IC: Chapter Four - At Sea

[Raiko]

SS Gabrielle - Main Deck, by the hatch to the #5 Tween-Deck Hold.
10:16am - Thursday 28th September, 1933

Frodesen and Pulaski reach the hatch down to the #5 hold first, they have much less distance to cover as the run from their quarter in the aft-castle. When the entrance to the hold is flung open, Pulaski curses viciously and Frodesen lets loose a small cry. The scene below is horrible.

The dog crates are attached to the bulkhead in rows, supported by steel frames. The dogs live in them, but the doors are removed every morning and replaced again every night. During the daytime the animals are restrained only by thick leather straps that are long enough so that the dogs can move around a bit.

Some of the huskies have pulled off of their tethers. Many of them are out of their cages, snarling and barking at the tops of their lungs, eyes wide, fangs exposed as they rage. The sound is incredible; so is the smell. Two dogs claw and tear at each other in the centre of the hold; two others race frantically around and around, snapping and biting at their comrades. Others, unable to attack, snap and lunge at anything that comes near.

The dogs bear long vicious scratches along their sides. Some have huge chunks of skin and flesh hanging from their flanks; smears of blood and tufts of fur are everywhere, and the beasts are matted and dark with gore. Four of the dogs already lie dead in darkening pools on the deck, their throats ripped out. Others, still in their cages, tear at themselves convulsively. All the animals are covered with traces of crimson.

The sharp tang of blood mingles with fear and musk in a thick repugnant wave.

[Ghost_1971]

Callum arrives late at the scene. Behind the others. "Whats going on?" he says, stretching to see past the crew...

[Raiko]

SS Gabrielle - Main Deck, by the hatch to the #5 Tween-Deck Hold.
10:17am - Thursday 28th September, 1933

"What the hell?" Pulaski is incredulous. "What’s got into them?"
"They need help," says Frodesen. "I go down!"
"No!" Pulaski hisses, holding the other man back. "What if they’re rabid?"
"But - look! - You see them? They need us! We have to help them!"

Mister Turlow and a handful of others (including Callum and James) arrive a moment later. Turlow looks darkly into the hold. He asks what is wrong with the beasts, but no one knows. Other crewmembers murmur in appalled fascination as they watch.

"Look - they’ve got rabies."
"They're all killing each other!"
"We're all doomed."
"It’s Starkers' curse, I tell ya!"

"Shut up - look who's listening!" Turlow sends the sailors away brusquely and turns to Frodesen. "Those beasts are either diseased or they’re not," he says, "but they are certainly killing one another down there. The killers have got to be put down, for their own sake, and for the sake of the crew and the other dogs. Do you want to do it? Or should I?"

Frodesen searches for words. Pulaski just looks disgusted and angry. "I’ll do it," Pulaski drawls. "Get me a gun. And some help cleaning up down there afterwards."

One of the dogs screams. Pulaski scowls. "Aw, hell. Hurry, won’t you?"

First Officer Turlow leaves, jogging towards the bridge deck to fetch a handgun.

[OrionUK]

"We checked on these dog's last night & there was absolutely nothing wrong with them, all their behavior's were normal & the only unusual thing was that I spotted something 'rat' like scurrying into a corner but when I went to have a closer look I couldn't see anything" James speaks up a bit as he fears everyone is going to insist that all the dogs are put down.

"If they had Rabies some of the symptoms would have come out sooner but for no symptoms to be showing last night to then come to this all I can think of is that they have been poisened or something else has happened to force them intro this state - are we sure there is no way of checking if these symptons will pass without destroying the remaining dogs?"

[Laraqua]

"Those poor things," says Kitt. "Are they all violent? I just wish I could go down there and calm them down. They're dogs, right? They would love to have human company."

[Henrik]

"This behaviour seems strange to me. I don't have much experience with dogs, but do they usually get upset with each other in this sort of way?" Olof is perplexed by the whole situation. "My aunt had a dog that I used to walk at times, and it happened occasionally that it disliked other dogs we met, but that was always some sort of initial reaction. These dogs have known each other for a long time. I thought that dogs either liked each other or not. But then my expertise is with engineering, not dogs."

[Raiko]

".....are we sure there is no way of checking if these symptons will pass without destroying the remaining dogs?"

Gregor Pulaski shakes his head sadly, "No, don't worry we will not be killing them all, but unfortunately Turlow is right - the killers must be shot, for everyone's safety. There is no other solution."

".....But then my expertise is with engineering, not dogs."

Frodesen agrees with Olof, "You are right. This is a crazy, crazy thing to happen. Never have I had dogs do this!"

---------------------------------------------

SS Gabrielle - Main Deck, by the hatch to the #5 Tween-Deck Hold.
10:21am - Thursday 28th September, 1933

Turlow returns after a few minutes with a handgun and ammunition. He is accompanied by Professor Moore, who quizzes the onlookers while Pulaski loads the weapon, Moore is particularly interested in hearing from James that the dogs were fine last night. The distraught Frodesen agrees, "They fine this morning as well. When we let them out of their cages and feed them."

The massacre is brief and unpleasant. All the remaining dogs bark and howl the echoes of each shot thunder in the hold. Pulaski fires six times from the top of the ladder, killing five dogs. Only once does he miss his mark; the wounded malamute screams loudly before a second shot silences it.

As soon as the shooting is over, Frodesen jumps into the hold, heedless of his own safety, to reassure the remaining animals. "Get Olav!" he shouts, but Olav Sørensen is already there, and follows him down. In minutes the frantic dogs grow quieter, and they are soon returned to their cages without too much difficulty. They remain unusually noisy and agitated though.

A party of seamen, appointed by the first mate, arrives with mops and buckets as Pulaski finishes his grisly job. They look extremely uneasy about the work, scared of both the dogs and of catching some disease.

[BlackGoat]

Overwhelmed with Disgust by what he sees, he opts to take pictures, However is unsure what kind of reaction he will get for such activity. Reaching down into his pocket he pulls out a small notebook usually carried for small information gathering, but instead begins to write out the events that have transpired starting with the strange death of the captain back at port. He finishes with descriptions of the grizzly scene here in the hold with the dogs.

"hmmm..."

He looks for McRaven and goes to him.

"What do you think Bill?"

[Henrik]

Olof shortly contemplates returning to breakfast, but the dogs have made him lose all remaining appetite. He decides to take a walk around deck his mind troubled by dark thoughts.

[Raiko]

SS Gabrielle - Inside the #5 Tween-Deck Hold.
10:26am - Thursday 28th September, 1933

The task of cleaning out the pens is very unpleasant work indeed; the air is thick with the reek of the fatally wounded and terrified dogs. The bodies of the dead dogs are put onto canvas tarps and hauled up out of the hold to be thrown over the side. The smears of blood and bile are then swabbed up and rinsed away. Everyone is unhappy about touching the mess, and fearful of catching some illness. Throughout process the surviving dogs are extremely noisy and agitated.

Olav Sørensen, the other dog handler is also uneasy as he examines the still living dogs with Professor Graves. "Something is very wrong Professor," he says. "They are sick."

Graves spends a few minutes examining the two worst effected of the surviving dogs, Mama-san and Picardy. They are both in great distress: Their muscles twitch incessantly, they cannot stand up, and their breathing and heartbeat are incredibly rapid. Tremors come and go in waves, and the poor beasts can do little than whine and snap impotently at anyone who comes near.

After briefly examining the two dogs Graves looks extremely concerned and calls Professor Moore and James down into the hold.

When Moore reaches him Graves has some dire news, "There is no doubt Professor, these hounds are not diseased at all. Rather they have been poisoned, as James suggested."

"I suspect from the symptoms that strychnine is the cause, but I'll need to perform an autopsy to be sure. These two dogs are done for I'm afraid, they are in tremendous pain and I doubt that anything can be done ease their torment." He shakes his head sadly, "It would be a mercy to just shoot them both now."

The Professor gestures to the other cages, "The rest of the dogs don't seem to have such bad symptoms, hopefully they'll all recover fully."

[OrionUK]

"I thought it didn't quiet look like Rabies, although that might have been easier to hear rather than these poor animals have been poisoned on purpose" James is standing clear of the dogs as he doesn't want to risk agitating them further & is talking in calm soothing tones to try to ease the other dogs temperament.

"Is there any way of telling when they were poisoned? as I said they were fine last night, would it have been done since then?"

"I should really be getting back to Isugtag to make sure he is ok & let him know what has happened. Might I suggest that it is prudent for us to try to keep a guard over our own food, whats left of it, and start making formal investigations now that we know this was no accident or illness?"

[Laraqua]

"Everytime I think the saboteur has done what he felt the need to do, it gets worse," says Kitt to herself. "Why on earth would he do this? It makes no sense. It's just an expedition. Does it really matter if I reach Antarctica first or Lexington does? Perhaps I should just get off at the next stop. Would that end ... this?" She turns and moves almost sleepily away.

[Decrepit]

Jack tries to find an expedition member to find out what happened. Failing that, he'll seek out whoever's available.

[Henrik]

OOC: Has the news about the dogs' poisoning become common knowledge?

[Steerpike]

McRaven had simply crashed out when he got to his bunk. Combination of the long day, the and the exposure to the ammonia had simply taken it out on him. It took a while for the chaos with the dogs to register in his sleep addled brain.

Still tired as he wandered to the holds again, he was roused by the sound of a gun.

Running this time, he saw a scene of confusion people milling about everywhere...trying to to learn what had happened, he learns from a crewman of the dogs. Feeling helpless he hangs around, wondering if anyone would notice him slinking off...jeez he was tired!

The sean came up to him, all business like and holding a notepad and asks him what he thinks. McRaven simply shrugs.

"Just got here Sean, but it seems unlikely those dogs suddenly got ill. With all thats going on, I'd say 5 would get you 20 that our sabotager slipped those hounds a micky"

[Mister Juan]

As Callum and James raced out of the #3 tween-deck hold, Isugtag leaned his heavy frame against the closest support. Ever since the very first incident, back in New York with Lawrence, everything had seemingly gone down hill. Then, Douglas had been murdered, they had gotten strange letters from unknown parties, and now, they apparently had a saboteur amongst their midst. It wasn't to say that nothing had gone well or as planned. Far from that. But things could have fared in a much brighter light. Out of the inside pocket of his vest, Isugtag took his tobacco box and started to fill his pipe up.

Scratching a match, he was about to light it when he heard the first shot. Quickly, his mind started to race. To his knowledge, all weapons (beside the one he had hidden on himself) were securely locked. Another shot rang out inside the boat, it's echo sounding hallow in the hold. The big Inuit launched himself forward, shaking his hand to extinguish the match as his free hand buried itself under the back of his vest.

Just as he was coming out of the hold and closer to whatever was happening, Isugtag came upon James. With his hand still wrapped around the revolver stuck in his back, the old Inuit gave the young man a rather somber look. At first glance, James didn't appear hurt, or alarmed in any ways. He looked more... disturbed.

Isugtag relaxed a bit; if people had been in danger, James would have been slightly more alarmed.

Releasing his grip on the revolver, he tucked his vest a little back down to cover it, and put one of his big paws on James' shoulder.

“What is going on?” said the Inuit in his usual half broken English.

[OrionUK]

"Isugtag I was just coming to let you know what has happened" James is releived to see the big Inuit where they had left him & in no apparent danger.

"The dogs look they have been poisoned & have turned on one another. We have had to put a couple down but, hopefully, a few will come out of this relatively unhurt. It is going to be quite a set back for the sled team as I think we will need to replace some of them, if possible."

James pauses briefly to give Isugtag time for the implications of this news to register "This is getting beyond a joke & we need to get to the bottom of this at the earliest possibility, what do you think we should do now, as I feel we need to step up our search for the sabouteur"

[Raiko]

SS Gabrielle - The Officer's Mess.
12:30pm - Thursday 28th September, 1933

Professor Graves quickly leaves the hold, but asks that Picardy be brought immediately to the expedition lab/office as well as whatever is left of dogs’ food and drink.

The remaining expedition dogs do not appear to have been badly effected, and by the time the clean up operation is complete they have settled back down. However of the original thirty six malamute dogs, nine are now dead - a full sled team.

Two hours later, at twelve thirty, Professor Moore and Officer Turlow call a meeting of the expedition staff. Forty people cram themselves into the officer’s mess. The atmosphere is tense as Professor Graves explains his findings:

"The dogs, as some of you may have already heard, were poisoned with strychnine. I have found traces of powdered strychnine in some of the dogs’ food dishes. The powder was also found in the most recently opened box of pemmican, the one that was used to feed the dogs."

"The amount of strychnine found on the remaining pemmican blocks in the poisoned box constitutes a lethal dose. Each of the portions I examined, if consumed, would have killed any dog - or any man or woman - on this ship. Had this box been carried onto the ice and opened there, it is likely that several of us would have died. Only sheerest fortune has spared us today."

"We've have opened and sampled the contents of two other pemmican crates; fortunately there was no trace of contamination in either. The crate that our own breakfasts were taken from this morning was also uncontaminated."

Graves pauses for effect, "I can take little comfort in that."

"We have at this time no way of knowing when the poison was placed in the food, or how many other crates have been affected. It could have been done before we left New York; it may equally have been done only yesterday. Two things, however, are clear."

"Firstly, the poisoning was not done during the manufacturing process. The strychnine, in powdered form, was added to the wrapped packages, not mixed into them."

"Secondly, the presence of strychnine powder in our most important supplies means that someone, somewhere, wishes us all to die. I find I cannot ignore the fact that, if the deed was not performed in New York, then we have a would-be murderer aboard this vessel, one who could strike again at any moment."

After that, the Professor steps aside, and Moore takes centre stage, explaining that: "In order to prevent any similar tragedies from occurring, I think that every bit of food in the expedition larder must be now be examined. In order to minimize delays, that examination must start at once, while the ship is still at sea."

Moore looks to the Sorensen brothers, "Nils, Gunnar I would like you two to take charge of that, organise as many people as you need into teams. This must be done as quickly as possible, but must also be extremely thorough. If there is any need for assistance from the ship’s crew, Mister Turlow is the man to see. He will ensure that you get all the help you need. That is all."

He pauses, then holds up a hand. "Now I would like the following people to remain here to speak to me please..."

"James Seymour, Callum, Jack Wilson, Kitt, Isugtag, Olof Eriksson, Sean, Bill McRaven..."

He turns to Professor Graves who is still stood next to him, "and you of course Professor."

Other expedition members are already filing out; some are sombre, while others angrily discuss the latest incident.


OOC:

@Orion_UK & Mister Juan: Sorry to cut off your conversation, you should find that you can carry it on with Moore and the others anyway.

[Decrepit]

Jack guesses that one concern Moore and Starkweather will have is publicity. Nothing like a story about a doomed ship to liven up the folks at home. He tries to think of how much he'd be willing not to tell his editors, hoping he'll know if and when the question comes up.

This is a bad business, he thinks. Now how do we make this work? Clearly our investigative efforts haven't paid off yet. We have to keep looking for a common denominator.

[Ghost_1971]

Callum stands up and help himself to another mug of coffee. Then settles down for the rest of the meeting....