The Enemy Below Page #4

---

I was a Fhnrich in the U-boats.

And how proud I was!

We went out

in those little sardine tins,

and if we submerged, we couldn't

always be sure we'd come up again.

It was a good game we played.

The captain would look through

his periscope and sight a target,

and then he did arithmetic in his head

and said "Torpedo los."

And you know something? Sometimes

the torpedo wouldn't even leave the tube.

And if it did, we were

most lucky to hit something.

And now I look in the periscope and

it gives me the distance and the speed.

I pass this information

to the attack table,

and the machinery turns and

the lights flash, and we get the answer.

The torpedo runs to its target,

and there's no human error in this.

They've taken human error

out of war, Heini.

They've taken the human out of war.

War was different then.

It put iron in the country's backbone,

gave them brave memory.

And even in defeat, it gave them honor.

There is no honor in this war.

The memories will be ugly,

even if we win.

And if we die,

we die without God.

You know that, Heini?

I listen to what you say, Herr Kapitn.

It's a bad war.

Its reason is twisted.

Its purpose is dark.

It's not for a simple man.

Lieutenant Crain is coming up, sir.

Port side.

What's your best time

on reloading depth charges?

It's not so hot, Captain.

Some of my boys are pretty green,

but I'd say three minutes, or four.

- Well, you've got to do better than that.

- I can try, sir.

That's not good enough.

It might be the difference

between stopping the enemy

and getting stopped ourselves.

If that's the case, sir,

we'll be good enough.

I'll depend on it.

Mr. Ware? I'd like you

to stick with the plot

in the pilot house

for the time being, please.

Aye aye, sir.

Looks like we've run out of the squall.

Yeah.

Why don't you lay

in your cabin for a while?

I'm all right, Doctor.

You getting the feel of a ship again?

Either that, or that pig-boat

out there is strong medicine.

I don't see how you can know

it's the enemy.

Well, call it a sixth sense

if you want to.

I always know when a mind is working

the other end of that radar beam.

Interesting. I've heard

hunters say the same thing.

They can sense the presence of game.

In any case, this is going to be

a disappointed ship if it isn't the enemy.

Yes, they all seem to be

a bloodthirsty crew.

The men would like a chance

to do what they're here for.

Not much other reason for existence.

Not now, anyway.

No, I sometimes wonder

if there ever was another reason.

I know what you mean.

I had a baby clinic up in Ohio.

It was pretty important to me.

Now it seems like something

that happened

on another planet

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes