[Laughing Swordfish]

Peering into the rain, I can only just make her out.

Riding the waves badly, either old or unladen by the way she's rolling, I suppose about 2,000 tons, if we're lucky and she isn't

"Good eyes, Christian!"

"It wasn't me, Kap" he smiled and jerked his thumb towards Oscar who was still glued to the target by his binos.

"Let's let him take the attack, Christian, get your boys back in and tell Reuben to come hard starboard to 060 degrees, full engines. Now this is to be the Doc's ship so lets help him get it"

"Hey Oscar, great sighting! As it happens we seem to be turning into an interception path. What luck! Now what do you see from the ZBO?"

Christian crouched with him and talked him through judging the size of the ship and it's speed and course and range. The Doc was very excited when he got to call battle stations, and the data he was saying was only slightly altered by Christian's relay, as we passed down the information.

"Now Oscar," said Christian, "You need to tell Joachim which tube to select. I'd say given the size of the target, shallow and an impact pistol."

"That's exactly what I would have diagnosed!" replied Oscar, now thoroughly enjoying himself.

I could just stand by and watch.

"Tell them to open Tube One, Doc"

"Open Tube One"

"Into the voice pipe, please, Doc"

"Oh, sorry..."OPEN TUBE ONE!"

"Now Joachim is waiting with his finger on the trigger so keep feeding him any new information, and watch the range decrease and the angle of her bow we want to be almost perpendicular to her but slightly forward as she's coming across our path.

"When she gets to around to anything under 1,000m, and the right angle looks good, let her have it, Doc!"

Minutes pass, as the distance closes. I click my fingers from the back, and Christian gives Oscar a nudge. "Now would be a good time, Doc. Shout Eins Los"

"Nummer Eins, Los!"

The great hiss of the torpedo and soon the wake, "Don't be distracted by the last torpedo you've fired Doc, you can't do anything about that now, you need to be already thinking about your next move. Do we need to align for another shot? Do we need to beat it out of here, do we submerge, who else is likely to be about?"

As Oscar was nodding there was the dull boom and white spray, as Doc's eel took her just forward of the bridge, but enough to know that she was going already.

Christian is already giving orders to return to course on high speed. Oscar turns, there's men getting into lifeboats.

"Aren't we going to help them?"

"You're asking the wrong person, Doc", says Christian grimly

"They're almost within sight of land, Oscar, the Irish coast is just away there" I swept my hand away to starboard, if we hang around here we'll join them. Good shot though, Doc, let's get you below and the rest of First Watch up"

I winked at Christian (he had lost none of his sharpness) as me and Oscar went below.

"Do you know, Rollie, I think I really am helping Christian get back to his best, did you see the way I guided him through that attack...."

LS