Ch 3 The river flows to the ocean

[Janxi]

Taking care not to injure Trassk, Janxi twitched her tail to break free of his grasp. With her strength, it was akin to pulling a wet silk rope from a baby. Her tail, now free, swished back and forth most impatiently, though her hackles were not yet raised. She gave the warrant officer a few more blinks before she turned to Socrates, giving him a long, silent, and unblinking stare. The Jaglion would love to shove him through the observation bubble for a closer look, but decided the whole conflict would be better dealt with later than now.

Her small partner was right about more than one thing. The biggest being when this mission was over, Socrates was getting his very own blanket party. With the crisis averted for now, she groomed herself sitting beside Tori, as every dignified cat would do, starting at her shoulders, armored as they were, working to her paws and then cleaning her face. The cats weren't brandishing weapons in a gauche manner, merely grooming to demonstrate their haughtiness.

[dakota]

Janxi realized Shep let go as she pulled away. He returned to his corner and replaced his helmet.

The sub captain answered Tori," They do not speak you language because we do not speak it in the New German Republic. " He looked at Sam. " Your people may use the crew compartment if you wish, we will not leave our stations much until you arrive at your destination."

[Mierin]

Sam smiles politely as she nods at the sub's captain. "Thank you. Your hospitality is appreciated." To her crew, she says "If anyone wants to get some rest before we arrive at our destination, now's your chance."

[Renekin Skywalker]

Socrates opts to stay in the fore area, out of peoples' way and enjoying the view.

[sasqaricious]

Autumn stays with Richardson still trying to keep his nerves down in the cramped quarters.

[Tori]

"Ohh a German? I ain't never met one of them." Tori smiled to the Chief. She aped true American form, and played like volume and slow pacing could overcome a language barrier.

"How do you do?" She smiled to the chief, speaking slightly louder and markedly slower than her usual laconic Texan drawl.

While Triax and the NGR were allies with the CS, she was more than aware the German nation was also a trading partner of Free Quebec. She looked at her own, Triax-made rifle and smiled a fangy grin.

One false diplomatic move could mean no more CS-NGR alliance, and an open trade of arms with Quebec. She did not know how many of the other sailors were Krauts, but if the Chief of the Boat was a Hun, the American captain could find himself overboard, or worse. She had no clue how well CS officers and engineers had assessed this boat, but there was always potential the boat could be used in anger against the Coalition. Perhaps the Captain was the only American officer to serve onboard. An extra set of eyes on NGR naval capability could only help the CS, if Triax remained friendly, or decided to cut ties. Besides, there was always the chance Triax could sell some to Quebec, and the frogs could use the little boats against the CS in a future war.

Maintaining a bored look, Tori remained on the bridge to assess the boat, weapons, speed, max-depth, sensors, etc. Now and then, she would gaze at the sonar station to read for potential enemies, and to get a better assessment of the sonar's range on the mini-sub.

Rolls:
Intel: [dice=100] Needs 42
Read sensors: [dice=100] needs 40[rand=0428803740852081717878624504825824407636859328700756897359040541713]

[dakota]

The chief smiled and nodded in response, but his attention was clearly on operations of the boat.

Shep got up slowly. His words were measured," no one else is jumping, but I'll be next door." He ducked into the cabin, making sure he had his gear with him.

the captain smirked as Shep left," He would not last long in our navy if this bothers him."

as Soc (and anyone else watching) looked, he could see the riverbottom deepen sharply as they entered the main channel. From the looks of things, the u-boat was making very good speed for it's size.

[Renekin Skywalker]

Socrates's glance went from the channel to the river's surface above them, then back to the river'S channel. THis was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him, and so much more interesting than flying. He felt bad for Shep and Richardson that they weren't able to enjoy it.

Perception: [dice=20][rand=89546566778198791144883687410927146038728448235182698913251162832]

[Dome]

Richardson looks around the inside of the sub, "Yeah, I'll be glad when this part of the mission is over. Hopefully we get to drive out."

[Tori]

"Some drammamine will cut down on motion sickness til we get out of the surf zone and under the waves, Boss," Tori said to Shep as he excused himself. "Help ya sleep, too."

Tori took careful note of the sub. She looked casual, but noted the purpose and assessed the capability of every system, and the boat itself. It compared well to CSN boats, and like most Triax products, was state of the art. With her hopefully unnecessary bit of spying complete, she relaxed and enjoyed the view. The skipper's comment struck her as funny, as she imagined Shep, and Richardson would have never made it through BUDS. Training meant a lot of time underwater, sometimes without SCUBA. Many SEAL missions were launched from an offshore or littoral sub, from an escape trunk, and a swim, or maybe in a wet or dry delivery vehicle that made the Triax boat feel like The RMS Titanic.

"You don't know the half of it, Skipper," Tori sighed.

Socrates, of all of them, seemed to have the most naval potential. Tori was actually a bit impressed he wasn't sweating the close quarters, and the dive. "Hey Soc? This your first dive on a boat? It's something you'll remember for a long time. Helluva view."

[Renekin Skywalker]

Humans, unlike mutant animals, don't see kennels as normal, so a big metal one with a fishbowl window was easy for Socrates. :-P

The dogboy nodded to Tori. "Feral hunting rarely put me in a boat, let alone a submarine." He responds. "I am impressed that Triax has been able to produce such a large piece of glass that can withstand the pressure. The view is also interesting."

[Tori]

"Is that what you did before you got posted to the team? Hunted strays?" Tori thought immediately of Tilly. Though not an identical clone like Dori and Mori, Tilly had a fair amount of similar, if not identical material and was a sister to Tori as kittens. Cats were not like dogs, and came and went as they pleased, with little sense of loyalty, unless that loyalty was earned. Tilly deserted during infantry training. It shamed Tori as a SEAL, and if ordered, she would have hunted down her sister. She wasn't sure what she would have done if she found her.

Cats did not see themselves as subservient to humans or dogs. Their presence was a courtesy to others. Tori liked her job, but had felt the call of the wild, too. She had a hard time condemning any cat or an animal-other than a rat- who escaped bondage. She couldn't hate Socrates for doing his job, but wondered if he ever hunted Tilly. She hoped her sister escaped. If anyone had to kill her, it should be one of the surviving sisters.

She gave a slight sigh, the hard exterior broke for a moment. "I was a rescue swimmer at Sault Ste. Marie. Cats were not yet trusted for specops, even in the Navy or a RLT. I was the only Navy SEAL to be in the Coast Guard," she said in a small and far away voice.

Quickly, the broken facade returned to place. She was again the aloof killer Socrates knew and loved.

"Triax makes a good boat, that's for sure. The view out front is good now, but won't mean much in deep water with no light at depth. Subs see with sonar, kinda like a cat. We're lucky we're in Eastgulf. In Westgulf, all you would be seeing is silt. The river's pretty good too, right now, otherwise, the entire estuary would be nothin' but mud. But yeah, its something to see. Hope we get some to see some reefs when we turn east."

[Renekin Skywalker]

"Strays would be the kind word." Socrates responded. He didn't sound like he was against being kind to them, just that wasn't the term he had been given. "Misguided, gone wild or delibarate traitor, Command ordered me and my pack to hunt down those that 'abandonned their post.' It is a funny thing when you're forced to hunt down soldiers who really just want to retire and aren't allowed to."

[Tori]

"Socrates, it sure is a funny thing. My sister left the service, and Janxi's mother answered a higher calling and dedicated her life to killing juicers. It seems dope apes murdered Janxi's aunts and father before she was born and Janxi's mother is going to purge the world of em. My sister, well, she just thought there was more to life than being property of the state." Her voice took on the small, far away sound again. Tori was trying hard to be kinder to Socrates. Hopefully, he would catch a clue and leave it at that, before she whipped out her claws, or Janxi really lost her temper. Nobody could or should judge a free spirit like a cat, but another cat. This went triple for a cat's historic enemy, the canine. She was resolved to try to let this slide.

Again, she tried to steer the topic back to the Navy and subs. Her confidence returned. "After BUDS and in advanced SEAL training, we swam out of the 01's escape trunk and launched a delivery vehicle with a soft seal. This was in Westgulf, near Pinnacle. The sea sea was opaque, and rivers were so muddy you could have walked over the tops." The 01 was the SSN-01 Shark. Most navy people referred to boats by number instead of name. It would be called the 01-class boat, rather than Shark class or even Los Angeles Class, as it was once known.

"We did a lot of work out of the 10-class, too. It's a popular SEAL delivery boat. I sorta figured that would be our ride today. Like I said, this is a pretty good boat. "

[Renekin Skywalker]

Socrates never kept a running tally of who or how many. Captains did that to preserve their usefulness. For Socrates, he let each identity go after each mission. He would have left a long time ago, himself, if he hadn't. He, unfortunately, wouldn't know Tilly if she walked up and emancipated him.

"I wouldn't know classes." he offered the cat. "Most times, even when it was a river crossing, I'ld be forced to swim or wade. We simply went around lakes. Triax is indeed very generous to let us use their advanced vehicles." He made sure the last was pronounced clearly, though not too slow, so that the Triax captain would hear it. Humans seemed to like to hear when they were being nice.