Jesper Anderson
Subject: DG: Igor's sad tale, and a Victor (long)
Sent: 23 January 1999 07:30

Note: I'm in no way an expert on submarines. This is a basic sketch of an interesting, modified submarine the Karotechia can get their hands on. It's currently based on a Victor class submarine. If someone knows why it shouldn't be, let me know. Any and all comments are welcome.


Igor's Tale

Igor leaned against the cliff wall, gazing out over the ocean. He drew a deep breath on his cigarette and caught himself thinking about his wife. Of course, Igor wasn't his real name, and he hadn't seen his wife for over 10 years. Not that anyone here knew his real name, or even that he had a wife.

This place really deserves its name, Teufelhaus, he thought. House of the Devil. The voices he sometimes heard here made his skin crawl just thinking of them.

Those damnable scientists. Their skin had the sheen Igor had seen on a leper once, when he visited his father at the hospital. Unhealthy, gray. Except the skin of these scientists didn't look infected and bruised. And their eyes were dead to him, to the world, to everything except their work.

His payment went to a swiss bank account. He had checked that the money really was there. Not that he doubted these people would pay him, they had plenty of resources, but it made him think less of the possibility that he'd never get out of here alive. He had seen the hate in the eyes of the crew he was training. As long as they have use for me, he thought. But he understood less and less of this sub.

It wasn't a familiar Victor class ship anymore. The outside changes were considerable, but not the worst. It was fitted with a blue-green skin, similar to that of the modern US submarines. That it was warm and pulsating to the touch was creepy, but no worse than that. Igor finished his cigarette. What had happened to the reactor room he didn't know. Nor did he have any desire to find out. The jittering speech he heard from that area gave him nightmares. At least the sub performed as before. Only smoother, faster and much more silent. The propeller still made its characteristic noise, but not as much of it. One of those damnable German scientist had altered the shape of it, and it was much more efficient and quiet now.

After he had taught the crew how to handle the engine and weapon systems he hadn't seen those areas of the sub again. Now he was only teaching underwater tactics and strategy from the command room of the sub. He had instruments he had never dreamed of. Most of them seemed to be US issue, using satellite navigation systems and tapping into communications. He doubted how well they would perform under stress, or if jammed, but that wasn't his problem. He taught them how to fight in a sub, and he was one of the best. Before he left the USSR when everything fell to pieces around him he had held a good position, led a good life. He would have retired next year by now. Damned Glasnost.

And that ... animal of a man they held in the padded room. He had heard the guards talk about him, saying he was a survivor from a secret project in the Antarctic. Apparently they found him on the ice and took him in, creating the monstrosity that's in the room. Igor shivered. This place is too full of impossible secrets.

Igor shivered again and turned to walk back to his quarters when he heard steps approaching. "Ah, there you are", a casual voice said in German. Igor froze in mid step. He had only met Galt once before, and it hadn't been pleasant. Those eyes weren't dead, they were evil incarnate. He turned towards the voice. Galt was flanked by two guards and was holding a syringe full of yellowish-red fluid. "Hold still, this won't hurt a bit". Before Igor could think to reply, Galt had sunk the syringe deep into his thigh. Strangely, it didn't hurt at all. In fact, nothing hurt anymore.

As he was being served on Galt's dinner table, Igor's last thought went to his wife. He didn't feel a thing as he was carved up. Galt shook his head. "What a disappointment. He didn't even whimper".


Modified Victor class submarine

The submarine is purchased via the Russian Mafia. They also provided a few crewmembers, including Igor, to train the Aryan crew. It was part of a proposed sale to (India? suggestions?) that didn't fall through because of the breakup of the USSR. A fascistic Nazi friendly faction with considerable political clout in the new Russia helped divert the attention of outside eyes (yes, these factions do exist, and gain an ever increasing following in the former USSR (SAN 0/D2)). It was shipped to TEUFELHAUS in parts.

The skin is created/summoned by the spell learned from the insane resurrected Eisenschloss scientist. It's similar to a Shoggoth, but much more limited in scope. It's unknown whether this "being" was used by Elder things, Deep Ones or something else. A sufficiently powerful being could wrap itself in this skin and use it as protection from harsh environments, definitely cold water but also radiation, kinetic energy and perhaps corrosive atmospheres. It absorbs most EM and kinetic signals going in and out of the vessel, making radio contact a bit harder than usual but also lowering the vessels EM and sound signature significantly.

It also provides an extra protection against kinetic energy attacks, sealing up small leaks and even closing over the broken ends if the sub gets destroyed. This enhances the survivability of the vessel against conventional weapons considerably. Of course, even a near miss with a tactical nuclear missile will destroy it and the sub outright.

Navigation and communication technology is state of the art US tech, combined with state of the art USSR tech, purchased through Dr Frank's contact net. Several types of float antennas and scope mounted antennas are used to bypass the EM absorbtion provided by the skin.

Armament is, depending on planned missions, the scenario and the keeper's whim (the ballistic missile silos have been rebuilt with launch platforms for more immediately useful weapons):

Stolen Tomahawk missiles with conventional and/or tactical nuclear warheads. Perhaps also chemical or biological agents.

SAM and HARM missiles for immediate defense.

Unmanned surveillance aircraft? Perhaps an experimental "saucercraft"? Or a hovercraft (perhaps outlandish looking) might be sufficient to perform assaults and put troops ashore in a hurry.

Propulsion system is nuclear fission based, modernized and boosted by some of the finer minds the Karotechia could set on the task. It's also shielded in the same skin as the outer hull of the submarine, as an extra precaution. The larger amount of radiation this skin material receives causes it to be a lot more active than the outer skin. This manifests in a mental "noise" heard throughout the submarine. The range of this noise is only a few meters, but it tends to cause SAN loss (0/D3) when first heard. It can also slowly erode SAN of the crew and others who hear it (keepers discretion).


The resurrected Eisenschloss scientist is quite mad. From his mumblings, combined with what he already knew from a Mythos tome he read during WW II, one of the resurrected German Karotechia scientists managed to piece together a spell that creates/summons the shoggoth like skin creature. He realized this was something that would enhance a watervessel and an attempt at casting the spell was made.

Unfortunately, in casting that spell he caught too good a glimpse of something and is now a blubbering wreck. No one else knows this spell at present. What secrets the Eisenschloss scientist hold is unlikely to ever be found out. His "rescuers" found him nude, frozen to death near an old Antarctic survey station, and they don't know if he got there before, during or after the operation. Resurrection wasn't kind to him and currently he spends his time in a foetal position, mumbling incoherently. He doesn't respond to any treatment.


Thanks for your patience,

Jesper

ALSO: Suggestions for a Karotechia submarine

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