James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608 
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Dec 6, 2019 14:49:57 GMT
Succession crisis among the Ore Mountains Vampires
There has been a colony of Vampires in the Ore Mountains since the early Seventeenth Century. They arrived after a journey from Scandinavia where their leader, Erc, broke with the rulers in the cold north and led a party of followers southwards. During that trip, a wave of terror was unleashed through Middle Ages Europe. They fed and took converts with them before Erc discovered a new home. The Ore Mountains were nothing special in terms of geography but perfectly located inside the heart of Europe. Mankind lived on the slopes and had little interest in the highest peaks. The Vampires made their home here and have remained for the past four hundred years. Erc retains his leadership position and is worshiped by his followers. He is credited with providing food, shelter and safety. None of the other colonies throughout Europe have any dealings with those in the Ore Mountains. This is just the way that Erc wants it. Others may adapt and change to the modern world, but those here retain their old ways.
The Vampires aren’t what human popular culture imagines mythical vampiric creatures to be. Yes, they do drink blood and live extraordinary long lives but they have no connection to bats nor will sunlight kill them. Silver bullets, holy crosses, stakes through the heart, sleeping in coffins … that is all nonsense. Vampires can be killed despite their super-human ability to rapidly heal from injuries. They can fly too. Sight, hearing and smell capabilities are immense. Blood is drunk from human and animal meals but internal organs are also a treat that can be consumed alongside blood. Human female virgins aren’t sought out nor do the Vampires behave in the fashion found in Gothic fiction. They have humans with them, one which they do not kill for food. Erc personally converts followers and the ‘luckiest’ of them are bitten in a particular manner to become a Vampire. The majority die out though after their lives have been lived within the colony.
Life in the colony for the Vampires and their human worshippers is, to put it plainly, uneventful. They live underground with few ventures outside. The Vampires sleep a lot, which retains their strength. Human activity goes on around them. Water is supplied for the humans via underground springs; no Vampire needs to drink water. Food is brought in from the outside too. When in Scandinavia, humans within the colony had been tricked into being there and were killed when the Vampires were hungry. Erc would have none of that in his colony. He sends his followers out to gather food for themselves and the humans which live with the Vampires. Animals and humans both are taken though an increasing low number of the latter as the years have gone by. Keeping a peaceful colony is its leader’s wish and so humans brought back for food are dead beforehand. Blood from bodies can be consumed when the corpse has deceased. Human themselves cross the Ore Mountains but it is rare for any of them to be bothered. Erc believes that staying hidden where they are would only be threatened by such a thing.
Like all Vampires, Erc was immune to all known human diseases. He drank blood and sometimes ate a heart from human kills like animals too. However, the colony’s leader was suddenly taken ill and this came after he had feasted for the first time in almost a year. Quickly, he slipped into unconsciousness and couldn’t be revived. His followers were thrown into a panic. They got rid of the rest of the food brought in by the latest hunt, fearful that they too would fall victim to whatever their leader was suffering with. Erc’s condition got worse. He then breathed his last breath before, after a life of more than six hundred years, finally dying. The expectation was that he would have lived for another three hundred at least. There had never been consideration made of a successor due to his expected much longer life. In addition, Erc had left Scandinavia in the wake of a succession crisis there where he was supposed to be the frontrunner to replace a leader there before being shoved aside: he’d been left wary of naming a successor because of this past experience where things could go wrong and put off such a decision.
The Vampires were unable to choose a new leader. Three separate contenders emerged. There was an old timer, Tyin, who’d come from Scandinavia in the 1600s but his support was limited to only some of those who’d made that journey long ago. The two others were Hans and Niels. These men were two hundred plus and one hundred & fifty or so years old respectively. Each Vampire was one of those human converts, worshippers of Erc who’d worked in the colony and been bitten by him to turn them from a human into one of his own kind. They were able to curry the support of those like themselves yet also many of the old guard too who had concerns over the modern world and were willing to listen to the ideas of Hans & Niels. Verbal disputes led to violence. The humans within the colony were used as pawns within the conflict underground and suffered gravely. Few Vampires lost their lives in comparison: conflicts were won by shameful physical defeats. Yet, Tyin was killed. This was a remarkable act of strength by Hans. Alas, in his victory, he was hurt bad. Recovery was possible but Niels chose to strike then. Finally, the succession crisis was settled with Hans’ death alongside that of Tyin. Niels was now the leader of the colony. He bit several surviving humans to transform them into Vampires and assured their loyalty. The crisis was over. Everything was meant to carry on as before. That it wouldn’t though, not after all of this internal bloodletting and Niels’ new ideas for the future.
|
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,835
Likes: 13,224
|
Post by stevep on Dec 6, 2019 17:09:07 GMT
I must admit, possibly my eyesight but I initially read it as the Orc mountains so thinking it was a different fantasy setting.  Was surprised to see the location actually exists and interesting how the vampires have managed to keep their existence secret for so long. Are you going to produce any more or just something very much on the back burner? |
|
forcon
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 988
Likes: 1,739
|
Post by forcon on Dec 6, 2019 17:41:32 GMT
I just read this; it is something I didn't expect! Excellent work though. I am rather enjoying these flash-fiction stories and may post my own in a day or two.
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Dec 7, 2019 11:32:58 GMT
I must admit, possibly my eyesight but I initially read it as the Orc mountains so thinking it was a different fantasy setting. Was surprised to see the location actually exists and interesting how the vampires have managed to keep their existence secret for so long. Are you going to produce any more or just something very much on the back burner? I had typos with Orc Mountains too. Those mountains aren't famous like the Alps nor the ones in Transylvania but seemed perfectly placed to me for a small colony. Feasting only once in a while keeps them hidden. If they are smart, they will hunt for humans far away and ones not to be missed: homeless, drug addicts etc. Staying out of sight has been done on purpose but other groups elsewhere might want to play a more active role in the world. How do you fly about hunting for food when Europe is covered with military radar? Fewer and fewer humans would want to go underground and worship a vampire deity when that means leaving the creature comforts of the modern world too. I just read this; it is something I didn't expect! Excellent work though. I am rather enjoying these flash-fiction stories and may post my own in a day or two. Thanks. Please do. |
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Dec 8, 2019 14:44:43 GMT
The loss of HMS Victorious
HMS Victorious was one of the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class strategic submarines. She carried a payload of Trident ballistic missiles as her main armament, each with thermonuclear warheads. Her last patrol begun on the west coast of Scotland. Victorious sailed from the Clyde and out into the North Atlantic. She went across the ocean to Georgia and the US Navy base at King’s Bay. Trident missile bodies from there were selected from the joint UK-US pool and loaded into the vertical launch tubes. Back across the North Atlantic the Victorious went, returning to the Clyde. Here the warheads were mated with the missiles before out to sea the submarine went. Another boat was heading in the same time and thus the Royal Navy was able to maintain it Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD).
The CASD mission was expensive and not easy to maintain. The Royal Navy had long conducted it though. It allowed for one Trident-armed submarine to always be on patrol deep below the ocean. Should the United Kingdom be attacked by a foreign aggressor, there was the option to give retaliation from a platform that no aggressor could ever hope to destroy. Back out into the deep ocean the Victorious went. There was a ‘box’ where she would make that patrol. There would be no surfacing needed and only the very basic, limited communication was had with home. There were over a hundred and thirty sailors aboard. They had their duties to do and their time was filled. Conditions aboard the submarine were of reasonable comfort and the work not onerous. There were newbies aboard though the majority of the crew had been through these patrols before.
The sixteen Tridents carried weren’t the only weapons aboard. There were torpedoes as well for self-defence. While one of the most silent submarines ever built, the Victorious was never intended to be used in an offensive role where her stealth capabilities on the attack would be quite something. Instead, the Spearfish torpedoes were there to protect her should she ever come under attack. These were good weapons. Stored on land between patrols, they were inspected and maintained on a regular basis… or they were supposed to be. Something had gone wrong with that process and with one of those Spearfish loaded aboard, it was in a dangerous condition. Under a regular-scheduled onboard training exercise, the crew were practising torpedo firing. There was nothing unexpected supposed to occur. But something did. That particular torpedo unexpectedly detonated. A massive explosion ripped through the Victorious.
The first explosion, then the subsequent ones too, were detected on ocean surveillance systems. Britain and her NATO allies heard the blasts deep under the water. Contact was sought with the Victorious. There was no reply. In Downing Street, the prime minister was awoken in the middle of the night – “this better be damn important!”, he shouted: not knowing this would be more important than anything else he and his government would ever have to face – and a COBRA meeting was convened between ministers and senior military chiefs. Little solid information was known but there was a lot of suspicion. From what could be gleamed by listening devices, there’d been a series of internal explosions aboard a submarine which it was believed was one of the boats on CASD patrol. Unrelenting efforts were being made to establish contact with the Victorious. Several warships and aircraft were alerted to head out that way. The Americans were in contact soon enough, so too the French as well. The prime minister was at first not keen to inform them of what was suspected but his mind was quickly changed. It was looking like a serious accident had occurred and help would be needed from allies.
No one was supposed to know where a submarine on CASD was located exactly at any given time. The source of the explosions gave the game away though. It was to there that British and NATO military units were sent. It was a search-&-rescue mission though there was also the need stressed for those responding to be on their guard. Two days before the explosions, a Russian submarine had been detected in that general area. Information had been sent to the Victorious to avoid it. What little information there was pointed to an internal explosion but outside – Russian – interference wasn’t ruled out. Aircraft reached the area first and sonobuoys were dropped into the water. The Americans got one of their warships there first but the Royal Navy soon had a frigate on-scene. Those on the surface and above would do little. A ship was on its way carrying a deep-sea submersible but that was taking time. Meanwhile, there was no sign of life from below. The silence was haunting.
The public weren’t informed of what had happened. Discussions were had in Downing Street about when to do that and in which manner. They sought to control the situation when it came to any news. Matters were taken out of their hands on this. In the United States, there was a leak to the media that a British nuclear-armed submarine was missing with the erroneous claim that it might have clashed with a Russian boat below the ocean. The White House couldn’t stop the news: freedom of speech. In Britain, the government tried to shut this all down. They issued a DSMA-Notice (the modern equivalent of a D-Notice) but this was a request, not something that could be enforced. Acting in what they claimed was the public interest, several news outlets chose to inform the public. Downing Street and the MOD were hopping mad but couldn’t stop the tsunami which came. The political implications from the loss of the Victorious were going to change so many things.
Away from politics, the wreckage of the submarine was found several weeks later. There was no one left alive. Recovery efforts turned to Victorious' nuclear payload and sensitive gear. The dead would stay where they were.
|
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,835
Likes: 13,224
|
Post by stevep on Dec 8, 2019 16:35:09 GMT
The loss of HMS Victorious HMS Victorious was one of the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class strategic submarines. She carried a payload of Trident ballistic missiles as her main armament, each with thermonuclear warheads. Her last patrol begun on the west coast of Scotland. Victorious sailed from the Clyde and out into the North Atlantic. She went across the ocean to Georgia and the US Navy base at King’s Bay. Trident missile bodies from there were selected from the joint UK-US pool and loaded into the vertical launch tubes. Back across the North Atlantic the Victorious went, returning to the Clyde. Here the warheads were mated with the missiles before out to sea the submarine went. Another boat was heading in the same time and thus the Royal Navy was able to maintain it Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD). The CASD mission was expensive and not easy to maintain. The Royal Navy had long conducted it though. It allowed for one Trident-armed submarine to always be on patrol deep below the ocean. Should the United Kingdom be attacked by a foreign aggressor, there was the option to give retaliation from a platform that no aggressor could ever hope to destroy. Back out into the deep ocean the Victorious went. There was a ‘box’ where she would make that patrol. There would be no surfacing needed and only the very basic, limited communication was had with home. There were over a hundred and thirty sailors aboard. They had their duties to do and their time was filled. Conditions aboard the submarine were of reasonable comfort and the work not onerous. There were newbies aboard though the majority of the crew had been through these patrols before. The sixteen Tridents carried weren’t the only weapons aboard. There were torpedoes as well for self-defence. While one of the most silent submarines ever built, the Victorious was never intended to be used in an offensive role where her stealth capabilities on the attack would be quite something. Instead, the Spearfish torpedoes were there to protect her should she ever come under attack. These were good weapons. Stored on land between patrols, they were inspected and maintained on a regular basis… or they were supposed to be. Something had gone wrong with that process and with one of those Spearfish loaded aboard, it was in a dangerous condition. Under a regular-scheduled onboard training exercise, the crew were practising torpedo firing. There was nothing unexpected supposed to occur. But something did. That particular torpedo unexpectedly detonated. A massive explosion ripped through the Victorious. The first explosion, then the subsequent ones too, were detected on ocean surveillance systems. Britain and her NATO allies heard the blasts deep under the water. Contact was sought with the Victorious. There was no reply. In Downing Street, the prime minister was awoken in the middle of the night – “this better be damn important!”, he shouted: not knowing this would be more important than anything else he and his government would ever have to face – and a COBRA meeting was convened between ministers and senior military chiefs. Little solid information was known but there was a lot of suspicion. From what could be gleamed by listening devices, there’d been a series of internal explosions aboard a submarine which it was believed was one of the boats on CASD patrol. Unrelenting efforts were being made to establish contact with the Victorious. Several warships and aircraft were alerted to head out that way. The Americans were in contact soon enough, so too the French as well. The prime minister was at first not keen to inform them of what was suspected but his mind was quickly changed. It was looking like a serious accident had occurred and help would be needed from allies. No one was supposed to know where a submarine on CASD was located exactly at any given time. The source of the explosions gave the game away though. It was to there that British and NATO military units were sent. It was a search-&-rescue mission though there was also the need stressed for those responding to be on their guard. Two days before the explosions, a Russian submarine had been detected in that general area. Information had been sent to the Victorious to avoid it. What little information there was pointed to an internal explosion but outside – Russian – interference wasn’t ruled out. Aircraft reached the area first and sonobuoys were dropped into the water. The Americans got one of their warships there first but the Royal Navy soon had a frigate on-scene. Those on the surface and above would do little. A ship was on its way carrying a deep-sea submersible but that was taking time. Meanwhile, there was no sign of life from below. The silence was haunting. The public weren’t informed of what had happened. Discussions were had in Downing Street about when to do that and in which manner. They sought to control the situation when it came to any news. Matters were taken out of their hands on this. In the United States, there was a leak to the media that a British nuclear-armed submarine was missing with the erroneous claim that it might have clashed with a Russian boat below the ocean. The White House couldn’t stop the news: freedom of speech. In Britain, the government tried to shut this all down. They issued a DSMA-Notice (the modern equivalent of a D-Notice) but this was a request, not something that could be enforced. Acting in what they claimed was the public interest, several news outlets chose to inform the public. Downing Street and the MOD were hopping mad but couldn’t stop the tsunami which came. The political implications from the loss of the Victorious were going to change so many things. Away from politics, the wreckage of the submarine was found several weeks later. There was no one left alive. Recovery efforts turned to Victorious' nuclear payload and sensitive gear. The dead would stay where they were.
Well that's effectively destroyed the British independent deterrent, at least against a major nuclear state. No way we can maintain a cycle with a sub on patrol at all times. At least unless/if a Trident replacements is ever properly backed.
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Dec 8, 2019 17:42:06 GMT
The loss of HMS Victorious HMS Victorious was one of the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class strategic submarines. She carried a payload of Trident ballistic missiles as her main armament, each with thermonuclear warheads. Her last patrol begun on the west coast of Scotland. Victorious sailed from the Clyde and out into the North Atlantic. She went across the ocean to Georgia and the US Navy base at King’s Bay. Trident missile bodies from there were selected from the joint UK-US pool and loaded into the vertical launch tubes. Back across the North Atlantic the Victorious went, returning to the Clyde. Here the warheads were mated with the missiles before out to sea the submarine went. Another boat was heading in the same time and thus the Royal Navy was able to maintain it Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD). The CASD mission was expensive and not easy to maintain. The Royal Navy had long conducted it though. It allowed for one Trident-armed submarine to always be on patrol deep below the ocean. Should the United Kingdom be attacked by a foreign aggressor, there was the option to give retaliation from a platform that no aggressor could ever hope to destroy. Back out into the deep ocean the Victorious went. There was a ‘box’ where she would make that patrol. There would be no surfacing needed and only the very basic, limited communication was had with home. There were over a hundred and thirty sailors aboard. They had their duties to do and their time was filled. Conditions aboard the submarine were of reasonable comfort and the work not onerous. There were newbies aboard though the majority of the crew had been through these patrols before. The sixteen Tridents carried weren’t the only weapons aboard. There were torpedoes as well for self-defence. While one of the most silent submarines ever built, the Victorious was never intended to be used in an offensive role where her stealth capabilities on the attack would be quite something. Instead, the Spearfish torpedoes were there to protect her should she ever come under attack. These were good weapons. Stored on land between patrols, they were inspected and maintained on a regular basis… or they were supposed to be. Something had gone wrong with that process and with one of those Spearfish loaded aboard, it was in a dangerous condition. Under a regular-scheduled onboard training exercise, the crew were practising torpedo firing. There was nothing unexpected supposed to occur. But something did. That particular torpedo unexpectedly detonated. A massive explosion ripped through the Victorious. The first explosion, then the subsequent ones too, were detected on ocean surveillance systems. Britain and her NATO allies heard the blasts deep under the water. Contact was sought with the Victorious. There was no reply. In Downing Street, the prime minister was awoken in the middle of the night – “this better be damn important!”, he shouted: not knowing this would be more important than anything else he and his government would ever have to face – and a COBRA meeting was convened between ministers and senior military chiefs. Little solid information was known but there was a lot of suspicion. From what could be gleamed by listening devices, there’d been a series of internal explosions aboard a submarine which it was believed was one of the boats on CASD patrol. Unrelenting efforts were being made to establish contact with the Victorious. Several warships and aircraft were alerted to head out that way. The Americans were in contact soon enough, so too the French as well. The prime minister was at first not keen to inform them of what was suspected but his mind was quickly changed. It was looking like a serious accident had occurred and help would be needed from allies. No one was supposed to know where a submarine on CASD was located exactly at any given time. The source of the explosions gave the game away though. It was to there that British and NATO military units were sent. It was a search-&-rescue mission though there was also the need stressed for those responding to be on their guard. Two days before the explosions, a Russian submarine had been detected in that general area. Information had been sent to the Victorious to avoid it. What little information there was pointed to an internal explosion but outside – Russian – interference wasn’t ruled out. Aircraft reached the area first and sonobuoys were dropped into the water. The Americans got one of their warships there first but the Royal Navy soon had a frigate on-scene. Those on the surface and above would do little. A ship was on its way carrying a deep-sea submersible but that was taking time. Meanwhile, there was no sign of life from below. The silence was haunting. The public weren’t informed of what had happened. Discussions were had in Downing Street about when to do that and in which manner. They sought to control the situation when it came to any news. Matters were taken out of their hands on this. In the United States, there was a leak to the media that a British nuclear-armed submarine was missing with the erroneous claim that it might have clashed with a Russian boat below the ocean. The White House couldn’t stop the news: freedom of speech. In Britain, the government tried to shut this all down. They issued a DSMA-Notice (the modern equivalent of a D-Notice) but this was a request, not something that could be enforced. Acting in what they claimed was the public interest, several news outlets chose to inform the public. Downing Street and the MOD were hopping mad but couldn’t stop the tsunami which came. The political implications from the loss of the Victorious were going to change so many things. Away from politics, the wreckage of the submarine was found several weeks later. There was no one left alive. Recovery efforts turned to Victorious' nuclear payload and sensitive gear. The dead would stay where they were.
Well that's effectively destroyed the British independent deterrent, at least against a major nuclear state. No way we can maintain a cycle with a sub on patrol at all times. At least unless/if a Trident replacements is ever properly backed.
I'd agree. With four it is a struggle and eats heavily into the RN budget. Three subs isn't enough. The attempt at political cover-up and the general fallout (metaphorical) from losing a nuclear-armed submarine might see the CASD done away with though. |
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Dec 20, 2019 17:19:26 GMT
Global pandemic
Samples of the germ were stolen from a supposedly secure laboratory in one country and transported across several borders to a second nation. The germ had no name. It was added to sample of one that did: Influenza. This was done by a pair of scientists who were masters of their field and did what they did apparently at the behest of their government. They used the very latest technology, genome editing of DNA, to create something new in terms of a communicable disease. A vaccine was created too. Those scientists were told they were creating a weapon whose effects would be studied in another lab so that no one could use such a thing for immoral purposes. Duped they were, but they also did what they did for the promise of quite a payment. That payment wasn’t made. Each was shot dead after completing their work. The biological weapon which they created was then transferred to a third country. Here it came into the hands of a different scientist, one who preferred to work on his own. His motives were solely to create a weapon rather than defend against one. He moved to fully weaponize what had been given to him where the samples received were added to dispensers. Once done, he handed the weapons over to his paymasters who gave him what he wanted: an end to his own personal suffering from the unrelated fatal disease he was already dying from. This came too with a bullet where what he couldn’t do himself was done to him after completing his life’s work.
The weapon was moved to a fourth country. There was an international airport chosen as the site to unleash it. A man went into one of the public toilets for men and a woman went into the ladies as well. Each set a container down on the floor within a cubicle, hidden behind the plumbing. The top was pushed down hard and a time delay activated. With haste, the two of them walked away. An aerosol cloud formed after a short period. It was unseen and undetected. The busiest time in each of the public toilets had been chosen – after someone had been taking notes – and a large number of people were infected. The containers themselves were collected later by cleaning staff, each not given any attention. Hundreds of people had been exposed though it must be said that not all of them caught the germ made airborne. Those who did either left the airport on flights going elsewhere – this airport was chosen as one through which many people made connecting flights as well as one-way international ones – or went elsewhere in this country after arriving here on inbound flights.
It took several days for those infected to come down with the first signs of illness. They had the flu. Many went to their beds yet others tried to fight through it. The infection was spread further. Now its victims were doing the work after the initial method of dispersal had long since been discarded in landfill. The ill were spread across the globe. Infected people still travelled especially those in the first days of infection where there were no outwards signs of illness. To more and more countries the germ travelled. It also moved about within these nations. The number of infected passed the thousand mark. The germ met with other diseases within people including different variants of the flu. The creators of the weapon had envisioned this and prepared their vaccine to address that issue though it would remain to be seen whether their theoretical work would play out: they of course wouldn’t be around to bear witness.
The flu outbreak came to the attention of the medical authorities in multiple nations. The initial appearance given was that this was ‘ordinary’ flu. Alarm bells weren’t raised because those who examined patients weren’t seeing anything to raise red flags to what those ill people had. The usual public health warnings about the flu were issued. The germ continued to spread unhindered. Newly infected people were passing it on to others and, due to mutations, the potency of transfer became greater: victims were able to unintentionally infect more people with the germ now than had been the case at the very beginning. The number of those with it in their systems was approaching the ten thousand mark when people started dying. Influenza killed people all the time, especially the weak. Now it was killing healthy people. Dozens of deaths were reported in several countries. More and more people were getting seriously ill. They brought their infection with them to hospitals, clinics and doctor’s surgeries… where there was a plentiful supply of the already ill yet also medical personnel who would be on the frontlines of treating what was coming. Through ten thousand the number of infected went, still increasing at a rapid rate, and pushing onwards. The deaths increased too. Authorities began to realise something strange was occurring. Samples of this particular variant of flu were taken to laboratories and examined. A cursory glance showed nothing untoward but detailed examination showed the opposite. The germ mixed in was spotted. It was something unknown but realised for what it was: a fatal killer. There was international cooperation as a matter of course. Meanwhile, onwards the infection spread and the deaths kept growing.
To one hundred the number of dead reached. Through one hundred thousand the infected reached. Then the great die-off started. Thousands of people, some time ago who had got the flu, were killed by the germ which it carried. They lost their lives long after they had stopped passing it on. Governments were now starting to react but they had no idea that what had happened had long passed beyond any control that they had. The germ was worldwide. A global pandemic had come to pass. Hundreds of millions were going to die and the world was going to descend into chaos.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,973
Likes: 49,378
|
Post by lordroel on Dec 20, 2019 20:03:15 GMT
Global pandemicSamples of the germ were stolen from a supposedly secure laboratory in one country Is that country name starting with a U. |
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Dec 20, 2019 20:12:52 GMT
Global pandemicSamples of the germ were stolen from a supposedly secure laboratory in one country Is that country name starting with a U. Uzbekistan? Uruguay? Uganda? I left out the names of nations involved on purpose! |
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,973
Likes: 49,378
|
Post by lordroel on Dec 20, 2019 20:17:55 GMT
Is that country name starting with a U. Uzbekistan? Uruguay? Uganda? I left out the names of nations involved on purpose! A okay, but Ukraine might be a good target, while it is a safe country for the most part, i could see a faction inside the Ukrainian Army deciding to use this weapon on Moscow as a retaliation of Russia support of Pro-Russian separatist in East Ukraine. |
|
forcon
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 988
Likes: 1,739
|
Post by forcon on Dec 20, 2019 22:15:01 GMT
Ah, the absolute nightmare scenario; a bio-weapon falling into the wrong hands.
Nice work there.
|
|
stevep
Fleet admiral
Posts: 24,835
Likes: 13,224
|
Post by stevep on Dec 21, 2019 10:44:40 GMT
Uzbekistan? Uruguay? Uganda? I left out the names of nations involved on purpose! A okay, but Ukraine might be a good target, while it is a safe country for the most part, i could see a faction inside the Ukrainian Army deciding to use this weapon on Moscow as a retaliation of Russia support of Pro-Russian separatist in East Ukraine.
Ah it was stolen from a country, which might have been Ukraine but then passed through several other countries and groups so no actual sign that anyone in Ukraine was involved. They might be but might not. [Other than possible commercial corruption being involved to get access to the germ.]
The germ itself isn't named either. My 1st thought was smallpox as since its been 'extinct' for quite a while no ones been vaccinated against it but then it leaves fairly clear signs when it occurs so probably something else.
|
|
James G
Squadron vice admiral
Posts: 7,608
Likes: 8,833
|
Post by James G on Dec 21, 2019 14:39:37 GMT
Peter the Great sleeps with the fishes
The Russian Navy’s battlecruiser RFS Pyotr Velikiy was named after Peter the Great, once an emperor of Imperial Russia. This warship was built at the end of the Cold War era and initially christened Yuri Andropov: a then-recent leader of the Soviet Union. The new name was a traditional one for the reformed Russian Navy. Still in service many years after the fall of the Soviets, the Pyotr Velikiy was the navy’s flagship. She was assigned to the Northern Fleet and undertook global missions. Armament came in the form primary of her missiles – for long-range strikes against other warships and also both strategic & tactical air defence – yet there were guns, torpedoes and anti-submarine rockets fitted too. A trio of helicopters flew from her flight deck with their own weapons mounted as well as the capability to assist in the guidance of those which their mothership carried. No other navy in the world fielded a ship such as the Pyotr Velikiy. The Americans had long moved away from the concept of ‘large surface combatants’ and so had other countries when it came to what they had at sea. The Russian Navy counted such a ship as having incalculable value though and had a sister-ship of hers active with their Pacific Fleet.
The Pyotr Velikiy was currently in the Norwegian Sea. Russia had gone to war with Britain – and a few other Western nations – starting yesterday and used land-based naval aircraft to sink a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. A forward defence against a British counterstrike was established outside of Russian waters. It was anticipated that there would be an attempt made to hit at Russian soil in the Kola region. At the head of task group with other warships on the surface, aircraft in the sky & a submarine close-in below the waves, the Russian Navy had Pyotr Velikiy where she was to stop that. An attack against the battlecruiser was considered likely too so every effort was being made to defend against that. Of course, the best way to protect the navy’s flagship would be to send her back to Russian waters where there was a reasonable chance of safety. Neither the naval staff, and especially not the politicians in Moscow, would do that though. Having their biggest warship out here in these waters between Russia and Britain was a matter of making a statement.
As tension rose in the Baltic States, Europe was divided when it came to confronting Russian aggression towards those small countries. Britain and Poland were going to defend those three nations. Military forces from the UK were sent to Eastern Europe and there was the additional commitment of naval assets elsewhere including to the Norwegian Sea. HMS Queen Elizabeth, the aircraft carrier which a Russian attack eliminated in quite the kill, was part of the at-sea deployment but so too were other vessels. These included HMS Ambush: a hunter-killer attack submarine which had gone up through the Norwegian Sea long past where that doomed carrier had been. The mission orders for the Ambush were to attack and sink the Russian Navy’s flagship should war come. As befitting her name, the submarine conducted an ambush where the routing of the target was analysed ahead of time and the Ambush was carefully brought into position. Whether or not the Russians had done what they had in wiping out the Queen Elizabeth, the Ambush was going after the Pyotr Velikiy regardless.
Four Spearfish torpedoes were ripple-fired from the Royal Navy submarine. Each shot forward at rapid speed with each making a successful strike. They exploded underwater along the starboard flank of the battlecruiser without actually making a direct impact but very close. Huge holes were torn into the Pyotr Velikiy due to the force of each blast. Her keel was snapped too: the warship’s back was broken because of the ferocity of the explosions from the warheads carried by the Spearfishes. Seawater flooded in. There was shock damage done elsewhere and many injuries occurred away from the immediate blast areas. No warning had come into time due to how close that the Ambush had got to her target and therefore there had been no call for a ‘brace for impact’. Russian sailors were killed too either by the sudden flooding of areas of the battlecruiser or that shock damage.
From the escorting warships and also that Russian submarine, there was an immediate response. They were all hunting the source of the torpedo attack. The Ambush was already evading and would successfully manage to do that. The Russian Navy wouldn’t find her to gain the vengeance which they desired. As to the Pyotr Velikiy, she was doomed from the moment that she’d been hit. The waters of the Norwegian Sea flooded in. Efforts were made to seal off flooded compartments and there was work put into attempting counterflooding but too much damage had been done too quickly. There were groans from deep within. The weight of the water taken aboard ripped her apart. Where those Spearfish had hit her had caused that breaking of her back which nothing done could counter. She was going to be torn apart yet, before then, she was looking likely to tip over. An evacuation would have been best advised but sailors aboard were directed to try to avert her loss. Those who crewed the Pyotr Velikiy were going to go down with her. Tilting to starboard, the battlecruiser would capsize. The weather and sea conditions aided this. Over to starboard she went, drowning hundreds of her crew. More water came aboard, pulling the wreck deeper into the water. Finally, she broke into not just two pieces but three unequal portions. Down into the depths of the Norwegian Sea each of those went. Seven hundred and fifty plus men had been aboard when she left Severomorsk. No more than forty would eventually be rescued. The ruins of the Peter of the Great would sleep with the fishes.
|
|
lordroel
Administrator
Posts: 67,973
Likes: 49,378
|
Post by lordroel on Dec 21, 2019 14:45:10 GMT
Peter the Great sleeps with the fishesThe Russian Navy’s battlecruiser RFS Pyotr Velikiy was named after Peter the Great, once an emperor of Imperial Russia. This warship was built at the end of the Cold War era and initially christened Yuri Andropov: a then-recent leader of the Soviet Union. The new name was a traditional one for the reformed Russian Navy. Still in service many years after the fall of the Soviets, the Pyotr Velikiy was the navy’s flagship. She was assigned to the Northern Fleet and undertook global missions. Armament came in the form primary of her missiles – for long-range strikes against other warships and also both strategic & tactical air defence – yet there were guns, torpedoes and anti-submarine rockets fitted too. A trio of helicopters flew from her flight deck with their own weapons mounted as well as the capability to assist in the guidance of those which their mothership carried. No other navy in the world fielded a ship such as the Pyotr Velikiy. The Americans had long moved away from the concept of ‘large surface combatants’ and so had other countries when it came to what they had at sea. The Russian Navy counted such a ship as having incalculable value though and had a sister-ship of hers active with their Pacific Fleet. The Pyotr Velikiy was currently in the Norwegian Sea. Russia had gone to war with Britain – and a few other Western nations – starting yesterday and used land-based naval aircraft to sink a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. A forward defence against a British counterstrike was established outside of Russian waters. It was anticipated that there would be an attempt made to hit at Russian soil in the Kola region. At the head of task group with other warships on the surface, aircraft in the sky & a submarine close-in below the waves, the Russian Navy had Pyotr Velikiy where she was to stop that. An attack against the battlecruiser was considered likely too so every effort was being made to defend against that. Of course, the best way to protect the navy’s flagship would be to send her back to Russian waters where there was a reasonable chance of safety. Neither the naval staff, and especially not the politicians in Moscow, would do that though. Having their biggest warship out here in these waters between Russia and Britain was a matter of making a statement. As tension rose in the Baltic States, Europe was divided when it came to confronting Russian aggression towards those small countries. Britain and Poland were going to defend those three nations. Military forces from the UK were sent to Eastern Europe and there was the additional commitment of naval assets elsewhere including to the Norwegian Sea. HMS Queen Elizabeth, the aircraft carrier which a Russian attack eliminated in quite the kill, was part of the at-sea deployment but so too were other vessels. These included HMS Ambush: a hunter-killer attack submarine which had gone up through the Norwegian Sea long past where that doomed carrier had been. The mission orders for the Ambush were to attack and sink the Russian Navy’s flagship should war come. As befitting her name, the submarine conducted an ambush where the routing of the target was analysed ahead of time and the Ambush was carefully brought into permission. Whether or not the Russians had done what they had in wiping out the Queen Elizabeth, the Ambush was going after the Pyotr Velikiy regardless. Four Spearfish torpedoes were ripple-fired from the Royal Navy submarine. Each shot forward at rapid speed with each making a successful strike. They exploded underwater along the starboard flank of the battlecruiser without actually making a direct impact but very close. Huge holes were torn into the Pyotr Velikiy due to the force of each blast. Her keel was snapped too: the warship’s back was broken because of the ferocity of the explosions from the warheads carried by the Spearfishes. Seawater flooded in. There was shock damage done elsewhere and many injuries occurred away from the immediate blast areas. No warning had come into time due to how close that the Ambush had got to her target and therefore there had been no call for a ‘brace for impact’. Russian sailors were killed too either by the sudden flooding of areas of the battlecruiser or that shock damage. From the escorting warships and also that Russian submarine, there was an immediate response. They were all hunting the source of the torpedo attack. The Ambush was already evading and would successfully manage to do that. The Russian Navy wouldn’t find her to gain the vengeance which they desired. As to the Pyotr Velikiy, she was doomed from the moment that she’d been hit. The waters of the Norwegian Sea flooded in. Efforts were made to seal off flooded compartments and there was work put into attempting counterflooding but too much damage had been done too quickly. There were groans from deep within. The weight of the water taken aboard ripped her apart. Where those Spearfish had hit her had caused that breaking of her back which nothing done could counter. She was going to be torn apart yet, before then, she was looking likely to tip over. An evacuation would have been best advised but sailors aboard were directed to try to avert her loss. Those who crewed the Pyotr Velikiy were going to go down with her. Tilting to starboard, the battlecruiser would capsize. The weather and sea conditions aided this. Over to starboard she went, drowning hundreds of her crew. More water came aboard, pulling the wreck deeper into the water. Finally, she broke into not just two pieces but three unequal portions. Down into the depths of the Norwegian Sea each of those went. Seven hundred and fifty plus men had been aboard when she left Severomorsk. No more than forty would eventually be rescued. The ruins of the Peter of the Great would sleep with the fishes. Seems the Royal Navy got its revenge for the sinking of the Queen Elizabeth. |
|
Was surprised to see the location actually exists and interesting how the vampires have managed to keep their existence secret for so long. Are you going to produce any more or just something very much on the back burner?