The Battle of Seattle

As some of you know, I write novels/screenplays. I'm working hard to finish the sequel to the "Submarine Warriors" Young Adult novel in time for the holidays.

Here's a sneak preview of a chapter from the forthcoming “The Underworlders Strike Back.” At over 8,000 words, you'll have to strap yourself in for this tl:dr chapter and it helps to have read "Submarine Warriors" for better context of the characters.

Chapter 4: The Battle of Seattle

The night after Caroline’s dream, the waters of the Puget Sound began to churn and glow an eerie red. The last of the ferries had completed their routes across Elliot Bay and the Emerald City slept. One by one, the glow of multiple Shards could be seen beneath the waves as they moved closer to an unsuspecting Seattle waterfront. Once they got close enough to shore, the Shards began to surface. The pointed front tips of the Shards opened like the mouths of whales. Inside each open mouth were hundreds of Underworlder soldiers standing by for battle. Like landing craft for D-Day, the Shards projected gangplanks to dry land allowing wave after wave of Underworlders to emerge and launch an invasion on the city. Cloaked in darkness, the creatures leaped onshore and proceeded running inland. Only their glowing, ultraviolet eyes could been seen.

“The humans don’t stand a chance,” the Underworlder assault leader snarled. “Proceed forward in two by two formation.”

The Underworlder invasion force streamed in from each Shard. But before they could get too far, a giant array of floodlights blasted down on the invaders from an elevated freeway above. The blinding light was as much a death sentence for an Underworlder as it was for your average vampire. The combined shrieking from hundreds of Underworlders writhing in pain was deafening. They all began to smolder and many of them incinerated to ash. Those who struggled to survive the artificial daylight were in full retreat and dove into the icy waters of the Puget Sound to escape. The true nature of the creatures was revealed as the glowing red Shards pulled away from the Seattle shoreline, leaving their comrades to drown. Fleeing Underworlder soldiers tried in vain to swim to the Shards, but it was clear that everyone was expendable.

Seattle

“It looks like the intel we received from Lieutenant Caroline Connery was for real,” Admiral Jimenez mused aloud. “I never thought I’d see the day that I fought an enemy with floodlights instead of missiles. Now it’s time for our submarines to finish the job.”

Shard one

“They knew we were coming,” the Underworlder Captain slammed his clawed fist on the armrest of his chair. “Reverse thrusters.”

“What about our comrades that are trying to swim to us?” the First Officer asked.

“Let them drown. We can’t afford to have the human’s beams of light touch our ship.”

“But sir, we can’t just abandon them,” the First Officer pleaded.

“Perhaps you’d like to drown with them. My orders are final.”

The crystalline Shard closed it’s mouth-like opening and backed away from the Seattle waterfront. Hundreds of Underworlders could be seen swimming through the ocean to make it back to their fleeing Shards, but their efforts were in vain. As the giant search lights scanned across the water, the retreating creatures sizzled and drowned in the icy water. In all the commotion, the fleet of Shards were unaware they were backing into a trap.

USS Texas

“Conn, sonar. I’m picking up fours unidentified bogeys dead ahead at a range of four thousand yards.” the Sonarman announced frantically.

“Sonar, Conn, aye,” replied the Officer of the Deck. “These must be the Underworlder Shards we were told about. What’s their heading?”

“It looks like they’re moving toward us at around five knots but the water turbulence is all wrong for them to be pointed at us. I’d say they’re backing up.”

“Perfect. We’re in their baffles so they probably don’t know we’re here. Let’s not waste any time. Fire control, get me a bearing on one of these Shards. Torpedo room, load tubes one through four and make them ready in all respects.

“Loading up all torpedo tubes conn, torpedo room, aye.” replied the chief Torpedoman.

Shard one

“Keep us moving backward at five knots and dive the Shard to one hundred fifty feet,” the Underworlder Captain ordered the Diving Officer. This should keep the light beams off of us until we get into deeper water where we can maneuver more freely.

Seattle

“We’ve got ‘em on the run, Admiral,” an excited Lieutenant shouted from the elevated freeway. “Do you think those creatures are really Vampires, sir?”

“I don’t know. It’s like something out of the movies. Send the Marines down to the street level armed with Maglite flashlights to mop up any stragglers that didn’t jump into the bay.”

“I’m on it, sir.”

USS Texas

“Conn, Torpedo room. Tubes one through four are loaded and flooded.”

“Very well Torpedo room,” answered the Officer of the Deck. “Open the outer doors.”

“Fire control, do you have a solution plotted yet?”

“Aye, aye, sir. We’re locked and loaded on designated contact Sierra one.”

“Very well. Shoot torpedo one.”

A rush was felt throughout the USS Texas as the air pressure changed from the torpedo being forced out of the tube and into the ocean.

“Torpedo one away,” announced the Fire Control Technician.

“Fire the remaining three torpedoes at ten-second intervals starting now,” ordered the Officer of the Deck.

“Aye, sir.”

He pushed the button to shoot the second torpedo and then set his stopwatch.

“I don’t want this guy to have the slightest chance to get away.”

Soon, all four torpedoes were speeding through Elliot Bay toward their intended target.

Shard one

“My Master. I’m reading four submerged projectiles heading our way,” the Underworlder Sonarman looked up at his Captain through his glowing eyes.

“The humans are here with their submarines. They’re trying to cut off our escape route. Turn the Shard around so we can fight them.”

“Turning to starboard, sir.”

USS Texas

“Conn, sonar. All four Underworlder Shards are separating from each other and turning around.”

“Sonar, conn. They must hear our torpedoes coming.”

“Fire control, are our torpedoes still wire-guided?”

“Aye, sir. The Underworlders aren’t dispersing fast enough for me. I’m not going to miss.”

“Conn, sonar. Ten seconds to impact.”

“Don’t lose ‘em.”

Shard one

“My Master. The first projectile will reach us in five seconds. The last one will reach us in thirty-five seconds.”

“Brace for impact!” the Underworld Captain announced to the crew.

The Mk-48 torpedo detonated just beneath the center of the Shard. A giant underwater vacuum was created by the explosion. The lack of uniform water pressure resulted in tremendous stress as the internal air pressure pushed outward without resistance. The Shard’s crystalline structure began to crack along the keel. Those cracks turned into growing fissures.

“My Master. I’m reporting hull breaches all around the periphery.”

Suddenly, the vacuum created by the torpedo explosion collapsed and the ocean water rushed toward the battered Shard. The inward shockwave hit the hull sending the craft spinning in a cylindrical fashion. Underworlder crew members throughout the Shard were sent flying in every direction. Bodies slammed against walls, floors, and ceilings on every deck.

“Diving officer. Stabilize the ship,” the Underworlder Captain commanded.

“I should have her back under control in another minute.”

With that, the second torpedo struck the hull and exploded. The sound was deafening and everything went dark. The third and forth torpedoes not only finished the job but sent the three other shards tumbling end-over-end in all different directions. This first threat was neutralized.

Seattle

A mushroom cloud of water rushed upward into the air from out of the Puget Sound for all to see. Soldiers and sailors all along the waterfront cheered and applauded.

“That will show ‘em who’s boss,” the Admiral pumped his fist.

USS Texas

“Officer of the Deck. I can confirm four direct hits on contact Sierra One,” exclaimed the First Class Sonarman. “There’s nothing left and the other three Underworlder Shards have been pushed in multiple directions throughout the bay.”

“That’s what I want to hear!” the Officer of the Deck high-fived the Diving Officer.

Cheering echoed throughout the USS Texas. For most of the sailors onboard, this was the first time they’d ever seen combat, let alone fire torpedoes. The ship’s captain emerged in the control room after spending his first encounter with the Underworlders back in the engine room.

“Someone turn on the air conditioning in here.” The Captain spoke to no one in particular. “I must be overheating from all the excitement of our first kill.”

The captain walked forward to the sonar shack to congratulate the Sonarmen on their great work in tracking and locking onto the Shard.

“It actually feels a little warm to me too,” the Helmsman remarked to the Captain as he passed by.

“Congratulations men.” The captain reached out his hand to the Sonarmen.

“Thanks captain, a petty officer replied.

For whatever reason, the Sonarman next to him seemed to be transfixed on his sonar waterfall display screen.

“What are you looking at?”

“Sir, after the initial disruption of the Underworlder shards from the torpedo explosions, one of them has stabilized and is heading directly for us. I’m assigning him as Sierra Two.”

“How far away is he?”

“I’m having a hard time determining that. The water density between us and him has thinned-out unexpectedly. I’m not sure sure what could be causing it.”

One of the other Sonarmen unbuttoned the top button of his shirt. “Am I the only one getting overheated around here?”

“I think we’re all feeling it,” replied the captain. “Considering we’re surrounded by 42 degree water in the Puget Sound, getting hot under the collar is the last thing I’d expect.”

The Captain picked up a sound powered phone, selected Maneuvering on the dial and turned the crank.

“This is the Eng,” said the voice on the other end of the line.

“Eng, this is the Captain. are you reading anything unusual like increased temperatures in the reactor plant?”

“No sir. Everything is operating within normal parameters.”

“Okay, thanks.” The Captain hung up the phone.

“Captain, an increase in ocean water temperature could explain the lowering densities that are giving our sonar trouble.

Shard two

The Underworlder Captain stared at a large, wall-sized screen displaying the dark waters of the bay. His ultraviolet eyes scanned the screen for any sign of the human submarine that destroyed his comrades.

“My Master, we’re a half mile from the designated contact. Our heat beam is firing at its lowest power level. They know we’re out here, but the disruption from the heat will prevent them from knowing exactly where.”

Sure enough, a faint, laser-like beam of light emanated from the front of the Shard and made its way through the water where it connected with the hull of the Texas.

“Accelerate toward them and increase the heat beam intensity to full power,” ordered the Underworlder Captain.

“Yes, my Master.”

USS Texas

“Captain, the density of the water ahead of us is diminishing rapidly,” the Sonarman remarked. At this rate, the cold water around us is going to evaporate.”

Seattle

The red glowing shaft of light could be seen stretching underwater across Elliott Bay.

“Hand me your binoculars, Lieutenant,” the Admiral focused on the illuminated water. “I can make out a glowing red crystal beneath the surface. The beam of light appears to be coming from that point. I can also see steam rising off the water directly above the beam. We need to warn the sub skipper down there. Tell the radioman to notify all the Virginia class submarines about this new threat.

USS Texas

“Captain, our forward hull sensors are reading a 100 degree increase in water temperature over the last five minutes.” The Sonarman pointed to his computer display.

“Keep an eye on it,” the Captain looked worried. “I’m headed back to control.”

Seattle

The gruesome sight of dead fish and other sea life floating to the surface was visible in the area of the heat beam.

“Radioman, have you made contact with all the boats out there?”

“The Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota and Omaha Beach have all reported in. I’ve been unable to make contact with the Texas.

“Very well. Lieutenant, send an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter out there to take a closer look.”

“Aye, sir.”

Shard Two

“My Master, we are now just 1,000 yards away from the human submarine. I can report that their craft is fully enveloped by our heat beam. It won’t be long now.”

USS Texas

“Conn, sonar. The hydrophone array is going haywire. I’m hearing loud metallic sounds.”

The Sonarman quickly ripped off his headphones as the piercing sound became unbearable.

“Sonar, conn. What’s going on up there?”

“Sir, I’m reporting a catastrophic failure with our passive sonar array. Additionally, I think the sonar dome is melting.”

“Do you have any idea how far away Sierra Two is?”

“No, sir.”

“Send out an active ping while we still can.”

Ping!

Sir, another Underworlder shard is almost upon us. Less than 1000 yards dead ahead.”

“Fire control, give me a snapshot on torpedo tube one based on the sonar reading,” the Captain directed the nearby petty officer.

“All our tubes are empty, sir,” the fire control technician replied. “We just fired.”

“We’re sitting ducks.”

“Conn, engineering. The reactor is overheating. If we don’t initiate a full shutdown in 30 seconds, we’re all going to be in a lot of trouble.”

“Engineering, conn. Initiate reactor scram. Drop the rods and cool down the power plant.”

The entire crew was covered in sweat and water condensation ran down the inside of the hull.

“Captain, our high yield 180 hull is providing us a lot of protection, but the temperature is now over 300 degrees. The inside of the hull is now hot to the touch. At this rate of temperature increase, we’ll begin to lose structural integrity in about a minute.

“I’m not going down without a fight,” the captain shouted. “Torpedo room, conn. Load and flood torpedo tube one.”

“We’re way ahead of you, sir. We just finished reloading tubes one and two.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear,” the captain smiled. “Flood the tubes and open the outer doors as fast as you can.”

“Aye, sir.”

Suddenly, a large clanging sound shattered the silence onboard the sub as the second level deck forward of the control room disconnected from its floating hull mounts and pancaked the deck below. The heat was taking its toll on the sub’s structural integrity and most everything and everyone was crushed instantly. Screaming could be heard from injured sailors who survived the collapse.

“I want damage reports,” the Captain was exasperated. “Chief of the watch, contact all forward spaces on your sound powered phone.”

The chief began calling each phone, but no one answered.

“Fire control, I’m out of time. Open the outer doors and shoot torpedoes one and two at the Underworlder Shard.”

“Captain, the outer doors won’t open,” replied the fire control technician. “They’re melted shut.”

The blood drained out of the Captain’s face as he realized he was out of options. Crew members began passing out from the heat. Pipes burst and more of the sub’s floating mounted decks disconnected from the hull and slid downward toward the keel. Those crew members who weren’t crushed watched their skin boil.

“Conn, engine room. The nuclear reactor is going critical. Radioactive primary coolant has ruptured through all the piping systems. Sailors throughout the engine room could be heard screaming as they flailed around in anguish due to the one-two punch of extreme heat and exposure to high radiation levels.

“Engine room, this is the Captain. Can you secure the radioactive leak?”

“I can’t see anymore, Captain. I’m blind and my skin is falling off my body.”

Back in the control room, the HY180 steel hull went from hot to the touch to glowing red. A horrific shriek could be heard from the Quartermaster as molten steel dropped from the ceiling on to his back.

“It’s burning through me, Captain.” The sailor moaned as he fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

This new, gruesome form of death was limited to the Quartermaster for only a brief moment. Soon it began raining molten steel upon everyone throughout the sub. Crew members ran to avoid this liquid death, but it was everywhere. Seconds of unbearable anguish was followed by silence.

The entire crew of the USS Texas was now dead.

Back up above the water, an ASW helicopter raced out over Elliott Bay and hovered over the submerged USS Texas. The pilot looked down at the horror of what had happened.

“Admiral, this is Chief Warrant Officer Williams. I’ve found the Texas. She’s glowing red hot just like the Underworlder Shards.”

“Is she still intact?” asked the Admiral.

“It’s hard to tell,” the helicopter pilot replied. “There’s an enormous amount of steam distorting our views from the heat.”

What once looked like the glowing red shape of a Virginia class submarine started to morph.

“Admiral, the Texas is losing its shape. She’s stretching out and becoming thinner. Oh God, she’s liquifying into molten steel. It looks like a volcanic lava flow underwater.”

A moment later, the USS Texas was gone.

Shard two

“Disengage the heat beam,” ordered the Underworlder Captain. “The humans got lucky with their first torpedo shots, but their luck has definitely run out. Find my next target to melt.”

USS Omaha Beach

Caroline’s mouth was wide open as she stared through the forward view screen onboard the Omaha Beach.

“Did you just see what I saw?” Caroline asked.

“The Underworlders melted one of our submarines,” Nick pointed to the dissipating molten steel on the screen. “Those poor souls.”

“I think it’s payback time,” Annie fought through her tears as she looked around the compartment at her fellow submarine warriors. “We have to avenge their deaths the best way we know how.”

“Lets find the Shard that did this and finish ‘em off,” Mike shouted enthusiastically.

Suddenly, the entire view screen became bright red as the Underworlder Shard turned its heat beam on the Omaha Beach.

“I think they found us first,” Chrissie motioned to the screen.

Shard two

“Keep the heat beam focused on the small craft in front of us,” the Captain ordered. “It should liquify much more quickly than the larger human sub we just destroyed.”

“Yes, my Master,” the weapons officer replied. “This smaller sub moves much faster so we’ll need to follow it in order for the heat beam to do its job.”

“Very well. Track this mosquito wherever it goes. Prepare to meet your maker you Overworlder scum.

A shrouded figure stared at the Omaha Beach through the dark waters.

USS Omaha Beach

“Good luck melting through our titanium hull you freaky vampires,” Caroline spoke under her breath.

“Hold on, everyone.”

She squeezed the throttle controls of the Omaha Beach and rapidly accelerated to 100 knots.

“What’s the game plan?” Nick asked.

“I’m going to put us in a high speed orbit around the Shard.”

“That sounds like a fast way to make us dizzy.”

“That’s the idea. Everyone buckle-up. I’m about to recreate one of your favorite rides from the state fair.”

Shard two

“My Master, the small sub has increased its speed dramatically and they’re moving to our starboard,” the Underworlder Pilot exclaimed.

“I didn’t realize the humans had a submarine that could travel that fast.” the Captain responded. “Pilot, give me a hard, right rudder. I don’t want to lose them.”

“Turning hard right, my Master.”

The giant Underworlder Shard tilted as it banked hard to starboard. Crew members throughout the shard had to quickly stabilize themselves to keep from falling.

USS Omaha Beach

“Looks like they’re taking the bait,” Annie grinned as she watched the Underworlder Shard turning right to follow them.

“The outer hull temperature has dropped back to normal,” Mike announced excitedly. “They’re having trouble keeping up with us.”

The Omaha Beach continued banking right and flew around the hulking Shard like a small satellite orbiting a planet.

“Focus on a single point underwater for as long as you can before shifting your eyes to the next point,“ Nick pointed out the forward view screen. “Your test pilot training begins today.”

Shard two

“Weapons officer, why is the heat beam no longer focused on the small sub?” the Captain demanded.

“We’re having trouble keeping up with it my master,” the Weapons officer replied. The beam is highly directional from the crystalline tip of our Shard.”

“Very well.”

“Pilot. Maintain a hard right rudder while increasing speed to full power.”

“Increasing to full, my Master.”

The Underworlder craft began to spin in a tight circle as it tried to keep up with the annoying Omaha Beach that buzzed around it. The heat beam slashed through the ocean like spinning light saber.

USS Omaha Beach

“Annie, why is their heat beam catching up to us?” Caroline asked.

“Duh, they’ve sped up.”

“Okay everyone, we’re upgrading from test pilot training to astronaut training. Hang on and try not to throw up.”

Caroline pushed the throttle controls forward and the Omaha Beach accelerated to 200 knots.

“We’re cavitating, big time,” Mike commented. “It’s a good thing we’re not trying to be quiet.”

“Yeah, the whole stealth thing just went out the window,” Chrissie chuckled.

Seattle

“It looks like a giant, glowing whirlpool has formed in the middle of Elliot Bay,” the Lieutenant pointed.”

The Puget Sound churned and swirled in front of downtown Seattle with a glowing red light emanating from the center of the vortex.

“The Omaha Beach is the only sub we have that can move that fast. What are they up to?” Admiral Jimenez had a puzzled look on his face. “Radioman, get me in contact with the skipper of the Omaha Beach right way.”

“Yes sir,” the Radioman picked up the phone and switched his gear to use high frequency Internet protocol. Seconds later, the sound of a digital ringtone could be heard echoing throughout the Omaha Beach.

Mike put on the headset and answered the call.

“Omaha Beach, this is Mike speaking.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard a Naval officer answer the phone that way before,” the Radioman exclaimed.

“Uh, sorry,” Mike responded.

The radioman handed the phone to the Admiral.

“Put Lieutenant Connery on the line,” the Admiral barked.

“Caroline, it’s for you.” Mike handed the headset over to her.

“This is Caroline. I’m a little busy right now.”

“Lieutenant Connery, this is admiral Jimenez. What’s going on out there?”

“I’m trying to avoid getting melted by the Underworder heat beam while using the Omaha Beach’s capabilities to my advantage.”

“What capabilities?”

“I”m swarming around the Underworlder shard in a tight circle at 200 knots.”

“It looks like the Underworlders are chasing you and thereby putting themselves into a tight spin.”

“Yes, sir. I’m trying to make them dizzy to disorient them.”

“That’s the best plan I’ve heard of all night. Keep at it. I’m going to send an ASW helicopter to your position. If you can keep them in that area maybe we can drop a torpedo on them from above.”

“Roger that. We’ll keep this dog chasing its tail.”

Shard two

Crew members that weren’t strapped-in for the ride found themselves falling to the deck in a state of extreme dizziness and nausea.

“My Master,” the Executive Officer stumbled into the control room. “I’m receiving reports of crew members passing out on every deck and compartment of the Shard. We can’t keep up this spinning any longer.”

“We are Underworlders!” the captain shouted for all to hear. “I’ll tell you how long they can handle this spinning.”

“I’m sorry, my Master,” the Executive Officer spoke telepathically to the Captain.

The Captain’s mind focused on the engineering section of the Shard. His ultraviolet eyes glowed brighter.

“I need more power,” he beamed his thoughts to the head of engineering.

Seconds later, a visual indicator in front of the pilot increased.

“My master, the power plant is showing more power available,” the pilot exclaimed eagerly.

“Use it.”

The Underworlder shard lurched ahead even faster as it tried to catch up with the Omaha Beach.

USS Omaha Beach

“These guys aren’t giving up,” Caroline said out loud. “I can sense their crew members dropping like flies.”

“Should we make the jump to ultra-cavitating mode?” Nick asked.

“It’s too dangerous to go that fast in such a small body of water. I don’t want to accidentally crash into another sub or something bigger like Bainbridge Island.”

“Good point,” Nick nodded.

“I’m banking on the ASW helicopter getting here in a hurry.”

Caroline flicked on her HFIP link.

“Admiral Jimenez, where’s that helicopter?”

“We should be in position right above you friends in the spinning top.”

The anti-submarine helicopter maneuvered itself directly above the spinning Underworlder shard. The pilot pushed the transmit button on her radio.

“Lieutenant Connery, this is Chief Warrant Officer Williams commanding the Sea Stallion above you.”

“I see you Sea Stallion,” Caroline replied. “What’s your plan?”

“I figure I’ve got one shot to take out these monsters.”

“You don’t have much time. I can sense the Underworlders will stop chasing me in the next few seconds. Their spinning motion has been too destructive to their crew.”

“What do you mean, you can sense?” the Warrant Officer sounded puzzled.

“Nevermind. It’s a Borg thing. You wouldn’t understand. I need you to drop your altitude so you can take a shot at point blank range.

“Do it now!” Caroline ordered.

“It’s too dangerous, Warrant Officer Williams replied. “Your sub is too close to the Shard and might be destroyed by the blast.”

“Let me worry about that. Do your job and kill those monsters.”

“Very well. I’m disabling the security features of my torpedo so it will detonate at this close range.”

The Sea Stallion lowered itself to just 40 feet above the ocean and dropped its torpedo into the water. The Warrant Officer broke hard to the left and went full throttle to get her helicopter to safe distance.

“Caroline, I just heard the splash of the torpedo on sonar,” Annie reported. “We only have seconds to get out of here.”

“Everyone don your ultra-cavitating helmets,” Caroline ordered.

Shard two

“My Master, our sensors have picked up a splashing noise,” the Sonar Tech streamed his thoughts. “It’s hard to tell with all the disruption we’ve been causing to the surrounding water.”

“It’s a trap!” the Captain shouted. “Break off the chase with this decoy and prepare to be attacked.”

One second later, a Mk48 torpedo struck the hull of the Shard from above and detonated. In the first millisecond, it shattered the crystalline hull on the top. In the next millisecond, icy ocean water began to pour in from above. The upper compartment quickly flooded which dramatically weighed down the Shard. In the third millisecond, a fiery underwater blast moved outward in every direction away from the Shard.

USS Omaha Beach

“Ultra-cavitate!” Caroline announced as she removed the safety and slammed her fist on a red button on the control panel in front of her.

The Omaha Beach rocketed away at 1,000 knots per hour with the underwater shock wave from the Shard explosion close on their tail.

The special helmets everyone wore stabilized their heads and prevented the disorientation a human would normally experience when increasing speed so rapidly.

“I can’t breathe,” Chrissie uttered.

Caroline pulled back on the throttle to decelerate realizing the Omaha Beach had outrun the shockwave. In just a few seconds, it raced northwest past Whidbey Island.

Shard two

“We can easily withstand a single human torpedo,” the Captain announced. “Prepare to retaliate.”

“My Master, our entire crew is already unconscious from the spinning,” the Executive Officer responded. “We now have uncontrolled flooding that’s filling up the Shard from the top-down.”

Deck by deck, the shard filled with water causing it to sink to the bottom of the Puget Sound. As the water rushed into the control room to seal his fate, the Captain telepathically communicated with the Captain of another nearby Shard.

“Get them. Kill them all!”

Most of the Underworlder crew didn’t experience the fear of drowning because they were already asleep. A moment later, the entire Shard was consumed and the insides collapsed in on themselves.

USS Omaha Beach

“Great work, Sea Stallion,” Caroline radioed the ASW helicopter pilot. “You cut it pretty close.”

“Tell me about it,” the pilot replied. I barely got away from the giant explosion coming out of the ocean toward me.”

“Good work team,” both Caroline and the helicopter pilot could hear from the Admiral as he joined their radio communication.

“Two down, two to go,” Caroline cheered.

“Sea Stallion, this is Admiral Jimenez. Come back to base and reload. Torpedo shots from the air have exposed a weakness in the Underworlder Shard defenses.”

“Aye, aye, Sir. Reload and repeat,” the pilot responded.

“Caroline,” Mike looked up. “I’m receiving another transmission.”

“Put it through.”

USS Hawaii

“Lieutenant Connery, this is the Captain of the USS Hawaii. Sonar has you at about 90 degrees off our port bow. I need your help with something.”

“Yes, Sir. Anything.”

“I need to use you as bait.”

“As bait, Sir?”

“Yes. We’ve picked up the signature of one of those Underworlder Shards at about 8,000 yards on the other side of you. I want you to lead them across the front of our bow so we can get a good shot with our torpedoes.”

“We can do that, Sir.”

“Get their attention and make a lot of noise.”

“We’re good at making noise, Sir.”

“Good. The noise will attract them to you and prevent them from hearing us at the same time.”

“Understood, Sir.”

“Hawaii out.”

The Captain hung up his HFIP phone and picked up his sound-powered phone.

“Torpedo room, this is the Captain. Make torpedo tubes one and two ready in all respects.

“Aye, Captain,” replied the Chief Torpedoman.

Uss Omaha Beach

“Alright, gang. You heard the Captain.” Nick looked across the control room. “Let’s go be a decoy.”

“My sonar gear is picking up the third Underworlder Shard off our port side,” Chrissie alerted everyone. “I’m surprised it’s this far north near Whidbey Island.”

“It must be trying to escape unnoticed,” Caroline added.

“I guess it’s time we made them notice us,” Annie chimed-in. “What’s your plan, Caroline?”

“I’ll show you.”

Caroline angled the joystick on her control panel all the way to the left and pushed the throttle forward until they were traveling at 100 knots.

“Let’s see if these monsters have ever played chicken before.”

“You’re heading right for them,” Nick’s eyes widened.

“That’s the point.”

The Omaha Beach banked to the left and sped directly toward the new Shard contact.

Shard three

“My Master, I’m picking up an unidentified object heading toward us at a high rate of speed,” The Underworlder beamed his thoughts to the Captain.

“It must be the humans,” the Captain replied. “We’ll make them pay for agitating us. Pilot, come right to heading 180, all ahead full.”

“Speeding up and coming right to heading 180 my Master,” the Pilot repeated back.

Uss Omaha Beach

Looking out through the Omaha Beach’s giant viewport, the crew could see the Shard growing larger and turning in their direction.

“At this rate we’ll crash into their sub in 10 seconds,” Chrissie exclaimed frantically.

Caroline squeezed the joystick and counted down to herself as they rapidly approached their foe.

“One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi, four Mississippi, now!”

Caroline jammed the joystick all the way to the right. Then she increased throttle power to the left thruster while cutting power to the right. This caused the Omaha Beach to stop dead in its tracks and turn on a dime 180 degrees in the other direction. In the process the aft titanium wing of sub scraped against the crystalline tip of the Underworlder Shard before pulling away.

“Cutting it a little close,” Nick spoke softly.

“Yeah,” Caroline replied as she reengaged the right thrusters to accelerate southward toward Seattle and the USS Hawaii.

The rest of the crew stared in awe at Caroline and her acrobatic skills.

“Were you attending Top Gun fighter weapons school in your spare time?” Mike joked.

“The Underworlders in that Shard were scared,” Caroline looked back at her friends. “They really thought I was going to crash our sub into theirs. I felt it.”

Shard three

The Underworlders in the control room were visibly shaken after almost colliding with the Omaha Beach.

“Pilot, get yourself together and follow the human sub at best possible speed,” the Captain ordered. “I won’t let them escape.”

“That will take us back to the battle taking place in front of the human city my Master,” the Pilot protested.

“We will bring a level of terror to their beautiful city that they’ve never seen before. Now catch them!”

Uss Omaha Beach

“Captain of the USS Hawaii, this is the Omaha Beach. Do you read us?” Nick spoke into his headset.

“I read you Omaha Beach. What’s your status?”

“We’ll be back in Elliot Bay and crossing your bow in one minute.”

“Very well. Make sure to get out of the area in a hurry after you pass us by. I don’t want my torpedoes to home in on you by mistake.”

“No danger of that, Sir,” Nick smirked.

USS Hawaii

“Torpedo room, Conn. Are you guys ready?” the Captain asked on his sound-powered phone.

“Tubes are loaded, Sir,” the Torpedoman Petty Officer replied.

“Very well. Flood torpedo tubes one and two and open the outer doors.”

“Flooding both tubes and opening outer doors, Sir.”

The Captain hung up the phone and walked across the Control room.

“Fire Control party, have your computer do some fancy trigonometry and plot me a firing solution. I don’t want this punk Underworlder to get away.”

“Aye, Sir.”

There were smiles all around.

Shard three

“We’re catching up to the small human sub, my Master,” the Pilot reported.

“Good. Power up the heat beam. I want to melt these inferior humans once we’re in range.”

“It shall be done, my Master.”

USS Hawaii

“Conn, sonar, we’re tracking the Omaha Beach crossing our bow with the Underworlder Shard 1,000 yards behind.”

“Very well, sonar,” the Captain replied. “Fire control, shoot torpedoes one and two.”

The first class Fire Control technician launched the torpedoes out of their tubes.

“Torpedoes away, Sir.”

“Outstanding,” the Captain replied. “Keep these fish wire-guided and directed at the Underworlder Shard and not the Omaha Beach.”

Uss Omaha Beach

“USS Hawaii, this is the Omaha Beach,” Nick announced on the HFIP phone. “We see your torpedoes and we’re bugging out of here.”

“Thanks for luring these monsters down here,” the Hawaii’s Captain replied. “Now get lost.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Nick chuckled.

“I’ll get us to a safe place,” Caroline guided the Omaha Beach in a gentle arc to the right. “We’ll curve around behind the Hawaii. The safety features in their torpedoes prevent them from coming back at them.”

“Good call,” Nick smiled.

Shard three

“My Master, I’m tracking two high-speed projectiles heading our way from another human sub,” the Sonar technician called out.

“Why didn’t we know about this sub?” the Captain yelled at his crew.

“They must have been sitting still while the smaller sub we were tracking was moving fast and making lots of noise.”

“Is the heat beam charged yet?”

“Yes, my Master.”

“Then fire it at those incoming projectiles before they hit us.”

The glowing tip of the Underworlder Shard intensified as a red shaft of light projected outward. Seconds later, the two torpedoes swam into the path of the beam. They began to slow as their propulsion systems failed and then detonated without reaching their target. A huge, underwater vacuum emerged followed by a shockwave that moved outward from the blast in all directions. Despite being at a safe range, both the Shard and the USS Hawaii were buffeted backward when the shockwave reached them.

USS Hawaii

“Captain, our torpedoes did not reach their target,” the Fire Control technician looked up anxiously. “By my calculation, they exploded 2,000 yards shy of their destination.”

“So why did they detonate?” the Captain snapped.

Suddenly, a voice could be heard through the open HFIP channel.

“Captain, this is Lieutenant Connery. We saw the Underworlder Shard use its heat beam to destroy both torpedoes before they got close enough.”

“So how are we supposed to kill these guys?” the Captain replied incredulously.

“Catching them by surprise or using overwhelming force is the only way we’ve seen success against them.”

The Captain rubbed his temples, deep in thought.

“Torpedo room, Conn, this is the Captain. Load and flood all four torpedo tubes as fast as you can.”

“Aye, Sir.”

Shard three

“My Master, our passive sonar is picking up distinct metal sounds coming from the human sub. I think they’re reloading.”

“The fools,” the Underworlder Captain grinned. “They think they’ll have better luck repeating the same attack against me. Their lack of imagination will be their undoing.”

“Should we use the heat beam against them, my Master?”

“No, I have something different in store for them. Engage the gauze generator. Let’s see how the humans like having their inferior submarine mummified.”

Deep within the bowels of the Shard, the gauze generation compartment sprung to life. Each Underworlder has the innate ability to launch streams of gauze from their mouths in order to mummify their victims. A dozen Underworlders surrounded a large, deep tank and projected streams of gauze to create a strong, sticky liquid concoction. Once the first group had expended all their gauze, a second team took their place and commenced the equivalent of projectile vomiting into the cauldron.

“Weapons Officer. When the gauze containment vessel is filled, I want you to mummify the human submarine,” the Captain ordered.

USS Hawaii

“Helm, all ahead full,” the commanded the Captain.

“All ahead full, helm, aye.”

“I want to close the distance to the Underworlder Shard so when our torpedoes are ready to fire, we’ll have a better chance of putting those creatures out of their misery before they can detonate our torpedoes with their heat beam.”

The Captain picked up his sound-powered phone and switched the dial to the torpedo room.

“Torpedo room. I want to know as soon as our torpedoes are ready in all respects.”

“Almost ready, Sir.”

Uss Omaha Beach

“Caroline, it looks like the Skipper of the Hawaii is taking your advice about overwhelming force at point blank range,” Nick motioned out the viewport at the USS Hawaii.

“At this point, surprise is definitely out of the question,” Caroline remarked. “What is the Underworlder Shard waiting for? I thought for sure they’d direct their heat beam at the Hawaii after blowing up her torpedoes. I don’t like the looks of this.”

Caroline reversed the throttle on the Omaha Beach to move them backward away from the immediate combat zone.

USS Hawaii

“Conn, torpedo room. We have four torpedoes ready to go.”

“Torpedo room, conn. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear,” the Captain replied enthusiastically. “Open outer doors.”

“Opening outer doors, Sir.”

Shard three

“My Master, sonar is picking up sounds of the humans opening their torpedo doors,” the sonar officer announced urgently.

“Weapons officer, mummify the human sub now!” the Captain ordered.

The Weapons officer pushed a blue button on his control panel causing the crystalline tip of the Shard to open. The opening was the result of four, triangular panels on the outer hull separating and then pulling back. Seconds later, a thick stream of gauze shot out and pierced through the ocean toward the USS Hawaii.

USS Hawaii

“Conn, sonar. I’m detecting a massive object heading directly for us,” the Sonarman announced.

“Fire control, snapshot on tubes one through four,” ordered the Captain.

The term snapshot means to fire torpedoes in the direction where the last attack originated.

“Snapshot on all torpedo tubes, Captain,” the Fire Control tech replied.

In the first few milliseconds as the four torpedoes began to move through their respective tubes, the gauze from the Underworlder Shard arrived and quickly smothered the bow of the Hawaii. One hundred milliseconds later, one third of the forward part of the sub was encased in gauze. Five hundred milliseconds later, the entire sub was completely sealed in a sticky tomb.

The safety features of the torpedoes had been disabled so they would detonate on contact with the first thing they came in contact with. Seven hundred milliseconds after the gauze arrived, all four torpedoes made contact with the strong, sticky substance and immediately exploded while still mostly inside their launch tubes.

The combined, high-explosive force of the four torpedoes ripped through the torpedo room, incinerating everything in its path. By the time a full second had passed since torpedo launch, the forward third of the Hawaii was vaporized. The rest of the front half of the sub was burning inferno. That said, the shape of the Hawaii was still intact as the explosions were unable to rupture through the thick gauze covering the outer hull. This also prevented a shockwave from being sent through the ocean.

Aft of the reactor compartment, the ship’s engineer picked himself off the deck to observe fellow crew members in various states of injury from being tossed around inside the sub. He grabbed the nearest sound-powered phone to call the control room.

“Conn, Maneuvering. This is the Engineer.”

Silence

“Conn, do you read me?”

Silence

“Is anyone up there?”

The Engineer repeatedly twisted the dial on the sound-powered phone trying to reach anyone in the forward half of the sub.

Silence

A Petty officer with a shattered leg dragged himself up next to the Engineer.

“Is anyone left alive up there?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Whoever did this to us is probably coming to finish us off,” the Petty officer spoke in anguish through the pain. “We should probably clear out of here if we can.”

“You’re right. I’ll try to take control of the ship directly from here.”

Looking at the gauges, it was clear that the reactor scrammed and was now offline.

“I’ll switch to battery power to restore propulsion.”

As the Engineer rerouted the power from the reactor plant to the batteries, the turbines began to spin.

“She’s alive, Sir.”

“Yeah. I’m shifting us to all back one third.”

The half-destroyed USS Hawaii was able to move backward slowly through the ocean since its propeller hadn’t been covered in gauze. Little did the Engineer know that the gauze covering his submarine stretched through the water and was still connected to the Underworlder Shard.

Shard three

“My Master, we’ve mummified the the human sub, but it’s somehow pulling away from us,” the Sonar officer beamed his thoughts to the Captain.

“Very well. I’m going to take them on the ride of their short little lives.

“Pilot. Come hard right and increase your speed to ahead full.”

“Increasing to full speed and turning sharply to the right,” the Pilot repeated back.

“The humans destroyed our comrade’s Shard by spinning them out of control. I’m just going to return the favor.”

As the Shard arched to the starboard, the long bungee cord of gauze connecting the two subs became taught. Slowly at first, the Hawaii found herself being dragged through the ocean.

USS Hawaii

“Sir, our speed has diminished and now we’re moving in the opposite direction,” the Petty officer pointed at the gauge on the control panel.

“That doesn’t make any sense,” the Engineer responded. “I can definitely feel the movement, though.

The Engineer reached up to the panel and increased the speed to all back full. The submarine shuddered as it fought against the pull from the gauze connecting them to the Shard.

“We’re increasing our reverse speed, but something has a hold of us and we’re flying blind,” the Petty officer looked perplexed. “Maybe a giant octopus has us.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Unfortunately, our resistance to whatever is pulling us isn’t going to last long. This tug of war is rapidly draining our batteries. We’ve got less than a minute of fight left in us.”

The crippled USS Hawaii fought admirably for the next 50 seconds before giving up the fight. The outstretched gauze did what every stretched rubber band does. Suddenly, the lifeless Hawaii whipped through the ocean responding to the evil whims of the Underworlder Shard. The remaining battered crew left alive in the engine room was tossed around violently.

Shard three

“The human sub has given up, my Master,” the Pilot announced. “I’m no longer registering any resistance.”

“The human survivors will wish they were already dead when I get through with them,” the Captain looked more menacing than ever with his piercing ultraviolet eyes. “Pilot, continue circling to the right and increase speed to flank.”

“Increasing speed to flank, my Master”

The Shard sped along in a tight circle while dragging the USS Hawaii behind it like a submerged water skier. As the speed increased, the Shard began to look like a spinning atom and the Hawaii a rapidly orbiting electron.

“My Master, the speed and centrifugal force of our spin is beginning to take its toll on our crew,” the Pilot alerted the Captain.

“I agree. It’s probably time to send the humans on their way.”

“Emergency blow on all ballast tanks,” the Captain ordered. “Full rise.”

The Pilot pushed a button that blew high-pressure air into the Shard’s ballast tanks, forcing the water out. He then pulled back on his flight stick causing the Shard to race toward the surface at a steep, upward angle while still spinning to the right. The Hawaii was pulled up quickly in an upward death spiral. As the Shard came spinning out of the water, its Captain gave a fateful order.

“Weapons officer, sever the gauze connection with the human sub.”

The Weapons Officer flipped a switch that cut the giant gauze rubber band using a focused heat beam.

Seattle

The spinning combined with the fast upward motion sent the USS Hawaii shooting out of the Puget Sound with a rush of water that reached over 1,000 feet into the night’s sky. The giant submarine spun through the air like the rotors of a helicopter, gaining altitude at a rate of hundreds of feet per second. It soon became apparent that this this massive projectile was on a collision course with the Seattle skyline.

The USS Hawaii threaded the needle through skyscrapers has it hurtled Northeast toward Lake Union. Seconds later, the unimaginable happened as it smashed into the observation deck of the iconic Space Needle. The mass and velocity of submarine meant the Space Needle wouldn’t withstand the collision. Thousands of tons of steel and weaponry connected with the symbol of Seattle resulting in a giant fireball that lit up the night from on impact. The upper saucer of the Seattle landmark was vaporized in an instant. The tower toppled over and fell downward along with chunks of the sub. Massive secondary explosions from the detonating Tomahawk and Harpoon missiles the sub was carrying ripped the rest of the Hawaii apart. This rained destruction on nearby buildings and city streets below as giant chunks of steel became unstoppable projectiles.

People unlucky enough to be in the vicinity late that night tried to get away, but no amount of running or driving would save them. Pieces of the Space Needle and submarine hull flattened buildings, cars and people indiscriminately. The aft part of the sub that managed to stay intact throughout the explosions ruptured on impact when it hit the ground. The nuclear reactor core sprayed Uranium and radioactive coolant in every direction. While it didn’t cause a nuclear explosion, it has the same effect as a dirty bomb as a wave of radiation spread outward. Those who thought they had survived the destruction soon found their bodies cooking from the inside-out. In the end, a one-mile radius around the fallen Space Needle became a wasteland and Seattle would never be the same.

Uss Omaha Beach

Tears ran down the faces of Nick, Caroline, Mike, Annie and Chrissie while they watched helplessly through the forward view screen as the beautiful city burned.

“Is this the end?” Annie murmured.