Dawid nodded in affirmation; she was only speaking the truth.

"Of course. I speak for no one but myself. My apologies if this was taken any other way."

He smiled in his charming way, chuckling a little in amusement. "I did not "choose" to serve God and the Polish people, I was called to do so. You make it sound like this is up for debate, yes?"

"I apologise for the interruption, my friend, please continue."

This was a rhetorical question, and he let Griet continue.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:09, Tue 22 Apr 2008.

"Speaking on behalf of the security element... and omitting any political considerations, I have some issues with this." Bayer says when it is his turn. "The requirements of munitions for further "regular" travel has put us in the position where would very much like to make an minor arms trade. Namely assault rifles for a small amount of various ammunitions. Now thats for "regular" travel mind you. A deliberate attack on a well dug in force is going to require us to replenish more than just mortar ammo and what I was originally hoping to trade for."

He continues, "On a military standpoint, it will be necessary for the following; A donation of said 82mm mortar ammunition... the trade of what I have listed here... and an additional small provision of various ammunitions for the tug's defense during the raid. Think of it as an expense cost, or rather an insurance cost to keep our boat afloat."

He then passes the man the list of his trade...
82mm HE (4 x case of 5 rounds, 20 rounds) - 300 X 4 = 1,200$
82mm WP (2 x case of 3 rounds, 6 rounds) - 300 X 2 = 600$
30mm HE (2 x drums of 29 rounds, 58 rounds) - 75 X 2 = 150$
40mm HE (1 x case of 72 rounds for M203) = 200$
40mm HEDP (1 x case of 72 rounds for Mk19) = 250$
Domestic Food (3 days for 17 people - 102kg) - 4 X 102 = 410$
Field Phones (2 x sets, price based off small hand radios) - 250 X 2 = 500$
RPG-18 HEAT (1 x case of 3 rounds) = 50$
Armour plating/scrap metal plating = Unknown cost

Total worth - 3,360 (+plus armour plating costs)

Trading With...
ZU-23-2 Damaged - reg/15,000 - hoping for around 10% value for damage = 1,500$
AKM Rifles (x5) - 300 X 5 = 1,500$
AK-74 Rifles (x6) - 300 x 6 = 1,800$
Bayonets (x9) - 20 x 9 = 200$

Total worth - 5,000$

OOC - This does not include what Bayer would like to have donated as an expense cost for the raid.

Quyen watches the small negotiating team depart for the meeting. She would have liked to have gone just for interest sake - to see the boss and his home, a tour of the town in a motor vehicle, and to watch the negotiations pan out. But ultimately decided she'd be better off providing security and helping out with any work.

The meeting with Adam had interrupted her earlier attempt to get some hands on development for the tug. Finding Snowy, she brings up the offer again, "Yeah. As I was saying before Adam's brief... I can handle the tools on board and got a bit of know how for what you are doing. If you want some help, just give me a task."

His words to Adam lost to the sudden arrival of the mayors vehicle, Jason returns to the burial of the dead.  Climbing into the raft, he sits silently as they make their way across the shore to bury the fallen.

Tucker lights up one of his cigars and sits and listens to what Adam has to say and his jaw drops when he hears that Griet is his daughter and what their true intention of the trip to Warsaw is for.

"Well, this is certainly different then what I was expecting.  Ain't this a sunuvabitch!  Well, I signed on in Krakow to go to Warsaw with you Adam and I at least plan to go with you that far.  Whatever your cause is, that's all fine and dandy to me!  I'n still in," Tucker says as he takes another pull off of his cigar.

Tucker
Colt Python in shoulder rig
On deck listening to Adam's speach

"Now that Kaptain Bayer has agreed in principal to a joint venture," Griet began, "I am able to reveal the change in plans that the Krakow ORMO would like me to negotiate. They have been surprised by the amount of banditry rife along the river and realise that if it remains, all trade will be choked. They are particularlly concerned about the Hetman. The Council informed me that the nature of our mission was to change. Instead of returning with the gunpowder, they would like us to explore more of the river and establish trading centres. They also want us to destroy as many bandit elements as we can."

Griet waited for this to sink in and continued, "To this point, the ORMO have authorised me to negotiate a change in our agreement. Instead of the gunpowder, thye would like us to trade for more arms, munitions and the wherewithal to help us fight our way down river if necessary. We will of course be willing to help you destroy the nest at Tarnobrezeg, but we will need you to help us by being ammeanable to the switch in trades. We are aware that some of our requests will be difficult to meet but I am sure we can come to some sort of arrangement. Kaptain Bayer's list and his offer to trade small arms for them should be seen as a minimum starting place for our negotiations as we will need much more if we are to continue our mission. If possible, we need to trade for as much of the munitions in the calibres that Kaptain Bayer has mentioned as we can, we will also need to trade for more food and goods that we can trade down river to help us in our mission. A mission, may I add that benefits you as well, if we can open up the river as a trade route you will feel the value too. Now, if we can come to some sort of arrangement as to the trade changes, I am sure we can begin planning the raid."

Snowy raises his the protective goggles from his eyes and smiles. "I can always use a hand Minh, how about you grab a grinder from below and we'll cut these plates. I reckon that we should get as much raw materials first as I've found I can upgrade the tug as we go along." He looks across the tug and mentally tallies the ongoing work. "I reckon we should do the gun tubs first. I'd also like to find someone  to install the comms as well, we can make up phone boxes as required. It's going to be a twenty four hour effort for the next few days I guess."

"What am I to do with all of this gunpowder, then?"

The commandant's brow wrinkles as he considers the unexpected alteration of the trade agreement. His adjundant takes Griet's carefully forged Krakow documentation and hands it over to the commandant, who gives it a cursory glance. Slapping it down on the table, he takes another bite of chicken and chews it angrily, finally washing it down the mouthful with a long draught from a tall, ornate beer stein.

"Never mind. If I am able, I will comply with Krakow's request. Give my adjundant your list and he will see to availability and such. Now to the matter of Tarnobrzeg. You will provide fire support for the main attacking element, advancing alongside them as they make their approach overland along the east bank. Your mortar will bombard the town in preparation for the final assault. Now, you must tell me everything that you know about the Hetman's defenses- numbers, heavy weapons, armored vehicles, strong-points... everything. None of my scouting parties have returned."

OOC: The commandant will agree to trade the following for the damaged ZU-23-2 and the small arms offered by Konrad. He will provide additional ammo for the attack on T-breg.

82mm HE (1 x case of 5 rounds) = $300
82mm Illum (1 x case of 3 rounds) = $150
82mm WP (1 x case of 3 rounds) = $300
30mm HE (1 x drums of 29 rounds) = $75
40mm HE (1 x case of 72 rounds for BG-15) = $200
Dynamite sticks (1 x case of 100 sticks) = $750
Domestic Food (3 days for 17 people - 102kg) - 4 X 102 = $410
Field Phones (2 x sets, price based off small hand radios) - 250 X 2 = $500
Armour plating/scrap metal plating (all you can salvage)= Free

Total value of trade goods offered = $2685

This message was last edited by the GM at 23:58, Tue 22 Apr 2008.

After Jason and Dave bury the bodies on the other side of the river, Dave spends his "off" time cleaning his weapons, including the Makarov pistol he recovered from Viktor's body. He also arrainges the medical bag he got from Hicks to his personall idiosyncrosies, putting this here, and that there. After his chores are done, he strips down to his shorts and lays out on the aft deck, enjoying the sun.

Quyen smiles, pleased her help has been accepted. "This one?" she points at the grinder. Picking it up she nods, "Yeah ok. Mark the size you want and I'll get cutting." After being shown the details of her job, Minh puts on a set of goggles and begins cutting. After the first plate is cut she offhandedly says to Snowy, "Hauptmann said he is going to try to get some salvage metal as part of his arms trade. This beast is going to be like a battleship when were done." She then continues cutting.

OOC - Rae, do I need machinist or metallurgy for this action. If so I will spend skill points.

Bayer skims over the list of trade the local authority was willing to deal. He hides his disappointment. He knew this was a small town, but had hoped for a little more. Further, the amount was worth much less than he was putting up. He was not much of a negotiator and much less a merchant. Looking at Griet, Bayer makes a face saying "work on this".

"May we have a list of munitions to be provided for the attack?" Bayer asks the adjutant.

"I can provide a proper intelligence report on the IPAT in about an hour." He says to the commandant. Already prepared for such, he places his field book on the table and selects a pencil. I hope we get something similar on the downriver area he thinks as he begins to write. He will continue to write as Griet negotiates. If the meeting finishes before he's done, Bayer will return to the tug to complete the report.

Griet began to brief the ORMO on what she had seen inside the town and the vehicles they'd seen outside, she sketched out the dispositions and asked Bayer to correct anything based on his greater experience.

As she did this, she broached the topic of the cargo, "I assume that you'd still like to trade for our cargo," she said, "We'll need to talk about what we need in return. I realise that you might not have everyting we want, but we can work that out as we go along."

She handed the boss her list:
30 sets of clean clothes
30 parkas or winter clothes
30 set sleeping gear
30 Personal Medical Kit
30 Months preserved rations
10 4 man tents
3 doctor's medical kits
10 sets of basic tools
10 sets of construction tools
10 sets of excavation tools
10 sets of agricultural tools
Seeds for planting

In addition, we would like any extra 82mm ammunition and 30mm grenades that youcan afford, otherwise, we propose setting aside 25 bicycles to try to trade further down the river.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:35, Wed 23 Apr 2008.

As the others on the baot went about domestic or repair duties, Mariusz stayed on guard, keeping a close eye on the sentries on the dockside.

After the burial, Jason returns to the ship. Seeing Maruisz, he walks over and pats the boy on the shoulder. "Hello, young soldier. Where have you been?"

"Not far, "Lawn Dart"," Mariusz replied, "the negotiations party is ashore and everyone else is doing something on the boat. I thought I'd keep an eye on these guys. You never know what'll happen next. Did the funeral go well?"

"Lawn dart?" Jason replied. "Thats a new one. Can't say I get the reference, but oh well. The funeral was simple and solemn. I thought Dawid would have attended. I wonder how Stanislaw is doing."

Jason looks out across the river. "I traded for some English languge books, if your interested?"

Anneka nodded her agreement to the plan to take the fight to the warlord. If it gave them more supplies, and dealt a blow to tyranny, then she was all for it.
"I assume that the barge would be left here during the attack?" she asked rehtorically.
"As we've discovered previously, it's a bit of a lodestone when it comes to combat."

Her own list of goods and equipment mirrored what had been presented although she would have prefered a stronger emphasis on mortar ammunition, food and chemicals to create explosives. Although not something she was particularly comfortable with, she was also willing to create poisonous gases to tip the balance if it were deemed necessary.

"When is the attack proposed to take place? How many of your soldiers are to participate and how many are to be aboard the tug?"

Griet sat with the Commandant's adjutant and explained the humanitarian item as trade goods for the trip down river, as this left a surplus in the trade, Griet quietly tried to persuade the adjutant to release more munitions to the unit. She particularlly stressed the need for more 82mm ammunition and she also enquired about the possibility of obtaining an auto-cannon and some ammunition. She worked him hard, hoping to gain an edge for the Krowola.

[Private to Cap'n Rae: Griet will have about $5,000 surplus to play with and would really like to try for some more HE and WP for the mortar. She'd also like to find an auto-cannon if possible, it would be a really useful addition. As Anneka said, we could trade some 12.7mmB if we needed to. That might be more useful to the town than an autocannon with limited ammo. If we can't get anything else, she'll try for some gunpowder to trade downriver. Also, Griet's position is that once the battle is over, the Unit will be able to claim 1/3 rd of the loot and would have first choice of heavy weapons.]

Bayer looks up from his ongoing report. "RPG rounds." he says just barely loud enough for Griet to hear. He wasn't satisfied that any place in Poland couldn't put up spare RPG ammo. Looking back down he continues to write.

OOC - I'm not disagreeing with the GM here on RPG ammo availability. It's just Bayer's feeling.

"Back when there were some GIs tagging along with the partisans, they called the helicopters that resupplied us occasionaly, "Lawn Darts"," Mariusz explained, "when I asked them why they said it was because they always ended up nose first in the earth. I thought they were lying until I saw your chopper. You have something to read? Wonderful, may I borrow it after you've finished reading, please?"

As greit and the adjutant went through the final details, Griet pointed out, "At present, the armament we have means we won't be able to provide close fire support and standing off firing one mortar a few times before we run out of ammo isn't going to make us very effective. If you help us reconfigure, we can risk getting much closer. If we can do that, we can bring a larger amount of firepower to bear. If we had more rounds for our RPG, our AGS-17 and maybe, an autocannon, we could really get stuck in and help your people. It's the difference between being a glorified bus and really contributing to the battle. The troops of the IPAT have a good organisation and an excellent position. Having a heavy weapons platform like the Krowla could be a real asset, even if the autocannon was a temporary lone, we could make more of an impact."

Anneka nodded along in agreement to Griets arguement. More effective weapons would also help minimise the casualties she'd be forced to deal with by effectively supressing enemy fire. If however adequate weapons weren't available, hell, even if they were, she'd be pressing for assistance in armouring the tug and it's barge.

Robert goes up to Snowy and Bayer, "I'm not much use when it comes to specific building tasks but, let me know what you need to do guys."

The commandant looks a little bit irritated as Griet pleads her case.

"I'm aware of all of this. The ammunition I mentioned earlier is for your own private use. The militia will provide the mortar and grenade launcher rounds for the attack. You must realize that our resources here are finite. We may be able to dig up the sulfur and manufacture explosives, propellants, and such but turning it into mortar bombs, rocket propelled grenades, and cannon rounds is beyond us at the moment. What I've offered to trade is what we can afford to spare. In fact, that was something I wanted to talk to you about- to arrange for the next trade mission to Krakow. But, that can wait. How long do you need to make preparations for the attack? It looks like the weather's about to turn so we need to move quickly before the river rises and the roads turn to shit. I will send over a liason team before the end of the day. They will help coordinate your actions with the ground assault. Please give them your full cooperation. If that is all..."

After Griet gives her answer as to the Krolowa's readiness timetable, the commandant dismisses the party. They wind their way back through the maze of fortress passageways to the courty and reboard the two-vehicle convoy. Along the way back to the docks, they pass a two-wagon convoy moving slowly through the rain in the opposite direction. The first wagon is more of a cart really, drawn by an old nag and occupied by two armed men. The second is much larger, crewed by another armed pair, and drawn by four large horses. The back of this wagon can best be described as a low cage, about four feet from floor to barred ceiling. About a dozen people, all clad in soaking civilian attire, are held inside. It's one of the more dejected and downtrodden groups the party has encountered since arriving in Krakow, weeks or months earlier. In a few seconds, the curious caravan is left behind and the Vistula is once more the dominant feature in view.

The party is deposited at the docks, in the pouring rain. Everyone is quite tired. Working on tug/barge fortification is not going to be easy under these conditions, but the large covered boat repair sheds offer a good-sized, covered workspace.

Actions?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:18, Fri 25 Apr 2008.

Jason smiles slightly. "Thank goodness Bear was there to haul my sorry ass of that downed bird."  He thinks back to the flight, his last flight and considers how useless he has become.

He pulls the Agatha Christie novel out and tosses it Mariusz. "Tell me how it turns out. I'll trade you for the Sci Fi stories when I finish it."

Taking his book, Jason heads for the aft Dushka, curls up on the deck beneath it and tries to get some sleep.