Trembling Into the Blue

by Shouji Gatou

  “Dunnigan. John Dunnigan.”

  “A pleasure, John.” Gauron held out his right hand.

  Dunnigan ignored it and said, with cold fire, “Watch your mouth, Chinese. I don’t let just anyone call me John.”

  “Ah-ha...” Gauron lifted an eyebrow.

  “We’re just partners in a business arrangement,” Dunnigan reminded him. “Don’t forget that.”

  Gauron withdrew his hand and scratched at his temple. Then, gauging the other man’s expression, he said, “So, just to be sure... I assume you ‘don’t take orders’ from me too?”

  “Yeah. I’m glad you understand, Chi—” Without even standing up out of his chair, Gauron had grabbed Dunnigan’s wrist, and before the other man could react, he twisted it and threw him off-balance. Then he spun him by the arm, turned him, pushed him down, pulled—and like magic, Dunnigan’s massive body went flying, flipped, and ended up on the ground. Dunnigan gasped in shock.

  Gauron dropped onto his fallen opponent. At some point, a knife that Dunnigan had smuggled in had ended up in Gauron’s hand. “Goodness me... Was that you letting your guard down, Jooohn?” He pressed the knife to his opponent’s neck. “Incidentally, that’s jiu-jitsu—from my home country, Japan. Jooohn.”

  “Why... you...” Dunnigan struggled for words and breath.

  “‘Watch your mouth’? ‘I don’t take orders from you’?” Gauron scoffed. “That’s not how this works, Jooohn...” The knife’s tip began to inch into Dunnigan’s flesh.

  Dunnigan hissed and began to cry out.

  “You see, Jooohn... even in business, one must pay respect to his predecessors. You know that, don’t you? Jooohn?!”

  Dunnigan’s body trembled with agony; sweat rose on his brow. Then at last, as if unable to bear it any longer, “F-Fine... I’m... I’m sorry...” he hissed.

  “Are you, really?” Gauron wanted to know.

  “I am, really. I won’t make any more trouble for you.”

  “Good. Then let’s shake and make up.” With the knife held to his neck, Gauron reached out with his right hand. Still forced to the ground, Dunnigan tremblingly took it. “Now... where might my leg have ended up? We can’t do anything without the disc I hid in there...”

  “I brought it with me. It’s in there.” An olive-green bag was stowed beneath the chair Dunnigan had been sitting in.

  Gauron put on the uniform previously worn by the dead Private Liang, stole his submachine gun, and left the briefing room with Dunnigan. It was already late at night; the lights were dim, and there was no one to be seen.

  Dunnigan led him down the corridors to a stairway to the upper deck. “The control room is up here,” he said. “It’s where you’ll find the captain.”

  “Excellent.” As Gauron put his foot on the step, he heard a voice behind him.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  They turned around and saw a man standing there, his pistol already drawn.

  It was an officer: a short, Caucasian man who was leaning out from behind the corner with his gun pointed squarely at them.

  “Oh, hey, Captain McAllen. Let me explain—”

  “Shut up, Dunnigan.” McAllen interrupted sharply. “So this was the game, eh? Good thing the major warned me about the chance of a traitor in our midst. But what I never thought it would come from our own SRT...”

  With a rueful smile, Dunnigan dropped his attempt at smooth talk. He let out a chuckle and a shrug without the slightest sign of shame. “Never liked that little girl from the start,” he confessed. “Never, from the start.”

  “You can explain yourself later,” Captain McAllen told him grimly. “Both of you, drop your guns.”

  The corners of Gauron’s mouth curled upward. “And if we refuse?”

  “You die.” McAllen was keeping his left side carefully hidden behind the corner, and he was probably a first-rate marksman. He’d kill them both in a split-second, before they could even raise their guns.

  It was then that another member of the crew appeared, from around the opposite corner. It was a Southeast Asian man in a combat uniform.

  “That you, Nguyen?” Captain McAllen asked cautiously.

  “Captain,” Nguyen asked, “what’s going on here?”

  “Just what it looks like. Dunnigan’s betrayed us; call Weber and the others,” McAllen said, his gun steady.

  Nguyen took stock of everybody present, then drew a small pistol from his pocket: a 9mm with a silencer. With a silencer—

  “What’s wrong with you, Nguyen?! Hurry up and—”

  “Sorry, Captain.” Nguyen pointed the gun at McAllen and pulled the trigger. There were three swift shots; each released a spray of fresh blood from his chest.

  Like a marionette with its strings cut, Captain McAllen collapsed onto the floor. He didn’t even have time for a scream, a curse, or an insult.

  “Nice shot!” Gauron breathed. “So, would this make you my other partner-in-crime?”

  Nguyen nodded. “Looks that way. I’m Nguyen Bien Bo. Do I get a bonus for that?”

  Gauron laughed with a wince. “I’ll see what we can negotiate.”

  “Counting on it, Gauron-san.” Nguyen made an “OK” sign with his fingers. Just then, there was a faint sound. The three men, with their finely honed senses, turned their eyes toward it at the same time.

  A girl was standing just beyond the fallen McAllen. She was dressed in a way that seemed out of place on a warship—a pale green parka and yellow shorts—and her long black hair swayed in the dim light.

  The girl looked down at the blood at her feet, then slowly raised her eyes to Gauron and the others. Her delicate features were clenched up with uncertainty, and her lips were trembling. She seemed to lack any idea of what was going on and any comprehension of the situation she’d walked into.

  She opened her mouth wordlessly, snapping out of her daze. But before she could turn to run away, Nguyen leaped at her. There was no way that an ordinary girl, already shaken, could compete with the speed of a trained soldier. He wrapped an arm around her from behind and held a black combat knife to her chest. She let out a cry of distress.

  “Scream if you like, dearie. But here’s what it’ll get you...” Nguyen put his mouth close to her ear as he pressed the knife harder against her breast through her clothes. “Lots of painful memories and a body no guy’ll ever want.”

  She just barely managed to stifle herself.

  “That’s the civilian the captain invited on board. Let’s finish her off,” Dunnigan said.

  But Gauron shook his head gravely. “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “Various reasons... We just need to try to avoid killing her,” Gauron told him. “Emphasis on try.” As Nguyen walked the girl up to them, he peered into her face. She was holding her breath, her eyes filled with tears... yet she was mustering up all the courage she had to glare back at Gauron. Fortunately, that seemed to be the limit of her resistance.

  “It’s been a while, Kaname-chan,” Gauron said pleasantly. “How’s everyone at school?”

  It’s like a horror movie, Kaname thought. Sousuke beat this guy... this terrorist, in the mountains of North Korea. He’s supposed to be dead. Yet he had survived, and now, he was here on this submarine. Out of nowhere he’d appeared, in this place where someone like him should never be...

  What is going on here? she wondered. What... Kaname racked her brains—but of course, there was no way she could figure it out on her own. The only thing she could tell for sure was that she was in trouble again, and that this time, it was especially bad.

  They’re probably even better than Sousuke, something in her mind told her, vaguely and without basis. This man—Gauron, his name was—and his two highly skilled henchmen weren’t like the terrorists working with Takuma two months ago. The way they walked, the way they carried themselves, the quiet aura of death that wreathed them—these were men who reeked of violence, professionals who could kill a man as effortlessly as they t
ook a breath. That much was clear, even to an amateur like Kaname.

  The group began to travel through the deserted passageways. The bald-headed giant led the way, followed by Gauron and Kaname, with the lean knife-wielder bringing up the rear. They climbed a stairway, passed through several doors, and came out into the heart of the Tuatha de Danaan, the control room.

  Tessa was sitting in the captain’s chair in the control room, reviewing the battle record from Berildaob Island. There were only nine crewmen on duty there with her; nearly half the seats of the lecture hall-like space were empty. Even her executive officer, Mardukas, was currently absent.

  The crewman nearest to the door was the first one to notice the new arrivals. He was barely even on his feet before Dunnigan socked him in the nose, sending him toppling over his seat. The sound of his cry and fall drew all eyes to the entrance at once.

  Tessa looked over a second later than the rest. She started in shock at what she saw: Sergeant Dunnigan of the SRT; Chidori Kaname, being dragged along by Corporal Nguyen; and... Gauron, with a submachine gun in hand. Tessa could feel all the hair on her body stand up. The sight of these four people together told her immediately what had happened, and who it was that had betrayed her.

  Most of her crew began to rise from their seats, preparing to fall on Gauron and his accomplices. But before they could begin, Tessa shouted, “No!” The crew froze. “Don’t do it. That’s an order!”

  They probably thought they could neutralize the intruders, even if a few of them died in the process. But Tessa knew too well what a member of the SRT could do. Sousuke, Mao, Kurz, McAllen, Yang—all were good people, but they also possessed a nearly superhuman aptitude for killing, and Dunnigan and Nguyen were no exceptions. The two of them alone could probably kill everyone here with just their bare hands—and to make things worse, they were armed.

  Tessa’s rule was for her crew not to carry weapons on board unless absolutely necessary; firearms and blades were especially forbidden in the control room. She had actually broken that rule herself and smuggled in a small automatic pistol... but one gun wouldn’t save them against these three.

  “There’s the judgment I expect from a captain. Know when to avoid a fight,” Gauron said languidly. Then, he turned his gun to Tessa. “Did you hear that, everyone?” he went on. “No funny business, now—and that includes sounding the alarm. Any attempt at resistance I see will bring terrible consequences for your pretty little captain. How terrible, you ask? Let’s just say ‘X-rated’—things you shouldn’t show to minors. Understand?”

  The crew slowly returned to their seats, expressions grim.

  “Do your worst. You won’t leave this vessel alive,” Tessa said with a note of challenge.

  But Gauron’s reaction was pure delight. “Oh, she’s adorable! You know, I feel like I’ve done you two wrong somehow, tearing you from this wonderful work environment...” He looked at Dunnigan and Nguyen, but they both smiled ruefully.

  “Yeah, like we care,” Dunnigan said with a snort.

  “It’s not like she’d let us do anything anyway,” Nguyen agreed.

  “I see,” Gauron said neutrally. “Ah... by the way, you should go join her, Kana-chan. You’re both going to be my precious hostages.” Gauron yanked Kaname by the arm to stand her next to Tessa.

  “Kaname-san,” Tessa whispered urgently, “were you hurt?”

  “I’m okay... But one of your soldiers... um...” Kaname stammered, face pale.

  She’s probably trying to tell me that someone’s dead, Tessa realized. But who? She felt a pang in her chest, but managed to drive it from her mind for the time being.

  “Now, let’s move on to the main event,” Gauron was saying. “Captain, put us on a northwest course... 3-0-0 should do it.”

  “I will not,” Tessa answered.

  “Oh, won’t you?” Gauron pointed his submachine gun at the closest member of the crew.

  “No!” Kaname shouted.

  The crew member being targeted—OOD Goddard, who held the army rank of captain—gulped, but braced himself for what was coming. “Don’t do it, Captain,” the man said to Tessa, looking straight at her.

  Tessa said nothing.

  “I won’t hold it against you,” the OOD went on. “Neither will anyone else. Just please—”

  “Die, then,” Gauron said. But just before he pulled the trigger—

  “Wait,” Tessa interrupted. She couldn’t take it; she just couldn’t.

  Gauron’s finger paused. “Oh? Is that a crack in resolve I see?” The terrorist chuckled wickedly and nodded a few times, as if enjoying her capitulation.

  “Turn to port,” she whispered weakly, after a desperately long pause. “Course 3-3-0.”

  “Captain!” the OOD objected.

  “It’s all right! A simple change of course won’t do any harm. Didn’t you hear me? Port, course 3-0-0!”

  The OOD nodded weakly and repeated her order. The pilots began to steer. The de Danaan, which had been heading almost due north, slowly began to veer westward.

  There’s no harm done yet, Tessa told herself. If he asked to take them past a depth their hull could withstand, or to fire any of the weapons, or to tamper with the output of the palladium reactor—if he made any dangerous requests, in other words, that’s when she’d turn him down... even if it meant he killed every person there.

  Her only choice was to buy time. Soon enough—if they hadn’t already—the crew outside the control room would realize something was wrong, and then the tables would turn. The enemy probably only consisted of Gauron, Nguyen, and Dunnigan—if Mardukas and McAllen put their heads together, they could work something out. Leaving Major Kalinin on the island had proved to be a crucial mistake. She’d be so much more confident if he were on board with them now...

  “Let me guess... you’re thinking you can work something out if you buy enough time?” Gauron said.

  Tessa froze.

  “I should probably let you know: that last little exchange was for my own personal amusement. I have a backup in place for your inevitable refusal.” Gauron chuckled again, and pulled out a floppy disk. He took a few minutes to examine the captain’s chair display and its connected computer module. This was one of the few terminals directly connected to the mother AI, Dana, which oversaw all the functions of the vessel.

  It can’t be... A shiver went up Tessa’s spine as she considered the possibility.

  After checking the throttle, Gauron slipped in the disk he’d brought. “Hmm... I think I need to do... this, and this... What a confusing interface,” he grumbled. “Honestly...” He used the track ball to move the cursor around the screen, and then hit a few keystrokes. “There we go.” He pressed enter and a window appeared; the terminal was reading the disk’s data right before their eyes.

  Preparing COC | Remaining time 00:00:05

  This was followed by another display:

  Warning | Execution of COC requ dx ‰s approval of T. TeA?t rossa or operati‰i?s division Input passwoA?a?Ord or voiR?I?てD ‰i?d?μ?U?･? commaB ‰ e!!!!!!!

  ...............

  Then her personal screen went black, as did the control room’s front screen.

  “No... no...” Tessa eked out the words, her face pale. Kaname and the crew just watched her nervously; they had no idea what was happening.

  But everything became crystal clear when the screen recovered, and displayed the following message:

  Welcome, Captain Gauron | Orders, please | I will do anything you ask

  Gauron let out a whistle and placed a hand on Tessa’s shoulder. “Well, would you look at that? Machines are fickle things, aren’t they?”

  Tessa was dumbstruck. “COC” was short for “change of command.” Usually, only Tessa could change who was registered as captain. But Gauron had done it, using only a single virus-loaded disk. Only a few people in the world knew the de Danaan’s programming language, BAda... and she could think of only one capable of doing something like this. “It wa
s him, wasn’t it?” she breathed at last. “Do you... know him?”

  Gauron chuckled. “I do. He sends his regards, by the way... Although, if things go smoothly here, you’ll see him yourself soon enough.”

  Suddenly, it all fell into place for Tessa. This was his twisted way of saying hello. He was working with Gauron, and Gauron was going to take her, and her submarine, and hand them both over to him.

  “Now, AI-kun?” Gauron said languidly.

  《Yes, Captain?》The response was delivered in a female voice with just a hint of sensuality—the voice of the mother AI, Dana. The immediate reaction suggested that she had already been implanted with Gauron’s voice print data.

  “I think we should run a little evacuation drill,” Gauron decided. “Please sound the fire and reactor accident alarms. Get everyone into the main hangar!”

  《Aye, sir.》

  A chilling siren began to blare through the boat.

  5: Into the Blue

  28 August, 0500 Hours (Greenwich Mean Time)

  USS Pasadena, West Pacific Ocean

  “An alarm, you say?” Captain Sailor was dubious about his ST’s report.

  “Yes, sir. Bearing 1-5-8, below the thermal layer. No clear sounds of propulsion, but it’s moving... probably southeast to northwest. And quickly, at that...”

  “Let’s hear it, then.” He took the man’s headset and put it to his ear. He could hear a siren blaring like a wild beast’s howl; behind it was a calm, feminine voice. It was saying something in English, but it was too soft to make it out.

  “Hmm...” Captain Sailor found himself pondering. Could someone have had an accident? The noise had to be coming from some kind of submarine. He could tell that it was moving quickly, and so quietly that the siren was the only thing giving them away; there was no detectable cavitation, even to the Pasadena’s powerful sonar array. On top of that, the Pasadena was the only submarine he knew about in the area. Which meant the sound had to be coming from—