"Real quick." Rainbow Dash pivoted in mid-air to face the sarosian scouts. "You say these Rohbredden warriors are on boats?"
"That is correct, Blood of Luna," a Nightblood warrior said, nodding. "They're heading this way most swift—"
"Yeah yeah, I get it. Tell me." Rainbow's eyes narrowed. "Were any of them true land-dwellers?"
"I... do not understand..."
"Were any of them earth ponies? Or unicorns?"
"No." Another scout interjected, shaking her head. "They were pegasi and griffons. All of them."
"So they could all fly?"
"Yes," one scout said. A blink, and then she blurted, "As a matter of fact... we detected one flying westward shortly after the soldiers acquired their vessels."
Applejack craned her ghostly neck. "What are you gettin' at, sugarcube?"
"They all have wings," Twilight Sparkle spoke out loud.
"So?" Pinkie Pie shrugged.
"So..." Twilight glanced at the others. "...they can spread information around."
"Here's what I can't stop thinking about," Rainbow Dash said, hovering higher so that both the Herald and the sarosians could see her. "They must have figured out that—not only am I out here—but that you guys are out here as well. I mean the midnighters." She gestured. "And... from the look of things... they might have already sent word home to Frostknife about the fact."
"What you mean to suggest is..." Enix leaned forward. "...they've ascertained the location of Bleak's Plummet?"
"Seems totally like it," Rainbow Dash said. "Especially if they're now headed directly this way." She turned to look at the scouts.
The scouts gravely nodded.
"Then Bleak's Plummet is done for," Nicole said, gulping. "If the rest of Rohbredden finds out..."
"...then this could just be a preview of things to come," Rainbow Dash muttered. "Assuming there's a break in the wendigo attacks, then who's to say what the head haunchos at Frostknife will be sending tomorrow. Four ships? Eight? The entire friggin' armada?!" Rainbow Dash shuddered. "Say what you want about owning these armored floozies headed our way—but I know for a fact that all of your Nightblooded badflanks combined wouldn't be able to make a dint in the armor of all that Rohbredden has equipped to sail the Seven Seas." She frowned. "Trust me. I've seen a bunch of this crud up close."
"Let's say for a second we do take these two ships of warriors on," Flynn said. "Like—we go with Big Show's suggestion and just absolutely wreck them." He grimaced. "Who's to say that one or two winged soldiers won't break loose and fly back home to warn the others of the midnighter forces out here?"
"Yeah?" Logan snorted. "So what of it?"
"I left Rohbredden in a heightened state of paranoid xenophobia," Rainbow Dash said. She exhaled sharply. "You think that's the kind of crowd to just let the ponies of Bleak's Plummet be?"
Flynn shook his head. "They'd come back full force and they'd purge the Seven Seas of every last drop of sarosian blood until the 'Seventh Tribe' is fully, genocidally eradicated."
"Ewwww-poop-oh..." Pinkie Pie winced.
"Precisely my fear," Rainbow Dash said. "And if they already have an inkling as to where Bleak's Plummet is located, then that puts these guys in a super vulnerable position." She glanced at all the others. "Don't you get it? It doesn't matter how well this upcoming slobberknocker goes! What's at stake here is the aftermath to follow... which is something you guys will be having to deal with while I'm on the Dark Side!"
The sarosians murmured and squeaked in apprehension.
"I do not fear a fierce death in the face of an overwhelming opposition," Enix grumbled. Nevertheless, her leafy ears drooped. "And yet... I am bound to protect Xarchellus and the rest of the Matriarch's subjects. Their safety is not something I can afford to compromise."
"Right." Rainbow Dash nodded. "So... the way I figure it... we gotta find a way to elude Rohbredden's forces. What better way to do that than to take advantage of what bat ponies are most awesome at!"
"And what's that, Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy asked.
Rainbow grinned like an idiot. "Slipping away in the night, of course!"
Silence.
Even Wildcard fumbled for words.
"Your faith in my foals is most admirable, Rainbow Dash," Princess Luna's voice said. "But even I would desire some clarification of that last statement."
"Indeed," Celestia's voice humbly joined in. "What my sister said."
"Shhhh... j-just listen..." Rainbow Dash gestured delicately with her forelimbs. "What's immediately at stake here is getting me over to the Dark Side. I mean... if we do it in a way so that the Rohbreddenites can't follow, then... well... hunt's over! Am I right? I mean... those jokers will have no choice but to head back to Frostknife super defeated! Or else they'll go nuts banging their heads against the ether!"
Remna spoke, "But we do not even know how we shall travail upon transporting you to—"
"Shhhh!" Rainbow waved her hooves dramatically. "That's besides the point! We'll figure it out! But... in the meantime..." She turned to smile at Xarchellus and her colleagues. "...while the warriors are focused on us, that will be the time that Bleak's Plummet will make its move."
Xarchellus narrowed her good eye. "Do tell..."
Rainbow said, "The Herald and I will get the Rohbreddenites' attention. Meanwhile, Bleak's Plummet will make an initial dive. The Herald draws the enemy ships over to the Edge of the World—passing above Bleak's Plummet and all of its inhabitants. Then—once the coast is clear—you guys begin your exodus." She gestured westward. "You cruise as quickly as your bleakweed-sealed-butts can carry you. You make it to the Grand Choke, ditch the branches and brambles behind, then continue the trek onwards to Val Roa."
"Hrrrrmmm..." Kepler rubbed his hairy chin, smiling. "Sounds both darring and simple."
"I shall aggree with you on the 'daring' part," Ariel said. She turned towards Enix. "Is it even possible for Bleak's Plummet to move that swiftly?"
"Not... entirely..." Enix said. "...however..." She looked at Rainbow. "It is tactically feasible for the enemy forces to be made to move that swiftly—if not moreso—past us."
"Totally!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.
"I beg to differ, Blood of Luna," Xarchellus said. "Only a fool would think it possible to bait over a hundred warriors with the feeble numbers that you and your 'Herald' possess..." Her wrinkled brow furrowed. "...and still survive."
"She's got a point there, Rainbow," Bard said. "The Job Squad ain't nothin' to laugh at... but what you need here is a small army."
"But I thought the point here was to avoid as much bloodshed as possible," Flynn remarked.
"In a perfect world, maybe," Logan grunted. "Let's face it. We're gonna need all we can get if we're gonna waste these motherbuckers."
"We don't have to waste them!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "Don't you get it? I'm not saying that violence is completely unavoidable. But in this plan... we only need to fight them off just long enough for two things to happen." She held up one hoof. "For me—and the Herald—to get to the other side." Then she held up the other hoof. "And for Bleak's Plummet to make a clean exit."
Ariel blinked. "Well, I don't see that happening without some super intense help from Xarchellus' finest here."
"Indeed." Enix punched her fetlocks together, frowning. "And we would gladly give our lives to ensure the safety of both the Austraeoh and our home." Several other sarosians nodded in agreement.
Rainbow gulped. "Right. And I respect that. But..."
"That brings us back to one of Rainbow Dash's major concerns," Flynn said. "Assuming this plan goes through as well as she would hope, then a lot of these Rohbredden attackers will likely survive. In which case, they'll know that the 'Seventh Tribe' was involved and that much-dreaded witch hunt for the midnighters will still happen."
Wildcard swiftly gestured with both his flesh and metal talons.
Enix blinked. "What does the griffon say?"
"Ahem..." Bard interpreted, "Dubya makes a fine point. 'If we time it just right, they won't know that Bleak's Plummet is on the move. Any forces they send out to these here waters will find nothin'."
"Prrecisely!" Kepler grinned. "Save forr the ghosts of bat ponies! Ha-Hah!"
Logan sighed. "Seems like we're bending backwards an awful lot for a fleeting hope."
"And yet..." Remna gazed up at Logan. "...was that not Mortuana's entire motivation for leading the Herald?"
Logan clenched his jaw shut.
Rainbow Dash took a breath. "Look... if it means my leaving the Light Side of the plane with as few casualties as possible, then I'm all for it," she said. She looked at the sarosians. "Lend us all the help you want. But once my friends and I have crossed over—the rest of you had better book it. Head west under the cover of night. Reunite with Bleak's Plummet and continue the journey to the Grand Choke before the forces of Rohbredden can find out where you've gone off to. I know it sounds crazy complicated... maybe even a bit stupid... but stupid things are worth a shot. That's... something that I've let slip for a while now." She gulped, fidgeting slightly. "Much to my regret."
Twilight smiled gently at her.
"Blood of Luna," Enix spoke. "Your plan is a convoluted one... and yet quite noble. Just weeks ago... I would not have possessed the heart and soul to recognize such respectable quality." She breathed deeply. "But all is different now. The blessed light of the Maiden of the Moon has re-enlightened us all. We were all foaled from a harmonic spirit. For generations, lost to hatred and distrust, we allowed the Vigil to corrupt us until it nearly destroyed our family structure from the inside out." Her slitted eyes narrowed. "To pursue life for life's sake is a most risky path indeed, and it is one that we had not thought to treasure for a long time... until now." She looked in Xarchellus' direction.
The Matriarch nodded, then gazed heavenward. "Oh Maiden of the Moon... we seek your wisdom in this matter. What words do you have to impart in regards to such a measure?"
Rainbow Dash and her friends listened in tense silence.
At last, Luna spoke: "I, of course, applaud any attempt on Rainbow Dash's part to come up with a peaceful solution. To be perfectly realistic, one cannot expect this plan to be undertaken with absolutely zero consequences. That being said, I'm quite certain Rainbow Dash is already fully aware of this."
Rainbow Dash took a shuddering breath. "I just don't want a bloodbath, Your Highness. Not if I can avoid it."
"And I believe that you can avoid it, Rainbow Dash," Luna said.
"So do I," Princess Celestia added. "However, I am compelled to address some glaring holes in your strategy... the most notable being the means by which you plan to cross over to the Dark Side in the first place."
Rainbow Dash gulped hard. "R-right..."
"Time is of the essence, and if you cannot discover how to make this possible, then you will sadly have to throw out your plans altogether and focus on an entirely different course of action... perhaps one that is far more dire than what you've just recently dreamed up."
"Then that means one thing, Rainbow Dash," Twilight Sparkle said.
"Right." Rainbow nodded. "We gotta get our butts to the edge of the world and sniff out a solution."
"And fast!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "My ghosty-body is already buzzing all over with spring-loaded senses!"
"Austraeoh..." Remna trotted closer. "...do you even know where to start looking?"
"Oh, believe me, Axan." Rainbow pivoted east, squinting at a golden haze of ethereal light. "I think I've got that covered..."
Yup, misdirection is the word of the day. Now to hope that it actually works and Chandler/Sera don't figure out what's going on and destroy Bleak's Plummet while it's trying to escape.
I guess it's back to the 6th seed then?
Welp, redirection/misdirecton it is, then. Here we go.
Ohyeeeeaahhhhh...Kinda forgot about that bit.
Something makes me feel that Rainbow might end up having to leave everyone to die and cross on her own.
Not the worst plan ever. Admittedly we still don't know where ship number three is, and it seems odd the scouts, if they saw the Central Guard acquiring the ships, haven't mentioned the third ship? Or maybe that's just a typo? Anyway, baiting the Guard away while Bleack's Plummet makes a quiet escape makes sense, and I'm not even sure how the Central Guard could attack Bleak's Plummet as it moves unless Chanlder pulls some dredge coal out of his ass to make some makeshift depth charges.
So at this point is really is a question of how much of a pain in the ass it'll be to get over the edge. All I can recall is that there was some kind of... elevator thing that could make it to the other side? Am I remembering that right?
Alright. All caught up.
And it's time to wreck faces!
Wheres that third ship, and does Chandler have knowledge of the privateers reporting back to him about the destruction of part of Bleaks Plummet, and if so, did some of te flyers load up with charges when setting off.
Is Chandler going to pull off a St Nazier?
Kinda what I figured, with a little extra complication thrown in for good measure.
7557373
I've been afraid of something like that for a while. Rainbow's been forced to abandon the other elements at previous seeds, but not loyalty. I'm really hoping that's not the case, partly because I like these characters, and I'd like as many of them as possible to survive, and partly because Verlax has had too many victories as it is.
7557373
Shhhh! Don't give him ideas. Think sunshine and rainbows.
Considering these guys probably don't have depth charges the main batpony group might make it. The ones that help the Herald are likely to be chased down by angry flyers. Can't wait to see what happens.
Dash's plan has merit, and the inclusion of Sarosian's with the Herald to fend off the initial attack would just increase the chances that it would work, in my mind.
The guard has been told they're in the general area for Sarosian attacks, they find some helping the Herald, they search that part of the ocean, by that time, Bleak's plummet (which I was honestly expecting to be cliff face settlement strung between rock spires), is able to further it's escape, eventually the Guard will have to narrow down the direction they're travelling, but at the start of the chase, they have 9 options, any of the cardinal directions and stealthing under the herald.
With any luck, by the time the guard narrows down the search to the direction they actually fled, they'll have entered the blight.
Though that just brings it's own set of troubles, honestly, the best thing they could do when they reach the blight, is make some rafts, and ditch the plummet. Let it sink and rot, there's no way to be tracked if there's nothing to track.
Hopefully with the fall of the blight, the oceans are calmer too.
-Companions are abound, frozen spectres hound. Utaan.
7557373
Well, she had to compromise all of the other elements, its about time for loyalty.
This is not going to end well. Because the batponpon scouts only saw two ships, but Chandler and friends took three. So where the heck is the other one?
While it is a bit complicated this could work, it's a pretty solid plan for sure. I just have a feeling it's a bit too reliant on luck at this point. Look we all know this is going to end bleakly IC said so a while ago and unless he has since changed his mind, I think it is safe to say this plan is going to go badly in the end; likely due to that third ship coming into play that they don't know about.
7557482 I'm going to guess that he ordered the Talon on there and told them to hold position so they can't interfere.
I think this is where it's all going to go wrong. If Chandler took the smuggler's advice and is trawling for submersibles, Bleak's Plummet is doomed. Factor in the missing third ship which has likely been sent around to cut off any avenue of escape and this plan looks like a disaster waiting to happen.
I really hope Dash can pull this off but the whole situation looks set up perfectly for a catastrophe.
Never thought on how exactly they'd cross over..What's it even look like?
7557693
While this seems likely, They still gotta factor in the fact that they are only three ships versus an entire city full of Leafy-eared pirates. One or two submersibles? Alright, no problem. But facing an city?
Also, it was stated previously that by the looks of it, Serphimus is in moral charge of this band of robhredden elites. And she's got her sights on the Rainbow one so far I am aware. While I'm sure she's extremely well trained, and capable of fast wit and tact. I have not seen her, nor chandler engage in sea warfare. Let alone anti-submarine tactics.
Bait and abscond is possible, although that third ship..
7557803 I really hope you're right. On paper, Dash's plan seems fairly solid given the information she has to work with but I can't help thinking of that old quote "no battle plan survives first contact with the enemy". I just can't see any viable plan b to protect Bleak's Plummet if they do end up getting caught in the nets. The ships would be positioned right on top of the city, at which point it would probably only take a few improvised depth charges (something like weighted dredge coal barrels set to a delayed fuse) to sink the whole thing.
Hopefully you're right that Chandler and Seraphimus haven't thought it out that far. I just can't shake the worry though that Dash isn't giving herself much leeway to be flexible if the plan doesn't initially work out.
Wow, there was a late second chapter? Usually double updates are posted simultaneously.
Windigo, Wendigo, make up your mind!
So for all the Lerris signs we've been getting over the past 70 chapters, with these last two I'm starting to wonder if this is really Amulek instead. In that town, we had strong parallels to an earlier location (Windthrow vs Lerris), Dash aligned with a usually-chaotic race (Changelings vs Batponies), the option to just keep going and not help, and a very bleak future (progressively strengthening chaos eels vs Rohbredden's navy). A plan has come together at the last minute that can make everything better, but with a critical unknown at the end (whether the flame will be reachable and help vs how to get to the Dark Side), and Rainbow has a new beacon to guide her path (Yaerfaerda vs her Harmony Sense). If things continue according to Amulek, we'll likely see Dash accompanied by a small Sarosian army to help with the Central Guard, most of whom die, while Bleak's Plummet at large makes it to safety. And I can completely see that happening.
Also, Dash has a stupid plan. Those always work, and she hasn't had one in a while.
Of course, things could still go extremely badly, yet not quite badly enough to stop the journey. But I'm getting more and more hopeful this could turn out well after all! Maybe all the ominous blog posts were just ):( pulling our legs...
Oh boy, another stupid plan by Dashie that is extremely risky and has a high chance of failure
Then again, we all know what has happened with the majority of her supposedly stupid plans...
7557356 You expect them to pass on a chance of Xenocide? Yeah.
Not going to happen.
Both of them are so committed to their goal that they'll destroy everything in their path that doesn't bend into pretzel shapes in order to help them or follow the same passion. These are crusaders, these are zealots, these ponies will destroy and destroy until they're dead or broken.
7557869
And the saying goes both ways. So far, the sauraosians and the Dash Crew simply want to avoid bloodshed at all costs. AND they know the Robhreddenites are coming in ADVANCE. I'd say our Easthorse got the advantage.
If this comes to blows, being surrounded by
U-boatsSubmersibles, usually means you're on the swimming side. And since Chandler did not account for submerged enemies until he was informed by smugglers (Of all ponies), He's now charging down with atleast two ships, to a location vaguely referenced by an semi-reliable map. With his forces being commanded by THE zealous, vengeful follower of Verlaxion. Plus a more morally 'compromised' crack squad of elites whom are trying to appeal to the soldiers reasoning that this is kinda madness.All that, without ANYTHING but a hint of nets, against a whole host of Submarines, and Das Haus Boat. With only three ships. What's he gonna do? Angry dive at the water and shout to face him like honorable opponents? the
U-boatsSubmersibles only need to distract their opponents in order for theWolfpackCity to slip into deeper waters.And even if Chandler would gain reinforcements, they still need to get there first. Time which would only serve the Saurousian stealth side.
As far as plans go for the Herald side: They only need to get the attention from the bloodthristy, angry, so-far-unreasonable, religious catbird.
7557363
The golden haze on the horizon is the barrier of alicorn blood at the edge of the world.
7557882
Vines will never be the same again.
7557899
They might but the plan seems good so far, none of them would suspect Rainbow to actually help the midnighters to migrate, i mean what would be the goal from their point of view.
They see rainbow as the problem and want her so they will probably follow her and only her, there is no point in stopping to combat a colony of bat ponies while the one they are actually hunting moves towards a line they can't pass.
They may will try to deal with the Sarosians in the aftermath of that hunt but as for the time their priorities seem to be focused on Dash.
Seraphimus might look a bit shellish now but there is still one difference, she doesn't know how Rainbow ticks because she's a zealot. She thinks Rainbow is entirely bad and unless an awesome named griffon somehow made her re think about this she won't assume Dash attempting something selfless, so for now there is no reason for her to believe that Rainbow actually just wants to help the seventh tribe, in her eyes she is just using them.
Shell would have known that he would have to go for the settlement to get Dash, i don't think Seraphimis is quite there yet, because if she would, she would have to admit that Rainbow isn't as bad as she paints her.
7557973 But they would assume Rainbow had rallied them to launch an invasion. That's an assumption that they'd assume she made. After all, all those damn bat ponies are nothing but murderous filth anyways so why would her redirecting them be such a stretch?
Go go go!
That's a bad plan that they make.
Someone has to meet that army, and they've decided it's the team. Against the army.
She may as well ask for volunteers for a substitute team, if they don't make it.
A lot can go wrong in this plan, but that does not make it worth a try, especially as every other plan is guaranteed to have a worse outcome for all sides.
7558020
That is an assumption i would also place into the aftermath of their hunt.
Right now they have a strategic choice to make pursue Rainbow and try to catch her before she passes the edge and is out of reach or laying siege to an underwater City that might hold enough force to wipe out their whole contingent.
Unless they somehow have a change of mind i don't see Bleak's Plummet on top of their priority list and that is kinda what Dash is counting on, its a bold plan but i am glad to see that she didn't abandon those.
They don't know that they only have one shot at Bleak's Plummet, for all they know the city will still be there when they return and even if they knew, i don't think either Seraphimus or Chandler would change their priorities for it, they kinda made it clear that they have no interest in aiding Robhredden in its current crisis, they just want Rainbow dead out of zeal and revenge.
Still there might be something up with that 3rd ship, since the smuggler captain told them about the wire based underwater detection method, the 3rd boat might be doing something unforeseen.
7557901 I cede my point. There's no way in good conscience that I can continue to argue against a counterpoint that contains something as funny as "Das Haus Boot".
The bat is UNDER the table.
I just realized that Luna's speech to the sarosians is an exact reverse of what happened with Verlax; the disappeared goddess turned a people of war and needless bloodshed into a noble one, as opposed to the other way around.
7557870 I really hope you're right. But I'm thinking your theory has an edge on the others, since it obeys the prime rule of the Austraeoh saga: stupid plans always work
I just realized... If this plan works, then Rainbow will presumably be on the dark side before the Sarosians can make it to the Grand Choke. That means we won't be able to find out if they made it to Val Roa, or what happened to Robhredden afterwards, unless they somehow manage to find a way to communicate with Luna on the other side.
I'm not sure if I'm ready to take the plunge yet...
Bleakness is on the horizon.
hm, that 'gold aura' Rainbow's been seeing reminds me of wakfu currents from the Wakfu tv show. iirc, the currents were visible in every living entity, and with enough power one could see wakfu that was present even on the other side of the world.
Rainbow's seems/is a lot more specific to her cause in that she can also see a path around the world.
Meh, just a thought
Unfortunately in situations like this, I tend to believe that the worst case scenario is the one that will happen (please note that I do NOT want the worst case scenario to happen, I just tend to believe that it WILL happen). In this case, Rainbow's plan will fail since Bleak's Plummet will probably run right into the third ship using the technique mentioned by the previous captain of that ship. That ship will be housing Chandler and Seraphimus (You're not getting one of them without the other) and they WILL attempt to sink it. The Sarosians were nothing but murderous pirates before and more than likely they will not give them much of a chance to "blindside them" if they are influenced by Rainbow. Better safe than sorry in their situation. After making quick work of them and they will attempt to blindside Rainbow and the Herald.
Rainbow's Stupid plans have always seemed to work in the past, but guts and dumb luck can only get you so far. She's due for one of her plans to end in catastrophic failure.
The only things in this scenario that need answering will be:
Will Chandler Die and how?
Will Seraphimus die and how?
Will Rainbow abandon her friends (aka The Herald will sacrifice themselves) and escape to the dark side alone?
or......
Will Rainbow abandon her Equestrian beliefs and just start killing them all? Especially after Seraphimus informs her (with no remorse at all) that Bleak's Plummet has been destroyed and the Sarosians are dead?
7559514 That last thing, that is utterly horrible in its plausibility.
7559514
In Cht.254, Seraphimus was riding on a separate ship from Chandler. It's also bad military strategy to group your commanders together, since it's easier for them to get taken out all at once.
7559625 Rainbow already went berserk and abandoned her principles in the end of Ynanhluutr, it would be redundant to have her do it again. If this winds up with her being disloyal/disharmonic, she's going to still be sane about it like in Starkiss- we don't need the character development from Red Barge to be redone.
7559635 For some reason when I initially read that part, it didn't even register that they were on different ships.
Technically, Seraphimus is no longer a Commander, but I see the point since everyone on her ship will turn to her anyway.
Either way I can still see both of them giving out the order to attack Bleak's Plummet. If it's Chandler's ship, the Talon will be their only hope. If it's Sera's, then Bleak's Plummet might be doing its Titanic impression only faster.
7559668 She lacks the title, but even Chandler knows she's the true heart of the army.
It's worth repeating that each and every one of Chandler's army (except himself) can fly, and exclusively did so prior to getting the ships. They don't need to use two ships as a decoy for the third, if anything it's a decoy as well. Decoys for decoys!
I was wondering if anyone else picked up that ship #3 is missing, and they did. I totally missed that for some reason, flutters can't sense them yet.
A foul game of chess is afoot, and not all the pieces can be seen.
7559147 Damned by faint praise, backhanded compliment.
Either works.
I wasn't entirely sure HOW Dashie was going to use her new ghost (harmony?) sense. I mean, it didn't seem very practical. I was so wrong and I couldn't be happier about it.
7557901 Yeah, that's something I've been wondering. The entire Sarosian armada has been shown as being quite capable of delving into great depths. What are they going to do against something passing by a mile beneath them, chuck stones at them?
7560761 I doubt they have enough submersibles to carry everyone.
7560838 They have a city.
7560859 Mobile Rapture
7560761
Realistically, Das Haus Boot is not going to be able to go anywhere near that deep. If it's already having problems at a normal operating depth of 100 feet or so, the drastically increased water pressure at greater depths is going to be a huge problem. Even today's modern submarines (excepting tiny special-purpose research vessels) have crush depths of somewhere around 1000 feet as I recall, less than a quarter of a mile.