Empire Rising (38 page)

The torpedo's high-pitched pings could now be heard through
Michigan
's hull. Conversation in Control ceased, the silence interrupted only by the periodic sonar echoes, which increased in intensity as the torpedo closed the remaining distance. Throughout Control, the crew braced themselves for the impending explosion as they counted down the remaining seconds.

Michigan
shuddered as an explosion roared through the Control Room. Christine tensed, as did everyone in Control, listening for an emergency report. The seconds on the clock by the Quartermaster's stand ticked upward in slow motion as the crew waited.

After an agonizing fifteen seconds, Wilson ordered, “Helm, all stop, right full rudder.”
Michigan
hadn't been hit. The torpedo had been distracted by their decoy, eventually locking on to the same rock outcropping as the previous Chinese torpedo.

Christine felt the tremors in the deck fade as the main engines fell silent. As the torpedo explosion echoed through the water, she wondered why Wilson had ordered all stop.

Wilson called out, “Attention in Control. I've secured the main engines so we can blend back into the ocean noise, masked by the echoes of the torpedo explosion. If Sierra four-eight continues down our trail, we'll have a nice surprise for him. We're not going to be where he expects us to be.” Wilson looked at the Weapons Officer. “Speaking of surprises, how long until Tubes One and Two are loaded?”

The Weps answered, “Ten more minutes before both torpedoes are buttoned up, then we'll begin loading. However,” Lieutenant Stewart added, “we won't know if the torpedoes are operable until we power them up and attempt to assign presets.”

“I understand,” Wilson replied. “We don't have ten minutes anyway. I intend to prosecute Master One with the unmodified torpedo in Tube Three once we regain contact.” Wilson turned to the watchstanders in Control. “Check Fire, Tube Three. Resume tracking Master One.”

Christine wondered what Wilson was up to. How were they going to employ an unmodified torpedo without it being dudded?

The geographic display on Lieutenant Cordero's console showed
Michigan
curling to the right, back toward the Chinese submarine, which was maintaining a straight course. Christine realized Wilson was attempting to circle around behind the Chinese submarine, their approach masked by the torpedo explosion still reverberating through the water.
Michigan
was temporarily invisible, and Captain Wilson was using that to their advantage.

The Helm called out, “Request orders to the Helm. Rudder remains right full, no ordered course.”

Stopping behind the geographic display, Wilson evaluated the solution for Master One.
Michigan
had traveled almost in a complete circle, its speed bleeding off to five knots and still decreasing, with the submarine still hugging the ocean bottom at 760 feet, blending into the occasional rock outcroppings. The Chinese submarine was directly behind them again, steady on a course of one-one-zero at ten knots, depth four hundred feet.

Wilson finally answered the Helm's request for orders. “Steady course one-one-zero.”

As
Michigan
lined up on the identical course of its adversary, the Chinese submarine remained steady on course, attempting to regain track of the American submarine as the echoes from the torpedo explosion faded. Just as
Michigan
completed it full circle, Christine heard the loud churn of a propeller through
Michigan
's hull as the Chinese submarine traveled overhead at four hundred feet, apparently unaware of the American submarine lurking below.

*   *   *

As the Chinese submarine passed above, a determined look settled on Wilson's face. He called out, “Helm, ahead two-thirds. Dive, make your depth four hundred feet. Use five up.”

The Helm rang up ahead two-thirds on the Engine Order Telegraph as the Dive ordered full rise on the fairwater planes and a five-degree up-bubble on the submarine. The Outboard watchstander, seated on the Helm's left, tilted the stern planes until the submarine was pitched upward to the ordered angle.

The main engines returned to life, increasing
Michigan
's speed to ten knots, matching its target. At the same time,
Michigan
drifted up toward four hundred feet. Christine glanced at the geographic display. They were only a thousand yards behind Master One, directly in its sonar baffles. Assuming the Chinese submarine wasn't employing a towed array,
Michigan
would remain completely undetected.

“On ordered depth, four hundred feet,” the Dive announced.

Wilson stepped back onto the Conn as he called out, “Firing Point Procedures, Master One, Tube Three. Set tactics to Low speed/Low speed, passive search only. Extend enable point to intercept range.”

The Weps acknowledged Wilson's order and relayed it to the Fire Control Technician at the Weapon Launch Console, who modified the presets of the torpedo in Tube Three. The Executive Officer stopped briefly behind each of the combat control consoles, examining the target solution on each one, finally tapping Lieutenant Cordero. Cordero pressed a button on his console and the XO called out, “Solution Ready.”

Immediately following the XO, the Weapons Officer announced, “Weapon Ready.”

Lieutenant Herndon followed up, reporting, “Ship Ready.”

Wilson replied, “Shoot on generated bearings!”

Christine heard the whirr of the torpedo ejection pump as the four-thousand-pound torpedo was ejected from Tube Three. The Sonar Supervisor announced the torpedo milestones.

“Own ship's unit is in the water, running normally.

“Fuel crossover achieved.

“Steady on preset gyro course, Low speed.”

Wilson's eyes shifted to the Weapon Launch Console, depicting their torpedo as a green inverted V heading toward a red semicircle representing Master One, which remained steady on course and speed—giving no indication it had detected the incoming torpedo. Thirty seconds after launch,
Michigan
's torpedo had closed to within five hundred yards of its target. Wilson called out, “Wire guide Tube Three. Shift search speed to High-One and Enable the weapon.”

The Weapon Launch Console operator sent the new commands to their torpedo over the thin copper wire trailing behind it. The Fire Control Technician reported, “Unit Tube Three accepted commands.”

Sonar confirmed the torpedo was responding properly, announcing, “Own ship's unit has shifted to High-One and has gone active.”

A few seconds later, the Weapons Officer called out, “Unit Tube Three is homing! Telemetry range, four hundred yards.”

Their torpedo was sending data back to
Michigan
over its guidance wire, and the
Michigan
's crew could adjust the target solution if the contact evaded. However, no adjustments would be necessary. The torpedo had begun homing and would adjust course on its own.

The Weps followed up. “Unit Tube Three still homing! Two hundred yards to contact.”

Christine watched as the torpedo's track on the Weapon Launch Console merged with Master One.

A few seconds later, an explosion rumbled through Control.

Michigan
shuddered as a shock wave passed by, followed by Sonar's report. “Explosion in the water, bearing one-one-zero!” Cheers erupted in Control, quickly dying down as Sonar followed up. “Conn, Sonar. Breaking-up noises, bearing one-one-zero.”

Michigan
had survived, and now they had to clear the area quickly. If there were other Chinese submarines nearby, they would converge on the explosion.

Wilson ordered, “Helm, ahead standard. Right full rudder, steady course two-eight-zero.”

Michigan
began reversing course to the west, away from the explosion reverberating through the ocean depths. Christine took in a deep breath, realizing only now how shallow her breathing had been. However, as the tension eased from her muscles, a powerful sonar ping echoed through Control.

Seconds later, the Sonar Supervisor's announcement struck fear back into her heart. “Torpedo launch transients, bearing three-one-zero!”

 

58

USS
MICHIGAN

“Hold a new contact, designated Sierra five-zero, bearing three-one-zero! Yuan class submarine.” Sonar's follow-up report echoed from the 27-MC speaker on the Conn.

Another Chinese submarine had materialized from the murky waters. This time, however,
Michigan
wasn't hugging the ocean bottom, masked by the reverberations of a torpedo explosion.

Before Wilson could engage the second Chinese submarine, he had to deal with the incoming torpedo. “Helm, ahead flank! Steady course two-two-zero. Launch countermeasure!”

The Helm acknowledged Wilson's order and rang up ahead flank, maintaining his rudder at right full.
Michigan
's powerful main engines surged to life and a Fire Control Technician launched one of
Michigan
's decoys into the water. Christine felt the engines vibrate through the deck again as
Michigan
swung rapidly toward its torpedo evasion course. However, as
Michigan
approached its new course of 220, there was another report from the Sonar Supervisor.

“Torpedo in the water, bearing two-three-zero! Hold a new submerged contact, bearing two-three-two, classified Yuan diesel submarine.”

Christine was beginning to hate the sound of the Sonar Supervisor's voice. She followed Wilson's eyes to the sonar display on the Conn, where a second bright white trace had appeared next to an accompanying faint white line.
Michigan
was now heading directly toward another Chinese submarine and its torpedo. These two diesel submarines were probably the other two of the trio of Chinese submarines that had chased
Michigan
into the ocean bottom a day earlier.

“Launch countermeasure! Helm…” Wilson hesitated.

There was no good course to maneuver to. The Chinese submarines had
Michigan
bracketed. If Wilson put one torpedo on the beam in an attempt to drive out of its path, the other torpedo would end up directly ahead or behind, a recipe for disaster. Yet they had to turn somewhere, and fast. They were barreling directly toward the second torpedo.

Wilson finally completed his order. “… shift your rudder, steady course one-five-zero.”

The Helm shifted the rudder to left thirty degrees, reversing
Michigan
's turn to starboard. Wilson had decided to place the second torpedo on the beam, but that meant the first torpedo was chasing right up
Michigan
's tail. At least they were headed away from it, buying precious time while Wilson developed a plan to save everyone's bacon.

Wilson calmly stepped off the Conn, stopping behind Lieutenant Cordero again. “Geographic display with geoplot overlay,” Wilson commanded. Cordero pulled up the requested display as Wilson was joined by the XO. “We're going to maneuver between the two torpedoes,” Wilson said. “To do that, I need to know their courses.” Both men turned toward Lieutenant Cordero, who spoke calmly into the mouthpiece of his sound-powered phones.

“Sonar, PRI MATE. Report Sonar Search Plan range, Yuan class submarine.”

Christine couldn't hear Sonar's response over Cordero's headset, but a few seconds later, Cordero began manipulating one of the trackballs, adjusting the range parameters of the torpedo solutions, overriding the automated algorithms. His hand fell still and he looked up at Captain Wilson, awaiting further direction.

“Use High Speed for a Yu-6 torpedo,” Wilson ordered.

Cordero returned his attention to his display as he adjusted the speed of both incoming torpedoes, forcing them to fifty knots. Wilson examined the results of Cordero's analysis, then turned to the Ship Control Panel.

“Helm, left full rudder, steady course zero-nine-zero.”

The Helm acknowledged and a second later
Michigan
was turning to port again. As the submarine steadied on course 090, Wilson returned to the Conn and addressed his crew. “Attention in Control. Both torpedoes were fired on a line-of-sight bearing vice corrected intercept. That means our best evasion course is to the east. If our countermeasures fail to decoy the torpedoes, we'll have to hope they don't detect us as they pass by. Carry on.”

The Executive Officer ordered Lieutenant Cordero to enter the torpedo solutions into Combat Control, and the geographic display updated with projections of both torpedoes. Their paths formed a giant X, crossing two thousand yards behind
Michigan
.

It was quiet in Control, the silence interrupted only by the periodic torpedo bearings. Christine could see the strain on the crew's faces as they attempted to discern whether their countermeasures would decoy the torpedoes—and if not, whether the torpedoes would pass behind them without detecting their submarine speeding away.

Another 27-MC announcement. “First torpedo bears three-zero-zero. Second torpedo bears two-four-zero.”

Two new bearing lines appeared on the geographic display. Both torpedoes were drawing aft, continuing their crisscross pattern. Christine watched the two torpedoes approach the decoys
Michigan
had left in its wake, waiting for a sign the countermeasures had worked.

“First torpedo bears two-nine-five. Second torpedo bears two-four-five. Both torpedoes approaching countermeasures.”

Christine's eyes went to the geographic display again. Both torpedoes were within a hundred yards of
Michigan
's decoys.

“First torpedo bears two-nine-zero. Second torpedo bears two-five-zero. Both torpedoes have passed our countermeasures.”

The geographic display updated, verifying the Sonar Supervisor's report. Both bearings marched onward, giving no indication the torpedoes had been fooled by the decoys.