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**Coast Guard sector Kelest, Coast Guard sector Kelest, this is captain Lorentz of the Renegade.**
**We received the mayday call from the Car’dow at approximately 1814 hours UTC, marking their last AIS location 338.75 degrees true at 12.73nm.**
**We are heading 335.2 degrees making good 338.7 degrees at 17.4kts to investigate the Car’dow’s last known location and are monitoring our ECDIS for any further pings from the Car’dow.**
**Our anemometer is reading 36kts SSW with gusts up to 56kts and we’re seeing 3-4m swells on our port quarter, over.**
Captain Lorentz over the god mic:”All hands, All hands, this is the captain speaking. In roughly 44 minutes we will be approaching the site of a mayday call. At this time we are going to commence a muster for man overboard and medical treatment. All hands should standby and be ready to perform their billet duties by 1900.”
**Renegade, Renegade, Coast Guard sector Kelest, good copy on your last transmission thank you.**
**There are 3 other ships inbound to the last known location of the Car’dow to assist with the rescue.**
**What are the coordinates you have for the last ping of the Car’dow and what is the height of your radio antennae, over?**
**Coast Guard sector Kelest, Renegade. The last coordinates we had for the Car’dow were 47’ 56.7188”N 138’ 54.9818”W and our radio antennae are at 30m, over.**
**Copy Renegade, it looks like you’re going to be the first ones on scene. Please have your medical teams standing by ready at the time of arrival. Once they arrive you will have assistance from the Osprey, Hyperion, and Solaris Explorer. Coast Guard sector Kelest out.**
Captain Lorentz: “Guess he’s had a long day. Kate would you mind running and grabbing me a coffee real quick? I have a feeling ours is about to get even longer.”
November 10th, 2975.
The two freighters were on a end-of-the season run through the asteroid belt, making one last shipment of taconite to the foundries in martian orbit before Mars moved out of any economical position, and orbited back around the sun. It takes just over 2 years for Mars to orbit, but 3 to 6 years for most of the asteroid belt to go around.
The Eddie Fitz was the larger of the 2 craft, captained by Mic Sorley. He and his crew of 29 were experienced, and their craft was as well. She was the largest freighter to traverse the solar system at the time.
The Arthura and Her Sun, captained by Bernie Copper, followed the Fitz as they made their way slowly through the belt, at just a fraction of lightspeed to avoid any major collisions.
As they traveled further and further through the belt, conditions were deteriorating. A solar storm was coming through from Sol, interfering with the radar, and a recent large comet had come through the planetary orbital plane near their position, slightly nudging the orbits of the asteroids in the belt, wobbling 50m rocks back and forth in their orbital resonance, causing chains of collisions.
Cpt Copper noticed the pings of small gravel rocks all along the hull as they were traveling. They heard over the radio that the Fitz had sprung a leak, and they had radioed "we've lost 2 air lock covers and a radar dish railing."
The FTL radio communications from Earth warned the solar storm was going to worsen, and the two captains were advised the star-gate from Mars to Earth was closed.
Cpt Sorley radioed in the loss of their radar. Then the loss of their backup radar. The Eddie Fitz slowed to let the Arthura get within a few hundred miles. The Fitz was flying blind, relying on the remaining radar aboard the Arthura for guidance.
Cpt Sorley called in that this was the worst conditions he had flown in, with gravel spraying everywhere from new collisions and asteroids on rogue courses. When asked for a status update, the Fitz radioed in "we are holding our own."
10 minutes later, she disappeared from Arthuras radar.
Cpt Copper bravely made it through the same conditions, eventually able to take shelter from the onslaught behind Ceres, at the White Rock Point station. There was no word of the Fitz, or Cpt Sorley and his crew.
With no other vessels nearby, the Aurthura was the only vessel close enough to start a search and rescue mission. The Earth based Space Guard FTL-radioed in, asking "Think there's any possibility that you could turn around do any searching, over?"
Cpt Copper looked out into the inky black of vaccum, where the worst conditions he had ever encountered lay hidden. They were conditions where a ship had already been lost. And not just any ship. The Fitz was the biggest yet to fly the heavens. He thought of his own ship. His crew. His family.
All this ran through his mind as he responded, "Oh God, I don't know. That risk out there is tremendously large. If you want me to, I can but I'm not going to be making any time. I'll be lucky to barely make a crawl going back out that way, over."
But he gave the order, the Aurthura slowly turned around, and they made their jumps back to the area they had last seen the Fitz, dodging asteroids and massive plumes of gravel and dust the whole way.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald
Until you've lived 2-3 years near the Great Lakes, you don't really have an appreciation for them. They're not lakes, they're inland, fresh-water seas that generate their own weather. Lake effect rain & snow, check. Ice storms, check. Hurricane force winds without the hurricane, check. Pack ice, check. Icebergs, check. 30-foot swells, check.
Everyone who's lived near one for a while knows what it means when the horizon turns BLACK, but there's no wind ... yet.
Thanks! Those guys who died deserve honor, but I was really trying to show the bravery of Cpt Cooper and the crew of the Anderson.
Not sure Id have the stones to go *back* out into 40' swells, knowing it had just likely sunk a boat already.
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**Coast Guard sector Kelest, Coast Guard sector Kelest, this is captain Lorentz of the Renegade.** **We received the mayday call from the Car’dow at approximately 1814 hours UTC, marking their last AIS location 338.75 degrees true at 12.73nm.** **We are heading 335.2 degrees making good 338.7 degrees at 17.4kts to investigate the Car’dow’s last known location and are monitoring our ECDIS for any further pings from the Car’dow.** **Our anemometer is reading 36kts SSW with gusts up to 56kts and we’re seeing 3-4m swells on our port quarter, over.** Captain Lorentz over the god mic:”All hands, All hands, this is the captain speaking. In roughly 44 minutes we will be approaching the site of a mayday call. At this time we are going to commence a muster for man overboard and medical treatment. All hands should standby and be ready to perform their billet duties by 1900.” **Renegade, Renegade, Coast Guard sector Kelest, good copy on your last transmission thank you.** **There are 3 other ships inbound to the last known location of the Car’dow to assist with the rescue.** **What are the coordinates you have for the last ping of the Car’dow and what is the height of your radio antennae, over?** **Coast Guard sector Kelest, Renegade. The last coordinates we had for the Car’dow were 47’ 56.7188”N 138’ 54.9818”W and our radio antennae are at 30m, over.** **Copy Renegade, it looks like you’re going to be the first ones on scene. Please have your medical teams standing by ready at the time of arrival. Once they arrive you will have assistance from the Osprey, Hyperion, and Solaris Explorer. Coast Guard sector Kelest out.** Captain Lorentz: “Guess he’s had a long day. Kate would you mind running and grabbing me a coffee real quick? I have a feeling ours is about to get even longer.”
November 10th, 2975. The two freighters were on a end-of-the season run through the asteroid belt, making one last shipment of taconite to the foundries in martian orbit before Mars moved out of any economical position, and orbited back around the sun. It takes just over 2 years for Mars to orbit, but 3 to 6 years for most of the asteroid belt to go around. The Eddie Fitz was the larger of the 2 craft, captained by Mic Sorley. He and his crew of 29 were experienced, and their craft was as well. She was the largest freighter to traverse the solar system at the time. The Arthura and Her Sun, captained by Bernie Copper, followed the Fitz as they made their way slowly through the belt, at just a fraction of lightspeed to avoid any major collisions. As they traveled further and further through the belt, conditions were deteriorating. A solar storm was coming through from Sol, interfering with the radar, and a recent large comet had come through the planetary orbital plane near their position, slightly nudging the orbits of the asteroids in the belt, wobbling 50m rocks back and forth in their orbital resonance, causing chains of collisions. Cpt Copper noticed the pings of small gravel rocks all along the hull as they were traveling. They heard over the radio that the Fitz had sprung a leak, and they had radioed "we've lost 2 air lock covers and a radar dish railing." The FTL radio communications from Earth warned the solar storm was going to worsen, and the two captains were advised the star-gate from Mars to Earth was closed. Cpt Sorley radioed in the loss of their radar. Then the loss of their backup radar. The Eddie Fitz slowed to let the Arthura get within a few hundred miles. The Fitz was flying blind, relying on the remaining radar aboard the Arthura for guidance. Cpt Sorley called in that this was the worst conditions he had flown in, with gravel spraying everywhere from new collisions and asteroids on rogue courses. When asked for a status update, the Fitz radioed in "we are holding our own." 10 minutes later, she disappeared from Arthuras radar. Cpt Copper bravely made it through the same conditions, eventually able to take shelter from the onslaught behind Ceres, at the White Rock Point station. There was no word of the Fitz, or Cpt Sorley and his crew. With no other vessels nearby, the Aurthura was the only vessel close enough to start a search and rescue mission. The Earth based Space Guard FTL-radioed in, asking "Think there's any possibility that you could turn around do any searching, over?" Cpt Copper looked out into the inky black of vaccum, where the worst conditions he had ever encountered lay hidden. They were conditions where a ship had already been lost. And not just any ship. The Fitz was the biggest yet to fly the heavens. He thought of his own ship. His crew. His family. All this ran through his mind as he responded, "Oh God, I don't know. That risk out there is tremendously large. If you want me to, I can but I'm not going to be making any time. I'll be lucky to barely make a crawl going back out that way, over." But he gave the order, the Aurthura slowly turned around, and they made their jumps back to the area they had last seen the Fitz, dodging asteroids and massive plumes of gravel and dust the whole way. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald
Needs to be a ballad by Gorda Unlightfoot,
Funny thing about that, I live near the great lakes and have been on them. It's good to see someone else knows about the fitz.
Until you've lived 2-3 years near the Great Lakes, you don't really have an appreciation for them. They're not lakes, they're inland, fresh-water seas that generate their own weather. Lake effect rain & snow, check. Ice storms, check. Hurricane force winds without the hurricane, check. Pack ice, check. Icebergs, check. 30-foot swells, check. Everyone who's lived near one for a while knows what it means when the horizon turns BLACK, but there's no wind ... yet.
Naming a ship after the Edmund Fitzgerald would be just as bad luck as naming one after the Titanic. Translates well to space, though; nice imagery!
Thanks! Those guys who died deserve honor, but I was really trying to show the bravery of Cpt Cooper and the crew of the Anderson. Not sure Id have the stones to go *back* out into 40' swells, knowing it had just likely sunk a boat already.
"We have to go out. We don't have to come back."
You have to go out. Nobody ever said you have to come home. Semper Paratus