Suspicious Reporting
By Kay H.
Seaview spent the
last two weeks participating in War Games in the
Seaview spent the
next week studying coral trees off of
Seaview reached the area of the deep-sea coral forest and approached very slowly to the edge before stopping. Admiral Nelson watched the beautiful coral trees through the Observation Nose windows. Lee walked toward him and asked, “Admiral, do you want detailed mapping or just an overview of the area first?”
“Lee look at this!! Have you ever seen anything like it? Here’s what I want to do. First let’s circle the area and record and photograph everything. Then we will use the nose cameras and record everything with sonar and hydrophones. I need to know how much area the forests cover and the thickness of each area. After all of this is completed then we can use the flying sub and the submersible to collect samples.”
Seaview spent the
next week mapping the coral forest.
Patterson and Sharkey have collected samples using the submersible. Lee and Ski also made numerous runs with the
flying sub collecting samples for Nelson.
Chip picked up
the mike, double clicks and said, “Prepare for docking.” Then he walked over to the hatch and opened it. Lee and Ski climbed out of the hatch into the
control room.
“Welcome back,
Lee. How did it go with the collecting? Sharkey and Patterson have already returned
in the submersible. They finished
collecting everything the Admiral requested.
Were you and Ski able to collect all or your samples? Are you going to
need another run?”
“It went fine,
Chip. I think we got everything the
Admiral wanted and maybe even a few surprises for him.” Lee turns to look at Ski. “Kowalski, you and Riley unload the samples
from the flying sub. Get them to the
Admiral and see if he needs any additional help. When you’re finished return to
your regular duties.”
“Aye, Aye,
Skipper.” They both said.
Kowalski and
Riley climbed back down into the flying sub to remove the specimens, while Lee
and Chip head to the chart table.
Lee walked over to the radio shack. “The Shetland Islands
are where
Chips smiles and said, “Aye, Aye, sir. It’s your head. You know how he is when he’s locked in the lab working on a new project.”
Lee laughs, “I know, but we finished mapping the last group of coral branches and collecting of all the samples he requested. I need to check on whether he needs additional samples. At the same time, maybe I can get him to take a break and look at this tape. I know Doc will be glad for any kind of break that he takes.”
Lee left the control room and headed toward officer country. He stopped by Admiral Nelson’s cabin first, to check and see if by chance he’s there. After knocking and receiving no answer he decided to stop at the galley and check with Cookie to see if the Admiral’s had lunch.
“Cookie has the Admiral called for lunch or stopped by?”
“No sir, I haven’t seen him since he stopped in this morning for coffee. I tried to take him some lunch, but he wouldn’t answer the door. You know how he gets when he’s involved in a new project.”
“Okay, why don’t you fix me a thermos of coffee and a sandwich, something light? I need to talk with the Admiral anyway, so I will deliver it along with his messages.”
“Skipper, I already have one fixed for him. What about you? You missed lunch, too?”
Lee sighed and smiled then said, “Okay Cookie you win. Fix enough for both of us.”
Cookie smiles happily, turned toward the refrigerator and pulled out fruit cups and two chicken salad sandwiches. “I already have them ready, Skipper. Just let me setup the tray for you.”
Lee took the tray and headed toward the lab. When he arrived the door is locked. He knocked and said, “Admiral, it’s Lee. May I come in please?”
Nelson opened the door and glared at the tray in his hand. “I busy, Lee. What is it?”
He stepped into the Lab and set the tray down in a clear area. “Several things, Admiral we‘ve finished mapping the coral forest and collecting all of the samples. Are there any other areas that you need some specimens from? Oh, and Cookie informed me that you missed lunch, so I brought you some. This way you can eat and still work. Do you need any help cataloging the samples? “
“No, go ahead and head home. I can work on this while we’re making the Northwest Transit. If I don’t finish before it we dock, then the specimens can be transferred to the labs at the Institute.”
“Admiral, before we head home you may want to listen to this
tape.
The Admiral reached for the tape. “Let me put these specimens back in the tank then we can go to my office. I want to listen to the tape and then contact the Institute to see if they have any additional information.”
Lee and Nelson leave the lab for his cabin forgetting the
lunch tray. As they listened to the tape
the Admiral said, “This is exciting! Rarely are any seals except for the gray
and common found in the
“Admiral that sounds great,” Lee reached across the Admiral’s desk and picked up the mike. He double clicked, “Control room. This is the Captain.”
“Control room here, Skipper.”
“Mr. Morton, set course for the
Lee left the Admiral’s cabin and headed to the control
room. As Seaview sailed toward the Shetland Islands,
“Put it on the speaker.”
"Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision." Lee recognized the voice as American.
A clipped British voice replied, “Recommend you divert YOUR course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision."
"This is the captain of a US Navy ship. I say again, divert YOUR course."
“Captain, I say again, you divert YOUR course."
"THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS KEARSARGE, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES' ATLANTIC
FLEET. THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS AND NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS ARE
ACCOMPANING
"This is the Faroese Mykines Holm lighthouse. Your call."
Chip turned to Lee and looked puzzled as they listened to the message. Lee turned toward sonar, “Kowalski is there anything on your scope?”
“No Skipper.”
Chip looked puzzled and said, “I don’t remember an aircraft carrier named the Kearsarge.”
Lee reached over to the mike and picked it up. “Admiral Nelson to the control room.” Lee then reached for the charts of the
area. “Chip, where are the
The Admiral entered the control room. “What is it Lee?”
“Listen to this message, sir.” Lee turned to
Nelson raised his hand to Lee indicating stop, as he
listened to the message. The crew looked
nervous and kept glancing at the senior officers. “This doesn’t make sense. The USS Kearsarge
was decommissioned after WWII. How close
are we to the Shetland’s and
“We’re located off of the
“Okay, let’s check with the lighthouses on Out Skerries. See if they received the message. Also check
the Mykines lighthouse on
Lee and the Admiral walked over to the radio shack. As they approach the radio shack
“I don’t know. This doesn’t
seem possible since the USS Kearsarge
was decommissioned after WWII and scrapped several years ago.
While they waited for more information on their puzzle, Seaview received another message.
Lee walked over to
The Admiral motions him towards the Observation Nose. When they arrive at the nose the Admiral said
“Let’s sail up toward the
A short while later Sparks received a communication for the Admiral from the Institute. He contacted the Admiral in his cabin. Admiral Nelson reached for the phone.
“Admiral, Lynn is on the radio for you.”
“Thank you
“Hello Admiral, the library found several references to similar types of message between ships and lighthouses. Some have been aircraft carriers and even a couple of destroyers. They have occurred all over the world, involving several different countries for over forty years. The only thing in common is the time of year.”
“
“They were all reported as occurring from October 29th to November 1st.”
“Okay
Note: The lighthouse
and Carrier communications was taken from Urban Legends Reference. The URL for this
page is http://www.snopes.com/military/lighthse.htm
Many
thanks to Sue for all of her help betaing this story.
September 2006