“What?” Samant was incredulous. The shallower water and close proximity to numerous civilian merchant ships would negatively affect their detection range. Giving up the deeper water meant abandoning their greatest advantage over Chakra. Truth be told, he knew his old boat was tougher than North Dakota. Russian boats were designed to take a torpedo and survive. There was no question that one hit on the American submarine would be the end of them all. “You can’t afford a close-quarters engagement,” he protested.
“Bernie, what’s the first thing you’d do before you went into really shallow water?” Jerry asked.
“Slow down, and reel in the towed array,” the XO answered.
“And that’s what we need, badly,” Jerry explained. “If Jain slows down, that gives us more time to hear him as he gets closer. Yes, he’ll be quieter, and the environment isn’t as benign, but we still have an advantage, and this becomes even greater once he stows his towed array.”
Thigpen started running the numbers. “With us sitting on the fifty-meter curve, against a slow Akula, we’d have an estimated detection range of ten, maybe twelve thousand yards depending on the local shipping noise.”
“What about Napoleon and Bismarck?” asked Jerry.
“Hmph, I doubted they’d be even half that good. Give me a minute to check, sir,” Thigpen grunted.
“Napoleon? Bismarck?” echoed Samant in confusion.
“Our UUVs. We named them after cities in the state of North Dakota,” Jerry replied without taking his eyes off the display.
“You name them like pets?” demanded the Indian. These Americans are a weird lot, he thought.
“Sure, why not?” rebutted Thigpen. “We’re actually quite attached to them. By the way, Captain, there are still some members of the crew that haven’t forgiven you for running Minot over.”
“I destroyed a city in North Dakota? Fortunes of war, Commander,” Samant responded firmly, now convinced that the Americans were indeed crazy.
“Ah, here you go, Skipper,” announced the XO. “Ooh, the UUVs’ detection range is even shorter than I thought, about three thousand yards.”
“Okay, Bernie, put the boat on a racetrack pattern roughly parallel to the Jiapeng Islands and the entrance to Lema Channel, speed fifteen knots. Then put Napoleon and Bismarck to the west and southwest, eight miles away from own ship. Use just barely overlapping five-mile racetracks for both, speed five knots. How does that look?”
“Wait one, Skipper,” Thigpen mumbled as his fingers rapped on the keyboard. It took a couple of minutes before he was ready to run the simulation. The results surprised him.
“Well, I’ll be dipped in goo,” he remarked. “The overall probability of detection actually is better, noticeably better. Nice call, Skipper.”
“Thanks, XO. And I’m sure you and Captain Samant can refine the basic search pattern and eke out another percentage point or two.” Jerry saw Samant lean forward, studying the simulation display. His head nodding slightly, a smile crept onto his face.
Although it went against his instincts, Samant was now convinced. He didn’t know if he would make the same decision in Jerry’s place, even if he’d thought of it. Mitchell was right, though. The approach Samant and Thigpen had originally planned had a lower calculated chance of finding Chakra.
Before departing, Jerry turned toward Samant and said, “Oh, Captain, I’ve got something else for you to do as well, if you’re willing.”
“Whatever I can do to help, of course.”
“I’d like you to prerecord a message that we can play over the underwater telephone, just in case we can get close enough, without being shot at, of course. Even if they have shut down their communications, they can’t ignore the sonar. If Jain and his crew hear the recall order from you, there’s a chance they’ll stop, and nobody has to die.”
Samant felt a flash of hope, and he felt grateful to Jerry. The American was still doing his best to think of ways to end this peacefully. The underwater telephone had a range of only a few kilometers, and the chance of his crew actually recognizing his warbled voice was low, but he could certainly record a short message that would sound like it was coming from their old captain, and tell them to turn around.
They had to play every angle, and just hope for the best.
18
PURSUIT
It had taken more time than she could afford to just get the videoconference organized. Although in theory, Submarine Squadron Fifteen was coordinating the military forces involved in the hunt for Chakra, the reality was far more complex.
China was insisting that any aircraft or ship employed in the operation be under their “positive control.” They refused to say what that meant. They also refused to say what ships and aircraft from their own forces would take part in the search, or what their capabilities were. After three days of Chinese turndowns, delays, and evasions, Commodore Simonis had finally brought Joanna Patterson into the loop. She’d agreed that the issue was something that needed to be addressed at a higher level.
In spite of the urgency, the defense minister couldn’t spare them any time until it was very late, Beijing time, and in Guam. When the teleconference was finally set up, General Shi We, the PRC’s Minister of National Defense, was late, and appeared impatient, dividing his attention between the teleconference and someone off to one side and out of view. It was not a good start to the meeting.
Shi’s image showed a man in his seventies, balding and thin. He was not sympathetic to Simonis’s concerns. “We don’t have time to deal with these requests. The Chinese government is currently concerned with mobilizing our forces to stop these criminals.”
“That is unacceptable, General.” Patterson’s tone was harsh, almost angry. “Many nations have banded together to assist in your defense, and China seems reluctant, even unwilling, to accept that help.”
“We might not need any assistance if our fleet had not been decimated by sneak attacks,” he spat.
“General Shi, we have good information about the losses to your fleet during the recent conflict. While your commercial tankers suffered grievous losses, China only lost about a dozen major warships and even fewer submarines. Are these enough to prostrate China’s navy?”
Shi looked ready to explode, then seemed to gather himself. He said carefully, “China is grateful for any assistance in this dangerous time.” Patterson thought his English was very good, especially if he could use it when he was so upset. He’d obviously been ordered to play nicely, but also obviously didn’t like doing it.
Commodore Simonis had been silent during this exchange, but Patterson had remained aware of his presence. He’d called her when he’d been unable to coordinate with the Chinese, and this meeting, arranged with such difficulty, confirmed his report. She was now as concerned as he was.
“General, Commodore Simonis reports he’s been unable to properly organize aircraft patrols, because your navy refuses to abandon the initial barrier patrol off the coast of Vietnam. It’s over three hundred miles from your base in Hainan, which means a lot of wasted time getting to and from the patrol line. He’s recommended a zone closer to your coast, which will maximize the time your aircraft spend on station.”
Shi nodded. “I am familiar with this issue.”