Denial Measures by J. R. Jackson

Author:J. R. Jackson [Jackson, J. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781980392309
Amazon: 1980392307
Published: 2018-03-08T06:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

33 hours after Outbreak

SSGN Claggett, Somewhere off the Pacific Coast

The Claggett rode proud on the ocean’s surface, like the force projection vessel she was. Returning to her home, Port Winthrop, after successfully completing the current evaluations, Powell decided to relax shipboard etiquette a bit and give the crew some down time. For the last few days, they had been operating under strict EMCON; simulating an operational condition where contact with command would be detrimental to the safety of the vessel and security of the mission. Therefore, they had no normal communication with the outside world. Upon completion of their evolution, Claggett’s COMMO section sent an encrypted burst transmission to COMSUBPAC. Due to the low tasking priority of Claggett, it wasn’t uncommon to go several hours before receiving a response. In reality, the fault was due to a small, thirty-nine cent fuse that had burned out without notice. This little item controlled the red light that signaled a priority message from CINCPAC/COMSUBPAC.

If the red light didn’t flash, the printer wouldn’t print the message, but instead would hold it in the buffer. The civilian engineer who had designed the system thought this was a good idea and for the money his company was charging the Navy, he really didn’t care. The issue of a problem was never brought up as the red light warning system was built by a different subcontractor and it wasn’t part of the original design. Due to the mass confusion resulting from the surface disorder and the fact that Claggett was no longer an active missile boat; no one at COMSUBPAC noticed that Claggett failed to respond to the coded emergency message. A new petty officer, fresh out of his ‘A’ School, scared, nervous, not knowing exactly whom to tell about the failure to respond, finally assumed that another communications officer had received a confirmation from the vessel and had failed to log it into the system.

In Claggett’s communications compartment, the radio operator did a standard check of his equipment and found the faulty fuse. He requested to get a replacement from stores to fix the problem. Along the way to stores he made a stop at the head and chatted with a shipmate from engineering. Finally, reaching stores he fumbled through the supply closet before finding the correct replacement. When he got back to the radio shack, it was a good hour later. He then took another 45 minutes to carefully unscrew the faceplate, remove the burned out fuse, check the connections, and insert the new fuse. He put the old fuse in his pocket, and then ran a systems check to make sure the new fuse worked properly. He sent a standard yet coded message to COMSUBPAC notifying them the Claggett was returning to its homeport. He had just sent the message when the red light blinked, informing him of emergency flash traffic in the buffer. At first he thought it might be another faulty fuse but then the SATCOM fax began spitting out several sheets of paper.

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