sonar team listen for them going forward?”
“Yes, of course.”
Jake faced his boss and his American liaison. “When was the last time you saw the Iranian dolphins?”
A shadow crept over Renard’s face. “They’ve disappeared again. You’ll have to assume that they’ve been redeployed. You must consider them a threat.”
“Shit, Pierre. I hardly know what to listen for until the Iranian dolphin code is broken, if we can even break it.”
“I didn’t say it would be easy, but while you’re hovering over the Indiana, you’ll have the luxury of defending water as opposed to moving at a searching speed.”
“Hold on again. That reminds me. Let me turn towards the Indiana.”
“Of course.”
“Henri, left five-degrees rudder, steady course two-six-five. Set an alert in the system to inform me when I’m within a mile of the Indiana.”
The French mechanic acknowledged, and the rolling deck took a subtle angle.
Jake looked back at his boss. “You mentioned new software.”
“Ah, yes. I did. Commander Johnson?”
The naval officer’s voice was higher-pitched than Jake had expected. “You’ll need backdoor codes to control the UUVs. I’ll have them sent to you. They’ll be good for six hours from the moment the UUVs accept them.”
“Not to be obvious, but the six-hour limit is because the California will be back to command them?”
“That’s right. The California will be able to stealthily return to the Indiana well before that timeframe, and the Goliath will be on station by then as well.”
“And not to be too obvious again, but these UUVs are out here primarily to be used as torpedo sponges, right?”
The American officer showed little emotion. “We call them ‘sacrificial assets’.”
“Understood. Can you send me the codes now while I’m shallow?”
“Yes. I’ll have them sent immediately. They’ll be an extension to the communications package you’ve already downloaded. They’ll update automatically and give you a confirmation notification on your Subtics system. I need to send them from the command center. Excuse me.” Commander Johnson stood and departed.