Gray Lady Down Page #3

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They don't fool me, man!

I know they can hear me!

- Harris.

- Why don't they hear?

- Harris.

- Why don't they hear me?

- Get him forward into a bunk.

- Not fooling me.

- Come on, Harris.

Come on.

- They're not deaf.

They're not deaf!

- Take it easy.

- Oh, wait.

Oh, I'm sorry, sir.

I'm sorry.

- It's okay.

- Don't relieve me, sir.

Don't relieve me.

- It's okay.

- I can watch, I can stand my watch.

- Better put someone on this.

Right?

- Pena.

- Aye, sir.

Any station, any station, this is Neptune.

This is Neptune. Over.

Any station, any station, this is Neptune.

This is Neptune. Over.

Any station, this is Neptune.

Over.

- That's between us and the ocean.

Pressure on it must be unbelievable.

- 600 pounds per square inch.

About 4,000 tons.

- Built-in safety factor or not,

we're pushing our luck in here.

Look at that.

- It could give way anytime, sir.

- Shouldn't we evacuate

the control room, sir?

- Can't. We need it, Danny.

- Captain.

Station calling Neptune, say again.

You're very garbled and barely readable.

Over.

- What have you got?

- Contact with a surface ship, sir.

The signal is very garbled,

and I didn't get most of it,

but I did hear "Neptune."

- Stay on it.

- This is Neptune, this is Neptune.

Over.

Come in, anybody.

Is anybody up there?

Over.

- This is.

We re.

Mission.

Your.

Is.

You.

Over.

This is Nas.

- It's Nassau, it's gotta be Nassau.

- Nassau, Nassau, this is Neptune.

Do you copy? Over.

Nassau, Nassau, this is Neptune.

Do you copy? Over.

Nassau, Nassau, this is Neptune.

Do you copy? Over.

- Neptune, this is Nassau.

Over.

- Knock it off.

- Nassau, this is Neptune.

Are we ever glad to hear you.

- Hello, Tom!

- Good morning, Captain.

Welcome to Nassau.

- Thank you, sir!

- Captain, we have voice

contact with Neptune.

- Very well!

- Lieutenant Phillips.

- Sir.

- Notify Admiral Barnes

in Norfolk immediately.

Find out the current status of the DSRV.

And, Phillips, get me the

latest weather picture,

and then report to the operations center.

- Aye, sir.

- Captain Blanchard standing by, sir.

- Thank you.

Hello, Captain.

Hal Bennett here. Over.

- Glad to know

it's you up there, Ben.

Over.

- What's your exact situation, Paul?

- All compartments aft of the control room

appear to be flooded.

The bulkhead's holding.

The reactor's shut down.

We're on battery power with 90% capacity.

We have adequate air for 36 hours.

41 men accounted for.

Several casualties, some critical.

Over.

- What is your exact angle and depth?

Over.

- We're at one four five zero feet,

down nine degrees with the stern

with a 10-degree starboard list.

Over.

- Roger.

Paul, we have an approximate

fix on your location.

A DSRV is en route.

14:
00.

Over.

Yeah, I told you.

Didn't I tell you?

- Shut up.

Shut up!

- We'll be home for dinner!

- Shh!

- How's your crew

holding up, Captain?

- Just fine, sir.

I think we'd all like to

get word to our families.

- I understand.

Have one of your men

prepare a list of survivors.

I'll take care of it right away.

Over.

- Roger. Out.

Now you can let it out.

Everybody out of the control room

except necessary personnel.

- The XO?

- Here.

- Aye, sir.

All personnel not actually on

watch, leave the control room.

All right, fellas, everybody out.

- Phillips?

- Sir.

- Do you see any problems

with the DSRV here?

- None so far, sir.

- Right.

- Bloome.

- Sir.

- Any problems?

- No, sir.

We can operate on any

angle up to 50 degrees.

Fortunately, the Neptune

is only listing 10 degrees,

so we can attach without

any problems, sir.

This matches up with the

sub's forward escape hatch.

Sea pressure will keep us seated on her,

allowing the hatches of both

vessels to be opened and--

- Bloome, I don't need the whole lecture.

- Yes, sir.

- What about the currents, Phillips?

- Well, this is the

location of the sub, sir,

we have a fairly strong

current in that channel,

one to three knots.

- Weather forecast?

- Clearing, sir.

Seas, three to five feet.

- Uh-huh.

Oh.

Thank you, gentlemen.

- I don't know, Chief, I don't know

if he's very smart or very dumb.

I think he's gone under the boat!

Hey, put your gloves on, both.

- Hey!

- Come on.

- Oh, no sound!

- Hey, there's no sound out here!

- Come on!

Can't hear!

- Oh, look at that.

Here he comes.

- Oh!

Oh!

- I'll catch that mother,

or my name ain't--

- Oh, stop being so aggressive.

- Hey, I think I'm gonna throw up.

- Did somebody

ring the dinner bell up here?

- Oh, God.

- Hey, what's going on?

- What is it?

- Oh my God, no.

- What is going on in here?

- No.

- Secure all watertight doors.

Secure all watertight doors.

Secure the...

Hey, that door!

Dave, flood the ballast tanks.

That might settle us.

- Flooding the ballast tanks!

- Give me a hand.

- Sit him up.

- Bring him on in.

Okay, watch it, watch it, watch it.

- Nassau, Nassau, are

you still reading us?

Over.

- Roger.

- We've had a gravity slide

here, severe gravity slide.

Get Captain Bennett on the horn.

- Hello, Neptune, this is Captain Bennett.

Do you read me? Over.

- Roger, read you loud and clear.

We must have had an avalanche down here.

I don't know what's on top of us.

- All right, Paul, listen to me carefully.

We've got to know how much

of your hull is covered,

particularly the escape hatch.

Make a manual test.

Repeat, manual test.

Over.

- Roger. Out.

- Let me have a big

bandage out of that case.

Cover him up good.

- Here's a bandage.

- If that hatch is covered up, sir.

- Keep your fingers crossed.

- Captain Bennett.

- Thank you.

- Ben, we're socked in.

Manual test confirms it.

The escape hatch seems

to be completely buried.

Mud, rocks, God knows what.

Over.

- Situation understood, Paul.

Informing Norfolk immediately.

Paul, I promise you, we will

find a way to clear that hatch.

- Roger. Out.

- Oh, yes.

"We will find a way."

- Bill.

- Michael.

- Gentlemen.

- Gentlemen.

- Lieutenant.

- I'm Bill Williams.

- Captain.

- Excuse me.

They're all here, Mr. Secretary.

- Finally.

- Gentlemen, will

you come in, please?

- Mr. Secretary, Admiral Barnes.

- Hello, Admiral, it's good to see you.

- How are you?

- Captain Skinner.

- Captain Skinner.

- I wouldn't have called

you away, Admiral,

but I feel it's imperative

that we all be briefed on this.

- Yes.

- Please, please, sit down.

I understand the ship is resting

now below its crush depth.

- Yes, sir, it is, but the

hull seems to be holding.

- Well, how much deeper can

she go and still survive?

- Who can say?

A few hundred feet might finish her.

- If that happens,

what are the chances

of a nuclear accident?

- Crushing will not cause

a nuclear accident, sir.

- There'll be no radioactive seepage.

The system design will not

allow that to happen, sir.

- Thank you, gentlemen.

How much time do we have?

- Maybe 30 hours.

If nothing changes.

- What do we have that will

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