CHAPTER 5: IC - At Sea > Australia to Antarctica

[Dave Syrinx]

Pierce exits the stateroom to see where all the ruckus is. He moves towards the cargo hold, as stable as his drinks allow him to.
"Friggin´weather.."

[Job]

Katie rushes over to Gunnar and tries to help with his injured leg, but it is too badly mangled and she only causes him more pain.

Gunnar's face is deathly pale and bathed in sweat. He's breathing rapidly, hissing through his gritted teeth with every movement. His blood is pooling underneath him.

Both engines are now lashed down, but the destruction is considerable. Everything in the hold shows the scars left by the careening motors. The other two (of the four total) engines which were not rolling free remain secured; their crates are battered and crushed on one end, but the motors themselves are not greatly damaged. The boxes containing the wings of the plane are dimpled and crushed in several places by the engines' passage, and the plane itself shows huge dents and gaping rents in its belly and along the fuselage. The pallet of kerosene tins that was secured against one bulkhead is smashed and askew; flammable liquid spreads and sloshes across the deck with every pitch and yaw.

Sykes kneels over Gunnar and exclaims, "We need to stop the bleeding and get him to the doctor!" He whips off his belt and tightens it around Gunnar's thigh, just before everyone tumbles to starboard as the ship is viciously thrown sideways.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Job]

Pierce exits the stateroom to see where all the ruckus is. He moves towards the cargo hold, as stable as his drinks allow him to.
"Friggin´weather.."

In his short scramble down the corridor, Pierce realizes that he may not be agile enough to exit to superstructure in this storm. He finds that he's often refilling his glass from the bottle of white wine--and it's not because he is chugging the drink, but rather because he sloshes his alcohol on the corridor walls and deck with every violent rocking of the ship. He is faced with a hard decision: either stop drinking or drink directly from the bottle...

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Job.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'll carry him," says Katie, struggling to maintain her balance while picking up Gunnar. The damage to the plane and other contents of the hold could wait, but he couldn't.

[Job]

"I'll carry him," says Katie, struggling to maintain her balance while picking up Gunnar. The damage to the plane and other contents of the hold could wait, but he couldn't.

For the second time within a span of minutes, Peter Sykes' jaw drops as he watches Katie lift her fallen comrade and port the man over to the ladder, however the severely-rolling ship and the looming 30-foot dripping-wet steel ladder present formidable challenges. Katie gazes up at the hatch, far above, and realizes that she'll need help. She then looks down and sees Vittorio sitting on the deck, at the foot of the ladder, clutching his abdomen.

Behind her, Sykes yells, "HERE!", and tosses a rope. "TIE THAT AROUND HIS CHEST," he hollers into the din of the storm.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

"THANKS!" calls Katie, using the rope to secure Gunnar before she attempts the climb. "VITTORIO'S HURT TOO! SEE IF YOU CAN HELP HIM!"

[Job]

The ship begins lifting and tilting upwards, the old gal expressing her displeasure with a heart-wrenching groan. The angle of the ship increases to the point that loose equipment and pieces of crates begin rolling down the incline. Sykes' eyes widen and he shouts, "HOLD ON!", then he moves quickly to grab a handful of Vittorio's jacket with one hand while securing his other arm through the ladder for support.

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Job. (The tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

Katie clings to Vittorio with one hand and the ladder with her other arm, using every ounce of her strength and agility to remain in place.

[Job]

As the Gabrielle tilts crazily, Paco scrambles across the deck and leaps at the netting that secures one engine. He grabs one of the knotted ropes and slips, twisting down, landing awkwardly at the base of the machinery.

Katie clings to Vittorio with one hand and the ladder with her other arm, using every ounce of her strength and agility to remain in place.

Gunnar's weight shifts away from Katie. The rope that Katie had tied around his chest pulls taught and begins to drag at Katie.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

Katie tightens her grip, relying on her raw strength and agility to hold onto Gunnar.

[Job]

Katie tightens her grip, relying on her raw strength and agility to hold onto Gunnar.

Peter Sykes sees the concentration and effort on Katie's face and knows the danger that the team is in--if Katie loses her hold or if her muscles strain beyond their capacity, then a number of crewmen will tumble free to slam against the far bulwark. Katie has anchored herself to the tweendeck's ladder as she strains to hold onto Gunnar Sorensen, who is severely injured, half-conscious, and roped to her. She also clutches the jacket of Vittorio Luizzi who is slumped to the deck, groaning.

Gunnar, bloodied, pictured above

With a loud grunt of effort, Sykes pulls on Vittorio's gear to draw him closer to the ladder, hoping to relieve some of the strain on Katie. Vittorio's body moves enough to allow Sykes to encircle his arm around Vittorio's chest and under his armpit. He looks up at Katie, rainwater dripping off his face, and yells something to her, but she cannot hear him over the howling of the storm.

The sea continues to lift and angle the ship upwards. "We are rising up a monstrous wave", thinks Sykes, just as he feels an increased vibration in the hull and a surge forward and up.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

Katie smiles at Peter in thanks, securing her grip and bracing for the impact she's sure is coming.

[Job]

You sense the Gabrielle powering forward as the tweendeck continues tilting upwards, then the entire ship slips sideways as the storm shrieks and electric lights sway.

Was that Vittorio or Paco shrieking? Or was it me?

Water sloshes about, slapping the walls, and the Gabrielle slips again, sliding downwards, but somehow continues forward. Then the room suddenly jerks to a stop as if you've rammed a wall and you slam painfully into the ladder. The tethered aeroplane and crates strain at their moorings. Time seems to slow; ropes snap and whip around while planks and bolts and loose detritus fly past you. The lights flicker.

Everyone,OK, everyone and anyone reading this need--even if you aren't playing the game!--must make sanity and dexterity rolls. You are enveloped in chaos and fearing for your life.

[Mr. Handy]

Katie finds an inner reserve of mental fortitude to match her physical toughness. Whoever is screaming, it isn't her. Unfortunately, her usual agility deserts her at the worst possible time.

OOC,I thought I might get a bonus for bracing in advance, perhaps DEX x 6 instead of DEX x 5 (and thus failing automatically only on a 100), but that was a really bad roll.

[royya]

Father Rucker cowers in his cabin, He prays for god to save them and finds comfort with his belief.

SAN: 1d100 33

[Job]

Katie finds an inner reserve of mental fortitude to match her physical toughness. Whoever is screaming, it isn't her. Unfortunately, her usual agility deserts her at the worst possible time.

OOC,I thought I might get a bonus for bracing in advance, perhaps DEX x 6 instead of DEX x 5 (and thus failing automatically only on a 100), but that was a really bad roll.

Katie's shoulder slams into the steel ladder with a jolt of pain and she loses her grip on Vittorio, who swings out in a downwards arc around Peter Sykes, still maintaining a firm hold on him. Amazingly, Katie was successful in holding onto Gunnar, despite his bouncing about.

But the pull of Vittorio's weight wrenches Sykes' arm free of the ladder and both men tumble down the tilted tweendeck, bouncing off the aeroplane into the shadows.

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Job. (the tortured one)

[Job]

Father Rucker cowers in his cabin, He prays for god to save them and finds comfort with his belief.

Enke Fiskarson lies in the bunk below Father Rucker's, bracing himself against the bed's steel stanchions, and finds solace in the priest's rhythmic chanting. Enke cannot make out Father's words above the howling of the storm, but he understands the purpose.

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Job.

[Mr. Handy]

"Are you okay down there?!" Katie calls through clenched teeth, her natural toughness keeping her going. "I'm fine, and I've got Gunnar! I need to get him up on deck once the ship levels out, but I'll come right back for you two!"

[Job]

"Are you okay down there?!" Katie calls through clenched teeth, her natural toughness keeping her going. "I'm fine, and I've got Gunnar! I need to get him up on deck once the ship levels out, but I'll come right back for you two!"

Katie fails to hear her own voice amidst the din of the storm.

Shortly after slamming to an abrupt halt against some extraordinarily-great obstruction, everyone feels the vessel continuing to bull forward, and forward, shaking and yawing against the force of the storm, until finally the Gabrielle breaks through and begins sliding down the opposite side. The lights bounce crazily and, at the far end of the tweendeck, Katie briefly spies Peter Sykes in shin-deep water, helping Vittorio to his feet, then the light swings away.

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Job (the tortured one)

[Mr. Handy]

Once she sees that Peter and Vittorio are relatively okay, she relaxes a little. When the ship's motion allows, she resumes her upward climb, carrying Gunnar.