Minh quickly prepares for the stand too when the call is quietly given. With night approaching it'll only get colder so she removes her Adidas track hoodie and puts on her black wool sweater. Throwing her webbing on over this she quickly makes her way to the rear upper deck... the new SAW position.

When Captain Bayer passes by and asks her for her vote, she replies - "I say do it. A quick look if anything. We are here for the night anyways, so it'd be good to check it out for security purposes as well."

Once the anchor falls john wakes up with a start and swings his strait razor in a wide arch over his head in a sleep filled defensive move. Once he wakes he wipes his eyes and starts to pack up his gear and add layers of his now dry uniform items. He repacks his pack and breaks down his G3 again, wipes it down and punch's the bore. He will do the same with his 1911 and the reload both weapons. He will go and take a piss off the side of the boat and comb out his growing hair and re-braid it. Once he has done his routine he will move to the galley and eat a mid-size meal. Once finished he will move back up to the top deck and resume his sleep position and go back into dream land........



John
routine
G3

Snowy is methodically cleaning his weapon, he'd be embarressed of Yaz asked for a quick check and it was dirty. Anyway, it's the little rituals that keep your head bolted on, he thinks to himself.

He notices he's starting to smell particularly 'ea de riverwater'. He's got hours before the next sentry-go so he decides the time - the odour - is ripe for a quick shower in the Krolowa's unlimited steam powered hotwater shower. As he's scrubbing down, handgun close enough that he can arm himself in case of boarders, he tries to remember when he last had a shower with all the hat water he wanted. Regardless, he still can't bring himself to have anything other than a navy shower and is out pretty quickly.

Dressing in his black tactical clothing, he rinses his stinking bunny-cams out and bundles them up. Strapping on the webbing gear is like stepping into old shoes, not really comfortable but familiar. His harness, unlike military harnesses, is far more encompassing (it's also a rapelling harness) but it chafes like a bastard and he looks at it more like an ongoing atonement for his sins. 'Who was that Greek guy that had to roll a rock to the top of the hill in Hades?' he thinks to himself. 'Sysiphus. Sounds like a disease. I've got a bad case of Webbing-Sisyphus'. He smiles, he should tell the Doc and see her reaction.

Coming out, he nods to Yazzie as he's eating and drapes his cams out to dry. Ambling back he says "How'd you go with your swim Yaz? Yaz, have you had any action on the lower stretches of the Vistula? You know, way below Warsaw and closer to the coast? I heard the Marines were in hard down there. Cos', I'm wondering what we do after this cruise. I'm thinkin', maybe we should be looking for a blue water boat and heading along the coast. From what I last heard, the Marine Corps has a big unit up there somewhere."

After chatting with Yazzie, he stows his carbine - because he's running so low on ammo - and hefts his tactical Remington 870P. Yes, the carbine is a nasty lil' killer but there's something reassuring about carrying a street-howitzer like the twelve gauge. The big black gun with it's short barrel, side saddle ammo carrier and reflex sight swings on his patrol swing as he looks for Tuck as he goes about his sentry patrol. He walks alongside Tuck for a bit; "So, got any ideas what to do after our little cruise? I was thinkin' of going on beyond warsaw on another leg down if we can score a vessel like this. I can con a helm; I gotta watchkeeper's ticket."

He looks up and sees Minh, and says as the two amble past "G'day miss. I'm Snowy, former Australian Customs Service and now occupying the very lowest rung of the ADF." Snowy is obviously not really a soldier, and as he's no wearing tactical SWAT gear it's obvious what he did in the customs service. "I haven't had a chance to say G'day yet, but there yer are." He adds with a grin.

(OOC: Anyone else, join in for the chat, I'm not excluding you.)

Snowy
Taking a turn about the vessel with Tucker.
Remington 870P and Glock .40

Tucker is on the top deck enjoying one of his cigars as he takes in the sights (and smells) of the river.  Robert turns and nods to Snowy as he gets closer and starts to talk.  "What's happening Snowy?  Hey listen, I stripped off some spare rounds from my mags for you.  It's not much but, I can spare them for now," Tucker says reaching into his pockets and hands Snowy a couple handfuls of loose 5.56N rounds (33 total).

Tuck will walk along with Snowy on the deck for a bit.  "I don't know what the fuck I'm gunna do after this is all over Snowy.  Not sure if I like the river much but, it's a helluva lot faster than walking!  If it works out, I might stay on with Adam, never really considered too much passed Warsaw.  Lately, kinda just keep going day by day and see what it brings.  Right now, it's a good gig and I got a chance to learn some shit on working the boat.  I guess, I can stay on as security.  Stick with what you know, right?  If we can get our hands on a boat like this, I'd be more inclined to work it with people I know."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. This is the first I've settled down in a while. It seems we were on the go for years on end; ruck-up and move-out and so on, but on the boat it's this wierd moving flat out while sitting still feeling."

He thanks Tuck for the ammo and stores it in one of his pouches, "I owe you now! Where am I gonna get a beer out here!?"

[Private to GM: I won't forget to change my ammo! :)]

Tucker smiles, "Some scotch would do nicely with my cigar.  I guess a beer wouldn't be bad either.  Don't worry about the looseies Snow, you can buy me a beer in Warsaw!"

Dawid was relaxing by the bow gun, watching the riverbanks. "I have no real opinion one way or another. I need to get to Warsaw safely, but if there are people we can help, then I wish to do so."

After Konrad was done and he was dismissed, he cleaned his rifle and pistol and the heavy weapons (including the Vasilek and Plamya), then said his evening prayers.

After the stand too ends at 1900, Bayer approaches Soleblume. “I’ve asked the men about heading into Nowy Korcyzn, and nobody seems against it. Are you up for taking three of them, Dawid, Quyen and Tucker in to check things out? Just four of you ja. Stealth in small numbers right.  Besides… Yazzie, Maddock, and Snowy are out since they’ll probably have a long night tommorow… I’ll fill you in on that later. And it’ll keep our sentry roster intact without any shifting. Can do?”
This message was last edited by the player at 13:04, Fri 16 Nov 2007.

"Quyen. Former MP and sapper." she introduces herself. "I'm real happy to get on board with you guys. Its taking me the opposite direction I wanna go, but at least I'm moving."

Maddock takes the opportunity to break out all of his kit. He unpacks, sorts, examines and repacks, separating out anything that needs patching or other attention. He carefully removes each round from his magazines, and then reloads them after ensuring that they are all clean and in good shape. A little work with a needle and thread sees to the tears and holes in his fatigues.

Following Snowy's example, he helps himself to a shower. He uses the hot water and time to wash the worst of his clothes. Long days and nights in mud and standing water have done a number on them, but Maddock is a Royal Marine of the old school, and knows his way around a stain or a torn trouser leg.

Feeling clean and refreshed, insignia and badges restored, Maddock reemerges onto deck, and settles himself in for breakfast and a sit-down.

before John sleeps he anwsers Snows question...


"we have a MEF up o the coast 2 divisions an aircraft wing and a support group.."

"i was pulled out along with a bunch of guys from 5th Recon battalion and we were sent out on a SOCOM mission..."

"hope the rifle works better now but i have to catch some sleep...have a good one"

"i for one think we need to find a place to winter down,,, and the MEF could have moved"

"swim was easy just a float along thanks for the pickup"

John
going to sleep
G3
This message was last edited by the player at 00:01, Sat 17 Nov 2007.

Under the watchful eye of Snow on the port Dushka, Maddock ferries the recon party- consisting of Anneka, Tuck, Dawid, and Quyen- to shore in Zodiac 1.

The recon team sets off from the riverbank to cross the half-kilometer to the settlement.

No lights been seen anywhere in the village. Whether this indicates that the village is abandoned, or under a deliberate blackout due to your approach, is not yet clear.

Recon Team

Crossing the fallow field between bank and settlement in the dark is difficult, to say the least. There is very little ambient light with the moon hiding behind the low overcast. Even with the aid of night-vision goggles, you stumble over the uneven ground, slogging through- and sometimes slipping into- mud, clumps of weeds, and puddles of standing water. By the time you arrive within 50 meters of the first village outbuildings, you're soaked through and liberally spattered with mud.

You near your navigation point- a large, solitary tree on the southwestern outskirts of the village, its branches bare. Hanging from one of the lower, sturdier branches is a large, frayed piece of fabric (a sheet or tablecloth or towel perhaps). From the way it hangs with its lower edge squared parallel to the ground, it looks to have been placed there deliberately. It appears to be light in color, but it's impossible to tell exactly what color it is since everything is tinged green by the NVGs and those without can barely make out only a light grey blob on a pitch black background.

There is still no sign of life from the village. The nearest building has been gutted by fire; those stretching off to the north appear largely intact.

Back on board the Queen, all is quiet. Only the melancholy murmer of the flowing water trumps the stillness of the young night.

Actions?

I'm not starting a separate group for the recon team. I don't want anyone on the boat getting too bored, so, everyone can read what's going on. Please remember, though, that those on the tug cannot see everything that is going on in the recce team's LOS. Remember to use your radios to keep one another informed.

[Private to John Yazzie: Hey compadre, I know that grammar's not really your thing but please try to tidy up your posts just a bit. It's the teacher in me- what can I say. Thanks much. Respect.

Oh, and yes: The more successful gunsmithing work Yazz does, the better he'll get at it.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:56, Sat 17 Nov 2007.

With the recce team away, Bayer gives up his NVGs to the sentry to hand off with each shift. He'll collect them again in the morning. Bayer also leaves his radio with the sentry to maintain a radio watch, waiting for any reports from Soleblume.   He leaves instructions to be woken if anything serious happens... but other than that he goes and bunks down until his he needs to go on shift himself.

Bayer
Sleeping

Looking slightly shocked that Konrad had asked her, a medic, to lead the team, Anneka could only nod in reply. At least she had Dawid and Tucker along, two who'd proven their worth already, and Minh seemed to know one end of a weapon to the other.

Soon after she was ready to depart, her Uzi reclaimed from the makeshift armoury in the radio room and everything else stripped down to the bare basics. She'd eyed the MP-5 for a few moments, it's much lighter weight more than compensated for her unfamiliarity and it's slightly short effective range, but there was only the one lone magazine available for it. They'd have to scrounge some more as soon as they could.

"Right then," she said as "her" team assembled, ready for the short boatride to shore. "We all set?"

She was glad to see Dawid had chosen to leave the heavy PKM behind and restrict himself to the rifle. She was even happier to see the RPG slung over his shoulder - it was just a recon, but...[Private to Dawid Waldus Piotrowski: Hope you don't mind being told what weapons to carry like that]

"Oh, one last thing." She held out her hand with three personal medikits, each containing a bandage, painkiller and anitbiotics and weighly a tiny 200 grams. "If you don't have one on you already, take one. As I'm sure each of you already know, you're responsible for your own immediate medical aid if you can manage it while the rest of us deal with any threats. If you're treating somebody else, use their kit first."

Fairly standard stuff even the greenest of recruits were supposed to learn, but Anneka had learnt that many basic things were forgotten over the years that needed the occasional reminder.

"Who's got a flashlight?" she inquired in a low voice. "That looks like it's supposed to mean something. Could be writing on it."
It was dangerous to show a light, but she didn't intend to shine the flashlight on the cloth while it was still hanging. Sneaking forward, Anneka picked her way through the darkness to the cloth. Reaching up she gave it a tug, gently at first then harder until it came free.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:46, Sat 17 Nov 2007.

His own first aid kit being used up on his head wound, Dawid took another from Anneka as a replacement.

He slung the 1-shot RPG-76 over his shoulder, then made sure his Tantal was cocked and safed. He checked his flashlight and NVGs, making sure they worked. Lastly, he donned the achingly heavy flack vest and put the lifchki ammo carrier over top of that, with 6 spare magazines and 2 grenades and the first aid kit inside it.

Of course he only had the one set of fatigues and no helmet any more, so he wore his beret and put a sweater on underneath his fatigue jacket, and he was ready to go.



The NVGs made everything look a glowing monochrome green. Through them, he lay in the wet grass and watched the lifeless buildings. Sweat due to the exertion and heavy flak vest dripped down his ribs.


Dawid Piotrowski
Tanatal (30 rds +6 magazines) Stechkin (21 rds) 2 Grenades
Watching the front w/NVGs

EDIT: Added clothing and weapons tag
[Private to Anneka Soleblume; Cap'n Rae: Not a problem at all re: the ATR, I would guess a patrol leader has every right to make sure the right weapons are carried. He did take a 1st aid kit, but I editied the post slightly to make this clearer.]
This message was last edited by the player at 12:30, Sun 18 Nov 2007.

If nobody offered, Quyen would pass up her black police style flashlight. It had an incredibly strong light to it, but she had managed to fix a self-made red lens covering over the end of it for tactical use such as this.

"Maybe you should go underneath a rain poncho to keep any light from being seen." she quietly suggested. OOC - she means squat down and lay the poncho completely over your upper body and the item being viewed, like a tent.

She was dressed as she was earlier on the boat, a black wool sweater, US issue combat pants and webbing. She wore no body armour or helmet, only a camouflage  bush hat (the helmet had been lost and her kevlar traded away months ago). Her webbing was weighed down with various grenades and gear. Like the rest of them, she was soaked and muddy, her hands were a bit numb and starting ache.

As much as she was interested in seeing what the item was, Minh forced herself to take up a security position, keeping watch towards their rear... seeing how Dawid had taken up watching to their front (the village). With no NVGs she listened for any sounds that might indicate a human presence. Her weapon was at the ready.

Minh Quyen
Ak-74 (28 rounds) - 5 Magazines
Recce patrol's location
NO NVGs.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:31, Sat 17 Nov 2007.

Adam thinks for a moment before responding to Konrad's inquiry regarding detatching the barge in order to facilitate the transfer of the ZU from the stern of the Krolowa.

"Yes, it should be no problem. We'll have to wait until first light, though- it simply can't be done at night without lighting up the entire river- and the boys [Walter, Tadeuz, and Luboslaw] may need some help, if you can spare a man or two. But, they have done such things many times before; it shouldn't take more than an hour."

Uller, standing nearby, begins to light up a cigarette, briefly illuminating the darkened bridge.

OOC: This is a flashback conversation that took place before Konrad went to bed.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:16, Sun 18 Nov 2007.

Tucker nods with approval about going ashore again and that Anneka was in charge this time, no second guessing each other!  He goes below and gets his MOLLE kit and wepaons ready for another shore party and returns to the upper deck to do a final weapons & equipment check.  Tucker waves off the medkit from Anneka, tapping one of his pockets indicating where his are to everyone else.

Robert covers a sector as the boat makes for the shoreline.  Once it has arrived, he gets out of the craft as easily as he can and covers while the rest are out and then given the move out signal by Anneka.  He falls into a spot and follows the leader.

As they approach the tree with the cloth or sheet on it, Tucker stops and lets Minh hand over her more powerful flashlight than his own Army issue anglehead light.  Tucker positions himself in a prone position away from where they're working and finds a field of fire to cover while they investigate.

Tucker
M-16A2 [27/30]/M-203 [HE]
Covering sector while the tree is checked out

[Private to GM: I just wanted to let you know that I'm going through a divorce on my end and I'm having a little trouble staying focused.]

Recon Team

Positioned around the tree in a ragged wagon-wheel formation, Dawid, Minh, and Tucker keep watch on the perimeter, while Anneka examines the cloth.

With some effort, she tugs it down off the tree and kneels down over it. Flicking on her torch, she attempts to shield its light (sans red filter) from the village with her body and her free hand. Despite this, some light escapes, glowing uncomfortably bright in the inky darkness.

The sheet is yellow- a bit faded in places, but it's definitely yellow. There are no visible markings or writing of any kind on it. It's just a plain, bright-yellow sheet that someone deliberately fastened to the tree, in plain site, visible from the river side of the village.

There are still no signs of life from the village. Lying on the damp ground, you are now more aware than ever of just how cold it is. Cold and dark. And quiet.

Tug

Anyone looking in the direction that the recon team headed off in can see a brief glimmer, low to the ground, flickering for a few moments before winking out again. It's difficult to estimate how far off the glimmer was or what produced it.

Otherwise, no one aboard the Queen sees or hears anything else out of the ordinary.

Actions?

As soon as the recon team posts their intentions, I'll put up another GM post. I don't want to rush ya'll but I don't want those on the tug to have to sit out too much longer either.

The yellow colour of the sheet worried Anneka somewhat. There was only one reason to her mind that it would have been chosen by whoever had done it.
"I think it's a chemical contamination marker," she said uncertainly.
"If we proceed I think we should mask up." She patted the gas mask at her hip.
"Comments?"
A decision like this wasn't one she wished to take alone. If it was a warning of contamination, was it worth the risk of exposure?
This message was last edited by the player at 01:56, Mon 19 Nov 2007.

SLEEP





John
SLEEP
G3

Quyen shook her head. She should have though of something like that. Being in the engineers she was used to putting up such markers. "Yeah, yellow... chemical weapons. We should go."

Minh realized that even if the town was contaminated it could have been months since it was actually dangerous. Just as possible was that it was just a scare tactic by people hiding out there to keep people away. But since there was no real need to proceed further, why bother?

"Just in case."

Zzzzzzzzzz....

Bayer
Sleeping

He tried to remember if a yellow flag was the sign for chemical contamination, or perhaps a quarantine marker for disease.[Private to GM: Any chance he would recognize the significance of the signal? For straight ATT rolls, I usually use double INT as the asset.]

"All kinds of chemical agents disperse from the air in hours, if not minutes. Sunlight and air break these poisons down quickly, and none are persistent for a period longer than weeks."

He scratched his nose and shivered in the damp chill. "In fact, it's hard to see why anyone would use chemicals here recently. We fought the NATO invaders around here years ago, not recently."

"Still... someone might be crazy enough to do so. There are armoured vehicles not too far away from here, and who knows if they have chemical stocks? Or it may be a warning of disease. I guess masks are sensible, but I'm not sure how useful they will be, either way."

Dawid Piotrowski
Tantal (30rds. +6 mags.) Stechkin (21 rds.) 2 Grenades
Watching the town
This message was last edited by the player at 17:04, Mon 19 Nov 2007.

When Tucker hears that there's a possibility of the cloth being a chemical marker, he will offer to Anneka in a low voice where only her and or the rest of the group can hear.  "With all due respect Major, if you're thinking it's chemical weapons, I recommend we get the hell out of the area ASAP!"

Tucker