Dr.NES - The DOOM Project: The Sapphire of the Sea

[Ninja Dude]

"Zere is an 'ole in your logic, monsieur."

Mia spoke calmly and coherently considering that English was her third language, though she often found herself attemping to shrug off the stronger aspects of her French accent that permeated her speech so heavily when she conversed in English, particularly on her 'th-' sounds.

"If zere are 'ostiles aboard zee Sapphire, zen why 'aven't we 'eard anyzeeng about zere demands?"

Frustrated with her failing efforts to keep her accent in check, and guessing that her teammates may be unable to understand her natural Hebrew tongue, she sighed softly before resigning herself to aural defeat once more.

"Per'aps zee biteeng cold took it's toll on zem?"

The Israeli operative jabbed a finger at the satellite image of the ship's location, perhaps a little too angrily, though she hoped nobody would notice.

"Well, the ship WAS planning on going to be in Arctic waters, so I doubt that the crew was unprepared for the cold. Also, revoking a distress signal could mean that someone DID hijack the ship/ some of the crew went rogue, and someone tried to call for help, but was simply silenced shortly afterwards.

 

[germanicus12]

Yes, 4 days after it was apparently taken. A loyal employee or wise passenger managed to send one before being subdued by hijackers and the hijackers simply withdrew the distress signal. There are many scenarios that could explain why a signal was sent 4 days after the ship was taken, it still does not explain who or what took over the ship.

 

[Dreadnought]

Zoomed in Satellite Image

Spoiler :

Unfortunately, the satellite isn't quite configured to take such detailed pictures of Antarctica, so this is the closest we can get. Though it does not appear anyone is on deck.

 

[Seon]

So, we have a sattelite. Do we have a UAV as well?

 

[Ninja Dude]

Well, if we knew all these answers, I guess it wouldn't be much of a mission I guess. But I believe that we should get our squads, leadership, and basic plan together before we start thinking of the stuff that could have went down on that ship. I myself am in favor of having smaller squads, although we should avoid straying far away from each other, or at least have the more distant groups equipped with radios.

 

[Seon]

Well, if we knew all these answers, I guess it wouldn't be much of a mission I guess. But I believe that we should get our squads, leadership, and basic plan together before we start thinking of the stuff that could have went down on that ship. I myself am in favor of having smaller squads, although we should avoid straying far away from each other, or at least have the more distant groups equipped with radios.

We all have radios. And only one of us can carry a long ranged one, and that would be me.

 

[Dreadnought]

So, we have a sattelite. Do we have a UAV as well?

Unfortunately, the distance between the ship and the nearest refueling station prevents a UAV from productively being used. Corporate is also hesitant to devote too many resources to such a "simple" contract.

 

[Secura]

"Well, the ship WAS planning on going to be in Arctic waters, so I doubt that the crew was unprepared for the cold. Also, revoking a distress signal could mean that someone DID hijack the ship/ some of the crew went rogue, and someone tried to call for help, but was simply silenced shortly afterwards.

"Zee crew may 'ave been prepared, but what if zee ship was not? Zere is scope for sabotage, non?"

 

[Condor_green]

If the ship has been hijacked there will be no people on deck they will all be herded to the lower decks where a group of men can keep an eye on them, and keep them out of view of passing ships if any do pass.

I do not believe the ship was hijacked from sea, it takes a lot of manpower and the element of surprise to take a ship that size without a distress signal being sent. In fact the distress signal was not sent until 4 days after it disappeared, then it was quickly withdrawn. I have been on Cruise ships in the past and I know for a fact that every ship has 4 locations where signals can be sent, 2 if the Bridge was taken. There is no explanation for why the ship did not send or attempt to send a distress signal if it was hijacked.

An inside job appears most likely. Possibly by some of the crew, not the tourist, the crew would know exactly what rooms to take and put the ship in complete darkness in just seconds by placing themselves within striking distance at the appropriate time. Being crew members, no one really gave them a second look until it was too late. Once said ship was taken, a rogue crew could keep the passengers calm and easy simply by acting as Captain of the ship, therefore not requiring a large body of men to watch over the passengers. The loyal employees would be sent to the lower decks, possibly the cargo bay where a smaller group can watch them.

If the above scenario is accurate, then a strike at the Bridge is the most likely course, take out the leadership and the rest will fall like stones. The ship will be secured the loyal crew back in their positions and save for a few men with guns, the passengers would not be any the wiser.


Of course, much like war, things do not always appear what they are.

By the way we still need leaders.

"I agree with Thomas, taking the bridge first would be wise. I also think that the engine room should be secured as quickly as possible to keep any damage from being done to our primary objective. Neutralizing the hostiles in these locations I stuanchly believe, should come before liberating the hostages."

 

[Terrance888]

If we all agree to enter with the quiet boat, then we have to organize the first few minutes.

We have to either blend in asap after entering the top deck, or we must come in with silenced weapons at the ready. Thermal and Night vision goggles in first. After that, we can quickly split into our two parties to secure the Bridge and the Engine room while smaller groups of three scout the intervening areas for more clues.

 

[Seon]

"I agree with Thomas, taking the bridge first would be wise. I also think that the engine room should be secured as quickly as possible to keep any damage from being done to our primary objective. Neutralizing the hostiles in these locations I stuanchly believe, should come before liberating the hostages."

We can't task everyone with taking the Bridge. The ship's too cramped for that.

I advise on 2-3 teams clearing out the bridge. The rest should search the decks. We have to see if we can turn the ship around to South Georgia.

And nobody takes the elevators

 

[Vertinari118]

Ulysses had excused himself from the meeting and sliped out the room. He has returned with an army bergan and assault vest loaded with gear.

"Sorry, had to pick up my stuff from the British Embassy. I still have a few contacts from my intelligence days, after I retired from SF work. I also managed to get my hands on a SIG Sauer P229 (compact version of the P226) instead of my sniper rifle. Extreme range will not be as preferable in this mission as covert weaponry, such as the P229. The HK 417 will give sufficient range and accuracy and is a more versatile weapon than any sniper rifle. As for an infiltration team, it is an excellent idea. An aerial insertion a few kilometers away from the boat would allow us to deploy completely undetected. Either quiet engines or, if needed when close to the cruise ship, silent paddling would allow a silent entry up the side of the boat and onto the deck. This in my opinion is the best method of insertion available. I would like to point out we have almost no data to infer from. We can only assume that the ship has been compromised. It could have been a CBRN attack, it could be a hijacking or a mutiny or it could be something else entirely. We are a recon mission, part of our remit is to answer questions not speculate over them. We must enter the ship secretly, explore cautiously and assess the situation. Rash action will get us killed. If the situation is a hostage situation then discretion required all the more. Returning to port with a ship full of dead bodies might be in violation of our third objective: keep it private. However I feel the situation maybe far more complicated than a simple hostage take-over. A mutinous crew would have made demands so would hostage takers, that is why one mutinies or takes hostages normally. If there was political or religious angle, again we would expect to have heard something.

To sum up; the ship has gone silent for unknown reasons so I believe the most sound tactically decision we can make is a covert insertion onto the ship in order to assess the situation. We can then formulate a tactical plan to return the ship to the necessary level of functionality to return it to port, protect civilians and crew, keep the mission quiet and deal with any threats."


OOC: Updated inventory with a couple of tweaks due to the nature of the mission. I now have one spare slot if anyone wants me to add anything for them.

Spoiler :

EQUIPMENT:
HK417
ACOG Sight
Sound Suppressor
Interchangeable barrels (Assaulter, Recon and Sniper)
3 Clips

P229
Sound Suppressor
3 Clips

Fragmentation grenade x2
Smoke grenade x1

Light Armour
Thermal Goggles
Assault Vest
Bergan
First Aid Kit
Glowstick x1
Flare x1

 

[andis-1]

Shortly after Ulysses' return, door opens again. A man carrying 2 large backpacks comes in, with an envelope in one hand. Man throws down his packs, sits down and starts reading the letter. After brief silence, he grunts with agreeing sound.

"So, we seem to be going for a cruise." - Youriy Alexandrov said, while unloading his faithful AN-94 from one of the packs.

Brief me with the current plan while I suit up. Who want's tactical recon to his team?

 

[GamezRule]

"Perhaps there is a security camera system we can hack into" - Josip

 

[badunoff]

Ilya's snoring stopped suddenly and he sat up in his chair. He looked around and pulled one of his suitcases towards himself. After a short search, he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a C4 explosive. "Voot if I... place... kak eto budet po angliski? Foorgif my Eenlish... I haf been in States for less zen year... Nu, bomba..." he gesticulated with the C4 for a few seconds and finaly catching the lable continued "C4. Da, C4. Voot if I place some C4 in... engine room. As an ekstra measure." He sat there for a bit, toying with the C4, and then felt he needed to clarify, "if ve are not able to... finish ze mission oor soomtink."

 

[andis-1]

@ MOD

would it be possible for Alexandrov to attach the camera on his shoulder, so he could use it's thermal camera mode to link the image on his HUD? this way alex could use it as thermal goggles from time to time.

 

[Seon]

"Perhaps there is a security camera system we can hack into" - Josip

There's probably a secuirty console below deck 5 somewhere.

 

[Dreadnought]

@ MOD

would it be possible for Alexandrov to attach the camera on his shoulder, so he could use it's thermal camera mode to link the image on his HUD? this way alex could use it as thermal goggles from time to time.

Certainly, though it may be difficult to maintain the camera on your shoulder when moving rapidly, in combat, etc.

 

[Condor_green]

"Aetius, are there any emergency vessels onboard the cruise ship?"

 

[Seon]

One of the decks diagram indicates that there are, indeed, emergency escape boats.