Alea est frangit

As Harrison stared out over rolling swells of the ocean as his submarine quietly headed out to sea. It had been his dream to have command of his own nuclear submarine, now he had it. A certain excitement was bubbling inside of the 44 year old man as he stood upon his dream ship. He had held onto the dream of commanding a submarine of his own since his grandfather had shown him models of the submarine he had commanded, USS Shark.

Now he had a boat to call his own, USS Franklin D Roosevelt, it was beauty of a boat. She had been outfitted with all the latest and greatest gismos, the eggheads at R&D dare add. The feature he had to be the most proud of was the hydroponics and meat culture vats that were added, these allowed the ship to make food while she was underway, if food was rationed then the sub could stay underwater indefinitely. Harrison turned his gaze off of the ocean in front of him and to the front of his sub. Resting near the bow was a rectangular object that stuck out, the underwater hanger module or as the eggheads called it the UATM.

The UATM allowed his sub to transport and launch an aircraft from the sub; it was supposedly a 'game changer' as the bureaucrats at naval intelligence thought. He had more reservations about the thing, but he chose to not voice them, as he didn't want to jeopardize his command.

"Captain Parker we will begin our dive in 10 minutes." His radio squawked at him breaking his mental trance. It was Gaius Smith his first officer.

"Roger that Gaius" Harrison responded.

"Sir I requested that you call me Smith"

"Request denied Gaius, we have enough people named Smith already we don't need another one." Harrison said before turning off his radio to prevent any protest. Picking up his cup of coffee he grabbed onto the ladder down to main control area and began to climb down. Once he arrived at the bridge he was pounced by his reactor officer, Arvel Westridge.

"Captain we have the reactor running at normal conditions" Arvel reported to Harrison

"Good job Westridge just make sure it doesn't cut out, I want my boat to keep sailing" Harrison said to Westridge as he continued his walk to where his First Officer was standing over the Helmsman Joshua Herman.

"Are we prepared to dive Helmsman Herman?" Harrison asked the man who held the yoke, which controlled the entire submarine.

"Hold on Captain, James do we have green lights across the board?" Joshua yelled across to his junior officer.

"We have green lights in everything beginning verbal confirmation. Reactor?" James answered.

"Reactor is go" Arvel responded.

"Engines?"

"Engines are a go," responded the engine room manager

"Hatch?"

"Hatches are secure" Another crewman responded.

"Life Support?"

"Life Support is a go" Chief Mechanic Sheridan responded

"Communications and Navigations"

"Comms are a go. Nav systems are a go" Two more crewmen responded

"All verbal checks complete. We will initiate dive on your command captain" James stated.

'It is time I take command of my own sub. Thank you grandfather for everything.' Harrison thought to himself eyes closed.

"Begin dive now Helmsman" Harrison ordered as he opened his eyes.

Captain Compartment, USS Franklin D Roosevelt

Pacific Ocean

After getting the course plotted out for his crew to follow Harrison retired to cabin to review his mission briefing. Getting himself a glass of gin he kept in his storage area. Pulling up a chair to his wooden table he sat down and reviewed his first briefing.

Mission Briefing: Operation Handoff

The USS Franklin D Roosevelt is to proceed to islands of Japan specifically Honshu. The USS Franklin D Roosevelt will transport the following CIA Operatives

Operatives

Engineering Specialist Dax Steward Hurst

Combat Specialist Mina Ana Scott

Strategic Specialist Wilson Norm Sidley

Electronics Specialist Alexi Tory Capello

These operatives will be guarding a large section of cargo which is not be indexed by your crew, the cargo is of a classified nature and will not be opened or observed by your crew under any circumstances. The operatives hold the coordinates for the handoff to take place; they will divulge these coordinates once you are within 50 miles of the Japanese homeland.

Briefing over*

Harrison sighed he hated missions like these, even though he had never commanded his own ship he had missions like these before when he was a first officer. The operatives were usually just over paid bureaucrats; he would just do a simple drop mission. He then picked up his second mission briefing, which was enclosed in a manila envelope, he opened the folder and extracted the briefing.

Mission Briefing: Operation Indonesian Thunder

The Franklin D Roosevelt is to carry a Green Beret squad and deposit them on the coast of an Indonesian island specified in a mass storage device included in this folder. This mission will take precedence over Operation Handoff. Proceed under radio silence until this objective is complete.

Briefing over*

Harrison picked the manila folder back up and took out the thumb drive. He then filed the two briefings inside his captains safe. He soon sighed and took another sip of his drink.

"Damn, this organization must have grown on without me. The navy treats us like overpaid babysitters or delivery boys. I miss the good ole days of the cold war. We used to have standards back then, but now without an enemy, the only recruits we get are sycophants who enjoy being on cramped metal cigars all day or people who signed up when they were drunk or on a dare from their friends. Times are not like they are used to" Harrison monologue to himself. Talking another sip of his drink, he stood up and hobbled over to his bed.

'I need some good rest' Was the only thought that crossed his mind before he found himself in his bed sinking into darkness as sleep overtook him.

Crew Area E, USS Franklin D Roosevelt

Pacific Ocean

"Wilson! Where the hell did you put my stuff?!" Yelled an angry redhead girl named Mina Scott. She was a member of the CIA specialist squad that was going to guard goods to be transported.

"I didn't touch your damn stuff Mina" Yelled back a boy with dirty blonde hair. His name was Wilson Sidley he was the de facto leader of CIA squad.

'God damnit Mina why can't you keep your shit together? We almost failed that mission in Serbia because you couldn't find the damn bus passes.' Wilson thought to himself, he was pulled out of his thoughts by the voice of another.

"Mina stop talking so loudly, you and Wilson always bounce off each other and it always becomes a yelling match when you two disagree. If we don't want be lynched by the crew of this sub for break noise convention and just being annoying brats I suggest that you two shut up." Said in a serious tone with a hint of irritation by Dax, he was tall muscular boy, who had brown hair and brown eyes. He was a little more on the quiet serious side most of the time, but when someone could get him talking about his latest project he could probably talk for 3 days straight without stopping.

"Dax is right you two, you guys need to stop fighting so much. Plus, I can't hear the movie I am watching with you two fighting so much." The soft-spoken Alexis corroborated, she was girl with long golden blonde hair. She always had her head stuck in some sort of electronic device, whether it be her computer, mp3 player or even her GPS.

"It's fine Alexis were always like this before a mission, its our way of relaxing. Right Mina?" Wilson asked with an implied tone that he hoped Alexis wouldn't notice with her headphones on.

"Yeah, its totally and completely how we get our stress out" Mina answered with a tone that sounded to sarcastic.

'Damnit if Alexis notices the sarcasm in her voice, I'll never hear the end of this.' Wilson thought to himself.

"Hey Wilson what's our basic mission outline anyway I kind of slept through the briefing." Alexis asked taking out her headphones so she could listen better.

"Well our basic mission is to guard our cargo make sure it gets to Japanese agents unopened and we need to watch them as were pretty sure the Chinese are going to try and make a grab for the info so we need to combat ready. I doubt they will try anything, but as you know the world I am probably wrong so we should be ready to fight. So pack for medium weight, we won't need anti-tank weapons." Wilson explained to Alexis.

"I am going to take a look around this submarine, I'll be back in about an hour or so" Dax said as he stood up and left their quarters. No one questioned him because everyone regarded Dax as the responsible one of their squad.

"In that case I am going to check out command center" Mina said as she stood.

"Well I going to come with you then to make sure you don't piss of the captain to such a far extent he doesn't fire us out of a torpedo tube." Wilson said as he stood up to follow Mina out to the bridge.

"I don't need an escort, I can take care of myself."

"Keep telling yourself that, I mean none of us can take care of our self's with the exception of Dax" Wilson said as followed Mina to the bridge of the submarine.

Alexis had put her headphones back into her ears sighed when everyone had left.

"What a bunch we are" she said to herself with tone of exhaustion.

Crew Area G, USS Franklin D Roosevelt

Pacific Ocean nearing Indonesia

"Higgins get your stuff together we gotta get ready to go" a voice said, snapping a man out of his daze.

"Got it sarge" Higgins responded; he started checking his stuff again. A certain anxiety had roosted in his body and he couldn't seem to shake. It might have been the fact that it was his first mission with his new squad. He had been on missions so it confused the man as why he was anxious.

"Form up!" A commanding voice yelled. Higgins stood up and formed ranks with the rest of his squad. He saw his commanding officer Captain Churchill. He was tall man with red hair that flowed in his head in mix between water and fire.

"Alright, We are going to be dropped at our point in 2 hours, get your gear together and meet in forward torpedo room in 30 minutes." He said in a commanding voice that seemed to permeate every surface in their room.

"Sir, Yes Sir!" Only Higgins yelled in response, after his confirmation he realized no one had yelled. He looked around to rest of his squad mates chuckling at his display.

"Oh, we have formal guy here. Well you better be good at adapting because we aren't a normal squad" Churchill responded before saying that they were dismissed. Higgins stood dejectedly in his spot as the rest of his squad broke.

'Jesus they must all think I came from a special school' He thought to himself, before a voice yanked him out of his mental berating.

"Hey Higgins. I did that my first times on the squad so don't feel to down. They always make it a joke to make fun of the new guy until they have learned the ropes" His squad mate Dizzy said. She was a medium height woman who had strikingly blue eyes that complimented her light brown hair.

"Thanks" he said dejectedly to her before grabbing his gear and beginning the long walk to the front torpedo room.

Bridge, USS Franklin D Roosevelt

Pacific Ocean nearing Indonesia.

Harrison stood impatiently on bridge, tapping his foot in impatience. He had ordered the sub to slow down to ahead ¼ because he needed the damn Green Beret captain to give him the right directions. His irritation lifted as he heard the footsteps of a person he assumed was the Captain. He turned to greet the Captain, but was instead greeted by sight of two teenagers, one a boy and one a girl.

"Hello Captain Harrison what a lovely ride we have had on this magnificent boat" The boy said to Harrison. The irritation in Harrison returned from being a small spark to being a huge bonfire. It was the damn CIA junkies; he hated how kids half his age had equaled his rank. They must have had parents with really good connections.

"Greetings, please remain quiet on the bridge as we are operating and I do not want to disturb my crew." He responded in a stern tone.

"Roger that Commodore" The boy responded in joking manner, which enraged Harrison even more. He was almost about to go on a tirade against the boy when he heard another set of footsteps approaching that were much deeper. This must be the Captain.

"Sorry Captain Harrison I just had to give some last minute instructions to my squad. The coordinates you are looking for are in my briefing here." The approaching Captain said. He arrived near a coarse planning table and set his pack on it and began to fiddle around for his briefing.

"It's completely fine." Harrison responded. Everything seemed to be clearing itself up.

"Captain I'm hearing something large on the hydrophones." Maxwell his operator reported to Harrison.

"Can you identify it?" Harrison asked.

"No sir it sound like something I have never heard before" Maxwell responded with a foreboding tone.

"Put it up on the bridge speakers." Harrison ordered.

"Yes sir"

The noise that came on shocked the whole crew. It was mix between a deep rumbling, high frequency pulsing, and with explosive amplitude. It like nothing any man on the bridge had heard. Whatever it was it wasn't good. The next thing that he noticed is that the sound was getting louder, and more radical.

"Gaius order battle stations, Joshua ahead full, Maxwell keep monitoring that thing" Harrison yelled out orders as he felt his naval instinct begin to scream that there was danger near. Siren began to ring out the call for battle stations, crew members were awakened and rushed to their posts. The submarine lurched as the engine begin to speed the sub up.

"Captain! The sound is getting louder and louder!" Maxwell yelled.

"Joshua, Bring the boat up to flank speed!" Harrison ordered.

The boat lurched even more as the machine began to output more and more of its maximum power.

"Captain our speed is slowing down! We aren't going anywhere!" His navigation officer yelled at him.

"Jackson give me our exact location right now!" Harrison yelled back at his navigational officer.

"Our coordinates are—" Jackson began to say.

BLAM!

The boat rattled as if it had been used like baseball bats by a giant, submariners were thrown all over the boat as chaos enveloped the bridge.

"Captain, we have stopped moving forwards we are now falling backwards!" Jackson yelled.

"Captain, the hydrophones are now detecting another noise; it sounds like a vortex!" Maxwell yelled.

"Captain, Message from the reactor room. If we don't go down to half the pipes inside the reactor could burst from thermal shock and leave the sub without power." Gaius yelled to the captain.

Harrison had gone silent. Silence was his way of coping and figuring out he situation.

'All right I know that we are going backwards probably due to a vortex. He couldn't run the engines at flank or he would lose power. His only coarse of action would to turn the engine won't o half and be sucked into the vortex while using his remaining engine power to keep the ship semi-safe.

"Joshua bring the engine speed down to half! Maxwell use sonar to detect underwater obstacles and relay their position to James. James use the half engine power to keep the sub away from any underwater obstacles." Harrison ordered. His crew began to work at their tasks immediately and with great efficiency.

The submarine lurched as engine power was decreased and it began to slip backwards into he vortex. As his crew worked he walked over and observed the sonar screen. James was doing a good job of dodging obstacles. It seemed the vortex was underwater tornado that was 300 feet from the tail of the sub. The sub rapidly closed on the position.

"200 feet, 100 feet, 50 feet, 30 feet, 15 feet. " He counted to himself as he waited for the big shock that would rattle his sub even more. It surprised him that the big jolt never came in fact the submarine appeared to be falling into the vortex relatively peacefully. As he checked the screen he saw that the whole ship had been almost entirely absorbed by the vortex. The quiet was soon disrupted as the whole ship slipped into the vortex; a faint vibrating sound began to pick up in the cabin. The sound became more and more intense until Harrison had to hold his hand on his ears to even be able to think.

"Crack!" As if a spring was released a great shockwave of sound rattled the boat. Men fell to the ground clutching their ears in pain. Harrison felt as if his head was going to explode. For a straight minute the sound reverberated in his ears in such a way that even not clutching his head would be too painful.

"Joshua initiate an emergency blow" Harrison ordered with a pained groan.

"Yes sir" he responded with a warbling voice, but before he could begin the procedure a voice came over the intercom.

"Rouge Submarine by the order of the Holy Britannia Empire surrender immediately." A male voice said.

Classroom A318, Ashford Academy

Japan 2 months before Shinjuku Ghetto incident

Lelouch sighed. He was stuck in another history class where they did nothing. History class was just a big jingoistic celebration of war. It could be worse though, at least he wasn't in gym class. He shuddered at the thought. Today they weren't doing much besides watch a live show of the new Britiannian 'Security fleet' that was headed towards Japan. He idly was ignoring the newscast until an alarm sounding in the video stole his attention.

"What is this?" The announcer exclaimed with much confusion in his voice.

"Our sources seem to indicate that a rouge submarine has been spotted near the fleet. They have been ordered to surrender. Whether they comply or face the wrath of Britiannia we will be in for show of our nations power!" The announcer exclaimed with much vigor in his voice.

'This might be an interesting class after all' Lelouch thought to himself as the video stole all his attention

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Authors Notes

Hello all who have taken time to read this, Thank you. This is my first story, as indicative by authors page. If you see any major errors, please place a review so that I can fix them. If you have any other comments or questions leave a review and I will try answer them. This is the start of a journey that I hope to finish with expedience.