Quoted By:
“What’s with the boat, anyway?” You ask as you delve into the rows of shelves, reading labels on crates listing their contents as you go. None of it seems like it would be relevant to your mission, though, either completely useless or too large or noisy to be worth taking with you. “Shouldn’t this be a submarine insertion like usual?”
Captain Pullman hummed gravely. <span class="mu-i">“Ordinarily it would be, but we’ve received some worrying reports about North Eritrea’s coastal security. Multiple sources have confirmed the presence of naval mines around the coast at the depths at which submarines or other submersibles might travel.</span>
You quirk an eyebrow as much as your skin allows while you pocket some potentially useful items left by the crew. “Naval mines?”
<span class="mu-i">“That’s right, naval mines. They’re placed low enough that they don’t bother any ships on the surface while still preventing underwater approaches, at least by large craft. That’s why we’re not using a submarine even if this is a water-based approach.”</span>
You rifle through a nearby toolbox, from which you pilfer a hand screwdriver with a set of interchangeable bits. Fancy. “But naval mines are expensive. How’s a country like Eritrea affording that kind of security?”
<span class="mu-i">“That’s the thing, Panther,”</span> he says gravely, <span class="mu-i">they’re not. They don’t have the income or trade relations to buy them officially and they don’t have the facilities to produce them locally, which leaves only one possible answer.”</span>
“A third party,” you conclude, “I read the briefing. The junta’s got access to r sources they’ve got no business having. Do we have any idea who the supplier is?”
Pullman sits in pensive silence for a moment. <span class="mu-i">”It’s all just speculation right now, but we’ve got a list of potential culprits. At the top is China; they’d be supporting a tiny communist upstart state run by a remnant of the Marxist-Leninist EPLF with weaponry and manpower. Following that are a few independent organisations who might have a vested interest in keeping the Red Sea a war zone.”</span> At that he shakes his head. <span class="mu-i">“But it’s none of your concern right now. Focus on getting topside.”</span>
“Copy that,” you say. At this point you’ve assembled a tidy little inventory. In addition to the gear FOXHOUND supplied you with before the infiltration, you are now the owner of a handheld screwdriver, a few metres of solid drawcord and five zip ties. You can think of quite a few situations where these items would come in useful, so you’re glad to have them. Still, as you’re about to leave, one more item catches your eye. Stuffed behind a few cardboard boxes with only a corner showing, you pull out a stapled sheaf of papers. It’s…
A nudie magazine. Playboy, and an older edition judging by the faded cover and hairstyle of the cover model. You’re not sure why, but you can’t quite bring yourself to throw the dog-eared thing away.
