“I understand, Admiral.”
Jeffrey waited for the reprimand.
“You’re being awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal.”
“Admiral?”
“We considered another Medal of Honor, but it didn’t seem quite the thing. That’s more for individual valor, conspicuous gallantry above and beyond the call of duty, blood and gore and that sort of thing.”
Jeffrey kept his mouth shut.
“What you did showed broader leadership and judgment talents. Good communication and negotiation skills with an important new coalition partner, handled superbly under adverse and trying circumstances. And outstanding weighing of your tactical versus strategic alternatives in an important part of one of history’s most decisive fleet engagements.”
“Sir, I don’t know what to say.”
Hodgkiss peered at Jeffrey again. “You thwarted the Axis plans in South America completely, and turned a skeptical neutral into a friend. You helped maintain the status quo on land in Central Africa, when we were really on the ropes there for a while…. The Axis have reached their high-watermark. The last few weeks were like Stalingrad, or El Alamein, or Midway, in World War Two. The enemy threw everything they had at us, everything, set the sneakiest traps they could possibly think to invent. And we held the line, and made significant gains, and gave the bastards a bloody nose they’ll never forget. The tide is starting to turn, thanks in part to your efforts.”
“Thank you, sir.” It was all still sinking in. The Defense Distinguished Service Medal.
Hodgkiss’s phone rang.
He picked it up and snapped, “I said we weren’t to be disturbed!” Hodgkiss listened. “Of the Naval War College?” He listened again.
Hodgkiss handed the phone to Jeffrey. “It’s for you. The president of the United States.”
Jeffrey stood up and took the phone. He almost dropped it, he was so flustered. “Commander Fuller speaking, sir.”
“Welcome home, Captain,” that familiar voice said from the other end of the line.
“Thank you, sir.”
“I’m sure you’re busy with all sorts of navy things down there, but can you come up to Washington the day after tomorrow?”
“One moment please, sir.” Jeffrey put his hand over the phone. “He wants to know if I can go to Washington in two days.”
Hodgkiss glared at him. “When the president asks you something like that, you say yes! Worry about juggling your schedule later!”
Jeffrey spoke into the phone. “Yes, Mr. President.”
“Good. We’re having a ceremony I think you should be at. That SEAL lieutenant who worked for you, Felix Estabo, is getting the Medal of Honor. And our new ally, Getulio da Gama, will be in town talking cooperative tactics.”
“I’d be delighted to attend, sir.”
“I already spoke to the secretary of energy. He’s passed my invitation on to your parents.”
“My parents?”
“Of course. We’ll kill a few birds with one stone, and you’ll get your new medal all in the same show.”
“Thank you, sir.”
They ended the call.
“Nice reunion in D.C.?” Hodgkiss asked.
“You knew about this in advance?”
“The gist of it. I didn’t think he’d actually call you in person…. By the way, Lieutenant Reebeck did a very good job here on my staff. I might pull strings and keep her for a while. But both of you have leave due. Take it while you can.”
“Yes, Admiral.” Jeffrey was still standing. Now his head was spinning.
Hodgkiss came from around his desk and shook Jeffrey’s hand, then escorted him to the door. “She’s in the building somewhere. Go say hello. She’s very good at reading your mind long distance. But I think you ought to renew the acquaintance face-to-face, before the telepathic connection wears off.”
“Yes, sir.” Jeffrey started out the door.
“Oh, one other thing.”
Jeffrey braced himself. When an admiral threw in “Oh, one other thing” at the end of a meeting, it was usually a humdinger.
“That was absolutely terrific, Captain, the way you convinced Ernst Beck you really intended to sacrifice yourself and your ship to destroy him. That fabulous subterfuge was the pivot point in your confrontation with von Scheer. Once you got him to swallow that, the rest was smooth sailing. Beautiful work.” Hodgkiss ushered him out of his office, and went back in and shut the door.
Jeffrey stood there for a moment in the anteroom, thinking. The admiral’s aide and yeoman glanced at him quickly. They were used to people leaving formal audiences with the Great Man with big things on their mind.
Then it struck Jeffrey. Hodgkiss, SECDEF, the President, they think I was bluffing in the battle with Ernst Beck…. Nobody here realizes I was willing to die to sink the von Scheer.
GLOSSARY
Acoustic intercept: a passive (listening only) sonar specifically designed to give warning when the submarine is “pinged” by an enemy active sonar. The latest version is the WLY-1.
Active out-of-phase emissions: a way to weaken the echo that an enemy sonar receives from a submarine’s hull by actively emitting sound waves of the same frequency as the ping but exactly out of phase. The out-of-phase sound waves mix with and cancel those of the echoing ping.
ADCAP: Mark 48 Advanced Capability torpedo. A heavyweight, wire-guided, long-range torpedo used by American nuclear submarines. The Improved ADCAP has an even longer range, and an enhanced (and extremely capable) target homing sonar and software logic package.
AIP: Air Independent Propulsion. Refers to modern diesel submarines that have an additional power source besides the standard diesel engines and electric storage batteries. The AIP system allows quiet and long-endurance submerged cruising, without the need to snorkel for air because oxygen and fuel are carried aboard the vessel in special tanks. For example, the German Class 212 design uses fuel cells (see below) for air independent propulsion. Some other systems burn high-test hydrogen peroxide, which has its own oxygen built in chemically.
Alumina casing: an extremely strong hull material that is less dense than steel, declassified by the U.S. Navy after the Cold War. A multilayered composite foam matrix made from ceramic and metallic ingredients.
Ambient sonar: a form of active sonar that uses, instead of a submarine’s pinging, the ambient noise of the surrounding ocean to catch reflections off a target. Noise sources can include surface wave-action sounds, the propulsion plants of other vessels (such as passing neutral merchant shipping), or biologics (sea life). Ambient sonar gives the advantages of actively pinging but without betraying a submarine’s own presence. Advanced signal-processing algorithms and powerful on-board computers are needed to exploit ambient sonar effectively.
ARCI: Acoustic Rapid COTS Insertion; COTS stands for commercial-off-the-shelf. The latest software system designed for Virginia-class fast-attack submarines (see below). The ARCI system manages sonar, target tracking, weapons, and other data, through an on-board fiber-optic local-area network (LAN). (The ARCI replaces the older AN/BSY–1 systems of Los Angeles—class submarines, and the AN/BSY–2 of the newer Seawolf-class fast-attack subs.)