NaNoWriMo 2008 – Final Copy

(An U Boat story – Image source: http://military.discovery.com)

I spent almost 1 month to draft out my NaNoWriMo 2008’s entry titled “The Malayan U Boat” and spent probably another 1 week to clean up and polish the story.

For those who are interested to read, I have uploaded the pdf version of the story in Google Docs.

Please be free to download it and give me comments on the story and how it can be improved further.

Thanks

NaNoWriMo 2008 – Done!

(Update: Final tally @ o1.12.2008 – 15,319 winners out of 119,151 writers who participated)

After 24 chapters, 69 pages, 50,239 words, 273,255 characters and many sleepless nights, I have finally done it!

I have won my NaNoWriMo 2008 in my first outing. From the NaNoWriMo’s website – total winners todate is 5,805 out of the total 118,648. That is less than 5% from the total. There is still 3 days more to go, so we should be expecting the number of winners to increase.

It has not been easy though. I started my NaNoWriMo campaign on the second day of the month (I missed the first day). Starting was slow. I only managed to do 906 words on the first writing day when I should be averaging at least 1,600 words per day. But in time, I managed to catch up. By yesterday, I already have done 50,239 words over 23 days. That is an average 2,184 words per day.

Keeping on writing was not easy especially when I could not think the next plot for my story and the clock was ticking away. Everyday, after I went back home and had my shower and dinner, I will open my laptop and start typing the story. I will try to “draft” out the plot in my mind as I am driving back home and once I start, I will expand it from there. Often I have gotten more ideas after I have started to write, so it was a good thing too. My daily writing sessions last for about 2 hours and this is a daily event (except on the weekends where I have more time to write more). I lost some good sleeping hours but what the heck; this project only comes once in a year.

My story for NaNoWriMo 2008 titled “The Malayan U Boat” is not finished though. The story details are still in a crude form. There is plenty of polishing up to do in December. I need to fine tune the storyline, give other characters proper names, update the details of German U Boat, and give proper location details and many more. I gather I will clock another 10,000 words (or more) once the editing has been done.

I already plotting my story for the next year’s NaNoWriMo… hope more will participate!

The Malayan U Boat – Last Part

“Professor, what are you doing” asked the captain, shocked but was not surprised. He was trembling with fear but he did not show it to the professor.

When he first heard that a professor was the saboteur, his first thought of suspects has been Professor Z. He has been acting rather aggressively since the beginning of the mission. The professor also has been vocal against the high security measures. The captain still recalls the message from Kriegsmarine that said that Professor Z’s relatives are living in the Britain for sometime and recently there has been heavy communication between him and his relatives in Britain recently. The captain suspected back then but did not have strong proof to hold the professor back until now. Now with the professor holding a gun to his body was the conclusive proof that he was the one from the start. The captain wondered how the professor slip pass the sentries and able to sabotage the U Boat previously.

“Keep quiet, just move” replied the cold looking Professor as he pushed the captain into his quarters and locked the door.

“I thought I could sabotage this U Boat before we reached the waters controlled by the Japanese but you were quick to foil my plans. You have been lucky indeed. But now, I have no choice but to use my gun” said the professor.

“Why you did not use your gun earlier?” asked the captain as he sat on his bunker, waiting for the professor’s attention to be diverted.

“This mission – although I actively participated in the planning stage, I did not really believed that we will find the ancient submarine. It sounded like some fairy tale. But nonetheless I played along with it – I had to lure you from your patrols in the Atlantic to a mission where we will be together. There is a price that has been announced by the Allied Intelligence Office on your head and on the destruction of this U Boat. You have became famous, my captain after your mission with the Bismarck task force. You are wanted dead or alive. We tried to kill you at your mansion but my man was unfortunately caught by Sergeant R. We had to create a story that it was planned by the Gestapo when it was not. That led you and the German High Command on some wild goose chase and an astray of focus whilst we planned more carefully the next time again. You have been very lucky indeed, captain. Lucky until now. I had to hold back from my mission objectives when we left Siamese waters and headed to Malaya. I did not like you but I did not like the Japanese even more”

“But when we reached Malaya and found the submarine, I changed my mind and the goal of my mission changed. I did not think that we would actually find the submarine and the more we learned about the submarine and its technology, I decided to raise the rewards that were waiting for me. I decided to play along and get the extracted items to the Allies whilst trying to achieve to kill you and destroy this U Boat. That I will do soon once my Allies friends meet up in Ceylon coastal waters – the very place that we are scheduled to be resupplied. There are just a couple of miles from Ceylon to the British administration in India. U X and its crew will be history” laughed the professor as he started to think of the monetary rewards that were promised by the British Government for sabotaging the U Boat’s mission.

There was a knock on the door. It was Ernst, coming over to see the captain to report on their current progress. The professor at first panicked but recovered to tell the captain to act naturally. He told the captain to tell Ernst to leave him and the professor alone in the quarters for further discussion. The professor asked the captain to order Ernst to get the extracted items from the submarine to be repacked and ready to be moved over to another vessel. The captain must keep silent on the reasons for his orders; otherwise the professor will not hesitate to shoot the captain in the head. The captain kept silent and stood up to open the door. Ernst came in but was surprised to see professor Z in the captain’s quarters. He did not anticipate the captain to allow the professor in his quarters but he did not proceed further to ask the captain on this. The captain gave orders as was mentioned by the professor earlier. Ernst asked for the reasoning for the captain’s order but the captain resorted back and asked to follow the orders without fail. Ernst noticed that the captain was looking at the professor as he mentioned this.

Ernst left the room. The captain’s attention diverted back to the professor.

“How long you plan t hold me here, professor, Sooner or later, my crew is going to get suspicious and will be waiting for you. As far as I am concerned, even if you shoot me, it will not stop the U Boat from reaching the base. I am very confident on Ernst to do that.”

The professor smiled and said “I am quite aware of this and for this very reason, I have planted a bomb in the U Boat. Even if the U Boat continues without you, it won’t get too far”

The captain knew that time was running out for him and the crew. He needs to act fast. That opportunity came when Ernst messaged the captain and said they will be reaching the resupply rendezvous point shortly. He called the captain to come up to the bridge. The captain reasoned with the professor to allow him to go to the bridge, otherwise the crew will know what is happening here and will not allow the professor to escape. The professor relented and bought the bait. The captain left his quarters with the professor following him closely with a gun pointed at the captain. When they reached the bridge, the professor noticed that everyone was looking at him. Ernst suddenly voiced out and asked the professor to drop his gun. The professor at this point quickly pointed the gun to the captain’s head and asked everyone to stay back. His transport back to India will be coming soon. He just to hold on until then, thought the professor when he heard the sonar operator reported of detecting a large ship near their rendezvous point. The professor was relieved – his British naval ship was waiting for the U Boat.

“The professor had planted a bomb somewhere” the captain voiced out. The professor pushed the barrel of his gun even closer to the captain’s head and asked him not to open his mouth anymore. None of the crew members at the bridge dared to moved from the area but one of them who was standing far, managed to sneak out and alerted the rest of the crew members especially Sergeant R and his men. The sergeant quickly took out his gun and headed towards the bridge.

The U Boat was still moving nearer to the rendezvous point where British naval ship is waiting. The professor’s plan seems to be working. Once reach the British naval ship, it is likely that special attack team will board the U Boat and take the crew as prisoners of war. The attack team may blow up the U Boat after relieving it from the important cargo or may decided to tow it back to British Naval base in India for further inspection. The professor only needs to wait for this. The professor looked at the captain and smiled. It was as though he is seeing the captain’s time of death.

Suddenly there was a loud gunshot and blood was trickling from the professor’s head. He looked stunned but was still capable to raising his gun to shot but before he could pull the trigger, he slumped down and stayed still. This caught everyone by surprise and when they have realised what had happened, they saw Sergeant R with his gun aimed towards the professor. The barrel of his gun was still smoking. It took one clear shot from Sergeant R’s gun to bring down the professor who did not noticed the sergeant sneaking in.

There was no time to loose! The captain ordered the crew to prepare for a torpedo attack on the British naval ship that was waiting at the rendezvous point whilst ordered the rest of them to look for the bomb that has been planted by the professor. The captain gathered that the bomb is on a timer and will explode in case they decided to skip the rendezvous point.

The captain had the British naval ship on sight on his periscope. He noticed that his resupply ship was held back by armed guards on the British naval ship. The men on the British naval ship did not appear to have readied for battle. The latest news from the professor must have put them at ease and under the thought of easy catch of the German’s latest U Boat. Two torpedoes were prepared and the captain ordered the release of the torpedoes. Two fast and deadly torpedoes launched from the U Boat torpedoes tubes and rushed towards the British naval ship. It was couple of seconds before the British naval ship blew up and sank almost immediately. The resupply ship which was held back decided to make a run for it, in the event there were more torpedoes in the water. The captain was not sure whether the resupply ship was an agent of the British but there was no time to lose. The U Boat is in need of resupply and this is the nearest resupply ship around. The captain ordered U X to surface and shows itself to the resupply ship. When that happened, the resupply ship slowed down and made a turn back towards the U Boat.

Meantime, all available men have been ordered to look out for the bomb. Obvious areas like the torpedoes room, the engine room and the special storage area was checked and rechecked. Nothing was found and the clock was ticking. The fact that no one knew when the bomb will go off compounded the seriousness of the matter. At one point, Ernst was wondering whether the professor had told the captain the truth about the bomb or whether he say it to put off the captain from knowing his real plans. At now, no one knew which of it was true but the search was continued. Despite of the threat of a bomb on his vessel, the captain went ahead with the resupply of the fuel and sundry supplies and hoped that his men will be able to find the bomb before it was too late.

The captain had to think of an alternative plan fast in the event that his men could not find the bomb. The captain called the captain of the resupply ship and informed him of the situation at hand. There was no time to lose – Captain Franz persuaded the captain of the resupply ship to take his men in. There is no choice but they had to abandoned the U X and wait out for the bomb to go off. The captain of the resupply ship hesitated as it was not part of the deal to resupply the U Boat. Certainly it is going to cost Captain Franz extra money if the captain is going to allow the U Boat crew onboard. The captain of the resupply ship knows that Captain Franz was desperate enough to take his proposal and indeed the captain was correct.

Captain Franz ordered the U X to be abandoned – the men only can only take essential items. The captain ordered the manuals and the log books from the submarine to be brought over but not the other items. Space was at the premium on the resupply ship and the captain of the resupply ship already had enough things onboard and was not in favour of having extra luggage without additional payment.

The men disembarked the U X and moved to the resupply ship but there was no sign of Captain Franz. He was still in the U Boat and the men were getting worried. Sergeant R and Ernst offered themselves to go back to the U Boat and search for the captain. The men did not want to leave without Captain Franz onboard. Just when Sergeant R and Ernst was about to embark the U Boat, Captain Franz appeared – he had several documents from the U Boat and he quickly embarked the resupply ship. He asked the captain to move the ship away from the now abandoned U Boat but requested that they stay within a short distant of the U Boat. If the U Boat did not explode, then it can be confirmed that the bomb threat by the professor was nothing but a hoax. The captain of the resupply ship agreed. He has after all nothing to lose. If the bomb goes off and the U Boat is indeed destroyed, then the U Boat crew had already paid the captain enough cash to bring them to a safer country. But if bomb did not go off, then the crew of the U Boat can return to their vessel and the captain can still keep the cash that has been paid.

The resupply ship had hardly moved from the last place where the U Boat was abandoned when there was a loud explosion. The U Boat blew up and it was not long before the wreck sank into the deep ocean. The crew of the U Boat thanked their luck star. The professor was not lying when he said that he had placed a bomb in the U Boat. At least one of his mission objectives came true which is to destroy the U Boat although he failed to complete his main mission objective which is to kill Captain Franz. With no where else to go, the resupply ship captain asked where Captain Franz wants to proceed next? The captain was silent and was looking at the spot where his U Boat was last seen. Suddenly the captain knew where they need to head to now.

“Captain, take us to South Africa” said the captain as Ernst smiled in agreement

The Malayan U Boat Part 23

“Captain, we are detecting something” said the sonar operator as he concentrated on the sound that he is hearing on headphone.

The captain came closer and sensed that the Japanese River Boat might be back. However this time the sonar picked up two vessels moving on the surface. One of the vessels was larger than the other. The captain was getting worried – he should have made the order to leave the area earlier. He only had expected to confront only one vessel but now facing two vessels and that complicates things even more. The captain ordered a coded message to be sent to Sergeant R’s team and asked them to get ready for an armed confrontation. The two vessels were heading towards the extraction coastal area. The captain decided to withdraw the U Boat to deeper waters where it will be easy to launch torpedoes if the situation needs it.

The two vessels were from the Japanese Imperial Navy, one was the same River Boat that made the pass a couple days earlier at the extraction point. Another, a larger boat was a destroyer. As the destroyer took position in the deeper waters, the River Boat inched closer to the coast. The Japanese was now very suspicious the area and decided to return with a larger, stronger force. The U Boat had positioned itself between the location of the River Boat and the bigger destroyer but made sure that the U Boat had positioned at attacking position.

It was almost evening by the time the River Boat had inched closer to the coast but did not go further to drop any landing teams. It remained at the position whilst training its huge floodlights at the dense jungle area. They were looking for any movement and if one is detected, the Japanese River Boat was ready with 2 machine guns. The observation team looked at the dense jungle closely but nothing moved. It was an eerie silent and nothing else was heard except for the sounds from the jungle and the laughter of soldiers on board the River Boat. No one knew why the River Boat did not attempt to land any armed landing team at the coast. Perhaps it was because it was getting dark and the Japanese did not want to rush into an ambush. Or perhaps they have been ordered not to land until a bigger force arrives. Whatever the reason, the coast was clear from any Japanese forces for the night.

When Sergeant R got the coded message from U X, he swings into action. The explosives around the submarine and the interior were quickly activated. The hatch was covered back with mud and river sand and all tracks of any human existence were systematically erased from any discovery. Leaving two sentries at a hidden spot near the coast, Sergeant R and his men retreated to the deep defensive spot in the jungle. The defensive spot which was built and improvised since the day they arrived now is well sheltered from elements of nature and jungle and if they need to do a shoot out with the Japanese forces, the area allows them to hold on until help arrives or until they have taken down a high number of soldiers. They have enough ammunition and food supply to last them for days. Further they have setup enough personal landmines around this defensive area to put off any surprise attacks from other side of the jungle.

It was almost midnight when the sentries noticed that the River Boat started to move away from the coast. Soon, it disappeared into the darkness of the sea. The sentries however did not move from their positions and remained alert for any attacks. But there was none for the night. This movement has also been spotted by the captain in the U X and he was wondering what the Japanese next move was. It appears to him that the Japanese have found the right spot but he wondered why the Japanese have not landed a force in the area for that would have been the most logical thing to do. The captain got word from the sonar operator that the destroyer also had moved away from its positions but it did not go far. But the range that it moved away was more than enough for the U X to surface at periscope level and attempts to rescue its men at the coast. The captain messaged the Sergeant R on what he had planned and asked the team to be ready to be extracted. The team carried the items that they have extracted so far from the submarine and that included the components of the submarine torpedoes which have been dismantled by the weapons officer.

The River Boat had moved far enough to pose any real threats but the captain knew that it will double back to the extraction coastal area, so the team need to move fast. The captain ordered the team to return back to the U X with all their gears and tools. They are going to leave this area before the Japanese moves its forces to this area. The window for travel was limited and it was made even harder by the fact that they need to bring back their tools and gears back to U X. The only thing that they will leave behind is the explosives rigged all around the submarine and the interior and also the personal land mines that have been set around the extraction area. The extraction of the team started rather slow for they had to be careful not to make any loud sound and keep an eye for any Japanese forces that might be laying in the dark. One of the Sergeant R’s men was the first one to go with some of the gears and tools and was followed closely by the weapons officer. Within an hour, most of the team members had returned to the U Boat leaving Sergeant R and one of his men at the coast. They had to double check on the extraction area for one last time before leaving the place for good.

Sergeant R messaged back the captain for permission to start the timer for the explosives around the submarine and in the interior. The submarine needed to be blown up before the Japanese gets a chance to study it. There is a bigger risk that the Japanese may crack the code for the nuclear reactor room and makes valuable discovery for themselves. Sergeant R asked his man to leave whilst he activates the timer to initiate the explosions which was in twenty minutes from the time the timer is set. Sergeant R was the only one left on the extraction area and once he has activated the timer, he ran towards the coast. U X need to be far away from this place when the explosions starts. Just as he reached the coast, he saw a bright light from the horizon – the Japanese destroyer was moving back towards the coast and this time, the destroyer fired its main guns towards the coast. He has been spotted! Sergeant R noticed that the U X was still waiting for him. Explosion started to rain on the coast and Sergeant R dodging the bombs managed to run to the water and started head to the U X which had surfaced to the periscope level. He was about to reach the U X when he saw that the River Boat was also making its way to the coastal waters. U X had to go now!

The captain had spotted the ships early but there was no way to warn Sergeant R who was alone on the coast as the radio has been brought back to the U Boat. Despite the danger of being hit by one of the destroyer’s gun, the captain decided to take a huge risk and waited for Sergeant R to get onboard. From the periscope, he could see that the Sergeant had made it to the coast and was heading towards the U Boat. The captain knew that he needs to give the sergeant the chance to board. They managed to pull Sergeant R from the diver’s hatch in time – the explosions started to light up around the U Boat and the River Boat had almost reached the coast.

The captain ordered an immediate dive and the U Boat to be rerouted to the deep ocean and towards the southern path of Malaya. They have completed their mission successfully and thankfully no life was lost during their time in Malaya. As the U X dived and headed to the deeper waters, the Japanese River Boat reached the coast and started to land several platoons of soldiers. They have been ordered to gain control of the coast and in the morning to organise a search of the area. They have been given brief information that foreign soldiers have been doing some extraction work. The Japanese High Command was interested to know what has been extraction and if possible to capture the team who been doing the extraction. As the River Boat was unloading the soldiers and their gears, the destroyer took a sentry position.

It was still night when the Japanese forces took full control of the coast and had set up a small base at the beach front. Several of the soldiers have started to venture deeper towards the jungle area whilst another team walked along the river bed to take up their positions. The explosive that has been rigged was still hidden but it did not take long for the Japanese forces to know about the personal land mines. Immediately several of the land mines started to go off when some unsuspecting soldiers has accidentally stepped on it. Bodies flew and some lost their arms and legs. Initially the body counts were high and immediately the soldiers were ordered back to their base at the beach front. They were ordered to wait till waiting before venturing into the jungle again and defuse the land mines.

Ten minutes for the timer to set off the explosives.

The U Boat was now travelling at a cruise speed and heading to the south of Malaya. The captain knew that once the explosions go off, the entire Japanese Naval Fleet will be on the lookout for rogue naval boat. In the meantime, the item that has been extracted has been properly stowed away in the special storage area and security around the area was tightened. The captain has not forgotten about the saboteurs – he knows that once they leave the waters controlled by the Japanese, the saboteurs will start acting on their work. Access to study the extracted items was limited and is only granted once permission from the captain has been granted. The captain did not want to take any more chances. The scientists and Sergeant R’s team was confined back to their quarters and the security at the entrance was increased. Only Professor Z objected to the security measures but the other scientists remained silent. Perhaps it is their opinion that it is pointless to confront the captain on security matters on the U Boat. Further the fact that they have items from the submarine to be tagged, logged and interpreted, the rest of the scientists felt that time is better spend on this rather than arguing with the captain on security measures.

For Sergeant R and his men, their quarters were the only place they want to be at this moment. They have not had enough sleep in makeshift shelter surrounded by dense jungle and a daily travel between the coast and the U Boat was tiring. Some of the men has been too exhausted to even consider about things that is happening on the U Boat. They went to sleep immediately and did not appear to be awake for sometime. Sergeant R has come to appreciate the leadership qualities of Captain Franz and his dedication to the safety of his men and the vessel that he commands. The fact that the captain decided to wait for Sergeant R to get onboard despite of the heavy bombardments from the Japanese destroyers says a lot about the captain.

One minute for the timer to set off the explosives.

The Japanese forces have decided to settle in for the night and assigned a couple of men to stand as sentries. Both the Japanese naval boats are now anchored just off the coast and keeping an eye on the horizon for any appearance of unidentified ships. The captains of both the ship decided that it is going to be a long night and there is nothing they can do for the night. They went off to sleep. The timer went off and triggers several loud explosions. The Japanese sentries raised the alarm and immediately the Japanese forces on the coast woke up and took up firing positions. Was the enemy launching a surprise attack? The ships’ captains were alerted and both the ships were put on high alert. They could not see any of the enemies but the explosives continued for several seconds and suddenly everything went bright. The nuclear reactor had blown up and caused a high nuclear explosion which kills everyone on shore instantly and destroys the ships off the coast. The impact of the explosion was so sudden that it could be felt under the water for several miles and U X was jolted off the course. As the U X was already in deep waters, it did not sustain any serious damages and were able to continue with its journey. There was no trace of the submarine after the explosion. The whole area has become no man’s land.

“The nuclear reactor must have exploded” thought Professor Z as the U X was hit by several shockwaves from the explosion. In a way, the professor was glad that the door to the nuclear reactor was sealed tight. He could not imagine what could have happened if they have broken the code and gained access into the nuclear reactor room and by doing that, caused a chain reaction that caused explosions. Many good men would have been killed. With that thought, the professor retreated to his quarters.

The U X was now had sailed past the south of Malaya and was heading to the rendezvous point for the resupply off the coast of Siam. Supply has been very low in U X and this caused the captain to order rationing of the supplies until they are resupplied. It took them several days to reach the rendezvous point. Thankfully, the German supply ship was waiting for them. They have heard of the unprecedented explosion of the east coast of Malaya. There were rumours that two Japanese naval ships have been total destroyed and all the men had died. There were also rumours that many civilians in the vicinity areas have also been seriously injured by the blast. However, these rumours could not be confirmed as the Japanese forces in Malaya were not willing to provide the details. The incident is still under investigation by the Japanese High Command. But the captain of the German supply ship informed Captain Franz that everyone in the German High Command had a feeling that the explosion must have something to do with U X’s mission to the Far East although they are unsure what exactly caused the huge explosions.

The resupply of the U Boat was proceeding smoothly and Captain Franz received several messages from Berlin. Most of it was not important and limited to the information of the next resupply details for the U Boat. There was however one particular message that stood out from the rest. The message was from Admiral Kantz.

“There have been some new developments on the saboteurs in the last few days. The Gestapo have been tracking a double agent in Berlin and managed to intercept the communication between the agent and the Head of Intelligence for the Allied Forces in London. The message simply said “the professor will handle the matter in U X. Sent your ships to the coordinates that was transmitted earlier and you get the artefacts from an ancient submarine. You will also be able to capture the German Kriegsmarine’s latest U Boat which has been secretly developed by private contractors. Captain Franz is the captain of the U Boat”

The message continued “Gestapo have taken this agent in custody and presently interrogating the man for the name of the professor and the coordinate of the expected meeting point of the Allied naval ships. So far, the agent is not talking and we gather he will never give away this information even if he was tortured”

The message ended with this statement “So, captain, please be very careful – the saboteur is a professor but we do not know who preciously”

Captain Franz was glad that at least he is able to focus on a particular group and keep a close eyes on them. He was glad that Sergeant R and his men were no longer the suspects. He had trusted Sergeant R and knew that he will jeopardise the mission for whatever reasons.

The resupply was done and the U X was back laden with fuel and other supplies. Their next resupply will take place off the coastal waters of Ceylon. Captain Franz bid the German supply ship captain goodbye and ordered the U X to dive and head to deep waters. They need to reach next rendezvous point on time. Leaving Ernst to helm the bridge, Captain Franz headed toward Sergeant R’s quarters. He may need to get help from these specialised commandos to fend off a possible sabotage act. He found Sergeant R and his men fast asleep but when he called upon the sergeant, the sergeant had no trouble waking up.

“Sergeant R, I need to discuss something with you in person” said the captain as he led the sergeant to an empty meeting room next to the torpedo room. He told the sergeant on the events that had happened from the time U X was still docked in the base to the time he had received the message from Admiral Kantz. He also explained on the reasons behind the increased security measures but Sergeant R asked the captain not to worry about it. Now that intelligence reports from Berlin seems to be pinpointing one of the scientist as the saboteurs, the captain needs Sergeant R’s Special Forces skills to keep a close eyes on the group of scientists on board U X.

Having completing their mission in Malaya, Sergeant R was readily agreed to help out the captain and he will keep this a secret except to some of his men which will help him on this new tasks. The captain thanked but emphasises that the necessary security precautions have been taken to stop any more sabotaging. The captain being relieved with the sergeant’s promise then headed back to the weapons room to check on the progress of reassembling the submarine’s torpedoes by the weapons officer. The weapons officer has kept himself busy with the assembly since the time they left Malaya. In addition to understanding the possible usages of the various components within the torpedo casing, the weapons officer also chronicles the various components for future reference. Progress has been slow but having plenty of time at hand, the weapons officer worked on this on a very careful pace.

The captain left the torpedo room and was about to leave for his quarters when he faced the Professor Z with a revolver in his hands. He was pointing the gun at the captain and asked the captain to make his way back to his quarters. The professor followed the captain from behind with a gun firmly in his hands.

The Malayan U Boat Part 22

The captain was in his quarters when Ernst walked in.

“Tough decision to make, captain?” said Ernst as he sat beside the captain who was looking at the photo of his family.

“Yes Ernst, we are at the crossroads – do we forgo the safety of the crew for the sake of the mission and making sure that the discovery of the century does not fall into our Axis partner or forgo the mission for the safety of the crew? It is a tough call and it is on my shoulders to make the right decision” said the captain in reply

Ernst stood up and shake his hands with the captain and said “Whatever the decision that you are going to make, let me assure you that me and the crew are behind you all the way. I better leave you alone to think the next step for us to do ”

The captain was alone now.

“Ernst, call everyone to the briefing room. I have made my decision” messaged the captain after an hour of weighing the options

Everyone assembled at the briefing for further instructions from the captain. Sergeant R and his men did not enough rest but the two hours break was a relief nonetheless.

“Gentlemen, let’s look at our situations once again. We were sent on a special mission to discover an ancient submarine in the Far East and hopefully to bring back the nuclear technology for further research and to be developed for the expansion of the U Boat technology. At least that is what I have heard from the German High Command. It has been months since we left our base in a brand new, long range mission, capable U Boat which we call it U X. We have some set back on our way from the base to here. I don’t think I need to mention what are the set backs, some of you already aware of it” said the captain without saying much into the acts of attempted sabotage.

“We have todate managed to discover the submarine – thanks to Professor Z and his team’s long hour’s research and dedication and we have managed to extract important documents, artefacts and tools. We have been bringing back things from the submarine to this U Boat on a daily basis. Sergeant R and his men must be commended for acting bravely to be travelling between the coast and the U Boat during the night. They have been very meticulous and very professional on the job todate” added the captain as he looked at Professor Z and Sergeant R in agreement.

“However we have come to a cross road – we are running low on fuel and other supplies and need to leave soon if we want to resupply from the German supply ship that will be waiting for us. Compounding this need to leave is the sudden appearance of a Japanese River Boat who luckily did venture too near to the coast.. However their act of doing several passes near the extraction area is certainly suspicious. We cannot discount the fact that the Japanese may already know about our mission and may be waiting for to fall under their trap. I am pretty sure that the Japanese River Boat will return with a landing party very soon. Either that or the Japanese Army may make their way towards the coasts from the dense jungle. Either way, the Japanese will find the extraction area without much problem”

“Despite having two strong reasons to leave, we however cannot forget as to why we are here in the first place. Most of us volunteered for this mission, quite knowing that it is dangerous and uncertain. And yet, we put the goals of the mission ahead of our personal comfort. We have not really completed our mission here” said as he looked Professor Z’s nod in agreement

“Despite the discovery and extraction of logs books and manuals which undoubtedly will assist the U Boat research team to obtain substantial information, we have not ventured into the nuclear reactor room and also not ventured into the weapons room. Both of which has been sealed tight and without the right access code, will never be opened by anyone. The question there fore arises whether we continued to take the risk of a Japanese landing team and continue to explore the all avenues to open the room or we leave”

“There is also the aspect of the crew and the U Boat safety that I need to address. So I have decided as follows. We will stay for another two days but will not stay a day longer after that. The professor and his team only have these 2 days to complete the task of decoding the access key to open the rooms. We may not be able to dismantle the equipments in these rooms due to the risk of nuclear radiation as mentioned by the professor. Sergeant R and his team on the hand will start rigging the submarine with high explosives and booby traps to stop this submarine technology from falling into anyone’s hands – let it be from the Japanese or the British ”

“On the third day, we blow up the submarine and leave Malaya with whatever items we could extract back to our base” concluded the captain.

Sergeant R was disappointed with the captain’s decision to extend the stay for another two days but was relieved when the captain also decided not to further extend the stay thereafter. Sergeant R just worried about the Japanese River Boat and the possibility of a landing team. His own highly dedicated team was small but more than capable to fighting anyone, no matter what is the number that is facing them. However, for the sake of the mission, it was a risk that he and his men had to take.

The professor was relieved of the time that was granted. Even though two days was far too short for them to complete their interpretation, any extension at this point was most welcomed. He was sure that he and his team will able to crack the code in the next two days. He was almost of certain of this. He understood why the captain cannot afford to extend their expedition days longer. He appreciated the great risk that Sergeant R and his men were taking for the sake of the mission.

It was dark outside but it was morning. There left several hours before the sun comes up. The U X crew have to act fast. Sergeant R and his men were already made it to the coast with a larger payload of bomb, detonation tools and personal mines. There was not much things to be extracted for today, so for today Sergeant R and his men will be busy to rig the surrounding area of the submarine with high explosives. The same will be done for the interior of the submarine and extra explosives were fixed at areas near the nuclear reactor room and the weapons room. If the explosions goes off, it will definitely blew up the strong thick doors that is blocking their entrance now and ignites whatever that is in the inside. Sergeant R and his men however did not fix the detonators to the explosives that they have rigged around and inside the submarine as they may need to restart their extraction tasks if the scientists were able to crack the code and provide the access key.

Then a breakthrough – one of the scientist who been interpreting the captain’s logs realised that there is an additional notes of access codes in one of the pages that they have missed earlier. The access codes arte kept in a breakable container near the weapons room. It is hidden near one of the unmarked walls. Sergeant R needs to find it fast. The information was quickly passed to the Sergeant R’s team and they headed back to the submarine to look for this compartment. After several minutes looking for it, they found a locked compartment of the wall. The lock was easy to break and once the compartment was opened, they saw a large plastic container with something sealed in side it. They broke the plastic container and retrieved a piece of paper with a code and instructions for manual override written on it.

Sergeant R went to the weapons room as it was the nearest room and entered the codes into a console on the door. Nothing happened. What Sergeant R did not realised was that the access code reading machine has been turned off along with other control system in the submarine a long time ago. It was pointless to use the code number. Seeing that nothing had happened, Sergeant R went to the nuclear reactor room and tried to use the same access code on the console on the door. Once again, nothing happened. Feeling frustrated Sergeant R head back to the hatch and to see the message back to the scientists when he stopped and remembered that there were instructions for manual override written of the access code paper.

Sergeant R returned to the weapons room and tried doing the manual override to open the door. At first, the door did not move a bit. It looked as thought even manual override was not working due to the age of the submarine. The unlocking system must have broken down, thought Sergeant R when he gave the door a strong push for one last time. The door moved a bit. Encouraged with this outcome, Sergeant R and another of his men gave another hard push and the door to the weapons room opened wide. They were in – Sergeant R quickly dispatched this good news back to U X.

The weapons room was large and there were two main areas – one was marked “torpedoes” whilst another area was marked “missiles”. The torpedoes on the submarine looked almost similar in shape with the torpedoes onboard the U X but with some slight differences. The torpedoes in the submarine were longer and had more antennas. One thing that the Sergeant noted that was the warheads for the torpedoes was kept in a separate area. It was sealed tight to avoid the explosives from being exposed for too long and end up being fragile. A decision was made to transport back the torpedoes without the warhead back to U X for further analysis by the weapons officer.

Sergeant R and his men then ventured to the missiles areas and noted that instead of the tubes lying horizontally, the missiles tubes was lying vertically. They managed to open one of the vertical tubes and noted that the missiles which looked like rockets. It was not easy to get the rockets out as they seem to be sealed inside the vertical tubes. After several attempts, Sergeant R gave up and returned his attention on the torpedoes. There was a weapons console near the torpedo tubes and right on top of it, he noticed manuals and logs. He placed those manuals and log books along side a torpedo which he have decided to bring over to the U X.

He and his men were careful this time. At first they tried to bring it along the normal hatch but soon found that it was not possible to navigate the layout of the submarine with a large torpedo at hand. The torpedo was heavy which meant Sergeant R needed more of his men to help to bring it. But there was very limited space for the men to stand. At the end, they abandoned the decision to bring up the torpedo. Even if they are able to bring it out, it will be difficult for them to bring it inside the U Boat. The standard torpedo hatch on the U Boat was smaller compared to the size of the torpedo that they discovered in the submarine.

Sergeant R sent back a message to Captain Franz on the difficulties that he had to bring out the torpedoes. Instead he requested the weapons officer to come over to the coast to inspect the said torpedo and the missiles in the submarine. The captain after consulting the weapons officer agreed to this plan and informed that the officer will make his way to the coast at night. He asked Sergeant R to standby for the night as it was too dangerous for the officer to travel when there is still sunlight. There was still several hours left before the night falls – Sergeant R’s team had completed rigging the explosives. Night time seems to be slow to come for the weapons officer who been waiting eagerly to go to the extraction area to view the weapons found in the submarine.

That night, Sergeant R guided the weapons officer to disembark from the U Boat and head to the coast where the team was waiting. As it was too dark to go into the submarine and check the weapons, it was decided that the team will camp out for the night and wait for the sunlight. It started to rain that night but thankfully the Sergeant R’s team have built a well made and water proof shelter for sleeping and waits for the morning. The team had ready made meals for dinner as it was too dangerous to start a fire. The light from the fire or the smoke could be detected for miles. It was the time first out adventure for the weapons officer who has been holed up in the U Boat since they left the base several months ago. He was therefore was enjoying the open air and the fresh raindrops. His excitement did not miss the attention of the team members who started to laugh for they were getting tired of the jungle and tiring life outside the U Boat.

The sun was shining on the weapon officer’s face and when he woke up, he realised that Sergeant R’s team was already up and busy with their tasks at hand. Two of the team members who been doing sentry work the whole of the last night was back from their sentry points after being replaced by their team members. They sat under the shelter and took their breakfast. The weapon officer got refreshed and walked to the submarine. He was indeed excited. Sergeant R guided him through the hatch and took him to the weapons room. The weapons officer observed that the weapons room in this submarine was almost twice the size of the weapons room in the U X.

The submarine even had its own weapons console and in addition to torpedoes, had something called missiles. The weapons officer did not waste time by getting down to his work of inspecting the torpedoes. He noted that unlike the U X, the torpedoes was not stored in separate compartments but rather the warheads was separated, as the weapons officer guessed, until it was ready for use. This was interesting find by the weapons officer. By not having separate compartments, the submarine saved valuable space for the storage of the torpedoes.

Using specialist precision tools, the weapons officer proceed to dismantle the torpedo and had a look at the inside of the torpedoes. It had separate compartment for navigation and propulsion system. Unlike the current German Navy’s Mark 5 torpedoes which have a very crude navigation system, something that the Mark 8 torpedoes in U X have slightly improved, the navigation system in the torpedo in the submarine looked very sophisticated. There was something that looked like mini processor, data card and several cables connected to individual antennas. The propulsion system was sophisticated as well.

The torpedo had a small piston engine connected to a gas cylinder. It also had stabilising fins which acts to correct the direction of the torpedo based on the inputs from the sophisticated navigation system. It was not long before the weapons officer has disassembled the components of the torpedoes and marked them well for reassembly later in the U X. He passed the disassembled components to Sergeant R to be packed in water tight package. The casing of the torpedo was too large to be transported back to the U Boat; Sergeant R used a steel cutter to cut it into smaller pieces and carefully marked them to be reassembled later.

The weapons officer now moved his attention to the tubes containing the missiles.