Andy Mcdermott - Temple of the Gods

Another explosion, much closer. The sub rang like a gong as it lurched sideways, smashing against the ruins. Nina screamed as the impact threw her across the cabin. The lights flickered before coming back on — noticeably dimmed.

Alarms shrilled, numerous indicators on the instrument panels flashing a warning red. ‘Is the hull breached?’ Nina asked, frightened.

‘If it was, we’d be dead,’ Matt replied. ‘We’ve lost main power, though — we’re on the reserves. And there’s a lot of other damage.’

‘We need to surface,’ said Eddie urgently.

‘Too bloody right we do! Hold on, I’ll dump the emergency ballast.’ He reached up to a large, red-painted lever on the ceiling and pulled it.

There was a deep thump from beneath them, the sub shuddering… but nothing else happened. Matt pulled the lever again. Still no result. ‘Aw, shit…’

‘What?’ Nina demanded. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘The ballast’s not dropping, that’s what’s bloody wrong! We should be flying up like a helium balloon right now!’

‘Is it broken?’

‘There’s nothing to break! It’s a bloody big slab of pig iron held on by an electromagnet — cut the power, it falls, we float!’

‘Forget floating,’ Eddie warned, watching the LIDAR display, ‘just get us moving!’ All three enemy blips were closing on the centre of the screen.

Matt opened the throttles, steering the Sharkdozer clear of the temple. ‘She’s slow,’ he warned. ‘Feels like a damaged thruster.’

Eddie reached past him to take one of the manipulator controls. ‘What are you doing?’ said Nina.

‘Seeing what’s wrong.’ A monitor screen showed the view from the starboard arm’s camera as it moved out from the sub’s side. He brought it round to look back along the hull.

Matt made a sound of dismay at the sight of one of the thruster pods, the casing of which had been torn away to expose the propeller blades within. ‘Eddie, move it down and look under us,’ he ordered.

Eddie did so. The camera revealed that both the port-side skids had been bent underneath the Sharkdozer by the collision with the temple… and the buckled metal had trapped the ballast slab in place beneath its keel. ‘The thing’s stuck under there! How long will it take to get back to the surface using the thrusters?’

‘Too long!’ Matt pointed outside as the vessel continued its turn. A set of spotlights was visible in the dark water.

Closing fast.

The approaching submersible took on form as the Sharkdozer ’s own spotlights illuminated it. Unlike Matt’s utilitarian craft, this was sleek and purposeful in design, its long prow resembling that of a powerboat. Instead of a hemispherical viewport, it had a pair of long windows set into its bow, giving the impression that it was watching them through slitted eyes.

The wreck of the Evenor came into view. ‘Matt, go down there,’ Eddie told him. ‘We can use it as cover.’

‘Yeah, and we might get snagged on it if we get too close!’ But he tipped the Sharkdozer into a descent.

Nina stared at the LIDAR. All three enemies were changing course to intercept. ‘Can we outrun it?’

‘The sub?’ said Matt. ‘Not a chance, even if we had full power. It’s a Mako; I know the bloke who designed it. It’s a pleasure boat, a millionaire’s toy — but it can still shift.’ He frowned. ‘No way it could have got out here on its own. Max range is only a hundred kilometres…’

He turned his full attention back to piloting as the wreck loomed ahead. Torn metal stabbed outwards from the crushed hull, the area around it strewn with debris. Nina watched the approaching jagged shards with growing nervousness, before glancing back at the LIDAR. ‘Oh my God! One of them’s right on us!’

A smaller blip had closed to within fifty feet of the Sharkdozer ’s stern. Eddie hurriedly moved the arm to bring it into the camera’s field of view. More lights shone in the darkness.

He recognised their pattern immediately. A deep suit, a halfway house between traditional scuba gear and full-body deep diving systems; the torso and bubble helmet were rigid, allowing the user to breathe ordinary air without risking the dangers of the bends, while the limbs were enclosed in standard neoprene drysuits. Eddie had used deep suits himself on several occasions, and knew their capabilities — which included high-speed movement with the aid of their built-in thrusters.

He also knew what the diver’s weapon could do.

Their opponent held an ASM-DT rifle, a Soviet-designed weapon for use both underwater and above. In air, it fired the same 5.45 millimetre ammunition as the Kalashnikov AK-74 rifle; beneath the surface, it used identical cartridges to propel not bullets, but six-inch-long hydrodynamic nail rounds.

And the gun was pointing at the Sharkdozer .

‘ Incoming! ’ was all he had time to shout—

The diver opened fire on full auto, blasting a stream of nails at them. Matt was already taking evasive action, but it was too late — the lumbering submarine was an unmissable target at such close range.

Piercing clangs rang through the pressure compartment as the nails struck the hull. There was a flat thump, followed by a fizzing sound — and the Sharkdozer jolted. An urgent warning siren hooted, more red lights flashing. ‘He hit an air tank!’ Matt reported.

Nina pointed at the Evenor . ‘Matt, there!’ A large hole was visible in the side of the survey vessel’s hull, angling upwards towards its main deck. ‘Can we fit through it?’

‘It’ll be tight, but if it stops us getting shot I’ll have to try!’ Matt replied, changing course.

Eddie shifted the arm to keep their attacker in view. The diver was fumbling with his gun, changing the large and awkward magazine. ‘He’s reloading — we’ve got a few seconds.’

‘I dunno how much I can do in that time, mate!’ Matt told him as he took the sub into the gap. Mangled metal clawed at them from all sides — and something larger hove into view across their path, a twisted steel beam. ‘Hang on!’

He jammed the controls hard over — and rolled the submersible on to its side.

Loose objects clattered across the cabin, Nina only holding herself in place by grabbing Matt’s chair, while Eddie thumped painfully against the wall. The beam swept past, scraping along the Sharkdozer ’s fibreglass upper bodywork. There was a sharp crack as something was torn away, the sub slewing sideways… then they were clear.

Matt rolled the vessel back upright. ‘What’s that drongo behind us doing?’

Eddie found the diver again, who had now reloaded the gun and was following the sub through the passage. ‘Still gaining.’ He looked ahead. The Sharkdozer was coming to the end of the mangled tunnel. ‘Matt, as soon as you get to the top, go hard right.’

‘But that won’t—’

‘Just do it!’ He worked the manipulator arm again, extending it further out — and back.

‘Turning now!’ Matt warned, pushing the controls over to their limit. The Sharkdozer ’s thrusters pivoted, throwing the craft into a tight turn.

Eddie opened the claw and swung the arm round as the sub emerged from the Evenor ’s ruined deck. He searched for the pursuing diver’s lights.

They reappeared on the monitor, much closer. He pushed and twisted the joystick as if trying to guide a giant robot’s punch, closing the claw again—

It clamped round the deep suit’s chest section.

Eddie thumbed the control harder and the claw tightened, the diver’s limbs flailing as he struggled to break free. If he could crush him, or at least puncture his suit, it would make the fight slightly less one-sided…