Ice Station Nautilus by Rick Campbell Read Free Book Online

turned to port and is on a closing trajectory.”
    A moment later, the Sonar Supervisor reported, “Receiving high-frequency ice-detection pulses from Master One.”
    Dolgoruky was definitely headed toward them.
    YURY DOLGORUKY
    “Steady on course one-eight-zero,” the Steersman announced.
    Stepanov acknowledged the report, then checked the geographic display on the fire control console. He had turned with a ten-degree rudder, putting Dolgoruky on a reciprocal course with a slow turn to the west. The last thing he wanted was to run into a submarine trailing them. The water column was very narrow, with only 140 meters between the ocean bottom and the lowest ice keels. After taking into account safety margins to the bottom and ice above, Stepanov figured both submarines were traveling at the same depth or close to it.
    It would not be long before they would learn if the American submarine was still following them. He waited for a report from Hydroacoustic, but the Command Post speakers were silent. Another minute passed without a report, then a voice broke the silence.
    “Command Post, Hydroacoustic. Hold a new contact on the towed array, designated Hydroacoustic seven, a sixty-point-two-Hertz tonal, ambiguous bearings one-six-zero and two-zero-zero.”
    Stepanov responded immediately—they were approaching the sixty-meter-deep ice ridge.
    “Prepare to Fire, tube One.”
    His crew executed the order quickly, and in less than a minute, Stepanov received the report from Captain Lieutenant Evanoff. “Ready to fire, tube One.”
    “Launch decoy, tube One.”
    The fire control Michman announced, “Decoy launched from tube One.”
    Stepanov ordered, “All stop. Shift to electric drive.” He glanced at the under-ice sonar. The ice keel was five hundred meters away. Stepanov followed up with, “Secure all sonars.”
    The watchstanders complied and the Steersman soon announced, “Propulsion has been shifted to the electric drive.”
    Dolgoruky had gone quiet, securing its main engines and sonars. There was one thing left to do. “Steersman, back one-third. Compensation Officer, set Hovering to fifty meters.”
    Dolgoruky slowed, rising toward the ice.
    USS NORTH DAKOTA
    “Conn, Sonar. Picking up transients from Master One.”
    “What kind of transients?” the Navigator asked.
    The Sonar Supervisor answered, “We detected a faint broadband transient, which lasted for ten seconds. It wasn’t metallic—it sounded more like cavitation. But there’s been no change in Master One’s frequency that would correlate to a speed increase.”
    As Tolbert tried to figure out what Dolgoruky was up to, he examined the sonar screens. Dolgoruky ’s fifty-Hertz tonal was coming in stronger than ever now that Dolgoruky had turned toward them and was closing. How close would she get? He examined the geographic plot on Petty Officer Phillips’s display. Dolgoruky was headed south at ten knots, with a CPA of two thousand yards.
    Tolbert had a problem. At two thousand yards, North Dakota would likely be detected. But to open CPA range, he’d have to turn away, no longer following in Dolgoruky ’s track. There was no way he was going to travel blindly under the ice cap, yet at the same time, he didn’t want to activate his under-ice sonar, giving away North Dakota ’s presence.
    That was his dilemma. Activate his under-ice sonar and ensure counter-detection, or let Dolgoruky close to two thousand yards and hope for the best. Neither was a good option, but he chose the lesser of two evils. He would stay on course.
    However, he could improve the odds North Dakota passed by undetected. “Pilot, all stop.”
    North Dakota ’s main engine turbines, reduction gears, and propulsor stopped spinning. Slowly, North Dakota coasted to a halt.
    YURY DOLGORUKY
    As Dolgoruky rose slowly toward the ice canopy, Stepanov monitored his submarine’s depth and speed. They had risen to ninety meters, approaching zero knots.
    “Steersman, all