NationStates Jolt Archive

The German raider Deutschland, sister ship to the recently lost Admiral Scheer, was spotted by Danish merchantmen off the Cape of Good Hope, heading toward the Indian Ocean. Little else could be gleaned from her crew, who hastened away from the area and did not report the sighting untill several critical hours had passed. The British East Indies fleet, under command of Commodore Sir Bentley Harrison, have begun a pursuit that is hoped to end in the sinking of the third raider since the outset of the war. Still, senior strategists at Naval Command fear that the Deutschland, captained by one of the most competant officers in the Kriegsmarine, will have slipped away into the largely unoccupied waters far south of Africa.

ooc: In the Indian ocean you will most likely meet up with Ercolana ships or submarines. Maybe you can send a message out letting us know you are there through your embassies, that is if they even know where the ship is. Or it could just pick you up on radar.

Fleet Command has only a general idea of where the Deutschland is headed. Of course, we would share with you any information we have as to the raider's current position and mission. (Check your telegrams.)

News of the Deutschland's possible arrival in the South Gallagan Ocean shocked senior Captain Robert Halders, at the Bay of Bengal fleet's temporary headquarters in Vollumbo. Queen Jessica, his lone capital ship, was still not ready for action (and probably wouldn't be for several weeks), leaving the fleet with only a single heavy cruiser (the Nusheld) and three destroyers to cover the dozens of Iansislean, Walmingtonish, and Calarcan convoys scattered about the vast ocean.

Quite frankly, Halders didn't fancy a run in with the sister ship of the German 'pocket battleship' which had so mauled his command. If the Graf Spee could almost sink a 35,000 ton battlecruiser, imagine what Deutschland could do against the hardly 10,000 ton Nusheld!

He decided perhaps it would be time to call upon Admiral Frazer.

:twisted: Good! That's the way it should be! Mwa ha ha ha ha!

Althought I'm sure between you and everyone else in that area, you can come up with enough ships to keep Deutschland out of the major shipping lanes.

This might interest you too then! (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=92110&highlight=)

A brief public panic on the Cape Colonies abated with the realisation that raiders usually don't invade countries, but Great Walmington was far from pleased. Swordfish and Wasp II aircraft patrols from the Cape and from Madagascar were stepped up. There were no warships on hand capable of challenging Deutschland, but in Vollombo Admiral Frazer's morning briefing was a little more lively than usual.

Naval Group Ceyloba's flagship, the battlecruiser Royal Oak (formerly King Toto IV) would be keen for a chance to avenge her sister's loss in the Denmark Strait, and she was backed by heavy cruisers HMWS Triumphal and Marwood, and the light cruiser Kenilworth, together the four ships boasted eight 12" guns, eighteen 8" guns, and fifteen 6" guns, amongst others.

Four Walmingtonian submarines proweled the waters of the Indian Ocean, and NGC deployed four destroyers on escort duty. NGC's light carrier HMWS Newry crept ever closer to completion near Vollombo, and some three hundred aircraft- a large chunk of them old biplanes given over to the ASW role- were stationed on the island, and scores more remained in the Cape Colonies and Madagascar.

Frazer hoped it was enough to ward off the Deutschland's major raiding ambitions, but.. she probably wouldn't just wander into aircraft range for the fun of it, and his ship-born 12" guns had to be dragged around at a painfully slow pace aboard the old Royal Oak- he didn't fancy sending Kenilworth out after a raider on her own.

Come on, come on, I want the Newry! Frazer considered, regarding reports that the carrier was painfully close- perhaps 95% complete.

Somewhere in the vast empty waters off Antarctica, the German raider Deutschland prowled slowly eastward. A thousand yards off her bow, an innocent looking merchant vessel sat at anchor.
At least, on the surface, she was an innocent merchantman.
In reality, she was the raider Atlantis, which had sailed from Norway over six months before. Her voyage to the southern Indian Ocean had taken her through the Western Approaches and the South Atlantic, and she had claimed 6 victims along the way. Due to her disguise and the confusion caused by the swift attacks, most had been attributed to either U-boats or perhaps the Graf Spee en route to her fateful battle with the Queen Jessica. The Atlantis was armed with 6 6" guns, as well as a number of torpedo tubes, AA guns, and mines. Since she and her sisters had been built using merchant hulls, they were very difficult to identify for the enemy.
Now, as the two raiders crossed paths 400 miles off the Antarctic coast, things promised to turn interesting. Within a few days, long range supply ships from Argentina would arrive to top off the fuel tanks of the two ships, and the hunt would begin.

OOC
WoS you play the Escorts (Crusiers, Destroyers and Corvettes) that have been sent to WoS in the Liberty thread. I'm going to be pretty busy over the next few months.

I have strong air patrolls over the coast from bombay south and all through the gallaga/indonesia waters.

/OOC

Just a quick question for all the parties concerned; are you all using convoys for your merchants, and what kind of escorts, if any? What kind of units typically patrol the sealanes? Just so I know what I might run into when I make a move...

Convoys,

from 5 (merchant) ships to 10 ships (usual coastal run), 2 corvettes and one destroyer.

from 10 ships to 25 ships (usual numbers in the bay between africa and Gallaga), 4 corvettes, two destroyers and a cruiser, 50/50 chance of it's being heavy or light. (Toss a die, 1-3 light, 4-6 heavy)

from 26 to 50 ships (usual for a bombay/WoS convoy) 6 corvettes, 4 destroyers, 2 light and 1 heavy cruiser.

from 51 ships up, whatever is posted in the convoy description, these won't start until later in the war.

Calarca believes in heavy escorts.

but unlike british russian convoys, there is no covering force lurking nearby waiting for enemy ships to put out. this will probably come later in the war and see a lessening of with-convoy escorts.

WoS convoys are rather more hectic, I'm affraid. The relatively small size of the navy and great volume of merchant shipping means that convoys are sent with whatever happens to be required and whatever happens to be available.

Most of the nation's cruisers and such are already accounted for in combat duties, as are its destroyers. Most convoys (really they can be any size.. there are lone merchants here and there, and convoys started out being rarely double figures, but they're growing by the day) are escorted primarily by a handful of corvettes.

Of course one headed for Tunisia right now has nine large transports and its escort is the entire Iansislian expedition. That'd be the wrong one to run into ;)

The Calarcan vessels in the area have been put to patroling heavily used routes, but off hand I've forgotten what they have. WoS doesn't like to tie them to convoys as we're terribly impressed by how fast they go, so are constantly asking them to speed back and forth between Morocco and WoS.

WoS has a lot of armed merchants. They're not generally the sort to hide their guns- it's common knowledge that they're frequently armed. WoS was quite ashamed of Britain's Great War tactic of luring U-boats in and then uncovering guns on them. Nasty propaganda war rather than a proper fight, we thought. Usually in a decent sized convoy some of the smaller merchants will have a small number of depth charges or a mortar, and there'll be one or two with basic hydrophones. (I've referenced this vaguely I think twice before)

Of course we're slowly realising that this is not ideal, but there's not much else we can do right now. No warships spare.

Perhaps our main defence is in that we have rather a lot of ASW aircraft with impressive ranges, and we can fly them from WoS, Canada, Britain, Morocco, Tunisia, and so on, just to cover Atlantic/Med lanes.

(100s of Swordfish with over 1,000 mile range, hundreds of Wasp II with slightly less range but more speed, a few 2-seater Nexus with more range and speed again, and a handfull of Musca on patrol- though we're not presently using them to drop torps or such. Still, straffing with 6x20mm cannon and 4 to 6 rockets can be fun)

I am so disoriented. Flaming dentist. Just took seventy five quid off me, too.

Hmmm..... so if I can sneak in and hit one of your convoys, and if I can avoid Calarca's cruisers, and if I can avoid your aircraft, and if monkeys don't fly out of my butt....... too many "ifs" for my taste. Still, the more ships you guys have running around here, the fewer you have to send elsewhere.
Throw a few U-boats in the mix...... that might work.....

(You'll be happy with mine ;)

Most Iansislean shipping is confined to east of Gallaga, but it is defended by the cruiser Nusheld and two Tiger class destroyers, which maintain station for as long as possible between Ceyloba and Malaysia. Individual convoys tend to be quite large, but are protected mainly by hastily armed cargo ships and air patrols. In other words, completely unprotected.

However, as the BAF-3 comes into service, experiments are being made with turning the BAF-1 (2,100 miles range, 4,500 lb payload) into an exclusivly anti-shipping weapon. So far, no joy.)

That's only if I can get over there without getting spotted and chased down by someone. Although..... the Atlantis would have an easy enough time, particularly if she were flying Walmy or your own colors. Without any real opposition, she'd be a considerable force.
Of course, they wouldn't know everything that you've told me. Maybe one of your enemies in that area would be so kind as to let me in on this?

Im from SOUTH-AFRICA you know! :D

Im from SOUTH-AFRICA you know! :D

Awesome. So.... what's up?

Pr0n P0w3r!!1

lmao.... you dork.

Im from SOUTH-AFRICA you know! :D

Get back in your mine, lad!

-Walmingtonian colonial army officer stationed in the Cape Colonies.

A small, leaky, 1914 vintage submarine putters along the surface of the Indian Ocean, basking in the sun characteristic to that part of the world. It belongs to the small and insignifigant republic of Trans-Pakistan, the origional liberal democracy.

http://www.saoc-central.com/Cc2.gif

It is one of that nation's four submarines, the newest being a relatively up-to-date machine purchased from the united states. The TPS Surveyor was out on meteorological patrol, and was headed for Madagascar. The captain lay on a beach chair on the foredeck, and a phonograph was playing Django Reinhardt. A twin Lewis Gun mount provides anti-aircraft protection, and a 5-pounder deck gun gives the torpedo-depleated Surveyor some surface striking power.A lookout had been gazing at an eerie black shullouette for over an hour now through a pair of binoculars.

"Captain, sir!"
"What? Yes?"
"I see what appears to be a battleship or heavy cruiser in the distance."
"Do you? Well, this could be somewhat of a discovery. Afaiz?"
"Yes, cap?"
"Get on the marconi set and transmit the following message:

Large ship type spotted 86.8 deg. E Long. 14.5 deg. N. lat"

"Transmitting."

The wireless operator tapped out the message, the extra-high antenna adding miles of range to the wireless's coverage.

ooc: Don't think me rude; just a bit of information; in our little WWII world India is known as Gallaga, and has been divided amongst a number of nations since an old 1750s thread we never got around to finishing (shame).. (although there is a fair bit of no-man's land between Calarcan and Ercolanan Gallaga, isn't there?).. erm, oh, right, and Madagascar, by way of a heads-up, is Walmingtonian territory, and presently under incredibly tight security (so far as such a large island can be) due to a secret allied project (about which I had almost forgotten, actually). I'll wait to see what others say about a new nation in the area (WoS only controls Ceyloba (guess) in India), but if you end up sticking around in the RP, be aware that submarines don't tend to be treated with much hospitality around the Walmingtonian Cape Colonies.

ooc: DK, perhaps Hvan should send some of her own Armoured Cruisers to help ya?

OCC: You don't have much to worry about from the Surveyor. Perhaps the more modern Gato class TPS Hyderabad would cause some worry, but it currently patrols the coastline along with TP's 20 MTBs and wing of Walruses.

IC:

About 10 miles off the trans-pakastani coast, trans-pakistan being located at the southeastern corner of that country, Flight Lieutenant Muhammed Al-Baradai prepares for takeoff from the TPS Dheli, a converted carrier. It started life as the S.S. Cape Town, but was impounded by the TP government on corruption charges, and turned into an escort carrier, capable of carrying two Walruses and 10 Ghloster Gladiators. The Hurricanes were used for air defense, as well as the various Fokker machines in TP posession.

http://www.fleetairarmarchive.net/Aircraft/Walrus_HMSResolution_1941.jpg

The seaplane is lowered into the water, and taxies out from the ship. It takes off, headed twoards the Surveyor. It is not a factory-make aircraft, as it has been given a larger wing in order to glide for long distances without the use of precious fuel stores.

(You'll be happy with mine ;)

Most Iansislean shipping is confined to east of Gallaga, but it is defended by the cruiser Nusheld and two Tiger class destroyers, which maintain station for as long as possible between Ceyloba and Malaysia. Individual convoys tend to be quite large, but are protected mainly by hastily armed cargo ships and air patrols. In other words, completely unprotected.


But you ship from north Gallaga to malaysia, I ship from South Gallaga to Indonesia (Gallanesia), so he would have to pass through my shipping and Bat torpedo bomber patrols to end up in the north amoungst your shipping.

Admittedly I have less protection on the convoys on that side, and more smaller convoys, but theres still at least two corvettes per convoy.

I still think that Deutschland and even Atlantis could handle two corvettes easily enough, as long as she didn't take her sweet time. Maybe we'll find out?

well yes... the corvettes are rather underarmed, having only a 4 inch gun and depth charges, they're antisub and anti bandit protection, and 4 inch and depthies are sufficent for subs, but they do have Wireless and I have two main airbases with Bat torp bombers nearby, and the Bat can and has flown from one base on Java to another base in Gallaga.

I hope your radio jamming is up to scratch, fortunately for you thats one thing the German raiders were good at.

But when the ships don't arrive, expect a lot of aerial activity.

Deutschland won't ever be sitting still. It would be her death warrant. She's gonna try and attack the line all over the place, with as little warning or pattern as possible. As for Atlantis and her sister ships (not all of which are in this theater, mind you), they should be fine as long as they don't try and be heroes. I assume that I would be able to use the ports of nearby enemies of you, Iansisle, and WoS (provided I don't get caught there) and the supply ships around Antarctica, or even Japanese ports if I need supplies or repairs. You already have enough enemies in the Pacific; could we consider Japan a friendly neutral, rather than a declared enemy? Let me know what you think.

(I haven't been quite sure what to make of Japan yet, to tell the truth. Naturally, my country being a scant 1,000 miles east of Tokyo, I'd love for them to be neutral. Also, I have this vague memory (was it in the Liberty thread somewhere?) of mentioning how it was going to be tough getting use of the Panama Canal because Iansisle continued to provide Japan with petroleum and steel in defiance of the American embargo...I dunno if that'd make them any more friendly to us, really, seeing as how we're a west pacific power that will have to be dealt with eventually.

Do you ever have those 150 word posts where you say absolutely nothing too? ;))

Mh, yeah.. someone wanted to play Japan at one point, but none of us (id est WoS ;) ) were terribly impressed with that effort. Then there's thingi.. Islandia. I don't know if he's really interested in this whole mess, and if he is, I don't know quite what that'd do to the balance of power and the requirement for Japanese involvement or otherwise.

You know, I sometimes wonder if this RP theme hasn't outgrown its masters and become an uncontrollable early C20th monster. Like that big snake King Kong killed.

Or King Kong.

(Yes, but they frequently and rapidly become 300 word posts..)

Guilty as well. I just wondered what everyone thought of the idea.
My biggest thing is posting a completely unrelated idea in an established thread. Like right here. I was thinking of something my U-boats could use to disable or defeat enemy hydrophones. Some kinda ultrasound or sonic pulse to overload the equipment... Um... any ideas?

I suppose I'll send out these two troublemakers pretty soon. Just gotta think about what I'm gonna do and what YOU guys might do.

*Gasp*

I bet my three 1914 vintage submarines will beat you with their twin Lewis Gun mounts and 5-pounder infantry cannons.

http://home.adelphia.net/~dryan67/orders/march.jpg

The 3rd Trans-Pakistani infantry division on the march.

ooc: DK, perhaps Hvan should send some of her own Armoured Cruisers to help ya?

OOC- I agree! What say you, Hvan?

IC- Commodore Harrison was in a quandry. He knew, knew, that the Deutschland was out prowling just beyond the sea lanes south of the Indian Ocean. He also knew that his flotilla would be hard-pressed to find her, let alone destroy her. The largest ship under his command was the heavy cruiser Sheldon, and he knew her 8" guns would be useless against one of Germany's raiders; any hope he had of engaging Deutschland had been buried when he had received word of the battle between the RIN's Queen Jessica and the Graf Spee, sister to the same ship that lurked just out of his range. If Iansisle's newest battlecruiser had nearly met her match against such a ship, what could his small force hope for? The general lack of supplies, apart from what could be offered by friendly ports in the area, only compounded Harrison's problems. It was no secret that the Germans operated a very sucessful overseas supply chain for their raiders and U-boats, which the Royal Navy had been unable to stamp out, despite several concerted attempts. The opening of the North African theater only served to divert much needed materials and men away from the far-off seas where Commodore Harrison had found himself. It was the best, most vulnerable link in the supply chain; oil from British and Allied holdings in the Middle East was especially vulnerable. To transport it overland was too costly and time-consuming, but the Fleet didn't wish to be taxed with escorting the tankers with any more ships than they could absolutely spare. Which left a heavy cruiser and three destroyers to shepherd the petrol tankers.
And now the Germans had sent their most capable raider to cut that chain. The fact that Deutschland was the last of her kind still sailing brought little balance to the situation in Harrison's eyes. He had no choice but to wait and let the Germans make the first move, and hope to God he could counter it.

OOC: I've watched these RPs with interest for some time now, and I was wondering if I could get involved in any way.

ooc: Lemme know if ya think this is a bit much eh?
ic:
The cruisers HWS. Manta, and HWS. Abato slid out of 'Vanian waters, the sun just rising. (thinking of changing it to Hvanese, sounds better ;)) After several minutes a siluette could be seen on the Horizen. As they closed, The HWS. Arequipa revealed herself. Floating along side her were two U-Boats of VIIC Class. They were U-79 and U-102.

--Aboard the HWS. Arequipa--
Fleet Kommander Rogan Viliquitz looked over his captains seated before him. Each with decades of experience under their belts. It was a fast fleet, anything that could sink them could be out run, but with their numbers, they more than likely wouldn't have to run. "Fellow Captains," the table stopped murmouring and looked towards him, "It is time to move out. We shall be meeting with Kriegsmarine boats in under a week, and I want full preperations on each ship. Understood?"
The captains responded with a very loud "Si"

http://www.warships1.com/UScl043_Nashville_Prat.jpg
http://www.warships1.com/UScl042_Savannah-Allen.jpg
Two Cruisers, HWS. Manta, and HWS. Abato

http://www.warships1.com/SWEca10_GV_cruise.jpg
The HWS. Arequipa

OOC- Cripes! I never noticed how crowded the Pacific Ocean is untill I tried to find a way to sneak a couple raiders through there without getting spotted...

Im from SOUTH-AFRICA you know! :D

Awesome. So.... what's up?

nothing much, right now i live in Japan tho.

(I'm sure this isn't the proper thread, but I may as well post it here. It's ooc information (sort of) about a major Iansislean offensive. Yeah, I know - gasp in horror! the Iansisleans are actually trying to do something on land? Surely this can only end in ruin!

Anyway, the exact operation is an ooc as well as ic secret because, well, I like surprises ;). I'll continue to drop hints as the plan matures.)

(... that troop convoy was part of a larger force destined to take part in 'Operation Honour Bound'. Currently, that operation consists of the 20,000 men, 15,000 more that have been marshaling west of Nusheld, and over 70,000 Company sepoys. The men in Gallaga include the King's II Armored division, which consists of two brigades C.C. Mk.IIs and one of Tortoises. In support is the entire Second Carrier, Third Battleship, Fifth Heavy Cruiser, Eighth and Ninth Destroyer Battle Squadrons - in all, one MAFD, two battleships, three heavy cruisers, and eight destroyers - as wells as the Third Fighter and Second Light Bomber squadrons.

While nary a word of this has yet been leaked - at least, not that we know of! - to friend or foe, neither Walmingtonish, British, and Calarcan allies nor German, Ercolanian and Chiang Maiese foes. High Command has assured Allied Command, however, that the RIAC is planning a 'major offensive' that 'will hopefully relieve pressure about the board.' The most basic outline - which involves a Company expedition from Iansislean bases on the Upper Ganges into Ercolanian Punjab - has even been discussed.

However, any with eyes in Iansislean Gallaga may notice that most of the force is marshaling in Nusheld and Fort Ash - far away from both the Chiangese advance and the proposed offensive against Punjab. In fact, the 'army' in north-western Gallaga consists of a mere 500 regulars from the King's XLII Rifles division 'supported' by the 15,000 sepoys of the Company's V Battle Group. Students of history may also wonder about the operation's code name - those who know Supreme General Sir Ian O'Bannon may wonder even more. )

I, for one, am certainly happy that you posted that particular tidbit in this thread; it lets me know, OOC at least, that you're going to soon have a lot fewer ships in the area (or greater, depending on which direction they sail!). I'm still anxious to make my next move in North Africa; I'm hoping for another post from WoS before I do that though, just so he has a chance to react to what's going on there.

The decision was finally made for the Deutschland and Atlantis to part ways. The less conspicuous Atlantis would sail south of Australia (I hope that's spelled right...) and into the Pacific to target the merchant shipping that most of the Allies thought of (and rightly so) as protected. Deutschland, being the more heavily armed of the two, would attack the British supply lines coming from Arabia. Capt. Tillman knew that the British couldn't re-direct the convoys through the Suez Canal and into the Med as they may otherwise have done, with the Afrika Corps heavy presence there. They would have to hope for a quick dash around the southern tip of Africa..... which is where the U-boat fleet would concentrate its forces in the South Atlantic.
The two ships parted ways shortly after noon; Atlantis headed east, toward the largely un-guarded merchant groups. Deutschland sailed west, toward the waiting ships of Commodore Harrison and the tanker convoys from Arabia.

Commodore Harrison sat at his desk aboard the cruiser HMS Sheldon, which was parked with her consorts in the Persian Gulf. Of all the duties assigned to a fleet commander (If you could call two cruisers and a pair of ancient destroyers a fleet, he thought), he hated the paperwork the most. Poring over the reams of paper that made up his almost daily work load gave him a piercing headache, and today was no exception; it felt as though someone had wrapped a dozen rocks in felt and was bashing them together inside his skull. But with no sight or word of the Deutschland's position in over two weeks, what else could he do?
Harrison was distracted by a knock on the door. Removing his spectacles, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, wincing as his fingers found the spot where the blasted things always pinched the hardest. Another knock, this one more impatient.
"Come!"
The Sheldon's deck officer slid through the doorway, rendering a quick salute. Harrison returned it, almost half-heartedly; administrative tasks always tired him terribly.
"What is it, Lieutenant?"
"This just came in on the intercept, sir. On the emergency frequency."
Harrison took the wireless hardcopy, glancing it over, as he read it, his face turned a sick grey color.
Two days prior, a convoy carrying crude petrolium had sailed from Arabia; a dozen odd ships, with a few destroyers acting as escorts. The kind of thing that had become almost routine in the waters west of Gallaga. As usual, Harrison had asked if he should task on of his cruisers with escorting the precious oil, at least as far as the Cape, beings no one had the slightest idea where the Germans had slunk off to. And, as usual, Fleet Command had decided that the presence of a unified force would be a more effective deterrant than if he were to scatter his ships across the whole ocean; never mind the fact that every vessel under Harrison's command put together would have little value as a deterrant to a ship like Deutschland. And now this; a garbled distress call from the convoy, saying they were being chased down by an unknown warship. It might be nothing, sure; maybe the Ians or Walmington had sent out a cruiser as a scout. They had merchants sailing in those waters, too. But Harrison rather doubted that the ship in question had any good intentions for them.
By the time Sheldon and her consorts could work up steam and reach the convoy, it would be over. Even if they ran into the Germans, his cruisers would be able to do little against such a well armed ship, and there were precious few reinforcements he could call on if things turned sour.
Still, what choice did he have?
"Get the group ready to make way. Best possible speed."
Harrison was left in his cabin. He laid the radiogram on the table and rested his head in his hands; in all his life, he had never felt so powerless.

( I hate to make things more complicated for poor Commodore Harrison (and the entire Allied war effort), but I'm just reminding everyone of the Ercolanian bases on the horn of Africa and in north western Gallaga. I think they maintain a fairly formidable naval presence too, but you'd have to check with Ag on that one.)

OOC- Harrison has no intention of trying to hunt down Deutschland with just the ships he has available. After hearing about the beating Queen Jessica took from Graf Spee, one heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, and two destroyers would have little chance of a victory. Use the battle of the River Plate as a RL historical referrence; Graf Spee fought off a heavy cruiser and two light cruisers while taking only moderate damage. It was just bad luck that caused her eventual destruction.
Anyway, I digress. Harrison will be looking for survivors and any trail indicating where Deutschland might be heading next.

As Ercolana:

Karachi

"Sure is quiet...."

"yes it has been eerily so, ever since those masses of enemy forces attacking us suddenly disappeared."

"Yes, curious times indeed", he said, stirring his Espresso.

HMS Intrepid, one of the destroyer escorts of Commodore Harrison's task force, was the first to arrive at the coordinates gleaned from the partial SOS transmitted by the oil convoy. However, her skipper was able to tell long before reaching the scene that the message had not been sent in error. A tall column of black oil smoke could be seen coiling up to the heavens, standing out particularly well against the setting sun. Intrepid radioed the news back to Harrison's flagship; there were few suprised parties there, as well.
Within a few hours, the lead destroyer arrived at the scene of the battle. At least four of the ill-fated convoy had gone down, with one or more of them being the big oil tankers that had shipped from Arabia. The burning slick forced the small destroyer to keep its distance, and would make any rescue nearly impossible, if anyone had survived the sinking in the first place. Intrepid came to a stop a few hundred yards away from the edge of the flames, her lookouts scanning the seas for any signs of life.
On the other side of the flames, U-91 sat at the surface, hidden from view by the smoke and fire from the tankers her torpedos had destroyed. Somewhere below, two more U-boats sat quietly, listening to the sound of the British destroyer's props. Far off to the east, the sounds of more high-speed screws were just barely audible. The crews of the U-boats had been at sea near 5 months; it had been twenty days since they had last seen a German ship, when they had run into Deutschland and her supply ship in the South Atlantic. After taking on food and diesel fuel, they had also received instructions from the raider's captain to set themselves up east of the Cape. Deutschland had driven the British convoy right to them; they had been so frightened of the surface raider they had scarcely given the passing waves a glance. It had been almost too easy for the three U-boats to ambush the slow moving tankers while their escorts concerned themselves with trying to screen them from the "hunter", who was actually the decoy. By the time they had realized where the threat lay, it was too late. Unable to stop and effectively attack the U-boats for fear of coming under fire from Deutschland, they had been forced to move on with the surviving ships, which the raider had followed out of sight some time ago. Now the German subs were lying in wait again, this time for another prey entirely. Commodore Harrison was expecting to find a heavy surface raider, if anything; he would not be expecting a wolfpack in these waters.

OOC- I'll make the next post for this soon..... just as soon as I can quit playing Warcraft3!

Commodore Harrison split his two cruisers, sending HMS Sheldon around the north side of the wreckage field while the light cruiser HMS Stockton headed south. The majority of the hands were present on-deck, ready to pull any survivors from the flaming water. For the longest time, nothing could be seen amidst the smoke and intense heat coming off the burning oil; finally, the two cruisers had to call their rescue efforts off, fearful that Deutschland might still be lurking nearby. Of the other ships that had been part of the convoy, there was no sign; nothing had been heard from them since the partly-jammed distress call over 6 hours before.
Below the circling warships, the three U-boats that had attacked the convoy sat, their crews careful to be as silent as possible. The three U-boats had picked up a number of survivors from the sinking merchant vessels, and had taken them aboard; not so much out of compassion as to keep knowlege of their presence a secret. Now they sat motionless 100 meters directly below the British, waiting to see what would develop. The slow chop of their screws began to pick up and circle wider as the British began to draw away from the wreckage, in order to allow their radar a chance to sweep the area for any sign of the German raider they assumed must be nearby. In reality, Deutschland had pursued the convoy just out of sight of the wreckage, then turned due south, hoping to re-enter the Galligan Ocean undetected by way of Antarctica. Here she was also scheduled to meet with three Type-IX U-boats carrying members of the Flottenkommandos bound for Allied holdings in the Far East. Deutschland was to provide an escort for these to their destination in the South Pacific before resuming her raiding activities.
Harrison ordered his fleet to retire, knowing he was no closer to finding Deutschland than ever. Within hours, the U-boats had surfaced, discharged the survivors of the convoy, and were sailing back into the South Galligan for another attack.

IC: Diplomatic Message to all nations

The ports of Grimdale on both the South East coast of Africa and in Iceland are open to all the combatents ships, including raiders so long as they do not attack Grimdallian shipping. Any attack upon Grimdallian ships will result in a closure of ports to the attacking country.

Foreign Minister of Grimdale, Teddy "Speak Softly" Roosevelt

OOC: Ports Availible are:
Plymouth- Main Port and Naval Base of Grimdale (Think Pearl Harbor at the height of WWII and you'll get the idea.)
Portsmouth- Secondary Port and Small Naval Base (Minimal naval repair facilities, mostly logistics support.)
Weirs- Small port, mainly used by fishing vessels and some merchant ships.
Webster- Fishing Port, Coast Guard station, emergency storm refuge for ships.

Having heard the convoy's garbled message of being under attack the frigates USGCGS Cape Horn and the USGCGS Sailor's Hope headed for the area at twenty-five knots. Not to get involved in a fight, but to rescue any survivors. Black smoke pouring from their stacks and with white water under their bows, they raced to the scene.

Captain Dean Foster of the Cape Horn looked up at the cry from one of the lookouts of masts and smoke on the horizon. "All hands rig for rescue operations! Sonar, radar, look sharp, whatever sent those guys to the bottom might still be around. And if that's the case I would prefer that we get a chance to tell them who we are before they fire."

Hmmm... so I can go to either Agrigento or Grimdale.... this should make things interesting for the Allies in the Galligan. I can only imagine if Deutschland and and Allied warship ended up in the same harbor at the same time for supply/repair. Oh, the fun we could have! A gun battle in the port itself would be very epic, don't you agree?

ooc:Sorry about on and off participation of late, I don't think I'm alone in that at least.
Now would prrrobably be a good time to reacquaint folk with the fact of the three hundred odd year old Walmingtonian Empire which includes such dominions and possesions as The Cape Colonies including Lesotho and Swaziland, Waynesia (Zimbabwe), Madagascar, and so on..

I.. don't quite know what to say. To have a new power spring up well established on the doorstep of one of the most secure parts of the empire really messes with the balance of power and the deployment of WoS forces.

I.. don't quite know what to say. To have a new power spring up well established on the doorstep of one of the most secure parts of the empire really messes with the balance of power and the deployment of WoS forces.

I could understand if he was a belligerent power, but he just said that he's open to anyone. Maybe if his troops start marching into your Cape Colonies it would be a problem...
As far as being well established, wait untill some colonies pop up in some out of the way spot; then I'd say he's well established. Having his country situated in East Africa isn't as bad as you seem to think; there's a lot of East Africa to go around.
Look, if anyone else ever asks if they can join in on this, I'm just gonna tell them to talk to someone else. I don't think your concerns are unfounded; I'm just tired of telling people ok and it causing problems for the others (remember new germania during the Graf Spee/Queen Jessica incident?) I definitely don't want to give you or anyone else the impression I'm trying to screw them. I guess there needs to be some kind of process for saying yea or nay besides whoever replies to them first.....

Captain Dean Foster of the Cape Horn looked up at the cry from one of the lookouts of masts and smoke on the horizon. "All hands rig for rescue operations! Sonar, radar, look sharp, whatever sent those guys to the bottom might still be around. And if that's the case I would prefer that we get a chance to tell them who we are before the fire."

Curse the arbitraty flow of time on the forum! I have no idea when your ships would arrive!
Um.... any preference or ideas? From anyone?

If you arrived after the British (which I don't see how we can get around at this point), you'll probably find the survivors loaded into life rafts. You might even come across the three U-boats. But someone else can decide that.

Captain Dean Foster of the Cape Horn looked up at the cry from one of the lookouts of masts and smoke on the horizon. "All hands rig for rescue operations! Sonar, radar, look sharp, whatever sent those guys to the bottom might still be around. And if that's the case I would prefer that we get a chance to tell them who we are before the fire."

Curse the arbitraty flow of time on the forum! I have no idea when your ships would arrive!
Um.... any preference or ideas? From anyone?

If you arrived after the British (which I don't see how we can get around at this point), you'll probably find the survivors loaded into life rafts. You might even come across the three U-boats. But someone else can decide that.

OOC: Sorry, should have specified that the masts sighted were British. The Frigates are there to aid survivors, so at the moment they don't know exactly what happened, only that a distress message was recieved.

Hmmm... so I can go to either Agrigento or Grimdale.... this should make things interesting for the Allies in the Galligan. I can only imagine if Deutschland and and Allied warship ended up in the same harbor at the same time for supply/repair. Oh, the fun we could have! A gun battle in the port itself would be very epic, don't you agree?

OOC: Correct me if I'm wrong, but at this time in history I believe that the rules of war specify that beligerents must wait 24hrs after another beligerent has left harbor before they can leave. And on another note; anyone starts firing in harbor and every ship and shore battery in range will open fire on both combatents.

Well, I don't think that applies to warships; merchantmen, yes. I know that was used by the British against the Graf Spee, but I don't think warships have to adhere to that when dealing with each other.

Commodore Harrison lowered his glasses, shaking his head. Two frigates had been spotted approaching the scene of the tankers sinking; word had just now arrived as to their nationality. Harrison rather thought that Grimdale's profession of neutrality was just an invitation for Deutschland to begin using their ports as a base of operations against Allied shipping around Galliga; a mutual non-agression pact like the one between Germany and Russia would soon follow. Not strictly an alliance, but close enough for Harrison and the other Allied commanders in the area.
"Helm, bring us on course to meet them. Send off a message for them too; tell them there may be hostile forces still in the area. And someone bring me some aspirin; my head's about to split in two!"
Far away from HMS Sheldon, the surviving members of the British convoy finally left the range of Deutschland's jamming gear. Their distress calls, distorted beyond all hope of understanding, suddenly filled the emergency band. The convoy's commander ordered the surviving vessels to dock at Cape Town untill instructions arrived from the British Fleet Commander.

OOC- Who has claim to South Africa, anyway? It'd be WoS, I imagine..... Who owned it in RL, the Dutch or British? I can't remember...

ooc: Most of it is Walmingtonian, excepting parts near the Namibian and western Botswanan borders. In reality Britain ceased the Cape of Good Hope near 200 years ago, but the Boer are of Dutch origin, yes. In this reality Walmingtonians got there in force before the Dutch, and Britain didn't fancy ceasing anything from Walmington, lest we pay them back by ceasing Ireland or something.

Captain Foster read the message from the British ships. "Signal them with the lamp, "We are here to perform rescue operations, am staying out of any conflict in the area unless fired upon." Now get the boats off and start hauling in those rafts. And sound General Quarters just in case."
Throughout the two ships the clang of the general alarm rang loudly. By the time the second whaleboat was away the two ships were closed up for action.

The PBY Catalina was on the last leg of it's search when one of the gunners noticed a dot moving over the water below. When the pilot recieved the report he put the Cat in a steep bank while losing altitude to get a better view. As they got closer he turned to his co-pilot. "Hey Andrew, what do you think we have here?"
"Well she's too big to be a cruiser, and as far as I know neither WoS or Britian are operating any heavy ships in this area. It's got to be the Deutschland."
"Get out the blinker and start signaling then before they decide to open fire."
"Right."
The signal lamp started flashing down down at the ship. "TO DEUTSCHLAND, TWO BRITISH CRUSIERS, ONE HEAVY, ONE LIGHT, AND TWO DESTROYERS IN THE AREA OF CONVOY SINKINGS, ADVISE THAT SEAS ARE EMPTY TO EAST AND SOUTHEAST, BRITISH CONVOY DUE THROUGH AREA IN NEXT COUPLE DAYS, PORTS ARE OPEN FOR YOUR USE, GOOD HUNTING."

Capt. Tillman read over the paper he had been handed, his eyebrow arched. A Catalina PBY..... normally he would have thought her an Allied, or at least an American. The message might be a trick, intended to misdirect him.... but he rather doubted it. Still, no matter who's she had been, she had correctly identified his ship, which meant her owner obviously had a vested interest in the goings-on in the Galligan Ocean.
"Helm, continue on course, due south. We'll continue as planned."
Not much else to do, honestly. If the message was true, then it indicated that Deutschland's original course was the safest, and there was no reason to change. If it were false..... well, where else could he go? Back into the Atlantic, where he'd have to wait several weeks before trying to sneak back in, and in all likelyhood taking the same route he was now? No, best to simply press on and hope for the best. Capt. Tillman did, however, order the watch increased, and told his men to be alert for British cruisers.

Captain Foster watched as the last of the oil covered survivors was brought on board from the whale boat. He knew that many of them wouldn't survive the night, dying from either oil in their lungs, or the horrible burns some had sustained. An Ensign walked onto the bridge.
"Captain, the Bosun reports that's the last of the survivors."
"OK, thank you Ensign." The Captain turned to the helmsman. "Let's get out of here, set a course for Plymouth and advise them to prepare to recieve burn and oil casualties."

The two Frigate's engines came to life and they quickly accelerated to twenty-seven knots. A last blinker signal went out to the British ships. "WE'LL TAKE GOOD CARE OF THEM, GOOD LUCK AND GOOD HUNTING."

Far away from HMS Sheldon, U-173 slipped beneath the waves, where she would remain for the next few days. Using her schnorkel, she was to approach the RIN base at Chateau, where her Flottenkommando passengers were supposed to pick up a "package". By diving deep during the days and sailing with only her schnorkel and periscope exposed at night, she would make for a very elusive target.

The Cape Horn and the Sailor's Hope were tied up at the hospital dock in the Plymouth naval base. The last few casualties from the convoy attack were being off loaded as Captain Foster looked around the harbor, observing the changes that had been made since he'd been assigned to Webster. Even more AA positions had been established than the last time he'd been here, an anti-submarine net had been slung across the harbor mouth, and he'd had to thread his ships past several new minefields. All of it evidence of the President's stated policy of preparing for the world war that might spread to the country at any time without becoming actively involved.

"Captain sir, the fueling barges are alongside." Foster's exec from behind him.
"Start fueling operations, and take on any supplies we may need. Our orders are to resume patrol as soon as possible."

IC: Lt. 1st class Theisman wondered at the strange orders he had recieved, find the Deutschland and drop a message on her deck, then await her reply, should the reply be affirmative he was to open his sealed orders, should it be negative, he was to burn them without opening them.

"There she is Thomas, right where she should be according to the last report." His co-pilot Samantha Bernstien said when she spotted the Deutschland.
"OK Sam, let's make sure they get a good look at our insignia and signal them that we're making a message drop."

The ungainly PBY lifted first one wing and then the other, revealing the white wolf emblem on each wing.

"TO DEUTSCHLAND, AM MAKING A SECURE MESSAGE DROP, PLEASE REPLY BY BLINKER."

The Catalina came in low and slow from behind, as they passed the bridge the co-pilot dropped the wrapped message bundle by hand and had the satisfaction of seeing it land just behind the forward turret. The message dropped, the Catalina pulled back and began to circle the Deutschland waiting for a reply.

OOC: Message will be TG'd to you DK

OOC- OOh, the plot thickens.... I'll be looking for your telegram.

[Edit]
Capt. Tillman read over the contents of the package the Grimmian (I assume that works for you?) PBY had dropped. A bold move on their part, to be sure...
Tillman folded the paper in half, then half again. As he walked toward the hatch leading to the ship's interior, he quickly shredded the paper and scattered the pieces overboard.
Deutschland's command staff milled about the bridge, anxious to hear what new orders the mysterious events would bring. Tillman simply stood in the entryway to the room, scratching his chin thoughtfully, unsure what to do next...

OOC- OOh, the plot thickens.... I'll be looking for your telegram.

[Edit]
Capt. Tillman read over the contents of the package the Grimmian (I assume that works for you?) PBY had dropped. A bold move on their part, to be sure...
Tillman folded the paper in half, then half again. As he walked toward the hatch leading to the ship's interior, he quickly shredded the paper and scattered the pieces overboard.
Deutschland's command staff milled about the bridge, anxious to hear what new orders the mysterious events would bring. Tillman simply stood in the entryway to the room, scratching his chin thoughtfully, unsure what to do next...

OOC: Actually it's Grimdalian.

Tillman finally came to a decision.
"Signal the pilot to land. Prepare a motor launch to meet them."
Tillman picked up a sheet of paper and a pen and began writing his message on it. When he had finished, he placed it in an envelope, sealed it, and handed it to his executive officer.
"Do not open that. Give it to the pilot and come right back. We need to be underway soon. Helm, all stop."
By the time the signal was given and the Grimdalian seaplane had settled in the water, Deutschland's motor boat was heading its way. The German officer, unsure of what had thus far been exchanged between either party, warily handed the plane's crew the letter Capt. Tillman had prepared. A few plesantries were exchanged, and then they parted ways.
Back onboard Deutschland a secret radio message was already being sent back to Germany; oddly enough, it was addressed not to Admiral Raeder, but to the head of the U-boatwaffe, Admiral Dönitz.
(If anyone thinks they have broken Enigma <coughWalmington.... ahem... let me know; I can TG you the contents of the message.)

Admiral Harrington put down the letter Lt. 1st class Theisman had personnaly delivered to her after landing. Smiling she reached for a new pad of paper and her pen. The circumstances most certainly called for orders to be sent out. So far the day was going very well.

Captain McKiernan of the Corvette USGCGS R-21 put the binoculars down after sweeping the South Atlantic horizon one more time. He shook her head once again, still not quite able to believe her orders.

TO Captain Jennifer McKiernan
Your orders are to take your ship to the coordinates given herein and maintain station there until relieved or forced to return to port by exhaustion of supplies. While on station you will most likely be approached by Der Kriegsmarine U-Boats, you are to supply them with all the information you have availible on Allied shipping movements. Updates will be delievered each day by PBM Mariners, weather permiting. Radio silence is to be maintained at all times. Any attempts by Allied vessels or aircraft to interfere are to responded to with all measures short of force unless fired upon. If fired upon standard rules of engagement apply. At all costs the details of this operation are to be kept from the Allies.
FROM Fleet Admiral Honor Harrington CINCGN

McKiernan looked back at the large Grimdalian flag flying from the stern, thinking it pitifully inadequate defense against a torpedo, or for that matter, an Allied shell or bomb. And cruising along at a mere seven knots in a war zone was enough to make any sane Captain want to tear her hair out. But orders were orders, and in this case there was no room for argument. The fact that the actions of her ship could be seen as grounds for war with the Allied powers concerned her little. She was confident that if it came down to it the Navy would show them a new trick or three.

(well, at least we all have original characters :roll: )

OOC: All right, fess up, who else here has read the Honor Harrington series by David Weber? I admit that when I needed a couple names I borrowed them from the book. But most of them are my own.

ooc: Ahem -hides majority of WoS government- Yeah!
Well, 'em, at least the likes of Sir Henry are the product of only one mind, heh.
Crumbs, WoS has become a democratic socialist state. Mainwaring will be furious. "..they (the Walmingtonians) tend to view other, more capitalist countries as somewhat immoral and corrupt." So it says, neglecting to add, "and as such are most annoyed that the war prevents them from holidaying often in the North Pacific.." ;)

Ah, yes, so.. Enigma. We were working on that. Got so far as building a prototype computer, even. That was months ago, but I didn't seem to do a very good job of making an RP of it. Even I can only talk to myself for so many pages! I'll consider it cracked just as soon as you want to start sending me decrypts, heh.

As for Walmington's lack of displayed interest thus far in the Grimdalians.. well, they're not Germany or Ercolana, or Britain, Iansisle, Calarca, or even Canada, and we are Walmington on Sea. As such they're considered nothing more than an aside in governmental and military minds.

"Didn't we whip them in the Second Cape War?"
"Mh? Oh, yeah sure, who cares?"
"Yeah, yeah, gave 'em a right proper hiding at ..ah..Mavis Falls, wasn' it?"
"Mh, probably, aye."

(This concludes Harry and Clifford's over-a-pint assessment of the Grimdalians at this stage!)

"Actually, I don't think they're the same as the Boe.."
"..We all know what you think, Alan. Hop it, boyo!"

OOC- As far as Enigma goes; yeah, I'll start sending you notes on what's going on. As far as when.... we'll work it out.

And the area where these U-boats, and I assume your destroyer too, meet was chosen because no one goes there. No one is likely to see you.

IC- Admiral Dönitz transmitted new orders to his South Atlantic U-boats the day after receiving Capt. Tillman's message. The new orders instructed his U-boats to meet with the Grimdalian ship if they deemed it necissary. It was stated in no uncertain terms that more than one U-boat was to be seen in the area on any given day, regardless of circumstances.
R-21 met with no U-boats on her first day on station...

OOC- I'll post more later, I promise. This is going to get interesting.


:wink:

Captain McKiernan watched as the PBM Mariner came in for a landing. With a spray of water it touched down, finally coming to a halt. The pilot used the propellors to taxi over next to the Corvette, popping open a hach on the top of the craft, one of the crew walked along the wing until he was only a foot or so from the ship.

McKiernan reached up and shook his hand. "This the latest batch of dispatches?"
"Yes Ma'am, there's also the new codebooks, all commands are supposed to switch my the end of the week to the new codes. There's also a copy of the new merchant code book."
"Excellent, how was the trip out?"
"Not bad, clear visibility as far as the eye can see, a few ships in the usual sea lanes, half of them ours. We didn't bother inspecting the rest as our orders were to deliver the daily packet."
McKiernan took the bundle from the crewmember. "Well have a safe trip back."
"We will, this is a milk run."

McKiernan watched as the PBM lifted off, wagging it's wings once before disappearing into the skies. Once again, the R-21 was the only thing as far as the eye could see.

Conn, Sonnar, unidentifed vessel moving fast bearing 208 degrees.

Up scope.

The Australian auxiliary cruiser Westfold, now at sea for over 45 days, had been patroling the sea lanes just north of New Guinea for the past week and had seen nothing. Her crew was beginning to fall into a stupor brought on by the muggy weather and repetative duties aboard the ship when her lookouts spotted a lone vessel on the horizon. The cruiser's skipper and his first mate debated near the bow of the boat.
"What you think she's doin' all the way out here, sir?"
"Bloody 'ell if I know, mate. Looks like a bananna freighter, likely Jap or Shieldian. To be wanderin' this far south though...."
The captain looked up, spotting one of his lookouts in the upper works.
"'Ey you! What the blazes you see up there?"
"Merchant, flyin' a Jap flag. Ain't a coaler though; hardly any smoke trail" came the faint reply.
The Westfold's captain stroked his beard stubble. The orders he'd gotten said nothing about stopping Japanese cargo ships that wandered south into his patrol area. And it was damn unlikely an Axis merchant had wound up in this part of the ocean without getting sunk by someone else already. Still, if this ship had been part of some kind of convoy, and had gotten lost....
"Helm, make a course for that Jap freighter. Signal 'em that we mean to pull up and check that everything's in order."
Japan wasn't an enemy nation so much as a neutral hostile; it was no secret that the Emperor was sympathetic to the Nazis and their lot. How long would it be before Axis ships were operating out of Japanese ports?

Onboard Atlantis, Capt. Berthold smiled thinly. The converted passenger ship bearing down on him could only be considered a cruiser in the most general terms. As a rule, auxiliary cruisers were underpowered and nearly unarmored, packing a few 4.7" guns and some steel plate welded to the hull. The ships Atlantis and those like her had been converted from had been designed as warships first, and merchant ships as more of a means of subverting their true role. Smaller, faster, and better armed, she was more than a match for anything except a true warship, which was certainly not the case with Westfold. The old Australian liner carried only 4 guns to Atlantis' 6, and they were smaller 4.7" guns; the German raider carried 5.6 inchers taken from scrapped pre-WWI warships. And even if her guns wouldn't carry the day, she was over 10 knots faster than Westfold.
Berthold noted the signal being flashed to them about the same time his First Officer walked up to him carrying Westfold's radio message. Like the captain and the other sailors onboard, he was dressed much like a merchant seaman would, in loose trousers and a plain cotton shirt.
"Get ready to fire as they come alongside. Slow us to 5 knots, and let them think we're nothing but innocent sailors."

The cruiser USGS Wolf's Song of the Southwest Pacific Squadron lay hove to, concealed in a conveinent rain squall. Her Captain, Michael Stackpole was currently standing behind the radar officer, watching his display.
He turned to his exec. "Looks like the Westford is going to investiagate the newcomer, whoever they may be. It's likely nothing will happen, but send the hands to stations. It will be good practice for them."
"Aye, aye sir."

Within a few moments of the general alarm having sounded, the ship was closed up at action stations.

As Westfold came alongside her target, her crew continued to stand idle at their positions. A few might have noted the lack of personel on the Japanese freighter's deck, but no particular alarm was given. Some of the cruiser's deck guns were not even fully manned; no one expected a fight from a lone, unarmed merchant.
Capt. Berthold, on the other hand, was planning on a fight. As the Australian cruiser came along side, it slowed to a near-halt, preparing to launch its boarding party. He smiled thinly, and picked up the intercom mike from its place.
"Run out the guns and open fire. Helm, all ahead full, 20* left rudder."
The steel plates that had concealed Atlantis' guns were flung open, and 5.6" shells were soon smashing into the thin armor of the Australian ship. Any confusion as to what was happening was dispelled as Atlantis' war flag was raised to the head of her mast.
Onboard Westfold the battle was not going well. The converted passenger liner had to overcome many disadvantages over her opponent. First, she was a much easier target to hit than the small, fast raider. Also, she was outgunned by over half, now that Atlantis' two upper guns had been uncovered. The short range at which she found herself fighting also had allowed the German raider to turn her 20mm AA guns on the gun crews, and causalties were rapidly mounting. Reports from the engineering crew indicated fires and flooding in the engine room, and within a few minutes of the first shot being fired, Westfold also found herself without control of her rudder. As Atlantis continued to hammer the Australian ship, fires began breaking out on her upper deck as well. Knowing the battle was lost, her captain ordered his crew to abandon ship.
Capt. Berthold lowered his glasses, and the order went out to pull the survivors from the water. Atlantis spent over an hour rescuing the crew of the Westfold even though they were dangerously close to the Australian coast. Once all the men were rescued and secured, Atlantis resumed her course for the open waters of the Pacific. Damage reports coming in were light; several shells had impacted the armor of the raider, but failed to detonate. Several of the lifeboats had been destroyed by enemy fire, and there were 7 injured men, although none seriously. 277 Australian sailors had been rescued from the cruiser and been placed in Atlantis' brig.

Captain Stackpole gave a low whistle. "That must be one of DK's raiders. Nasty little customers to be sure."
He turned to his Helmsman. "Helm follow that ship at a distance, make sure we stay right on the edge of our radar range and out of their visual range, I don't want them to know they're being shadowed."
"Aye, aye sir."
"Captain, does this mean that your are assuming the raider to be hostile to Grimdalian interests?"
"Certainly not, our previous orders were to keep an eye on the Westford. Since she's been sunk, those orders no longer apply. And to be frank, I suspect that this will be a lot more interesting than shadowing a converted liner."
"I understand sir."

Capt. Stackpole may not have known it, but Capt. Berthold already knew he was being followed. While German radar sets were a good step behind those found on most other ships, Atlantis had better radar than most; more importantly, she carried sensitive radar detection equipment. The radio waves keeping the Wolf's Song in contact were also broadcasting her presence to the raider. So her presence, if not necissarily her identity, was no longer a secret. Capt. Berthold hoped to lose his pursuer, which he assumed was another Australian patrol vessel, amidst the many small islands just north and east of New Guinea.

"Sir, could you come over here please?" The current radar officer on watch asked the Captain.
Captain Stackpole wandered over and put a hand on the back of the woman's chair as he leaned over the console. "What do you have?"
"Well sir, our reciever has been picking intermittent signals, the last operator assumed that they were simply interference from our own radar, but I think that it's from that other ship. Every time we recieve one of those signals, I get interference on my set as well as the radar reciever."
The Captain frowned. "Meaning that there's an excellent chance they know we're here and are turning their radar on and off to prevent us from realising they have it. Good work Lieutenant, give yourself a week's liberty the next time we reach port."
"Yes sir!" She replied cheerfully.

Stackpole walked back to the Captain's chair, but didn't sit down just yet. He looked over at his exec. "What do you think Steve? If you were a raider that had just blown an aux cruiser out of the water and then picked up indicatoins that a ship of unknown strength was following you, what would you do?"
Commander Steve White rubbed his chin in thought for a moment before replying. "Well, if it was me, I'd probibly try to get lost among the islands around here. We both know that our radar's some of the best in the world, but even we sometimes have trouble picking stuff out against the background of nearby land. Not to mention if that skipper's really gutsy, he might try running through shallow water. It won't work on us, we don't draw much more water than an average merchie, but with the generally poor quality of charts around here, he just might get lucky and cause a larger, deeper drafted ship to run aground."
Stackpole nodded. "That's about what I was thinking. So what now, do we keep tracking, coming along dumb as if they don't know we're here, or do we try something more drastic?"
"I'd suggest we continue trying to follow, it's good practice for our crew and it's probibly best if we keep an eye on them. DK might be a friendly neutral, but if I was a raider captain, I might just be tempted to grab one of our ships if I thought I could get away with it."
"Very well then, we'll continue with our current line of action. Radar, don't lose that ship, if necessary, we can move closer, they know we're here, but they don't know just yet that we know they know. And for the moment, that means the advantage is ours."

OOC- I'll post the next installment on this a little later.

On Atlantis' bridge, Capt. Berthold was making the most difficult decision of his career. That he was being followed was now no longer a question, but cold reality; the raider's radar detection equipment, along with quick glances with his own radar, had confirmed that his ship was being followed. The wireless room had sent no word of any intercepted traffic, but that didn't mean there hadn't been a message sent by his pursuers. Normally, if the other ship were an enemy, it would be broadcasting Atlantis' position and heading to any allied warship in the area. But suppose he was being shadowed by a small warship; say, a destroyer escort or corvette, something too small to engage him by itself. And suppose the captain of that ship wasn't sure if he had been noticed or not, and didn't want to alert his prey that they were being followed. In that case, might he not avoid drawing attention to himself by limiting his radio traffic?
Atlantis carried a single Arado floatplane, used mainly for scouting for enemy convoys and warships. The only problem with deploying it was he would have to bring his ship to a stop while it was hoisted out of the hold and lowered into the water, since his ship had no catapult for launching it on the move. If it wasn't a small, fast ship afraid of being destroyed, and was instead a large, slow ship that was following him only because it was unable to overtake him, he would be dooming his vessel by allowing her to close the gap. He knew the British and Australians had three cruisers in the area; if one of them were following him, his only choice was to run, and trust in the better endurance of his ship to break the pursuit.
Capt. Berthold leaned over the charts of the South Pacific; not exactly what he would have liked to be using, they were very old, and not terribly acurate. Still, he had been lucky to get them at all, since the Kriegsmarine had little to do with these distant seas. However, they did show a small cluster of islands about 100 nautical miles to the east of him, which was where he had ordered Atlantis after the battle. Maybe he would have a chance to launch his plane from within the atoll, where he would be hidden for at least a while, and had a better chance of throwing off whoever was behind him.

"Captain the raider's changed course, he's heading nearly due east."
Stackpole looked down at the charts. "I'd say he's heading for these islands right here. But if he's planning to enter from the east, he's going to be sadly mistaken. That entire area's filled with reefs." He looked up. "Steve, I think it's time we stop this before they end up grounding themselves."
"I agree sir."
"Helm, bring us up to thirty-seven knots, Guns, stand by with starshells and searchlights. Sound General Quarters."

The low bow wave of the Wolf's Song quickly grew as her stern dug deep into the water under the imputous of her twin screws.
"Captain, we're in range of the raider."
"Very good, Guns, starshells, searchlights, pattern Beta three."
"Aye sir!"
One of the Wolf Song's twin five inch turrets blasted smoke and flame, and a second later a pair of starshells burst to life, one directly behind the raider, silhouetting her. The other burst exactly halfway between the two ships. The black of night was stripped away by their blazing light, searchlights stabbed out like questing fingers, illuminating the raider's upperworks. Blinker and radio signals went out simultaniously.
"UNKNOWN SHIP, THIS IS THE USGS WOLF'S SONG, IDENTIFY YOURSELF IMMEDIATELY. ANY HOSTILE ACTION WILL BE REPLIED TO IN KIND."

The sound of Wolf's Song's artillery shook Capt. Berthold from his thoughts. Atlantis' crew hurried to their stations; the guns, barely cooled from their use on Westfold, were now manned and loaded again. Capt. Berthold gave the order for flank speed as the wireless operator finished taking down the incoming radio message.
Berthold scanned the radiogram from Wolf's Song, his confusion deepening. Grimdale.... hadn't he just been told that they were lending aide to the South Atlantic U-boats? Why then were they shadowing him?
"Sir, what should I give as our response?"
Berthold shook his head absently.
"Nothing, sailor. Continue on course; there's no point trying to lose them now. Take us around the south side of that island group and head for open ocean; if they're who they say they are, they'll let us go if they know what's good for them. And if not...."
The captain shrugged. If not, then it won't matter much what happens next.

"Captain, they're making a run for it."
"Helm, bring us up to forty-three knots, all stations prepare for action, Signals, inform them that if they do not answer our hails, we will open fire." A brief smile crossed Stackpole's face. "And please inform them, that if they do not identify themselves, we will assume that they are pirates and treat any prisioners accordingly."
The Exec looked over at the Captain. "Will you really open fire Captain?"
"It's severly tempting Steve, we've been operating under the assumption that's it's a DK raider, but we could be wrong. There are still a few pirates floating around this section of the world. Besides, we merely asked for identification, we didn't even require that they heave to."
"So letting them simply take off isn't an option anymore, we let them run, and anyone we try and stop from now on will attempt to do the same."

"UNKNOWN SHIP, IDENTIFY YOURSELF AT ONCE AND YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO LEAVE PEACEFULLY, OTHERWISE WE WILL BE FORCED TO OPEN FIRE. FAILURE TO PROVIDE YOUR IDENTITY WILL CONFIRM YOUR IDENTITY AS PIRATES. IF SUCH PROVES THE CASE, THE CAPTAIN HAS A NOOSE WAITING FOR EACH OF YOU. PLEASE ALSO NOTE THAT YOUR CURRENT COURSE IS DIRECTLY TOWARDS A LARGE REEF. WE AWAIT YOUR RESPONSE."

Capt. Berthold read over the latest message from the Grimdalians. God, they'll draw the Aussies right to us. Idiots.
He quickly drafted a message and ordered it send.
TO: USGS Wolf's Song.
Your nipping at our heels is not appreciated.
Johannes Berthold, Captain
KMP Atlantis

Stockpole looked over the message and grinned. "Well that got a response." He scribbled on a piece of paper. "Send that by blinker, and send the second one by radio. And make sure you give the wrong position for the second message."

Blinker message: "ATTENTION ATLANTIS, RECOMMEND YOU HEAVE TO. THE CAPTAIN'S EXTENDING AN OFFER FOR DINNER AND TO DISCUSS A COOPERATIVE PATROL."

Radio Message: "TO ALL SHIPS, HAVE FOUND AND SUNK PIRATE RAIDER APPROXIMATELY FIFTY MILES SOUTH OF SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS, NO SURVIVORS."

One minute they're threatening to open fire, the next they're inviting me to dinner. What kind of allies are these, anyway?
Capt. Berthold lowered his glasses, scowling. The bridge crew was breathing a sigh of relief; at least the immediate danger of being sunk was averted. Still, with all the radio traffic, plus the loss of a cruiser in the area, whether or not the Australians would send a ship to investigate wasn't even a question. While he didn't know about the captain of Wolf's Song, Berthold didn't intent to stay in the area much longer.
"Get someone on the flasher, and let those clowns know that I don't intend to set up a picnic here. Maybe once we're out of the area, I'll give their offer some more thought.
The flasher message to Wolf's Song was, of course, somewhat different.
Area has been compromised; will join you once clear of Allied search aircraft.
Atlantis continued on her course, although enough care was taken to ensure that the ship would not come to grief on the rocks surrounding the small island group in her path.

Stackpole looked over the latest message. "They're right, we goofed, let's see if we can make it up to them. Ensign, grab one of our flags and prepare for it to be sent over to the Atlantis. Helm, bring us alongside and match speed. All hands remain at stations."

"AM PULLING ALONGSIDE TO TRANSFER A FLAG, FLY IT AND WE'LL PROVIDE ESCORT. SINCERE APOLOGIES FOR THE DIFFICULTIES, THERE ARE STILL PIRATES AROUND HERE AND YOUR IDENTITY WAS UNCONFIRMED. CONGRADUALTIONS ON THE WESTFOLD."

It occured to Capt. Berthold as he ordered his ship alongside Wolf's Song, that he really had no way of knowing for sure that this ship would not open fire. All he had to go on was the captain's word. Still, he allowed the Grimdalian vessel to come alongside and accepted the offered colors. As for the congratulations... he had been doing his duty, nothing more. It hadn't been a battle so much as an abmush. Still, he had his thanks given to the Wolf's Song's captain, and raised the colors to the top of his mast.
"Where to now, captain?"
Berthold shook his head. This had certainly been an unexpected turn.
"Hold our course east for now. If they want to come along for the time being, so be it. Once we're clear of the area, I'm going over to have a talk with Wolf's Song's captain."

"Unknown aircraft! Bearing 267, altitude fifteen thousand, distance, 27000 meters and closing." The words came from the radar officer.
The reaction on board the Wolf's Song was immediate. Captain Stackpole starting giving off orders. "Get a blinker message to the Atlantis to hold her fire and postion. Guns, line them up, but hold your fire. Radio, warn the plane off."

"TO UNKNOWN AIRCRAFT, THIS IS THE USGS WOLF SONG PROVIDING ESCORT FOR ONE OF OUR FRIEGHTERS DUE TO REPORTS OF PIRATES IN THE AREA. BREAK OFF YOUR APPROACH AT ONCE OR WE WILL OPEN FIRE."

Flight Officer Rodney Chaplain had spent the better part of his life in the air. He had first taken to the skies at the tender age of 4, sitting in his father's lap in the cockpit of his crop duster in northern Australia. After learning to fly for himself, he had first followed in his father's footsteps, dusting crops and flying mail. When the war had broken out in 1939, he had promptly boarded a boat for England and joined the RAF, learning to fly fighters and taking part in the closing days of the air war over France. He had even racked up two kills in his Hurricane before meeting the business end of a German 109 over the English Channel. Unfortunately, he had broken both his legs dumping his fighter; after he recovered, he learned that he was being transfered back to Australia to fly maritime reconisance. After piloting the nimble Hurricane, he found the converted Lancaster bombers used to monitor the shipping lanes unwieldy. He often dreamed about his days as a fighter pilot, especially after coming back from a long and often fruitless patrol.
Today had started much like any other; take off at noon from the airstrip the British had bulldozed out of the jungles of New Guinea, fly untill the fuel tanks were almost dry, then land, get some sleep, and stare at the walls untill it was time to take off again. However, late in the afternoon, just as he was starting to think that nothing would ever happen, the radio operator had picked up a transmission from one of the auxiliary cruisers that patroled the area. Apparently, she was planning to stop a Japanese freighter that had crossed her path. So far, nothing out of the ordinary; the Japs sailed through the area all the time, and had to occasionally put up with routine cargo checks. Just to break up the monotony, Chaplain banked the Lancaster in the direction of Westfold's position. After twenty minutes of flight, one of his spotters spotted smoke on the horizon. As they neared the smoke column, burning wreckage became visable; unidentifiable, but big enough to be the Westfold, and in the right area too. Just to be sure, Chaplain's radio operator tried to raise the cruiser, but with no sucess. A quick fly-by of the wreck revealed no one in the water; after reporting the position, Chaplain began widening his search of the area.
After about an hour, a lookout spotted two ships on the horizon. The daylight was beginning to fail, and Chaplain wanted to get a good look at what he was dealing with before night set in. The two ships were flying the same flag, which none of the Lancaster's crew immediately recognized.
"Got a radio message from that ship down there, sir. Pretty suspicious, if you ask me."
Chaplain's co-pilot handed him the message and took the controls while he scanned it over. Chaplain had to admit that threatening to shoot him down before even establishing who he was didn't look good for whoever was down there. Even if whoever was down there was who they said they were, they should obviously know that he wasn't a pirate; last he checked, no pirates in the area flew RAF bombers.
"Get a message into base. Give them the position and heading of these two. Then radio them; ask what they can tell us about what happened to Westfold; they're close enough they would have seen whoever sank her, if not done the deed themselves."
(I don't think I have to remind you that Chaplain's message would be coded. And the radio messages you sent to Atlantis would have been on the open band and uncoded, since you basically bumped into each other. Not that those are particularly incriminating. But it does prove that you ran into someone; Chaplain would naturally assume it was whoever attacked Westfold.)

The radio officer called up to the Captain. "Sir, they've identified themselves as an Australian recon plane, they're requesting we report what we've seen regarding the Westfold."
Stackpole stroked his beard in thought. "Alright, give them this, It should tail in well with the radio messages we sent out."

"HEARD SOUNDS OF CONFLICT, MOVED TO INVESTIGATE AND FOUND SIGNS OF A SHIP SINKING AND AN UNKNOWN SHIP. SAID SHIP WAS ORDERED TO IDENTIFY THEMSELVES. THE SHIP FAILED TO DO SO AND ATTEMPTED TO RUN. AFTER SEVERAL ATTEMPTS TO ORDER THEM TO HEAVE TO WERE IGNORED, WE OPENED FIRE. FIRST SALVO HIT A MAGAZINE, NO TRACE OF THE SHIP WAS FOUND. PROCEEDED TO THEN TAKE UP ESCORT OF NEARBY SUPPLY SHIP. PLEASE KEEP YOUR DISTANCE AS OUR GUN CREWS ARE UNDERSTANDIBLY NERVOUS."

It took only moments for Chaplain to decide that the ship's captain was lying. If they had seen Westfold under attack, why had they raised no alarm? Also, the captain made no mention of any survivors of the Australian cruiser. If he had witnessed all or even part of the incident, the very least he should have done was radio in the position so someone could rescue the crew. But no such message had come across the emergency band, which cast serious doubts on the story he had before him.
But this raised other questions. Westfold's last transmission had mentioned only one ship, a Japanese freighter. While there was a cargo-type ship below, the other was obviously a warship. There had been no mention of any other vessel in the area when contact was lost, let alone a military craft. And neither was flying a Japanese flag. So were these even the ships Westfold had seen before she sank, or had that ship headed in a different direction? Had these two even been in the area when the battle occured, and actually stumbled onto a pirate ship? Chaplain couldn't prove what he suspected, and causing an international incident would cost him a lot more than his career if he was wrong.
"Ask base what the hell we're supposed to do here. I need to know what to do, and if we're supposed to keep an eye on these two or start up a search pattern."
The message was soon off, and Chaplain kept his plane just out of Wolf's Song's guns.
Onboard Atlantis, Capt. Berthold was growing more nervous. The Grimdalian captain would need a pretty convincing story to throw off the Aussies, and if they decided to call them into port for an investigation, the game would be over. A plan was forming in the back of his mind...

"Steve, ask that Captian Berthold join me for dinner. We need to discuss stratagy, and I need to be able to tell him exactly where we stand in this mess." Captain Stackpole said.
"And where exactly do we stand Captain?" His Exec asked.
"You know our orders, everything short of war, unless we can get them to fire the first shot. For now it means that we ignore any attempts they may try to bring either of these ships under investigation. And we're authorised to use force if necessary to prevent that."

Blinker Message: "CAPTAIN STACKPOLE WOULD ASK THAT CAPTAIN
BERTHOLD JOIN HIM FOR DINNER AND TO DISCUSS DEALING WITH THE LATEST SITUATION."

Capt. Berthold shook his head; he couldn't abandon his ship with the threat of attack so close. Still, he needed to know exactly what was planned, since as far as he was concerned, this whole mess had been caused by Wolf's Song's captain in the first place. Exactly how he was supposed to get from his ship to the Wolf's Song at full speed was beyond him; perhaps the intrepid Grimdalian captain could sort that out as well.
"Let them know I'm willing to talk, if they can figure out how to get me there while we're still underway."

(Sorry, but I gotta cut it short tonight. Not feeling the best for whatever reason.)

"All right, get the basket ready, helm, pull us as close alongside as you can. I'll go over to meet him then. Steve, keep an eye on the place for me."

"PLEASE STANDBY, OUR CAPTAIN IS COMING OVER TO SEE YOU."

On deck, as Captain Stackpole watched, a large basket seat attached to a pulley was brought up on deck. Normally used to transfer movies and mail between ships, on occasion it was also used to transfer personel. A seaman on the Wolf's Song grabbed the attention of someone on the Atlantis, and then heaved one end of the line across.
"This is a crazy way to fight a not quite war." Stackpole muttered to himself as he watched the operation.
With the rig secured on each ship Stackpole strapped on the case of charts and documents he'd decided to bring over. Getting in to the basket, and securing a grip he told the sailors to start hauling away. The pulley system allowed the men on the Wolf's Song to pull the basket across by pulling on their end on the rope. After a few hair raising minutes, Stackpole was able to step onto the deck of the Atlantis.

Capt. Berthold stood on the deck, watching the whole operation by the crew of Wolf's Song. He had to admit that, however ridiculous the idea looked, it did the trick nicely. Soon the Grimdalian captain was standing on Atlantis', clutching some kind of document case. Bertold snapped the old navy salute.
"Captain? Nice to meet you in person, at last."
Berthold turned and led Capt. Stackpole to the bridge. Now let's hear what he's got to say. I hope, for both our sakes, that it's good.

Stackpole returned the salute. "Likewise sir, I think you'll like the news I bring. First sir, I just want to say that I am under specific orders to keep allied forces off my ship, and any other ship flying the Grimdalian flag. By use of force if necessary. We've been looking for something that would push the Allies into rash action, and I think this might just be it. For the moment I suggest that we alter course to the northeast as soon as it gets dark. When I return to my ship, I plan to send a coded message to the rest of the squadron to join us. We can then head for our temporary base. If the Allies around here want to start something, then they're more than welcome to try."

OOC: Friendly bump.

OOC- Yeah. I had to hit my computer. A few times. With a bat. So I don't really have time to post on this yet. I'll get to it tonight, though. Promise.
Now, where's that hammer..... :twisted:

Capt. Berthold turned and headed for the bridge. As they neared the hatch, he felt a raindrop hit his shoulder. Looking up, he saw thunderheads off to the east. Finally, a break...
Capt. Berthold stepped into the ship's bridge, followed by Stackpole and the rest of the raider's command crew. Berthold headed strait for the chart table; looking over some figures from the navigator, he nodded, apparently satisfied. Finally, he turned to Capt. Stackpole.
"Now, what exactly did you have in mind for our next move, captain? Mind you, the Aussies won't just let us slip away. Their ire will surely be up after losing an entire cruiser, even if it is just a convert. And we'll need to do something about the survivors in either event; we can't just keep sailing around with them locked in our brig forever. I don't suppose you had any ideas about them either? Normally I'd just leave them with our supply ship, but she's in the other direction, and there's a hornet's nest between us anyway, so that's no good."
He turned, removing his cap and running his hand through his hair.
"Rain's coming though; that should help. If we keep a low profile, and don't use our radar or wireless unless we need to, I think we can be out of range of the Allied radio interception stations by noon tomorrow. And where to then? I'm heading for the shipping lanes east of Japan, to put what thorn I can into the Ians' side. What's your next stop, if you don't mind my asking?"

OOC: Sorry to hear that. Just finished reading The German Raider Atlantis by Wolfgang Frank and Captain Bernhard Rogge. Thought I'd go back and read it again after I entered this thread.

IC: "Well, our origional orders were to shadow the Westfold, but my general orders are to moniter the shipping lanes, prevent harrasment of our merchant marine, aid DK forces in any way possible, and do whatever possible to irritate the Allies without causing an actual outbreak of war. I think I have a solution for your prisoners though. We can load them on one of our supply ships, the General Store is returning to Grimdale to reprovision later this week. Once there arrangments can be made to see them home since we're still a neutral country. Of course we'll have to stage an act for the prisoners benefit. Having you stop her, and then order her to take the prisioners should suffice. And as for the Aussies, I think they'll reconsider trying to tangle with us once the rest of the squadron, minus one arrives. Three Franklin class crusiers should be a sufficent deterent to keep them from trying anything. We also have a small convoy passing through this area escorted by a main of the Home Fleet's frigates, we aren't convoying on a regular basis yet, but these freighters are carrying tanks, planes and guns from the United States back to Grimdale, and with the war in progress, we didn't want anyone to try and appropriate them. If we pass directly through the convoy we should lose any pursuit, even with radar they wouldn't be able to tell us apart from that mass of ships."
Captain Stackpole looked over the charts, and then traced a line with his finger. "If you take a route along this course, we can provide ourselves with some light aircover and recon, not much, our temporary base only has a short dirt strip and a few planes, but it should be more than enough to keep the aerial snoopers off our backs. We could rendouvous with the General Store here, and then the next night I could arrange for us to meet a tanker and fully laden supply ship." Captain Stackpole looked up at Captain Berthold. "I assume you could do with fuel and provisions? I also have a set of updated charts and a copy of several of our codes, and several minor ones for the Allies here."

Capt. Berthold shook his head slowly. He had always been a loner; he sometimes thought that this character trait, more than anything else, had been foremost when he had been selected as Atlantis' captain. The thought of sailing around with the Grimdalian fleet sat poorly with him; his ship, and his character, were more suited to operating alone. It was nothing against Capt. Stackpole; indeed, Berthold had found himself warming to the no-nonsense attitude of the other officer. But the idea of keeping the intentions and activities of an entire squadron secret from the Allies was, in his mind, impossible. Eventually, someone would figure out that the ships turning up missing in the area of a large battle group was no coincidence, and there was more than enough air power stationed in New Guinea to deal with a few cruisers and their escorts. Still....
"The Australians and the RAF stationed in New Guinea have more than enough aircraft to make up for their lack of naval power in the area. They could hold a cruiser squadron at bay almost indefinitely, without sending even a single ship out. Besides, I'll be sailing away from these waters as soon as I can; my mission is farther east, after all. I think your plan for the crew of the Westfold could work; they would probably need to be blindfolded as well, since I assume General Store would also be flying your colors? I do appreciate the offer."
"The provisions would be very welcome, and you have my thanks for those. Any charts of the area you could spare would also be most helpful, since my own are somewhat lacking. As for the codebooks, I'm not sure I feel comfortable taking them. Should the worst happen, and this ship be taken, they would point a damning finger at your nation. It might even lead to open war between you and the Allies. If you have the authority to release them, then I will accept those as well."
Capt. Berthold chuckled.
"I'm afraid I have little to offer you in return except dinner, if you would care to join my crew and I?"

Captain Stackpole had already sized up Captain Berthold as being intellegent, sharp, and highly independent. Exactly the type of person suited to commanding a raider. Stackpole surpressed a momentary flash of jelousy at Berthold's freedom. He looked up from the charts. "I'm not overly worried about aircraft sir, each of my cruisers can put over three-hundred twenty, five inch, proximity fused rounds in the air a minute, plus our secondary weapons. And with over forty knots availible, they'd be hard pressed to hit me at any rate. But that's not even relevent, I'm afraid you misunderstood me sir, my squadron will only be providing escort as far the edge of our patrol area, we don't have authorization to go beyond there. After that you'd be on your own." And here Stackpole grinned. "Besides, I suspect that we'd cramp your style in any case. As for the charts and codes, I have the authorization to release them. And I'd be honored to join you for dinner."

Atlantis' crew was granted a brief liberty for the celebration in honor of their newfound allies. The ship's cook managed to throw together a fine meal, considering he was restricted to using mainly tinned meats and vegetables. The two captains sat together at the head of the galley's central table, other tables had been cobbled together with planks and sawhorses for the crew. There were even a few cases of beer that someone had hidden away in the hold; these were brought out and divided amongst the crew. Most of the men were able to forget about the fact that they were on a war patrol, at least for a few hours. After a few hours, men were selected to replace the on-duty crewmen, so that they too could join in the celebration.
The event lasted untill just before sunset, when the crew were released back to their stations. Capt. Berthold saw the Grimdalian captain off, before the coming night prevented him from returning to his ship. Both ships continued on their eastward course; above, the Lancaster piloted by Flight Officer Chaplain had been replaced by two others fresh from the Australian airbases in New Guinea. No further contact had been made between the fliers and the ships below; their task was now simply to observe the ships untill they left the range of the bombers.
Capt. Berthold spent most of the night in his cabin, looking over the charts and other documents Capt. Stackpole had left him. Shortly after 3AM, he stretched out on his bunk and fell asleep.

Outside the ship rain had started coming down, and in the distance lightning could be seen lighting the clouds. Captain Stackpole looked up from his chart table. "Radar, are those planes still following us?"
"Yes Captain, but they're staying out of gun range."
Stackpole turned to look at his Exec. "I guess there'll be no harm done by contacting the rest of the squadron then. Have the radio room request that they join us, and see if we can't get a couple of our own planes out here to drive off these snoopers at first light. Also shoot a message to HQ about today's events. And have them triple code the message."
"Yes Captain."
Stackpole called after the retreating form of his Exec. "And Steve, hit your bunk, I want you rested for tomorrow."
"Yes Captain."
As the coded messages went out Stackpole rolled up his charts and retired to his bridge cabin.

OOC- Working on a couple other things right now, but I'll get my next post out on this soon enough.

::bumping so this doesn't disappear in the mass of threads.::

OOC- Ok, here it is, the long-awaited post. Ta daa.
(Pauses for gasps and applause)
(Cricket chirping)
Erm......

IC- The Australians hadn't forgotten about the two mysterious vessels heading off to the east. However, they had been forced to let them go for one simple reason. Without proof that Wolf's Song or the other, unidentified ship had been involved in the sinking of the Westfold, they couldn't attack the ships or force them into port without sparking an international incident with Grimdale. Everyone involved suspected that the Grimdalian warship was far from innocent, but the Allies could ill afford another nation siding with Germany.
Onboard Atlantis the third watch took its posts as the night wore on. The few running lights offered some small visability through the rain that had some on hard shortly after nightfall, but did little to dispell the darkness. Under such conditions, third watch seemed to last forever.

OOC- I know, it's not much. I guess I'm kinda at a loss where to go with this from here. Once Atlantis clears the Australian patrol area, she's pretty much home free, and since you won't be coming with me, this thread is coming up on the end. We've still gotta handle the prisoner transfer (there might be some excitement there), so I'll wrack my brain and see what I can come up with. If there's anything in particular you want to have happen with this during the next post or so, just TG me.

(This is a random question, and I guarentee I won't take IC action on it, but what route is Atlantis taking? South and then due west of Australia, and then north to avoid Calarcan Gallanesia completely, or is she cutting north and then to the west of New Guinea? There are no R.I.N. or R.I.F.C. patrols in either way, but Calarca probably has something.)

A knock on his cabin door woke Captain Stackpole. Rubbing sleep filled eyes he levered himself up to see a seaman standing outside his door.
"Captain, we've got a message from HQ, radio wanted you to see it immediately."
"Thank you sailor, that's all." Stackpole took the offered message and looked at it, barely hearing the sailor's reply.

TO ALL SHIP'S CAPTAINS
DUE TO HEAVY INTERFERENCE BY ALLIED FORCES WITH OUR MERCHANT FLEET AMONG OTHER ISSUES, WAR WILL BE DECLARED ON THE ALLIED POWERS IN THREE DAYS TIME. ALL MERCHANT SHIPS HAVE BEEN ORDERED BY CODED MESSAGE TO CLEAR ENEMY HARBORS. UPON DECLARATION OF WAR, YOU ARE ORDERED TO USE YOUR BEST JUDGEMENT TO INFLICT AS MUCH DAMAGE AS POSSIBLE ON ALLIED FORCES.

END MESSAGE.

Setting the message down on his small bedside table, Stackpole quickly got dressed and stepped out onto the bridge. Word had already spread through the ship and expectent faces looked up at him. "Someone get a blinker ready, we need to inform Captain Berthold of this new development, also have the radio room stand by to send out orders for the rest of the squadron. We've got a war to prepare for."

::Bump::

OOC- I'll be able to respond tonight; it turns out I'm addicted to Final Fantasy XI. Untill then, I can't do a thing for you! :wink:

Guess I'm not going to be finishing this up after all. (http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2700759#2700759) Sorry.