The Trident Deception (53 page)

Humphreys and Wilson, doing their best to keep fear from leaking into their voices, directed the crew to shore up the watertight hatch and shut every hull and backup valve, hoping to keep the water out of the Forward Compartment. But the thin trickle seeping past the Aft Compartment watertight door had increased to a steady stream, indicating the door seal was failing. The water collected in the bilge, rising steadily until the lower level of the Forward Compartment had become uninhabitable. However, the rising water wasn’t their only concern; the frigid temperature and limited oxygen supply were more important factors.

The submarine cooled quickly to the ambient temperature of the ocean depth, only 3 degrees above freezing. Hypothermia threatened to claim what remained of the crew, and they donned their foul-weather gear and huddled closely together to conserve body heat. And although the ship had ample emergency carbon dioxide curtains, scavenging the CO
2
from the air, the amount of oxygen was another matter. The crew burned their limited supply of emergency oxygen candles, each one generating enough oxygen to sustain the crew for a few hours.

The battle lanterns had faded now, and the last operable one was in Kim Durand’s hand, faintly illuminating the crew as they huddled in the darkness. The air was stale and cold, the quiet periodically pierced by a sickening screech as a hull plate deformed under the intense ocean pressure. They would either succumb to the lack of oxygen, or soon, like the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, a bolt would finally shear and the nearby fasteners would fail in quick succession. A flange would part from its mate, and the ocean would claim them.

Either way, it would not be long before the
Collins
would be unable to sustain human life.

Even so, the crew clung to the faint hope they would be rescued: that the
Collins
’s emergency beacon had made it to the ocean’s surface undamaged, that someone had picked up the beacon’s signal in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and that a deep-sea submersible rescue ship would arrive before their supply of oxygen ran out.

The odds were slim, but that hope and one oxygen candle were all they had left.

*   *   *

As Chief Durand approached, Wilson stood stiffly, shivering inside the foul-weather jacket he had borrowed from one of the dead crewmen. Humphreys climbed to his feet beside him, awaiting the report from his senior Weapons Chief. The faint yellow light from her battle lantern illuminated her grime-smeared face and blue eyes that were glazed over in a glassy sheen, as if they were not quite focused. A curled lock of blond hair escaped from the hood of her foul-weather jacket, tied tight around her face to keep the precious heat within. Her breath condensed into white fog as she spoke, her words coming out slightly slurred, her mind sluggish from the low oxygen content in the air.

“Oxygen is at fourteen percent, Captain. We can’t wait any longer. Request permission to burn the last candle.”

Humphreys examined the dirt-streaked face of his chief, resignation and despair in her eyes. They had survived five days together, keeping alive the hope they would somehow be rescued. But the submarine’s oxygen supply had steadily depleted, and the one remaining candle would sustain them for only a few hours more. Thankfully, as the oxygen level fell below what was required to sustain human life, they would slip into unconsciousness; their deaths would be painless. This last order, however, was not.

“Burn the last candle.”

“Aye, sir.” Kim Durand turned away, then stopped and faced back toward Humphreys and Wilson. “It was an honor serving with you,” she said.

“The honor was mine,” Humphreys said, extending his hand.

“And mine,” Wilson said, shaking the woman’s hand after Humphreys.

A metallic screech tore through Control as the submarine tilted a few more degrees to starboard. Wilson grabbed the periscope to steady himself, wondering if the
Collins
was teetering on the brink of an abyss, the ledge finally giving way under the weight of the crippled ship. Kim shined the battle lantern around Control, examining the compartment for sign of flooding—a small crack in the hull or piping giving way under the tremendous ocean pressure. A series of metallic scrapes reverberated through the ship, this time from farther aft and above. As the crew listened tensely with upturned faces, five distinct taps, each one second apart, echoed through the hull.

The crew broke out in cheers.

A rescue ship was latching onto the outside of the
Collins
’s hull.

*   *   *

Three hours later, blinking in the sunshine, Captain Murray Wilson stepped off LR5, the Australian submersible submarine rescue ship, onto the deck of the salvage ship that had carried it across the Pacific Ocean. LR5 had just finished the last of four round-trips between the
Collins
and the salvage ship, ferrying the survivors to the surface. Wilson and Humphreys were the last to leave the stricken submarine and the last off LR5. After stepping onto the deck of the salvage ship, which rolled gently in the calm seas, Wilson stopped and reflected on what Commodore Lowe had told them.

Lowe had boarded the
Collins
from LR5 after it secured itself to the submarine’s hull and the hatches between them were opened, then briefed the crew on what transpired after the
Kentucky
’s torpedo sent the
Collins
to the bottom. After being fired on by the
Collins,
Commander Malone figured out his Radio Room had been sabotaged and had restored communications. They received the Launch Termination message, and orders to Pacific Fleet to sink the
Kentucky
had been canceled.

The
Kentucky
’s crew had been spared.

Tom was alive.

Captain Murray Wilson looked up, squinting at the bright yellow sun suspended in the clear blue sky. His eyes filled with tears as the sun shone down, offering warm relief from the cool ocean breeze.

COMPLETE CAST OF CHARACTERS

UNITED STATES ADMINISTRATION

R
OBERT
T
OMPKINS
, vice president

K
EVIN
H
ARDISON
, chief of staff

C
HRISTINE
O’C
ONNOR
, national security adviser

N
ICHOLAS
W
ILLIAMS
, secretary of defense (referenced only)

C
APTAIN
S
TEVE
B
RACKMAN
, senior military aide

L
ARS
S
IKES
, press secretary

R
USSELL
E
VANS
, White House aide

NATIONAL MILITARY COMMAND CENTER

A
DMIRAL
T
RACEY
M
C
F
ARLAND
, Director (referenced only)

D
AVE
H
ENDRICKS
, Deputy Director

M
IKE
P
ATTON
, Section Two watchstander

R
ON
C
OBB
, Section Two watchstander

I
SAIAH
J
ONES
, Section Two watchstander

A
NDREW
B
LOOM
, Section Two watchstander (referenced only)

B
RADLEY
G
REEN
, Section Two watchstander (referenced only)

K
ATHY
L
EENSTRA
, Section Two watchstander (referenced only)

ISRAELI ADMINISTRATION

L
EVI
R
OSENFELD
, prime minister

H
IRSHEL
M
EKEL
, prime minister’s executive assistant

E
HUD
R
ABIN
, defense minister

B
ARAK
K
OGEN
, intelligence minister

A
RIEL
B
RONNER
, director, Metsada

D
ANIEL
L
ANDAU (ALIAS
W
ILLIAM
H
OOVER)
, Metsada agent

U.S. EMBASSY IN ISRAEL

G
REG
V
ANDIVER
, U.S. Ambassador to Israel

J
OYCE
E
DDINGS
, Ambassador Vandiver’s executive assistant

COMSUBPAC

J
OHN
S
TANBURY
, Commander, Submarine Force Pacific

M
URRAY
W
ILSON
, Senior Prospective Commanding Officer Instructor

E
RROL
H
OLCOMB
, Admiral Stanbury’s Chief of Staff

D
AVID
M
ORTIMORE
, Admiral Stanbury’s Aide

L
ACONTA
C
OLEMAN
, Strategic Watch Officer

J
ARRED
C
RUM
, N7 Operations Officer

NAVSEA

A
DMIRAL
S
TEVE
C
ASERIA
, Program Executive Officer (Submarines)

C
APTAIN
J
AY
S
ANTOS
, program manager, PMS 401 (Sonar)

HMAS
COLLINS

B
RETT
H
UMPHREYS (
C
OMMANDER)
, Commanding Officer

K
IM
D
URAND
, Marine Technician Chief

USS
HOUSTON

K
EVIN
L
AWSON (
C
OMMANDER)
, Commanding Officer

USS
KENTUCKY

W
ARDROOM (
O
FFICERS)

        B
RAD
M
ALONE (
C
OMMANDER)
, Commanding Officer

        B
RUCE
F
AY (
L
IEUTENANT
C
OMMANDER)
, Executive Officer

        J
OHN
H
INVES (
L
IEUTENANT
C
OMMANDER)
, Engineering Officer

        P
ETE
M
ANNING (
L
IEUTENANT)
, Weapons Officer

        A
LAN
T
YLER (
L
IEUTENANT)
, Navigator

        J
EFF
Q
UIMBY (
L
IEUTENANT)
, Supply Officer

        T
OM
W
ILSON (
L
IEUTENANT)
, Assistant Weapons Officer

        H
ERB
C
ARVAHLO (
L
IEUTENANT [
J
G])
, Electrical Division Officer

        H
ECTOR
L
OPEZ (
E
NSIGN)
, Torpedo Division Officer

        O
CTAVE
C
OSTA (
L
IEUTENANT)
, Sonar Division Officer

        C
HRIS
V
ECCHIO (
L
IEUTENANT)
, Reactor Controls Division Officer (referenced only)

R
ADIO
D
IVISION

        A
LAN
D
AVIDSON
, Chief Petty Officer

        R
OB
M
USHEN
, First Class Petty Officer

        P
ETE
G
REENE
, Third Class Petty Officer

S
ONAR
D
IVISION

        T
ONY
D
EL
G
RECO
, First Class Petty Officer

        B
OB
C
IBELLI
, Second Class Petty Officer

        J
OHN
M
ARTIN
, Second Class Petty Officer

        A
LEX
R
AMBIKUR
, Second Class Petty Officer

M
ISSILE
D
IVISION

        R
OGER
T
RYON
, First Class Petty Officer

        J
ODI
K
REUGER
, First Class Petty Officer

        S
COTT
S
ANTOS
, First Class Petty Officer

        D
AVE
R
EYNOLDS
, Second Class Petty Officer

        S
COTT
W
ALWORTH
, Second Class Petty Officer

O
THERS

        S
TEVE
P
RASHAW
, Chief of the Boat

        J
OHN
B
ARBER
, Torpedo Division Third Class Petty Officer

        B
OB
M
URPHY
, Machinery Division Third Class Petty Officer

        T
ED
L
UTHER
, Night Baker

USS
LAKE ERIE

M
ARY
C
ORDEIRO (
C
APTAIN)
, Commanding Officer

B
RIAN
M
C
K
EON (
S
EAMAN)
, Helmsman

USS
NORTH CAROLINA

D
ENNIS
G
ALLAGHER (
C
OMMANDER)
, Commanding Officer

J
OSEPH
R
ADEK
, Reactor Controls Division Chief

M
IKE
T
ELL
, Reactor Controls First Class Petty Officer

USS
SAN FRANCISCO

K
EN
T
YLER (
C
OMMANDER)
, Commanding Officer