* * * * *
It was the sonar operator, aboard the Providence-class guided missile cruiser "U.S.S. Albemarle," that first alerted everyone else that trouble was coming.
"Skipper! Bogie closing fast, off the port side!"
"What is it; a whale?"
"Negative! No corresponding sonar pings.
"What's the depth?"
"Sixteen fathoms, and rising*!"
Consequently, the captain of "the Albemarle" contacted his opposite number aboard "the Fisher's Island Sound." The latter then ordered the immediate scrambling of two Vought Crusader jets (equipped with ASW tracking radar) to reconnoiter. Meanwhile, back aboard "the Albemarle," her captain had similarly ordered all Convair Terriers readied for launching. For with Secretary of Defense McNamara being present, at this weapons test, nothing could be safely assumed!
A wise precaution, as it turned out. For no sooner had both ship's captains been notified that their orders had been carried out, the "bogie" finally cleared the surface of the ocean. And, the image telecast to the bridge of the aircraft carrier (by the just-arrived Thunderflash from Guam) justifiably caused almost everyone to think what Mr. McNamara, himself, muttered aloud.
"God---have---mercy."
Almost as if she had heard him, Comrade Rusalka smiled as she started to wade forward. Her right arm already outstretched, as if she were a toddler reaching out for her favorite bathtub toy. At the last moment, however, she was distracted by a barrage of Terriers from "the Albemarle." Simultaneously, the two scrambled Crusaders fired half their Sidewinders!
Distraction, however, was all they achieved.
The mutated mer-giantess simply knelt down in the ocean water to extinguish the flames that had ignited in her hair. Yet, ironically, doing so bought enough time for the BOMARC drone to arrive on the scene. True, it was not carrying any kind of explosive warhead. At its present speed, however, it was basically a giant-sized bullet. Unfortunately, for Mr. McNamara and all others concerned, the back of her head proved bullet-proof!
The nose of the BOMARC crumpled up against her impenetrable epidermis like a paper drinking cup.
Even so, this proved to be an additional, and highly beneficial, distraction. For it allowed the circling Thunderflash to get a good shot of her face as the pursuing Nike-Artemis missiles now homed in on her. This was followed, a second later, by a fiery explosion more thunderous than the earlier volleys by "the Albemarle" and the two Crusaders!
This second explosion, while caused merely by conventional high-explosive warheads, at least pained her enough, this time, that she had to completely submerge in order to extinguish the ensuing cranial conflagration. Furthermore, when she resurfaced, this time,...
...she was no longer smiling.
The captain of "the Albemarle" saw no choice.
"Sparks! Tell Captain Rutherford to have the Sec-Def evacuated aboard the fastest transport he can scramble. Because, I'm about to order the launching of...of one of our Honest Johns!"
The rest of the bridge crew grew deathly silent at the mention of this nuclear-capable surface-to-surface missile. Fortunately, for them, Mr. McNamara's earlier prayer finally seemed to get answered.
"Hun Foxtrot to Albemarle! Hun Foxtrot to Albemarle! Cease fire. Repeat: cease fire! I'm coming in from your two o'clock with something that just might provide the lethality you're looking for."
tbc
Giantess World
Chapter End Notes:
*Fathom: obsolete nautical measurement equal to six standard feet.
ASW: anti-submarine warfare.
Convair Terrier: obsolete naval surface-to-air missile.
Sidewinder: obsolescent air-to-air missile.
ASW: anti-submarine warfare.
Convair Terrier: obsolete naval surface-to-air missile.
Sidewinder: obsolescent air-to-air missile.