Larry Bond
Arctic Gambit
AUTHOR’S NOTE
It takes some time to total up the number of projects that Chris Carlson and I have worked on together. Even if you only count the ones that we actually finished, it’s an impressive sum, spread out over thirty-plus years.
I will freely admit that the idea for this story came from Chris. I didn’t even think the Status-6 torpedo was real until he showed me the information online — including the November 2015 photo “leaked” by the Russians. And it takes a creative (and dark) mind to make that nightmare weapon even more frightening.
One would think that after creating so many stories together, the process of writing would become routine, but each book has been different. Not only do we try to do better each time, but the structure of each plot can drive who takes on each role. Real-world circumstance can also impact who does what when, but our ability to jointly cope with such speed bumps is one reason we’ve been able to do this so long.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Hardy, Lowell, The President
Patterson, Dr. Joanna, The First Lady
Hyland, William, National Security Advisor
Peakes, Raymond, Director of National Intelligence
Richfield, Henry (Hank), Secretary of Defense
Lloyd, Andrew, Secretary of State
Gravani, Clifford, Secretary of the Navy
Schiller, Frank, GEN, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Hughes, Bernard, ADM, Chief of Naval Operations
Sanders, Mike, RADM, Deputy CNO for Information Warfare
Chatham, Russ, CDR, CNO Intelligence Staff
Dorr, Robert, CAPT, CO SUBRON 12
Gabriel, Bradley, CDR, Assigned to Deputy CNO for Submarine Warfare
Forest, Mark, LCDR, Assigned to Deputy CNO for Submarine Warfare
Bartek, Representative Steve, D-WI, Member of House Armed Services Committee
Emmers, Senator Tom, R-KY, Member of Senate Armed Services Committee
Hendricks, George, National Security Council Analyst
Sellers, Dwight, White House Chief of Staff
McDowell, Evangeline, President’s Personal Secretary
Brady, Melinda, Joanna Patterson’s personal secretary
Perry, Dr. James, Tensor lead analyst, Central Intelligence Agency
Cavanaugh, Dr. Daniel, Army explosives expert
Berg, Jane, Lenny Berg’s wife
Berg, Ethan, The Bergs’ oldest son
Sheridan, Chad, USS Shippingport (ARDM 4) dry dock supervisor
Ulrich, Dr. Mark, Expert from Council on Nuclear Weapons
Mitchell, Jerry, CAPT, Commanding Officer, DEVRON 5
Gustason, Dylan, CDR, Chief Staff Officer DEVRON 5
Matthews, Skip, LS2, DEVRON 5 staff, Logistics Specialist
Wheatly, Myron, LCDR, Maintenance Officer, DEVRON 5 staff
Mitchell, Dr. Emily, Mrs. DEVRON 5
Mitchell, Charlotte (Carly), Kid, DEVRON 5
Weiss, Louis, CDR, Commanding Officer
Segerson, Joshua, LCDR, Executive Officer
Gibson, Paul, ITCM, Chief of the Boat (senior enlisted man aboard)
Malkoff, Kurt, LCDR, Navigator
Norris, Tom, LCDR, Chief Engineer
Hilario, Hector, LT, Main Propulsion Assistant (MPA)
Owens, Kathy (Kat), LT, Weapons Officer
Ford, Benjamin (Thing 1), LT, UUV Officer
Lawson, Steven (Thing 2), LTJG, Assistant Weapons Officer (AWEPs)
DiMauro, Philip (Mario), LTJG, Sonar Officer (Sonar)
Truitt, James, ENS, Chem/RADCON Assistant (CRA)
Alvarez, Miguel STS2, UUV Sensor Operator
Frederick, Lionel STS1, UUV Sensor Operator
Fedorin, Ivan Olegovich, President of the Russian Federation
Trusov, Aleksandr Aleksandrovich, GEN, Minister of Defense
Gorokhov, Nikolai Vasil’evich, VADM, Commander, Drakon Project
Apalkov, Sergei Ivanovich, CAPT 1st Rank, Construction leader
Kalinin, Boris Igorovich, CAPT 1st Rank, Chief of Staff to Admiral Gorokhov
Chekhov, Dmitry Mikhailovich, CAPT 3rd Rank, Meteorologist
Komeyev, Vladimir Olegovich, ADM, Commander-in-Chief, Russian Navy
Balakin, Viktor Yanovich, VADM, Deputy Commander-in-Chief, Russian Navy
Lavrov, Vasiliy Vasil’evich, CAPT 1st Rank, Senior intelligence officer
Drugov, Pavel Antonovich, CAPT 1st Rank, Chief of Staff to Admiral Komeyev
Zhabin, LT, Sever acoustic array detachment officer-in-charge
Mirsky, Stepan, CAPT-LT, Ka-27M helicopter commander
PROLOGUE
The darkness slowly diminished as the periscope head approached the surface. Fuzzy, indistinct blobs drifted lazily across a dim gray background. By the time they came into focus, the periscope had raced past, emerging from the water, pointed upward into the overcast skies above the Arctic Ocean. A large ice floe was briefly lifted by the periscope head before being pushed aside by the momentum of the unseen submarine below. The subtle shock from the collision was transmitted down the periscope’s barrel, causing the eyepiece to shudder unpleasantly on the operator’s face. A low growl escaped his lips as he announced, “Scope’s clear.”
“You okay, Skipper?” asked the executive officer. He’d seen the periscope shake and knew his captain had been thumped… again.
“Yes, XO,” grumbled the commanding officer, “but I’m developing a severe dislike for ice.” Rotating the periscope to the correct bearing, he paused to shift the optics to high power and focused the image. “Alright, XO, there’s Master Two. Are you getting this?”
“Yes, sir, we’re recording.” The executive officer stared at the video display as the large icebreaker lowered a huge cylindrical object into the water. Whistling quietly he said, “That’s one honkin’ big sewer tube, Skipper. Could that be some sort of structural support member?”
The captain shook his head. “I haven’t a clue, XO. But that’s the second one we’ve seen being unloaded. Whatever it is, it’s obviously a critical component to whatever the Russians are building on the seabed.” Both men continued to watch in silence until the object disappeared below the water.
“Lowering number one scope,” announced the captain as he slapped up the handles and rotated the overhead hydraulic control ring. Reaching over to the intercom, he toggled the mike switch. “Sonar, Conn. Any sign of our friend?”
The speaker crackled with the response. “Conn, Sonar. Negative. We haven’t seen hide nor hair of Sierra eight. The ice noise to the east is particularly bad. Contact was last held on a bearing of one zero eight.”
“Sonar, Conn, aye.”
Pausing to consider his next move, the captain ordered the officer of the deck to get the boat back down to one hundred fifty feet and head northeast. Stepping down from the periscope stand, the CO motioned for his executive officer to join him at the navigation plot.
“Still concerned about that Akula?”
The captain nodded sharply. “Absolutely! The only thing worse than having a detected Akula wandering about is an undetected one hiding in the acoustic underbrush, waiting to pounce at the worst possible moment. Been there, done that, and I don’t want to do it again!”
Taking a deep breath, he pointed to their current position on the chart, then traced a line with his finger. “Let’s reposition to the northeast and see if we can’t get a better vantage point to watch the next unloading evolution. Say… about here.”
The XO leaned over to get a better look. His face became uneasy. Grabbing a set of dividers, he measured the distance to Bolshevik Island and ran an arc that nearly touched his captain’s finger. “That’s cutting it awfully close to the twelve-mile limit, sir.”