February 3, 2021, 00:45

  Deep in the Southern Seas of Jeju Island, Latitude 32掳21鈥? Longitude 126掳10鈥?

  As the White Shark torpedoes drew within 500 meters of the enemy submarines, a Nixie distraction device was released from target #1. It moved in the opposite direction of the submarine that fired it, emitting the same acoustic signature. As if it had been tricked by this, one of the White Shark torpedoes changed direction, following the Nixie distraction device. However, the remaining torpedoes continued to fly towards target #1 until the end. In response, submarine target #1 tried doing an emergency surface like the Hong Beom-do (SS-079) had done, releasing the seawater from all of its tanks, sprang upwards at an instantaneous speed, and began to surface.

  鈥淒istance from White Sharks to target #1 is 50, 40, 30, 20.鈥?

  Then, the sonar operator pulled back the headset he was wearing and spoke to the captain.

  鈥淭arget hit, submarine #1 has been sunk.鈥?

  鈥淎re you sure?鈥?

  鈥淵es! Definitely, sir.鈥?

  As submarine target #1, the JS Wakashio (SS-601) had tried to surface too quickly, the White Shark torpedo, which had the capability to turn, just followed the submarine, raising its angle of elevation, and rocketed up to strike the bottom of the craft.

  The submarine took a direct hit from the highly explosive 370-kilogram warhead, and bubble jets streamed out of its lower section in all directions. The force of the explosion had split the partition between the inner and outer parts of the sub鈥攊t took advantage of the split in water pressure to strike a blow to the inside of the ship, and seawater also began pouring in. Then, the rupture that had opened up became slowly larger, and soon divided into two pieces, and the JS Wakashio (SS-601) exploded in the blink of an eye.

  A huge storm of bubbles swirled around that area, and the bodies of sailors and all kinds of debris that had been inside it floated up to the surface with their buoyancy.

  鈥淢r. Captain, sir! It occurred to me that it might be that the sub that had just exploded was a nuclear sub.鈥?

  鈥淎re you sure?鈥?

  鈥淵es sir, in between the acoustic signatures I heard coming from it, I confirmed there was the sound of coolant entering a nuclear reactor.鈥?

  鈥淐an it be? What in the world is the ID of that ship? Could it be a US nuclear sub?鈥?

  鈥淭hat鈥檚 not it, sir. We鈥檝e secured the acoustic signatures of all US nuclear subs currently running. If it was a US ship, it would have been recorded on our friend or foe database, sir.鈥?

  鈥淭hen, does that mean that Japan has acquired nuclear submarines? In any case, for now, let鈥檚 just focus on target #2.鈥?

  Captain Kim Yeon-ho squeezed his right fist tightly and then gave his commands to the pilot.

  鈥淐hief navigator! Continue the present course! Dive at a downward angle of 25 degrees to a depth of 150! Full steam ahead, engines to maximum output! Push them as high as they鈥檒l go!鈥?

  鈥淢aintaining present course, diving at an angle of 25 degrees down to a depth of 150! Full speed ahead, engines at full power!鈥?

  The Hong Beom-do (SS-079) had begun to dive again after surfacing and was now turning its nose and diving as if it was slipping down into the deep ocean.

  鈥淕ive me a report on the status of the third and fourth torpedoes.鈥?

  鈥淭he third torpedo is now at a distance of 1200 from target submarine #2, and the fourth is at a distance of 1250.鈥?

  The officer in charge of arming the torpedoes gave an immediate answer to the captain鈥檚 question.

  鈥淲eapons launch confirmed from submarine #2! They opened their rear torpedo tubes and fired four torpedoes.鈥?

  鈥淒id you say rear torpedo tubes? Well, this must really be the latest model. Are we the target?鈥?

  The captain looked at the sonar monitor screen and directed his question at the officer monitoring it.

  鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 appear that way, sir. The target of torpedoes 3 and 4, which were fired to destroy, has been confirmed as the Lee Beom-seok.鈥?

  鈥淭he captain of this ship is no slouch, it seems. Load torpedoes five and six! Enter the acoustic signature of submarine #2 as the target.鈥?

  鈥淟oading torpedoes five and six! Now entering the acoustic signature of enemy sub #2 as the target.鈥?

  In the midst of this ferocious battle taking place in the deep, dark sea on the southern edge of Jeju Island, several Mk.99A Super Lynx helicopters that had taken off from the First Fleet sped up and flew towards the area where the target #1 submarine had just exploded.

  * * *

  February 3, 2021, 00:50

  Seoul, Yongsan-ku, Bunker B2 (Situation Room of the Joint Command and Control Center for the Republic of Corea Army)

  The report came in that one of the unidentified submarines had been directly hit by a torpedo from the Hong Beom-do (SS-079). This meant that two of the unidentified submarines, the starting point for this assault on Jeju Island, had been sunk, and one of them was left.

  鈥淢r. Chairman, no matter how I look at it, there are several suspicious things about the Japanese attack on Jeju Island.鈥?

  The Head of Strategy stroked his chin as he spoke.

  鈥淪uch as?鈥?

  鈥淓ven if we assume that Japan had carefully prepared for a counterattack, the fact that they were able to circumvent our submarine net and our antiaircraft net so exactly and carry out an operation like this is very strange.鈥?

  鈥淪trange? Hm鈥?but haven鈥檛 they invested an astronomical amount in their defense in the past few years?

  鈥淢r. Chairman, I agree with Lieutenant Colonel Kim.鈥?

  The Chief of Information, Lieutenant Colonel An Kil-won, spoke up.

  鈥淟ieutenant Colonel An, too? Speak your thoughts, then.鈥?

  鈥淭here鈥檚 the fact that if we look at the course of attack of the three unidentified submarines, they came by the route where the detection of Poseidon 3 was the weakest, that they attacked knowing exactly where our antiaircraft battalion was, and also the fact that they went around the eastern edge of Jeju Island where we have invested most of our naval forces, and attacked with that B-1B Lancer bomber. However you look at it, this seems鈥︹€?

  鈥淪o, you鈥檙e saying that the US is backing them?鈥?

  Hearing Lieutenant Colonel An鈥檚 credible opinion, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs interrupted him as he was speaking and inquired further.

  鈥淵es, that鈥檚 correct. Even if they鈥檙e not directly participating, I wonder if they are providing them with military intelligence from inside the Corean peninsula.鈥?

  鈥淭hat would be a very serious problem if the US went to those lengths to help them鈥︹€?

  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kang I-shik paused in the middle of what he was saying, as if something had occurred to him. He then called the communications control officer.

  鈥淐ommunications control officer!鈥?

  鈥淵es, Mr. Chairman, sir.鈥?

  鈥淢ake contact with the commanding officer of our aerospace forces.鈥?

  鈥淚鈥檒l connect with them right away, sir.鈥?

  The communications control officer gave the command immediately, and soon, the commanding officer of the aerospace forces appeared on the third combat screen.

  鈥淔idelity! This is Lieutenant Colonel Lee Kyoung-hyun.鈥?

  鈥淔idelity! You鈥檙e doing some good work, Lieutenant Colonel Lee.鈥?

  鈥淵es sir, Mr. Chairman!鈥?

  鈥淚 want you to check, starting right now, on all US and Japanese satellites orbiting the airspace above the peninsula for anything related to military usage, and don鈥檛 leave anything out.鈥?

  鈥淵es, sir, right away.鈥?

  A moment later, the image of Lieutenant Colonel Lee disappeared from the screen as he gave a salute.

  鈥淢r. Chairman, do you think perhaps, a US satellite鈥︹€?

  鈥淭hat鈥檚 right, just as I was listening to you speak, I wondered about the US satellites鈥︹€?

  * * *

  February 3, 2021, 00:55

  Deep in the Southern Seas of Jeju Island, Latitude 32掳21鈥? Longitude 126掳10鈥?

  The four torpedoes that submarine target #2 fired to destroy displayed superior performance as they crashed into the four other torpedoes that were fired from the Hong Beom-do (SS-079) and the Lee Beom-seok (SS-080). Having avoided the first round of danger like this, the JS Arashio (SS-603) sped away as fast as it could.

  The crew of the Lee Beom Seok (SS-079) then once again loaded their torpedoes and tried to close the gap with the enemy ship, but this was difficult due to the difference in speed between their craft and the enemy鈥檚 nuclear submarine. While the Hong Beom-do (SS-079) was moving at top speed in an attempt to catch up, two dark shadows were using the topography of the ocean floor to keep themselves completely hidden while at close range.

  Then, when the two shadows approached the Hong Beom-do (SS-079) at a distance of 1,100, they opened their muzzle doors and quickly fired torpedoes. Immediately, the panicked cry of the sonar operator onboard rang throughout the entire submarine.

  鈥淭wo enemy subs just appeared! Azimuth 1-8-5, depth of 120, distance 1800, the other is at azimuth 1-8-0, depth 100, distance of 1950鈥攋ust confirmed that they鈥檙e both Soryu-grade submarines, sir. They鈥檙e opening the muzzle doors! Four torpedoes have been fired, sir.鈥?

  鈥淲hat on earth are you talking about? Could you no detect them the whole time it took them to get this close?鈥?

  Captain Kim Yeon-ho, shock in his eyes, stared at the sonar operating officer, who looked back at him and answered with a sullen expression.

  鈥淚t seems that鈥?this was because they used the hilly parts of the ocean floor and were running silent.鈥?

  鈥淩unning silent? Were they waiting to ambush us?鈥?

  Captain Kim Yeon-ho did a double-take. In his tenacity, he had tried any means necessary to catch the enemy subs, and had lost sight of the idea that there could be an enemy sub lying in wait for them. But, as the Hong Beom-do (SS-079), which was supposed to maintain its secrecy, had moved through the water at maximum speed, they must have let slip their location, and now they had been caught by these ships that had been waiting to ambush them.

  鈥淚鈥檓 such an idiot! I鈥檝e made a huge mistake!鈥?He thought.

  The captain mentally upbraided himself.

  鈥淗as the identity of the enemy subs been determined?鈥?

  鈥淚t turns out they are the JS Hakuryu (SS-503) and the JS Kenryu (SS-504), both Soryu-grade crafts, sir.鈥?

  鈥淒amn it.鈥?

  It was no use feeling regret. The key point now was to figure out how to address the current threat. The question was whether they should turn to the starboard side and face the enemy to fire a torpedo to take them down, or veer to the port side and use a distraction device to throw off the enemy torpedoes. After deeply considering both options briefly, Captain Kim Yeon-ho quickly reached a decision and gave his orders.

  鈥淐hief navigator! Hard a port, azimuth of 0-0-5! Continue diving at a maximum dive angle, as low as 200!鈥?

  The submarine鈥檚 nose turned sharply to the port side in the opposite direction that the enemy torpedoes were flying at them from, and moved as if it were slipping down into the great deep.

  鈥淏oth torpedoes currently at a distance of 820.鈥?

  鈥淧repare two decoys and fire them at will!鈥?

  鈥淧reparing two decoys. Launching them now.鈥?

  Fwoosh! Fwoosh!

  The decoys that were fired from both starboard and port sides split off in different directions, setting off a huge jet of bubbles with their sharp turns, and covering up the hull of the Hong Beom-do (SS-079), which was now disappearing in the opposite direction.

  However, the four torpedoes fired by the Soryu-grade submarines were wire-guided*, not straight-running torpedoes*. This meant that the crew of both submarines were able to guide them by feeding detection data about the Hong Beom-do (SS-079) submarine through a wire that connected the torpedoes to the end of the torpedo tubes. Not one of the four torpedoes was blinded by the decoy bubbles and flew at an even greater speed towards their target.

  * Straight-running torpedo: a principle whereby the torpedo follows the previously entered course after firing and then utilizes its own sonar system to latch onto the target once it gets close and then strike it.

  * Wire-guided torpedo: a method where two strands of wire connect the end of the torpedo to the torpedo tube, with the ship and the torpedo exchanging data back and forth to guide it, and then disconnecting the strand at the final step and using the sonar of the torpedo to hit the target.

  After a moment, the torpedoes whizzed through the curtain of bubbles, and soon had caught up to the tail end of the Hong Beom-do.

  鈥淗ead enemy torpedo now at a distance of 500.鈥?

  鈥淰eer rapidly to the port side at 3-2-0!鈥?

  鈥淭urning rapidly port, azimuth of 3-2-0!鈥?

  Captain Kim Yeon-ho turned his craft rapidly back and forth, trying to throw off the enemy torpedoes by any means possible, but in the end, it was no use against the wire-guided torpedoes. A foreboding feeling filled the captain鈥檚 chest.

  * * *

  February 3, 2021, 01:30

  Seoul, Yongsan-ku, Bunker B2 (Situation Room of the Joint Command and Control Center for the Republic of Corea Army)

  The air in the situation room of the Joint Chiefs of Staff looked very heavy. Earlier, they had received a grim report from the Naval Command Center.

  The report stated that the Hong Beom-do (SS-079), which had pursued the unidentified submarines to the end, had been caught in an ambush by two Soryu-class submarines waiting for it, and had been sunk, and that they had missed the one remaining unidentified submarine in the end.

  鈥淕eneral Na Hong-hwan!鈥?

  鈥淵es, Mr. Chairman!鈥?

  鈥淲ill it be possible to recover the bodies of the crew of the Hong Beom-do?鈥?

  鈥淭ruthfully, sir, currently the situation looks difficult. There could be additional ambushes by the Japanese submarines, sir.鈥?

  鈥淗m鈥?I hate to ask, but please do your best to find a way, won鈥檛 you? We can鈥檛 leave our brave young people who sacrificed themselves for their country in the cold and dark sea, can we?

  鈥淵es, sir, I understand. We鈥檒l find a way.鈥?

  It was then that the aide-de-camp of the aerospace forces鈥?report of the data concerning the current status of US and Japanese satellites over the entire area of the Corean peninsula arrived.

  鈥淚鈥檒l pull it up on the main screen.鈥?

  A digital map showing the entirety of the peninsula appeared on the largest main screen in the situation room, and lines showing the orbits of the hundreds of satellites above were a jumble of different colors. Twelve of these that were directly involved in the current war, intelligence and military satellites, were displayed in bright red.

  鈥淚 will first report on the status of intelligence satellites.鈥?

  鈥淎h! One moment, please.鈥?

  Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Kang I-shik raised his hand and interrupted, cutting off what the satellite operations officers were saying.

  鈥淎re there any new additions to the intelligence about the Japanese espionage satellites that we don鈥檛 already know about?鈥?

  鈥淣o, sir. It鈥檚 the same information that we already had.鈥?

  鈥淚f that鈥檚 the case then please, let鈥檚 leave out the Japanese satellites for now and start briefing us on the US satellites.鈥?

  In fact, from the start of the war, the Joint Chiefs of Staff had already figured out all the information about Japan鈥檚 satellites.

  鈥淵es, very good, sir. Then, I will begin briefing you on the status of the US satellites.鈥?

  Beep! Beep!

  Of the numerous satellites floating in the sky as displayed on the main screen, a few of them flashed red. These were the US military satellites.

  鈥淐urrently, seven optical satellites are orbiting the sky above the peninsula from the US: two KH11-grade, one KH12-grade, and four Lacrosse radar imaging reconnaissance satellites, and there are also three total stationary satellites in use, GEO 5, 6, and 7. Among these, Geo 7 was shifted to the area above the Corean peninsula from the Middle East at the time of the Sino-Korean war, and is the latest model of close-observation satellite.鈥