Fatigue creeping into his bloodshot eyes, the burly diving officer faced him. “Good morning, sir.” He stepped aside, revealing the portal. “Have a look.”
Causey moved his nose to the circular window and saw a waterproofed tablet tucked inside a dry case and hanging from wire wrap. The display showed the approaching brightness of the Goliath’s bridge and floodlights. The transport ship’s slight downward slope revealed its impressive construction and matched the Indiana’s angle. “I’ve seen pictures at intel briefings, but that ship’s quite a sight.”
“It could be a tugboat for all I care, captain. As long as it gets us out of here.”
“You’re not seeing it for what it is. A ship of that size underwater, moving backwards, matching our course and speed. That’s graceful power. I remember from a briefing about a year ago that it’s got four outboards for stability control and supposedly has an amazing internal water management system. It’s built to the task.”
“Not that I’m complaining, but why in the world would anyone build a ship like that?”
“You’re used to nuclear power plants because that’s what we use. That gives us the speed and legs to get anywhere we want and when we want. But this mercenary fleet uses diesel submarines like most navies, because they’re cheaper and simpler to build and operate, and they’re good enough to protect local waters. So, when they need to get somewhere fast, which is how they make money, they need a transport ship. And there it is.”
Standing next to the lieutenant, Senior Chief Spencer stepped forward. “Captain, we need to see what’s going on.”
Causey stepped back to let the divers see through the portal, but he held his ground behind their shoulders to retain his view of the action.
“It’s alright, sir. The lieutenant and I need to pay attention, but this should be straightforward. The guys inside the tunnel are in communication with the deployed team, and they’ll let us know if something goes wrong, which it won’t.”
Causey grunted. “I’d agree with you, except for our recent run of bad luck.”
Careless with his musculature, Lieutenant Hansen bumped his shoulder into the senior chief. “We need a status.” He tapped on the window.
In the tunnel, hands slid a writing slate in front of the tablet. Causey recognized the scribbled numbers as a countdown towards the time the deployed divers needed to return, the estimated time left in their rebreathers, and their distance from the gash they’d exited in the Indiana’s torpedo room.
Lieutenant Hansen tapped the window, and the slate disappeared.
The trio stood in silence as the tablet’s video stream showed the Goliath getting larger in the lead diver’s camera. As the swimmers reached the transparent hemisphere of the bridge, two men in white starched shirts became visible under the dome’s lights. They pointed to a crossbeam arching over their heads.
The diver’s lens focused on a clunky black equipment case mounted to the steel beam, and then his gloved fingers grabbed the device’s handle. The screen turned dark as the swimmer turned his back to the transport vessel.
Lieutenant Hansen summarized the activity. “That’s got to be the communications unit we need with the Goliath. He’s bringing it back here now while his buddy spools the cable.”
Causey verified his understanding. “It’s got a magnetic induction pairing through the Goliath’s bridge, right?”
The husky lieutenant looked over his thick shoulder. “That’s right, captain, but it’s even better than that. It’s got multiple pairings. There’s the one for the Goliath’s bridge, but they’ve also given us one to use on our doors. We’ll be connected to the real world through the Goliath.”
Causey recalled having read the sonar-delivered message about the transport ship’s gift of a hardline network connection. “We’ll see if it really works. Any improvement in our communications would be welcomed.”
“We’ll know soon, captain.”
Fifteen minutes later, the screen showed the solitary diver’s flashlight beam casting its white cone on the forward compartment’s door. Immersed gloves pressed a black box against the portal, blocking the light from the tunnel.
The display went dark, and then a hand removed the tablet from the engine room’s window, and at the tunnel’s far end the door opened. Gurgling water poured over the circular lip as the diver stepped into the makeshift decompression tank. With help from the duo within the reactor compartment, the arriving diver shut the watertight barrier.
After pressing another black box against the forward compartment’s portal, the arriving diver streamed wire along the tunnel’s floor to the engine room’s door. Then suction cups blocked Causey’s view of the window as another magnetic induction communications unit adhered to the transparent barrier.
The burly lieutenant faced Senior Chief Spencer. “Three minutes every thirty-three feet?”
The senior chief nodded. “I’ll control the valve. Make sure the guys are ready.”
Lieutenant Hansen rapped his knuckle against the portal and then indicated an ascent by jabbing his thumb upward.
With the communications box blocking the view, the diver inside the tunnel crouched to peek at his boss and then agreed with a nod.
The lieutenant glanced at his senior chief. “Bleed air from the reactor compartment for five seconds.”
“Bleed air from the reactor compartment for five seconds, aye, sir.” Stretching his lean frame into the cables and pipes paralleling the hull, Senior Chief Spencer reached into shadows for a valve. His voice echoed off the polished metal of an air reducer. “Bleeding air!”
High-pressure gas hissed, and Causey’s ears popped.
Five seconds later, the sound died and the senior chief glanced over his shoulder. “How’s that, sir?”
A writing slate appeared behind the suction cups.
Lieutenant Hansen shook his head. “I can’t read it.”
White-knuckled fingers grabbed the communications box and yanked it free, and then the writing slate appeared again with its values visible.
The officer addressed the senior chief. “That reduced pressure enough for this stage. You brought them up the equivalent of twenty-nine feet shallower.”
A curious onlooker stood behind Causey. Too nubile to fear his captain’s rank, the new arrival queried his commanding officer. “What’s going on, captain?”
“We’re equalizing reactor compartment pressure with the engine room. It’s so the divers don’t get the bends.”
“Yeah. I felt my ears pop.”
Causey grunted. “That reminds me. Get the engineer and tell him to come see me here.”
“I’ll find him, sir.” The young sailor darted away.
A minute later, the engineering officer appeared. “You wanted to see me, sir?”
“Have you calculated how high the pressure will rise in the engine room after we equalize with the reactor compartment?”
“Yes, sir. It’s going to get uncomfortable as people’s inner ears adjust, but it’s nothing dangerous.”
“Alright. Thanks.”
Twenty minutes later, the husky lieutenant cracked open the watertight door, and a gentle whoosh of air completed the equalization. A diver handed the final communications unit through the door. “Here you go, lieutenant.”
“You’re sure this one goes on this side of the door?”
“It’s labeled, sir. Look.”
The officer flipped the box and revealed bright stenciling calling out the engine room. “Good point.”
“Looks like there’s a laminated instructions card, too.”
“Sure is.” The lieutenant withdrew the card from a slip and read it. “Says there’s a jump drive with software we can download and use with a USB cable. Says there’s also a couple USB cables in here.” He depressed a tab, opening a small chamber within the box.