Gray Lady Down Page #5

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is even physically fit for the job?

- Mickey, show him your

muscles or something, will ya?

- I really can handle it, sir.

No kidding.

- Sir, Pigeon

and DSRV approaching.

- Lieutenant Phillips,

advise Neptune she's here.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- There's our rescue vehicle, Gates.

We don't wanna keep her waiting,

so get back in your machine

and do what you were sent here to do.

- Can I take my chief with me?

- Take Little Orphan Annie if you need to.

- Sir, we've lost

communication with Neptune.

- Can you fix it?

- I don't know.

I'm gonna have to get

behind this control panel.

- Oh, goddamn it.

- What are we gonna do, sir?

Even if they do get to the hatch now,

how are we gonna know when--

- How do I know?!

All I know is I'm beginning

to feel like a one-legged man

in an ass-kicking contest.

Are you supposed to be here?

- Well--

- Lieutenant, you on watch?

- No, I'm not on watch.

- Then get out!

- Yes, sir.

What'd you call me?

Captain Friendly?

- Look, Paul, whatever I said back there--

- Let it go.

- Mickey!

- Coming, sir!

I want those back shined.

Let's go.

Cables are free, sir.

How deep was that current layer?

- 1,100 feet.

Only lasted for a couple of hundred,

but it sure scared the hell out of me.

- Well, at least this

time we know it's coming.

- Snark, this is Bennett.

Do you read me? Over.

- Roger, Mother Hen.

This is Baby Chick.

I roger your transmission.

How me?

- Oh, give me a shot, will ya?

- Sorry, buddy.

There's none left.

- Hey, Jackson.

- Hey.

Hey, why don't you hold this for me?

- Sure.

- Thanks.

- What would you have done?

- What?

- Well, if you were on the bridge

and you had radar contact

on a collision course.

- Danny.

- I said notify me at 3,000 yards.

- Danny, what are you talking about?

- Well, I can't help thinking--

- Hey, hey, whatever it is, forget it.

- Yes, I know--

- Forget it, okay?

- Yeah. Sure.

- Here, give me a hand.

- There you go.

- Feels like we're

coming down on the layer.

I'm gonna try to drop it

through faster this time.

- Okay.

- Slowing.

Slowing.

- Very nice.

- Get on the camera.

- All right.

Sonar.

Camera.

- Have you got anything on your monitor?

- Nothing yet.

Do you have sonar contact?

- Sonar contact?

We got nothing but sonar contact.

Reverberations off these

mountains down here.

- We don't have a reading on that, Chief.

- Why, you no-good,

rotten, complicated son of a--

- All right, that's not gonna help.

- I'll be damned if I know

what's wrong with it, sir.

- Get the wiring diagram.

- Aye, sir.

- Yeah, and a nine-pound sledgehammer.

- I know how you feel, Chief.

- Huh? Yeah, yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

Complicated.

- Come right about 10 degrees.

A little more.

- Bennett, do you see her?

We've found her.

Do you see her?

- All right.

- Yes, we do, Gates.

Congratulations.

- Jesus Christ.

Are you picking this up?

- It's a miracle anybody's alive in there.

Try them again.

- Neptune, do you read?

Neptune, do you read?

Over.

Neptune, do you read?

Over.

- We'll attempt to make contact.

- Sounds like somebody locked in the head.

That came from outside.

They're on the deck.

- Shh.

- "Will clear escape hatch for DSRV."

- How about that?

- I hope they understood it.

- If I did, they did.

- Okay, I'm gonna lift her off now.

- Okay.

- And no physical movement

unless it's absolutely essential.

We do have reserve air in

the high pressure system,

but we've gotta conserve it.

We don't know how long

this is gonna take them.

- I think they're using

chopsticks up there.

- Why don't you belay that, Chief?

- Well, it's good occupational therapy.

- We're getting low on juice.

We need a recharge.

- Go on auxiliary.

- Listen, if we do that, we're all--

- Just do it.

We can't go up now.

We'll be finished in half an hour.

- Finished is the word, boy.

- Pigeon Control, do you read me?

This is Captain Bennett.

Over.

- Have

you loud and clear.

Over.

- The second I say go,

we want DSRV underway.

Is that understood? Over.

- This is Pigeon.

Roger.

We'll be ready.

Out.

- Come on. Come on.

- I'm just checking this power supply.

- Just keep going.

Earth slide.

Bennett, earth slide.

- Pull her back!

- It's getting worse.

- We're reading it here.

Bring it up!

- No, we've gotta see

what happens to the sub.

- Captain!

Captain, we're going over!

- Holy Christ!

Look how we're lying!

- They'll never get to us now!

- Fowler, check for damages aft.

- How much more can we take?!

- I said check for damage, mister!

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Murphy!

Get a detail to help up here.

If there's any people hurt

back there, move them forward.

- Aye, aye, sir.

- Come left a little.

That's it. Steady up.

- Are you getting this?

- Yes.

- At that angle, the DSRV

can't hook up to her,

even if they're still alive.

- I'll go and find out.

- Roger.

- We got anything left here, Dave?

- Not much, sir.

- Captain.

Page got them all on mattresses, sir.

That's all he can do.

- All right.

- What else?

- I don't know.

I will be damned if I know what else.

If we could just apply some

high school physics here.

If we could shift our balance,

then we'd come upright,

or at least upright enough

to get at that escape hatch.

Our ballast tanks are above

us and below us now, right?

Both of them full of water.

- Right.

- We can still reach the

emergency bypass valves.

We could blow the starboard tanks.

That'd let the weight of the water

in the port tanks roll us over.

- It's worth a try.

- I like it.

- What if we can't

control how far we roll?

- And when we blow the tanks,

we blow our reserve air.

- That's right.

And we don't know if it'd even work.

It's pure theory.

We don't have many options.

- Any.

- The Avon lady.

- We gotta signal them

what we're gonna do.

- McAllister, bring that wrench.

- Yes, sir.

- Jesus H. Christ.

- Okay, here it is.

It's not too good.

They're down to 37 men now.

The hull and the bulkheads

are still holding.

Their angle is precisely 70 degrees.

Seven O.

- Roger.

- Okay, there's more.

Blanchard thinks that if he

blows his starboard tanks,

the boat may right itself enough

so that the DSRV can mate

up with the escape hatch.

Only thing is, he's not sure

whether the tanks are ruptured or not.

Also, he has to use all his

reserve air to blow them.

Over.

- Roger. Bring the Snark up.

- Sir, we'd just as soon

stay down here with them.

- That won't be necessary, Gates.

- Sir, we've seen it through this far.

I really think we should stay with it.

We'll come up to 1,300 feet, okay?

- Gates.

Gates.

Gates?

- What's all this "we" stuff?

- I don't wanna hurt your image.

- Think it'll take it?

- Let's go.

I don't want anybody else in

there when I open those valves.

Come on. Everybody out.

- Commander.

- Come on!

- I'll do it!

- Murphy!

- Dave, get out!

- Danny, get outta there!

- I can't!

I gotta hold these open!

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