ic I Sea Dead People

[Supercape]

GM

 

Neither spear, not shield, was lowered, but the three Atlanteans stopped their march. 

 

"I do see a Princess Thaelia..." said the leader, pausing and giving a salute with his spear. 

 

"But these are strange days, strange times, and strange tides" he said, spear coming down, pointy end at the heroes. 

 

"This craft is walking in the domain of the Atlanteans. Uninvited and unknown to us. Hidden from us. Are the land men spying on us? or worse? This is a grave matter. This ship had soldiers on board. Not scientists. Soldiers. Why?" he said, slowly and deeply. 

 

As he spoke, the four heroes heard the sound of the Deep Sinker's airlock opening. The sound of marine boots and marine guns, marching towards them...

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia wondered that very question herself.  It was an issued that often came up in international relations with the surface.  Neither land willing to give up any bit of claim to the sea.  Atlantis always went to great lengths to disrupt or disable spying technology as the UN's seaside waystation could attest.  But soldiers?  She could put together how the men met their end.

 

Perhaps it was cultural bias.  But, her knee jerk reaction was to try and rush to the Atlanteans defense.  Looking them down Thaelia saw no reason to feel them as threat.  So even with their spears raised the princess took a step toward the armed soldiers.  Her ears, however, perked up at the sound of boots stomping down the hallway.

 

Far more conscious of the fact the marines would not be so willing to hear their side of the story.  Emotions would be high, especially with the dead bodies lying around.  "Do not attack the humans.  No good shall come of engaging in further conflict at this juncture."

[Supercape]

GM

 

The three Atlanteans paused, spears and shields still high. 

 

"Attack?" said the leader, bold black eyes staring. 

 

"If the Princess of Atlantis...commands it...." he said ever so slowly, his spear drawing upright. "Then it shall be so...Princess" he said, a cold smile on his lips. 

 

Four Marines marched into the mix, assault rifles at the ready, full of alertness and discipline. They must have been elite, or special forces, equipped with all manner of military equipment, from gas grenades to Night Vision goggles. 

 

"What is going on here? Atlanteans? On the walker?" said the leader, a Captain Grimes, by account of his uniform. 

 

His eyes cast down to the two dead marines at his feet. 

 

"Why you dirty little..." he swore, raising his gun to the Atlanteans and jumping his mind to conclusions. 

 

"You will pay for this, you fishy freaks!" he demanded. 

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia presented herself in front of the three Atlanteans.  Standing in front so that she would be the first Atlantean target if any stray gunfire were to begin flying.  "Hold thy fire.  The Daughter of the seas welcomes the thrill of combat.  But violence shall reap no answers.  Stay thy hands so we may discuss matters with civil discourse.  Or face the might of the Glamazon!"

 

The air was tense.  And though Thaelia had made a great many strides in improving her level of patience in such events.  It was still taking a great heft of restraint to not leap forward and simply break their weapons one by one.  She she had a duty to her people.  But she could not afford to also let any crimes that may have been committed go overlooked on their end either.  

 

They had to find out exactly what occurred on this military vessel.  Let alone what the machine was in the first place.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The air was tense with the threat of violence. But none came, second after second, none came. Eyes shifted left, eyes shifted right. Feet shuffled slightly, fingers tightened on spear and trigger. 

 

But none came. 

 

Lt Sparrow put down his rifle first. 

 

"Hold your fire, boys. Not like three Atlanteans gonna be a challenge. Huh, spears and shields. Get with the modern age, fellaz..." he sneered, clicking his automatic weapon to emphasise the point. 

 

"It's true, I don't know who killed these men. Good men. I can tell you, if it was Atlantis, you will pay..." he suggested, before examining the bodies themselves. 

 

The absence of spear wounds, or indeed any wounds, just death by drowning, deepened the mystery and took a sliver of antagonism away from them. 

 

"Well, what the hell did happen here..." he said, angrily, shutting the men's eyes. 

 

"We should get power up again, proper power, see if anything was recorded. Maybe in the bridge..." he suggested, unsure. 

 

The Atlantean leader interrupted. 

 

"You shall not interfere! This vessel is a weapon of war, and now belongs to us! You may repair the engine...but the bridge is ours!" he said, slowly and with an edge. 

[trollthumper]

Great. This was exactly the kind of situation she least wanted to be drawn into - an international incident. Temperance stood at the back, observing the tensions between the Marines and the Atlanteans, letting Thaelia speak for her in this situation. There's really nothing I could say here that would make things better, and a hell of a lot that would make them worse. Her attention drifted across the vessel to the dead Marines - to die down here, in such confusion - and the spirits on the edge of the craft. And then to the Atlanteans...

That was odd. She didn't know much about Atlantean comportment, but they usually had ways of drying off quickly even after extensive travel in the depths - at least, that's what she'd seen from Thaelia. But water still clung to their skin, and ringed their mouths. This was a bit unusual. She kept back, keeping watch on the Atlanteans for anything else unusual.

[Thevshi]

Giang relaxed ever so slightly as the two sides stood down from the escalating likelihood of conflict between them.  The Asian teen had been prepared to use her powers to place a barrier between the two sides, which very likely would have contained them both for at least a short while. 

 

She took the opportunity afforded by the two sides facing off with one another to study the Atlanteans once more, and then the dead Marines.  While the attention of each side was on the other, with Thaelia in the middle, Giang moved over near Myrmidon and Temperance, whispering to the pair.  "Those Atlanteans are under some form of external control.  I can sense large amounts of water within them, even for Atlanteans, and it is deep seawater, heavy with silt and sediment, identical to the seawater I can sense in the lungs of the dead Marines."

[Brown Dynamite]

"That is a most excellent idea.  We shall divide the task of scouring the spider of iron for evidence of fiendish activity."  Thaelia exclaimed. Slamming her fist into her open palm as if it were actually proposed in the first place. Rather than the reality that was the situation being very much on edge.  

 

Neither Captain Grimes nor the Atlantean team leader seemed like the type to acquiesce any ground.  Luckily, the royal was equally stubborn.  She wanted to see the bridge for herself.  Even though the technology found on the bridge would likely go over her head it was of interest ever the same.  In all the turmoil of the dead marines and combative soldiers on either side, the fact that the machine was still technically moving albeit slowly had not been addressed.  Perhaps a hint of what occurred lies in the destination.

 

Out of the corner of her eye she could tell that the other three were discussing something.  But wasn't so fortunate to overhear in the midst of the confrontation thanks to Giang's hushed tone.

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon had not joined in the diplomatic snafu that had happened because his inclination was to put everyone down except his teammates and sort of the mess afterwords. This is exactly why he had confronted the Captain Gomez on the surface and this had just confirmed his suspicions rather pointedly. Still, he made no movements as the two sides confronted each one another other than being ready to launch a preemptive strike before true stupidity broke out. Luckily for all involved, cooler heads prevailed and discourse instead of a firefight broke out.

 

He finished pocketing a spare pistol magazine from one of the bodies when Giang informed him and Lady Temperance of the subverted nature of the Atlantean troops, which tactically had mental alarm bells going off in his mind. Good thing that wearing a mask let him speak without betraying the fact he was speaking or who he was speaking to as he responded quietly back to the pair. "Forcible extraction or dessication might be required to break it then." I'll assist on your mark, Tsunami. Lady Temperance, would you warn the Princess as she might see this as an attack on her people." Myrmidon turned and did a quick series of military sign language gestures at Captain Grimes that stated: Enemy. Compromised. Wait.

[trollthumper]

Oh, yes. Go ask the girl with no experience whatsoever in skullduggery to let the noble know that people under her watch have been compromised, while they're in listening range. It took her a few seconds to desperately put together a solution, but she did have one. "All right. Let me know when you wish to pull it off; if the hold is particularly strong, I can throw in my efforts as well."

She broke off and approached Thaelia, showing as much deference as she could muster under the circumstances. She cleared her throat politely. "My pardons, Princess," she said, "but it appears there is a slight disturbance in the spirit world. As I'm not a native of these depths, I was wondering if you could help me parse just what I'm seeing."

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia looked at Temperance.  Stopping to look back between the soldiers on either end.  Resolved in the knowledge that if came to blows Giang would likely separate the groups with a wall of water. "I am unsure of what assistance I may offer.  But rest assured that the Daughter of the Seas shall provide you what knowledge she can."

 

Ready to move so that she may better assist in parsing whatever it was her ally was seeing  in the ephemeral.  Honestly, no small part of Thaelia was excited by the prospect.  Ever the adventure seeker, exploring an underwater mechanical monstrosity and involving herself in the intricacies of whatever spirit politics Temperance was involving herself in.  Well to the Atlantean princess that sounded like a ripe old time.

[Thevshi]

Giang nodded in agreement as Myrmidon suggested trying to forcefully extract the water from the Atlanteans in order to try to break the control over them.  After he gave a quick series of signals to the commander of the Marine detachment, the Asian teen focused on the lead Atlantean, reaching out with her powers to grasp the water inside him.  Her left hand came up as she pulled the water through the Atlantean's body, causing it to come up back through the stomach and out the mouth, until it was hovering in the air in front of him.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The Atlantean leader dropped to his knees, convulsing, every limb shaking. His spear fell to the floor with a clang that echoed around the empty metal corridors of the walker. 

 

"Ghluh...Gluh...Gluh..." he bubbled, water streaming from his mouth, his ears, his nose. 

 

He shook more violently, collapsing to the floor in a seizure as the water left him. 

 

"Be...ware...be...ware....the Drowned Man...He...is coming...." he gasped between convulsions and spurts of water. 

 

His two comrades sprang into action, with spears raised upwards, then lancing down with force and ferocity. The leader just managed to raise his shield in time. The spear that would otherwise have lanced his throat was caught, stuck in the shield. The other spear lanced his abdomen, clean through, mixing blood with water that pooled around him. 

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon had started moving a split second after the two began attacking their leader. Half a heartbeat later, he had jumped forward and grabbed onto the study metal construction of the ceiling and used that momentum to launch himself at the pair. Twisting his upper body he delivered a split kick into the face of the mind controlled men, feeling and hearing the signature crunch of a broken nose as they met unconsciousness scant seconds later when his attack slammed them headlong into the far wall. Luckily Atlantean armorsmithing proved to be equally as tough as their thick skulls, their helmets sparing them from further cranial damage but not from being knocked insensate.

 

Satisfied the pair were down, Myrmidon turned his attention on the wounded leader and began mentally triaging the patient as he reached for his field medic kit.

[Supercape]

GM

 

The two Atlanteans went down with a not so gentle splash, the floors of the walker wet. As the walker stomped along the ocean floor, the puddles and streams lolled this way and that, gently splashing against walls, boots, and now three Atlantean bodies. 

 

Myrmidon's examination of the leader was revealing and serious. He was not dying. At least not yet, but he was bleeding badly, his organs splintered. He needed surgery, but at least Myrmidon could stop the bleeding. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't nice. 

 

"No...no..morphine...." said the Atlantean through gritted teeth. 

 

"You must stop this machine. It houses a dreadful weapon. And the Drowned man...grrrrnt....he wants it...you must stop him...we heard rumours of the dread lord of the deepest seas for years. But nothing....grnnnt...no nothing could prepare us for....grrnt....him. He is unstoppable...and yet you must...grrrnt....uhhhh...he will crush the world...sea and land....how could we know how....grrnt...." and then he passed out from the pain. 

[Thevshi]

Giang still had the water she had removed from the Atlantean leader in the air in front of her, as she was somewhat caught off guard by the quick reaction of the two other Atlanteans to stab him as he gasped warnings about the "Drowned Man."  Myrmidon quickly reacted, knocking the two remaining Atlantean soldiers unconscious with relative ease.

 

She listened closely as Myrmidon treated the Atlantean leader, who reveled more information about the vessel they were on, and what this Drowned Man was planning.  She then turned to regard Thaelia and the Marines.  "This water was somehow controlling him."  She stated, indicating the water hovering in the air and the Atlantean leader.  "Both of them have the same water inside of them," the Asian teen gestured to the two unconscious Atlanteans, "and it also appears to be what killed them."  She concluded, pointing to the dead Marines.

[Supercape]

GM

 

Lt. Sparrow, the leader of the Marines, slowly put down his assault rifle and held up his fist to his men. Stand down, his meaning. He and his men had been ready to blow some new breathing holes in the Atlanteans, and probably would have if Myrmidon had not acted first. 

 

"Mind control? By drowning?"

 

It was a strange concept, but these were strange days. 

 

He looked down to the water by his boots, worried. 

 

"The Walker...it should be air tight...how could they drown here?"

 

The lights flickered. 

 

"We need to get power back up. And check the seals..."

[Thevshi]

Giang gave the Marine officer a questioning look as he asked how the other Marines could have drowned inside the airtight vehicle.  "Am I not manipulating the water I removed and causing it to float in the air?"  She asked.  "Temperance can similarly control water.  There are others know to posses this ability as well.  It is not hard to imagine that this 'Drowned Man' could well have some means of controlling water as well."

 

"Whatever the case, clearly someone had sought to take control over this vessel.  We need to determine why, and what they intend to do with it, given what the Atlantean I released says about the armament of this vessel."

[Brown Dynamite]

Thaelia was in a heft of confusion.  If not for being distracted by Temperance, she wasn't sure whom she would have tried to attack once the scene turned to pure chaos.  Tsunami's explanation afterwards further elevating her unease.  The sensation to want to throttle something lingered.  She needed to find this Drowned Man.

 

Making her way to Lt. Sparrow, the tall demigoddess looked directly at the soldier.  She tried surface diplomacy to no avail.  Now it was time for a warrior's diplomacy.  "Tell us the purpose of this monstrosity.  Now.  There shall be no quarter given if thy tongue is held further.  The lives of your fallen comrades are on your hands.   If it is vengeance you seek then allow the Daughter of the Seas to reap it in honor of your fallen men and the subdued swords of Atlantis. Your knowledge is needed."

[trollthumper]

Temperance looked up at the water that drifted in Tsunami's hands. It was clear that she did indeed have it under control. Then again, that water apparently had a means of exerting its own form of control. Which left another problem...

 

"You seem to have the matter in hand," she said, "but there is the issue that the water may, in fact, be... willful. If it is capable of turning people into puppets, it may be capable of other tricks." She took a quick look around the Walker; everything in here was Greek to her, but maybe she'd be able to find something familiar. "This place has to have a munitions locker, a vacuum-sealed chamber - something that would serve as another bulwark if the water decides to get... tempestuous." 

[Supercape]

GM

 

Captain Sparrow looked at Temperance square in the eye. 

 

"I have my orders, ma'am. Find out what is down here, secure it. That's as far as it goes. This is a military operation, you guys, well, I know you are the kings and queens of the seas. For some of you, literally the kings and queens. Truth is, your country needs you on this. But still, its a military operation, and I have my orders" he said. He slung his rifle back and held up his hands to indicate he was standing down. 

 

But it was standing down from firing. Not breaking his orders, his word. 

 

When Temperance spoke up, he nodded. 

 

"A Pressure Shelter? Sure, every submersile has got one. A retreat. An escape pod, even, if you will. Probably something to secure" he agreed.

 

"But without power, this place is a deathtrap. First we gotta see if we can't juice her up. Should be able to. It was walking. But somethings shorted" he indicated the flickering lights. 

 

"Time to spread out and sweep" he said. Whether that was a command or a request depended on the listeners viewpoint...

[Thevshi]

Giang listened a moment as the Marine captain made his comments and then began to set out a plan of action. The Asian teen shook her head slightly. "I understand the danger with this vessel not seeming to operate at full capacity captain, but that is not really a concern for most of us. Perhaps you and your men should wait in the Sinker if you are concerned about a failure in hull integrity or other issues."

"They wanted us to make repairs to this walker." She continued, pointing at the unconscious Atlanteans. "Which likely means that whom or whatever was controlling them wants the repairs made. Until we have a better understanding of what is happening here, we should not be doing anything that will increase the operational capacity of this walker. Right now it is moving slowly along, which gives us time."

[Semi-Autogyro]

Myrmidon had been unable to add to the discussion as he was more concerned about the Atlantean soldier currently bleeding out on him. Field surgery was never pretty and John was positive that were the Atlantean a normal man he'd probably die of sepsis even though he had stopped him from bleeding out on the floor. The clone finished up the last of the stitches and rechecked his handiwork. The man would live, but sport what was likely to be an impressive scar later on.

 

Grabbing a towel from his medical kit to wipe off his hands, he stood up and tossed the blood soaked cloth to the side as he fished out a pair of industrial strength zip-ties to secure the unconscious Atlanteans. He paused for a second before ripping apart a clean towel and gagging the two men as well. "These men can be secured in the pressure hatch and the casualty can be moved to the Deep Sinker as he is stable at the moment. I'd put them all under guard, as a precaution." The clone hero stated to the group before facing the Marine leader.

 

"It is inconceivable with the information present that you think you can secure this vessel, Captain Sparrow. Unless you and your men are somehow immune to what both Lady Temperance and Miss Tsunami have identified as semi-sentient water with malignant intentions." Myrmidon gestured at the two dead marines. "To which these dead men rather prove that point. Spreading out only invites you and your men to be picked off or subsumed individually. As my colleague has said the bigger issue is that this vessel and whoever is operating it needs to be destroyed or rendered inert before it reaches wherever it is headed. Sooner rather than later."

Edited October 26, 2014 by Semi-Autogyro

[Supercape]

GM

 

Captain Sparrow must have lowered and raised his weapon at least twice as he contemplated the assorted wisdom thrown at him. However sensible Tsunami was, she was a teen. Myrmidon, however, was, in his mind, a solider, and worthy of attention. 

 

"We do seem to have an...unknown...adversary" he conceded. "Which changes the mission parameters. But we still have to secure this vessel, no matter what is in it" he explained. 

 

"We can start with those fish men" he said, undiplomatically referring to the Atlanteans. "Lock em into the Pressure Hatch. Best we got, I agree. But then we need to go the bridge of this vessel. See if we can find out what is going on" he decided, putting down his assault rifle and flicking the safety on. 

[Brown Dynamite]

Glamazon punched the wall without holding her hair trigger temper back for a moment longer.  The glare lingering on her face fully showing how tested.  Thaelia had her own prejudices of course.  Serpent People and Deep Ones are the epitome of evil or that was what she was raised to believe.  Even if there were somehow Serpent People or Deep Ones that challenged her preconceived notions it would take some convincing to actually have her budge on that.  Almost ironic was exactly how flabbergasted she always found herself with how low regard the surface dwellers held her people. Unable to see that they too had their own preconceived notions.

 

Gritting her teeth as she made her way over to the unconscious Atlantean soldiers.  Making no movement towards the one who was stabbed multiple times as he was supposedly cured and badly injured.  Knowing full well it was for everyone's safety to keep them separate from the rest of them.  No matter how necessary an act, she was certainly not happy about it.  As long as their bodies are wrought with dark possessions, it is the duty of a princess of Atlantis to keep their turmoil from harming the innocent.

 

"If you dare dishonor the name of Atlantis further, the princess of Atlantis shall show you a real adversary.  Now, treat the injured." There was no threat this time. As far as Thaelia was concerned that was a declaration. Not even waiting for her comrades she would begin heading for the pressure hatch. Making the bridge next on her destinations.

Edited October 29, 2014 by HG Morrison