U-296

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jwhouk
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Re: U-296

Post by jwhouk »

went wrong... went wrong... went wrong... went wrong... went wrong... went wrong... went wrong... went wrong...

;)
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Re: U-296

Post by lake_wrangler »

Maybe I missed, or forgot, the information being given before, and I'm too lazy to go searching for it (nor do I have time for doing so...), so I'll just ask:

How does Kleinke know about Stinky's name, and that Stinky is trying to return the cross to the person who calls Stinky, Stinky?
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Re: U-296

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lake_wrangler wrote:Maybe I missed, or forgot, the information being given before, and I'm too lazy to go searching for it (nor do I have time for doing so...), so I'll just ask:

How does Kleinke know about Stinky's name, and that Stinky is trying to return the cross to the person who calls Stinky, Stinky?
Kleinke touched the artifact and has not returned from his alternate reality- fourth entry of the story.
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Re: U-296

Post by lake_wrangler »

Sgt. Howard wrote:
lake_wrangler wrote:Maybe I missed, or forgot, the information being given before, and I'm too lazy to go searching for it (nor do I have time for doing so...), so I'll just ask:

How does Kleinke know about Stinky's name, and that Stinky is trying to return the cross to the person who calls Stinky, Stinky?
Kleinke touched the artifact and has not returned from his alternate reality- fourth entry of the story.
Ah, yes. Now that you mention it, that does ring a bell. Thank you.
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Re: U-296

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Walsch stayed with Kleinke when he crawled into his bunk... which was 'assigned' as his bunk after the incident. Bunks in a U-Boat typically have more than one occupant, sometimes three... one is on duty while the other sleeps, or even three bodies do 16 hrs. awake and 8 hrs. sleep in rotation.

Lice could spread like wildfire onboard a sub.

But when Davit Kleinke lost touch with reality, he was 'assigned' a bunk that he shared with no-one- he was under the care of Sanitadt Kruppler for meals and bathroom activities... especially as improper use of the boat's toilet could sink it. Torpedo man Mueller, who shared Kleinke's bunk before he went verruckt, was of the opinion that Kleinke needed to use a torpedo tube to crap, and that it ought to be 'flushed' from inside the sub with Kleinke still in it... but there were similar opinions about Mueller among the crew, so he quit voicing it...
Walsch talked calmly to Kleinke, asking questions... questions about the Krake...
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Re: U-296

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Sorry for the delay- I have been in the SF Bay Area for almost a week now attending my Niece's wedding. Took the boys to see the Pampanito, the Oakland zoo and a number of other things. Will continue with the story in a few days
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Re: U-296

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I was wondering. SNR was getting a bit quiet, and I'd thought maybe you'd taken a wrong turn at one of the other Library portals.
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Re: U-296

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Psst, Sarge: you've got a U-boat floating in limbo...
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Re: U-296

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jwhouk wrote:Psst, Sarge: you've got a U-boat floating in limbo...
Actually, it's in the Atlantic
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Re: U-296

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Sgt. Howard wrote:
jwhouk wrote:Psst, Sarge: you've got a U-boat floating in limbo...
Actually, it's in the Atlantic
Ba-dum-tish.....
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Re: U-296

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At about 17:35 that evening, while on lookout, Mueller was surprised to see Walsch climb up into the 'chariot' and scan the waters for signs of the monster along with Bissinger and Weiss.
"Herr Leutnant! There should not be more than three topside until we are safe from the Krake! Four men cannot clear the hatch fast enough," Mueller blurted out.
"I am here on my own responsibility- I will see you lot down the hatch first, I promise," Responded Walsch, "...and save my rank for when we are in port- it serves little purpose here,"
The four scanned the horizon ... what little they could see in the fog... paying particular attention to the surface thereof. All was silent beyond the thrum of the diesels and the hiss of water being parted by the hull- the sea was near flat and devoid of wind.

A perfect setting for a sailor's ghost story.

"Zumwalt was a friend of yours," Walsh finally interjected, "I am sorry for your loss,"
"He was a loss for all of us," added Weiss, "we all thought of him as a kid brother. He was only, what? Seventeen? Sixteen? He had no business being on this stinking tub, but he pulled the weight of a man... and he never complained,"
"He turned sixteen last month- he made a brave show of dry shaving... lather him with cream and let a cat lick it off, I always thought... now... " Bissinger turned back to the sea, unable to talk any further.
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Re: U-296

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"MEIN GOTT INS HIMMEL!!!" yelled Freidermann from the radio room, "KAPTAIN, KOMMEN SIE GLEICH!!!"
"What then? What is it?"
Freidermann handed him the script he had just translated from the enigma machine- reading it, the Skipper paled. Slowly, as if in a trance, he walked back to the control room and studied the script as he picked up the boat's intercom mike-
in a slow voice, he announced-
"ACHTUNG, ACHTUNG... der Führer, Adolf Hitler, four days ago, took his own... life... with a pistol. Repeat- der Führer is dead. Berlin is fallen. Admiral Donitz is now our leader... we are to report to the nearest Norwegian port as quickly as possible. We are to avoid any Allied contacts. We can expect no resupply at sea at his time... that... is all,"
All eyes were upon him in the control room. That there was no supply meant that one more delay by the Krake would cause them to starve. That they should avoid Allied contact meant they could not surrender.

That Hitler was dead and Berlin has fallen meant that the war was over... and they had lost. They were not given the order to surrender. Yet, the authority to enforce the wishes of high command were not likely to exist.

Felderman came up the conning tower to announce to the four in the chariot what was announced... even though they already heard the Skipper's words. He retreated so as to keep the ladder clear.

"Well," Walsh commented, "I suspect we are now at a crossroads... if not the end of the journey,"
"How do you mean?" Bissinger asked.
"Simple- there IS no Berlin to deliver this 'Devil's Cross' thing to. There IS no place to take it where it would do the Reich any good. AND we have a creature that doesn't want us to have it- in fact, is willing to do us serious harm. Six men dead... and you've seen the hole it left in the stern,"
"But why hasn't it continued to drag us along? Where is it now?" asked Mueller.

"It is feeding- Kleinke told me as much. Once it has hunted and killed a meal, it will again attend to us,"
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Re: U-296

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Hunting took much longer this time than he expected- he did find a small cow, but that was not early enough. He then found another bull, who gave quite a struggle in spite of his small size... but in the end, it became food. After a pause to recover from wounds, again the dead-not dead thing was located, so that he might drag it to where the gate is.
The scarcity of blunt nose sharp teeth seemed to stem from the fact that word had gotten out- they knew he was on the prowl and were clever enough to stay away from his apparent path. This was frustrating... especially in view of how long he had been in thin water and longed for the comfort of the deeper waters of home. There he could dart up into the thinner water on rare occasions and grab an unsuspecting air-breather much less frequently than now- and almost always catch them of-guard. If there is sufficient time between attacks, they forget that he is... or hope he has passed on.

Regardless.

This last foray took him farther away from the dead-not dead thing than before. He could sense in easily enough, but between his wounds and the distance, he was much further away from the thing than he wanted to be time-wise.
Fortunately, it was slow...
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Re: U-296

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Just for giggles- here's Alsermann leaving the sub.
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Re: U-296

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"Attend to us? Hell, give him his damn thingy and be done with it!" blurted out Mueller.
"That might be mutiny," Bissinger pointed out, "If the Skipper does not approve of the idea. He has orders, you know,"
"Orders? From a dead Führer? From a Capital in Bolshevik hands? Really, Hans- you amaze me," chortled Walsch.
"You're our Political Officer! And you're ENCOURAGING this sort of talk?" Weiss piped up.
"In truth, I am a member of the NAZI party in name only- politically, I am an opportunist, nothing more... they held power, therefor it became expedient to be one of them,"
"I thought you were rather easy-going for a 'party faithful'... so, in other words, you're a charlatan! A rank fraud!" accused Bissinger.
"True... but just remember, this 'rank fraud' outranks YOU! If I can get Dondermann to see reason, we will be rid of this situation and possibly surrender to the Americans. Beats a grave at sea at an early age, I say,"
"But... what IS this damned thing we carry?" asked Mueller, "how does it drive men mad?"
"Hell if I know and shit if I care! Dreyschmeyer has no clue, Alserman has been fed to the Krake along with five others, the Skipper doesn't know and I would bet gold at three to one that the Bohemian Corporal himself would only get himself killed were he still alive and we handed it to him! I suspect most of the crew is of similar mind," he said as he went back down the hatch, "Keep an eye out for 'Stinky', eh? I will speak with Rasch- keep this under your hat until the time is right,"

"Yes, he will be back... he wants the cross, he can sense it's power," Kleinke jabbered to Krupler.
"Really now, Davit- and what power does this cross posses?" Krupler returned.
"Great power... I saw it, you know... the one who can wield it can ... can rule all of the world... can etch his name in the stars..."
"Well now, that's all well and fine... but right now we simply got to get to Norway so we can figure a few things out,"
Kleinke looked at him with those crazed eyes- "We won't make Norway," he stated quite calmly, "We will wind up on the bottom unless we give him the cross,"
"BLAAAAAAHGH!!! YAAAAGH!!!! NEEEIIIINNNNNN!!!!!!" came a scream from forward.
"What was that?" blurted Krupler.
"That," snickered Kleinke, "that was Schukart... now HE knows as well..." and he reduced to giggles.
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Re: U-296

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"Shuckart!!! DROP THAT DAMN THING!!! Mein GOTT! SOMEBODY STOP HIM!!!" screamed Pheil.
"Hell if I'M going to! I might touch that thing!" bellowed Schmidt.
"STOP HIM!!! GRAB THAT THING BY THE CHAIN!!!"

"STAND CLEAR!" Rasch yelled, leveling his P-38 Walther on the man. Crewmen got out of his way. Schuckart had already gouged out both of his eyes and was busy tearing the flesh from his face when the shot ended his misery. Another crewman was vomiting all over the number 2 torpedo hatch. All eyes were either on Schuckart's body or on Oberleutnant Rasch. Dreshmeyer stumbled up to the forward torpedo room, saw the remains and vomited right there.
"Get that thing," Rash hissed at him, "put it back in the box. WHO SAW WHAT HAPPENED?"
As Johann Dreshmeyer cautiously picked up the chain that held the relic, Landermann stepped forward-
"He walked into the torpedoroom with the box in his hands... we didn't recognise what it was until he opened it and pulled out that... that... that "Satan's Asshole' thing. Then he started yelling and screaming... well, you must have heard him... Professor Dreshmeyer, WHO are we to deliver this thing to?"
""I am to deliver this to Walter Gerlach in Peenemünde- assuming we can get there," he said rather thickly as he dropped the thing back in it's box.
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Re: U-296

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"Peenemünde is out of the question," Rasch stated flatly, "we have alternate orders regarding this thing. Damn! I HOPE ALL OF YOU UNDERSTAND JUST HOW DANGEROUS THIS INFERNAL THING IS!!! I CANNOT AFFORD TO LOOSE ANY MORE OF YOU TO STUPID CURIOSITY! Dreshmeyer, take it to my cabin- Dondermann, prepare a funeral detail and tell me when you're ready. AND BY THE WAY- should I go full 'gibbering idiot' to the point that I am tearing my own face apart, I hope that at least ONE of you has the backbone to relieve me of my pain... I assure you, if you kill me under such circumstances I will not press charges,"
There was a dark murmur of consent.

"But how did you know that it was Schukart?" asked Krupler, "did you recognize his scream?"
"No... I felt him opening the box... it calls to people, see? I saw his face when he opened the box... I saw what it saw..."
"But... it WANTED Schukart to open the box... and take it out? Why?
In an almost stage whisper, Kleinke responded,

"It LOVES chaos... and it sees us as toys..."
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Re: U-296

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He could not move as fast as before. The Blunt nose sharp tooth air-breather had bitten his water bladder, making it painful to jet. His web took some injury as well... not as painful, but his pulsing was less effective. He located the dead-not dead thing a goodly distance off, but could barely move faster than that which he cased. The top was already going dark- he would catch up with the thing in the middle of next light. Then he did't have far to drag it... then he could go deep and stay deep for a while.
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Re: U-296

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Oberleutnant Karl-Heinz Rasch turned into his cabin, shaken by recent events. Six men killed by a mythical beast, one gone mad to a sinister object, another shot dead by his own hand. His crew of 44 was functionally now 38... and smelled of mutiny. A top scientist onboard had no more idea of what they were dealing with than anybody else... there was that test for some sort of power that involved the use of a ...gizmo... produced nothing. A "Geiger-Mueller" tube was supposed to tell them something... but whatever it was supposed to tell them, it remained mute... and no other tests were even feasible with this thing. Kleinke had caught the thing when it tumbled from the dead hands of McManus when they first went after it- it was in his grasp for all of two seconds before Bissinger wrested it away by the chain. Kleinke was struck dumb and didn't start his hysterics until he was back in the boat.
And now, Hitler is dead- been dead for four days. Killed himself, the report said. The Russians were encroaching on Berlin when this voyage started- doubtless Hitler shot himself rather than become a spectacular prisoner for Stalin to parade to the world.
His orders didn't include Norway- he was supposed to deliver this thing to the Imperial Japanese Navy should Germany fall before he could complete his mission. He barely had enough fuel to make it to Bremerhaven, and certainly not enough food or water to get back home without severe rationing.
"Karl," Dondermann intoned as he opened the Skipper's door, "We are ready to inter Schukart- a brief ceremony in the torpedo room, I think... otherwise we risk too many topside should 'Stinky' show up,"
Rasch drew a deep sigh- "Very well, I'll be there right away,"

As a show of respect, all crew in the crowded torpedo room wore their 'shore leave' uniforms. Schukart was stitched into a canvass bag (there were several of these made for this purpose) with a chunk of iron to insure that he sinks. Placed on the rack atop a plywood board to ride the rails, he was aligned with the number one tube in accordance with protocol for a 'foul weather burial at sea'.
Rasch stepped up to the open space between the tubes and turned to face the crew that was there.
"...I don't need to tell you that this is the worst patrol of my carreer," he gravely stated, " as you all well know, up to this time I have not had a single loss of crew or passengers. And no, neither have we had a victory, not in the truest sense of out craft- but that was never our mission, was it? We would deliver and pick up those who needed to get here and there, we would transfer goods all about without the Allies ever knowing we were there. Never so much as a footprint to prove our existence... and now we have a trail of dead bodies. Of Kamaraden, who will no longer be with us. Now we are pursued by something that we were told is a fable, a fairy tale... in the service of a Government that might no longer exist. I think the time has come to face our situation for what it is- without hope or purpose. We shall sail for the Azores and see what awaits us there- do I hear any objection to this? Speak freely, I want to know of any dissent, that we might work out something that might suit everyone,"
There was silence for quite the while- then Bissinger spoke up- "Throw that damn thing overboard!" A chorus of agreement followed, quoting Kleinke's warnings about the Krake.
"Not just yet- we haven't seen our slimy friend in a while. His fascination with us might have nothing to do with the thing... next time he shows, we throw it overboard and see what he does. If he leaves us alone, then we know we can continue in peace. If we throw it overboard now, we have no guarantee that we are rid of him and become relaxed enough for him to be even more deadly,"
"And... what if he just wants to kill us?"
"Then... well, nothing really matters... let us see to our Kamarad, and send him off to the sea,"
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Re: U-296

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Schukart was prayed over, loaded into the #1 tube and sent to the depths once the tube was flooded, pushed out by a burst of compressed air usually intended to launch a torpedo. Rasch returned to his quarters, having given command to Dondermann for the night. The box containing the object sat on the small desk that was built into the bulkhead. Tossing it overboard was rather tempting... he was fairly certain that the Kraken WAS focused on this wretched thing... but his concern that the giant squid might just not care about it was equally valid.
Sleep seemed to evade him for a minor eternity... then, a raven haired creature with filthy wings and sharp teeth got right up in his face and held him by the throat.
"You think you understand, eh? You know NOTHING," it rasped out in his native Saxon, "but you can save it all by doing exactly as I tell you. DO YOU HEAR ME? The Krake will be back tomorrow- throw the cross to him and leave the area. DO NOT TRY TO FIGHT THIS.... shit! You've already flipped out, haven't you? Shit... do as I say, Kleinke knows what you need to do, listen to him... listen to him... listen to him..."

That morning the Skipper got up and followed his usual routine with a new vigor. Those that noticed attributed to the thought that they would soon surrender, that the war was over. They also felt a livelier spirit than what had been the norm since the voyage started. However, when he passed Kleinke's bunk, the addled submariner looked at him in shock and horror, then started bellowing out,
"YOU! YOU CAN'T DO IT! HE WON'T LET YOU! WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?!? IT IS TOO POWER(ULP!)"
Rasch had him by the throat. Slowly and deliberatly, he crushed the larynx... watching Kleinke's eyes as he suffocated. Bissinger saw this and pulled Rasch's hand away from Kleinke's throat... but it was too late. Kleinke thrashed a little, then went still. Bissinger looked at him and asked, "WHY?!?"

Rasch answered by leveling the P-38 at his forehead and pulling the trigger. Bissinger collapsed at once.

Dondermann heard the gunfire. Pulling his own weapon, he rushed to the source. As he did, he encountered several dead crewmen in the control room, in the hallway through the officer's quarters and the crew bunks. The aft torpedo room was closed off, a stave through the wheel on the inside. Just off the corridor, Friedermann motioned to the XO.
"The Skipper's gone verruckt! He's shooting everyone he sees! He's killing everybody in the aft section," he said as more gunshots punctuated the scene, "I had just translated this when it happened,"
Dondermann read the note that the radioman had thrust in his face- it came from Doenitz himself-

"Scuttle all U-boats. Get to neutral Countries as fast as you can."

"This is insane!!! Walsh! Are you here?"
Walsh came in from foreward and read the note.
"Well," he said, "as soon as we get control over our skipper..."
"ALARM!!!" rang out the cry from the conning tower as two sailors tumbled down the ladder, the third securing the hatch. Then the whole boat rocked violently to starboard, went stern down-angle and backwards...

'Stinky' had returned and reclaimed his prize, pulling it below the surface and away from land.

Five minutes later, the radio signal was sent to cancel the order to scuttle, instead that all U-boats should raise a black flag and surrender to the allies.

But U-296 would never get that message...
Rule 17 of the Bombay Golf Course- "You shall play the ball where the monkey drops it,"
I speak fluent Limrick-
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