NationStates Jolt Archive

The oceans of the world began to behave very strangely, at first it was just assumed to be an odd weather phenomenon, just a few bad storms occuring out of season, the only people who grew nervous were mainly the people who worked out on the oceans of the world. No one noticed until the entire Indian Ocean seemed to be filled with blood and this effected lasted for on hour but vanished with the noonday sun. The reason was unknown, except for those who knew the truth.

Zeboim, the Darkling Sea or called more commonly as Sea Mother had left Krynn and come to the Earth to create a new Undersea Empire. She had not come alone either.


Zeboim
The Sea Mother
The Holy Empire of Zeboim the Sea Mother

OOC: Do you want participation by others?

OOC: Yes 'cause I think an ocean turning to blood for an hour would be noticed.

The High Cleric Avandadrov looked upon the city of Zura from a balcony from the Grand Temple of the Turtle, the holiest temple to the glory of Zeboim, the Goddess of the Sea. The queth'latei (dark sea elf in their language) who had worshiped the wonder of the Sea Mother Zeboim had been told that a world ripe for conquest called Earth existed, a world beyond Krynn where the queth'latei would claim their long awaited birthright to one day hold total power in the universe.

So the queth'latei had gone with Zeboim as she had teleported them and their entire city to the new world Earth. She had placed the city in a small ocean where the queth'latei would in the name of their Goddess build up their power and take the world for their own. The High Cleric tapped her long fingernails on the guard-rail, her emerald green hair shimmered in the strange crystal lights of the city of Zura, her deep red eyes shimmered with power, her skin was the hue of saphires, the translucent webbing between her fingers and toes shinned, so perfect was Avandadrov's beauty that she had been declared the most beautiful of all mortals and many a man had sought to have her hand.

Avandadrov at a young age had joined the clergy of Zeboim but as a cleric of an evil Goddess she was encouraged to take many lovers and she had a long list of men whom she had used, even the previous High Cleric whom Avandadrov poisoned. But Zeboim herself was impressed with the young cleric and had given her many blessings and now her power was beyond measure.

And soon that power would grow beyond even what she had now.


High Cleric Avandadrov
Speaker of Zeboim
The Holy Empire of Zeboim the Sea Mother

President Jewell looked up from his desk as his secretary/bodyguard knocked and then entered his office.
"Evening Marea, what's up?"
"Something odd sir, our 48th cruiser squadron located in the Indian Ocean reported that the entire sea turned red for approximately and hour. At this time there is no further information."
President Jewell leaned back in his chair. Most people, most countries in fact would either ignore such a phenominom, or disregard it as a one time occurance. But then again most countries didn't have ancient hidden secrets of their own like Grimdale did. Secrets Gabriel only too well about. Nodding to himself he made his decision.
"Marea, have the 20th fleet head for the area, they should be closest, and if I remember correctly, they have our deep sea recon subs loaded on board."
"Yes sir, they were making runs on the Marianas Trench, I'll have the orders sent out immediately."
"Oh, and Marea, redirect a few of our subs to the area in addition to the pair deployed with the fleet, and see that our commanders are given complete freedom of action. We don't know what's going on out there, but I don't like it."
"Yes sir, I'll see to it immediately."

Avandadrov looked upon the city of Zura from afar, she sat upon the back of her favorite sea serpent who was named Barnacle. She petted the grayish scaly neck of Barnacle and whispered to him. "Look upon Holy Zura Barnacle and look upon the future capital of the world, and I will be above all others save Zeboim Herself."

The city of Zura was quite a sight on the ocean floor, a giant city in the shape of over seven titanium plates stacked on on another with giant pillars of the best titanium to hold each plate above the others. Each place was in fact a level of the Holy City. The seven plates were filled to the very edges with buildings made out of black coral, the buildings were pretty much were for everything from shops to homes to schools and libaries. The top plate was completely covered by the Grand Temple of the Turtle, a twisted mass of black marble with over seven lofty spires that looked more like sickened trees than things made of black gold and black marble, the Grand Temple was a place one only needed to look upon once to know that it was a place of twisted evil beyond the ability of mortals to understand. It was also where Avandadrov lived and ruled the queth'latei with all the powers of the Sea Mother Zeboim.

But the city was alive with activity, kelp fields were being made, all sorts of imported sea creatures both beautiful and grotesque were being released into the ocean, the ocean was no longer of blood but it had killed plenty of the native fish in the ocean and the queth'latei wished to subplant the ocean with their own kind as soon as possible. But the true monsters of the depths were yet to be released, then the world would be reminded that true power lay in the ocean depths.

That power lay with the queth'latei, the dark sea elves.


High Cleric Avandadrov
Speaker of Zeboim
The Holy Empire of Zeboim the Sea Mother

The sonar operator of the cruiser Wolf Song spoke up. "Captain, I'm getting some strange readings on both the active and passive sonar here, there appears to be somethine down there, but if what I'm getting back is right, it's huge."
"Some kind of volcanic upheavel maybe?"
"Maybe sir, but I'm not getting the sounds usually associated with that, and there've been no reports of seismic activity in the area."
The Captain refilled his pipe and lit it. Puffs of smoke were sucked up by the bridge ventilator. "Contact one of our subs, have them go in close and eyeball the place."
"Yes sir."

Onboard the attack sub Sea Wolf a message was recieved. Without a sound her magnetic drive engines came to life, the force of magnitisim propelling it through the waters with the need for noise propellers, and she soundlessly slipped through the depths.

OOC: Note that the city has it's own light sources, giant crystals that are attacked to all the buildings and from the tops of the plates, it makes the city light up like a giant black light on the ocean floor.

IC: Buyzi Ador sat on the saddle of his young and energetic sea serpent Kelp as they explored the small underwater mountain range that surrounded the city of Zura from the north. Buyzi had been sent to the mountain range as a scout to explore the mountains to get a feel for them, map them out, collect some rock samples and report back to Zura in two days. After landed on the side of the mountain Buyzi tethered his sea serpent to a very large boulder, Kelp was young, being only 40 feet long, and was not properly trained yet but he was the only sea serpant that could be spared from keep a watch on the city.

Buyzi grabbed his kit from the satchel from the saddle on Kelp and began to collect samples.


High Cleric Avandadrov
Speaker of Zeboim
The Holy Empire of Zeboim the Sea Mother

The advanced technology on the Sea Wolf, consisting of blur lasers, sound equipment, and several more exotic technoligies had rendered a periscope useless, instead the capatin could see all that went on around the sub through a pair of goggles that made it seem as if he was standing on the sub's conning tower. As the Sea Wolf came over a rise in the sea floor his jaw dropped at what he saw. His exec standing beside him, and looking through his own set of goggles did almost the same thing. They both ripped the goggles off, and looking at each other, knew that they hadn't been halucinating.
"Helm, all stop, ground us, polarise the hull, full stealth protocols. All stations, rig for maximum silence. Communications, send this to the fleet. Weapons, load all tubes and arm the weapons."

The Sea Wolf came to a stop, hovering for a moment before gently setting down on the seabed. Her hull changed color, patterns appearing, and in moments she had disappeared from view, matching the seabed perfectly, just another lump on the bottom of the ocean.

Tag

CSS Monitor
Sumpremacy Class Stealth Attack Submarine, Refit
Current assingment: Standard patrol of Indian Ocean

The ship slid through the ocean almost silently. "Explanations?" Captian Ors asked. "We weren't on the surface to see it, but we know the whole damn sea went red. How?"

"Sediment?" A junior officer suggested.

"That's a whole hell of a lot of sediment. We would have noticed it, besides, it'd take weeks to settle. We're picking up activity where there should be none, right? Well I think we should start there. Helm. Take us in."

The ship dove and turned. Three hours later, they saw the city on the refited sensor suite they had onboard. "Now... whatya suppose is the reason for that? God didn't give the baby fish a nightlight, that's for damn sure." The sub cut it's engines and drifted by inertia alone. "I wonder who else is down here doing the same thing we are..."

OOC: A Supremacy Class Sub: Among the stealthiest in the world, semi-active camo, maximum stealth/thrust ratio screws powered by a fusion plant, six forward torpedo tubes. Also, BIG. TG The Silver Turtle for more info, as I bought it from him months ago and forgot a lot of the specifics...

She can be heard, she can be seen. It's just really hard to spot.

OOC: Info on everything I'm using can be found here. They're all my own designs.

http://na.halberd.org/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=13

The CNESS-901 Hai (Chinese for Ocean) trawled slowly through the Indian Ocean. Armed to the teeth with standard and super-cavitating torpedoes, the Hai possessed a lethal combination of both stealth and firepower.

Sir, our sensors are picking up something weird on the sea floor...

What is it?

Don't know sir... Whatever it is, its giving off massive amounts of electromagnetic and some other crap...

Can you identify the source?

No sir, but we are picking up a submarine, tentatively identified as belonging to the nation of Grimdale...

Are they the source of this shit?

No, sir, it's a standard SSN, sir...

Well, get closer to the source.

Yes, sir...

(OOC: The Hai is the second submarine of the Hai Long Class, the newest generation of nuclear submarines possessed by the Five Civilized Nations. Equipped with eight standard torpedo tubes with forty Hammerhead and Seahound Torpedoes and eight explosive-decompression tubes with sixteen powerful Raiden Long-Lancer super-cavitating torpedoes.)

President Jewell sat back in his chair in limp disbelief. "An entire city, underwater, in only a few hours. I can hardly believe it. Right then, Marea, new orders, get the 9th, 62nd, and 1st fleets to the area, pull in ever sub that can get there within two weeks, have a contact team assembeled immediately and flown out to the 20th fleet. Friendly or hostile, we need to be in a position of strength if things go sour. And Marea, add our names to the list, we're flying out within the hour, I'll be heading the contact team."
Marea didn't even blink at that, the President was a legend in his own time, having hauled the country out of the ashes of a nuclear war and rebuilt it to even greater heights than it had been before. But under the three piece suit, he was still the foot soldier he had once been. And he was not one for sending others to do something he wasn't willing to do himself.

"We have a contact, sir! Another sub, that's for sure. Can't match it to the databank though. Either we haven't met them or someone has a new class. It's approaching the... city. Or whatever it is." the sensor officer reported.

Ors nodded. "Lets let everyone know we're out here... to avoid anything unpleasent. Send ot the standard Imperial Totality IFF code."

Within seconds the other ships and possibly whoever was in the city would know they were snooping around.

(OOC: Crimmond, did you discover my sub or Grimdale's?)

(OOC: Crimmond, did you discover my sub or Grimdale's?)OOC: Yours. His was already there, on the sea floor, apparently...

Sir, we just found another submarine coming up from behind us... Its IFF transponder idenntifies itself as a submarine from Crimmond, the CSS Monitor, a Supremacy Class SSN...

Damn't, why didn't we pick it up!?!

Sir, I just checked the sensors. They need to be recalibrated...

God damn't... Why is everything going wrong on this maiden cruise!?! Well then, activate our IFF Transponder...

Yes, sir...

(OOC: 5CN naval transponders don't identify the types of the vessels, only identifies the name of the vessel and its country of origin)

Captain Brown had to shake his head. "It's begining to look like a damn parking lot out there. Maintain stealth, if that city's hostile, we'll let them find out and report the results."

For the moment, the Sea Wolf would continue to watch and wait.

The Roman Free Press, January 30, 2004

OSTIA- The sea captain had served for over twenty years and never in his many travails had he ever seen something like this.

"A whole ocean...going red in an hour. It's inexplicable," said Maximillian Portay, one of RomeW's leading merchants reported. "Never in my travels has something like this ever occurred".

Portay reported that, on a routine trading assignment along the coasts of the Roman Empire he noticed far off in the distance that the sea had suddenly turned red and that the area was expanding. One hour later, the area dissipated without a trace.

Portay didn't think too much of the incident, until a case had washed up on the Roman shore. Inside was a scroll that appeared to be an official document from a foreign city, an old tax record from a city known only as "Zura". It was also covered in blood. That's when he knew something was up.

"You don't see government documents washing up on shores covered in blood", said Portay. "This is just insane".

Upon hearing this, the Roman Emperor Paul XII ordered an expedition to be sent to the ocean. "We want to make sure that the people of the far off nation is safe. Our nation is built on compassion, and, although we might be small, there's nobody we can't help".

(OOC: I hope I did this right...it's my first time doing such a thing)

(OOC: Good job, RomeW...)

(OOC: Thanks.)

IC: The Roman expedition came upon several ships stationed in one small area.

"Sir, that may be the source of the problem", said Pompey Tirania, the head navigator for the expeditiary force, to the expedition captain Marcus Rimini. Rimini immediately ordered the ship to set a course for the ships in the area.

As soon as Rimini came within 20 leagues of the ships, he ordered communications be opened with the ships in front of him. "We are the Roman people and we are here to help. What seems to be the problem?"

"This is the Grimdalian 20th fleet and the 48th crusier squadron, we are here investigating a strange phenomenom, please maintain a minimum distance of at least twenty-five miles."

"Agreed. What have you discovered?"

OOC: Good job so far.

IC: "Well, you're not going to believe this, but there's an enitre city down there. We've declared everything within twenty-five miles a free fire zone until we learn their intentions."

The first reports came from a cruise ship from Knootoss, because most of the Atlantic Fleet was either on the aid mission to Iraqstan or involved in the expedition in Arda. Then an oceanography ship, the Nidhogg, was sent into the area following an AWACs flight from Aerigia.
An unusually large naval buildup was taking place in one area, ISA satellites indicated. The oceanography ship was instructed to take care not to appear to be interfering in what was going on for the time being.
SATO sources were informed of the situation.

"A city? How'd that get down there?"

Tirania approached Rimini. "Sir, what seems to be the problem?"

"The Grimdalian squadron is reporting that a city has sunk beneath the ocean," replied Rimini.

"A city?"

"Yes. I am just as shocked as you are."

"What are we going to do about it?"

"I am going to wait for the Grimdalian report on the situation and then formulate a plan from there. We may need to go back to RomeW and bring in supplies for the sunken city."

With that, Tirania left Rimini's office to oversee the ship's navigation. He pondered the situation- how did this happen? How serious is it? Finally, can a nation as small as RomeW adequately help the population?

It was time now for Rimini to send a report back to the Roman state. "You are not going to believe it, but a city has sunk beneath the ocean. There's currently a massive fleet of what appears to be several countries already patrolling the area trying to figure out what happened," Rimini told the government official assigned to oversee Rimin's expedition.

"A city? Underwater?" exclaimed the official.

"Yeah."

"Well...since you can't do much yourself, send a message to the fleet, ask them what needs to be done and come back home. If we can help them in any way, we'll send them something."

"Roger."

So Rimini wired sent a generic message out to the fleet of ships already patrolling the area:

"This is sea captain Marcus Rimini of the Roman Expeditary Force Division XXV. Since my ship is ill-equipped to handle this situation, I have decided to go back to RomeW with the intent of sending some better ships at a later date should the need arise. The Roman people are interested in aiding the situation and helping with the recovery effort. Just let us know what we are required to do and we will send some ships capable of doing the task required.

Thanks,
Marcus Rimini,
Sea Captain, Roman Expeditary Force Division XXV. Over and out."

(OOC: I'm going offline now and may not come back until Sunday night, but I do want to be a part of the resolution of this crisis. Telegram me or post a reply with what you want my nation to do and I'll get to it as soon as I return. By the way, as I am new to this, is there any thread which explains what NS time is? I have yet to find an explanation regarding it. Thanks.)

Avandadrov looked at the latest reports from the farmers who were preparing massive fields for kelp and various sea plants, she also brushed up on the english language that Zeboim had taught her as she had been made fully aware of the various ships surrounding the city an hour ago. "And what will this place appear to them?" she thought as she place in her mind the image of the city with it's seven plates stacked on top of one another and the giant Temple on the very top, the various seacraft of the city and of course the occasional sea serpent.

As Avandadrov sat down at her desk in her private chambers in the Grand Temple of the Turtle she then sat the farmers reports on the desk and left for the Communications rooms of the temple. After a rather long walk that took half an hour she reached the Communications room and wired a message to the unknown ships.

To the Captains of Ships Unknown,

We know you are there and we mean you no harm, unless you intend to attack us. We are the quetha'latei, the sea elves who are the children of Zeboim the Goddess of the Sea. Who are you?

High Cleric Avandadrov
Speaker of Zeboim


High Cleric Avandadrov
Speaker of Zeboim
The Holy Empire of Zeboim the Sea Mother

back on Cirrus, the Atlantian Homeworld, Commander Vega walked into Senator Orion's Office.
"Sir, we're receving weird reports from Earth, something's going on with their seas" Said Commander Vega
Orion turned to face Vega while sitting in his chair. "Meh, keep an Eye on it" Orion went back to reading his paper.

OOC: I think.....the forums are working!

bump

The F-28 Raptor set down on the deck of the carrier Raven. The pilot and co-pilot slid down to the deck. The captain stuck out his hand to the pilot. "Welcome Mr. President, the inital contact team is ready to depart as soon as you're prepared to go."
Gabriel reached out and shook the captain's hand. "Myself and Marea are ready now, how are we set for forces in the area?"
"So far only the 20 fleet and the 48th cruiser squadron are here, but we have about ten subs in the area around the city, they're all under full stealth with orders to merely observe."
"Good work, and Captain, once we're down there, if things go bad, the team is to be considered expendible, no rescue attempts, just blow the place out of the water."
"I understand sir."

"To submerged city, we are sending a diplomatic delegation down to meet with you."

We will be waiting for you outside the limits of Zura.

Avandadrov had one of her servants handle communications while she strode down the twisted corridors to Commune with her Goddess in the heart of the temple. She had to know what these surface dwellers were going to do so she could react accordingly.


High Cleric Avandadrov
Speaker of Zeboim
The Holy Empire of Zeboim the Sea Mother

Gabriel shut the hatch and dogged it behind him.
"Afternoon Mr. President, it's going to be a short trip, so strap in and we'll get you there all right."
"Whatever you say Captain." Gabriel said as he and Marea sat down behind the pilot's seat in the cockpit and strapped in."

As the small submarine dove down, the underwater city came into view. The Captain of the small sub gave a low whistle. "How in deity's name did they get that thing down there so fast?"
"I don't know, but it looks like we've got a welcoming party."

Gabriel shut the hatch and dogged it behind him.
"Afternoon Mr. President, it's going to be a short trip, so strap in and we'll get you there all right."
"Whatever you say Captain." Gabriel said as he and Marea sat down behind the pilot's seat in the cockpit and strapped in."

As the small submarine dove down, the underwater city came into view. The Captain of the small sub gave a low whistle. "How in deity's name did they get that thing down there so fast?"
"I don't know, but it looks like we've got a welcoming party."

An honorguard of two Uriona Class transport seacraft flanked the front of the Grimdale Submarine and two sea dragons of roughly 80 feet in length flank it from behind.

Communication:

Follow us into the city of Zura.

Grand Temple of the Turtle

Avandadrov stood in the heart of the temple which was a miniature version of the outside Temple, a giant pyramid of black marble and black gold. This was the place where offerings of fish and the lives of queth'latei who rebelled against Zeboim were offered up to the dark Sea Mother. The giant black onyx statue of Zeboim was made in the form of a young sea elf maiden, her face was beyond all beauty but filled with pure malevolence and her eyes set in blue-green jade, she wore no article of clothing which was quite common among most of the queth'latei and her breasts were full and large, her long fingernails seemed like claws stained in blood.

Avandadrov knelt down on the ground and began to pray, "Holy Zeboim, Sea Mother of the queth'latei, I your most devot servant ask for your Holy Guidance. Who are these surface dwellers and what will they do?"

All time seemed frozen as a voice filled to the brime with power sounded in the chamber. Every fiber of Avandadrov's being screamed in agony and in sheer rapture at being in the presence of her Goddess. Eventually when the water seemed to shine red with blood the voice stopped speaking, like a duck out of water Avandadrov stood up and leaned on a nearby wall and began to understand what she had been told.

"These surface dwellers come from a nation called Grimdale, they have many ships and submarines above and near to city, do not harm them for the time is not yet ripe for war and conquest. Obey me in this as you obey Me in all things or your suffering will be legendary, even in the Abyss."

Avandadrov understood the will of her Goddess she began to walk out of the chamber and would call her servants to prepare her for her first meeting with a surface-dweller.


High Cleric Avandadrov
Speaker of Zeboim
The Holy Empire of Zeboim the Sea Mother

"You heard them Captain, follow them in." Gabriel said as he, Marea, and the other two members of the diplomatic party unstrapped and prepared for the upcoming meeting. Gabriel and Marea had on dress versions of their usual military uniforms, both carried a pistol slung low on their hips. In addition Gabriel had a wrist comp on his left arm. The other two members of the party were dressed in standard Grimdalian diplomatic uniform. Each memebr of the small diplomatic party carried a small sactchel of equipment. As the sub docked, Gabriel popped open the hatch and stepped down.

Sonar, go active...

Sir!?!

You heard me go active... I want firing solutions on everything in the area...

Aye sir...

The Hai's primary GTS-10 Sonar began to ping away, revealing everything in the area and illuminating the entire sea floor.

Holy shit... Captain, the whole sea floor is covered by metallic buildings... Somebody's built an undersea city!!!

What!?! That's impossible!?! Shit, why didn't we discovered this before when they were building it!?!

Captain Brown swore. "Someone's attempting to acquire the President's transport with active sonar, open forward torpedo tubes, target bearing 295, range, six thousand yards. Fire one, fire two!"
A pair of mark 87 torpedoes lept from the tubes of the Sea Wolf, soundlessly accelerated to roughly a hundred miles an hour by the magnetic launch tubes. Activating their own minature magnetic drives they tore through the water, accelerating until they topped out at over three hundred miles an hour, acquiring the Hai on their sonar, they raced in at the submarine, each loaded with 2,000lbs of plastic explosives.

The Monitor stayed stationary, scanning the city. Ors got on the radio, "This is Captian John Ors of the CSS Monitor, representing the Crimmond Imperial Totality. We... request to enter your city. Be advised that our craft is extremely large, so we may have to take an outer mooring."

The sub drops it's stealth equipment, revealing itself to the eye, should someone shine a light on it.

Captain, we have torpedoes in the water, bearing 0630...

What!?! What stupid asshole is attacking us!?!

Sir, firing solutions have been acquired...

Good, fire one Seahound Torpedoes at each of the torpedoes and fire a Raiden at that submarine!!!

Aye, sir...

Helm, accelerate to max speed of 88 knots and dive to 1000 meters!

Aye, sir... Accelerating to 48 knots and diving to 1000 meters...

Moments later, two Seahound supercavitating Torpedoes leapt from their places in the forward torpedo tubes accelerating at the incoming torpedoes at 200 knots, while a Raiden Mk II uber-cavitating torpedo, packing 2 tons of plastech, was fired at the submarine, accelerating at 350 knots.

Captain Brown fired off orders, "All ahead emergency flank, launch decoy's! Helm, keep us just above the sea bottom, transmit firing coordinates to friendly units. Sonar, hammer the bastard!"

The Sea Wolf quickly accelerated to her full speed of 89kts, the potentium reactor being pushed to the limit. The sea was suddenly filled with the harsh rasp of active sonar, deafening any sonar operator unlucky enough to still be wearing headphones, and the sound of decoys shooting off in all directions, each mimicking the Sea Wolf's sound and magnetic signatures perfectly. Three other Grimdalian subs had targeting solutions on the Hai and they flushed their tubes in aid of their comrade, in addition to the pair the Sea Wolf had launched, another eighteen Mark87 torpedoes began to converge on the Hai from around the compass.

"Captain! We have fish a'flyin!" The sensor officer reported.

"Any aimed in our direction?" Ors demanded.

"No, sir... Looks like someone is trying to snipe another sub."

"Turn the stealth back on."

"Aye."

The ship vanished from most sonar screens and moved several hundred meters, just in case anyone decided to start something. "I hate hotshots..." Ors muttered.

God damn't, Grimdale is crazy...

[code:1:fd4b888b37]
-BEGIN TRANSMISSION

TO: COMMANDER GRIMDALE ARMED FORCES
FROM: CAPTAIN THOMAS LAFAYETTE, CO OF THE CNESS-901 HAI

STAND DOWN AND DETONATE YOUR TORPEDOES IMMEDIATELY OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE DESTRUCTION OF YOUR PRESIDENTIAL TRANSPORT... WE ARE NOT HERE TO START A WAR, BUT WE ARE NOT AFRAID TO FIGHT IT!

"THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A BAD PEACE OR A GOOD WAR"--Benjamin Franklin

-END TRANSMISSION-
[/code:1:fd4b888b37]

Activate active cloak... That should fool them enough for us to get away... And decelerate to 12 knots...

Aye, sir... Activating..

The Hai disappeared from the sonar screens of the vessels nearby, except for the submarine from Crimmond...

Admiral Brown took one look at the message from FCN and crumpled it into a ball. "Inform them that they initiated this conflict by attempting to acquire the President's transport with a targeting lock. Failure to immediately break off combat and leave the area will result in a prosecution of your submarine until it is sunk."

The Admiral could only watch on the plot as his younger brother's submarine fought for it's life.

Down below Captain Brown watched as one of the oncoming torpedoes impacted on a decoy and detonated. However the other one refused to be drawn off, rapidly gaining on the Sea Wolf.
"Weapons, standby to zap it." He said as the range steadily decreased until it was nearly on top of the submarine. "Now!"
The Megalodon's magnetic dive was mainly used to propel the submarine, but it could also be overloaded, firing off a burst that could fry all electronics within a limited area. The submarine went dark and the engines stopped as the pulse fired, everything on the sub shutting down to avoid being fried by the pulse. The oncoming torpedo however wasn't so lucky, the pulse washed over it, turning complex electronics to slag. In addition to knocking out the torpedo's electronics the pulse fired the detonator in the torpedo's warhead. The Sea Wolf bucked violently, slamming into the seabed from the force of the nearby explosion. After a moment however light came back on within the submarine and her hull took on the coloration of the sea floor, for the moment, she lay passively until damage could be made good, her survival covered by the explosion that was intended to have killed her.

Elsewhere in the ocean the remaining eighteen torpedo's continued to home in on the Hai, drawn on by a combination of blue laser beams thrown out ahead of the torpedo's and magnetic anomaly detection. If it was made of metal, they would find it, if it differed from the empty sea, it was a target.

OOC: Edited for grammer mistake

(OOC: How far away was your submarine when it detonated the torpedo... The Hai Long Class SSNs, of which the Hai is the second boat, is a revolutionary submarine as it is the first 5CN submarine utilizing tri-neo-ceramic, a substance designed by 5CN engineers to be extremely rugged. In addition, it has been equipped with sound absorption/blender devices that allows the SSN to be one with the ocean... Only the best sonar devices, i.e. those used by 5CN oceanographic vessels and SSNs and probably those of Crimmond, can find the Hai.)

OOC: Several hundred yards, and the torpedos lost you on sonar, they're tracking on blue laser's and the magnetic field given off by the Hai. And might I add that the Megalodon class uses a combination of optical cameoflauge, with her noiseless propulsion system to truely become one with the ocean. And don't think I don't have a few more tricks up my sleeves either.

The defences of the city had flared to life, the seacraft and sea dragon forces surrounded the city of Zura in defence mode while the cities military began to organize.

Communication from Zura:

What is the meaning of this, we have not provoke an unwarranted military attack upon our people. Explain or feel the bite of the queth'latei.


High Cleric Avandadrov
Speaker of Zeboim
The Holy Empire of Zeboim the Sea Mother

Ors frowned. "Fire off a screamer charge. Get everyone to pay attention."

A single torpedo was launched from the Monitor. It went about 200 meters away and started broacasting high pitched wailing on every frequency it could. AFter thirty seconds it stopped and the torpedo shut down. Soon after, Ors was on the radio. "Allright now... I hope that got you to listen. I don't know what the hell you two think you are doing, but it's NOT looking good to the que.. qu... the sea elf things! Now start explaining or we start launching EMP torps. Trust me, at the bottom of the ocean, that'll ruin you day." He sits back smiles.

"Sir? We don't have any EMP weapons..."

"I know that and you know that. But they don't know what we have."

"Yessir."

Gabriel was speaking into his wrist unit. "Stand down already, I don't care who the hell was targeting me, this is neither the time or place for a full scale war." A pause as a response came back. "What do you mean we can't detonate those torpedoes?" Another pause. "The wires have been cut? Then deity help whoever's on the recieving end. Now get someone out looking for our lost sub."

Sir, we took out two of the torpedoes... But we still have eighteen other torpedoes accelerating towards us in a crescent spread ahead of us, closest of which is 1.1 km away...

Grimdale, the Five Civilized Nations is going to kill you!!!

Sir? What do we do?

Are all torpedo tubes loaded?

Aye sir...

Is the autoloader working?

Yes, sir...

Good, I want each standard tube to launch two torpedoes as fast as possible to detonate at distances of .6 km ahead of us in a semicircle.

Aye sir...

Within fifty seconds, sixteen Seahound Torpedoes were launched, accelerating, heading directly into the approaching eighteen torpedoes. After they reached .6 km away from the Hai, they were detonated, destroying several torpedoes and scrambling the sensors and gyroscopes of others...

Seventeen of the torpedoes were either destroyed by the enemy torpedoes or slammed into the seabed when their gyroscopes where damaged. But out of the roiling clouds of the explosions a lone torpedo emerged. It looked certain to hit the Hai when suddenly the seabed erupted in a flury of motion and air bubbles. Her main ballast tanks blown empty, her engines pushed into far into the red zones, her diving planes vertical, the Sea Wolf lanced up through the water like a rocket. Captain Brown had recieved the order to stand down, but his torpedo tubes were still offline, and the pulse device couldn't be used again so soon. Which left him with only one way to stop the torpedo. Her hull was designed to withstand close detonations and deep dives, but it had never been built to withstand 2000lbs of plastic explosives, it wasn't possible to build a submarine to withstand that kind of damage. The hulls of the Hai and the Sea Wolf actually scraped as the later submarine placed itself between the former submarine and the oncoming machine of death. The torpedo struck her stern, instantly flooding the engine room and killing everyone within. When the explosion cleared, the entire after third of the submarine had simply ceased to exist, the remaining portion, it's compartments leaking badly, but still intact, continued to rise to the surface under the imputous of now dead engines and air filled tanks. Though whether any lived within the submarine remained to be seen.

(OOC: Oh boy... Looks like the war won't ever occur...)

Holy shit... That submarine took the brunt of that torpedo!?!

Lieutenant, any damage!?!

We have some leaks in the torpedo compartment, but the pumps are working, so we should be fine...

Damn't, that was close... How's the other submarine?

Don't know sir, by the extent of that explsion, it should have destroyed the submarine.

Damn't...

But sir, the submarine is heading towards the surface...

Good, Helm, surface the boat...

Aye, sir... Surfacing...

And prepare a rescue team for that submarine...

Aye, sir...

OOC: Weren't expecting that were you?

IC: Admiral Brown could only stare in shock for a moment as he watched the Sea Wolf crash to the surface, or rather the forward two thirds, the stern had entirerly disappeared. Even as he watched it rolled over on it's side and began to settle back in the water. years of training and discipline came to teh Admiral's aid. "Get the helicopters out there right now! Divert the R-75, Wolf Paw, and Storm Runner out there right now, burn through that hull if you have to, but get those people out." He said, detailing a Corvette, frigate, and cruiser to head the rescue operation.

(OOC: Nope, I was believing that I would have to fire a torpedo within the self-kill radius, killing my sub too...)

Damn't, this is taking too long... Emergency blow!!!

Aye, sir...

A minute later, the Hai exploded out of the water...

Even as motor boats where being dropped down one side of the ships to begin rescue operations, guns and torpedo tubes on all of the ships swiveled to cover the newcomer who burst from the water. On the hull of the Sea Wolf a hatch clanged open, only inches above the water and men began crawling, or falling into the water.

OOC: Grimdalian officers may on occasion be impulsive and somewhat reckless, but no one can doubt their courage, honor, or their willingness to do their duty.

Ors looked to his sensor officer. "Okay... anyone left down here?"

"No sir. Just us and the city."

"Stand down General Quaters, take the stealth off and move us towards the city. 1/8th speed. Oh, and turn the running lights on."

The ship turned towards the city and approached slowly, active and sensor camo dropping, blue and green lights flashing slowly on it's hull. A message of friendship is sent towards the city and a warning to any submarines immediatly afterwards that to open fire, on anyone, is to officially initiate hostilites with the Empire.

The Clerics of Zeboim used their powers to create a giant airbubble around the Grand Temple of the Turtle where the surface dwellers would come. Messages were sent to sub to send their people to the Temple which was on the top most of the seven plates.

"You heard them. Stick the docking port just inside the bubble there." Ors ordered.

When the ship nosed into the air poket, the doors opened and six people stepped out. Two were quite obviously gaurds, though their weapons were only handguns. One was Ors and the rest members of a science team. "Okay... let's go." Ors said, still uneasy with the pressure the water had at this depth. He wouldn't have the chance to swim back to the Monitor, if the bubble vanished...

Gabriel winced when he heard the report of what had happened. "Very well, continue rescue operations and maintain your current alert status."
Behind him, the rest of the party had assembled.

Back on the surface men were leaving some of the whaleboats to enter the Sea Wolf and search for any survivors who were unable to get themselves out. The fleet tug Babe stoodby. On board was a crew orf damage control experts, as soon as all the survivors were out, they would go in and secure the remainder of the Sea Wolf for tow back to port.

Emperor Paul XII sat quietly in his office, pondering what to do with the situation in the Indian Ocean. "How in the world did a city get down there? That's insane." Suddenly, his second-in-command, Chancellor Timin Rutini, came rushing through the door.

"Sir, there was a fight going on the Ocean! We think there was a war going on!" Rutini blurted out.

"A war? How do you know?" asked Paul.

"I saw an explosion! It was off in the distance but it looked liked it was gaining on the Gallic coast."

"An explosion out to sea...didn't Rimini's report say the rescue operations were peaceful?"

"No Your Highness, but it is weird that a battle broke out on the seas."

"Well, we'll monitor the situation. If the battle escalates we'll stay out of it. Once it dies down, we'll go to the site of the battle and see if we can offer the sunken city any supplies."

"Yes Your Majesty."

With that, Paul sat again at his desk, and hoped that the sunken city was all right.