Cycle 1062, Day 33: Gwynedd

[atpollard]

He cranes his neck to take in more of the scene. Officers can be notoriously short-sighted, but this level of obliviousness is outright farcical! Does he see anything that might have addled the officers' wits?

[I will respond to your shout with the full response, but for now:]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:11 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Bridge
Studying the scene for a few minutes reveals the true cause of the inaction ... a struggle for command of the ship. Officers appeal to the Captain to issue orders and take action, but something has rendered the man incapable of action or decision. From his few babblings about "pirates" and his "logs" you sense a man that has broken inside. The Captain will be of no use in this crisis.

Nature abhors a vacuum and the remaining officers attempt to fill the command vacuum left by the Captain's departure in mind, if nor in body. Were this a Navy Ship, the chain of command would have been clear and adherence to it without question ... mutineers were still hung. Unfortunately, things are more complicated in the Merchant fleet.

The First Officer, who should be next in command, advocated attempting to rescue the ship by manning the pumps and remaining aboard the ship to defend it from both pirates and salvage claims. He was also in his mid-twenties and a nephew of the ship owner.

The Second Officer, who was nearly fifty years old, was arguing violently for the need to abandon ship.

The First Officer was threatening to charge anyone who abandoned their post with dereliction of duty. So the lesser officers remained paralyzed at their posts as the battle for command raged between the First and Second Officers ... and the Captain updated his Logs.

[Leitz]

OOC: Diana has a low STR but decent END. Rolled 9 (8+1) for her to recover her energy. She's still wet and bedraggled, but able to function.

"Okay, everyone. If you feel ill move to the side of the boat. The rest of us need to help as best we can and thank the crew for their work." Diana said. She repeated it more than once as she moved to the person who most seemed to be the boat captain. Her sea bag slowed her down but it wasn't holding a lot of water. Small blessings.

"Captain? Diana Hayes. Thank you and your crew for coming out so quickly." Diana said. She looked around at the ship. "Though it seems easy enough; she moves fast. Anything we can do to make the trip easier?"

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:20 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Bridge
"We should join them before we sink or are captured by pirates!" shouted Ignatz into the confusion of the Bridge loud enough to be heard over the heated 'discussion' between the First and Second Officers.

The bridge crew exploded into argument and shoving as the remaining officers and crew present went into complete panic mode ... either attempting to flee, or attempting to restrain those attempting to flee.

"I WILL HAVE ORDER ON MY BRIDGE!" bellowed the Captain, instantly halting everyone with the voice of Authority. For a moment, hope rose that the Captain might be back among us. He stared straight at Ignatz,"Young man, you are inciting confusion on my bridge. You will desist at once." He turned to address the room "HERE is what will happen. I will finish updating my logs, and then we will gather for some tea and discuss our options. Then the Captain will decide if and when to abandon ship." He returned to writing in his log and hopes fell as fast as they had risen.

The ship abruptly shifted back towards level as the belly of the ship let loose with a terrible groaning and a loud crack.

"That's it" said the old Second Officer "On my authority, all hands abandon ship!" Crewmen and petty officers slowly began to obey.

"MUTINY!" screamed the First Officer. "Dereliction of duty!" He pointed at the Second Officer "You have overstepped your authority, Sir. The Captain has issued a direct order and any man who abandons his position in time of distress will be charged with desertion and any officer who chooses to follow illegal orders, will be charged as accomplices and hung alongside the Second Officer for mutiny."

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:20 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Top Deck: Lifeboats
"Hurry! Hurry! Plenty of lifeboats left in the back of the boat! Make way! Godspeed!" cried out Phineas in his convincing voice.

The crowd did indeed 'hurry' aft in search of mythical lifeboats. Phineas watched as gallant gentlemen assisted those too old to swim, too infirmed to swim, too young to swim and too badly injured to swim towards the back of the boat. Infants, pregnant women and the elderly had given up their seats to Phineas. Now he waited with only those too weak to walk to the back and those already at the front of the line for this lifeboat. Barely enough people to half fill it ... if the crew can ever untangle the lines.

Looking around for something that will float, Phineas notices an old barrel and an unconscious man next to it. He appears to have some sort of leg wound that was bandaged, but had begun to bleed again. He was wearing a life vest. At first Phineas debated the choice between the barrel and the life vest ... one was clearly available and the other some might argue was of contested ownership. The violent movement of the ship throwing the crew to the deck and swinging the lifeboat around violently, followed by a deep groan and loud crack from the hull somewhere below water dispelled all conflict.

Phineas removed the life vest from the dying man and placed it on himself. Fortunately, there was no blood on it to soil his clothes. The man did have a chain hanging from a pocket that Phineas just happened to observe was attached to a Cr 20 pocket watch.

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:20 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Main Deck: Parlor
Doc shrugged off the death and focused on the living. He began working quickly to stabilize patient #4 [A woman who is critically injured and requires immediate care to stabilize her (hard task: 10+) and surgery when you have all of your equipment (hard task: 10+)]. As you are making slow but steady progress, the fire on the starboard boards of the hull burn completely through. Smoke pours into the Parlor as the flames begin to dance across the edge of the ceiling. The ship rocks abruptly and only Doc's fast reflexes prevent him from accidentally killing the patient.

From just below you comes a loud water muffled groan and a sharp crack.

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:20 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Lower Deck: Salvage Tug
Please, sir! Jo made her best pitch to the Captain. He seemed a man unmoved by emotion, but not unreasonable.

"Same deal as the rest, standard wage." he bellows. "Anyone that has a hand in recovering the salvage, gets a share in the salvage. Now if you know anything useful about that ship, get your arse aboard and help get that engine pulled free of that wreckage."

The Salvage Tug once more matches position with the Ship and Jo leapt aboard near where men had removed the siding to expose one of the giant Compound piston engines. Inside, a man was cutting and breaking steam pipes to free the engine as other men were attempting to unbolt it from the support beams below it. The men were standing chest deep in water as they worked.

The ribs that supported the planking began to creak and as a wave lifted the ship, Jo heard a loud CRACK come from the keel. She needed to work fast because this ship was not going to remain afloat much longer.

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:20 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Fishing Boats
"Anything we can do to make the trip easier?" said Diana to the man with his hand on the tiller and his eye on the sail.

"Can you bait a hook?" said a younger man with a red beard.
"What sort of question is that fer a lady?" scolded an old grey haired sailor with leathery skin.
"A practical one. I just figured that as long as we were out here, we might as well run a line." the boy replied with a grin"and she did ask if she could help."

The old man grinned and the man at the tiller just rolled his eyes.

[Leitz]

Diana shook her head but grinned. "That wasn't quite what I was thinking about, young man, but thank you for the humor. A cheerful perspective helps wonders when all seems lost."

She glanced back at the other rescuees in the hold, and then looked at Red Beard. "How many hooks need baiting? How many lines can be run? There are going to be a lot of mouths to feed and most everything they had to sell or trade is quickly going underwater. I hope you can cheer them up, it could get quite depressing once they get over the initial shock."

Diana stayed near the three men. Precious little she could do but this seemed the most likely place to find anything that could be done.

[ffilz]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:20 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Main Deck: Parlor
Doc shrugged off the death and focused on the living. He began working quickly to stabilize patient #4 [A woman who is critically injured and requires immediate care to stabilize her (hard task: 10+) and surgery when you have all of your equipment (hard task: 10+)]. As you are making slow but steady progress, the fire on the starboard boards of the hull burn completely through. Smoke pours into the Parlor as the flames begin to dance across the edge of the ceiling. The ship rocks abruptly and only Doc's fast reflexes prevent him from accidentally killing the patient.

From just below you comes a loud water muffled groan and a sharp crack.

Assuming I need to make another roll...
Despite Doc's efforts on the woman (Medical [2d6+3] = 5+3 = 8 vs 10+) he is unable to stabilize her, but perhaps there's still a chance to get her off. Obviously things are about to go sideways in a very bad way.

Samuel will call the nurses to help carry those who have a chance of surviving and get up on deck and see if we can get back on the salvage tug.

[Inferno]

Phineas T. Codswallop, enterprising go-getter:

Sitting comfortably in the lifeboat, Phineas gave his head a rueful little shake. There's a sucker born every minute.

Then the ship lurched.

Phineas quickly pocketed the watch and donned the life jacket, "Thank you, my good man!"

He briefly considered the prospect of riding the barrel through the tempestuous waves. It reminded him of a death-defying daredevil he once enjoyed the acquaintance of before her tragic downfall.



Phineas secured his ill-gotten possessions in buttoned pockets and tied pouches. Then he made good his escape.

If the lifeboat is leaving now, Phineas will hop aboard. "Cast off!"

If the lifeboat is not leaving now, Phineas will roll the barrel to the lowest part of the deck, closest to the water, throw it overboard and leap in after it, landing beside it in the water. "Geronimo!"

[Urson]

Jo

Jo shouted,Aye, sir! and sprinted for the rail.

In the engine room, she slapped the pipe-cutter on the shoulder. I was working this ship until the wreck. The joint there, she points, was only days from splitting. It should cut easier.

She grabs a spanner and joins the man loosening the engine bolts.

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:25 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
"Geronimo!" shouted Phineas as he lept into the water after his barrel. He did not care for either the sounds coming from the hull or the instability that accompanied them. It was a good time to make a hasty departure.


Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:25 [Fishing Boats: 45N,25W]
"I hope you can cheer them up, it could get quite depressing once they get over the initial shock." Diana's words hung in the air for a long silent moment.

Then 'red beard' opened a small storage box built into the bottom of the boat near the mast and removed a long coil of heavy twine. Skillful hands trained with long hours of practice instantly drew a hook as large as your thumb from a pocket of his coveralls and tied it to the line. He scraped something unidentifiable out of the standing water in the lowest part of the hull with the tip of the hook and measured out some length of line before cutting it with a pocket knife. The whole process was performed with such a fluid economy of motion that it almost seemed like a dance. "Me mum always says the cure for not bein' able to do nothin', is to just start to do SOMETHIN'." said red beard. "Name's Aodh" [pronounced 'ai']

"More like Aodghan" [pronounced 'eh-gawn'] the helmsman chuckled.

"Now you just be minding the boat and try not to sail US into any rocks Ruadhán Ó Cearnaigh" [pronounced 'rue-awn'] said Aodh. He returned his attention to Diana "First you tie the end of the rope to the oar pin, like this." Diana observed that the boat was equipped to be rowed by four oars each held in place by two wooden pegs ... giving eight empty oar pegs to tie fishing lines to. "Then you just slowly let it out and feel for a tug on the line. When you feel the fish start to tug, you wait a few moments and then give it a sharp yank to set the hook. Then you reel it in and see if you caught a fish." He demonstrated and then handed the wet line and empty hook to Diana.

"Give it a try while I make some more, then you can go and show the others where to tie the line and how to work it." he said and immediately got to work preparing another hook and line.

Irish Celtic pun: Aodh means 'fire' and Aodghan means 'little flame' and both are masculine names.

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:30 [Steamship New Dawn: 45N,25W]
Doc and the nurses began leading their macabre convoy of wounded and dying down the stairs towards the Salvage Tug. You were half way to the Tug when the forward third of the ship twisted one way and the aft two-thirds of the ship twisted the other. The Steamship New Dawn broke in half just aft of the boilers and the rear portion rolled 45 degrees to port and dumped all of you into the ocean. Suddenly Doc found himself treading water and still clinging to patient #4 [A woman who is critically injured and requires immediate care to stabilize her (hard task: 10+) and surgery when you have all of your equipment (hard task: 10+)]. With the wind and the waves and the spray of the water, you cannot see the nurses or the other patients or the Tug. You can see the side of the Steamship looming directly above you.

******

Jo and the others were making good progress on removing the Engine. Your inside knowledge had sped things up. The Tug was along side and the operator had the hoist in place and one of the men had secured a chain around the cylinders to lift the engine. Only one stubborn bolt remained. Suddenly the New Dawn broke apart and listed sharply. For a moment Jo feared it would roll completely over. Water rushed in through the open side and she quickly found herself completely submerged in the warm, bathwater like ocean water.

Most of the men panicked and swam for the surface, but Jo realized that with the Tug and Steamship chained together at the engine, both were in danger. Having no desire to try and swim to the mainland, she chose to save the Tug by finishing the job. She gave everything she had ... and the bolt turned. Several easy turns and the engine was free.

Jo grabbed the moving chains and held on for dear life as the engine suddenly sprang free of the water. The Tug bounced back and forth as the heavy steel casting swung on the chain at the end of the hoist with Jo just clinging on to the side of it.

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:35 [Fishing Boats and Lifeboats and Tugs: 45N,25W]
Ignatz attempted to restore order to the Bridge, but abandoned the task and started to flee. He hadn't gotten far when the ship broke apart. The front third, where he was, suddenly liberated from the rest of the ship but still possessing the weight of the boiler at its new extreme aft, responded according to the laws of physics. The boiler sank and the bow rose until the front of the ship stood vertical. Ignatz was thrown clear like a stone on a catapult, sailing quite some horizontal distance in the process. Then everyone watched in shock as the bow quickly slipped straight down and disappeared beneath the sea with barely a splash.

Phineas was clinging to his barrel and having some difficulty due to the waves. Fortuosity chose that moment to smile upon him when a lifeboat, perhaps the very lifeboat that he had been waiting to board or perhaps another tangled lifeboat, fell from the upper deck and landed with a great splash only a handful of meters from him. Abandoning the barrel that had served him well, Phineas climbed aboard the empty lifeboat and sat alone and contented. Life was good ... even in the rain.

Dr Samuel and his patient were rescued by a Fishing Boat from Gwynedd. Once aboard, Doc was able to finish stabilizing the patient [roll 7+3=10]. There still remained a difficult surgery, but you had bought the young lady some time and a chance.

As the Engine was lowered to the deck, the workers all gathered around to offer praise and congratulations to Jo for both getting the engine and saving the Tug. "Good work" was all the Captain said, except for "Welcome aboard", but Jo sensed that few people got praises from the Captain. In a way, that made his praise mean even more.

[Leitz]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 6:30 [Fishing Boats: 45N,25W]

Diana roll 11 to figure this out well

"Okay." Diana said. She looked at the younger man. "Aodh, those were good instructions. Let me see if I can follow them well."

Letting herself quit worrying about the far future, Diana focused on what Aodh had said and making it work. She let herself ignore others and feel the drag of the hook in the water. James would be proud. Of course, being at the edge of the boat helped cover some of the smell from below and gave her a view. She smiled, and then went back to understanding the lesson on fishing.

[ffilz]

Doc will scan the waters and nearby boats to see if any of the nurses or other patients have been rescued.

Thanks for the rescue, the ship breaking apart like that was not in my plan. If there are no others to rescue immediately, let us make haste back to port so I can get this lady into surgery.

[Urson]

Jo

Jo clung to the chains, coughing out seawater as the engine was moved to the Tug. She dropped to the deck as soon as possible, glad she hadn't lost a finger to the twisting chains.

She stood straight as the Captain spoke. Glad to be *cough-cough* of service, sir. She shook whatever hands were offered by the crew, squeezing water out of her braid.

She looked around, trying to find a junior officer so she could introduce herself and begin making arrangements for her passage on to port.

[Pulpatoon]

Ignatz swims to the nearest friendly-looking boat. The ship! Gone! Still with so many hands onboard! And... his manuscript! Lost to salty deep!

[Inferno]

Phineas T. Codswallop:

'Fortune favors the bold!' Phineas thought contentedly as he settled into his spacious lifeboat. He smoothed his mustache as he looked about for oars, and for any strapping young roustabouts to man them.

[atpollard]

Cycle 1062 (Autumn): Day 33: Shift 2: Hour 7:20 [Hamlet of Gwynedd: 45N,25W]

Ignatz swam towards a boat that quickly rowed to meet him. With a minimum of lost effort, the boat never came to a stop as several muscular arms plucked you from the water and swung you aboard. Shouts from the boatswain quickly had all of the men pulling on the staggered oars with practiced efficiency. Ignatz sat near the bow with the man he identified immediately as the ‘Pilot’ that stormed out of the bridge.

The pilot boat was designed for speed rather than capacity, so the six Rowers, the Pilot and Ignatz left it with little freeboard to spare in these rough storm waves. So the boat headed back to port and headed that direction at a brisk clip.

By 7:10, the distant lights of Gwynedd had given way to the floating docks, pilings and stilt community that ringed the large safe anchorage. By 7:20, the boat was tied at the floating dock and Ignatz was climbing the ship’s ladder to the fixed platform almost three stories above the dock. The warm rain still blew nearly sideways at times, but the thick planking beneath your feet felt solid as a rock. This boardwalk that circled most of the anchorage appeared to serve as a ‘Main Street’ with wooden structures on masonry pilings lining both sides at variable intervals.

An old seaman said nothing but simply threw a blanket around your shoulders. “Cmon mate. Ya don’t just plan on standin’ out in the rain, do ya?” said one of the Rowers with a gesture to a building with a broken rudder over the well lit windows. Most of the Rowers and the pilot were already heading towards the “Broken Rudder Pub”.

Squinting out to sea, Ignatz estimated that the next nearest boat was still about 10 minutes away.