NationStates Jolt Archive

Associated Press:

Today, several fishing vessels belonging to ASoGM commercial fishing corporations were attacked by the crew of another ship, while the fishermen were operating in the South Atlantic Ocean. The attackers used butyric acid and cellulose powder in an attempt to drive the fishermen off the fishing grounds. The attackers, calling themselves the Oceanic Defenders, claim that the fishermen are fishing illegally, and the Oceanic Defenders say they will do whatever it takes to stop the fishermen. The commercial fishermen claim that their permits are in order, and that the Oceanic Defenders are nothing more than pirates. The ASoGM Navy was called when these attacks began, and a cruiser rushed to the fishing grounds, but the Oceanic Defenders escaped in their high speed monohull ship before the cruiser arrived.

The Naval cruiser will remain in the fishing grounds until the end of the season, to protect the fishermen from more attacks. It will be joined by 2 more cruisers, so they can better cover the fishing grounds.

OOC: Mind if a Sutfen Steam Trawler runs afoul with these "Oceanic Defenders" aswell?

OOC: Mind if a Sutfen Steam Trawler runs afoul with these "Oceanic Defenders" aswell?

OOC: I was looking for someone to take the role of the Oceanic Defenders, but if you're in the area, I don't see why you couldn't run into them.

OOC: I was looking for someone to take the role of the Oceanic Defenders, but if you're in the area, I don't see why you couldn't run into them.

OOC: Yay! I figure these "Oceanic Defenders" will be pissed off with not only a fishing vessel, but a Pollution spewing Coal-fired steamer.

http://www.stanshobbies.karoo.net/fishing_boats/geoffs-wyke-trawler.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3238/2681368773_c7a4eee953.jpg?v=0

And such...

The RNS Rock, a Type 45 Destroyer, approached the the area that they had been ordered to investigate. The Admiralty had seen the story on the news and desiced to send a ship to observe.

President Hundley, upon hearing of another outbreak of Piracy, decided to send a Ticonderoga Class Cruiser, the USS Orangeville, to the area to observe and combat the Pirates if needed

The long line commercial fishing vessel Aquatic Leader was on a run to the beginning of its pull, and its captain, a man by the name of Jack Roberts, alternated looking through his binoculars and the radar screen. He had been lucky enough to avoid the first attacks by the Oceanic Defenders, and hopefully he could keep it that way. In his binoculars, he saw in the distance a steam trawler working its own area, and on the radar a large ship appeared. It was too far out to see visually, but on the screen it appeared too large to be the Oceanic Defenders ship.

The Rock pulled alongside the ship, keeping a distance of around a Nautical Mile

The Rock pulled alongside the ship, keeping a distance of around a Nautical Mile

Captain Roberts noted the NBS destroyer, and hoped that they wouldn't get in the way while the Aquatic Leader's crew went about their duties. Their first buoy was about 4 nautical miles away, and the long line would eventually cross the destroyer's path. Captain Roberts informed the destroyer of this fact, so the two ships could avoid colliding, and so the line wouldn't foul the destroyer's props.

A Sutfen Trawler, part of the Southern Atlantic Trawler fleet, had split from the main fleet because her holds were not filled. Because of current alliances and trading, the small Sutfen fishing fleet was suffice to say stretched to the limit and needed their holds full every time they slipped into port. As such the fleet wasn't as strictly secured as it used to be, ships venturing away from their few Q-ship guards.

Nearly 120 miles off the main fleet, the Steam Trawler Mystique was thrumblign through the water. Her stack giving off a multi-hundred foot high plume of rich black coalsmoke. You could practically see the Ozone layer weeping. On top of this the dirty blige water and boiler water poured from the steamer's hull. Behind her trailed her nets as she trawled along. The small crew moved about the deck or sat around.

They didn't look to have any armaments, it was a rather small and ungodly slow steamer. On these dark blue waves from the ocean, the trawler rolled easily back and fourth. The deep "Thrump Thrump" of the single steam engine could easily be heard above water, let alone by any submarines below. The big single propeller turned slowly as it moved the ship through the ocean, throwing up a rough white trail behind the ship.

The Rock's Captain noted the fact and gave orders for his crew to steer clear of any dangererous lines.

The USS Orangeville noted the RNS Rock and the Aquatic, and decided to join up with them, better to have 2 Ships escorting the Aquatic than just one

OOC: I'll be the Oceanic Defenders until someone else wants to take them over.

IC: The Oceanic Defenders were aware of the naval presence in the area, as they had a complex radio setup, designed to scan for and direction find messages. There was a steam trawler about 150 miles away, but it was too close to one of the destroyers. They also knew of a long line fishing vessel, but the destroyer was almost on top of it. They sent out their float equipped Hughes MD 500, to run recon for their next attack. Soon after, a group of gill nets were located, and the Oceanic Defender ship headed there with all speed. Upon arriving, they noticed the ship that dropped the gill nets was nowhere in sight. The Oceanic Defenders cut the buoy lines of the gill nets, making sure the expensive nets wouldn't be found by the commercial fishing ship. They then left the area, in the hunt for more fishing to disrupt.

Lieutenant Murphy looked leisurely through the periscope at the growing congregation of ships. "Christ, it looks like a naval convention up there - and we weren't invited." Then he saw a pall of black smoke and he turned slightly to get a better look at the emitter. It appeared to be an ancient steam-powered trawler.

He slammed the periscope handles upward. "Down periscope. Surface."

"Surface, aye." The Diving Officer began going through the long checklist of orders needed to bring the Goldfish to the surface.

-------------

Murphy stood impatiently in the tower with the deck party.

He was affectionately known in Fatatatutian naval circles as 'Wrong-way' Murphy, not because of any lack of navigation skills but because he was the one who always drew the assignments in far-off out-of-the-way locations. So here he was in the South Atlantic, on the 'wrong' side of the world from Fatatatutti, far from any aid or comfort.

And worse than that, he was apparently in the middle of a fishing ground. He didn't much care about the bevy of aggressive-looking naval vessels or the smoke-belching polluter. He was concerned about all the hardware that fishermen put in the water, the lines and nets that could jam his prop, bend his scope or scrape his acoustic coating. When fishing gear is down, the safest place for a submarine is up, he thought to himself. He was tempted to call it Murphy's Law.

The deck party's lead man clung to the ladder as he spun the wheel and opened the hatch, letting in a cascade of water that drenched him and everybody below him.

Nice work, Murphy muttered as he followed the party up the ladder. They began draping the gigantic Fatatautian battle flag - also known as the 'diplomatic' flag - over the side of the tower so they'd be recognized as a non-belligerent.

Murphy began scanning the scene through his binoculars.

OOC: I just watched Whale Wars last weekend and was planning a similar thread myself.

HMFV Venture
South Atlantic

The Venture was the pride of Southern Sea Fishing's small fleet, a subsidiary of the massive Commonwealth Fishing Corporation, and the only whale processing vessel left in Tolvan. Despite international bans the Commonwealth still allowee limited amounts of commercial whaling, this years quota was 750 Minke and 250 Fin Whales, and it took no interest in the protestations of conservation groups and their supporting nations. The Tolvanic whaling fleet numbered just six ships, the Venture, two spotter ships, two harpoon ships, and a refueling tanker.

The whalers had departed Waichen twenty days ago and with the aid of the Royal Navy had easily eluded the small flotilla of protesting boats that tried to trail them. Normally the whalers travelled unescorted, but given the increase in anti-fishing activities in the South Atlantic, two Town class frigates had been dispatched to escort the fleet to its whaling grounds off Antartica.

Among the many ASoGM flagged fishing vessels were several cod and crab fishing vessels. Some of the fishing vessels were overflown by the Oceanic Defenders helicopter. Since it didn't bear any markings, the fishermen didn't think much of it, and went about their work. Hours later, with the fishermen further along their strings, the Oceanic Defender ship came along, and began cutting the lines between the buoys and crab pots. Each pot would cost the fishermen thousands, and coupled with the loss of the crab or cod in the pots, it was hoped that it would bankrupt them.

When the fishermen got back to the beginning of their strings, they would be hard pressed to find the loose buoys and unable to recover their pots.

The Oceanic Defender's captain broadcast a message to all frequencies stating, "Attention all fishing vessels in the South Atlantic Ocean. You are all illegally killing the marine life in this area. Leave immediately, or you will continue to take loses of equipment and your catches. Any fishing vessel that we come across will be harassed, until they stop their illegal activities". They continued to move around the South Atlantic Ocean, to keep away from the warships in the area. They desperately wanted to attack the whalers that they were just told of, but the frigates they were warned about kept them away.

OOC: If someone else wanted to bring in their own protest group, or take over the Oceanic Defenders, feel free.

RNS Rock

"Captain, we've picked up a Transmission on all frequencies, warning all fishing ships to stop fishing" A Tactical officer reportred.
Captain Marshal smiled "Good, trace the signal and set a course" He ordered.
About ten minutes later they had got a lock and headed for the Oceadnic Defender ship. It wasn't long before they had them both on Radar and on Visual.
"General Quarters" Marshal ordered before nodding to the Comms officer "Oceanic Defender Vessel, this is the New British Shores Navy, your are commiting acts of piarcy, heave to and prepare to be boarded"

Lieutenant Murphy picked up the microphone and flipped the switch to the control room intercom. "Control Room, Bridge."

"Control Room. Go ahead, Captain."

"Message to FlotCom. Give our position and forward our sonar and radar data. Send my apologies for not getting close enough to identify all of those ships properly. It looks like the makings of a small war out there and I don't feel like picking sides."

"Shall I send all of that, Captain?"

Murphy shook his head and silently cursed the Flotilla Commander for saddling him with such a literal-minded First Officer. "Use your judgement," he said, and added under his breath, if you have any.

"Aye aye," Captain."

One 'aye' would have been sufficient, Murphy told himself. Two was downright wordy. "Have the First Engineer bring me a fuel report, will you?"

"Aye, aye."

To get this far, the Goldfish had already been refueled twice at sea by ostensible 'freighters'. Because of the relatively short range of diesel submarines, the Fatatatutian Navy had to use 'ghost tenders' to refuel them at the far corners of the world. With few friendly ports in the vicinity, Murphy was cautious about getting too far from his phantom lifeline.

Moments later, there was the sound of heavy footsteps on the tower ladder. First Engineer Fowler was big for a submariner, which might have been part of the reason he was seldom seen on deck - the hatch was about the same size as his waist. He heaved himself up on the deck, breathing a little too heavily for comfort, squinted at the daylight and handed a clipboard to Murphy. He was a man of few words, which suited Murphy just fine.

Murphy scanned the figures quickly. He knew that Fowler made a 'hobby' of keeping track of the distance to the nearest ghost, to the nearest official tender and to home. All three figures were on the chart. He nodded and handed the clipboard back. "Let me know when we get into the uncomfortable area," he said. "You know what I mean by 'uncomfortable', don't you?"

Fowler nodded.

"Thanks," Murphy said as he turned away.

That was the only dismissal that Fowler needed and he promptly squeezed himself back down through the hatch and disappeared below.

Best damn engineer in the Navy, Murphy told himself. Touch of agoraphobia, but that's hardly a handicap in a submariner. The important thing was that he could disassemble and reassemble the diesels in his sleep. Murphy suspected that sometimes he did exactly that.

The intercom crackled again, "Bridge, Control Room."

"Go ahead, Control Room."

"We're intercepting a messge from an unknown vessel - stop fishing or we'll harass you."

Murphy rolled his eyes. "Great. A fish war."

"Say again, Bridge?"

"Never mind. Have the navigator plot me a get-the-hell-out-of-here course, just in case."

"Aye aye."

Murphy hung the microphone on its little peg. To snoop or not to snoop, that was the question. He wouldn't be here on the dark side of the moon, er, far side of the world except to gather information. But how much risk was worth taking with a quarter-billion-dollar boat and the forty-odd souls aboard?

He decided to wait and see if he was noticed, or if there were any fireworks.

RNS Rock

"Captain, we've picked up a Transmission on all frequencies, warning all fishing ships to stop fishing" A Tactical officer reportred.
Captain Marshal smiled "Good, trace the signal and set a course" He ordered.
About ten minutes later they had got a lock and headed for the Oceadnic Defender ship. It wasn't long before they had them both on Radar and on Visual.
"General Quarters" Marshal ordered before nodding to the Comms officer "Oceanic Defender Vessel, this is the New British Shores Navy, your are commiting acts of piarcy, heave to and prepare to be boarded"

OOC: It's a high speed monohull ship, and they moved after the transmission. It would have been nearly impossible to catch them. Not to mention, they were quite a ways away from the RNS Rock, the Aquatic Leader, and the steam trawler Mystique (the Oceanic Defender ship was 150 miles from the steam trawler, which was spotted by the Aquatic Leader, and the Aquatic Leader is being shadowed by the RNS Rock).

After getting back to the beginning of their strings, the crab and cod fishermen noticed the buoys were cut from the line. They knew approximately where the pots were, but couldn't haul them up the normal way. In order to reduce the losses of the crab and cod pots, the fishermen began dragging for their pots, with a special hook designed to latch onto the pots. It would take significantly longer, but if they could find their pots, their season could be saved.

HMFV Venture
South Atlantic

As the flotilla neared the whaling grounds one of the frigates was forced to detach bolster the Royal Navy ships attmepting to quash an upsurge in piracy off the Nigerian coast. This left the whalers with just one escort and given the wide area they would be forced to operate while whaling, they were vulnerable to engagement by the Oceanic Defenders.

HMFV Venture
South Atlantic

As the flotilla neared the whaling grounds one of the frigates was forced to detach bolster the Royal Navy ships attmepting to quash an upsurge in piracy off the Nigerian coast. This left the whalers with just one escort and given the wide area they would be forced to operate while whaling, they were vulnerable to engagement by the Oceanic Defenders.

Rested and ready to search out fishermen to harass, the helicopter pilot for the Oceanic Defenders fueled and pre-flighted his helicopter. Once he was ready, he took off, and after patrolling for a while, he spotted one of the whaling ships, off by itself with no escort. He notified the Oceanic Defenders ship of the location, and they set out. Hours later, they picked up the whaling ship on radar. A fog was rolling in, and there were icebergs the Oceanic Defenders could use to sneak up on the whaling ship. They moved in, and set their radios to broadcast on all the frequencies the whalers used. They were going to key the radio and keep the channels empty, to prevent the whaling ship from calling for their escort. When they had a clean line to the whaling ship, they hit the throttles, and accelerated and pulled alongside the ship. They threw the usual butyric acid and cellulose powder, but they had a special hatred for whalers. One of the Oceanic Defenders had a special surprise for the whalers, in the form of a molotov cocktail. He threw it, aiming towards the bridge.

Lieutenant Murphy rested his elbows on the tower rail and scanned the horizon through his binoculars. The fishing vessels had moved off in another direction and the naval vessels hadn't done anything decisive - but now there was fog rolling in. Fog is not the friend of a surfaced submarine, already hard to see in good visibility. And despite the deteriorating visibility, he saw something else that made him shiver just to think about it, a white glare on the horizon. Ice.

He reached for the microphone. "Control Room, Bridge."

"Control Room. Go ahead, Captain."

"Ask Mr. Fowler for the distance to the nearest ghost tender."

"He's right here, Captain. One moment.... Captain? The Charles W. Morgan is thirty-six hours away at cruise."

"Good. Set course for Charles W. Morgan and send them a coded message: Gold. Send to FlotCom: Thirsty."

"Aye aye, Captain. Course for tender, message: Gold. Message to FlotCom: Thirsty."

"Bridge out." Murphy replaced the microphone and took one last look at the approaching fog.

The Sutfen Trawler had gone too far. Ice was closing in, fog banks were rolling in. Nets had long been hauled in as the Trawler had stopped her screws and floated silently in the water, sure her stack still spilt a light column of smoke... But it wasn't actively being fed coal to build up steam pressure. She was nearly surrounded by icebergs, so, it was entirely possible she would be mistaken for a 'Berg.

The Trawler's lights were quickly turned on. Red, Green, white, they all shone. She bobbed up and down as the lookout sat silently on the bridge scanning the Horizon and watching for nasty looking 'bergs headed the ship's way. He chuckled softly as he heard the Merrymaking of the rest of the crew below, playing some type of poker no doubt. He couldn't help but smirk when he heard the Helmsman demand credit for the catch they'd just brought in, to continue playing in the game. He however, paused when he saw an Orange flash in the distance... Fire? What would fire be doing out here? Fire on a ship? Fire was the Mortal enemy of all ships, Fire trapped people onboard, burnt ships to the keel. Or made them go overboard and drown or freeze to death. He turned and reached over to the bell beside him, grabbing the rope dangling from it he began ringing the bell sharply and quickly. The Sutfen were damn not going to be said they didn't help another ship out while it burnt to the sea.

HMFV Stallion
South Atlantic

The Stallion was one of the whalers' spotter ships and due to the foul weather was buttoned up with all crew inside her hull. As a result the Molotov did little but scorch her paint before the rain and spray washed the flaming gas overboard. On the vessel's bridge Captain Eric Wang assessed the situation, Wang has served six years as an officer in the Royal Navy and twelve more as a whaler and was well versed in dealing with such interference. Wang had to give the radical enviromentalists credit for the radio trick, however they failed to account for the ship's satellite phones. Within a minute of the attack Wang was speaking with the comm officer on the Venture, who turn relayed the Stallion's location and situation to the frigate Esparada. Within five minutes the frigate's SH-90 helo was airbourne and heading towards the Stallion.

Captain Wang decided to engage the radicals further to buy the helo time to arrive. On his order two crewman, both Royal Navy veterans, emerged from the ship's superstructure and lobbed flashbangs onto the opposing ship's deck. Another crewman emerged after them and took cover in the doorframe before firing a shotgun loaded with beanbag rounds at a exposed crewman on the other ship. Finally, another crewman stepped out on the ship's bridge wing and fired a tear gas canister from his M79 grenade launcher directly at the ship's bridge, with any luck the canister would break the window glass and feel her bridge with tear gas.

HMFV Stallion
South Atlantic

The Stallion was one of the whalers' spotter ships and due to the foul weather was buttoned up with all crew inside her hull. As a result the Molotov did little but scorch her paint before the rain and spray washed the flaming gas overboard. On the vessel's bridge Captain Eric Wang assessed the situation, Wang has served six years as an officer in the Royal Navy and twelve more as a whaler and was well versed in dealing with such interference. Wang had to give the radical enviromentalists credit for the radio trick, however they failed to account for the ship's satellite phones. Within a minute of the attack Wang was speaking with the comm officer on the Venture, who turn relayed the Stallion's location and situation to the frigate Esparada. Within five minutes the frigate's SH-90 helo was airbourne and heading towards the Stallion.

Captain Wang decided to engage the radicals further to buy the helo time to arrive. On his order two crewman, both Royal Navy veterans, emerged from the ship's superstructure and lobbed flashbangs onto the opposing ship's deck. Another crewman emerged after them and took cover in the doorframe before firing a shotgun loaded with beanbag rounds at a exposed crewman on the other ship. Finally, another crewman stepped out on the ship's bridge wing and fired a tear gas canister from his M79 grenade launcher directly at the ship's bridge, with any luck the canister would break the window glass and feel her bridge with tear gas.

The Oceanic Defenders crew took cover, although some of them were hit with the beanbag rounds. They cleared the deck when the teargas grenade came over. Luckily, the teargas grenade struck the steel window frame, and not the window. It landed on the deck, and a crewman kicked it overboard before he was overcome. The Oceanic Defenders had enough, and broke away from the whaling ship. Opening the throttles, they sped away from the whaling ship and towards the fog, which would prevent visual locating and reduce radar range. They also planned to use the icebergs to further hide themselves from the radar.

HMFV Stallion
South Atlantic

Wang watched as the ship slid away into the fog. The sailor who'd fired the tear gas canister gave the fleeing ship the finger as he screamed curses at it. Wang turned to face his First Mate, "Maybe those damn hippies will think twice before they muck about our whaling grounds again. Get on the horn and pass word of the engagement to the Navy."

*OFFICIAL STATEMENT*

At 0934 hours on May 17, 2009 a vessel registered to the organization known as the "Oceanic Defenders" attempted to attack a commerical fishing vessel flying the Tolvanic flag. During the course of the attack the vessel's crew threw a homemade incendiary device (a "Molotoz Cocktail") aboard the vessel. Fortunately there were no injuries or serious damage aboard the vessel. The crew of the vessel, in accordance with Tolvanic law, defended itself by employing flashbang devices, tear gas canisters and less than lethal riot gun rounds. The Oceanic Defender vessel then broke off and eluded pursuit by a Royal Navy helo.

As a result the Royal Tolvanic Navy has declared any ship sailing under the aegis of Oceanic Defender to be engaging in piratical activity. As such the vessels may be fired upon on sight and any crew of these vessels captured by the Royal Navy face trial by Admiralty Tribunal and face the death penalty.

Any members of this organization that surrender to Tolvanic custody without resistance will not face charges of piracy unless evidence is found that links them conclusively to such actions. To aid in the hunt for these criminals, the Tolvanic military will be deploying additional forces to the area.

Sutfen Trawler Mystique

The Crew scrambled to stations. The captain ordered low and quiet voices, the ship's boat was dropped quietly off the Stern and began being towed behind the Steamer. The three Bolt-action Rifles and the Revolver were broken out of the Captain's Sea-Chest, which were onboard in case of pirates. Sutfen never were good at following international law.

"Douse lights." The captain ordered under his breath, and all the running lights aboard the steamer were turned off. He reached down and worked the ship's telegraph, ordering steam to be built up in the boilers but to have the valves locked. This would mean that there would be no deep-throated 'chuff' of the motor, nor would the screws move. The Sharp-eyed lookout looked at the Oceanic Defender's and watched the monohull ship cruise towards the icebergs that were surrounding the Mystique. The "Raider" crew crouched low in the lifeboat behind the ship. The cloth-wrapped oars sitting in the water, their sound would be muffled.

Onboard the Mystique in the bridge, or more specifically the room with the Marconi Device... The wireless operation began working his stuff. The crew had determined, most Navies would still train their operators in -basic- Morse code... Where as the "Oceanic Defenders" probably wouldn't know the rapid, highly skilled, operator's keying in the least. Morse code and wireless would probably be the least expected band to jam. It was addressed to "All Ships in Area",

-/..../../...//../...//-/.-./.-/.--/.-.././.-.//--/-.--//.../-/../--.-/..-/. (stop)
.--./---/.../.../../-.../.-.././/.--./../.-./.-/-/./...//.../.--./---/-/-/./-../ (Stop)
-/.-/-.-/../-./--.//--/./.-/.../..-/.-././...//-/---//-.././..-././-./-..//.../..../../.--./ (Stop)
-/.-./.-/-./.../--/../-/-/../-./--.//-.-./---/---/.-./-../../-./.-/-/./.../ (End)

"This is Trawler Mystique. Stop." - "Possible Pirates Spotted. Stop." - "Taking Measures to Defend Ship. Stop." - "Transmitting Coordinates. End."

The Coordinates were transmitted shortly, and quickly. The message was repeated twice more before going silent.

The ship stayed silent, waiting for the Oceanic defenders to hide in the 'bergs and fog where they could spring their trap.

Using the icebergs and fog to shield them from radar and visual detection, the Oceanic Defenders piloted their ship out of the area. They were going to need food and fuel in a few weeks, so as much as they didn't want to leave, they headed towards home. The messages sent by the Tolvan government and the Mystique didn't help, either. The fast speed of the Oceanic Defenders vessel should keep it ahead of anyone trailing them, while their helicopter could alert them of anyone ahead of them.

Out in the open ocean, with nobody on their radar and nobody spotted by the helicopter, the Oceanic Defenders prepared the ship for its transformation. They lowered a crewman over the side, to remove the identification off the sides and stern of the ship. Since the name Oceanic Defenders was on large strips of vinyl, it completely covered the true name of the vessel, The Spirit of the Sea. The crew also applied vinyl stripes and decals to the sides of the bridge and bulwarks. They had no more butyric acid or cellulose powder, so there was nothing to connect them to the attacks on the fishermen and whalers. They were returning to port in the guise of whale watchers. Various cameras and camcorders were on board, and had enough images and video to make their story believable. The vinyl taken from the sides of the vessel were hidden below decks until the Oceanic Defenders could get back to port, and recycle the vinyl.

The Charles W. Morgan was ostensibly a tramp steamer, currently carrying a mixed cargo of machine parts, textiles and palm oil, bound from somewhere to somewhere. The papers saying so were in order.

She was shipshape, if somewhat scruffy. It would have taken a close examination to reveal the fact that most of the rust was painted on. Under such an examination, the large tanks of diesel in the hold might have seemed unusual but not necessarily suspicious. Even the stock of torpedoes was represented in the cargo manifest, the product of an arms-producing nation bound for an arms-consuming one.

In fact, to anybody in the know, the Fatatatutian flag would have been the most suspicious thing about the Charles W. Morgan. Fatatatutians don't typically deal in arms - but they don't hide under a foreign flag either. They hide in plain sight.

The Goldfish surfaced silently, a hundred meters off the Morgan's starboard side. Lieutenant Murphy stepped to the tower rail and scanned the ship through his binoculars.

The sailors on her deck looked down on the Goldfish a little too casually, he thought. Real civilians finding a submarine in their back yard would be a lot more curious. On the other hand, their practiced nonchalance was intended to fool their enemies, not their friends.

There was a blue-and-white-striped cloth hanging out what appeared to be the galley window and a man in a bright red shirt standing outside the wheelhouse with his fists on his hips.

"All clear," Murphy said. He wondered briefly if there were any colour-blind submarine commanders. He began to mentally compose a memo to the Flotilla Commander, suggesting a different system of call signs.

The deck party began their struggle to launch the rubber boat.