[><] Votes about Boats
"Is there a room we can use for mission planning and/or practice, without interfering with normal operations?" asks Ethel, who seems somewhat uninterested in learning much about the ship otherwise. Admittedly, you're not all that interested yourself - as long as it's not shooting at you, ships are (literally) beneath your concern most of the time.
Captain Wallace nods. "There's a small common room near your berthing area that can be used. It has a lock, if needed, though it'll automatically unlock itself in combat or emergencies." Abigail, who seems very interested in information about the ship, looks ready to ask something herself, but you shut her down with a Look so as not to spend a half-hour discussing engineering minutiae with a captain who probably doesn't even know his ship in such extreme detail.
"Will we have consistent communications for last minute intelligence updates during transit or will we be dark on the way?" you ask.
"We'll surface once per day," the captain says, "in order to normalize oxygen levels on the ship. We'll communicate during that time, only that time, and only long enough to send and receive updates. As large as the vessel is, it's still a submarine."
You nod. No more questions come to anyone, except Abigail, who was sufficiently cowed earlier for her to show enough patience to wait until later. Wallace almost looks disappointed at the lack of interest, if only for a moment.
He checks a pocket watch, then places it back in its namesake. "It's time," he says as he turns towards the bay.
There's the movement of water that precedes a surfacing submarine, as you expected. What you didn't expect is how much water would move. The briefings said the vessel you were taking would be big, but for it to have this much displacement...
"You know," continues Wallace, "ever since I was introduced to SHADOCOM, I've always felt that the contributions of each nation followed a sort of theme, one matching their contributions to the larger war effort."
You can barely make it out in the night's darkness, but off in the distance is a cluster of periscopes, antennae, and the other fixtures found atop a submarine.
"The British, naturally, provide organization, as well as a place to call home."
A sail begins to rise from the water, as big as a house.
"The Russians provide numbers, and while that doesn't quite apply to SHADOCOM they also provide determined, dedicated troops."
The waters still, and it takes you a moment to realize it's not because the submarine has stopped, but because the true hull has reached the surface.
"The French likewise provide those dedicated to the cause, and opportunities for sabotage, as do many of the other occupied nations of Europe."
At last, the vessel reveals itself - An enormous aircraft carrier with two runways each the length of a Yorktown-class's, a matte deck, and sides of... ice? No wonder the air is so cold, with so much ice in the water. As it finally stops surfacing, a couple of rubber boats slide off a ramp and approach, propelled by outboard motors.
"Our goal, then, is to assist the war effort, and SHADOCOM's mission, through numbers, development, and raw industrial output."
The boats arrive, and Wallace finally turns around, gesturing to the vessel.
"Allow me to present our first contribution - The USS Gettysburg."
Roll 1d20 for how "interesting" the voyage is. 1s and 20s, naturally, override anything else; should a 1 and a 20 be rolled before rolls are locked, I'll roll a d2 to decide which gets picked.
