(IC) April Showers Bring...

[Heritage]

Casey nodded, happy to help; she flew to were she was instructed, and held out her arms. "Look, if we need to carry a lot of gear, just load me up; I can handle a few tons and still fly." She found several coils of nylon anchor line, nice strong stuff, that she added to the impromptu team's stores. "Don't worry about a wetsuit for me, unless we happen to have extra; it takes a lot for me to get cold, and I'd rather save them for anyone out on that ship."

She finally had a moment to look up the weather; as a Girl Scout, pilot and someone who flew on her own, she kept some pretty comprehensive weather apps on her phone.

[The Sailor]

Sakurako looked over. "You... can't hold your breath for a long time, can you, Casey?"

"In fact anyone here don't need air underwater? I'd hate to have to dive in alone. But if you can't, might be a good idea to help people on the surface..." She said, hurredly looking about... "Let's see if we can at least find one or two rafts, or a few more wet-suits. If you're not confident with the water, make sure you've drownproofed yourself..."

Sakurako seemed to know what she was talking about. "I've been through a pretty big disaster before, this isn't any worse than that. And hopefully with fewer casualties if we can get there fast."

She raised her hand. "And before you guys mention that little incident in the simulator with that ocean fight simulation..." She closes her helmet. "I got onboard life support now, no need for a external tank anymore. I'm good. Umm... and... I do got a life preserver on this time too."

She looks at the group. "And trust me, we've got this. Heck, having Casey here is a huge asset." She said, patting her shoulder. She's got our back!

Edited May 8, 2015 by Osprey

[Mad Scientist]

Eileen -- well, more accurately 'Cerulean' at the moment -- obligingly started casting about, searching for the described life rafts.

"Well, I'm not going to need a wet suit , or a dry suit, or anything like that," she said as she drifted through the room, not quite touching the floor.  "Or a life jacket!  And it doesn't matter that I can't breathe underwater, because I'm sure not going underwater!" the costumed blonde asserted hotly.  She wasn't even sure that she'd be able to make herself go out over the water, let alone getting anywhere near it.

Casey's assertion that she could fly about while carrying tons was a little disheartening.  "Um, you'd better carry most of the stuff," she acknowledged.  "If I've got more than, like twenty-five pounds of cargo, I start to slow down."  Whatever powers she did have, super strength definitely wasn't one of them.  "So, uh, I won't be carrying anyone while flying either, sorry."  That sort of thing seemed to be fairly common according to popular culture, but it sure wasn't in her bag of tricks.

"Ah-hah," she exclaimed, and pulled out a collapsed life raft.  She examined it critically before turning back to the others, holding it out.

"...we're gonna need a bigger boat."

[Hestina]

Vicki was listening as she was still tossing equipment into the tear in the universe.  As they talked about rescue strategies, she wondered how many people could stay in her own pocket.  She'd never had more than two people in there at a time and she was worried that it might be too much to fit most of a crew of a ship in there.  Still, she should be able to fit a reasonable amount of equipment and hopefully save a few people who needed it.  As for swimming, well, she was reasonably adept at it, and with her ability to teleport out of danger easily, she wasn't too worried about drowning.  Besides, if worse came to worse, she could always hide out in her own dimensional pocket.  To be on the safe side, she made sure to grab some fancy packed emergency rations and toss them into the hole along with the other things she had gathered.

Glancing about the room, checking for opposite sexed individuals, she quickly stripped down and started tugging on the underlayer to the drysuit.  No sense in waiting until they were already at the location to get ready.  While she wasn't going to put the whole suit on, as she would roast, this part would do not only to be ready, but also as a costume of sorts,  The body hugging stocking material was close enough to her size to fit, and she felt reasonably comfortable.  How long that would last would be another question.

When she was dressed, she looked to the small group, "How are we going to get there?" her phone chirped out at the people frantically gathering equipment.

[Mad Scientist]

As Vicki began to struggle into the components of her dry suit, Cerulean began to shed a cold, blue light that chased away the shadows in the storage shed and brought the room up to full illumination.  Her featureless blue eyes almost seemed to glow as well under this light, but didn't appear to be actually doing so -- although truth be told, even if they were it wouldn't have been anything particularly unusual, all things considered.

"Well, I can fly," she explained unnecessarily, as her feet were still a few inches off the floor even now.  "But like I said, I won't be carrying much weight, so I'm only going to be good to get myself out there -- unless you can somehow let me get a grip on your bigger-on-the-inside and tow you along inside it," she suggested.  She wasn't quite sure what the other two were capable of, other than the fact that Casey could fly, so she looked to them next to explain their transport capability -- or lack thereof.

[The Sailor]

Sakurako smiled. "I'll carry you, Hestina. Miracle Girl's and Cerulean's best flight speed is marked at 500 miles per hour, that and Miracle girl will already be carting kit." She said looking over to Cerulean. "And trust me those rafts look better when activated."

She smiled getting things sorted. "Hestina, I've seen you in phys-ed during the swimming class, you're pretty good, but remember there's probably a good chop going on out there, that'll make things much harder. Luckily those airliners I found are dual cell, you can inflate one of the two air bladders and keep afloat and still be able to swim decently well once we arrive. If you get into trouble you can pull the other toggle and drowning isn't an issue even in this weather. You're our main rescue swimmer. I'll stick with you, while MG and Cerulean organize things dropping things where needed."

Endeavor starts handing three life vests to each member of the team. "Cerulean, Hestina, Miracle Girl, put one of those vests on. I might be dropping Hestina into the water to help with survivors to get them into one of our rafts. We should carry one raft each of us. They're four person models so we can get 12 people. I'm hoping their ship is up to code and has it's own survival equipment as well. Only in an emergency do I want you guys diving in after someone, got it?"

Endeavor buckled up her mission vest, which almost looked like a pilot's survival vest but red. "I do have one fully loaded med-kit, hopefully we won't need it much."

"Also by what I know of everyone here, I'm the only person who can actually spend time under water... time to learn how to swim the hard way." She said, swapping in a cap on her life preserver's inflator making it manual-only activation. "Luckily my thrusters work underwater."

She looked over the suiting up group as her suit took on it's international orange and red rescue colors. Once they were done she put her hand on Hestina's shoulder. "Ready, everyone?"

[Mad Scientist]

"Nope!" Cerulean replied immediately.  "But let's do this anyway!"  She absolutely did not want to put on a life vest -- putting on a life vest was admitting that it was possible that a scenario in which she needed one was possible.  She didn't want to admit that.

But the fact that just such a scenario might happen anyhow, and she might end up not having one because she was being stubborn was a more terrifying idea than the alternative.  So, she pulled one on over her head and fastened it about her, her hands trembling slightly as she worked.  The presence of the flotation device didn't interfere with the light she was emitting at all -- it was as if the light was simply there, rather than radiating from her body.

Abruptly, she seemed to split into half a dozen identical copies of herself, clustered closely together, and just as quickly merged back into one.  She didn't seem aware that it had happened, however.

"I'll...do what I can," she told the others, her eyes wide, the spare life vests and one of the life rafts clutched tightly to her well-defined chest.  The vest she was wearing at least was a little more cover than her powered-up form usually offered -- about the only reason she might be at all happy she had it on, at the moment.

[The Sailor]

"There's something my Dad told me at Fukushima, Cerulean... "Courage isn't not being afraid, it's being afraid and doing what you gotta do anyways." I think it applies here."

Endeavor stretches out, getting ready to carry Hestina. It was going to be a load carrying roughly 120 pounds of person with 5-10 pounds of worn kit, but Sakurako didn't need to fly flat-out. "We should keep to a height of 10 feet from the tops of the waves. Particularly as I'll be carrying and dropping in Hestina. That and if I somehow drop her, I can quickly get to her and the chances of injury are slim."

"Luckily I won't have to fly my top speed to keep up anymore." Endeavor said.

Noting Cerulean's light show, she had a question. "Can you light an area? Might need that for illuminating survivors in dark areas, or signalling rescue craft. Particularly if you can use different colors." Sakurako said, making sure Cerulean's belt on the vest was secure. She saw Cerulean was fumbling slightly... "Red and Orange come to mind, the human eye sees those colors the easiest. But white and blue can work if bright enough."

[Hestina]

Vicki nodded listening serriously, she was glad that Sakurako was making try the plans.  This was bigger than anything that she had done before.  It was one thing to break up a robbery or stop a mugging, but so far it had only been her life on the line.  Risking your life was your own choice, but risking another's life?  That was scary.  She tried her best to remember her lifeguard training from a few summers back and hoped it would be enough.  However, there was something that she did need to let Sakurako know so she raised her arm and waved it vigourously to get her attention.

Then stepping over, she gently touched her shoulder, figuring that since time was limited, she could be a little less polite about asking, her thoughts flowed across the contact, <"Sakurako, I can also open a portal to a safe place.  I think I could probably fit... I don't know 20 people in there if I had too?  It moves with me, and I can go into it as well if it's an emergency.  Just, hen I'm in it, I have to come out where I went in.  It might come in handy because if you can fly me out, we can fly them out.  But I do have to get them in there...">

 

[Heritage]

Casey grumbled slightly about putting on the vest; she didn't feel she really needed it, but her safety-conscious friend would never let her hear the end of it if something went wrong, so she finally obliged. "I can hold my breath for three minutes, double that if I get a good breath in." She dug into a pocket on her 'bug-out belt' and produced a small device attached to a mouthpiece. "And this little doohicky gives me another two minutes, so I'm good for at least eight if I have to go underwater."

Using some of the anchor line, she improvised a harness in the blink of an eye, which she looped around her designated raft, allowing her to sling it over her shoulders backpack style; a quick release knot would allow her to drop it in the water at a moment's notice. The harness itself was strong enough to support several carabiners, which she'd found with the rope. At times like this, the experienced Scout become much less talkative as she ritualistically checked and rechecked her gear. She strapped on her headlamp, switching it to maximum brightness.

"I can add another raft, if we need it." She thumped her chest twice. "I could just strap it on in front." Then she frowned slightly. "Actually, how much can you carry when you're airborne, Saku? Maybe I should take Vicki."

 

Edited May 13, 2015 by Heritage

[The Sailor]

Then it hit Endeavor as she took the long cord for her life raft and set it up like a bag strap, sliding the three life preservers she had into it... "Crap... you're right. When I was fishing that dummy out of the pool that was so embarassing... and a bit painful, I think I sprained my arm for a week..."

She blushed for a moment. "I think Casey can keep a better grip on you, Hestina. And good idea on the rafts, Casey. And... I think you're competing with me for "Miss Prepared 2015" now." She said with a grin. "Okay, let's try to get this carnival rolling. Want me to scout ahead and scope the situation? You guys are 500 mph fliers last clocked, I just rated my engines supersonic, luckily the flight field is just enough to keep my gear from being effected."

"I can assess the situation and radio back to the team." She said, swiping a few controls on her smart phone. and a message pops up on Hestina's smart phone.

You have recieved "common text soundboard" app from Sakurako
Accept | Deny

"There is the common word app, it'll play at full volume, by design. The two common red controls are "LOOK OUT" and "OVER THERE". You can change it as needed with a few drag and drops."

She looked over to Hestina.  "We can keep that plan of yours as a plan B... If things get out of hand." She thought, once she touched Hestina again.

"Now... we need to go..."

[Mad Scientist]

Cerulean shifted nervously from foot to foot -- an interesting thing, considering she wasn't touching the ground.

"Um, well, I can light up an area around, I guess, five hundred feet across?" she replied dubiously.  "So yeah, we shouldn't have any trouble seeing at least.  I can't do anything with the colour, sorry -- it's blue or nothing.  That's why I'm calling myself Cerulean," she babbled.  Of course, it was likely a name she'd have to explain to people on a regular basis, so it might not have been the best choice, all things considered.

The app that Saku sent to Vicki was pretty cool, and would hopefully be of use.  She had gotten to know her roomie fairly well over that past few days, and she knew she stressed about things more than she let on.

Crossing the index fingers of both hands, she swept them parallel to the floor out away from her body while looking inquisitively at Vicki.  >Are you ready?<

She herself was only barely classified as 'ready', but there wasn't any more time.  Leaving a glowing blue trail in the air that quickly faded behind her, she moved outside and waited for the others to join her and....

*shudder*

...head out to sea.

[Hestina]

Vicki listened intently to the other girls as they began to plan on how to get out to sea.  Time was something that they all were painfully aware of especially as there had been no tranmissions in the past few minutes which did not bode well.  She shuddered thinking of what was happening and resolved herself to do whatever it took to get the sailors to safety.  She knew that the coast guard would be coming, but hopefully they could make sure they weren't too late.

Of course... dad will kill me if I have to be rescued by the Coast Guard, she thought to herself.  Matter of professional pride and all.

Catching the sign that Eileen flashed to her, she responsed with a simple head nod letting them know she was ready as she stepped over to Casey.  Up up and away indeed!

[Hestina]

(GM)

It didn't take Sakuraku long to get there, not having to worry about passengers or having a fear of flight helped out the brilliant teen.  What she saw while hovering was disconcerting.  The ship had rolled and the deck was partially submerged.  Debris from the cargo containers was strewn all over the surface, bobbing in the ten foot waves as rain slashed down in sheets.  There was a seeming tortured metallic groaning coming from deep within the hull of the ship that seemed to echo like a death knell, the noise clearly heard even over the chaos of the storm.  Several men and women clung to parts of the ship, scrabbling for purchase, or perhaps trying to get to the single life vessel that seemed to have managed to remain upright.

The bridge of the ship seemed mostly out of the water, but the whole crew area was slowly sinking into the frigid Atlantic waters.  An eerie glow from the emergency lighting cascaded out of the crew area casting a pale hue to everything.  Several of the cargo containers must have had lighter cargo as they were floating off on their own near the ship, even as others dipped down into the dark depths.  Sakurako knew they wouldn't have much time and anyone in the water was in serious danger of freezing if they were in there too long.

Casey, Eileen and Vicki would be moments behind, it was time to act fast!

[The Sailor]

"Gang... ship's in the process of capsizing, there's people in the water already. I'm going to check the interior."

Sakurako grabs the toggle of the life raft and tosses the bag to the water near a concentration of the crew, it hisses to life as it hits the water. She shouted down to the people in the water as the raft's beacon starts blinking. they could see the bright orange and red suit Sakurako had and knew she was there to help. "OKAY! I got more people coming! I'll check inside for anyone trapped in the ship!" Endeavor shouted, hovering over a unoccupied cargo container. Sakurako flies up to the door on the still exposed crew deck. "Is there anyone still in there?" Endeavor shouted back down to the people in the water. Someone could help if someone knew where someone might be inside.

She switches to her comlink... "There, that door that's above water, that's my entry point. But what caused this to start to sink... I'll have to investigate that later... there's lives to save. I might be riding this ship down, so don't come rushing in here, you guys. Focus on the survivors in the water."

[Mad Scientist]

Despite the fact that Miracle Girl was loaded down not only with rescue gear but also with a passenger, Cerulean wasn't any sort of sure thing to beat her out to the site of the emergency.  For one, her reluctance to gain any sort of real altitude kept her limited to following the streets through the city proper, streaking by low overhead of traffic and pedestrians while she kept her speed down to a point where she wouldn't start causing problems with sonic booms.

For another, when she reached the waterfront she pulled up short, equally reluctant to venture out over the deep water -- certainly not into the dark storm clouds she could see massed low on the horizon.  She dithered back and forth for long moments, shifting from foot to foot in thin air, before guilt and obligation both forced her out over the water.  She streaked at top speed, pushing herself as fast as she could go in an attempt to get this over with as soon as possible, and a rolling boom of displaced air followed in her wake as she came close to hitting Mach 3.  She was probably a little higher over the water than she managed over land, both out of a desire to stay further away from the plunging ocean depths and the fact that the ocean surface was a lot more difficult to judge the distance from than the familiar proportions of a city environs.

Entering the storm was far from a picnic, and she shivered uncomfortably as the chill rain pelted against her.  She wasn't comfortable telling anyone this, but from the way things felt when they touched her powered-up outfit, she may as well have been naked.  But she wasn't naked, she knew that.  It was just a blue and gold outfit that she couldn't remove that provided no sensory protection from the elements whatsoever.  That was much better.  Really.

While visibility wasn't great because of the storm winds and rain, within the range of her own light Cerulean had no difficulty seeing clearly.  It seemed that even natural weather events weren't able to restrict her vision, something that she hadn't been aware of.  It wasn't extremely difficult to locate the foundering ship and the ongoing rescue effort, but as she approached the ship the sense of perspective it gave made her aware of not only just how large the ocean swells were, but what her altitude was.

She was, unsurprisingly, immediately torn between a desire to descend to a safer height, and a desire to climb further away from the frankly terrifying surface of the heaving ocean.  Caught between two of the more disturbing prospects she could think of, she ended up doing something that wasn't particularly helpful -- freezing in place, her mind running frantically back and forth between two equally undesirable options.

[Heritage]

Seeing as weight really wasn't a problem for her, Casey went ahead and added a second raft to her back before she approached Eileen. "Okay, we're going to do this real simple; one arm across your chest and one across your abdomen. Once we pick up speed, the wind should pull your legs straight back." The blonde smiled. "I will not drop you." She crossed her thumb and little finger across her palm, "Scout's Honor."

And with that, she very gently crossed her arms over Vicki's torso; it felt like boarding a roller coaster, when they pulled the padded shoulder harness over your head, comfortable but very very firm. And then they lifted up and swiftly flew outside; once they had a good height, Miracle Girl quickly picked up speed. There was a giddy rush, like the first big hill on that proverbial coaster, but it kept on going and going as the acceleration increased. For a quick second, Vicki blacked out when Casey went a hair too fast for her passenger, but consciousness quickly returned. And then the firm strong hand of deceleration pushed her torso as they quickly came to a halt.

The sight was indeed a grim one, with the rolling sea all around them and the cargo ship struggling in the water; the flying teen dropped her two rafts into the water by two large clumps of people, then floated close to the ship itself. She reached down and grabbed Vicki's hand.

<"Where do you want me to put you down?">

[Hestina]

Hestina was still trying to clear the fog that seemed to pervade her thoughts.  Casey's flight had been sudden, violent, and fast.  Something she had not expected, or been prepared for in any way.  Yet, all of that didn't matter now as it had served to get them to the sinking ship quickly.  With the wind whipping around them in a deafening crecendo, for once, she did not mind her inability to speak.  Nothing she would have said would have been audible over the slashing winds.

<"There is a group of men and women clustered together.  If you can put me down there I can get them into rafts... but I am worried about Endeavor and Cerulean... they're going to need help!  I don't even know where Cerulean is and I'm worried about her.">

One of the summers on base, Vicki had done lifeguarding... but looking at the rolling sea below her, she wondered if anything that the learned would be applicable.

<"Good luck and be safe!  I won't be able to contact you... so I'll fire a flare if I need help!">

[Hestina]

(GM) 

Four men and two women hoisted themsleves over into the life raft that miraculously appeared, coughing and sputtering as they struggled to give back the sea water which they consumed in the rough sea.  As Endeavor hovered over them, one of the women finally looked up, seeming to hear her call for the first time.  Her clothes were soaked through and she was shivering, but she shouted something back which Saku could barely make out.

"The Captain is still on the bridge... and I think the engine crew is trapped when a bulkhead sealed!"

Indeed, as the bridge tilted more into the dark waters, Saku could see at least two people struggling with a bulkhead trying to get out of the bridge.  The door seemed to be resisting them, whether it was due to gravity, preassure or the ominous sound of failing and bending steel was not known.

Meanwhile, as Casey dropped Vicki into the water, her flight revealed a gaping wound along the side of the hull.  It was the source of much of the metalic rending noises as the forces which acted on the ship slowly broke it in half, exposing some of the interior of the hold and mechanicals.  It was out of the water at the moment, but as the ship rolled more, it was dipping perilously towards the surface.  If it reached the murky churning water, the descent into the depths would be swift and unstoppable.

[Mad Scientist]

As everyone else scrambled into action, dropping rafts and zipping about productively, Ceruelan forced herself in closer to the critically damaged ship.  Her light still shone about her, its brilliance dimmed somewhat by the rain to all eyes but hers, yet still giving greater clarity to the immediate area.  Her heart surged in her throat every time the ship seemed to plunge toward her on the stormy waves, and it was a matter of effort to maintain her position against the wind.

This was horrible!  She had never been more terrified in her life, and she wasn't entirely sure if having powers was worth it if this was the sort of situation she was going to find herself in.

Moving up near Endeavour where she was hovering, Cerulean shouted to try and make herself heard over the roar of the storm.

"What's going on?" she yelled.  "What can I do?"

[The Sailor]

Endeavor nodded to the survivors in the water as she turned to Cerulean. "Help the Captain and whoever else is with them once they're outside into a raft. I'm going in to save the engineering crew." She said, tapping her helmet. "Full life support. And the flight system works in water, so I'm good. I can get them out lickety-split."

"I'll just need one of your life vests so I can handle having 4 with me." She said, slinging her rope over her shoulder.

Once Cerulean handed off a folded and packaged life vest, she went to the door, and using her EM wand's ability to magnetically manipulate steel she pointed it at the outside door to the bridge and pulled back like a fishing rod. Her wand could multiply that simple pull so many times over. There was no way she thought it could resist her. "Time to be the can opener!"

[Mad Scientist]

Cerulean handed over a life vest almost on reflex, because her brain was still running about in little, gibbering circles at her proximity to a raging, windblown ocean -- and that proximity being airborne.  Captain?  Engineering crew?

"...but you can't go in there!" she protested futilely as Endeavour departed.  "The ship is breaking up!"  She pointed to the large and growing rent in the side of the vessel, a gaping wound just ready to let the ocean pour in and send her to the depths.  She felt so...useless.  She could light up the area, fine, she was doing that.  But what else could she do?  Anything else she was capable of would just put more holes in the hull of the ship, and as far as she could tell, that was the opposite of productive.

What was she even doing out here?  Was she crazy -- she couldn't do an ocean rescue!

[The Sailor]

"Cerulean!" Endeavor shouted, pulling her EMWand, fighting with the door. "I can go deep, remember?" She says, tapping her helmet. "Now take care of those on the surface! If there is anyone who knows how to deal with a impending unplanned rapid disassembly it's me! Make sure Hestina stays safe! Miracle Girl's gonna have her hands full!"

Endeavor changed the frequency on her wand, strengthening her pull, fighting to help free up the bridge. "Come on.... Come on... I know this bulkhead isn't tested to handle this much force!" She thought, looking like some Potter-like witch, casting some sort of spell.

"Please... We're in this together, Cerulean!! I believe in you! If you can't believe in yourself, then believe in that!"

[Heritage]

It hadn't even occurred to Casey how dangerous it was for a mute to be out on the open ocean, unable to call for help; the fact that Vicki had still volunteered without hesitation said a lot about her classmate's commitment to helping others.

But there was little time for idle speculation; the blonde powerhouse simply offered Hestina a crisp salute, then flew down to inspect the damage to the hull. The tear was long, but she might be able to bend it back into place; if someone could seal it, at the very least it could buy the crew some more time. Endeavor looked to be busy, which left Cerulean; wait, where was she? Casey's eyes darted about until she saw her classmate, clearly overcome with fear.

What's that word? Thalassophobia?

In a flash, she weaved her way up to the floating girl through the pouring rain, her own golden glow merging with Eileen's blue one as she got closer. Her face drifted close to Cerulean's as she shouted to be heard over the tumult, her long damp hair plastered to her head.

"Look Eileen, I get that you're scared; so am I! You just have to put that fear in a box and deal with it later, when nobody's life is on the line!" She pointed down at the people bobbing in the rafts. "Those people can't fly; you can! That's all there is to it!" Then she pointed at the gaping tear in the hull. "If I can pull that closed, can you light it up and fuse the metal, like a giant welder?"

[Mad Scientist]

Oh sure, easy for her to say -- Miracle Girl could hang out for prolonged periods under water without ill effect -- and for all she herself knew, getting immersed in water would snuff out her powers entirely!

The question posed needed an answer, however.

"I...don't know!" she called back over the sound of the storm.  "I put holes in things, not put them back together!  I'd have to maintain a beam, and the only way I know how to do that would probably finish the ship outright rather than put it back together and this is  a horrible time to experiment because what if things go horribly wrong and it makes things worse instead of better??"  Part of the reason she was babbling was the fact that, apparently, her roommate's safety had been placed in her hands, and there was absolutely no way she could do anything to help her if she got in trouble.

She was feeling well out of her depth here, and despite everyone's well-intentioned advice to just calm down already, it didn't seem to be helping any.