May Day (The Erelong Trilogy Book II)

The Trojan Submarine

Our oaths of truce Kronos' son, enthroned on high, accomplished not; but evil is his intent and ordinance for both our hosts, until either ye take fair-towered Troy or yourselves be vanquished beside your seafaring ships.

Iliad, Book VII, Homer. P.130

The nose of the USS Texas plowed through the rain-swept chop. The leviathan bulk of the Ohio-class submarine was maintaining an easy twelve knots. Standing on the bridge, high above the white rush of the wake, Captain John T. Tindale and his executive officer (XO) Lieutenant Commander Frank O'Hara watched the dark mass of the land sitting on the horizon grow in size.

Through his binoculars, Tindale studied the broken shelf of ancient yellow rock that formed Sydney Heads. Beyond the harbor entrance rose the city skyline, proud and arrogant. He fancied the ancient city walls of Troy must have looked similar to the soldiers on the decks of the thousand Greek ships on the eve of their assault. Of course, there was not a target for this boat to attack. In fact, the mission was something of a mystery precisely because there was no target. There was only some very odd cargo he had been told to deliver. Tindale did not like playing delivery man and he enjoyed mysteries even less.

"Are you thinking about the company we've picked up along the way?" O'Hara asked.

Tindale glanced at the XO. "Are you talking about our Japanese friends or the VIPs?"

"I'm pretty sure we are both on the same page when it comes to our riders, Skipper," Frank O'Hara chuckled. "No, I mean the Japanese boat on our tail." He peered over his shoulder at the dark shape of the distant submarine. Since they had flipped open the hatch, the Japanese boat had held its speed, keeping the same distance from them. "Do you think they going to be trouble? After Okinawa, we might wanna be particularly vigilant."

"Can't say I liked that decision to close the bases, but I understand the rationale," Tindale muttered. The recent Okinawa Incident continued to be bad news all round. "The Japanese didn't want to catch any blowback from China."

"You can't trust either China or Japan if you ask me," O'Hara retorted. "They share too much in common, don't you think?"

"C'mon Frank!" Tindale replied with a wide grin. "Be a little more understanding of human nature. China laid their peace agreement on the table and told Tokyo it was history if they didn't kick us out. I don't see they had any choice. What do we do? We throw a hissy fit and hit Japan with a bunch of sanctions. You have to admit they've good reason to be pissed."

"You don't think repairs and supplies are what they're about, do you?" O'Hara said.

The XO was watching Tindale's face for a clue.

"No, I don't think they're looking to rumble," Tindale said. "We'll find out soon enough."

O'Hara said. "And what about our distinguished guests below?"

"We have one hundred and fifty proud men and women aboard who believe the prime mission of this boat is to defend our country at a time of war," Tindale replied immediately. "And instead we are told to bus tech-heads across the Pacific. Not to mention the four Navy SEALs with us only to mind the riders. What a waste."

"Take it easy, Skipper," O'Hara said. Tindale's sudden venting had caught him off guard.

"Don't worry, Frank. I'm fine," Tindale said with a scowl. "You should have seen me when they gave me the brief. When they mentioned the frigging gizmos to be stowed in our missile tubes... You should have heard me then. Emptying six fucking tubes, Frank. Using us as the boat as an underwater freighter. It's un-fucking-believable!"