Melekhin and Kirill Surzpoi, the assistant engineer, had the duty in the engine room.  Melekhin monitored the turbines and Surzpoi handled the reactor systems.  Each had a michman and three enlisted men in attendance.  The engineers had had a very busy cruise.  Every gauge and monitor in the engine spaces, it seemed, had been inspected, and many had been entirely rebuilt by the two senior officers, who had been helped by Valintin Bugayev, the electronics officer and on-board genius who was also handling the political awareness classes for the crewmen.  The engine room crewmen were the most rattled on the vessel.  The supposed contamination was common knowledge—there are no long-lived secrets on a submarine.  To ease their loads ordinary seamen were supplementing the engine watches.  The captain called this a good chance for the cross-training he believed in.  The crew thought it was a good way to get poisoned.  Discipline was being maintained, of course.  This was owing partly to the trust the men had in their commanding officer, partly to their training, but mostly to their knowledge of what would happen if they failed to carry out their orders immediately and enthusiastically.

"Comrade Melekhin," Surzpoi called, "I am showing pressure fluctuation on the main loop, number six gauge."

"Coming."  Melekhin hurried over and shoved the michman out of the way when he got to the master control panel.  "More bad instruments!  The others show normal.  Nothing important," the chief engineer said blandly, making sure everyone could hear.  The whole compartment watch saw the chief engineer whisper something to his assistant.  The younger one shook his head slowly, while two sets of hands worked the controls.

A loud two-phase buzzer and a rotating red alarm light went off.

"SCRAM the pile!" Melekhin ordered.

"SCRAMing."  Surzpoi stabbed his finger on the master shutdown button.

"You men, get forward!" Melekhin ordered next.  There was no hesitation.  "No, you, connect battery power to the caterpillar motors, quickly!"

The warrant officer raced back to throw the proper switches, cursing his change of orders.  It took forty seconds.

"Done, Comrade!"

"Go!"

The warrant officer was the last man out of the compartment.  He made certain that the hatches were dogged down tight before running to the control room.

"What is the problem?" Ramius asked calmly.

"Radiation alarm in the heat-exchange room!"

"Very well, go forward and shower with the rest of your watch.  Get control of yourself."  Ramius patted the michman on the arm.  "We have had these problems before.  You are a trained man.  The crewmen look to you for leadership."