Gray Lady Down Page #2

---

till they get that rescue

vehicle down on us,

then we all take an elevator ride.

That's all for now.

Dave, I thought--

- Congratulations, skipper.

- Identify her, Jim?

- Looks like the Neptune.

She was the only sub in that area.

- What's the closest

thing you've got to her?

- An LST, Nassau.

She's about 50 miles east

of the collision point.

- Well, move her in there.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Hello?

What?

Oh, just a minute.

Michael!

- Barnes.

- Sir, this is CINCLAN fleet duty officer.

At 05:
32, a Norwegian freighter rammed

a sub 60 miles east of New London.

Sub which sank following

collision, believed to be Neptune.

- Yeah, Bennett.

- I need you on the double.

Gray lady down.

One of yours.

- 10 minutes.

- List of the missing, sir.

- Good God.

- 52.

It's more than--

- I can read.

- Sorry, sir.

- Easy, easy.

Easy, hey, you're bleeding.

- Captain, report on the damage.

- All right, Chief.

Let's just see what we

got up forward first.

- I've put Page in charge, sir.

- Fine.

- He's the closest we've got to a medic.

- Oh, we're lucky to have him.

- Thank you, sir.

- Phil, how are you feeling?

- Pretty good, sir.

- Yeah, that's

a professional job.

- Nothing to that.

- Do you have any idea

who hit us, Captain?

- No, not a clue.

- I'd sure like to break his ass.

- I'll hold your coat.

Let's have a look at your patients.

- Up this way.

- Collins.

- I've got most of the

serious injuries up here.

- Well, you think you

can handle it all right?

- Well, sir, I can handle the stitching,

and I can handle the broken bones.

But we got three head wounds up here,

and Richards is no good at all.

That ice pack's about

all I can do for him.

- How bad is he?

- Can't tell without X-rays.

These men need to get

to a hospital, but fast.

- Do the best you can.

We really need you.

- Yes, sir. Captain?

Some of the men have

asked for tranquilizers.

- Just don't get my

crew stoned on me, huh?

Yes, sir.

- Oh, Chief, let's have it, huh?

- Here, sir.

We took it real hard in the stern, sir.

Split right through, I guess.

All compartments were flooded.

But the bulkheads are

holding this far down.

Don't ask me how.

And most of our air system

is still intact too.

- Most of it?

- One of our purifiers is out, sir.

- 41 men exhale a lot of carbon dioxide.

- Well, we'll be okay for

maybe a day and a half.

- Oh, we won't be down here that long.

Where's the storekeeper?

- Hanson?

- Here, sir.

- How are we fixed for food?

- We got plenty of food, sir.

We got a hundred chicken

fricassees, 300 lime Jell-O--

- Yeah, I didn't ask for a menu.

- No, sir.

- Just give the men whatever they want

whenever they want it, huh?

- Yes, sir.

- Okay, fellas, coming through.

- We have to

assume they're somewhere

in the area of that channel.

- Right, sir.

Or, if they've landed in

the canyon, it's all over.

But if they've landed in the neck of it--

- Can we get them out?

- Maybe, sir.

- What do you mean, Ben?

- Have a look at this.

It so happens I'm fairly

familiar with the area.

We've done sonar testing here.

Sinking old cars and tracking them

all the way to the bottom.

Thank you.

Ah.

Here's the neck of the canyon.

As you see, it's shaped like a trench.

Hopefully, Neptune is located

somewhere in this area.

But, Admiral, notice the

slope of that trench.

- It's nearly vertical.

- Which causes gravity slides.

They're frequent, and they're very severe.

Even if she has bottomed out in this area,

one large slide, and it's a

two-mile ride to the bottom.

- When will Nassau arrive there?

- Not for a couple of hours, Admiral.

- I want you the honor to take charge

of search and rescue, Ben.

We've got an aircraft waiting for you.

A DSRV will be flown to New London.

Should meet you about mid-afternoon.

Hopefully by then, you

will have established

some kind of contact.

Good luck.

- Thank you, sir.

- Your car

is at the entrance, sir.

- I'll be right there.

- Yes, sir.

- Hello.

- Liz, it's Neptune.

- Is Paul all right?

- I don't know, I'm on

my way there now myself.

Listen, do me a favor, will you?

Tell Vickie Blanchard yourself

before they officially--

- Of course.

- And, Liz, tell her,

whatever it takes,

we'll get him out of there.

- Now hear this.

Now hear this.

This is an emergency.

All Deep Submergence

Rescue Vehicle personnel,

prepare DSRV number one

for immediate departure.

A nuclear submarine is

down in the Atlantic.

All DSRV number one

personnel report at once

and prepare for immediate departure.

This is an emergency.

This is an emergency.

- Any station, any

station, this is Neptune.

Over.

- It's getting

a little thick in here.

How are you coming with that purifier?

- Forget it!

- Caruso.

- Sir, number two air

purifier non-fixable, sir!

- Get lost, Caruso.

- I'll fix it in one shot, I told him.

- Any station, this is Neptune.

Neptune.

Over.

- Captain, Page needs to see you, sir.

- Yeah. Right.

Keep calling, Harris.

- Any station, any

station, this is Neptune.

- Sir?

- Over.

- Recheck the hatches, Chief.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Where's Page?

- Up there, sir.

- What's up, Page?

- It's Richards, sir.

I think he might go, sir.

You want me to move him?

Away from the others, I mean?

- No.

- What do you want me to do if he goes?

- Cover him up.

- Fowler's covering the control room, sir.

- Yeah, I know that.

Where'd you learn to

play the flute like that?

- Home, sir.

Not easy to find a flute

teacher in Nashville.

- They're pretty big on guitars

down there, I guess.

- Yeah.

Do you think we'll ever

get home again, sir?

- Hell, yes.

- My folks, I'm like

their fair-haired wonder.

Annapolis and all.

They're plain people.

They're just very proud of me, sir.

- Well, they're not gonna lose you, Danny.

Anything yet, Harris?

- Nothing yet, sir.

- Keep trying.

Come.

- We're still tight, sir.

Found this, sir.

- Give me about five minutes,

then ask him to come in here, will you?

- Yes, sir.

- Hey!

He's down, isn't he?

- Any station, any

station, this is Neptune.

Over.

- Oh, Dave.

- It goes with a ship and a crew.

- Yeah, so they tell me.

- All yours, skipper.

- Oh, wait a minute!

- We didn't have to surface.

- Dave--

- But you just wanted to ride

into port up there.

Everybody look.

Captain Friendly on the

bridge for the last time!

It's the last time, all right.

- Now, look.

You can either take a couple of aspirin

and quit the bullshit or

get yourself into sick bay.

I don't want any more--

Jesus Christ.

- Any station, any

station, this is Neptune.

Any station, any station, this is Neptune.

Over.

- What is it, Captain?

- Gravity slide.

Check for damage.

- Aye, sir.

- Any station, any station,

this is Neptune.

Over.

- Report all damage to the control room.

- Where's the chief?

- He's gone forward, sir.

I'll get him.

- Answer me, goddamn it!

Why aren't any of you here?

Why aren't they here?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes