Three descending lights cast bright white patches around the murk and mud below. The sea had kicked up a fine mist of dust in the darkness which hindered their eyes from seeing the hull until they were perhaps twenty feet above. Perry’s voice took command in their ears.
“Fan out and circle it counter clock wise to me, scan the parameter for anything, keep high enough to avoid a snag.”
Diving teams were a close knit bunch, the diving pairs were even closer. The relationship was unique in how intrinsically they would have to recognize one another’s needs and anticipate issues in order to troubleshoot them. It was one part scavenger hunt buddy, one part bromance. Wells had been paired with Perry for years, their first operation had been search and recovery with the USS Cole. The experience had been instantly bonding in its emotional trauma. They recognized one another’s’ strengths quickly and adapted thier understanding of leadership into something more closely resembling brothers. Wells knew that Perry was the master of brawling and that if there was a fight to have underwater, Perry was the man to lead it. Wells was concerned how well Ke would integrate into the fray.
As they three fanned out from one another they began go take in more of the surrounding landscape. The hull layed sideways, tucked into the saddle of a sizable mound of soil, the hills dropping away from the light, darkness crushing in after the light receded. Eyes scanned for any movement and anything in the muck that wasn’t muck. Tensions flared whenever any shape that wasn’t mud cast a shadow under the white light of their chest torches. Ke reached into the pack strapped round her front and produced the first trick she had up her sleeve.
They were called “illumaweights”, glowsticks that would emit a stunning amount of lumens which were weighted to stay relatively still on the bottom. She would crack and shake the object and let it flutter away to the ground, the haunting color revealing the whole hull of the U-Boat. Akin’s brief had been right, this particular ship was larger than its peers by nearly double. Ke dropped the last of the weights and spied out into the edge of the blackness as they continued their sweep. They moved silently and deliberately, taking the needed time to ensure no surprise ambush awaited them. When Akin’s voice broke Wells’ focus his heart jumped.
“Salvage, this is command, sit-rep.”
Perry typically loathed having anyone he deemed “a babysitter” breathing down his neck for situation reports, but he also knew how aggressive a bad commander could be. His reply was cool and professional, “Command, we’ve just finished our initial parimeter sweep and are about to begin infiltration. Request radio silence for the duration of the operation, over.”
Wells smirked inwardly as he began to paddle towards the bow of the ship. If Akin was still pushing for a time line they would be in a rush, moving too quickly enhanced the chances for mistakes. “Haste makes waste” was the old army motto, back before the concept of lightning war took the world by storm.
If Akin was frustrated by the request his tone didn’t show it, “Salvage, you have thirty minutes at the end of which you will have roughly less than half of your air remaining. Break,” there was an almost imperceptible pause, “If you have not recovered or made contact with Hunter one one you are required to give a sit-rep. Request for radio silence granted, out.”
Perry gripped the spear with anticipation and swirled himself towards the bow, a few meters above Wells. Ke caught up quickly and continued to scan the edge, where the yellow-green glow quickly was devoured by the crushing darkness. Again, Perry devised a strategy.
“I’m going to remain about four or five meters up on overwatch to cover all approaches. Make your cuts below the torpedo bay, if there’s anyone still home in there i want to kick in his wall, not his door. Coastie, keep watch on his back while he cuts.”
Ke replied more formally than she meant to, but instantly, “Aye sir.” She felt her face get hot for a moment.
“Yes, dear,” said Wells, sensing the moment and seeking to diffuse it.
Her reaction was less out of habit and more out of respect. She had a knack for quickly assessing the skill and talents of people, seeing past the arrogance and bravado and inherently knowing when somebody was over compensating or incompetent. It was a gift that served her well among the rough necks, quickly sorting which welders to trust and which divers to recognize as likely candidates for a body bag home. When Perry spoke with an easy confidence of an air line pilot about how to plan and control the battlefield underwater, her faith in his leadership grew.
Wells carefully settled near the torpedo hull, peaking toward the surface to check if Perry was in place and then watching Ke come to a hover a meter behind him. His defenses in place, he began assembling the deep sea welding kit, attaching the element rod with the electricity bank on his hip and clasping the eye protection to the corners of his respiratory mask. As he finished screwing the rod in place he wondered how the brothers were doing, and then really hoped their suits hadn’t been compromised. He lowered his visor and clicked the starter, the tip snapping with a white crack of effort and then humming into An electric blue. After drawing in a long breath be set the cutter against the hull of the Brunhilde and turned it to maximum.
“Knock knock knock…” Said Wells