SSN still in service with the Russian navy. The first Soviet undersea
vessel to be a match for the sophisticated submarine technologies of
England and the United States, it was nonetheless the result of a number
of compromises. .. not the least of which was the fact that the same
power plant used to drive the smaller, lighter Victor II was used on
this larger submarine, which translated to a slower top speed and more
sluggish handling.
Worse, Kislovodsk had been one of the last of the Victor IIIS to come
off the ways at Komsomolsk in 1985, and he–Russians always thought of
their ships as he–was decidedly showing his age. There were few
alternatives, but Vyatkin found the obvious one of flight to be
distasteful in the extreme. To allow the hunter wolf to be chivied away
from its prey by the squawking of crows. .. no. There was another way. A
better way, one that might help unite this crew that had been beaten on
the day it had set out to sea, and perhaps instill in these men
confidence in their commanding officer.
“Torpedo room reports Kukla loaded, Comrade Captain.”
“Open outer torpedo doors, and prepare to fire.”
“At once, Comrade Captain.”
He might be old and slow, Vyatkin thought, but the creaking dedushka
Kislovodsk had a few tricks left in him Yet.
1758 hours (Zulu +3)
Control room, U.S.S. Orlando “Captain! Sonar! He’s opening his outer
doors!”
“Damn!” Lang slapped the intercom switch on the console just above his
head. “Torpedo room! Stand by tubes one and three!”
“Tubes one and three ready, Captain,” a seaman’s voice came back. He
sounded young. .. and scared. “ADCAP, standard war shot.”
“Sonar! What’s he doing?”
“Hard to tell, Captain,” Davies replied. “It’s hard to hear through the
pinging.”
Lang cursed. This was bad, damned bad. Range to the Jefferson was still
over twenty nautical miles, too far for a standard 533mm torpedo, but
easily within the range of the big Russian 650mm monsters. Those babies
could travel over fifty miles at thirty knots. .. or twenty-seven miles
at fifty, and they packed one-ton warheads, powerful enough to do
serious damage to the Jeff if one connected.
Fire only if fired upon.
But that particular Rule of Engagement couldn’t apply here, not to
submarine combat. To wait for the other guy to get the first shot in was
suicide. Orlando was here, astern of the Victor, precisely to keep the
son of a bitch from firing the shot that might sink or cripple the
Jefferson.
And all Lang had to go on was what his sonar operator was hearing amid
the churning, ping-echoing water ahead.
Naval careers were made and broken by decision points like this one. He
was in a perfect firing position. Moments before, when the helicopters
had started their deafening pinging of the contact ahead, he’d ordered
Orlando to drop back a ways, partly to stay out of the sonar barrage,
partly to set the Orlando up with a good shot if the need arose.
The need, apparently, had arisen; if he guessed wrong, though, firing
recklessly before he was sure, he could start a war.
The hell with that. If he guessed wrong, erring on the side of caution,
he would be responsible for the deaths of hundreds aboard the Jefferson.
“Weapons Officer!” he snapped.
“Tubes one and three, loaded and ready, sir.”
“Fire one!”
Orlando’s weapons officer slapped the topmost of four red switches on
the bulkhead console. The deck lurched slightly, and a light on the
console winked red.
“One away, sir. Running hot and true.”
“Fire three!”
Again, the lurch transmitted through the deck.
“Three away. Running time for number one is twelve seconds.”
He found himself counting off the seconds in melodramatic anticipation.
CHAPTER 5
Friday, 30 October 1758 hours (Zulu +3)
Control room, Russian Submarine Kislovodsk Kukla–the Russian word meant
puppet–was a decoy, a standard 533mm torpedo with the warhead removed
and a sophisticated packet of microelectronics tucked away in its place
that broadcast a convincing facsimile of the submarine’s sound
signature. The ploy would not be successful with active sonar, of
course–the Americans would be able to tell from the echoes whether a