Life Goes On by Tayell, Frank (large ebook reader txt) 📗

“Yes, but at a risk, and a cost of irreplaceable torpedoes. I would guess they’ve identified us as a New Zealand frigate travelling away from home. They would assume we’re on some kind of survey mission. If we leave them alone, they will do the same, but they want to claim these waters.”

“So we can ignore them,” I said. “But will they ignore Robben Island? If they’re following us, they’re not bothering our people in Cape Town. If we attack the Courageous, the sub will sink us. If they both attack us, we’re in trouble, and that’s assuming they have no other ships.”

“Hence the dilemma,” Adams said.

“We can’t turn around, because it’ll still be a few days before the rescue ship reaches Robben Island. Right now, we’re the lure. But we can’t let them get aboard our ship. So we continue north, and wait?”

“It seems so,” Adams said. “I hoped you might have spotted something I’d missed. Yes, I think we’ll have to wait, and be ready for whatever’s coming.”

26th March

Chapter 27 - Brace for Impact

I was woken by the alarm. A blaring siren. Not loud, but pervasive. My first thought was fire. But the announcement was a stand-to for action.

Boots on. Belt next. Holster. Ammo. Shoulder bag with its sealed water bottle, and ten of the oat-money-bars I’d plastic-wrapped into a waterproof brick. The un-inflated life-vest came last. Rule-one runs deep, and so I checked the knife was securely buttoned in its sheath in case, in the water, I needed to cut those boots loose. I wasted ten seconds debating the rope: though it might be useful, it would reduce buoyancy, but Avalon would certainly yell at me if I didn’t have it. It would be easy to ditch so I attached it anyway.

It didn’t take long. Once I was ready, my brain caught up with reality. If the ship went down, and I made it into the freezing ocean, there’d be absolutely no chance at rescue. In the open water, afloat or not, death would take minutes. A lifeboat might drag it out for a few hours, but death was still a certainty. Not wanting to wait for it alone in my cabin, I went to the bridge.

I reached it in time to hear Lieutenant Renton announce, “Torpedo away, ma’am.”

“Launch counter-measures,” Adams said with an unimaginable measure of calm. “Welcome to the war, Commissioner. Brace for impact.”

I grabbed the rail close to the door, just as the ship shook, though not nearly as violently as I’d expected.

“Captain, the torpedo self-destructed after we launched counter-measures.”

“Prepare to launch the first torpedo,” Adams said. “Ready to alter course, and to launch the second. Hold on, Commissioner.”

“Who’s shooting at us?” I asked.

“A Russian Akula-II submarine,” the captain said. “We think it’s the Vepr. It’s a long way from home, since it should be stationed in the Arctic.”

“Second contact, Captain!” Renton said.

“Where?”

“Bearing zero-eight-five,” Renton said. “Another submarine. It’s the Adventure. She’s already fired. She’s—”

This explosion was more forceful, shuddering the ship’s bones.

“The Russian is gone, ma’am,” Renton said. “The Adventure blew it apart.”

“Any other contacts?” Adams asked.

“No ma’am,” Renton said.

“Raise the Adventure,” the captain said.

“No response, ma’am.”

“Cut speed to half, but maintain course,” Adams said. “Keep trying to reach the Adventure.”

I stood there, white-knuckled, holding my breath until I saw spots.

“The Adventure isn’t responding, and she’s not following,” Renton said.

“Yesterday,” Adams said, “we picked up a radio signal from a British ship, the Courageous, commanded by a Russian admiral. Tonight, a Russian submarine launched a probing attack and was sunk by a Royal Navy submarine. Maintain heading. Keep trying to raise the Adventure.”

I’d walked in on the tail end of a battle, but I’d only missed the first few minutes. Ten minutes at most. Probably less. From first contact to the loss of dozens of lives. An entire submarine had been obliterated. Ten minutes. Less. It had almost been us. I looked at my life jacket. I didn’t want to ask if we should look for survivors. It seemed unlikely there’d be any, and search-and-rescue clearly wasn’t part of the captain’s plans.

“Captain, you said that was a probing attack,” I said. “They weren’t trying to sink us?”

“They destroyed the torpedo after we launched counter-measures,” Adams said. “It was fired-by-wire, an umbilical cable linked it back to their boat. They wanted to test us, to gauge our response, our ability, and the level of our munitions. They were assessing the chance of seizing our ship. A frigate makes a better pirate boat than a landing-platform-dock like the Courageous. We must assume the pirates control Ascension. If they didn’t, they wouldn’t operate so close to that old base. The Adventure was chased out of harbour. We were the perfect decoy to distract that Russian sub. In which case, the Adventure may now ask us for assistance in retaking the Courageous, and the island. Mr Renton?”

“No word, ma’am.”

“What’s our heading?”

“Due north, ma’am.”

“Broadly towards Ascension,” Adams said. “No, that won’t do. Put us on a course to Brazil. If the Adventure wants any further assistance from us, they will have to ask. Otherwise, we are leaving this theatre. And plot a course to take us back to Robben Island. A looping course which will travel through waters to the south.”

The crew worked. The captain sat. I stood. Everyone waited. For nothing, as it turned out. The Adventure changed course by one hundred and eighty degrees and without making contact. No one else did, either, nor was anything picked up on the radar.

After an hour, the captain stood the ship down, though maintained our course towards South America.

“So are we going to Colombia?” Zach asked.

“No talking during the test,” Avalon said.

I’d found them both in the scientist’s cabin-lab.

“Done,” Zach said, closing the book.