USS Ohio (SSGN-726)
Taiwan Straight
Captain Travers groaned. Her head felt like someone had beaten on it with a hammer. Finally, she opened her eyes and looked around. Was she in a hospital? The room didn’t look right and the ceiling looked like metal. A ship? She didn’t feel any movement under her at all. Perhaps an aircraft carrier?
Turning her head made her groan again. Looking to her right, she could see Karsen asleep in a chair. Beyond him, she could see an older Corpsman doing some paperwork. He noticed Travers looking at him and walked over to the makeshift hospital bed.
“How’re ya feeling ma’am? I’m Chief Cox, I’m as close to a doctor as you’ll get on this here bucket.”
“I’m OK Chief. Which ship are we on?”
“Just call me doc. This is a boat, not a ship. You’re onboard the queen of the pacific submarine fleet right here. Welcome to the USS Ohio. Baddest bitch in the Pacific.”
The conversation had woken up Karsen. “You haven’t met the captain here yet.”
Cox laughed. “Well, no offense to you flyboys but I’ll take the Ohio in a fight. We’re the door kickers of the Pacific. As to the captain here, she’s concussed but I reckon she’ll pull through.”
“Damn right, she saved all of us when we took that missile up the ass.”
Travers winced as she sat up straighter. “OK, Karsen that is enough. If I hadn’t flown into that goddamn ambush, we’d be having dinner in Japan tonight.”
Cox snorted as he handed Travers a cup of bug juice. “Ma’am, apologies but that’s bullshit. I done two tours in Afghanistan with the Marines. Saw plenty of men ambushed and shot up. You do your best and pray to God you bring your men back home. You did that, and they’ll be grateful you did. I am glad all I had to do was splint one broken wrist.”
Travers drank the kool-aid thankfully. Normally, she hated the stuff but at the moment, it tasted amazing to her parched mouth. “Thanks, doc. I’ll take that in the spirit in which it was intended.”
Cox nodded to her. “You did all right, just remember that.”
Travers closed her eyes for a moment. She must have fallen asleep because she was awakened by a very young-looking seaman. “Ma’am, the captain requests your presence in the control room.”
Shooting a glare at Karsen that prevented his objection, “Thank you seaman. I’d be happy to if someone could provide a new uniform.”
“Yes, ma’am the COB has one from the slops chest for you.”
“Thank you, please inform the captain that I’ll be up presently.” She glanced at her copilot to looked ready to help her dress. “Karsen, clear the compartment.”
Karsen shot a pleading look to Cox who shrugged. “I’ll be just in the companionway if you need me ma’am.”
Sitting up slowly, Travers did find that she was a little dizzy, but she was damned if she was going to let a junior officer help her dress. Getting into a set of utilities was difficult. Luckily her underwear was still intact, she didn’t want to calculate the odds of the submarine having a bra that fit her.
Lightly touching her face, she could tell that she had a pretty large bandage over her right temple that wrapped around her head. Her flight suit was nowhere to be seen, she assumed it had been covered in blood.
“OK, doc, ready.”
“You want a chair, ma’am?”
“No, thank you doc, I can walk. Which way to the control room?”
“I will escort you.” Cox extended a hand to help her down the companionway.
“I can make it.”
“Yes, ma’am I am sure you could. However, it looks bad on my efficiency report when patients under my care fall flat on their faces.”
Travers chuckled at the kindly but unflinching determination to keep an officer from doing something dumb. Chiefs are chiefs everywhere. “In that case, thanks for the help doc.”
The control room, when Travers arrived, was a quiet hive of activity. She could see several men huddled over what looked like a plotting table. This was her first time on a submarine, so she wasn’t sure about the details.
Cox walked her over to the plotting table. “Captain, this is captain Travers, as requested.”
Markley took a long look at the impressive head dressing covering most of the right side of her face. “Thanks, doc.” He turned to a master chief standing nearby. “COB, can you escort the captain to the wardroom so we talk while she’s seated, please?”
“Aye, aye skipper.”
“Thank you, Captain, but I can stand.”
“I’m sure you can, but humor me for a moment.” He examined her for a moment more. “You’re gonna have a nice shiner there.”
“Not my first, captain.”
After a moment, with the COB leading, they made their way into the wardroom where Travers gratefully sat down.
“Captain Travers, we’ll try to keep this brief. I apologize for pulling you out of the sickbay, but we would like your expertise for a moment.”
“Anything I can do to help, captain. I am very grateful you pulled my crew out of the drink.”
“All part of the service.” Markley grinned. “First time for me; reminds me of the stories from world war two. At any rate, we would like to get your impression of the airborne threat. It seems like you would have a unique perspective considering you’re in that business.”
“And where are we, exactly?”
“In the Taiwan Strait. About halfway up, inside Taiwanese territorial waters.”
“Hmm. So, you’re facing aircraft based on the mainland, then.”
“Yes, does that matter?”
“Well, it’s not official but our intel guys are telling us that the units we fought in the SCS were their most experienced and well trained. Supposedly, mainland units were getting fewer flying hours until recently.”
“And how is their fighter cover?”
“Excellent. We could not operate within four hundred miles of the coast safely.”
“What about their anti-submarine aircraft?”
“You probably know as much about them as I do.”
“Yes, but I’m asking for your impression. Since you’re in the same business.”
“Oh, I see. Well, it seems from the reports that they are very by-the-book. When you look at after-action reports, it seems like their search patterns and attack profiles do not vary that much. We are trained to be more unpredictable and are used to drilling against you sneaky bastards down here.”
Marklee chuckled. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Travers.”
“Well, it’s true. Now that we’ve hunted the real thing, they’re not as tough as hunting an American sub in a practice exercise. Of course, you have a technical advantage also, but we have a better operational doctrine. Harder to anticipate what a US sub will do next.”
“How many did you have painted on that bird you lost?”
Travers looked steadily back with a steely gaze. “Five.”
“That makes you an ace, doesn’t it?”
“It’s a team sport. I don’t believe in the ace title. Promotes macho bullshit.”
Marklee endured the intensity of her gaze for a few moments more. No quit in this one. “Fair enough.”
“If I may ask, what are your plans?”
“Well, I don’t think you’re a security risk. We’re about to execute something called ‘Long Snap.'”
“What’s that?”
“We’re hoping to end the war, right here. Get the Chinese to come to the table with a combined arms operation. Apparently, there is a major cyber component also. Our part is to flush our magazines at a couple of airbases in northern China, which is why we are way up here in Indian country instead of safe out in the Pacific.” Marklee looked to his XO to see if there were more questions. Leyland shook his head minutely.
“Well, thank you for your help captain. The COB will escort you back to sickbay.”
After Travers left the wardroom along with the enlisted, Marklee looked back to his XO.
Layland shook his head. “That is one tough lady. Her crew says she ditched her bird with half a wing shot off. Cool as a cucumber when she did it too. Saved them all, I’m told.”
“That is an officer of the US Navy, XO. Don’t you fucking forget it. Five gets you ten she has a Navy Cross next month.”
“I’m just glad she’s on our side.”
“Amen to that, brother. Amen to that.”