tc.redstormrising-第144节

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〃You're　right。　Take　her　to　one　hundred　feet。〃　McCafferty　winced。　How　the　hell　did　you　let　yourself　forget　that？
〃Fifteen…degree　rise　on　the　planes！〃
〃Set…solution　set；　sir。〃
〃Stand　by。〃　The　captain　watched　the　depth…gauge　needle　turn　counterclockwise。〃
〃One　hundred　feet；　sir。〃
〃Fire…control？〃
〃Set！〃
〃Match　generated　bearings　and　shoot！〃
〃Two　fired；　sir。〃
The　Alfa　might　hear　the　air　blast　or　he　might　not；　McCafferty　knew。　The　torpedo　moved　off　at　forty　knots　on　a　heading　of　three…five…zero；　well　off　the　bearing　to　the　target。　Three　thousand　yards　out；　a　mand　sent　down　the　control　wires　told　the　torpedo　to　turn　and　go　deep。　McCafferty　was　being　very　cagey　with　this　shot；　more　than　he　would　have　preferred。　When　the　Alfa　detected　the　ining　fish；　it　would　be　from　a　bearing　that　Chicago　wasn't　at…if　he　fired　a　return　shot；　it　would　not　e　toward　them。　The　disadvantage　of　this　was　the　increased　chance　of　losing　the　control　wires　and　getting　a　clean　miss。　The　torpedo　was　running　deep　to　take　advantage　of　the　water　pressure　that　reduced　cavitation　noise；　hence　reducing　the　range　at　which　the　Alfa　could　detect　it。　They　had　to　play　some　extra　angles　on　this　because　the　Soviet　sub　had　a　top　speed　of　more　than　forty　knots　and　was　almost　as　fast　as　the　torpedo　itself。　Chicago　continued　to　move　southwest；　putting　as　much　distance　as　possible　between　herself　and　the　torpedo。
〃Torpedo　continues　to　run　normal；　sir；〃　sonar　reported。
〃Range　to　target？〃　McCafferty　asked。
〃About　six　thousand　yards；　sir。　Remend　that　we　bring　her　up　at　four　thousand　and　go　to　high…speed；〃　the　weapons　officer　suggested。
〃Very　well。〃
The　tracking　party　plotted　the　course　of　the　torpedo　and　its　target。　〃Conn；　sonar；　the　Alfa　just　increased　engine　power。〃
〃He　hears　it。　Bring　the　fish　up　now；　full　speed；　switch　on　the　sonar。〃
〃Hull…popping　noises；　sir。　The　Alfa　is　changing　depth；〃　the　sonar　chief　called；　excitement　in　his　voice。　〃I　have　the　torpedo　sonar　on　my　scope。　Our　unit　is　pinging。　The　target　seems　to　be　pinging　also。〃
〃Sir；　we　lost　the　wires；　the　fish　has　lost　the　wires。〃
〃Shouldn't　matter　now。　Sonar；　give　me　a　blade　count　on　the　Alfa。〃
〃Doing　turns　for　forty…two　knots；　sir；　lots　of　cavitation　noise。　Seems　to　be　turning。　He　may　have　just　deployed　a　noisemaker。〃
〃Anybody　ever　shoot　at　an　Alfa　before？〃　the　executive　officer　asked。
〃Not　that　I　know　about。〃
〃Miss！　Conn；　sonar；　the　fish　has　passed　aft　of　the　target。　Target　appears　to　be　heading　east。　The　fish　is　still…no；　it's　turning　now。　The　torpedo　is　still　pinging；　sir。　Torpedo　also　heading　east…turning　again；　I　have　a　bearing　change　on　the　fish。　Skipper；　I　think　it's　chasing　after　the　noisemaker。　I　show　an　opening　bearing　between　the　fish　and　target。〃
〃Damn；　I　thought　we　had　that　one　locked　in；〃　the　weapons　officer　growled。
〃How　far　are　we　from　launch　point？〃
〃About　seven　thousand　yards；　sir。〃
〃Bearing　to　the　Alfa？〃
〃Three…four…eight；　target　bearing　is　moving　east；　machinery　noises　are　down；　blade　count　shows　about　twenty　knots。〃
〃He'll　keep　putting　distance　between　himself　and　the　torpedo；〃　McCafferty　said。　As　long　as　it　was　running　and　pinging；　nobody　wanted　to　get　near　it。　The　fish　would　circle　until　it　ran　out　of　fuel；　but　anything　that　came　within　its　four…thousand…yard　sonar　radius　risked　detection。　〃What　about　the　other　two　contacts？〃
〃No　change；　sir；〃　the　plotting　officer　said。　〃They　seem　to　be　pretty　much　holding　their　positions。〃
〃That　means　they're　Russians。〃　McCafferty　looked　down　at　the　plot。　If　they　were　Brits；　they　would　have　maneuvered　and　fired　their　own　fish　as　soon　as　they'd　heard　the　Alfa；　and　probably　everyone　in　twenty　miles　had　heard　the　Alfa。
Three　to　one；　and　they're　alerted　now。　McCafferty　shrugged。　At　least　I　know　what　I'm　up　against。　Sonar　reported　another　contact　to　the　south。　It　should　be　Boston；　Danny　thought。　If　it　wasn't；　Providence　would　have　done　something。　He　ordered　Chicago　south。　If　he　had　to　blast　a　hole　through　three　submarines；　he　wanted　help。　He　rendezvoused　with　Boston　an　hour　later。
〃I　heard　an　Alfa。〃
〃We　missed。　What　did　you　get？〃
〃It　had　twin　screws；　and　it's　dead；〃　Simms　answered。　Their　gertrude　phones　were　on　a　very　low　power　setting。
〃Three　boats　ahead　about　fourteen　miles。　One's　the　Alfa。　I　don't　know　about　the　others。〃　McCafferty　outlined　his　plan　quickly。　The　submarines　would　proceed　north；　ten　miles　apart；　and　would　try　to　engage　the　targets　from　their　flanks。　Even　if　they　missed；　Providence　should　be　able　to　go　straight　through　when　the　Russians　split　to　pursue。　Simms　agreed；　and　the　boats　split　up　yet　again。
McCafferty　noted　that　he　was　still　about　sixteen　hours　from　the　ice。　There　were　probably　still　Soviet　patrol　aircraft　overhead。　He'd　wasted　a　torpedo…no；　he　told　himself；　that　was　a　well…planned　attack　It　just　hadn't　worked；　as　sometimes　happened。
A　line　of　sonobuoys　appeared…active　ones　this　time…to　his　northeast。　He　wished　angrily　that　the　Russians　would　select　one　set　of　tactics　and　stick　to　it。　Hell；　all　he　wanted　to　do　was　leave！　Of　course　he　had　launched　missiles　at　the　Soviet　homeland　and　they　were　probably　still　angry　about　that。　Nobody　had　ever　told　him　whether　the　mission　was　successful　or　not。　McCafferty　manded　himself　to　stop　this　random　thinking。　He　had　trouble　enough　right　here。
Chicago　moved　northwest。　As　she　did　so；　the　bearing　to　all　of　her　sonar　contacts　changed　to　the　right。　The　Alfa　was　still　there；　her　machinery　noise　fading　in　and　out。　Technically　speaking；　he　could　shoot　at　her；　but　he'd　just　seen　that　her　speed　and　maneuverability　were　enough　to　beat　a　Mark…48　torpedo。　He　wondered　what　the　Alfa's　skipper　had　done。　Surprisingly；　he　hadn't　fired　a　torpedo　of　his　own　down　the　bearing　of　the　ining　fish。　What　did　that　mean？　It　was　an　American　tactic；　and　was　supposed　to　be　a　Soviet　tactic　also。　Was　it　because　he　knew　that　〃friendly〃　boats　were　in　the　area？　McCafferty　filed　it　away；　yet　another　case　where　the　Russians　were　not　acting　the　way　they　were　expected　to　act。
The　northwest　course　closed　the　distance　markedly　to　one　of　the　contacts。　The　Alfa　and　the　other　unknown　maneuvered　east　themselves；　maintaining　the　ten…plus　mile　range…unknowingly；　the　captain　thought。　He　stood　over　the　plot。　A　fire…control　solution　was　already　set　on　the　nearest　contact。　Range　was　down　to　eight　miles。　McCafferty　went　to　the　sonar　room　again。
〃What　can　you　tell　me　about　this　one？〃
〃Starting　to　look　like　a　Type…2　reactor　plant；　the　new　version。　He　may　be　a　Victor…III。　Give　me　five　more　minutes　and　I'll　know　for　sure；　sir。　The　closer　we　get；　the　clearer　he　looks。〃
〃Power　output？〃
〃Pretty　low；　sir。　I　thought　I　might　have　a　blade　count　a　few　minutes　ago；　but　it　didn't　work　out。　He's　probably　just　making　steerage。〃
McCafferty　leaned　back　against　the　bulkhead　separating　the　room　from　the　monstrous　puter　used　to　process　signals。　The　line　on　the　waterfall　display　that　would　show　the　unique　frequency　pattern　of　the　machinery　on　the　Victor…III　was　fuzzy　but　narrowing。　Three　minutes　later　it　was　a　fairly　sharp　vertical　stroke　of　light。
〃Captain；　I　can　now　call　target　Sierra…2　a　Victor…III…class　Russian　sub。〃
McCafferty　went　aft　to　control。　〃Range　to　target　Sierra…2？〃
〃Fourteen　thousand　five　hundred　yards；　sir。〃
〃Solution　is　set；　sir；〃　the　weapons　officer　reported。　〃Ready　for　tube　one。　Tube　one　is　flooded；　outer　door　is　closed。〃
〃Right　ten　degrees　rudder；〃　McCafferty　said。　Chicago　turned　to　unmask　her　ready　torpedo。　He　checked　depth：　two　hundred　feet。　On　firing；　he'd　run　east　rapidly　and　dive　to　a　thousand　feet。　The　submarine　turned　slowly　at　six　knots；　bearing　to　the　target　was　three…five…one；　and　Chicago's　midship　torpedo　tubes　were　angled　slightly　outward　from　her　center　line。　〃Solution？〃
〃Set！〃
〃Open　outer　door。〃　The　petty　officer　on　the　torpedo　board　pushed　the　proper　button　and　waited　for　the　status　light　to　change。
〃Outer　door　is　open；　sir。〃
〃Match　bearings　and　shoot！〃　The　seven　thousand　tons　of　USS　Chicago　shuddered　again　with　the　torpedo　launch。
〃One　fired；　sir。〃
McCafferty　gave　orders　to　change　course　and　depth；　increasing　speed　to　ten　knots。
Another　exercise　in　patience。　How　soon　will　he　hear　the　fish　ing　in？　This　one　ran　in　at　shallow　depth。　McCafferty　hoped　that　its　propulsion　sounds　might　be　lost　in　the　surface　noise。　How　good　is　Victor's　sonar？　he　wondered。
〃One　minute。〃　The　weapons　officer　held　a　stopwatch。　The　Mark…48　ran　thirteen　hundred　yards　per　minute　at　this　speed　setting。　About　ten　minutes　to　go。　It　was　like　watching　some　perverse　sports　event；　McCafferty　thought；　a　two…minute　drill　in　a　football　game；　two　minutes　of　playing　time　that　could　stretch　to　half　an　hour　if　the　quarterback　knew　his　stuff。　Except　that　they　weren't　trying　to　score　points。　〃Three　minutes。　Seven　minutes　to　go。〃
Chicago　leveled　out　at　one　thousand　feet　and　the　captain　ordered　speed　cut　back　to　six　knots　again。　Already　he　had　fire…control　solutions　set　on　the　other　two　targets。　But　they'd　have　to　wait。
〃Five　minutes。　Five　to　go。〃
〃Conn；　sonar；　target　Sierra…2　has　just　increased　power。　Cavitation　sounds；　blade　count　shows　twenty　knots　and　increasing。〃
〃Kick　the　fish　to　full　speed；〃　McCafferty　ordered。　The　Mark…48　accelerated　to　a　speed　of　forty…eight　knots：　sixteen　hundred　yards　per　minute。
〃Target　is　turning　east；　her　blade　coun