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SCP-ES-096 during combat, after the destruction of SCPS Adrastea. Note the presence of SCP-ES-096-01.
Special Containment Procedures: SCP-ES-096 is to be under permanent satellite observation. For this purpose, the satellites SCP-FVS NORDSAT, SUDSAT and OVERSAT have been disposed, whose orbit must be maintained according to the specifications detailed in Document FVS-096-SEC. SCP-ES-096 must be retained no more than 2,000km from the coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula, through constant maintenance of the POLARIS-96 Protocol. For the successful implementation of the POLARIS-96 Protocol, the presence of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom must be maintained in the southern portion of the Atlantic Ocean, specifically the Falkland Islands, for its role as a permanent radio transmission base. Due to the Falkland Islands' war history, a facade story will not be necessary.
The Falkland Islands must have a constant provision supply, both for the needs of the agents in charge of the POLARIS-96 Protocol and for the maintenance of the Facility-96 radio station and the repeater ships.
Six ships, three from the Royal Navy and three from the Foundation Navy, must be permanently stationed at Facility-96, located in the Falkland Islands, near the Berkeley Sound fjord. The Foundation ships will be camouflaged with the appearance of Royal Navy ships.
If the presence of SCP-ES-096 is confirmed in the safe zone, at 7:00 p.m. each day, three ships chosen in rotation will travel to safe locations chosen by the Hazardous Materials Containment Coordinator (HMCC), at a minimum of 2000km distance from each other. Once in location, the Installation-96 radio station will begin to broadcast a pre-recorded radio signal, to be replaced monthly, designed to mimic the radio traffic of a civilian vessel. This main signal must be retransmitted by one of the vessels, which will then wait for a secondary "all in order" signal, to be transmitted on a different frequency, which must then be repeated to the two remaining containment vessels.
If the secondary signal is not received within twenty minutes, PR-1 will assume that SCP-ES-096 is approaching its position, and will undertake immediate withdrawal. PR-2 and -3, not receiving the "all in order" signal, will start the retransmission of the main signal simultaneously. If successful, the POLARIS-96 Protocol will continue as normal.
If the secondary signal is received, PR-1 will stop repeating the main signal and PR-2 will start repeating. This rotation will continue until 01:00, at which time all three ships will retreat.
All ships attached to the Foundation's ANTARCOM (Antarctic Command) Division, including those responsible for the POLARIS-96 Protocol, must have weapons capable to dissuade or incapacitate SCP-ES-096. Some examples of approved weaponry;
- Standard long-range 90mm caliber or larger cannons
- Thaumaturgic enhaced rifles of delayed blast
- Specialized maritime surface bombs, with anti-telekinetic alloy shrapnel
- BrahMos-II anti-ship missiles, adapted for a maritime deploy from a ITB platform
- Thaumic repeating rifles of 60mm or larger caliber
- Electromagnetic pulse and psychotronic double action warheads
Update 06/06/2014: By decision of the O5 Council and the Neutralization Division, SCP-ES-096 is designated as a neutralization objective, due to the next reasons;
- Decrease of POLARIS-96 Protocol's effectiveness as a containment method, resulting in unacceptably frequent breaches, at least twice a month.
- Unacceptable cost of veil repair and maintenance during SCP-ES-096's containment breaches
For neutralization purposes, it has been agreed to execute Operation GHOSTBUSTERS in joint action with the Global Occult Coalition, to take place on July 7th, 2014. The POLARIS-96 Protocol will remain on file for future use.
Description: SCP-ES-096 is an autonomous and mutable naval combat vessel, operational since the XVII Century, whose appearance always coincides with that of another active warship. Currently, SCP-ES-096 has the appearance of a Zumwalt-class destroyer, but a wide variety of different appearances have been recorded throughout history, including unidentified galleons, various forms of Ironclad warships, the battleship HMS Dreadnought, and an Admiral Brown-Class destroyer.
Although SCP-ES-096 normally has armament corresponding to the imitated ship, its mutable nature allows it to ectoentropically manifest a wide range of armaments, temporarily modifying its outer appearance until eventually manifesting them. The ammunition in SCP-ES-096's armament regenerates upon use, allowing large rounds of missiles and artillery at short intervals. SCP-ES-096 appears to have a strong instinct for self-preservation regarding its weaponry, invariably opting to cease fire rather than damage it by overheating. Despite this, it has extensive regeneration capabilities.
SCP-ES-096 is highly aggressive at irregular intervals, immediately opening fire on any vessel within the range of its current weapons, then retreating once the target vessel is sunk, without responding to any provocation unless cornered. SCP-ES-096 is believed to be capable of perceiving any vessel less than 410km away, although in certain circumstances it appears not to. SCP-ES-096's apparent target selectivity suggests some degree of intelligence
SCP-ES-096-01 is high-density, non-anomalous vapor fog, constantly present within a 1.3 km radius around SCP-ES-096. Within SCP-ES-096-01, it is impossible to observe outside the area covered by it. The presence of SCP-ES-096-01 is capable of blocking radio transmissions and hindering the use of locating instruments, as well as compasses, GPS, and radars.
SCP-ES-096 was discovered by the Foundation in the port of Trondheim, Norway, on June 4th, 1946, during the cargo of hazardous materials to the SCPS Helix, which would transport them to Zone-61 near Antwerp, Belgium, for containment. The incident was classified as EU-B002.
The SCPS Helix crew had reported the intermittent presence of fog during their departure from the port of London at 08:17, and halfway through the trip, having been dismissed due to the climatic conditions of the place. However, once the fog reappeared in the vicinity of Trondheim, an anomaly began to be suspected. However, higher priority was given to the extraction of hazardous materials, considered as a higher risk than the possible existence of a minor anomaly in the area.
During the loading of the last pieces in containment, SCP-ES-096 was sighted at 1:14 p.m. rapidly approaching Trondheim, then identified as the Iowa-Class destroyer New Jersey, which was anchored in San Francisco, California. This fact was appreciated as a possible anomaly in itself, but it was first tried to contact its crew, without response. SCP-ES-096, once less than 2 km away, opened fire against the SCPS Helix, first with its 50 caliber Mark 7 naval guns, and as it got closer, with its secondary 38 caliber turrets. During the bombing, an unspecified number of projectiles hit the propellers of the SCPS Helix, preventing its escape. Naval Task Force Alpha-2 ("Quisling Hunters"), responsible for the safety of the Helix, was unable to respond to the fire quickly, resulting in the sinking of 12 pieces of Keter-class hazardous material, and the loss of of 217 crew members. Once the fire ceased, SCP-ES-096 withdrew from the scene quickly, being pursued for two hours by the slower SCPS Ultramarine, deployed at 2:23 p.m. in response to the bombing, to finally disappear near the town of Vallersund.
The city of Trondheim suffered serious damage in the vicinity of the incident, with the United Methodist Church being destroyed in the altercation. Although the spread of the news was stopped by a joint action of the European Regional Council and the O5 Council, the resulting damage to the veil did not begin to be suppressed until 1962, with the development of the first modern amnestics, and completely repaired in 1964. The sum of the cost of rebuilding the affected areas of Trondheim and other costs necessary to maintain the Veil is estimated at 410,000,000 U$D.
As a consequence of Incident EU-B002, SCP-ES-096 was quickly classified as Unregistered Anomaly #0980 (URA-0980).
The following document is attached as a file. The information inside is not considered definitive.
URA-0980, Compiled Documentation
06/09/1947
Summary: A collection of historical records about a hostile ship surrounded by fog, which imitates the appearance of other active ships.
Section 1:
The first possible recorded mention of URA-0980 found by the Foundation dates back to 1790, to the book Travel in various parts of Europe, Asia and Africa over a series of thirty years onwards by John MacDonald:
The storm was so strong that the sailors said they saw the Flying Dutchman. The common story is that this Dutch appeared floating off the Cape in the horror of the foggy tempest, ramming the beautiful Miranda of my friend White with the rotten shaft of a pachyderm, hurriedly tied to her prow with strips of blond human hair . They told me that the hideous ship stabbed the Miranda's carcass more than ten times, and then unleashed a barrage of cannon shots so strong that it threatened to overturn the Dutchman, although no one believed the mad captain, perhaps a hellish soul escaped from Davy Jones's Chest, cared. Once the ship's brutal fury was quenched, it began to melt into the accompanying mist, not before letting the horrified witnesses see that its deck was empty.
When I got to the Cape I found White cast in a decrepit shadow. No one else had survived the wreck. White could do no more than stutter, insisting that the ship flew, and recounting to me the murderous fury he had felt coming from it. It is certainly something beyond the normal, and a story that must be perpetuated for the safety of all sailors.
The ship described by MacDonald, as well as by other later historical records, broadly corresponds to URA-0980; a ship surrounded by mist, hostile in behavior, lacking crew. However, contrary to MacDonald's description, URA-0980 has not been observed levitating, a discrepancy potentially explainable as a vision caused by stress, later reaffirmed by means of an optical illusion known as Fata Morgana.
It is also assumed that the MacDonald experience was the origin of the popular legend about the Errant Dutchman or Flying Dutchman, legend whose eventual warping through time has served as an effective disinformation measure to date.
Once the existence of URA-0980 was confirmed, all known instances of Travel in various parts of Europe, Asia and Africa over a series of thirty years onward have been manipulated to replace the previously transcribed paragraph with the following one;
The storm was so strong that the sailors said they saw the Flying Dutchman. The common story is that this Dutchman came to the Cape in the anguish of the weather, wanting to reach a good port, but unable to get a pilot to drive him. The ship was lost, and the vision of him always appears in bad weather. The pilots said that when they greeted him, he would respond like any other ship.
Other modifications and censures had to be implemented in order to suit the replacement.
Section 2:
The following is a transcript of page 192 of the book "Unusual Annotations of an Unusual Life", a record of anomalies written by PoI-22176, recently retrieved from █████.
Ship Of Mist And Steel
Pronunciation: / ˈʃɪp əv mɪst ənd stiːl /
National: 096
Regional: 9
Cathegory: Mechanic
Summary: Aggressive polymorphic boat, in equal parts machine and animal. In addition to the expected armaments of a warship, it has countless weapons hidden in its guts, which it displays if feels overwhelmed. It hunts ships of any flag in the sea between the New and the Old World, appearing to intrepid warriors and fishermen alike, although some have said they see him in India, and the Patagonians tell of a mountain of metal or wood moving between Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic continent, with iron shafts that released lightning bolts from their tips.
The ship steals the appearance of other vessels that are not sunk, so as not to cause suspicion when sighted in the fog that always accompanies it. The actual appearance of it is unknown to me, but my only crossing with it gives me some ideas.
I saw it for the first time aboard the good Dragon, her majesty's guardian ship of England traveling home from the New World in the company of the Selk'nam, a merchant ship of the colonizers, not very loyal to the Spanish crown. Shortly after setting sail, as I was making myself comfortable in my barracks below deck, the sound of powerful cannon shots startled me, and I went on deck. I was surrounded by thick fog, unable to make out any shape in the distance. Another cannon salvo allowed me to locate a third ship, mercilessly bombarding the Selk'nam, which had already begun to sink.
Panic seemed to have dominated the crews of both ships, when out of nowhere the captain appeared, a certain Warspite who everyone said was a terrible and cruel man. I saw him on the bridge, gripping the wheel with his hands clenched in anger, facing the fog with a frowning face, twisted in contempt. The man screamed in a raven voice, over another salvo of cannon shots, a four-word command that I did not understand, and the whole Dragon shuddered with terror; everyone to their positions, I understood later that he had yelled. The crew stopped running, and, as if long arms had fallen from the sky and dragged them, they returned to their positions on deck and below. In less than thirty seconds, order was reestablished, and the captain's momentum grew, dissolving the fog and fear at the mere presence of him.
Then he shouted a second command, which I caught instantly: open fire.
Almost instantly, a salvo left the Dragon's right flank as it spun to offer a better angle of fire, heading against the dark shape of the ship, still taking out the near-extinct Selk'nam. The impact seemed to surprise the hostile ship, which ceased its fire as the Dragon launched another barrage. The mist seemed to dissipate, and the form of the Dragon received the cannon shots, its wood breaking against the swift metal spheres. The crew reacted in surprise, losing focus for just a second before the unflappable captain roared again, insisting on holding fire. The other ship, overcome by surprise, returned fire with renewed vigor, exceeding ten times the power of ours. But something seemed to change in its attitude, no longer that of a cold predator hunting her prey, if not that of a cornered wolf, biting the air in the hope of ripping off the hands of its harasser.
And in the same way, every bite from the fog ship missed on its way to the Dragon, while every shot from us hit it. Each time I remember it, the more I am convinced that it was the captain's will, diverting the enemy's cannon shots and taking the shots from his ship to a good port. I was in awe, witnessing how the infernal ship seemed to sink into its own mist. But the amazement was short-lived, when a ray of sunlight seemed to fall on her devastated casing, and the strange reflection of metal penetrated my eyes. I swear then I saw gears and tubes in the ship's wounds, moving back and forth, ignoring the bombardment, leaving room for an impossibly long metal cylinder extending from its entrails. I would swear I saw human figures inside the metal, but my observation was quickly interrupted: a reddish glow escaped the cylinder, and the cover of the Dragon exploded.
I saw myself flying through the air, falling far into the sea, as I watched the Dragon on fire, still holding the fire. Although I wanted to watch, the obligation to swim ashore prevented me from observing the battle for more than a few seconds at a time, and soon both ships disappeared into the mist, with the noise of the cannons accompanying me little else.
I reached land exhausted, safe but shivering, without any of my possessions. I never heard from Captain Warspite and his Dragon again.
The testimony of PoI-22176, if it is as reliable as others historical records of its authorship, confirms the existence of URA-0980, and suggests a number of additional anomalous properties, not observed during Incident EU-B002.
Particularly notable is the mention of an internal metallic mechanism, suggesting that URA-0980 is one of the following;
- A temporal anomaly
- An extraterrestrial anomaly
- An anomaly built by GoI-004 ("Church of the Broken God")
- A sensory-affecting anomaly
Section 3:
The following is the translation of a correspondence dated February 20, 1904 from Admiral Oskar Ludvig Stark, former commander of the Russian Pacific Fleet, to his friend and replacement Stepan Osipovich Makarov, after the defeat of the former at the hands of Japanese Forces at the Battle of Port Arthur, February 9, 1904.
The correspondence deals with the surprise night attack by the Imperial Japanese Fleet on the neutral Russian Fleet stationed at Port Arthur, which would mark the start of the battle.
Dear Stepan.
It has come to my attention that you will replace my role as commander of the Pacific Fleet. That's good. Any other replacement would be insufficient. But the purpose of this letter is not to extend unjustified acid-edged congratulations to you, or to cry to you as a woman about the injustice I suffered. Yes, Yevgueni is a miserable coward, but there are more important matters at hand;
The night attack on February 8 was not at the hands of the Japanese.
We never got true visual confirmation from the culprit, thanks to the deep fog that flooded the vicinity. Although it seems that the ground attack the following day makes evident a Japanese intervention, after a short conversation with some members of the patrol squad who said they found for the first time the supposed Japanese ships responsible for the night attack, I am not completely safe.
You see, it seems that a tiny fraction of this fleet witnessed these vessels, and of them, only the captain of the lead ship claimed that they were Japanese ships. The common testimony seems to be, on the contrary, that there was a single ship with an unknown flag in the fog, but the captain's word was worth more than that of his crew, and when they returned from the patrol, the official report was that there were several ships Japanese in the vicinity of Port Arthur, instead of one.
So what was the ship? The crew of the Tsasarevich, the first attacked, said they recognized an English ship, one HMS Sentinel, a ship that some of them know very closely from their training in England. ONE ship, with two torpedo tubes, traveling from a port in England to Manchuria in one night, and somehow unloading dozens upon dozens of torpedoes on the fleet, miraculously followed by a cloud of fog. How can that justify the torpedo barrage received by the Tsesarevic, the Revitzan and Pallada? Worse still, the people upstairs don't want to hear anything, and hissing reject any remarks from me.
For me, they are hiding something.
It is unknown how the letter was acquired by the Foundation in the first place, although there is a record of the GRU Division-"P" requesting access to it since 1936, for ambiguous reasons. The request was then denied by a unanimous vote of the O5 Council. It is now believed that a predecessor group to the GRU-"P" knew of URA-0980, and modified the historical records of the Battle of Port Arthur to eliminate evidence of an anomalous phenomenon taking place.
Section 4:
On June 9, 1947, URA-0980 appeared in the Atlantic Ocean, facing Naval Task Forces Epsilon-7 and Alpha-2, aboard SCPS Rancagua and Mondragón respectively, which were escorting to SCPS Corona, a civilian vessel acquired by the Foundation to evacuate citizens around ██████ ██████ from a rapidly expanding anomalous phenomenon.
The confrontation is still in development. The "SCP-ES-096" slot is reserved for URA-0980 once the confrontation has concluded.
Attached is a timeline of the events of June 9, 1947, and an incident report.
0:00:00: The SCPS Rancagua spots fog in the distance, approaching the convoy from behind. The convoy is alerted to a possible weather anomaly. The captain of DN Alpha-2, Lara de Cisneros, claims to recognize the fog of incident EU-B002, and, disobeying orders from the operation command at Facility-7, slows down the Rancagua speed.
0:42:15: Communications between Facility-7 and the convoy are lost. The locating instruments stop working. The SCPS Rancagua is shrouded in mist.
00:47:06: SCPS Mondragón positions behind Corona to protect it from a possible stern attack
01:01:07: The Rancagua batteries begin to be heard in the fog. A salvo of torpedoes leaves the fog, heading towards Corona. The Mondragón activates the only G-RF available, managing to deflect most of the salvo. Three torpedoes hit the deck of the SCPS Mondragón, causing medium-scale damage. The right rudder of the Mondragón is damaged on impact, preventing it from turning to the left.
01: 07: 07: Both Rancagua and Mondragón are hit by SCP-ES-096-01. Both obtain visual confirmation from SCP-ES-096, taking on the appearance of the battleship ARA Rivadavia of the Argentine Republic.
01: 09: 01: The Rancagua continues to fire at SCP-ES-096, managing to hit one of its twelve 50 caliber turrets. The Mondragón later joins the salvo. Although a large number of projectiles hit SCP-ES-096, he remains afloat.
01: 10: 40: SCP-ES-096 begins firing with its secondary battery towards Rancagua and Mondragón, increasing speed and approaching Corona. Although the secondary batteries of the Rivadavia-class battleships are not designed to fire explosive munitions, both ships attacked report explosions subsequent to each impact.
01: 12: 17: The SCPS Rancagua, despite suffering serious damage, begins to approach SCP-ES-096, which continues to fire. SCPS Mondragon moves away from SCP-ES-096, using its only intact rudder to turn twenty degrees to starboard. The Corona crew report entering the fog, unable to get away from it. SCPS Mondragon captain, Santiago Kissinger, reports sighting Corona at firing range of SCP-ES-096.
01: 16: 40: The Rancagua attacks SCP-ES-096, managing to unbalance it and divert it from its course against the SCPS Corona. SCP-ES-096 focuses all its power of fire towards the SCPS Rancagua, rendering it useless. The Mondragón crew observes the use of unknown weaponry, consisting of purple pulses that impact the deck of the Rancagua.
01: 22: 32: SCP-ES-096 continues on its course towards SCPS Corona. Its appearance is highly modified, with numerous muzzles extending from the impact holes in its deck.
01: 32: 12: The Mondragon fires at SCP-ES-096, but due to it veering to starboard previously, it is moving further and further away. At this point, the remains of SCPS Rancagua leave SCP-ES-096-01, re-establishing communication.
01: 41: 00: SCP-ES-096's propeller is hit by the Mondragon salvo, immobilizing it. Both Foundation ships manage to get away from SCP-ES-096.
01: 52: 03: SCP-ES-096's prow splits horizontally and vertically, splitting apart to reveal a grayish metallic cylinder, culminating in a pyramidal structure. Numerous purple glyphs glow at irregular intervals along the cylinder.
01: 53: 29: The crew of SCPS Mondragon is temporarily blinded by a flash from SCP-ES-096.
02: 12: 04: The SCPS Mondragon leaves SCP-ES-096-01. SCPS Corona is not visible
02: 15: 40: Survivors of SCPS Rancagua report re-entering SCP-ES-096-01, losing communication. SCPS Mondragon reports hearing SCP-ES-096's batteries, and turns in the direction of Rancagua.
02: 20: 45: SCP-ES-096 recedes to the south, and SCP-ES-096-01 gradually fades, allowing communication. Survivors claim that SCP-ES-096 fired at the remains of SCPS Rancagua. Captain Kissinger requests authorization to hunt for SCP-ES-096, and is denied, being ordered instead to rescue the Rancagua's crew.
DATE: JULY 9, 1947
REGION: ES
COUNTRY: ARGENTINA (ATLANTIC OCEAN)
DESCRIPTION: INCIDENT ES-B001 IS DESCRIBED AS AN ATTACK OF AN UNREGISTERED ANOMALY WITH THE APPEARANCE OF AN ARGENTINIAN DESTROYER, ADMIRANTE BROWN CLASS, TO A PROTECTION CONVOY MADE OF THE SCPS SHIPS RANCAGUA, MONDRAGÓN, AND THE OBJECTIVE OF THE ATTACK, SCPS CORONA, CARRYING 610 INHABITANTS OF THE CITY OF ██████ ██████. THE ANOMALY IN QUESTION DISAPPEARED SHORTLY AFTER. IT IS CONSIDERED OUT OF CONTAINMENT. THE CONTAINMENT OF SUCH ANOMALY IS CONSIDERED A THIRD LEVEL PRIORITY.
THE ATTACK RESULTED IN THE LOSS OF SCPS CORONA AND ITS CREW (OF APPROX 500), ALONG WITH SCPS RANCAGUA, OF WHICH 200 MEMBERS WERE RESCUED BY SCPS MONDRAGÓN. MINOR COSTS VALUED IN US 10ドル THOUSAND WERE REQUIRED TO ACHIEVE AN EFFECTIVE CLEANING.
CONCLUSION: SEVERE. GREATER NAVAL SURVEILLANCE SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED.
In response to the incident, SCP-ES-096 was quickly classified as such. During the following two months, effective alternatives would be sought for its containment.
PROPOSAL #7
Author: Dr. Esmeralda de Magallanes
Proposal: Locate SCP-ES-096, and take it through the use of a bait ship to a dry area, designed to allow access to SCP-ES-096. The dryness of the place would be maintained by reinforced plates of steel alloy and material recovered from SCP-ES-███. [ATTACHED DRAWINGS RESTRICTED TO LEVEL 4 / ES-096]
Decision: [APPROVED]
Results: Although locating SCP-ES-096 proved impossible, it was decided to deploy the bait ship in its vicinity once it manifested. The first two attempts were unsuccessful, with SCP-ES-096 attacking other vessels in the vicinity of it and subsequently sinking them, but the third attempt was successful, trapping SCP-ES-096 in an artificial dry concavity. SCP-ES-096 proceeded to fire with all of its weaponry, not following a coherent target. Over the course of an hour, SCP-ES-096 began to use different varieties of non-anomalous weaponry, culminating in the manifestation of a TW-51 Kinetic Energy Cannon that managed to destroy the structure after nine shots.
PROPOSAL #13
Author: Dr. Cisneros
Proposal: Keeping a bait ship targeted by SCP-ES-096 afloat indefinitely, thus preventing SCP-ES-096 from choosing other targets.
Decision: [APPROVED]
Results: The first four attempts failed to get the bait ship far enough away from SCP-ES-096 to avoid firing. On the fifth attempt, it managed to keep its distance for six hours, after which SCP-ES-096 withdrew. The same vessel was used for the sixth attempt, but SCP-ES-096 began employing ballistic missiles to reach it. Notably, SCP-ES-096 appeared to 'recognize' the bait ship, and immediately opened fire on it. The next four attempts were unsuccessful, due to the use of ballistic missiles by SCP-ES-096.
PROPOSAL #48
Author: Captain Lara de Cisneros
Proposal: Deploy two bait ships in positions close to SCP-ES-096 but far from each other, one of which would begin transmitting radio messages. Once SCP-ES-096 approaches the first bait ship, transmission would cease, and it would restart on the second ship.
Decision: [APPROVED]
Results: During the first three attempts made, SCP-ES-096 successfully remains contained for six hours, at which point it headed south and disappeared. During the fourth attempt, SCP-ES-096 ignored both vessels, opting to head north. From the fifth to the seventh attempts, it was decided to transmit different routines of messages, obtaining similar results. SCP-ES-096 was found to always manifest at a point near its disappearance, approximately twenty hours after its disappearance.
Based on the discoveries made during this line of tests, the POLARIS-96 Protocol was developed, and successfully tested from 1947 to 1951. Containment breaches have been reduced to zero since April 1952.
1959 - 1970
On February 2, 1959, POLARIS-96 Protocol failed for the first time to contain SCP-ES-096.
Although for the first two hours SCP-ES-096 appeared to follow its normal pattern of behavior, starting at 10:00 p.m. it began to behave in a slightly unusual manner, persisting longer than normal in following each containment ship. At 23:22, SCP-ES-096 began to head north, ignoring the three containment vessels, and was tracked to the vicinity of Montevideo, Uruguay, before disappearing.
SCP-ES-096 began to make sporadic appearances evading Foundation tracking and attacking only civilian vessels in a period from March 1959 to December 1960. Beginning in January 1961 it was observed attacking military targets more frequently, taking preference for flagships, but still avoiding facing the forces deployed by the Foundation in each incident, until 1963. In this period, 47 ships were sunk by SCP-ES-096, resulting in a total of 728 civilian casualties and US $ 200 thousand in expenses to maintain the Veil.
On May 2, 1963, Naval Task Force Beta-7 was deployed to Henderson, part of the Pitcairn Islands, for the purpose of preparing a paratechnological device that would nullify the meteorological properties of SCP-ES-███ over the vicinity. Due to the nature of these properties, SCP-ES-096-01's presence could not be recognized, and twenty minutes after the device was deployed, SCP-ES-096 opened fire at close range, destroying it. As a consequence of the device's destruction, SCP-ES-███'s anomalous properties resumed at tripling power, engulfing the Pitcairn Islands in an anomalous constant discharge electrical storm, with wind gusts of up to 120km/h. For the duration, the Pitcairn Islands were inaccessible, having to wait until another method of containing SCP-ES-███ was found.
A week later, SCP-ES-███ managed to be contained through the use of a specialized Scranton Box, ceasing the meteorological phenomenon over the Pitcairn Islands. The exploration of the islands revealed that all its inhabitants, including Naval Task Force Beta-7, had perished as a result of the electrical discharges. US $ 2 million had to be spent to repair the damage to the Veil and successfully repopulate the island.
Nine incidents with similar characteristics occurred from 1963 to June 9, 1970, when Naval Task Force Epsilon-7 managed to contain SCP-ES-096 by accidentally deploying an electromagnetic pulse located on it, as a result of which SCP -ES-096 seemed disoriented, and more easily lured to a safe location.
Although SCP-ES-096 adopted a more compliant behavior after 1970, experimentation with electromagnetic pulses gave slightly diminishing results, suggesting that an internal adaptation process was taking place. However, all potential containment breaches from 1970 to 2014 managed to be prevented by deploying electromagnetic pulses against SCP-ES-096. In this period a number of alternatives to electromagnetic pulses as effective safety mechanisms were investigated, without success. It was estimated that, if the decrease in effectiveness remained constant, in 2016 SCP-ES-096 would breach containment again.
2010 - Present
On January 2, 2010, six years earlier than expected, SCP-ES-096 broke containment once more, repeating a pattern of behavior similar to that of the 1963 breach. However, on this occasion, SCP-ES-096 it seemed to take a preference for ships of the Global Occult Coalition, sinking a dozen of its ships in its period of activity.
On June 4, 2014, a letter addressed to Pedro Horacio de Cisneros, general of the Foundation's naval forces in Latin America, was left at Facility-53 in Uruguay, signed by Wilburg Dunwich, ambassador of the PSYCHE Division of the Global Occult Coalition. The letter proposed a meeting via a secure phone line on the 6th of the same month to discuss the containment of SCP-ES-096.
Internal Audio Recording Transcription
Attending:
- Pedro Horacio de Cisneros, Captain General of the Latin American Naval Forces of the Foundation
- Wilburg Dunwich, Global Occult Coalition PSYCHE Division Ambassador
[BEGIN LOG]
Dunwich: Good morning, Captain Cisneros!
Cisneros: Good morning. Can we get straight to the point?
Dunwich: Ah, fine, if you want it that way… Well, let's talk about KTE-9669-FVNA-Red. That's kei-tee-é, dash, nine six six nine, dash, ef vee en ei, dash, red, for your convenience. We classify it like this because—
Cisneros: You mean SCP-ES-096.
Dunwich: (Laughs.) No sir, I mean KTE-9669-FVNA-Red… But well, to the point. He's a real son of a bitch.
Cisneros: Tell me.
Dunwich: Ah! I don't think you know very well. After all, you are someone else on the desktop, right?
(Cisneros leans forward.)
Cisneros: I know very well what I'm talking about, Dunwich. My daughter lost an arm in the first confrontations we had with SCP-ES-096, just as she lost part of her crew. In fact, she is the one who came up with the proposal on which our current containment procedures are based.
Dunwich: They haven't turned out very well in the long run, have they? Despite your best efforts, the little boat escaped. Believe me, I would very much like to give a speech about how ineffective your containment was, but after we came across said little boat these years… I'm not so sure it is. Rather, I think it simply exceeds your capabilities as an organization.
Cisneros: Well?
Dunwich: Well, we tried to do our thing with 9669… to find that it's a son of a bitch. Adaptive, resistant, exceptional improviser, and above all very intelligent. Don't get me wrong, we still think that the breaches have been your responsibility and your general incompetence, but we do understand that it is difficult to operate with him… Let me tell you how it immediately noticed the weak points of—
Cisneros: End it with the story, please. What do you want?
Dunwich: I want to avoid further incidents with the miserable shitty little boat, Mr. Cisneros. Incidents such as the Blackout of '64, or when millions of people were sprayed with an experimental carcinogenic amnestic in '62. Or the storm of '63, when they ended up wiping out the entire population of the Pitcairn Islands… Do you understand me? No more "containment". No more closing the door on the monster that can enter through the window. Open the door to the bastard with a shotgun in hand and—
Cisneros: This communication is finished.
Dunwich: And charge us once and for fucking all what he took from us. Because, you know? At least your daughter survived, unlike Agent Junior Dunwich.
(Silence.)
Dunwich: And so it doesn't happen to anyone else. Security first, Containment later. Right?
(Silence.)
Cisneros: I will report your proposal to the Regional Council.
Dunwich: Thank you, Captain Cisneros. I have here a formal copy of the proposition.
Cisneros: You can call me Pedro.
[END LOG]
The proposal presented by Captain General Cisneros has been put to a vote by the Latin American Regional Council, and then sent to the O5 Council.
The proposition details a close collaboration between the Global Occult Coalition and the SCP Foundation, with the explicit purpose of neutralizing SCP-ES-096. The plans in question would be drawn up by the Neutralization Division and the PHYSICS Division, with the sole restriction not to involve property or civilian individuals.
The motion was approved by the Latin American Regional Council with 19 in favor, 15 against, and 9 abstentions, and by the O5 Council with 7 in favor and 6 against.
On July 7, 2014, Operation GHOSTBUSTERS was launched, focused on the neutralization of SCP-ES-096 with minimal civilian casualties.
The SCP Foundation has contributed the following resources to the execution of Operation GHOSTBUSTERS;
- 3 Dowell-class attack ships, developed by the Foundation
- XQ-107 Orbital Kinetic Bombing Station
- 20 double action psychotronic and electromagnetic pulse warheads
- 12 pieces of high precision ground artillery
- 30 guided torpedoes
- Naval Task Forces Beta-4, Delta-10 and Epsilon-7, commanded by SCPS Vander, Amalthea and Arneb respectively.
The Global Occult Coalition has contributed the following resources;
- 1 Iowa-class destroyer modified by the Coalition
- 4,700 tuned thaumic-action rounds of various calibers
- CYGNUS Extra-Dimensional Communication System
- 50 specialized ship-to-ship missiles
- 12 F-22 Raptor aircraft with specialized weaponry
- 34 tactical repeating rifles, to be attached to the corresponding ships
- Naval Liquidation Team-8896, commanded by COGS Torquemada
The UK Royal Navy and Foundation resources stationed around the Falkland Islands were put on hold 10 hours before the start of the operation.
At 09:12 AM Greenwich time, SCP-ES-096 was detected in the vicinity of the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. The events of Operation GHOSTBUSTERS are now transcribed.
09:12: SCP-ES-096 is detected. The resources of the Foundation and the Coalition begin to mobilize towards their location from their respective positions.
09:34: SCPS Amalthea confirms eye contact with SCP-ES-096-01. SCP-ES-096 is observed to have taken the form of a Zumwalt-Class destroyer.
10:10: SCPS Amalthea enters SCP-ES-096-01 and opens fire. Thaumic ammunition is particularly effective, managing to cause severe damage to SCP-ES-096 and partially dispel SCP-ES-096-01.
10:20: SCP-ES-096 opens fire on the Amalthea, using anomalous laser weaponry. The Amalthea stays afloat, and opens fire a second time. SCP-ES-096 then deploys a swarm of homing missiles that ends up sinking it. Naval Task Force Delta-10 manages to escape with minimal casualties.
11:40: SCPS Vander and COGS Torquemada arrive in the vicinity of SCP-ES-096, and confirm eye contact. Artillery is deployed at the Cape of Good Hope, two kilometers from SCP-ES-096.
11:50: SCP-ES-096 opens fire on both vessels, deploying a second missile swarm. The Vander activates its EC, deflecting the missiles, and the Torquemada responds to fire with its primary battery. Land batteries open fire
12:10: SCP-ES-096 heads south, responding to fire with a wide variety of identified and unidentified weaponry. Most of SCP-ES-096's shots miss their target. The ground batteries stray too far to sustain fire, but the Vander and Torquemada continue to fire.
12:30: Both vessels follow SCP-ES-096. SCPS Arneb joins the hunt. SCP-ES-096 displays parts of its weaponry to gain speed.
13:40: SCP-ES-096 approaches Latitude 60. F-22s are alerted, and take off from the Falkland Islands. The three pursuing vessels begin firing their torpedoes at SCP-ES-096, seeking to immobilize it.
14:20: SCP-ES-096's propeller is hit by a torpedo, and is immobilized. SCP-ES-096 redeploys large amounts of anomalous weaponry, and opens fire on the three pursuing vessels.
14:40: SCP-ES-096 displays what appears to be a radio antenna, which glows briefly before firing at Arneb. SCPS Arneb is destroyed by an anomalous gravitational pulse, collapsing it to a sphere fifty meters in diameter. There are no survivors.
15:00: The F-22s reach firing position, launching a total of 7 double-action warheads, and then unloading their weapons on board. SCP-ES-096 stops firing. The XQ-107 bombing station begins calibrating for a shot.
15:10: SCP-ES-096 regenerates its propeller, and begins to move further south. The remaining ships open fire again.
15:23: Sections of SCP-ES-096 begin to smoke and catch fire. SCP-ES-096's stern split horizontally and vertically, parting to reveal a grayish metallic cylinder, culminating in a pyramidal structure. COGS Torquemada's crewmembers report hearing a metallic screech coming from SCP-ES-096.
15:30: Station XQ-107 finishes calibrating and fires. SCP-ES-096 explodes, splitting in the middle, and begins to sink, its portions intact on fire. SCP-ES-096-01 disperses.
15:33: As SCP-ES-096 sinks, flaming humanoid figures erupt from within. They have no head. Closer analysis reveals that they are partially biological, with the rest of their body made up of gears. The water does not seem to put out the flames, and the figures dissolve in smoke as they sink.
15:35: SCP-ES-096 emits a screech, universally identified as feminine, and sinks. Its fragments dissolve in smoke under water.
15:50: The operation is declared a success. Foundation and Coalition resources withdraw.
SCP-ES-096 has been reclassified as Neutralized on July 8, 2014.
OPENING MESSAGE: "SOS.mp4" SENDER: CAPTAIN VENCESLAO - SCPS CONDOR DATE JUL 10, 2014
LOADING…
[BEGIN TRANSMISSION]
(A young man, at least thirty years old, looks at the camera. He is standing on the bridge of a ship, with the camera pointing towards a large window. Outside the window there is a deep fog.)
Venceslao: Whoever is listening. I am Captain Venceslao of the SCPS Condor. Twenty minutes ago, we were attacked by one of our own ships. We tried to communicate with them, but they don't seem to be receiving transmissions. We managed to escape, but we will not resist another—
(The close-up shot of a cannon is heard. The ship shakes, and the camera falls from Venceslao's hands. A dozen other crew members can be seen, holding onto various navigation devices to keep from falling.)
Venceslao: Please tell them to stop! We are friends! We are Foundation!
(Venceslao takes the camera off the ground, staggering to his feet.)
Venceslao: Somebody please tell them not to sink us!
(The ship shakes again, and the camera falls from Venceslao's hands, landing a few meters behind. Venceslao has hit his head against one of the navigational instruments, and the pain prevents him from getting up. A few drops of blood run down his neck.)
(Another shake, and in front appears the hull of a second ship, with the ensign "SCPS Vander". The floor and the metal devices of the bridge begin to rust quickly. The other crew members run off the bridge, leaving Venceslao behind. The bow of the ship collides with SCPS Vander , revealing that it has experienced severe damage and extensive oxidation.)
Venceslao: No, please… No- Don't leave me!
(A group of seven indistinguishable humanoids leap from the hull of the Vander. They lack heads and clothing, and parts of their bodies are made up of gears, while others are made up of flesh in various states of composition. Five of them carry long machetes in their right hands. The most advanced humanoid breaks the window of the bridge with his machete, and the others follow him inside.)
Venceslao: No… NO! GET AWAY!
(The leading humanoid grabs Venceslas by the left shoulder and lifts him up. The other humanoids continue walking towards the deck, and soon they leave the camera.)
Venceslao: (Sobbing.) Please…
(The leading humanoid rests the machete against Venceslao's neck, slicing through him little by little. Venceslao yells and shudders briefly, but then stops moving. Once his head is cut off, it drops the machete and inserts his right hand into the wound on his neck. Venceslao's body shivers. Parts of his clothing and skin begin to decompose. Several groups of moving gears protrude from the skin, crushing the flesh and clothing.)
(Venceslao's body is released, and he is held upright.)
(The body walks towards the camera, and extends its right hand towards it.)
[END TRANSMISSION]