“And what is the task, Sir?”
“Lift the blue tarp only on one side, get into the driver’s seat, and start the engine. Then let the engine run for five minutes. I don’t want us to have a problem with the engine, the battery, or the hydraulics system tomorrow.”
The driver turned quickly back to the gun and rolled up the tarp with the help of two of his crew mates. He then opened the heavy steel driver’s hatch in front of the gun and disappeared into it, with only the top of his head visible. Two minutes later, the din of the self-propelled gun’s engine was heard throughout the ship. Several of the ship’s crew gathered near the tank-like vehicle to watch this strange and terrifying behemoth, which had made itself comfortable right in the middle of the deck of their civilian trawler. Thick gray smoke rose above the rear part of the vehicle, disappearing quickly in the cool air. Several minutes later, the driver shut down the engine and emerged from the vehicle, stretching the tarp over the gun again.
“Do you know what type of shell you’ll be shooting tomorrow?”
Colonel Nazarbayev asked the gun crew.
The older gunner in the crew was eager to reply.
“Yes, Sir, I saw the container of the shell and all its markings. I have never shot a shell like this, but as far as the firing process, there is no difference between this shell and any other.”
“Exactly. By the way, I don’t think anyone on this planet has ever fired such a shell. Now, the details. Firing will be executed tomorrow at 1041 hours exactly, unless we receive new data which will force us to change the firing time. That is also the reason why we’ll arrive at the firing location about five hours earlier. You’ll have enough time to get organized, to perform meteorological checks, and to be ready to fire on time. Firing will be to the west, direction 275 degrees, to maximum range. Another important thing: from the moment of firing, you’ll remain down here, constantly facing East. If you have questions, now is the time.”
The gun crew leader was hesitant. Colonel Nazarbayev encouraged him to speak up.
“Sir, I apologize for raising this issue, but did anyone check to make sure that when we fire the gun, the recoil will not cut through the deck and we won’t sink into the sea together with the gun? I don’t know exactly how to calculate the recoil, but the force is tremendous, enough to shake the ground when the gun is on land.”
“I can remind you how to calculate recoil”, replied Colonel Nazarbayev, whose expertise included precisely such calculations. “It is the mass of the shell multiplied by its speed. But you have nothing to fear, Sergeant Major. Our Navy’s engineers made all the calculations and everything is in order. You should know that if the gun sinks into the sea, then we all sink with it and with the boat, and personally, I still have plans for the future. Worry not.”
Colonel Nazarbayev looked at his watch again, as he had done dozens of times in the past hour. He felt alertness mixed with an almost uncontrollable excitement. The gun crew had already removed the tarp cover, and the Colonel again checked his watch. The hands showed 1002 hours. In ten minutes, he thought, the American submarine will arrive at the reporting point, which is exactly where we have been waiting for the past six hours. We’ll wait 29 minutes, which will probably seem like an eternity, and then fire the gun. The thoughts continued to race through his head, and he needed all his powers of self-control to keep calm and focus on his mission.
The sleek, super-modern USS 726 Ohio nuclear submarine had, by now, been submerged for the twelfth consecutive day, maintaining a constant diving depth, speed, and direction. This duration of its stay underwater was not exceptional, as Ohio class submarines could even stay underwater for ninety consecutive days. Navigation at depth was routine and uneventful. Once in a few days, in order to break the monotony of the long journeys, the crew would be called to their battle positions without prior notice, not knowing ahead of time whether it was a drill or a state of war.
The ship’s commander was Captain Frank Butcher, who was considered a meteor in the United States Navy. Captain Butcher made regular radio contact with his sister submarine USS 729 Georgia, which was ahead of them by exactly twenty-four hours, on exactly the same navigation course.
The phone in the Captain’s position rang, and a red light on the phone was flashing.
“Captain Butcher”, he answered.
“Sir, sonar station reporting what looks like a medium-size trawler three and a half miles ahead on our course. The vessel is stationary and we will pass directly underneath it.”
“Got it”, the Captain confirmed, and placed the telephone handset back in its cradle.
“Sir”, this time it was the duty seaman sitting next to the Captain’s chair.
Captain Butcher turned to him.
“Speak”, he ordered.
“I have just been told by Communications that a top-secret urgent message has arrived from supreme headquarters in Annapolis and they are deciphering it now. They say the message should be ready in two to three minutes.”
“Tell them to bring it here as soon as they’re done.” “Yes, Sir!”
The submarine’s Chief Communications Officer appeared soon afterward and handed his commander an envelope. Captain Butcher opened the envelope and read the deciphered telegram, then folded the piece of paper and shoved it in his shirt pocket.
“Dismissed”, he told the Communications officer.
The Captain walked quickly to the wall where the chart with the full navigation course was posted. He examined the map for several seconds before returning to his chair. He then picked up the microphone, and his voice now echoed from the dozens of loudspeakers throughout the submarine.
“This is Captain Butcher speaking. Effective immediately, turn to direction 175. I repeat, immediately turn to direction 175. Rise to depth 150 meters, 150 meters. Full steam, maximum speed. Attention, crew of Ohio 726. The Navy has just raised the state of alert to Grade 2. I repeat, Grade 2. This is only one grade below all-out war. Our navigation drills are discontinued indefinitely from this moment, and we shall now assume our battle positions. Pay attention to anything out of the ordinary.”
The submarine’s Deputy Commander burst into the Captain’s station. “What’s going on, Captain?”
“It isn’t very clear, but there seems to be some serious problem in Europe, probably with the Reds.”
Colonel Nazarbayev was now in the trawler’s radio room, next to the Naval Intelligence radio operator. He continued to glance frequently at his watch, and now he turned to the operator for the third time in the past two minutes.
“Are you sure you’ve heard no report from the submarine? It passed its reporting point 19 minutes ago. You heard nothing? Maybe we have a problem with the receiver or the antenna?”
“Sir, everything is working and everything is in order. I ‘ve been hearing quite a few radio communications, even more than usual. This submarine 726 hasn’t reported anything yet.”
Colonel Nazarbayev ran out of the communications room and arrived breathlessly at the self-propelled gun, which was now uncovered, its engine running with a deafening noise. The Colonel stopped near the gun and checked his watch again. Three more minutes, he said under his breath, three more minutes. The gun crew leader gazed at him expectantly, but because of the great noise from the gun’s engine, the Colonel could only wave his hand at the gunner from a distance, holding up three fingers. The gunner raised his thumb in confirmation.
The Colonel looked at his watch yet again. His heart was beating with such force that the Colonel felt that it would burst.
Captain yashin, the k-219 nuclear submarine commander, looked through his periscope again. From a great distance, he detected the trawler, which he had been following for almost two days and nights now. He folded the periscope handles and returned to his seat. The Colonel pulled a sealed brown envelope out of his shirt pocket. He tore it open and extracted a note with several typewritten lines. Having read through the message, he put the letter back into his shirt pocket, sank into his chair, and exclaimed in disbelief.