TW05 The Nautilus Sanction NEW Read Online Free PDF Page A

the submarine’s control room, another in the engine room and one in the crew’s quarters. The invisible gas spread rapidly throughout the sub. There was never any chance of giving an alarm. The five men moved rapidly through the boat, already familiar with its layout. They released more gas, just to be safe, making certain that each member of the submarine’s crew was incapacitated. In less than five minutes, they controlled the boat.
    “All right,” said their leader, over the comcircuit in their helmets. “Nicely done. Now let’s get that equipment on board.”
    When Forrester had finished, one of the soldiers raised her hand.
    “Sergeant Chan,” said Forrester.
    She stood as she was called on. “Sir, assuming a small strike force of some sort actually did manage to overpower the crew of a Soviet submarine, how would they plan to operate it? Wouldn’t it require highly specialized training of the sort no longer offered in present time?” Forrester nodded. “An excellent point, Sergeant Chan. We have two possible answers to that one.
    One, it is not beyond the realm of possibility for this to have been a long-range plan on the part of the hijackers. With access to warp discs, they could easily have clocked back to Minus Time, to the 20th century, and enlisted in the United States Navy, for example. The Navy had a nuclear-powered submarine training school in Idaho Falls and they might have obtained the necessary knowledge in that manner. However, that would have been doing it the hard way. If we are to presuppose an extremely organized, highly skilled group, then it makes more sense to assume at least one of their number was a therapist trained in re-education procedures. Getting their hands on the necessary equipment would have been child’s play after what they’ve already accomplished. Once they had overpowered the submarine’s crew, they could then condition them at their leisure to follow orders unquestioningly. Given the mentality of the Soviet military, that would not have been terribly difficult to do. The predisposition for unquestioning obedience would already have been there.”
    Another soldier raised his hand. “Lieutenant Bryant?” said Forrester.
    “Is there any indication of the purpose behind this act?” said Bryant.
    “As of right now, no,” said Forrester. “There has been no contact, no demand for ransom, nothing.
    Temporal Intelligence believes the group is putting the sub through its paces, giving it a shakedown cruise while they familiarize themselves with its capabilities.” Lucas raised his hand. “Major Priest,” said Forrester. “Just what
are
it’s capabilities, sir?” he said.
    “The Soviet Typhoon-class subs were capable of sustained underwater cruising speeds in excess of sixty knots. Their titanium double hulls rendered magnetic detection virtually impossible and they were extremely quiet-running. They carried a full complement of ordnance, ranging from standoff missiles with a reported range of about 125 kilometers to cruise missiles, so-called “smart” missiles capable of being fired from the submarine’s torpedo tubes and flying as low as ten feet above the water, thereby defeating radar. They also carried a full range of torpedoes, from homing and wake-following to antisubmarine and conventional type. Last but not least, they were equipped with twenty ballistic missiles, capable of being launched from silos via hatches in the deck. These were of the MIRV type, or Multiple Independently Targeted Reentry Vehicle, with as many as fourteen or fifteen warheads on one missile, aimed at different targets hundreds of miles apart. These were launched when the missile reached the top of its trajectory, from the nose cone. This method was facilitated by use of an inertial guidance system. Measuring devices known as accelerometers recorded movement in every direction aboard the submarine and sent signals to the missile computers, which translated those signals into the