26-JAN-45 Lead Scientist Burton U-5918 Brunhilde
It’s done. The insurrection was crushed and the ship is back in the command of party faithful and loyal Germans of the Fatherland. Sajer has been jettisoned to the black along with his comrades to be devoured by the rest of the bottom feeders. The crew has been chewed down to just 28 men, including myself and she is resting at the bottom. Sajer’s last gambit was to try and scuttle her before we could breach the hatches, a shame we had all the diver suits on our side of the door. The idiot.
The calamity enabled a rare opportunity for me to perform a long term experiment with the Kettle Steam. The crushing depths of the ocean make deep sea salvage a dream and limit Brunhilde’s ability to pick her kills clean to prohibitively close to shore. With the liquid in the suits and the divers lungs we were able to sustain complete submersion, and allowing the kettle to continue to run also allowed us to recycle the fluid to sustain the recovery operations of releasing the water back out from the the hull. For the time being we are dead in the mud, but repairs will be made round the clock and a lengthy recovering period needed from such a heavy exposure to the Kettle Steam.
Interestingly, the men haven’t got much hunger after being freed of their suits, nor did any of us experience fatigue or exhaustion from the near week straight efforts to recover the scuttled vessel. Further testing will need to be conducted. The isotope therapy committed to Kessler seemed like the biggest breakthrough of Aryan Science but we may be on the cusp of the next steps of evolution. We are not merely pushing the edge of the envelope, we are remaking the envelope entirely.
For now there is much work to be done drying up the flooded decks and repairing the equipment damaged from the sea water. Thankfully the gyroscope remained intact for when we came to a rest at the seabed until it was shut down. The parts are quite complex and will take sustained salvage to find suitable replacements. I have the chief engine mate, Hartmann, acting as the leader of the sailors while I keep control over my remaining 12 scientists. I have tasked Hartmann with finding parts of the Brunhilde we can work without while we get the gyroscope back online.
There will still be a more glorious sunrise, yet!
Heil Hitler
Chief Scientist Felix Burton, Acting Kaptain
Ke rescanned the page and for the first time noticed that it had been written in pencil first before being carefully re-written in pen. The paper had been damp when he wrote. Looking down to Akin who stared into his empty coffee cup, they both paused in reflection.
“Crazy frenchy tried to sink his own boat. Must have convinced his boys that it was the best option and the other decks sabotaged themselves too.” He said, marveling at the thought of somebody leading his men into hell.
“Choosing to drown for a higher cause? I’m not sure I like anyone that much, sir.” replied Ke, a gentle smile looking down to Akin.
He nodded and groaned as his body rose up again, knees cracking loudly and his back wrenching into a tight stretch. The ocean was ablaze in the first streaks of daylight peaking over the horizon, so far away. Inside the cabin an electronic chirp of a cellphone alarm began to cry out and Ke wagered they would have the other two sailors with them soon.
“So Burton got to have his secret lab for 80 years. I wonder what he did with that…” Akin wondered out loud, meandering toward the galley for another hearty cup of merciless coffee.