That prompted a short sidebar with Lieutenant Li, as the lieutenant searched for the correct Chinese word for “transponder.” Li was still explaining it to the general when another senior officer, wearing a naval captain’s rank, hurried in. He bowed quickly to Tian and reported in rapid-fire Mandarin. The general nodded and then stood, indicating that the captain should take the seat in front of the camera.
As the new arrival sat down, Tian took a chair in the background, but remained visible. Li explained, “This is Captain Zhang, Commander of the Hong Kong Garrison Naval Brigade.” Squat and weather-beaten, Zhang looked like he belonged on a ship’s bridge. To Simonis’s eyes, he also looked a little wall-eyed, as if he couldn’t quite grasp the situation. The translator was more matter-of-fact. Zhang didn’t speak any English, either.
He explained through Li. “I have just closed the harbors to incoming traffic and ordered all ships in the harbor to either leave immediately or remain stationary until they are given permission to move.” He shook his head, as if to clear it. “This is more than what we do for typhoons.”
“That’s very good,” Simonis responded. “The UUVs need the harbor to be as clear as possible.”
Through Li, Zhang asked, “How will we control them?”
“You don’t have to,” Simonis answered. “They are completely autonomous — think of them as underwater robots. When they reach the harbor, they will extend a satellite antenna and ask for new instructions. My staff is preparing a search plan for each vehicle. One will search Shenzhen Harbor while the other looks in Victoria Harbor.”
This triggered an extended exchange between Zhang and his interpreter. When Li spoke to him again, he asked, “But how will your submarine, North Dakota, send them to the robots? Isn’t she submerged, pursuing the Indian rogue submarine?”
“We will direct the UUVs from here, Captain.” Simonis had to keep remembering that although Li was doing the talking, his audience was Zhang and his boss, the general. “Although North Dakota carried the two UUVs, any submarine can take over control, once they’ve loaded the software into its combat system. Any American submarine,” he added.
“A submarine in my squadron, Oklahoma City, was unable to take part in the search for Chakra because of a fault in her propulsion plant. She will monitor the search and transmit instructions to the UUVs by satellite. They’re downloading the software right now, and will be ready to send commands to the vehicles in plenty of time.”
Li asked, “Wouldn’t it be simpler to transmit the instructions from here? We have some very good computers.”
Simonis noted that Li asked the question without prompting from Zhang. Was he just curious, or did he have something he wanted to suggest to his boss?
“That’s not possible,” Simonis said truthfully. “The software is designed to operate with a display console in our submarines’ control room. It won’t work on a standard computer.” Simonis had no illusions about what would happen if the Chinese got their hands on that code.
Having deflected the inquiry, Simonis got back to business. “My immediate need is for the best information you have on obstructions and wrecks in the two harbors, Captain. Although the vehicles can avoid objects they encounter on their own, larger or more complex obstacles can confuse them, and certainly slow them down. It’s best if obstructions are entered in their navigation systems ahead of time. It will also help to reduce the number of false alarms.”
The commodore added, smiling, “I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of junk that’s accumulated on the floor of the two harbors.”
The three Chinese officers spoke together for several minutes; then the general addressed someone out of view of the camera. Li said, “We have surveys of different parts of both harbor bottoms taken over the years. None are complete.”
Zhang asked through Li, “What is the resolution of the vehicle’s sonar?”
“In area search mode, a foot. Excuse me, thirty centimeters. In high-resolution mode, it’s a little over three centimeters. The vehicles will be searching for an object only fifty-three centimeters in diameter and about seven meters long. If it sees something that matches this basic description, it will switch its sonar to high-resolution mode, go lower, and take sonar images of the object from several different angles. Then it will come to shallow depth and transmit them to us, along with the object’s location.”
Simonis waited while Li translated, and Captain Zhang asked, “Can the vehicle also retrieve the torpedo? Does it have a claw or other handing tools?”
“No, you will have to use divers, but the UUV will be able to tell them the object’s location within centimeters of its true position. I’m sure visibility near the bottom is terrible, but they won’t have to waste time searching.”
Li nodded his understanding, and relayed the information to Zhang, who also nodded, and answered affirmatively.
“You are welcome to anything that will speed the search. We will send the bottom information to you, but, in truth, your survey will be more detailed than anything we have.”
General Tian spoke up in the back. He sounded impatient, and Li relayed, “Do you have any more information on how long we have to search? When will the warheads explode?”
Simonis scowled. “That’s the big question. If we assume that the bombs are all supposed to go off at the same time, then we may have several days. It’s likely that Hong Kong was the first port on their target list. It’s our good luck that Chakra was discovered so soon after placing her torpedo, and we can begin searching so quickly.”
Li scowled and shook his head. So did Zhang, as soon as Li passed on Simonis’s words. “It’s hard to talk about ‘good luck’ when there is a nuclear bomb buried somewhere in your harbor, and that the good luck came at the expense of a submarine and her crew.”
“I’m a submariner, Captain, and I’ve lost a boat myself. I understand exactly how you feel. We all want to stop these criminals before any more blood is shed. My staff is calling on experts from all over my country to make the search as efficient and swift as possible. For instance, we know the weapon used was a Russian UGST-M torpedo, so we know its range. We know Chakra can’t go into very shallow water. That allows us to rule out some parts of both harbors.”
Zhang listened through Li, and asked, “Can one of my staff participate in the search planning?”
“Yes, of course,” Simonis answered immediately. He felt a small twinge of hope. After seeing and hearing Patterson getting the door slammed in her face earlier, he hadn’t expected the Chinese to be civil, much less willing to collaborate.
A side console flashed a text message from Patterson. “Good job, Commodore.” He knew she been listening in from Washington, but that was the first time she said anything.
Li said, “Can you please send us complete information on these UUVs? It will help our staff understand their capabilities.” Neither Tian nor Zhang had asked that question.
Simonis answered immediately, “Of course, I’ll have my staff send you the relevant information.” He hoped the Chinese wouldn’t object to only getting the “relevant” data. He could see Jacobs off to one side, taking notes.
Again unprompted, Li asked, “How often must the vehicles be recharged?”
“At their normal search speed, they have three days’ endurance — seventy-two hours, minus the time they spend reaching the harbors. Hopefully we’ll find the torpedo before it becomes an issue.”
Zhang fired a string of Mandarin at Li that sounded like an impatient question, and then Tian joined the conversation. There seemed to be a dispute between the two senior officers and the lieutenant.