Okay, so I wrote this short story (1700+ words) for English in like 2 hours. We had to play Macbeth into a past/futuristic environment and still have him maintain his qualities. This was done the night before and was rushed, also, uneditied. If you see an error, tell me and I will be sure to not care, as I handed it in 2 days ago.




On Board the U.S.S Alabama

The year is 1941, a time when nuclear weapons were still in the hands of naval submarine commanders. Macbeth is the captain of the U.S.S Alabama, which has been dispatched to patrol over Soviet waters. William McGregor is his co-captain and is in the middle of a dispute on whether or not to launch atomic weapons upon the Soviet Union. The message they received was incomplete and did not fully explain to launch or not to launch the nuclear missiles.

“McGregor… dispatch to Lee that the signal is affirmative,” exclaimed Macbeth, “we must act now!” “Sir, the message is not genuine, the signal broke off… we cannot take action until proper authority has been established.”
“Not genuine? How can you be so naïve?” yelled Macbeth. “In accordance to the President himself, we must fire at the his command. I will not sit here and allow you to neglect your duties, officer McGregor!”
“Sir, in no way am I neglecting my duties, I cannot allow you to start what might be a nuclear holocaust. We must be keen and fix the radio, as the message did break off and we have no way of knowing what else it might have said” exclaimed McGregor. “We must work together on this, not bicker over useless argument.”
Macbeth seizes McGregor by his collar, only to release him with a sudden regard of his surroundings.
“Useless argument” exclaimed Macbeth, “you’re telling me the future of our nation is useless? Son, we are in the middle of a damned crisis! The soviets are threatening to use nuclear warfare on us! We have been administered the power to abolish such atrocities! Helmsman, inform Lee that he is to unlock the nuclear key. We will waste no more time on this matter, McGregor!”
“Disregard that order, helms!” Yelled McGregor.
“Excuse me, you have no authority here, co-captain, I am the captain of this vessel, you have no right!”
Standing with immediate attention, McGregor points at Macbeth and calmly states; “Sir, you are not in you r right state of mind, I am temporarily relieving you of your duties for the remainder of this period. Mr. Bones, please escort the captain to his quarters. I am taking control in the captain’s absence.”
“Sorry sir, but please cooperate” mumbled Mr. Bones.
The captain is led off the bridge by Mr. Bones and a few officers. Mr. Bones looks reluctant to be walking with the captain.
“Gifford, Pollard and McLoven get to work on fixing that radio immediately” said McGregor, “I want it up and running in no more than two hours, we need to find out what the rest of that message stated.”
“Two hours, but sir that’s ludicrous!” protested McLoven, ‘We need more time!”
“More time? I’m sorry but you now have one minute less than two hours. I’m in no way trying to pressure you, but unless you have that radio up and running, the future of our nation may no longer hold promise. In other words, what you do now may save what disasters might happen tomorrow. Get to work!”
“Yes Sir!” said McLoven.
Meanwhile Macbeth was locked away in his chambers. Two shipmates were ordered to guard entry to his quarters. The orders were to restrict access from all personnel, grant access to no one except from the co-captain McGregor himself.
“You can’t keep me locked down here forever” whispered McGregor with a faint smile. “I will take command over my ship… by any means necessary.”
Macbeth strode over to his quarter’s entry door, and pounded on the hard metal with clenched fists.
“I am your CAPTAIN!” screamed Macbeth. “This is a direct order, let me out, and I promise you won’t be court marshaled.”
“Sorry sir” replied one of the shipmates, “Under co-captain McGregor we are unauthorized to recognize your command.”
“Oh of course, tell me son, what is your name?” said Macbeth.
“My name is Jay Thompson, and sir, stop talking… or I will be alleged to…”
“Silence me? Listen, Jay, we need to work together…” said Macbeth.
“Sir, do not make it difficult for us, it is hard to keep watch over our own captain already” interrupted the second shipmate. “We don’t want to cause you any harm. So please, just keep quiet!”
“You don’t want to cause any harm, well you’re causing a lot more ‘harm’ as you put it by just standing there” shouted Macbeth, “I don’t think you’ve fully grasped the situation, neither of you have.”
Macbeth retreated back to his bunk, signs of sullen resentment clearly engraved upon his face. He lay back, aghast to what would come next.
Back on the bridge, McGregor prepares to deliver a speech to the crew of the U.S.S Alabama.
“Helms, do you have the telecom ready?” said McGregor. “We need to alert the crew of the present situation.”
“Yes sir,” replied the helmsman, “you’re on… now!”
“Attention all personnel of the U.S.S Alabama,” began McGregor “this is your co-captain William McGregor speaking. Captain Macbeth has been relieved of his duties and I have taken command for the remainder of this interval. All personnel are prohibited from gaining passage into the captain’s quarters. Any staff found attempting to gain entry will be relieved of their duties and thrown in the brig prior. Thank you, co-captain McGregor out.”
The helmsman hangs up the telecom by a signal from McGregor.
“Is that radio fixed yet “asked McGregor. “It’s been an hour already.”
“We need more time, sir! “Replied Gifford. “Within the next hour we should have it fixed… still need to tweak out the static and gain the right frequency. Along with other adjustments, it should take at most another hour!”
“Ah, make sure it is only one more hour, no longer” replied McGregor.
Meanwhile down in Macbeth’s quarters’, there was a slight argument occurring. Lee, the one in charge of the nuclear key, sought out to see the captain.
“Entry prohibited” recited Thompson. He shook his weapon with a firm grip.
“Entry prohibited” echoed Lee.
“Make your exit; this is in direct violation of co-captain McGregor’s orders.
Macbeth hears the commotion and creeps towards the door. As he hears Lee’s voice, begs pardon to Thompson and demands he is given access to the bridge.
“Denied,” said Thompson relentlessly. “I am under direct…”
“Orders… yes I know” said Lee, “but I am also under orders as well.”
“Under whose jurisdiction” questioned Thompson.
“What’s that,” pointed Lee at the door handle, “look!”
Thompson and the other crewman looked at the handle. With no hesitation, Lee punches Thompson squarely in the face. Thompson falls with a hard thump. The other crewman begins to his point weapon but is too slow, as Lee charges and knees him in the stomach. Again, showing no hesitation, Lee punches his comrade in the face, showing no remorse. Lee unlocks the door to the captain’s chamber and releases Macbeth.
“Thank you, Mr. Lee” said Macbeth.
“Don’t thank me,” replied Lee, “just doing my duty.”
Macbeth and Lee walk calmly to the lower decks. They pass multiple personnel who seem to ignore their passing. They stop short of the weapons locker, and Lee tells the officers within of the so-called mutiny formed by McGregor. He explains how they must take up arms against McGregor, and return Macbeth to his rightful place as captain. To no surprise, the officers agree with no argument.
“Almost fixed, sir” said McLoven. “Just a couple more fine adjustments and we should be all set.”
“Excellent, we need to find out if that message was genuine or not” said McGregor.
“About ten more minutes” estimated Pollard. “Not long at all!”
Just then there came heavy beating upon the door to the bridge. Before McGregor could react, Macbeth and his company burst through the door, weapons drawn and pointing.
“Hands up, don’t make any sudden movement” inquired Macbeth. “I am in command now!”
“This is… mutiny and… conspiracy.” Said McGregor stunned.
“Bind him, take him to the brig!” shouted Macbeth. “I’ll hear no more from you!”
Two officers from Macbeth’s brigade jump on McGregor and bind his wrists; they then proceed to wrestle him into a firm grasp.
“Captain and co-captain,” screeched McLoven. “The radio, we have fixed it!”
There is an alarming beep and a new message is transmitted over a secure line. The captain walks over, prints the message and nods in disbelief.
“Unbind McGregor, bring him to me,” said Macbeth. “He must confirm the acknowledgement of this message.”
McGregor is released from the firm grasp of the two officers. He walks over to Macbeth, and reads the message silently.
“Message genuine” said McGregor seriously.
“Then I here-by recognize the use of nuclear weapons is to be prohibited. McGregor, you have the bridge.”
“Captain, I am authorized to strip you of all your duties. Please, return to your quarters for the remainder of this voyage. A court marshal will be issued upon return.”
“Aye, I accept your command and will return to my quarters peacefully, although you may wish to bring officers down to my quarters… as Thompson and a fellow crew member may need medical attention from sick-bay.”
“Agreed” said McGregor, as he dispatched a wave of medical personnel to Macbeth’s quarters.

The message in which the crew received stated that the previous message was void, and that the use of nuclear weapons was strictly prohibited. A full court marshal was issued upon return of the U.S.S Alabama. Captain Macbeth was stripped of his rank, and was discharged with no further question upon the mutiny which took place. Co-Captain McGregor went on to be a captain of the U.S.S Drum.


Hmmmm.. turns out all the italics / spaces dont appear... alas.. hope you enjoyed it...


~AltF4Out


Also, I am working on a fantasy genre novel.... not to be release for some time although it is quite original and unique. ;]

This post was edited by AltF4Out on Dec 20 2007 12:36am