Supposing that this was the topic that Admiral Valerian wanted to discuss, he went to his meeting with confidence and pride.
Boris would never forget the morning this meeting took place. Igor Valerian was every bit as imposing as he thought he would be. The distinguished veteran was tall and erect, and had a way of looking into one’s eyes as if he were gazing into one’s soul. Before getting down to business, he produced a bottle of gold-tinted vodka, and together they toasted the continued security of the motherland. Only then did he get around to explaining the reason for this meeting.
As it turned out, Valerian didn’t want to discuss their shared political beliefs at all. Rather, he had matters of a much more practical nature to divulge to Boris, who sat back and listened as the one-eyed mariner sketchily revealed the details of a top-secret operation that he would soon be directing. This operation’s lofty goal was no less than to guarantee the rodina’s future competitiveness in the important field of undersea warfare, by securing the technology needed for this next step with a single, bold move. Because the rodina would never be able to develop these technological advances on their own, they would get them in another manner, by stealing the most advanced underwater warship of all — Seawolf.
Though Valerian never explained the exact details of how he would go about doing this, Boris did learn that the operation would take place during Seawolfs initial sea trials. The relevance of this disclosure came into focus as the Pantera continued with its current duty.
Boris had just returned to his stateroom after a six hour watch in navigation. During this time, he was part of the team who plotted their course and that of their unsuspecting quarry. The 688 class submarine’s destination was becoming evident as they continued to cruise southward down America’s eastern coast. Only an hour ago, the twinkling lights of St. Augustine, Florida were barely visible through the Pantera’s attack scope. The 688 then began a slight course change to the southwest, which brought it ever closer to the shallower waters above the continental shelf. This meant that the vessel would soon be surfacing, with the only submarine base in the vicinity less than a couple of hours distant.
Even their most junior navigator was able to determine that the 688 was headed for Florida’s Port Canaveral. Yet what his crewmates didn’t know was that this same port was the current home of the one warship that could irrevocably tilt the balance of naval fighting-power forever in favor of the imperialist West. For it was here that Seawolf was being prepared for its sea trials.
Was it merely the hand of fate that had led the Pantera into these sensitive waters? Boris couldn’t help wondering as his thoughts returned to his morning spent with Igor Valerian. The Admiral had informed him that Seawolf would be putting to sea in late summer or early fall. This meant that its sea trials could be starting any day now, and that the 688 that they had been following from Norfolk could be a part of this test run. Excited with this possibility, Boris retired to his bunk. It was time now to get as much rest as possible, for there was no telling what the days ahead had in store for them.
13
The team was just assembling for breakfast, when the bell began ringing inside the ready room of Starfish House. From his wooden perch beside the dining room table, Uige was the first to respond audibly to this unexpected call.
“Dolly’s here! Awk. Dolly’s here!” animatedly squawked the parrot.
“Hello, Dolly!”
With a rush of flapping green feathers, Uige then streaked into the ready room, prompting Lisa Tanner to put down her napkin and scoot back her chair.
“I wonder if Dolly’s brought us a response from Dr. Sorkin,” she remarked while standing.
“Everyone sit tight while I go and see.”
Her four seated co-workers readily accepted this offer, and watched as Lisa followed Uige into the adjoining room. Less than a minute later she was back holding an open envelope and a single piece of paper.
“It’s a message from topside alright,” she said with a hint of disappointment.
“But it’s not from Dr. “
Lisa handed the dispatch to Pierre Lenclud, who read it while sipping a glass of Irish breakfast tea.
“We’ve been notified to be ready to accept a shipment of helium tanks this morning at 0900,” he reported.
“The rest of our requested supplies will be sent down later in the day.”
“I wonder why there’s no word from Dr. Sorkin,” remarked Ivana Petrov.
“At the very least, he should have acknowledged the receipt of our memo.”
“Maybe he hasn’t even read it yet,” offered Tomo, between bites of his waffle.
“Not Dr. Sorkin,” countered Lisa.
“If he received the envelope, he’d open it and read its contents at once.”
“I think all of us should give the man a chance to do some preliminary investigation first,” said Karl Ivar.
“I agree,” concurred Lenclud.
“After all, he’s only had twelve hours to act on our warning. Dr. Sorkin impressed me as the type who wouldn’t waste time contacting us until he had some solid information to pass on. In the meantime, we have to be patient.”
Ivana Petrov pushed away her food and impatiently voiced herself.
“Even if we do hear from him soon, I still think we should return to the bottom of the trench and catch those mini subs with Misha’s video camera.
And if the saucers aren’t still there, at least we can get close-up proof of just what it is that they’re working on.”
“No, mon amie,” returned Lenclud.
“Until we hear from Dr. Sorkin, such an excursion would be far too dangerous. Those two vessels could be involved in a clandestine military operation for all we know, and I think it’s best that we stay far away from the floor of the trench until we hear otherwise.”
Karl Ivar looked at his watch, then hurriedly chewed his last section of waffle.
“Who wants to help me convey the helium back to Hangar One?” he asked, before gulping his milk.
“I’ll give you a hand, Karl Ivar, if you’ll assist me in putting up the new wall to the fish pen,” offered Tomo.
“You’ve got yourself a deal,” replied the Norwegian, who stood, adding, “In fact. I’ll even throw in the services of Misha. We can use the saucer’s articulated manipulator arm to do most of the manual work for us.”
“Good idea,” said Tomo as he also stood and followed his muscular, blond-haired co-worker to the ready room.
This left only Pierre Lenclud and Ivana Petrov still seated at the table. They shared a moment of thoughtful silence, as Lisa began clearing the dishes.
“My instincts warn me that something is not right on the floor of the trench, Comrade,” reflected the Russian.
“The Academician Petrovsky’s commanding officer is a crafty old Communist fox, and if he’s indeed using this mission as a cover, there’s a very good chance that the members of the U.N. observer team will never know about it. Why, I wouldn’t put it beyond Admiral Valerian to intercept our dispatch to Dr. Sorkin, which means that even as we speak, he knows of our suspicions.”
“Though I seriously doubt that’s the case, mon amie, we must nevertheless be prepared for just such a possibility. And if we don’t hear from the good doctor by tomorrow this time, I’ll seriously reconsider your request to return to the floor of the trench and film this machinery that you discovered. In fact, I’ll even accompany you aboard Misha myself.”
While the occupants of Starfish House continued with their discussion, Karl Ivar and Tomo climbed down the stairs of the ready room. From the protection of the shark-proof grill, they halted a moment to survey the coral clearing before them. The only evidence of the world above was the morning sunlight that filtered down from above, illuminating the crystal water with a soft blue radiance.