What? What was that? She heard a noise that just didn’t belong here. It was alien, cold and unseen. The sea moved and heaved up. What, what could do this? They were all pushed aside, her sisters and her by an impossibly large black bulk with ugly skin. As it passed by it thrashed the waters with a churning tube of fast moving water. It was like a giant Octopus ink spray jet, but it wasn’t defensive, it pushed the black thing forward. She knew it was impossible, she’d never seen anything like it, black, cold, fast and totally uninterested in them. Her sisters and her had to get away, the pod fled.
USS Stonewall Jackson pushed her way north through the Strait of Taiwan. Uncaring of the pod and shoal in her way.
“SIR, CREW LUBRICANT here.”
“Very good, pass it around. Let me have one too.”
The galley man passed around the coffees to the control room crew.
“Thanks Grice. We appreciate it. Report Benson, anything out there?” Nathan leaned over his monitor looking at his sonar man.
“Nothing Sir, nothing unusual anyway, several civvy cargo ships and the usual port noise but that’s it. The towed array should be ready soon, the back aft spark monkeys said it was nearly ready.”
“Right when you get it ready then stream it. Where are we Kaminski?” She turned with her blond ponytail swinging and bobbing the cute way it did.
“Twenty-eight miles north west of Hsinchu City, bearing 005 degrees.” He nodded and looked at the depth indicator, 330 feet. Nathan chewed it over in his mind. Do we maintain a northeast, southwest picket track off the northwest of Taiwan, say thirty miles offshore? The towed array would give a good warning of approaching boats.
As far as the surface fleet the ROC air assets could cover that.
“Weaps, what do the ROC air force have for reconnaissance?”
The Weapons Officer opened a file on his monitor. “Sir, 8 P-3C Orion ASW, 11 Grumman S-2 maritime patrol, a Lockheed C130 ELINT and 6 E-2 Hawkeye early warning and control aircraft. That’s 24 in total. Plus, two hundred and eighty-six F16’s, F-CK-1, F5 and Mirage 2000 fighters. All but the F5’s are radar equipped. Not bad at all in such a fairly confined area.”
Nathan nodded.
“That’s true, plus our satellite cover will be keeping an eye out for them.”
The other option he knew was to get out forward and do some active reconnaissance to the north. The consensus was that the main PLAN fleet would approach from the north. ROC air would give good information on surface vessels, as for ASW they’d be using the Orion’s plus their own two Dutch built Hai Lung class attack submarines.
He’d never been a just sit back sort of guy and he had to admit that going up there looking, stalking then out was tempting.
But if the PLAN were coming then they had some choices but not too many. He walked over to the XO’s station. “Nikki,” he gestured her to approach. Nathan whispered.
“Do we wait around here or get up north?”
Larry sighed, “Tough one, but what’s missing?” Nathan shrugged.
“Let’s say we go up there and we find the Mothers heading this way? What’s our ROE? Can we sink them or just follow them? Nathan, you know how the puzzle palace works. They’ll work out a compromise, that’s worth fuck all to anyone. And then argue about whether to knock it into the long grass or kick it down the road.” Nathan smiled to Nikki.
“Do you think he’s got cynical?”
“I think,” she stroked her chin, “the Chinese play the long game. Let’s play it too, we wait for them, but lean on the REMF’s for a ROE change.” The XO smiled at her, “Yeah you got that one right.”
Nikki had used it before, REMF was a disparaging name for higher command or back office types. Rear Echelon Mother Fuckers.
“OK, we’ll run a picket line here. I’ll get onto the Puzzle Palace for a ROE change and I’ll get Lt CMD Lemineux to keep at them for updates of PLAN movements.”
As well as the ROE request he knew there was something else he needed to add, something from their last war committee meeting.
He walked out of the control room and headed back aft. On the way he met the Head Chef.
“Hi Sir. Just running up tonight’s menu. I have a free hand today. I like to do something local. They say we’re off to Thailand.” He looked at his Commander with a questioning expression. He knew he wasn’t allowed to know where the boat was, but you can always ask.
“Try something southeast China, that’d do.”
The Chef smiled, “You got it sir, coming up.”
Nathan stepped through the next hatch. How were the Engineers doing with the towed array sonar? He knew that it was essential for running a successful picket line.
Not for the first time he wondered how May Hsin was getting on. She was out there on her own in the PRC, she’d drawn the short straw alright.
GAO OPENED THE DOOR and backed her way into the Golden Garden cafe, pulling the stroller behind her. She made her way into the back room.
“Where’s Hue?”
“Out,” said the man with the eye patch. Gao didn’t expect much more. The old man with the long drooping moustache just sat there looking into nowhere. The woman was cooking so she decided to help her and wait her time. She ate the stir-fry and waited. Gao leaned over and started to feed Ji when Hue walked in.
“Hi, good smell that, have you got any left?” The woman warmed up the wok and added the stir-fry from a plastic tub. She spooned it on to a warm plate and placed it before him.
Hue set to wolfing it down. When he’d finished Gao looked over at him.
“Hue, I got a call today. On this cell phone.” She held up the one linked with May’s.
“So, what did she say?”
“She said. I’m near Ningbo, the horses are all running and I’m with them. My money is on The water purse. The horses are all running and I’m with them. My money is on The water purse.” Hue grunted.
“What does that mean Hue?” asked Gao.
Hue looked at her with narrowed eyes.
“It means that it may be good news, they may have taken the bate. Or it may not.”
“Who? Who’s taken the bait?” Hue ignored her. “Do we pass it on to the NSB? Do we?” He looked over to the old man. The old man stroked his moustache for a while and then turned to Hue, he wrinkled his nose and shook his head.
Hue nodded.
“What does it mean Hue?” asked Gao. “What? Why is it good luck or bad? Tell me.”
“Don’t bother about it. You helped put her where she is and that’s good. That’s what we wanted.”
Gao pressed him. “How can it be good luck and bad luck. Why?”
The old man who rarely spoke looked at Gao.
“Young lady. Have you heard the old tale about the Farmer and his stallion?”
“No sir, no I haven’t.”
He stroked his moustache.