body-of-secrets-anatomy-of-the-ultra-secret-national-security-agency-2002

a few things at them and they'll go away. Everybody knows that. Weknew it. They do it to our reconnaissance, airborne reconnaissancemissions. Nobody gets excited about that."But, added Sheck, "Here come these guys—only they weren't playing."At 12:20, Chief Warrant Officer Gene Lacy noticed a number of smalldots on the horizon, approaching from Wonsan. Through the big eyes,Bucher identified them as three North Korean P-4 motor torpedo boatsheaded his way.Seven minutes later, on its third swing around the Pueblo, SC-35hoisted a new signal: "Heave to or I will open fire on you." Lieutenant EdMurphy, the executive officer, again checked the radar and confirmedthat the Pueblo was 15.8 miles from the nearest land, North Korea's Ungdoisland. Bucher told the signalman to hoist "I am in internationalwaters." Down in the Sigint spaces, First Class Petty Officer Don Bailey,who had just transferred to the Pueblo from NSA's USNS Valdez, kept incontinuous contact with Kamiseya. "Company outside," he transmitted tothe listening post in Japan, then asked them to stand by for a Flashmessage.Although Bucher had no way of knowing it, as far as the NorthKoreans were concerned the game was already over. At 12:35, the shorestation reported that "subchaser has already captured U.S. vessel."About that time, the three torpedo boats had arrived and were taking uppositions around the ship while two snub-nosed MiG-21s beganmenacing from above.Bucher passed the word over the internal communications system toprepare for emergency destruction. He then turned to his engineeringofficer, Gene Lacy, and asked him how long it would take to scuttle theship. Lacy explained that the Pueblo had four watertight bulkheads. Twoof those would have to be opened to the sea. They could be flooded withthe ship's fire hoses, but that would take a long time, about three ormore hours. A quicker method, Lacy told Bucher, would be to open thecooling water intakes and outlets in the main engine room and cut a holeinto the auxiliary engine room from the main engine room. Once this wasdone, Lacy said, the ship could go down in forty-seven minutes. But theproblem was that many of the life rafts might be shot up during anattack; without enough life rafts, and with the bitter January water coldenough to kill a person exposed to it in minutes, Bucher gave up on theidea.New flags were going up on one of the torpedo boats: "Follow in mywake. I have pilot aboard." Then a boarding party transferred from theSC-35 to one of the torpedo boats, and PT-604 began backing downtoward the Pueblo's starboard bow with fenders rigged. Men in helmetswith rifles and fixed bayonets stood on the deck. Next came the signal225