The Lotus Eaters

SdL Orca, Shimmering Sea

Whether the torpedoes were out of juice or had simply gone inactive as a power saving measure until their passive sensors picked up something interesting, neither Quijana nor Yermo knew. They did know that there were currently no torpedoes in the area actively moving or tracking. Even torpedo two, which had never reacquired the sub, was so far down they considered it more likely than not it was lost.

On the screen, both surface ships and torpedoes had faded almost out of view. Even the sonobuoys dropped by helicopter and fixed wing craft had gone silent and began to fade. Given the ocean currents and the surface winds, Quijana wouldn't have bet a bottle of not very good beer as to where any of them were now.

"You know, skipper," Garcia suggested, in a confidential whisper, "we could shut off the clicker and just move off."

"Against orders," Quijana said.

"Maybe not. We proved to them we could be found if we use our engines. They've probably figured out we're using buoyancy differential to glide. We sail off. They sit up there for a week or two and, when they never get our signal, assume we glided away."

Quijana chewed his lower lip uncertainly. "I've got to admit; it's tempting."

"Four knots, skipper, and we're out of their search area in an hour and a quarter. We can always re-establish our presence by clicking once we get to where we met up with Meg, or—better—where Chu shut his clicker off."

It is tempting, Quijana thought. Let me think about the bigger picture. They probably know we had two subs out. They'd have stopped paying attention to Meg when it was out on its "test dive" pretending to be the new sub. So they think there's only one here. Does that make sense? Yes it does; because if they thought there were two of us they wouldn't act so confident once we took out that Amethyst Class. No, they'd be shitting bricks right about now. That carrier would have turned away long since.

We've got the layer between us and them. They're not going to hear the propulsor jets from up there. Hell, at four knots, they might not hear them if they were down here with us.

"All right, XO; leave the clicker off. Four knots, due east. But keep us bobbing and weaving as if we were gliding just in case they spot us."