The Wolf's Call (Le Chant du loup)

NETFLIX PRESENTS

Human beings come in three kinds:

the living,

the dead,

and those who go to sea.

Aristotle

COAST OF SYRIA - TARTUS

One happy fishing boat.

That's merchant vessel 14, still at slow speed.

Sorry.

I'd rather listen to the blue water.

Tired, Socks?

The name's Chanteraide, thanks.

Incoming transmission on the swimmers' frequency.

Uniform.

Uniform. Bravo.

Ok, swimmers in position.

Stand by to dive. Request confirmation of pickup.

- XO? - Copy.

Run a sit-rep first.

Merchant vessel close, bearing 1-6-0. Christened 14.

- 1,000 m, matched. - Confirmed.

- Fishing boat, 1-9-0. - 100 m, opening.

- Matched. - Surface all clear

What's that?

Shit!

Frigate! Bearing 1-5-0.

Just started moving.

Contact. Frigate, bearing 1-5-1.

Send it over.

Holding on frigate at 8,000 m, 3 knots,

course 3-5-0.

- Keep on it. - Copy.

Socks, give us more. Classification?

It transmitted with Polinom sonar so the vessel must be Udaloy class.

- Or modified Udaloy. - So, Russian.

Wait, I have ears on its prop.

Dry cavitation.

Galloping horse.

104 rpm. Counting blades.

Seven blades, so not Russian.

Iranian frigate. Zarathustra , to be precise.

An Iranian vessel in Syrian waters?

Zarathustra is a heck of a toy. Rapid, well-armed.

Torpedoes, rocket launchers, grenades.

And one hell of an active sonar.

High risk of detection.

Plotter!

When are we in its range?

Contact Zarathustra , bearing 1-5-4.

In one minute.

How long to swimmer pickup?

Four minutes.

Hairy picking them up next to an Iranian frigate.

Could be fun.

Listen up!

Priority is avoiding counterdetection by the frigate.

Assume Ultra-Quiet State.

Slippers on, not a sound.

Assume Ultra-Quiet State.

Swimmer pickup through torpedo tubes.

Copy that.

Delta, this is Control. Clear tubes 3 and 4.

Flood the tubes to recover swimmers, locking inboard.

This is Delta, copy.

XO, acoustics favourable.

We should slip through undetected.

Maybe ask Kiwi to quit vacuuming Delta Section.

It's raising hell on sonar.

Delta, kill the vacuum. It annoys our Golden Ear.

Copy.

Anything else?

Sure, the galley. As always.

Shit, guys, porn flicks for breakfast.

Mother Nature's remit. At least, the hull's not vibrating.

Ask the CO to come to Control.

Captain, we're three minutes from swimmer pickup.

Iranian frigate detected. No counterdetection but it's tight.

Tubes 3 and 4 rigged for them.

Suggest confirming pickup to swimmers.

- Very good. Confirm. - Copy, sir.

Check this trace.

It gives nothing on audio.

Uniform.

Wait.

Sea bottom noise.

- VTWA! - Video Trace Without Audio!

I repeat, VTWA!

- On the 5. - Bearing 3-5-5.

Track it.

Maybe something in the trace.

Very weak, shifting.

Very slow rhythm.

Four beats.

4-blade prop, weird.

- Just a cargo ship. We're good. - No.

Slender trace, so it's running silent.

Gotta be a sub.

- There are no 4-blade subs. - I know.

Hold on, transient sound, same trace.

Decide, this isn't the UN.

Hear it?

Got the transient but for me it's biological.

- Sperm whale? - A sick one.

I don't want poetry. Whale or not? Sub or not?

The pickup is a go or not?

- Analysing. - Move it!

- Quit fussing. - Sonar.

Well-run, a sub is quieter than the sea.

The swimmers!

Romeo.

Receiving code urgent.

- They're in danger. Captain? - Stand by.

I want Golden Ear's classification first.

Sir, blue procedure.

Break away and come back in six hours.

Classify it! Something or nothing? Moving or not?

It's no game. Speed it up.

Come on, Socks!

Four blades, so not a sub.

But way too silent to be a cargo ship.

Concentrate, Chanteraide.

Go with your instinct.

For me, it's nothing.

Just another sperm whale.

- We're overthinking. - Back off.

SIGNATURE UNKNOWN

I trust you.

Ok, it's not a submarine.

I declassify.

Good, no sub. Let's go!

- Chops, confirm pickup. - Copy.

Confirmed. Swimmers will be at pickup.

A sperm whale sub! Some golden ear!

In position, one minute!

Captain takes the boat.

Sonar, bearing of the ping?

Swimmers bearing 0-4-0. Come right.

Confirmed. On the ping.

Closing on datum Charlie 2.

- Go! - Come right 15. Bearing 0-4-5.

- Come right 15. Bearing 0-4-5. - Copy.

Helm, come right 15. Bearing 0-4-5.

Very good.

0-1-0.

0-2-0.

0-3-0.

Bearing 0-4-5.

- Very good. - 1,300 m from swimmers.

In five seconds, engine astern 3.

- Go! - Engine astern 3, reduce speed over 200m.

Engine astern 3 adjusted.

Speed 5 knots.

4.8 knots, 4.5...

Shit!

Your sick sperm whale?

Transient.

It's back and it's no cargo ship.

Possible sub, bearing 3-4-7. Coming left, four blades.

- No sub has four blades. - I know.

Poss-sub, bearing 3-4-7!

I want a solution in five seconds!

Five seconds for the solution.

Silence! Possible sub!

- Solution? - Solution on poss-sub, at 2-2-0.

Speed 5 knots. 3,000 m.

Better solution. 5.5 knots for 2,900 m plotted.

Solution adopted.

Christened Sierra.

Sierra adopted. Classify poss-sub, bearing 2-1-0.

2,900 m, 5.5 knots.

Getting a blade beat. Glug-glug cavitation!

Poss-sub level 2 for Sierra.

3-4-6 for Sierra.

Identify it!

No more fuckups.

It's deviated!

Level 3. Poss-sub 3 for Sierra. Classified poss-sub 3!

Unidentified sub means Echo procedure. Break away.

Swimmer pickup is our mission. Speed it up!

Sonar, keep tight on Sierra.

- Torpedo, make ready a tube. - Tube 1!

Sir, 70 rpm, could be Chinese.

4-blade Chinese? No.

I know it's a stretch but maybe Russian Cougar.

- The Cougar isn't operational yet. - Exactly.

I don't see what else.

Four blades, it's something new.

Sick sperm whale? Baby cougar?

You're losing it!

We need you. Focus and identify.

Get to work!

Shit.

Baby cougar transmits encrypted.

Sir, I can't demodulate.

It's giving us to the Iranian.

- The wolf's call. - The Iranian?

- Their active sonar. It's detected us. - XO...

- Close up action stations. - Action stations!

Let's go, guys!