Story Who Am I? A companion story to "I'm Just Me".

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Freebirde

Senior Member
Part 1

Who Am I? A companion story to "I'm Just Me"

Who am I and how did I survive? My name is Samantha, but I don't answer to 'Sam'. My daddy called me Mantha and since many mispronounce that I call my business Manta Dive Services. We were deep diving doing some repair on an oil platform. We were almost finished when we lost contact with the surface. We finished the repairs and went to our decompression stops. This work team was me and four other women divers. I don't hire only women, but most of my long term crew were women. Many male run dive companies won't hire women divers. Their lost, my gain, I could hire the best women divers. The people on my crews had to be able to work with a woman boss and women work mates and keep it on a professional level. At each decompression stop there were extra tanks of mixed gasses or compressed air. At the last stop, after we switched to compressed air, was a diver. It was Cookie. Cookie was a former SEAL, and had been with me longer than anyone else. He maintained our equipment, prepared our demolitions, kept our training and certification up to date, and cooked for us when we on our own. He didn't have a communication helmet, but I had a slate and marker. He had dived to get some fresh fish, but started getting headaches as he neared the surface. He knew we would be returning along the line, so he waited to warn us and use a spare tank if needed. After the decompression time was up, I started to the surface with the others following, watching Cookie. We didn't know it at the time, but Cookie had first started to surface during the Attack. Since the Attack had passed, we didn't have any problems. I expected someone to meet us on the dock we were using as a dive platform to tell us what happened, but there was no one.We didn't see the first body until we reached the main platform. People seemed to have died wherever they had been. I went to the communication center while the others searched for survivors. Carol was on communication rotation with our team. I found her dead in her chair and the radio operator for the platform was dead on the floor with two spilled cups of coffee. I sent out a 'Mayday' on the radio and started scanning the frequencies to see what I could find out. I picked up the broadcast about the satellites and their orbit. I calculated we had four hours before we would be attacked again. I had Cookie and Sue stock the dive decompression chamber with four days of food and drink, then lower it to 50 feet deep. Bev was to fill all our tanks and lower them to the same depth, except for what was needed to dive to the chamber. April, Gail, and I moved all the bodies we could find to the cooler and freezer, the gulls had already started to gather. Bev finished first since we keep most of our tanks filled and ready. She went to the communication center and and tied the platform security cameras and radios into the decompression chamber so we could see and hear anything going on while we were submerged. Any EMP should be dissipated by the water.

With an hour to spare everyone but Cookie was in the dive chamber and lowered to depth. We had the the chamber designed so we could use it as a decompression chamber or for long term saturation dives. Cookie had no problem entering through the airlock. We checked all systems and settled down to wait. We rotated the communication watch with two hours on and ten hours off. We were all experienced with chamber living. Paperback books hold up better than electronics in the slightly damp and salty air of the chamber. We make sure any CD we put in the stereo, that's in it's own dehumidified box, was clean and dry. Unless you want to be beat, you don't challenge Cookie to a game of chess, a game of maneuver and strike, but checkers, a game of attrition, he rarely wins.

Early the next morning we heard the news of the satellites being destroyed. We didn't immediately surface because we didn't completely trust a voice we heard on the radio. The next scheduled pass I tied a safety line to my harness and swam to ten feet from the surface, waiting a half hour without a headache before I surfaced and swam to the dive platform. I went to the communication center and told the others all was safe and to prepare to surface. I went to the wench controls and lifted the chamber to place it on our dive barge.

The platform had a helicopter, but none of us knew how to fly it and this was not the time to learn. We had our dive boat, our dive barge with the dive chamber, and a work boat for the platform. That evening we stayed after dinner to decide what to do. We could stay on the platform, there was plenty of food, water, and energy, going to the coast whenever we needed anything. We could leave immediately, taking only what was ours. We decided to leave, but treat the platform as salvage taking anything we could use, including the personal items of the crew. The next morning we moved the barge under the hoist. We cleared out the chamber and turn down the cooling system to use it as a cooler. We fueled both the boats and filled all the tanks we could put on the boats and barge. We started clearing the mess hall and stock rooms. Next we started on the laundry, taking all the clean clothes, linens, bedding, and cleaning supplies, it will be a long time before someone makes any more. Whenever a pallet or container was filled, we wrapped it and lowered it to the barge.
 
K

kua

Veteran Member
Looks good. Looking forward to see where this goes from here. With only one guy and all the rest gals, I do hope they meet up with some survivors really quickly.
 
F

Freebirde

Senior Member
Part two


That night we decided we would divide into two teams. Two of us would start on the upper level and work our way down salvaging as we go. Three of us would go through the personal quarters. "And I don't want to hear about who had what kind of porn in their quarters." The sixth one would be taking their rotation on radio watch.

April was working the office searches when she relieved me on radio watch so I joined Bev. She was standing in the security office looking around. "I just came from the HR offices down the hall and it's a lot longer from their door to this door than it is from this door to that wall." We searched for a latch or control until Bev twisted a coat hook and the wall moved. "What were they expecting an attack by Somali pirates?" Automatic guns, crew served weapons from .30 cal to 40mm, RPGs, and wire guided missile launchers. I called April to tell here to tell the others to finish up the rooms they were working on and come help us move some 'toys'. We loaded up the things from the office, mostly pistols and shotguns while waiting for the others.

I wasn't disappointed when I saw the look on Cookie's face when we reopened the wall. "I was wondering what those mounts on the work boat were for. The .50 cal 'ma deuce' would go on the one on the bow and the 40mm grenade launching M19 would go on the one on the stern." I told him to secure them next to the mounts in their cases. We put RPGs and missiles on the dive boat and loaded everything on the barge where we could get to it in a hurry if we needed them. Paranoia is rarely fatal, but lack of preparedness could be.

Most offices had only a few things we could use, such as paper and personal items. The Purser's office had the safe open. There was a lot of cash there. I knew they kept cash for deliveries and it looked like they just got a delivery of cash. Bev looked at me and asked if it was worth anything now. "Nothing I can think of now, let's take it to the mess hall and have some fun." Along with the bags of cash and change were some small heavy bags. They held gold and silver coins. Either some of the deliverers wouldn't accept cash or these were held for crew members. All the coins were added to a cart and carried to the mess hall. After eating I told them we need a meeting with everyone and we would go to the communication room. I pushed the cart with the cash and Bev pushed the one with the coins and change. "It came to my attention I am behind with payroll and bonuses. This should bring us up to date." With this I tossed each of them a sack of cash. At first they protested that it was too much until they realized what it was worth, then they laughed.

Cookie said "This will make the Saturday night poker games interesting." They all enjoyed the joke because they knew they would have done the same. We didn't know what to use the change for, but decided to keep it. The gold and silver we kept for trading if we met other people.
 
F

Freebirde

Senior Member
After lunch we rearranged crews and I joined the room searches. Most of what we found were clothes, books, personal care items, and recordings. Rooms went from some that only had their work clothes and what personal care items was needed for their two weeks to ones that looked liked all they had was in them and they only visited the mainland on their time off. We used luggage we found, loading it on carts as they were filled. The larger ones held clean clothes and the smaller ones held personal care items. That would making finding things easier later. I came across Sue taking sheets from a bed. "We have plenty of clean sheets from the laundry."

"I know, but these are silk!"

I found a room that had footlockers filled with CDs and DVDs. Some rooms took a few minuets, taking little or nothing. The head chef had shelves of cookbooks. I heard Gail yell and I ran to help. "I hit the Motherload! Whoever had this room was a Chocoholic!" By the end of the day we had gathered everything we wanted to take.

Now the hard part, what do we do next? I knew everyone expected me to decide but I needed ideas. We had enough fuel on the boats and barge to go straight to anywhere from Ft Lauderdale to Corpus Christi, but not likely to find survivors in any of those cities. We had contact with a few military people that were in protected places and some people that were underground. We didn't need to join another group right away, but we will when things settle down some more. After we ate, we moved to the communication room to discuss where to go. I spread out the map of the gulf and marked the estamated range of the boats. Everyone started to discuss the pros and cons of different places. Gail didn't say much until she said "New Orleans"

"New Orleans? That city is going to start to flood as soon as the pumps stop working."

"Precisely, if we are going to get any thing from there we need to get it now. Besides it's near the center and we can go anywhere from there including up the Mississippi."

Cookie said "Yeah, I hate to see all that andouille sausage become alligator food."

That seemed a good choice. "Any objections? When we get there we will start in the lowest part of the city first. We can't take everything but anything we see as useful we will move to the levees and decide what to take later. Food, pharmaceuticals, and tools are a priority. Being a river port and a seaport, there should be plenty of ship's supplies. We may even add to our fleet or move to a larger ship. The first thing we will do when we get there is to refuel in case we need to leave in a hurry. At first we will travel as a group with one or two staying with the boats and radios while the rest of us hit paticular targets. I don't expect trouble, but we will go armed all times. Anyone remember any rooms with maps and phone books of New Orleals?"

"I remember a file marked maps in the purser's office and I think there were some phonebooks, but I don't remember where they were for."

We all went to the purser's office except Gail, who was on radio watch. We decided to go too the Chamber of Commerce and the Visitor Center to get more maps, phonebooks, and business listings.

"What about the zoo and stables?"

"We can release the ones still alive, but I think we should put down the non-native large predators. I don't want to be there with lions and tigers loose in the city.."
 
F

Freebirde

Senior Member
I had moved all my things back to my cabin on the boat. Now that we had decided where we were going, I wanted to leave as early as we could. I don't know whether it was sleeping in my own bed, or the release of knowing what we doing next, but I overslept. Breakfast was ready before I came out of my cabin. "Eat up, this is the last of the fresh eggs until we find some chickens."

"How are we going to find chickens?"

"We can look in the classified ads and see who had some to sell or check the customer list at a feed store."

"Is there room on the barge for a chicken coop?"

"If not, we will get a larger barge for live stock."

"Livestock?"

"If we get some chickens, we might as well get some goats and cows for milk and meat. And get some horses to ride."

We were underway shortly after breakfast and the only problem was the wind. It was astern and off the port quarter. This pushed the barge to starboard and that wanted to pull the boat towing it to port. We had to keep a constant check on course. With the wind's help we arrived at the channel going to New Orleans earlier than expected.

We went up the channel with our boat towing the barge and the workboat following behind using nudges to keep the barge on course. It was strange not seeing anyone, but we saw a lot more wildlife than we were use to. There was several boats in the channel when the attack happened. They were run aground on both sides of the channel , mostly on the outside of bends. A tug boat and line of barges had the channel blocked. Some wanted to use the rockets to blast our way through.

"This isn't Hollywood, we are more likely sink them and we would never get them moved."

We transfered all our extra diesel to the tug and ran cables to the tugs batteries. Once we got the tug running, we disconnected all but two of the barges and started back up the channel. One of the barges held bags of grain, the other had shipping containers.

"We're set for our livestock. Grain for feed and we can use the other for our barnyard. Empty some containers for stables and fence in the open area."

Even though we were low on fuel, we moored the barges to a bouy and only fueled up one boat at a time. We needed to form some safe habits and now was the time to start. There was no sign of living humans. Fueled, we moved the barges to a commercial pier. We had a few hours before dark and decided to go to the Convention and Visitor Bureau on St. Charles Ave. and do a little scouting around. But first we moved the bodies from the tug to an empty office. We checked several other bodies for car keys. When we got to the parking lot, we tried the key alarms. The first didn't respond. The second was a little two seat sports car, which we moved to the front in case anyone wanted it later. The third was a extended cab pick-up that all four of us that were going could ride in. Some roads were blocked, but the Attack came after rush hour, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. On the way back Gail said "Turn in here!".

"Why?"

"I've always wanted a new car and this was as good a time as any."

We ended up with another pick-up with a fifth wheel hitch in the bed, a panel van, and a box truck.

The Audabon Zoo was near the river, west of the Visitor's Bureau, so we went there the next morning. Even though we wanted to see how the animals were fairing, we went to the offices first to find information about the animals. Next we were going to the petting zoo to see if there were any animals we could use. The zoo was set up with natural habitats, so most should fair well. When we checked the zoo's vet. clinic we found they had a Malayan tigress that born three cubs and her mate was was there to get a dental check-up. They had not left the clinic hungry. A pair of tigers may explain why we saw so few dogs in the streets. In many ways southern Louisiana is like their native Maylay.

Most of the herbivores were runnig out of any food, if they were even still alive. Few of the carivors were alive.

"What about the reptiles?"

"After what the transplanted reptiles are doing to southern Florida, I say we put down all the non native ones except the turtles, gators, and crocs. We can throw them some of the bodies of the dead animals."

"The last thing we do before we leave town will be to open their enclosures if they wont be freed when the zoo floods."

We used all the ammo we had on that first trip to put down dangerious or hopeless animals except for a reserve we kept in case we met the tigers. It took most of two days to get the animals we wanted to keep, free the ones we wanted to free, and to put down the rest. We would have been done sooner but half of us were always on watch. In the two weeks we took it took us to gather what we wanted to take, we saw no sign of the tigers except the dog packs seemed to get smaller and fewer instead of growing. We got another smaller barge and ended up with a full floating barnyard. We kept six nanny goats, three billy goats, three dozen hens and three rooster, and four police horses we found wandering in the French Quarter. We released the surviving horses at the police stables, we just kept some of the medicins, shoes, farrier tools, and books on equine care. We put a roost and some nesting boxes in the front of one of the containers with the back made into stalls. We set up shelters from the sun and rain and fenced most of the barge. We made the smallest container we had into a smoker, filled with meat, sausages, and cheeses. Books filled one container, the others were filled with tools, fabric, clothes, spices, and other supplies.
 
F

Freebirde

Senior Member
I've worked ten days straight and won't get a day off 'till the 4th. Good thing I have this story on notepad so I can copy and paste it out bits and pieces. Next to the last section.

We needed to decide where to go next. We heard some guy up north negotiate to get some tourist brought to where he was. We could go up there if all the locks in the rivers could be operated up to there. But what could a bunch of divers do up there? The same with joining with the people up near Colorado Springs or any of the groups of miners. There was a group at the Northfork Naval base. They were going through the change of watch in a hardened comunication center when the Attack came. There were twice the usual number of people there including several other women. With the three boats and four barges, we could take the inland waterway most of the way there. We traveled by day and anchored at night. These night stops were when we topped of our fresh water, caught fish, and hunted to suppliment our stores. As we approched South Beach we talked about the boutiques there and decided "Why not?". We cleared out several clothes shops, and a couple of dive shops. Cookie found the restraunt supply store and picked up some things he had always wanted. Gail supprised us when she started loading boxes of maternity clothes and infant supplies. She said the last time her and Carol took some time off, she had met Carol's brother, who was on leave during a transfered. One thing lead to another and they became intimate. Carol found out and was upset with her, she refused to tell her where her brother was stationed. She had been trying to find where Lieutenant Ron Sails was stationed. She had planned to go through the Marine Corp to contact him if Carol didn't come around. When she was unsually late, she got three different test and the all came back positive. We kept in touch with Norfolk as we traveled. As we approached Daytona, they said a group of miners were coming to them. As we were preparing to leave the next morning, we recieved an emergency radio call.

A group of miners had come down to the base. The Captain and Lieutenant out to meet them. The miners said they didn't want to talk, they came for the women. Words were exchanged, then shots were fired. The Captain was killed and the Lieutenant was wounded as he drove them back, leading them away from the Comm center. After he got out of their sight, he circled back and got the others to a cutter anchored in the harbor before collapsing. They had enough weapons on board to keep the miners away, but none of them knew how to start the engines to move the cutter. At the rate we were going, it would take us a week to reach Norfolk. Decision time. We moved all the heavy weapons and fuel to the workboat and our boat. We moored the tug and the barges in the middle of the channel. I ordered Gail to stay on the barges because first, someone had to tend to the animals and second it was not just her to think about, I was thinking about my future neice or nephew I wanted to spoil. She wasn't happy, but she followed orders. We took off and traveled as fast as it was safe to do, and sometimes faster. Refueling on the run, we traveled all day and that night. We took to the open water to advoid blockages. Just before we got there, we stopped to add the last of the fuel and prepare for the attack. Cookie gave out flack vest, but none of them fit and only protected the upper body. Bev said "We might as well be naked as to wear these."

That gave me an idea. "Ladies, go get your skimpiest bathing suits. If we are going up against some women starved miners, let's give them a reason not to shoot." Cookie said he wasn't wearing a bathing suit so we told him to wear a vest and keep out of sight until the shooting started. We put covers on the mounted guns and motored up to the dock nearest the cutter. When we got close, we heard the men calling to us. We started waving. They started waving. We kept waving until most had their hand off their weapon and waving. I yelled "Now!" and Sue and April pulled the covers off the .50 cal and 40 mm M 19. Cookie stepped out with a 40 mm launcher in each hand and a MP5 on a sling. Cookie fired into the center of the group and the automatic weapons started at each end and worked their way across. Bev and I had a couple of M 14s and shot anyone trying to fire back. It didn't last long, the only injuries on our side was Sue burned her foot stepping on a hot brass and Bev got a crease on her upper thigh when one of the miners that wasn't dead yet got off a shot. That got him shot five more times and every other body got shot again.
 
M

methos

Contributing Member
Hmm, the deadly bikini attack formation, taught to generations at West Point. Darned thing is, it would probably work just like that.
Keep it up!
 
F

Freebirde

Senior Member
We radioed the cutter and let them know we were coming out and needed minor medical attention. We got some more clothes on as we went out. I asked who was in charge. "Even though he is a Marine, the Lieutenant is the ranking officer. Chief Balboa really runs things.

Cookie said "Chiefs usually runs things anyway."

"The Chief is in the sickbay reporting to the Lieutenant."

I said we would see them there, we had two with minor wounds. "Doesn't hurt like it's minor!" said Bev.

"We don't have a medic, we just have basic first aid training."

"It's been a while, but I crosstrained as a medic." said Cookie.

"Would you check on the Lieutenant as well?"

"Sure, where is the sickbay on this boat?"

I helped Bev and Cookie helped Sue as we went to the sickbay. Cookie and Sue went through the hatch first and Cookie stopped, set Sue down, and said "Rocky.....Roxanne?"

"That's Chief Balboa to you sailor!"

Cookie snapped to attention and saluted "Yes Ma'am!"

While they talked, they got Sue on a table and started examining the Lieutentant, I got Bev on a table. I sprayed a topical anesthetic and started cleaning her wound. "The next time you wear a mini skirt, you may have to tell the story of this scar."

She responded, "After seeing that bunch on the dock, I may never wear a mini skirt again."

Cookie was saying "When we got back from that last mission, I came looking for you. They told me you had been tranfered to some secret electronic warfare ship."

"That's something I can't talk about. I tranfered to Norfolk as my last duty station before retiring at twenty years. I was training this bunch, some of them have plenty of book knowlege, but I swear they don't know which end of a soildier iron to hold.

"Roxanne, you never have told me how you got the name 'Rocky'."

"We had a piece of equipment we couldn't to get to work right. We ran every test we could think of but couldn't find the problem. I lost my temper and punched it. It work fine after that."

Cookie was looking at the Lieutenant and told him "It looks like a small caliber round that went without nicking anything. You lost a lot of blood, you need rest and drink plenty of broth and barley water."

"Still trying to fix everthing with food?"

"You got anything better?"

"Well, no."

"OK then."

"Somehow I'm not supprise you showed up when you did, but you should be ashamed of yourself for using those poor girls for a diversion like that."

"That wasn't my idea, it was the boss, Mantha's idea."

"Mantha?" asked the Lieutenant.

"Yes?"

"It's me, Ron Sails. Where's Carol?"

"I have sad news for you, Carol was topside on communication when the attack came. I need to ask you something. I feel all the people that work with me are like family. I know you have honor as a Marine and honor of an officer, but do you have honor as a real man?"

"I want to think so, what do you mean?"

"What do you feel about Gail?"

"I wanted to marry her, is she all right?"

"She was fine when we left her to tend to the animals on the barges back in Daytona, except for some morning sickness."

"WHAT???"

"Yes, you are going to be a father."




We decided to move farther south, just south of Savanna, GA. It would be warmer and farther from any more miners. The first thing we did when we settled was to have a double wedding, Ron and Gail, Cookie and Roxanne. They were each other's bestman and bride's maid. We spent a lot of time growing and gathering food and salvaging the past. We got more people when ships that were hardened or had been on the nightside during the attack stopped by. We helped resupply the ships that could and wanted to set out again. Many of the naval ships went to Norfolk for resupply but none stayed.

I eventually married a commander that had been planning on leaving the Navy before the Attack came. That begins another adventure that still going on.
 
F

Freebirde

Senior Member
methos said:
Hmm, the deadly bikini attack formation, taught to generations at West Point. Darned thing is, it would probably work just like that.
Keep it up!
Click to expand...

Not taught at West Point, but taught at Annapolis and at Quantico.

The first time I put this story on line, someone doubted if women would have done this. I reminded them that these women were divers and regular working clothes were swimsuits and wetsuits so for them bikinis would just be business casual.
 
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