Up From The Depths

                                           Up From The Depths

                                            By James M. Vines

The mechanical whine of the reduction gear in the engine room had become mind numbing over the past several months at sea. Staying underwater most of the time lead to monotony and routine until you did not know whether you were coming or going. The hours, days and months had taken its toll on Engineman first class Roberts. He wasn’t sure that he would even know how to adapt to life back on dry land. Though he didn’t fully understand why the voyage was necessary, he did know that the research being conducted by some of the Navy’s top scientist was essential to the security of his nation and the well being of the ocean surrounding the country. His only job was to keep the ship running so it could complete its mission. Maintaining the cryogenic cooling plant was a full time job and required exacting attention to detail. Without it the Fusion reactor would over heat and the ships systems would shut down, leaving the entire crew of 300 souls trapped in a 3 billion dollar coffin at the bottom of the sea.

   The mind numbing hum of the cooling system was interrupted by the ships communication system. A shrill whistle came through loud and clear, followed by the voice of the ships Captain. The ship wide com was not used in unless there was something important that had to be relayed to the entire crew. Otherwise, messages were sent through internal closed intercom or by written messenger so as to keep the integrity of the ships location from being compromised. The whole ship went silent beyond the hum of the mind numbing machines, the Commander spoke “ Now hear this” in what was likely a practiced monotone voice, the crew were notified of their new directives from commander Submarine Fleet Atlantic. A message of congratulations was then forth coming with words of encouragement and a long awaited message a message that was a great relief to not only the rest of the crew, but especially to Engineman First Class Roberts, they were going home! Their work was done and now they could come up from the depths of the watery world in which they had been forced to live for so many months. Their only rest bit came when they docked with an underwater naval facility where personnel lived and worked full time nearly one thousand fathoms below the ocean. All they could do there was take on supplies and perform maintenance on the submarine before setting out again into the dark depths of the oceans.

   Roberts was relived from his station as engineering watch supervisor by the division chief. He gave a proper turnover then left the engineering spaces for the relative quiet of his berthing area which he shared with two other crew members. The spaces were so tight that 3 people shared the same bunk. He didn’t mind the arrangement given space was limited, and the person that used the bunk to sleep before him was a second class nuclear reactor tech named Carmichael, Petty Officer Second Class Michelle Carmichael. The navy had been gender integrated since 2015 and now in 2031 having women on ships and submarines wasn’t even a second thought, but he secretly enjoyed the smell of her perfume and shampoo that was always left in the pillow. As Petty Officer Roberts undressed and crawled into his bunk, he drifted to sleep with pleasant scents that elicited memories of life beyond the confines of the submarine and the cold dark depths of the sea.

   Nine hours went quickly when you were on the brink of exhaustion and Petty Officer Roberts was brought out of his sleep by the roving watch. It wasn’t quiet time for his next watch yet, but the routine dictated that he get up exercise, shower, eat and prepare to continue his mundane routine. Though on this particular day, the routine would be different. The ship would be coming back to home port in Miami Florida and the crew could finally get some rest, though there would be a litany of reports and interviews before they could fully go ashore and turn the ship over to the civilian operations teams, anticipation made the day go by quickly.

   At what would be midday on the surface, the ships 1MC system came alive, the ships Boatswain piped crew to quarters. This was it, the ship was coming to the surface. All crew were sent to their stations. Even those who were supposed to be asleep would be awake and at some duty post, not that anyone would want to sleep through the return to port. The excitement could always be cut with a knife it was so thick. This time was no exception, especially for Petty Officer Roberts. This had been the longest that he had ever been under at one time and his first time as a shift supervisor in charge of the main cooling plant with 6 people under him. That only added to the strain of being away on such a long deployment.

   The waves breaking against the hull sounded like distant thunder as the submarine broke the surface of the water for the first time in months. The outer vents were opened to let the fresh salt air flood into the ventilation system, it was almost like entering a different world when the new smells came rushing in. For months you had been breathing sterilized air, as if you were living in the surgical ward of a hospital. Then, all at once you were overwhelmed with the familiar smells that were comforting but somehow alien. The outside world had been almost forgotten, but as if it was some distant memory it came back to you in an adrenal rush of sensations. The next few hours seemed to evaporate as the submarine made safe harbor and was towed in by sea going tugs. Once the ship finally moored, the work of shutting down the ships systems had to be done. One by one they were brought down until they were all at zero. The reactor and cooling system were the last to be brought to operational standby. This meant that Petty Officer Roberts and his team would be one of the last ones off of the boat. Finally about half past 4 in the afternoon, the order came, all shutdown. With a great exuberance, the engineering team brought everything to an operational standstill. They finished post shutdown checks and filed out from their respective assignments . All that was left was to pick up their personal gear and head to the side port access that had to be opened in order to let the waiting host of civilian technicians and operators on board to begin the preparations of getting the submarine ready for a new crew that would embark in just under 30 days, venturing out into the unknown depths on a mission that was yet to be known.

   All ashore was the last call over the intercom, Petty Officer Roberts brought his IPAD with him and turned it over to the station engineer officer as he walked off. It contained the sum total of all his logs and observations from the operations of the Cryogenics plant and the people working under him for the entire time below the ocean. With that turned in, I quick sit down with the Navy shrink to answer the standard I’m ok your ok questions then he was free from duty. As Joshua Roberts Petty Officer First Class stepped out onto solid land for the first time months, the setting sun and abundant sounds of the ocean and surface world seemed to envelop him. He had on his prescription sunglasses that he had to wear for a few days, at least until his eyes could adjust to surface after months under artificial fluorescent lights in the metal shell he called home. With his sea bag over his shoulder, he walked slowly and deliberately, not wanting to be rushed and not wanting to stumble and injure himself, at least not on the first night back ashore. With a settled quietness, the homecoming kisses and tearful reunions fades slowly, Joshua Roberts went to his assigned shore quarters and stowed his gear. In the unique tradition of the submarine navy, he showered and changed his clothes. Then off of the base to the local navy dive bar, where most of the crew would muster for the tradition of the celebratory welcome drink, before going their separate ways. With the sun all the way down and the moon on the horizon, the drink seemed rather tepid. Everyone gave a salute to the successful completion of another mission, what ever that may have been. The round of cheer was shared from the lowest seaman to the ships captain, then as if phantoms in a dream, the crew faded away into the ethos of self interest, turning back into their own lives that had been put off by their mission and duty. With a new beer in his hand, Joshua walked out of the tavern and out on to the peer that overlooked the harbor. Quietly, he looked towards the sea, but not at the waves, but to the heavens, peering into the night sky. With a deep sense of comfort, he counted the stars that he could see and began to reflect on what it must have been like to have only the lights of the heavens as company on so many long journeys that past mariners must have taken. He drank his beer slowly and a cool wind blew in from the sea, he could feel a presence around him, as though the ghost of old sailors who had come before him were there with him to share his drink and remembrance of what life must have been like before iron ships that sailed under the sea, away from the natural lights placed in the heavens for sailors to sail by.