"Cold this morning, Captain." "Cold." "And hard." "It's time, captain." "It's time." "Time indeed." "What are you doing?" "You're supposed to be upstairs sleeping." "Stanley keeps waking me up." "I get it." "Boy, are you getting heavy." "Don't let her pull more than her usual nonsense." "Two stories, two glasses of water." " Jack, you're going to miss the plane." " Okay." "Cricket, you listen to me." "Go upstairs with Mrs. Wheeler now and go to sleep." "On my business trip, I'll get Stanley a little brother." " Will you promise?" " I promise." " Can I get you anything, sir?" " No, thank you very much." "If you try and get sleep, the flight will go faster." "I can never sleep on a plane." " Turbulence." " Pardon?" "Turbulence." "Solar radiation heats the earth's crust, warm air rises, cold air descends." " Turbulence." "I don't like that." " Try to sleep anyway." "Dr. Ryan?" "Jack, boy, get yourself in here." " Jesus!" "You look like hell." " Thank you very much, Admiral." " Want coffee?" " I think I need some coffee." "I'm not going to ask you how your flight went." "When's the last time you got some sleep?" "I don't know." "This thing's still on London time." " Milk and sugar?" " Milk and sugar." "So how's Caroline?" "Last time I saw her was at your granddad's place in Maine, wasn't it?" "She's fine." "Sends you her best." " And Sally?" " She's fine." "What is she now, three?" "No, she's a very precocious five." "She announced to Caroline and I the other day that her life would be considerably less lonely if we were to buy her a baby brother." "But she decided it would be enough if we were to buy one for Stanley." " Who's Stanley?" " Stanley's a bear." "All right." "What's important enough to get you on a plane in the middle of the night?" "British Intelligence obtained these pictures two days ago." "She's the Red October, the latest Typhoon class." "Big son of a bitch." "Twelve meters longer than the standard Typhoon." "Three meters wider." "The captain's name is Ramius." " One of yours?" " Yeah." "I did his bio last year." "He's taken out the lead boat in each new sub class for 10 years." "Fairly good political connections." "Trained most of their attack boat skippers." "The Russians call him Vilnius nastavnik." "The Vilnius schoolmaster." " What are these doors?" " Those doors, sir, are the problem." "I don't know what they are." "Neither do the British." "Perhaps our friends in Murmansk have come up with something new." "With your permission, I'd like to show these to someone." " Do you know Skip Tyler?" " Sub driver." "Was." "Clipped by a drunk driver." "Lost his leg." "He's teaching at the academy, consulting for navy labs." " Clearance?" " Top secret or better." "Margie, have a car for Dr. Ryan downstairs in 10 minutes." "A satellite caught Red October in Polijarny Inlet this morning." "Do you hear it?" "No." "Beaumont, at Cal Tech we used to do this in our sleep." "You hear it now?" "Wait a minute." "Maybe." " It's buried in surface clutter?" " Yes." " I should go to SAPS?" " Correct, Seaman Beaumont." "Signal algorithmic processing systems." "Give it a week, and you'll be teaching at Cal Tech." "So..." "Like Beethoven on the computer, you have labored to produce" "a biologic." " A what?" " A whale, Beaumont." "A whale." "A marine mammal that knows a hell of a lot more about sonar than you do." "Kill the SAPS." "Train over to 2-6-9 and let's try it again." "If he gets to ragging on you too bad, ask him about Pavarotti." "We don't have time for sea stories." "I was in the middle of teaching Seaman Beaumont the intricacies of modern sonar." "Now..." "I ain't chief of the boat." "I'm Sheena, Queen of the Jungle." " Cob, please." " Come on, Cob." "Tell me." "Okay." "Fine." "Go ahead." "Seaman Jones here, he's into music in a big way." "He figures this whole boat is basically just his own personal, private stereo set." " He gets this piece of Pavarotti..." " He was Paganini." " Whatever." " Paganini." "This is my story, okay?" "Tell it right." "Pavarotti's a tenor." "Paganini was a composer." "Okay." "So he's got this music, and he's got it out in the water." "He's listening on his headsets, happy as a clam." "Then all hell breaks loose." " A slew of boats out of San Diego..." " Including one way out at Pearl." "Including one way out at Pearl." "All of a sudden, they start hearing Pavarotti." " Pavarotti..." " Coming out of their asses." " What do I do?" " I got it." "Conn, Sonar." "New contact, bearing 0-9-7." "Designate contact number Sierra 3-5." " Captain, aye." "What've you got, Jones?" " Distant contact, probably submerged." "It's a wild guess, but I'd say we hit a boomer coming out of the barn." "Could be a missile boat out of Polijarny." "Okay." "Start your track." "I'll be there in a minute." "Sonar, aye." "Time to open the orders, sir." "The Political Officer is in your cabin." "Very well." "You have the conn." "What are you doing?" "I must oversee the stability of the crew, Captain." "By invading my privacy?" "Privacy is not a major concern in the Soviet Union, comrade." "It's often contrary to the collective good." ""Behold, I am coming as a thief..." ""And they gathered them together" ""In a place called..." ""Armageddon."" ""And the seventh angel poured forth his bowl into the air," ""and a voice cried out from heaven, saying," ""'It is done."'" "A man with your responsibilities reading about the end of the world." "And what's this?" ""I am become death, the destroyer of worlds."" "It is an ancient Hindu text quoted by an American." " American?" " He invented the atomic bomb," "I'm sorry, Comrade Captain." "Your wife was a beautiful woman." "Her death was unfortunate." "I'm only doing my job." "It is my responsibility." "How many agents did the KGB put aboard my boat?" " Your boat, Captain?" " Yes." "This vessel belongs to the people of the Soviet Union." "Besides, if the KGB or the GRU has agents aboard," "I will be the last to know." "I suggest we open our orders, Captain." "Certainly, comrade." ""From Commander..." ""Strategic submarine forces red banner northern fleet."" "We're to proceed north to grid square reference 54-90 and rendezvous with Alfa submarine Konovalov." " Captain Tupolev's boat." " You know Tupolev?" "I know he descends from aristocracy and that he was your student." "It's rumored he has a special place in his heart for you." "There's little room in Tupolev's heart for anyone but Tupolev." "Having made contact, we are to run a series of drills." "Tupolev will hunt us while we test our ship." "Having evaluated the operational readiness of the caterpillar drive, we are to return to Polijarny on or about the 16th of this month." "Captain, this is an historic moment." "I'd like to make a request." " Before you proceed, comrade..." " I know it's not protocol, but would you permit me to post our orders and inform the crew of our mission?" "Where I'm going, you cannot follow." "Dr. Petrov, report to my cabin immediately." "There's been a dreadful accident." "Buddy!" "Daniel, got any more rods?" "More rods!" "Listen to me." "There's no cradle underneath it." " Get it over." " Relax!" "Stop being an old maid." "You want to come up here and do it yourself?" " All right." "Bring her up." " What?" "What?" "Ryan!" "Who let you in here?" "Skip, what, have they got you playing with models now?" "Damn it, Bill!" "Tell them to slow down!" "I'm doing it." "I'm doing it." "Slow it down, will you?" "It's not a model." "The DSRV." "Rescue sub." "I know what it is." "What are you doing with it?" "We're rigging it with a generic docking collar so it'll mate with British, German..." "Just about anybody's sub." "We can get it anywhere in the world in 24 hours." " How's your back?" " It's fine." "Have you got a minute?" "Bigger than a regular Typhoon." " What are these doors?" " You don't miss much, do you?" "Those are too big to be torpedo tubes." "Would you launch an ICBM horizontally?" "Sure." "Why would you want to?" "They're symmetrical." "Right down the long axis of the sub." " How about a towed sonar array?" " Nope." "Too close to the screws." "I'll be..." "This..." "This could be a caterpillar." " A what?" " A caterpillar drive." "Magneto-hydrodynamic propulsion." " You follow?" " No." "It's like a jet engine for the water." "Goes in the front, gets squirted out the back." "Only it's got no moving parts, so it's very, very quiet." "Like how quiet?" "It's doubtful our sonar would even pick it up." "And if it did, it would sound like whales humping or a seismic anomaly." "Anything but a submarine." "We messed with this a couple of years ago." "Couldn't make it work." "They really built this?" "This isn't a mock-up or anything?" "She put to sea this morning." "When I was 12," "I helped my daddy build a bomb shelter in our basement because some fool parked a dozen warheads" "90 miles off the coast of Florida." "This thing could park a couple of hundred warheads off Washington and New York, and no one would know anything about it until it was all over." " Are you all right, Captain?" " Yes." "It's just to die for something as petty as slipping on tea." "You're blaming yourself, Captain." "It was an accident." " You'll feel better when we put in." " Put in?" "To base, Captain." "We cannot go on without a political officer." "Doctor, this is a combat vessel of the Soviet Navy, and I'm a senior combat officer." "We do not cancel operations because of accidents." "Seaman, come here." "Come here." " Your name?" " Cook's Assistant Loginov, sir." "Good." "I want you and the doctor to witness this." "I'm removing the political officer's missile key..." "Carry on." "And I'm keeping it myself." "Captain, I think we should report this to Red Fleet Command." "I'm afraid that's impossible, Doctor." "Our orders are for strict radio silence." "Orders, sir." " That's all, Loginov." " Yes, sir." "This is most unnerving, Captain." "The reason for having two missile keys is so that no one man may..." "May what?" "May arm the missiles." "Perhaps I should keep the key." " Thank you." "That'll be all, Doctor." " Captain, I..." "When I address the crew, then you will understand." "Yes, sir." " Petrov." " Yes, sir?" "I will try to forget your comments when I present my report." "Thank you, sir." "Holding steady on 3-1-0." "Twelve knots at about 20,000 yards." " Have you got a make on him?" " Computer's chewing on it, sir." "Twin screws." "The plant noise sounds like a Typhoon." "I'd say we got a new boat, sir." "Tommy, I miss something on the boards?" "Sub plant hasn't said anything about it." "All right." "How many Typhoons we got in the computer?" " Six, sir." " Okay." "Call this guy Typhoon 7." "Start a tape on him." "See if we can work in a little closer." "Yes, sir." "Won't he hear us?" "Not if we stay in his baffles, Seaman Beaumont." "Not if we stay in his baffles." "Come in behind his propeller, and he's deaf as a post." "Any sonar contacts, Mr. Kamarov?" "No contacts, Captain." "The sonar is clear." "Good." "Do we have any surface contacts, Mr. Borodin?" " No contacts, sir." "Scope is clear." " Good." "Then it is time I explain our orders to the crew." "Comrades, this is your captain." "It is an honor to speak to you today, and I'm honored to be sailing with you on the maiden voyage of our motherland's most recent achievement." "And once more, we play our dangerous game, a game of chess, against our old adversary, the American Navy." "For 40 years, your fathers before you and your older brothers played this game and played it well." "But today, the game is different." "We have the advantage." "It reminds me of the heady days of Sputnik and Yuri Gagarin, when the world trembled at the sound of our rockets." "They will tremble again at the sound of our silence." " The order is engage for silent drive." " Aye, sir." " Ballast control, open outer doors." " Yes, open outer doors." "Diving command." "Engage caterpillar and secure main engines." "Doors opening, Captain." "Comrades, our own fleet doesn't know our full potential." "They will do everything possible to test us, but they will only test their own embarrassment." "We will leave our fleet behind." "We will pass through the American patrols, pass their sonar nets, and lay off their largest city and listen to their rock 'n' roll while we conduct missile drills." "Then..." "And when we are finished, the only sound they will hear is our laughter while we sail to Havana, where the sun is warm and so is the comradeship." "Cryogenic plant coming on line, Captain." "A great day, comrades." "We sail into history." "Caterpillar engaging." "Caterpillar engaging, Captain." " What happened?" " I don't know." " Full rudder left." " Full rudder left." "Navigator." "New course, 2-5-0." " Yes, new course, 2-5-0." " Steering 2-5-0." "Yes, course is 2-5-0." "Sonar contact, Captain." "Port quarter." "Close aboard." "American, Los Angeles class." " American." "Captain, we..." " Course 3-1-0." " Is the American turning to follow us?" " No, Captain." "The American is continuing in his original course." " He's continuing northwest." " He can't hear us." "And the singing?" "Let them sing." "What are you talking about?" "Check your gear." "Running diagnostics now, Captain." "Sonar is working, Captain." "The Russian disappeared." "One minute, he was steady 4,000 yards off the bow, and then he was gone, and for a second, I thought I heard..." " Heard what?" " I thought I heard singing, sir." " Singing?" " Yes, sir." "Good morning, sir." "I hope we had a lovely evening." "A little chilly this morning." "There's a letter there from Marko Ramius." "Marko." "Yes?" "No." "This is Dr. Ryan." "What the hell happened?" "Come on." "This is no longer a research project." "I got a line on those doors." "You know what they are?" " A nearly silent propulsion system?" " How did you know that?" "The captain of the sub following her radioed in." "Thing disappeared right in front of him, and that's only the half of it." "Read." "I'm sorry." " Got your I.D.?" " My God, this is unbelievable." "The Kirov, three Sverdlovsk, the Kiev, the Minsk." "They've sortied their whole bloody fleet." "That's about the size of it." " Good afternoon, Admiral." " Afternoon, Matthew." "Where are we going, anyway?" "Briefing for Jeffrey Pelt, President's National Security Adviser." "Most of the Joint Chiefs will be there, along with a few other people." " Who's giving the briefing?" " You are." "The yeoman will have all the slides laid out for you." "So all you got to do..." "Look, no one understands this material better than you." "Just give him a rundown on the sub and a précis of the stuff in your hand." "He's liable to ask some direct questions." "Give him direct answers." "Tell him what you think." "Come on." "Gentlemen, the last 24 hours have seen some extraordinary Soviet Naval activity." "The first to sail was this ship, we believe called the Red October in reference to the October Revolution of 1917." "A variant of the Typhoon class, she's some 650 feet long and 32,000 tons submerged displacement, roughly the same size as a World War ll aircraft carrier." "We believe that these doors, here on the bow and again on the stern, enclose a unique propulsion system, a magneto-hydrodynamic drive, or caterpillar, that would enable the sub to run virtually silent." "It is possible that this new drive system allowed the captain, a man named Ramius, their senior and perhaps most respected commander..." "Do we have his picture available?" "Allowed Ramius to elude one of our attack boats, the Dallas, which trailed Red October from harbor this morning." "It is also possible that this drive system, if operable, could render the Red October undetectable to our SOSUS warning nets in the Atlantic." "Mr. Ryan, would you characterize this as a first-strike weapon?" "That is a possibility, sir." "It is designed to approach by stealth and to shower its target with multiple independent warheads with little or no warning before impact." "Goddamn thing's made to start a war." "Proceed, Mr. Ryan." "About the same time the Dallas lost contact, there were additional sailings from Polijarny and from Leningrad on the Baltic and from the Mediterranean." "There are now some 58 nuclear submarines headed at high speed into the Atlantic." "This afternoon a satellite pass over Polijarny found heat blooms in the engineering plants of the Kirov, the Minsk, and more than 20 other cruisers and destroyers, indicating they were preparing to sail." "This constitutes the bulk of the Soviet surface fleet." "Admiral Greer, your conclusions." "Sir, the data support no conclusions as yet." "The absence of activity in the Pacific suggests this could be just an exercise." " It may have nothing to do..." " Suppose it's not an exercise?" "Suppose this is the beginning of a move against NATO?" "NSA can speak for that, Mr. Pelt." "I must emphasize the extreme sensitivity of this information and that it not leave the room." "Before sailing, Captain Ramius sent a letter to Admiral Yuri Padorin," "Chairman of the Red Fleet Northern Political Directorate." " That's her uncle." " Whose uncle?" "Ramius' wife." "Padorin's her uncle." "Now, the contents of the letter are unknown, but Admiral Padorin immediately demanded a meeting with Premier Chernenko, and within minutes of that meeting, the Soviet fleet sailed with orders to find Red October and sink her." "Sink her?" "My God." "They've got a madman on their hands." "If it gets within 500 miles of the coast, we'll have less than two minutes' warning." " Today's the 23rd, isn't it?" " What?" " Is today the 23rd?" " Yeah." "You son of a bitch." "You son of a bitch!" "You wish to add something to our discussion, Dr. Ryan?" "Sir, I was just thinking that perhaps there's another possibility we might consider." "Ramius might be trying to defect." "Do you mean to suggest that this man has come..." "Proceed, Mr. Ryan." "Ramius trained most of their officer corps, which would put him in a position to select men willing to help him." "And he's not Russian." "He's Lithuanian by birth, raised by his paternal grandfather, a fisherman." "And he has no children, no ties to leave behind." "And today is the first anniversary of his wife's death." "Come on." "You're just an analyst." "How can you read his mind?" "I know Ramius, General." "He's nearly a legend in the submarine community." "He's been a maverick his entire career." "I actually met him once at an embassy dinner." "Have you ever met Captain Ramius, General?" "Admiral Hollis, how long before Ramius could be in a position to fire his missiles at us?" "Four days." "All right." "I'll brief the President." "That will be all, gentlemen." "Dr. Ryan, would you stay for a moment, please?" "I said speak your mind, Jack, but Jesus..." "You slammed the door on the general pretty hard, Jack." " That was not my intention, sir." " Yes, it was." "He was patronizing you, and you stomped on him." "In my opinion, he deserved it." "Listen, I'm a politician, which means I'm a cheat and a liar, and when I'm not kissing babies, I'm stealing their lollipops, but it also means that I keep my options open." "So let's assume for a minute that you're right and this Russian intends to defect." "What do you suggest we do about it?" " We definitely grab the boat, sir." " Wait a minute." "We're not talking about some stray pilot with a MIG." "We're talking about several billion dollars' worth of Soviet state property." "They're going to want it back." "Maybe it's enough then just to get some people on board and inspect it." "Call it whatever you want to..." "A coast guard safety inspection." "So how do we proceed?" "First, we need to contact the commanders in the Atlantic directly." "The Russians get one whiff of this through the regular communications circuits, the game is up." "Second, we figure out how we can help them." "We devise a plan to intercede, ready to go at a moment's notice." "Third, somebody's got to go make contact with Ramius and find out what his intentions really are." "Okay." "When do you leave?" "Wait a minute." "The general was right." "I am not field personnel." "I am only an analyst." "You're perfect." "I can't ask any of these characters to go." "They don't believe in it." "They'd never stake their reputation on a hunch, whereas you..." "Are expendable." "Something like that." "I'll give you three days to prove your theory correct." "After that, I have to hunt down Ramius and destroy him." "Will you do it?" "Mother of God!" "Secure the mast!" "All ahead, two-thirds!" "Set depth to 900 meters!" " What is it?" "What's happened?" " Mast secured, helm at two-thirds." " Commence heading 2-0-5." "2-0-5, affirmative." "These orders are seven bloody hours old!" "Sitting on the bottom like an addled schoolboy." " Captain..." " Passing at..." " All ahead, flank." " All ahead, flank." "Inquire of the engineer about the possibility of going to 105% on the reactor." "Seven hours." "The entire fleet is after him." " Leveling at 900 meters." " Very well." "Captain, engineer reports 105% on the reactor possible, but not recommended." "Go to 105 on the reactor." "Captain, what is it?" "Where are we going?" "We're going to kill a friend, Yevgeni." "We're going to kill Ramius." "If you like borscht, perhaps, but I've eaten better in an oiler's galley." "My wife said to the waiter," ""Where did this man learn to cook, Afghanistan?"" "So then we went on to the Bolshoi, the ballet, to see this new girl as Giselle." "You remember how beautiful she was." " She just married a factory manager." " Excuse me, Doctor." "Do you have the figures for the latest batch of radiation tests?" " Now?" " Now." "Perhaps you could bring the preceding set as well for comparison." "Thank you, Doctor." "It will take him some time." "Before we begin, Captain," "I'd like to know exactly what happened to Putin." "He didn't slip on his tea, did he?" "I don't think I like your tone, Slavin" "What the hell's my tone got to do with it?" " We're risking our lives here." " Putin could've caused complications." "Did you think he would just go away and sulk while we carried out our plans?" "Are you saying he was murdered?" " My God." " Stop whining, Yuri." " How can you justify murder?" " So he was murdered." "The man was a pig, but it's a decision we should've all made together." "You are not in command here." "If the crew finds out, we could have a mutiny." " What are you talking about?" " They could kill us all." "Everything that happens on this ship affects us all." "The Master-at-Arms is already suspicious." " We could still go back." " There will be no going back." "Before we sailed, I dispatched a letter to Admiral Padorin, in which I announced our intention to defect." "In the name of God, why?" "When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships." "As a result, his men were well motivated." "You have signed our death warrants." " Padorin will send the entire fleet." " Jesus, they'll find us." "They'll find us and..." "No one's going to find us." "That's enough, Yuri." "You had to do it, you couldn't just turn the submarine over to the Americans." "You had to make a political statement." "Or was it something deeper, Captain, something that made you unable to slip away?" " Was it ego, Captain?" " We each have our reasons, Victor." "My own began the day I was handed the blueprints for this ship, a ship which had but one use." "And as for the rest, those are things that I alone must carry the burden for." "Anatoli, you're afraid of our fleet." "You should be." "Personally, I give us one chance in three." "More tea, anyone?" "No?" "Then you may report back to your posts." "You heard the Captain." "Dismissed." "Captain." "Captain, I would never disagree with you in front of the men, you know that." "But in this case, Victor is right." "It would've been better if you had not informed Moscow." "Vastly." "Moscow is not the worry, nor the whole Soviet navy." "I know their tactics." "I have the advantage." "No." "The worry is the Americans." "If we meet the right sort, this will work." "We get some buckaroo..." "Some turbulence, Commander?" "You don't like flying." "This is nothing!" "You should've been with us five, six months ago!" "You talk about puke!" "We ran into a hailstorm over the Sea of Japan, right?" "Everybody's retching their guts out!" "The pilot shot his lunch all over the windshield, and I barf on the radio!" "Knocked it out completely, and it wasn't that lightweight stuff either!" "It was that chunky, industrial-weight puke!" "You want a bite?" "Jack, next time you get a bright idea, just put it in a memo." "Sir." "That'll be all, Lieutenant." "Thank you." "That hawkeye from Weymouth Trap?" "Four wire." "Caught a gust over the fantail." "Not bad, considering." " The gentleman is here to see you." " The gentleman?" "What the hell you talking about, Charlie?" "I apologize for the uniform, sir." "This is Admiral Greer's idea of a low profile." " You work for Jim Greer?" " That's right, sir." "Then I imagine you'll tell me what all the hubbub's about." "Captain, you got a minute?" "Jonesy's got something I think you ought to see." "Martinez, get yourself a cup of coffee." " Send me up some tea." " Aye, Captain." "Messenger, get the captain a cup of tea." "Captain." "Sir, the moment that sub went silent and I thought I heard some singing," "I heard something in the background real faint." "After all those subs took off, I caught it again and got it on tape." "I washed it through the computer and was able to isolate this sound." "When I asked the computer to identify it, what I got was magma displacement." "You see, sir, the SAPS software was originally written to look for seismic events." "I think when it gets confused, it kind of runs home to mama." " I'm not following you, Jonesy." " Sir, I'm sorry." "Listen to it at 10 times speed." "Now, that's got to be manmade, Captain." "All right." "The first contact was at 09:15, and the bearing was 2-6-9." "At 09:30, it was here." "I came back to it at 11:00 and 11:15, here and here." "Remember the dispatch we got about Russian sub skippers running the Reykjanes Ridge at high speeds because they had hyper-accurate surveys of the underwater canyons?" "The front door to those canyons was a formation called Thor's Twins." "Yeah?" "Look at that." " Right into Red Route One." " Captain." "You may think I'm crazy, but I'll bet that magma displacement was actually some new Russian sub, and it's headed for the Iceland coast." "Have I got this straight, Jonesy?" "A $40 million computer tells you you're chasing an earthquake, but you don't believe it, and you come up with this on your own?" " Yes, sir." " Including all the navigation math?" " Sir, I've got all the..." " Relax, Jonesy." "You sold me." "Tommy, I want you to plot us a speed course for the bottom end of Red Route One." "We'll never find him in those canyons." "First take us to periscope depth." " This we got to phone in." " Aye, aye, Captain." "Hang on, Jonesy." "If I can get you close enough, can you track this sucker?" "Yes, sir." "Now that I know what to listen for, I'll bag him." " Carry on." " Yes, sir." "That's the craziest notion I've ever heard." "A serving line officer?" "An entire ballistic missile submarine?" "They can't all want to defect." "Even if it's only the officers, it's extremely difficult to believe." " What's his plan?" " His plan?" "Russians don't take a dump, son, without a plan." "Senior captains don't start something this dangerous without having thought the matter through." "What's he going to do, sail into New York, pop the hatch, and say here I am?" "It might be just that simple, yes." "Things may appear simple in the cubicle at CIA, but in the middle of the Atlantic with Soviet warships bearing down on us, they get more complex." " Smoke?" " No, thank you." "And I don't think your notion of a few days' inspection is going to wash either." "In order to be of any value, you'd have to tear it apart." "The metallurgy would take a couple of months." " Then we'd have to keep it." " What will you do with the crew?" "Ones that don't defect will go back and say we got the boat." "Or do you plan to eliminate them?" "We're not at war, sir." "So you have to get them off the boat in such a way that they think we don't have it, and they'll report that we don't have it to their bosses." "Otherwise, this whole business is just academic, right?" "Yes, sir." "I think I see your point." "When's the last time you slept?" "Awhile." " The chief outside will fix you up." " Thank you, sir." "Captain." "It'll be dawn in a couple of hours." "We'll be in the CIC." "Things are liable to get a little dicey around here." "Yes, sir." " You think he's crazy?" " Certifiable." "No matter what his credentials, I don't care for him wearing the uniform." "Did you see that ring on his finger?" " The academy, class of '72." "A Marine." " You're kidding." " How did you..." " Greer told me." "Summer of his third year, he went down in a chopper accident." "Bad." "Pilot and crew killed." "That kid spent 10 months in traction and another year learning to walk again." "He did his fourth year from the hospital." "It's up to you, Charlie, but you might consider cutting the kid a little slack." "Russians are going to find that sub before we get near it, anyway." " Passing Thor's Twins, sir." " Very good." "Passing the Twins now, Captain." "Very good." "You may commence your run." " Call me at the first turning." " Aye, Captain." "Mr. Kamarov." " You may commence your run now." " Aye, sir." "First leg on my mark, course 2-6-0." "Speed, 18 knots." "Depth, 270 meters." "Five, four, three, two, one." "Mark." "Diving command, course 2-6-0." " Course 2-6-0, aye." " Speed, 18 knots." " Speed, 18 knots, aye." " Stop pissing, Yuri." "Give me a stopwatch and a map, and I'll fly the Alps in a plane with no windows." "If the map is accurate enough." "We're in the lane and approaching first turn." "Come left to course 1-9-5." "In 30 seconds, decrease depth to 200 meters." "Maintain speed." "Very good, Navigator." "Captain, we're approaching the first turn." "Twenty-five seconds to course 1-9-5." "Increase speed to 26 knots and recompute." "Aye, Captain." "Navigator, recompute for 26 knots." "Turn on my mark." "Five, four, three, two, one." "Mark." "Diving control, come left to 1-9-5." " Come left to 1-9-5." " Up on the bow planes." "Course now 1-9-5 and maintaining speed 26 knots." "Mr. Kamarov?" "Next leg, Captain, come right to course 2-4-0 now at eight minutes and 40 seconds." "Very good." "Maintain course and speed." "Too fast, Vastly." "Too fast." "Those charts are laid out precisely." "So many knots for so many seconds." " And this thing handles like a pig." " Watch your bearing, Mr. Slavin." "Fifteen seconds to turn, Captain." " Should we decrease speed?" " Negative." " Prepare to come right." " Aye, sir." "Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." "Mark." "Fifteen degrees down angle on the bow planes." "Come right 2-4-0." "Move it!" "We're in the lane." "Next leg 34 minutes to the Neptune Massif." "Course 2-4-0." "What happened?" "The cryogenic plant!" "The magnets aren't cooling." "Temperature in the caterpillar is 50 degrees above red line and rising." " It's going to melt." " Kill it!" "Shut it down!" " Captain?" " What happened?" " The cryogenic plant failed." " Reactor damage?" "There was a power spike, but the reactor scrammed automatically." " Was there any radiation leakage?" " I don't know yet!" " How long will it take to fix?" " I got to find what's wrong first." "Could be the liquid helium or the superconductors." "Captain, we will have to stop until we can repair the caterpillar unit." "Negative." "We'll run on normal propulsion." "Captain, we will not be silent." "Make revolutions for 20 knots and engage the propellers." "Aye, Captain." " Commence engine start-up." " He'll get us all killed." "The Captain knows what he's doing." "Doctor." "Naval activities?" "I have no knowledge of this." "But then, I never was a sailor." "Mr. Ambassador, you have nearly 100 vessels operating in the North Atlantic right now." "Your aircraft have dropped enough sonar buoys that a man could walk from Greenland to Scotland without getting his feet wet." "Shall we dispense with the bull?" "You make your point as delicately as ever, Mr. Pelt, but..." "And what looks like an exercise could be a prelude to war." "How can we tell the difference?" "Prudence demands that we deploy ships to observe yours." "Your government should consider that having your ships and ours, your aircraft and ours, in such proximity is inherently dangerous." "Wars have begun that way, Mr. Ambassador." " We have lost one of our submarines." " Lost it?" "We fear she may be down, and..." "This is most embarrassing, but..." "Several of the officers are sons of high party officials." "One is even the son of a Central Committee Member." "I cannot say which." "You're telling me this is a massive rescue operation?" "That is correct." "I'm terribly sorry." "How can we help?" " I'm not sure that..." " Perhaps a joint rescue mission?" "That is very gracious of you, sir." "I'll pass your offer on." "But at this time," "I think we're doing everything that can be done." "Captain?" "Our strategy depends on your answer." "The entire fleet will know where we are." "Captain, Sonar." "We've been overflown by a multi-engine turboprop." "Put it on audio." "Short transients, close aboard." " Water entry of small objects." " Sonar buoys." " Battle stations." " Battle stations!" " Battle stations!" " Battle stations!" "How long to Neptune Massif?" " How long?" " Four minutes, 10 seconds." "Should we bottom the boat?" "No." "Too late now." "We've run out of time." "Countermeasures." "Prepare to launch missiles." "Aye, sir." "Aircraft on computer guidance." "Request permission to launch." "You are authorized to launch the weapon." "Weapon is away." "High speed screw!" "Torpedo in the water!" "Stand by." "Torpedo is active." "Torpedo has acquired." " Launch countermeasures." " Launch countermeasures." "Aye, sir." "We're in the lane." " How long till the turn at Massif?" " Two minutes, nine seconds." "We have no room to maneuver in these canyons." "Shut up." "Torpedo has reached countermeasures." " Torpedo has lost contact." " Massif approaching." "Torpedo has reacquired." "Torpedo has reacquired and is homing." "Give me the count." "Turn at Massif 40 degrees starboard in 30 seconds." " Time to torpedo impact?" " Torpedo impact, 35 seconds." " Increase to flank." " Full ahead flank." " Full ahead flank." " Full ahead flank, aye." "Torpedo impact now 40 seconds." "35 seconds." "30 seconds." "Turn at Massif in seven, six, five, four, three, two, one." "Mark." "Torpedo impact 25 seconds..." " The turn, Captain." " Not yet." "Mark plus eight seconds." "Plus nine, plus 10 seconds, plus 11, plus 12, plus 13 seconds, plus 14, plus 15 seconds." "Captain, we're out of position by a boat length." "Torpedo impact now 15 seconds." "Sound collision." " Sound collision." " We're out of the lane!" " You're relieved." " Borodin?" "Right full rudder!" "Reverse starboard engine!" "Right full rudder." "All back starboard shaft." "All back starboard shaft!" "Torpedo impact 12 seconds, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five..." " Captain, they're really shooting at us!" " Pull yourself together!" "VVhy?" "Boy!" "Easy, boy." "If they were really shooting at us, we'd be dead by now." "Give me some line." "I found out what happened to the caterpillar." "The buffer circuit has been torn out." "It was only a matter of time before an overload shut it down." " What are you saying?" " Whoever did this knew how to cripple the caterpillar in a way not easy to find." "Captain, we have a saboteur on board." "It can't be any of the officers." "They had plenty of time before we embarked." "Must be a crew member." "Go to Putin's cabin." "Check his files for information on the crew." "We may have to put them off before we planned." "The average russky, son, don't take a dump without a plan." "Wait a minute." "We don't have to get the crew off the sub." "He would have had to do that." "We just have to figure out what he's going to do." "How is he going to get them off the sub?" "They'd have to want to get off." "How do you get a crew to want to get off a submarine?" "How do you get them to want to get off a nuclear sub..." "I know how he's going to evacuate the sub." "Not now, Jack." "Yankee One star base, say again status." " Declare an emergency." " Declare an emergency." "Yankee One, requesting vectors." "Vector 2-7-0 speed is buster." "Yankee One's losing hydraulic pressure." "Say again, Yankee One." "Bear Foxtrot got too close to the group." "One of the F-14s crowded him, and they bumped." "He's losing hydraulic fluid." "They're trying to get him back aboard now." "Busy morning." "Russian attack subs are now stationed off every east coast port." "We're up here." "The New Jersey is moving up the coast while the Russians, aside from over 100 Bear Foxtrots, have a row of subs and several surface groups." " That's a lot of firepower." " For a rescue team, yes." "There's something else strange." "They're using sonar as if they're looking for something," "but nobody's listening." " What do you mean?" "At their speed they could run over my daughter's stereo and not hear it." "They're not searching for Ramius." "They're driving him." "Driving him where?" "The hounds to the hunters." "Your sub captain's going to make it to America." "He's going to die within sight of it." "His wing man kept requesting permission to fire." "Somebody messes up, we'll be in the biggest naval battle since the Jutland." "Jesus!" "Water's too cold to eject him." " Air boss will try to bring him aboard." " Sir, what's this sub off by herself?" "Bart Mancuso's boat." "He's going to the bottom of Red Route One." "He's had intermittent contact with a magma displacement." " He's got this..." " Magma displacement?" " Is that like a seismic anomaly?" " I suppose so." "Why?" "Is there a way you could get me on board the Dallas?" "What for?" "I think Mancuso's found the Red October." "He hasn't found anything, Jack." "He's just waiting." "Sir, this silent propulsion system could easily be mistaken for something..." "The only way to get you onto Dallas is to fly you out to a chopper." "The only way to get you that far north is to use a chopper turned into a flying gas can." "Admiral, Yankee One is on final." "Rescue personnel are in place." "Pick up your left wing." "You're drifting left." "Power, power!" "Wave off, wave off!" "Eject, eject, eject!" "Fire, fire!" "Fire on the flight deck!" "This business will get out of control, and we'll be lucky to live through it." "Fire on the flight deck." "All hands lend assistance." "The bird's loaded down with enough fuel to get you there, but Dallas may not be there." "We're trying to reach her." "If she's gone deep, it's dodgy." "If you have to ditch..." "If you have to ditch, don't think about anything but the survival gear." "At this water's temperature, you'll have about four minutes." "I'll try to remember that." "Next time, Jack, write a goddamn memo." "Diving officer, make your depth 6-5-0 feet." "Make my depth 6-5-0 feet." "Sonar, Conn preceding below the thermal layer." " The captain's sacked out?" " Yeah." " Auxiliaries proceed 5,000 pounds." " What about him?" "He won't leave." "Conn." "Sonar, hold." "No contacts on bearing 2-9-5." "You know, I seen me a mermaid once." "I've even seen me a shark eat a octopus, but I ain't never seen no phantom Russian submarine." "We're emerging from the route, Captain." "I've ordered a routine clearing of the baffles." "We'll be making the first turn in a few minutes." "The caterpillar is operational and appears to be running normally." "The crew know about the saboteur." "They are afraid." "That could be useful when the time comes." "You know, we could make the Labrador Coast in 16 hours." "Half of them would freeze before they were rescued." "No, it's Massachusetts or Maine..." "In 48 hours." "Two days." "Do you think they will let me live in Montana?" "I would think they'll let you live wherever you want." "Good." "Then I will live in Montana, and I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me, and I will have a pickup truck." "Ora..." "Possibly even a recreational vehicle and drive from state to state." " Do they let you do that?" " Yes." " No papers?" " No papers." "State to state." "All right." "Commence your turn." "Then in winter I will live in Arizona." " Actually, I think I will need two wives." " At least." " Possible aspect change on target." " Sonar, Conn." "Aye." "Concur possible target zig based on bearing rate." " Conn!" "Sonar!" "Crazy Ivan!" " All stop!" "Quick quiet!" " All stop, aye." " Engine's all stopped." "What's going on, Jonesy?" "Russian captains sometimes turn suddenly to see if anyone's behind them." "We call it Crazy Ivan." "The only thing you can do is go dead, shut everything down, and make like a hole in the water." "So what's the catch?" "Catch is a boat this big doesn't exactly stop on a dime." "If we're too close, we'll drift right into the back of him." "What about you?" "What do you look forward to?" "I..." "I have no such appetites." "Now, let's see if he can hear us." "There must be something." "What is it?" "I miss the peace of fishing like when I was a boy." "Forty years I have been at sea." "A war at sea." "A war with no battles." "No monuments." "Only casualties." "I widowed her the day I married her" "My wife died while I was at sea, you know." "Post guards in the engineering spaces." "If he can get to the caterpillar, he can get to somewhere more vital." " Where is he, Jonesy?" " Conn, Sonar." "Target is now coming out of our starboard baffles." "My read is that he is returning to base course." "Concur." "He's returning to course 2-1-0." "He went right around us." "We'll give him another 30 seconds, then secure from silent running." "Captain?" "Here's what we got on the ELF." " Thanks." " Aye, sir." "What is it?" "You're not going to believe this." "Commander, we are approaching no return." "Dallas apparently hasn't gotten the message." " We have to turn back for the carrier." " Give it a couple more minutes." "Negative." "Fuel status says we turn around now." "Fuel status?" "You got a reserve, don't you?" "I've got a 10-minute reserve, but I'm not allowed to invade that except during war." "If you don't get me on that submarine, you might have it." "You got 10 minutes worth of fuel." "We stay here 10 more minutes." "Mount up!" "I got a submarine at around 3:00." "About 2 miles." "Okay, Tony, hook him up." "I'll be lowering you down to the submarine now." "Give me eight minutes." "Let's hope this thing runs on fumes." " Very well." "Surface the ship." " Surface the ship." "Aye, sir." "Whoever this guy is, he's in for one hell of a ride." "Okay, Commander, go ahead and sit down." " You ever do this before?" " Once." "On a calm day off Hawaii." "The pilot will have a difficult time keeping steady." "Don't take chances getting grounded." "Keep that rod in front of you." "In air like this, the rotors will put out enough static electricity to light up Chicago." "That's why I joined the Navy." "A diver's in the escape trunk in case this guy goes in the drink." "Someone must have a burr up his ass to go for a stunt like this." "All right." "Ready!" "Ready!" "Get your hook up!" "Commander, if I got to bring you back up," "I'm going to shake the wire." "I'll give you a thumbs up, like this." "Remember to cross your arms." "Got it?" "Okay." "Out you go." "Passenger's out the door." "Passenger's halfway down, drifting forward." "Start forward" "All right, Tommy." "Get the hook on his cable." "On his cable." "Now, watch it." "Don't touch him." "Okay, here he comes." "No!" "It would be easier without that bloody crosswind." "Where is he?" "I can't see him." "Don't touch him!" "Jack!" "Jack!" "Jack!" " This is never going to work." " Okay, reel him back in." "Tony, what's going on back..." "What happened?" "Dallas, have you got a swimmer standing?" "Emergency stop!" "Man overboard!" "Port side!" "Send out the diver!" "Very well, Dallas." "We are history." "Get the doc down here!" "I'll be in the escape trunk." "Down ladder!" "Down ladder!" "Make a hole!" "Watch his head." "Watch his head." "How do you do, Captain?" "It's a pleasure to be aboard." "I have to talk to the President." "Of course." "May I inquire as to the subject?" "It seems that the initial reports that one of our submarines was missing were not completely accurate." "The submarine in question is commanded by Captain Marko Ramius." "Apparently, he has suffered a kind of mental or nervous breakdown." "Just before he sailed, he posted a letter to Admiral Yuri Padorin in which he announced his intention to..." "To fire his missiles on the United States." "Why didn't you tell me this the last time we met?" "In my position I'm sometimes compromised by the fact Moscow doesn't always tell me everything." "So one of your submarine captains has gone insane?" " What do you want from us?" " You offered your assistance." "That was a rescue mission." "Now you want us to help you hunt him down and kill him." "I have been instructed to ask your president for precisely that." "Find him?" "We already found him." "We had to break off to pick you up." " Captain, excuse me." "Coffee?" " Thank you." " Cigarette?" " Don't smoke." "Assuming we can find him, just what exactly am I supposed to do about it?" "Captain, radio." "We're receiving flash traffic on the VLF emergency circuit." "Very well." "Bring it down." "Mr. Ryan?" " Chief, excuse us for a second." " Leonard, come on out of there." "The sub we're after is called the Red October." "She's under the command of a man named Ramius." "Now, there's the possibility that he and a good portion of his crew are attempting to defect." "Defect?" "Excuse me." "You say the boat's called the Red October?" " That's right." " Skipper's Ramius?" "Right." "It seems the circumstances have changed somewhat, Mr. Ryan." "Get this man some dry clothes." " I'll be in the conn." " Aye, aye, sir." ""National Command Authority" ""informed Soviet Typhoon-class submarine Red October" ""is potential renegade" ""and threatens independent missile launch." ""You are authorized to use any necessary force" ""to prevent said submarine" ""from approaching the coast of the United States."" "Left 10 degrees rudder steady on course 2-6-5." "Left 10 degrees rudder secure course of 2-6-5." "Make turns for 14 knots." "Chief of the watch, rig for red." "Time Quartermasters and Navigator on the deck in the conn." "What's going on?" " Battle stations are manned and ready." " Very well." " Captain, I have to talk to you." " Not now." "Make your depth 1,200 feet, 20 degrees down angle." "Diving Officer, make your depth 1,200 feet, 20 degree down." "Full dive on fair water planes." "Full dive on stern planes." "Twenty degree down." "Passing 450 feet, going to 1,200." "Five hundred." "Six hundred." "Seven hundred." "Did you get a good fix?" " Yes, Captain." " Very well." "At ordered depth, 1,200 feet." " Sonar, Conn." "You got him, yet, Jonesy?" " Very faint, sir." "Hold on." "Yes, sir." "Contact Typhoon 7 on bearing 2-5-0." "Right where he's supposed to be." " Any sign he's alerted to our presence?" " No." "Operating as before." "Come left 2-6-5." "Bring us up behind him quietly, Tommy." "Aye, aye, Captain." "Diving Officer, make your depth 500 feet." "Captain, please listen to me." "Two minutes, that's all." " Plot, time to intercept his track." " Four minutes, Captain." "Very well, Mr. Ryan." "Two minutes." "It makes perfect sense." "Look at the situation, Ramius intends to defect." "The Russians know this, which is why they've tried to sink him, but they haven't been able to..." " I have a firing solution." " Very well." "Captain, you have to listen to me." "The Russians will stop at nothing to prevent Ramius from defecting." "They've invented this story that he's crazy because they need us to sink him before he can contact us." "Weapons Control, I want full safeties." "I don't want this fish coming back." " Full safety." " Captain, I know this man." " Has he made any Crazy Ivans?" " What difference does that make?" " The next one will be to starboard." " Why?" "Because his last was to port?" "Because he goes to starboard in the bottom half of the hour." "Flood tubes one and two." "Warm up the weapons." "Find a way to establish contact without violating orders." "He wants to defect!" "Mr. Thompson, call Chief Watson to the conn with his sidearm." "Conn, Sonar." "Signal to noise ratio 's dropping." "Possible aspect change in target." "Possible target zig based on bearing rate." "Conn, Sonar." "Crazy Ivan!" "Captain." "Captain, he's turning." " Which way is he turning?" " To the starboard, sir." "Give the man a chance." "All back full." " Captain, say again." " I said all back full!" "Back full." "Aye, sir." "Engines back full." "We're cavitating." "He can hear us!" " Conn, aye." "All stop." " All stop, aye." "All right." "We just unzipped our fly." "Mr. Thompson, open the outer doors." "Firing point procedures." "Now, if that bastard so much as twitches," "I'm going to blow him right to Mars." "All stop rudder amidships." "What's going on?" "Can you identify the contact?" "American Los Angeles class attack submarine bearing 0-1-5..." "Captain, sharp metallic transients." "He may be trying to open his torpedo tube doors." "Outer doors are open on tubes one and two." " We're ready to shoot." " Very well." "My orders are specific, Mr. Ryan." "He's opened his outer doors." "He's preparing to fire." "Flood tubes three and four and plot a solution." "Captain, flood tubes three and four." "Plot solution." "Shall I open the torpedo tube door, sir?" " Captain, shall I open outer doors?" " No." "Lock the firing solution into the computer." "Do not open the doors." "Aye, Captain." "Lock solution into computer." "Conn, Sonar." "Target's flooded his tubes." "Has he opened his outer doors?" "Negative, Captain." "He's just sitting there." "Hold on." " Hull popping." "Target's coming shallow." " What's that mean?" "That means he's a very cool customer, your Russian." "He knows we're here and ready to shoot." "He's not provoking us." "He's heading to periscope depth to see what's on the surface." " What's his course?" " His course is 2-7-0, due west." " Bring us alongside him." " Aye, aye, Captain." "Sonar, Conn." "Report all contacts." "Conn, Sonar." "My only contact is Typhoon 7, bearing 1-9-5." " Very well." "Fire control, range to target?" " Range is 300 yards." "Make your depth 65 feet." "Diving Officer, make your depth 65 feet." "He wants to go up and take a peek." "We'll play along." " Going to 45." " Going to 45." " Weapons status?" " Weapons are on." "Tubes three and four are flooded." "Outer doors are closed." " Twenty-five meters." " Depth 25 meters." "Mark this bearing." "You wanted to talk to him, Mr. Ryan." "There he is." "What do you want to say?" " Is he the only one looking?" " Probably." "We'll have to chance that." ""U.S. told you intend missile launch." Break." ""Do not approach U.S. coast or you will be attacked." Break." ""If intention is other will you discuss option?" Break." "Can he acknowledge with a single ping?" "Yeah, he can." "The question is, will he?" "Verify our range to target." "One ping only." "Aye, Captain." "I'll be damned." "Now what?" "All right." ""If defection" ""you plot course toward..." The chart." "I need a chart." "No." "No." "Okay." "Where the hell are we?" "Someplace deep." "Someplace deep." "Okay." "Okay!" "Send them this!" " You out of your mind?" " Just send it." "Tell me one thing." "How did you know he was going to go to starboard?" "I didn't." "I had a 50/50 chance." "I needed a break." "Sorry." "That's all right, Mr. Ryan." "My Morse is so rusty" "I may be sending dimensions on playmate of the month." "Reverify our range to target." " One ping only." " Captain, I just..." "Give me a ping, Vastly." "One ping only, please." "Aye, Captain." "What the hell is this about?" "The Russians want us to sink her." "We might have to do that." "We must give this American a wide berth." "Let us turn south." "Mr. Kamarov." " Plot a new course due south." " Yes, sir." "New course 1-8-0." "It's the reactor!" "Shut down the reactor!" " Seal the ventilation system!" " The ventilation controls have failed!" "Everybody out." "Clear the compartment!" "Out!" "Ventilation system, shut it down now." "They don't respond." "The controls don't respond!" "Bypass it." "Seal it manually!" "Move!" "Shut it off." "Melekhin, say again." "Suffered a leak in the primary coolant tube, so shut down the reactor, but the ventilation circuits have been disabled." "The coolant appears highly contaminated." "I knew there was damage when the caterpillar went down." "Radiation alarms activating in all compartments." "Engineering is heavily contaminated and radiation's moving forward." "Get to periscope depth." "Ventilate with outside air." "Aye, Captain." "Periscope depth!" " Prepare to ventilate!" " Ventilating won't do anything." " We've got to get them off." " What's the battery condition?" " Four hours." "Six, if we're cautious." " Engage battery system." "We've got a level one radiation leak." "Every surface of this ship's contaminated." "We've got to get the men off." "Sir, we have been sabotaged!" " Who said anything about sabotage?" " Captain!" "Sir, I'm afraid the doctor is right." "Very well." "Surface." "We'll evacuate the men to the deck." "Aye, Captain." "Surface the ship!" "Prepare to muster all personnel to escape hatches." "Break out the rafts." "Lash them to the deck." "We'll use them as shelters until the fleet arrives." "Make sure the count is accurate, Doctor." " We must get the entire crew out." " Yes, sir." "Master-at-arms reports rafts secure and evacuation proceeding." "Very good." "We'll rotate through the conn." "No officer will spend more than 20 minutes below deck." " Will that be satisfactory?" " Completely, Captain." "Surface contact, 2-7-0, six miles and closing fast." " It's a warship." " What?" "Here?" "Can you identify it?" "It's a frigate, U.S., probably, Perry class." "He's signaling." ""Red October." "Red October." "Halt and stay where you are." ""Do not attempt to submerge, or you will be fired upon."" "Captain, I think he means to board us." "You will go with the crew." "The officers and I will submerge beneath you and scuttle the ship." "You'll receive the Order of Lenin for this, Captain." "We're going to cast off." "The captain's going to scuttle the ship." "He's going down, sir." "Put a shot across his bow." "Come right at 1-8-0." "Seahawk One, this is bravo command." "She's ready." "Seahawk One, release on my command." "Drop now, now, now." "Range to target, 900 yards." "Eight hundred yards." "Seven hundred yards." "Six hundred yards." "Five hundred yards." "Four hundred yards." "Three hundred yards." "The torpedo is detonated." "Now, understand, Commander, that torpedo did not self-destruct." "You heard it hit the hull." "And I was never here." "Contact Dallas." "Give them the go." "Advise Dallas." "Get the DSRV moving." "Dallas, this is Rueben James." "There are about two million things that can still go wrong with this stunt." "Central Intelligence Agency." "Now, there's a contradiction in terms." "How's the coffee, Ryan?" "Dallas, this is the Mystic." "Request clearance for launch." "Mystic, Dallas." "You're cleared for launch." "Hatch is secured." "Life support, normal." "Prelaunch checks complete." " We're ready to launch." " Aye." " Flood the skirt." " Flood the skirt." "Aye." "Skirt's filled and equalized." "Soft seal." "Ready to lift off." "Okay." "Let's do it." "We're off." "Thrusting port." " Six hundred yards and closing." " Steer right to course 0-7-5." "Four hundred." "Two hundred yards." "One hundred yards." "Hit the lights." "Jesus, that's a big sucker." " Okay, we're in position." " You can open the hatch." "Hold it a second." "Jonesy." "Mr. Ryan." "He's defecting." " And he can't change his mind?" " He's not going to change his mind." "You willing to bet your life on that?" " Sir, could you hand me that hammer?" " Yeah." "Americans." "He's turning green." "What's so funny?" "The captain seems to think you're some sort of cowboy." "You speak Russian." "A little." "It's wise to study the ways of one's adversary." "Don't you think?" "It is." "I doubt you'd remember, but we met once at the Consulate in Leningrad." "Along with your wife." "I'm very sorry." "What gives you the right to fire on my ship?" " Your signal said nothing of a torpedo." " Ryan." "It was necessary to maintain the illusion for your crew." " My crew are being rescued, yes?" " As we speak." " You sent the signal." " That's correct, sir." "Then how did you know our reactor accident was false?" "That was a guess, but it seemed logical." "Very well." "I present you the ballistic missile submarine Red October." "My officers and I request asylum in the United States of America." "It's a pleasure, sir." "Bart Mancuso, USS Dallas." "Torpedo." "The Americans are shooting at us again." "The pitch is too high." "The torpedo's Russian." "What do you mean another torpedo?" "Where the hell did it come from?" "Conn, Sonar." "New contact." "Sierra 4-1." "Alfa class Soviet submarine." "Why don't I have a detonation?" "The weapon enabled on the far side of the target." "It passed Red October before arming." "Fire again with the right settings and reload both tubes." "Get me power." " Get that damn thing off my boat." " It's off." "I think somebody shot a torpedo at us." " No shit, buckwheat." "Get out of here." " Where am I..." "The Captain is fighting them." "The Captain is fighting the Americans." "The Captain is fighting the Americans." "Borodin, fire control." " Ryan." "Sit here." " I'm not a naval officer." "I'm with the CIA." " CIA?" " I'm not an agent." "I just write books for the CIA." "Whatever." "Sit down." "And do exactly what I tell you." "DS RVs away" "There's a Russian Alfa 8,000 yards to starboard." "I think it's the Konovalov." " Increase the flank." " Increase the flank." " How?" " That knob." "Turn right full." "All ahead flank." "Right full rudder." " He's shooting again, sir." " Go to battle stations." " Battle stations." " Chief of Watch, man battle stations." "Torpedo in the water." "Bearing 3-1-5." " Make range 7,000 yards." " Steer right 3-1-5." " That's heading into the torpedo." " Steady, bearing still 3-1-5." " Estimated range, 6,000 yards." " Still 3-1-5." "Steer right till this reads 3-1-5." "No, that's wrong." "Ryan, don't turn that god damn wheel." "3-1-5." "You're heading straight into that torpedo." " Yes." " Doing what?" " He's turned into the torpedo's path." " What?" "Red October's turned directly into the torpedo's path, sir." "Mother of God." "Torpedo steady, bearing 3-1-5." "Range, 5,000 yards." "Melekhin, more speed." "Negative." "We are already running 110%." "Then get me 115%." "Estimate range 3,000 yards." "Closing awfully fast." "He's heading right into the torpedo." "What's he trying to do, kill himself?" "We have a firing solution on the Russian Alfa." " Can we shoot back?" " They didn't shoot at us." "I can't attack a Soviet submarine without authorization." "Torpedo bearing, steady at 3-1-5." "Best range, 900 yards." "Torpedo impact, 20 seconds." "What books?" " Pardon me?" " What books did you write?" "I wrote a biography on Admiral Halsey called The Fighting Sailor, about naval combat tactics." "I know this book." "Torpedo impact..." "Your conclusions were all wrong, Ryan." " Ten seconds." " Halsey acted stupidly." "Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two..." "Torpedo impact..." "Now." "I'll be damned." " What happened?" " Combat tactics, Mr. Ryan." "By turning into the torpedo, the captain closed the distance before it could arm itself." " So that's it?" " Not quite." "Right now, Captain Tupolev is removing the safety features on all his weapons." "He won't make the same mistake twice." " Vastly, have you plotted a solution yet?" " Aye, Captain." "It's a little rough, but I..." " Gunfire?" " That's what it sounded like, sir." " Won't change his mind?" " It's one of the crew." "Whoever he is, he's having second thoughts." "I would like to have seen Montana." "Captain, he stumbled forward into the missile bay." "There's a silo hatch warning port side, number 20." " He can't launch a missile." " No, but he can blow one up." " Captain, take the conn." " Fire control's blasted to hell." " Then get behind him and stay there." " Captain, wait." "You may need this, sir." "Thank you." "Don't just stand there, Ryan." "Go with him!" " You, you speak English?" " Yes, sir." "Get your butt over here." "Captain, torpedo broke off on impact." "Set the safety ranges for zero." "I cannot go any faster." "We must get him before he gets to the ignition circuits." "What happens if he gets to that ignition circuitry?" "He can incinerate the ship." "Is that door the only way out of here?" "Yes." "Don't let him get past you." "Ryan." "Be careful what you shoot at." "Most things in here don't react too well to bullets." "Right." "I have to be careful what I shoot at?" "Safety ranges set to zero." "Sonar, give me the bearing for Red October." "She's positioned behind us." "Right full rudder!" "I'll shake the man loose." " He's going deep." " Thirty degree down angle!" "All the countermeasures were over there, right?" "Very well." "Admiral, the Alfa's too quick." "It's only a matter of time." ""Ryan, some things in here don't react well to bullets."" "Yeah." "Like me." "I don't react well to bullets." " Where's he now?" " Close, sir." " Nine hundred meters, directly ahead." " Got him." " Match bearings and fire." " We are too close!" "Don't argue." "Launch the weapon." "The torpedoes are armed in the tubes!" "You cannot..." "Do it now!" "Another torpedo." "It went active the moment it was launched." "Left full rudder." "Ease off on your bow planes." "I think he's got us." "Way to go, Dallas!" "Torpedo is in acquisition." "Range 500 yards and closing." " You've done it, Mr. Thompson!" " I hope this works." "Chief, put us on the roof." "Countermeasure station, on my mark." "Five, four..." "One." "Release countermeasures." "Emergency blow!" "Full rise." "Fair water plane." "Six hundred feet, 550, 500 feet." " Four-fifty." " Come on, big D. Fly." "Captain scared 'em out of the water!" "That torpedo's still active." "It's searching for another target." "A goddamn cook!" "How close is that Alfa, Jonesy?" " Thousand yards, going to port." " Reverse your turn." "We're turning straight at him." "Torpedo's still on our tail." "The hard part about playing chicken is knowing when to flinch." "Collision in 400 yards, 350, 300..." "Captain!" "Right full rudder, 30 degree down angle." "Aye, sir." "This one's going to be close." " Torpedo dead ahead!" " You arrogant ass." "You've killed us." "We have ascertained the Red October's final position, but given the depth of the water and the fact that the wreckage spreads across a wide area, it'll be some time before anything's recovered." "However, your people are interviewing the crew now and making arrangements for their return." "This has been a terrible tragedy, Mr. Ambassador." "And I can only stress that if you'd come to us earlier it might have been avoided." " I appreciate your candor in the matter." " And I yours, Andrei." "Perhaps in the future technology will allow a more thorough investigation of the wreckage." "Perhaps." "There is another matter..." " One that I'm reluctant to..." " Please." "One of our submarines, an Alfa, was last reported in the area of the Grand Banks." "We have not heard from her for some time." "Andrei." "You've lost another submarine?" "All this way to hide a submarine in a river." "We're 100 miles from the nearest naval base, the last place that satellites will ever look." "I grew up around here." "My grandfather taught me to fish off that island right over there." "There's one question you haven't asked me yet." "VVhy?" "I figured you would tell me when you were ready." "Now, there are those who believe we should attack the United States first, settle everything in one moment." "Red October was built for that purpose." "When the dust settles from this, there's going to be hell to pay in Moscow." "Perhaps." "Maybe something good will come from it." "A little revolution, now and then, is a healthy thing, don't you think?" "Do you still like to fish, Ryan?" "There's a river, not unlike this one, near Vilnius, where my grandfather taught me to fish." ""And the sea will grant each man new hope" ""as sleep brings dreams of home."" "Christopher Columbus." "Welcome to the New World, sir."