"Good textbook answer."  Gallery smiled up at the youngster, preparing to cut him off at the knees.  "On the other hand, Dallas is commanded by a fairly competent man who wouldn't be bothering us unless he really thought he had something.  He doesn't go into specifics, probably because it's too complicated for a tactical FLASH dispatch, and also because he thinks that we know his judgment is good enough to take his word on something.  'New drive system with unusual sound characteristics.'  That may be a crock, but he's the man on the scene, and he wants an answer.  We tell him yes."

"Aye aye, sir," the lieutenant said, wondering if the skinny old bastard made decisions by flipping a coin when his back was turned.

The Dallas

Z090432ZDEC

T O P  S E C R E T

PM:  COMSUBLANT

TO:  USS DALLAS

A.  USS DALLAS Z090414ZDEC

B.  COMSUBLANT INST 2000.5

OPAREA ASSIGNMENT //N04220//

1. REQUEST REF A GRANTED.

2. AREAS BRAVO ECHO GOLF REF B ASSIGNED FOR UNRESTRICTED OPS 090500Z TO 140001Z.

REPORT AS NECESSARY.  VADM GALLERY SENDS.

"Hot damn!" Mancuso chuckled.  That was one nice thing about Gallery.  When you asked him a question, by God, you got an answer, yes or no, before you could rig your antenna in.  Of course, he reflected, if it turned out that Jonesy was wrong and this was a wild-goose chase, he'd have some explaining to do.  Gallery had handed more than one sub skipper his head in a bag and set him on the beach.