The Last Israelis - an Apocalyptic, Military Thriller about an Israeli Submarine and a Nuclear Iran Read Free

craft with enough destructive power to vaporize entire countries.
    Each of the men under Daniel’s command was certain to feel crestfallen upon hearing about the change in plan and would be looking to the captain for assurance. Daniel resolved to do everything he could to rally his men through the disappointment. Whatever baleful challenges awaited the crew on their next mission, their responses to them would have to be flawless, Daniel thought to himself, so their emotions had to be carefully managed along the way.
    As the captain once remarked to an old university classmate, “Each of my men is like a musician in an orchestra that I must conduct perfectly. One false note and the entire performance can be killed – literally – when the symphony is at sea.” What he hadn’t revealed to his friend, however, was how responsible he felt for the equally complicated, non-military life that continued in each crewmember’s absence.
    As Daniel delivered the new orders from headquarters, he tried his utmost to ignore the dejected reactions of his men. Experience had taught the captain the power of concentration: With enough intensity, mental focus could quickly divert the mind from the upsetting to the practical. The sooner his commands moved on from the disappointing news, the more likely he was to deflect the crew from their most natural and immediate reaction to it.
    “Naval command is already inviting each of your family members, but if there’s anyone else you want them to invite, I need to know right away,” he explained over the public announcement system. “The sooner I have an updated list, the more notice your additional guests will have, and the more likely they are to show up in time.”
    It wasn’t until the 1,700-ton Dolphin was finally advancing towards the Haifa shore that Daniel allowed himself to relax a little. He relished the sight of the submarine’s 60-meter-long, aqua-green hull glistening under the splashing water of the Mediterranean Sea. Uplifted by the crews’ cheers at the sight of the assembled guests in the distance, Daniel finally surrendered to the giddy anticipation of reuniting with his family. No matter how many times he and the other submariners had experienced a homecoming, those final few hundred meters before arrival were always exhilarating.
    Daniel wondered who from his world would show up on such short notice. He was fairly certain that his wife Sivan would be there with their youngest daughter, Esty. He couldn’t wait to see the four-year old, who was turning into quite the character. “All sweetness and light,” he chuckled to himself, “with her adorable manipulations!” His mood dimmed slightly as he predicted that his two older children would probably be unable to leave their high school classes.
    Standing atop the mast, Daniel peered out across the water at the shady lawn near the base, trying to spot Sivan among the distant faces of the gathered guests. Within a few minutes, he could finally make out her dark, wavy hair and the outline of her figure. She crouched down next to little Esty so that she could point out the part of the submarine where she might be able to spot Daddy. They waved to him, not knowing for sure that it was he on the mast. He waved back and breathed a long sigh of relief. “I wouldn’t trade the next four hours for anything,” he thought to himself.
    Protocol requires that the captain disembark first from the submarine, in symbolic homage to his rank and because there was often a military or political VIP waiting to greet him on land. So once the Dolphin was moored to the pier and placed into a safe standby mode, Daniel was the first of the submariners to climb down the accommodation ladder from the top of the hoisted mast to the land base. The other 34 sailors were standing on the outer deck, queued up and waiting for permission to go ashore. At the head of the line was the deputy captain, Yisrael, who stood at the top of the accommodation