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In Seaview's
control room, there was organized pandemonium. Crane and Nelson erupted
through the access tube down the ladder and crashed to the deck. Crane hit
first. To avoid being promptly crushed by the Admiral, he adeptly lurched
out of the way. Instantly, he surveyed the situation. The "Christmas tree"
display of ballast control lights showed a glittering hodgepodge of red
and green. Far too much red for the Captain's comfort. One leg up on the
periscope stand, Commander Chip Morton barked out orders as he turned and
saw the now disheveled Crane and Nelson.
"The bridge
is clear!" Crane shouted.
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The Admiral added, "Hatch
Secure!" and then redundantly, "Get us off the
surface!"
Unlike other modern subs that had no system for
downright fast emergency dive situations, Seaview could drop like
a stone on a moment's notice. Much of the work was handled automatically
by ship's computer. It was for exactly this kind of unforeseen situation
that Nelson had overdesigned his research vessel. |
"Lee,
take her down to two thousand feet. Now! Head for the
basement!"
"All dive!" ordered the Captain. "Two
thousand feet. Emergency dive!"
The surprise and
stress of the moment showed on Chip Morton's face. "Take her down to two
thousand feet. Emergency dive!"
Dive
manager Stu Riley watched as the last red light turned green. "All hatches
and main tank vents closed. Flood Negative. Prepare to
dive."
Morton turned to the sub's control station.
"Helm, maintain course, dive the boat."
Riley called
out, "Dive, all dive!"
Plains and helmsman went to
work. Further orders and repetitions echoed all
around.
"Emergency dive in progress." On the com,
Riley's youthful voice was pulled thin by surprise and stress. This
was an abbreviated version of standard procedures.
| Through the noise
and commotion, they could hear and feel the submarine respond to the
all-out call to get the hell off the surface. The deck tilted
noticeably and the crew's sea legs compensated. Status reports shot
from one control station to another and sounded over the intercom,
reverberating in the air around them. Orchestrated chaos. A perverse
side of Lee Crane couldn't help thinking, This is more like
it! |
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----Excerpted from
The Nemesis Syndrome
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