tc.redstormrising-第132节

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〃Where's　a　good　place　to　hit　back？〃
〃Sir；　we　have　these　two　German　tank　brigades　at　Springe。　The　Russian　attack　appears　to　have　two　reserve　motor…rifle　divisions；　with　a　divisional　border　right　here；　ten　kilometers　from　them。　They've　been　off　the　line　for　two　days　now。　I　wouldn't　call　them　well　rested；　but…〃
〃Yeah。〃　SACEUR　was　given　to　cutting　his　officers　off。　〃Get　'em　moving…；〃


USS　REUBEN　JAMES
O'Malley　circled　the　frigate　after　a　long　morning's　search　for　what　turned　out　to　be　nothing。　Three　merchant　ships　had　died　in　the　past　three　hours；　two　to　missiles　that　had　leaked　through　the　convoy's　SAM　defenses　and　one　to　a　torpedo。　Both　submarines　had　been　prosecuted；　one　sunk　by　Gallery's　helo　inside　the　convoy　itself　They　were　about　to　e　within　ground…based　air　coverage　from　the　European　mainland；　and　it　seemed　to　the　pilot　that　they'd　won　this　battle。　The　convoy　was　getting　across　with　acceptable　losses。　Thirty…six　more　hours　to　landfall。
The　landing　was　routine；　and　after　a　trip　to　the　head；　O'Malley　went　into　the　wardroom　for　a　drink　and　a　sandwich。　He　found　Calloway　waiting　for　him。　The　pilot　had　met　the　reporter　briefly　but　not　really　spoken　with　him。
〃Is　landing　your　helicopter　on　this　little　toy　ship　as　dangerous　as　it　looks？〃
〃A　carrier　has　a　slightly　larger　deck。　You're　not　doing　a　story　about　me；　are　you？〃
〃Why　not？　You　killed　three　submarines　yesterday。〃
O'Malley　shook　his　head。　〃Two　ships；　two　helos；　plus　some　help　from　the　rest　of　the　screening　force。　I　just　go　where　they　send　me。　There's　a　lot　to　subhunting。　All　the　parts　have　to　work　or　the　other　guy　wins。〃
〃Is　that　what　happened　last　night？〃
〃Sometimes　the　other　guy　does　something　right；　too。　I　just　spent　four　hours　looking　and　came　away　empty。　Maybe　that　was　a　sub；　maybe　not。　Yesterday　was　pretty　lucky　all　the　way　around。〃
〃Does　it　bother　you；　sinking　them？〃　Calloway　asked。
〃I've　been　in　the　Navy　for　seventeen　years　and　I've　never　met　anybody　who　likes　killing　people。　We　don't　even　call　it　that；　except　maybe　when　we're　drunk。　We　sink　ships　and　try　to　pretend　that　they're　just　ships…things　without　people　in　them。　It's　dishonest；　but　we　do　it　anyway。　Hell；　this　is　the　first　time　I've　actually　done　what　my　main　job　is　supposed　to　be。　Until　now　all　my　bat　experience　has　been　search…and…rescue　stuff。　I　never　even　dropped　a　war…shot　on　a　real　sub　until　yesterday。　I　haven't　thought　about　it　enough　to　know　if　I　like　it　or　not。〃　He　paused。　〃It's　an　awful　sound。　You　hear　rushing　air。　If　you　penetrate　the　hull　at　deep　depth；　the　sudden　pressure　change　inside　the　hull　supposedly　causes　the　air　to　ignite　and　everyone　inside　the　boat　incinerates。　I　don't　know　if　it's　true；　but　somebody　told　me　that　once。　Anyway；　you　hear　the　rushing　air；　then　you　hear　the　screech…like　a　car　throwing　its　brakes　on　hard。　That's　the　bulkheads　letting　go。　Then　es　the　noise　of　the　hull　collapsing；　hollow　boom；　sort　of。　And　that's　it：　a　hundred　people　just　died。　No；　I　don't　much　like　it。
〃The　hell　of　it　is；　it's　exciting；〃　O'Malley　went　on。　〃You're　doing　something　extremely　difficult。　It　requires　concentration　and　practice　and　a　lot　of　abstract　thought。　You　have　to　get　inside　the　other　guy's　head；　but　at　the　same　time　you　think　of　your　mission　as　destroying　an　inanimate　object。　Doesn't　make　much　sense；　does　it？　So；　what　you　do　is；　you　don't　think　about　that　aspect　of　the　job。　Otherwise　the　job　wouldn't　get　done。〃
〃Are　we　going　to　win？〃
〃That's　up　to　the　guys　on　land。　All　we　do　is　support　them。　This　convoy's　going　to　make　it。〃

F（tm）LZIEHAUSEN；　FEDERAL　REPUBLIC　OF　GERMANY
〃They　told　me　you　were　dead；〃　Beregovoy　said。
〃Not　even　scratched　this　time。　It　startled　Vanya　here　out　of　a　sound　sleep；　however。　How　does　the　attack　go？〃
〃Initial　signs　are　promising。　We　have　an　advance　of　six　kilometers　here；　and　almost　as　much　here　at　Springe。　We　might　have　Hannover　surrounded　by　tomorrow。〃
Alekseyev　found　himself　wondering　if　his　superior　had　been　right。　Perhaps　NATO　lines　had　been　thinned　so　much　they'd　been　forced　to　give　ground。
〃rade　General。〃　It　was　the　Army　intelligence　officer。　〃I　have　a　report　of　German　tanks　at　Eldagsen。　He…he　just　went　off　the　air。〃
〃Where　the　hell　is　Eldagsen？〃　Beregovoy　peered　down　at　the　map。　〃That's　ten　kilometers　behind　the　line！　Confirm　that　report！〃
The　ground　shook　under　them；　followed　by　the　roar　of　jet　engines　and　launching　missiles。
〃They　just　hit　our　radio　transmitters；〃　the　munications　officer　reported。

〃Switch　to　the　alternate！〃　Alekseyev　shouted。
〃That　was　the　alternate。　They　took　out　the　primary　last　night；〃　Beregovoy　answered。　〃Another　is　being　assembled　now。　So　we　use　what　we　have　here。〃
〃No；〃　Alekseyev　said。　〃If　we　do　that；　we　do　it　on　the　move。〃
〃I　can't　coordinate　well　that　way！〃
〃You　can't　coordinate　at　all　if　you're　dead。〃

USS　CHICAGO
All　hell　was　breaking　loose。　It　was　like　a　nightmare；　except　you　woke　up　from　those；　McCafferty　reminded　himself。　At　least　three　Bear…F　patrol　aircraft　were　overhead；　dropping　sonobuoys　all　over　the　place；　two　Krivak…type　frigates　and　six　Grisha　patrol　boats　had　shown　up　on　the　sonar；　and　a　Victor…III　submarine　had　decided　to　e　to　the　party。
Chicago　had　nibbled　the　odds　down　some。　For　the　past　few　hours；　fancy　footwork　had　killed　the　Victor　and　a　Grisha　and　damaged　a　Krivak；　but　the　situation　was　deteriorating。　The　Russians　were　mobbing　him；　and　he　would　not　be　able　to　keep　them　at　arm's　length　much　longer。　In　the　time　it　had　taken　him　to　localize　and　kill　the　Victor；　the　surface　groups　had　closed　five　miles　on　him。　Like　a　boxer　against　a　puncher；　he　had　the　advantage　only　as　long　as　he　kept　them　away。
What　McCafferty　wanted　and　needed　to　do　was　talk　with　Todd　Simms　on　Boston　to　coordinate　their　activities。　He　couldn't；　because　the　underwater　telephone　couldn't　reach　that　far　and　made　too　much　noise。　Even　if　he　tried　to　make　a　radio　broadcast；　Boston　would　have　to　be　near　the　surface；　with　her　antenna　up　to　hear　him。　He　was　sure　Todd　had　his　boat　as　deep　as　he　could　drive　her。　American　submarine　doctrine　was　for　each　boat　to　operate　alone。　The　Soviets　practiced　cooperative　tactics；　but　the　Americans　never　felt　the　need。　McCafferty　needed　some　ideas　now。　The　〃book〃　solution　to　the　tactical　problem　at　hand　was　to　maneuver　and　look　for　openings；　but　Chicago　was　essentially　tied　to　a　fixed　position　and　could　not　stray　too　far　from　her　sisters。　As　soon　as　the　Russians　understood　that　there　was　a　cripple　out　there；　they'd　close　in　like　a　pack　of　dogs　to　finish　Providence　off；　and　he　would　not　be　able　to　stop　them。　Ivan　would　gladly　exchange　some　of　his　small　craft　for　a　688。
〃Ideas；　XO？〃　McCafferty　asked。
〃How　about；　'Scotty；　beam　us　up！'　〃　The　executive　officer　tried　to　brighten　things　a　bit。　It　didn't　work。　So；　okay；　maybe　the　skipper　wasn't　a　Star　Trek　fan。　〃The　only　way　I　see　to　keep　them　off　our　friends　is　to　get　them　to　chase　us　awhile。〃
〃Go　east　and　attack　this　group　from　the　beam？〃
〃It's　a　gamble；〃　the　exec　admitted。　〃But　what　isn't？〃
〃You　conn　her。　Two…thirds；　and　hug　the　bottom。〃
Chicago　turned　southeast　and　increased　speed　to　eighteen　knots。　This　was　a　fine　time　to　find　out　how　accurate　our　charts　are；　McCafferty　thought。　Did　Ivan　have　any　minefields　set　here？　He　had　to　shut　that　thought　out。　If　they　hit　one；　he'd　never　know　it。　The　executive　officer　kept　the　submarine　within　fifty　feet　of　where　the　chart　said　the　bottom　was…actually　he　hedged；　keeping　fifty　feet　above　the　highest　bottom　marker　within　a　mile。　Even　that　would　do　no　good　if　there　was　an　uncharted　wreck。　McCafferty　remembered　his　first　trip　into　the　Barents　Sea。　Somewhere　close　to；　here　were　those　destroyers　sunk　as　targets。　If　he　hit　one　of　those　at　eighteen　knots　。　。　。　The　run　lasted　forty　minutes。
〃All　ahead　one…third！〃　McCafferty　ordered　when　he　couldn't　stand　it　anymore。　Chicago　slowed　to　five　knots。　To　the　diving　officer：　〃Take　her　up　to　periscope　depth。〃
The　planesmen　pulled　back　on　their　controls。　There　was　some　minor　groaning　from　the　hull　as　the　outside　water　pressure　relented；　allowing　the　hull　to　expand　an　inch　or　so。　On　McCafferty's　order　the　ESM　mast　went　up　first。　As　before　there　were　several　radar　sources。　The　search　periscope　went　up　next。
A　weather　front　was　moving　in；　with　a　rain　squall　to　the　west。　Fabulous；　McCafferty　thought。　There　goes　ten　percent　of　our　sonar　performance。
〃I　got　a　mast　at　two…six…fourwhat　is　it？〃
〃No　radar　signals　on　that　bearing；〃　a　technician　said。
〃It's　broken…it's　the　Krivak。　We　got　a　piece　of　her；　let's　finish　her　off。　I…〃　A　shadow　went　across　the　lens。　McCafferty　angled　the　instrument　up　and　saw　the　swept　wings　and　propellers　of　a　Bear。
〃Conn；　sonar；　multiple　sonobuoys　aft！〃
McCafferty　slapped　the　scope　handles　up　and　lowered　the　scope。　〃Take　her　down！　Make　your　depth　four　hundred　feet；　left　full　rudder；　all　ahead　full。〃
A　sonobuoy　deployed　within　two　hundred　yards　of　the　submarine。　The　brassy　sound　of　its　pings　reverberated　through　the　hull。
How　long　for　the　Bear　to　turn　and　drop　on　us？　On　McCafferty's　order　a　noisemaker　was　ejected　into　the　water。　It　didn't　work；　and　he　fired　off　another。　One　minute　passed。　He'll　try　to　get　a　magnetic　fix　on　us　first。
〃Rewind　the　tape。〃　The　duty　electrician　was　grateful　to　have　something　to　do。　The　video　record　of　his　five…second　pe