Chapter 7: Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition

Captain Robertson turned away from the Commodore and shouted to his crew, "Fifteen degrees starboard at full, on the double lads!"

"Belay that order! The K.S. Pride will remain stationary until the fault in the sonar has resolved itself. I am to believe that the indicated torpedo is nothing more than a ruse. Altering our course could be playing into the plan of the saboteur!" Commodore Hooves commanded.

Captain Roberson sits down on his seat and buckles his lap restraint, "Hooves we are going to be hole-punched in fifteen seconds! I will not be standing up when your 'brilliant' deduction blows up in your face."

"You are not going to challenge me?" Commodore Hooves replied.

"Well you are the senior officer! Besides this a good teaching moment for ya. You can wait for it to hit us or maybe just maybe you can still give the order and we can avoid it. Whatever is going to happen I won't be a part of it. How about you take over for once o mighty Commodore?" Captain Robertson said.

"I will not move her. The K.S. Pride isn't going anywhere!" Commodore Hooves proclaimed.

"It is your choice, the wrong one but yours regardless. I would suggest you hold onto something since we have three seconds to impact." Captain Robertson said smugly.

The Commodore quickly walked over to the railing that overlooked the lower level of the Command Room. All she could see was the backsides of officers in brace position and the sonar projected on a large screen. The torpedo inched closer and closer until it reached its target. Nothing happened, not a single vibration. The officers began to look up at the sonar with confused looks.

"What did I tell you Robertson! There was nothing there and for once I was rig-" The Commodore proudly stated before being cut off by a huge shockwave that hit the whole submarine all at once. The Command Room vibrated violently which caused most of the crew to slam their heads against the monitors in front of them. The Commodore looked over the whole scene with awe before she was knocked off her hooves and flew over the railing. Captain Robertson griped onto his seat tightly until the movement stopped. The Command Room became oddly still. There was a moment of complete silence before the red overhead warning lights came to life once more. Three staccato beeps designated a fire somewhere aboard the ship. Captain Robertson looked around and figured it must not be near since thewas no smoke. He unbuckled his restraints and got up slowly. Once he got his bearings he rushed over to the ledge.

"Commodore Hooves are you alright?" Robertson shouted while overlooking her from above.

There was no response.

"Someone check on the Commodore just to make sure she hasn't keeled over. That is the last thing we need to happen. Do we have an idea of the extent of the damage yet?" Captain Robertson inquired.

Two ponies rushed over to the Commodore while a sailor looked up from a monitor and reported, "Comms are down Captain! I dispatched a group of engineers to do a quick once over of the ship. As soon as I know we will all know, Sir!"

"How is the Commodore boys?" Captain Robertson asked.

The two ponies looked at each other and frowned, "She isn't coming to, Captain! It appears the Commodore banged her head pretty hard against this console."

Just as they said that the Commodore moaned. She covered her face with her fore hooves and tried to stand. The sailors steadied her as she began to walk up the flight of stairs to Captain Robertson.

"What happened? Did we get hit?" the Commodore managed to say in a quiet voice.

"Yes, Bubbles I am afraid we did. I hope you had a nice trip, see you next fall!" Captain Robertson chuckled.

"You jerk! I fall off a railing and the ship could have possibly encountered crippling damage. What is the first to come spewing out of that trap of yours? A school yard wisecrack that no one over the age of five would find funny!" the Commodore screamed.

"I am sorry, I really am. Would it make you feel better if I point out that it appears both your eyes have gone lazy on you." Captain Robertson said.

The Commodore stepped back and tried squinting and shifting her focus from side to side. Her reflection off of a metal desk confirmed Robertson's observation. The Commodore had messed up her eyes somehow and now they didn't want to stay straight. She pounded at the desk and breathed out a flurry curses that even a hardened sailor would find to be a little coarse. Commodore Hooves walked off into a corner and sobbed into her hooves.

"Smooth as steel wool, Captain. Maybe you should tone down the ridicule and show some empathy for once. At very least you should be checking on the damage of the Pride," A sailor mouthed off in the background.

The Captain looked over harshly towards the direction of the scorn. Then he walked over over to Commodore Hooves and attempted to calm her.

He said in a soft reserved tone, "Bubbles, you know I am just a crass old man trying to get through a crisis before his first flask of vodka. I don't always think when I run my mouth and I didn't mean to hurt you. I know how important looks are to a young mare like yourself and I shouldn't have poked fun at your injury. I need you right now though. The submarine could be sinking and we wouldn't know yet. I am bad at this whole apologizing thing so can I please get back my back seat driver?"

"You screwed me over old man!" The Commodore coughed up in between sniffles.

"I did what now?" The Captain asked.

"You knew it was a real torpedo and you let me just sit there. I just got the K.S. Pride hit on the very first voyage of my career!" Commodore Hooves accused.

"Hooves, I was as unsure of it as you were but I chose action instead of chance. I allowed you to take over because I figured you saw something I didn't and where trying hard to display whatever made you special enough to yet promoted to Commodore in the first place. That was a mistake. I shouldn't have took the training wheels off your bike and pushed you downhill. What is important now is that we pick up the pieces and make sure that the UFFE doesn't send half of the Equestrian nuclear arsenal to the bottom of the ocean!" Captain Robertson said.

The Captain turned around to the mass of commissioned officers that gathered behind him and shouted, "Alright boys I think we have a grasp on who is in our waters. I Declare the unknown submarines hostile combatants and I want the Pride turned around if she has got any engines left. Get all personal to action stations. I want the torpedoes loaded by the time we get within ten kilos of their current location. Now let's personally deliver these lowlife scum suckers to the gates of Tartarus for Queen and country!"