Michael DiMercurio's Emergency Deep - Plot summary

Bill Nichols · Joined: 14 Mar 2001 Posts: 2657

Presented below is a synopsis of Michael DiMercurio's new novel, Emergency Deep. Don't read any further unless you're willing to know the 'spoilers' ahead of time!

Emergency Deep is the first in a new series of novels based on modern submarine warfare. The book begins with its hero, Peter Vornado, and his buddy 'BK' Dillinger as new Plebes at the Naval Academy. They are being mercilessly harassed by their squad leader, Midshipman Whitehead. Peter and BK decide to abduct Whitehead in a midnight raid, and tie him to a statue in the Naval Academy courtyard. Dillinger punches the helpless Whitehead, causing a serious head injury. An investigation follows. Vornado admits what he has done, while Dillinger denies everything. No charges are filed because everyone knows that Whitehead is a dick.

Twenty years later: Dillinger is a member of a terrorist team intent on stealing a US Navy submarine, armed with nuclear-armed Tomahawk missiles, in order to blow up Tel Aviv. The team takes out the topside security watch, blows the sub's hatch, Tazer's the belowdecks watch, and incapacitates the crew with knockout gas. They sail away with the sub and, when at sea, put the crew (still unconcious and tied up) adrift in rubber rafts. Meanwhile, the entire US Atlantic Fleet sorties to find and sink the hijacked sub. Our hero, Vornado, is Commanding Officer of the Los Angeles-class submarine, USS Hampton. He intercepts Dillinger at the Cape of Good Hope. Both subs fire numerous Mk48 ADCAP torpedos, all of which miss. At a critical moment, Vornado falls ill due to an undiagnosed brain cancer. His XO takes command, and launches two nuclear Subrocs at Dillinger, just as Dillinger's ADCAPs are homing in on USS Hampton. The ADCAPs and Subrocs are all duds. Dillinger then reveals that everything has been a secret exercise staged by SubLant.

More to follow....

porphy · Joined: 22 Nov 2002 Posts: 455 Location: Sweden

Hi Bill

Great idea with a place for sub films, books etc. Thumbs Up

I will try to contribute with something out of my own tiny library.

Are you sure the plot actually is in the book? Sounds like something you could come up with after you emptied the christmas scotch. Plz don't make a mission out of this book. Very Happy

Cheers Porphy

Pigfish · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 2044 Location: Alberta, Canada

Ive read 4 of DiMercurios in order now and just finished "Barracuda Final Bearing".

Is it just me or do his books get worse each time. IMHO Barracuda is just bad. Remote control subs? Vortex missles? Rolling Eyes

He is giving Joe Buff a run for his $$ in the sci-fi/hard to believe department.

VOTD and AOTS were pretty good but started to go downhill with PSZ...Hope PFP is better... Yep

I see there is a job posted for you Bill on another topic... Thumbs Up

Bill Nichols · Joined: 14 Mar 2001 Posts: 2657

Pigfish · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 2044 Location: Alberta, Canada

Bill Nichols · Joined: 14 Mar 2001 Posts: 2657

Emergency Deep synopsis (Part 2)

Vornado is helevac-ed off USS Hampton and flown to New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Vornado is told that his brain tumor is inoperable, and he has only weeks to live. Then, his doctor gets him into a special experimental chemotherapy program. Only one of the previous experimental subjects survived the treatment, and that one was permanently crippled afterward. Vornado decides to go ahead and take the risk. Surprise! He is miraculously cured. Unfortunately for Vornado, the Navy in its wisdom decides that he can no longer be in command of a submarine, so Vornado resigns from the service.

Meanwhile, a Russian industrialist has built a secret submarine construction yard on the Kola peninsula. He is in the process of taking sections of scrapped Soviet Alfa-class SSNs and welding them together to build a new sub. Furthermore, he is installing modern silencing technology, so the reconstructed Alfa will be just as fast as the original, but much quieter. His plan is to sell the resulting super-sub to a Columbian drug lord, who wants to use it to smuggle drugs into the United States. However, a rich Arab terrorist also wants the sub, to launch nuclear missiles at Israel. The terrorist knocks-off the drug lord and becomes the Alfa's new owner.

The CIA knows about the Alfa and wants to put both it and the terrorist permanently out-of-commission. They recruit Vornado (who has been unable to find a job) and convince him to join the Russians and become the Alfa's CO. The plan is for Vornado to complete building the Alfa, take it to sea with the terrorists, stage a mock-mutiny (with other CIA agents onboard) and turn the sub, with the terrorists, over to the US Navy. Vornado answers an ad placed by the Russians, gets hired, single-handedly puts the Alfa's much-delayed construction back on schedule, and falls in love with the Ship Superintendent's daughter.

Back in the U.S.A., 'BK' Dillinger has been given command of USS Tucson. Dillinger's XO is a beautiful female officer, and he is finding it hard to keep his mind on business. Dillinger is ordered to take Tucson on a secret CIA operation off the Kola Peninsula. Once there, he is to locate the Alfa and sink it, using nuclear weapons if necessary.

USS Tucson gets on station long before the Alfa is ready to go to sea. While waiting on the ocean bottom, Dillinger and his Exec fall in love and begin a secret affair. Vornado and the Russians try to sneak the Alfa out of port by hiding it inside a converted merchant ship. Dillinger's sonarman isn't fooled, however, and Tucson begins trailing the merchant. When the Alfa separates from the surface ship, Dillinger hesitates to shoot because his orders require that there be no witnesses, and the merchant is too close. Vornado, unaware that a U.S. sub is nearby, orders up flank speed, and the Alfa leaves Tucson in its wake at 61 knots.

To be continued...

bradclark1 · Joined: 01 Feb 2003 Posts: 1007 Location: Connecticut, USA.

I think the guy watches too much "As the World Turns" and General Hospital"

Brad

TLAM Strike · Posted: Thu Dec 30, 2004 11:00 pm Post subject:

Pigfish · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 2044 Location: Alberta, Canada

TLAM Strike · Posted: Fri Dec 31, 2004 1:17 am Post subject:

Oh, I thought it was a Foxtrot, Romeo or something. Just imagine how much dope one of those could carry! And if they had a few torpedoes watch out! Surprised

How did they catch them?

Hmmm I sense a FFG mission for DW here� :hmm:

Pigfish · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 2044 Location: Alberta, Canada

She never seen the water...But obviously someone had the $$ and knowhow. Sad

Neal Stevens · Joined: 25 Jan 1997 Posts: 3517 Location: Houston, Texas

Everyone knows a druglord cannot go toe-to-toe with an Arab terrorist Smile

You know, if I had the experience DiMercurio had as an officer of nuke subs, I thinkl I would craft a tale that doesn't reply on female XOs, sci-fi weapons, and so much melodrama--just a good, solid sub story...

...my worst fear is, this is the stuff that sells... Sad

Pigfish · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 2044 Location: Alberta, Canada

Bill Nichols · Joined: 14 Mar 2001 Posts: 2657

Bill Nichols · Joined: 14 Mar 2001 Posts: 2657

Emergency Deep synopsis (Part 3)

Tucson loses track of the Alfa as it races out to sea. The terrorist leader, however, orders Vornado to turn around and sink the merchant that carried the Alfa out of port. Vornado anguishes over committing cold-blooded murder, but decides he has no choice. He torpedos the merchant and watches as its crew drown in the icy waters.

Tucson's sonarman reports torpedos in the water, and Dillinger concludes that the Alfa is shooting at him. He returns fire with Mk48 ADCAPs. Vornado attempts to outrun the ADCAPs by overpowering the Alfa's reactor, but the reactor scrams instead. Vornado decides that his only chance is to use the last remaining heat in the reactor to bring the Alfa to a screeching halt. With the Alfa now "Dead in the Water", the ADCAP's doppler sonar is fooled, and the torpedos miss.

Vornado talks the terrorists into abandoning the Alfa via its escape chamber. He then destroys the escape chamber with a torpedo, thereby killing the terrorists.

Meanwhile, on Tucson, Dillinger decides that he will never sink the Alfa using ADCAPs, so he launches a nuclear Subroc at it instead. Vornado hears the Subroc being launched and counterfires with a nuclear missile of his own. The two nukes explode, severely damaging both subs and forcing them to surface. Vornado takes an inflatable raft over to the American sub and saves Dillinger, Dillinger's XO and a few other sailors from Tucson's control room. Tucson's battery explodes and Vornado is knocked unconscious.

Vornado wakes up in Bethesda Naval Hospital after being in a coma for three weeks. Dillinger is there, and tells Vornado that he is a hero (even though he sank an American sub, killing most of its crew). The Chief of Naval Operations decides that Vornado is OK, reinstates him in the Navy, and offers him command of USS Texas, a new Virginia-class boat. Dillinger proposes marriage to his Exec, Vornado returns to his wife and family, and everything is in place for Michael DiMercurio's next novel.

The end.