“The last speedboats are getting too close to our flotilla for me to target,” he said. “I’m pulling our fire back to the helicopters to protect Jake.”
Already within range of all adversarial Harpoon anti-ship missiles, Cahill would have gained nothing by trying to slow the weak guns of the Israeli surface combatants. So he let Walker commit his shots to defending the hidden Specter.
“Very well,” he said.
With the Goliath pointing northward, the cycling sonic cracks continued piercing the night off his starboard bow.
He then reconsidered threats to his ship.
“Major Dahan, are you sure we’ve seen the last of the Air Force’s Strike Eagles?”
“The pilots don’t want to dodge phased-array-guided hypersonic railgun rounds. It’s not worth the risk to try to drop bombs on a ship that can submerge.”
“That makes sense. Wait, though. Are you getting this as intelligence from intercepted orders?”
“No, I’m getting this from analytical observation of their tactics in this campaign. My team was only able to procure decryption keys for the most important naval channels.”
“I understand. You just sounded so confident in your assessment that I… never mind. But, still, the Strike Eagles could load anti-ship missiles as ordnance and attack from distance.”
“They won’t,” she said. “The surface fleet has plenty of anti-ship missiles for any imaginable tactic against us, and most Air Force generals want to see the prime minister fail.”
“Very well,” Cahill said. “We’ll keep targeting the helicopters. I don’t think Liam’s going to hit any, though.”
Keeping his face aimed at his screen, Walker looked back at Cahill from the corner of his eyes and smirked.
“Ye of little faith,” he said.
“The helicopters are beyond our phased array, and I expect the Air Force is providing jamming protection to their brethren.”
“If I shoot close enough for the pilots to hear the sonic booms, I’ll test their courage. Only an idiot would hover over Jake as an easy target.”
“Good point.”
Fate rewarded him for letting Walker follow his instincts.
Equipped with satellite radar and infrared from Renard, his executive officer sent dangerous rounds towards small but slow airborne submarine hunters. As the helicopter pilots honored their self-preservation, they broke from their searches for the Specter to dodge bullets.
Dancing data on Cahill’s display showed defensive aerial acrobatics, which stymied the aircrafts’ effort to find Jake and allowed the Specter to protect the Goliath from the Crocodile.
Maritime momentum moved in the mercenary fleet’s favor, and Cahill watched the icons of his flotilla fight for landfall. As the blockade runners overran the Israeli defenses, he sensed a resounding victory, until his moment to intervene arrived.
“Vampires,” Walker said. “One each from missile boats two and three.”
Cahill surprised himself with his verbalized first thought.
“Only two?” he asked. “The Greeks proved that the optimum against us is three.”
“The fleet knows this,” Dahan said. “The third will come.”
“The first two are veering away to the north and south,” Walker said. “They’re using waypoints.”
With his plan unfolding per his desires, the Frenchman on the video screen had remained silent until the anti-ship missiles threatened his property and his staff.
“Major Dahan was correct,” Renard said. “The third missile was just launched by a corvette. I’m sure it’s a three-axis attack timed for simultaneous arrival. You need to submerge.”
“Understood,” Cahill said. “I know the protocol well.”
His response sounded cavalier as he uttered it, and his boss detected the overconfidence.
“Don’t be a hero, Terry. The Israeli warships hold enough anti-ship missiles to keep you underwater until our flotilla is ashore. Don’t risk the Goliath.”
“There’s three corvettes and half a dozen missile boats out there,” Cahill said. “If I don’t harass them, they’ll stop coming for me and chase down our blockade runners instead.”
“The Israeli guns are too small to matter,” Renard said.
“Enough rounds in an engine room can stop any ship.”
“A few ships, perhaps, but our flotilla has all but succeeded. Adequate humanitarian aid will reach the Gaza Strip to humiliate the prime minister. Gaza will be self-sufficient for at least six months.”
Cahill frowned and looked at his boss’ face on the screen.
“What about boarding parties from the Israeli surface combatants?” he asked.
“The ships’ crews aren’t allowed. Eight years ago, a flotilla one-third our size captured and exploited Israeli commandos who were trained for the boarding. This is politically-sensitive work, and the Israelis allow only specially trained commandos to partake in the assaults.”
“He’s correct,” Dahan said. “My team is intercepting message traffic verifying it. They’ve expended their trained boarding parties. They’re out of options.”
Cahill struggled to accept an untroubled victory.
“So, they’re out of commandos, and their bullets are too small to cripple our flotilla. But what about shooting anti-ship missiles at our cargo ships?”
The Frenchman scoffed.
“That would be political suicide for the prime minister. Even his own supporters would turn against him.”
“So that’s it then? You’d have me just turn and run?”
“It’s not running. The mission is accomplished. I want you to return me my ship undamaged for once.”
“Okay,” Cahill said. “I guess I owe you that.”
A hint of tension in the major’s even tone chilled Cahill.
“Not okay,” Dahan said. “My team just intercepted a command. The corvettes are going to launch two pairs of Seagulls. We won’t be able to evade submerged.”
“That’s all the Seagulls they have, though, right?”
“Yes, one pair per corvette. The Specter destroyed the third pair during its failed ambush of the Crocodile.”
Cahill studied the geometric impositions on his display.
“Clever,” he said. “We’ll have to dive below the first wave of vampires in four minutes. That’ll slow us. Then the Israelis will keep launching vampire salvos to keep us slow while the Seagulls catch us.”
“We’ve faced similar challenges before,” Walker said. “We could porpoise.”
“The timing has to be impeccable,” Cahill said. “And we’ve pushed our luck with that technique in the past. I prefer to avoid it. I’m accelerating away from the battle.”
After tapping a new course and speed into his screen, he watched stars walk across his bridge dome.
“Running is a good start, but it doesn’t solve the problem,” Walker said. “We need a plan.”
“Right,” Cahill said. “And I’ve got one.”
As the Goliath sliced through swells, the bounding bridge fell silent, save for the washing of waves. Cahill let his promise hang while he let his plan solidify in his head.
“Well?” Walker asked.
“Torpedoes,” Cahill said. “We carry six of them for a reason. The rules of engagement preclude using heavyweight torpedoes against Israeli assets, but I assume our boss can change that policy for defeating robots?”
“I don’t like it,” Renard said. “Those Seagulls are highly maneuverable and one missed shot would beget a wild torpedo that could easily acquire a manned ship. Killing an Israeli surface combatant crew is unacceptable.”