{$caption}
You who walk the path of the rising sun scorn the gifts and hospitality I provide, bite the hand that gifts you grace and friendship with fire and steel.
DrBleep
Reading time: 42 minutes 37 seconds
Word count: 11200
SUGGESTED LISTENING:
Overall Theme:
-Children of the Sun Two Steps From Hell
In The House of the Rising Sun
You can find more of Bleep's works Here.
Radar development of Typhoon Cobra, believed to have been spawned by SCP-8711.
And I will tell you of all the wicked witchcraft that she will try to practice upon you as soon as you reach the sunward path.
You stand at the gates of the witch's house,
And as you stand there, you will hear the witch sing within.
Singing most beautifully as she works at her loom, making a web so fine, so soft, and of such dazzling colours as no one but a witch like her could weave.
Should you scorn her, the storm will know no end.
-????, The Odyssey Retold.
Item#: 8711
Level2
Containment Class:
keter
Secondary Class:
none
Disruption Class:
keneq
Risk Class:
danger
Special Containment Procedures: Prevention of maritime and aerial traffic from proceeding between the hours of 05:00 to 08:00 in an eastward direction on Sundays is impossible. Foundation plants in global maritime and aerial authorities are monitoring all traffic for signs of disappearing and/or reappearing vessels related to SCP-8711. Individuals claiming to have been to and/or returned from SCP-8711-1 are to be detained, questioned, and then treated with Class B amnestics. Original photo and video evidence is to be archived or destroyed as needed.
If a vessel or aircraft disappears due to SCP-8711, recordings or transmissions prior to their disappearance should be closely analyzed and altered as needed.
Expeditions into SCP-8711-1 should avoid disruption of the environment or SCP-8711-A. Field operatives are to be equipped with shielding devices designed to filter out auditory compulsions and are required to wear Andrewsian Insulation Suits at all times due to elevated Elan-Vital Energy (EVE) and Akiva radiation, and must have CRV scores of 15 or higher. Field operatives remaining on SCP-8711-1 for extended periods are, under no circumstances, to ingest liquids or edible material from SCP-8711-1 or SCP-8711-A, and must be aware that SCP-8711-A may attempt to tamper with their food or equipment.
Description: SCP-8711 is a spatial-temporal displacement phenomenon and pocket dimension that primarily affects maritime vessels and aircraft traveling towards the rising sun on any given Sunday. Vessels affected by SCP-8711 are instantaneously removed from material reality, disappearing from all known means of detection.
Vessels and aircraft affected by SCP-8711 reappear in coastal waters filled with extensive rock formations and reef prone shoals surrounding a large island landmass dubbed SCP-8711-1. This landmass geologically resembles the semi-volcanic islands of the eastern Mediterranean, with a mixed temperate coastal and tropical climate. SCP-8711-1 is surrounded by a 'ship graveyard' filled with the wrecks and ruins of vessels from many disparate eras of history.
Remaining on SCP-8711-1 for extended periods is hazardous due to elevated EVE and Akiva radiation levels. (See After Action Report and Interview Log AARIL-8711-01 & -02). Cellular phones, advanced computing devices such as laptops, tablets, and cybernetic cognitive processors fail upon entry into SCP-8711, but analog and digital cameras are largely unaffected. Individuals exploring SCP-8711-1 describe a constant feeling of being 'watched.'
No indigenous humans or other humanoid species have, as of the creation of this entry, been contacted on SCP-8711-1 by Foundation personnel. SCP-8711-1's only living inhabitants appear to be SCP-8711-A. (See Supplementary Logs S-8711-01)
USS Wasp after Typhoon Cobra.
SCP-8711-A consists of the fauna living on/within SCP-8711-1. SCP-8711-A are, primarily, known species of animals native to the Mediterranean region of Europe, with some notable deviations, including the presence of lions and leopards. SCP-8711-A are non-hostile. A number of civilians interviewed by the Foundation after escaping SCP-8711 claim to have encountered entities resembling well-known mythological or cryptozoological species.
Though entry into SCP-8711 is well understood, the means by which some vessels have managed to escape the anomaly are unknown.
As of this report's creation, SCP-8711 has likely existed for at least two millennia, based on close examination of existing records, and may have existed as early as 1000 BCE.
Discovery: The Foundation was aware of SCP-8711 and SCP-8711-1 from the moment the organization formed, due to wider awareness of superstitions regarding the phenomenon and the island contained within among sailors, and documentation by the British Admiralty during the early stages of modern colonization and the colonial period. Though records from other historical regimes and periods exist regarding SCP-8711, they tend to be more fantastical, fictionalized, or exaggerated.
Due to a lack of substantive evidence, experts within the Foundation widely considered SCP-8711 to be a superstitious belief fueled by the hallucinations of sailors until December of 1944, when the US Third Fleet produced video and photographic evidence which could not be dismissed.
Investigation of SCP-8711 through direct means was, initially, determined to be too dangerous, as the conditions for undoing the spatial displacement were not known and several expeditions had vanished shortly after loss of contact.
Joint Pentagram and Foundation After Action and Interview Report
Typhoon Cobra Log 1
Incident Date: December 17th, 1944.
Area of Command: Central Pacific, Philippines theater.
Commanding Officer: Admiral William Halsey.
Combatants: US Third Fleet.
Hostiles: Unknown, suspected Japanese Meteorological eigenweapon (Pentagram stance). Unknown Anomalous force designated SCP-8711 (Foundation stance).
Friendly losses/Casualties: Three destroyers lost, 790 men killed or missing, 146 planes destroyed or severely damaged. Twenty-seven ships damaged, eleven requiring major repairs.
Hostile Losses: Unknown.
Interview Date: December 26th, 1944.
Interviewer: Dr. Nyssa Eurylochus.
Interviewee: Major Tiresias Smith, Paranatural asset officer and aerologist of USS Enterprise.
Foreword: At 21:00 hours on December 16th, 1944, Admiral William Halsey ordered the US Third Fleet to sail due East out of effective combat range of Japanese aircraft into deep oceanic waters to conduct refueling and resupply operations.
Vessels near Guam, 1-2 weeks beforehand, reported unusually rough seas and drops in barometric pressure, indicating the possible formation of a tropical depression; however, the system was believed to have dissipated due to changes in local pressure fronts, and the Fleet made minimal course adjustments as a result. At 06:00 hours on December 17th, Pacific Fleet command and Combined US Arms Command Philippines lost contact with US Third Fleet for approximately 24 hours.
As part of the tribunal reviewing the events of the Typhoon Cobra incident and initial evaluation of SCP-8711, the Foundation was allowed to question ranking officers and attached paranatural experts of the Fleet. The following is a mixed documentation and audio-visual log of the USS Enterprise's paranatural liaison and aerologist officer.
<Begin Log>
<December 17th, material reality. Unknown date and time, SCP-8711.>
Log Note: Individuals appear to experience significant time dilation while within SCP-8711, thus times do not match up with events in material reality.
0600: Contact with US Third Fleet lost.
0601: US Third Fleet reappears in an unknown location.
From 0601-0630, the following events and radio exchanges occur:
USS Iowa turns starboard in anticipation of reef.
USS Washington sees USS Alabama suddenly appear and warns USS Iowa of potential collision.
USS Birmingham loses sight of USS Intrepid. They attempt to follow USS Iowa around the reef, but the USS Intrepid reappears and admonishes the Birmingham for nearly colliding with them.
USS Alabama reports the presence of a large landmass off its stern, and advises several wayward destroyers that suddenly appear in front of it to alter course.
USS Biloxi and USS Miami both collide with unidentified wooden objects.
USS Massachusetts is forced to take evasive action to avoid colliding with shallow shoals.
USS Monterrey promptly vanishes from in front of USS New Orleans and reappears in front of a large rock pillar, colliding with it. It reports the collision and several destroyers/destroyer escorts pull alongside to deploy tow lines.
0630: Confusion ends as an unknown admiral orders all ships to clear radio channels and restores order. Most ships move free of shoals and reefs.
0631-0701: Admiral Halsey is woken and arrives on station aboard the bridge of the USS New Jersey. All attending vessels are ordered to report in.
Dr. Eurylochus sits across an interview table from Major Smith.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Before we begin, I appreciate you speaking with me Major. I know the last week and a half has been extremely trying."
Major Smith: "Trying is certainly a word for it Ma'am. We all lost friends to the storm and that… island."
Several seconds of silence. Major Smith scratches the side of his head.
Major Smith: "That's why you're here right? I've been questioned to death about the technical end, I tried to tell the brass, but they didn't much care to hear about the supernatural details beyond whether or not there were Japanese on the island."
Dr. Eurylochus smiles and pushes a glass bottle of Coca-Cola towards Major Smith.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Why don't we start from the top? I want you to focus on the anomaly. Distill as many of the small and big details as you can remember."
Major Smith pops the cap off the Coke. He drinks from it for several seconds before sighing.
Major Smith: "Sure. Anywhere specific you'd like me to start?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "Let’s say the minutes leading up to the manifestation event, and then take it from there."
USS Langley shortly after escaping SCP-8711.
Major Smith shifts in his chair and looks up for several seconds before looking back down at Dr. Eurylochus.
Major Smith: "You've read the after-action report, so I'll glaze over the bigger picture. So, obviously I'm at my post on the old Big E at 0550, we can just barely start to see the pink of sunrise bleeding through the clouds. Sea has been a bit choppy all fucking morning, and I'm just trying to have a bit of coffee. All of a sudden, the magic detection devices-"
Dr. Eurylochus: "The EVE meters?"
Major Smith: Smith points at Dr. Eurylochus. "Yeah, them and the Akiva dosimeters, start going nuts. I'd say around 0555 or 56. Pieces of junk falsely alarm a lot, so at first I just ignore it because everything seems normal, up until it doesn't."
Dr. Eurylochus: "How do you mean?"
Major Smith: Takes another drink from the cola. "Well about 0558, the air starts swirling. Like somebody took a thousand strands of thread and was weaving them all over the place. Stuck my hand through one, and it just vanished, before I snatched it back out. Weird shit, you know the kind of stuff that you're always warned about with big magic or reality twists."
Dr. Eurylochus: "And then what?"
Major Smith: "The clock hit 0600, and for a solid second, maybe less, the sun was over the edge of the horizon. Then, nothing."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Nothing? As in, everything was just normal?"
Major Smith: "No, no, it was like, literally nothing. Oblivion. I was awake, conscious you know? I was aware I existed, but I couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel or smell. Like the whole shebang just came undone and I was just thoughts in a white void. A thousand different thoughts and concepts floating in every direction around me."
Dr. Eurylochus writes rapidly on her notebook as Major Smith takes another drink.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Was there anything else in this void?"
USS Kwajalein within SCP-8711.
Major Smith focuses for ~1 minute.
Major Smith: "Yeah. There was this oppressive feeling, like a million eyes were suddenly watching the idea of my consciousness. And there was this concept. Something old, very old, I'd say sorcerous even. Or maybe even witch-y? Yeah, more witch-y. Only got glimpses of it in the eternity, felt like an eternity you know? What you'd imagine the moments after death are before you're judged and sent to heaven or hell."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Let’s stay focused. Did you feel any hostility from this presence?"
Major Smith: "No, I'd say it was more… curious? There might have been a bit of hunger, or predation mixed in. Mischief maybe?"
Dr. Eurylochus writes down several more lines on her notepad.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Ok, before we continue, I want to show you some colors and symbols. Could you please tell me which ones most correspond to the feeling you got in the void?"
Major Smith: "Uh, sure?"
Dr. Eurylochus cycles through multiple pieces of canvas brought into the room by a guard. Major Smith indicates Gold, Blue, and Purple. She then opens a folder on the table and shows him a large variety of symbols. He picks symbols for the Sun and herbs.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Excellent, this is very helpful. Ok, now can you tell me what happened next?"
Major Smith: "Right yeah. So right at 0601, don't ask me how I know, it was on the dot, it was like everything came screaming back. All the senses, and by god the light was murder. Instant chaos, people screaming, every radio on the bridge in an uproar. The Helmsman had to make an immediate bank to the starboard, there was a huge fucking rock prolly no more than half a mile ahead and thick, jagged shoals. And the tides, the current and waves were brutal, tossing us, a full-sized fleet carrier about like a rubber duck."
Dr. Eurylochus: "The rest of the fleet didn't have it much better it seems."
Major Smith: Runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah it was complete chaos. Heard a couple of cruisers rammed into rocks. Now I know how the boys at Samar must have felt when those pagoda masts popped up over the edge of the horizon.”
He pauses for several seconds.
Major Smith: “Anyways, at about 0605 is when I noticed our detection equipment was going haywire. Every reading, every scale maxed out, and it did not let up. I had to turn on the ship-integrated detectors, and those readings were unbelievable. Surging and falling with the tide. Other liaisons had similar issues."
Dr. Eurylochus: "When did you first notice the island?"
Major Smith: "I'd say about 0610? Maybe 0615. The 'bama saw it first, but the rest of us noticed pretty fast, given the currents kept trying to toss us towards it."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Ok, we'll come back to the island since I understand you went ashore briefly at the Marine's beachhead?"
Major Smith shivers.
Major Smith: "Yeah, I was. I drew the short lot, having a sixth sense."
Dr. Eurylochus: Tilts her head. "You can sense magic?"
Major Smith: "More or less. Mom came from a long line of witches, but she refused to take up the craft, got into church when she was young. But Grandma? Oh boy, now that was a witch. No, I see it on your face, not the pointy hat crooked noise kind, the Hecate tradition, potions and spells and boons from the gods. Always deep in the belief of myth and folklore. Father's side though, all down the line they were sailors."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Ah ha! So, your family is filled with belief in the strange and supernatural. Then you were already aware of the anomaly given your familiarity with the superstitions of sailors?"
Major Smith: "Only as much any other sailor is aware of it. I consider myself a scientist, well as much as you can science with magic or the weather. Sailor's superstitions exist for a reason, just as any myth or legend has some kernel of truth, but they are still just superstitions. I definitely didn't believe in this one until last Sunday."
Smith pauses and scratches behind one ear.
Major Smith: "Well, I suppose that's a fooling really given my line of work."
0702-0744: Third Fleet vessels respond to roll calls and detail their status over the course of the next 45 minutes.
Halsey receives the initial reports of anomalous activity and promptly dismisses paranatural experts.
Dr. Eurylochus: "You'd be surprised. So, you arrived at the Island, and next you were summoned to New Jersey to brief Halsey?"
Smith scoffs.
Major Smith: "Is this interview off the record?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "No, but the Navy will be receiving a heavily edited and redacted version of the transcript."
Major Smith: "Good. Yes, we were summoned to Jersey, and we stood around for 45 minutes while Halsey listened to the status of his ships, ignoring us. He heard one of our reports and immediately dismissed all of us. Accused us of being parasitic sycophants, and that the 1 in 10,000 occurrences of supernatural phenomena didn't justify the waste of manpower and resources we occupied. Bull indeed."
Between 0746-0800 the following events and radio messages occurred.
USS Intrepid reports malfunctioning navigational equipment.
USS South Dakota vanishes for fifteen seconds, and promptly reappears with its keel suspended seven meters above the water. It hovers for approximately seven seconds before being dropped back into the ocean, forcing multiple destroyers to heel away to prevent being capsized.
USS Alabama reports its compasses 'spinning like a Ferris wheel' before promptly pointing towards the center of SCP-8711-1 at Alabama's stern.
Admiral Willis Augustus Lee announces to the fleet that the Washington's radar cross sections do not match the topographic visuals of the environment, and asks for other vessels to confirm.
The USS Enterprise validates Washington's readings before the oil tankers steaming alongside it vanish, and reappear one kilometer off its port bow, spinning like tops over the rough waves. It takes nearly ten minutes for them to regain control.
USS New Jersey, Admiral Halsey: This is Halsey to the fleet. Be advised, all carriers are to dispatch float planes and scout craft.
USS Spence: Jersey this is the Spence, are we to continue with refueling operations?
USS New Jersey: Affirmative Spence.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Fortunately it seems some of the 'brass' took you seriously."
Major Smith: "Thank the gods for Admiral Lee, and the Carrier group admirals. When Halsey issued the order for scout planes to go up in the air, Evans asked me to ride along."
Dr. Eurylochus: "And of course you took the opportunity?"
Major Smith: "You bet I did. Things were already chaotic enough. I wasn't about to let us fly blind into an anomaly for whatever cockeyed plan the Bull might come up with. After Leyte Gulf, I don't think there were many people left in the fleet who fully trusted Halsey."
0805: All vessels are ordered to turn and sail ‘south’, away from the island.
0825 Third Fleet steams away from the landmass in standard formation into the wind.
0835: Recon aircraft from the fleet and light carriers begin their scouting runs.
0845: Smaller vessels low on fuel begin refueling attempts.
The following events occurred between 0845-1000
USS New Orleans crests a wave. Its hull is promptly accelerated to 100 km/hr, launching it out of the water briefly and causing several destroyer escorts to nearly capsize.
South Dakota is tossed about for several minutes on rogue waves at least 30 m tall. At one point, the whole vessel capsizes underwater and then rolls back upright, and then repeats this motion three more times. No injuries are reported.
USS Wichita's rudder is, without the crew's knowledge, pushed hard right, forcing the helmsman to have to hold the rudder left to avoid being pinwheeled by the waves.
Unidentified Oil Tanker: Disengage Hull, our fuel lines are snapping from the effort of trying to keep you alongside.
Unidentified Oil Tanker: We're going to have to abandon side-by-side fueling, this isn't working, our lines are going to break.
USS New Jersey: Vessels that need to refuel should revert to stern attempts until further notice.
0917-0944: Fleetwide refueling attempts continue, despite repeated anomalous events.
0945: Enterprise's spotter aircraft realizes after an hour and thirty minutes in the air that the fleet has ceased movement ~30 km away from the island.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Can you describe what you saw from the recon plane?"
- Reconnaissance Aircraft Topographical Report
Reconnaissance report, unidentified landmass associated with Typhoon Cobra incident.
Landmass was characterized as an island, exact dimensions impossible to determine due to atmospheric instability and changing geography, general estimation based on multiple reconnaissance flights of ~15-30 km at widest points.
Geographically hilly, East, West and Southern coastal areas are characterized by gradually sloping forested ridges and grassy valleys with lighter forests and fields.
Southern coastal area appears to fluctuate between dense tropical jungles and swamps. Two River systems, one on the eastern and southern coast. Signs of well-traveled footpaths and possibly roads.
Artificial, human structures spotted in east/north/western coastal and valley regions. At least 7-11 villages. Multiple ruins spotted. From the air, the center of the island is elevated atop steep cliffs with a southern, sloping approach, surrounded by a wall of very dense foliage. Large artificial structure at its center.
No sign of enemy airstrips, naval facilities, or other surface fortifications, but subterranean fortifications cannot be ruled out.
Major Smith: "The island, of course. Thick, lush forests with unusual colors, dense jungle in the south. Settlements which," Smith pauses and wrinkles his brow.
Dr. Eurylochus: "You can speak freely here, Major."
Major Smith: "This is going to sound insane, but I knew it."
Dr. Eurylochus: "How do you mean?"
Major Smith: "The villages, the structures down below us, their shape and feel. The forests, the temple(?) at the very center. It's like I had seen it all before. Like I could see myself walking among them."
USS Anzio during Typhoon Cobra.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Can you describe them?"
Major Smith: "Chiseled stone and masonry with intricate paints and colors? Columns of marble and wood that were carefully carved and supporting tiled roofs and walls. It felt like home, my home, in many ways, which is strange to say because I've never physically been there before, and my home looks nothing like it."
Dr. Eurylochus: "You mentioned earlier that your maternal line is versed in the Hecatian tradition of magic. Are you Greek?"
Smith nods. Dr. Eurylochus scribbles several lines in her notebook.
Dr. Eurylochus: "So you gave your report to Admiral Halsey after returning from reconnaissance?"
Major Smith: "Yes, though at that point a second round of Recon aircraft got sent up to continue canvassing for 'enemy activity.' That's about when they started encountering the spatial stability issues in the air, instead of on the land below as we'd witnessed."
1010: Admiral Halsey is advised by fleet assigned Foundation liaisons, Allied para-natural experts, as well as experienced sailors and officers of "SCP-8711".
1011: Halsey, despite a plethora of evidence supporting anomalous phenomena, again, ignores these advisories.
1015: Iowa begins violently rocking up and down at the stern and bow, creating massive waves. This strains the fuel lines attached to USS Spence, rubber banding the destroyer briefly and forcing it to unhook the lines and end its refueling attempt.
1020: Admiral Halsey takes operational command of marine units assigned to Third Fleet vessels.
1021: Halsey orders several Marine platoons ashore to conduct further reconnaissance operations to "assess enemy fortifications and strength."
1025: Paranatural liaisons advise against any sort of amphibious landing, due to the magnitude of ontological instability readings measured by primitive detection equipment and the ongoing anomalous events.
1030: Halsey continues to ignore advisories of anomalous conditions.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Right, did you experience that yourself? What was Halsey's reaction to your report?"
Major Smith: "We didn't get any spatial instability while I was up there." Smith pauses and gestures, frowning. "How do you think he reacted?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "Dismissal?"
Smith nods.
Dr. Eurylochus: "And then he took command of marines for further reconnaissance?"
Major Smith: "Against all of our advice." Smith crosses his arms. "Look at how that ended up."
Between 1035-1050 the following signal lamp messages were recorded:
USS Enterprise to USS Intrepid: Halsey ignoring anomalous reports, captain is ordering the Big E to initiate parathreat countermeasures.
USS Intrepid doesn't immediately respond, as the aircraft carrier enters into a slow and gradual spin, before abruptly launching into the air while still spinning. She continues up into the sky vanishing into the clouds. Ten seconds later she reappears in her assigned formation position, as if nothing happened.
USS Intrepid to non-Jersey Vessels: Severe paranatural events, potentially para-assault. Halsey ignoring all reports. Proceed at your own discretion in deploying para-assault countermeasures or risk being St. Lo'ed.
1050: Halsey orders the fleet into a circling pattern, probing the edge of the anomaly for any potential 'exit' routes.
1100: Additional reconnaissance aircraft are launched. Several briefly find themselves embedded underground in the island, before reappearing in the air with engines needing to be restarted.
1130: Marine detachments are provided with sufficient rations for only 24-48 hours ashore due to the hasty deployment.
1200: Marine detachments land in the eastern and southern portion of SCP-8711-1.
Reconnaissance aircraft Radio transmission: We're experiencing strange phenomena up here. Abnormal levels of turbul—Jesus, look out! We almost just collided with another recon plane. Carrier, permission to land?
1230-1300 Marines use motorized PT boats to explore the eastern and southern river systems.
Dr. Eurylochus: Nods. "Right, so let’s skip a bit ahead. You were retained on the New Jersey until 1430? Can you tell me anything you noticed between 1300 and 1430, especially in regard to Halsey's behavior?"
Planes on USS Attu wrecked by Typhoon Viper.
Major Smith: "Other than our ships being whipped about like toys, vanishing and reappearing in places they definitely shouldn't be?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "Well, those details are also important, but most are in the documentation. So let's focus on your specific experiences."
Major Smith: "Well the first thing is, that as soon as those Marines landed and went upriver, it was like the whole atmosphere of the bridge changed. Like something else was there with us. That same feeling of being watched, I could feel it and it kept every hair on my body standing straight up. Every time the Marines made a report over the radio, there was this… singing."
1301-1330 Marine radio transmissions are recorded:
Marine Party East: Command, there's something happening out here. The local flora doesn't match anything I've seen before. There's also a lady singing somewhere upland of us, but we can't see her.
Marine Command: Transmission received East, proceed inland and continue to document what you see.
Marine Party South: Command, we've got people—, mass insubordination. We could use reinforcements and a PT boat to take the mutineers back to the beachhead.
Marine Command: Understood South, dinghy is on its way.
Marines experiencing compulsive effects regain their senses as soon as they are returned to the beachheads. They are ferried back to the exploration parties, experience the compulsive effect and are ferried back to the beachheads at least two more times.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Singing?"
Major Smith: "Yeah. It was beautiful. Like I could sit there and listen to it for days on end and not need to eat or drink, it made me feel whole, full. Taken care of." Smith briefly sniffles, wiping his eyes on his shirt sleeve.
Dr. Eurylochus: "That was the compulsive effect?"
Major Smith: "I'll never forget it. Guessing it was way more intense for the Marines given how many had to be brought back to the beachhead."
Several seconds of silence.
1340: Marines continue to move further inland.
1345: Admiral Halsey ignores another report from paranatural liaisons indicating large-scale anomalous activity.
1350: Two destroyers promptly vanish from alongside the New Jersey, and reappear thirty meters in the air. They begin slowly pirouetting while moving forward. The crews are forced to cling to any available surface to prevent being tossed into the water below. After approximately thirty seconds, the destroyers vanish, and reappear alongside the New Jersey again.
1355: Marine party east has moved 1 km away from its river berth when it experiences a substantial ontokinetic shift, depositing them atop a forested hill. They report this to command, and backtrack, discovering the river has moved ~300 m away from its original position.
1357: Continued refueling difficulties plague destroyers and destroyer escorts due to rough seas and ongoing anomalous events.
Marine Command: Continue exploring East, we need as much detail about any potential encampment sites as possible.
Major Smith: "Oh, right. Then the whole thing with the Marines shooting into the air happened, and the bridge changed. Intense, it got real intense real fast."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Can you describe it?"
Marine Party East: Command we've encountered local fauna, wolves?
Marine Party South: That lion is watching us.
Both Marine Parties: Gunshots.
Marine Party East: That didn't scare them off.
Marine Party South: The lion is following us, and it has friends.
Major Smith: "It was this choking sense of anger pressing down against my chest. Breathing got very hard for a minute, and no not because the Jersey was suddenly underwater. That's when Halsey started talking to something. Well, talking, yelling really. He was pissed at the air. Maybe it was the Island itself, the anomaly or whatever was driving it. I just know something was there in the room with us."
1400: Admiral Halsey interrupts a briefing from a ranking officer, demanding to know "Who are you!? How did you get on my ship?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "Were you able to see anything?"
1401: The bridge crew of the New Jersey report Halsey to be "staring into thin air." The flagship abruptly submerges, immediately dragged beneath the surface of the water. Crewmembers on the open parts of the ship's deck grab hold of anything within reach to avoid being pulled away by the surrounding current.
Major Smith: "Flashes. Colors, shifting fabric, rays of sunlight, a pot bubbling over an open fire, the crashing of the waves against the land. A silhouette if I really grasped at it, cloaked in the shadows of dark fires."
1402: Halsey: "You're aboard my ship."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Could you make out any sounds or words?"
Major Smith: "No, not really. Just shifting… I almost want to describe it as an aura, changing color in the open air. But it's hard to say for sure."
1403: Halsey: "You're the commander of the local garrison?"
1404: Halsey: "Commander, Third Fleet, William Halsey. Answer my question, are you or are you not a ███?"
1405: Halsey: "Yes I got that this is your home. Are you or are you not a ███ officer?"
1405: Foundation Liaison attempts to intervene and ask Admiral Halsey if he is seeing/hearing someone, and where.
1406: Halsey ignores the liaison, and yells "Remand this civilian to Quarters!"
1407: Foundation Liaison is escorted off the bridge, and secured in their quarters for the rest of the incident. Para-natural experts elect to remain uninvolved to avoid a similar fate.
1407: Multiple ships abruptly swap places, resulting in the near collision of many vessels, and the actual collision of the Monterrey and an unidentified destroyer.
Major Smith: "Whatever it was, it really pissed Halsey off. Like his authority had just been challenged. Guess that's why he lashed out at your guy."
1408: Halsey: "Your claimed identity is farcical. Not even someone who lived under a rock would miss the war going on at their door. You are either a █████-███ spy or a trickster."
1409: Halsey: "My men will discharge their weapons as their duty requires. I have the authority of the United States Navy and the might of the Third Fleet at my back and will not be stopped by some self-proclaimed witch."
1410: Admiral Halsey points at an unspecified point on the bridge.
1410: Halsey: "Your warnings have no authority here. I will burn this entire island to the ground, raze its villages, scour the earth to root out your ███ occupiers! They will use you as shields, tools of terror. Give them to me now and save yourself or burn."
1411: Halsey: "Seize this spy and throw them in the brig!"
Eurylochus scribbles several more lines in her notebook.
Dr. Eurylochus: "So what happened at 14:12?"
Major Smith: "Oh, I told him there was no-one there. Cause, there wasn't. At least not that I could see. Feel with thaumaturgic intuition? Yeah, sure. But not physically see. Besides, was he ever going to believe me? I was a sycophantic parasite remember?"
Smith pauses, taking another sip from his Coke.
Major Smith: "But man, the look on his face was so satisfying."
1412: Unnamed Bridge Officer: "Sir, there is no one there." New Jersey abruptly resurfaces.
1413: Halsey "stares" at the officer for ~20 seconds, before looking in the general direction he'd been talking at before.
1415: Halsey orders the bridge back to stations.
Dr. Eurylochus: "What happened at 14:15?"
Major Smith: "It stopped. The anger, and the weight. Like the eyes had shifted. Like whatever was there had left. Of course, you know the rest of the bridge crew looked at Halsey like he'd lost his marbles. I'm sure he saw whatever it really was."
Dr. Eurylochus: "He's not been terribly forthcoming about what he saw."
Major Smith: "Bastard is probably trying to avoid getting discharged. Can't blame him for that, figure they'd label him unfit for duty. Be better for all of us though."
Marine Party East: Hey we're still being followed by these animals.
Halsey: Continue scouting for enemy fortifications. They're just animals, and you have guns.
1430-1759: Ontokinetic instability continues to alter terrain around scouting parties. Ontological conditions around Third Fleet stabilize.
1800: Scouting parties establish perimeters and set up camps.
1801: Local fauna continues to observe scouting parties.
[Extraneous Events removed.]
Dr. Eurylochus: "This has been immensely helpful Major Smith. I think we should take a break here and reconvene in a few hours."
Major Smith: "Sure. I'll be here."
<End Log>
Joint Pentagram and Foundation After Action Report
Typhoon Cobra Log 2
Incident Date: December 18th, 1944, SCP-8711, December 17th, 15:00 hours material reality.
Interview Date: December 26th, 1944.
Interviewer: Dr. Nyssa Eurylochus.
Interviewee: Major Tiresias Smith, Paranatural asset officer and aerologist of USS Enterprise.
<Begin Log>
0030-0045 Radio Messages from shore parties recorded
Marine Party South: Command our campsite has been compromised. There are animals everywhere, lions, leopards, wolves, pigs.
Marine Party East: Command we've lost all our supplies and rations. Eaten or destroyed.
Marine Party South: South's supplies have also been destroyed.
Marine Party East: We've chased the offenders out of camp.
Marine Party South: Sweeping our perimeter now.
????: Oink oink, Baaaaaa
Marine Party South: Command we may have enemy contact. Machine gun has been partly set up outside of camp and— wait. No, those are our own pieces of equipment?
Marine Party East: Command there's a radio left on outside our perimeter, and a mortar piece half assembled.
Marine Party East: Command, how should we proceed? Our rations have been destroyed? Suspected enemy contact.
Marine Command: East and South are instructed to begin foraging and hunting the local fauna as needed for supplies. Keep your eyes peeled for further incursions.
0046: Ontological instability around Third Fleet returns. USS Maddox abruptly vanishes from Third Fleet's formation. She reappears, embedded in a hill on the northern part of the island and remains there until 1350.
Major Smith is brought back into the interview room.
[EXTRANEOUS CONVERSATION REMOVED]
Dr. Eurylochus: "Alright Major, why don't we go ahead and talk about the events of the '18th' inside the anomaly."
Major Smith visibly tenses.
Major Smith: "Where do you want me to start, when the shit really hit the fan?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "Let’s say around 0530. Were you up?"
Major Smith: "Yeah my watch starts at 0500, and I didn't sleep well that night."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Why was that?"
Major Smith: "The pressure. My thaumic sense, it was like someone had taken a six-inch shell and left it on my chest all night."
USS Wichita, damaged within SCP-8711, lost its bow in Typhoon Cobra, returning to Guam.
Dr. Eurylochus: "What was the first thing you heard when you reached your station?"
Major Smith: "Orders from the night commander to keep trying to refuel the destroyers and escorts. The sea was rough, especially since every few hours we had to change bearing."
Dr. Eurylochus: "You hit the edge of the anomaly every few hours?"
Major Smith: "Yeah. It was like, one minute we'd be steaming, and the next we were suspended at the edge of a field, engines running hot, still going up and down the troughs, but not a damn difference in how far away from the island we were."
Major Smith: "Then reports came in over the mixed frequencies from the Marine parties. Local wildlife destroyed their rations and ran off with their equipment in the night. My first thought was 'Well, somebody is pulling latrine duty for weeks.' How do you let a bunch of animals slip past your watch like that?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "It does seem out of character for experienced Marines, no?"
Major Smith: "Yeah well, the stuff I was hearing on the 17th, and then reports on the 18th make me think they weren't any ordinary animals."
Dr. Eurylochus: "You're referring to the report around 0035?"
Major Smith: "Well, that, the following behavior, and the equipment they recovered. Since when do animals know how to assemble a machine gun?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "You think they weren't animals?"
Major Smith: "I think they were way more intelligent than any animals I've ever known. There was something para-natural about them."
[Extraneous details removed]
0530: Both southern and eastern scouting party camps are plagued by 'whistles' and 'winding of cranks' throughout the night.
0600: The sun rises.
0601: Scouting parties begin foraging in the surrounding terrain, maintaining search patterns.
0602: Third Fleet continues trying to refuel. Oil tankers and fuel lines randomly snap, vanish or change places at random.
0700: Halsey assumes command of the bridge of the New Jersey.
0701: Yet more reports of anomalous activity recorded by field and fleet units are presented to Halsey and promptly ignored.
Events and radio transmissions recorded between 0730-0930
Shore parties report hunting animals as 'easy' at first due to docile behavior; however, as soon as they have shot several of the animals the rest scatter and become difficult to locate. Instead, they compensate for this with the abundance of fruits and edible roots/herbs.
At approximately 0730 when shore parties begin shooting the local fauna, ontological instability on both the terrestrial areas and around Third Fleet increases dramatically. Notably, multiple ships again promptly switch places, causing several minor collisions.
USS Franklin promptly disappears for ~45 seconds. She reappears, hovering over the USS Lexington, prompting panic amidst the task group, causing multiple ships, including the Lexington, to abruptly heel out of line to avoid collision. Franklin remains above the task group for the next ~45 minutes, at which point she vanishes, and reappears in her previous assigned formation, nearly submerging the Wichita.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Is that why you volunteered to go to the beachhead and witness some of the spatial phenomena? Hoped to better understand what was happening?"
Major Smith: "You got me all figured out doncha?" Smith laughs. "Yeah, figured after Halsey ignored more of our reports, if I went and got physical with the evidence, he might finally listen."
Bow of USS Wichita, damaged within SCP-8711 and severed by Typhoon Cobra, being towed back to Guam.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Your personal report says that as soon as you landed at 07:33, you immediately began experiencing anomalous activity. Can you describe what that consisted of?"
Major Smith hesitates and takes a drink from another glass bottle of Coke offered by Eurylochus.
Major Smith: "Well first, before we even got off the LVT, there was the sound. A woman's voice, I'm pretty sure a woman because of the pitch and range, singing. It had an ethereal quality to it, clear and crystalline even over the sound of the engines and motors. Very different to hear it in person as opposed to over the radio."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Could you tell where it was coming from?"
Major Smith: "Yeah, center of the island towards the cliffs. They landed me in the south along the jungles. Right as we were pulling in, boom, my sixth sense starts screaming, pounding in my ears like war drums. Space just, still can't believe it, folding and stretching, and then pow. We're 300 yards further back than we should be, the LVT getting tossed on a particularly bad wave. So we start up the motor and I see a plane go by overhead, and the air up there does the same thing the land just did, sends the poor bastard into a spin that he only just manages to get out of in time."
Major Smith takes another sip of cola.
Major Smith: "So then we landed on the beach, and I'm helped out. It's just a few tents, mind, built on the edge of the jungle with radios and a few tables and hand-drawn maps. But the trees and the plants weren't normal."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Can you describe them for me?"
Damage to USS Windham from Typhoon Cobra and SCP-8711.
Major Smith: "Well see, the trees were variably tall, sometimes hard to look at, you'd glance away, and look back and it’s like it had moved, leaned a different direction than before. Leaves were bright colors and odd shapes, almost like folded and unfolded in space. The other plants were all kinds of shapes and sizes, different unnatural and bright colors. I walked over to one, took a leaf between my hand, and it felt like any other leaf, or any other tree's bark until it suddenly didn't, then it was like dragging my finger over a bed of sharpened points and I had to let it go."
Dr. Eurylochus spends several minutes scribbling down notes.
Dr. Eurylochus: "And that's when you saw the wolf, right?"
Major Smith: "Yeah. Huge bastard, golden eyes, with purple and brown mottled fur. Those were not the eyes of an animal, Doc. It was thinking, watching, evaluating me like another human would. I got that same feeling in the pit of my stomach as when Halsey was screeching at the open air the previous day."
Dr. Eurylochus scribbles several more lines in her notebook.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Do you think that wolf was the source of the anomaly?"
Major Smith: "Hell Doc, I don't know. I know it wasn't a wolf, not with those eyes, not with how it made my sixth sense scream. But the source? Maybe. Maybe not. What kind of reality bender could do this? Make a whole fucking island in some other place outside of reality? Then they turn themselves into a wolf? It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense."
Dr. Eurylochus nods and takes a sip of her water.
[Extraneous details removed.]
Shore parties hail fleet medical and report a slate of symptoms, including nausea, rapid hair growth, irritation and tingling of the epidermis, and a general sense of dissonance.
Reports are received by fleet medical but ignored.
1000: Scouting parties simultaneously encounter a "village", reporting signs of recent occupation and hurried abandonment.
Recorded Messages:
Marine Party East: Command there are manmade structures in our path.
Marine Party South: We've also encountered a village here on our end. Signs of recent habitation. Full search within our established perimeter, no civillians or occupants located.
Marine Party East: Command we've found dining rooms full of freshly prepared food. It's still warm, like it just came off the stove.
Marine Party East: No sign of tunnels or enemy fortifications.
Marine Party South: Command, permission to collect supplies and set up a fortified camp here?
Marine Command: Permission granted.
1100: Paranatural liasons strongly advise against allowing the shore parties to consume the village food due to paranatural threat. They are ignored, and the Marines indulge in a large feast.
1130 Recorded Messages and Events:
USS Hull reports approaching the 'red zone' for its fuel tanks, as it attempts to pull up behind the stern of an oil tanker, its hull abruptly accelerates forward, nearly colliding with the oil tanker, before immediately reversing at similar speed, forcing the Hull to heel out of line to prevent collision with other tankers and destroyers.
USS Spence manages to hook a fuel line from an oil tanker, only for the hose to begin oscillating at high speed with a burst of rough waves, lifting the Spence out of the water nearly three times before she's forced to unhook the fueling line.
USS Hickox rolls hard during a particularly bad wave, and is stuck at a 50 degree angle for nearly 15 minutes without further rolls, forcing crews to abandon the deck and preventing her from further refueling.
Dr. Eurylochus: "So, you brought what you saw back to New Jersey, and compiled your report there with the other liaisons and officers?"
1145: A final report of anomalous activity is compiled and relayed to Admiral Halsey.
1300: Radio activity spikes from the scouting parties, fleet operators cannot make out coherent messages other than "Help!" "Something very wrong!"
1302-1307: Small arms and machine gun fire floods all radio frequencies for the next five minutes, followed by loud and consistent sounds of various animals, and what is presumed to be the tearing of flesh and shattering of bones.
1308: Operators attempt to raise scouting party units.
1309-1315: For six minutes a repeating morse-code transmission is recorded by fleet operators, relaying coordinates assumed to be the last known locations of the marine parties.
Major Smith: "That's about when I learned the brass had given the marines permission to harvest supplies from the island, kill some of the local animals, collect fruits, etc. Your guy was furious, rightfully so. Absolute stupidity to ignore our warnings about anomalous activity and then let your men take and eat from a place we have marginal understanding of. Even worse when your medical corps ignore all signs of those supplies affecting the men."
Damage to USS Bennington from Typhoon Cobra and SCP-8711.
Dr. Eurylochus: "You think foul play was involved?"
Major Smith: "I wouldn't say foul play. I'd say we don't have a damn clue what kind of thaumaturgy the Marines were exposed to by eating from the land. We don't know what it did to them. And our medical corps didn't take detailed notes because they dismissed the "odd" feelings out of hand. Then they let them chow down on supplies from the villages. They didn't have field mages attached to screen anything, they should have, but they fucking didn't, all cause Halsey was too much of a bull. The feast they sat down and ate could have been laced with poisons, potions, alchemical concoctions, a million different possibilities because we don't know who or what lives on that island."
Dr. Eurylochus: "So just to clear the record, you do not believe the Marines were eliminated by enemy action."
Smith taps his fingers on the table several times.
Major Smith: "I don't know what happened on the ground because I wasn't there. None of us were. Halsey didn't even fucking look at our final anomalous activity report until six fucking hours later. Threw your guy in the brig just for speaking out. Whatever happened… it was worse than any enemy action."
1316: Assuming that the scouting parties have located enemy strongholds, and that Japanese forces are using the villages as cover, Admiral Halsey orders spotter and recon aircraft to relay exact locations and distances to the fleet.
USS Vincennes stops moving with the fleet, and becomes stuck in place, despite the engines continuing to work normally. Multiple ships are forced to heel out of formation to avoid colliding with her.
Halsey to the Fleet: This is Admiral Halsey; we've identified enemy strongpoints on the island. Prepare for combat operations.
1330: Recon and spotter aircraft launch.
1340: Recon and spotter aircraft locate the villages, and relay distance and elevations.
Dr. Eurylochus: Takes a deep breath. "Let’s talk about what happened after the fleet lost contact with the Marines."
Major Smith: "Chaos, hell."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Sorry?"
Major Smith: "Everything went to hell in a handbasket when we lost contact."
1350: Halsey orders carrier aircraft to be massed and launched for a targeted strike.
USS Maddox reappears, nearly colliding with an unnamed fletcher class destroyer.
1352: Halsey orders naval bombardment on villages in the southern and eastern regions, passing command to Admiral Lee.
1354: Admiral Lee hesitates in giving the order and is relieved.
Halsey to the Fleet: All ships open fire.
1400: Third Fleet opens fire on SCP-8711-1. Participants included: 6 fast, modern battleships, 8 light cruisers, 2 heavy cruisers, 41 destroyers, and batteries on 5 fleet carriers and 5 light carriers.
1415: An aircraft carrier appears above the New Jersey, all fleet carriers are abruptly accounted for and the unknown vessel is hailed. It promptly identifies itself as the USS Damocles. New Jersey's task group promptly scatters, but the aircraft carrier remains suspended above the New Jersey for the rest of the fleet's time in SCP-8711.
1430: Massed airstrikes begin their runs on relayed coordinates, moving to other villages to avoid ontological instability.
1500: Spotters direct bombardment to other villages as firing lines become obstructed by terrain.
1515: Third Fleet circles around the western portion of SCP-8711-1, forcing them to switch off targets on the eastern side. USS Washington abruptly swaps places with a destroyer, causing a minor collision with the USS Langley.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Right. At 13:50 Halsey gave the order to begin an aerial and naval bombardment of what he described as "enemy strongholds".
Unknown Destroyer during Typhoon Cobra.
Major Smith: "Yep, and then promptly decided Admiral Lee didn't have the balls to see his vision, and relieved him of command. The moment we started raining fire and metal on the island, my sixth sense went ballistic. I had to grab hold of a wall; everything was color and spinning."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Well, it was agitated when the Marines fired their guns into the air before, I can imagine it was much, much worse now."
Major Smith: Nods and leans back in his chair. "I don't have the words to even begin to describe the enormity of it. It was like we were all suddenly plunged deep into the abyss, the pressure was crushing and furious. The anger, rage even, seeping into my bones, and it just got worse the longer we went on. I think everyone but Halsey could feel it because there was a very sharp and rapid mood shift."
1516-1530: Halsey engages in a tense, one-sided, exchange with the bridge viewport. No surviving transcription of the conversation exists, due to the chaotic nature of surrounding events, but the multiple personal reports indicate that Halsey exclaimed "Your consequences mean nothing!" before handing command of further operations to Admiral Lee, believing the situation under control, and retiring to his quarters.
Dr. Eurylochus: Takes a sip from a glass of water. "Let's focus in on what happened at 1516."
Major Smith: "Oh, yeah. It came back. The same thing that was there the previous day, that Halsey was yelling at, except it was bigger. Angrier. A swirling maelstrom of gold and blues and purples, ribbons of matter and reality twisting into a silhouette bursting at the seams with fury."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Do you recall what they said?"
Major Smith: "No, not really. It was loud, the guns were roaring and the pressure from the thaumaturgy was drowning everything else. But I did catch the end of the exchange."
Dr. Eurylochus: Leans forward. "Go ahead."
Major Smith: "There was a voice at the center of the howling rage, a woman's voice, I think the same one that had been singing. She said:"
Smith and Eurylochus are swallowed by the tide of a rising shift, swirling in the depths of a raging storm as Halsey and the Ghost of unnamed past stand aboard the bridge of the New Jersey once more.
????: "You who walk the path of the rising sun scorn the gifts and hospitality I provide, bite the hand that gifts you grace and friendship with fire and steel."
Halsey: "Who are you!?"
????: "I am the sea, the sky, the kiss of the sun over a gentle horizon. I am the bubbling in the cauldron, the shift of flesh against a waning tide. You have scorned me."
Halsey: "You're a ███ trick!"
???? "I can teach the viper to eat from my hands, but I cannot take away how much you like to bite. Mankind is always the same."
Halsey: "What do you want!?"
???? "You have tread on that which you do not understand, and many will suffer for it. Your actions will have consequences."
Halsey: "Your consequences mean nothing!"
Several minutes of silence pass between Eurylochus and Smith.
Dr. Eurylochus: "That was…"
Major Smith: "You think the anomaly attached itself to the words?"
Eurylochus pushes glasses up her nose.
Dr. Eurylochus: "I can't rule it out. Let’s move on, after this outburst, Halsey left the bridge?"
Major Smith: "Stormed off it. The thing, the presence, vanished as soon as he was out of the room. That's when the chaos truly began."
Radio message recording from 15:30:
USS Intrepid detects movement on radar. She attempts to target the contacts with her 5 inch batteries in case of paranatural assault, only to find the turret axle jammed by a substantial amount of nuts and berries.
USS Biloxi makes visual contact with hostile contacts, and is forced to heel out of line as its bow is tipped down into the water, and remains that way for the next five minutes, disrupting its firing solutions.
Multiple destroyers redirect fire from shore bombardment to the incoming radar contacts, only to enter a series of violent spins.
Dr. Eurylochus: Flips a page in the report. "The fleet came under attack."
1531-1630: Multiple ships report large massing of anomalous or cryptozoological lifeforms approaching. Multiple destroyers forced to engage all batteries and even small arms at close range to avoid being overrun.
Radio Messages from 15:31-16:30:
Multiple ships are forced to deploy rifleman and sharpshooters on deck to try to deal with the overwhelming number of targets. High rates of guns jamming, and ammunition being replaced with nuts or pebbles are reported.
USS Essex reports 'colossal tentacles' that it's only able to suppress with concentrated fire.
USS Hull advises USS Monterrey of inbound large contacts, and then abruptly swaps place with USS Santa Fe, which in turn finds her stern facing the opposite direction from where the fleet is steaming.
Major Smith: "Monsters, mythical beasts. Things with far too many limbs, tentacles, eyes, so on and so forth. I couldn't believe what I was fucking seeing. They were so gods damn fast too, hundreds of them coming at us from the island, lashing at the smaller ships who had to turn every gun aboard to beat them back. Spatial distortions, the sea got way worse, and the clouds started turning green and black and angry. This went on for hours."
1650 Admiral Lee: All ships turn and steam south, northern edge coming up! Keep firing. Carriers, prepare to receive your strike groups!
1653: Weather conditions deteriorate rapidly. Multiple waterspouts and maelstroms force at least ten ships to swerve out of line and disrupt their firing solutions.
16:55 Admiral Lee: All ships who have not refueled, fill your tanks with seawater to ballast.
Dr. Eurylochus: "The fuel situation was quite severe at this point for many of the smaller ships, yes?"
Major Smith: "Least of their worries at the time, but yes. Lee gave the order for the smaller ships to fill their tanks with seawater, but there were many who waited, still hoping to get a shot at refueling, thinking Halsey would lead them out of this safely." Smith shakes his head.
Radio Messages from 1700-1735:
Multiple Carriers: Hostile entity discharging fluid! Clear your decks!
USS Spence's rudder is damaged by a rock thrown by an entity resembling a hybrid of a dolphin, a squid, and a lion.
USS Cowpens is nearly capsized by a large tentacle limb originating from an entity resembling a hybrid of a whale and cuttle fish.
1725: Admiral Halsey finally looks at the anomaly activity report.
USS Dewey suffers damage to its stack when a large bird-like entity attempts to lift it out of the water, but is unable to maintain its grip due to multiple Bofors mount anti-aircraft blasts.
1735: Halsey returns to the bridge and retakes command.
Halsey: All ships prepare for paranatural assault!
Dr. Eurylochus: "At 1735 Halsey returned to the bridge, right?"
Major Smith: "And finally, finally listened to us, ordering all ships to prepare for a paranatural attack. Two fucking hours, two fucking hours, after one had already begun." Smith throws his hands up.
USS Shasta's depth charge rack is shorn apart through unknown means. Its depth charges, which normally require arming before launch, spontaneously arm, and enter the water. USS Miami is forced to swerve out of line to avoid the blasts.
USS Lexington is abruptly launched out of the water into the air, and vanishes into the clouds, only to reappear at similar velocity twenty seconds later, reentering the water and nearly capsizing its destroyer escorts.
USS Tabberer's mast is damaged by a flock of entities resembling harpies.
1759: A colossal entity, consistent with descriptions of a "True Dragon" breaks the surface of the water near SCP-8711-1 and rapidly moves towards Third Fleet.
USS Enterprise swaps places with several cruisers that were holding off a large swarm of entities, and is only saved from being overwhelmed by furious five inch and Bofors 40 mm gunfire.
1800: Third Fleet reaches the southern edge of SCP-8711 and vanishes.
Major Smith: "And then of all things, 20 minutes later we see a fucking True Dragon."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Ok final question for today, and then we'll have another break. At 1800, Third Fleet hit the southern edge of the anomaly and vanished?"
Major Smith: "Yeah. Same experience as last time, though the eyes watching were enraged, lashing out in endless spirals. There was a moment, when I was nothing but thoughts, that I felt as if it was going to sweep us all into oblivion. I could feel something, strands of concepts, reaching through the void to start wrapping around us.”
Smith pauses for dramatic effect.
Major Smith: “Then boom. We were back where we were the day before. Right where we left off when we vanished."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Very good, thank you Major." She stands and offers her hand. Smith takes it and shakes. "Tomorrow I'd like to talk about the Typhoon, and then an opportunity."
Major Smith: "You know where to find me."
<End Log>
Joint Pentagram and Foundation After Action Report
Typhoon Cobra Log 3
Incident Date: December 18th 1944 material reality.
Interview Date: December 26th, 1944.
Interviewer: Dr. Nyssa Eurylochus.
Interviewee: Major Tiresias Smith, Paranatural asset officer and aerologist of USS Enterprise.
<Begin Log>
The eye of Typhoon Cobra.
0300: US Third Fleet reappears east of the Philippines in the exact position they vanished from on the 17th.
0330 Halsey: All vessels turn due west, prepare for strikes in support of ground efforts in the Philippines.
Multiple unofficial reports and personal accounts report a general sense of "frustration" with Halsey's detachment from reality.
0331: Aerologists note low barometric pressure and begin calculations based on received radio transmissions of a potentially significant weather event, most conclude this is just a bad storm in their reports, which are relayed to Halsey.
0335: Aerologists onboard the Lexington and Enterprise, after consulting with experienced sailors in other parts of the fleet and on their vessels, conclude and relay that a typhoon is approaching.
0340 Halsey: All ships adjust course to west-southwest.
Dr. Eurylochus enters the room and smiles at Major Smith.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Good morning, Major."
Major Smith: "Morning Doc. I'm really starting to enjoy these little talks between us."
Unknown Destroyer during Typhoon Cobra.
Dr. Eurylochus: Laughs. "The feeling is mutual Major; you're quite the storyteller."
Smith shifts in his chair.
Major Smith: "I get it from my Gran."
Dr. Eurylochus: "She must have been a wonderful orator."
Major Smith: "She was." Smith smiles.
Several seconds of silence.
USS Santa Fe during Typhoon Cobra.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Ok, let’s—”
Major Smith: “Cut to the chase?”
Dr. Eurylochus blinks.
Major Smith: “See I’ve been picking up on you too.” He smiles.
Dr. Eurylochus: Laughs. “You certainly have.” She pauses for several seconds, as she opens folders on the table. “At 0300 you and the rest of Third Fleet reappeared approximately 260 nautical miles, 480 km for those listening, from the Philippines. What were conditions like when the fleet reappeared?"
Major Smith: "Monstrous. I got off from New Jersey as soon as we got our bearings. Getting back to the Big E was a nightmare."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Can you elaborate?"
Major Smith: "Well, it was pitch black still, sun hadn't risen. That said, I could see lightning in the distance, maliciously enraged, full of odd hues. The waves were horrific, tossing destroyers and escorts around in the dark like toys. Some of the destroyers were still trying to refuel in this, Halsey even ordered several to stay near the oilers! My sixth sense was howling that something horrible was coming. Halsey ordered the fleet due west about then."
0345 Halsey: Bad storm approaching!
0350: Experienced sailors on the USS New Jersey advise their superior officers who advise Halsey that the worsening conditions are approaching typhoon strength. He ignores them.
0401: Other ship captains ignore Halsey's declarations and begin preparing for severe/heavy weather by strapping down planes and other equipment.
0415: The USS New Jersey begins polling other ships to see their thoughts on weather conditions and weather or not this is a storm or a typhoon.
Halsey: All ships, sail due west.
0445 Halsey: Countermand my previous order, all ships break south and 'run for it.'
0500: Third Fleet is hit by Typhoon Cobra. Interfleet communications are disrupted by storm interference.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Your personal report indicates that Halsey also ignored the warning signs of the typhoon?"
Major Smith: "He changed course multiple times, ignored the deteriorating weather conditions, worsening of the waves and precipitation."
0501: Early ontokinetic measurement systems promptly shatter or cease responding.
0911: A plane breaks free in Monterrey’s hangar deck, pinwheels across the hangar, and explodes against a bulkhead, starting a fire. The fire is only brought under control after 34 more planes broke free of their straps and were tossed overboard by the waves.
1000: Multiple destroyers begin filling their fuel tanks with seawater too late, after Halsey's order led them to believe they were being directed to safety.
1100: The destroyer USS Hull capsizes due to severe rolls and takes 202 sailors with her.
1110: The destroyer USS Spence rolls hard, and has her electrical systems damaged by water entering ventilator ducts. Her damaged rudder jams right, and she capsizes taking 317 of her crew with her.
1130: The destroyer USS Monaghan loses electrical power and steering. She sinks with 256 hands.
1345 Halsey to the world: Typhoon warning! This is the witch's typhoon!
Major Smith: "When the barometers dropped out at around 1000 he was still convinced we were in the middle of a big fucking storm, and didn't order destroyers to fill their tanks to defend against the weather until it was practically on top of us. Then he had the gall to, I can't believe this man, issue a Typhoon warning at 1345 when the wall was right on top of us. I guarantee you this prick isn't going to receive anything more than a slap on the gods damned wrist."
Dr. Eurylochus: "Let’s stay focused."
Major Smith: "Sorry, I know you don't have any power here, but this whole thing makes my blood boil. Good sailors, good marines died. People are dead cause of this reckless negligence, and he's going to get protected by the upper brass for it."
USS Cowpens during Typhoon Cobra.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Tiresias, I understand. I do, believe me."
Several minutes pass in silence as Dr. Eurylochus scribbles in her notebook.
Major Smith: "Did you have more questions for me?"
Dr. Eurylochus: "Can you describe conditions inside of the typhoon for me? Your report is very light on details."
Major Smith: "Admiral Evans recommended going light on the official details, I was in the crosshairs already for speaking out against a superior officer. Normally, my job requires me to go out on the Big E's deck to look at the wind readings, but at around 1100 the gusts tore the device out of its hinges on deck and sent it spinning into the fucking ocean like a runaway carousel. So, at that point I decided discretion was the better part of valor and stuck to the inside of the carrier’s island."
USS Massachusetts during Typhoon Cobra.
Smith pauses and takes a sip from a glass bottle of Coke.
Major Smith: "The Big E was rocking side to side like I've never seen her do before. Waves started coming up and washing down the flight deck in columns of solid water. That's about when the watch crews decided 'fuck that' and all retreated into the hangars or the island. Visibility was ass, the rain was thick curtains of water, and I was afraid we might collide with a battleship or cruiser given how we were being tossed about. Every time lightning lit up the sky, I could swear there were shapes in the clouds, wolves, and lions backlit by the green and purple and blues of lightning strikes and quickly swept away by the howling winds. I could feel the thaumaturgic currents swirling above us, rippling and intensifying as we passed through the eye wall. Then there was the noise. It was like a constant thundering train, interspersed by the crash of waves over the deck, and the tearing of plane straps ripping Hellcats and Avengers off the deck and into the sea."
Smith takes another sip from the coke.
Major Smith: "Above it all… there was a laugh. Someone, maybe the anomaly I'd guess, laughing, shouting, and chanting on the wind. I really thought we were fucked. Especially when the Monterey down the line burst into flames. No one would know we lost three destroyers until much later."
1400: Multiple carriers report being able to see the eye of the typhoon on Radar.
1700: USS Tabberer clears the worst of the storm, having lost her stack. She encounters the USS Dewey.
Logged Signal Light Messages:
USS Tabberer: I've lost my mast!
USS Dewey: Cheer up, I've lost my stack.
1701: USS Tabberer stumbles upon the first survivor from USS Hull and begins rescue efforts using the momentum of the waves.
1710 Halsey Third Fleet turn west and begin refueling operations to prepare for air strikes on the Philippines.
1711: The USS Tabberer ignores orders from Halsey and proceeds to rescue 55 survivors over the course of the next 51 hours.
Smith falls silent for several minutes as Eurylochus scribbles in her notebook.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Thank you for sharing, Tiresias."
Major Smith: "Yeah."
<December 19th>
0225: Admiral Halsey is informed that three of his destroyers have been sunk.
0230 Halsey: All ships be on the lookout for survivors en route to rendezvous.
At this point, three destroyers had been lost, 840 men killed or missing including the marines within SCP-8711, 146 planes destroyed or severely damaged, 186 if including those lost in SCP-8711. Twenty-seven ships damaged, eleven requiring major repairs.
Eurylochus sets her pen down and reaches to turn off the recording equipment.
Dr. Eurylochus: "Now, I have a proposition for you."
<End Log>
Postword: Following the events of Incident "Typhoon Cobra", evidence was sufficient to change the stance of the Foundation regarding what is now SCP-8711, and it was given an official designation. Multiple complaints were filed with the US Department of the Navy for the reckless behavior which endangered US Third Fleet and any potential relationship with a new paranatural entity.
Aftermath: A court of inquiry found Admiral Halsey responsible for the damage and loss of life due to SCP-8711 and the questionably connected Typhoon, but did not find it to be negligence, concluding they were errors made under the stress of war operations and seeking to meet military requirements. Halsey received no larger disciplinary admonishments.
Dr. Eurylochus submitted her report and log recordings to Foundation officials on the 28th of December, 1944 after the conclusion of the Court of Inquiry on the 26th.
Admiral Halsey would go on to become Fleet Admiral in the US navy. Despite multiple interviews by Foundation and early GOC personnel, Halsey never discussed the events within SCP-8711.
Additional Associated Phenomena: On June 5th, 1945, Typhoon Viper, bearing similar anomalous characteristics to Typhoon Cobra, collided with US Third Fleet around Okinawa and caused significant damage to multiple ships.
A third typhoon, with similar characteristics, hit the US fleet anchorage at Okinawa on October 8th and 9th, 1945 before curving northeast to hit mainland Japan. Typhoon Louise lost its anomalous characteristics after departing Okinawa.
Incident I-8711-02: Dr. Eurylochus and Major Tiresias Smith secured a small Foundation research craft through duplicitous documentation on the 31st of December, 1944, and were last seen sailing due east from Ulithi at 03:00 local time by a fishing vessel. Their research vessel has never been recovered.
Suspected Incident I-8711-34: On Sunday, the 9th of August, 1959, Admiral Halsey returned to his vacation home on Fisher's Island, New York. He discovered a pair of golden idols, one in the shape of a bull with markings of the sun engraved into its sides, and one in the shape of a pig, meticulously placed on his front porch.
His wife, who was present at the time, told investigators that when he reached down to pick up the idols 'a cloud of dust stirred and flew about his head for a few seconds like crazed bomber pilots' before vanishing. These objects were seized posthumously by Foundation agents and designated Object of Interest 8711-01 and -02.
A note was found on a small slip of paper bound to the Bull, reading:
A viper always strikes when its prey is least suspecting.
Admiral Halsey died at 0600, sunrise, on Sunday, August 16th, 1959 from a massive heartattack. Subsequent investigation discovered trace elements of a previously unknown toxic compound on both objects of interest.