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 241Diaz pushed the large red button on the instrument console. Immediately, thedistinctive alarms blasted throughout the Watch Station."Battle stations sounded, sir," reported Diaz.Crewmen on the Gold Team scrambled to their assigned stations, normal dutiesdropped in mid-task. Interrupted from a deep sleep, the members of the Blue Team boltedout of their beds and hurriedly pulled on their blue coverall uniforms. The crews of theBenthic Rangers raced to the transfer module and to the crew module and strappedthemselves into the pilot and co-pilot seats and awaited orders."Mr. Diaz, deploy the transponder buoy," said Messinger."Deploy transponder buoy, aye, aye, sir," responded Diaz.Diaz lifted the yellow and black striped metal cover and pressed the green buttonunderneath. Once the button was pushed, a cylindrical canister was ejected from thecommand module. Upon leaving its storage tube, the end of the canister snapped open,releasing a rubberized balloon which immediately began expanding from nitrogen gasstored in the canister. The balloon and canister began a rapid ascent to the surface of theocean."Transponder buoy deployed, sir," said Diaz.Upon reaching the surface of the water, the canister began transmitting in code on asecret CSAC frequency. This message was picked up by one of four CSAC satellites ingeosynchronous Earth orbit over 22,000 miles in space.The transmitted message was "Mayday, Mayday. Station Three. Mayday,Mayday."On Benthic Ranger One, Chief Warrant Officer Tommy Dirks rapidly went throughthe checklist with his co-pilot, Chief Petty Officer James O'Shaunnessy."Reactor."
 
 242"Critical.""Propulsion.""Activated, on standby.""Weapons Systems.""Energized, locked."Dirks reported to Messinger, "Captain, Benthic Ranger One activated andavailable.""Roger, Benthic Ranger One," said Messinger.Chief Petty Officer James Takeshita also reported from Benthic Ranger Two."Captain, Benthic Ranger Two activated and available.""Roger, Benthic Ranger Two," said Messinger. "Mr. Diaz. Any information onwhat hit us?""Sir, as far as I can tell we were hit with a sonic force of considerable energy,"reported Diaz."Seen anything like that before?""No, sir.""Where do you think it came from?""No idea, Captain. We had no warning of an impending attack. None of oursensors detected any intruders or activity on the Rock."The tension mounted on the faces of the crew members as they sat quietly. TheGold and the Blue Teams now acted as one crew. Lieutenant Jerry Wright, U.S.N., cameinto the command module. Watch supervisor of the Blue Team, Wright was also theexecutive officer onboard Watch Station Three."What's the problem, Captain?" he said.
 
 243"We were hit by a sonic force of unknown origin and the stores module imploded.I guess the bio-feedback earphones blocked out all the noise."The Blue Team had been asleep with the new bio-feedback tapes, designed to block out all noise."Well, I didn't hear anything until the alarm sounded."What's your recommendation?" The three men sat silently for a momentcontemplating what was happening."I think you should deploy Benthic Ranger One," Wright finally commented."I concur," said Diaz."So do I. Benthic Ranger One?" said Messinger."Benthic Ranger One, sir," said Dirks."Benthic Ranger One, we're under attack by an unknown enemy. I'd like you toinvestigate and destroy any attacker. Commence launch sequence. Red status. Fire atwill.""Roger, Benthic Ranger One," Dirks initiated the lockout sequence.Messinger, Diaz, and Wright heard the soft metallic clank as the pressure doorsclosed, the faint hiss as the air in the entryway was displaced by sea water, and sharperclanks as the latches fell away from the Benthic Ranger. The whirring sound of BenthicRanger's propellers was then heard as Benthic Ranger One lifted off the watch station."Captain, I suggest you inform the crew," said Lieutenant Wright."Yes, I guess we’d better," said Messinger as he reached for the intercommicrophone. "Attention, this is Commander Carlton Messinger. As some of you may haveguessed, Watch Station Three is under enemy attack. This is not a drill. Benthic RangerOne has been deployed to search and destroy any enemy vessels. I'll keep you advised.God save us all."
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