NationStates Jolt Archive

OOC: yeah, open thread here. I'll give you the basic plot starting out. The last MkI Hull in the Farr class ships is returning home for the MkII refit when an accident occurs.

IC:
Atlantic Ocean - 1937 June 5, 2008.
SNHV Responder

Dinner time aboard hte SNHV Responder. The command staff were in the Salon (pronounced Saloon) having their chow. They were enganged in light discussion concerning their recent change in orders. They had been on their regular 6 month cruise when they were met up with by the SNHV Amelia Tandy. They two ships had parted their ways two days ago and were probably further apart by now.

"So what's with the call back to port cap?" Ensign Roland asked.

"Mark two refit." Lieutenant Commander William Markson asked. "We're the last mark one hull out there" He said.

LCDR Markson had spent his entire life in the Steudlton Navy. He served as a corpsman with the Marines up until he met his wife. He then took an Officer's Commission and served aboard Hospital Ships like this one. In fact he was the XO for this very ship until a year and a half ago. Now he was a Lieutenant Commander, married and had two sons and a daughter.

"These mark one hulls have a weakness in the Bow. We take a rogue wave and we're crippled." Lieutenant Willard said. "They did some tests up in Ploskon Campus and found a structural weakness. Take a rogue wave and the bow compresses. In the extreme case a hole tears open on the side. Compartment one starts to flood. It's a real mess."

Ensign Roland was about to speak when the entire ship shook. The shaking was accompanied by a loud slamming noise. The klaxon sounded for general quarters and the command staff raced for the bridge. They arrived to find the windshield panes were shattered. The bridge crew was being hauled back aft, some of them unconcious. The decks were wet from seawater. Markson barked out the order for a damage assessment.

"Took a rogue wave, captain! Came out of nowhere. Struck the Starboard Bow." A Warrant Officer reported.

"Very well, As you were.."

As the Warrant Officer gave a nod and went off to tend to his duties, Lieutenant Willard picked up the sound-powered telephone which had sounded off. His conversation was short and there was a sound of disbelief in his voice. "Uhh...Captain...We've got ourselves a situation here." He said as he hung the phone up. "It seems that the lower three decks in compartment one are flooding. Engineering says that the impact knocked the internal mechanisms of the pumps askew. They've seized up."

"Very well. Alert damage control, tighten up the hatches and have the crew report to their emergency stations. If the flooding gets out of control, we may have to abandon." Markson said. Willard replied with an "Aye-aye!" and went about carrying out his orders.

When the damage control got down into the #1 compartment they found there was not much they could do. The team leaders instruced their men to recover as many of their sailor bretheren as they could. Meanwhile the Cheif Damage Controlman reported to the bridge that there was little they could do.

By this time the ship was starting to list forward. The Captain of the ship, Lieutenant commander Markson, decided to play it safe. Once the damage control teams were finished recovering personnel the order was sent down the line to abandon ship. While the screw was abandoning ship two messages were sent out. The first was sent to the Fleet HQ.

Z200405ZJUN
FM: SNHV Responder
TO: SRN3RDFLTCOM
INFO: ATLFLTCINC

A. SNHV RESPONDER Z200405ZJUN
1. ROGUE WAVE ENCOUNTERED. STARBOARD BOW IMPACT. STATUS CRIPPLED, CURRENT POSITION LAT 48º 12'N LONG 24º 42'W. ABANDONING SHIP. MAYDAY
TRANSMIT IS SIMULTANEOUS.

While the message was being transmitted by Willard to the Fleet HQ for Steudlton's 3rd Fleet, Markson had Ensign Roland transmit the S.O.S.

MAYDAY MAYDAY. SNHV IS IN PERIL. TAKING ON WATER. ABANDONING SHIP. PLEASE HELP. SNHV IS IN PERIL. TAKING ON WATER. ABANDONING SHIP. PLEASE HELP. COORDINATES LAT 48 º12'N LONG 24º 42'W COORDINATES LAT 48 º12'N LONG 24º 42'W MAYDAY MAYDAY.

As soon as the messages were transmitted Markson ordered his officers to abandon ship with the rest of the crew. He informed them that he would remain on the bridge in case there were any replies to the mayday call. The officers acknowledged and reported to their life raft. Lieutenant Willard stayed behind to accompany his Captain.

"Go Willard, they need you to lead them!." Markson ordered.

"Willy, I'm staying with you. Roland can get them out of this. He remembers more of that survival stuff than any ten of our crew." Willard said in respectful argument.

"Very well, man the FLASH station." Markson replied.

"Attention SNHV. I am Captain Nogand with The Talentay Navy. I am ordering an immediate search and rescue for you and your crew. Three medical helicopters will be there shortly. The Rescue ships will take a little longer. If your have an emergency beacon please activate it now. Hang on. Help is on the way."

FSS Battle Horn LAC-09

The Trafalgar-class amphibious assault carrier was one of the oldest of its kind in the Commonwealth Defense Fleet. In command was Captain Mikhail Chernoff, a veteran of three wars and countless engagements. His Marine counterpart, Lt. Col. Katerina Michev, stood with him in the CIC when the message arrived.

"Comrade-Captain, a message from a disabled ship," the Comm officer said as he brought it up on screen.

MAYDAY MAYDAY. SNHV IS IN PERIL. TAKING ON WATER. ABANDONING SHIP. PLEASE HELP. SNHV IS IN PERIL. TAKING ON WATER. ABANDONING SHIP. PLEASE HELP. COORDINATES LAT 48 º12'N LONG 24º 42'W COORDINATES LAT 48 º12'N LONG 24º 42'W MAYDAY MAYDAY.

"Doppler and Lidar suggest no other vessels in the area," the EW officer announced. "Hydrophone data shows no activity."

"Sounds like we're closest," Michev said rhetorically.

"Comm., send message to SNVH; This is Commonwealth Maritime Forces ship Battle Horn, responding to your call making best speed. Expected arrival is..."

"Two hours, but we can send out Pave Lows and Blackhawks before that," Michev offered.

"...two hours. Will send helicopters for emergency response. Out."

Lieutenant Commander Markson perked up when he heard a response over the Marine Radio. He was pleased at the reply he heard

"This is Commonwealth Maritime Forces ship Battle Horn, responding to your call making best speed. Expected arrival is...two hours. Will send helicopters for emergency response. Out."

Markson keyed in the mic. "This is Lieutenant Commander Markson, Captain of SNHV Responder. Acknowledge response time two hours. The heloes would be appreciated. We have...Stand-by" He asked Willard how many injured they had.

"Five from the bridge crew, at least 20 or 30 from the crew." Willard said


Z200405ZJUN
FM: SNHV Responder
TO: SRN3RDFLTCOM

"...This is Markson. We have between 25 and 35 injured. Will have abandoned crew activate emergency lighting at your ETA. Markson out." Markson said as he finished his reply.

is attention was diverted from the Marine radio as the bow continued to dip into the water. There was some ocean water starting to flow into the bridge through the shattered windshields. Willard went into the companionway to get a bucket from the janitorial supply locker. He brought one back to the bridge and he and Markson began to bale the water out as best they could. The two began to bale water out from the bridge but it was too much for even the both of them. As Markson left to prepare the Captain's Gig, Willard transmitted.

"Commonwealth Mainr Forces Battle Horn. This is Lieutenant Willard, Commander of SNHV Responder. Bridge is taking on water. The captain and I are evacuating at this time. We'll see you in a bit. Willard out." He said.

Five minutes later the two were in the Captain's Gig and pulling some of the crew out of the water.

At 30 minutes into the second hour the Responder stopped sinking and would maintain buoyancy listing forward at an extreme angle (73 degrees). Her Bow had sank deep and the water line was halfway up the flight deck. One of the rafts lashed itself to the hull using the tagline from one of the raft stations All the other rafts were rounded up and lashed to one another to make themselves more visible. For now it was just a waiting game.

Three medical helicopters had been looking for about five minutes when they spotted the life boats.
"Is anyone injured?" Somone said with a loud speaker attached to one of the helicopeters as medical personel tied with ropes started lowering themselves to the boats.

FSS Battle Horn, 1hr, 30mins. out

"Helos are fueled and ready," Michev reported to the Captain.

"Send 'em up, ask Engineering on the possibility of increasing speed," Captain Chernoff ordered as he studied the display screen. In the interim, three helicopters belonging to another nation had begun rescue activities.

"Once we're done launching the helos, I want two fighters to provide CAP," he concluded. "And launch the ECW bird."

On the flight deck, two Rafale-M fighters were lifted from the hangar deck on the forward elevator while from the aft elevator, an aging EA-6B Prowler was brought up. The limited space aboard the assault carrier barred the larger Hawkeye's, but the Prowler was able to be adapted to a similar capacity.

The command staff were all in the Captain's Gig now. Ensign Roland was using the emergency light on his "gumby suit" to communicate with the helicopters from Talentay. "Thank you for response, we have confirmed 32 injured. Lower baskets and we'll send you 10 injured and one of our officers to accompany."

"Who goes with them?" Willard asked.

"Roland, can you go with this group?" Markson asked the young Ensign.

"Aye, sir. I can go." Roland replied.

"Very well. Please do so. Go select the injured to take, I recommend you take the most critical injuries and leave the rest of them for the commonwealth folks. Also, tell Captain Nogand that the commnwealth guys are on their way to pick us up." Markson said. His orders were answered with by an aye-aye.

Shortly after the Talentay helicopters left those from the Battle Horn arrived. Once the chatter of rotorblades was heard, two Lieutenants from on board the Captain's Gig used their emergency lights to communicate with the helos. They essentially repeated the same message as before. Lieutenant Willard and one Lieutenant DuFray had volunteered to accompany this group. Markson agreed and sent them to round up the injured and help get them aboard the helicopters.

Steudlton Naval Base, Oceanside
Steudlton Republic Navy 3rd Fleet Command

Captain Harrison was rushing through the halls with a communique in his hands. He had a worried look on his face as he knocked on the office for the Rear Admiral (Upper) in command of 3rd Fleet. "Come!" Came the reply through the door. The Captain stepped inside the office and placed the document on the admiral's desk.

"Came in about an hour and fifteen ago. The Responder took a rogue wave." Harrison told the Admiral.

The admiral took the document and looked it over briefly. He too was a career guy in the Navy. He used to be with the submarine force in his younger days. His kids were currently serving their terms in the military, except his youngest. His youngest had a bad leg and applied for a medical waiver and was now serving in the police force. "She was on her way home for the refit, wasn't she?" Admiral James asked Harrison.

"Yes, sir. She was. We haven't heard anything since they transmitted the message." The Captain said matter-of-factly.

"Make sense if they abandoned." The Admiral said. He turned in his chair and looked at a picture on the wall. He was thinking deep, trying to remember what assets 3rd fleet had available to respond. "The Silk Roads is in Port Serena. Have them take on recover supplies. Send a salvage crew out to them. We've got the Stetson's carrier group patrolling off that coast, let's task them to provide escort for the Silk Roads."

"The Stetson....Captain Love commands her. Went through Basic and OCS with him, e's a good officer. I'll get this sent over FLASH right away." Harrison told the Admiral.

"Very well, dismissed." The admiral said. With that, Captain Harrison returned to his office and transmitted the orders to the Silk Roads and the Stetson. The group was three days out from the Responder and Harrison hoped like hell that her crew would be rescued by other ships before then.

FSS Battle Horn

"Comrade-Captain, the helicopters are arriving with the wounded," the Comm officer announced.

"We're still about twenty minutes out," the Helm officer replied.

"Use signal lamps, let them know that we're here," Chernoff ordered.

"Aye, Comrade-Captain."

Lieutenant Commander Markson was busy retying the tagline mooring hte rafts to the hull of the Responder. The knot had come dangerously close to letting loose. As he was tying a stopper knot into the bowline he was tapped on the back by Ensign Brighton. "lights on the Horizon, Captain."

Markson turned to see and sure enough there were indeed lights in the distance. There wasn't much to the lights as they were far away and what could have been different points of light on a ship looked like one big huddled mass. "Fulbright, is your gumby suit light working?" Markson asked his Ensign.

"Yes" Was the reply.

"Fulbirght. Tap out the ship's name and designator in Morse code. That very well may be our rescue."

"Aye-aye Captain" Fulbright said as he began to flash SNHV Responder on his light. He pointed the light toward those on the horizon as he tapped out the message. Meanwhile the message was sent down the line to watch for response flashes from the potential ship, and at the sign of such to active everyone's emergency lights.

Markson sat back and chuckled a little bit. *This ought to look a sight. The Captain and his XO are the only ones in uniform and everyone else donned their survival suits.* he said in his mind.

FSS Battle Horn

"Lights on the horizon, a response," the Signal Ops officer reported from the deck.

"Send response; Battle Horn ready to begin recovery, helicopters on standby," the Captain ordered. "Fire *signal flares."

From the ship's forward SAM battery, three modified rockets fired, bursting high in the air at designated altitudes and intervals, each a shining orb of blue-green-blue respectively.

*Signal flares are meant to signal different actions: this one means 'assistance' or 'help'

"Flares!" Captain Markson called out. "Everbody turn on your lights!"

All across the huddled mass of life rafts all the crew were switching on the lights on their immersion suits. The hope was that this mass of lights would stand out against the almost pitch black of the night, allowing the incoming ship to better see them.

Markson fired up the small two cylinder diesel engine that served at the motor for the Captain's gig. He piloted the small boat a small distance away from the mass. "Fulbright. Morse code. Ackowledge Helicopters. Ready when you are." He said. "Captain requests stiff drink." He added with a tone of sarcasm. He hoped the Captain of the Battle Horn would find the jest in the last part.

There was an almost unison sigh of relief from the officers and crew of the Responder. They were glad they wouldn't have to spend their time waiting out in the open sea for weeks.

FSS Battle Horn

"Captain requests..." Captain Chernoff chuckled. "Colonel Michev, do we still have that bottle of vodka from our meeting with the Fog of War?"

"We certainly do," she smiled a bit. "I'll send for it. Once we pluck 'em out, we can all use a drink, I believe."

"I knew I always liked Marines," the Captain chuckled. "Commence recovery operations."

Captain Markson watch as the heicopters plucked his men out of the water. As the crew was being recovered he pulled the Captain's Gig alongside and found a free tagline from one of the raft stations. He used it to moor his boat to the Responder's hull. Soon it was his turn to be extracted and he would be on the deck of the Battle Horn.

Once on the Battle Horn he met up with Willard and DuFray. DuFray was given charge over the crew and Willard briefed Markson on the 22 men who were brought on earlier. As he was briefed Markson found a crew member of the Battle Horn.

"Pardon me. Is your Captain available? We'd like to meet him." Markson said to the crewman politely.

Captain Markson watch as the heicopters plucked his men out of the water. As the crew was being recovered he pulled the Captain's Gig alongside and found a free tagline from one of the raft stations. He used it to moor his boat to the Responder's hull. Soon it was his turn to be extracted and he would be on the deck of the Battle Horn.

Once on the Battle Horn he met up with Willard and DuFray. DuFray was given charge over the crew and Willard briefed Markson on the 22 men who were brought on earlier. As he was briefed Markson found a crew member of the Battle Horn.

"Pardon me. Is your Captain available? We'd like to meet him." Markson said to the crewman politely.

"I'll take him, crewman," Michev said, placing a hand on the young man's shoulder. The crewman nodded and commenced with his duties. "Lt. Colonel Katerina Michev of the Maritime Marine Corps, Captain. We've been waiting for you. Please follow me."

"Lieutenant Commander Markson" He said to the Lt. Col. introducing himself. "And this is my XO, Lieutenant Willard." He added as he followed.

He looked around at the ceiling as he walked. It was just like any other ship in the world. A gaggle of pipes and electrical work leading off to who knows where. Markson followed Michev to wherever it was they were being led. Once they reached their destination Markson found the Captain by looking at the ranks on the men.

"Lieutenant Commander William Markson, Captain of the Responder. This is my XO Lieutenant Henry Willard." He said saluting Chernoff. I thank you for coming to the aid of my crew. I assure you we will do our best not to be too much of a further burden."

"Lieutenant Commander Markson" He said to the Lt. Col. introducing himself. "And this is my XO, Lieutenant Willard." He added as he followed.

He looked around at the ceiling as he walked. It was just like any other ship in the world. A gaggle of pipes and electrical work leading off to who knows where. Markson followed Michev to wherever it was they were being led. Once they reached their destination Markson found the Captain by looking at the ranks on the men.

"Lieutenant Commander William Markson, Captain of the Responder. This is my XO Lieutenant Henry Willard." He said saluting Chernoff. I thank you for coming to the aid of my crew. I assure you we will do our best not to be too much of a further burden."

"Nonsense, sailors are meant to aid one another, yes?" Chernoff greeted the Captain with a salute. "If you're willing, we got that drink you requested. Unless you would like to see that your crew is berthed down first."

"Agreed, Captain. No one else in the world can truly appreciate what we sea-faring men go through except another sailor." Markson said before agreeing to the drink. "My men will see themselves berthed down. I have instructed my senior staff to see to that. For now I would just like to relax and find a way to report to my fleet command. It's likely they're concerned for us."

Steudlton. Naval Base Port Serena.
SNV Silk Roads.

Captain Madison read over the communique from 3rd Fleet Command. His heart sank to think of that many fellow sailors and navymen. To be alone on the ocean with no one around for miles was enough, but when you were stuck in a life raft and all you had to eat was a modernized version of a hardtac biscuit was worse. He had been briefed on the situation so far and he knew what the REMFs knew. Somewhere out in the Atlantic a fellow ship had gone down and sailors were in distress. Neither he, nor 3rd Fleet Command knew the men had been rescued. Regardless, the the tension aboard the Silk Roads was palpable.

His reading was interrupted by one Master Chief Petty Officer Barlow. A gruff looking man who had years behind him as a diver in the Steudlton Navy. He'd seen it all. from rescue diving to salvage and EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal). "Master Chief Barlow reporting Cap'n." He said, saluting the Officer.

"Good day Barlow" Madison said, returning the Salute. "You must be my salvage diver?"

"One of 'em. What's the word?" Barlow asked in reply.

"SNHV Responder went down some time ago, rogue wave strike. Crew abandoned and sent out the distress call. one of the last messages they sent out was notice to 3rdFltCom. Next thing I know I'm getting the dispatch to take on your team and their supplies--which looks like it's going smoothly--and start steaming out that way. I suggest you find yourself some bunks in the NCO quarters on the 'tween deck. You've got three days to get rested up, our orders are to salvage." Madison explained

"Aye-aye Cap'n. And thanks for the ride." Barlow said.

"You're welcome. We set sail in an hour." The captain replied, dismissing the diver.

FSS Battle Horn, Captain's Ready Room

The Captain had led his counterpart and the Colonel to his ready room, where a yeoman had already set up the vodka and three glasses.

"As for getting in touch with your Command," the Captain explained, "We've already sent a message regarding our rescue efforts. If you would like to send your own message, our communications system is at your disposal. We even have vid-phone capabilities." he concluded, pouring the first drink and handing it over to Commander Markson.

Message sent to Steudlton
TO: Steudlton Republic Navy 3rd Fleet Command
FR: FSS Battle Horn, LAC-09 Commonwealth Maritime Defense Force
Aproximately 21 minutes ago, FSS Battle Horn responded to distress call from SNHV Responder. Recovery efforts have been concluded and all crew are accounted for. Medical aid is being given to those with injuries. Ship will await for instructions from it's own Command and Steudlton Command.

"Very well then. I'm sure they'll respond in a timely manner given the time difference." Marskon said. He waited until the others had their glasses and hoisted his up. "To our gracious hosts!" he said before tilting his glass back in a nice swig.

Steudlton, Oceanside.
3rd Fleet Command

Captain Harrison was sitting at his desk. It was almost quitting time and he was looking forward to getting home. He had a project car he was working on, an old pickup truck from the 50s. His wife nagged him endlessly about the 'rust bucket' sitting in their driveway.

His attention was drawn from the finishing touches on the report about the Responder when a Lieutenant walked in. "Captain, this just came in." The young woman said, handing Harrison the document. Harrison looked it over and picked up the phone. He dialed the extension for the Admiral.

"Yes Harrison?" Admiral James asked.

"Sir, we've got a communique in. It seems our crew from the Responder was picked up. What shall the reply be?"

"Well thank them for one. Let them know a salvage crew is on the way. They can take the Responder's crew back to their home country and put them on a plane to New Wichita. Or if it's more time efficient they can wait for the Stetson's CVBG and the Silk Roads to show. It seems a small detachment got separated. I got a communique from them a while ago. An Ensign Roland went of with some injured. They're flying back as we speak."** James Said.

"Alright, Harrison out." Harrison said before hanging up the phone. He wrote up a FLASH communique and sent it out to the Battle Horn. It would come through on their equivalent of the FLASH system. The Steudlton Navy preferred this method because it allowed high speed communication half way around the globe. There was a small 2 second delay at the outermost ranges, but that was a negligible sacrifice.

Z210105ZJUN
TO: BATTLE HORN
FRM: STEUDLTON NAVY 3RD FLEET COMMAND
THANK YOU FOR RESCUING THE CREW OF SNHV RESPONDER. SALVAGE CREW HAS BEEN DISPATCHED. SNV SILK ROADS IS 3 DAYS OUT AND LEAVING AS WE SPEAK. PLEASE TAKE RESPONDER CREW TO YOUR HOME PORT AND FLY BACK TO NEW WICHITA. STEUDLTON GOVERNMENT WILL PAY FOR FLIGHT. IF TIME WILL NOT ALLOW, THEN PLEASE WAIT FOR SNV SILK ROADS AND CVBG ESCORT. OFFICIAL THANKS HAS BEEN SENT TO YOUR HOME PORT, STEUDLTON INVITES BATTLE HORN CREW TO VISIT AT ANY TIME. RADM JAMES SENDS.

FSS Battle Horn

As the Captain was regalling Commander Markson with the story of how he'd earned his Order of Lenin, a yeoman tapped on the hatch, bidding entry. The captain beckoned him, taking a small printout and dismissing the yeoman.

"Well, it seems your government would like us to transport you home...hrm, they propose we send you home after reaching port."

"I don't think our Command will like that," Col. Michev said, "We're due to meet up with the Concordia Ultima battle group for maneuvers and training..."

"However, we have two CV-30 Vogels aboard," Chernoff continued, "Perhaps we could simply transport the crew with those."

"A good compromise," Michev concluded, "Captain Markson, would that be a suitable arrangement in your opinion?"

ooc: the CV-30 is basically a V-22 Osprey with turbofan engines as opposed to rotors. each can carry up to 24 people. I'm sorry, but I didn't get a handle on your full crew compliment.

ooc: sorry for not posting. been caught up with real life and gta 4 :D

ic:
June 6 1105 Hours
Atlantic Ocean, 1 days sailing time from Steudlton.

Aboard the SNV Stetson Captain Love was up in the tower of the "Island" watching the aircraft take off and land. He loved aircraft and would have given anything to be a fighter jock except for his weak tolerance to G forces. He had a lit cigar in his left hand as he watched the birds. He had one plane, an AEW (Airborne Early Warning) bird, out looking for the Silk Roads.

"Stetson this is AEW zero-one-three-two, we have the Silk Roads." Came the call from the AEW bird. Captain Love had ordered the communications put on the ATC loudspeaker.

Captain Love picked up a telephone handset and spoke into it. "AEW 0132, relay to Silk Roads." He gave the order, waiting for he go-ahead as the comms officer aboard the AEW wrote down. "SNV Stetson waiting for meet-up. Will begin steaming to salvage site as soon as you are in outer cover radius. Captain and crew sends."

"Affirmative sir, relaying message. 0132 out." The comms officer said before he began to relay the message tot he Silk Roads.

It was just 40 minutes before the Silk Roads was in the outer cover radius of the Stetson's carrier battle group. The CVBG and the Silk Raods turned almost in unison to meet up at a more central point as the began to head out to the salvage site.

Captain love was sitting by for a few hours, still watching the airplanes come and go. It was his favorite pass time. He was oidly watching when FLASH traffic came through.

Z142006ZJUN
TO: SNV STETSON
FRM:STEUDLTON REPUBLIC COUNCIL
FWD: BATTLE HORN
MATTHEIUS JOZEF STEUDL, STEUDLTON PRESIDENT, THANKS THE CREW OF THE BATTLE HORN FOR THEIR EFFORT OF MERCY IN RESCUING THE CREW OF ONE OF OUR SHIPS. IN RETURN WE AWARD THEM WITH THE STEUDLTON NAVY CROSS, AND THE REPUBLIC UNIT CITATION. STEUDLTON WOULD LIKE TO ESTABLISH A FREE UNITED STATES EMBASSY WITHIN OUR OWN EMBASSY SQUARE. BATTLE HORN PLEASE FORWARD TO FREE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT HQ. MJS SENDS.

"Well I'll be damned...." Captain Love said as he began to type the message out himsef, relaying it to the battle horn. "....Cheif Wilson, is there any foreign ship you know of that has received steudlton navy awards?"

"No Sir" Cheif Petty Officer (1st Class) Wilson said. "Why?"

"CINC just awarded the ship that rescued our boys a unit citation and each of them get a Navy Cross." Captain Love Said.

"First time for everything, Cap." Cheif Wilson replied.

FSS Battle Horn

With the decision that the sailors would be transported aboard the Vogels, it was decided to postpone the transport until the weary crew had rested from their ordeal. Captain Chernoff had retired to his cabin, and was calmly reading a book when there was a knock on the hatch. There's no rest for a sea captain, he reminded himself as he answered, "Enter."

The young crewman opened the hatch and handed the print out, waiting patiently until the Captain said, "Dismissed." As he read the page, his expression went from curiosity, to surprise and finally to a quiet bemusement. If he knew enough about foreign decorations, he decided the Navy Cross was equivalent to a Medal of Bravery or quite possibly, an Order of Lenin. He wondered what Red Fleet Command would think of that.

Steudlton - New Wichita
Steudlton Republic Council.

Mattheius was sitting in his big leather chair staring out the window of the Council Building. It was like the Senate, House of Representatives and the White House all in one. Except it wasn't painted white. He was waiting for his next appointment which as due ot arrive in the next ten minutes. In the mean time he was reading his favorite publication on model railroading. In the middle of an article on detailing railroad crossings in HO scale, the appointment walked in. It was the Chief of the Navy Admiral Richard Huntington.

"Speak your peace, Dick." Matt said to the Admiral.

"Mr. Pres-" He was interrupted by Matt.

"Now goddamn it Rich!" He said agitatedly

"Sorry. Matt, I'm just wondering if your choice on the Battle Horn issue was a sound one." Richard said.

"Rich. They pulled our boys from a sticky situation. You ever been lost at sea?" He asked.

"No." The admiral replied.

"Really? 40 years in the Navy? We ought ot get you out on a mothballed Bryce Class.." He said jokingly. "Anyway, when I Was with the Marines I had ship detail. We were out on monthly patrols in the SNV Twilight, an old Bryce Class, and we struck a shallow. Didn't notice it til we got out to deep waters. We had to ballast and the ship wouldn't stop sinking. We abandoned and she went down. The captain was a hardcore from the days of isolationism and believed firmly in not calling for help. I was just a corporal back then, and corporal do not question the orders of a ship captain. we had to wait it out for a week living off of those godawful hardtack biscuits and rainwater. The boys of the Battle Horn did good pulling our men out of the drink. At night. Far as I'm concerned, any ship pulls men out of the water should get the highest commendation out there. Now the Navy Cross is the best I can do for them, lord knows the public would have a coronary if I gave them the Medal of Honor. As for the Republic Unit Citation, that's the highest award we can give the unit. You understand, correct?"

"Yes." The Admiral said with a heavy sigh. Matt had been there for a week, Admiral Huntington had never been lost at sea, or even went down aboard a ship. He had been lucky. But he knew enough not to question his superior. The chain of command still came in to play, and he knew that the chain of command was sacrosanct at best.

FSS Battle Horn

The two CV-30 Vogels were lifted simultaneously from the forward and aft elevators. They taxiied out to the awaiting catapults and were locked in, awaiting their 'cargo.' Captain Chernoff was leading Commander Markson out to the first Vogel, speaking loudly over the idle hum of the Vogel's four engines.

"They're cleared for VTOL takeoff, but SOP says that aircraft rigged for cat launch be launched that way," he explained. "They'll meet up with the Silk Roads. As for the citation and awards, your government will be contacted by ours, I presume."

Memorandum Thru Commonwealth Main Political Directorate
TO: Steudlton Republic Council, New Wichita
FR: Steven Vincent Galindo III, Premier, Commonwealth Supreme Soviet

First off, as a former Maritime Defense officer, I thank you for the honor you wish to bestow upon one of our most venerable vessels, the Battle Horn. This will no doubt be a welcome addition to her legacy as a ship of unsurmountable courage, steadfastness and service. As for opening diplomatic relations, it is a great event when we welcome a new nation to our political spectrum. We will be most pleased to negotiate embassy exchanges and possible economic and cultural exchanges as well. We look forward to continued correspondence.

ooc: because of things happening OOCLY that are keeping me busy, i'm just gonna close this out. Thanks for your help.

The SNV Silk Roads had arrived to the Responder with her CVBG Escort. While the Stetson and the Concordia Ultima were handling the ferrying of passengers between the two, the Silk Roads was at work on the Salvage operations.

As standard Steudlton Republic Navy procedure, the Stetson had her own Dachshund airframes (Think the S-2, Same airframe as the E-2, but for cargo purposes. Except the Dachshunds have turbines) helping with the transfer. As the Dachshunds were shuttling, Stetson had AEW-0132 doing it's job and two 14b fighter aircraft running interference just in case anyone wanted to crash the party. A couple of bored pilots had actually convinced the commonwealth's side to engage in a mock dogfight to see how well they flew (in case you want your side to patrol as well). As this was going on topside, the Aft Hangar Bay was being cleared and the stretch bunks set up for the Responder's crew.

In the water, Master Chief Barlow was inspecting the damage to the forward hull of the Responder while he had men inside the ship stopping the vents beneath the waterline inside of her.

"Barlow to Surface. Damage looks heavy, but nothing too serious. Keep her under 20 knots and we ought to be able to take her home alongside after we raise her." Barlow said.

"Affirmative Barlow. Expected time til we can depart?" Captain Madison asked.

"Won't be til late. 2330 maybe. You wanna put on a pot of coffee for us, ma?" Barlow said humorously.

After the Responder's crew was aboard the Stetson, Captain Love had a case of Kasr'ian (caz-er-ian) rum from his personal stash sent over to the Concordia Ultima as a thank you. The commonwealth forces were respectfully dismissed as the salvage operation continued.

Barlow had most of his teams take shifts on the salvage work. Their first concern was reinforcing the bow internally before patching up the hole. This along with the patch would take up most of their working time. While this was all going on, one team who was comprised of volunteers, was handling the recovery of thew few sailors who were unfortunate enough not to survive.

It was 45 minutes past midnight when they began to pump water out of the Responder using her one good pump. The fire main on the Silk Roads was bled dry and siphoned water out of the Responder's hull and pumped it back into the sea as well. These combined measures met half of the capacity of the Responder's own bilge pumps. It was at least an hour before she was raised level on the surface again.

Barlow had four men go aboard to make sure everything was locked down. Two teams of two, one took the upper decks and the other took the lower. Once the ship was secured Barlow had given the all clear. The Responder was pulled in close using mooring lines and the Silk Roads began to help the Responder limp home. All the aircraft were back aboard the Stetson and everyone was happy for a salvage job done with no incidents happening.

New Wichita, Steudlton
Steudlton Republic Council.

Mattheuis Jozef Steudl was putting his signature on a formal letter that he was sending out to the Common of Free United States. The letter was sent out by courier on an airborne flight to ensure it's rapid arrival.

To: Steven Vincent Galindo III, Premier, Commonwealth Supreme Soviet
From: Mattheius Jozef Steudl, President, Firefighting Republic of Steudlton.

Mr. Galindo,

Steudlton once again thanks your nation for the help your sailors have played in recovering the crew of one of our Hospital Ships. We have established for you a special plot of land one block to the south of the Council Building in New Wichita on which you may build your embassy. Steudlton invites you and the crew of the Battle Horn to attend a ceremony in their honor here in New Wichita. Their medals will be presented to them at this ceremony. If these arrangements can not be met, we will be glad to rework them to fit the interests of you and the Battle Horn.

Sincerely,
- Mattheius Jozef Steudl, President.

**We can work this out on another RP thread. I'll get it started on Monday (today's Friday) if you'd like.

ooc: because of things happening OOCLY that are keeping me busy, i'm just gonna close this out. Thanks for your help.

The SNV Silk Roads had arrived to the Responder with her CVBG Escort. While the Stetson and the Concordia Ultima were handling the ferrying of passengers between the two, the Silk Roads was at work on the Salvage operations.

As standard Steudlton Republic Navy procedure, the Stetson had her own Dachshund airframes (Think the S-2, Same airframe as the E-2, but for cargo purposes. Except the Dachshunds have turbines) helping with the transfer. As the Dachshunds were shuttling, Stetson had AEW-0132 doing it's job and two 14b fighter aircraft running interference just in case anyone wanted to crash the party. A couple of bored pilots had actually convinced the commonwealth's side to engage in a mock dogfight to see how well they flew (in case you want your side to patrol as well). As this was going on topside, the Aft Hangar Bay was being cleared and the stretch bunks set up for the Responder's crew.

In the water, Master Chief Barlow was inspecting the damage to the forward hull of the Responder while he had men inside the ship stopping the vents beneath the waterline inside of her.

"Barlow to Surface. Damage looks heavy, but nothing too serious. Keep her under 20 knots and we ought to be able to take her home alongside after we raise her." Barlow said.

"Affirmative Barlow. Expected time til we can depart?" Captain Madison asked.

"Won't be til late. 2330 maybe. You wanna put on a pot of coffee for us, ma?" Barlow said humorously.

After the Responder's crew was aboard the Stetson, Captain Love had a case of Kasr'ian (caz-er-ian) rum from his personal stash sent over to the Concordia Ultima as a thank you. The commonwealth forces were respectfully dismissed as the salvage operation continued.

Barlow had most of his teams take shifts on the salvage work. Their first concern was reinforcing the bow internally before patching up the hole. This along with the patch would take up most of their working time. While this was all going on, one team who was comprised of volunteers, was handling the recovery of thew few sailors who were unfortunate enough not to survive.

It was 45 minutes past midnight when they began to pump water out of the Responder using her one good pump. The fire main on the Silk Roads was bled dry and siphoned water out of the Responder's hull and pumped it back into the sea as well. These combined measures met half of the capacity of the Responder's own bilge pumps. It was at least an hour before she was raised level on the surface again.

Barlow had four men go aboard to make sure everything was locked down. Two teams of two, one took the upper decks and the other took the lower. Once the ship was secured Barlow had given the all clear. The Responder was pulled in close using mooring lines and the Silk Roads began to help the Responder limp home. All the aircraft were back aboard the Stetson and everyone was happy for a salvage job done with no incidents happening.

New Wichita, Steudlton
Steudlton Republic Council.

Mattheuis Jozef Steudl was putting his signature on a formal letter that he was sending out to the Common of Free United States. The letter was sent out by courier on an airborne flight to ensure it's rapid arrival.

To: Steven Vincent Galindo III, Premier, Commonwealth Supreme Soviet
From: Mattheius Jozef Steudl, President, Firefighting Republic of Steudlton.

Mr. Galindo,

Steudlton once again thanks your nation for the help your sailors have played in recovering the crew of one of our Hospital Ships. We have established for you a special plot of land one block to the south of the Council Building in New Wichita on which you may build your embassy. Steudlton invites you and the crew of the Battle Horn to attend a ceremony in their honor here in New Wichita. Their medals will be presented to them at this ceremony. If these arrangements can not be met, we will be glad to rework them to fit the interests of you and the Battle Horn.

Sincerely,
- Mattheius Jozef Steudl, President.

**We can work this out on another RP thread. I'll get it started on Monday (today's Friday) if you'd like.

ooc: that sounds good. Also, I'm working on an embassy program of my own, so I'll let you know when it's up and running.

ic:

The pilots of VMA-214 'Black Sheep' had been a bit bored with the routineness of the current CAP assignments, so when the opporunity came for them to show their skill against the Steudlton pilots, they were more than eager to seize it. After a series of mock engagements, the Rafale's skimmed the water between the Commonwealth and Steudlton ships, displaying aerial acrobatic skills such as the Pugachev and Immelman.

As the salvage and rescue operation was concluded, the Battle Horn was prepared to take her leave, with the battleship Concordia Ultima at her side. The crews of both ships manned the rails as the ship's horns blared in salute. As a final departure, signal flares were fired, this time the sequence displaying the phrase(not literally), "We stand alone together."