SSN

    The range to the Kilo had been closing slowly, but after Mack opened the torpedo tube doors, sonar reported that the Kilo had slowed down, and the range closed more quickly. The BSY-1 computers showed that the Kilo had turned toward Cheyenne. Less than a minute later, sonar had another report for Mack.

    "Conn, sonar, the Kilo just went active with its medium-frequency 'Shark Teeth' sonar."

    "Shark Teeth" was a NATO nickname for the hull-mounted passive/active sonar carried by the Chinese Kilos.

    As soon as the Chinese Kilo went active, Mack had no choice. Cheyenne had been discovered. "Match sonar bearings and shoot, tubes one and two, Master 112," he ordered.

    "Match sonar bearings and shoot, tubes one and two, Master 112, aye, sir."

    Cheyenne had been through this many, many times in the past several weeks, but each new action still carried an edge of tension. The crew performed as well as always, however, and it wasn't long before Mack received the report, "Tube one fired electrically," and, seconds later, "tube two fired electrically."

    Mack acknowledged the report.

    "Conn, sonar, both units are running hot, straight, and normal."

    On board the Kilo, the American Mk 48 torpedoes appeared to come out of nowhere. The Kilo had begun using its active sonar in an effort to detect any possible sonar contacts. This close to their home waters, the Kilo's captain had felt safe doing so. He was only now realizing that he had made a grievous error.

    "Unit one… unit two also, both units have now acquired," reported the combat systems officer.

    "Cut the wires," Mack ordered. "I want to be as far away as possible when those torpedoes explode." The 650-pound warhead, Mack was aware, could damage any submarine, Chinese or not, if it was close when the torpedo detonated. "Shut the outer doors and reload tubes one and two with Mk 48s."

    When they were far enough away, Mack slowed Cheyenne to four knots. They were still close to Chinese home waters and he didn't want to risk detection again. With the loss of the Kilo, they'd probably figure out soon enough that there was an enemy submarine in the area, but Mack felt reasonably comfortable that he could avoid detection by running quietly.

    Mack was also confident that the Kilo itself had nowhere to run. On one side was the Chinese coastline; on the other was a large, deadly minefield. Once the Mk 48s had acquired the Kilo, Mack was sure that the Chinese submarine was doomed.

    "Conn, sonar," the Sonar Supervisor reported, "the Kilo is drawing left again, heading in the direction of the Chinese minefield. The Mk 48s are stilt following it."

    Mack was calm as he acknowledged the report, but he had to admit to a certain grudging respect for the Chinese captain. Desperate, knowing that his ship had no chance to survive the torpedoes bearing down on it, he had taken the one gamble left open to him.

    "Conn, sonar, explosion in the water, bearing 110." Mack tensed, waiting for the end of the report. "Captain, we just lost unit one. The first Mk 48 hit a mine."

    Mack nodded, his admiration for his opponent growing slightly. The desperate gamble had paid off-so far. But there was still one more Mk 48 out there, and it was locked on to the Kilo.

    The twin explosions of the first Mk 48 and the mine it had detonated sent shock waves through the entire minefield. Because the Chinese had, in some locations, laid the mines too close together, the pressure from the first explosions began touching off other explosions, and two more mines exploded within seconds.

    Moments later, the sonar room reported a third explosion. The sonar supervisor assumed it was also a Chinese mine because the second Mk 48 was still chasing its prey.

    "Conn, sonar, another explosion," the sonar supervisor said a short time later. "We've lost contact with unit two. I think it just hit a mine."

    The desperate gamble had paid off. The Kilo had avoided both torpedoes, but it was still in trouble. It was deep in the middle of a minefield, and it knew there was an enemy out there somewhere, stalking it.

    Less than one minute after the second Mk 48 hit a mine, sonar detected two more explosions.

    "Conn, sonar, two more explosions, bearing 112. I'm hearing breaking-up noises. The Kilo, Master 112, must have run itself into a mine."

    The sound of groaning metal was unmistakable. As the Kilo sank, Mack thought about what had just happened. Desperate times called for desperate measures, he knew, but sometimes they just didn't work.

    The irony was that this time it had worked-it just hadn't worked well enough. It wasn't one of the Mk 48s that had killed the Kilo; it was the Chinese's own low-tech mines.

    Cheyenne's entire crew had now seen firsthand what damage a Chinese minefield could do to a submarine. The problem, however, was that the narrow path that Cheyenne was following could easily turn into a "killing zone" for her just as it had for the Kilo.