Message-ID: <41432asstr$1048453803@assm.asstr-mirror.org>
X-AntiAbuse: This header was added to track abuse, please include it with any abuse report
X-AntiAbuse: ID = 948ab4c8608b1a0ba1fa7e3decf9f577
Reply-To: katzmarek@excite.com
From: "don james" <katzmarek@excite.com>
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Original-Message-ID: <20030323141029.DBE4C29992@xmxpita.excite.com>
X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 09:10:29 -0500 (EST)
Subject: {ASSM} Fogbound Encounter (Part 4) By Katzmarek (Hist, Rom, MF)
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 16:10:03 -0500
Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail
Approved: <assm@asstr-mirror.org>
Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories
Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d
X-Archived-At: <URL:http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/Year2003/41432>
X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation <story-ckought69@hotmail.com>
X-Story-Submission: <ckought69@hotmail.com>
X-Moderator-ID: RuiJorge, dennyw, newsman
Please Note. This is a work of fiction.
_______________________________________________
Join Excite! - http://www.excite.com
The most personalized portal on the Web!
<1st attachment, "Fogbound Encounter 4.doc" begin>
Fogbound Encounter 4
By Katzmarek
It was the night of 12th July 1918 in the Irish Sea. About 50kms
southwest of the Isle of Man, U151 'U-Kreuzer Oldenburg' rolled
heavily in the rising swell. The waves were starting to break
around the forward 150mm-deck gun mount, swirling over the
gratings before running off the deck or through the scuppers.
The submarine was the largest produced by Germany during the
Great War, with the greatest endurance. It was designed first of
all to be an undersea gunboat, to be fought principally with its
powerful gun armament.
It was a miscalculation, however. It ignored the greatest asset
of the submarine, its stealth. By surfacing to use it's guns, it
put itself on the same footing as any surface vessel, most of
which had greater speed and firepower.
Ill-suited for its intended role, therefore, the U-Cruisers
became first supply ships for other, smaller U-boats and as
weather ships, U 151's role.
Meteorologist Benny Sajer half climbed, half fell down the ladder
to the control room below. Landing heavily in a shower of inky
black water he told his Captain,
"Got it!"
"Good, give it to Radio and let's get under," replied the
Captain.
'WW...W50NW... S3... D,' Radioman Schultz scribbled on the pad.
"You're going to tell me what that means?" said Unterleutnant
Lander, looking over his shoulder.
"Yes sir. WW, means West Wetterschiffe (Western Weathership),
W50NW, means Wind 50kms from the Northwest. D means Dunk (Dark)
or low visibility."
"Thank you," grumbled the Officer.
Lander passed the weather information to L68's Captain. Von
Leichtenfels accepted the message with a nod.
"A storm is brewing. The Commander will no doubt seek shelter. We
should run before it into the 'Bight'," he announced.
The raiding force of 11 airships was lingering off the East
Anglian coast for nightfall, before proceeding on to London from
the Northeast.
The timetable, however, was not their own but the Army's. The
Army's air force, the Luftstreitkrafte, were having trouble with
it's own strategic bombing campaign. Using twin engine LVG and
Gotha bombers their initial success was now being hampered by
increased anti-aircraft and searchlight defenses forming a ring
around London.
The LSK were now introducing the new R class 3 or 4 engine
bombers being produced by Zeppelin-Staaken. (R= Reisenflugzeug =
Touring or cruising aeroplane). They hoped for immediate and
spectacular success and pressured the Navy to assist the
operation by a coordinated attack with its airships.
The airships would hopefully distract the defenses long enough to
allow the bombers to slip in over their targets.
The operation depended on exact timing and communications between
the forces using flares and radio. Base stations in France were
suppose to communicate with the airships who were then to signal
by flares to the aircraft that carried no radios. Naturally it
had to be a clear weather operation.
Alarmed by the worsening weather forecasts the bomber 'staffeln'
remained on their fields in France. The army communications
centre was supposed to then call the navy communications centre
and pass on the news. No one knows at what point the
communications broke down. Suffice to say the 'Luftschiffe
Geschwader' (airship flotilla) floating off East Anglia never
received a recall message.
Captain von Dalwig zu Leichtenfels ordered the L68 to be brought
into the wind. It had increased in strength the past hour
causing too much side drift.
"What is the old man waiting for?" he grumbled to none in
particular. "Surely we will turn southeast."
"Signal from flag," announced Lander, squinting at the flashing
light from the giant L70's control car.
"That or they're lighting their cigars," someone grumbled.
"West by south 110' speed 50," Lander read, "there must be a
mistake."
"Signalman, send 'repeat'," ordered the Captain. The confirmation
arrived back. They were heading for London.
"We're fucked!" the captain responded quietly.
Eliza read the 'London Illustrated News' on the bus as she rode
home from the hospital where she worked. Typically it was filled
with war news. The Americans held at Belleau Wood, Germans
expected to advance on the French in the Marne area. Russia was
collapsing into chaos, the Austrians and Germans were nearing
Venice in Italy and the Bulgarians had the Allies pinned down at
Salonika. The war's end seems as far away as ever.
"You come with us, Lizzie girl. You need a night out. We're going
down to the club. There's lots of Yankee Doughboys there now.
Well, we have to show them a good old London welcome now, don't
we," Rosy, the girl in the room opposite suggested to Eliza as
she arrived home.
"I don't think so, " she told the redhead, "I'm tired and I have
letters to write to my family in Oslo."
"Oslo?" Rosy said in surprise, "what are they doing in Oslo.
That's Norway isn't it?"
"My father is junior Consul at the British embassy. I came back
to England to do my nurses training."
"Oh, I see! If it was me, love," Rosy said conspirationally, " I
would have stayed put and found myself a tall blond Norwegian
called Lars or Gunnar or something." She chuckled to herself.
"Always fancied them blondies," she added.
Rosy and Eliza sat down together for their dinner. Eliza picked
at her plate, seemingly disinterested.
"Eat up girl," Rosy told her, "don't look so glum. The war can't
last forever, can it? Come with me to the club, grab yourself a
handsome farmboy from Idaho or somewhere. Never know! He'll take
you back to America eh? Better weather, no rationing, streets
paved with gold and all that," she chuckled.
"I'm going to grab someone called Chuck," Rosy added, "he'll be
from New York and we'll live in a big house, with servants. Do
you suppose they have servants over there?"
"I don't know, Rosy," Eliza replied.
"You got a bloke overseas I hear?" Rosy asked.
"Overseas? Yes."
"Navy eh? Least that what I heard,"
"Yes, Navy," Eliza answered.
"Jane's Freddie is on Destroyers. Based in Harwich, but we're not
supposed to know that, of course. He's a Lieutenant, you know.
Trust her to bag an Officer, eh?"
"An Officer? Yes," Eliza answered, distractedly.
Eliza felt her big secret suddenly weighing her down. She hadn't
been able to tell anyone the truth about her Kimi. She hadn't
been able to prattle on like the other girls about boyfriends.
"Can I tell you a secret," she suddenly blurted out to the other
girl, " a really big one!"
"Oo love! This sounds good! I won't tell a soul, you can trust
old Rosy," the girl leaned closer.
"You won't get angry with me?"
"What for, love? I've got no time for that!"
"Well, my boyfriends name is Kimi, for short," she told her.
"Unusual name? Kimi, kind of nice though."
"He's in the Navy, but not ours."
"Foreign eh? I thought so, with a name like Kimi. Who's Navy is
he in then, French? I do like the French, they're more polite
than English men. Know how to treat a lady."
"No, he's not French."
"Kimi, hmm, C'mon don't keep me guessing?"
"German," Eliza told her in a small voice.
Rosy's mouth remained open, soundless.
Kimi and the Chief listened to the superstructure above them
creaking and groaning.
"That frame will start to buckle if we're not careful," the Chief
warned Kimi. "Hear that! The wind is picking up."
Kimi listened for a moment to the whistling around them. A piece
of loose canvass began flapping somewhere over head.
"The gunners came down from the top of the hull a few moments
ago," Kimi told him, "couldn't remain up there. They were soaked
to the skin."
"Feel that!" the Chief warned, " she starting to rock with the
wind. You'd better be careful on the ladder to the car. You'll
get blown away."
It was becoming hard to talk against the noise of the storm.
"We should turn back," complained Lander to the Captain, "this
weather is impossible."
"Our orders are to carry on," the Captain replied.
"But there'll be no aeroplanes up in this. Surely the operation's
cancelled."
"Radio, anything?"
"L43, sir. Losing altitude... broached to the wind... out of
control... Flag replies... save yourselves... good luck. One of
the Kiel ships in trouble... L50... shit... broken her back,
sir... going down," Schultz called out.
"There's something down there..." Lander warned. "Below us... an
airship broaching... there!"
The Control car crew followed Lander's finger. A flash of
lightning revealed the grey hull of an airship, slowly spinning
in the wind.
"Who the fuck is it?" someone asked.
"Full ahead port," ordered the Captain urgently, " we're falling
off course."
Hearing the orders, Kimi braced himself for the short journey
down the ladder to the motor car 'Emil.'
"Here, put a rope around you, tie it to your belt," said the
Chief, "if you slip, I'll pull you back, ok?"
"Ok Chief," Kimi replied, doing as he was told.
"Don't fuck about, get down there and get back, ok?"
"Ok Chief."
Bracing himself against the frame, the Chief opened the hatchway
and made to play out the rope as Kimi descended the ladder.
In the control car, a pair of legs appeared through the top
hatch.
"Stresemann," Lander said, "What's the matter?"
"Fabric's come loose between frames 3 and 4. There's a hole the
size of a Berlin bus opening up."
The Captain let out a big sigh.
"Take her down, Lander, let's find some shelter."
Cranking the telephone, Lander yelled,
"Alarm, alarm. Open the vents... 10 degrees down plane... we are
going down to the deck... that's right... all engines ahead
full."
On the other telephone, Leutnant Schneemann, second watch officer
gave the general order,
"All hands... we are venting gas... observe fire precautions...
gunners off the top... quickly."
Above the airship Hydrogen gas, so painstakingly pumped into the
gas cells the week before, began to stream out of the top of the
hull to be instantly carried away by the storm.
Far below them, near the village of Sudbury, in the county of
Suffolk, unobserved by L68 a large flare, growing in intensity
was lighting up the stormy night sky.
"A German!" Rosy said to Eliza in astonishment, "are you joking
with me. Y'know, it ain't funny Eliza."
"No," replied Eliza, "I'm not joking. He's in the German Navy.
He's... he's in Zeppelins."
"No! Eliza... is this for real? Have you seen what they did to
the West End? With them bombs... and Fenchurch Street... have you
seen what they did, Rosy? How could you? I mean... how did you
meet? Is he a prisoner? I don't know what to think, Lizzie,"
"He's not a prisoner, Rosy," Eliza said dejectedly, "he's on a
Zeppelin called the L68, at least that's his old ship. You won't
say anything?"
"I said I wouldn't didn't I? I... just didn't expect... I' mean
it's a shock, Y'know? A German, well I never!"
As Rosy was leaving she tried once again to persuade Eliza to
come down to the club with her.
"C'mon, love. Find yourself a nice American," she said, "a lot
less trouble than... Y'know."
"I'd rather not, Rosy, thanks."
"Suit yourself, bye."
Eliza woke in the middle of the night to the sound of voices.
Rosy was giggling and another voice, male and American.
"Get off, cheeky," she heard Rosy say.
"Now Honey... just a little..." came the male voice followed by
more giggling.
Eliza could hear footsteps on the stairs and Rosy's voice coming
nearer,
"Through the kitchen, to your right love," Rosy said. There came
a tapping on Eliza's door,
"Are you awake, love?" Rosy asked.
"Yes, come in," Eliza said.
Rosy stood in the doorway, swaying slightly, her face flushed.
"Y'know what they are saying... a bunch of them Zeppelins tried
to reach London... They got the bastards... they reckon one when
up in flames... a couple crashed in the storm... good job, I
say."
Eliza gasped.
"I'm not sorry, Lizzie... not sorry... Y'know, what your trouble
is? You have been dancing with them Swedes... while we get bombs
dropped on us... Friends and family getting killed in France...
coming home blinded and all shot up... There's not a family in
Camden who ain't lost someone... and you trip out with a Hun,
Lizzie... they're murdering bastards... all of them...You're a
good kid Lizzie, wouldn't wish ill of you... but I'll be honest
and say, I won't shed a tear over any Hun, honest I won't."
"Norway, Rosy," Eliza said miserably.
"What?"
"I was in Norway."
"Whatever."
Heavier footsteps sounded behind her,
"Oops, here he comes, goodnight!"
Eliza couldn't get back to sleep. She couldn't get out of her
head the German Zeppelin crewmember lying in the burns ward at
the hospital. When she shut here eyes, Kimi's face transposed
itself onto him. 'Her' Kimi, with the penetrating blue eyes and
that swagger.
The noises now coming through the paper-thin walls did not help
either. The giggling of Rosy and the answering murmur from her
American 'friend'.
"Do you like them?" she heard Rosy say.
"Mmm," came the answer.
"Ooh, so I see!" she said followed by more giggles.
Eliza heard the bedsprings next door creaking for a while
accompanied by heavy breathing.
"That's right, love, suck them... harder... ooh," Rosy murmured.
Eliza could even hear the smacking of lips.
"Oh... rub it harder... ooh... C'mon love... now... Go easy
love... Don't get me preggie now... oh Frankie..."
Eliza mused that Rosy didn't find a 'Chuck' after all, as she had
to endure the rhythmic groaning of the bedsprings.
At last, Eliza heard the shrill cries of Rosy as the springs
squeaked faster and faster. Finally the 'oh gods' and the squeals
ceased and the house became quiet. At some point Eliza fell back
to sleep.
"Ach, I can't see a thing!" Lander said peering through the
window of L68's Control Car. "Is that a river... maybe a bay... I
think I see a gleam of water."
"Which, Lander?" demanded the Captain.
"A river, I think... we're over land."
"Altitude?"
"1000 metres," answered Schneemann.
Kimi remained in the motor car 'Emil'. The Maybach behind him was
roaring at full throttle. Kimi kept watch on the oil pressure
gauge and the Tachometer, watching for any drop in the oil feed
or cavitations from the notoriously cranky airship engine.
"There's a town! Look see those lights," announced Lander in the
Control Car.
"Colchester!" announced Schneemann, "we're drifting southeast.
That must be Colchester."
The L68 blundered over the town at what seemed like dizzying
speed.
"There's water ahead! A river estuary perhaps," cried Lander.
"Yes, yes," answered Schneemann, "Colne estuary. See I'm right!
We'll be out to sea soon."
"Captain! We're swinging around!" yelled the Steersman.
"Broaching!" cried Lander.
Suddenly the stern began to fall as the airship bobbed in the
wind currents. Everywhere on the ship crewmen were grabbing hold
of whatever they could as the airship swung crazily. In the
Control Car, the Officers were holding on to the handrail that
ran around the inside of the car.
"Trees! I see trees!" someone yelled.
"Let go ballast!" the Captain ordered.
In 'Emil,' Kimi was holding-on to stop being thrown onto the
whirling machinery. Suddenly there was a loud bang from the
engine and it began to vibrate badly. Kimi immediately cut the
ignition and put his head out the hatchway. He saw that half the
propeller had gone.
Something passed his head and hit the hull of the airship with a
crash. He made to climb the ladder back into the ship but saw the
Chief's face in the hull door. He was shouting and waving his
arms. By the flickering light of the lightning flashes he saw the
desperate look on his face.
"Go... Jump!" he thought he heard the Chief yell over the wind.
Kimi climbed towards the Chief. The Chief was still shouting when
he grabbed him. He brought his face up to Kimi's and yelled.
"Jump... this is your chance... go." A shower of water deluged
them. "The ballast," the Chief yelled and suddenly threw Kimi off
the ladder into space.
L68 was never heard of again.
The cold rain stung his face. Kimi couldn't remember how long
he'd been lying there. He just knew he was soaked to the skin and
very cold. Something was watching him, something big. Turning his
shivering face to the side he found himself staring at the large
head of an Aberdeen Angus. Casually it moved away leaving Kimi to
the mercy of the wind and the rain.
<1st attachment end>
----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------
Notice: This post has been modified from its original
format. The post was sent as an email attachment and
has been converted by ASSTR ASSM moderation software.
----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------
--
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| alt.sex.stories.moderated ----- send stories to: <ckought69@hotmail.com> |
| FAQ: <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org/faq.html> Moderator: <story-ckought69@hotmail.com> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|Discuss this story and others in alt.sex.stories.d, look for subject {ASSD}|
|Archive at <http://assm.asstr-mirror.org> Hosted by <http://www.asstr-mirror.org> |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+