The Judgement of Reclaimation

Narut, puzzled, looked at Marlene as she performed this perculiar action.

"What are you doing," he joked, "checking for a hidden compartment?"

She backs up from the wall. "No, I just thought...ever mind." We need to hurry and fix the system if we can.

Narut raises an eyebrow, but then turns to the task at hand.

"We just about done. It's almost time to try cycling the power."

I sit down and wrap my arms around myself and for the first time I actually with I had my jumpsuit.
Though it was embarrasing it was really warm when it needed to be.
I slightly see my breath as I breathe.
I look at Marlene when she knocks on the sub.
I look behind me and slightly knock on the wall behind me.

I jump back in surprise at the sudden answer to my knock and stare at the wall.

Narut finishes the connection and moves his hand toward the power cycle switch.

"Capt- er, Marlene. Give the word and I'll cycle the power. If this doesn't work, I'm not sure what will."

"Go for it" Narut slips the switch and the non-emergency lights flicker back on. the humm of the engine can be heard and the heater can be felt. "Oh thank god." Marlene sits down in her chair and swivles it back so she can grab the controls. "Lets get the hell outta hear." She says as she's pressing the ignition buttons. She looks out the window ready to go then she freezes. Everyone in the group looks past her out the window and see several Mermaids swiming around and one merman starring directly at Marlene with an expressionless face.

Arrrrg the mermaids will get ye, don't listen to em sing!!!

Narut shakes his head.

"Mermen are biologically impossible... either we are hallucinating from lack of vessel pressure..."


"...or these are daemons."

"Good sir," says Willacy, walking to Narut and putting his hand upon his shoulder. "If these are indeed demons as you surmise, wouldn't it be prudent to be on our way?" Willacy retrieved his bag and loosened Lassiena's holdings. "What I mean to say is, if you would, hurry the hell up." Lassiena was out now, aimed at the walls, as if when the mermaids broke through Willacy would be able to blast away the ocean.

As if possessed by a demonic force, Mongul Suddenly shoots to his feet. With an absolute look in his face he he walks ever diligent towards the window. As he approaches Will he puts one of his stiff hands on will's shoulder and the other on his weapon effectively lowering it...

I push him away and center myself in-front of the only window... I adopt a perfectly still ever threatening posture.

The Mermen start at my questioning as i stare back. A cold stare... Peering directly into there very souls.

Suddenly i rear back, drop my guard, adopt a huge grin and wave my arm as if my very life depended on it!

The merpeople are confused at the crazy samurais movements and they stop and watch. Malrene notices and, taking advantage of the situation, puts the rotter thrusters for the submersible on maximum. In a few seconds the sub is whirring through the water with the merpeople following it closely.

The sudden Jurk of the sub throws me off balance and I fall to back with a small surprised shout.
I stumble up from the ground and into my seat. The power box makes an unsettling fizzle sound as small sparks come out of it.

"No. No. No no no no no no no!" Narut runs to the box and crouches by it. He pulls down his goggles and pulls up his surgical mask, slowly opening the box with his gloved hands. A volley of sparks jolt at his face, and in fear he drops the lid closed.

"This is not good Capt- er, Marlene!!"

"Well thanks a lot Malrene... i almost had them on our side with my overly friendly wave... i bet they would have even shared some fresh fish with us too after they helped us to the surface..."

"Shut it you neo feudalist moron!"Marlene continues to press her luck with the circuits and floors the engines toward the distant Australian coast, in the opposite direction of the city you are supposed to go to. "We need to get out of here. To get somewere we can defend ourselves."

I crawl off the floor and strap myself into my seat. Smoke from the sizzling wall can be smelled throughtout the small cabin.
"Is there anything else you can do about that box?" I ask in a very worried voice to Narut.
Warning lights begin to flash on the front of the sub near Marlene.

The best I can do is jury-rig an emergency circuit. It'll be weaker, and less stable, but it's all I can probably manage."

I walk over and sit next to Clera

"Well I've done all i could do!..."

Suddenly there is a loud pop sound and every one in teh cabin is discombobulated. Everyone feels heat envelope their bodies for a split second then the tilt of the sub as the cabin begins to become vertical. Marlene is unconsious from the explosion and hanging from the straps in her chair as the sub begins to sink. A horrible sound of screeching metal on metal rings in your ears as the sub hits something hard and begins to slide, making the cabin rumble as if in a huge earthquake. The window is cracked and in the distance you can see the shapes of the merpeople catching up. (The water is mostly clear so you can see quite the distance)

It took but a few seconds for Willacy to reorganize his brain to the situation. He righted himself to the sub's new alignment and kicked off to bring himself to Marlene. He begin to free her from her saftey harness prison. "Anybody know the science of water filling up a submarine? What should we be doing?" Willacy didn't direct the question at faces, instead his eyes saught out something sharp. He doubted Lassiena's performance underwater, and took care to cover her in her holdings. There were plenty of short objects that filled the bill, but he looked for something with a bit more reach to make up for his intention to swim Marlene to the surface.

*Regrouping after getting bashed against the side of the sub*

"Dammit... Ah well this day just keeps Getting Better!... Any ideas anyone..."

i take a peek out the cracked Window

"Oh! never mind!.. My Fishy Vassals are here to make me there king and takes my to their scores of beautiful fishy women"

I Grab my equipment

"I will then force them to sacrifice Their most beautiful virgin to my glorious king ship. The lovely sacrifice and I will retread to a large clam shell and make love till the crack of dawn."

I'm thrown to the side as we hit another large bump.

"or We'll all just die at the bottom on the ocean... I'dd much rather the first sinario tho..."

Narut slowly rises to his feet, putting his hand down to brace himself. His hand feels strange, which he looks at, seeing water on his glove. It was a thick material, but he can still feel the biting cold. He shudders at the throught of drowning at these depths.

"There's at least 3 inches of water so far... the average pressurized sub made between now and 1950 fills in a day or two. At this depth, however... make that a couple hours. And even if the sub doesn't sink very fast, those mermaids will find a way to make it worse."

Narut wobbles on his feet and makes his way to Marlene to check for signs of concussion. While he fiddles with the straps, and contemplates how hard and far the capt- he means, marlene will fall if he lets her go.

Not too long after deciding that it would be idiotic to unbuckle her at this angle, he peers out of the cracked window to check the progress of the mermaids. Something catches his eye.

A pipeline, which ran at an upward angle into the sand.

Upward angle?

"I think the fathom reading was off. We're only 50 feet underwater."

Narut points towards the very close-by Australian shore.

The sub begins to squeak lightly and you notice that some of teh bolts are sliding out slowly, water seeping through. The Merfollk are almost on you and now you have to make a choice, swim or try and stand in the enemies domain.