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http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/19105347/
 Submersible Witches Quest: On Enemy Shores
 	You are CPO Cleona Wilhelmina Kuykendall, and you are having a pleasant dream. 
"Got another one for you, Cleo!" yells Chief Kokolova, pointing out a crate. You're assisting the USS Tullibee's crew load some equipment for the substriker and skimmer tests, and it's slow going. Someone decided it was a good idea to put smaller crates inside of bigger crates that don't fit inside, so you've been opening the big ones first. The good news is that the crates fit on the sub now. The bad news is there's a ton of smaller crates waiting to be loaded.
 	You acknowledge him with a grunt, picking up another in a seemingly-endless line of crates. As you head to the Ambient Pressure Chamber in the Tullibee, you bump into Henrieta Falkowska, an eager young Polish witch. "Oh, sorry, Chief Kuykendall!" she says, quickly scooting out of your path. All you can manage is another grunt before you set down the crate.
 	"Sub-Lieutenant Falkowska, what can I do for you?" you ask, tapping your impatiently. You've got a lot of crates to load. 
 	"Oh, uh...I kind of wanted to ask you the same thing," she answers shyly. You blink in surprise.
 	"But you don't have to do anything. You and the others are just here for testing, right?" 
 	"Yeah, but...you don't have to do anything either. I don't think you should have to do this on your own..." she says guiltily.
 	You chuckle. "Falkowska, I'm not doing this on my own. I'm helping the crew of the Tullibee." As you say this, a disappointed look forms on Henrieta's face. "Still...I think I could use some help." At this, her face brightens.
 	"Please, let me!" she says. "And call me Yetta, that's what the others do."
 	"Sure thing, Yetta. Come on, there's plenty more crates where this came from." Pleased with finding someone who isn't a freeloader, you and Henrieta head back to the dock to continue loading the busy ship.
 	And then you wake up. Groaning, you look about your surroundings. You're in a dark room, numerous hexagonal and octagonal shapes embossed on the walls. A quick look-around tells you you're probably in a cell of some kind, with bare necessities and no loose objects...and Lt. Rae Caulders! You sit up a bit too quickly and the room threatens to disappear in darkness. Steadying yourself, the room comes back into focus. You get up to examine Caulders, and she's not looking good.
 	Her breathing is shallow and ragged, her clothes in rags. Strangely, parts of her skimmer are still on her, though much has been removed as if by an impossibly sharp and precise blade. Though wrapped in various bandages, they're placed haphazardly, as if by someone that hadn't the faintest clue where they should go. You're no medical witch, but even you can tell she needs some serious help and soon. 
 	Suddenly, the wall opens. You spin around at the noise, and see-
 	"Yetta!?" She nods at her name, and steps inside.
  	>You're alive!
	->You're dead, I saw it!
	>Other
 	"You're dead, I saw it." You can still remember the image of the Tullibee being struck by its own torpedo, Yetta still inside. You shudder as you think of her and all the other decent people that were on board at the time. As you draw back from Yetta, she tilts her head, confused. She reaches out to you.
 	"Who are you?" you demand, moving again to maintain as much distance as you can from her in this tiny cell. "Why are you doing this?" Yetta remains strangely silent. She freezes, as if in recognition, and then her image fades away. Standing in her place is a Martian, its oddly-shaped head and many tentacles coming into focus. Horrified at what it was trying to do, you take a fighting stance...and Caulders' breathing suddenly gets more ragged. With little choice, you turn your back to the Martian, futilely trying to think of something you can do for her. 
 	"Lt. Caulders..." You pump your magic into her, blindly. Just the mere presence of excess magic can help heal a person, but without the finesse and control of a trained witch, Caulders isn't going to stand a chance. Deep in concentration, you jump as the Martian touches your hand with a tentacle.
 	->Push the creature away from Caulders
	>Ignore it, Caulders needs help.
	>Other
 	You've had enough from this creature. It insulted Yetta's image and now it's interfering with you as you try to heal Caulders? You break off from healing Caulders; you probably weren't going to be able to save her anyway. Enraged, you swing a fist at its bulbous head. It makes a wet smack as it makes contact, knocking the Martian to the floor. The wall opens once again as four armed creatures burst in, waving weapons and making one hell of a racket. A pair tackle you as you attempt to swing at not!Yetta again, the other pair helping their fellow Martian up and out of the cell. 
 	The pair of armed Martians manage to pin you down as you struggle against them. They place a device on your chest and suddenly you find yourself unable to sit up. The Martians release their hold on you, retreating to the hole in the wall. As they're about to exit, the weight on your chest lifts and the device zooms back to a waiting tentacle. They turn to leave and the wall closes behind them. 
 	Coughing, you get back to your feet, adrenaline still racing through your system. You can hear Caulders struggling to breathe, and you rush back to her side. Again you attempt to heal her, blindly tossing magic in her direction. All you can tell is that she doesn't sound like she's getting worse, which could mean anything. For the next 15 minutes, you continue expelling your magic, reducing your reserves to almost nothing.
 rolled 2 = 2
 	As you nearly run out, the wall opens again. A Martian enters, padding on its head where you hit it earlier. You turn to it, ready to attack again-
 	You stop. There's something going on. You can still feel all your anger and contempt for this creature, but you can also feel a calm, a desire for peace and safety that wasn't there a moment ago. The Martian holds its tentacles up, mimicking a very human gesture. 
	"W..what?" you ask the Martian, confused about what's going on. As you do, that feeling of calm shifts to hope, a desire for something...from you. You heard the rumors, the talk that the alien invaders had a trick much like magic up their sleeve. Could this be it?
 	>They've already proven they're capable of deception. Don't let it near.
	->You've nothing to lose. Stand down.
	>Other
 	It's not like you've much of a choice. You're in a Martian cell, surrounded by Martians with guns, and nothing with which you might make an escape. Cautiously, you stand down and let the Martian approach. It leaves the safety of the door wall, stopping uncomfortably close to Caulders. You feel uneasy, but if they wanted Caulders, there'd be little you could do to stop them. It looks at you, gesturing with its tentacles. 
 	Confused, you try extending your hand to it, and you sense satisfaction from it. It gently wraps itself around your hand, the alien feeling of its skin making you flinch. Tugging your hand, it places it on Caulders' chest, where you had it just before you socked it with your fist. The Martian just stares at you, waiting.
 	Not seeing much else it could want you to do, you start directing the last of your magic into Caulders' body. Unlike before, however, there's an incredible clarity in your mind. With just a thought, magic is applied to Caulders' various vital organs, not a drop wasted. It's as if your desires are being translated into the physical actions needed to carry them out. What would have been an almost insignificant amount of magical healing has become enough to stabilize Caulders; her breathing is no longer ragged and her chest bobs up and down with deep breaths. 
 	Finished, you let out the breath you didn't realize you were holding and stare at the alien in wonder. What is it trying to do? Undoubtedly it wants to use you and Caulders to learn about humanity's greatest weapons, but it seems to be awfully...patient. Though you manage to keep your face still, you can't help but feel a bit of relief over Caulders and...even a tiny bit of gratitude. You've had enough witches dying today (is it still today?) and Caulders seems like she'll make it through the night. You feel nothing from the Martian anymore, and it races out of the room, probably hoping to avoid another punch.
 	You lean back against the wall, nothing to do but be glad you won't be sharing the room with a corpse in the immediate future, but a nagging, horrific thought rises at the back of your head.
 	How did it do that?
 –-----
 	For the next week, the alien comes in and out of your cell bearing things like beat-up, mix-and-matched cans of food, a bucket, and water. Caulders spends most of the time unconscious, only waking up once every couple of hours and even then for only 15 minutes or so. When she's awake, she moans in pain and you have to struggle to get her to eat and drink. She might not be in immediate danger of dying, but she needs serious medical attention from someone who actually understands the human body.  It doesn't seem like you'll be leaving soon, however, and every minute you spend here is a minute the Martians have to examine you and Caulders. You need a gameplan.
 ->Recover. You're not breaking out while Caulders is still injured.
>Sabotage. Wherever you are, you're not going to get far. You need to eliminate what they've learned.
>Escape. There's always hope.
>Communicate. There's at least one Martian willing to come back after being punched.
>Other
 	As much as you hate to admit it, alone you're pretty much incapable of doing anything in this cell. Hell, you're not even a full witch; the depression cut into your training at the academy. Caulders could probably finagle some witchcraft that you couldn't think of and do so efficiently. The problem is getting Caulders back up and running. You could get the Martian's help again, but who knows what they might learn from another mind-link magic session. On the other hand, it's not like they've got a human hospital set up anywhere. You settle with blindly pumping magic into her again, hoping she's recovered enough for it to have a lasting effect. 
 	Placing your hands on her chest again, you begin the process. In the academy, they'd teach all sorts of health magic; witches were supposed to help out in emergency medical situations when able. You went through a refresher course when you signed up with the Navy, but it's not like you knew the material in the first place. Blind healing is enough to fix up scratches, bruises, scabs, and the like with just a few seconds of healing, though, so keeping it up for a long time should work. You hope.
 	After a few minutes of concentration, Caulders wakes up again. She begins to yawn and stretch, but checks the movements as they're quickly followed by pain. "Sh-shi-shit! Ah, what's going on?" she manages.
 	"You don't remember anything?" you ask.
 	"Um...bits...and pieces? Some bad food...feels like I got hit by a truck...damn, this place is dark," she mumbles. Thinking this is enough for now, you stop healing. Immediately Caulders starts to fade again, her eyelids closing as she loses consciousness. You try to wake her back up, but even emptying yourself of magic doesn't bring her back up.
 	The next day, after Socks brings the food (you needed to call him something, and you did sock him good), you try again. This time you continue healing even after Caulders wakes up.
 	"God dammit, did I fade out?" she asks.
 	"Yeah, sorry. I'm doing my best here, but you've had a hell of a time and I'm not much of a medic."
 	"You can say that again..." She looks at your hands on her chest, doing a very sloppy job of healing. "Try overlapping your hands in an X shape. Concentrate on enhancing the body's natural healing, not forcing it to regenerate," she advises. You rearrange your hands and continue, trying to follow her instructions.
 	"No no no, dammit Kuykendall. Don't you know anything about healing at all?"
 	"No, sorry. I missed that part of class."
 	Caulders rolls her eyes. "Here, let me." She places her hands on top of yours, and a familiar sensation takes hold. This time, however, the flow of the magic is completely out of your hands as Caulders guides it into her own body, letting its natural regeneration tap into a new source of energy. The two of you remain silent as she concentrates, eventually draining you of magic. With a sigh, she manages to sit up and lean back against a wall.
 	"So. What the hell is going on?"
 >We need to sabotage these aliens.
->They're learning with our every move. We need to get out.
>No clue. We should ask the Martian.
>Other
 	"Well, as you can see, we're not on the Tullibee anymore. I got knocked out during the attack, some sort of horrible noise hit me. Shut up, it's not funny."
 	Caulders stops giggling. "Hah, done in by a sound. Was it scary?"
 	"Oh? And what happened to you?" you counter, trying to save some face.
 	"Well, I...um...flew into an invisible wall." It's your turn to start laughing. "What? I said it was invisible!"
 	"Yeah, well, it seems to have left you in a pretty bad way. You were nearly gone when I came to in here, and you've been passing in and out of consciousness for about a week."
 	"A week? In this dump?" She gestures at the room, especially at the bucket you've been...using. "Why'd you have to go and wake me up? This isn't exactly an experience I want to remember."
 	"Because we've got to get out."
 	"Come again?"
 >Try to trick Socks and escape
->Caulders has to have some magic tricks up her sleeve
>Bust past the guards next time the wall opens
>Other
 	"What, you like it in here, Caulders?"
 	"I've been up 5 minutes and I'm already hating it."
 	"Then let's try and break out. Staying here only helps the Martians figure out how to beat us."
 	"And how do you propose we do that? Ask nicely?"
 	"Hey, you're the academy witch. Surely you learned something that could help. Right?" You serious right up as she averts your gaze. "...You did, right?"
 	"I...didn't do so well in school."
 	Great. She's all talk. "That's more than what I did. Come on, you learned how to heal, right? You had to learn something."
 	"Oh sure, I learned lots of great tricks for a situation like this. How many do you think I remember?"
 	Is she really going to make you do everything for her? You sigh. "Something. Anything. God dammit Caulders, this isn't a game."
 	"Fine." She shuts up and starts thinking, trying to remember anything that could help. She makes a few motions with her hand, sparking off a few little pops and flashes here and there as she tries out a few things. The obvious show of magic makes you feel nervous.
 	"Can you try not to be so flashy as you think? They're probably watching us," you say.
 	"Shut up! It's the only way I can think things through!" she says, continuing. Her little shows are toned down, but continue. After quite some time (Socks came in with another meal, much to your worry, before walking back out as if Caulders were just counting on her hands), Caulders jumped up. "I've got it!"
 	"Got what?"
 	"How to get out! We'll just walk out!"
 	"Are you kidding me?" If that's all it took, you would have done it ages ago.
 	"Well, if we use our shields and smash them up against the walls, they can't stop us, right?"
 	"This is your magical plan?"
 	"Hey, I don't see you coming up with any better."
 	"Fine. We slam them with defensive magic they've seen a million times before. Then what?"
 >Then what?
->Make a break for anything that might lead outside
>Take a hostage
>Other
 	"...I don't know. You're the brains here." Unfortunately, that couldn't be more true.
 	"First priority is getting our asses out of here. I don't think I can overstate our importance to the war effort, strikers or not. Almost as important, however, is destroying anything they recorded about ourselves or our magic."
 	"You mean we're not getting straight out of here?" Caulders asked.
 	"Right. We find any thing with our pictures on it, the word 'MAGIC', or a bunch of shiny buttons and dials, we wreck it." Caulders brightened at that last comment.
 	"They'll be hot on our heels, though, Kuykendall. How are we going to hold them off?"
 	"Keep running and hope they don't have guns." Caulders groans at your answer.
 	The two of you settle on down, waiting for the next time the wall opens to begin. 
 	Socks doesn't come back for the rest of the day. Resigned to a jailbreak tomorrow (probably a good idea, seeing as you're low on magic), you settle down on the thin cushion serving as a mattress on your bench, plunging into a deep sleep. You have another dream, this time of Lt. Harumi Ogawa. The two of you didn't get along well, and part of you is glad she wasn't in the cell with you and Caulders. 
 	"Lt. Ogawa, are you just going to sit around all day?" you ask, annoyed. Ogawa'd been doing her best to do absolutely nothing to help you and the rest of the crew load up the test equipment. Technically that was well within her rights as an officer of a foreign service and a test witch, but she kept finding ways to distract or impede you as you scurried through the Tullibee. 
 	"I'm hardly sitting, Chief. In fact, I'm on my way to get some food. I don't suppose the chefs have any rice?" she says cockily, as if you doing work offended her.
 	"I don't know, you'd have to ask," you answer, struggling to get a crate past her.
 	"Well, you keep up the hard work." She saunters off, making an effort to not be putting in any effort. Her actions infuriate you. Cursing, you continue heading down to the Ambient Pressurization Chamber, nearly running over Sub-Lieutenant Falkowska. 
 	"Oh, sorry, Chief Kuykendall!" she says, quickly scooting out of your path.
 	Yes, Lt. Ogawa was a most infuriating character. Even so, you feel a tinge of guilt for thinking ill of her. Not only was she a comrade in arms, she might not even be around to defend herself any longer. You shift in your "bed," searching for a more comfortable position. Tomorrow is the day you get out.
 Or die trying.