The Lotus Eaters

BdL Orca, Shimmering Sea, Terra Nova

"Skipper," said Yermo to Quijana, "they're boxing us."

Quijana looked up from the deck to the screen toward the boat's bow. It was true enough, with four surface ships taking up position approximately to the four cardinal direction of where Orca had been perhaps half an hour ago.

"They don't hear us," Quijana said, uncertainly. "If they did they wouldn't be so far out. They'd—"

The captain's words were cut off as the submarine was suddenly deluged with the sound of four separate sonar emitters all going to continuous ping.

Yermo tried to ignore the sounds, listening intently for the much more ominous, "Oh, shit, I've got a surface launch . . . no, two . . . three . . . four. Each ship's fired once."

"Fired what?" Quijana asked.

"The Gallic frigates usually mount Ulysses anti-submarine rockets," Quijana's XO said. "That means they'll be here . . ."

"Plonk," said Yermo, looking straight up. He squeezed a headphone to his ear. "Plonk, plonk . . . plonk."

Do NOT panic, Quijana ordered himself. Besides, the thing you're most afraid of is being afraid . . . and you don't have much longer for that to happen, now do you, Miguel?

Aloud, he said, "Friends, we're dead. But we're going to sell ourselves dear. Weapons?"

"Aye"—gulp—"aye, sir."

"We've still got two supercavitators?"

"Yes, sir, two."

"Good. Fire one on self guidance at target three, the other at target . . . ummm . . . two. Fire when ready. Once they're away fire two standard torpedoes at targets one and four. Guide those yourself to the extent you can. Stand by to drop guidance on those and guide the close in defense torpedoes. Helm?!"

"Aye, sir."

"Turn on the clicker. Flank speed ahead."

"The clicker?" the XO, Garcia, looked aghast.

"We're dead anyway," Quijana said. "But the secret can be preserved."

The exec started to object, then admitted, also aloud, "Yeah, you're right."

Quijana nodded. His XO then added, "Miguel, I never believed before that old Pedraz booted you off the Trinidad. I thought you jumped. I believe it now."