Plotlogs
A Bigger Fish Sr Samantha
In the fading daylight at Haven Docks, a group of brave or foolhardy souls gathered aboard a fishing boat, armed with rudimentary spearguns and a sense of uncertain adventure. Samantha, the captain, helmed their journey, flanked by Casey, Avi, Sienna, and Jett—each bringing their own touch of chaos and skill to the ensemble. As they sailed into the ominous sea, they attempted to position themselves in a hotbed of recent monster attacks, analyzing maps and scanning waters with sonar and radar equipment.
When disturbing screams crackled over the radio, the crew swiftly traced the signal to its source: the monster they hunted, a gargantuan dark shark adorned with kraken-like tentacles. Charging headlong, the creature rammed the boat, causing a significant breach in the hull and tossing Jett into the icy embrace of the ocean. Sienna and Casey scrambled to set up a jury-rigged bomb, while Avi recited arcane incantations, blood dripping from his grasp.
Amidst the turmoil, Casey's desperate toss of a rope saved Jett from a frigid fate. Sienna's bomb erupted with a muted thump, a disorienting blast that momentarily deterred the monster. Blood and water churned as Samantha commanded her crew, Avi unleashed a harpoon into the beast's gaping jaws, and Sienna maneuvered the boat with a panicky finesse.
Grenades scattered the deck as the creature, driven by the death throes of life ebbing away, hauled their craft through the waves until its violent journey abruptly ceased. The group peered over, bearing witness to the silent, bleeding leviathan, its final gambit defeated.
Avi, with the flair of a showman, leapt onto the slain colossus to capture the moment in a series of triumphant selfies. Jett's suggestion of using boxes from the radar gear fortified their makeshift repairs against the ocean's relentless ingress. With the boat patched enough to stay afloat and Jett, the bucket man, bailing water, they made their slow return to the security of Haven Docks.
Exhausted, soaked, and rattled, but alive and victorious, their tale was one of shared danger and the unyielding will to survive, all while a camera chronicled their every move, capturing their story for posterity—or perhaps just infamy.
(A Bigger Fish..(SRSamantha):SRSamantha)
[Sat Dec 9 2023]
At Haven Docks
A small, weather-beaten fishing dock stretches out into tranquility of the bay. The wooden planks, gray and splintered from years of sun and salt, issue a soft creak with the rhythm of the waves. Strong, mossy pylons protrude from the water, testament to the years they have stood against the elements. Rusty metal cleats, used to secure boats, are studded sporadically along the edges. The dock is accentuated by a scent of salt and fish and accompanied by the soft murmur of water lapping against the supports. An almost rhythmic ker-thump of wood on wood resonates as a white, mid-sized fishing boat gently rocks against the timeworn bumpers.
It is afternoon, about 29F(-1C) degrees,
The sky is dark and cloudy and little wisps of snow drift from the sky as the group start to arrive by the docks. The waves to the east are choppy but not wild and a mid-sized white fishing boat bobs in the water just off the docks with several crudely affixed spearguns on the sides.
Samantha pulls up to the docks in her battered Firebird, parking her car and slipping out to slam the door shut, taking a few steps towards the water before checking her phone and turning to wait for the others to arrive.
Casey had arrived in her very, very rickety old vehicle, letting her eyes cast over the docks as a look of something not unlike doubt touches her lips. A shake of her head, and she steps out, flipping up the hood of her jacket, and moving to step closer to Samantha, her eyes holding a question that her lips don't speak yet, before she turns, glancing out over the water to just... take the whole view in.
Arriving in his vehicle with a ghoulish paint job is Jett. Dressed in many layers and toting a heavy bag over one shoulder, he also totes along what looks to be a.. bucket. He strides along with the usual lazy gait, but at least he isn't dragging his feet this time. Those he knows are given a friendly upnod while those he remains unfamiliar with are appraised for a moment.
Avi pulls up to the docks in his brand new Range Rover, double-parking with the sticker noting him as a donor of standing to the Federation of Police prominently on display. "This would be so much more convenient in August, with beers, and bathing suits," Avi calls out toward the others as he arrives, flicking a speck of snow off the shoulder of his coat as if it'd personally offended him.
"Is that a bucket?" Samantha queries Jett as she turns and gives Casey a brief smile. "Hey Casey, just gotta wait for a few more people then we'll hop onboard." She explains.
Having arrived at the docks not long before the departure time, Sienna spends some time digging through the heavy black boxes arranged in her trunk before deciding on a medium-sized box. It's drawn out with an efforted grunt, nearly teetering backwards before she manages to find balance, hefting it up in her arms before she begins to carry it down the weathern-beaten planks of the fishing dock leading toward the mid-sized fishing boat bobbing in the water. "I think you'll be quite pleased with what I've chosen to bring," she enthuses to Samantha with a beam of a smile, slightly winded.
Her head turns to look over toward Jett with his bucket. "I really, really thought you were kidding about that."
Samantha looks at Sienna's box curiously, hefting a bag a little up on her shoulder. "I'll mostly just be recording when we get underway, so we have evidence of what's out there for later." She explains, scanning over the gathered group and then giving a short nod. "OK, lets get on board. Do you guys have particular roles you want to do? Like Driver or dedicated harpoonerer..." She says, beckoning for everyone to follow her onto the boat.
SamanthaAn ominous roll of thunder sounds in the distance as the group make their way onto the boat, it gently rocks under their weight, the gentle rocking taking a little getting used to for those without much experience.
An ominous roll of thunder sounds in the distance as the group make their way onto the boat, it gently rocks under their weight, the gentle rocking taking a little getting used to for those without much experience.
"I'm your guy if anyone tries to stop us from entering private shipping lanes or generally tell us 'no' about anything," Avi says as he gets a set of identical garment bags from the back of his SUV and follows the others on-board. "That's not really a captain's hat," he notes somewhat dubiously to Samantha. "You do have a captain's hat, surely?"
"Ok so radar and bucket-guy." Samantha confirms with a nod for Casey and Jett in turn, watching to make sure Sienna doesn't fall over trying to get into the boat with her big box. "I dunno that that's a real position." She tells Avi and then scowls at him. "I actually had a whole big moment planned when we got underway and I was going to change hats, but thanks for fucking it up for me." She bitches.
Jett tilts and sways on the ship with the rocking of the boat. He watches Sienna try to navigate her way on board but the exchange between Avi and Sienna has him snicker quietly to himself.
Sienna only trips twice as she boards the ship, head turning to look off into the distance as thunder rumbles. It takes her a moment to adapt to the gentle rocking of the deck underfoot, stooping down to drop the box with a heavy thud.
"Was there going to be a musical number along with this costume change?" Avi asks Samantha snidely, but his expression is somewhat chastised. "Just pretend I didn't say anything," he mumbles. "Shut up, Jon Snow," he snaps at Jett, probably projecting.
"I'm just going to guess Sienna is going to keep things repaired and/or also has batman gadgets in her box." Samantha decides after a moment. "I guess I can record with one hand so I'll drive too, but I might need someone to help from time to time." She muses, "Avi you're going to man the spear guns and Jett if there's no bucketing to do you can use the spears." She instructs, glancing over her extremely professional crew and giving a little satisfied nod as she steps up to the center console. "Ok, Casey, Jett, can you cast us off? Just unhook the ropes from the side there and give it a little push."
"I can hum a little tune, if that would help with the gravitas of the situation," Casey adds, having found a quiet portion of the boat to linger in. She does perk up at the command, however, bringing up her hand to give a flippant salute, "Aye aye, cap'n," she says, reaching out to start to tug at the ropes, unhooking the boat. She'd leave the push to Jett, if he wanted it. "Casey, by the way," she says to the other.
Jett lifts his free hand, making a zipper motion across his lips when Avi snaps over at him. He strides over and sets his bucket down atop the box Sienna thuds down and upon Samantha's request he echoes, "Aye cap'n." To the ropes the delinquent goes, "Jett," he returns to Casey and when she handles the ropes, he sticks a leg off the edge to push against the pier and get them afloating.
SamanthaThe whole boat rocks slightly as it is pushed off, bobbing in the water for a few moments before the engines kick in and it slowly starts to pull away the safety of land receding as the brisk wind off the ocean buffets the group.
The whole boat rocks slightly as it is pushed off, bobbing in the water for a few moments before the engines kick in and it slowly starts to pull away the safety of land receding as the brisk wind off the ocean buffets the group.
"Oh, I wanted to drive, but I thought it'd be tacky to offer since that's obviously the coolest job," Avi chimes in. The garment bags he's holding are held up. "Before we get too far out, I did bring these for everyone," he notes. Unzipping one bag, it's an Armani life jacket in sleek black, perfect for remaining stylish yet potentially unseen by rescue crews in open water.
"Wait, do we have enough time for me to install the upgrades for the sonar and radar systems? I spent like all night analyzing data I got from marine databases to help improve detection capabilities for a number of supernatural creatures," Sienna frets as the engines kick in to pull the boat away from the safety of land, watching it anxiously before she turns around to look over toward the others ondeck. "Otherwise, I guess I can do whatever needs doing," she supposes, vaguely green around her gills.
Samantha takes out a small handheld camera and activates it, turning it to record Jett and Casey as they push off and then using her other hand to push the lever up to get the engines going, steadying herself on the boat as they jolt forward. Once they're cruising in a straight line she pauses the recording, sets the camera down on the top of the console and pulls off her beret, then reaches into her bag and takes out a Captain's hat, jamming it onto her head somewhat irritably. She blinks as Avi pulls out the life jackets. "Oh, that's a good idea... I probably should've thought of that before we pushed off." She admits, "Ok Avi you drive, it's just like, a steering wheel and this lever that makes it go faster." She points out and nods at Sienna, "Ok, everyone grab a life jacket, Avi take the wheel, Casey help Sienna install her James Bond stuff as we go." She instructs, heading back towards the back of the boat so she can more easily record the crew about their work.
"So we /are/ going to sink," Jett drones out when he realizes Avi is going to be taking the wheel. He is happy to take up one of the stylish vests and fastening it on. "How far are we heading out again?" he wonders to Samantha, squinting off I to the vast distance of the sea.
"Aye aye, Captain," Avi tells Samantha, much more agreeable once she looks the part. He pulls on a life-jacket over his clothes, handing the rest out to the others on the crew, then heads for the wheel, taking it in one hand like he knows what he's doing. "What does this button do?" he asks, gesturing toward one labeled 'In case of emergency'.
Casey, with a bit of a smile towards Sienna as she grasps one of the life vests and starts tugging it on - over her jacket, because it was chilly out here, tilts her head just so to the side. "You seem super technical," she says to Sienna. "So I'll just kinda be the extra pair of hands holding the flashlight or whatever you need?" she says, grinning just a bit.
Sienna quickly pulls her hair back into a ponytail, then moves to collect a life jacket for herself. "You really think of everything, Avi. Thank you," she beams at Avi, shrugging into its sleek black protective embrace before moving over to Jett. "Jett, can you help me with all the straps?"
Samantha grabs a jacket for herself as she sets up near the back of the boat, slipping into it with just the one arm. "Well, we might need people to actually stab the monster if we find it but I guess that can be more of a like, a la carte thing." She muses. "That kills the engines in case one sets on fire." She explains to Avi, and shrugs at Jett. "I dunno... There's some binoculars in that drawer there, grab them and see if you can see anything on the horizon?" She requests of Jett.
Sienna turns her head to showcase a reassuring smile of pearly whites at Casey. "There's plenty enough for both of us to split the work evenly," she promises, pointing toward the heavy black box. "It shouldn't take too long though. We just need to get it hooked into the marine radar system, then it'll hopefully make it easier to pick up on any creatures that might potentially be harder to detect."
".. Sure," Jett belatedly accepts over to Sienna when she requests his aid. Maybe he thought he was going on a free cruise with minimal labor required on his part. He's the bucket guy! He takes the straps in hand and tugs *hard*, making sure the vest is squeezing poor Sienna. At least she will float.
Then he drifts over near Avi, crowding him as he goes through every and any drawer except the one Samantha initially points out in his search for the binoculars.
Haven retreats further and further into the distance and the vast ocean stretches out around the crew and their little fishing vessel, the waves grow larger and larger and they begin to feel the boat tilting upwards and then back down as it crests each of the swells.
"I did not think of upgrades for the sonar and radar," Avi informs Sienna. "So no, I think we can all share the credit for thinking of everything. Except Jon Snow," he adds after a moment. "He brought a bucket," he notes. He does not press the kill-the-engine button once Samantha explains what it does, instead opting to turn the boat's front beam light on and off. "Hey," he complains. "Was it the bucket comment?" he wonders when Jett gets all up in his space. "Quit trying to cop a fee-" He cuts himself off, suddenly looking a bit unwell. "Urgh. I shouldn't have had that last mimosa..."
"That one, that one there." Samantha points irritably at the one drawer Jett keeps not looking in.
"Don't be jealous of my bucket," Jett says as he sufficiently crowds Avi up and then let's out a dense hum when Samantha points out the obvious unmolested drawer. He slides it open, plucks up the binoculars and retreats when Avi starts looking sick. He lifts them up to his eyes and peers far off along the horizon, "Heeeere fishy fishy fish.."
"Well, then I'll try to follow along then," Casey says to Sienna, biting her lower lip as she lets her eyes track over the various bits and bobs in the box. She looks up towards Sienna afterwards, even if she was spending more time holding onto the side of the boat. "Well," she says. "This is getting... a little choppy out here. That whole summer boating trip idea that guy was saying is sounding better and better..." she says, her voice sounding a little drawn out.
"Your bucket's not all that," Avi tells Jett, looking him up and down. "Now Sienna's bucket..." He winks over at Sienna, giving the Swann an appreciative look, 'bucket' clearly a euphemism, now. "Wait, who is 'that guy'?" Avi asks Casey, brows lifted in alarm. "I have a name, Casey. It's a pretty good name, too. My mom gave it to me," he adds pointedly.
Avi talks a lot of shit, but his hand is somewhat shaky on the wheel.
The breath is squeezed out of her when Jett cinches the straps of her life jacket in too tight, stretching out a hand to grip hold of something to support herself as the color slowly drains from her face. Sienna looks around, eyeing the railing in quiet consideration before she moves to one side of the black box, popping the lid open to showcase its interior to Casey. A simple round apparatus with a darkened screen sits in the middle of thick cushioning, surrounded by a few quick tools that is easy for the engineer to deduce their purposes. "Ready?"
With a little bump of his hip Jett shakes that ass unenthusiastically as Avi comments on his bucket -- no mop. ".. Sure is a lot of water out there guys," he reports the obvious to the others, like they couldn't see that all on their own. He slowly scans his gaze around with those binoculars until he ends up peering back at Samantha -- getting a close up with his new eyes.
The group have a map, divided up into quadrants with small Xs of where each of the previous attacks have been. They also have information on tides, weather patterns and their radar can spot the location of several other fishing vessels out and about this afternoon.
Samantha is recording Jett shaking his ass this whole time with her little camcorder. "Ok, while Sienna and Casey work on that, Avi get the map out of that drawer? We got a bunch of info in there, anyone got any good theories about where to start our search?"
"Ack, I'm sorry," Casey says, "It was Avi, right?" she says, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she hangs on for dear life to the side of the boat. "I think I'm as ready as I can be," she says, Casey's eyes searching over the tools and the device itself as it was revealed. "You *are* really ready to go, huh?" she says to Sienna.
Samantha moves the camcorder to get a good shot of Casey and Sienna working all professionally on the radar.
"If it works as well as I hope it will, maybe I can get a patent for it and shop around for investors," Sienna enthuses toward Casey as she pushes the big box toward the radar system, quickly popping open a panel to expose internal wiring. "Can you find the main line? We just need to wire it all together, then boot this bad boy up."
Much better about searching drawers than Jett, Avi finds the map and gets it out, taking deep breaths the way overpriced therapists have probably advised his whole life. "Vertigo is an illusion, you're better than this," he intones an anti-seasickness peptalk to himself. "Okay, there's been attacks here, here, and here," he holds the map up and points them out for those too far away to see clearly. "Any patterns on what the tides were like or how the wind was blowing at the times of those attacks?" he wonders.
Casey nods her head to that. "Well... what does the main line look like?" Casey says, nonetheless devoting herself to the task at hand - the helpful color coding of the wires might be helpful to that. All the while, she shifts atop the deck of the boat, her eyes searching the different wires as they were exposed.
It isn't immediately obvious that there's a link between the tides and the attacks, but it does seem like the vessels seemed to generally be moving against the wind when they were attacked.
"Tide charts." Samantha says, helpfully pointing to where the rest of the information can be found.
Jett aims the binoculars up towards the clouds for a time, adjusting the range of his zoomie-glasses until he starts scouting out their immediate surroundings again. "What is it supposed to look like.. scales? Blubber? What color is it?"
"Get the tide charts," Avi hisses toward Jett. "Stop fucking around!" He points, of course, toward the drawers again.
Sienna smiles with reassurance to Casey as they work through the installation process. "The main line is usually the thick cable connected to the radar's transceiver, it's the heart of the system," she explains, pointing to a robust, insulated cable. "We're looking for the primary data cable. It should be color-coded, likely a blue or green one among these." She hands her a set of wire strippers. Carefully strip a small section of the insulation from the main line, but make sure not to cut the wire itself. When just need to make sure we have a clear connection, then the interface should work well with the radar system."
"If all goes well, our device should enhance the existing system without any hiccups, and help identity potential anomalies we detect in real time." "
"Nobody knows cause it eats everyone whose run into it." Samantha explains to Jett matter-of-factly before frowning a little and adding quickly. "But you know, we'll be fine."
".. Look V! A bunch of bird--.." Jett begins to point off into the distance to show off his newly found discovery until Avi is barking orders at him. He lowers his eye-helpers and starts scrounging through the drawers again, yanking out the tide chart and offering it to Avi upside down, "There.. hey, go towards those birds."
"Got it," Casey says to Sienna, giving her a smile so wide it crinkles her nose in spite of the choppy waters. Luckily, she finds just one of those colors - a blue line, and uses a fingertip to point and start to follow it towards the... "Aha, that's the transceiver, right?" she says. "Okay, it'll just take me a few more seconds to get this stripped..." Casey says to Sienna, her voice distant from concentration.
"You didn't say shit about it eating people," Avi says with some mild irritation toward Samantha. "I did not sign u-" But then there's birds. And the tide chart he requested. "Well, the birds are in the opposite direction of... wait." Avi turns the tide chart the right way up, giving Jett a disgusted glare. "You're lucky you're pretty," he mutters, turning the wheel to steer toward the birds, only remembering to ask, afterwards, "Why are we following the birds?"
"Ok so that's one vote for a strategy of 'going towards the birds'" Samantha repeats, trying to make it sound like a very serious suggestions, "Any oth-" She starts but then Avi turns the boat and she just nods as if this were the plan all along. "Right, we're going towards the birds." She states authoritatively. "Can you check on the map if the birds are at all close to where the ships were attacked though? Like, just on the offchance this is not a very smart tracking strategy or something wild like that?"
The birds do seem to be sort of in the direction of where several of the attacks took place, albiet more towards the southern tip of the cluster than the center of it.
"Well what are the birds doing?" Sienna calls over toward Jett. "Are they just circling around a specific area, or seem like they're frantic or something? Do you think maybe it's like a warning system?" she theorizes, pulling up her tablet wired into the radar system in an effort to try and optimize the data she's receiving, searching through the blips registering on the sonar. "Hey Sam, do you know if there's any data we can recover from the ships? Radio recordings, or data points they might've transmitted right before they disappeared?"
"Uhhh..." Samantha replies, "Probably? It might be at the bottom of the ocean though, can your nerd-fu reach that far or would we need to like, swim down?" She wonders.
"Well, the birds actually do seem to be heading in the direction of the attacks," Avi admits, double-checking the now right-side-up tide chart. "Not directly into the middle of them, but in that direction." He adjusts the wheel slightly, aiming more toward that center, belatedly. He hesitates for a moment, then licks his thumb, holding his arm up and out to test the wind's direction. "You're not allowed to help navigate anymore," he tells Jett with finality.
"There's just a bunch of them fucking around over there," Jett admits as he squints for a time but then remembers his binoculars. They go back up to his eyes and he admires the birds in the distance, "Maybe there's food.. or something over there. Or a bunch of fish. Or a sea monster." He nudges Avi as if to urge him to decipher both the map /and/ the driving bit. "They look pretty cool though," he remarks.
"Let me see," Avi whispers aside to Jett, motioning with his head for him to bring the binoculars over.
The land can no longer been seen in any direction as the vessel heads further out to sea, still tilting up and then back down with the swell of the water.
Jett passes the binoculars over to Avi, pointing just one more time over at the specks in the distance. "Look, they're just.. cruising," he quietly tells Avi, a moment of appreciating nature despite the potential dangers that lurk.
As the detection system crackles to life Sienna gets a good look at the sonar and Casey at the Radar.
Avi has his hands full with the wheel and the map, and just sort of ducks his head to look through the binoculars while Jett holds them up. "Hold them steady, fuck's sake," he requests imperiously.
Jett holds the binoculars steady for a time until the next rock of the boat, trying his best not to accidentally bang Avi in the face. "Stand still, dipshit," he bitches quietly at Avi.
"Hey hey hey - we're getting blips on the radar! There's like..." Casey says, wiping some spray from her eyes as she hunkers over the device. "... there's something large, far far to the north. And there's a smaller blip to the south, and another blip to the northeast. I think these are ships?" she says, pointing a manicured nail at the display.
"We're definitely not reaching the bottom of the ocean with this shit, but it should hopefully be able to detect any big monsters starting to ascend for an attack once it comes into the sonar system's range," Sienna supposes, looking over the mapping of the sonar briefly as it updates with new detections. She notes their coordinates down quickly, then moves to the maps Avi and Jett were looking at earlier. "Hey, Jett, do any of these seem to fit a pattern?"
The object to the northeast seems outside the attack area, but either of the other two signals could be credibly within the monster's range.
"Any what now?" Jett asks, pulling his binoculars back from Avi when Sienna has him looking back down to the maps. ".. Well, the birds are to the south so they might be eating whatever is over there.. the northeast ping is probably out of the range of the normal attacks so.." he bumbles through trying to navigate the maps and the reports from Casey.
Samantha hunches down against the wind, using her camcorder to capture the crew as they discuss over the map, pointing and debating like seasoned sea-monster hunters getting to the bottom of a serious mystery.
"So which way am I steering this thing?" Avi demands, exasperated, as the crew bumbles through the intel. "Birds to the south? Big blip, smaller blip, Cuba?"
".. Birds," Jett votes simply enough, peering over to Sienna, Casey, and Samantha for the input and further deliberation since he seems stuck on the birds and they might have better deduction skills.
"I dunno - the big blip to the north?" Casey offers her guidance. "If something is going to be attracted to something - it'll be to the bigger blips, right?" she says, glancing towards the others.
"You're banned from navigational suggestions," Avi reminds Jett snidely, looking to Sienna and Casey over at the detection machinery. "That's one vote for the big blip," he says after Casey speaks up, hand on the wheel. "Sienna?"
"We can rule out the northeast," Sienna calls toward Avi after an agreeing nod toward Jett and Casey's reports. "Can you chart a course toward the southwest, and line us up with the birds? That'll keep the these two deep water objects out of our direct trajectory and leaves us a way to escape in case it gets too dicey?"
"That'd make sense but it's mostly gone after smaller vessels." Samantha says to Casey nodding at Sienna, "Ok, southwest for now." She tells Avi. "We wouldn't want to give up on our bird strategy after all..."
"Yuh...." Casey says, suddenly, bringing her hand up to brush her windstrewn hair out of her eyes. "That blip to the south? It just kinda vanished."
"Just because he saids stupid shit confidently doesn't mean we have to listen to Jon Snow," Avi informs the others with strained patience. "But fine," he turns the wheel. "We'll follow the fucking birds, I guess. It's not like we don't have really fancy electronic information systems newly installed..." he continues muttering some choice sarcasm as he steers.
Sienna gazes out at the horizon nervously. "Once we get mid-range, I can try to see if I can adjust the low frequency gain to try and pick up this monster on the radar," she rattles off toward Casey with a strained smile, busying herself with adjusting the sensitive equipment.
"Can you mark the spot on the map where the thing was that disappeared?" Samantha asks Casey with a small frown. "Avi, go faster."
Casey crinkles her nose up, and glances between the radar and the map. "Kinda...?" Casey says towards Samantha, with a glance towards Sienna. She reaches out and taps a spot on the map, "If that is there, then this must be..." she taps again.
There's a roar as the engines come to life and the boat lurches through the waves as Avi swings around towards the southwest. The radio crackles to life with static, and then the sound of screaming, and then static again.
"Mark it with the marker-" Samantha begins to tell Casey then looks at the radio with a frown. "That's not good, Casey check the sonar, Sienna see if you can triangulate that distress call? Jett, Binoculars. Avi, vroom vroom."
(Shit starts to get real: https://w2g.tv/?r=bgmku51ozcmgkrvfdd )
".. Told you it was the birds," Jett mutters when Casey reports that the bird-blip has vanished. He gives Avi some side-eye and
".. Told you it was the birds," Jett mutters when Casey reports that the bird-blip has vanished. He gives Avi some side-eye and swivels to aim his binoculars southward first. He tries to find the birds first, seeing if they will trail after the now missing entity hanging in the depths. (fix)
Sienna pales at the sound of screaming crackling through on the radio, then springs into action to try and lock in on the signal and clear the interference muddying the signal with her tablet. "Oh fuck, oh fuck," she mubles under her breath, turning her head to throw a long-suffering look at Jett's direction. "Jett, it's not the fucking birds! The birds are probably an indicator of where the hell it is. Now act right before WE end up monster chow."
Avi increases the speed of the boat, opening up both engines as he attempts to steer over and through the least-aggressive looking waves in front of them. "Don't give me your sass, Jon Snow," Avi returns the shady side-eye with a shady look of his own. "Anything on that distress call?" he calls out toward Sienna.
".. Wait there's something actually over there," Jett claims persistently to the others, "On the surface of the water!" Not that he actually tells them more than that /something/ is over there for now.
"Found it," Sienna announces toward the helm where Avi stands. "South-southeast, but let me see if I can get a more precise location." She moves back toward the radar with Casey, checking for objects in the southeastern direction and an update on the location of the deep sea objects in relation to their previous noted coordinates.
"We're surrounded by water!" Avi calls out toward Jett. "Something over where?" he asks. But then Sienna answers, and he adjusts their trajectory accordingly. "Everyone has their life jackets on, right?" he checks.
Hunkering down in the boat, Casey glances back over her shoulder towards the others, wide eyes on the radar screen, leaning to the side to let Sienna coordinate the movement with her. "Let's just say... what if we *do* find it," she says. "How are we planning on doing anything about that?"
Casey glances out over the water, giving her head a shake. She points off the port side. "Left! There's a fin out there! It might be here?!" she says, the tension in her voice super obvious.
Samantha crouches down, taking in the crew as they coordinate over the location of the monster on her camcorder. "That's what the harpoons are fo-" She starts to explain before snapping the camcorder to where Casey is pointing.
"Someone get on the speargun, just in case?" Avi calls out from where he's steering, trying to see over the side to where Casey is pointing at the same time.
"To the souuuuth! Near the *fucking* biiiirds," Jett hollers about those damn avian creations until his tune switches both in tone and volume, ".. Fin." The speargun sounds like a great idea and he tries to rush over to it.
A fin appears in the water off the port side of the boat to everone now, racing towards the boat. They only have a second and then it crashes into the side of the boat which rocks hard. Casey keeps her footing, Samantha keeps her footing. Avi and Jett lose their footing, Sienna keeps her footing and can save either Avi or Jett but not both.
As the fin slices through the water, striking the boat with a sudden, jarring impact, Sienna lets out a startled shout. The boat rocks violently, tipping Avi and Jett off balance. Her reflexes kick in, and without a second thought, she lunges toward Avi. Her hand reaches out, fingers grasping firmly onto Avi's arm, pulling with all her might to steady him. All the while, her head snaps to try and make sure the bird-obsessed delinquent is okay since he'd gone for the harpoon.
Avi is saved by Sienna's quick reactions, Jett goes into the ocean.
In horror, Casey watches the fin arc towards the boat, biting down very very hard on her lower lip as the entire boat rocks now, her knuckles turning white as she grasps ahold of the the bit of the boat she was anchoring herself with. "It hit us! Can we shoot it?!" she asks, glancing over her shoulder towards the rest of the boat. Something was off... something was missing...!
Samantha throws herself into the corner, bracing hard against the impact as the boat is rocked and doing her best to keep the camcorder capturing the event. "Yeah, shoot it!" She yells encouragingly.
Crashing into Sienna, hard, Avi nearly sends them both flying. "Watch out!" he shouts in delayed alarm, his face a mask of pain where she jerks his arm. "Jett!" he stumbles toward the wheel as the boat continues onward at speed, attempting to circle back. "Someone get to that fucking spear gun, so help me god!" he thunders, cradling his arm to his side.
As the boat settles after being rammed the creature disappears before reappearing on the other side of the boat, just below the surface, its fin cutting through the water. It looks like a giant dark shark, the same size as their boat, except for the black kraken-like tentacles that run along both sides of its body. The ramming attack has left a large hole in the port side of the boat, and water is pouring into the vessel as with a *thunk* those large tentacles land onto the side of the boat, wrapping around railings and posts and locking the vessel and monster together as it starts to swim in circles around the boat, making it also begin to spin in place due to being tethered.
Overboard it is. Amidst his rush the impact of whatever seabeast charged their vessel has Jett's boots slip and he goes crashing towards the edge of the ship. Despite his attempt at trying to catch himself he is tossed into the chilling depths of disturbed waters with an abrupt splash to follow the chaos. He thrashes soon after impact despite the searing ache in his limbs of layers upon layers of icy water seeping into him. "Fuck!" he screams beneath the cacophony of a monster engaging with the ship around him.
Samantha crouches in her corner filming the unfolding horror. "Someone get Jett! Someone bucket or repair! Someone shoot the monster!" She calls out despite being pretty useless herself and just recording stuff.
"What the fuck is that?" Avi shouts, abandoning the wheel when the ship is bound in place. Tearing through his bag, Avi flips through a compendium of magic, pupils dilating slightly as tentacles flop onto the deck. "Get Jett before he freezes his literal nuts off, I'll shoot!" With shaky hands, Avi fumbles for sulfate salt from one of the pouches on his backpack, already beginning to chant something that sounds offensive, profane even, though it certainly isn't in English.
With the tentacles clutching onto the boat harder than Casey seemed to be, the bevy of things to do seemed to overwhelm poor Casey, and she shudders in place. "What *is* that even...!" she says. 'Getting Jett' seemed to be the one that she seemed the most drawn to, especially with Avi shouting too. With nearly no martial prowess under her classy belt, or so she felt - she finds a small length of rope, tossing one end towards Jett, and bracing herself against a pillar of the boat that wasn't currently being grasped by monster.
Even as the boat begins to spin. "Grab on, quick! Try to pull yourself onboard!"
In a split second, her mind races into action. Sienna hopes against hope that Jett can survive being tossed overboard, scrambling across the deck toward the black box. Adrenaline pumping, she digs out materials, hands working feverishly to meld together a jury-rigged bomb to emit disorienting sonic pulses with an old underwater drone in an attempt to disorient the giant tentacle-shark monstrosity hunting them. With no time to lose, she sets a quick timer and releases the jury-rigged contraption into the depths, hoping to buy them a crucial window of time.
Still chanting, Avi lunges at a critical point in the chant, stabbing his dagger into one of the tentacles to add the last crucial element to the ritual magic - blood.
The rope lands next to Jett in the ocean, Casey pulling him in even as he pulls himself up until he is safely back on board the boat, which is unfortunately now about half sunk as water continues to pour in from the hole in the side. Sienna's handmade bomb sinks down into the water after a moment there's a dull thump and the creature screeches and as darkness swirls through Avi's eyes a brief glimpse shows the creatures own red and bloody with soe sort of burst vessel. The tentacles release and the boat's rotations stop as the creature dives off into the ocean but it isn't for long, and soon it is coming back for another charge, raising up in the water and jaws opening wider and wider...
"Fuckfuckfuck." Samantha curses, "Shoot it, shoot the, thing!" She calls out, fumbling for her in case of emergencies backpack and ripping it open to send grenades tumbling all over the mostly submerged deck as an additional option.
If Jett hadn't witnessed the rope land directly in front of his face, he probably would've missed it amongst his thrashing. He lunges for it, as much as one can in water, and grabs on tight -- pulling with all his might to try and scramble back towards the ship. His mind is almost numb to the fact that the vessel seems to be joining him in the sea more than he seems to be departing, tunnel visioned on escape as his teeth chatter violently together. "K-kill it!" he bellows during his return to the ship, his voice trembling through the cold.
"Use your... bucket." Samantha insists mercilessly to the recovering Jett.
"It won't stay blinded for long!" Avi warns as the creatures eyes redden, magic mischief managed, and he stuffs his tome away for the moment, dashing toward the mounted spear guns as the creature rears up out of the water like some deranged mermaid's Cthulian paralysis demon. "Hold on!" he shouts, yanking the gun around to take aim at the gaping maw. "Fire in the hole!" he calls out, though he is not actually throwing a grenade.
"Bucket," Jett echoes of Samantha, as if she had a brilliant idea that he hadn't already thought of. Even if he might have been the one to actually bring the futile thing. He moves on auto pilot with urgency scrambling too and fro, boots slipping on the slick deck from his panic but fortunately not falling off again.. yet. He's even still holding the rope around one wrist as he works. Finding the bucket rolling around is a challenge at first but when he does he gets to baling and quickly -- and for whatever reason he throws the sea water off towards the charging beast. Like that was going to intimidate it.
Sienna scans the boat, assessing their rapidly dwindling options as the creature makes its return for an impending charge. Her heart drops into the pit of her stomach at its jaws gaping in a terrifying promise of destruction. "BRACE YOURSELVES!" she yells over the roar of water and chaos around them, slipping and sliding across the water-drenched deck with a squeak of sodden sneakers, darting for the steering wheel to try and maneuver the boat out of direct harm's way. Her hands shake, bracing her weight hard against it as she uses her entire body to try and pull sharply to the left.
Casey gives an extra tug to help Jett onto the boat, ending up falling flat on her tush. With that done, Casey braces herself against the side of the boat, sticking out her leg to further brace herself.
"Grab a speargun, or a bucket," Avi entreats Casey as he fires on the monster. "Now's not the time to panic," he warns, not really giving her a chance to recover from her previous task. "Move!"
As Jett buckets for their lives, the monster comes on faster and faster before Avi lets loose his shot, the harpoon striking into the mouth of the creature. As Sienna jerks the ship to the side, the creature wails and dives once more, the rope coiling under the speargun rapidly uncoiling before it snaps taunt and the boat is pulled along behind the creature, a spray of water drenching them all as they tumble towards the back of the boat from the sudden velocity.
Samantha slips backwards and braces herself a little, exhaling in a sudden oof as the others tumble backwards and start colliding into her and one another.
Casey slides upwards, the yelling towards her that Avi does seeming to spark some guidance in the woman. She was, by no means - a good shot with the speargun, but she reaches out to take it with shaking hands - moving to brace it against the side of the boat to fire towards the creature herself.
One more bucket of wet is thrown back into the sea where it belongs, but the sudden jolt of the ship being dragged sends Jett's balance backwards and he is sliding along looking to brace himself. "Good shot!" he yells at Avi, though it probably means to be more encouraging than sarcastic. "Maybe we can tire it out if we get enough ropes on it!" he shouts out to the others as they all try to recover from the last jostling of the ship.
As the boat lurches forward, pulled mercilessly by the monstrous creature, Sienna stumbles violently towards the back. She grapples with the slick surface, her arms flailing in a desperate attempt to grab onto something, anything, to halt her momentum. The harsh spray of water drenches her, making her grip slippery and uncertain. Amidst all the chaos, the sea-drenched Swann is sputtering out, "AVI!" over the water and wind. "Your blood -- we can use it, can't we? Make a flare gun shot stronger?!"
Avi tumbles backwards, losing his hold on the speargun as he goes ass over end toward the back of the boat, elbowing Samantha in the chest as they make contact. "Or maybe it just pulls us all under with it?" Avi counters Jett in alarm. "How's the bailing looking? Are we going to stay afloat?" he wonders, giving Samantha a wholly apologetic look before he tries to make his way back to the guns. "Why are we shooting flare guns?" he shouts toward Sienna. "We have grenades!"
Casey's shot is a good one, and the harpoon sinks into the back of the creature although through that tough hide it does not seem to have done much damage. The group grimly cling on while being dragged behind the monster, none of its weakpoints appearing open to them... But then the ship starts to slow down a little, and a little more, and then it slowly drifts to a stop. If the group peer over the edge they'd see the monster floating on top of the waves on its side, blood pooling from its mouth where some significant artery was clearly punctured and it becomes obvious this last little dash was just the final death throws of the creature.
Samantha kicks Avi in the shins after he elbows her in the titty, pulling herself up from where she'd sprawled and re-oriented the camera. "Right, Avi grab the grenades, Sienna grab those harpoons and we'll duct tap-" She starts to strategise before noticing that they're not really moving very fast anymore and then she peers over the side of the boat at the dead creature. "Huh..." Then she just gives a sharp little nod. "Perfectly executed plan everyone, good job." She praises, panning the camera over the dead creature and then sweeping it to travel over each of the other crew members in turn.
Running to the side of the boat, Avi looks over at the floating creature. "Wait," he calls out, and then in a perhaps foolhardy move, he's clambering up onto the edge, leaping from the boat to try and land on top of the sea monster itself.
As Avi's words cut through the chaos, Sienna 's focus snaps back to the present danger. "Grenades!" she echoes, clambering across the unsteady deck towards the Arkwright, gripping the boat's edge for support, her eyes scanning the tumultuous waters for the right moment. When Samantha starts barking orders again, she's ready to spring back into action. But as the boat's violent motion eases and she peers over the edge to see the creature in its final death throes, bleeding out, she stares in stunned disbelief. "Never mind the grenades I guess, it's over," she breathes out in answering call to their captain, her body trembling from the adrenaline, suddenly and violently upchucking over the railing into the water.
"I don't know, man.." Jett says as he continues throwing out as much water as he can, when the ship comes to a halt he freezes. Maybe he expected the beast to have popped a u-turn and come back for round three. His attention darts around in a hurry and he echoes Avi's thoughts, "Grenades are good, blow it up!" That is until he sees the blood pooling and the corpse bobbing slowly within its own domain. ".. Is it dead?" he asks breathlessly, just watching the unmoving body as if he was expecting one last act of retaliation to come there way. As the camera pans his way he doesn't bother to strike a pose or look stoic, he collapses onto his ass and just starts trying to catch his breath as his body desperately attempts to regulate its temperature under all those layers of wet clothing clinging to him.
Avi jumps onto the dead monster, it's too slippery to stand on however.
Avi sprawls onto the slippery sea monster as if that was his intention all along, and with some less than graceful maneuvering, manages to get himself into a super-casual reclining pose with one knee up. And then? Well, he whips out his phone, to take a selfie. Make that several selfies.
Avi succeeds in this task.
"Right." Samantha says with a nod as she looks at what Avi is doing, putting the camcorder down for a moment and stepping over to the edge of the boat, reaching up to look like she's tipping the tip of her Captain's hat down slightly as she snaps a photo of herself with the monster in the background.
Casey seemed to be needing to take a few moments to breathe, slowly prying her hands away from the speargun as everyone celebrates. Idly, Casey tugs her hand back through her hair, shivering hands letting go of the speargun. "That was... is it dead?" she hoped so, everyone was climbing on it.
Unfortunately the demise of the creature has not repaired the boat... Which is still slowly sinking...
Sienna weakly peels herself off the side of the railing, taking in the boat's condition with bleary eyes. "Avi, get back on the boat! We're still sinking, and we need all hands on deck!" she shouts. She starts to look around for any available tools or materials that could help slow the influx of water.
And here Jett was trying to catch a breather while the others took their selfies. It's only when he realizes the water he has baled out has arrived once more that he blinks down at his hands, "Ah fuck." With what little motivation he still had to move, not drowning encourages him to get off his ass and actually do /something/. "Bale the water I'm going to try and.. patch this shit," he calls out shortly after Sienna notices the same issue. He stumbles about looking for spare planks or anything else he could try to jam, stick, or hammer over damage he may spot. Of course, he scouts the initial scene of the creatures impact first to really get a good scope of how bad it was.
After snapping her killer selfies Samantha goes back to recording the very important repair work. Recording it being obviously far too important for her to help out at all. Obviously.
Lounging in a pose far too casual for his waterlogged, pale, disheveled state, Avi finishes taking his selfies, then looks back toward the boat. "It kind of smells," he tells the others. "Like, obviously it smells oceanic, but there's something else too, something strange," but as he's speaking, the horizon shifts relative to the boat, and he scrambles on the creature's bulk. "The boat!" He points, sliding down the edge of the creature toward the railing. "Jon Snow," he decisively blames Jett for their group failure. "You had one job!" He joins in the bailing effort, calling out, "The heavy-duty boxes the radar equipment came in, those looked pretty sturdy."
Of course, the boxes! While Jett does entirely open his mouth to compliment Avi he thinks better of it halfway through and instead thinks plagarism is the best alternative route. He repeats nearly word for word, "Ah! The boxes the radar shit came in look sturdy." Then he's recalculating his mental GPS to rush over to said boxes and try to destroy them without asking Sienna for her advice first.
The boxes make a good enough support material, and while the boat continues to leak and requires the occassional bucketing it seems the crew is out of any real danger as the ship turns and starts the journey back towards land.
When disturbing screams crackled over the radio, the crew swiftly traced the signal to its source: the monster they hunted, a gargantuan dark shark adorned with kraken-like tentacles. Charging headlong, the creature rammed the boat, causing a significant breach in the hull and tossing Jett into the icy embrace of the ocean. Sienna and Casey scrambled to set up a jury-rigged bomb, while Avi recited arcane incantations, blood dripping from his grasp.
Amidst the turmoil, Casey's desperate toss of a rope saved Jett from a frigid fate. Sienna's bomb erupted with a muted thump, a disorienting blast that momentarily deterred the monster. Blood and water churned as Samantha commanded her crew, Avi unleashed a harpoon into the beast's gaping jaws, and Sienna maneuvered the boat with a panicky finesse.
Grenades scattered the deck as the creature, driven by the death throes of life ebbing away, hauled their craft through the waves until its violent journey abruptly ceased. The group peered over, bearing witness to the silent, bleeding leviathan, its final gambit defeated.
Avi, with the flair of a showman, leapt onto the slain colossus to capture the moment in a series of triumphant selfies. Jett's suggestion of using boxes from the radar gear fortified their makeshift repairs against the ocean's relentless ingress. With the boat patched enough to stay afloat and Jett, the bucket man, bailing water, they made their slow return to the security of Haven Docks.
Exhausted, soaked, and rattled, but alive and victorious, their tale was one of shared danger and the unyielding will to survive, all while a camera chronicled their every move, capturing their story for posterity—or perhaps just infamy.
(A Bigger Fish..(SRSamantha):SRSamantha)
[Sat Dec 9 2023]
At Haven Docks
A small, weather-beaten fishing dock stretches out into tranquility of the bay. The wooden planks, gray and splintered from years of sun and salt, issue a soft creak with the rhythm of the waves. Strong, mossy pylons protrude from the water, testament to the years they have stood against the elements. Rusty metal cleats, used to secure boats, are studded sporadically along the edges. The dock is accentuated by a scent of salt and fish and accompanied by the soft murmur of water lapping against the supports. An almost rhythmic ker-thump of wood on wood resonates as a white, mid-sized fishing boat gently rocks against the timeworn bumpers.
It is afternoon, about 29F(-1C) degrees,
The sky is dark and cloudy and little wisps of snow drift from the sky as the group start to arrive by the docks. The waves to the east are choppy but not wild and a mid-sized white fishing boat bobs in the water just off the docks with several crudely affixed spearguns on the sides.
Samantha pulls up to the docks in her battered Firebird, parking her car and slipping out to slam the door shut, taking a few steps towards the water before checking her phone and turning to wait for the others to arrive.
Casey had arrived in her very, very rickety old vehicle, letting her eyes cast over the docks as a look of something not unlike doubt touches her lips. A shake of her head, and she steps out, flipping up the hood of her jacket, and moving to step closer to Samantha, her eyes holding a question that her lips don't speak yet, before she turns, glancing out over the water to just... take the whole view in.
Arriving in his vehicle with a ghoulish paint job is Jett. Dressed in many layers and toting a heavy bag over one shoulder, he also totes along what looks to be a.. bucket. He strides along with the usual lazy gait, but at least he isn't dragging his feet this time. Those he knows are given a friendly upnod while those he remains unfamiliar with are appraised for a moment.
Avi pulls up to the docks in his brand new Range Rover, double-parking with the sticker noting him as a donor of standing to the Federation of Police prominently on display. "This would be so much more convenient in August, with beers, and bathing suits," Avi calls out toward the others as he arrives, flicking a speck of snow off the shoulder of his coat as if it'd personally offended him.
"Is that a bucket?" Samantha queries Jett as she turns and gives Casey a brief smile. "Hey Casey, just gotta wait for a few more people then we'll hop onboard." She explains.
Having arrived at the docks not long before the departure time, Sienna spends some time digging through the heavy black boxes arranged in her trunk before deciding on a medium-sized box. It's drawn out with an efforted grunt, nearly teetering backwards before she manages to find balance, hefting it up in her arms before she begins to carry it down the weathern-beaten planks of the fishing dock leading toward the mid-sized fishing boat bobbing in the water. "I think you'll be quite pleased with what I've chosen to bring," she enthuses to Samantha with a beam of a smile, slightly winded.
Her head turns to look over toward Jett with his bucket. "I really, really thought you were kidding about that."
Samantha looks at Sienna's box curiously, hefting a bag a little up on her shoulder. "I'll mostly just be recording when we get underway, so we have evidence of what's out there for later." She explains, scanning over the gathered group and then giving a short nod. "OK, lets get on board. Do you guys have particular roles you want to do? Like Driver or dedicated harpoonerer..." She says, beckoning for everyone to follow her onto the boat.
SamanthaAn ominous roll of thunder sounds in the distance as the group make their way onto the boat, it gently rocks under their weight, the gentle rocking taking a little getting used to for those without much experience.
An ominous roll of thunder sounds in the distance as the group make their way onto the boat, it gently rocks under their weight, the gentle rocking taking a little getting used to for those without much experience.
"I'm your guy if anyone tries to stop us from entering private shipping lanes or generally tell us 'no' about anything," Avi says as he gets a set of identical garment bags from the back of his SUV and follows the others on-board. "That's not really a captain's hat," he notes somewhat dubiously to Samantha. "You do have a captain's hat, surely?"
"Ok so radar and bucket-guy." Samantha confirms with a nod for Casey and Jett in turn, watching to make sure Sienna doesn't fall over trying to get into the boat with her big box. "I dunno that that's a real position." She tells Avi and then scowls at him. "I actually had a whole big moment planned when we got underway and I was going to change hats, but thanks for fucking it up for me." She bitches.
Jett tilts and sways on the ship with the rocking of the boat. He watches Sienna try to navigate her way on board but the exchange between Avi and Sienna has him snicker quietly to himself.
Sienna only trips twice as she boards the ship, head turning to look off into the distance as thunder rumbles. It takes her a moment to adapt to the gentle rocking of the deck underfoot, stooping down to drop the box with a heavy thud.
"Was there going to be a musical number along with this costume change?" Avi asks Samantha snidely, but his expression is somewhat chastised. "Just pretend I didn't say anything," he mumbles. "Shut up, Jon Snow," he snaps at Jett, probably projecting.
"I'm just going to guess Sienna is going to keep things repaired and/or also has batman gadgets in her box." Samantha decides after a moment. "I guess I can record with one hand so I'll drive too, but I might need someone to help from time to time." She muses, "Avi you're going to man the spear guns and Jett if there's no bucketing to do you can use the spears." She instructs, glancing over her extremely professional crew and giving a little satisfied nod as she steps up to the center console. "Ok, Casey, Jett, can you cast us off? Just unhook the ropes from the side there and give it a little push."
"I can hum a little tune, if that would help with the gravitas of the situation," Casey adds, having found a quiet portion of the boat to linger in. She does perk up at the command, however, bringing up her hand to give a flippant salute, "Aye aye, cap'n," she says, reaching out to start to tug at the ropes, unhooking the boat. She'd leave the push to Jett, if he wanted it. "Casey, by the way," she says to the other.
Jett lifts his free hand, making a zipper motion across his lips when Avi snaps over at him. He strides over and sets his bucket down atop the box Sienna thuds down and upon Samantha's request he echoes, "Aye cap'n." To the ropes the delinquent goes, "Jett," he returns to Casey and when she handles the ropes, he sticks a leg off the edge to push against the pier and get them afloating.
SamanthaThe whole boat rocks slightly as it is pushed off, bobbing in the water for a few moments before the engines kick in and it slowly starts to pull away the safety of land receding as the brisk wind off the ocean buffets the group.
The whole boat rocks slightly as it is pushed off, bobbing in the water for a few moments before the engines kick in and it slowly starts to pull away the safety of land receding as the brisk wind off the ocean buffets the group.
"Oh, I wanted to drive, but I thought it'd be tacky to offer since that's obviously the coolest job," Avi chimes in. The garment bags he's holding are held up. "Before we get too far out, I did bring these for everyone," he notes. Unzipping one bag, it's an Armani life jacket in sleek black, perfect for remaining stylish yet potentially unseen by rescue crews in open water.
"Wait, do we have enough time for me to install the upgrades for the sonar and radar systems? I spent like all night analyzing data I got from marine databases to help improve detection capabilities for a number of supernatural creatures," Sienna frets as the engines kick in to pull the boat away from the safety of land, watching it anxiously before she turns around to look over toward the others ondeck. "Otherwise, I guess I can do whatever needs doing," she supposes, vaguely green around her gills.
Samantha takes out a small handheld camera and activates it, turning it to record Jett and Casey as they push off and then using her other hand to push the lever up to get the engines going, steadying herself on the boat as they jolt forward. Once they're cruising in a straight line she pauses the recording, sets the camera down on the top of the console and pulls off her beret, then reaches into her bag and takes out a Captain's hat, jamming it onto her head somewhat irritably. She blinks as Avi pulls out the life jackets. "Oh, that's a good idea... I probably should've thought of that before we pushed off." She admits, "Ok Avi you drive, it's just like, a steering wheel and this lever that makes it go faster." She points out and nods at Sienna, "Ok, everyone grab a life jacket, Avi take the wheel, Casey help Sienna install her James Bond stuff as we go." She instructs, heading back towards the back of the boat so she can more easily record the crew about their work.
"So we /are/ going to sink," Jett drones out when he realizes Avi is going to be taking the wheel. He is happy to take up one of the stylish vests and fastening it on. "How far are we heading out again?" he wonders to Samantha, squinting off I to the vast distance of the sea.
"Aye aye, Captain," Avi tells Samantha, much more agreeable once she looks the part. He pulls on a life-jacket over his clothes, handing the rest out to the others on the crew, then heads for the wheel, taking it in one hand like he knows what he's doing. "What does this button do?" he asks, gesturing toward one labeled 'In case of emergency'.
Casey, with a bit of a smile towards Sienna as she grasps one of the life vests and starts tugging it on - over her jacket, because it was chilly out here, tilts her head just so to the side. "You seem super technical," she says to Sienna. "So I'll just kinda be the extra pair of hands holding the flashlight or whatever you need?" she says, grinning just a bit.
Sienna quickly pulls her hair back into a ponytail, then moves to collect a life jacket for herself. "You really think of everything, Avi. Thank you," she beams at Avi, shrugging into its sleek black protective embrace before moving over to Jett. "Jett, can you help me with all the straps?"
Samantha grabs a jacket for herself as she sets up near the back of the boat, slipping into it with just the one arm. "Well, we might need people to actually stab the monster if we find it but I guess that can be more of a like, a la carte thing." She muses. "That kills the engines in case one sets on fire." She explains to Avi, and shrugs at Jett. "I dunno... There's some binoculars in that drawer there, grab them and see if you can see anything on the horizon?" She requests of Jett.
Sienna turns her head to showcase a reassuring smile of pearly whites at Casey. "There's plenty enough for both of us to split the work evenly," she promises, pointing toward the heavy black box. "It shouldn't take too long though. We just need to get it hooked into the marine radar system, then it'll hopefully make it easier to pick up on any creatures that might potentially be harder to detect."
".. Sure," Jett belatedly accepts over to Sienna when she requests his aid. Maybe he thought he was going on a free cruise with minimal labor required on his part. He's the bucket guy! He takes the straps in hand and tugs *hard*, making sure the vest is squeezing poor Sienna. At least she will float.
Then he drifts over near Avi, crowding him as he goes through every and any drawer except the one Samantha initially points out in his search for the binoculars.
Haven retreats further and further into the distance and the vast ocean stretches out around the crew and their little fishing vessel, the waves grow larger and larger and they begin to feel the boat tilting upwards and then back down as it crests each of the swells.
"I did not think of upgrades for the sonar and radar," Avi informs Sienna. "So no, I think we can all share the credit for thinking of everything. Except Jon Snow," he adds after a moment. "He brought a bucket," he notes. He does not press the kill-the-engine button once Samantha explains what it does, instead opting to turn the boat's front beam light on and off. "Hey," he complains. "Was it the bucket comment?" he wonders when Jett gets all up in his space. "Quit trying to cop a fee-" He cuts himself off, suddenly looking a bit unwell. "Urgh. I shouldn't have had that last mimosa..."
"That one, that one there." Samantha points irritably at the one drawer Jett keeps not looking in.
"Don't be jealous of my bucket," Jett says as he sufficiently crowds Avi up and then let's out a dense hum when Samantha points out the obvious unmolested drawer. He slides it open, plucks up the binoculars and retreats when Avi starts looking sick. He lifts them up to his eyes and peers far off along the horizon, "Heeeere fishy fishy fish.."
"Well, then I'll try to follow along then," Casey says to Sienna, biting her lower lip as she lets her eyes track over the various bits and bobs in the box. She looks up towards Sienna afterwards, even if she was spending more time holding onto the side of the boat. "Well," she says. "This is getting... a little choppy out here. That whole summer boating trip idea that guy was saying is sounding better and better..." she says, her voice sounding a little drawn out.
"Your bucket's not all that," Avi tells Jett, looking him up and down. "Now Sienna's bucket..." He winks over at Sienna, giving the Swann an appreciative look, 'bucket' clearly a euphemism, now. "Wait, who is 'that guy'?" Avi asks Casey, brows lifted in alarm. "I have a name, Casey. It's a pretty good name, too. My mom gave it to me," he adds pointedly.
Avi talks a lot of shit, but his hand is somewhat shaky on the wheel.
The breath is squeezed out of her when Jett cinches the straps of her life jacket in too tight, stretching out a hand to grip hold of something to support herself as the color slowly drains from her face. Sienna looks around, eyeing the railing in quiet consideration before she moves to one side of the black box, popping the lid open to showcase its interior to Casey. A simple round apparatus with a darkened screen sits in the middle of thick cushioning, surrounded by a few quick tools that is easy for the engineer to deduce their purposes. "Ready?"
With a little bump of his hip Jett shakes that ass unenthusiastically as Avi comments on his bucket -- no mop. ".. Sure is a lot of water out there guys," he reports the obvious to the others, like they couldn't see that all on their own. He slowly scans his gaze around with those binoculars until he ends up peering back at Samantha -- getting a close up with his new eyes.
The group have a map, divided up into quadrants with small Xs of where each of the previous attacks have been. They also have information on tides, weather patterns and their radar can spot the location of several other fishing vessels out and about this afternoon.
Samantha is recording Jett shaking his ass this whole time with her little camcorder. "Ok, while Sienna and Casey work on that, Avi get the map out of that drawer? We got a bunch of info in there, anyone got any good theories about where to start our search?"
"Ack, I'm sorry," Casey says, "It was Avi, right?" she says, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she hangs on for dear life to the side of the boat. "I think I'm as ready as I can be," she says, Casey's eyes searching over the tools and the device itself as it was revealed. "You *are* really ready to go, huh?" she says to Sienna.
Samantha moves the camcorder to get a good shot of Casey and Sienna working all professionally on the radar.
"If it works as well as I hope it will, maybe I can get a patent for it and shop around for investors," Sienna enthuses toward Casey as she pushes the big box toward the radar system, quickly popping open a panel to expose internal wiring. "Can you find the main line? We just need to wire it all together, then boot this bad boy up."
Much better about searching drawers than Jett, Avi finds the map and gets it out, taking deep breaths the way overpriced therapists have probably advised his whole life. "Vertigo is an illusion, you're better than this," he intones an anti-seasickness peptalk to himself. "Okay, there's been attacks here, here, and here," he holds the map up and points them out for those too far away to see clearly. "Any patterns on what the tides were like or how the wind was blowing at the times of those attacks?" he wonders.
Casey nods her head to that. "Well... what does the main line look like?" Casey says, nonetheless devoting herself to the task at hand - the helpful color coding of the wires might be helpful to that. All the while, she shifts atop the deck of the boat, her eyes searching the different wires as they were exposed.
It isn't immediately obvious that there's a link between the tides and the attacks, but it does seem like the vessels seemed to generally be moving against the wind when they were attacked.
"Tide charts." Samantha says, helpfully pointing to where the rest of the information can be found.
Jett aims the binoculars up towards the clouds for a time, adjusting the range of his zoomie-glasses until he starts scouting out their immediate surroundings again. "What is it supposed to look like.. scales? Blubber? What color is it?"
"Get the tide charts," Avi hisses toward Jett. "Stop fucking around!" He points, of course, toward the drawers again.
Sienna smiles with reassurance to Casey as they work through the installation process. "The main line is usually the thick cable connected to the radar's transceiver, it's the heart of the system," she explains, pointing to a robust, insulated cable. "We're looking for the primary data cable. It should be color-coded, likely a blue or green one among these." She hands her a set of wire strippers. Carefully strip a small section of the insulation from the main line, but make sure not to cut the wire itself. When just need to make sure we have a clear connection, then the interface should work well with the radar system."
"If all goes well, our device should enhance the existing system without any hiccups, and help identity potential anomalies we detect in real time." "
"Nobody knows cause it eats everyone whose run into it." Samantha explains to Jett matter-of-factly before frowning a little and adding quickly. "But you know, we'll be fine."
".. Look V! A bunch of bird--.." Jett begins to point off into the distance to show off his newly found discovery until Avi is barking orders at him. He lowers his eye-helpers and starts scrounging through the drawers again, yanking out the tide chart and offering it to Avi upside down, "There.. hey, go towards those birds."
"Got it," Casey says to Sienna, giving her a smile so wide it crinkles her nose in spite of the choppy waters. Luckily, she finds just one of those colors - a blue line, and uses a fingertip to point and start to follow it towards the... "Aha, that's the transceiver, right?" she says. "Okay, it'll just take me a few more seconds to get this stripped..." Casey says to Sienna, her voice distant from concentration.
"You didn't say shit about it eating people," Avi says with some mild irritation toward Samantha. "I did not sign u-" But then there's birds. And the tide chart he requested. "Well, the birds are in the opposite direction of... wait." Avi turns the tide chart the right way up, giving Jett a disgusted glare. "You're lucky you're pretty," he mutters, turning the wheel to steer toward the birds, only remembering to ask, afterwards, "Why are we following the birds?"
"Ok so that's one vote for a strategy of 'going towards the birds'" Samantha repeats, trying to make it sound like a very serious suggestions, "Any oth-" She starts but then Avi turns the boat and she just nods as if this were the plan all along. "Right, we're going towards the birds." She states authoritatively. "Can you check on the map if the birds are at all close to where the ships were attacked though? Like, just on the offchance this is not a very smart tracking strategy or something wild like that?"
The birds do seem to be sort of in the direction of where several of the attacks took place, albiet more towards the southern tip of the cluster than the center of it.
"Well what are the birds doing?" Sienna calls over toward Jett. "Are they just circling around a specific area, or seem like they're frantic or something? Do you think maybe it's like a warning system?" she theorizes, pulling up her tablet wired into the radar system in an effort to try and optimize the data she's receiving, searching through the blips registering on the sonar. "Hey Sam, do you know if there's any data we can recover from the ships? Radio recordings, or data points they might've transmitted right before they disappeared?"
"Uhhh..." Samantha replies, "Probably? It might be at the bottom of the ocean though, can your nerd-fu reach that far or would we need to like, swim down?" She wonders.
"Well, the birds actually do seem to be heading in the direction of the attacks," Avi admits, double-checking the now right-side-up tide chart. "Not directly into the middle of them, but in that direction." He adjusts the wheel slightly, aiming more toward that center, belatedly. He hesitates for a moment, then licks his thumb, holding his arm up and out to test the wind's direction. "You're not allowed to help navigate anymore," he tells Jett with finality.
"There's just a bunch of them fucking around over there," Jett admits as he squints for a time but then remembers his binoculars. They go back up to his eyes and he admires the birds in the distance, "Maybe there's food.. or something over there. Or a bunch of fish. Or a sea monster." He nudges Avi as if to urge him to decipher both the map /and/ the driving bit. "They look pretty cool though," he remarks.
"Let me see," Avi whispers aside to Jett, motioning with his head for him to bring the binoculars over.
The land can no longer been seen in any direction as the vessel heads further out to sea, still tilting up and then back down with the swell of the water.
Jett passes the binoculars over to Avi, pointing just one more time over at the specks in the distance. "Look, they're just.. cruising," he quietly tells Avi, a moment of appreciating nature despite the potential dangers that lurk.
As the detection system crackles to life Sienna gets a good look at the sonar and Casey at the Radar.
Avi has his hands full with the wheel and the map, and just sort of ducks his head to look through the binoculars while Jett holds them up. "Hold them steady, fuck's sake," he requests imperiously.
Jett holds the binoculars steady for a time until the next rock of the boat, trying his best not to accidentally bang Avi in the face. "Stand still, dipshit," he bitches quietly at Avi.
"Hey hey hey - we're getting blips on the radar! There's like..." Casey says, wiping some spray from her eyes as she hunkers over the device. "... there's something large, far far to the north. And there's a smaller blip to the south, and another blip to the northeast. I think these are ships?" she says, pointing a manicured nail at the display.
"We're definitely not reaching the bottom of the ocean with this shit, but it should hopefully be able to detect any big monsters starting to ascend for an attack once it comes into the sonar system's range," Sienna supposes, looking over the mapping of the sonar briefly as it updates with new detections. She notes their coordinates down quickly, then moves to the maps Avi and Jett were looking at earlier. "Hey, Jett, do any of these seem to fit a pattern?"
The object to the northeast seems outside the attack area, but either of the other two signals could be credibly within the monster's range.
"Any what now?" Jett asks, pulling his binoculars back from Avi when Sienna has him looking back down to the maps. ".. Well, the birds are to the south so they might be eating whatever is over there.. the northeast ping is probably out of the range of the normal attacks so.." he bumbles through trying to navigate the maps and the reports from Casey.
Samantha hunches down against the wind, using her camcorder to capture the crew as they discuss over the map, pointing and debating like seasoned sea-monster hunters getting to the bottom of a serious mystery.
"So which way am I steering this thing?" Avi demands, exasperated, as the crew bumbles through the intel. "Birds to the south? Big blip, smaller blip, Cuba?"
".. Birds," Jett votes simply enough, peering over to Sienna, Casey, and Samantha for the input and further deliberation since he seems stuck on the birds and they might have better deduction skills.
"I dunno - the big blip to the north?" Casey offers her guidance. "If something is going to be attracted to something - it'll be to the bigger blips, right?" she says, glancing towards the others.
"You're banned from navigational suggestions," Avi reminds Jett snidely, looking to Sienna and Casey over at the detection machinery. "That's one vote for the big blip," he says after Casey speaks up, hand on the wheel. "Sienna?"
"We can rule out the northeast," Sienna calls toward Avi after an agreeing nod toward Jett and Casey's reports. "Can you chart a course toward the southwest, and line us up with the birds? That'll keep the these two deep water objects out of our direct trajectory and leaves us a way to escape in case it gets too dicey?"
"That'd make sense but it's mostly gone after smaller vessels." Samantha says to Casey nodding at Sienna, "Ok, southwest for now." She tells Avi. "We wouldn't want to give up on our bird strategy after all..."
"Yuh...." Casey says, suddenly, bringing her hand up to brush her windstrewn hair out of her eyes. "That blip to the south? It just kinda vanished."
"Just because he saids stupid shit confidently doesn't mean we have to listen to Jon Snow," Avi informs the others with strained patience. "But fine," he turns the wheel. "We'll follow the fucking birds, I guess. It's not like we don't have really fancy electronic information systems newly installed..." he continues muttering some choice sarcasm as he steers.
Sienna gazes out at the horizon nervously. "Once we get mid-range, I can try to see if I can adjust the low frequency gain to try and pick up this monster on the radar," she rattles off toward Casey with a strained smile, busying herself with adjusting the sensitive equipment.
"Can you mark the spot on the map where the thing was that disappeared?" Samantha asks Casey with a small frown. "Avi, go faster."
Casey crinkles her nose up, and glances between the radar and the map. "Kinda...?" Casey says towards Samantha, with a glance towards Sienna. She reaches out and taps a spot on the map, "If that is there, then this must be..." she taps again.
There's a roar as the engines come to life and the boat lurches through the waves as Avi swings around towards the southwest. The radio crackles to life with static, and then the sound of screaming, and then static again.
"Mark it with the marker-" Samantha begins to tell Casey then looks at the radio with a frown. "That's not good, Casey check the sonar, Sienna see if you can triangulate that distress call? Jett, Binoculars. Avi, vroom vroom."
(Shit starts to get real: https://w2g.tv/?r=bgmku51ozcmgkrvfdd )
".. Told you it was the birds," Jett mutters when Casey reports that the bird-blip has vanished. He gives Avi some side-eye and
".. Told you it was the birds," Jett mutters when Casey reports that the bird-blip has vanished. He gives Avi some side-eye and swivels to aim his binoculars southward first. He tries to find the birds first, seeing if they will trail after the now missing entity hanging in the depths. (fix)
Sienna pales at the sound of screaming crackling through on the radio, then springs into action to try and lock in on the signal and clear the interference muddying the signal with her tablet. "Oh fuck, oh fuck," she mubles under her breath, turning her head to throw a long-suffering look at Jett's direction. "Jett, it's not the fucking birds! The birds are probably an indicator of where the hell it is. Now act right before WE end up monster chow."
Avi increases the speed of the boat, opening up both engines as he attempts to steer over and through the least-aggressive looking waves in front of them. "Don't give me your sass, Jon Snow," Avi returns the shady side-eye with a shady look of his own. "Anything on that distress call?" he calls out toward Sienna.
".. Wait there's something actually over there," Jett claims persistently to the others, "On the surface of the water!" Not that he actually tells them more than that /something/ is over there for now.
"Found it," Sienna announces toward the helm where Avi stands. "South-southeast, but let me see if I can get a more precise location." She moves back toward the radar with Casey, checking for objects in the southeastern direction and an update on the location of the deep sea objects in relation to their previous noted coordinates.
"We're surrounded by water!" Avi calls out toward Jett. "Something over where?" he asks. But then Sienna answers, and he adjusts their trajectory accordingly. "Everyone has their life jackets on, right?" he checks.
Hunkering down in the boat, Casey glances back over her shoulder towards the others, wide eyes on the radar screen, leaning to the side to let Sienna coordinate the movement with her. "Let's just say... what if we *do* find it," she says. "How are we planning on doing anything about that?"
Casey glances out over the water, giving her head a shake. She points off the port side. "Left! There's a fin out there! It might be here?!" she says, the tension in her voice super obvious.
Samantha crouches down, taking in the crew as they coordinate over the location of the monster on her camcorder. "That's what the harpoons are fo-" She starts to explain before snapping the camcorder to where Casey is pointing.
"Someone get on the speargun, just in case?" Avi calls out from where he's steering, trying to see over the side to where Casey is pointing at the same time.
"To the souuuuth! Near the *fucking* biiiirds," Jett hollers about those damn avian creations until his tune switches both in tone and volume, ".. Fin." The speargun sounds like a great idea and he tries to rush over to it.
A fin appears in the water off the port side of the boat to everone now, racing towards the boat. They only have a second and then it crashes into the side of the boat which rocks hard. Casey keeps her footing, Samantha keeps her footing. Avi and Jett lose their footing, Sienna keeps her footing and can save either Avi or Jett but not both.
As the fin slices through the water, striking the boat with a sudden, jarring impact, Sienna lets out a startled shout. The boat rocks violently, tipping Avi and Jett off balance. Her reflexes kick in, and without a second thought, she lunges toward Avi. Her hand reaches out, fingers grasping firmly onto Avi's arm, pulling with all her might to steady him. All the while, her head snaps to try and make sure the bird-obsessed delinquent is okay since he'd gone for the harpoon.
Avi is saved by Sienna's quick reactions, Jett goes into the ocean.
In horror, Casey watches the fin arc towards the boat, biting down very very hard on her lower lip as the entire boat rocks now, her knuckles turning white as she grasps ahold of the the bit of the boat she was anchoring herself with. "It hit us! Can we shoot it?!" she asks, glancing over her shoulder towards the rest of the boat. Something was off... something was missing...!
Samantha throws herself into the corner, bracing hard against the impact as the boat is rocked and doing her best to keep the camcorder capturing the event. "Yeah, shoot it!" She yells encouragingly.
Crashing into Sienna, hard, Avi nearly sends them both flying. "Watch out!" he shouts in delayed alarm, his face a mask of pain where she jerks his arm. "Jett!" he stumbles toward the wheel as the boat continues onward at speed, attempting to circle back. "Someone get to that fucking spear gun, so help me god!" he thunders, cradling his arm to his side.
As the boat settles after being rammed the creature disappears before reappearing on the other side of the boat, just below the surface, its fin cutting through the water. It looks like a giant dark shark, the same size as their boat, except for the black kraken-like tentacles that run along both sides of its body. The ramming attack has left a large hole in the port side of the boat, and water is pouring into the vessel as with a *thunk* those large tentacles land onto the side of the boat, wrapping around railings and posts and locking the vessel and monster together as it starts to swim in circles around the boat, making it also begin to spin in place due to being tethered.
Overboard it is. Amidst his rush the impact of whatever seabeast charged their vessel has Jett's boots slip and he goes crashing towards the edge of the ship. Despite his attempt at trying to catch himself he is tossed into the chilling depths of disturbed waters with an abrupt splash to follow the chaos. He thrashes soon after impact despite the searing ache in his limbs of layers upon layers of icy water seeping into him. "Fuck!" he screams beneath the cacophony of a monster engaging with the ship around him.
Samantha crouches in her corner filming the unfolding horror. "Someone get Jett! Someone bucket or repair! Someone shoot the monster!" She calls out despite being pretty useless herself and just recording stuff.
"What the fuck is that?" Avi shouts, abandoning the wheel when the ship is bound in place. Tearing through his bag, Avi flips through a compendium of magic, pupils dilating slightly as tentacles flop onto the deck. "Get Jett before he freezes his literal nuts off, I'll shoot!" With shaky hands, Avi fumbles for sulfate salt from one of the pouches on his backpack, already beginning to chant something that sounds offensive, profane even, though it certainly isn't in English.
With the tentacles clutching onto the boat harder than Casey seemed to be, the bevy of things to do seemed to overwhelm poor Casey, and she shudders in place. "What *is* that even...!" she says. 'Getting Jett' seemed to be the one that she seemed the most drawn to, especially with Avi shouting too. With nearly no martial prowess under her classy belt, or so she felt - she finds a small length of rope, tossing one end towards Jett, and bracing herself against a pillar of the boat that wasn't currently being grasped by monster.
Even as the boat begins to spin. "Grab on, quick! Try to pull yourself onboard!"
In a split second, her mind races into action. Sienna hopes against hope that Jett can survive being tossed overboard, scrambling across the deck toward the black box. Adrenaline pumping, she digs out materials, hands working feverishly to meld together a jury-rigged bomb to emit disorienting sonic pulses with an old underwater drone in an attempt to disorient the giant tentacle-shark monstrosity hunting them. With no time to lose, she sets a quick timer and releases the jury-rigged contraption into the depths, hoping to buy them a crucial window of time.
Still chanting, Avi lunges at a critical point in the chant, stabbing his dagger into one of the tentacles to add the last crucial element to the ritual magic - blood.
The rope lands next to Jett in the ocean, Casey pulling him in even as he pulls himself up until he is safely back on board the boat, which is unfortunately now about half sunk as water continues to pour in from the hole in the side. Sienna's handmade bomb sinks down into the water after a moment there's a dull thump and the creature screeches and as darkness swirls through Avi's eyes a brief glimpse shows the creatures own red and bloody with soe sort of burst vessel. The tentacles release and the boat's rotations stop as the creature dives off into the ocean but it isn't for long, and soon it is coming back for another charge, raising up in the water and jaws opening wider and wider...
"Fuckfuckfuck." Samantha curses, "Shoot it, shoot the, thing!" She calls out, fumbling for her in case of emergencies backpack and ripping it open to send grenades tumbling all over the mostly submerged deck as an additional option.
If Jett hadn't witnessed the rope land directly in front of his face, he probably would've missed it amongst his thrashing. He lunges for it, as much as one can in water, and grabs on tight -- pulling with all his might to try and scramble back towards the ship. His mind is almost numb to the fact that the vessel seems to be joining him in the sea more than he seems to be departing, tunnel visioned on escape as his teeth chatter violently together. "K-kill it!" he bellows during his return to the ship, his voice trembling through the cold.
"Use your... bucket." Samantha insists mercilessly to the recovering Jett.
"It won't stay blinded for long!" Avi warns as the creatures eyes redden, magic mischief managed, and he stuffs his tome away for the moment, dashing toward the mounted spear guns as the creature rears up out of the water like some deranged mermaid's Cthulian paralysis demon. "Hold on!" he shouts, yanking the gun around to take aim at the gaping maw. "Fire in the hole!" he calls out, though he is not actually throwing a grenade.
"Bucket," Jett echoes of Samantha, as if she had a brilliant idea that he hadn't already thought of. Even if he might have been the one to actually bring the futile thing. He moves on auto pilot with urgency scrambling too and fro, boots slipping on the slick deck from his panic but fortunately not falling off again.. yet. He's even still holding the rope around one wrist as he works. Finding the bucket rolling around is a challenge at first but when he does he gets to baling and quickly -- and for whatever reason he throws the sea water off towards the charging beast. Like that was going to intimidate it.
Sienna scans the boat, assessing their rapidly dwindling options as the creature makes its return for an impending charge. Her heart drops into the pit of her stomach at its jaws gaping in a terrifying promise of destruction. "BRACE YOURSELVES!" she yells over the roar of water and chaos around them, slipping and sliding across the water-drenched deck with a squeak of sodden sneakers, darting for the steering wheel to try and maneuver the boat out of direct harm's way. Her hands shake, bracing her weight hard against it as she uses her entire body to try and pull sharply to the left.
Casey gives an extra tug to help Jett onto the boat, ending up falling flat on her tush. With that done, Casey braces herself against the side of the boat, sticking out her leg to further brace herself.
"Grab a speargun, or a bucket," Avi entreats Casey as he fires on the monster. "Now's not the time to panic," he warns, not really giving her a chance to recover from her previous task. "Move!"
As Jett buckets for their lives, the monster comes on faster and faster before Avi lets loose his shot, the harpoon striking into the mouth of the creature. As Sienna jerks the ship to the side, the creature wails and dives once more, the rope coiling under the speargun rapidly uncoiling before it snaps taunt and the boat is pulled along behind the creature, a spray of water drenching them all as they tumble towards the back of the boat from the sudden velocity.
Samantha slips backwards and braces herself a little, exhaling in a sudden oof as the others tumble backwards and start colliding into her and one another.
Casey slides upwards, the yelling towards her that Avi does seeming to spark some guidance in the woman. She was, by no means - a good shot with the speargun, but she reaches out to take it with shaking hands - moving to brace it against the side of the boat to fire towards the creature herself.
One more bucket of wet is thrown back into the sea where it belongs, but the sudden jolt of the ship being dragged sends Jett's balance backwards and he is sliding along looking to brace himself. "Good shot!" he yells at Avi, though it probably means to be more encouraging than sarcastic. "Maybe we can tire it out if we get enough ropes on it!" he shouts out to the others as they all try to recover from the last jostling of the ship.
As the boat lurches forward, pulled mercilessly by the monstrous creature, Sienna stumbles violently towards the back. She grapples with the slick surface, her arms flailing in a desperate attempt to grab onto something, anything, to halt her momentum. The harsh spray of water drenches her, making her grip slippery and uncertain. Amidst all the chaos, the sea-drenched Swann is sputtering out, "AVI!" over the water and wind. "Your blood -- we can use it, can't we? Make a flare gun shot stronger?!"
Avi tumbles backwards, losing his hold on the speargun as he goes ass over end toward the back of the boat, elbowing Samantha in the chest as they make contact. "Or maybe it just pulls us all under with it?" Avi counters Jett in alarm. "How's the bailing looking? Are we going to stay afloat?" he wonders, giving Samantha a wholly apologetic look before he tries to make his way back to the guns. "Why are we shooting flare guns?" he shouts toward Sienna. "We have grenades!"
Casey's shot is a good one, and the harpoon sinks into the back of the creature although through that tough hide it does not seem to have done much damage. The group grimly cling on while being dragged behind the monster, none of its weakpoints appearing open to them... But then the ship starts to slow down a little, and a little more, and then it slowly drifts to a stop. If the group peer over the edge they'd see the monster floating on top of the waves on its side, blood pooling from its mouth where some significant artery was clearly punctured and it becomes obvious this last little dash was just the final death throws of the creature.
Samantha kicks Avi in the shins after he elbows her in the titty, pulling herself up from where she'd sprawled and re-oriented the camera. "Right, Avi grab the grenades, Sienna grab those harpoons and we'll duct tap-" She starts to strategise before noticing that they're not really moving very fast anymore and then she peers over the side of the boat at the dead creature. "Huh..." Then she just gives a sharp little nod. "Perfectly executed plan everyone, good job." She praises, panning the camera over the dead creature and then sweeping it to travel over each of the other crew members in turn.
Running to the side of the boat, Avi looks over at the floating creature. "Wait," he calls out, and then in a perhaps foolhardy move, he's clambering up onto the edge, leaping from the boat to try and land on top of the sea monster itself.
As Avi's words cut through the chaos, Sienna 's focus snaps back to the present danger. "Grenades!" she echoes, clambering across the unsteady deck towards the Arkwright, gripping the boat's edge for support, her eyes scanning the tumultuous waters for the right moment. When Samantha starts barking orders again, she's ready to spring back into action. But as the boat's violent motion eases and she peers over the edge to see the creature in its final death throes, bleeding out, she stares in stunned disbelief. "Never mind the grenades I guess, it's over," she breathes out in answering call to their captain, her body trembling from the adrenaline, suddenly and violently upchucking over the railing into the water.
"I don't know, man.." Jett says as he continues throwing out as much water as he can, when the ship comes to a halt he freezes. Maybe he expected the beast to have popped a u-turn and come back for round three. His attention darts around in a hurry and he echoes Avi's thoughts, "Grenades are good, blow it up!" That is until he sees the blood pooling and the corpse bobbing slowly within its own domain. ".. Is it dead?" he asks breathlessly, just watching the unmoving body as if he was expecting one last act of retaliation to come there way. As the camera pans his way he doesn't bother to strike a pose or look stoic, he collapses onto his ass and just starts trying to catch his breath as his body desperately attempts to regulate its temperature under all those layers of wet clothing clinging to him.
Avi jumps onto the dead monster, it's too slippery to stand on however.
Avi sprawls onto the slippery sea monster as if that was his intention all along, and with some less than graceful maneuvering, manages to get himself into a super-casual reclining pose with one knee up. And then? Well, he whips out his phone, to take a selfie. Make that several selfies.
Avi succeeds in this task.
"Right." Samantha says with a nod as she looks at what Avi is doing, putting the camcorder down for a moment and stepping over to the edge of the boat, reaching up to look like she's tipping the tip of her Captain's hat down slightly as she snaps a photo of herself with the monster in the background.
Casey seemed to be needing to take a few moments to breathe, slowly prying her hands away from the speargun as everyone celebrates. Idly, Casey tugs her hand back through her hair, shivering hands letting go of the speargun. "That was... is it dead?" she hoped so, everyone was climbing on it.
Unfortunately the demise of the creature has not repaired the boat... Which is still slowly sinking...
Sienna weakly peels herself off the side of the railing, taking in the boat's condition with bleary eyes. "Avi, get back on the boat! We're still sinking, and we need all hands on deck!" she shouts. She starts to look around for any available tools or materials that could help slow the influx of water.
And here Jett was trying to catch a breather while the others took their selfies. It's only when he realizes the water he has baled out has arrived once more that he blinks down at his hands, "Ah fuck." With what little motivation he still had to move, not drowning encourages him to get off his ass and actually do /something/. "Bale the water I'm going to try and.. patch this shit," he calls out shortly after Sienna notices the same issue. He stumbles about looking for spare planks or anything else he could try to jam, stick, or hammer over damage he may spot. Of course, he scouts the initial scene of the creatures impact first to really get a good scope of how bad it was.
After snapping her killer selfies Samantha goes back to recording the very important repair work. Recording it being obviously far too important for her to help out at all. Obviously.
Lounging in a pose far too casual for his waterlogged, pale, disheveled state, Avi finishes taking his selfies, then looks back toward the boat. "It kind of smells," he tells the others. "Like, obviously it smells oceanic, but there's something else too, something strange," but as he's speaking, the horizon shifts relative to the boat, and he scrambles on the creature's bulk. "The boat!" He points, sliding down the edge of the creature toward the railing. "Jon Snow," he decisively blames Jett for their group failure. "You had one job!" He joins in the bailing effort, calling out, "The heavy-duty boxes the radar equipment came in, those looked pretty sturdy."
Of course, the boxes! While Jett does entirely open his mouth to compliment Avi he thinks better of it halfway through and instead thinks plagarism is the best alternative route. He repeats nearly word for word, "Ah! The boxes the radar shit came in look sturdy." Then he's recalculating his mental GPS to rush over to said boxes and try to destroy them without asking Sienna for her advice first.
The boxes make a good enough support material, and while the boat continues to leak and requires the occassional bucketing it seems the crew is out of any real danger as the ship turns and starts the journey back towards land.