Ghost Sub полностью

For a minute they all contemplated the magnitude of what they were being asked to do, but then Jabo started thinking about the specifics they needed to complete the mission: he couldn’t help himself. “We’ll need to load warshots in the tubes,” he said.

“All four,” said the captain. “And plan on shooting two. God help us if we can’t hit her with two.”

“What do we tell the crew?” said Jabo. “They know it’s the Boise out there. And they’ll know we’re shooting real torpedoes.”

“We can tell them it’s part of the exercise,” said the XO, the first words he spoken. “Tell them the Boise has been replaced overnight by a drone.”

“No,” said the captain. “I’m telling the crew the truth. I’ve already decided.”

“Does it say that in our orders?” asked the XO.

“It doesn’t say not to,” said the captain. “And I’ll be damned if I ask these men to destroy a US submarine without even telling them what the hell they’re doing.”

“But their clearance level…” said the XO.

“XO, this is it for me. This is the thing my career has led to, the thing I’ll be remembered for in the submarine force, if I’m remembered for anything. And in addition to following orders, I have to be concerned about the judgment of history. About right and wrong.”

“Ok,” said the XO quietly. “When do you want to tell them?”

The captain thought it over for a minute. “Let’s have officer training after dinner, right here. I’ll tell the wardroom in person. After that I’ll get on the 1MC and tell the whole crew.”

The mood of the crew was festive, as everyone knew they had done the impossible: they’d tracked a Los Angeles class submarine. The cooks, in response, cooked steak and giant crab legs that extended past the edge of every man’s plate. For dessert, the supply officer had held back a few five gallon buckets of real ice cream for a special occasion, and he brought them all out, three in crew’s mess and one in the wardroom.

The mood in the wardroom, too, was festive, the officers’ spirits soaring with the success of the exercise and the quality of their food. The cooks had even laid out a white linen table cloth to enhance the atmosphere.

But Danny couldn’t enjoy the food, he knew what they were going to do in the morning. The XO, too, seemed to share his somber mood, although few seemed to notice because he was always so dour. But Danny was surprised by the captain. While not exactly light-hearted, he did seem to be in a good mood. He seemed happy but not ebullient, jovial in a reflective kind of way. He always liked telling sea stories, but his stories that night were less bawdy than normal, more reminiscences of a long, successful career. To Danny, it felt vaguely like a retirement ceremony.

“You guys ever hear of Captain Wreford-Brown?” he asked when the conversation paused. “I met him once.”

Everyone nodded their heads.

“No? Never heard of him? Shame on you, submariners. He should be a hero of yours. How about the HMS Conqueror?”

Again, no one knew the reference.

“Okay, I’ve got an easy one. How about the General Belgrano? Just you JO’s — everybody know it?”

Every junior officer nodded his head.

“Go ahead, tell us Bannick.”

He laughed nervously and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Sir, I believe the General Belgrano was an Argentinian warship sunk by a British submarine during the Falklands War.”

“Very good Bannick. And you know the significance of that to us?”

“It’s the only ship ever sunk by a nuclear submarine at war.”

“Absolutely correct,” said the Captain. “And she was sunk by the HMS Conqueror, commanded by Chris Wreford-Brown.”

“You met him, sir?”

“I did,” said the captain. “He spoke at the Pentagon when I was there on my shore tour. He’s retired now — manages a zoo in Devon, England.”

There was laughter around the table, and the captain joined in. “Hey, that’s part of our charter here — create good citizens that can contribute to society when they get off these boats. That’s something to keep in mind, apply what you’ve learned here on the outside.”

The captain cleared his throat. The wardroom grew quiet waiting to hear what was next.

“A lot of us submariners know the name of the Conqueror, and the ship she sunk,” he said. “But what a lot of people don’t realize is that the General Belgrano began her life as a United State Ship: the USS Phoenix. She was a Brooklyn-class light cruiser, commissioned in 1938. She was stationed in Pearl Harbor, was present during the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. After that, she was in combat almost continuously, supporting General MacArthur and his island hopping campaign, as we took back the Pacific, one tiny scrap of land at a time. Bataan, Corregidor, Leyte Gulf: she was there for all of them, dodging torpedoes and kamikazes. Nine battle stars in all. By any measure, she was a tested combat vessel, and served our country well.”