Chapter 137 - The Trench Intruder
Water roared through the cavern outside. Through the forward optical arrays, I watched millions of gallons of frigid Lake Tahoe water rush into the moonpool, submerging the concrete loading dock and sweeping the remaining enemy gear into the depths.
The submersible trembled as the hydraulic docking clamps released with a deep, resonant clunk.
"Vessel buoyant," the onboard tactical computer reported. "Depth: 620 feet. Reactor output stabilizing at maximum efficiency."
I gripped the primary flight stick, eased the throttle forward, and felt the electric drive motors engage. The submarine glided silently forward on magnetic propulsion, sliding out through the massive rock-hewn portal into the open, pitch-black abyss of Lake Tahoe's central trench.
The depth gauge began to tick downward rapidly: 800 feet... 1,000 feet... 1,400 feet.
At this depth, the lake was a freezing, lightless graveyard. The temperature of the water outside hovered just above freezing, exerting thousands of pounds of pressure per square inch against the black hull.
Suddenly, the active sonar suite shrieked a high-priority warning.
A crimson contact blossomed on the three-dimensional bathymetric map displayed across my center console. It was bearing three-four-zero, rising rapidly from the submerged underwater cliffs near Crystal Bay.
"Sonar contact: hostile unmanned underwater vehicle," the system warned. "Signature matches Mark-48 torpedo platform modified with autonomous search capability. Distance: twelve hundred yards and closing."
Arthur and Clara were small-time grifters compared to whatever monster had laid this trap. Someone with access to high-tier naval armaments had deployed an autonomous kill vehicle into the lakebed, waiting specifically for Leviathan-02 to unmoor from Whispering Pines.
"Countermeasures offline," the terminal flashed. "Warning: confined freshwater basin. Blast overpressure will cause catastrophic hull resonance."
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If that weapon struck the rock wall near the sub, the shockwave alone would crush the hull like a soda can.
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