Текст книги "Leviathan"

Автор книги: David Lynn Golemon

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Текущая страница: 28 (всего у книги 28 страниц)

USS MISSOURI (SSN-780)

Jefferson knew that the flooding was overwhelming Missouri's ability to pump it out. The forward weapons room had to be abandoned, and all the ballast he could send out to the sea had already been pumped out.

"Captain, we are about to lose the reactor–we're losing her," Izzeringhausen said, holding onto the nav table.

"Maintain revolutions! Launch the rescue buoy!"

Izzy did as he was ordered, but knew no rescue buoy in the known world would allow anyone to reach them almost three miles down; they would soon be crushed to death in a quarter of that depth.

Missourihad lost her fight for survival.

LEVIATHAN

Jack felt the deck straighten, but knew through his stomach that Leviathanwas still sinking at incredible speed. He struggled toward the intercom and smashed his hand against the button.

"Conn, this is Collins in engineering!" he screamed. "We have a massive breach open to the sea!"

"Abandon the compartment, Colonel ... seal the area!" Heirthall responded.

Collins shook his head and fought his way through the chest-high water. He didn't have to go far when the flooding and current grabbed him and threw him toward the hatchway. He grabbed for the coming and held on. Then he gained his feet and struggled with the heavy hatch, attempting to close it as the water rushed out of engineering. The torrent was just too much, and he knew that the next compartment and companionway would soon flood and be too much for Leviathan's pumps to shed.

Collins was losing the entire deck.

ICE PALACE

The large Zodiac was loaded. All the children, using blankets found in the supply room, huddled against the rubber sides. Sarah was the last one to enter beside the Frenchman. She turned just as a rumbling from the south started to roll over the remaining mile-thick ice.

"Come on, Henri, that sounds like a damn tidal wave!"

Farbeaux looked from Sarah to the dissolving Ice Palace. Before he could comment, the wave from the nuclear detonation two hundred miles to the north struck the broken ice shelf. Ice Palace started to fall over away from the main shelf, breaking free and turning bottomside-up.

Farbeaux shoved Sarah down into the Zodiac and then pushed it away from the small shelf lining the rising end of the carved-out platform.

"Damn it, Colonel, get in!" Sarah called out.

Farbeaux allowed gravity to take him where he needed to go. He slid down until he hit the rear wall of the building, then rolled to the open ice stairs and slid on his belly down into the basement. He struggled to gain his feet as he pulled the inflation cords on three of the rubber boats. Then he turned and looked into the water-filled corridor.

"No, sister Sarah, where I am going, you cannot follow."

Colonel Henri Farbeaux disappeared into the treasure room, dragging the three giant rubber boats with him.

Sarah took a paddle from Niles and started getting them as far away from the drifting ice floe as possible. She gasped when she saw Ice Palace roll completely over, fill with water, and then bob in the rising sea.

"I'll never figure that French son of a bitch," Senator Lee said as he and Alice paddled toward the remains of the once-greatest ice shelf on earth.

Sarah saw the remains of the ancient seismic chamber fill with water until three quarters of it went under.

"Don't confuse Henri with Dr. Robbins. I suspect the colonel knew just what he was doing."

LEVIATHAN

Jack knew he couldn't close the large hatch himself. Millions of gallons of water had already spread throughout the deck, and he could hear the reactor alarms screaming. The current of passing water started to tear his grip from the coming, when suddenly there were hands on the hatch, pushing it away from the bulkhead. "One, two, three–push!"

The three bodies gave it their all and the hatch finally slammed shut. Its sheer weight coupled with momentum was enough to cut through the rushing water and slam home.

Jack collapsed into the water and momentarily went under, weakened from his fight with Tyler and his brush with drowning.

"What is it with you and water, Colonel?" Ryan said, pulling him to his feet.

Jack looked at the diminutive naval lieutenant and shook his head.

"The army better stick to land operations; you don't do all that well with water."

Jack placed hands on both Ryan's and Mendenhall's shoulders, leaning heavily against them as the water settled to one level, and stayed.

"Yeah–I will take that under advisement."

"Tyler?" Mendenhall asked.

Jack shook his head negatively. "He wasn't a very good swimmer," he said as he reached for the nearest intercom. "Engineering hatch sealed, Captain."

There was no answer as Jack tried again.

"Come on. In case you haven't noticed, we're still heading for the bottom."

Heirthall knew if they didn't shed more weight, they would lose Leviathan.

The giant submarine was level but still going down–she was at two miles, and the sound of her composite hull giving way to the pressure was audible throughout the ship.

"Alex, is there anything we can do?" Virginia asked, unclasping her restraint and going to assist a lieutenant with a sprung valve.

Alexandria didn't answer. She closed her eyes in thought, running the schematics of Leviathanthrough her head. She willed the crushing pain to the far reaches while she thought.

"Maneuvering, stand by to go to one hundred and fifty percent power on all four reactors."

"Captain, number three is already in the initial phase of scramming. She's shutting down!"

Heirthall looked down at the young rector officer and fixed him with her now-green eyes.

"Command safety override: Octavian one-six-four Zulu. Enter the code–now!"

The young officer did as he was told and entered the safety release on all the reactors.

"Reactors are answering one hundred and fifty percent, Captain."

Alexandria knew she had just killed Leviathan. She could never start a safe shutdown of the reactors after this–the core material in all four would melt right through the containment. She also knew it could not be helped.

"Ginny, Captain Everett, please gather the children and your people–you are to report to the escape pods on deck two and make ready to evacuate Leviathan."

"What? What about you and your crew?"

"Any who would like to leave may do so," she said as she looked away, as if afraid of how many would take the offer of evacuation.

None of her crew made a move to stand.

"Captain, we are slowing our descent."

Heirthall glanced at the navigation hologram and could see that indeed, Leviathanwas slowing. She looked up at her crew and nodded.

"Thank you, Mr. Kyle, thank you."

"You don't have to do this–none of you do. Leviathanhas three hundred escape pods, enough for everyone aboard. Alex, come home with us!" Virginia said as she placed both of her hands on the raised chair.

"Ginny, I've always been home. I will die with Leviathan."

"There's no need for this!" She turned to face the young crew. "No need for any of you to do this."

Alexandria looked at the hologram before her. Indicated on the holographic display of the sea were only two small models of vessels: Leviathan, which had leveled off and was slowly climbing with her main thrusters screaming in outrage at the load they were pushing toward the surface, and one other target that had lost her fight and was going down by the bow.

"Leviathanhas one more task to perform, Ginny. Now you must go. Captain Everett, the pods will be automatically ejected from the hull at five hundred feet. Long-range sonar is picking up a Royal Navy frigate at one hundred miles and closing; you shouldn't be in the water long."

"Yes, ma'am. Ice Palace?" he asked without much hope.

"The shelf broke clean away from Ross Island. It's shattered into a million pieces." She looked at Everett. "You know the coordinates–check, please."

Carl nodded.

"Now you see why we can't leave here, my Ginny."

"But–"

"Captain Everett, gather your people and the children, and remove this woman from my bridge."

"Aye," he said, taking Virginia by the arm and pulling her away.

Alexandria watched Virginia being led away and allowed herself a moment. She swallowed to hold back her tears, then smiled, looking at the young faces around her.

"Leviathanhas one more task to perform. It will take the expertise of every man and woman onboard. We will do what Leviathanwas always meant to do."

At that moment, the radiation alarms started blaring throughout the boat. However, the remaining crew of the most amazing vessel in history turned and started making ready its last run.

Five minutes later, Leviathanwas five hundred feet from the surface of the rolling seas. Alexandria pushed a small button on her console.

"Colonel Collins." She watched as Jack's face appeared on her hologram before her chair.

"I have no words to express our–my–regret. At my family's estate in Oslo, five hundred feet below the sub basement, you will find the oceanographic studies of my family going back to Roderick Deveroux. The betrayal of Octavian is entered in the original notes from Jules Verne, who was an eyewitness to the events. Offer them to your president."

"Yes, Captain–we will."

"You have my regrets about the director and ... and–"

"Good luck, Captain," Jack said, when he saw Heirthall was struggling with her guilt.

She nodded her head and reached for the cutoff button.

"Take care of Ginny for me, Colonel."

She shut the hologram down before she heard any reply.

"Mr. Slattery, eject the pods."

They felt the release of the ten round pods as they shot from the sides of Leviathanjust a deck above her sloping ballast tanks. Heirthall closed her eyes and said a silent prayer.

"Mr. Kyle, I need twenty degrees down angle on the planes. Bring Leviathanto flank speed, please, make your heading two-six-zero degrees, make your depth ... a thousand feet. Order all hands to brace for collision."

"Aye, Captain–ma'am, we are losing the main collision shield in the forward observation compartment, and reactors two and three are in meltdown."

"You're full of good news ... this morning. Mr. Kyle, would you like to maneuver Leviathanon her last mission? I want to be someplace ... else when we surface for the last time."

"It would be my honor, Captain."

The escape pods broke the surface of the sea near a large patch of broken ice. One after the other the pods shot into the air from the great depths from where they had been ejected. Just twenty miles away, HMS Longbow, a Royal Navy frigate, saw them on radar and sonar, and began to make its way toward the bobbing escape modules.

As ladders were thrown over the side and British frogmen assisted the survivors from the pods, Jack had a vision that made him close his eyes and thank whatever God was watching over them. Perhaps it was the sea god Leviathanafter all. Standing at the fantail of the Longbow, wrapped in blankets, was Sarah. She stood in front of Niles Compton, Alice Hamilton, and Garrison Lee. Sarah ran forward and with no shyness at all threw her blanket off and hugged Jack under the warmth of the sun for the first time in months. Lee, Niles, Alice, and his men gathered around.

"Dr. Robbins?" Everett asked looking around.

Lee nodded and took Carl by the arm.

"You would have been proud of him, son. He saved us all in an unselfish act of heroism."

"He didn't make it?"

Lee patted Everett on the back and left him alone to his thoughts.

Jack allowed the hug to continue for as long as Sarah wanted. He locked eyes with Niles Compton and nodded. Then Sarah let him go with one last squeeze.

"Mr. Director," Jack said.

"Just a handshake will do, Colonel," Compton said smiling.

"We seem to be missing Colonel Farbeaux."

They grew quiet and Jack could see it in their eyes. Farbeaux was lost, and they were actually feeling bad about it. He only nodded slightly at their nonanswer, and then turned as the crew of HMS Longbowwent to general quarters. Horns blared and men ran about the deck. Jack ordered his men to secure the children.

A half-mile away the sea began to erupt in a widening circle that boiled and bubbled as if the entire area were exploding.

"Jesus, the madwoman did it–look at that!" Lee said, tossing his cane over the side of the ship.

"All hands, we have a submerged object rising off the port quarter–stand by, main armament."

"No!" Collins shouted as he waved his hands toward the bridge of the frigate.

The Event Group and children of Leviathanwere quickly surrounded by a squad of royal marines and moved away from the railing.

The frigate didn't have time to pull out of the way as she rolled with the tremendous force surfacing beside her. As she settled, giant bubbles and arcs of water flowed over the much smaller surface vessel, and then, as if by the last magical prowess of the sea gods that protected her, Leviathanslowly came up from the depths. The damaged sail was the first to shake free of the cold water and ice. And then, to the amazement of all, it wasn't Leviathan's hull that came next.

"Oh, my God–she did do it!" Virginia screamed, tears flowing down her face as she wrapped her arms around Senator Lee.

"Amazing–just bloody amazing," was all Senator Lee could mumble.

Sitting precariously on Leviathan's massive foredeck was the damaged USS Missouri. Her entire stern quarter was now missing, and there was massive damage throughout her hull. As they watched, and with water bubbling around both vessels, the hatches started opening on Missouriand submariners started assisting the wounded from its bowels.

Jack smiled when he saw Captain Jefferson and Izzeringhausen emerge from the sail's escape trunk. He was shouting orders when he leaned over and spied Collins. He gave his head a shake and then saluted, yelling for his men to get over the side. Then, with a last glance at the great conning tower of Leviathanlooming far over his head, he gave the strange vessel his second salute, and followed his first officer over the side into the freezing waters.

Leviathanwas starting to lose her fight with the pull of the sea–she was starting to go down. As the Event Group watched, the sail hatch opened and three young sailors came out. They reached in and assisted Captain Alexandria Heirthall out from the conn.

Virginia ran over to the railing, leaning over as far as she could as Leviathanslowly sank back into the sea. Missouri'sprecarious hold on the foredeck of Leviathanfinally let go, and she slid off into the cold waters–claiming her for their own.

Virginia Pollock was crying as Niles grabbed her and held on.

"Alex, jump, get free, you have time! Please, get as many of your people off as you can–please," Virginia screamed as Alexandria smiled for the last time.

They watched Captain Alexandria Heirthall look at the faces just above her as Leviathanslowly sank. Then her men assisted her back down into the sail hatch.

With the children crying along with Virginia, the great Leviathanslowly sank with only the fanfare of the hissing sea around her.

The quarter-mile-wide iceberg, which had for two hundred thousand years been the center portion of the Ross Ice Shelf, covered the sound of a small motor as the Royal Navy frigate pulled away to the north, heading for Australian territorial waters. The occupant of the lead boat, which was riding low in the water, was shivering with cold as he maneuvered the large rubber boat through the smaller pieces of ice covering the Ross Sea. The man figured he would zigzag his way between the newly created icebergs until he reached the newest Antarctica seaside town of McMurdo Station, the American weather platform, where he could charter a flight out.

Colonel Henri Farbeaux had to smile as he guided two other large rubber Zodiacs behind the first. They too were riding extremely low in the water. Tarps covered the load he had hurriedly removed from Ice Palace with not a second to spare. He didn't know what amount of treasure he had recovered, but the sheer warmth he was feeling from the three loads made his smile widen.

With a fraction of the mythical gold and jewels of the Count of Monte Cristo in his possession, Henri Farbeaux slowly made his way to the south.

EPILOGUE

"The world can be such a wondrous place–so full of awe and mystery that it boggles the mind of any thinking person–but one has to realize that the beauty and wonder can be so easily lost by the arrogance of our kind. I and my family have given to you the responsibility of another sentient being, brothers and sisters of the earth who are helpless to our ways of defiling our own world. They need us, and we–most assuredly–need them."

– Captain Alexandria Heirthall, humanist

THE GULF OF MEXICO

The presidential yacht was riding lazily at anchor in the Gulf of Mexico. Senator Lee, looking dapper with his captain's blue cap and even more regal with Alice sitting next to him, were conversing in low tones about her retirement, which was only months away.

Everett, Mendenhall, and Ryan were up front doing something silently, only looking back once in a while with suspicious looks on their faces.

Jack, Sarah, Niles, Virginia, and the president of the United States were standing at the oak transom, looking down into the water.

"If they are down there, why don't we ever see them?" the president asked.

"With our lousy track record, would you want to take that chance if you were a symbiant?" Niles asked his old friend.

"No, I guess not."

"Mr. President, getting the gas and oil leases canceled in the gulf waters is a start."

The president looked from face to face. "Yes, but I had to cave in on the Arctic tundra drilling to get it done–still robbing Peter to pay Paul." "We do what we can. Science will figure a way to help them," Sarah said hopefully. "The Heirthall papers should solve a lot of our problems."

"The children?" Jack asked.

"The State Department is using every resource to track down their next of kin, but it looks like they are truly orphans. I've set aside a small sum to keep them all together."

They all grew silent as Virginia looked over into the green gulf waters.

"I'm worried. Since the syms' release, our new SOSUS microphones haven't picked up any sounds from the bottom–either here, or in the Mariana Trench. I hope they aren't sick."

"I wouldn't worry about that," Everett said as he approached the group, wiping his hands on a rag. "The navy is monitoring everything that goes into the gulf waters. If they catch any pollutants whatsoever, the FBI will hunt the offenders down, and since the president got it passed through congress that it is a capital offense, I think the days of dumping chemical waste into the seaways are over."

"I hope you're right," Virginia said sadly.

"Well, if you people aren't a sorry sight to behold," Everett said seriously. "Here we are on a calm and peaceful sea, and you're moping around like you lost your dog."

The president looked at Colonel Jack Collins with his brows raised, then back at Captain Everett.

"I believe you've broken into my private wet bar," the president said with a mock frown.

"If Colonel Farbeaux has taught us anything, it's never to stand on ceremony when a drink is to be had. By the way, sir, it is my understanding that your wine cellar has quite a way to travel to meet up with the quality of Captain Heirthall's."

"So I understand."

Suddenly, loud music blared from the dining salon of the presidential yacht. The Supremes belted out the song "You Can't Hurry Love," and to everyone's astonishment, a very drunken Ryan and Mendenhall danced out of the dining salon wearing women's bathing suits, lip-syncing the words to the song. Their hand gestures were like those of the Supremes in their heyday.

The loudest laughs came from Garrison Lee and the president as they watched the two men shimmy and dance their way toward Jack and Sarah with a nervous looking Secret Service team following, ready to shoot the two men. Before Jack could react, Sarah, embarrassed beyond belief, simply smiled and pushed the two lieutenants over the side of the yacht and into the warm gulf.

The music continued to play as Everett doubled over in laughter, and that was the reason he never saw Jack gently raise his foot into the air, sending him to join his fellow pranksters.

Soon, they were all laughing at the struggling men splashing and trying to get out of the water.

A quarter of a mile away, the dark blue eyes of a symbiant breached the surface of the gulf and watched the men as they struggled aboard the presidential yacht. With eyes blinking against the glare of the southern sun, the sym arched its back and dived back into deep water.