And one way or another, she’d be fully submerged by that time.
The slow leak now had water up to her ankles, which was actually going to turn out to be a boon. The more water that was inside by the time Spencer finally sliced through the titanium, the better it would be for pressure equalization. The last thingthey wanted was to flood the compartment too rapidly and lose hydrostatic pressure. That could easily be the end of her, even protected somewhat in her escape suit by that time.
“It’s where things will get tricky,” Spencer concurred. “We’re going to have to stay in touch so I know how much water you’ve taken on. Then when you think it’s close to where you’re running out of air-space, or even breathable air if your battery fails, you’ll put on your escape suit, and I’ll cut as fast as I can.”
“I’ll have an extra ten minutes per pony tank,” Tabitha reminded him. “And I have four.” She hated to ask, but she needed to know. “What are the chances you can finish the job in the time we have available?”
“Not a problem.” He gave her the okay signal, but she could see signs of worry on his face behind his mask.
The next few hours were undoubtedly going to suck.
“In case you lose power at some point, and we can’t talk,” Spencer continued, “I’ll give you three knocks on the hull when I’m finished cutting the outside shell. Then I’ll head topside for new tanks. I shouldn’t be gone long,” he assured her. “Ten minutes at most.”
Seriously? She was a certified diver, and she knew he was supposed to take forty minutes between dives.
“You can’t do that, Spencer,” she scolded. “I’m not letting you put your health at risk. I’m good for a while. How about I radio up and let you know where things stand down here, depth wise, before you cut your decompression time short. When you descend, you can start cutting right away.”
“Not happening,” he countered. “We need to have eyes on each other as much as possible.”
Did he know his presence calmed her? It sure sounded like it.
“So, here’s what we’ll do,” he told her. “When I get back, we’ll make moon eyes at each other through your porthole while I work. Depending, I might have to surface again, but eventuallyyou’ll tell me with this hand signal,” he made a water-wave motion, “that the water levels inside are reaching critical. That will be when I begin cutting like hell.”
Tabitha swallowed painfully around a lump that had formed in her throat.
So many things could go wrong. The water that was leaking in slowly might start to accelerate. The cold water and decreased air in the sub might make her lethargic and unable to put on her…
Duh. What the hell was she thinking?
Maybe the oxygen levels had already begun falling, compromising her brain function, because…
“Dammit. I’m going to suit up right now,” she told Spencer. “There’s no reason to wait until I might not be capable. Even though I’ll start sweating my ass off, as the water gets deeper in here, the insulation will keep me from becoming hypothermic. I won’t, of course, zip up the hood and start using my tanks until absolutely necessary.”
“Smart thinking,” Spencer agreed. “Now, I’m ready to get started.” He held up his exothermic cutter for her to see. It was, indeed, hooked up to its air supply as he readied the striker in his other hand.
Tabitha was reluctant to cut communication, but their five minutes was more than up, and Spencer had a job to do.
“Okay.” She tried not to sigh. “Endora out.”
With one last look at Spencer who began right away, working behind his neoprene screen, Tabitha turned on her flashlight in the sudden darkness, and sloshed forward to where her two escape suits were stored. The SEIE locker, which was designed to protect the gear from damage and contamination, was sealed tightly. She broke the seal, without regret. She’d only ever had to wear a suit like this once before during drills when she’d been intraining, but she wouldn’t be hesitant or clumsy about getting it on. Muscle memory was great.
Decking herself out took only a couple minutes.
She looked down when she was finished, satisfied at the coverage the one-piece, bright orange, neoprene suit with integrated boots, gloves, and hood, gave her. The two small tanks that were attached to it with a regulator hose, rested on her chest. The pressure within the tanks, which she would currently leave off, would eventually fill her facemask with Nitrox. At least for a short while. She’d have to make use of every scrap of air available inside the cabin before she resorted to sucking up the last of her life-support.
On another note, the suit also had a built-in system for buoyancy compensation, when and if it came time to head for the surface.
Like she’d imagined before donning it, the suit immediately began heating up inside, which made Tabitha’s pulse ramp higher.
She needed a distraction.
“Failing to plan, is planning to fail,” she recited to herself. It was something her father used to say, and it came back to her now.
Of course.She needed to do what she could to help from within, while Spencer busied himself outside.
She went back to the storage locker and detached the two spare tanks from the other auxiliary suit. She’d switch them out with the ones she was wearing, if and when hers became empty.
Where to put them, though? They needed to be in a place she could easily reach them once the sub was completely flooded.
