The First Age

SynJyn Quick Captain of the elite Vikings was re-reading reports from his Quarter Master and Master at Arms. He was consistently bombarded with request, that they damn well knew wouldn't be filled. "Bored Marines on the open seas"
he thought.

His orders to date were short and sweet: "Report to Manix Lir', Moscow area. My son has my full backing and support. Situation: Hostile."
The orders had come directly from Larson Lir' himself and tho short it was all he needed to know. The Vikings were a sea assault force but it wouldn't take much to transmute those skills to land base warfare. as he was silently thinking new training methods and even hiring an outside source, a knock came upon his door. "Enter"
he said in his rough voice.

A young sailor entered, a Seaman Apprentice by his stripes, He stood rigid and still. SynJyn was content to let him stand there forever, but had other things to do. "spit it out boy"
. The boy remained at attention and kept his composure, he got points in SynJyn's book for that. "Sir, a communique from Manix Lir', marked your eyes only. Skipper sent it directly down as soon as the download was complete."


Dismissing the sailor with a wave he inserted the modified SSD card into his micro pad. The face of Manix Lir soon popped up on his screen. "Hello, Old man, I pray your trip shall be uneventful and look forward to catching up while your crew gets some much needed R and R"
SJ nearly punched the pad. "What the hell!"
he murmured. Old man, R and R did the boy get hit on the head, again he pressed play. "I think ye shall find Moscow, interesting tho it feels like a cloak has been draped over the moon."
SJ stop it again and played back that last sentence, "cloak has been draped over the moon."


Pieces started to fall into place, Manix had just gave the Viking Pass phrase for caution, danger and need for stealth, tho it went deeper than that. It meant No open un-coded messaging and an upgraded off ship weapon's policy. The rest of the message held nothing important, Manix prattled on about a pub and stunning redhead and plans to make this a perfect R&R stop. All a ruse. The entire 12 minute message to cover that 1 sentence.

SynJyn carried, on-board, new tech that he had been able to acquire. New communication implants, that went above some Country's own level of encryption, new scopes and and auto adjusting laser sight that was accurate at 10 yards as well as 100, plus a few more toys. The new implants he had not began the insertion process yet, wanting to talk it over with Manix first but that was in a world of five minutes ago. He would write the orders so all Viking's had the implants in and operational before they hit landfall.

SynJyn had no intentions of sending a message back and knew Manix was not expecting one. He made his way down to the hold and opened a crate bearing his personal seal. Inside he took out several devices that he began to clean, adjust and prepare. They was for Manix, they was for the future.

They was still 2 days out from Sydney, on escort of the "Wayfarer". She was due a 3 month refit. Drop off, restock/reload and a quick turn around for Moscow,"so much for shore leave"
, he thought. He drafted the needed orders for his LPO'S (Lead Petty Officer)and request for the Captain, then leaned back in his chair to wait for the grumbling's.


Edited by SynJyn, Sep 15 2016, 08:12 PM.

SynJyn's Journal: Day 5 since new orders, and the Sea seemed to waiting. An eerie calm lies upon the water. In the first days of sailing, with only the wind used for power, A ship would be dead in the water. Often called the "curse of Jonah", more than one sailor was hanged in tribute to God, or the pagan god's of old, to lift the curse. This "calm before the storm" was effecting the crew as well as his own Viking's.
SynJyn was paused in thought when an unexpected call came over comm.

"General Quarters: This is not a drill, General Quarters: This is not a drill, General Quarters: This is not a drill. Captain SynJyn pls report to Bridge".
The message repeated over and over as SynJyn headed to the bridge. The Viking's needed no immediate orders, SOP's (Standard Operating Procedure) cover the call to General Quarters. Entering the Bridge he saw controlled chaos. An outsider would see only disorder and maybe even panic, this was further from the truth. Each person on the Bridge was acting out a well practiced routine, but with a single look at the ship's Captain, he knew this really was no drill.

"Captain SynJyn we intercepted a distress call NE of our local. The caller is less than 5 NKM from this location we shall be on target with in minutes"
. The Captain stepped closer and his voice lowered to a whisper. "Syn this be the damnest call i have gotten. broken communique keeps repeat "monster from the depths". I do not know if this be a name of a ship or group or what, but this rescue may turn out into a pirate attack".
A grunt and a nod was all the ship's Captain got before SynJyn disappeared more than left from the bridge.

On "Viking only" communication he began is preparation to stem off a Pirate boarding party, if needed. "Attention Vikings, This is a rescue/recovery event with a possible pirate attack and/or set up. Boat crew Alpha take front line positions while Bravo takes secondary stealth lines. Charlie and Delta are reserve units, Echo, gear up for in water assault protocol's.
"

Debris was visible now, it looked, odd. To many papers, clothing, luggage and such was floating with no signs of a ship. If the ship was blown up then all these things would have burnt up. It also told him that this was not a military or cargo vessel, it was a passenger ship. Tracking the beacon he saw one lone life raft out in the water. Focusing his bio's he counted 25-30 souls all huddled up holding each other in fright, another strange sight. Nothing was adding up.

A sudden, large and load, thud under the ship along with it being rocked, caught the entire ship's crew by surprise. "The Rage" was capable of standing up to category 5 Hurricanes and not list that much, what in the hell cause that. That answer came with the sudden disappearance of the lifeboat.

SynJyn had "eye's on" as "The Rage" quickly came to a halt to launch the rescue craft. At first the little boat seemed to suck down into the water when the monster came out of the water underneath it, mouth open. The tiny life boat was engulfed by the Monster that continued to rise and rise and rise. Time froze on "The Rage", as the lump in the monsters throat, that once was living human beings, was swallowed whole, lower and lower until disappearing into the beast stomach.

SynJyn seemed to recover first: "Alpha team is now point, Bravo, take position behind Alpha, Charlie, I want you up high, rig in i don't want to have to jump around you fallen bodies. MOVE IT!"
A shudder in the boat told em the ship's Captain had recovered and was trying to move the ship out of harms way. "Delta you remain on reserve and Echo, stayed geared but out of that water. I don't know how to kill that thing but if it comes toward this ship we will all learn together!"


The movement of "The Rage" drew the monsters attention. Switching channels, while scanning all, he yelled to the Bridge: "Beast detects movement, all stop and advise cloaking protocol on standby. "
Switching channels again: "Delta, get 3 of your boat crew on the .50 cals"
, then all went silent.

The ship halted, some whirling noises and clicks informed SynJyn that the so called "cloaking", was ready. He now got his first chance to see the beast. The Monster rose 100-150 feet out of the water, no idea what was below the ocean. It's 2 arms ended in hands, to finger and then to claws, there was a hint of several tenticels splashing around the creature. The head seem to flatten near is top, slopping back into a point, it was made to swim under water. SynJyn silently wondered how long it could stay above water? He was unsure but it almost seemed to have wings. The Monster stare never left "The Rage" while SynJyn fought with idea's on how to beat this Devil's child of the sea.

The monster seemed to cock it's ear, as if it heard something. It slowly lowered itself into the water until only it's eyes were showing. It's head cocked a little more then the eyes seemed to drift off as if following an unknown trail. For a good minute that drew out into infinity, the Monster nor the crew moved, SynJyn was sure no one breathed. Then noise along the bulkheads of the ship.

Hidden cargo areas were opened revealing what looked like heavy linen. Over the communicator the ship's Captain yelled "30 seconds"
, that was all SynJyn needed. "Moved it, cover this deck now!"
The Cloaking Protocol was simple, it was not a true "cloaking device". The ship made use of newer electronic "blending" with sheets of what looked like white linen. The hull had it's own "blending unit" in it, the cloth helped cover the deck. Within 30 second the decked was covers and "The Rage", slowly but imperfectly", blended into the sea. This trick worked better at night or when it was foggy and overcast but when dealing with a monster, you do whatever you can.

SynJyn had decided on a defense tactic if this didn't work. All guns would aim at the eyes. The monster glanced back to the ship, then over it. slowly it spun around in the ocean. then cocking its head one brief moment it slid under the water. SynJyn did not want to fight this thing under water but would. For 30 minutes nobody moved. Then over comm: Radar clear, stow all cloak material we'll be underway in 3 minutes.

The ships crew began stowing the material as SynJyn began his orders: "Alpha stand watch from bow to midship, Bravo from midship to stern. Charlie is on reserve with Delta and Echo on stand down. Rotate up every 6 hours, for a full 12 hours on watch. LPO's make it happen!
Command will be on Bridge". There were many questions floating thru his mind, id radar saw it go, why did it not see it come? Where did it come from? WTF was it? He may get no answers but he sure as hell never be caught by that bastard under gunned again!


((OCC more to come, no idea why it went all blue at the end))


Edited by SynJyn, Sep 14 2016, 03:38 PM.

10 hours on the Bridge of "The Rage". SynJyn was gathering copies of all security video, audio, radar/sonar reports and every pic and vid that any sailor or viking may have taken, there was only 2. He gave no orders to sequester the video's, he didn't forbid any talk of the monster. Hell, he wants the world to know about that thing and to avoid it. He was preparing to do a short video that could be released to the shipping community, for safety. The COB (Chief of Boat) arrived with the debriefings, something to be read later. "Thank you COB, carry on"


"Attention all vessels, this is Defensive Ship "The Rage" at 1400 Zulu we encountered a destroyed passenger vessel located at -34.086 x 171.997. Upon attempted rescue efforts we encounter a previous unknown beast that was capable of swallowing lifeboats whole. Video attachments are available of the encounter. Consider all ship traffic in this area extremely dangerous."


The recording was transmitted to Larson Lir', he would approve and then dispatch it globally. SynJyn had yet not been able to review all data, not that what he had seen had helped make anymore sense. His mind went to offensive matters. The fire power needed to deal with such a creature would be massive. Safest route would be avoid that area, the Lir' family has very little traffic down here anyways. Luckily this same video could be and was used to report the incident to the New Zealand authorities, they would somehow need to investigate further. If they was smart they would just use the security videos of the attack .

The ship's Captain was adjusting route to to Moscow, to get there fast. It may not be a smooth ride but it would do the job. Synjyn was torn between planning on Monster fighting and preparing his training plans for the Vikings once they got to Moscow. Deciding to wait til he had access to weapon dealers, he started writing out his CQB (Close Quarter Battle) protocols and other Land base war fare scenarios.

4 days out from attack: SynJyn had stood down The vikings. They were to field strip gear and clean all weapons, even tho no shots were fired. He was proud of his Vikings, no panic, no one pulled the trigger out of fear, and situation like that could have ended the lives of everyone on board. Jotting down a ideas for rewards, some well earned R&R and some public accolades, he laid down his pen. He had slept little and it was catching up, exhausted he laid down for his first real sleep.


Edited by SynJyn, Sep 15 2016, 06:00 PM.

SynJyn watched the news report cross the scree with a stoic smile, let someone call him a liar to his face. "The Rage" had gotten it's river pilot and was traveling toward Moscow. Soon He'd be with Manix and get some details on what the hell was going on.

For the River Journey all Vikings were stood down. This may be their last time to relax for awhile. All gear was cleaned and stowed, SynJyn had his training SOP's done, it was time to get shit underway.

For now he turned to the bulkhead to watch the scenery and relax.

Synjyn transmitted the detailed plans for a land based training camp. He was glad to here the Viking-in-training on Mann Isle would be coming to the Lir' Compound. With everyone in place he could rotate veteran and freshman Vikings back out to sea to train while having a good supply of Viking at the Compound.

SynJyn had gone back to his SEAL training to develop his land base warfare criteria and was still wondering on how ti incorporate air assault into the mix. One step at a time.

Manix had informed him of a new supplier of uniforms, equipment and training aids to update the Vikings to a more modern age. The final decision would be left to him. SynJyn smiled, Manix may be a Lir' but he was a also a Viking and one of the best, so while he would defer to him on military matters SynJyn still showed proper respect for the heir of the Lir' Family.

So far all was going to plan, tho he also planed on finding weapons that could be mounted ship side to combat that damn monster he encountered. He had read the reports and some saying it was a hoax, fuck em, call em a liar to his face and he's give em something else to print.

3 days out, is what the pilot said, navigation of the river often changed, sometimes daily. SynJyn knew the world could change in 3 days but relaxed, it wasn't happening now, and so the Vikings remaind on stand down.

They was within a day of Moscow port, or at least the port Manix had leased. Under the new military status they had to stay a mile away from the Kremlin. SynJyn understood that there was a dry dock there as well, meaning the "Rage" was due for refits.It was time to muster the troops.

Calling assembly he gave them a detailed inspection. The had plenty of time to get squared away and wanted to pose a formidable front. Even his detailed eye could find no faults, he was glad they were taking this as serious as he was, the Monster encounter really shook them up. The reports from the Corpsman was all implants were updated and good to go, good one less worry.

"Team we are enter an unknown field of battle. We will be operating under our modified off ship armament codes. Meaning body armor will be worn at all times. I understand newer, upgraded body armor as well as thermal imagery blockers will be awaiting us. Also Captain Manix has constructed a new berthing and training compound. Life inside the compound is under the same rules of this ship, understand"
all as one replied "Hoo-yah"
. A smile formed on his lips. "Get all your gear stowed and ready to pack to our new home, "The Rage will be going thru refits, Dismissed"


The ship Captain would oversee the refits, SynJyn oversaw the Vikings

Finally the arrive to the docks, only to see both slips full. one with "The Storm" and another with a new Warship. SynJyn smiled "The Wench" was in service and had arrived. The crew of "The Storm" was preparing to cast off, as he understood it would go thru a refit to be the third warship in the mini privet Navy of the Lir family.

Dropping anchor in the bay, the dock master had informed them that "The Storm was due to be underway with the tide. "The Wench" was full of rookies barely out of their 6 month training, now their real training begins. Manix had sent word of the compounds readiness, only needing SynJyn training area prepared to his standards. Manix assured him the construction crew was "highly motivated" and could get the work done in short order. "Lord what did that boy do"
the thought.

With "The rage" going into dry dock, the crew would transfer to "the Wench" now. Their would be new technicians on board to handle the weaponry, SynJyn would need to train both groups to work together, not a easy thing sitting in dock, but doable. He was already planning training cruises.

Another message from the dock master, new gear and supplies awaited them upon the "Wench", more tech, more training, SynJyn wondered if he would ever get enough time to get everyone trained before they was needed for battle?

Issuing final orders for ship transfer he lite his pipe and decided to use a few of these unexpected minutes to relax.

Watching "The Storm" get underway was a site to see. The Ship's Captain issued the "Man the Rail's" order, the anchor was lifted and "The Rage" slide into the dry dock. After everything was transferred the ship would be lifted out of the water for its refit into a full classed military vessel.

SynJyn gave the order to the Viking's to transfer and then to muster on the bow of the ship. Already fork trucks was moving pallets of boxes to the muster area. The troops moved quickly, they always did when new toys were involved. First the uniforms. Each box was labeled with a name. As each name was call the Viking took his box to his rack changed and stowed his new uniform and pack all his old fatigues into the box. The Uniforms were simple in design, very functional and comfortable. With moisture wicking tech as well as build in body Armour as thin as a tee shirt there was thermal image scramblers built in. Their caps was a classic "jungle" style with a brim all the way around and boots both waterproof and non skid.

Next came the weapon up grades, this took the rest of the day. As each MP5 was turned in the was given a new style "Rail gun" that worked off sub sonic aluminum rounds, enhance scope with greater range to make the most of the longer range of the weapon. All MP5's were stowed in the armory. Each Viking kept their hand gun as it was already familiar to them and SynJyn didn't want them to have to learn to many weapons at once.

Three flags were unfurled. This was new to the Vikings, they wore no insignia's on their uniforms before, but now as an recognized Militia while in a non-combative port they would now be labeled. The 3 flags in order was the CCD sector 2, Isle of Mann and the Lir family crest. These would be at the forefront whenever in matching formation.

Completely decked out in their new uniforms and other equipment (packs and all), the began their short march to the new compound. The march was also something new to them, tho they marched in training as a way to build unity, they never before marched to or from any given location. Arriving at the compound Captain Manix was there to greet them. SynJyn issued the order they rehearsed on the sea's as it was new too, not even Manix was aware of it: "Eye's Right"
. Each Viking to the far right saluted as did SynJyn, everyone to the left turn the heads to the right. Manix was taken back, but quickly recovered. He snapped too and returned the salute.

Synjyn marched em to the center of the compound and called "halt". "Listen up! you got 24 hours to stow your gear, get cleaned up, relax, toss it to your sweeties photo or whatever you do, then at 1800 zulu we begin our training. There is new recruits here fresh out of hell, there is no time for your normal hazing, get em up to speed, their failure will be your failure! LPO's make it happen!"


Going up to Manix they shook hands: "Good to see you SynJyn, it has been to long",
Manix said. "Too long indeed, I need to get these boys settled in, meet for a drink?"
Just come up to my den, I got the best there, It has been a long day here too and I'll need to update you and a new duty I volunteered your Viking's for, tho they might enjoy it. I got Marines on it now.


Intrigued SynJyn went off to settle in the Vikings. All was in place. within days the entire training facility would be done. the over sized Olympic pool was filling now with water and the mock ship constructions was complete.

Manix did not fail to notice the construction workers faces as a full regiment of Militia walked in the doors.