Item #: SCP-7531
Object Class: Keter
Special Containment Procedures: A fleet of no fewer than 12 warships is to maintain a perimeter around SCP-7531 at all times. All attempts by the Foundation to contain SCP-7531 have been unsuccessful. Tracking devices placed on SCP-7531 have never lasted more than 6 hours, but it can be tracked via satellites and requires constant monitoring. Any and all ships in the vicinity of SCP-7531 are to be informed to circumvent it immediately. The crews of ships unable to outrun SCP-7531 are to be advised to abandon ship.
Description: SCP-7531 is a warship of unknown classification that bears the name Chimera. It is estimated to be between 380 and 400 meters in length and between 50 and 60 meters in width. Its hull resembles that of a World War II-era Japanese battleship, but its superstructures resemble an amalgamation of Japanese, American, British, and German warships, among others. It lacks a visible flag.
SCP-7531’s armament exceeds that of any known warship. It includes naval weapons from multiple countries dating as far back as the 1930s. Its weaponry includes, but is not limited to, the following:
- Primary Armament
- 3 x triple 460 mm Type 94 guns.
- 4 x triple 16-inch/50-caliber (406 mm) Mark 7 guns.
- 2 x quad BL 14-inch (360 mm) Mk VII guns.
- Secondary Armament
- 4 x triple 155 mm 60 3rd Year Type guns.
- 10 x twin 5-inch/54-caliber (127 mm) Mark 16 guns.
- 4 x twin 20.3 cm SK C/34 guns.
- 12 x single 5-inch/54 caliber (127 mm) Mark 45 guns.
- 8 x twin QF 5.25-inch (133 mm) guns.
- 4 x Mk 46 Mod 2 Gun Weapon Systems.
- Anti-Aircraft Armament
- 12 x triple Type 96 25 mm AT/AA guns.
- 10 x sextuple Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns.
- 112 x single Oerlikon 20 mm cannons.
- 8 x twin Phalanx CIWS.
While nations with naval capabilities are aware of incidents involving the hostile nature of SCP-7531, such incidents have been framed as acts of piracy.
Incomplete Timeline of Confirmed Encounters:
22 January 1818: The crew of the heavy frigate HMS Trincomalee witnessed a larger and more heavily-armed French frigate being attacked by a slightly smaller vessel that has since been classified as SCP-7531. Once the French frigate was crippled, SCP-7531 approached it head-on. The bow of SCP-7531 opened both vertically and horizontally, and it began consuming the French ship. The British sailors reported that SCP-7531 made no attempt to stop the French sailors from abandoning ship or pursue them once they were in the water. Once there was no trace of the French frigate, SCP-7531‘s damage was inexplicably repaired, it increased slightly in size, and its cannons grew to match those of the French ship. SCP-7531 initially tried to pursue the HMS Trincomalee, only to abandon the chase, presumably upon realizing the Trincomalee was faster.
2 March 1863: After a pursuit that lasted eight days, SCP-7531 managed to wear down, defeat, and consume a Confederate Ironclad warship, after which its hull changed from wood to metal. Some surviving crew members claimed to have sunk four identical ships before a fifth sank theirs, while others claimed to have sunk SCP-7531 four times, only for it to return each time, somehow fully repaired. They all noted that each reappearance took longer than the one before it.
12 September 1942: An unarmed passenger ship encountered SCP-7531, which made no attempt to attack or pursue it. One crew member took a picture of SCP-7531 as they passed it.
24 October 1944: The Japanese battleship Musashi was attacked and eventually consumed by SCP-7531. The American and Japanese navies subsequently falsified documents claiming that the battleship was sunk by an American air attack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
11 April 1946: The USS Montana was secretly completed and launched with the goal of destroying SCP-7531. The mission was a failure, ultimately resulting in the consumption of the Montana by SCP-7531. Due to the classified nature of the mission, all sailors killed were reported to have died in a training incident, and all official records claim that the USS Montana was never completed.
19 July 1953: At 06:35, a carrier group led by the USS Midway (CV-41) located and attacked SCP-7531, successfully sinking it. At 13:56, the fleet was caught in a storm that worsened engine damage the light cruiser USS Vallejo (CL-146) had sustained during the battle, causing it to fall behind. At 14:21, the rest of the fleet received an S.O.S. from the Vallejo claiming they were under attack by SCP-7531. The transmission was cut off before the captain of the Vallejo could relay their coordinates. At 14:23, the captain of the heavy cruiser USS Cambridge (CA-126) announced his intention to return to the Vallejo’s last known position. At 14:47, an S.O.S. from the Cambridge was cut off mid-transmission. No trace of either ship or living crew members were ever found, although the bodies of 14 sailors were recovered.
8 June 1960: The British battleship HMS Vanguard was attacked and consumed by SCP-7531. The surviving crew were sworn to secrecy by the British government.
Video Log Transcript - 12 October 2024:
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Subject: SCP-7531
Team Lead: D-Class Jade McClean
Team Members: Emma Karlsson, Miranda Palmer, Michael Hameda, and 20 other D-Class Personnel.
<Begin Log>
24 D-Class Personnel are airlifted onto SCP-7531. They are wearing lightweight body armor, full-face gas masks, and body cams.
McClean: Comm check.
Other Personnel: Check.
McClean: Spread out. Place your trackers. Be ready to jump in ten minutes.
The others start to walk away.
McClean: Oh, and if I say abort, drop what you’re doing and abort immediately, no questions asked. Got it?
Palmer: You told us that before we left.
McClean: I know I did. Just making sure nobody forgets.
Palmer: Copy that.
They split up to place tracking devices in various locations. McClean goes to a door and tries to open it, but the handle doesn’t turn. Several other Personnel have the same problem with other doors.
McClean goes to the bridge, successfully opens the door, and goes inside. She finds a locked box on a desk and tries unsuccessfully to find the key, then breaks the lock and removes several pieces of paper.
McClean: Command, come in.
███████: What’s the situation, McClean?
McClean: I’m on the bridge. No sign of any crew, but I found a lock box with several documents inside. My Spanish is a little rusty, but they look like Captain’s Logs. One of them is in a different language. Maybe Latin or Greek or something. Please advise.
███████: Bag them and bring them back.
McClean: Copy that.
McClean puts the papers in a waterproof bag, places her tracking device on a control panel, and leaves the bridge.
Karlsson: Did anyone see that AA gun move?
Hameda: Negative.
Palmer: What him say.
Hameda: “What him say”?
Palmer: Something my dad used to say.
McClean: Emma, which gun?
Karlsson: One of the ones with six barrels. I don’t know what they’re called.
Hameda’s body cam shows a Type 96 AA gun move as if scanning the sky for aircraft.
Hameda: Spoke too soon. I just saw a triple AA gun move. Looks like it’s aiming at invisible planes.
Karlsson: Mine just aimed above my head.
Palmer: Maybe it likes you.
McClean: Save the jokes for the flight back, okay?
Palmer: Aye aye, Captain.
McClean glares at Palmer from across the deck.
Palmer: Sorry. Copy that.
Karlsson’s body cam shows the Bofors 40 mm AA gun lowering its aim.
Karlsson: Okay, my gun’s aiming at me now. I’m gonna go somewhere else.
Karlsson turns to walk away.
Palmer: I thought naval guns were specifically designed so that you couldn’t aim them at the ship.
Karlsson: It was on the deck below me. The only thing behind me was the sky.
Palmer tries unsuccessfully to open another door.
Palmer: What is with these doors?
Karlsson: Just put your tracker on-
Karlsson is cut off when another Bofors gun opens fire, killing her.
McClean: Fuck! Abort! Abort mission!
The 23 remaining D-Class Personnel run to the edge of SCP-7531 and jump into the sea.
<End Log>
Closing Statement: All 24 tracking devices went offline within 6 hours of the mission. No future missions have been planned at this time.
Researcher’s Notes - Dr. María Álvarez, 14 October 2024:
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Most of the documents recovered from SCP-7531 have been confirmed as dating back to the 19th century, but the last one - the ritual scroll - is much older. The ritual itself is written in Greek, but there’s something at the bottom in Latin. My Latin is a little rusty, but I think it’s some kind of warning. I’ll have to wait until we get the translations back to know for certain.
- Dr. Álvarez
Documents recovered from SCP-7531:
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Captain’s Log - 25 November 1815
We have taken control of the British vessel HMS Chimera. Her captain was a fool to sail so close to Tortuga, especially in daylight. The ship looks fresh out of port - a fine replacement for our old galleon. The crew insisted we remove the letters HMS from the hull before setting sail, and I was all too happy to oblige. We sail for Spain in the morning.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 2 December 1815
We’ve had our first successful raid with the Chimera. Came across a merchant ship nearly twice our size, yet only armed with four cannons. Four! Their crew was much larger than ours, but they were wise enough not to try and engage us hand-to-hand. The crew are in high spirits.
I’ve found a locked box in my new cabin. Inside was a scroll. It’s written in Greek, but lucky for me, my bosun hails from Sparta. He tells me that it’s a ritual involving Typhon, a monstrous giant serpent from Greek mythology. Apparently it can bond a human soul with an inanimate object. Beneath the ritual is something written in another language none of us understand. I’m certain the fact that Typhon is the father of the Chimera is just a coincidence. My God gave me free will, and there is no fate except the one I make for myself.
I do not believe that such a ritual could ever work, but the bosun has insisted I keep the scroll, if only to ensure no one else gets their hands on it.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 20 February 1816
We’ve had our first real challenge. An English man-of-war came upon us east of Bermuda. They got close before we could fly an English flag, but apparently the Captain was more interested in capturing pirates than killing them. The fool had his Spanish translator demand our surrender, so my first mate, Felipe, stalled for time while the crew loaded the guns.
The battle only lasted a few minutes, and the Chimera’s hull withstood a broadside that would have destroyed our old galleon. We were able to hit their powder keg, and the entire ship went up in flames.
Six British sailors were pulled from the water. Five surrendered peacefully, but the sixth pulled a knife on me. Fortunately, I had my blunderbuss, and now the sixth man has holes in his face and a permanent place at the bottom of the sea.
We lack the supplies to make sufficient repairs, so we will return to Bermuda for the time being. But first we must lay to rest the 11 men lost in the battle. My heart breaks for them, but they are in God’s hands now.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 11 May 1817
On those nights when sleep eludes me, I often go out on the deck and look up at the stars. Tonight was one such night, but after no more than an hour, I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. I looked over the railing, and under the light of the nearly full moon, I could see what appeared to be a massive serpent. It seemed to go on forever in both directions, yet it was clearly moving from starboard to port.
God is clearly testing my faith by showing me a vision of Typhon. I may not walk the righteous path, but I still have faith in the Lord. Nevertheless, I have decided to leave the Philippines.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 3 June 1817
We’ve received word that the British have put a price on our heads. Rather amusingly, the description and drawing they have of me looks nothing like me, yet it bears a striking resemblance to my bosun, who also finds this amusing.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 28 June 1817
I’ve had the same strange dream on several nights in the past month. I find myself standing on deck, surrounded by nothing but ocean. I hear a voice calling my name, yet I cannot see who is speaking. The ship sinks, and I with it, yet I do not drown. I look up, and I see the sunlight fading as I sink deeper. I feel strangely calm.
I do not believe that all dreams have meaning, but to say that no dreams do is absurd. I haven’t the slightest idea what this dream could mean, but there must be a reason I keep returning to it.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 15 August 1817
I’ve discovered that my second mate, a man I’ve known for nearly five years, has been working for the King of Spain the entire time I’ve known him. At least now I know why he never questions my orders even though I encourage my officers to do so in private.
It pains me to kill a man I’ve come to call my friend, but I have to make an example of him. Traitors are one thing, but spies are another entirely. He must be shown no mercy.
We have two spare anchors from a ship we found beached on a sandbar. Before we reach Spain, I intend to tie Lorenzo to one of them and throw him overboard. I am a fair man, but I have no sympathy for anyone loyal to the crown.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 17 October 1817
A French pirate by the name of Antoine Galant has approached us and proposed an alliance. He commands a small fleet of two corvettes and three sloops of war. He speaks of a merchant ship escorted by a third rate ship of the line. He offers us the merchant ship if we allow him to take the third rate. I’m inclined to accept.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 24 October 1817
Our attack on the merchant convoy was a success. Both ships were captured without having to be sunk. Captain Galant made use of tactics I’ve not seen before, capturing the third rate without losing any of his ships. He’s taken control of the third rate and given us free reign of the merchant ship. Soon we will part ways, and may God protect him and his crew.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 6 November 1817
The British are actively hunting us. We recently had to flee a second rate and two third rates that caught us by surprise. We sustained minimal damage, but the crew is on edge.
My thoughts often return to the Ritual of Typhon. What it claims to do should not be possible, yet a part of me wonders what harm might come from attempting it. Would whoever performs it become an abomination, or is this meant to be a higher plane of existence?
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 17 November 1817
Our attempts to return to Spain have been blocked by the British fleet. I should be flattered that they’ve devoted so much time and resources to hunting us, but the lives of my crew are at stake here. We’ve been able to acquire more supplies from raids, but if we can’t put into port soon, I fear our successes may not be enough.
It is as though it was fate that brought me to this ship and had me find the Ritual of Typhon. What it claims to do must surely go against the will of the Lord, but what if I am mistaken? What if this is all His doing, and the ritual is my destiny?
- Captain Hernando Bautista
Captain’s Log - 9 December 1817
We were attacked before dawn by a British first rate, the HMS Victory. All my crew is dead or captured. The British captain, a brute of a man calling himself Thomas Hardy, ordered that I be left to go down with my ship.
I intend to invoke the Ritual of Typhon, which claims my soul will be tethered to my ship unaltered. I do not know if that such a thing is possible, but my crew deserves to be avenged. Perhaps the vision of Typhon I had in the Philippines was not a test from God, but a warning. May He have mercy on me if I am mistaken.
- Captain Hernando Bautista
The Ritual of Typhon
Performed correctly, this ritual will bond your soul with any seaworthy vessel. This process cannot be reversed.
[REDACTED]
Be warned. This ritual must be performed under a shrinking moon to succeed. Performing it under a waxing moon will turn your soul into an abomination.
Researcher’s Notes - Dr. María Álvarez, 15 October 2024:
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There seems to have been a miscommunication between Captain Bautista and his bosun. Bautista’s logs refer to Typhon as a monstrous giant serpent, but the myths consistently describe Typhon as a monstrous serpentine giant.
That’s not all. Assuming his logs are dated correctly, Captain Bautista performed the ritual under a waxing moon. Based on the translated scroll and what we know of SCP-7531, it seems that the warning is correct. This, along with the mere presence of the warning, suggests that SCP-7531 is not the first of its kind. I’m ordering that the ritual scroll be secured at Site-██ and kept out of sight indefinitely.
I’m starting to miss the days when the only supernatural entity I had to worry about was La Llorona.
- Dr. Álvarez