Hunter Or Huntress

Well, Tom certainly got their attention with the notion of some of the craziest humans to ever serve. He had the perfect mood for a horror story too. It was dark and stormy, the only light inside being that of torches and the warm hearths. He didn’t have the faintest idea if this was in any way, shape, or form a good idea, but he knew Unkai was already scared. So maybe tough love would work this time around, the soft and sweet approach had already failed by the sounds of it anyway.

“Well this should be good then. What did they do, sing their opponents to death?” Balethon chuckled as the lizard started to slip from his shoulder. The little critter was somehow not smart enough to work out that its perch was moving, said perch being Balethon’s shoulder. Just as it started to slip it scurried back a few frantic steps, before going back to sitting there perfectly immobile, staring out into the nothingness.

‘That thing is dumber than a box of rocks… anyhow,’ Tom sighed, finding he had already forgotten where he was going with this before snapping back to it.

“Well I hope so. I’ve talked about ships before, right? You all know what that is. Huge big steel constructs the size of keeps happily motoring across the oceans at about running pace.”

“Yeah, so big they don’t have to worry about anything lurking below the waves… what about them?”

“Oh just let him speak, would you?” Unkai grumbled, clearly not having worked out Tom was actually telling the story for him here.

“Right. Fine, fine.”

“Well… I mean they are safe from anything ‘natural’ living down below the waves. Today’s topic of discussion, not so much. Even those huge steel monsters are no more than target practice for a submarine.”

“Oh you talked about those a while back. The underwater ships.”

“The what now?” Twitch broke out from further down the table, clearly not having heard this tale before.

“Well yeah more or less. You take a huge metal tube the size again of maybe a decent size keep and you make it go underneath the waves by weighing it down with ballast. Then follows a lot of praying that the tube doesn’t buckle or spring a leak. Now, you see, water is very heavy, so the deeper you go the higher the pressure. The way you go up and down is by letting in water or pushing it back out again with pumps. So what do you think happens if, say, a pipe bursts and water starts to rush in?”

“You start going down if water goes inside,” Junior replied quickly, seeming quite entranced by the more technical side of the storytelling.

“Very good. So now as you sink deeper and deeper you struggle to fix the leak until the pressure is so high the jet of water coming in will literally cut your hand off, so you aren’t fixing that. And you can hear the steel creak and groan under the pressure, knowing it will not last forever. Would you be scared? If anything gives way, the flash flood of water will fling you through the boat like a doll, while the pressure will squash you like a piece of bread under a dragon’s foot. But on the bright side, you probably won’t drown. If you’re deep enough it might even be over before you notice anything at all, just “What was that?” then darkness. Not the worst way to go.”

“And people do this? Poor fuckers,” Balethon interjected again, Tom just ignored him.

“Oh no, they volunteer mostly. We call them submariners, and they are who I wanna talk about a little today. They are the wolves of the oceans, and all who tread it do so at their mercy. They are all completely crazy if you ask me. They run silently beneath the waves, the perfect mechanical predator just waiting for its moment to strike. So those on the surface would live in fear too during times of war. The first thing you might know of a submarine being the wake of a torpedo just before it blows your ship clean in half.

“I think you made your point, Tom,” Kokashi intervened, looking like he at least thought it was time to get to the story rather than the lesson.

“Right yeah, sorry… Remember that film about the planes that did, well, not so well at flying? The funny one with all the failures of engineering.”

“Oh yeah, that was hilarious,” Balethon chuckled nonchalantly.

“Why have I not been around more for this stuff?” Twitch once again interjected in a humorous tone.

“Cause you aren’t part of the special club, duh.”

“Hang on,” Junior then let out, seemingly having worked out where Tom was going with this. “Oh don’t tell me you-”

“Oh yes we did,” Tom replied with a smile.

“People went below the waves in some barely working wood and canvas bucket of disappointment?” Junior questioned with a horrified expression on his face, likely trying to work out how many lives that could have cost.

“Well, not canvas, otherwise it’s pretty accurate. Even about the same time period surprisingly enough. Most early subs used boilerplate riveted together. It wasn’t very good at all really.”

“Oh gods above.”

“Oh it gets better.”

“No.”

“Yes, it does, I promise. This brings us to the tale of the German Submarine, U-96. They made a movie about it, if you would dare watch it, called Das Boot. It just means “The boat.” It’s great, I promise.”

“Why do I get the distinct impression you are lying and just want to see someone shit their pants,” Unkai protested.

“Well it would be very funny for me at least,” Tom snickered in reply.

“I’m starting to wonder if we get to hear the story or not,” Kokashi shrugged, leaning back in his chair while most of the other guards remained hunched forward.

“Patience now, Tom has never been swift about it when it comes to saying what he wants,” Anchor added in with a fair amount of mirth in his tone.

“Hey come on now, I’m trying to tell a scary story here.”

“And next up I’m sure will be a slew of important numbers about this here submarine, no?”

“No…” Tom replied, hoping he was doing a good job of looking unimpressed all while he mentally noted that yes he really should skip the numbers.

Anchor didn’t look terribly convinced, but the big brute didn’t make any further comment.

“Okay so I want you to imagine this if you can. You, and I do mean all of you, all the guys here at the keep cause girls aren’t allowed in, have been stuck together in a metal tube about as long as the keep is wide and only as wide as from bench to bench here where we are sitting. You sleep in shifts ‘cause there aren’t enough beds. You work around the clock. The air is days old and it stinks of rot, piss, and decay as your food is going off. Your water is weeks old and everything is cold and wet as water condenses on the cold steel of your prison cell. Said prison cell creaks and groans whenever you try to sleep, and you know you are so far from home that even if you were above the water you could never see land even if you sailed for days straight.”

“Imagine that day after day after day. Your friend who you have worked with for the past year has started getting the ticks. Nervous twitches at the slightest noise, you know he can’t be trusted anymore. One day he will snap like a twig. But you can’t do anything about it. You’re stuck down here trying not to go mad yourself. And this is the good times.”

“One day your captain finally declares “Target in sight.” You have found your prey, your reason for being here. A convoy of cargo ships carrying enough food and supplies to feed a small army for months. You have to sink it no matter the peril. It is defended by ships that can hear you coming, and they can attack you even deep down below the waves. They have killed your comrades, they have tried to kill you before, and you know it is a game of chance if you live or die tonight.”

“As the sun sets you slip in, your captain watching through a periscope as you sail just beneath the surface. You are running on engines that are as quiet as possible, else they will hear you coming. But you only have so much power, and you move slowly. So painfully slowly. Will they notice you coming? You have no idea. All you have are some valves and wheels you have to operate. You can do nothing, you know nothing except the fact someone is about to die.”

“Then you hear it. The thunk of a torpedo being launched. A fish as you call it. The attack has begun. But did you fire at a defenseless cargo ship or a destroyer coming to hunt you down? If it is the destroyer, there is little hope for escape. It is many times faster than you. If it wasn’t, then they will be coming as soon as they notice the convoy is under attack. And torpedoes can be followed home.”

“Your captain orders a change of course to try and get away from where you fired, will it work? You have no idea. After that there are no orders coming down. Everyone is waiting with bated breath, you are soaked to the bone from sweat and condensation, but your heart is in your throat beating like a jackhammer.”

“A what now?”

“Shut up, Balethon.”

“Then you hear it. A ping. *Ding* like a loud high pitched bell. The enemy is searching now. And still no explosion, did you miss? They know you are here now. Or is it just a random sweep at the worst possible time? You can do nothing, you have your station, a few gauges and dials that is all. Still no orders.”

“The ping sound again, is it getting closer? You can’t quite tell. Still no orders… Then another ping. That one was louder. You and your friends look at each other, the enemy is closing in. You all know it now.”

“Then comes the orders. Captain is turning back towards the convoy, he’s going to attack the destroyer. If you make it, you will get medals, probably. If you don’t, your parents will. Another thunk, you fired another torpedo. If it hits the ship will be little but a smoking wreck. You all wait, another ding. It’s definitely getting closer. The captain orders dive to 100 meters. Did you miss? No, it’s not been long enough.”

“You concentrate on your work. Forward tanks to be filled fully. The seconds tick by as the boat starts to pitch down into the depths, towards both safety and death. The hull creaks and groans as you descend. Still no explosions, you must have missed every shot you took. You’re too deep to fire now, the enemy is coming for you and they are coming with a vengeance. You attacked what was to feed their families ashore. The life of their nation. They will see you dead.”

“The faintest thump is heard amongst the creaking and the sound of the engines spinning up to go faster, and no order to level out is given. You pass 100 meters, then an ear-shattering boom rocks throughout the sub. The lights flicker and die, leaving the boat black as pitch, the panting of terrified men all you can hear past your ringing ears. The red backups turn on, bathing your whole world in crimson light. Then another boom shakes the boat, knocking you to the cold wet steel floor. The world goes black once more as your friend starts to sob, as the lights return, crimson red, you look up to see a grown man sitting curled up next to his station clutching his knees as he rocks back and forth, sobbing like a young child.”

“You get back to your station. You are working for two now, you dare not touch him. You have no idea what he might do. Orders come down from the captain, “Level the boat.” You quickly open the valves to purge the tanks, then the third boom flings you and rocks the boat. You hear a pipe burst with a sickening metallic clang, a sound you have dreaded ever since you set foot in this accursed machine. But there is no rush of water.”

“You are confused, you look around at your comrades who do the same. You ignore the sobbing mess that is your friend until he lets out an ear piercing scream, like a toddler wanting his mommy. Then you hear it. The rush of air, the whistle of life draining away. You look back to your station, muttering a prayer. Please no, please no, gods have mercy upon your soul. With the horror of a doomed man you watch the needle sag further and further down. The air. The air to blow the tanks is leaking away. Without it you can never make it back up. You will sink deeper and deeper.”

“You shout as loud as you can hoping the captain will hear. Maybe the engines can save you, just maybe. Against all odds the captain hears your plea, the planes are ordered to full climb and the engines to flank speed. You cannot start the diesels, they would steal all the air in seconds, so electric motors only. You hear them spin up, nothing but a faint whirr as the boat pitches up, trying desperately to climb back to safety. You watch the needle on your station fall to zero, you shut the valves from the tanks to the ocean. Maybe you got some water out. Maybe it was enough.”

“You watch the depth gauge as the ping of the enemy sonar sounds once more, 140 meters… come on, come on. You stupid old bucket of bolts climb! Another ping. Then the needle starts to move 135… 120… IT’S WORKING! You are ascending, you might actually make it! Then comes another boom, you didn’t even hear the splash this time.”

“The entire boat shakes. You fall to the floor once more, your ears are ringing, your vision is blurry, and there is yet another clang and the sound of screaming, shouting men… and the rush of water. The rush of water. You scramble to your feet like your life depends on it, no no no. You were going to make it. You were so nearly there! You stare down the length of the boat at three men trying their hardest to stop the leak. 10 bar of pressure behind the stream, enough to break bone and tear flesh. The pipe burst inside the boat. You have a chance, if the out valve is shut maybe you can stop the leak. Just maybe. You have been on this boat for 2 years. 2 nerve frying years, you know what to do, so do your comrades. You are all veterans. The valve is found and shut and the flow of water stops, giving way to more wailing as you watch your third officer clutching his ruined hand. He tried to stop the water, to plug the pipe, to save you all. Now it’s nothing but a mangled mess.”

“Another ping sounds. You want to scream “Leave us alone!” but they might hear you. They have gotten close, but they haven’t hit yet. No use giving them a better chance. If you can just make it up you can surrender. You look to the depth gauge, 90 meters. You are still ascending! Hope fills you once more as you feel water run over your shoes back down to the end of the boat… towards the engine room. You hear watertight doors swing shut to stop it, but what about the batteries? Were the batteries okay? What if one cracked and leaked… then you hear the sizzle. The sizzle of acid and water reacting.”

“You know what comes next. Gas, chlorine gas. Used as a chemical weapon. It will fill the submarine and choke you all to death if you cannot make it to the surface. You look to the depth gauge, 80 meters. It’s going so slowly, you can barely see the needle move. Come on, come on, come on.”

“Then the unthinkable. You hear the engines slow down, a slow gracious death as they spin down to nothing. You can’t even hear them anymore. There is frantic shouting and men running past you. Covers are taken off the floor to get to the batteries, and poison gas spills out leaving men coughing and hacking. They might not survive going down there. They will do it anyway. It’s the only chance for the rest of you. Brave men with no time for protective gear go below to try and fix the batteries.”

“It could work… but you don’t believe it. Next to you your deranged friend is wailing like a child once more. You just watch the gauge, 80… 85…90… 100…110…125. The world goes quiet around you, the lights flicker, and you hear a faint sonar ping. The enemy has passed, soon you will be too deep to hit anyway. The creaking returns, the hull already battered by the explosions put under more and more strain as you dive back down. 140 meters. 150. You don’t know how deep you can go. The gauge goes to 200. The red zone starts at 150. You have once been to 170, but the boat was new then, not 2 years old. There is rust to be found, dents and scrapes, a loose bolt somewhere maybe.”

“150 meters, you watch the pipes above your head as men frantically work. Posion gas is filling the boat and you cough. You cough your very lungs out. It burns. It burns in your eyes, your nose, your throat and lungs, and you squint. You watch the gauge. There is nothing else left to do. Around you men give up and sit to pray while others work trying desperately to save the boat. You hear the captain bellow orders. But it is too late, the boat is slipping. The angle increases as water runs to the rear. It is nearly 45 degrees now. Men start to slip, bashing against steel bulkheads on the way down. They are probably dead. They are lucky.”

“You think of your family back home, your mother and father, your wife and child. You will never see them again. 180 meters. The boat shudders and groans. It threatens to collapse around you. You hear a pipe forward burst, men springing into action to fix the leak. 200 meters. The needle goes outside the gauge. You are in uncharted territory now. Is there a bottom beneath you? It would only prolong your suffering. Another pipe goes right above you, spraying you in ice cold salty water. On instinct you spring to your feet to shut it off. The valve won’t even budge. The pressure is too great. You comrades try to help you. A large wrench is put on for more leverage, and you pull. You pull for all you are worth like it would make any difference. The valve moves, it turns and shuts off the rushing water. You did it!”

“You cough and splutter as you force your burning eyes to open once more. You can feel them melting in your skull as you want to scream, but it will only make the pain worse. You watch the gauge. It is off the scale now. You guess 240 meters. You haven’t heard of boats going this deep before. Another shudder, and the sound of rending metal. You look down towards the rear of the boat as it slices deeper into the dark depths of the ocean, and you watch as the bulkhead twists and bows. The aft section just collapsed. Everyone there is dead. You will follow.”

“You watch the door bow and creak as men go to try and reinforce it with whatever they can find. You pray. You pray that someone will take care of your wife and children. Then the bulkhead blows. Two men are sent flying along with the heavy solid steel door. They are smashed to pieces against the hull. And you stare at death itself. The column of water, oil, men, and machinery bursts forth from the aft of the ship and all you can do is stare. It is over in the blink of an eye as the rising water engulfs you. Your ears pop and your eyes are blown out of your skull as you are hurled like a doll upwards towards the front of the boat. Your body is battered to pieces against the pipes, valves, handles, and doorways. You live just long enough to know what happened, before mercifully your head snags a sleeping cot and is ripped clean off.”

“A submarine and crew, never to be seen nor heard from again. 35 men, never to make it home. A single kill for a destroyer which will return to her convoy happy in the knowledge she managed to save the lives of a dozen sailors and who knows how many back home. All it took was the sinking of a mere submarine.”

Tom leaned back in his chair quite pleased with his little story, the looks of horror on most of the guys’ faces betraying that, yeah, he’d done just fine. Unkai especially wasn’t looking too hot, nor was Junior if he was being honest.

Radexi was the first to speak though. “Okay, that was wicked.”

‘Not quite the response I was expecting, but okay…’

“And you claim hell is full of fire,” Anchor added with a grunt. “Crazy bastards indeed. And you said they volunteered for such a position?”

“Every last one,” Tom confirmed. “Whackjobs the lot of them. And brave beyond measure. I’m betting most were scared shitless throughout.”

“Quite, so Balethon, got your curiosity sated?”

“Oh yeah, of course it’s nothing I couldn’t handle. Sit down at twist thingies. I could do that.”

“Suuure buddy,” Herron chuckled, seeming the least affected out of all of them. Then again he could probably wake up with his pants on fire and still take time to ponder if he could get in five more minutes.

“Good thing we don’t have to do anything like that, hey guys?” Unkai questioned, looking around the table and receiving some nods and a few shrugs. “Try not to think back on it when it’s time for bed, or you’re all alone up in the tower.”

“You know, speaking of bravery and what people have to do. Unkai, you wouldn’t happen to have any idea about someone who should probably really be doing something that they might be slightly scared to do now would you?”

“Eeehh Tom, are you sure this is the time?” Kokashi interjected, the silvered guard using a cautious tone.

“Well from the sounds of it the girls playing nice didn’t work, so I’ll put it straight. People have had to do things they don’t want to for as long as people have been able to tell who they are in a mirror. Be they soldiers, fliers, gods forbid a submariner, or even just a friend of someone. Or perhaps a bit more. Man the fuck up and get on with it, or I’m melting that medal down into something more useful. It could be a heck of a lot worse than having to spend time with a pretty and truly sweet woman.”

Unkai didn’t immediately respond, instead he just looked down at the table as everyone else tried to work out what to say. “So that’s why you came over here and decided to tell a story.”

“Well that and it’s been a while. I’m sorry I suck at this stuff, but you have it damn easy by comparison. So man up. Or would you have me believe you are more like the girls back home?”

“Fuck no, I’ll do it then,” Balethon interjected once more with rather forced humor.

“Shut up, kid,” Anchor grumbled in a deep rather disappointed dad tone which did the trick for now.

Junior just coughed a little uncomfortably, shuffling a bit further away on the bench, Radexi following his lead, all while Kokashi was staring at Tom, certainly not approving. Unkai stared at the table a bit more before looking up. “Look, it’s not that easy, okay?”

“Really now,” Tom cut him off. “She’s pretty, she’s sweet, and she really needs you. We both know that, else you’re a damn idiot. I also know you like her, even most of the kids do. So you get on with it. She could kill you easy, but so can Jarix. You don’t run away from him all the time and pretend he doesn’t exist unless forced, now do you?”

“No…” he looked properly ashamed of himself now. Tom didn’t know how to feel about it, but that was life it would seem.

Balethon looked like he was about to say something before a stern stare from Anchor solved that problem.

“People have done so much worse. But it gets better. You get used to it. Even the wackjobs who spend every day on an old deathtrap of a submarine. Sure, they still get scared when in battle, but that’s what bravery is for. Every day though? You get used to it. You can get used to a lot of things. Half a year ago you would have given your left… something to have ‘being with Fengi’ being what you needed to get used to. So come on man, for the sake of being a dude. Go get the girl.”

“Laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?” one of the swordsmen from Glira’s crew added in. Tom didn’t even know his name, or if he did he had forgotten it.

“If that is what it takes,” Tom replied flatly, looking back to the now thoroughly ashamed looking Unkai. “When she gets back here you are spending every possible moment with her, and you are definitely not letting her go out alone in a storm with a murderer and just one friend. Saph’s great and all, but she needs you right now. Who knows you might even get something in return.”

At that Unkai had to cough a little before looking away from Tom, who just leaned back a little, relaxing. He’d gotten all tensed up with all that serious talk, which he really didn’t feel like was his responsibility, and it was damn cruel to do it infront of all Unkai’s friends, but damn if he hadn’t managed to avoid the responsibility before if the girls were to be believed.

“Deal?”

“Deal,” Unkai let out with a sigh like he just lost his freedom, receiving a pat on the shoulder from Herron. “Cheer up man, it’s not marriage after all. And she’s not like Saph, I don’t think.”

“Yeah, no running around doing her bidding and sleeping on the floor. Who knows, maybe you’ll even get some,” Balethon added in his own sincere yet somehow still vulgar tone.

Unkai didn’t seem to take the latter remark terribly well, averting his gaze and looking back down again.

“Yeah… I think I’ve done enough damage. Do let me know if you would like to see a movie about that whole submarine thing,” Tom tried in a more lighthearted tone, it didn’t come across well at all.

“Maybe some other time… We do have this new-fangled weekend to look forward to, maybe then?” Kokashi replied, seeming to at least appreciate the effort while moving a touch closer to Unkai, looking ready to give him a pat on the back, yet he stayed his hand for now.

“Oh right, yeah… I thought we only went with one day for now?”

“For now. Once winter arrives we will get plenty of free time.”

Anchor grumbled his consent as all around the table people seemed quite relieved by the thought.

“Not too fast, we have a lot of work to do that can still be done while it is cold outside,” Junior added in, receiving some not so appreciative glances for the trouble.

“He’s right though,” Radexi defended, taking the time to glare at everyone giving Junior the stink eye. “What’s the matter, you all gone lazy?”

“Kid, I have been working since before your parents even decided to have you. Some time off is needed every now and again,” Anchor grumbled, the rest of the guys and especially Herron nodding.

“Hear hear. Hey Tom, do we get to have a drink on the weekends too?”

“I think that could be managed. It’s almost a tradition to get shitfaced on the weekends back home. In future though, it might be coming out of your own supply. All that money should be spent on something, am I right?”

“I already made a list,” Balethon proclaimed proudly. “This is going to be the best winter ever.”

“Just a bit lonely, ey?” one of Glira’s crew chuckled, raising a mug of water with a knowing smile on his face.

“Oh shut up.”