close the hatch. When it sealed, he buckled in and then pointed to a power switchon my forward dash. “Care to do the honors?”
I removed my mittens and pushed a gloved index finger to the control.
The pump-jet propulsor engine growled to life beneath us. The vents blasted us with cold air, forcing me to use my jacket as a blanket.
“Give it a few minutes. It’ll warm up.” Ben pointed to a joystick attached to my right armrest. “The joystick controls direction, pitch, and yaw. Flip the toggle switch up and the system activates. I have to power mine off to activate yours. There are two foot pedals on the floor. Each controls one of the props.”
He pointed to the center of my dashboard at a sonar array. “Headphones are on that hook by your right knee. Ever use sonar before?”
“Assume I know nothing.”
“Okay, I’ll teach you once we’re moving. Ready to go?”
“That’s it? Isn’t there some kind of checklist you need to go over?”
“What’d you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. Should I buckle these straps dangling by my legs?”
“Seems like a good idea.” I heard him buckle his.
“What about the rest of these controls? I’d like to know how to use them, just in case something happens to you.”
Ben smirked. “What’s going to happen to me down there that isn’t going to happen to you?”
“I don’t know. You could have a stroke. The point is I want to be prepared.”
“That’s the problem with you eggheads; you always have to read the instruction manual before you test drive the car. Me? I prefer to hit the highway and learn on the job.”
Rapping his knuckles on the glass above his head, Ben gaveone of the techs a thumbs-up.
I held on as the four men pushed us toward the freshly carved rectangular hole in the ice. “This is how you’re going to launch us? By pushing us in like… like my father taught me how to swim?”
“Yours did that, too?”
“Oh, geez!” I gripped the seat as we plunged bow-first into the dark blue world, our weight distribution continuing our forward roll into a full somersault as we fell like a sinking dagger.
With a sickening
crunch
, the Lexan dome struck bottom. Naturally buoyant, the sub bounced upward, only to be spun and inhaled by a powerful current that grabbed our inverted vessel and propelled us along the bottom.
I saw ice and then I saw stars as the
Barracuda
plowed bow-first and upside-down into the narrow space between the molar-shaped underside of an iceberg and the silt-covered sea floor.
“Well done,” I said, the blood rushing to my face. “I hope this death trap has a reverse gear.”
“Sit tight, I got this.” Ben tapped the thrusters, attempting to torque us free, only to jam the inverted starboard fin in deeper.
“You’re a maniac. No wonder the Air Force gave you the boot.”
“Hey, you don’t know shit about it, so shut up. And this little setback, it’s all part of the learning process. Get the kinks out. We’ll be out of here in no time.”
“Maybe we can get a tow from a passing flock of penguins?”
“Stop talking and let me think.”
“See, that’s the trouble with you action-types, there’s always time to think
after
you get your big balls caught in a vice.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Butts are for crapping. Answer my question. Does this acrylic coffin have a reverse gear or not?”
“I was going to say you first have to manually reverse the drive shaft.”
“Which I’m guessing you don’t know how to do.”
“It was on the top of my to-do list. There’s a manual in the compartment by your right knee. Make yourself useful.”
I fished the thick booklet out, my head throbbing. “Oh good, it’s in Chinese. What’s Mandarin for dickhead?”
“Screw the reverse gear. I’m powering up the Valkyries.”
My pulse raced. “Have you ever done this before?”
“I haven’t done any of this before. Should I give it the old Ivy League try, or would you prefer to just sit here until
I removed my mittens and pushed a gloved index finger to the control.
The pump-jet propulsor engine growled to life beneath us. The vents blasted us with cold air, forcing me to use my jacket as a blanket.
“Give it a few minutes. It’ll warm up.” Ben pointed to a joystick attached to my right armrest. “The joystick controls direction, pitch, and yaw. Flip the toggle switch up and the system activates. I have to power mine off to activate yours. There are two foot pedals on the floor. Each controls one of the props.”
He pointed to the center of my dashboard at a sonar array. “Headphones are on that hook by your right knee. Ever use sonar before?”
“Assume I know nothing.”
“Okay, I’ll teach you once we’re moving. Ready to go?”
“That’s it? Isn’t there some kind of checklist you need to go over?”
“What’d you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. Should I buckle these straps dangling by my legs?”
“Seems like a good idea.” I heard him buckle his.
“What about the rest of these controls? I’d like to know how to use them, just in case something happens to you.”
Ben smirked. “What’s going to happen to me down there that isn’t going to happen to you?”
“I don’t know. You could have a stroke. The point is I want to be prepared.”
“That’s the problem with you eggheads; you always have to read the instruction manual before you test drive the car. Me? I prefer to hit the highway and learn on the job.”
Rapping his knuckles on the glass above his head, Ben gaveone of the techs a thumbs-up.
I held on as the four men pushed us toward the freshly carved rectangular hole in the ice. “This is how you’re going to launch us? By pushing us in like… like my father taught me how to swim?”
“Yours did that, too?”
“Oh, geez!” I gripped the seat as we plunged bow-first into the dark blue world, our weight distribution continuing our forward roll into a full somersault as we fell like a sinking dagger.
With a sickening
crunch
, the Lexan dome struck bottom. Naturally buoyant, the sub bounced upward, only to be spun and inhaled by a powerful current that grabbed our inverted vessel and propelled us along the bottom.
I saw ice and then I saw stars as the
Barracuda
plowed bow-first and upside-down into the narrow space between the molar-shaped underside of an iceberg and the silt-covered sea floor.
“Well done,” I said, the blood rushing to my face. “I hope this death trap has a reverse gear.”
“Sit tight, I got this.” Ben tapped the thrusters, attempting to torque us free, only to jam the inverted starboard fin in deeper.
“You’re a maniac. No wonder the Air Force gave you the boot.”
“Hey, you don’t know shit about it, so shut up. And this little setback, it’s all part of the learning process. Get the kinks out. We’ll be out of here in no time.”
“Maybe we can get a tow from a passing flock of penguins?”
“Stop talking and let me think.”
“See, that’s the trouble with you action-types, there’s always time to think
after
you get your big balls caught in a vice.”
“Yeah, but—”
“Butts are for crapping. Answer my question. Does this acrylic coffin have a reverse gear or not?”
“I was going to say you first have to manually reverse the drive shaft.”
“Which I’m guessing you don’t know how to do.”
“It was on the top of my to-do list. There’s a manual in the compartment by your right knee. Make yourself useful.”
I fished the thick booklet out, my head throbbing. “Oh good, it’s in Chinese. What’s Mandarin for dickhead?”
“Screw the reverse gear. I’m powering up the Valkyries.”
My pulse raced. “Have you ever done this before?”
“I haven’t done any of this before. Should I give it the old Ivy League try, or would you prefer to just sit here until
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