The Ural bumps along the road into Nowy Huta. At first, the only indications of the city's fate are low, burned out, brick and concrete buildings. Then, as you continue cautiously around growing piles of debris, larger factories and warehouses, their roofs caved in from the overpressure of the blasts. You survey a barren, gray landscape. It is as if you were on the moon, looking at an ancient ruined city carved out of the native rock. Twisted iron bars, encrusted with a thick layer of rust, portrude here and there like the bones of the dead, poking out of the grey remains of their mummified concrete skin. The Ural stops, your progress halted by the haphazzardly piled rubble of a collapsed building. A look at Dawid's geiger counter reveals that you've gone far enough. It's time to get what you've come for and quickly...

OOC: OK team, it's time to post dialogue and/or actions.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:47, Sun 24 June 2007.

Voice muffled by his gas mask, Dawid said, "in our unit we had people who were accustomed to entering abandoned buildings and ruins and recovering useful material.  Anyone can see the obvious, but it takes skill to know where to look for the not-so-obvious materials.  They could tell which ruins or collapsed buildings were likeliest to still hold something of value, even where to dig in the rubble piles.  Unfortunately, I never engaged in this collecting myself.  Nonetheless, I shall give it a try."

"Unless one of you are more experienced in this manner of salvage? he asked, hopefully.  Sweat trickled down from under his helmet and fully zipped-up battle-dress.


OOC: I guess this would be a roll against Scrounge?  Difficulty Level?  He's looking for 10-mil armour plate and 12-mil+ rolled steel sheet first (AV 2); metalworking supplies second and tools third.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:51, Sun 24 June 2007.

"I have a little experiance with building & blowing up structures so let me check them first." says Blue. "I think we should try looking in an industrial area first, workshops & that sort of thing should have most of the stuff we need." he said sweating inside his gasmask.  "I hate wearing this things." he mutters.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:28, Mon 25 June 2007.

Tucker will dismount from the truck when it stops and stand with his dismounted team.  "If you want, I'll set-up security for the truck 'cause I don't know shit from shine-ola for what we're looking for, from an engineering stance of course," Tucker says to Bayer.

"I guess Blue and Dawid are running point on this?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:48, Mon 25 June 2007.

Getting out and looking around, Dawid said. "there is a distinct lack of street signs, and I am not familiar with this city.  I do not see any blocks of flats or government buildings here, and the prevalence of concrete suggests we are near or in an industrial area.  "

There was a bit of grass growing out of a crack in the pavement, and Dawid idly waved the Geiger counter over it.  There were no chatter of pronounced contamination, and he selected the Beta scan to check for these rays.  Still nothing special, although the ominous clicking still echoed in the silence.  The red LED counter glowed as it recorded their cumulative dose.  Still in the safe zone, but no need to tarry.

Next to him he saw what appeared to be a yellow piece of wood sticking out from under the burned-out hulk of an overturned car and realised it was a bone.  Maybe an arm bone of some kind.  The rest of the skeleton was missing, this piece likely having been dragged there and dropped by some kind of animal like a fox that intruded in from the outskirts.

Swallowing and looking around he said.  "Warehouse buildings will fall down in the blast because of their construction.  Factories will have been made after the War, so they will be solidly-made.  Brick will be standing, even close to epicentre, but wery damaged inside.  Concrete, metal-reinforced, will be most intact inside and out.  We passed such buildings on outskirts, they will be like low-hanging fruit on tree, already picked.

"Best would be rubble-pile, but that would take a long time to dig as we do not have heavy machinery.  Let us look for factory that is standing enough to enter, but still damaged."  Letting the counter hang from its strap, he checked the batteries on his flashlight.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:04, Mon 25 June 2007.

"I tell ya, Davey," Joost responds to Dawid as he adjusts his Polish-issue gas mask under the British Mk.6 helmet he had picked up the day before in Krakow's Rynek Glowny bazaar, "I'm not too jazzed about entering a blast zone to scavenge for materials.  But, I - like your aforementioned associates - seem to have a penchant for picking handy items from the rubble.  Probably the only useful trait I'm bringing to the table.  And it's clear after this afternoon's feast that some of us better find a way to start earning our keep that doesn't involve a trigger finger or a knife's edge."

He taps the side of his helmet twice with his left index finger in the universal signal for using one's noggin.

"Plus," he continues to survey the lay of the land as he speaks, "it's not like this is the first time I found myself trudging through an impact crater with somebody else's shopping list in hand."

Joost then addresses Bayer.  "Snowcap knows what he's talking about, Hauptmann.  I can vouch for that as I've got some experience with maintenance of maritime systems myself.  We're gonna have our best luck if we stick to former warehousing areas along the railyards near the docks."

He scans the twisted metal and concrete terrain that looms over them and jabs pointedly at Dawid's geiger counter.  "Obserwują starannie, przyjaciel."

Konrad surveys the the devastated area as the team dismounts from the Ural. Even this far away from the immediate blast zone the damage is extensive.

"Ok guys we havent much time, Tuck you and Max stay here as local security with the Ural, Blue you and Joost lead the way as you seem to know where we should be looking. Dawid and I will follow" His voice is slightly muffled by the gas mask.

Konrad clips his geiger counter to his web gear, he can hear its steady ticking easily through gas mask. Hefting his assault rifle he scans the surroundings as the group moves forward.

Konrad Bayer
G36/HK69 Burst Fire (HE Round Loaded)
Keeping watch as the group moves
This message was last edited by the player at 14:47, Mon 25 June 2007.

Tucker nods to Bayer, "Roger that!  We usin' radios here Cap'n or just reacting to contact?" he asks Bayer for specifics before they leave so everyone is on the same page.

Once that's been decided, Tucker turns to Max, "OK Maxie, time to earn our pay out here!  We get hit or if there's any contact, we got to make sure the truck gets out along with our people."

Tuck
M-16A2 [1] MAG 30 loaded/M-203 [1] HE loaded
Security at the Ural with Max

[Referee's note: Temporally, this post should be at the beginning of the thread.]

Max grinds the gears of the gear box while trying to find reverse, and first gear is always tricky in most trucks.  Its made doubly hard given the cold, harsh conditions in effect here.

Once under way, Max hears Dawids account of radiation.
"Hmm, well, I got me a bandana I'll loop around my head.  It means I look more like a pirate, or bandit, than anything else.  But its the best I've got."

Turning now to the other soldiers in the truck
"Just remember when we're out there in the field, Ii'm on your side - so no shooting the guy in the bandana, eh?"
Max finishes with a smile.

The truck bumps along the unkept road, but Max is keen to complete the journey and is also worried about stalling the truck, so he keeps the revs up and tries to make good pace.

"Sorry guys, I missed some of the background.  This place we're going, is it populated or deserted?"

[Private to Max Fosters: OOC: One of the blokes who stayed behind has lent Max a proper mask.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:19, Tue 26 June 2007.

Slinging his AK over his shoulder muzzle down, he replied with feeling, "JA oczywiście wola!"  ("I certainly will!")

"That is an excellent suggestion, we should start where the rail yards and docks used to be.  Lead the way!"

He checked out Thompson, concerned that his borrowed mask may not be fitting right and that the improvised hood wasn't enough to keep out any stray dust.  Finally, he clapped him on the shoulder and followed Bayer, Thompson and van den Hasst, checking his meter as they went.


Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 with 1 spare magazine, slung and safed
checking the Geiger counter.

"I'm guessing there might be a few people around so keep yer eyes and ears open.  Dawid, you know if there's anyone still out this way?  Maraudders, refugees, anything like that?" Tucker asks.

Looking up from the counter, he peered around a little nervously and shook his head.  "Nothing is certain, Tuck.  The refugees are back at the Abbey.  There no one is known to me living in these ruins, or even that come here regularly to salvage.  They say... this is a haunted place."

There was no sigh of breeze or bird chirp to break the silence, at least that he could hear under his helmet.


Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 with 1 spare magazine, slung and safed
Still checking the Geiger counter.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:08, Tue 26 June 2007.

Max, like everybody else, gets out the truck and looks around where they have parked.  Max hears the discussion on where to scavange, and peoples ideas for what they may find where.  But Max doesnt see the world in terms of materials.  Instead, he see's opportunities for hides and dark corners where threats may skulk.  So far Max has been quiet up to now when it comes to outfitting the Boat, and what order preperations need to be made in.  He's more comfortable in these surroundings, shocking though they are.

Max nods slowly as he completes his 360 degree scan.  The scavanging party moves out and he turns to Tucker
"Maybe we should back the truck up over there, near that fallen down house.  It may hide the truck a little more than having a perfectly good truck parked out here in the street."

Looking up at a semi-rubbled 2 story building that is nearby, Max points to the second floor
"Instead of having us both down here guarding the truck, maybe one of us could get up there.  They could provide overwatch on the person down here by the truck, and also keep an eye out on the guys heading off now, track their progress, and keep an eye out for danger too."

Turning to Tucker
"What do you think??"

Max continues to fidget with his gas mask, not sure if he has it fitted correctly, or if the rubber is sealing properly.

Tucker looks at Dawid surprised, "Haunted!?  C'mon now!  Just go and get the shit you need and we'll try to keep the ghosts away," he says to Dawid.

Robert looks at the area where Max pointed to put the truck out of plain sight and then back to him, "Not a bad idea.  Let me go and check it out real quick to make sure there's nothing to fishy with it before we move and commit.  If you want to head up top to get another view, go right ahead.  I'd do it but, I don't want to tear my stitches up by climbing up there."

"Max, I'll take a squiz at the building, you don't want it to collapse under ya do you digger." Blue adds as he strides purposefully over to the building. "C'mon mate and we'll check it out."

[Private to Max Fosters: As the pair enter the building Blue says "Max, I'm not sure I trust the polack, watch yer back OK."]

Blue
Austeyr & M203
Checking the Building
This message was last edited by the player at 12:33, Tue 26 June 2007.

Max to Tucker
"hehe, i forgot about the old "butt-shot"!

Alright then, your OK to check out where we park the truck?  Anywheres fine really, we'll just get it off the road so its not so obvous.  And make sure its pointing towards home, in case we need to bug out quick.

If this buildings OK, & i can see you and the scavenger party, I'll stay up there.  We'll use handsignals to communicate, okay?  Just standard stuff"

Max heads off with Blue after waiting to hear any response from Tucker
"Right-O, thanks for taking a look.  I dont want to hold you up from looking for stuff though.  From what i can make out from all your gadgets, we might not have alot of time"


Max
Ak-74 (30) BG-15 (1HE)
Talking to Tucker / Walking with Blue to a nearby building.

Rob smiles, "Yeah, I'm good to move around and shit I'm just not supposed to over do it according to Anneka.  I shouldn't be running and jumping around if I can help it," he says to Max.

Tucker will carry his rifle in a low-ready position as he moves slowly over to where they're looking to move the Ural out of the way until they're ready to go.

Tuck
M-16A2 [1] MAG 30 loaded/M-203 [1] HE loaded
Checking out the area where the Ural will be parked

Blue and Max move toward a relatively small and intact two story building. From the overturned metal filing cabinets and scattered, yellowing papers scattered about inside, it appears to have been used as a plant office of some sort. After a cursory but expert inspection, Blue declares it safe to occupy. Max moves upstairs to a second floor room and sets up overwatch for the scavenger team below.

Tucker, given the thumbs-up signal from the survey team, climbs into the driver's seat of the Ural and pulls the ungainly beast in front of the office building.

Meanwhile, Dawid, Joost, and Konrad have entered a long, low, brick sided building. It appears to have been a machine shop, however the drill presses and lathes and such have been removed. One of the far corners of the room has collapsed. Aside from small pieces of glass and brick littering the floor, the place is empty. Unstained outlines on the dusty, debris-strewn concrete floor reveal where the machines were once bolted down. Also on the floor, Dawid spots two quarter-inch thick, 6"x6" steel plates. Perhaps they were left behind by previous scavenger teams because they were mistakenly believed to have been an integral part of the building. Whatever the case, these plates are exactly what you came to find.

Joost also notices something else odd. Near the collapsed corner, on the ground, is a small ash pit surrounded by a midden of jaggedly opened tin cans and small bones (pigeons? rabbits?). Strange red scribbles have been drawn onto the walls above the site.

A light rain begins to fall outside.

[Actions?]

Tuck returns the thumbs up signal from the salvage team and moves the Ural to the designated spot.  He gets out of the truck and pockets the keys from the Ural on his person.  The last thing they needed was for someone to sneak up and steal the truck with the keys still in it.

AS he got out of the truck, the light rain had started to fall and Tucker shakes his head, "Perfect," he says as he digs out his vinyl poncho and places it over himself.  Tucker walks around the truck and begins to take in a decent spot of probable approaches to the truck as well as defensible ones for himself and settles into one of them, hopefully out of the rain.

Tuck
M-16A2 [30] MAG (loaded)/M-203 [1] HE (loaded)
Trying to find a security postion by/near the Ural

Max pushes Blue away by his shoulder after he has declared the building safe.
"Thanks for the help

Keep your eyes open out there.

If you hit trouble, Tucker can start the bus.  But you'll likely have to come to us for evac.  And i can only provide so much help from up here"


Max is happy, he's settled into a spot inside the building away from the broken windows, but where he can see out to both Tucker and the scavenge party.  This job carries a bit more risk than usual.  Max is not familiar with the area or who (if anyone) inhabits it.  But, this is his bread and butter role.
"Better to be helpful doing a shady job, than dicking around trying to help prep the boat" he whispers to himself.

Max crawls to the window and flashes a thumbs up to Tucker, before retreating inside the building where he has cover to his back and hopefully he is far enough away from windows that he cannot be seen from outside.  Max will monitor Blue heading back to the scavenge team, the progress of the scavenge group if he can, and routinely check on tucker while keeping an eye out from his elevated position for any potential activity around his own building and the truck.

Light rain begins to fall outside.  Max chuckles to himself, thinking of Tucker outside.  Max stops mid laugh and looks up, to check the roof.  It is providing dry cover for now.  Max chuckles again.  If the rain gets heavier we'll find out of the roof really is in good nick.


Max
AK-74 (30) BG-15 (HE)
Second story window
Monitoring the surrounds from a dry place

It looked like the plates would be over 300 kilos each, easy.  Heavy, but not unmanageable for men without a front-end loader or forklift.  While waiting for Hauptmann Bayer to figure something out, Dawid wandered over to where Joost was standing by the fire pit to offer him a cigarette.  He laughed, forgetting that they were wearing gas masks.  Instead he played his flashlight around, seeing if there was anything interesting left behind.


OOC: Assuming he sees the writing too, he'll try to decipher it out of curiosity.

Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 with 1 spare magazine, slung and safed
Checking out the fire pit area
This message was last edited by the player at 04:23, Thu 28 June 2007.

[Private to Max Fosters: Blue grins "No mate he's not the only one, I don't trust the Springbok any further than I can chuck the Ural.  I'm not so sure about those marines either, but they'll get the benefit of the doubt.  Shit if it comes down to it I'm not sure the whole crew isn't going to shaft us at the earliest op.  Trust wise well Snowy, you and the Nurse plus maybe Tuck & Milk.

The rest well we will see."]

Blue gives Max a grin "No problem Digger, always happy to help out and don't worry mate I always look after my own arse first." says Blue as he exits the building.

  Coming out into the street he see's Tucker moving the truck and the rest of the team has disappeared. "Oh great now I'm on my own." he mutters then it starts to rain.

"This day just seems to get better and better."

He jogs over to the Truck and Tuck "Mate you see which way they went."
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:19, Thu 28 June 2007.

[NPCed]

Konrad kicks idly at the edge of one of the metal plates lying on the bare concrete floor.

"We need to move the Ural closer so we can drag these plates out of here. I will go tell them we've found our first bit of treasure."

Konrad exits the building and gives a beckoning wave across the access road to where Tuck and Blue stand near the truck. (As Max observes from on high.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:30, Thu 28 June 2007.

Joost tingles with subdued glee to have hit the steel plate jackpot on the first try.  Seventy-two square feet of quarter inch steel is going to be no fun to haul, however, so the satisfaction is short-lived.  It will take all of the team's effort to wrestle the treasure into the bed of the truck, no small feat in this rain and with them saddled with all their MOPP gear.  At least the Ural has a winch.

As he scans the remainder of the bombed out machine shop's interior for other potentially useful electromechanical salvage, he notices a small fire pit.  Not remarkable on it's own, Joost's gaze is drawn to the red chicken-scratch scrawled on the wall aboove the pit.  Squatting to poke and inspect the ashen remains, he strains through his gas mask to take a closer look at strange graffiti standing overwatch.  He notices Dawid has moved to his side.  Joost turns to look up at the Pole and motions toward the writing.

"What do you make of this, Davey?"

"Hey, nice work finding the plates.  Now, let me get a closer look at what you've found."  He shone the flashlight on the writing.

Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 (30 rounds) with 1 spare magazine, slung and safed
Trying to read the writing on the wall.

Max crawls to the window ledge, and acknowledges Bayer, then Max gives a heads up sign to Tucker and Blue, before retreating back away from the window, and continues to scan the area.

Max
2 stories up
wishing he had his 30-06 rifle with him

Konrad signals Tuck and Blue to bring over the truck while Max keeps an eye on the surroundings from his lofty perch. As of yet, he's seen nothing worrisome among the dilapitated buildings and rubble in the vicinity.

Inside, Joost and David move in for a closer examination of the firepit and graffiti. Among the bashed-open cans and small animal bones surrounding the firepit, Joost finds what appears to be a homemade knife made of a sharpened metal scrap wrapped with rubber at the base. Aside from that, nothing else of interest or value is seen. David studies the The Polish writing scratched and painted into the plaster coating of the interior wall. It is surrounded by drawings of skulls and penises and other crude designs. The writing itself is mostly undecipherable but a few coherent phrases can be made out.

"Fuck U.S.A.!"

"Fuck Russia!"

"Fuck Germany!"

"We Rule!"

"Kings of Nowy Huta"

The light drizzle continues outside. Rain falls through the collapsed corner of the building but doesn't quite touch the campsite.

[Note: It's about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. As a team, y'all should figure out a way to load the metal you've found into the Ural and decide if you want to continue searching for more. Actions?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:25, Thu 28 June 2007.

After translating the writing for Joost, Dawid said, "Seems like the ruins are haunted by something more than ghosts after all.  I can't tell how old this fire or trash is.  I'm going over by the door to keep an eye out for Bayer."

Stepping on singed paper and crunching over shattered glass, he moved over to the door and unslung his rifle.  He  shouldered the weapon but kept it pointed down and the safety on until an actual threat appeared.  The rain spattered on the charred concrete and piles of brick debris.  Drifts of broken masonry slumped against the insides of the walls facing the directions where the different blasts had come from.


Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 (30 rounds) with 1 spare magazine in hand, loaded and locked
Standing in the shadows by the door.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:37, Fri 29 June 2007.

While waiting for the rest of the team to bring the Ural over to the building, Konrad keeps a careful eye on the surroundings. It is just too damn quiet in this devastated town.

Konrad will get Tuck to back the truck up to the building.

"Ok guys how are we going to get these plates into the back of the truck ?"
he asks the team once the truck has arrived.

Even with a poncho on, Tucker tries to keep him as dry as possible from the rain.  Bayer will get the attention of Tuck and he will return a wave to him that he understands and heads towards the Ural.  Robert retrieves the keys from his pocket and gingerly hops into the truck, placing his M-16/M-203 on the seatnext to him, starting it, and begins to back it up to where Bayer (or Joost)is directing him.

Tuck
M-16A2 [30] MAG (loaded)/M-203 [1] HE (loaded)
Backing the Ural to Konrad
This message was last edited by the player at 18:39, Fri 29 June 2007.

"Sir, I haven't a clue.  We should be able to rig something up with this winch and chains, if we back the truck up to the loading bay.  Drag the plates out with the winch, then lever them up into the bed of the truck?"

Taking the Geiger counter, he idly checked the rainfall to see if it was safe.  It should be.  Immediately after a nuclear strike airborne particles formed clouds that shed fallout and contaminated rain (including the infamous "black rain" or snow, depending on the weather) thousands of kilometres away.  But by now the rain was clean and would help keep the lingering radiation down, washing away any lingering particles.


Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 (30 rounds with 1 spare magazine) in one hand, loaded and locked.
Geiger counter in the other.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:10, Sat 30 June 2007.

Blue puts hs own poncho on as the rain continues he trundles along at the rear of the URAL making sure Tuck can see him in the wing mirror.  He jogs up to Bayer "Sir, find something already?" he asks politely.

Max watches the truck backing up through the misty rain.  To date, he has seen nothing.  It looks like its going to be quite a task getting the plate into the Ural.

Max will give a quick wave to anyone who looks up at his position, before moving out from his vantage point to look out across the village/city from the opposite side of the building.

Max will move cautiously through the ruined second story.  He has time on his side, and will take things slowly.

Upon reaching the other side of the building, Max will stay back from whatever window/vantage point presents itself and look for signs of life or movement.

Dawid leaves the mysterious campsite and heads back to the doorway at the front of the building, meeting up with Konrad who watches as Tuck manouvers the Ural into a position from which it can drag the plates out with its winch. Blue strides along beside the big truck helping to guide Tuck's approach.

Max moves from the north to the south side of the office building. Instead of a window, he finds that part of the southern wall of the office has collapsed. He surveys the southern half of the city through the gap. There's not much left standing to see. Most of the extant buildings are little more than burned out shells. The base of what appears to have been a large holding tank hints at the cause of the devastation. Whatever chemical or fuel that it contained must have ignited with the nuclear blasts, adding considerably to the devastaion at that end of the city. As Max moves closer to the egde of the gap in the wall, he notices movement down below. What appears to be two youths dressed from head to foot in muted tones are nimbly making their way through a partially burned out structure towards his building. One appears to be wielding a long dagger or machete, the other a studded club. They will be below his position- cutting of the firing angle- before he can raise his weapon to engage them.

Joost meanwhile, continues to loiter near the abandoned campsite, lost in his own thoughts. Without warning, a figure covered in rain-darkened grays and browns appears from behind the gap in the wall and rushes towards him, a spiked club or mace of some sort held high and poised to smash down on the Afrikaner's head.

[Private to Joost van den Haas: OOC: You're killing me with these missed posts, man! ]

[Actions?]

Joost continues to squat at the remnants of the fire pit, resting his ass on his heels and using his shotgun, butt end down, as a brace.  He tries to ascertain how recently the site may have been abandoned - and how far it's previous occupants, the graffiti artists, might have gone in the meantime.  It has begun to rain, and he is not looking forward to the effort that will be required to move all that steel into the Ural.  A task difficult enough in favorable conditions will be made even harder in a hurry in the rain in MOPP gear.  Somebody is going to get hurt, he fears.

He shifts his weight onto one knee and his thoughts begin to drift back to his time as a safety officer on board the mammoth Maersk container ships that plied the sea lanes on the Rotterdam-Durban route, when a flash of motion in his peripheral vision catches his eye through the plastic visor of his gas mask.  A figure has burst through a gap in the wall and charged Joost's position, a club held overhead and poised to strike.

With no time to shoulder his weapon and prepare a shot, Joost pulls the shotgun close, rolls into his assailant's path and kicks hard in an attempt to trip him or otherwise knock him off-balance.

[Joost]
At the fire pit
Mossberg M590, 9 rounds buckshot
Engaging hostile in melee combat

Seeing that they weren't receiving any kind of lethal, or even significant dose of radiation from the rainfall, Dawid considered suggesting they doff the NBC gear.  Personally he was sweating like a pig, and it would be a relief to pull off the mask.  The heavy rain was helping somewhat to cool him off, but he'd just be clammy after.

The lack of functioning sewers meant that a rushing stream of runoff quickly started flowing down the street, following the path of least resistance and forming pools and eddies among the piles of debris.  As this was also the clearest route, they would have to drive up the stream to leave the area.

The truck pulled up, then sat idling.  He let the Geiger counter hang from its strap and held the rifle muzzle pointed down.  "Just to let you guys know, there was a fire pit way in the back there, by the metal.  You cannot see it from here.  There was some writing on the wall there, something about "fuck NATO, fuck the commies," typical uncultured criminal gangster trash kind of stuff.  So let's keep our eyes open, yes?"


Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 (30 rounds with 1 spare magazine) in one hand, loaded and locked.
By the loading bay door, talking with Bayer and Thompson.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:40, Sun 01 July 2007.

Max calmly watches the two approach the building, then dissappear from view.

"Hmm"

Assuming he has some minutes before the two youths will have time to either get to the second floor where he is stationed, or move through the building and be able to see his mates working on the steel plate, Max:

1)  will move back over to his "normal" location where he can see the rest of his crew.  Max will wait for someone to look up and "check in" with him.  Max will then use hand signals to mime "2 tangos - coming from this direction".

2)  Max will then make his way to the stairwell, where he will look down and try to spy on the two youths and see what they are up too (passing by the building, or are they entering the building and coming up?).

OOC:  i will assume that Maxs simple message to the recovery crew is easy enough to convey to anyone looking up.


Max
AK-74 (30) BG-15 (1 HE)
2nd story building
Passing on the message, then moving to interior location to watch
This message was last edited by the player at 08:11, Sun 01 July 2007.

Tucker pulls the truck out from its parking space far enough so he can back out.  He adjusts the side mirrors so he can watch Blue give him direction as he moves the Ural to where the metal is they found and need to load.

Tucker begins the slow going of backing the truck up and he catches sight of Fosters motioning something.  He stops the truck and focuses on what he's trying to relay.  "Two....Tangos?  What the fuck?  Where are they?" Tucker says as he begins to scan the area looking for targets.  His hand reaches to the holster on his MOLLE rig and he finds the handle of the Browning Hi-Power and pulls it out with his right hand.  Tucker blows the horn twice (if it works) and yells out the window, "WE GOT COMPANY!"

Tucker
Browning HP [13]
Behind the wheel of the Ural trying to give a warning to everyone from Fosters
This message was last edited by the player at 04:21, Mon 02 July 2007.

Hearing Tuck's warning, Dawid snapped the safety off on his rifle and selected full-autofire with a loud click (known by western troops as the "AK clack").  He shouldering it and stepped back into the doorway to take cover.  Breathing heavily as adrenaline flooded his bloodstream, he scanned the empty street.

Suddenly, exclaimed, "Oh no, I have left van den Haast alone in the back.  I should go warn him right away!"

Turning, he sprinted back into the building, heading for the fire pit where he left Joost.  Breathing in deeply, he lifted up his mask with one hand and yelled,

"JOOST!  WE HAVE COMPANY!  BE ON YOUR GUARD!  JOOST!"


OOC: I remembered you should never leave your buddy alone in a potentially hostile area.

Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 (30 rounds with 1 spare magazine) in one hand, loaded and set to autofire.
Running back to where he foolishly left Joost alone.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:35, Tue 03 July 2007.

[NPCed]

Blue takes a knee by the hastily parked Ural and starts scanning for threats, finger on the trigger of his AUG.

"Anybody see 'em?"

In the machine shop, Joosts temeritous lunge takes the charging assailant by surprise. The mace wielding figure is moving too quickly to adjust to his previously passive target's, sudden rolling kick. The attacker twists his body to avoid the impact but Joost's boot still catches him square above the right knee just as he plants that foot on the bare cement floor. The knee bends backward at a sickening angle, clearly hyperextended, if not worse. Despite his innitial forward momentum, the hostile whips backwards, landing heavily on his ass and crying out in an oddly high-pitched voice.

[Private to Joost van den Haas: You had some nice rolls!]

Dawid enters the machine job just in time to see Joost's attacker go down. The pair are about 50 meters away from him.

Max moves to the south side window and signals those on the ground that potentially hostile company is on the way. After Tucks horn blasts signal acknowledgement, Max moves into the upstairs hallway and makes his way towards the stairwell upon which he ascended to the second floor. He opens the door, edges slowly across the narrow landing, and cautiously looks down. There, at the base of the stair, only a couple of steps up, is one of the dull-hued youths, long dagger in hand. His club-wielding partner is on the lower landing, apparently serving as rearguard.

Out near the machine shop's loading bay doors, Tuck hastilly parks the Ural and prepares to defend himself. Blue takes a knee by the truck and scans for threats, weapon at the ready. Suddenly, the Ural's passender side mirror shatters above his head. The expected loud report of gunfire is not forthcoming. Another projectile clangs high off of the open metal loading bay door, next to which Konrad is standing, trying to get a grip on the situation. There is still no sound of fire. Brief movement can be glimpsed through a crumbled gap in the cinderblock wall of a rapidly decaying tin-roofed warehouse building to the group's right (North).

OOC: Sorry guys; I can't scan a tactical map at the moment. Max's office is SW of the machine shop (Joost is at the NE corner). The Ural group is just outside the shop's western wall. The warehouse where movement has been spotted is NW of the shop, directly across from Max's position. Basically, it's a U-shaped industrial plaza bordered to the N by the warehouse, the S by the office building, and to the E by the warehouse. The is another two story buidling to the west, it's upper story gutted by fire. I hope this helps.

Actions?
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:57, Wed 04 July 2007.

Tuck puts the Ural into Park as he cocks the hammer on his Browning and thumb checks the safety so that it is 'on safe' and flinches when the passenger side mirror shatters.  "We need to get the hell outta here now boys!  They'll be comin' out of the wood work on us soon!  Movement Northwest, Northwest!" (or whatever it would be on the 'clock') he yells out to all around the truck.

Tuck moves gingerly a few inches away from the driver's side door and locking it in case someone tries to get in the vehicle and take control of it.  He figures he would have at least another second or two to react in case someone did try to gain access to the driver's side compartment.

Tuck
Browning HP-35 [13] round mag
Locking driver's side door and looking to call out targets for the others

Max stands still at the top of the stairs, watching the two youths come up.

Max brings his Ak-74 to his shoulder in a smooth fashion - and aims at the chest of the closest youth.

Max allows the first youth to advance up the stairs a bit, enough so that the second youth also commits to the staircase.

In a quiet voice, trying not to frighten them, Max speaks
"Halt"


Max
AK-74 (30) BG-15 (HE)
Aimed shot at first youths chest
This message was last edited by the player at 03:16, Fri 06 July 2007.

Seeing the attacker go down and Joost obviously gain the upper hand, Dawid continued running towards them, rifle in hand. He scrambled around and over the loose piles of broken masonry and charred wood, splashed through puddles of rain water.  His breath rasped in the confines of the rubber gas mask, and the eyepieces started to fog over.


Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 (30 rounds with 1 spare magazine) in one hand, loaded and set to autofire.
Continuing to run NE towards the far corner of the shop.

Surging from the adrenaline rush of the assault, Joost feels his foot hit home and momentarily delights in the bonecrushing devastation of his strike as he follows through and rolls to recover.  Although strangely satisfied with the feeling of a flawlessly executed martial maneuver, he curses himself for falling prey to an ambush the second time today.

Getting too old for this shit.

The floored assailant screams and writhes about on the shop's concrete slab as Joost moves to a tactical crouch and raises his shotgun barrel to cover the hostile.  Sensing from the wailing racket that a call for assistance would be woefully redundant by this time, he holds the Mossberg at approximately the center of his target's mass.  He stares down the barrel in calm and deliberate silence and begins to consciously regulate his breathing.

Joost peers through the lens of his gas mask at the gap in the building's crumbling wall, from whence his would-be attacker had lept not moments before.  With one eye on the downed hostile and one on the fissure in the ruptured facade beyond, Joost drops his left hand from the weapon's slide action and keys the mic on his personal radio.

"Contact.  Campsite.  Tango down."

[Joost]
At the fire pit
Mossberg M590 + 9 rounds buckshot
Covering downed hostile and scanning area

[Private to Cap'n Rae: (If additional targets present themselves, Joost will immediately engage rather than make the radio call).]


This message was last edited by the player at 07:20, Fri 06 July 2007.

The sudden sound of the horn from the Ural brings Konrad out of his musing on how to load the steel plate.

Hearing Tuck yell out about contacts, Konrad quickly crouches by the entrance and flicks the safety off his rifle. A projectile clangs off the wall above Konrad.

Bringing his rifle quickly to his shoulder he spots movement in a building to the north and brings his weapon to bare.

"Tuck, movement in the building to the north. Can you see anything from your position ?"

(If Konrad sees any further movement in that direction he will open fire with a burst)

Raising his voice, Konrad yells out to Dawid and Joost.
"We have contact guys, call out if you can see any movement"

Konrad Bayer
Crouched beside the door to machine shop next to Ural
G36/HK69 Burst, HE Round Loaded

If Tucker sees it, he will call it out.  If I didn't state laready, Tuck removes his gas mask.

In the office building, the youth attempting to ascend the staircase stares directly into the twin bores of Max's AK-74/BG-15. He hesitates a moment, about three or four steps up from the bottom, then beats a hasty retreat, nearly knocking over his partner in the process. In a matter of 2-3 seconds, both youths are out of sight around the corner at the bottom of the stairs.

Outside, various proctiles- bits of bricks, short lengths of rebar, and small hunks of concrete- begin to rain down around the Ural. Most of the hurled debris falls short, kicking up little geysers of shattered bits and rainwater. A few fist-sized missiles bounce off the hood of the truck. The bouncing and rolling rebar, in particular, creates quite an industrial racket. Few clear targets can be seen. Your assailants are apparently unwilling to reveal themselves to return fire, preferring to pepper the party with rubble lobbed high over gaps in the surrounding walls. Blue sends a couple of 5.56mm rounds through a section of the cinderblock wall of the warehouse to the north and, for a few moments, objects cease to be hurled from that quarter. But soon, objects begin to sail over a different section of the same long wall. In fact, objects are incoming from almost every direction.

Joost meanwhile regains his footing and stands over the injured assailant, who lays on his side, holding his torqued knee in both hands. The aggressor's crude, spiked mace lays on the damp concrete within hand's reach. Out of the corner of his eye, Joost spots movement in the gap through which the first attacker had emerged, he twits his torso in that direction and takes a snap shot, blasting a pie-plate sized crater in the concrete wall merging into the edge of the fissure. Whoever of whatever was there a moment ago must have quickly withdrawn as soon as Joost had moved to engage because there's nothing there now. Dawid runs up alongside Joost and covers the hostile who's curled up and whimpering on the floor. No that reinforcements have somewhat mitigated the sinse of imminent danger, the pair get a good look at the attacker. Although his face his covered in strips of dun-colored cloth, it's clear from the individual's size and high pitched whelps, that it is a boy in his mid to late teens.

[Actions?]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:45, Fri 06 July 2007.

Scrambling the last few feet to where Joost and the wounded attacker were located, Dawid spared a glance at the gap where there was additional movement.  Joost's shotgun blast scared whoever it was away, but they would be back.

Thinking quickly, he placed the muzzle of his rifle against the injured intruder's forehead.  Gasping for breath, he pulled down his gas mask so that he could breathe easier and so his voice wouldn't be obstructed.  Controlling his breathing, he said in Polish to the young assailant in a menacing tone of voice,

"Wy . Nie posuwa albo JA będzie wentylują wasz odurzony główny!"

[Private to Cap'n Rae; Joost van den Haas: Translation: "You. Do not move or I will ventilate your worthless skull."]

Still holding the rifle to the prisoner's head with one hand, he turned to the wall where the compatriot no doubt still waited.

He yelled, "Wy tam, wyrabiają waszym przyjaciołom przerywać rzucanie pozycje przy my  albo ta osoba jest martwa! Nie wątpi moich słów. JA ma zabił jed człowiek dziś i JA będzie zabijać inny analogicznie jeżeli JA ma."  He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

To the youth he said, "Współpracują i wy będzie jest dobrze."

[Private to Cap'n Rae; Joost van den Haas:  Translation: "you, out there, make your friends stop throwing shit at us or this one is dead!  Do not doubt my words.  I have killed a man today, I will kill another if I have to like that." and "Cooperate and you will be unharmed."]

He said to Joost, "well, help me get this one to the front.  Quickly."  He pulled off the bandanna to have a better look at the youth's face.


Dawid Piotrowski,
AK-74 (30 rounds with 1 spare magazine) in one hand, loaded and set to autofire.
Back of the shop, dragging the attacker to the front.

OOC: Dawid is using the male definie article for nouns because he thinks this is a male he's dealing with.  With  a hostage, we might be able to not only stop the attacks, but finish loading up the steel in peace.  It's a two-fer!
This message was last edited by the player at 10:34, Sun 08 July 2007.

Having let the two "kids" come up the stairs a little, their options are much more limited when challenged by Max.

"Halt"

Max hopes the word is enough to cover whatever language the kids speak, be it english, german, or polish.

With the two youths stopped on the staircase, and armed only with melee weapons, their options are either to retreat, charge, or comply.

Max, drawing an aimed bead on the first youth, hopes they decide to do as asked.  He will then be able to march them to the bottom of the stairs and see if anyone is able to give him some help.

Max cocks his head to one side.
Is that gun fire outside????

Joost cycles another round of buckshot into the chamber of the Mossberg and continues to cover the opening in the wall.  He glances down at the writhing teenager and briefly considers ending his misery along with the infernal racket.  After reflecting on the tactical situation, he nods to Dawid, "Better drag his ass out to the truck if we're going to use him as a bargaining chip.  Knock him cold if you have to.  I'll cover.  Go!"

[Joost]
At the fire pit
Mossberg M590 + 8 rounds buckshot
Covering Dawid's retreat, looking for targets of opportunity

Max keeps his AK-74 trained on the first youth.  There is sounds of activity in the background.

Max purses his lips together to the youths after making them stop.

"Shhhh"

Max will nod his head, and indicate for the two to turn around and decend the stairs.

Max follows at a safe distance, keeping his rifle trained on the closest kid.

If Tucker sees it, he will call it out.

If I didn't state already, Tuck removes his gas mask.

NEW: Tuck remains in the drivers seat of the Ural looking for targets and calls them out if he sees any.  If one comes close to the Ural or two one of his team members, he will try to engage them with his pistol.

Tuck
Browning HP-35, [13] round magazine
Trying to spot targets and engage if they come close to the Ural or team member(s)

Staying crouched by the rear of the Ural near the open door, Konrad calls out to the team.

"Stay sharp guys, fall back on the truck and lets get these plates loaded"

Konrad hears the sound of Joost's shotgun behind him in the building.

"Joost whats the situation ?"

Konrad Bayer (Crouched in door behind Ural)
G36/HK69 Locked and loaded

Joost and Dawid march the limping boy outside. Bits of rubble are still raining down periodically around the parked Ural. With a bit of prompting, the teenaged prisoner calls out to his concealed companions,

"Stop! Stop throwing shit! Do it now!"

After a couple more errant projectiles sail into the lot, the bombardment stops.

Max, meanwhile, moves cautiously down the stairwell in the office building, aware that the two youths could still be hiding in ambush. He makes it to the bottom floor safely and then crosses the lot at a run to the truck. He advises the group of his encounter and they introduce him to their newly acquired prisoner. From the pieces you're beginning to put together, it's becoming apparent that you've come under unlikely attack by a band of Polish youths playing at a kind of deadly "cowboys and indians" amidst the rubble of the bombed out city. But, you came to do a job, not stand around and chat.

With Joost covering the hostage, the rest of the team moves quickly, dragging the Ural's winch cable into the warehouse. Although it now seems a resumption of the attack is unlikely, the party is now completely on guard. Your senses are sharp and your muscles coiled tight from exertion and nervousness. Blue quickly determines how to fasten the winch cables to the plates and after about 15 minutes, the plates are ready to be levered into the bed of the truck. With the combined efforts of the group, first one plate, and then the other, are succussfully loaded aboard. Another quick conference is held and it is decided that, even with the hostage, it's not going to be possible to mount a thorough search with the assurance of safety. The boy is questioned some more and reveals the strange circumstances of his presence in Nowy Huta.

About three or four months ago, he and about a score of other young boys were sent to Krakow by their villages to the west, which were under serious marauder threat at the time. Just east of Nowy Huta, their ride was ambushed and the boys fled. They made their way to Nowy Huta and survived by rummaging through the less devastated portions of the city, subsisting on canned food, small game, and collected rainwater. It's all very Lord of the Flies. Your captive is apparently the "chief" of this erstwhile tribe of kids. They've been preparing for combat for some time but apparently were not quite ready for the real thing. You try to persuade the boy to convince his followers to accompany you to the relative safety and comfort of the abbey, but he refuses adamantly. It's decided to leave the prisoner and the others behind. They know of the abbey now, and how to get there. Perhaps, someday, they will leave their fantasy kingdom behind, but for now, it is clear they feel safer remaining within the ruins of Nowy Huta.

The team agrees to return to the anchorage with the only the plates from the machine shop- the risk of accidents, radiation, and foul play are simply too great. You mount up and the Ural heads back to the anchorage.

OOC: Thanks guys for speeding it up. You may now post in the new Ch. 2 thread.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:12, Sun 08 July 2007.