The JA phone buzzed before Hunsucker could respond. Ward instinctively reached to yank it out of its stainless steel holder, then saw the senior captain’s nod that the interruption was okay.
Ward held the handset to his ear and pinched the push-to-talk button in its grip
“Captain.”
“Captain, Officer of the Deck. Message sent to SUBPAC reporting the interference and asking for a new launch basket and launch window. Receipt acknowledged.”
The ship’s Navigator, Lieutenant Earl Beasley, was standing watch as the OOD, controlling all of the operations of the sub.
“Very well. Tell me as soon as they answer. Meanwhile, stay at periscope depth. Continue on to the western boundary of our operations area. We’ll bet on them giving us a new area farther out.”
Beasley acknowledged and Ward replaced the phone. As he turned back toward Hunsucker, he saw that the older man had finally raised the coffee cup to his lips. Ward spoke before the other man could swallow the thick, black liquid, hoping to make his point while he had the chance.
“Well, we asked. Don’t know what they’ll say. Anyway, back to what I was saying. You want us to do a Tomahawk launch simulating a wartime fight, but also following all the peacetime safety rules. All right, so far we’re on the same wavelength. But then you put the launch basket close in-shore off LA…so close we can practically keep score in the beach volleyball games…and you give us a tiny operating area in one of the most heavily trafficked shipping lanes in the world. How do you expect us to show you anything except how damned proficient we are at not running into shiploads of Toyotas?”
Hunsucker set his cup back down deliberately and leaned forward, a stern expression on his face. The sparkle in his beady eyes seemed almost gleeful, though.
“Jon, remember that you have the proud distinction of having the oldest boat in the fleet. This is the last Sturgeon-class left. Your reactor core is almost exhausted. We set this all up close to shore to save your core as much as possible.” He grinned and smacked his lips. “And you still serve some damn fine coffee.”
Ward finally breathed and let a small smile play across his face, but he doubted he was out of the woods with Hunsucker yet. Still, the tension that had gripped him for the last couple of hours was partially relieved.
“Its from Kauai. Good Hawaiian stuff. The supply officer gets it from a friend on a boat based in Pearl. I never ask what we’re giving them in return. Anyway, I know we have an old boat. We fight that every day. Talk to the engineer. That is if you can ever catch him with his head out of something else that’s gone on the fritz.”< Ward sipped his own coffee. Hunsucker was right. Compared to most boats, the Spadefish’s brew was spectacular. “This boat is older than he is, for God sakes. She’s still a class act, though. You know that, Mike. She does a lot of things that even those new Virginia-class boats won’t be able to. Just give us a chance and we’ll show you a few things.”
“All right, Jon, but we need to talk about this next drill.” Hunsucker’s small eyes went steely and Ward felt a slight shiver climb up his spine. “I think we’ll have an opportunity to see what you and Spadefish can do, all right.”
Joe Glass stepped through the door that connected the captain’s stateroom with his own, separated only by a head that both men shared.
“Excuse me, Skipper. We’ve spun down the Tomahawk in tube two. Request permission to back haul it from tube two and load an exercise ADCAP. We need the exercise fish in the tube for the torpedo shoot this afternoon.”
Ward glanced in Hunsucker’s direction. The senior captain could tell them to never mind, to wait for word from Pearl Harbor that the test was still a “go.” But he quickly nodded his agreement that the crew could proceed getting ready, assuming an affirmative from the Pacific submarine command in Hawaii.
“XO, back haul the Tomahawk in tube two and reload with an exercise ADCAP torpedo,” Jonathan Ward ordered, then glanced back at the senior captain. There was something about the expression on the man’s face that bothered him. He had a sudden thought. “And Joe, stick around for a few minutes. I want you to listen to the briefing for this next drill”