Larry Bond: Shattered Trident

They watched Chakra’s speed build quickly. “We’re going to be leaving a wake on the surface, Captain.”

Samant nodded. “Understood, but if he’s not concerned, then neither am I. He launches two torpedoes, then runs away from them at maximum speed…” Samant’s expression changed from confusion to shock, with Jain’s face mirroring his half a second later. “Sound collision! All hands brace for shock!”

At forty knots, it took the U.S. torpedoes nearly half an hour to reach the end of their eighteen-nautical-mile range. The weapons were set to run deep, so deep that the explosive pulse would just barely break the surface. This not only minimized the potential damage to any surface ships, but made sure that the majority of the warhead’s energy was transferred to the water and the ocean floor—in other words, a massive sound wave.

North Dakota was eighteen miles away from the two detonations. Chakra, a few miles in trail, was sixteen miles away. The ten-kiloton underwater burst was only lethal out to a few thousand yards, but would have damaged either boat if they’d been within four or five nautical miles.

While they were waiting, braced, Samant and Jain took the time to review other possible scenarios, and came up with none. Working it through, they knew the time the American had launched his weapons, and the range and speed of the U.S. Mark 48 torpedo. They could calculate the time of detonation, assuming a maximum run. Jain even added in a time/distance calculation for the speed of sound in water. They could relax for a short while. Sort of.

The only thing they could not estimate was the size of the warhead. At this distance, they should be clear, probably, unless the torpedo was fitted with a really large nuclear device. How big was it? These were the Americans, after all.

Twenty-seven minutes after the U.S. torpedoes were fired, Samant ordered again, “All hands, brace.” He waited, watching the seconds pass, and prayed that if he was right, all of his assumptions were right.

After a minute and fifteen seconds, Jain called on the sub’s announcing system, “Stand by for shock wave, any second now.”

Samant could feel his hands sweating, slick on the metal surface. He was thinking about wiping them off, one at a time, of course, when the deck suddenly rose and fell, as if they’d ridden over a speed bump too quickly.

Lieutenant Rajat started to speak, but a second jolt, as hard as the first, rattled them again, but then it was past, and that was it.

As they all began to breathe again, Rajat began his report. “Captain, the sonar’s flooded with noise. All frequencies are being drowned out. It’s completely blind.”

“Go to active mode. See if you can find the American sub.”

Rajat pressed a switch and watched the screens. “It’s no good, sir. The echoes from the active pulses are drowned out as well. Our sonar is completely useless.”

18 September 2016

2405 Eastern Daylight Time

CNN Headline News

Washington, D.C.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States.”

Myles walked to the podium slowly, deliberately. It was done, and nothing could change that. He’d rolled the dice. It only remained to tell the world, and see if it was enough.

His staff had put out the word that he would make a major announcement about the Pacific War, and every news feed that mattered was listening. The fact that the news conference was set for just after midnight only fueled the wild speculation.

Some partisans predicted he would finally throw in with the alliance, which showed he was opportunistic. Others opined he would finally declare neutrality, which would prove how weak America was.

Myles began his speech by glancing at his watch.

“Exactly six minutes ago, on my orders, eight ten-kiloton nuclear devices were detonated in the depths of the South and East China Seas.”

The gasps and uproar in the press corps went on for almost ten minutes. Myles made no attempt to stop it. He simply waited silently for the commotion to die down, and when they were quiet again, he continued.

“These devices were placed by four U.S. Navy submarines, deployed to carefully plotted positions in the South China Sea and East China Sea, where they each fired two specially modified torpedoes, each fitted with a nuclear warhead.

“The torpedoes were not aimed at anything or anybody, and were detonated at a depth that minimized the blast and radioactive contamination from reaching the surface. They presented no danger to nearby ships, and based on reports from U.S. aircraft monitoring the operation, did not cause any injuries or damage.”

Myles was watching the audience as he read from the teleprompter. They were completely silent, almost transfixed. They were full of questions, he knew, but also curious as hell. Why, then?

“One effect of these weapons, which we did our best to maximize, was something called ‘blue-out.’ The shock waves from these eight blasts will reverberate through the entire South and East China Sea basins for days, completely blinding all sonars. Submarines cannot find their prey or detect another ship, save by short-ranged periscope or radar. Surface ships cannot hunt for submarines, and cannot know if they are about to be attacked, unless they spot said periscope. Aircraft cannot hunt for subs except by radar, visual search, or magnetic anomaly detectors, which are very short-ranged and unreliable.

“Since this war began, the United States has done its utmost to convince the warring parties to quickly end the conflict, before the violence escalates to a level no rational human wishes to see.

“In spite of our best efforts, both sides have repeatedly refused to consider any negotiations to end their dispute, or even declare what their definition of victory was. Today, the United States has imposed at least a partial cease-fire at sea. The Littoral Alliance’s most powerful weapons, its submarines, are virtually impotent. But as impotent as they are, the Chinese Navy cannot ignore, or even detect, a submarine, if it happens to be nearby.”

Myles paused for a moment, and looked at the line of television cameras at the back of the room. His image was being seen around the world.

“To the leaders of the Pacific nations engaged in this war, if our use of nuclear weapons, even in this nonlethal way, has shocked you, then pause in your struggle and consider the horror that lies inevitably in front of us. The death tolls in Seoul, Tokyo, and other cities thus far will be trivial compared to the holocaust after a nuclear weapon strikes them.

“The environmental damage caused by our eight detonations is not as great as the harm already caused by one wrecked supertanker. The South China Sea, the major prize in this struggle, is losing its luster daily as war’s ruin fills it with poison.

“We have not done this from some altruistic desire for peace. This is naked, if enlightened, self-interest. A Chinese economy in ruins is a global catastrophe that could drag the rest of the world down with it. A nuclear exchange would be far worse. The world is too small now for wars such as this, and only a fool would think that the belligerents would be the only ones to suffer.”

18 September 2016

1330 Local Time

Littoral Alliance Headquarters

Okutama, Nishitama District

Tokyo, Japan

The delegates had all gathered to hear the American president’s speech. As soon as he mentioned “nuclear devices,” the room had erupted in chaos, with shouts and exclamations in half a dozen languages. Aides ran out to confirm Myles’s announcement with their respective governments. Some delegates without translators asked others to confirm what seemed unbelievable. Surely their English skills weren’t that bad.