Once the meeting has broken up and the others are leaving Craig turns to Apel and gives him two F1 FRAG grenades he recovered from the ambush dead and one of the smoke grenades from the helicopter.

“For luck, though if you have to use them the OP's blown and it's a long run back.”

He then spends the rest of the evening preparing his gear. Craig retrieves the two anti-tank grenades and the two thermite grenades from Tom's webbing.

While on the tug he transfers the two AK-74/BG-15's and the HE grenades for them to the truck. Also he puts the box of F1 grenades and the flare pistol into the stalwart as he helps the others load it up.

In the morning he takes a seat in the back where he can cover one of the sides.

Dawid finished off the meeting by welcoming Dieter, and collecting Coulter's weapons and gear for him.

Then, he divided up the radios and night-vision gear they would be taking on the recce, making sure they were all functional and the batteries were charged. Lastly, he made up a provisional patrol order and call-signs.

He drew the M240 from stores and the G3 GPMG from the ORMO armoury, along with five spare belts of ammunition to take along with them. He cleaned the weapons, taking extra care with the G3. The PKM would be mounted on the Stalwart and he would man it on the trip out, but it would return with the truck on the way back.

In his own gear he took his Geiger Counter and PN-14K NVGs. He cleaned and reassembled the PKM and his Stechkin. He took three spare belts (in cans) of ammunition for the GPMG and two magazines for the pistol, along with 4 fragmentation grenades, 2 smoke canisters (Red, White), and 2 hand-launched flares.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:36, Wed 03 Mar 2010.

  As soon as Couter has his gear, he will find a quiet spot strip the weapons inspect and clean them, check magazines and rounds for any problems, as well as his tac vest and clean what needs to be cleaned. The run and gun of the last week precluded much in the way of maintenance and with conditions the way they are it is important.

Dieter will also go through the stores to re-supply any kit he has lost or used up on his travels, including ammo.

After re-supplying he sought out Thor, keen to meet his new team-mate, especially as they would be buddying up on the forthcoming mission. He looked him up and down. This guy looks like a lunatic, he thought to himself. I'm glad that he's on my side.

"Hello, my friend," he said to Thor (in English). "It looks like we are pairing up for this mission."

Looking at Thor's M82 he continued, "Are you any good with that thing?"

Once he has finished the conversation he will look to get some food, clean his kit and weapons, and then rest until they are ready to depart.

Having taken several items from the unit's stores Jan then went to see Anneka to ask her what medical gear she thought he should take on the recon mission.  From there he then went to draw his rations from whomever was organising that for the Bishop before returning to the boat where he spent some time reorganising his equipment.

He cleaned all of his weapons, checked that all of the mags and rounds he had were in good condition and made sure that all of his electronic items were working, attempting to charge batteries where necessary with his solar charger.  He paid particular attention to the Geiger counter he had taken from the stores as he'd heard that Warsaw had been nuked and he wasn't sure about the danger of radioactive hotspots.

While on the boat he found a dry corner to leave some spare clothes, having cleared it with Old Adam and Griet and telling them to help themselves to them if he didn't return from this mission to Warsaw.  Jan then packed the rest of his gear in a combination of his ALICE pack and webbing.  He would be quite encumbered while carrying his pack but he knew that he could easily ditch his pack should a firefight break out.

Having arranged all of his gear Jan then went to find some dinner, intending to eat a good, solid meal before setting out on the mission.

Prior to leaving...


After having looked it over, Bayer nodded and said, "I'm good with this. Issue it and carry on with prep." He then carried out his own kit inspection, checking for serviceability of his night vision, radio, and weapons - remedying any shortcomings before bedding down for the night.

En route...

Bayer sits in the cab, with map unfolded on his lap and compass in hand. He'll navigate a route towards the drop point, which according to the map looks to be as clear of habitation and major routes as possible.

  Finishing up with his gear, Coulter writes a short letter to Irina, grabbing her pistol and holster. He goes to the aid station checking on the woman he has come to care about, the one good thing he found in this entire mess. standing beside the bed for a few minutes, he speaks softly to her even though she is still unconscious, with care he moves some hair off of her face, leaving the letter and pistol under her pillow he tells who ever is on duty to make sure Irina gets both when she regains consciousness.

After sorting out his gear and checking the electronics (radios, NVGs, Geiger counters, ect.) Dawid finishes off a few more important tasks. He also set up a comms schedule, so that they could transmit between the team and the Queen at regular intervals.

Edit Added: He also checks with everyone to see they're comfortable with the roster, including sharing gear and so on.

He checked the two "cargo" bikes they used in the past to haul gear, and set aside the food the team would need.

Then, he either went to mass or at least found a priest to hear his confession and give his blessing, and said the appropriate act of contrition to clear his soul with God.

Last, he visited Ondar, to see how he was doing. As well, he checked in on the other militia who were wounded.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:53, Thu 04 Mar 2010.

Tucker takes his time and makes sure that all of his weapons and gear is in tip-top shape and ready to go when they leave.  Ammo and magazines checked, grenades and claymores inspected, rucksack packed and fitted with spare gear and food, Tucker decides that he's ready to leave.  He sits back down with his back against the side of a building or fixture as he pulls a cigar from his pocket and lights it as he looks around at the new and the old crew from when they started back in Krakow.

His eyes drift over to Dawid.  He began to stare at him.  He gets up and walks over to where he's working or resting.  Robert looks to him and simply says, "We need to talk before we leave."

In reply to Robert 'Tuck' Tucker (msg #710):

After confession with the Priest, Dawid saw Tucker approaching and thought he might have to do some further penance. Pausing for a second, he decided to light one of his remaining cigarettes. He was down to a few a day and missed them terribly.

Taking out his pack he lit one up, following Tucker wherever he wanted to go, presumably somewhere private.

"What would you like?"

He felt a little apprehensive but knew it was good for them to talk. He knew Tucker had some personal resentment and maybe didn't even like him, but Tucker had been professional enough not to let that get in the way of their working relationship. Still, you couldn't have everyone like you all the time, and Dawid knew he'd stepped on toes on occasion when it couldn't be helped, or when his emotions got the better of him, which was all too often.

"Thanks, friend." Apel smiles weakly. "Out of the frying pan, into the fire, huh?"

Apel finds a semi-quiet spot, pulls out his worn, dogeared copy of "Moby Dick," and begins to read.  A few hours later, realizing everyone is checking and maintaining their gear, Apel reluctantly does the same.

Moving off a little distance so they had some privacy, Tucker turns and addresses Dawid after taking a pull from his cigar, "This has been on my chest for some time, pretty much since we left Krakow when just about everyone wanted to kill you after you shot that marauder in cold blood.  I wanted to do the same thing as you but, you beat me to the punch.  I wish that someone would've capped your ass back there.  I don't know what it is specifically but, that fucked up fire mission you ran where Minh and Ondar got hurt assured me that my existstance with this unit may be coming to an end very shortly."

In reply to Robert 'Tuck' Tucker (msg #713):

Dawid nodded. He answered in a matter of fact way, "I wondered when my executing the ZOMO pig would come up. I will not apologise for my actions then, although I owe you an explanation. He was a part of the Communist Party special Police, the ZOMO. Kind of like the SS or Gestapo, if you have the same thing where you come from. Worse, he was a deserter and criminal. I am a member of the Home Army, under legal orders from the Free Polish government to eliminate enemies of the people, which he qualified for any way you look at it. At the time I was under orders not to reveal my status but the consensus seemed to be to let him go, either to Krakow or the communist government, which forced my hand. Not that maybe you or anyone else cares, but even if what I did wasn't according to NATO or American law, in the end I follow Polish laws and I am willing to answer for my actions."

He sighed. "As for the mortar shot, what can I say? That BTR was chopping up Minh and Ondar's position as it was, and I didn't have any good options. At the least, the smoke allowed them to withdraw with their lives, so that's not nothing, you know. Would I do the exact same thing again? No, because that was a mistake, but that's neither here nor there."

"You're a soldier, you know that sometimes people miss, and as much as it hurts me to say this as an artilleryman, rounds do fall short. You have my personal apologies, if that will help."

"Leave if you think it's your time to go. The war is basically over for you, anyways, and the rest of your people are leaving now, or so we hear."

Dawid's eyes became angry but his voice was still calm and matter of fact. "You people have destroyed my country, murdered my people by the millions, left us with ruins and occupied by foreigners, where it's not complete anarchy. If you want to stay and help mend the damage you've done, that's deeply appreciated but I understand that's asking a lot and could end up costing you your life."

"I'm not going to beg you to stay. And if you do decide to go, then don't lay the blame on me."

In reply to Dawid Waldus Piotrowski (msg #714):

"You don't have to apologize for the execution.  Like I said, I would've done the same thing myself, no questions asked.  You just beat me to it.

Yeah, I know about the whole soldier thing Dawid.  Rounds do fall short and yes, the smoke helped.  Just a very bad fucking idea.  Losing two guys and almost seeing two more get waxed because of a mistake, didn't help matters at the time either.  My whole team almost got greased out there!

Save your apologies for Minh and Ondar!

'You People'?  You know something?  Your people and so fuckin' great themselves!  I'm not talking about the civvies here, their victims of this stupid fuckin' war.  Your fuckin' buddies over in Moscow sent a huge gang bang over to my country with their missiles and now yeah, they want to try and send some of us home, home to what?  Same thing here!  Rape, murder, food shortages, disease.

Maybe I will stay because I need a home.  I just don't like some of the company under the roof!"

Dawid smiled.

"No, the Russians are not our friends and yes, "you people". You invaded our country (twice), we didn't invade yours. Poland was destroyed by American missiles before America was destroyed by Russian bombs, so I'm willing to call it even. I am sad the innocent have died and I will pray for all the dead, here in Poland, in America, in Russia. Everywhere."

He then shrugged, evidently puzzled at something, and dragged on his cigarette while he thought about what he'd say.

"Well then, Robert, what do you want from me? You don't want my apologies, you don't need my forgiveness. As for our neighbor the Black Baron, I am a Pole and I will fight to the death to free my beloved country, what is left, from tyrants like him."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:08, Fri 05 Mar 2010.

Griet watched her companions preparing to leave of the long distance recce and made her own preparations aboard the Krowola. Once the basic maintainence was underway and the militia gunners had cleaned the weaponry she went ashore once more.

She found Bishop and said, "Commander, what do you envisage the Krowola doing during this time?"

Mariusz spent as much time as he could checking his gear and making the heavy load he carried as balanced as possible. He cleaned his weapons nce more and checked that all of his magazines were fully loaded.

He grabbed a place in a corner of the Stolly and placed his pack where he could sit on it during the ride.

"The Russians ain't yer fr..?" Tucker says and doesn't finish the sentence though.  He takes another draw from his cigar and then smiles back at Dawid, "I signed on to help Adam.  I'll continue to honor that contract until we get to Warsaw.  I don't know what will happen until then.  I just don't like you.  It's been building in me for awhile and that's it.  You can apologize all you want, let's take care of this business first with the Baron."

OOC – I know that this happens a bit later than the discussion between Tuck and Dawid but I thought that it was better to include this now before we leave G-K.  Hopefully that's ok.

----------------------------

Prior to leaving Gora-Kalwaria Jan went to see the Bishop to help organise the funerals of Stoner and Jones.  They had died fighting to help the community of Gora-Kalwaria and they deserved dignity in death.  Jan had been raised a Catholic in France and even though he now classed himself as a lapsed Catholic he drew personal comfort from the formal service of burial for his two fallen comrades.  Recently he had had to bury several other friends, people he had known far better and for far longer than Stoner and Jones, and the emotion was still raw in him.

He insisted on giving Stoner’s eulogy, even though a eulogy wasn’t a traditional part of a Catholic service, and he spoke to Tuck about whether the American would like to give Jones’.  For Stoner he told the story of his first meeting with the SEAL, how he had pulled the half drowned man from the River Vistula and the total gibberish that Stoner had first told him.

After the service was over he helped carry Stoner’s body to the town’s cemetery and the two graves he had helped to dig.  After lowering their bodies into the graves Jan then tossed in a little earth, lost in his own thoughts.

He hadn’t really known either man that well or for very long but they had shared the trauma of combat together and that created a certain kind of bond.  “Goodbye my friends,” he muttered quietly under his breath.

He hoped that when he died someone would care enough to bury him and mark the grave.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:37, Sat 06 Mar 2010.

Typical bloody American, thought Dawid, invades my country to "liberate" it and ends up destroying it, doesn't know a damn thing about it or it's people. Well, give him credit for wanting to help out with the Baron.

In reply he tapped his Home Army insignia. If Tucker didn't know the difference between Free Polish and Communist Polish forces, it probably wasn't worth explaining. "Even before the war and the Free Polish government, we were hardly friends with the Russians or wanted to be communists. I'm sure there are American allies that weren't "friends" because they weren't given any choice in the matter."



"That's fine with me, although I was going to get you something nice for your birthday. We can be allies without necessarily being friends. As long as you do your job, you will get no complaint from me, understood?"

"Yeah, that works for me.  You stay outta my way and I'll stay outta yours, understood?

I stopped counting birthdays a couple of years ago just about when the family I once had is more than likely dead and when me and my people came in here and ruined your country so thanks but, no thanks on the present.  Consider us even."

If that's all, Tucker turns and walks back to camp grabbing his MOLLE grenadier's vest and M-16A2/M-203 combo over to Konrad and tells him, "Going to take Jones' M-14 since we're going out on a recon mission and I'd like to travel a little lighter.  I'll leave my main weapon here with the ammo on the Queen."


This message was last edited by the player at 03:35, Sat 06 Mar 2010.

In reply to Robert 'Tuck' Tucker (msg #722):

Dawid nodded in agreement.

"We can't stay out of each other's way, I have you as part of the fire support element, which I am leading. I don't have a problem with you but if you have a problem with me I'll switch you around so you'd under Konrad instead. Mariusz will get the nigh-goggles you were assigned."

With the discussion apparently over, Dawid went to find Minh and let her know that she'd be the backup AT gunner, assigned an RPG-18.

"Minh, I think you're still the best choice to use the RPG-18 rocket. You'll be the backup anti-tank gunner, after Sutherland, who's got the RPG-7D. Okay?"

When it came time for the funerals, Dawid also helped carry the coffins (or bodies) for burial. He stood with his head bowed as last rites were said and they were laid into the consecrated earth of Polish soil.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:53, Sat 06 Mar 2010.

"It won't be a problem in front of the team while we're in the field Dawid.  That much I can assure you.  Do what you think you need to do."

  Drew returns to his bunk on the ship.  He rifles through his gear and selects what he will take on the patrol.

  He pulls out the sleeping bag he got from...he pauses at the thought of the almost stranger, who now was providing him with a warm sleeping bag.  He even wore his fieldjacket.  Drew paused to reflect on the way the world has become the last few years.  Where it is commonplace to take from the dead.  But it is practical and survival.

  Drew unrolls the sleeping bag and opens it up.  Be brushes the durst and any bits of grass or leaves from it.  Running his fingers along the thick quilted canvas he remembers so many times as a teenager he and his freinds would camp in the Angles National Forrest and he would unroll a bag much like this one.  His mind then drifted to the beach bunnies who would accompany him "camping"  And how he would share the bag with them after a few wine coolers and a campfire.  A smile creases the corner of Drews mouth at the happy memories.

  Drew snaps back to the here and now.

 He chuckles at his going away for a moment.  Then unconsously starts humming and singing,

"Back to life....back to reality....hmmmm hmmmmm hmmmmm, back to reality."  How many times had he heard the song in SOI.  It seemed as if they played that song every morning at 0330 when they came for breakfast, and it played over and over and over every monring. "Oh how they kept that chow hall toasty"  he chuckles at the memory of a messmate dropping a sweet roll on the table and it was so dense and hard it shook the whole table. "Damn, hehehe" he chuckles.


  Drews hands pull out his personal weapons.  He is taking the M240.  He has become the defacto gunner, the M240 is his.

First, he checks the MP5.  His hands go over the stock and then the reciever as he feels for nicks, dings or cracks.  He pulls back on the charging handle and locks open the bolt, inspecting the chamber and satisfied the chamber is empty he lets the bolt go home.  He then focuses on the magazines <he keeps the magazines out of the weapons>  he unloads the mags to releive the tension on the springs.  He takes 15 rounds and puts the rest in a rag and ties it into a bundle which he places under his pillow.  Then the submachinegun and then the two magazines he has all arrainged and orderly.  MP-5 with the bundle of ammo in the center and the two taped magazines underneath.

  He next focuses on the M16A2.  His hands work the weapon deftly. "How many times have I done this?  A million?" he wonders as he inspects the weapon.  Certain the weapon is clean and functioning he sets it on his mattress and then checks the magazines.  "I gotta get more." he whispers to himself when he checks his two magazines.  He loads his two magazines that he taped together into the magazine well but doesn't chamber a round and then hangs the rifle over his bunk.

  He again check his M240 checking the weapon.  He has cleaned it since the ambush but he wants to check it again.  He inspects the guide rod, spring and firing pin.  He wants to make sure his multiple weapons failures were due to bad ammo and not his weapon.  He will also inspect his weapon for any damage due to bad ammo.  He will listen and feel for anything that is out of order as he works the bolt slowly.  He will run his fingers over the operating parts as well feeling for burrs, cracks or mars.  When satisfied his weapon is in good condition he will then check his M9.  Having carried it he wanted to check it and make sure it is in good order.  He will test his magazine after unloading the magazine and checking the spring, he will then reload it again making a note "I need ta get more mags...shit, what is up with them not having mags for shit." 

  Drew will check his pistol belt, making sure it hangs well, his items on it, the M9, his canteen and Ka-Bar are all unobstructed when he has his pack and easily accessed.

  Drew looks at the AK bayonet pondering what to do with it.  He shrugs and lashes it to the outside strap of his pack for easy access.

  Drew pauses, then decides to stuff the sleeping bag into his pack to protect it from getting wet or to dirty.  It will go atop the bulk of his rations, he will keep a days worth in the top compartment and one of the outer compartments of his pack.  He will also stuff some bits and pieces in his cargo pockets.  His poncho will get stuffed in one of the outside of his pockets as well.  He will leave his blanket behind on his well made bunk.

 Drew will take little more than the clothes on his back, other than a spare pair of socks or two, and a uniform sweater.  In reality, he doesn't have much else clotheswise to take with him.

  Drew will continue with his duties sand give his two cents when it comes to planning, other than that he will standbye and eat whenever meals are served and sleep as much as he can before he heads out on the road for the patrol.

Sgt Drew
M240 ready, and M9
Prepping for the patrol.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:16, Sun 07 Mar 2010.

Dieter volunteered to help out with the funerals, be it carrying the bodies, or doing the burial. It was strange, attending the funeral of men he had never even met, surrounded by soldiers he barely knew, but he felt it was the right thing to do. Nobody had really said much about the dead men, or how they died. Soldiers were like that, not thinking about the past. He had found this with the men in his old regiment. The grizzled old soldiers never talked about the dead, as if somehow they would be tempting fate themselves to do so.

After the service Dieter took some time to prepare for the forthcoming expedition. He washed and shaved, and cleaned his clothes as best he could in the time allowed. He then double-checked his kit, making sure everything was in good working order. He took time to familiarise himself with the radio he had been issued. It was heavy, but in good condition, and similar enough to models he had used before.

Once ablutions were done and kit checked he grabbed some hot food - it might be the last for a while. Hopefully he would be able to do a little hunting on the way - the odd rabbit, or even a deer - would be a nice change to army rations. nce his hunger was satisfied he decided to get some sleep, and waited for orders to move out.