“Weapons release.”
The JSOW blasted a gaping hole in the runway.
Next, it was the JSOW Bs turn. Linda ran a commentary.
“Here you go boys, introducing the NBA’s finest. They’re bouncing that sucker in just for you. Let’s hear it for LeBron James. Yeah, slam dunk! Now, your very own, Kevin Durant. That’s a slammer, boys. Now it’s that man, Stephen Curry. Shit man, slam that mother home.”
With Subi Reef a devastated ruin, both aircraft headed off west back to Phan Rang.
THE CHINESE SEA FORTRESS that was Fiery Cross Reef lay to the south of a large lagoon. There were two ways in. Both where about three miles northeast of the reef proper, one east, one west.
Nathan chose the eastern one, the most direct route.
“That’s it, we’re here, outside and East of the Lagoon. We wait for night now. What’s for chow tonight?”
“Mexican, sir,” said the COB.
“Ok, good. XO, Kaminski, it’s coffee time and then the wardroom.”
The three of them settled into the wardroom.
“Right, detail planning of Operation Tea Leaves. So we’re north side of the channel for the cable access?” said Nathan.
“Yes,” replied Kaminski, “all the way down the long channel.”
“It’s going to be a long swim if we drop them outside the channel,” said Larry.
“The cable termination is near the northwest light,” said Nikki. “They have lights northwest, southeast. Either side of the channel.” She pointed to the locations on her tablet.
“It’s a big setup in there.” Nathan shook his head.
“I’d say, it’s the HQ of these reefs, Nathan.” Nikki smirked at him. “Fiery Cross is the big one, it’s kinda the PLAN Pearl Harbor of the South China Sea.”
“Ok, so we put them out on the northwest side of the channel right,” said the XO.
“Yeah,” said Nathan, “it’s quick and direct. Exfil the same way? Sit deep on the northwest side of the channel?”
“Yeah,” Larry agreed, “quick in, quick out.”
They looked at the layout for a few minutes. Nathan lay back. After a while, he sat up and stared at the screen.
“You know what? I like it but…”
“You don’t like it, do you Nathan?” asked Nikki.
“No, how do you know?”
“Coz you’ll only lie back and take it for a while. You have to do something,” she smirked at him with a flirtatious glint in her eye.
Nikki, he thought, go easy girl.
“Backup Exfil position, we need one,” said Nathan. “Let’s go back to the future. Have them go deep across the channel then up, over the shallow reef, and off the southeast arm of the reef. We pick them up there, southeast of the southeast arm. Any thoughts?”
“There’ll be that southeast channel light flashing all night.”
“Yeah,” said Nikki, “but it’s a double edged sword; good for positioning, bad for its light.”
“That’s it. We’ll go for it. Let’s get Innes and Alves in here, run it past them and get their take.”
USS STONEWALL JACKSON inched her way down the channel towards Fiery Cross Reef. She kept to the northeast side, her right. There was plenty of room for her to turn and face outwards. Nathan raised the periscope manually until it almost broke surface… there was the western harbour light; he counted the flashes. Quick flashes three in a row, pause and then a further three. That meant hazard to the west; of course the channel wall.
“Ok, let the divers out here, 150 yards to go.”
Innes and Alves were helped by their assistants to don the warm undersuits and then dry suits. They set up the CIS Lunar rebreathers, checked the valve settings and the assistants helped them put them on. Everything was clipped shut. The assistants double-checked that all valves were set as they should be, and that the gauges and LCD computer displays checked out fine and clean.
Alves and Innes climbed upwards into the sail. Shoulders pushed the bug up. Innes closed the hatch. Water filled the sail, he switched on a helmet light. He spun the wheel and lifted the hatch, Innes pulled himself out into the gloom. Alves followed, pulling the bug behind him. It wasn’t long before they encountered another devil’s cat’s cradle. They carefully negotiated it. Alves could see the channel light above the surface at times. They found the cable and laid down the bug nearby; both men did their jobs of priming and laying the cable out. The bug was covered in silt, rubble and pieces of coral. It had almost become routine, a dangerous time. The two men slowly worked their way through the 3D harpoon maze. They vented buoyancy and sank to the bottom of the channel, 140 feet deep, and made their way towards the waiting submarine.
“THEY SHOULD BE ON THEIR way back now,” said the XO.
“Yeah, with a bit of luck, that should be it. Tea Leaves, Skirmish and Clipper complete.” It shouldn’t be long before Innes and Alves return, he thought.
“Sir,” said Lieutenant Kaminski, “could the war committee meet in the Wardroom?” He raised his eyebrows; she hadn’t called a war committee meeting before but it was within her unofficial rights.
“Yes, of course, XO. You have the Conn Weaps.”
“Aye sir, I have the Conn.”
They gathered in the Wardroom.
“Go ahead Nikki.”
“Sir, what did you have in mind after we recover the divers?”
“Retire to a safe distance and call COMSUBPAC for orders.”
She nodded. “Nathan, we can assume that the PLAN will be mighty pissed at the air attacks.”
“No doubt they will.”
“It seems reasonable that they’ll flood the South China Sea with all that they’ve got. Air, surface and sub-surface units. They’ll be down here and all over the place like a rash, and they’ll be loaded for bear.”
Nathan nodded.
Kaminski stood and paced the room, and the XO rolled his eyes and groaned.
“Oh, fuck.”
She smiled. “What’s the last thing Joe Chinaman will expect us to do? Remember, he knows nothing of the bugs.”
“Compromise, apologise I suppose,” said Larry.
“Yes,” said Nikki, “but we play to our strengths. We use our initiative. You know how it is, Joe Chinaman doesn’t. Put a sailor in a room with three steel balls. Come back an hour later: one will be missing, one will be broken, and one will be pregnant.”
Nathan grinned, he’d not heard that one for a while. She raised one arm and brought it down.
“We’ve one good bug left. Let’s take advantage of the chaos and bug the big one.”
“Where?” said Larry.
She grinned. “Fucking Hainan Island.”
The XO tried to spit something out. “What? Hainan?! Their main nuke base?! Shit. You don’t ask much.”
She grinned. “Come on Larry, we’ll be balls deep in ‘em before they know it.”
Larry looked to Nathan for some sense. It wasn’t forthcoming.
“I like it. With this air raid, they’ll be running around stupid. They won’t know whether they want a shit, shave or a shampoo.”
The intercom sounded. “Commander to the control room.”
Nathan walked into the control room.
“What’s going on Weaps?”
“It’s sonar sir.” Benson turned to him.
“Sir, we have noise outside the lagoon, it’s more than one warship. They’re headed this way. It’s confused sir.” A few minutes passed by, and there was no sign of the divers.
“Sonar. Breakthrough. Wait one, refining. We have two type 052C Destroyers entering the Lagoon. Wait one, wait one. Tracking, they're turning this way. Wait one.” Nathan was on the edge of his seat but he knew Benson was the best. He just had to be patient and give him time.