Brandy nodded. She was happy to stay behind and relax on deck while the men had their fun.
San Diego Waterfront
Chapter 33
Jason and Aaron lowered the Cayman Jewel’s dinghy, an 18-foot Zodiac inflatable outboard, into the water and motored across the basin to the MMSD. At 4 p.m. sharp, they walked up Cobra’s gangway to meet Uri Ruden.
“Welcome to San Diego,” Uri said, shaking Jason’s hand firmly. “I trust your trip was a pleasurable one.”
Jason hesitated then decided not to mention the pirate attack that almost ended their voyage. “It was a relaxing cruise, thank you. Uneventful.”
He gestured toward Aaron. "Uri, this is my good friend Aaron Quinn. Aaron, meet Captain Third Rank, Uri Ruden, a former Soviet submariner. Uri is here to help whip Cobra into shape.”
Aaron couldn't imagine what Jason meant by “whip Cobra into shape”, as if that were even possible. He stepped forward and shook Ruden’s hand. “Pleased to meet you, Captain,” he said.
“You as well, Mr. Quinn,” Uri said.
"Aaron’s a SCUBA instructor down on Cayman Brac," Jason said. “He’s an accomplished sailor himself and owns his own boat. He crewed for me on our trip up here — very capably, I might add.”
Uri guessed Aaron to be about eighteen. “Captain Pankov’s daughter will be happy to know she won’t be the only person under twenty at the welcome party tonight,” he said.
Jason had heard about the party, but he hadn't planned on having Aaron hanging around while he and his fellow conspirators conducted business. Uri obviously wasn't concerned, though, so he let it go.
“I wasn’t aware that Pankov had a daughter,” he said.
"He does indeed,” Uri said. “She’s his only child, and with her father’s Russian good looks and a beautiful Korean mother, Ekatarina Vtorakevna Pankova isn’t a woman you’ll easily forget.”
Jason and Aaron tried to picture her ethnic blend but couldn't.
Aaron was stoked to be invited to the welcome party. He had no idea who Captain Pankov was, but he would definitely check out the man’s daughter. He liked the way the name Ekatarina rolled off his tongue.
“Are the Pankovs here yet?” Jason asked.
“I believe Ekatarina arrived yesterday,” Uri said. “However, Captain Pankov had last minute business to attend to back in Russia, and he’s due in later tonight. Fagan should be here around 7:00.”
Jason was curious to see Ekatarina’s beautiful Korean mother. “And Pankov’s wife?”
“Mrs. Pankov succumbed to breast cancer four years ago,” Uri said.
“I’m sorry,” Jason said.
Uri knew that Pankov had never fully recovered from the loss of his wife, and that it was one of the reasons the old Captain was losing his mind; but he didn’t mention it.
“Perhaps while we’re waiting we could explore this beautiful, once top-secret combat submarine?” he said, indicating the b-39.
Jason checked his watch. 4:05 p.m. “You’ll have to pardon me, Captain,” he said, “but I have another appointment. Perhaps Aaron would appreciate a tour.”
Uri looked at Aaron expectantly.
“I’d love it,” Aaron said. He had never seen the inside a real submarine before.
“I’ll be back in time for the party,” Jason said and excused himself.
Chapter 34
“We’ll begin topside and then go below,” Uri said, “working our way from bow to stern.”
“Sounds good,” Aaron said.
“It takes years of specialized training to understand the operations of an attack sub,” Uri said, “but I’ll try and whittle it down. Let me know if I go too fast, as I wouldn’t want you to get lost during the party.”
Aaron laughed. “That would not be good,” he said. He was serious about meeting Ekatarina.
Uri gestured toward a heavy, flat-steel hoop about 3 feet in diameter mounted vertically on the dock near the gangway. “Do you see that big ring mounted there?” he said.
Aaron nodded.
“That’s a mock-up of one of b-39's watertight hatches, or bulkhead doors. The maritime museum installed it so visitors can see if they can fit through Cobra’s real hatches. They don’t want anyone getting stuck inside their submarine.”
“I hate when that happens,” Aaron said, grinning.
He turned to give the mock-up a try. He had to stoop very low, but he managed to step through easily.
“Try doing that in a hurry with eighty other men in flooded conditions while under attack,” Uri said.
“I can’t even imagine,” Aaron said. Then he followed Uri up a ramp onto Cobra’s main deck.
“What you see when you look at a submarine is just a skin, or shell, which floods with seawater when submerged,” Uri explained. “The skin gives the sub its streamlined shape and helps protect the vital inner hull, or pressure hull, from damage. Like a space capsule, the pressure hull is the main component of the crew’s life support system, and if it is breached, or punctured, things can go bad in a hurry.”
Aaron looked around at Cobra’s heavy, steel-plated skin, painted a dull black.
“Within the pressure hull there are a total of seven compartments,” Uri went on, “lined up end to end, with one long, narrow corridor running through them — just like you would see on a passenger train. Compartment One is up in the bow, followed by Compartments Two, Three, and Four, and so on down the line, ending with Compartment Seven in the stern.”
“That’s a lot of compartments,” Aaron said.
“Yes, and many of the main compartments house smaller compartments,” Uri said. “It may sound confusing, but actually the layout is very simple: Compartment One is the Forward Torpedo Room, Cobra’s primary weapon array, and the main reason for an attack sub like her to exist. Compartment Two contains the Captain's Cabin, the Sonar Room, other Officer’s Quarters, and the Officer’s Ward Room. Compartment Three houses the Control Center, otherwise known as the Control Room — the heart and brain of the sub. Compartment Four houses Midshipmen’s Quarters and the galley. Compartments Five and Six are the Engine Room, and the Electric Motor Room, respectively. And finally, Compartment Seven, in the stern, contains the Aft Torpedo Room.”
“Where are the hatches that trap tourists?” Aaron asked.
“Four of these seven compartments are considered vital,” Uri explained, “and they are secured by watertight hatches which can be sealed off from the rest of the submarine in the event the main pressure hull is compromised. The first vital space is Compartment Two, with watertight hatches at each end — one leading to Compartment One and the other leading to Compartment Three.”
Aaron counted two hatches on his fingers.
“Compartments Four, Five, and Six, are also considered vital, and similar to Compartment Two, they actually grouped into a single module with watertight hatches at each end.”
“One leading to Compartment Three and one to Compartment Seven," Aaron said, picturing it easily now.
"Correct," Uri said. “The crew could move from one end of the sub to the other along the main corridor using just those four hatches.”
“Let me see if I've got this straight," Aaron said. "If the pressure hull fails, the corridor running through the seven compartments can be cordoned off as needed using four watertight hatches, as a last defense against the incoming seawater.”
“Precisely,” Uri said. “But there are more hatches here on deck. For instance the hatch toward the bow, used to load torpedoes into the Forward Torpedo Room with a crane from above, and the escape hatch above Compartment Seven, the Aft Torpedo Room, toward the stern. The fin hatch, here amidships, provides access to the ladder leading to the Control Room in Compartment Three. Think of it as Cobra’s main entrance. I’ll point it out later. Are you ready to go below?”