In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 416):

/ooc this will cost you 10 minutes.  If we are sitting outside the hatch not doing anything then fine, but if you want to do something before you are out for 10 minutes then do so.  I think you have 30 minutes before the golden hour is through.  If not then.... /ooc


Yeah I got you covered. 

He patches up the wound from the special forces gnomes (Heal 4, remove 1 wound).

In reply to James (msg # 417):

I... good Gods man!  All this while that bastard had me out?

Olek's grip tightens around the weapons.

Allright, well it's done isn't it, and we got nothin' but to patch it up... and blow the hell out 'O some invaders.

Olek slams the intercom button with a clenched fist.

Attention:  the Captain is back.  You lot have done a fine job to hear it told, let's look alive and we may get out of here in one piece.I want that traitor clapped in irons and lashed to the biggest pipe you can find till we can get at the brig.  All crew, report any damage in your area.  Engineer Svem form a team and sweep the ship for leaks, fires and other emergencies.  I'll be on the Bridge to supervise, I want  a deck-by-deck update every ten minutes.  Lt. Commander Conrad will post a guard in the tower then report to the Dive Room to beat those invaders until they're so blodied they can't see straight and then drag what's left to me.  Sven, if we've stopped sinking for the moment, get the Cargo deck dry ASAP!  Now hup to!

With that, Olek nods respectfully to Conrad and stomps toward the Bridge.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Mon 04 Nov 2013.

In reply to Olek Longthrow (msg # 418):

James mouth drops in shock.  He stabs at an intercom button

YOU CANT DO THAT I JUST FIXED HIM FROM THE LAST TIME HE DID THAT!!!

In reply to James (msg # 419):

Alvie, I'm liking your idea of Ragnar in crowd control gear better and better.

He stabs the intercom button and says sheepishly

Oh and Captain,

The goblin is loose as well.

In reply to James (msg # 420):

Olek stops dead in his tracks.  The visible portion of his bull neck turns red as he seeths in rage.

Without turning around he points at the intercom, at once saying 'Conrad, deal with that before I kill everyone aboard' in no words at all.  The he stomps into the Bridge.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:05, Tue 05 Nov 2013.

In reply to Olek Longthrow (msg # 421):

Alveris chimes in cheerfully as James patches his wounds.

"Well I feel throughly inspired to once again defend the honor of the Gnomish Empire and risk my life and limb in your service. It continues to be a privilege sir. I'll just assume what you also meant to include in your elegant dissertation of orders was something like

'Thanks for all your help and that super sweet move where you threw a knife through a guy. You're a dick, but you're my kind of dick. Go with Commander Connie and watch his back. The last time he went in without you, he almost died. We can't risk that happening twice, so I'm sending my best man along to protect him.

Keep him safe Alveris'

"Will do Captain Olek, will do."

(To Connie and James)

"I think he's really warming up to me."

In reply to Alveris Alderis (msg # 422):

Conrad salutes the Captain's departing form and sights.

"Seal the tower's top hatch, and keep an eye on it," he tells the nearest crewman.  "Captain's orders."

He shifts his grip on his axe and turns back toward the Dive Room, making a quick detour to the room used as a brig for Francis earlier.

"You heard the Captain," he says to Ragnar, clapping him in irons and tossing him into the pantry closet before locking the door.  "You'll be perfectly safe here, unless the goblin finds you before we find him.  But look at the bright side: if you scream loudly enough, we'll probably get here before he kills you."

He glances at Alveris, who he could swear let slip a smug expression of approval.

We need to get these fey off the ship.  They are rubbing off on me, he muses silently.

Aloud, he continues.

"We're retaking the Dive Room, as ordered.  Does anyone remember where we stashed the PAG Cannon?  It had a shield attachment that might come in handy here.  And James... if you were a goblin in the situation my escaped prisoner is in, where would you be most likely to lurk?"

In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 423):

Connie, they could not only be going through the tower, they could also be coming from any of the portals from Deck one as they could open it and swim through the flooded cargo hold using the aqualungs.  We need to station someone at every entrance to deck one.

As for your Francis question... he needs my head to bring back to my father... therefore I would be one of three places, waiting to ambush me around my quarters, waiting to ambush me outside the med bay, or following behind me to keep an eye on me until he is able to take me unaware or separated from the group.

In reply to James (msg # 424):

And since he's a marauding goblin, he's probably not at all smart enough to head for the armory, acquire more advanced weaponry, and continue to evade our detection as he did for days/weeks/months while hiding in my wine casks waiting to murder you.

Discretion is the better part of valor here Connie. Continue to assume, much as I'm sure you think of me, that he will continue to show up at the worst possible time, in the worst possible place, doing the worst possible thing. If you're always prepared for the worst possible outcome, you'll never be surprised, and every so often, you might even be ready for what gets thrown at you.

That's Alveris Alderis 101- Assume whatever can go wrong, will go wrong.

In reply to Alveris Alderis (msg # 425):

"The crew will have the lower deck pumped dry in short order.  There were only two agents left, aye?  We're going to deal with this matter once and for all.  Someone repressurize the Dive Room.  We're going in.  The goblin will have to wait; I don't have time to spend hours searching the sub for him right now."

In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 426):

As soon as Sven's crew have finished pumping out the cargo hold, Conrad orders teams to cover all exits to the Dive Room.

On his signal, the teams breech the room in a stunning display of tactical prowess and clockwork efficiency.

However, this is mostly for naught.  You find two dead spec ops gnomes (one shot and one with a knife wound through his face), but the other two seem to have vanished.

A search of the rest of the ship does not turn them up anywhere.

As far as you can tell there are no aqualungs missing nor has the dive bell been messed with.

In reply to GM (msg # 427):

Conrad scratches his chin, frustrated.

"Search them," he says, motioning to the dead operatives.  "Strip them if you have to.  We need all the information we can get."

He looks around the room carefully.

[Notice: 1]

"Gnomes don't just vanish into thin air.  Where could they have possibly gone?"

He activates the PA to the Helm.

"Conrad to the Bridge.  Does a spotlight sweep or sonar pulse indicate another craft or divers nearby?"

In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 428):

James paws through the pockets of the dead gnomes and scrutinizes the room (Notice 4).  He shrugs showing the group what he found.

I knew it!  He declared triumphantly his words echoing around the empty room.

Connie is it possible there is some kind of single-occupant submersible?  It would account for their ability to move and not to be seen on radar. 

In reply to James (msg # 429):

Apart from their equipment (ammo, flashlight, knife, etc) you find nothing.

The armor is identical to the Spec Ops armor from the Dark Reach.  On the left breast of each is a small brass emblem.

It looks much like the seal of the Empire, but slightly different.

A response comes down from the bridge.

"We're sweeping with the light, Sir, nothing but rock and dark water.  Sonar is down for the moment, will take some time to re-calibrate."

In reply to GM (msg # 430):

James wanders over to the call box.

We have retaken the hold in a blaze of glory... if by blaze you mean opening it up to find dead gnomes and... nothing else.  Either we were talking to ghosts or the other occupants have escaped.

*he releases the call box*

That was anticlimactic.  So Connie, whats next on our to do list?

In reply to James (msg # 431):
Find the goblin, search the lower decks, question the traitor, and check the torpdo bay. Then back to the Captain.

He sighs.

And pray we have answers by then.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:37, Thu 07 Nov 2013.

In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 432):

So lets start at the bottom and work our way up?  Wherever you guys are going I'm not going to be far behind.  I'm way to prety, though not quite as pretty as Alveris, to be chopped up by a goblin.

*He gestures Conrad towards the entrance to deck one*

Age before.... age, and beauty... and height.... *abandons this line of thought*

Why don't you lead us Connie?

In reply to James (msg # 433):

If I were, and this is purely hypothetical, really pissed off at Prancibald here, and I wanted to kill him, I wouldn't just wait to ambush him in med bay or our quarters.

[Streetwise 9]

That's what you'd expect. No. Francis knows Jamie is going to go where Connie and I are going. He's going to be following us, like some possessed goblin beast seeking after his precious.. revenge.

Say what you will about his questionable sense of allegiance, but Francis has moxy!

In reply to Alveris Alderis (msg # 434):

I question his survival instict.  He kills me and then what, hides until the mission is over?  Sneaks off of the ship and makes it to daddy dearest who will give him a whole pile of silver and a troll to carry it... of course once the troll smashes his head with a rock... and then the troll will have his throat slit by a changeling... its the cycle of life around father.

That or he kills me, and the entire crew... and the pilots the sub to shore himself and claims his tresure...

Or he kills me and gets caught and spends the rest of his life in gnomish prisons...

I see no way this ends well for him.

So Alvie, are you proposing to use me as bait?  I really hope you arent, but if you are then someone had damn well better be covering my ass.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:39, Thu 07 Nov 2013.

In reply to James (msg # 435):

I prefer the tactical euphemism "Chumming the waters".

In reply to Alveris Alderis (msg # 436):

All around the ship, teams directed by Sven and Olek are in the first stages of putting the ship back together.

Hallways are being cleared of debris, water and toxic chemicals, hatches are being unsealed and plates welded down.

The cargo hold, now pumped, is being mopped and put back together.

For now, the four dead crewmen have been laid respectfully to one side with sheets over them.

In reply to GM (msg # 437):

OK so if we are going to lure him out heres what we can do.  I give you guys a few minutes to get stationed in strategic locations on the way to the med bay... I will make an announcement that I am heading to the med bay alone, you wait for me to scream like a little girl?

I hate this plan... just so you know.

In reply to James (msg # 438):

"We could also just post a guard at each cargo hold and the mess hall.  Goblins have to eat, right?  Or would it be better to dump a pile of treasure on the deck somewhere and assume he'll attempt to bathe in it?"

His tone softens slightly.

"I share your concern for the escaped prisoner, but there are a lot of eyes on this ship -- and all of them are armed.  Right now, I have a mutineer to question and a pair of covert operatives that seem to have simply vanished -- and I fear that must take precedence over searching the shadows for a creature trained to lurk in them."

Conrad spearheads a thorough, organized search, assisted by the crew, of the entire sub -- starting with the lower decks.  They are scouring every nook and cranny, and locking down "searched" rooms afterward such that only the ship's Master Key (which only Olek and Conrad should have) can open the door again.

They are looking for (in this order):

1) Ways the Special Ops gnomes might have escaped
2) Places the Special Ops gnomes might have hidden themselves (including the bell)
3) Traces of goblin
4) Leaks, damaged systems, etc. that might still need to be cleared out

I am willing to spend as much time as it takes to do this right.  Is there a "take 10" or "take 20" option, or shall I roll Notice checks for the crew, or how do you want to handle this?

After the search is complete, Conrad will unlock all the doors; post guards at the cargo entrances and the mess halls; and report his findings to the Captain on the Bridge.

Barring complications.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:26, Fri 08 Nov 2013.

In reply to Conrad son of Leif (msg # 439):

Under Conrad's command, the Red Spring is re-searched, this time with a focus on traitors, stowaways and Goblins of all sorts.

Teams open every door, vent, panel, closet, box, crate, jar, bottle and barrel.

With respect to the Dive Room, nobody is hiding in the dive bell.

There are 3 'formal' ways on and off the ship.  There is an airlock in the Tower, there is an airlock in the Dive Room, and there is a moon door in the dive room.  The airlocks are sealed, the moon door is open.

Technically, the torpedo tubes open to the ocean too, but these are also sealed.

When you inspect them, Sven and a team are already addressing the leaking water through these torpedo tubes.  He notes that you will not be able to fire for a short while.

Word comes down from Helm that sonar is restored, but there is no sign of any other ship.  They continue to man the searchlight, but can really only see forwards with visual inspection.

In James' stateroom you find his bedsheets and other linens have been.... 'creatively soiled' as one sailor puts it.

Through the combined purge, Francis is indeed located.  He was hiding in the Code Room.  When he is subdued and searched, it turns out he, somehow, has a master key to the whole ship...

Kicking and screaming, he is dragged into the cargo hold and locked up near (but not with) Ragnar, who is sitting solemnly.

In reply to GM (msg # 440):

Once the prisoners are secured, Olek meets up with you in the Cargo Hold.

Good job, Lt. Commander.  Now that, I presume, we're all out of traitors, my men can concentrate on getting us underway.  He sighs.  We're far behind schedule, but we've got a mission and we've got to press on.  We may yet catch the humans before they make port... I'd hate to have to send an expedition into Human lands on foot...

Olek looks from the hissing-mad Goblin to the corpses lined up along one wall.

This has been a tragic day indeed.  I've lost Gnomes under my command before, far more than this, but I always knew why.

Olek stares his Lt. Commander in the eyes.  When I'm certain we're not going to explode, we'll pause to honor our dead.  The prisoners can wait till we're underway, but as soon as that happens I want you to get to the bottom of this.