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SEA OF SHADOWS 243
The captain turned to Chief McPherson. “How about it, Chief? Did
those subs sneak by us?”
Blue lines of bearing were beginning to appear on the CDRT, angling
away from Ingraham’s NTDS symbol. “I don’t know, sir,” the chief said.
“It looks like they did, but … maybe Ingraham’s Gremlin isn’t one of the
subs. Maybe it’s a fishing boat, or something too small to give a decent
radar return. We need to find out if they’ve got any narrowband
frequencies we can use to classify this guy.”
The XO looked at the TAO. “Brian, ask Ingraham if they’re getting
any narrowband.”
The TAO nodded. “Ingraham, this is SAU Commander. Interrogative
narrowband tonals, over.”
The reply came back a few seconds later. “SAU Commander, this is
Ingraham. Negative narrowband tonals at this time, over.”
“How about small craft?” the chief asked.
The TAO went out over Navy Red again. “Ingraham, this is SAU
Commander. Interrogative surface small craft in the area of Gremlin Zero
One, over.”
“SAU Commander, this is Ingraham. Negative small craft in area of
my Gremlin. My radar did show one motorboat near the initial bearing of
my contact, but I am now seeing over thirty degrees of bearing separation.
Do not believe my Gremlin is a small craft, over.”
The XO said, “That’s it, then. I say we let them break formation,
Captain. If those subs have gotten past us, they’re either going to slip
away or jam a torpedo up our ass. We need to jump on this sucker before
it gets away.”
The captain nodded. “Looks like we just proved Patton’s old adage: No
plan ever survives contact with the enemy. I hate to throw this one out the
window, but we can’t take a chance on even one of those subs getting by
us. Let Ingraham go, Brian. And tell them we’re standing by to assist.”
The TAO said, “Yes, sir.” He keyed up Navy Red. “Ingraham, this is
SAU Commander. You are cleared to break formation to pursue your
Gremlin. Towers is standing by to assist, over.”
“Wait a second,” Chief McPherson said. “Ask them what their contact
looks like, sir.”
The TAO’s eyebrows went up. “What?”
“What it looks like,” the chief said. “Is it strong or weak? Fuzzy or
discrete? What are its acoustic characteristics?”
The TAO cocked his head to one side. “Uh … Ingraham, this is SAU
Commander. Interrogative acoustic characteristics of your Gremlin, over.”