“Let’s use the forward or aft escape trunk.” He then explained why. “Either of those hatches put us closer to the waterline after the sub surfaced. Going out through the sail means we have to climb down from it to the waterline.”

“Is there an ETA for when we surface?”

OOC: Basically if we have to climb down the sail somebody could fall off, hit the hull of the sub and could possibly drown before we got to them.

In reply to Senor Garcia (msg # 8):

"Yes, It was my intention to use the forward deck - Escape Trunk. I am moving everyone to the forward truck.  I also think that would be the best place for their illicit loot to be stashed ~ the most accessible cabin from the either the forward or aft escape trunk. So if you are still looking for those files that may be the best place to search. If you will search the aft cabins adjacent to the aft escape trunk I'll do the same on the forward Escape trunk adjacent cabins."

"I cannot easily calculate the sub's velocity... but it did indicate it would surface near the Zodiac boats approach.  Perhaps a minute or so?"

OCC: Yeah I poorly identified the exit I was going for when I said main hatch ... I meant the hatch on the forward deck of the sub.. the escape trunk there specifically for the same reason closer to the waterline and less risk of a fall.

With maybe a minute to the rendezvous there wouldn’t be time to look for documents. But they could check the forward torpedo room for the items stolen from the bank vault.

“Ok, well let’s get our prisoners forward. We can check the forward torpedo room real quick.”

Hikari pondered, "I hadn't considered that. Is there a large ordinance hatch there to load large numbers of torpedos easily?  Or is their some autoloader mechanism instead with no need of a large access hatch?  I'm trying to think of places in the submarines structure that a large cargo of supplies could be easily and quickly onloaded like foodstuffs and supplies.  Such a cargo loading space would be ideal for quickly stashing loot in a hurry.  Carrying loads of loot through a cramped escape trunk would be ...slow and tedious, to say the least, I would think?"

“Yes there would be a weapons loading hatch, maybe two. But it’s going to only be slight bigger than a torpedo tube.” Looking at the three prisoners he then asked a question. “Have we formally arrested these three and read them their rights?”

“If they haven’t been formally arrested then anything they’ve told us so far can’t be used against them in the court of law. But this provides us with the opportunity to ask them questions in which they may be more apt to answer if it isn’t admissible in court.”

“We could get some valuable intelligence.”

In reply to Senor Garcia (msg # 12):

Justicar shook his head, "I only subdued them in battle and I promptly, bound, and gagged Dr. Phage... to keep him from issuing any 'Voice Commands' to the Bio-ship, and then Bound, Gagged and Blind-folded Trishula to keep him for repeatedly targeting and casting spells at Winter and I.  They have said nothing nor have been allowed to say anything as I was trying to deal with Whisperer.. I've been too busy. I have no idea what Chimpman Z, Maharajah or Bellissima has said to Provider."

"This was supposed to be a rescue operation for Holly Cook, we suspected the Refusnik's had the loot from the City Vault Heist somewhere in their lair... we've already seen some of it onboard the Bio-ship... and I have a Electronic Chip taken from the possession of Dr. Phage by Bellissima that was listed as one of the more valuable pieces missing from City Vault Heist.  I think its VERY UNLIKELY to expect Holly Cook - Lady Armageddon, to appear in court and actually press charges of abduction to Provider and crew so that crime is practically out the window.  Don't know if what we have is enough evidence to tie them to that breakin ~ especially without the Dimensional-Transporter to present as evidence."

"But honestly, its not a priority for me right now.. getting the team out of this mess is my main concern right now... but if you feel you can question them in the time before we formally arrest them to get 'vital intel', feel free ~ but No Torture and leave Trishula alone completely he needs to stay unable to cast spells!"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:19, Mon 06 Feb 2023.

“Contrary to popular belief, torture rarely gets an interrogator good information.”

“I’d only use torture if lives were on the line.”

"I know that fact which is another reason why I'm against it but more importantly IT'S EVIL! We need to be better than that or what is the point of professing to stand for Justice?!?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:34, Tue 07 Feb 2023.

"I think you're going to fail at that. Trishula is projecting, and his spirit is definitely not in the same bonds as his person. If he intended to do anything, he would already have done it."

This time, it doesn't take high tech hearing to know that Dr. Phage is chuckling. When JUSTICAR looks towards him, Dr. Phage quite obviously taps his foot on the floor. Although part of the message appears to be 'hey, I can still communicate' the rest of it, and possibly the reason Dr. Phage finds it funny, is contained in the code he taps. As his foot beats out
.. / -. . ...- . .-. / - .- ..- --. .... - / .... . .-. / -- --- .-. ... . / -.-. --- -.. . .-.-.-
[Secret to not JUSTICAR; not The Maharaja:Catching that Dr. Phage is using morse code, his taps translate to "I never taught her morse code."]
[Secret to JUSTICAR:JUSTICAR is distracted enough to miss PART of the message. He loses the beat in the midst of the tapping and can only discern that Dr. Phage started with "I never" and ended with "morse code."]

In reply to SSOGM (msg # 17):

Justicar regards Dr. Phage's code... his expression being unreadable.

But clearly he understood ... something...

Hikari accessed his H.U.D. looking to see if their depth was decreasing and what his inertial compass said was their bearing for confirmation.

He rolls over to Dr. Phage and very gently and respectfully picks him up and sets him comfortably in a CIC chair.

Speaking with Senor, "This gag is ineffective. Dr. Phage can still potentially communicate with the AI.. though he claims he did not teach 'her', Bio-Sub, Morse Code, I did not get the rest of his code ~ it might not have been for me. Be wary.. this man is a consummate Genius!  I wish I might engage him in a chess match... HE would be a challenge to out think!"

Looking at the various gauges and analog readouts in the sub's CIC/bridge, Senor Garcia tries to get a good idea of their heading, and speed.

Upon the realization that Dr. Phage has bene using morse code, Senor Garica thinks to himself, Well shit....

As JUSTICAR puts Dr. Phage in a chair, Senor Garcia has an idea, but considering the younger man's uppity morals decides to ask the question first. "Will you consider it torture if I put Dr. Phage in a choke hold and put him to sleep?"

[Private to GM: 20:01, Today: Secret Roll: Senor Garcia rolled 62 using 1d100.  Read Sensory Equipment 90%.
PASS]

Justicar answers, "If the Bio-sub is actually doing what it said it would... if we are surfacing and heading toward the Zodiac craft... I see no point to it.  It will just make it inconvenient to carry him bodily off the sub.  And no.  That is not torture."

Dr. Phage taps his foot a bit, everyone gets the message except possibly the bio-sub. Apparently ".. / -.. --- -. .----. - / .--. .-.. .- -.-- / -.-. .... . ... ..." means "I don't play chess."
The submarine's gauges indicate the ship is definitely surfacing. Its heading doesn't suggest any specific destination; its velocity suggests Dr. Phage has modified more than the controls.
[Secret to Bellissima:Trishula's spirit faces Bellissima. First he gestures towards Dr. Phage, then he points to his own temple and moves his finger in circles. Finally, he gives Bellissima a mock salute before gesturing at his comatose body.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:48, Wed 08 Feb 2023.

"Trishula is about to do whatever he had planned. His spirit just waved goodbye."
"I think we should brace ourselves."

Justicar 'shrugs', "...I always thought 'Astral Projection' was a psionic manifestation?  Are you saying Trishula is a spellcaster AND psionic?  Not sure what we can do about it... I've done EVERYTHING I can to neutralize his ability to attack us save outright killing him.  We should have a discussion with Detective Broyko about the use of lethal force against 'spellcasters' if this is typical of their capabilities."

For the second time during this operation, Senor Garcia idly wondered how much training LESP had in deadly force and its application. There was no escalation of force laid out either. Something that would need to be rectified. “If someone is about to kill or seriously injure another person then you can use deadly force.”

Unforntunelty, as a prisoner, killing Trishula made things a bit murky. You couldn’t just kill a prisoner even if escaping, unless during that escape they were going to cause death or serious bodily harm. But Bellissima’s warning was really all the justification Senor Garcia needed.

“I have little to no knowledge about magic or psionics, only that attempting to transport a prisoner with those abilities can be difficult, and in my previous occupation, unless they were a high value target it was always easier to just kill them instead of taking them into custody or we kept them heavily sedated.”

Then looking at JUSTICAR, Belimissa, and The Maharaja he stated something that was probably not going to go well, but had to be said. “Look, if any of you feel squeamish with killing Trishula, I have no problem doing so.”

“Although I have no idea who in the world may want him for crimes he may have committed or information he has, I don’t think he can be considered high value target to us like The Provider, or Dr. Phage are.”

“As it stands, we do have a mandate to do everything within our means to protect the lives of those we have taken prisoner, even if it is protecting them from another prisoner.”

Justicar nodded, "I understand that Senor, and I have Always agreed that if lethal force is being used against us..we have EVERY right to respond in kind.  But in this case we have a man restrained, gagged and blind-folded  the optics on this is bad and legally unsupportable!  We have no provable or recorded evidence that this man is a threat.  All we have is unsubstantable testimony from one person of vague gestures the prisoneer is supposedly making. No insult to Bellissima's power we can't act on that alone to simple execute a man in an extra-judicial action without knowing if this man is guilty of ANY crime other that associating potentially with bank-robbers which in itself has not been fully determined!  No. We can't just kill him... but this subject should definitly be raised with our LESP patrons."

He folded his arms,"Also, its not established that killing his body would have any effect upon whatever his 'Astral Body' or what he has done or may do.  We just do not have any evidence what he is about to do is even lethal or dangerous to us! Thus far the only powers he has demonstrated are non-lethal incapaciatating effects. He's not so much as once caused harm to Anyone! We cannot just end his life ~ 'For What he MIGHT Do!'"
This message was last edited by the player at 10:09, Thu 09 Feb 2023.

Senor Garcia responded in the native language of his father, a man who has traveled from Colombia to the United States and fought the Nazi’s in World War Two. The words were spoken in a near perfect pronunciation of Castilian/Peninsular Spanish: “Nos cargamos a ese hijo de puta, y convertirnos en la mejor opción.”

[Private to group Spanish:
Literal translation for those characters who know Spanish: “We kill that mother fucker and make ourselves the best option.”]

He didn’t bother to translate, but explained his reasoning, which unforntunelty was a result of real-world experience. “When I go out on an operation, my objective is to bring everyone on my team home, alive.”

“If I have to execute or torture someone one to make that happen, I will.”

“I don’t care what anyone thinks, I do not care about any bullshit laws."

“Especially those that are aimed at protecting the criminals and not the innocent.”

“What I care do about is my team and their survival.”

“YOUR survival.”

Pointing towards the bow (i.e the front) of the submarine, Senor Garcia continues.  “We need to move our prisoners to the forward escape trunk. Let me take custody of Trishula, and I’ll bring up the rear.”

“If anything, crazy happens, I hope Trishula enjoys living as a ghost.”

OOC: If my wife was home, she’d probably give me a better translation for what I wanted to say in Spanish as she is from Colombia. Also, the Spanish language as it is spoken in Colombia is very close to the original Castilian/Peninsular Spanish as spoken in Spain.

Almost as if Trishula was listening, the floor underneath the comatose villain shimmers brightly before it vanishes. Trishula's body immediately falls through the floor with a splash! Dr. Phage reacts with muffled shouts. The Provider, who is now sitting on the floor with his back to the wall says, "that seems like a bad idea."
[Private to Bellissima: Trishula's astral form floats to the edge of the hole in the floor and pantomimes holding his nose and jumping into the hole.]

Justicar has had enough of this fool's self-destructive actions and will no longer put up with him putting everyone's lives at risk.

He rolls over looking briefly at the damage done to the Bio-Sub's structural integrity... before firing his towline grappling hook to spear Trishula through an appendage to draw him back out of the hole in the deck to reel him in reach only close enough to be within melee reach...

In one unambiguous motion Justicar springs his Triple Arm Blades and with no hesitation BEHEADS Trishula!

Reeling in his towline he grips the corpse long enough to kick the head back into the hole and drop the corpse to the deck.

"THAT, is enough of That!"

Turning to the others, "Now MOVE.. we are leaving!"

{ooc: If this is a Mystic Portal spell... even if Hikari could have caught him falling with his tow-line grappling hook... no amount of force in the universe could have reeled Trishula back.  That spell is one way. I'll forgo Justicar taking his shot as he could not reel his tow-line in either!}
This message was last edited by the player at 10:13, Fri 10 Feb 2023.

JUSTICAR attempts to get to Trishula and prevent his comatose body from dropping through the floor, unfortunately his suit continues to refuse to assist in moving, and the burst of effort is exhausting. To make matters worse, when he looks down into the hole to target the body, he sees that the hole is a blank column that stretches some sixty feet down. Not only does it go through the submarine, but the last ten feet are in the water. No obvious force is holding back the water at the bottom of the column, but the column maintains its shape despite moving through the water at a fair speed. Trishula is nowhere to be seen.

Justicar turns to Bellissima, "Belle..can your telemechanics close all the pressure hatch doors of the breached cabins below? Or can you erect a TK force field at the hole below"

The Justicar rolled over to the screen Bio-ship had been using his tone one of concern as he almost comfortingly tried to caress the technorganic ganglia of the ship, "Bio-Sub... a-are you still functional?  a-are you in pain?  Can you seal the hole in your decks below? I'm so sorry.. I never suspected Trishula could do that while bound, gagged and blindfolded!"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:51, Fri 10 Feb 2023.

Senor Garcia remained calm as Trishula disappears from view, and thought to himself: Well, that’s not something you see every day. Without knowing how long until whatever it was the Trishula did would end and the submarine would begin to flood, Senor Garcia began to look over the various controls and readouts.

10:17, Today: Senor Garcia rolled 78 using 1d100.  RSE 90%.
PASS What is our depth?

10:18, Today: Senor Garcia rolled 7 using 1d100.  SCUBA 115%.
PASS Are we close enough to the surface where we do not have to worry about the bends?

[Private to GM: 10:18, Today: Secret Roll: Senor Garcia rolled 27 using 1d100.  Damage Control and Disaster Response 95%.
PASS

I would really like to be able to find the controls to do an emergency blow to the surface so we can get off the submarine.

Trying to swim out of the escape trunk would not be healthy for those character who can’t swim.]

Justicar monitored his external sensors and was puzzled...regarding the clearly apparent 'hole' through the deck of the bio-sub.

"There is No cabin pressure change. The water is clearly in motion at the bittom of the hile but does not even obey normal fluid mechanics to even  enter the lip of the hole.  This is impossible."

"Whatever this may appear to be... it is NOT a hole in the decks of the bio-sub as far as material reality Physics is concerned!  If this is similar to spells cast before... this effect is not permanent and 'should' dispel... after some undetermined duration."

"My inertial compass and depth gauges say we have not slowed and are indeed still surfacing..."

{ooc: Mystic Portal is one way. Nothing material can come back through the portal. It is not even visible from the other end of its terminus. I'm uncertain if energy can pass though... though clearly light and gravity are working ~ we can see through the portal to the sub decks below and Trishula 'fell' through it gravity in opperation}
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Sun 12 Feb 2023.