Chapter 9: Darkest Before The Dawn

[Hywaywolf]

Simon will stay to provide cover for Tommy's escape. At least one of them might survive this fiasco. He is hoping that these are the friendly villagers having arrived early. If not, then he will take a few with him before he is shot down.

(OOC, when Simon killed the guard and stripped him of his shirt, what was the guard armed with. Rifle? Pistol? grednades . Was he wearing an ammunition belt? Did he have a Flashlight. I am not talking about what might be in a pocket, but teh stuff that would be obvious when stripping him of the jacket)

[Solomoriah]

Tommy will attempt to swim to the far shore away from where the spears came from. Before starting to swim he will shout to Simon, "Forget it, we'll try again with more forces, try and jump into the water." Tommy will then take off swimming, and hoping to hear a splash behind him from Simon. If, when he gets to shore there is nobody there, then he will attempt to run for cover (behind trees, a big rock, etc.). If he finds anyone on shore when he gets there then his actions will be different.

Tommy set out for the opposite shore, swimming strongly. After a few strokes, he began to hear spears splashing into the water all around him, but apparently the darkness was enough to prevent the natives from hitting him.

Simon watched from above as a number of natives ran onto the deck on either side of him, throwing spears at the retreating pilot, but Tommy was already entirely out of sight. Simon was about to call out to them, in hopes they were friendly, when he heard a man calling out in German. He didn't understand the words, but the tone was clear enough, to the natives as well as to Simon; he watched as someone in heavy boots stomped across the deck. The natives cleared away, jumping into the river or running down the gangplank.

Then the German looked up at Simon, and said something which, of course, the engineer could not understand.

[Solomoriah]

(OOC, when Simon killed the guard and stripped him of his shirt, what was the guard armed with. Rifle? Pistol? grednades . Was he wearing an ammunition belt? Did he have a Flashlight. I am not talking about what might be in a pocket, but teh stuff that would be obvious when stripping him of the jacket)

Simon found a rifle and a torch (flashlight).

[Hywaywolf]

Simon says "Oh the hell with it, and fires his rifle at the German."

[Nazim]

OOC: let me know if Artie hears the gunfire.

[crazycrypt]

Once to the shore, Tommy will attempt to find something to hide behind. His gun is of no use since it is now wet, and therefore Tommy will pull out his knife and wait to see what happens with Simon. Unfortunately he realizes that he is not much use to Simon at this point.

[Solomoriah]

Simon says "Oh the hell with it, and fires his rifle at the German."

Simon quickly aimed the rifle at the German sailor on the foredeck and fired; he saw the bright flash of the bullet ricocheting from the deck, and knew that he had missed. The sailor, evidently a quick thinker, returned fire, but his shot also missed its mark.

Then Simon heard, amid the cries of the Suran on the shore, a deep voice cursing in German. Glancing that way, he saw a dark figure approaching the gangplank, lurching from side to side twice as he did so, but in the darkness Simon couldn't see why.

Once to the shore, Tommy will attempt to find something to hide behind. His gun is of no use since it is now wet, and therefore Tommy will pull out his knife and wait to see what happens with Simon. Unfortunately he realizes that he is not much use to Simon at this point.

Tommy crossed the river with strong strokes, and climbing out through the rushes and mud, drew his knife. Looking back toward the sub, he could see the conning tower silhouetted against the sky; Simon was likewise visible, aiming down toward the foredeck.

[Hywaywolf]

Simon will fire again at the German on deck fearless of any retaliation. battle fury is on him and he will refuse to surrender his position on the conning tower (more because he realizes to leave it now would likely be a sure death. ) He tries to keep an eye on the hatch leading into the ship just in case the ruckus out side draws the attention of those inside.

Seeing the large German on sure lurching from side to side, he hopes that this means he is being attacked from the rear. But he can't spare much attention for that. The action on the deck and the conning tower hatch is all his attention has time for.

[crazycrypt]

Knowing there is not much Tommy can do in his current predicament, Tommy will watch as best he can at what is going on with Simon. Tommy will also look at the side of the sub that he can see in order to see if there is a way to climb back up from this side. He is currently very alert and listening to anything he can hear, mainly listening for both gunfire and voices. Depending on what Tommy is observing what he will do next.

[Solomoriah]

Simon will fire again at the German on deck fearless of any retaliation. battle fury is on him and he will refuse to surrender his position on the conning tower (more because he realizes to leave it now would likely be a sure death. ) He tries to keep an eye on the hatch leading into the ship just in case the ruckus out side draws the attention of those inside.

Simon fired again, more quickly than his opponent, and saw that his aim was true this time; the sailor fell to the deck, and Simon could hear the clatter of his gun as it fell on the deck beside his opponent. Then a shot rang out from his left flank... the German on shore was shooting at him, but he had missed.

As Simon turned to face his new enemy, he heard the hatch on the foredeck clang open, and even as he did he felt a vibration in the deck that told him that someone was ascending the ladder inside the conning tower. Shortly, he'd be surrounded.

Knowing there is not much Tommy can do in his current predicament, Tommy will watch as best he can at what is going on with Simon. Tommy will also look at the side of the sub that he can see in order to see if there is a way to climb back up from this side.

Tommy hid among the rushes on the far riverbank, trying to get a good look at the sub and the scene unfolding there. Why hadn't Simon dived in after him? Surely he could see he would soon be thoroughly outnumbered. But in the near-total darkness, Tommy could only see the silhouette of the conning tower and, somewhat vaguely, the figure moving about on top which must be Simon.