A SHORT STORY: Omega - 5 Slipping

Gallagher often suffered from insomnia before large missions. He preferred to have a hand in all the checks and balances. The Z-380 was his favorite underwater vehicle; it had speed and maneuverability. He had a concern though, this mission would take it to the cusp of its design limits.

Palmer was a creature of habit. His routine had to remain unbroken in order for him to have a good day. He made his bed, shaved, re-looked at the project brief and was now coming to the end of his 30 minute meditation session.

Bowrinsky also rose early. He found a few bugs in his newly written code, which created time pressure. “Computers!” he murmured, “You can’t live with them; you can’t live without them!” His job was to monitor progress from the deck. He made a make shift remote control panel which plugged into the Z-380's on-board computer. This would allow him to take control of the submersible if he needed too. It had a limited working range, but it was the best he could do with what was available.

“Good luck, gentlemen!” Captain Briggs wished the two men as the submersible was hoisted over the side and into the water. The descent needed to be a controlled one. The three mile journey would take them just over an hour.

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“Any kids?” Gallagher asked Palmer. “No, my fiancé and I intend tying the knot in the spring. I haven’t been home much.” His voice betrayed his brave face. “I retire shortly,” Gallagher volunteered information, “It will be great to spent time with my wife and the grand kids,” he smiled at the idea. It was a tedious dive down for both men. Every half a mile down Bowrinsky announced the progress, “One point five miles to target.”

The descending capsule was now in complete darkness except for the cabin lights running on the efficiency mode. “Anything down there?” enquired Briggs when they were around two point five miles down. “Nothing untoward,” responded Gallagher, “For now it’s all hunky dory!” He had barely completed his sentence when the vehicle was hit with an almighty jolt, from beneath. The structural elements of the vehicle creaked, as a result of the additional imposed loading. “What the hell was that,” yelled Palmer. “I’m not sure, but we’re in for a bumpy ride," responded Gallagher. "I hope this tin can holds.” Their headsets came alive again. “Are you guys OK! What just happened down there?” Palmer responded, “We don’t know but we sure as hell wanna find out!”

Palmer positioned the submersible so that they could have a better view of the sea bed; and trained all the available lighting towards it. “Do you see what I see? We have a real situation on our hands,” said Gallagher. Before he could elaborate further - the vehicle was hit by another violent updraft; and in quick succession a strong current hit them from side. It dragged the craft so fast that it snapped off the communications cable.

“Come in Gallagher, Come in!” called Bowrinsky. There was no response. He could see the tension in the cable go limp on the surface of the ocean. “We have lost contact with the underwater team,” Bowrinsky informed Captain Briggs. “Bring them up with your remote control device,” instructed the captain. “I’m afraid they are out of range Sir,” responded Bowrinsky. “Well, keep trying until you do,” barked an irritated Briggs.

“We have lost "comms", damaged to our power unit and we lost the starboard engine. We probably have an hour of dive time left and then we will be done for,” Palmer informed Gallagher.

“We need to warn everyone or it’s going to be a sad ending,” said a clearly concerned Gallagher. “The ocean floor beneath Omega - 5 is sinking!” He added. “How is that possible?” asked Palmer. “The oil mining operation drains the oil reservoir beneath the rig, which is meant to fill up with sea water to maintain stability; however it seems that the roof of the oil reservoir has developed a fault line all along its rim. This has resulted in its roof sliding downward under its own weight," Continued Gallagher. "We don’t have much time the failure will be quick and catastrophic."

"Remember the updraft that hit us? That is when we cross over the rim, the pressure of the slipping roof displacing the water in the oil reservoir is creating the powerful updraft!” Gallagher explained to Palmer. “This doesn’t make any sense!” said Palmer. "Surely they would have spotted the tell tale oil leakages on the surface,” he quizzed Gallagher. “Do you remember the side hit we took?" asked Gallagher, “Well, it’s the migrating sub-terrain water current, passing right through here." The current removing all the evidence. "You need to get us up ASAP!," instructed Gallagher. “I’m afraid we have insufficient power. Oxygen is low too!” Palmer responded. “Give me the controls”, demanded Gallagher.

Gallagher navigated the craft toward rim of the oil reservoir with the available motor. “On my instruction empty the ballasts at five percent for additional buoyancy. No more or we will rip this can to shreds.” Gallagher skillfully selected and mounted a powerful updraft. “Now!” he instructed. Palmer initiated the procedure and the Z-380 slowly ascended. Both men felt the effects of the low oxygen levels, and slowly faded out of conciousness...

“I’ve got something,” Bowrinsky informed Captain Briggs. “Well, what are you waiting for? Bring them in and have the medics on standby!” instructed the captain.

Bowrinsky maneuvered the Z-380 alongside the frigate which was promptly boarded by the medics. Both men were treated with pure oxygen. Gallagher momentarily regained consciousness, “Tell Captain Briggs....evacuate Omega - 5....ocean floor......collapsing,” before passing out again.

When Gallagher opened his eyes the next morning, Captain Briggs was there to greet him, “How does it feel to be a hero?" He asked. “Pretty crappy,” Gallagher managed a smile. “We lost the Omega - 5 at 19h48. We managed to evacuate all 199 souls.” Briggs informed him. “How’s Palmer?” Gallagher asked with some apprehension. “He’ll be fine - he just needs some more rest.”