Quyen breaks the silence with a few quiet words to Dawid. [Private to Dawid Waldus Piotrowski: "I hope Maddock and Tucker don't think I'm an idiot. When we withdrew I ran back for my handcuffs that were on the Russian prisoner. Snowy said it was good that the Russians didn't find a cuffed man shot in the back, but honestly, in the rush of things I just didn't want to leave my kit behind. I just don't need them thinking I don't know what I am doing."]

She notices some water dripping from the front of the tarp falling onto one her boots. She pulls it in closer into a dry spot. "This sucks." she says.

Lighting himself a cigarette and offering the pack, Dawid laughed quietly. "Welcome to sunny Poland!" Rain pattered down on the blue tarp over them, slowly washing away the bloodstains splattered on it.

[Private to Cap'n Rae; Minh Quyen: (Note: I'll include Rae). "Don't worry about going and getting your manacles. Tucker is a practical sort, Mad looks to be as well, they will understand even if they wouldn't think to do that themselves. It'll be fine." ]
This message was last edited by the player at 06:59, Mon 12 Nov 2007.

Quyen takes the pack and picks one of Dawid's smokes out. "Cheers." she says handing it back. Its not enough to break a smile but welcomed none the less. She'll smoke it right down to the butt.

Remembering something she adds, "I've got a RPG HEAT round in my pack. No launcher though. I was holding onto it for trade, along with a few other things, but thought I'd mention it if we come across a launcher."

Minh Quyen
AK74 (28 Rounds) - 5 Magazines
Hanging out under the mortar tarp

”Well, to start off I notice you’ve got a few of the soldiers pulling double shifts overnight.” She pointed at the sheet of paper Konrad had written the roster on.
”I know Parks can’t do much more than rest anyway, but Griet at least might get a little annoyed.”
If past experiences were anything to go by, so would Parks. What soldier wouldn’t complain about double duty?
Although Adam hadn’t said anything specific, she was fairly sure that this wasn’t exactly a trading mission.
”I think that our explosive supply isn’t as much of a problem as you might think. I’d like to scrounge around the next village and see if I can’t find a few “supplies”.
Looking a little sheepish, the small woman continued, ”Back when I was studying medicine I had an interest in chemistry too. You won’t hear me admit it back home, but I was responsible for a large proportion of the louder and more destructive pranks around campus. I think I can remember enough to mix up a batch or two of explosives. Could even manage some smokeless gunpowder, primers and tear gas if I’m asked nicely.”
For a while Anneka hadn’t been too sure if she’d continue with medicine over chemistry, but the deteriorating conditions that led up to this hellish war had demanded medics more than research chemists. Even so, she knew far more about the subject than she cared to – up to and including the creation of most of the nastier chemical weapons…

”So it’s probably a good idea to find some more ammo for that gun back there then? Everyone should be rotated through training on it too.”
Konrad was right about the arc of fire available to if on the rear deck. Something had to be done about it.
”Why don’t we shift the ZSU onto the barge? I think we need to post somebody up front anyway to watch for sandbanks and so on, and so it sort of makes sense if we put a weapon up there too – just in case….”
All it would take was a few sandbags, a handful of logs, maybe some sheet steel, if they could find any, and they'd have a very useful weapon position. Well away from the tug itself it would be capable of engaging targets almost from the flank while having almost unrestricted arcs in case that helicopter showed up.

”We should ensure the picket has whatever night vision aids we can scrounge up to. I’m fairly sure we can use the tugs systems to charge up batteries for them. Speaking of which, have all the radios been charged lately?”

”I disagree.” Anneka stated firmly. ”As tired and afraid as the locals might be, they’ll usually keep out of trouble at the sight of armed soldiers. Stop dressing in uniform and we could be taken as marauders, or worse, if any pact units were to capture any of us, they’d be well within their rights to execute us as spies!”
Their uniforms were one of the last vestiges they had of proper military organisation and belonging to a legitimate army rather than being little more than the deserters, thieves and murders they’d all fought before.
”When we approach a village or town for trade, it’ll be our actions as much as our appearance that dictate the locals response. As long as we act like we’re still answerable to higher command and the Geneva Convention, I think we’ll do ok.”
“Remember too that most of us wear NATO fatigues, very different from the Russian and Polish issue many of the marauders will be wearing. Who knows, if we act right and look the part, we might even be seen a liberators from the “scourge of communism,” she finished with a touch of sarcasm.

”I think that’s fairly straight forward for purely security task such as the last one. Those who went ashore are probably the best suited for that type of task but we definitely got caught out with the language issue.”
Who amongst them had expected that a simple security cordon would have resulted in the taking of a prisoner?
”Obviously Adam should be a part of any trading activities. It’s his boat and cargo of bicyles, and last I heard we were here simply to assist him with security while he carried on his business.”
“Other tasks will probably require tailoring a team to suit.”
She paused for a moment, deep in thought.
”I think it’s about time we conducted an audit of everyone’s skills too. Once we’re done here, I’ll head around with a notepad and record what everyone can do and their estimate of their ability.”
“I’ll categorise each skill into good, average or poor so that Konrad and whoever else is involved with planning can select the right people for the job.”

After Major Soleblume is finishes, Bayer addresses her concerns one at a time.

"Ja. I needed two more names to pull double shift so that the sentries were not pulling extra long shifts. I'd perfer a maximum of an hour, but stretched it out by an extra thirty minutes. I hoping that Griet will understand. She is best suited to remain onboard and thus likely to get more rest than those on shore ops. I saw it as a fair tradeoff... same with Parks. We'll see what she says.

For the demolitions, its good to hear what you can do with chemistry. I wasn't too worried about our amount of explosives, I just want us to be capable of dealing with it quickly once we get there. I'd like for us to be able to acquire some tear gas... you can make that?

Placing the Zoo on the barge is a good idea... at least to me... I don't know too much about boats though. I'll bring it up with Adam. If he's ok, we'll do it... and put 23mm on our shopping list. Ja, great idea.

Uniforms. Hmmm... I admit I not so convinced now what we should do. You both have good points. Let's see what some of the others think ja? In the meantime, we'll stay as we are.

Agreed on trade regarding Adam, and what our responsibilities are and aren't.

Individual abilities. Ja, please compile a report listing what specialties and languages we have. It would be very useful."

Bayer was rather pleased with himself, or rather himself and his teammates. He appreciated the wide range of ideas and contributions made towards planning. He was glad to have had the meeting.

It seemed to Bayer that while a number of ideas were proposed and some planning had been made, there wasn't much disagreement. With no need to further debate it he decides to close the meeting. Whatever unresolved issues remained, he would put forth to the rest of the team for further opinions. They would be decided later.

In the meantime he issued out some taskings...

1. Soleblume was to compile personnel information from all of the team. Please post a list OOC or something ok?
2. Maddock was to come up with a plan of action for getting a "fast-deploy package" of men and kit.
3. Tucker was tasked with identifying instructors to run inexperienced personnel through a crash course on the DSHK machine gun (priority) and if possible one of the other support weapons. You don't have to teach, just organize it ok?
4. Bayer was going to try and have the zsu moved onto the barge, and initiate the watch routine.
5. Clarence was task with conducting a comms check and recharging batteries
(incl. NVGs)

OOC - You guys don't have a problem with doing these things do you?
This message was last edited by the player at 13:20, Mon 12 Nov 2007.

Maddock shakes his head. "No, sir. I can sort it from my end. A bare few of the boys and girls should be all it takes."

"Ah, if I may, I agree with the Major regarding proper uniforms. I think it's as important to the ranks as the indigs that we keep a certain decorum, if you follow."

More awkwardly, he turns to Soleblume. "Begging the Major's pardon, but I don't reckon we can risk trying to 'cook' explosives aboard ship. I never learned the making of high-grade blasting compounds, but I've been working with them my whole career, and I can see a few too many hazards aboard ship for that sort of work."

"Good point Major.  I guess we could be mistaken for marauders buy just about anyone by what variety of uniforms we're wearing now.  We could still be considered hostile forces by those PACT forces who are still operating to current orders from their perspective governments.  I think it would be good to have them anyways because I can speak for myself, I'd like something more comfortable to slip into than my BDU's every now and again.  The BDU's still show some sort of decorum and organization like the Sergeant Major said too," Tucker adds.

Water slowly dripped onto the deck from a loose corner of the tarp.

"Sounds good. One of the explosives experts we have along could easily make this into a trap of some kind as well, should not be hard to do. Do you have it handy? Let me take a look." He smoked his down to the butt too, then reached into his jacket and placed it in his blouse pocket.

As he waited, watching, he scrunched down into his fatigue jacket and adjusted his beret. The would on his forehead was healing nicely, the stitches would be able to come out soon. There would be a scar.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:23, Mon 12 Nov 2007.

Quyen shook her head but went and got it anyways, rucksack and all. "I was in the combat engineer brigade. I know a little about traps myself... I've got two landmines in here. A claymore and a POMZ-2. I even got four sticks of old dynamite. I swear some day I'm gonna light the fuse with a smoke dangling from my mouth and throw it at somebody."

She unzips the main compartment and lifts out the HEAT round. "RPG-16 HEAT." she announces. "We lost the launcher during one of the raids back in the village where we met."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:33, Mon 12 Nov 2007.

Bayer leaves the galley in search of Adam. Finding him, he proposes the plan to relocate the zu-23-2 (if he is awake). "Adam. Is it possible for us to move the anti-aircraft gun somewhere onto the barge? it weighs around one ton. We'd like to prop up some sandbags around it as well."

After getting an answer from the Captain he will inform all of the team of the sentry roster. He'll explain that the sentry(ies) on duty must be fully kitted up as they would during a stand too. There will be either one day or two night sentries. Night sentries need to have night vision during their shift.

There will also be two routine stand toos for all members... one at first light 0500-0600 and again at last light 1800-1900.

He informs Dawid last. "Dawid, its 1200 now, so I'll need you to start us off."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:58, Tue 13 Nov 2007.

She nodded in agreement.
"I don't intend to do it aboard the tug for that very reason. If we set up a workspace on the barge with a couple of layers of sandbags underneath and surrounding it, there shouldn't be any problem. Any accidental blast will be directed up and away while the sandbags underneath should protect the hull. It's not like I'll be tamping it down or anything while working..."
She also intended to make only small batches of a kilogram or two at a time.
That would take care of any explosives she was working on but gas was another matter. They'd have to be still with the wind blowing from behind before she'd feel even slightly comfortable about that nastiness.

"Yes sir. May I please have my grenades back? If you did not use them, that is."


OOC: The crow's nest seems like the best spot to stand watch. Assuming anyone else isn't currently occupying it.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:47, Tue 13 Nov 2007.

"Ja, of course." Bayer says digging into his webbing. He hands back over the two frag grenades. "Thanks."

OOC - Damn, I didn't forget about them until that last post.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:57, Tue 13 Nov 2007.

He took them, stowed them in the grenade pouches of his ammo harness. "You are welcome, sir."

Grabbing his Tantal rifle and vest, Dawid put away his binoculars and slung the case over his shoulder on a hip. Then he climbed onto the deck house roof, and from there climbed into the crow's nest. A thin drizzle was still falling, so he put on his plastic rain poncho and commenced scanning the river and banks with the glasses.


OOC: This makes a little more sense for posting.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:51, Tue 13 Nov 2007.

With the breaking up of the meeting, Anneka scrounged around the tug until she found some paper and a pencil. Drawing upon her own knowledge and experiences, she drew up a rough list of skills before heading around the tug to interview each of the security element.
Each time she stopped, the questions ran in a similar way....
"So, Minh is it? Tell me about the past few years in the military. What qualifications have you completed? What skills have you learnt? Have you picked up any other useful skills over the years? How good would you say you are at each of those things?"
Fairly stock standard interview questions but vital if Anneka was to compile a reasonably accurate assessment of the groups capabilities.
"Oh, and while I'm asking, is there any equipment you have that may be useful to the group as a whole?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:28, Wed 14 Nov 2007.

Still sitting under the tarp near the mortar Quyen pulls down her hood to show her face in a more polite mannor. "Yeah, Minh Quyen. I was military police for a while, so I know PW manhandling, and interrogation technique and stuff like that. Halfway through the war I was sent to the combat engineers. I know a bit about demolitions, fortification construction, and boobytraps." She thinks for a moment. "Back home... my old home in Vietnam I mean, I handled river boats, so I can do that as well."

Pointing at her small rucksack she adds, "I've got some mixed demo and two mines. I'm also carrying a few trades items... pre-war soap, lockpick tools, jewelry, anti-biotics, and an RPG HEAT round."

"This seems to be the mortar crew's spot. You know where can I drop my gear and call my home here on the boat?" She wasn't on shift until early that evening and if she wasn't needed she figured she put her feet up.

Even though Anneka greatly outranked Minh, she felt a sense of connection with her. Both were from countries other than the one they served in the army of. She herself had grown up in Israel, neutral at the best of times to the USA but now firm allies in the fight against both communism and the more extremist arab nations.
"We're using the old paint locker down below as the magazine for now. You should probably drop your explosives in there in a minute - safer than having them on you in a fight."
"Your other stuff, as far as I'm concerned, is yours. Add the valuables to the collection in the radio room or hang onto it, your choice. The medicine though I'd like you to put in the galley with the rest of the medical supplies please."
"Feel free to draw whatever you need though, you're a part of this crew now."
Although Anneka was asking Minh to part with many valuable items, the unit as a whole were not thieves. Minh was one of them now. Whatever stores they had were for the benefit of all those aboard.
"You should probably speak to Hauptman Bayer about a permanent station but I'd suggest either staying here and helping Dawid out, or heading back to the rear deck. Most of us are camping outside at or near our duty stations but you're welcome to try finding a bunk inside if you can."

"Alright." she replies. Standing up she places her bush hat on her head and slings her webbing and gear over one shoulder. Picking up her rifle last she heads below deck to surrender some of her gear.

OOC - I will submit my medicines from my trade goods to the ship's sick bay, and remove them from my inventory. She'll also stow her demo in the old paint locker but I'll keep them on my inventory.

Antibiotics X7 Pills
Sedatives X3 Pills
Pain Reliever X1 Unopened Bottle

Once done she look for a dry spot on the rear deck, near the funnel. There she will rest - or sleep if it comes. She approach Captain Bayer later when he seems less busy.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:43, Wed 14 Nov 2007.

One down plus herself, Anneka turned her attention to Dawid once Minh had moved off to sort herself out.
"Your turn Dawid. What can you tell me and is there any items you've been holding back on us?" she finished with a smile.
[Private to Dawid Waldus Piotrowski: PM or OOC for your skill list please. No need to clutter the thread up with it - unless you'd like to rp it.]

He looked down from the small observation platform. "Item-wise, I have another bottle of Vodka and a carton of cigarettes. My anti-tank rocket and spare PKM ammo are all in the weapons locker. You know about the night-glasses, and of course I have these binoculars."

"For skills, I am well-versed in all forms of machineguns, automatic cannons, artillery like antitank guns, field pieces and howitzers, and of course mortars. I'm fairly good with a rifle and so-so with a pistol. I have only basic instruction with grenade launchers and guided missiles."

"I have some experience as a mechanic, and know how to safely dismantle explosive devices. Enough to clear a dud shell at any rate. From my youth on the farm, I learned how to ride and swim, and fish from a boat. And farm, of course."

"I speak English and Russian, and Polish of course. Lastly, I can drive cars, tractors, tanks and bikes.. a little."

"Is this sufficient?"

He didn't seem to be rude, but was occupied with scanning the passing riverbanks.

Anneka struggled to keep up with the torrent of information. She'd not had to write so fast since she'd been a student nurse in what seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Yes, yes, thank you Dawid. More than sufficient."
Tidying up her notes she headed for her next "victim", Warrant Officer Milk...
"I'm sure you know the drill," she said once he'd been located. "Lets hear it..."

Anneka finds Clarence aft, under the tarp where the aft Dushka is emplaced.

"Well, how does the saying go? Jack of all trades; master of none. I qualified marksman with the 16 and I've got plenty o' hands-on with PACT weapons. Even the young bucks couldn't take me down in the ring or on the mat. I'm a coms specialist so I know a fair bit about electronics. I've had some experience calling in fires and I know my way around a map. Then there's the stuff they teach back at Bragg: stealth, survival, tracking, basic recon- that sorta stuff. I'm not the best operator in the bush, but I've managed to stay alive this long. Oh, and of course, us Green Berets are supposed to be teachers as much as fighters. Does that help?"

Looking around the rather spacious, open deck underneath the tarp, Clarence continues.

"You might think about setting up your aid station here major. Enough open space, the tarp overhead, not as stuffy as below. These sandbags and ammo boxes will probably stop a bullet. And it's centrally located. It aint no OR, but it's probably the best spot on the boat."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:59, Wed 14 Nov 2007.

"Yes, thanks for that."
Her notebook was rapidly filling up with information gleened from members of the team. All vital knowledge if they were to effectively and efficiently manage any future encounters and events.
"It's not a bad idea setting up out here but with luck I won't need the space. For now I think it best to leave the supplies where they are. Only takes a moment to grab them if somebody's seriously hurt."
Surgery at the best of times held no guarentees. For her to have to do it alone and unaided in the completely unsanitary environment of a working river tug, well, that didn't bear thinking about.

An idea that had been floating about in her head for a few days came to mind as she reviewed Clarence's skills.
"Could you have a think about setting up an intercom system between duty stations? What materials would be needed and so forth. I'll then set our scroungers to work."

A quick bite to eat, shower and change of clothes later and she was off in search of the British man, Maddock.
"Sergeant Major!" she called, spotting him near on of the small boats. "Your turn for the interrogation chair." A small smile indicated that she'd go relatively easily on him, provided he complied...
This message was last edited by the player at 13:43, Sat 17 Nov 2007.

Clarence replies, "I just thought I'd run it by you. We really don't need two LMGs up front. Even though they can't shoot straight forward over the bow, the Dushkas can cover the forward angles well enough. If you were stationed back here,  you could cover whichever side is engaged with the RPD. The fields of fire are great. And, the good Lord forbid, if someone does get hit, this would be a good place to treat 'em. With you back here, we could use the new girl as a mobile reserve. Just think it over, OK?"



"Uh, do we have any telephone wire? If we had some and a couple of handsets, I could easily rig up an 'intercom' from the bridge to the crow's nest. Come to think of it, I could run it all over the boat, if we had enough wire. Oh, and sir, the radio and goggle batteries should be ready to go for tonights sneak and peek. But sir, I don't think it's such a good idea to send out a team after dark, especially on a night like this."

OOC: This conversation occured before the events of Chapter 6. I'm just clearing up some loose ends here.

Anneka considered Clarence's words. He made some good points but she'd chosen to set up forward of the bridge for two reasons - it's excellent view over the bow as well as it's proximity to the bridge itself. Moving to the rear deck would remove her from involvment in the day to day running of the vessel as well as move her further from the bulk of the crew.

By her count, all but Maddock and Minh were either on the upper deck or the bow of the tug. From her sandbagged vantage point she could see nearly everyone in the security element of the crew merely by taking a few steps.

"I understand your point of view Sgt Major, but I think I should stay where I am for the moment."
"But," she continued conspiratorially, "I wouldn't mind seeing Griet moved away from the centre of operations. Krakow has too much say in what's happening already without her nosing in every few minutes."

Although they'd been sharing a position for the past few days, Anneka couldn't bring herself to trust the ORMO representative. She embodied everything wrong about the situation, seeming to fill the role of a communist political officer more than a simple intermediary.

"Do you know if we've got any wire aboard already?" she asked, sure that supplies would be limited.
"I'll keep an eye out for more of course and tell anyone who goes ashore to do the same."

A working intercom would be a huge benefit. No more would they have to rely on shouting over the tugs engines, or the deep thumping of heavy machineguns. A command could be quickly and easily be issued from anywhere, to anywhere on board.