“Set speed seven knots, keep station with him. Let’s have him a few more miles ahead, keep tracking him sonar.”
“Sir, I’ll stream Lucy out again.”
Nathan followed the Chinese SSN, letting the speed difference lead to an increasing separation. When it became 12 miles he increased the speed to match her.
“Any signs of action from him other than cruising out here sonar?” Benson shrugged.
“No sir, she seems to be unaware of our presence.”
“Might be as well checking out armament sir.” Sayers continued working on his screen.
“Yeah XO, I can’t see it turning hostile but better to be prepared. Weaps, warshot status?”
“Sir, tubes one and two Mk 48, tube five Harpoon, tube six Deputy Dawg. Tubes three and four serviceable but empty.”
“Ok Weaps,” Nathan rubbed his temples, “what’s the difference between a type 93 and a 93G?”
Weaps pulled up the idiots guide to RimPac forces. “The 93G is thought to carry cruise missiles sir, and may have a dry dock shelter for special forces deployment.”
“Sir,” remarked Benson with surprise in his voice, “contact is slowing, he’s coming to port. He’s heading for the Island.”
“One third left rudder. Match his course.” Several minutes went by.
“He’s slowing sir, coming to four knots.” Nathan wondered what the boat was up to.
“Match his speed.”
“Sir, he’s one mile offshore, now at periscope depth. We’re approx. two miles from him.”
“Planesman, trim fore and aft for ascent, up 10, come to periscope depth.” What the hell was he up to thought Nathan. “Periscope depth sir.”
“Kaminski, take a peek with the mast, sweep him and get a position fix.” The photonic mast raised above the surface, swept through sixty degrees, acquired a satellite and entered a handshake routine. Then it retracted automatically. Nathan walked over to Nikki’s chart, put his hand on her chair back and leaned over her shoulder. He quietly rubbed her back with his thumb. “Where is he?”
She brought up a map on her screen.
“Here sir. Taichung City, there’s a major port there he maybe looking at shipping movements.”
“Yeah could be, it looks to be a good size port.”
“He’s off the Da’an River.”
“Contact coming to starboard, heading parallel to the coast,” said Benson. The PLAN boat sailed south southwest off the coast.” Sonar tracked the SSN for around fifteen minutes.
“He’s coming to starboard again sir, heading offshore,” reported Benson.
“That’s Fangyuan Lighthouse,” Nikki looked up at him with her smouldering blue eyes, “he’s surveyed the coast from Da’an river to the lighthouse sir. That’s the entire Taichung City seaboard.” Nathan shrugged, this could be just a standard patrol, the PLAN must keep a close eye on Taiwan.
Nikki puffed out her cheeks and looked to the ceiling. It didn’t seem right to her, the Shang class was out there doing a close recon like that. It may be how the PLAN did things? But for Nikki, it didn’t smell right. That little voice started talking to her, that little Goblin of suspicion that lived at the back of her mind and once he got started, there was no shutting the bastard up.
Nathan gripped the Conn’s rails and looked at his monitor.
“Ok, we’ll follow him back towards wherever he came from. I’m not comfortable at using a Pointer with him. He may be fooled, or he may realise what’s going on. This is not the time.”
It came to the end of Nikki’s watch, she’d done her part, her replacement Lt Samstiu turned up. “Ok, she’s all yours.”
“Thanks sir.”
Nikki walked up to Lieutenant Commander Lemineux. “Sir, I’ve got a request for DOD Far East intel section.”
“Just type up your request and I’ll get it away.”
She looked to the XO. “I’m off to the Galley and then my bunk sir.”
Sayers nodded. Nikki took her tablet with her to the Galley and started looking up details, maps, deployments. She got the transmission off to DOD Far East. A young dark-haired woman sat down opposite her.
“Hi Nikki, my favourite tonight. They don’t do a bad Mexican here.”
“Yeah, I’ve had mine.” Kate LeDonns was a Lieutenant in Engineering.
“Writing to the boyfriend Nikki?” She looked up as though she was going to say something to Kate, but then seemed to think better of it.
“I’m not active in that area.”
“Yeah, what is it Georgia men? Too hot and sweaty for them? You should come up to Maine for leave, we’ve got some hunky guys up there, you can stay at mine.”
“Yeah could be. I might do that.” They chatted for a time, covering the Boat, men, their jobs aboard.
“Say, Nikki.” Kate looked at her with a searching gaze.
“What’s it like, working with him?”
“Who?”
“What do you mean who? The incredible hunk. That’s what I’ve heard several female crew members call him.” Nikki suspected who she meant but played dumb, she frowned.
“Come on Kaminski. When Commander Blake leans over your station, does your panty elastic snap?” Kate sniggered and whispered. “Are you practiced now repairing them. Or do you just not wear them in there?” Nikki tried not to laugh.
“Kate no, I do wear them. He’s Ok to work with, we get on fine. That’s all.”
Kate looked at her askance. “Yeah, right.” Nikki looked at the clock.
“I gotta disappear, see ya.”
“Yeah, see ya. Oh Nikki.”
She turned and looked. “Yeah?”
“Lighten up girl, you’re wound up like a preacher’s jock strap.” She grinned and walked back to her bunk and laid down with her head against the headwall. Thinking and looking into the tablet she opened a file, she thought about it and then called it Ghost Crab.
Nikki set to work.
Eventually she fell asleep. She awoke for her watch. Walked into the control room and sat at her station. Lt Samstiu stood by.
“Morning sir. Lieutenant Commander Lemineux left this for you.” She handed over a slip. Nikki looked, he’d left a file in her comms box. The DOD file had arrived.
“Quick work there boys, sleepless in DC? Nine out of ten on that.”
“Sir, the Shang is cruising back down south now, it turned away from the coast and looked to be heading for Hainan. But a couple of hours ago it turned about and is heading south again. It’s heading for Taichung City. Its datum point is the start of its shore surveillance.”
“Thanks, I’ll keep a look.” The day was fairly uneventful, the Shang repeated its run down the city seaboard and turned away. It came to the end of her watch. She ate in the Galley and back in her cabin she laid down on her bunk with the Tablet, opened the Ghost Crab file along with the file from the DOD Far East intel. Nikki worked on well past the time she should have been asleep. Her suspicion was holding up, bearing fruit. She knew she could be wrong, she could be, but?
“It fits the bill,” she whispered, “I can feel it. I have to do it.” She fell asleep.
Chapter 4
Nikki got up, took breakfast in the Galley and made her way forward, she’d call in the head for a shower and then to the control room for duty. Nathan was walking aft.
“Morning sir. Can I have a word?”
“Yes,” he smiled.
She stopped by the head, looked for and aft, it was clear. She opened the door and put one leg inside. She started to unbutton her coverall.
“I’m just about to take a shower. Would you like to watch?” her eyes smiled.
“Yes and no Lieutenant Kaminski.” She gave him a mock sulky look.
“Pity. But sir, I was thinking about the visit ashore for help on communications with May. I’ve another idea that the NSB could help with. We must be off Taipei by now, I’d like to try sir.”