[Taocow PBEM] Book 3 - Chapter III

[Aaron Clausen]

> > [GM]
> > The seafloor slopes downward and she hugs it, though at sixty
> > feet an alarm starts to go off and a gruff male voice in an unfamiliar
> > language barks some sort of repeated warning.
> >
> > Above can be seen one of what they presume is in the invader
> > ships, flanked by a number of other unidentifiable boats.  Some
> > seem to be going in circles, with bright flashing lights in their
> > hull, moving methodically  in a grid-like pattern.
> >
> > A quick scan shows a few possible escape routes
> >
> > There is what looks like a partial tunnel made out of two
> > limestone towers about five hundred feet away and another thirty
> > feet deeper.
> >
> > There is what looks like the remains of a large sunken ship
> > about two hundred feet away and at about this depth.
> >
> > Another is to head further out, and hope to elude the ape
> > creatures.
> >
> > Of course there's always the possibility of trying to sneak
> > back to the shore.
> > [/GM]

> [Ted]
> "Louissa, head for the shipwreck. Maybe we can use it to
> confuse their sonar," Ted suggests.
> [/Ted]

> [Koba]
> "Do you think you can get us there safely Louissa? We need
> to avoid their attention."
> [/Koba]

> [Owen]
> "I agree.  Going back to the beach will only put us back into
> a firefight.  The wreck might supply some cover for us."
> [/Owen]

> [Alex]
> Alex suggests, "We could try the tunnel?" Her armor gives
> her enough life support that underwater time is not a serious
> concern for her
> [/Alex]

> [Lyle]
> "We might want to hid out at the wreck until we can get to
> the tunnel..."
> [/Lyle]

[Louissa]
"The votes seem to be for the shipwreck." Louissa says, biting
her lip, obviously nervous as she glances between the wreck
and the surface above.  With a sigh, she steers the boat
towards the wreck, with a bit more skill, but with no ease.
[/Louissa]

[GM]
As they close in on the wreck they can see more clearly the
kind of ship it once was, some sort of vast tanker.  It looks to
have been torn almost in half, it's hull stretched like butter
spread too thin.  It looked more like it had been pulled apart
than cut into or damaged by explosion.

The vast maw of its split hull opens up before them, the interior
black as night.  A large basking shark looks at them indifferently
as they enter the ruined ship's hull, and suddenly all light is
extinguished.

Louissa fumbles for the lights, and the enormous interior
is revealed.  Details are difficult to see, with the inner hull
encrusted.  Louissa moves the boat as deep into the
interior, as far as she dares, and gently sets the boat down
on to the sediment-covered floor.  She turns the lights out
in the hopes of avoiding being seen.

Minutes pass without any sign of anything.  Those minutes
turn into half an hour.  Suddenly there is a distant sound,
a faint pinging.  It comes and goes, and then, after perhaps
a half an hour it disappears.

It has now been a full hour under the water, and everyone
begins to feel a little faint, the air growing heavy and
stale.  A red light begins to blink on the console, and a
voice speaks urgently in a strange language.
[/GM]

[Louissa]
"We've got to get out of here and to the surface." she
says.  "I think we're running out of air."
[/Louissa]

[GM]
Even as Louissa speaks, they see beams of light in the
distance, outside the sunken ship but sweeping back
and forth.  Those with sixth sense feel danger, but it's
not necessary, the party seems stuck between a rock
and a hard place.

One of the beams flashes over top of their boat,
narrowly missing illuminating them.  It does, however,
seem to illuminate something further back in the
ruined hold of the wreck.  There's another vessel,
a small submarine by the looks of it, about twenty
feet long, height hard to determine because it's
buried in sediment.  After the beam of light
moves away, the sub disappears into the blackness,
but everyone can almost swear they see a red light
start blinking from the direction of that sub.
[/GM]

-- 
Aaron Clausen
mightymartianca at gmail.com