Turn 3: The Tour
Posted: Sun Feb 14, 2021 5:06 pm
The two Russian Marines had a tendency to stick together; natural enough, but in this case unfortunate. Dmitri Barayev was an old sea-hand who had once been the captain of a sea-going vessel on the far off world of Ekylprillion. He went across the gangplank with no hesitation. Tanya Sokolova tried to follow him too soon and she lost her footing. Falling to the right side, she reached out in panic and pulled the rifleman down with her. There was a shout of apprehension and a metallic clank that could be heard by the Marines inside the sub.
Three sailors dove into the water before Sergeant Major Sykes could pull off his armor. He peered over the side and saw that Dmitri had struck the hull of the submarine, several meters down and just under the surface. His helmet was gone and small tendrils of blood washed about his head. Sokolova was nowhere to be seen. Sykes spun and looked over the other side where he saw two of the navy personnel grappling with her. She had slipped off the submarine’s hull and her armor was trying to sink her.
Fortunately, the navy guy and girl stripped her chestplate and helmet off and let them sink. Sergeant Major Sykes reached out a hand and pulled her up to the boat. The third rescuer had grabbed Dimitri and elevated his face above the water. His eyes were open but he appeared dazed as he was lifted up to the boat. By this time, some of the Marines had come back up the ladder to investigate the shouting. They could see Dimitri and Tanya sitting on the boat with no armor and blood streaming down Dimitri’s face.
“It might be superficial, but we had better get him to the hospital right away. I’ll do first aid on the way back; you’d better go aboard right now.” Sykes and the remaining Marines did not argue but made their way across to the submarine. The gangplank was hastily pulled back across the gap and the boat sped away back to land. “Well, fuck.” Sykes put it plainly. One accident and they were down two experienced Marines.
Ten minutes later, after the incident had been explained and accepted, Lieutenant Wolf spoke to the Devil Dawgs. “Okay, I know you hurried over here without losing a minute, but we need a couple more hours before we are ready to submerge. I’ll give you a quick tour of the sub and I’ll show you where you can stow your gear. This is what we call amidships. These are mini subs, known as mac tires but we call them Mickeys.”
“Follow me astern. Stern is what we call the tail end. Here you’ll find the galley, that’s our word for kitchen. We will cook a meal soon but feel free to take whatever you want. I heard your medic mention HARDsuit work, and yes we have enough Mark 35 high pressure suits for all of you. Those are stowed back here too. Follow me.” As the Marines followed the X.O. one of the crewmen whistled a catcall at Samantha Hall from the galley. The higher ranks were all out of earshot.
“This here is the engine room. Those blue and white tubes are air tanks. We fill the ballast tanks with water when we want to submerge. These air tanks have highly pressurized air that we release in order to rise back up.”
Wolf led the Marines back past the mini subs to the head of the vessel. “This is the personnel section. This is the medical bay on your left. Down this hallway is most of the stuff you’ll need. These green hatches on the port side are bunkrooms. Eight crew to each room and we’ve emptied the first two for your team. Up ahead on the left is the armory where you can stow your gear. I’ll come find you in a little bit and show you how to operate the turrets. You won’t need to, but it’s better to be safe then sorry since we have the time.”
Three sailors dove into the water before Sergeant Major Sykes could pull off his armor. He peered over the side and saw that Dmitri had struck the hull of the submarine, several meters down and just under the surface. His helmet was gone and small tendrils of blood washed about his head. Sokolova was nowhere to be seen. Sykes spun and looked over the other side where he saw two of the navy personnel grappling with her. She had slipped off the submarine’s hull and her armor was trying to sink her.
Fortunately, the navy guy and girl stripped her chestplate and helmet off and let them sink. Sergeant Major Sykes reached out a hand and pulled her up to the boat. The third rescuer had grabbed Dimitri and elevated his face above the water. His eyes were open but he appeared dazed as he was lifted up to the boat. By this time, some of the Marines had come back up the ladder to investigate the shouting. They could see Dimitri and Tanya sitting on the boat with no armor and blood streaming down Dimitri’s face.
“It might be superficial, but we had better get him to the hospital right away. I’ll do first aid on the way back; you’d better go aboard right now.” Sykes and the remaining Marines did not argue but made their way across to the submarine. The gangplank was hastily pulled back across the gap and the boat sped away back to land. “Well, fuck.” Sykes put it plainly. One accident and they were down two experienced Marines.
Ten minutes later, after the incident had been explained and accepted, Lieutenant Wolf spoke to the Devil Dawgs. “Okay, I know you hurried over here without losing a minute, but we need a couple more hours before we are ready to submerge. I’ll give you a quick tour of the sub and I’ll show you where you can stow your gear. This is what we call amidships. These are mini subs, known as mac tires but we call them Mickeys.”
“Follow me astern. Stern is what we call the tail end. Here you’ll find the galley, that’s our word for kitchen. We will cook a meal soon but feel free to take whatever you want. I heard your medic mention HARDsuit work, and yes we have enough Mark 35 high pressure suits for all of you. Those are stowed back here too. Follow me.” As the Marines followed the X.O. one of the crewmen whistled a catcall at Samantha Hall from the galley. The higher ranks were all out of earshot.
“This here is the engine room. Those blue and white tubes are air tanks. We fill the ballast tanks with water when we want to submerge. These air tanks have highly pressurized air that we release in order to rise back up.”
Wolf led the Marines back past the mini subs to the head of the vessel. “This is the personnel section. This is the medical bay on your left. Down this hallway is most of the stuff you’ll need. These green hatches on the port side are bunkrooms. Eight crew to each room and we’ve emptied the first two for your team. Up ahead on the left is the armory where you can stow your gear. I’ll come find you in a little bit and show you how to operate the turrets. You won’t need to, but it’s better to be safe then sorry since we have the time.”