(no subject)

[gone_byebye]

Mid-January, 2008
RCMP/Ministry of Extraordinary Threats Emergency Hangar
Alert, Nunavut, CA

Even in times of the highest tension and most danger, people find ways to keep themselves busy, and neither the Ghostbusters nor the men and women of the world's northern watch bureaus were any great exception. "Ray? Ray! Ray, check it out." Venkman shook his friend's shoulder. "Egon's in a fight with one of the Inquanok guys."

Ray opened an eye and glanced sideways. Several of the Danish contingent and a couple of the Pohjola Project's Sami members were gathered in a semicircle centered on Egon and a broad-faced, dark-eyed man in Danish uniform. "Wow. Spengs is looking kinda..."

"Green," Winston finished for both of them. "That's freaky. What are they fighting about?"

"The worst thing they've ever eaten," said Venkman. "Eske's winning."

Ray and Winston exchanged glances. They both knew Egon's eating habits. "How?" Ray finally asked.

"That's not food," Egon suddenly said, loud enough to be heard over the snickering Greenlanders. "That's biological waste. You can't consider anything with that level of ammonia in it to qualify as edible."

"This from the man who admits to eating casu marzu," said his opponent with the serene smile of a man who knows he's won. "Hákarl is nothing-"

Winston shook his head. Ray gave up on the possibility of a nap and stood up. "Has anyone seen where Captain Korpan went?" he asked, and one of the Finns pointed. "Thank you."

He found the Canadian in the tiny office attached to the hangar, one hand pressing his headset against his ear and the other taking frantic notes. As Ray walked in Korpan lifted his eyes, winced, and held up a piece of paper that read:

Magnetic fields flaring
Deep ones report Russian helicopter near 82.7° N 114.4° W
Radio comms dorppinng like brick

A moment later Korpan scribbled one last line:

Dammit, I can spell. Marines on the way. Tell the others. We're going in.

Ray shuddered, nodded, and went in search of a better door.


[OOC: Assume everyone will be arriving from Milliways within five minutes of each other. Also, don't click on the food links above if you have a weak stomach.]

Comments

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[works-in-space.livejournal.com]

"Take one of the sailors with you. But before you do, see if anyone speaks any English." Not because he's worried that Tsybenko won't return so much as it doesn't hurt to have someone to help, just in case.

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[gone_byebye]

After some questioning, a lieutenant named Nikoloz Lekishvili allows that he speaks a little English. Tsybenko grabs one of the other sailors at random and stumps off across the ice. Lekishvili glances skyward, then looks at Kirk. "He said you were Navy once," he says, his accent more than a little off from the Russian sounds Kirk is probably used to. "Where to go now, sir?"

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[works-in-space.livejournal.com]

"Detached service, but yes, navy." If pressed, he'll just borrow some of what Admiral Calavicci told him. "We start walking inland. With any luck, the Canadians will find us soon."

He'd make a speech. A short one, but one to rally the men in adverse conditions. But what good is a speech if no one understands?

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[gone_byebye]

"All right," says Lekishvili, almost amiably. His volume when he turns and bellows the orders to his fellow crewmen is astounding; the man has lungs that belong on an aircraft carrier, not in a sealed environment.

After a moment he says to Kirk, "We go now."

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[works-in-space.livejournal.com]

"We go now." He looks behind, towards Tsybenko, and hopes that the snowmobile really is close. He looks ahead, and begins walking over the icecap.

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[gone_byebye]

It isn't all that far to the snowmobile; Tsybenko and his sailor come buzzing back over the ice fairly soon. "Okay," calls Tsybenko, shooing the sailor away. "Tin can captain! Put him on the back so you do not have to carry him. Kirk, the radio is worse than useless, but I have signaled the- what is that?"

Off in the distance, well away from their current heading someone's just painted the word HPLEH in fiery letters across part of the sky.

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[works-in-space.livejournal.com]

"I think someone needs a spelling lesson. Someone needs help, Tsybenko." He doesn't think for very long. "Odds are that the Canadians saw the signal as well, so at least some of them will head that way. It might be better to rendezvous wherever than came from." Even though there is a chance that the Canadians didn't see the signal, but if nothing else, help will arrive.

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[gone_byebye]

Tsybenko nods and murmurs something to Lekishvili, who shouts the order to change course to the rest of the crew. It's remarkable how fast a group this size can change its destination given the proper motivation- and the pace they can keep up with a little encouragement. Some bright light in the group gets the idea to start singing as they move, and soon nearly everyone among the Sukhoy Nos crew's picked it up. Better than the Arctic silence, after all...

... at least, until there comes a point when an ear-splitting BRRRRABOOOM thunders up from just out of sight over the horizon behind them and the ice trembles underfoot.

There follows an even deeper silence after that, broken only by the sounds of an entire submarine crew pulling off their hats and holding them over their hearts.

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[works-in-space.livejournal.com]

Jim joins them. The demise of the Enterprise comes back to him. He was able to turn that from doom to survival (if not victory). He hopes that the sacrifice one brave engineer made will do the same.

He puts his hat back. He resumes walking.

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[gone_byebye]

Some time later, a blot on the horizon resolves into a Terrabus, painted in red and white and marked with the insignia of the Ministry of Extraordinary Threats. It pulls to a stop, and the driver- who looks absolutely exhausted, and smells of ozone and far worse things- pokes her head out the window. "Hi there!" she calls out. "I understand you gentlemen need a ride?"

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[works-in-space.livejournal.com]

"Yes, I believe we do," Jim says with a big smile. By now he feels like he's frozen, but is quite sure he's avoided frostbite. That's more than cane be said for the sailors, he's sure. "Did you see the signal flare calling for help?"

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[gone_byebye]

"Sure did," says the driver. "There's a couple of Finns headed out that way. I'm gonna have to make a couple of trips to get you all- got any wounded?"

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[works-in-space.livejournal.com]

Jim signals the crewmen to brings the wounded onto the bus first. "Do we have any obvious cases of frostbite," he calls to his translators?"

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[gone_byebye]

A few of the sailors are pushed forward at that. When all's said and done, fifty-six men, including the captain, Petliura, and the lieutenant, have all been loaded onto the bus. "We'll come back to get the rest of you soon as we can," the driver promises. "You look like you could use it."

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[works-in-space.livejournal.com]

"Between you and me, Miss, I really don;t like the cold. In fact, I plan to go someplace nice and warm." He just hopes that the ncie and warm doesn't come to him up here.

Re: Action Time: Team Submarine

[gone_byebye]

"No stealing my lines," Tsybenko says out of the side of his mouth.

The driver just laughs. "Fair enough. All right, I'm headed back to base- I'll come back soon as I can..."

And that, as they say, is that- at least until the Terrabus returns to take its next load back to the hangar where this all began.