[ WP ] Unknown depths of the sea : you 're part of an armada of colossal submarines descending into the abyss ...

Deeper and deeper we go, natural light has long been replaced by the cold glimmer of our head lights which fail to illuminate more than 10 feet ahead of us. Our ship, submarine Bravo of the armada, is the smallest vessel of the five submarines heading for the exploration mission. My captain and commander, John Porter, is known for his gloomy but steadfast nature and has been decorated in various battles over the years. 
 
 `` Bravo, make your 10 minute report. Over.'' I hear the voice of Alpha's second commander and respond with our location. 
 
 `` This is Bravo. We are 12,400 feet deep and heading for North by North West. All machines are working fine. Over.'' Porter grunts when I lift my finger off the speaker button, he disapproves of not being in command of the armada. 
 
 `` This is Charlie. We are 12,450 feet deep, also heading North by North West. Over.'' 
 
 `` This is Delta. We are 13,600 feet deep, heading North West. Over.'' 
 
 `` Delta, you are too deep. Slow down and wait for the group. Over.'' 
 
 `` This is Echo. We are 13,400 feet...'' But then the connection breaks off and the radio cuts to a monotone buzzing. I look at the radar. One submarine ahead of us, two behind. 
 
 `` Sir, I count only four submarines,'' I report to Porter. He leans over and looks at the radar screen. I see his eyes narrow. 
 
 `` Alpha, this is Porter. Our radar shows only four submarines. Over,'' Porter speaks into my mic. We wait, but the only sound we hear is a faint buzzing, then it goes silent. 
 
 `` Sir, what is happening?'' I ask Porter. 
 
 Instead of answering, he pushes down the button again. `` Alpha, this is the captain of Bravo. Our radar shows only four submarines. Do you copy? Over.'' 
 
 Silence. Then, a voice emerges. A different voice, unfamiliar to me. `` This is alpha captain Smith. We copy you, Bravo. We see five submarines. Must be an error on your end. Over.'' 
 
 I look over to Porter and search his face for what he makes of it. But suddenly, our lights go out, it becomes pitch dark. Before I could speak out, a strong vibration hits our submarine and shakes us. I hear a marine behind us fall to the ground. Our machines stop working, we lose forward speed. Alerted by this, I smash the engine status button and try turning the ignition key but it's stuck. Out of nowhere, I hear a gun shot next to me and the sound temporarily disorients me and starts a loud ringing in my ear. Once I orient myself again with the help of the chair, the lights flicker back on and the machines start working again. I turn around and see our navigator lying on the ground, dead, with a bullet wound to his head. I look up and see Porter putting away a gun. 
 
 `` Sir, what happened?'' I almost scream. Instead of answering, he points at the dead man and I see a knife in his hand. I do n't understand. 
 
 `` Something is off. Something is very wrong.'' Porter says and now looks at me. `` Baker. How many submarines do you count?'' I try to ignore my shaking hands and look again at the radar. Five points are beeping steadily. 
 
 `` Sir, there are five sub...'' I start saying but then two of the points vanish. `` No, three. I see only three submarines.'' 
 
 Porter looks at me and then scans the room. There is screaming and a loud knock at the door, but he ignores it. `` Baker, you take over navigation.'' 
 
 I type into my computer and pull up the navigation tabs. I look at the current commands. 
 
 `` Sir, someone put in rapid descent, we are currently at 16,000 feet depth.'' 
 
 Porter does n't respond to me but rather punches on his radio button. `` This is Bravo captain Porter. Alpha, do you copy? We had a temporary machine malfunction and felt strong vibrations. Our radar shows only two submarines. Over.'' 
 
 Nothing. He looks over to my radar, but again five submarines show up, then eight, then it turns off completely. A light fizzle sounds and smoke emerges from the radar. 
 
 At the same moment, an extremely bright light shines into our cockpit and blinds our eyes. Two seconds later, our submarine shakes again and our lights flicker, but this time they stay on. A voice sounds through the room, moments after. 
 
 `` Bravo, this is Echo. Do you hear us? We lost contact to everybody else. We saw a bright light. Our radar shows only three submarines. Do you copy? Over.'' 
 
 But before we could answer, another connection comes in. 
 
 `` This is Alpha captain Smith. Bravo, we saw Echo bombard Delta. Delta is down. I repeat, Delta is down. Report your position. Over.'' 
 
 -- -- 
 to be continued 
 
 
 
 
 

