OOC: Here's Pheonix's private thread. Any time you'd like to do something in game but not apart of the group, this is where we'd talk about it.

 Phoenix was reclining in his 1st class quarters in the late evening when he notices the vessel begin to slow. The usual hum of the engine is replaced by a gush of steam roiling from the stacks. Finally James feels the entire boat slow to a stop. The lack of forward motion means the waves have more control over the ship for now and so the gentle sway quickly becomes the norm. Outside he can hear some commotion from the main deck below. From the hall though he can see the top of another ship on the starboard side of the vessel.

 You know your charge is below deck and had to smuggled aboard. He's supposedly a mechanical man, though aside from his rubbery yet lifelike skin, you can't tell the difference except up close. You and he have been allowed to watch as guardian over the Tunguska team in case of any incidents along the way occur, but now you see the Tunguska team is already in action with part of them over on the other boat, with bulky hand torches. No doubt your compatriot is also about somewhere tonight in the increasingly bad weather.

What do you do?
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:41, Sun 13 Sept 2020.

James had wandered the vessel, not far behind some of those he had been sent to watch over.  Was it to protect them?  To spy on them?  Both?  Being skilled at undercover work, he had managed to avoid being seen, especially difficult with clothing made stiff by the fabric being made from asbestos fibers; it was like using triple the starch for crisp, clean seams.  Especially for the undergarments.
He had eaten and retired to his cabin, poured himself a stiff scotch after stripping to those stiff undergarments.  He had been enjoying a smoke of one of the complementary cigars, after letting the tip absorb some of the scotch (which he had lit by snapping his fingers to produce a flame as he said, "Flickum biccus"), when he noticed the ship slowing and stopping.
Snuffing out the cigar in the ashtray, he jumps up and quickly redresses in his suit to look out the window.  Watching, he sees some of his quarry heading across in a lifeboat with some of the crew.  He watches as they board.  He moves to step out onto the balcony, happy for the overhand as it starts to rain.  He shifts his vision into the infrared to watch the heat patterns, the cold of the rain making them stand out more for now.  Then he hears the sound, something like an angry, or anguished creature.

What does he see with his thermal vision?

 Jame's vision refracts into a deeper spectrum and he quickly gains focus, the heat matching the little bit of light present tonight, he sees warmth and extreme cold quite clearly. The boat appears extremely cold, while three sailors appeared flushed with heat even soaking wet. Another trio appeared to be somewhat more ready, some of the bureau's agents, or perhaps simply cooler under pressure, literally. The six seemed to move with some panic however their levels varied. Some were looking around and you can just barely hear some shouting from them, flashlights jerked in their hands as if somehow frightened.

 Meanwhile some of the others had gathered on the deck below yours looking out, you notice as you hear their now familiar voices. The burly one, Asar, speaks to the rest. The exact nature of the conversation was drown by the white noise of the others who had gathered deck-side to watch the drama unfold. That was when he heard the spine tingling cry of an angry predator whose been deprived of a meal. It was very clear that whatever the beast that had made the sound would be back for more as soon as it saw an opening.

 Then he sees the beast, climb down the side of the craft oblivious to the crowd watching from ninety feet away. It was a shadow to them but to you it was worse, it was the barest temperature difference from the rain. You could just barely distinguish it, that would make it's skin quite cold. The features are however more starkly present than a mere shadow might be in the dark. You can distinguish a diminished head with a short mess of wiry hair, a long if not normal human torso connected the thing to extremely long arms and legs. You can even see where fabric hung from the arms and torso in some places as if this could've been a man once!

 Almost unable to tear your eyes away from the things hideous appearance, you almost miss the sailors begin to back up as your vision picks up spindly arms and feet curling around doors, bulkheads and hatches in the pitch blackness of the spacious deck and her cabins.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:40, Tue 15 Sept 2020.

One of the perks of being in a first-class cabin, and being undercover as a wealthy man going on a hunting expedition:  the safe.  He moves to the safe and begins to spin the dial to the combination lock.  Inside is the case with his scoped Springfield rifle and his ammunition.  Since his powers do not particularly like the rain, a more conventional form of assistance is called for.  It is also nice that you can skeet shoot off the aft deck.  But he is not concerned about clay pigeons right now.

To be continued on the Bureau of Investigation Agents thread...

From the Mauretania and Neustria chapter 1.4 ...

 As he casts out over the waves and heading for greater altitude to take advantage of the sun, he swings around to come from the east and lines up with sun at his best guess. There are three ships here all of them small to midsize ships. One appears to be a fishing vessel of some size, trawling a rather large swath it appears as you see the net's full spread. Beyond that you see one of a rather large yacht style pleasure cruiser. Neither of these seemed right, but the next one gave him chills that had nothing to do with the weather, it was the top of a submarine, just barely cresting the waves, but you can make out the shadow of a much larger profile below. You can see a small flag of France flying on it's sail deck as it glides forward. These seem to be the only vessels in the direction Ms.S points out.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:59, Fri 27 Nov 2020.

Phoenix had heard of these submersible ships before, of course.  His new security clearance since his assignment to the Bureau had been upgraded.  He had even been given a tour of one of the new attack subs, and had even been given the chance to go out on a patrol in one.
He does not fly any closer, instead estimating dimensions and crew complement based on what little he knows of the USA's submersible fleet.

 Twenty-eight officers and men if it's one of the new oil rigs. Size puts it into the 155 foot range, sixteen feet at the beam. If it was like the test subs in the K-series, it'd probably also have a few torpedo tubes. If they did have a tail it's likely that this is the culprit.

As much as he feels the desire to burn his way into the submarine and begin interrogating the crew as to why they are following them, two things prevent him from doing so.  One is that he has not yet been able to demonstrate the ability to reach temperatures high enough to melt steel consistently yet.  The second is that creating an international incident, and tipping their hand to other governments would be a bad idea.
He turns around and heads back to the Neustria, to rejoin his companions.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:05, Mon 30 Nov 2020.

OOC: Cool, you did avoid an international incident. +100 karma

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