How Not To Climb A Seamount

By R. L. Keller

“Harry, sit down before you fall down,” Admiral Harriman Nelson (Ret.) scolded himself. “You’re worse than Lee!” Then he smiled sheepishly as he settled into his favorite chair, an over-stuffed recliner in his livingroom, and carefully shook his aching head. He, as well as Chip, and especially Dr. Will Jamison, was constantly on Lee’s case to slow down and let his body heal properly on those occasions when the younger man had put himself in harm’s way – usually to save someone else who found themselves in danger. But Lee would never listen; he’d be up and off again, doing whatever he felt needed doing, driving those around him crazy because he simply refused to believe that his body wasn’t ready to tackle whatever his brain told it to do. And here Nelson was trying to do the same thing!

By rights Nelson knew that he should probably still be in NIMR’s Med Bay. Will had, reluctantly for sure, allowed Nelson to return to his house on the hill, citing an unwillingness to listen to the staff’s constant complaints about the Admiral’s short-tempered treatment of them. When even Will’s not-so-secret, secret weapon, Nurse Esther Hale, USMC (Ret.), started muttering threats to “just shoot him full of sedatives so we can get some peace,” Will did his best to read Nelson ‘the riot act’ and sent him home to be watched over by his daytime housekeeper, Mrs. Garcia, and stay quiet. Preferably in bed, at least for the next several days, but Will wasn’t stupid enough to think Nelson would follow that order.

Nelson sighed heavily. “But he’d have your head if he found you climbing that step stool,” he continued, glancing up at the large clock over the fireplace. Daylight Savings Time had occurred the previous day and just that simple matter of the clock being an hour off started to drive Nelson a little whackers. He had deliberately not reminded Will that today and tomorrow were Mrs. Garcia’s normal days off, and she hadn’t come the previous day because Nelson was in Med Bay. Nelson was stubborn enough not to call someone in just to change the clock. “Yes, Will, I can already hear you yelling,” and then he jumped when the phone rang. “Nelson,” he answered not quite in his usual authoritative manner, expecting Will to have discovered his deceit.

“Security, sir,” came carefully instead. “There’s a Captain Cory Mains at the front gate to see you. I called Med Bay and they said you’d been released.”

That’s one way to put it, Nelson mumbled only to himself.

“But he’s not listed on your appointments,” the guard continued, “and I don’t recognize him.”

Nelson had to think about that for a second. “You’re new on the gate,” came out stronger.

“Yes, sir.”

“Capt. Mains is an old friend. He’s been here before, but not within the last few months. Point him toward my house.”

“Ah, without an escort, sir?”

Nelson almost smiled. Obviously Dewey – or more likely Lee and/or Chip – had ‘discussed’ a few things with Security after the Bishop incident.* “Without,” he confirmed, and hung up. More slowly than he liked he stood up and headed to the front door to welcome his former XO.**

“Must be serious,” Cory greeted Nelson’s outstretched hand with a firm shake as he looked his former CO up and down, “to get you out of uniform.”

Nelson frowned at the reminder that he was wearing casual slacks and a sweater over a polo shirt. “It’s what some un-named source brought to Med Bay after Will was ‘encouraged’ to release me,” came out in a growl. He wasn’t made any happier by Cory’s instant laugh, but quickly nodded and invited the man in.

“Commander Crane, perhaps?” Mains continued to tease his former boss.

Nelson shook his head, finally starting to smile. “Of that I’m sure. Will banished Lee from NIMR several days ago and Chip dragged him off to the family farm for some much-needed R & R.”

Mains raised an eyebrow. “Another one of ‘those’ missions?” he asked carefully. He was very aware of both Nelson’s and Crane’s occasional missions for ONI, the Office of Naval Intelligence.

Nelson cringed. “Would you believe that we were on a supposedly simple charting mission for NOAA, and I decided to sidetrack a bit to check out a weird anomaly in our findings?”

“Knowing you,” Mains grinned, “that makes perfect sense.” Nelson sent him a sheepish look. “It didn’t quite go as planned, I take it.”

“Understatement of the decade,” Nelson admitted, but he tried to change the subject and raised an eyebrow as the pair settled into chairs in the livingroom.

“The Lechner,” Mains named the submarine he commanded, “is in for some repairs and upgrades. I took Leave to visit family in Nevada, then decided to wander this direction and catch up on what mayhem our mutual favorite commander has been up to.” He sent Nelson a smirky grin.

“Saving my six. Again!” Nelson sent Mains a soft glare. “So no, you can’t steal him.”

“Heaven forbid,” Mains told him instantly, his hands raised. Both men ended up chuckling, but it was Main’s turn to send a raised eyebrow between the chairs.

“Tell you what,” Nelson admitted defeat with a shrug. “You change that clock,” he pointed to the offending reminder of what he couldn’t yet do, “while I go make coffee.”

~ ~ ~

“Skipper to the Conn,” came through the all-boat intercom in Chip’s calm voice, interrupting Lee’s conversation with a couple of off-duty JO’s in the Wardroom. He grabbed the last cookie off the plate Seaview’s chef had placed on the table the instant Lee sat down; he’d purposely left it, wondering if either Lt.’s Keeter or Bryson would take it. Now he stuffed it into a broad grin as he rose, sent them another nod, and headed forward in his usual brisk stride. While Chip pretty much always sounded calm no matter what chaos was happening around him, Lee could usually tell if his XO was under any kind of stress. This call sounded totally normal so Lee took the time to glance at all the crewmen and their instruments as he made his way from the aft hatch up to the chart table. The only things slightly abnormal were, Seaview was coming to a stop and COB Sharkey was standing in the Nose. Lee raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t think we’d get back to the rock formation the Admiral wanted to check out for a couple hours yet?” Lee asked the blond.

“Got sidetracked,” Chip told him, and nodded toward Sharkey just as Nelson came down the spiral stairs. “Knew where he was so notified him directly,” Chip told Lee with a slightly smug grin. Lee just shook his head and joined the other two at Seaview’s unique front windows.

Visible in the much shallower waters than they’d been travelling in was…something. Lee wasn’t sure and he turned toward his boss. “A wreck,” Nelson told him. “At least, that’s my best guess on minimal visual inspection.”

“A very old one,” Sharkey murmured.

“A wreck of what?” Lee questioned.

Nelson shrugged. “That,” he said, “will require further investigation.”

“Big surprise,” came softly from the chart table and three pairs of eyes turned to stare at Chip. Four pairs, actually, as Lt. James was also giving his XO a strange look. Chip cringed. “That wasn’t supposed to come out aloud,” came with lowered eyes. Snickers from the Nose matched grins around the Conn.

“What is this place?” Lee changed the subject away from Chip’s small oops by asking Nelson. “I don’t remember anything this shallow on the charts.”

“Has to be part of the Emperor Seamounts,” Nelson told him. “But you’re right; I don’t recall anything this close to the surface, either. At least, in this specific area of the seamounts. But then,” he told Lee with a sparkle in his eyes that was easily recognized by those who worked around him, “we haven’t often been in this area.”

“No, sir,” Lee agreed, already mentally adding several days to the charting mission they were currently on.

Nelson grinned; he easily recognized the expression on his captain’s face – that of resignation. Nelson was perfectly aware that he all too often threw a monkey wrench into Lee’s and Chip’s well-thought-out organization of missions. Heck, he was the boat’s owner; he could do anything he wanted! Not that he messed them up for no good reason. Merely his good reason. He was just extremely pleased that the pair ‘switched gears’ so easily. He knew that they knew how much he appreciated them both. He thought that, perhaps however, he didn’t tell them that often enough. “I’m quite sure that you and Chip have already planned on at least a couple of extra days this cruise,” he now told Lee.

The brunet nodded sheepishly. “Yes, sir.”

Nelson openly chuckled. “Sharkey,” he turned to the COB, “suppose you pre-flight FS1, and you and I will photograph this whole area from all sides. That will give me a better idea, hopefully, of what we’re actually looking at and maybe we’ll get a clue as to what that wreck might be. I’ll go grab a bunch of collection units, just in case.” Sharkey and Lee both grinned, causing Nelson to return it sheepishly. “Better to have them and not need them than the other way around. I’ll grab your flight jacket when I get mine.”

“Aye, aye, sir.” The COB stepped over to the Flying Sub’s upper hatch.

“Lee, you want to pilot?” Nelson asked. “Just in case I need Sharkey to help with collections,” he clarified.

It was Lee’s turn to grin sheepishly. The whole boat knew that Lee absolutely loved piloting Seaview’s bright yellow ‘offspring.’ “Sounds like a plan, sir,” he told his boss. With a nod to Chip, who had easily heard the conversation in the Nose, he headed up the stairs to grab his own flight jacket.

It was an easy trip for all three. This area of the seamounts chain was long dormant, the waters relatively calm since the weather topside was pleasant. Lee’s easy handling of the small craft made both Nelson’s photography and sample-taking trouble free. The last collection unit was filled almost before any of the three realized, but even this close there was no clue to what the wreck might be. Part of the problem, there was nothing much identifiable, merely a lot of bits and pieces, some loosely connected but not many. Nelson speculated that more could be buried in the soft top of the seamount but they didn’t try to retrieve anything with FS1’s arms.

“Ah,” Nelson started as Sharkey reported there were no more empty units, “I guess we go back.” His face and his voice were both a bit sheepish.

Lee chuckled softly. “One more trip around the top for photos?” he asked, his eyes bright with mischief.

Nelson laughed outright. “You just want to play some more with your favorite toy,” he teased.

“Yes, sir,” Lee easily agreed. They spent another twenty minutes before reluctantly returning to Seaview. Nelson and Sharkey went out the back hatch with the collection units, headed for Nelson’s lab, while Lee finished shutting down FS1 before joining Chip at the chart table. He called Seaman Patterson forward to take care of the still photos and video that Nelson had shot, then he and Chip kibitzed a bit about what of the area seemed to fascinate the Admiral. All either could do was shrug that one off, and Lee grabbed up the Duty Roster to make one of his casual ‘walkaboats’ before supper.

Conversation at the meal was mostly Nelson expounding on what he’d noticed as he transferred the water, soil, and mineral samples from the collection units to labeled containers to be studied later so that the collection units could be sterilized for future use. So far nothing had stood out as different or unusual. “With the exception of that particular seamount,” his voice held puzzlement, “this area of the Emperor Seamounts should be mostly guyots; extinct volcanoes that have eroded into tabletop mounts no closer to the surface than about 700 feet.” He sent Lee a look. “And that wreckage…” He paused to take a bite of food, and swallow it before continuing. “As much as the area has been studied, and it has,” he told Lee, with a glance that included Chip next to Lee and Will next to Nelson, “I don’t remember anything about a wreck.”

“It didn’t look new, from what I could see,” Chip offered.

“No,” Nelson confirmed.

“There are still active hotspots not that far away,” Lee pointed out. “This is still ‘Ring of Fire’ territory.” He referred to the active shifting of earth’s plates all around the edges of the Pacific Ocean that spawned earthquakes, and volcanic and tsunami activity leading to always present danger.

“True, Lee,” Nelson agreed. “But it’s also territory that remains under pretty constant observation, studied by any number of institutions around the world. I don’t remember reading or hearing about a seamount in this particular area that’s not as heavily eroded as the others, nor anything about a wreck.”

“Could an underwater wave have deposited a wreck in nearby deeper water on top of the mount?” Will asked.

Nelson pondered that one while he ate another bite. “Got me,” he admitted. “But nothing we saw today indicated that there was any recent activity strong enough to have caused something like that.”

“A puzzle for sure,” Lee offered.

Will shuddered before sending Nelson a stern look. “You and your puzzles,” was muttered ever so softly. Both Lee and Chip had to quickly bury snickers, and it was Nelson’s turn to look sheepish.

“Understood, Will.” Nelson hated puzzles; he wasn’t ever happy until he could find a solution. “So,” he sent a look across the table to his captain, “I spend the next bunch of hours studying the charts of the area and comparing them to the photographs we took. Hopefully something will start to make sense.”

Lee sent a carefully neutral look back. “I’ll tell Chief Sharkey to toss you out of your lab no later than 0100 hours. If you’re up later than that Jamie will whine when you want to dive the site in the morning.” Chip choked on the bite of food he was trying to swallow quickly before he coughed it across the table. Nelson sent Lee a quick glare before he had somewhat the same reaction to his captain’s slightly irreverent comment.

Will sent Lee a nod. “At least someone listens to my regulations. Although, it’s not usually you,” he told Lee bluntly. That snipe at the one person on the boat who most frequently ignored the CMO set both Chip and Nelson to laughing. Lee took another bite of his dinner with a slightly smug look, and Chip kicked him before all four concentrated on their plates.

It ended up being a quiet night. Lee passed by the Admiral’s lab just before 0100 on his way to his cabin and grinned when there were no lights showing. When he walked by Nelson’s cabin and saw lights still showing from the small crack under the door, however, the grin spread as he walked softly past.

It appeared once more, as he was just sitting down to breakfast, when Nelson walked into the Wardroom with his head buried in a handful of what turned out to be research charts of the area. “Anything interesting, sir?” he asked carefully, and the grin widened as it took his boss an extra few seconds to register the fact that someone had spoken to him. The quick glare that appeared on the older man’s face as he looked up instantly softened as he caught Lee’s expression.

“Harrumph,” Nelson muttered, merely for effect, and poured himself a mugful of coffee before sitting down in his usual place opposite Lee. “Puzzle upon puzzle upon more puzzles,” he told his captain, laid down the charts and all but polished off the coffee in one long draw. Glaring at the now nearly empty mug he walked over to refill it, but also this time picked up what he wanted from Cookie’s ample breakfast selections. “Unless our GPS is totally scrambled,” he started as he sat back down.

“Which it isn’t,” Lee assured him firmly.

Nelson sent him a nod. “There should be nothing between the Yomei and Kimmei Seamounts except guyots, the tops of which are all at least 600 feet below the surface.”

“We measured this one at just over 150 feet deep,” Lee repeated what he knew Nelson was already aware of. “No signs of recent upheaval in the entire area, but it’s not like something this out of place could go unnoticed.” More obviousness, but Nelson merely nodded.

“Exactly,” Nelson agreed between bites of baked eggs loaded with leeks and covered with a light caper sauce, hashbrowns, several types of bite-sized fruit, and toast. He glanced toward the passageway into the Galley where Seaview’s chef was standing. “Got a little carried away this morning?” he asked, pointing toward the slightly extravagant eggs.

Cookie shrugged. “The crew got scrambled.” He nodded as both Lee and Nelson grinned. “I was playing with a new recipe.”

Which explains why he’s watching Lee so closely, Nelson told only himself, to see if Lee likes it. Which was apparently the case as Lee took another large bite. “Definitely one to hang onto,” Nelson told the chef noncommittally, but with a slight nod in Lee’s direction that the younger man didn’t see. Cookie buried a grin and headed back into the Galley.

Apparently oblivious to the previous comment, although Nelson did wonder about the slightly strange expression on Lee’s face that he was having difficulties controlling, Lee asked, “Are you going to contact any of the research teams that have been here lately?”

“Right after breakfast, actually,” Nelson told him. “The couple of ‘feelers’ I sent out last evening gave me the names of several team leaders who have been in the area with ROV’s. I’ll try to get a timetable of who’s been where when.” He frowned. “That was an awkward sentence that I seem to have used before. Sorry.” He sent Lee a small smile.

Lee shrugged. “Made perfect sense to me, sir,” he said before stuffing the last bite of eggs in his mouth, and eying what was left in the heated pan.

“More in a minute,” Cookie called through the service port. Lee was just cleaning out the last of the original tray when Chip came through the door.

“Hey,” the blond growled.

“More coming,” Cookie cut off whatever Lee was about to growl back. Instead, he sent Chip a smirk and returned to his place at the table.

“Harrumph,” came softly from Chip’s direction.

“Now what have they done,” came from the door as Will walked in and caught the interplay between the two younger men. “Or do I want to know,” he added carefully.

Nelson laughed through his own portion of eggs, of which he had every intention of getting more once Cookie refilled the tray. “Boys being boys,” he told the doctor. It caused exactly what he intended – both Lee and Chip sent him small, bashful, grins. Cookie appearing with more eggs brought a stop to the momentary silliness, and Nelson caught Chip up on what they’d been discussing.

“It’s just barely possible,” Nelson theorized, “that somehow the ROV’s missed this one particular section.”

“But you’d think that depth finders on the surface boats would have spotted it,” Chip countered.

“You’d think,” Nelson agreed. “But stranger things have happened.”

Lee sent Chip a grin. “Leave it to Seaview’s front windows.” The other three men all nodded, Nelson quite smugly, which did not go unnoticed by the others.

“I do wonder about the wreckage almost more than the puzzle of the seamount,” Nelson switched gears, albeit only slightly. “We’re close enough to Japan, China, and Russia that it could belong to any of them.” His turn to shrug. “Or none of them,” he added.

“Hopefully bringing in a few pieces will give you a clue,” Lee told him. “I gather nothing so far in the soil samples you took yesterday, sir?”

Nelson shook his head as he headed to get more eggs. Cookie had really outdone himself this time! Once he sat back down he added, “Still some test results to get back. But so far nothing but what I would expect to find on the top of a guyot.”

“A who?” Will all but demanded.

Nelson chuckled. “When volcanic islands start to erode in more northerly latitudes, where reefs can’t form and evolve into atolls, they end up as guyots, basically another name for a flat-topped underwater seamount.”

“Thank you,” Will accepted the geology lesson easily as the others grinned, and headed to get his own second helping of eggs. Nelson glanced toward the service window and caught Cookie absolutely beaming before seeing Nelson and turning away.

“From the glimpses we got of the wreck, it looked like wood,” Lee offered. “Can’t be all that old if it hasn’t totally disintegrated.”

“I had a look at some of the pictures Pat developed before taking them to you,” Chip told Nelson. “My first thought was, a surface vessel broke up in a storm and only parts fell on the seamount. Or guyot,” he quickly corrected. Nelson grinned. “Everything else went into the deeper waters around.”

“And depending on what we find when we dive the guyot this morning,” Nelson told his XO, “we may do some further scouting around the base.” He paused to polish off his second portion of eggs and eyed the serving dish. No one said anything as Cookie came out of the Galley carrying a pan with scrambled eggs. He exchanged that for the one in the warmer tray, then brought what was left of the baked eggs over to the table. All four men raised their plates and Cookie divided up what remained between them. While his expression remained neutral all four officers had to bury grins as they polished off their meal.

“When would you like to dive, Admiral?” Lee asked after draining his coffee mug. “That deep we’ll be limited on time, even with the gas mix.”

Nelson nodded. “I’d use FS1 but I want to dig around in the top of the mount,” he sent Chip a quick grin for the less formal term, “and see what’s underneath the silt. If anything, other than the remains of volcanic rock,” he added with a frown. “I simply cannot justify the height having remained uncharted.”

“Somebody built an underwater structure on top of an old mount?” Lee asked.

“That thought had crossed my mind,” Nelson admitted. Chip whistled almost silently. “We’ve seen weirder,” Nelson told him.

“Unfortunately,” Chip muttered, frowning.

“About 0930,” Nelson finally answered Lee’s question. “It will take a little extra time to get gear sorted out.”

Lee nodded and stood. “I’ll get Chief Sharkey started,” he told Nelson and headed out.

Chip also stood. “I know you’re headed to the Conn,” Nelson told him offhand. “Would you rather join us on the dive?” It was understood by all that Lee would automatically assign himself to the dive team. While Chip enjoyed diving he did less of it than the others, preferring to stay in the Conn in case any craziness erupted; unfortunately, an all too frequent occurrence.

Chip hesitated ever so briefly. He might snap retorts to Lee when they were yanking each other’s chains but he was rarely that relaxed with the Admiral. However, “Someone has to stay aboard to put the pieces back together,” came out almost on its own, and Chip turned several shades of red as he straightened to Attention.

Will choked on a bite of food, but Nelson merely grinned and waved Chip off. The blond wasted little time exiting the Wardroom, and the door was firmly shut before Nelson let out the laughter he’d barely kept controlled. “Never a dull moment,” he told Will through the continued snickers. He sent the doctor a wink. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” It was Will’s turn to chuckle as Nelson polished off the last of his coffee and also left.

* * * *

Five men headed out through the dive chamber just after 0930 hours. The first out were Seamen Kowalski, Nielsen, and Marks. All armed with spear guns. Marks also carried a supply of collection bags, as did Lee who exited with Nelson once the others were out. Lee also grabbed a spear gun; Nelson sent him a raised eyebrow but didn’t argue. One, it wouldn’t have done any good – since Nelson had been kidnapped Lee’s security instincts had been raised to a whole new level! And two, with the anomaly of the seamount literally staring at them, it paid to take all the precautions they could. Nelson took several pieces of equipment, secured to his diving belt, to help excavate different parts around the upper level of the mount.

But, thankfully, all the precautions proved unnecessary. They had to dodge several different species of sharks but none proved overly aggressive. Nelson did smile to himself when he realized Chip was keeping Seaview’s front windows pointed directly to where he was working. He suspected Lee’s fine hand had something to do with the maneuver but it wouldn’t have surprised him at all to find that it was entirely Chip’s idea. Nelson said nothing over the speaker, merely continued to give the other divers instructions about what he was doing and which direction he was headed in next. But he returned to Seaview – reluctantly to be sure as breathing tanks were depleted – with few answers. He wasn’t at all surprised to find both Chip and Will in the Missile Room upon his return to the giant submarine, and updated both as he sat down and removed his diving gear.

“Nothing,” he sent an almost snarl towards Seaview’s CMO when Will looked his direction. “I used the longest drill bit I have and still came up with nothing more than silt and basalt.” He waved a hand towards Seaman Marks as the other three divers exited the diving hatch, they having waited for Nelson and Lee to come in first. Marks was loaded down with nearly a dozen collection bags. “Exactly what I would expect to find.” He finally relaxed and sent Will a small smile. “And not what I wanted to,” he admitted.

“I gather we’re not moving from this spot for the foreseeable future.” Will knew his boss all too well. There was a soft snort from Chip’s direction as he helped Lee off with his gear, and Lee nodded as well. “The wreckage?” Will now asked.

Nelson shrugged. “Brought in several pieces, a couple from the top, and one I found a bit further down the side. All are wood of some kind. I suspect we’ll find more around the base of the mound. I need to figure out what kind of wood; that might help determine what it’s from. Or not,” he shrugged again. “Could just be flotsam that floated this far on the surface before finally sinking.” He glanced up. “You don’t usually concern yourself with these kinds of details.”

Will sniffed. “I think you’re starting to rub off on me.” He sent Nelson a slight glare. “Not necessarily a good thing,” and he turned and left the Missile Room to the sound of a good many badly muffled chuckles. Nelson just shook his head and finished getting dressed.

He got quick grins from both Lee and Lt. James, Chip’s Second most often in the Conn, when he came down the spiral stairs about an hour later. Chip had his ‘XO on Duty’ expression under firm control. Sort of; Nelson did see his lips twitch ever so slightly. He gave his head a quick shake and joined Lee, standing at the windows looking at the seamount. Seaview, he could feel, was descending ever so slowly. From his lab he’d heard Lee give the orders for all instrumentation to be put on high gain as the submarine headed for the base of the mount. The bottom was below Seaview’s crush depth – they’d have to use FS1 for the final part. But Lee was making as much use of the submarine’s unique features as he could, scanning the puzzling underwater structure.

“So far, sir, nothing unusual,” he reported to the OOM. He nodded toward the controls for the forward cameras, where Patterson was standing. “We’re taking pictures as we go.”

“Excellent,” Nelson told him, with a nod toward the seaman. “Nothing so far in my tests. The wood is Indian mahogany, easily available in most places and highly prized by boat builders.”

Lee nodded. “Age, sir?” he asked.

“Undetermined so far. Doesn’t seem to be very old, but mahogany is prized for its longevity.” Lee nodded. “So far, the pieces we brought in don’t look to have been joined together with anything else.”

“Maybe a barge of lumber capsized in a storm?” Lee theorized.

Nelson shrugged. “I’d think we’d find bundles were that the case. But at this point, anything’s possible.”

“Six hundred feet,” Chip called out. He ordered the outside lights to be turned on as they were starting to lose surface light, and nudged Seaview slightly closer to the seamount’s side. There wasn’t much to see other than what appeared to be merely the decaying sides of a multi-million-year-old dead volcano; Nelson relayed off-hand that the other seamounts in this general area were estimated to be in the fifty-million-year-old range.

“Could this one,” Lee offered, “have been bigger than others, so has taken longer to disintegrate?”

“In which case it should be one of the named guyots, and even more frequently studied,” Nelson countered.

“Another theory shot down in flames,” came ever so softly from the chart table. Lee turned and glared at his occasionally obnoxious XO as Nelson chuckled and softly backhanded Lee’s shoulder in the casual way he often used to express friendship – not necessarily only between he and Lee. Lee did notice that Lt. James was missing and glanced at his watch. Nearly 1145 hours. “Sent Chris off to eat,” Chip seemed to read his mind. “He’ll be back shortly.”

“When he does,” Nelson told him before Lee could do anything except nod, “he can hold station while we eat. Including Patterson,” he sent a smile the seaman’s way, “before going any deeper.”

“Yes, sir,” Chip and Lee answered in stereo, and sent each other a quick grin.

Which had all three officers entering the Wardroom at 1210 hours, just as Will was sitting down to a plate of cold turkey sandwich, dilled chicken pasta salad (Nelson had to bury a snicker – that was one of Lee’s favorites. Perhaps Cookie was trying to fatten Lee up) and a fruit medley. Both younger men deferred to Nelson and let him dish up his lunch first, and he was careful to keep a benign expression on his face as he took a healthy portion of the salad – it was one of his favorites as well.

Talk at the table was general boat’s business, with just enough kibitzing about the seamount to spark Will’s interest. He wandered forward just as Seaview resumed her slow descent. Book in hand, he settled against the starboard bulkhead where he usually sat, keeping an eye both out the windows and into the Conn.

“Not reading your book,” Lee teased him at one point, as once more he and Nelson were watching out the front.

“It’s starting slowly,” the doctor told him, “and not grabbing my interest.” Lee glanced and saw the title, ‘Still Life’, by an author’s last name of Penney. Will shrugged. “I’m sure it will get better. At least,” he muttered, “Lu-Tsi says it does.” Both Lee and Nelson grinned at mention of Will’s wife. ***

Chip had just called out the 800-foot level when Nelson’s eyes caught something. “All stop,” he ordered, and it was instantly repeated by Chip. Nelson walked over to the camera screen where he could adjust to a closer view. Lee followed him over, but couldn’t figure out what had caught his boss’ eye.

“Sir?” he asked.

Nelson touched a spot on the screen. “What does that look like to you?”

“A rock,” Lee told him honestly. Will snickered as Nelson frowned.

“A rock that shouldn’t be there,” the OOM told his captain. “I can’t be sure until I bring it in, but that looks more like granite than basalt.”

Lee wasn’t sure how the Admiral could see the difference through the camera lens but then, that’s what being a genius meant. “Too deep to dive; we’ll have to retrieve it with FS1,” he stated the obvious. “If the wood we’ve found is from an old ship this could be some kind of ballast stone.”

Nelson nodded. “That would make the most sense.” Lee sent Chip a nod and headed to pre-flight the small Flying Sub as Nelson headed up the stairs to retrieve his and Lee’s flight jackets.

What should have taken them only moments to zip out and retrieve the rock with FS1’s arms ended up being a study in patience. Not one of Nelson’s strong points at the best of times. First, the currents which had until now been fairly easy for the submarine to handle suddenly got stronger and threatened to yank the smaller craft every which way but where Lee wanted her to go. Then, when they were finally near enough to their target for Nelson to reach out with one of FS1’s arms to grab it, he discovered that it was much larger than he’d originally thought.

“An iceberg,” Lee said out loud, although mostly to himself. “Nine-tenths underneath and only one tenth showing.” Nelson agreed with a short grunt before activating the second arm and started trying to unbury the rest. That’s when they discovered that it wasn’t granite, but some kind of concrete. And also that it was too big to bring aboard, let alone even pick up. A few words came out of Nelson’s mouth that Lee carefully chose not to listen to.

“Humm,” Nelson finally stopped glaring. “Head back to Seaview,” he ordered Lee, then called the sub himself to have Chief Sharkey grab some specific tools and have him join them. Once that was accomplished, Lee moved back to the ‘rock’ and held the small machine as steady as possible while Nelson and Sharkey, working together, managed to chip off a small enough chunk that they could then grab and bring aboard. At Nelson’s nod, Lee once more docked FS1 in her hold.

Nelson and Sharkey headed immediately to Nelson’s lab with their ‘prize.’ Once Lee finished shutting down the smaller craft he joined Chip at the chart table. He could only shrug at the blond’s raised eyebrow. “We’ll hear when he’s ready to tell us,” Lee told both Chip and Lt. James. They stayed at the current depth but backed Seaview away a hundred yards from the seamount, and Lee headed out on one of his ‘walkaboats’ until he had further orders.

None came before supper, but Nelson was only half a minute behind Lee and Chip getting to the Wardroom. He answered Lee’s instant but silent question with “High density concrete,” but then had to bury a grin. Tonight’s entrée was broiled salmon, with scalloped potatoes topped with bacon strips, mixed greens salad, green beans, and fresh whole wheat rolls. Cookie was definitely up to something! Heaven only knew what dessert would be. Lee only nodded at Nelson’s short answer, waiting until they were all seated before a look encouraged Nelson to expand the explanation. “No indication that the block was attached in any way to the mount, only so large that we couldn’t budge it.”

“Too large to be a ballast stone,” Lee hypothesized. “Fell off a barge? Or the wood we’ve been finding is what’s left of a barge.”

“But where would a barge be headed, in this part of the ocean, sir?” Chip wanted to know.

“Between Japan and Alaska would be the logical answer,” Nelson told him.

“Since when has logic had anything to do with Seaview missions?” was grumbled from the doorway as Will walked in. Both Lee and Chip snickered

“Now Will,” Nelson started, but had to work hard to control his own expression, “we don’t purposely do illogical projects.”

“Harrumph,” the doctor growled, in perfect imitation of one of Nelson’s favorite responses, and headed to dish up his dinner. Once he was seated in his usual spot next to Nelson he sent his boss a small glare. “Couldn’t prove that by me,” came out before he stuffed his mouth with food. Both Lee and Chip cracked up, and Nelson sent his CMO a smile and a nod.

“Does seem like that from time to time,” he agreed. “But more often than not we do come up with a logical ending.” Will merely shrugged, and Lee turned the conversation back to the present.

“Any way to trace the concrete, sir?” he asked Nelson.

“Working on it,” the older man responded between bites. He was getting curious about Cookie’s motives for the somewhat elaborate meals. He hadn’t noticed that Lee was losing weight – that would always set the chef’s mind toward preparing Lee’s favorite foods. And really, nothing that Cookie had fixed, with the exception of the new breakfast item, was anything he didn’t do anyway. Just, usually, not all three meals in a single day.

But he had more pressing puzzles at the moment. “As I said, it’s a form of high-density concrete. It has several uses, but the one most concerning use is in the construction of atomic power plants, as the heavy weight aggregate used makes a structure more resistant to all possible types of radiation.”

“Oh, that’s just dandy,” came softly from Will’s direction.

“There are other applications,” Nelson added quickly. “Even hospitals use it for shielding in the construction of their oncology departments.” Will uttered a soft snort. “Universities use it in research facilities,” Nelson continued. “It’s used in off-shore drilling to cover underwater pipelines; for the bottom layer of bridges, and other underwater structures…”

“Domes on top of seamounts?” Lee asked carefully.

Nelson sent him a quick glare. “Not that I’ve heard of that ever happening,” he told his captain slowly and firmly. “But yes,” he admitted, “that would totally make sense.”

“Oh, goody,” Will mumbled.

This time it caused Nelson to smile. “What’s got you in such a ‘wonderful’ mood this evening?” he asked, purposeful amusement in his voice. Lee sent the doctor a quick grin as Chip had to bury a snicker.

Will frowned, but finally answered. “Switched from the book to a medical journal article I’ve been avoiding reading because of who wrote it,” came out in almost a snarl. “The man’s a blithering idiot!”

“Then why read it, Jamie,” Lee asked in his quiet way. “If you knew you weren’t going to like it…” He stopped as Will sent him one of the nastiest glares any of the three men had ever seen on their CMO’s face.

“I can’t write a rebuttal without having read it first,” Will spit out, before his expression turned from nasty to evil. “Three pages of notes later…” and the smile he sent around the table was scarier than the glare.

“Help,” came softly from Chip’s direction. It was Nelson’s turn to snicker softly.

“More exploration of the mount, sir?” Lee got back on track.

“Most definitely.” Nelson returned to the main topic as well. “Chip, let’s go as close to the base as you can take Seaview.”

“In this area,” Chip answered, also back to business, “about a thousand feet from the bottom. FS1 can easily handle the rest.”

“Tonight, sir?” Lee asked.

Nelson took a deep breath and let it out slowly. With a quick half-nod in Will’s direction that the doctor didn’t catch but Lee and Chip did he told them, “As much as I want answers, I think we’ll hold off until tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, sir,” came back in unison.

* * * *

Nelson wasn’t sure what he’d have as food selections the next morning, but found things back to normal: blueberry pancakes, hashbrowns, both link and patty sausage, and cantaloupe. He was also a bit surprised not to find either Lee or Chip there.

“They already ate, sir,” came from the Galley doorway and Higgins, Cookie’s assistant, poked his head out. “They seemed in a bit of a hurry.” He sent Nelson a quick nod. “But they both ate plenty.”

Nelson gave him an off-hand wave and dished up his own meal, smiling that there was no doubt Higgins had been talking about Lee and Chip, and wanting Nelson to know that, despite plans for the day causing them to be up early, they’d both not neglected the meal in any way. Typical Cookie worrying over his charges, and typical Higgins backing him up. Nelson’s grin spread.

It faded as Will walked in just as Nelson was sitting down. The doctor also hesitated, looking around, but nodded when Nelson explained that Lee and Chip had already eaten and were no doubt in the Conn planning strategy for the day. Will filled his own plate and sat down opposite of Nelson, where Lee usually sat. Nelson hesitated but finally asked carefully, “Rebuttal paper written?”

Will snarled out a couple of grunts but finally nodded. “Needs some editing to smooth out a couple areas I…”

“Wasn’t overly tactful?”

Will sent him a glare. “That’s close enough.”

Nelson grinned. “Can’t remember when I’ve seen you that ticked,” he offered good-naturedly. Will Jamison was one of the calmest, most level-headed men Nelson had ever met. That’s why he was so perfect as Seaview’s CMO; he took what came at him – and there had been some doozys – with calm calculation and strategy for a favorable outcome. He buried a quick grin. Mostly, he told himself. There has been a time or three, usually caused by Lee… He gave himself a shake. And nearly as often by me.

Apparently he’d not buried the grin well. “Whatever you’re thinking, Admiral,” Will muttered darkly, “I don’t want to know!”

Nelson snorted. “Actually I was just thinking about what an excellent choice I’d made for Seaview’s CMO.”

“Harrumph,” came out grumpily, but Will did finally send his boss a quick smile. But the frown came back just as quickly. “What disasters should I be preparing Sick Bay for today?”

Nelson choked on a bite of food. “Chill, as Chip would tell you. We’re merely continuing to check the sides of the guyot for anomalies until we are no longer comfortable with the depth. Then Lee, Sharkey, and I will take FS1 down to the bottom. We’ll come up the opposite side, meet up with Seaview, and work our way back up.” He shrugged. “Not sure after that. Perhaps more diving where it’s not too deep. What we find – if anything – will determine further actions.”

“Business as usual,” Will translated, still frowning. But it seemed to Nelson that the doctor’s mood lightened at least a little, and the pair kibitzed fairly good-naturedly. Once finished, Will headed back to Sick Bay while Nelson hit his lab for last minute test results, then headed to the Conn. He hadn’t felt Seaview change positions so figured that Lee was waiting for Nelson’s presence before continuing to inspect the guyot.

They didn’t descend quite so slowly this morning as they had the previous afternoon, and hit Seaview’s maximum comfortable depth just before 1200 hours. Nelson suspected Lee and Chip of having collaborated on that before he’d joined them in the Conn. Or perhaps Chip had done it on his own, as he announced the depth and suggested lunch before starting to pre-flight FS1. Yep, Nelson told himself, from the expression on Lee’s face it was definitely a Chip maneuver, and sent the blond a nod and a smile as he approved the plan. Another person he was so extremely proud to have aboard Seaview.

He nearly laughed out loud as he headed for the Wardroom, Lee and Chip half a minute behind as they stayed in the Conn to give a few orders and start setting up for the afternoon. Admiral Jiggs Stark, ComSubPac, and one of Nelson’s oldest friends, was still ticked at him for swiping Chip out of Jiggs’ chain of command and hiring him as Seaview’s first – and only – Executive Officer. Jiggs, it seemed, had early on recognized the blond’s knowledge of the computer sciences, and the knack for organizing anything.

The same qualities Nelson had himself recognized, as well as Chip’s ability to remain calm under the craziest of situations. Nelson’s smile increased; Chip didn’t always consider himself to be all that calm under pressure. But give him an assignment – or even something he simply assumed to be important – and there was never a worry that it wouldn’t be totally accomplished. With as much completion and perfection as a person could expect!

The grin, now a smirk, was still on Nelson’s face as he walked into the Wardroom. “Help!” came instantly, and Nelson noticed Will already seated at the table in his normal spot.

Nelson burst out laughing. “You have no idea what I was thinking about,” he challenged the doctor between continued chuckles, and headed to pick up his own meal.

“Nor do I want to,” Will sniped back. But he, too, finally smiled. The pair had become good friends since Will had come to NIMR. While they didn’t tease each other nearly as often as they grinned when Lee and Chip did the same thing, it was still a comfortable relationship that both appreciated greatly.

Nelson gave his head a shake as he sat down next to Will. “Merely giving myself a pat on the back for having the foresight to surround myself with competent employees.”

“What’s Lee done now?”

“Chip,” Nelson corrected, but didn’t explain as the two younger men entered the Wardroom. Will sent him a nod, and they both concentrated on their meal until joined by the others. “No last-minute disasters, I take it.” Nelson directed the comment toward Chip, causing Lee to raise an eyebrow. Nelson merely smiled.

“No, sir,” Chip told him, with only a moment’s hesitation. “Just thought that I’d have Patterson give a quick once-over to all the photographic instruments aboard FS1. Kowalski’s doing the pre-flight while Chief Sharkey is also eating. Wasn’t sure how long you’d be out.”

“Perfect,” Nelson told him, with another private smile that did not go unnoticed by the others. But the subject was dropped as Lee asked Nelson if he’d learned anything more about the origins of the concrete.

Nelson shook his head. “Nothing specific. I’m still waiting to hear back from Dewey.” He referenced Dewey Caudill, NIMR’s head of Security, and a man who had friends everywhere. Or so it always seemed whenever anyone was in need of intel of any sort. “I asked him to check with companies who specialize in this form of high-density concrete, see if anyone would admit to a shipment of some having traveled anywhere near here.”

“You’re still thinking a load got dumped in a storm?”

Nelson sighed. “Hoping would be a better word,” he admitted.

“Yes, sir,” Lee agreed. “That would be the most agreeable answer.” There were nods and a couple of mutters from Will and Chip.

Nelson squared his shoulders. “We’ll deal with whatever we find,” he assured the others firmly.

“Yes, sir,” Lee told him. “We usually do,” he added with a quick straightening of his spine. The rest of the meal was finished mostly in silence.

With FS1’s greater maneuverability they were able to stay closer to the side of the guyot. Not that it made much of a difference; there was still not much to see beyond what they would expect to find. Nelson was dividing his attention between the front windows and the camera view screen as Lee eased the small craft deeper, expounding to both Lee and Sharkey – whether they wanted to hear it or not, although both were very used to Nelson’s excitement of anything underwater-related – about recent discoveries made in the Sea of Okhotsk. Expeditions from mainly Japan and Russia, but including other countries as well, had discovered upwards of 500 new species. “Oh,” he hedged, “they are mostly similar to other deep-water species found in both Antarctica and the northern Atlantic.” Excitement still showed on his face, and the other two smiled broadly. “But so many were previously unknown, and especially in this area.” He paused. “Maybe it’s not so weird to find this so far unidentified guyot.”

“Anything’s possible, sir,” Lee answered carefully, causing Nelson to send him a quick grin. “What kinds of life did they find?”

Nelson almost laughed out loud at Lee’s way of telling Nelson he was prepared for an oceanographic biology lesson that he could probably care less about, but knew Nelson would enjoy tremendously. But he carefully controlled his expression, and kept his enthusiasm to a reasonable level. “Mostly, because of the extreme pressure at this depth, single-celled organisms. But also, small crustaceans, mollusks, echinoderms, and various worms and fish.” He gave the others a broad smile. “But all extremely exciting!”

“Yes, sir,” came back respectfully from both Lee and Sharkey.

Nelson smothered a snort and went back to his visual inspection. He did request stops along the way to collect samples; Sharkey had stowed several boxes of collection units. But it still only took them just under two hours to reach the seafloor.

There, things took a turn for the weird. Not an unusual phenomenon for the crew of Seaview. But it always caused a moment of consternation, and lots of extra caution, before executing any more plans. In this case the three men, in their machine, just sat and stared for a few minutes. There, canted slightly by the slope of the terrain but still sitting almost upright, was what looked like the derrick of a drilling rig. Nothing else around it, although the base looked to be settled into the soft silt of ocean bottom.

“Okaaay,” Nelson drawled out. “There have been reports speculating the possibility of gold and silver deposits in the Kuril Trench, but…”

“That’s not exactly a mining rig,” Sharkey muttered the obvious.

“Nor are we all that close to the Trench,” Lee added. “And even if the claims turn out to be true…”

“Exactly,” Nelson finished Lee’s thought. He drew in a large expanse of air and let it out slowly. “Okay.” This time it came out crisply. “Make a circle around the base,” he ordered, and Lee once more put the craft in motion.

But nothing out of place turned up, with the exception of another large concrete block. No wood, although as Lee pointed out carefully at one point, smaller pieces like they’d found at the top could be buried in the soft silt. “Harrumph,” Nelson growled and the circumnavigation of the mount continued. Once back at the derrick Nelson took a bunch of pictures, Lee moving FS1 so the Admiral could view it from all sides, before they returned to Seaview, this time on the opposite side of the mount from where they descended, taking more photos and collections as they went. It was nearly 1945 hours before Lee secured FS1 into her docking clamps.

Sharkey started to gather up the collection units but Nelson told him that could wait until after their delayed supper. Lee shared a quick look with the COB; no one had thought to bring coffee along and he suspected the Admiral was having caffeine withdrawals. After a quick check with Chip, still in the Conn although Lt. O’Brien was already there, ready to take “C” watch, all three headed for the Wardroom, Nelson telling Sharkey that it was easier for Cookie – or more likely Higgins at this hour – to serve the Chief a hot meal there than in the Crews’ Mess. Chip tagged along, just because.

Cookie, it seemed, hadn’t taken well to ‘his’ officers missing the meal, and instantly appeared with prepared trays of pork chops smothered in mushroom sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, and apple sauce. Lee sent Chip a raised eyebrow but the blond didn’t confirm that he’d called the Galley the instant FS1 neared the submarine. Lee shrugged, they both grinned, and sat down. Cookie brought an extra piece of chocolate cake, that night’s dessert, for Chip, to grins from the others.

“Could the derrick not be a derrick?” Chip asked as discussion revolved around what they’d found. “Could it have been part of a crane of some sort?” Sharkey snickered and Lee sent his XO a quick glare for the accidental – or not – play on words, but Nelson’s expression was thoughtful.

“I didn’t think so at the time,” he admitted. “But if the top arm was missing…” He looked at Lee. “Loaded to a barge to place the concrete blocks on the mount?”

Lee shrugged. “At this point your guess is as good as mine, sir.”

“We definitely need a better look around the top part of that mount,” came forcefully from the older man.

“Yes, sir.” Lee agreed.

* * * *

There was speculation at breakfast the next morning; Nelson figured that both Lee and Chip had spent at least part of the night postulating instead of sleeping. He wasn’t about to comment since he’d barely slept at all for that very reason. “Could some country have built, or at least tried to build, some sort of listening station out here surreptitiously?” Chip asked his boss. “We blasted the top of the mount with sonar, but if it was built using those concrete blocks nothing would have shown up except solid rock.”

“Which in itself is something of an anomaly,” Nelson told him, “since the inside of the guyot should be more porous basalt.” Chip nodded.

“But wouldn’t using that grade of concrete also inhibit instrumentation of any sort getting a signal out?” Lee asked.

“Unless they – whoever ‘they’ are – wanted the instruments themselves shielded but were planning on external antennas.”

“Interesting place for intel-gathering. Russia, China, Japan, Korea, all not that far away.” Lee frowned. “North Korea…” He didn’t finish the thought as Chip and Nelson both nodded. But suddenly he sat up straight, his expression a dark frown.

“Lee?” Nelson asked, almost carefully. He, as well as Chip and Will, stopped eating and all but held their breath – it wasn’t often they saw that look on Lee’s face, and it usually boded no good for someone!

This time Lee looked at his boss, although not with anger. “Did you ever hear any more about what that strange bit of manmade island was we found? Just before it blew up.**** Sir,” wasn’t exactly an afterthought, but the slight pause before it caused the other three, once the word was out, to release the tension that had instantly grabbed them when Lee stiffened.

“As if it never happened,” Nelson told him, his voice filled with frustration. “I’ve asked a couple of times, finally gave up. No one claims to even know where to find the original copy of my report, with the pictures I took.” He sent a small smirk to the others. “Thankfully I kept copies of everything.” Will snorted softly as Lee and Chip nodded.

“You think this has something to do with that?” Chip asked Lee. “Totally different area of the ocean.”

“Little hard to make an island look natural in this area, with enough foliage on top to hide an installation.”

“So they hide it in the top of a seamount?” Chip expressed doubt.

“Or tried to,” Nelson opinioned. “Although, everything looks too natural to have been messed with that much.”

“Good landscapers,” Will offered in his dry way.

“Something is for sure going on,” Nelson grumbled. “And I will get to the bottom of it one way or another.”

“The top, not the bottom,” Will told him. “You’ve already been to the bottom and found nothing.” That caused quick grins from Lee and Chip, which they instantly buried in their meal. Nelson sent his CMO a quick glare but finally concentrated on his plate as well, his lips twitching ever so slightly.

“Dive team ready when, sir?” Lee asked after a few moments.

“Humm,” Nelson seemed to ponder, although Lee had a feeling Nelson had already given the action a fair amount of thought. “Make it 0930 hours. And I want a full team, men with drilling equipment to check as much area as time and depth allows, and each one with an armed escort.”

“Yes, sir,” came back instantly. Both he and Chip quickly finished eating and headed out. Even before Nelson and Will finished eating there were calls to specific crewmen to report to the Missile Room for new orders and instructions.

“Does it ever get boring, Admiral,” Will asked with a quick grin, “the ability to give orders and have them so instantly carried out?”

Nelson smirked. “I’ve seen you around Med Bay,” he told his CMO.

Will nodded with a slightly sheepish expression before another frown appeared. “Just wish it would work that well in Sick Bay,” he grumbled and all but glared at his boss.

Nelson had the good sense to acknowledge Will’s battles with Lee, Chip, and even himself when what they wanted to do differed from what Will ordered them to do. “Got to have some constants in the world,” he said softly with half a smile. Will all but growled, and the pair finished their meal in silence.

The Missile Room was fairly packed when Nelson walked in just before 0915 hours. As many extra air and gas-mix tanks that could be put into service were lined up and being double-checked. One bench was covered with small hand-held drilling equipment, another with every speargun on the boat. Lee and Sharkey were going over what appeared to be a hastily drawn map of the area, assigning teams of two to as many locations as Lee felt safe, considering the depth and limited time the gas-mix would let them stay out. Nelson glanced at it only briefly before changing into his own gear, trusting Lee to have the dive under as much control as possible under the unknown circumstances. As teams started to peel off and gather gear, Sharkey came over to finish helping Nelson get ready. “Dive master?” Nelson asked him.

“Yes, sir. Got everything and everyone as organized and prepared as they’re likely to get.”

Nelson nodded. “Understood. How long after we get back in will the tanks be recharged, just in case?”

“The Skipper and I were just working on that. I’ll have a crew standing by the instant you all start coming in. Call it an hour, but 90 minutes would be safer.”

“And two hours would give all the divers a bit of a break before they’d possibly have to go back out.” Nelson sent his COB a quick smile.

“Yes, sir, “Sharkey agreed. “Might help calm the Skipper down a bit as well,” was said so quietly that only Nelson could hear.

“Possibly,” Nelson agreed. But privately he had his doubts that Lee would calm down at all until they had hard facts to answer all the questions that had been raised these last few days. Maybe not even then, Nelson told only himself, depending on what those facts turn out to be.

When everyone was ready they started packing as many people into the dive chamber as they could get at one time, to get everyone out as fast as possible. Nelson was impatient, but allowed Lee to talk him into going out last so that as much protection as possible was already in place. But once out Nelson noted that teams had immediately scattered to cover their assigned areas and Lee quickly pointed to the area he’d given Nelson, closest to the side where Seaview sat parked but nearly 240 feet deep.

They made their way carefully, adjusting their breathing mixtures the deeper they went and noting the other divers they could see doing the same. While every person who served aboard a submarine had to know how to dive safely, Seaview was unique in that, because NIMR could hire independently of the Navy, she carried more Expert and Master divers. More were needed to handle the scientific studies that were her usual missions, which also explained why she carried so much diving equipment and deep diving gas mixtures, so that her crewmen were as prepared as possible for whatever challenges they faced.

But this was a bit extreme for even Seaview. Nelson was very happy to have staffed his boat the way he had, but wasn’t taking for granted that even they could figure this mess out.

His first act upon reaching the area Lee had assigned to him was to try and brush away the layer of silt that covered what should be basalt rock underneath, remnants of the long-dead volcano that had originally formed the seamount. He’d done a bit of that when he’d made his first dive, but this time he really worked at it, although trying to be careful so as not to ‘muddy’ the water and destroy visibility, and was rewarded by finding not basalt but concrete. “We hit concrete,” Lee called out over the dive channel. “Everyone, stay sharp.”

Nelson almost smiled. There wasn’t a man out on this dive, nor many still aboard the sub, that wouldn’t by now be aware of how on edge their Skipper had become. Chip, too, he suspected, and knew that whoever was on duty in the Conn would be extra sharp in their duties to avoid anything they did – or didn’t do – setting off the tempers of their Senior Officers!

The calls that went out from teams over the next several minutes were a mix of “So far, nothing,” and “Only rock here,” so what happened next was totally unexpected. Nelson was working outwards from the spot he’d been brushing, trying to find the edges of the block. Lee was hovering slightly above him, watching out for non-friendly wildlife and also watching the couple of teams he could see – one to his left and another maybe 40 feet almost directly above. There were a couple of calls over the dive channel from teams out of sight saying that they were still only finding basalt and silt. Lee knew that part of Sharkey’s job was noting which team was finding what, and moving them to slightly different areas to search further as long as their air supplies were within safe limits of getting back to the sub.

“Now what?” Lee heard Nelson mutter. He looked down to find that the Admiral had indeed reached an edge of the block, but then hit only basalt. He settled next to his boss since so far there weren’t any unfriendlies in the immediate area and started brushing where, from the size of the block they’d found, there should be another edge. Nelson did the same with where a third side should be. A quick glimpse upward showed Marks and Henderson, the team above them, seeming to do the same thing although Lee hadn’t heard them say anything. Not totally unusual as the pair were often dive buddies and could work easily without much actual conversation, just as he and Nelson were doing now.

He hit an edge about the same time as Nelson, also merely finding rock, and they both went to work finding the fourth side. Once found, they pulled back a foot or so and stared at the block. It was much the same as the one Nelson had taken a sample of, but where that one was more a cube of solid concrete, this one seemed to be only a few inches thick – just a slab, seemingly placed against the side of the mount. Lee glanced at Nelson and the pair tried to get a firm grip on the top edge and pull it free. Stuck fast! Nelson let out a soft growl, Lee grinned, and both braced themselves better and tried again. Nothing – not even a tiny wiggle.

“Fastened somehow?” Lee postulated.

“Got me,” Nelson told him, and the pair worked to expose more of the edges all the way around.

But before they made much progress Marks called out, “Admiral, you’d better see this,” and both Lee and Nelson started up the side of the mount. Lee could see Marks watching Henderson who looked to be just starting to drill right next to the straight edge of what was apparently another concrete block. He’d actually expected the Admiral of doing the same thing before getting Marks’ call. He glanced at his dive meter – still enough air to do that if what Henderson found didn’t take too long.

Nelson was sort of scrambling up the last few feet of seamount to join the other two, Lee floating several feet away from the side but level with his boss, when Henderson’s drill seemed to suddenly go through whatever he was working on. It startled the man and he let out an undetermined sound just as what appeared to be the entire block of concrete seemed to explode off the face of the mount with great force, smacking Nelson dead center in the chest. Marks and Henderson, slightly to each side, were also struck but with more glancing blows. Lee was far enough away that he didn’t get hit except with water pressure, but that was enough to knock him backwards. The water was instantly filled with silt and gravel, blocking visibility beyond more than a few inches.

“Admiral,” Lee shouted as soon as he once more had control of himself, but was drowned out by more blasts, thankfully seeming to be mostly contained inside the mount. But they further disturbed the water and reduced visibility even more. The dive channel was instantly filled with so many voices that it was hard to make out individual comments. Lee tried to get to where he’d last seen Nelson but could find nothing but water and grit. Fearing the worst, he assumed that Nelson was sinking, stunned or perhaps even unconscious, incapable of swimming, and he headed down through the murky mess. He was barely aware of Chip’s voice cutting through everyone else’s, ordering all divers to check on their closest crewmates, then everyone get back to Seaview with the exception of pairs closest to where Nelson, Lee, Marks, and Henderson had been. Henderson finally got through that he and Marks were a little stunned but basically okay, but that Nelson had been hit full force, had no idea about Lee and, with instant lack of visibility, could see neither of them.

“Lee!” Chip instantly shouted.

“I’m fine,” Lee managed to get out, although even he could hear the tremor in his voice. “Headed down after the Admiral. He must be stunned because he’s not answering.” He ignored everything else. Experienced Master Diver that he was, he still gave no thought to how much deeper he was going. He had only one thing on his mind – find Nelson!

It took forever, although later he figured that it hadn’t actually been more than a minute, tops, before his outstretched hands, searching through the muck his eyes couldn’t, touched neoprene and he grabbed onto an unresponsive arm. “I’ve just got hold of the Admiral,” he called out, hoping that his voice would cut through the rest of the traffic. “He’s not moving. Can’t see my meter but I don’t think he fell a whole lot deeper than where we were originally. Coming up.” He hesitated. “Could use some help,” he admitted.

Half a dozen voices responded to that most unusual comment coming from their Skipper, and while the water was still too cloudy to see very far, several hands grabbed him and Nelson at about the same time. Lee tried to rouse his boss, gently shaking the arm he maintained contact with and trying to get a response to increasingly distress-filled questions. Nielsen’s voice told him – and everyone else glued to the dive channel – “He’s breathing, sir. I just felt air bubbles from his regulator.”

At that Lee let out his own deep breath. He had no idea that his body had gotten so tense, or that the expulsion of air was that noticeable, but instantly another hand had hold of him. Surprising even himself, he didn’t argue as he and Nelson were guided gently but swiftly back to Seaview.

Half a dozen divers waited outside the hatch, hanging quietly in the water but all keeping watch in different directions. All with spearguns, Lee noted, although there was no outward appearance of threat.

Well, Lee thought, unless you considered an underwater explosion from unknown sources a threat. He shook his head and it finally sunk in that Sharkey had wanted the chamber clear so that Nelson could be brought in immediately on arrival, not having to wait a second longer than necessary. But it was also clear who the COB had chosen to wait for their turn.

Nor was there any delay once inside. The water had barely drained before the hatch was opened. Lee had maintained a grip on Nelson, as had Nielsen, with Lewis having let go of Lee but remaining only inches away. But both corpsmen were ready to grab Nelson, lifting him out carefully and placing him on a stretcher where Will was ready, supply boxes and several pieces of equipment within easy reach. Lee watched hesitantly, back to barely breathing, but Chip was instantly by his side, easing him over to the closest bench where he and Kowalski started helping Lee off with his gear. “Jamie?” Lee asked the doctor almost tentatively.

The corpsmen had been quick but careful to start stripping Nelson of his gear, a process that had started in the dive chamber as Lewis and Nielsen had begun to loosen straps once the water was mostly drained. “Breathing,” Will answered, his voice hard because he didn’t want the interruption but knowing that he needed to say something to the no doubt very worried younger man. Not to mention everyone else standing around. “Ask me later,” he added as he grabbed a couple bags. He indicated for Frank, his head corpsman, to grab most of the rest, and directed a couple crewmen to carry the stretcher and they all hurried toward Sick Bay. John, the other corpsman, headed over to Lee with the last bag. Lee was prepared to blow him off but a hard “Don’t even think about it,” from Chip had most of the remaining crew in the area turning their heads – to cover grins, Lee knew, at Lee’s instant denial of injury and Chip’s order otherwise. While the XO ordering around the CO might not go over so well on a regular Navy ship, here on Seaview, given certain circumstances, it was occasionally allowed. Lee did take note that COB Sharkey was getting the rest of the divers in as quickly as possible now that the injured were aboard.

John’s assessment was quick – Lee had suffered a bit from the shock wave but was otherwise unhurt. He did ask about how deep Lee had to go to find Nelson, and Lee repeated that he hadn’t been able to see his meter.

“234 feet when we got to you,” Nielsen responded from where he stood at one of the other benches, drying off after removing his gear.

Lee nodded. “I’d barely started up,” he told John. “No need of further decompression than what we did.”

“Figured, sir,” John admitted, “from what we heard. Just double-checking.” He sent Lee a quick grin. But he also gave Lee a simple once-over-lightly, smoothly but not wasting any time. With the Skipper you knew you didn’t have more than moments before he was off to whatever he felt needed doing unless either Doc or the Admiral gave him a direct order otherwise.

This time it was Chip who tried to sidetrack him. “Let John make sure you’re fit for duty. All I want to do at this moment is go blast the top of that goat into smithereens,” came out in a growl.

“It’s guyot,” Lee corrected, “and who says I’ll stop you?” He sent Chip a glare but allowed the corpsman to finish his quick exam and tell Lee that he seemed fine but to have Doc check him once things settled down. Lee frowned, Chip nodded, and John headed for Sick Bay as Lee started to get dressed.

The water had cleared somewhat by the time they got to the Conn. Instruments were able to somewhat penetrate the top of the mount now that there was a hole in the side. Still not a lot of information coming in, although Lt. James reported that there had been several more explosions heard while Chip was in the Missile Room.

“Water hitting electrical equipment?” Chip theorized.

“Makes as much sense as anything else,” Lee agreed. “Still totally weird. But no way am I sending anyone anywhere near to check it out. At least,” Lee added, “until there’s been no noise for at least 24 hours.”

Chip nodded. “Assuming someone doesn’t show up in the meantime to find out why their sensing equipment stopped working.”

A hard look hit Lee’s face. “Let them,” came out in as nasty a tone as Chip had ever heard from his friend.

“Sonar,” Chip called over to Patterson, who had the Duty this shift, “gain on high alert.” Knowing the highly trained seaman, his equipment was probably already turned as high as it could get. But it never hurt to double-check, and Chip knew that Pat wouldn’t take umbrage at the probably unnecessary order.

“Aye, aye, sir,” came instantly back.

Lee walked slowly through the Conn, not questioning his crew, just needing to do something. “Go,” Chip all but ordered him. “Sir,” he added with a quick grin, knowing where Lee really wanted to be was checking on the Admiral. “We’ve got this,” he added, with a nod toward Lt. James.

Lee took the offer for what it was – Chip knowing that Lee was worried about his boss, his mentor, his friend, his… So many things the Admiral meant to him that he couldn’t always put it into words. “Just don’t blow anything up,” he ordered none-the-less, and then added with a grim grin, “at least until I get back!” Chip nodded, also a bit grimly, and Lee headed aft.

Extreme worry relaxed at least partially when he came through Sick Bay’s main door and found Nelson on the center gurney, eyes open, his head turning in Lee’s direction when he heard the sound of the door. “Don’t you dare move, Admiral,” came instantly from the CMO, standing off a few feet and writing furiously on a chart. Nelson glared at the man and Lee finally smiled.

But he still asked cautiously, “Jamie?”

Will sent Nelson a glare as he put the chart down. “Battered, bruised, two broken ribs, three more cracked, strained back muscles.” He paused and took a deep breath. “So far, no major organ damage, and the dive gear diminished most of the sound shock waves. However,” and he glared at Nelson, “he’s staying here the entire way home and then going straight to Med Bay until I’m sure there’s nothing more going on.” The glare shifted to Lee. “I assume we’re headed home.”

“Not until we figure out what’s going on with that seamount,” came from Nelson, not in his usual strong voice but an order none-the-less.

Lee sent Will a quick nod but walked over to Nelson’s side. “From initial reports, the drill let water into a cavity and caused whatever electrical equipment was inside to short-circuit and explode, sir. There’s been some further noises, and even with a hole in the side sonar and hydrophones haven’t been very helpful.” He straightened up slightly more than he’d been standing. “I’m not sending anyone to explore further until it remains quiet over there, at least 12 hours and preferably 24.” He glanced at Will. “If Jamie wants you in Med Bay, we can send you and he home by FS1.”

“Not a chance,” Nelson ordered, his voice getting stronger. But he also glanced toward his CMO.

Will buried a smirk. Nelson must really be hurting to actually allow Will that decision. “At this point, I don’t think that’s necessary. Decision subject to change,” was added with another glare at the Admiral. Nelson sent him an ever so brief nod and it was Lee’s turn to bury a grin.

~ ~ ~

“So,” Cory Mains asked Nelson, “did you figure out what it was?” He and Nelson were polishing off the meal that the Admiral had called out to have delivered from one of his favorite Italian restaurants.

Nelson shrugged. “Logic still says a listening post of some sort. There were several more explosions, enough so that Lee refused to send divers to try and explore further.” His expression hardened. “I wanted to stay long enough for the water to clear, hoping to find enough bits of equipment left to identify the source.” He frowned. “Overruled,” came out in a growl.

It was all Mains could do to bury outright laughter, but snickers still slipped out. He was all too aware that Nelson didn’t take orders well – from anyone! “So, no clue.”

Nelson’s hard expression softened ever so slightly. “Once we’d left the area Lee took FS1 back, just to see what was left and, if possible, check to see if anyone had shown up to investigate.” Mains nodded. Crane wasn’t a man to leave things undone if he could at all help it. Just another reason he was such a good fit to Nelson’s personality. “Lee took pictures, but could find nothing at that point that he could even pick up and bring back for analysis. The only thing he could make out were half a dozen square holes. Well,” he paused, “what were square. It seems from the pictures, indentations had been made here and there. Some kind of equipment was put inside, then sealed with the concrete blocks. Whatever it was, I don’t think that it was as yet operational. Our instruments should have picked up external sensing equipment which there would have had to be for anything to penetrate the blocks, or even the basalt, although the holes weren’t all that deep. Something could have been planted just under the outer layer of basalt and been effective, I suppose.”

Mains thought about that as he took a sip from the glass of wine Nelson had poured for him. Nelson frowned slightly as he was limited to just coffee, but it quickly switched to a small smile. “So someone, and your theories as to who are certainly valid, wanted to monitor movements in the area, both surface and underwater.”

“We still can’t explain why the height of the guyot was so off from what it should be,” Nelson added. “But we can be fairly sure that the individual pockets of instrumentation were in some way connected. Drilling a hole in one, letting in water, corrupted it to the point it exploded, and eventually led to the others exploding as well. Whoever set them up obviously had some sort of bubble set-up so they could install everything and seal it up before taking the bubble away and making everything look natural.”

“Getting sneaky,” Mains told him.

“Unfortunately.” A smirk hit Nelson’s face. “But we got sneakier.”

“Here’s to American ingenuity,” Mains toasted his former CO, and polished off the wine.

Nelson mumbled something that sounded like ‘dumb luck,’ which Mains chose to ignore. “Whatever,” Nelson added a bit louder, and toasted Mains back.

~ finis ~

* See “Missing” by R. L. Keller

** See several stories by R. L. Keller, including “Job Hunt” and “Unexpected Reunion.”

*** Mrs. Will Jamison used with permission of her creator, Cris Smithson

**** See “What the…” by R. L. Keller