Day 460: The Hunt For Blue October
By [PRESS] Teadora "Teddi" Rococo
Day 460, War 120
Morgen's Crossing, The Bastard Sea
It was the closing days of War 120, and Wardens were truly beset on all sides by their Colonial counterparts, thus Warden submarine crews were eager to get back out into the water. “[We wanted] to get our sub out of the basin and into the open sea where we could use it to defend the islands,” detailed [SCUM] captain and dive fins/torpedo operator Jag307, “two other subs had already made the journey and we viewed this as a relatively routine transport mission.” All was relatively smooth sailing initially, however warning signs were beginning to flag up; mines and a patrolling Colonial gunboat set the crew of the October on edge. Suspicions would soon be confirmed upon entering the Morgen’s Crossing portion of the Bastard Sea. The bridge overlooking the inlet to Warmonger Bay had been destroyed, mined and blockaded with barges. October’s batteries were running dry due to its inability to surface without evisceration.
[SCUM] Admiral Heinz and the crew of the Blue October were trapped.
Burning Bunker Base
'Blue October' underway
After a brief attempt to fight their way through, resulting in a boarding attempt that killed several of their crew, the October resolved to retreat beneath the waves for the time being. So began a game of cat and mouse that would peak and trough. The initial hunt by the Colonials, conducted with varied gunboats and motorboats, lasted for around two hours before the October found some respite. They would settle in for a long wait, and watch some in-cruise entertainment about a submarine crew not too dissimilar from their own.
Returning to the bridge afterwards, they would discover an ever tighter-knitting web of Colonial mines, further cementing the danger the October found itself in. To escape at this point would require substantial piloting skills and likely a bolstering of crew numbers. They would find reinforcement in the form of [SCUM] Captain Scylaar, who reportedly piloted a lone LPC to link up with the sub and fold into the crew. The October settled in again well below sea level and waited with bated breath yet again.
To make matters worse, a Colonial destroyer showed up, once again blocking the path for the October. A conversation was had on whether they should try to fight it, but they instead backed off and watched more in-cruise media while trying to avoid the destroyer’s pings and the resultant extra mines.
Meanwhile, a fellow Warden sub under the command of [BA] Ovim and a nearby Warden gunboat had been radioed, and the three crews hatched a plan: Ovim’s crew would drive up to the destroyed bridge from the other side and surface just as the gunboat had destroyed a nearby observation tower ‘too late’. The idea was to give the impression that the submarine had gotten over to the other side of the bridge and escaped. This gambit seemed to work, as Colonial forces would eventually begin to repair the bridge.
When enough had become enough, the October torpedoed one of the blockading freighters. Accelerating as fast as they could past it, the crew would have only a single Colonial to contend with as they jumped onto the half-surfaced sub. The October dropped its depth, leaving the boarding Colonial and their hellish circumstance in their wake.
Against all odds, the crew survived their 8-hour dirge beneath the waves, and we will likely see them out patrolling again should another war ever break out.