Chapter 5: Murphy's Law
Chapter 5: Murphy's Law June 30, UC 0087 1600 hours Zulu Temporary Headquarters, 16th Mobile Battalion. Three miles
north of the town of Olongapo. "Alright, according to eye witness accounts the sub was
seen leaving the area at around noon..." Lieutenant Colonel Natalie
Dolvich started as she switched on her projector to display a map of the area
to the rest of the battalion's officers, "That gives them four or five
hours lead ahead of us, and since that U-class' maximum speed is 30
knots..." "Mam, excuse me, but according to the U-606's trials
she can actually go up to 35 knots," Hawkins corrected, "There is
often great disparity between the theoretical speed of a class of warships and
the actual maximum speed each individual ship could reach. Naval yards love to
tinker with every boat they get you see..." Hawkins explained further. "Thank you Major," Natalie replied, a little bit
piqued at Hawkins' explanation. But what the hell, she thought. Hawkins was a
descendant of John Hawkins* after all, master architect of Queen Elizabeth's
naval warships and key reason for England's victory over the Spanish Armada,
though it was Hawkins' now deceased cousin Megan who actually went into the
warship building business... "Now, assuming that they went full speed, they should
be at the maximum of around 175 nautical miles from our current position,"
Natalie continued as she drew a circle 350 nautical miles in diameter in the
map she had projected, with Subic as its center, "Therefore sub should
more or less still be within this circle, which will constitute our initial
search area. If we fail to find her within the next few hours, then we're going
to keep expanding our search until we find those rebels, understood?" "Mam," one of the Don Escargot section leaders
added, "It's a good plan and all... but we've only got ten Don Escargots
with very few sonobouys with them, and we can't have them all up at the same time
due to fuel constraints, and I don't think my boys can search an area that big
with this little to work with. Plus, even if we DO find that sub, I don't think
our weapons could do diddly squat to that submarine, not to mention those AEUG
b******s probably know we're coming and have a couple of underwater SAMs just
waiting for us to blow us to smithereens..." "I would have to agree with that assessment,"
Hawkins added, though wary of the look of disapproval on Natalie's face. "Two additional submarines will be moving to the area
to assist our search within an hour," Natalie replied, her stare slightly
more directed towards Hawkins than the Don Escargot pilot, "One from the
north, and another covering the south. Also, we'll be getting a few Aqua GMs
and their Midea transports within the hour, and they will be held in reserve
until we find them." IF we find them... the Don Escargot section leader thought
but did not say outloud. He decided to merely nod in reply. "Good, any more questions?" Natalie asked as she
took a look around the Headquarters. None arose, "Alright, I know this is
a hard job people, but we have to get those rebels. Dismissed!" --------------- "Contacted him yet?" Cynthia asked as John
returned from his visit to City Hall, and could almost already tell what had
transpired as a result. "No, "The mayor is busy and can not be contacted
at this time"," John replied in the same robotic manner as he had
been received by the mayor's secretary, "And as far as they are all
concerned, "The Philippine Islands are free from any known rebel
organizations that are now arising, and have remained a safe, premier tourist
spot for the Federation's law abiding citizens... blablabla"" "Maybe you should get another job in the answering
machine or animation business," Cynthia added playfully, "They'd
probably like your voice acting there..." "Cynthia..." John grumbled, "This is serious.
If that idiot Fernendez decides to stage an open revolt..." "Look," Cynthia added reasonably, "You know
how those AEUG people operate. They only attack military facilities with ties
to the Titans. Manila's just a backwater port now. They won't come here just to
kill civilians, you remember what Carlos said, don't you?" "Yeah but..." John mumbled before Cynthia placed a
finger on his lip. It was her way of telling him not to worry anymore, after
all stress WAS hazardous to health and... "Let's just forget about these things, alright?"
Cynthia asked, "We've both had enough of war, and worrying for one that
probably isn't going to come won't help either of us. Besides which, you
wouldn't want to spoil our chance tonight, would you?" "Well..." John started before slumping his
shoulders down and sighing, "You know, you really are very demanding of me
sometimes. What if we get another boy then?" "Then we'll keep trying until we get her," Cynthia
continued, before leaning up near his face as to let them both see each other's
eyes. Both chuckled. They WERE getting older, they both thought, but it still
seemed as if their carefree days together as little children had only been
moments ago... "Alright, alright..." John replied as he gave her
a quick kiss, "Let's just get our things in order, and we'll just see what
fate bring us..." --------------- "They're probably hunting us by now..." Jean said
to himself as he looked up the control room's ceiling. Never before traveling
under the oceans of the Earth, he found the experience slightly unnerving.
Every little sound, especially those made by the hull, worried him. Was this
thing going to hold together against the might of the seas? "Don't worry about it Jean," Yoko comforted as she
took a bite of a sandwich she had stolen from the mess and getting rid of a cap
that denoted her as the sub's temporary skipper, "It's just the hull
getting compressed a little by the water pressure. New subs are made kinda
elastic to let them dive deeper. Happens all the time..." "Yeah, but this is my first time..." Jean added
worriedly as another loud metallic pop resonated within the hull, "You've
been in these boats plenty of times have you?" "I have, ever since my team managed to help steal a
couple of them in California back in early 79'" Yoko replied, now deciding
to reveal one of the more secretive aspects of her career, "No more
details though. Just wait until UC 129 and you might find some book about what
REALLY happened back there. That's if we live that long..." "What are the chances they're going to find us?"
Jean inquired as he took a glance at helmsman, one that looked rather tired
after nearly half a day of being ordered around by Yoko... "Not much," Yoko replied, "Somewhere between
slim, and none. The ocean is a big place, and I doubt they'll have enough
resources to find us. Though I do wish we brought along somebody else to be the
sub's skipper, who's going to run this boat if I'm needed to pilot that
Zugock?" "Just keep us from being detected Yoko, and I think we
won't have to worry about that," Jean decided, "We need to get to New
Guinea undetected, and not carrying a swarm of Titans troops behind us..." "Don't worry about that sir," Yoko replied with a
slight grin as she remembered their next destination, and who would be involved
in THAT operation as well. It would be GREAT to get back to space again, she
reflected, knowing it would be their next stop if the job was done, and it
would be even better to serve with Jefferson and his former Zeon crew again,
especially with that particularly good Chinese pilot... "Conn, sonar, I'm picking up a couple of new
contacts," one of the sonar operators reported before Yoko could finish
her wistful thought, "****! I think it's sonobouys! Almost right on top of
us!" --------------- "Last three..." the pilot on Don Escargot 03
warned as he watched another one of the plane's sonobouy listening devices
splash into the sea. His sonar operator had sworn that he had heard something a
few seconds ago, just before one of their sonobouys went dead, but now... "****!" the sonar operator growled, "Dead buoy.
The damn thing didn't activate..." "****," the pilot muttered in agreement. Damn
black market guys he thought, nearly half of the buoys they had used so far had
some sort of defects on them, most of which were non-functional due to the
cannibalization of some of its electronic or battery components, "We'll
make another pass to try again, and signal HQ, we just might have found
them..." --------------- "Hawkins, just say it..." Natalie muttered to
Hawkins as she realized that the two of them were alone in the HQ, "Please
just be frank and blurt it out right now." "Mam?" Hawkins replied, albeit defensively,
"I mean... What particular subject manner are you referring to?" "About how I'm a piss poor officer when it comes to
naval operations," Natalie muttered in reply as she stretched her legs,
"Come on, you're a Brit, you're supposed to be a harsh critic. I know
you've been thinking that since the briefing, especially since you're a bit
better at me at naval operations, though you're afraid to say it." Hawkins sighed internally, partly out of relief and partly
out of amazement at how Natalie could get so depressed at herself sometimes,
doubtless due to her exposure to Sylvie, "Mam, though I do concede you are
relatively inexperienced in naval combat, there is very little you could have
added to rectify the situation. In fact, the plan you have come up with is
probably the only logical course of action that could have been taken. We now
have to trust on what is probably the most important aspect in submarine
operations, luck. As American submariners enjoy saying, if you aren't lucky, we
can't use you." "Luck?" Natalie scoffed, "Great, that is a
wonderful comfort Hawkins. Please feel free to shoot me once I get sacked after
this..." "Mam," Hawkins replied worriedly as he noticed the
deepening lines around her face. Was she falling apart NOW? But not having the
time to really grieve or mourn for Sylvie, nor to reconcile with her father...
"You do know I would never..." "Mam! I think I've got some good news for you," a
runner suddenly reported as he entered the HQ, "Escargot 03 has just
reported that it may have found something. They're requesting support!" "I..." Natalie started, before turning to face
Hawkins. He was now grinning madly at this sudden, lucky fortunate turn of
events, "Alright, contact the Aqua GM squads and prepare them for
immediate action. Also get every bomber and sub-hunting plane we have and into
the target are, right now. I'll be following shortly." "Yes mam!" the runner replied enthusiastically,
"Captain Ivan shall be waiting for both of you on the dirt way." the
runner then turned to leave. Natalie gave a slightly icy glare to Hawkins, before sighing
and shaking her head, "I guess you've proved yourself right again Hawkins.
Lucky indeed... I... well... Thank you..." "Please think nothing of it," Hawkins replied
graciously, "But I think we best get moving. Luck sometimes doesn't last
all that long..." --------------- "Slim and none eh?" Jean muttered sarcastically at
Yoko. Great, now if Yoko DID need to use the Zugock... "Murphy's Law..." Yoko muttered in return. What
could go wrong, WILL go wrong, she thought angrily at herself. Why the hell did
I forget THAT cardinal rule?! Gotta avoid daydreaming about... "The X-7 is avoiding contact so far..." one of the
sonarmen reported, "seems like she's masking herself well but..." "****! Another buoy right behind us!" a second
sonarman screamed, "If we don't shake this guy off soon they're gonna get
a solid fix on us, maybe good enough to shoot..." "Turn starboard, 60 degrees, lower your depth another
150 feet," Yoko ordered, and hoping that a sharp turn and depth would mask
the submarine's sound from the sonobouys... --------------- "Hull popping sounds!" the sonar operator almost
shouted into the radio, "Definite submarine contact!" "Location?!" the pilot asked as he armed the Don
Escargot's torpedoes. Unlike older Don Escargots, some post-war planes had
traded their primitive anti-sub rockets for more sophisticated homing
torpedoes. Unfortunately the torpedo carriers could only carry two of them
apiece, and with help still a way off..." "No good fix yet," the soar operator reported,
"But drop the torpedo!" "What?!" the pilot asked, "We've only got two
shots! Do you want us to..." "I'm out of working buoys," the sonar operator
shot back, "So just drop the ****ing torp and pray they think it's a real
threat and start making a lot of noise, because at this rate I'm going to lose
this sucker real soon..." --------------- "Torpedo in the water! Torpedo in the water!" a
sonarman near the top of his lungs, "Two thousand yards behind us! Its
sonar is active!" "Yoko..." Jean started as he gave her a worried
look. "That was fast..." Yoko muttered to herself. TOO
fast. Unless they've got an ace sonarman the probability was... "The torpedo's going on a search pattern..." a
cooler sonarman reported, "Her sonar is actively scanning, but I don't
think that it has picked us up yet..." "A bluff..." Yoko finally said outloud. Yes, it
had to be, she thought. She'd seen THAT little trick in old 1980 Soviet
sub-hunting books before. Drop a torpedo, and make the enemy sub commander
panic, move faster, and generally make a lot of noise for easy detection. Not
bad, you Feddie pilot, not bad at all... "A BLUFF?!" Jean asked worriedly, "Yoko,
there's still a torpedo out there looking for us, we might..." "Just stay cool Jean..." Yoko reassured,
"Keep on our current bearing and depth, and reduce speed to five knots.
Let's keep ourselves quiet for a little while..." --------------- "That sub's driver is pretty good," the sonarman
observed, "They didn't fall for it, and I'm not picking up anything
new..." "What about the torp?" the pilot asked. "Still on a search pattern, and still hasn't locked on
to anything yet," the sonarman reported matter-of-factly, "It'll be
out of fuel in a minute or so..." "Damn!" the pilot muttered. They almost had
them... "This is Escargot 03! We've lost contact and are out of sonobouys!
We need another plane out here now!" --------------- "Escargot 03 reports that they've just lost
contact," Ivan reported as he saw both Natalie and Hawkins enter the Midea
that was now being prepped to be their Mobile Headquarters once again. Other
aircraft were also being prepared in the makeshift runway that they had set up,
but with little maintenance gear, it was taking much longer than it was hoped. "Damn..." Natalie muttered, "What are their
coordinates?" "They're just sending the coordinates now," Ivan
replied, "And I'm afraid that there aren't any planes close enough to
assist Escargot 03 for another half an hour..." "Suggestions Hawkins?" Natalie asked her executive
officer. "The enemy sub has eluded us for now, but I think that
her skipper would probably be trying to keep her speed low to avoid
detection..." Hawkins advised. "Which would give us a smaller search area..."
Natalie concluded, now liking the sudden turn of events... and Hawkins’s
reassurances earlier, "Order everybody to concentrate their search within
a forty nautical mile radius of Escargot 03's current coordinates, and prep the
Aqua GMs for immediate action. I want them in the water the second that sub is
found..." "Yes mam," Ivan responded as he barked a few
orders to the communications personnel. Natalie then glanced over to Hawkins.
He seemed to readying himself as well for the battle ahead... --------------- June 30, UC 0087 AEUG Cruiser O'Bannon. Side 1, Bunch 6 Colony. "Found her yet?" Colonel Arnold Jefferson, former
Zeon officer and now skipper of the captured AEUG cruiser O'Bannon, asked as
his "informant" arrived on the dock now holding his cruiser, albeit
secretly at that. The informant was his old high school friend and muck-racking
reporter, Estella Madrigal. "Yeah, I've found her," Estella replied with a
grin as she gave Jefferson a stack of photos, "Titans Alexandria class
heavy cruiser, the Dorcetshire, currently tied up in Bunch 20 and awaiting
supplies." "Thanks Estella, I owe you one," Jefferson replied
with a nod, "You and your family doing well?" "Oh, not too bad with a new war to cover," Estella
replied, though adding a touch of spite in her voice. She loathed the Titans,
and being among the first to see what happened to Bunch 30, her already great
anger against them had grown exponentially over the past year, "My little
sister Fiona has finally gotten married by the way. To a kinda cute former
Federal officer from Riah named Juan Ignacio. Really nice guy, and he worships
her like a goddess. Too bad you missed the wedding though..." "I know..." Jefferson moaned, "But I'm busy
and..." "Feeling a little guilty," Estella added, "I
know. But it's not your fault, and it's not really his fault, but..." "Tell HIM that," Jefferson admonished, careful to
look around and make sure HE wasn't around, "He's had nothing but guilt
these past four years, and I'd wish he wouldn't have to fight..." "The give him this," Estella replied as she handed
him another photograph. It was her first photograph in what would many see as
the first shot of the Gryps War. It was a photograph of Side 1, Bunch 30. --------------- * John Hawkins was indeed the Royal Navy architect who built
up the English fleet that defeated the Armada. Also, Megan Hawkins is mentioned
in The Last Sons of Delaz, as she was the designer of the EFSF Warspite. A LOT
of not so subtle references to Last Sons of Delaz(and one from the Forgotten
Fleet) also appear here ^___^. --------------- Notice: This fic and all its contents are copyrighted by Thomas E. "Zinegata" Ting. No part of this work may be taken by any other person without permission from the author. Gundam and all related trademarks are owned by Bandai and their respective companies. |
