Anneka had checked on the first aid treatment shortly after recovering consciousness herself. While she trusted the ability of the others to deal with initial treatment, statements they'd given about skills earlier in the day showed ongoing care was something they were far from qualified for.
Besides, they were needed far more to provide security for the damaged vessel.

Satisfied Griet and Adam were stable (there was nothing she could do for Uller, Maddock, Fosters and Thompson), she arranged for Ullers to be cleared and Griet moved into far more comfortable surrounds. Adam also was soon resting in his own bunk. "They're far better off there than exposed to the elements," she said to any who asked why.

The helicopter barely registered on her mind as she carried out her tasks. Caring for the wounded was a hard enough task at the best of time, let alone seriously wounded as she was and relying on painkillers to dull the edge. Even if she cared, there was little she could have done. It was difficult enough just walking as it was.[Private to GM: Surgery can wait a day or so I suppose? If not, then she'll grab either Minh or White to assist.]

Finally her medical duties were complete, at least for the moment, and she sought out Konrad.
"I think we need to halt and reorganise. Recover what we can from the dead, bury the bodies and conduct repairs."
She just hoped they'd have time before the next threat was upon them...

Snowy scans the riverbanks through the shattered windows. He puts the lock on the wheel and follows the banks with his binoculars. He calls out to Konrad on the forward gun position, loud enough to be heard by everyone on the boat, "hey boss! Are we pulling up or going onto the bridge? We'd better get an idea of what we're sailing into before we get much further dowstream."

Bayer calls back, "No, hold off a few klicks from the bridge." He had asked Adam to so but forgot Snowy was now at the helm.

Bayer enters the bridge and calls down to the engine room for one of the Polish crewmen to come up and man the helm. "Snowy, once he gets up here come on down to the mortar ja?" Bayer then proceeds to collect the team to have a quick meeting at Dawid's station.

"Das bridge is coming up. Milk, establish comms again, get an update to the situation and tell them... if they are going to help, it will be in under two hours. Let me know if that is impossible as soon as you can."

"We will stop a short distance from the objective and deploy a group by boat. They will meet the partisans and confirm that the bridge is secure, and then establish a bridge demolition guard. Shore party is myself and..."

Looking at Quyen, "Quyen. Demolitions. Your first task is to assess the bridge for clearance. Find out how much explosives, equipment and manpower is needed to fit this boat through."

Looking at Dawid, "Dawid, you are going to setup your machinegun as part of the land based bridge demolition guard. Also, act as interpreter if needed. There is a CIA man, but your language ability may be necessary regardless."

Looking at Yazzie, "Yazzie, sharpshooter of course. Deploy independently from the shore party. These partisans are CIA and Milk's contacts, but I want you to stay out of sight and cover us... just in case. After we've made contact, act as bridge demolition guard and cover the operation."

Indicating to the remainder he addresses them as a group. "Snowy, Milk, and Tucker. Man the weapons and protect the tug. Maintain comms with us and the partisans." He points up to the sniper's perch, "Parks is there for sniper fire of course. One of the crewmen can man a machinegun as well if you really need it."

Nodding to Soleblume he finishes off, "Major, you're obviously out of action for a while. You want to reorganize us in terms of battle stations and the like? What else do you think we should do now?"

He leans back against the gunwale and listens to her and everyone else's responses.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:14, Tue 11 Dec 2007.

"I'll need to go over my notes," she replied to Konrads question.
"The recent casulaties have thrown my suggested changes a bit of a curve ball."
And then some! She'd intended Griet and Maddock to move out to the ZSU but with one dead and the other in serious condition, that wasn't about to happen any time soon.
Even the heavy machinegun situation had changed drastically with the loss of Fosters and Thompson. It was beginning to look as if they'd have to give up on permanently crewing the mortar for the time being, just to provide a decent all round coverage.
"We desperately need to find some more materials to cover the bridge," she pointed her good hand towards the splintered and burnt wreckage above them. "Probably best not to gather there too in the future, it's likely to be the first target of any attackers."
In hindsight it was obvious. Take out the bridge and you have the fight as good as won. Without a working bridge, the tug would be forced to halt and be little more than a floating deathtrap.

"We always meant to armour the bridge, but we've moved too fast to get serious armour in the locations that need it. The Vasilek should be finished by now but we haven't had a chance or had the materials we need. Really, we need about ten more people."

"Ok, fill the stations with what we have to work with." Bayer acknowledges Anneka's statement regarding the team. "Ja. Perhaps using the mortar for emergencies only and having Dawid and Milk put elsewhere for the time being... as you said."

"Perhaps when we clear the bridge we can use some of it for materials. Other than that there is only two other options in the near future, the towns of Szczucin and Sandomierz. Sandomierz is further downstream but its actually on the river and we know we can trade there as well."

"Some good news... Milk's CIA contact will no doubt be able to provide us with some more concrete intelligence concerning downriver."

Minh nods when instructed to meet at the bow. Slinging her rifle she makes her way over and sits next to the mortar and Dawid. She removes her bush hat listens as the plan is discussed.



"Understood." Jabbing her thumb over her shoulder - "Demo is checked and ready to go."

"Taking some of the span we clear may be useful if even if it can't be used for armor protection. Trade as scrap or something."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:05, Tue 11 Dec 2007.

The helicopter thumped by. As it passed, he checked to see if the pods on the stub wings were rocket pods or fuel tanks. At least from the helos he'd seen, tanks were painted while rocket pods were not. However, it was passing fairly high up and a long ways off. He wondered what it was doing, who it was ferrying.

"Hey, can we radio anyone aboard that thing?"

[OOC: the SINGCARS might be able to. It can send and receive in the analog VHF bands used by aircraft.]



He nodded in understanding. "Yes, sir."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:41, Tue 11 Dec 2007.

John will remove him self from the group and tend to his gear. He will do a detailed inpection of his diassembled weapon and clean it. He will do this for his pistol and rifle. He will then clean his gear and repack his pack and load bearing vest. Once this has been done he will clean himself and eat a large meal. He will pack food (3 days) and new medicine(2 personal med kits) in his pack. Once done will will walk around and ask all crew members if they need any work on thier personal weapons. If anyone responds he will do the work quickley and with out any talking. He wil then move to the Snipers perch and have a 10 miniute personal conversation with the Gunny. Once he has talked to gunny he will move down to Konrad and talk to him.


"German would you like to have that private conversation now?"


John
Tasks/Talking to Konrad
G3/1911
This message was last edited by the player at 01:56, Wed 12 Dec 2007.

"Yes. I can talk."

Having heard of the "disagreement" between the Corporal and Hauptman while she was unconscious, Anneka positioned herself nearby to listen in. As the ranking officer aboard the tug, even if not technically in command, it was her role to know everything that was going on.
She had a feeling it wouldn't turn out well....
This message was last edited by the player at 23:38, Tue 11 Dec 2007.

"We need to walk over here herr Hauptman out of ear shot of the others. I dont like my private thought's to be heard."


John will walk over to the rear of the tug and talk in low tones to the Hauptman.



John
Talking to Hauptmann
G3/1911
This message was last edited by the player at 00:55, Wed 12 Dec 2007.

Bayer listens to Yazzie and gives a brief response.

Once their conversation is done he gathers whoever is not busy and goes below to remove the dead soldier's weapons and ammo and places it in the ships armory (they will do the rest of the gear later as per GM's post). He takes five HE 40mm grenades and refills his grenadiers vest. Giving one last look at the dead's faces he nods to whoever is helping him to cover them back up.

Bayer then makes his way to the damaged bridge. "Snowy, what do you think? Lets try to get close to das bridge but out of line of sight? I don't want the tug stationery too long for us if ve have to hike it a long ways."

He'll wait here for Milk to report back an update to the situation with his contacts near the bridge.

OOC - GM, please remove 5 X 40mm HE from the weapons locker.

Overhearing Konrad and Snowy, Anneka spoke up with an idea. "You, Minh and Dawid could move to the bridge using the motorcycle. Yazzie would be better off on foot."
It shouldn't take long to swing the bike over onto the bank with the cargo hoist and once on dry land, it would be able to transport them and their equipment at speed. Once on site, it would also give them a rapid method of self extraction should they run into trouble.
Meanwhile, Yazzie would be free to move stealthily into a hide.

Snowy looks up from where he's covering up the bodies. He's holding a wallet in his hands and is looking for something. He takes something out of the wallet and replaces it on the body, Bluey's, and puts it in his pocket. He rubs the side of his nose tiredly and looks at Konrad. "Well Boss, we can sneak up but our smokestack's the giveaway, we're puffing big white smoke signals to everyone. Unfortunately, this place is as flat as cat's piss on lino, there's not much to hide behind."

"Hmmm, well if we can't rely on concealment perhaps a little distance may be necessary."

Upon hearing the motorcycle idea from Anneka he thinks for a moment in silence. "Certainly makes up for the boat being kept a fair distance from the bridge and any danger. As well as allowing for a rapid extraction. The only downside I care about is that it may take Yazzie a bit to catch up."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:20, Wed 12 Dec 2007.

Quyen leaves the meeting and sorts out her gear. She empties everything but her nylon rope from her lightweight rucksack... just in case climbing out around the damaged bridge gets dangerous. She makes sure her carabiners are still attached to her webbing and had not gotten lost or anything.

Next she makes her way below to the weapons hold. She fills the rucksack with 10 kg of plastic explosive and a suitable amount of wiring and blasting equipment... which she had previously prepared. She won't know how much is needed until she can actually inspect the bridge. Any more than what she's bringing and it will probably be quite an undertaking and require much more time and assistance. If that happens the demo kit and the rest of the C4 can be ferried up she figures. Its a weight issue anyways.

After changing her socks she goes out in search of Dawid. "Need any help with anything?"

Quyen
AK-74
Weapons Hold
Preping Gear

Anneka grinned wryly.
"I'm sure he won't be concerned. Seems he prefers being left to do his own thing anyway."
Every time they'd put a party ashore, the Corporal had seperated himself from the main group and headed out on his own. Why should this time be any different?

"Well," adds Snowy, "that's not a little dirt bike. We'll have to take the tug to shore and use the crane to put it ashore. Do you want that?"

"Got to be better than walking half a dozen miles."
Of course it was a small problem getting the machine on and off, but it certainly wasn't insurmountable. Besides, why else did they bring it along other than to use it at times exactly like this?
"What do you think about fabricating some sort of ramp when we've got some time. A couple of steel I-beams five or six metres long should do the trick. Space them so the wheels run inside the channels, weld a couple of braces to keep them the right distance apart...."
Plenty of steel for the taking up ahead too. All they had to do was select a few peices and drag them from the bridge wreckage.
"It could be stored near the hoist and swung into place in just a couple of minutes."

"Well, lets give it a try. If it looks like its going to take too long and with too much hassle ve'll scrap the idea." Bayer tried to understand Snowy's opinion but wasn't too sure he fully understood the task needed to deploy the bike.

When Soleblume mentioned the modification he adds, "Sounds good. However we've got so many other plans to improve the boat. Sandbagging more, protection, bridge repairs, and so on. I have a hard time thinking of when we will have the time or the resources. I guess we'll just have to see how the bridge works out... and how much trade we can do in the next town."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:36, Wed 12 Dec 2007.

"I'm looking for a helmet. Perhaps a vest as well, mine is so heavy! Have you found all that you require?"

Down in the hold along with Minh, Dawid looked around for a new helmet, his old steel pot having been shot off his head back at the locks, days ago. This was the incident where he earned the puckered red scar along his temple from a fragment of the bullet or the helmet. It itched as it slowly healed under the bandage that Anneka checked daily.

He picked up Maddock's helmet. "I liked the Britisher. I don't think he would mind me borrowing this from him." Removing the cover, he looked for a lighter replacement for his brutally heavy nylon-titanium vest as well.

Once he had the helmet (OOC: and possibly a vest) he grabbed the PKM and stripped it down. After cleaning and reassembling it, he then made sure the 2 spare belts of ammunition inside their ammo cans were ready to go. He then did the same with his Stechkin. Debating with himself a little, he decided to leave the Tantal behind.

After hearing Anneka's plan for a ramp he scratched his head in thought. "Will not the bike and sidecar will fit on that assault boat that we acquired? We just, you know, winch it over side? With cargo crane?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:04, Wed 12 Dec 2007.

"I'm set." she replies. "When we get back maybe I'll see if any of their other gear might be good for me to swipe."



"Probably not. His kevlar is probably in decent shape, maybe a bit bloody though. Guess he got hit in the neck or something. I liked that guy too."

Quyen then gives a hand cleaning the machinegun, but leaves most of the work to him... as Dawid was much more familiar with it.

She then drops off her small, but now heavy rucksack next to the inflatables for when the time comes to load up. Here she will wait, watching the shore pass by.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:25, Wed 12 Dec 2007.

"Yes, of course, but first the boat needs to be unloaded, then the bike." All of which took time.
"And I don't think it'd be too easy unloading it again onto the shore without the hoist."
Wrestling several hundred kilograms of metal and rubber wasn't Anneka's idea of a good time. Once ashore though it would certainly prove worthwhile effort.
"Making the ramp shouldn't take much time as long as we've got the materials," she addressed Konrads concerns.
She continued, her finger sketching out the shape of a ladder on the woodwork as she spoke.
"Two beams running parrallel and a couple of "rungs" across it to keep it all in shape. I'm thinking.... maybe an hours work with a welder and two men?"
Provided they could scrounge up a couple of straight beams long enough to reach the bank.
[Private to Dawid Waldus Piotrowski: Definately something to keep an eye out for while at the bridge I think.]

When Minh came over to watch him disassemble the PKM, he demonstrated the internal mechanism to her, how to adjust and clean it. This design was remarkably simple and robust. Not everything Russian-made was, but most were and this wasn't an exception. Making sure she saw where everything went, he promised to show her properly when they got back.



"It's not as hard as you think, if you use leverage. One man could unload it with difficulty. You ground the boat, lift the front tire onto the bank first, push the bike forward, lift the rear wheel and sidecar out while someone pulls."

Dawid went over to where the bike sat to demonstrate. He grabbed the front forks and lifted up the front of the bike, using his legs for power. The sidecar added a lot of dead weight, but the other point of contact from the third wheel also made it easier to lever up the front of the bike where the engine was. He then carefully lowered it back to the deck with a grunt.

He wiped his hands on his smock. "Two people doing this would have no trouble. Probably wouldn't hurt to make a ramp, but still, we do not need anything too complicated. You know, difficult."



"Two planks would work just as well, yes?" Dawid lit another cigarette. "Seems like we got a lot to keep us occupied as it is."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:34, Thu 13 Dec 2007.