Vengeance

74 USS MISSISSIPPI

Five thousand yards east of the minefield stretching across the Strait of Hormuz, the fast attack submarine USS Mississippi loitered at periscope depth at the northern end of the Gulf of Oman. In the Virginia-class submarine’s Control Room, Commander Brad Waller was seated in the Captain’s chair waiting for a path to be cleared through the mines, monitoring the situation as additional messages were downloaded from the Radio broadcast. To the west were five more fast attack submarines, waiting in line behind Mississippi for their turn through the minefield. Not far from the strait in the Arabian Sea, specialized mine-clearing ships were en route, but were still over a day’s journey away.

Two weeks ago, Mississippi had been stationed near Vladivostok, monitoring Russian Pacific Fleet activity, when several nuclear-powered submarines had sortied from the Russian port. Waller had latched onto the first one, trailing it as it journeyed southwest before losing track of the submarine in the busy Malaysian shipping traffic. Disappointed in their performance, Waller and his crew had been given a second chance, waiting to come to Theodore Roosevelt’s aid. The only thing standing in the way was the minefield blocking the strait.

Waller stood and stretched his legs, surveying the Control Room watchstanders. Only a third of the consoles were manned. He had maintained his crew in a normal watch rotation, waiting to shift to Battle Stations once the minefield was cleared, hoping to keep his crew fresh for the tense battle likely ahead.

“Conn, Radio.” The report emanating from the Control Room speakers broke Waller from his thoughts. “New intel message received. Mine clearing is almost complete. Only six more mines to go.”

“Is an ETC provided?” Waller asked.

“Conn, Radio. Negative. No estimated time of completion is mentioned.”

Waller gritted his teeth. USS Michigan and its SEAL detachment were making progress, but would they complete the task in time for Mississippi and the other fast attack submarines to defend Roosevelt, or would the carrier be sent to the bottom before assistance arrived?