Dieter adjusted his line of fire to target any enemy attempting to flee. If possible he will taken them down.

Dieter Brandt
In cover on eastern flank, taking out escapees
PSG-1 (18/20)
1xFrag, 2xSmoke
x25 Image Intensifiers, PRC-77 Manpack Radio

Craig now concentrated his fire as short bursts as he tried to hit as many of the fleeing riders from the main group as possible. He keeps firing until the main group are well out of range or sight.


AKS-47U (35/45) + 5 spare magazines
Browning HP (20/20) w/ silencer + 2 spare magazines
F-1 FRAG Grenade x 6, Smoke Grenade
Fire Support Element
Firing at horsemen

Without breaking rhythm, Jeff continues to work on the flanking group.  He aims 2 shots each at the riders attempting to turn around, and a final round at the rider who got off a burst.  If Dieter or Thor take out any of the riders before he does, he will use the remainder of his rounds as single shots against targets in the center group, prioritizing with those attempting to flee.  Mid-shooting, he calls out "Don't let any get away!"


Jeff "Ghost" Warren
5 quick shots, 2 each at east flank riders attempting to retreat, 1 at the one handed automatic shooter.  If any targets neutralized, remainder aimed at center group.
AK-103 w/POSP4x24 [27/30]

This message was last edited by the player at 07:40, Wed 31 Mar 2010.

Seeing the Western flanking group all collapse like cut wheat Jan adjusted his aim towards the central group and looked for slower moving targets, intending to thin their numbers out even further.  Picking some poor bastard as his target he aimed at the man using the 1.5 times optical sight incorporated into the Steyr before firing a pair of single shots at him.

If he hit he moved onto another target and repeated the process, firing another pair of single shots at his new target.  If he missed then he continued firing at the fleeing man.


Jan
In cover on the NW corner of the farm.
Firing a pair of single shots at a member of the central group.  If he hits he'll fire a second pair of single shots at a different target in the central group.  If he misses then he'll continue firing at the first target.
F88 Steyr AUG (30/30 rounds - 7 mags total)
Underslung M203 (0/1 HE - 9x HE, 4x HEDP & 2x ILLUM total)
Sig Sauer P226 (15/15 rounds - 4 mags total)

In reply to Cap'n Rae (msg #166):

Gritting his teeth around foul curses in Polish, Dawid kept the trigger depressed as he swept the barrel from left to right. With no one up on the left, he targeted the centre group. He couldn't easily target the far right group, and any stragglers would be taken care of by the prevision weapons weilded by others.

He hated slaughtering the poor horses, but something he'd done all too often in this war. Also during the Twilight War it was common to shoot first if you asked any questions at all, but the horsemen riding hell-bent for leather at the farmhouse with flankers didn't strike him as having particularly peaceful intentions.


Dawid Piotrowski
PKM GPMG (85/100)
in cover, NW corner of farmhouse complex
Grazing fire from left to right, full autofire, centre group.

Quyen shifts her position and lines up her rifle with the center group. Selecting one of the nearer riders, she squeezes off another double tap.

Quyen
AK74 (27 rounds)
Left Side
Firing 2 shots at one rider

Mariusz wasn't sure if any of his shots had caused some of the carnage in front of him but he was certain that he was glad he wasn't on the recieving end of such a massacre.

Things weren't over yet however, he stood up and rested his left elbow on top of teh wall to get a better shot at the retreating horsemen. He reaimed at the nearest fleeing cavalryman that he could see. He took careful aim and squeezed off a single shot at the retreating man's back.

Mariusz
Tantal (27/30)
Standing up
Reaiming
Firing single shot at teh nearest cavalryman

Tucker takes a quick moment to admire his handy-work with the M-203 launcher as he opens the breech of the weapon as the empty smoking cannister drops to the fllor of the house.  Robert reaches to one of his MOLLE pockets and reloads his launcher with another HE round, closing it, then finds a target to begin firing his rifle at on single-shot.

Tucker
M-16A2 [30/30] / M-203 Reloading HE round
Reloading M-203 with HE round and then get ready to engage targets on single-shot with his M-16A2

Now kneeling, Bayer ejects the warm, spent 40mm casing and inserts a fresh one. The lack of return fire and the sudden scattering of survivors was a great relief. He'd anticipated dueling it out amongst the farm buildings with some flanking units, but the enemy appeared to be in no position to press an attack.

Rising back up into a standing position, Bayer aims towards one of the fleeing riders in the main group and squeezes off two rounds from his rifle.

As the two shots are fired, he reaches for his radio.

Bayer
G36/HK69 (HE)
Firing 2 shots at rider in center group
Farmhouse (upstairs)

Focussing on the rapidly dwindling number of enemy horsemen on the team's right flank, Dieter and Warren take care of two of the remaining three riders. Warren's third double tap tears through another skull while Dieter's shot punches through the second to last horseman's torso from back to front. The rider who'd had the temerity to return fire, albeit briefly and wildly, somehow avoids parting shots from both Warren and Dieter and rides north at a gallop. (Warren -3 rounds, Dieter -2 rounds)

With the milling of the wounded horses and the nearly panicked attempts of the surviving riders in what's left of the main/center group to flee the kill sack, it's extremely difficult for the rest of you to tell exactly who is doing what damage to whom. What is clear is that someone is doing something right, as riders and mounts continue to tumble and fall right and left.

All of the following takes place nearly simultaneously and is a mixture of your PC's perception and reality.

Thor's tardy contribution is hard to miss as the big .50 caliber slugs from his Barrett literally tear three men apart in quick succession. (Thor -5 rounds)

Jan squeezes off a double tap at a fleeing rider and, through the 1.5x integral scope of his Augsteyr, is fairly certain he sees his target's scalp jump about six inches to the right before the rider slumps in the saddle and bounces awkardly from the field on the back of his terrified mount. (Jan -2 rounds)

Craig sends two 5-round bursts after the fleeing enemy. The second, he is sure, stiches an enemy rider up the back, sending him falling head-first into the mud. (Craig -10 rounds)

Dawid rakes the most tightly bunched group of riders (there aren't many left now) with another 20-round burst. Tracers disappear into the bellies of two horses and shots also appear to hit three riders. (Dawid -20 rounds)

Minh fires twice and sees her target and his mount fall. Mariusz is somewhat horrified to have shot a rearing horse in the belly. The horse falls on its side, whinying piteously. (Minh -2 rounds; Mariusz -1 round)

Konrad and Tucker both watch their respective targets jump and jerk as their shots appear to strike home but both riders continue unabated to exit the field. Jan's second target escapes unscathed but the man's mount leaps as though stung before galloping wildy away. (Konrad -2; Tucker -1; Jan -2)

During the massacre, Drew scans for threats and, finding none, frugally conserves ammunition. The others appear to have the situation well in hand.

Of the approximately thirty or so riders that came to the farm, only five ride away, a couple of them, at least, apparently wounded. Five riderless horses also trot or gallop away in several direction (mostly northward-ish). Another limps slowly off on only three legs. One clearly traumatized and riderless horse mills around the kill zone aimlessly, dazed but apparently unwounded.

The scene before you resembles the aftermath of Balaclava nearly a century and a half earlier. Light rain continues to fall, drenching the writhing or stone-still forms laying in the mud of the fallow farm field. A few badly wounded men and horses continue to cry out periodically in fear and agony.

Lowering his eyes from his scope, Warren notices Coulter laid out on the floor beside him. The top of the Green Beret's head is a mangled mess of blood, brain matter, skull, and hair.

Next Moves?

OOC: The battle- if you can call it that- is effectively over. Any shot attempts from here on out are going to be rolled as impossible skill checks (1/4 attribute + skill, rounded down).
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:49, Thu 01 Apr 2010.

Braced against the table and with his legs spread wide. Craig aims at one of the fleeing riders and fires a three round burst, he does the same to two of the other horsemen. He wasn't going to let any leave even if there is  the slimiest of chances of bringing them down.

He turns to Tucker and Apel as he moves forward after firing;

“Cover me, and then follow”

As he moves out of the house foyer to the stone fence surrounding the courtyard he uses his radio.

"All elements. Lightning 5, Hailstorm 2 and Hailstorm 4 moving forward to stone wall. Out."

Here he waits for Tucker and Apel to catch up as he covers the field full of the dead and dieing.



AKS-47U (25/45) + 5 spare magazines
Browning HP (20/20) w/ silencer + 2 spare magazines
F-1 FRAG Grenade x 6, Smoke Grenade
Fire Support Element
Firing at horsemen

"Hold up. Wait for it." Bayer replies over the net to Sutherland.

Bayer speaks rather slowly into the radio, "All call signs, Sunray. Cease fire and send me a casualty report." He then slings his rifle and begins heading down the stairs to the ground floor, continuing with his message, "Sutherland, Tucker, Jan, Quyen... move forward and sweep the kill zone. Leave weaponry recovery until you've confirmed back with me on the status on the dead and any survivors." He stressed the word 'survivors' as he didn't want any potential prisoner's killed.

"Dieter, Thor... reestablish a suitable OP. Dawid, you have command of both gun teams and with the sniper det. Coordinate and maintain all around security. Friendlies to the front."

"Out."

Now on the ground floor, Bayer waves over at Apel before heading out the front door, "Head upstairs and join with Drew's gun team. Coutler's gone."

Bayer will then position himself midway between the main body in the farm and the clearing team out in the kill zone. While the sweep is being done, Bayer will cover them and scan with his image intensifiers.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:29, Fri 02 Apr 2010.

As the message comes over the net Craig stops at the door frame and takes a knee as he waits for the Captain. He scans the field looking for any survivors. Once the additional orders have been relayed he gives a nod to the Captain then looks towards Tucker as he moves to the wall to wait for the others.

AKS-47U (25/45) + 5 spare magazines
Browning HP (20/20) w/ silencer + 2 spare magazines
F-1 FRAG Grenade x 6, Smoke Grenade
Fire Support Element
Firing at horsemen

In reply to Konrad Bayer (msg #180):

Stiffly, Dawid stood up, leaving the PKM where it was. The barrel smoked a little in the cool, although he'd put rather few shots compared to usual through it. There was no brass twinkling on the ground, as the brass-catcher contained all the spent casings and links. He turned away from the carnage and collected himself, lighting a cigarette to calm down.

"Yes. Fine. Mariusz, good work."

He raised his voice, not wanting to use the radio. "SNIPERS! MACHINE GUN CREWS! ON ME IN THE FRONT! ON ME!" Sound discipline was pointless after the recent fusillade. He squatted down behind the stone wall, not wanting to invite a sniper or stray shot but keeping in view of the house.

When everyone got there he explained, "we will set up perimeter defence. We are expecting the threat to come from the front. Therefore I will deploy here in the northwest corner. Drew, you take northeast. We will dig in and create an interlocking field of fire. Dieter, deploy Thor and yourself to cover the southern approach. Arpel, I see Coulter is out of the fight, bad luck."

Knowing that Drew would know his stuff, he spoke to dieter and Thor. "Good work, Dieter, keep it up. You too, Thor. Deploy yourselves to cover the rear and flanks." He made it clear he was primarily addressing Dieter, reinforcing who was in charge between them.

OOC: I am assuming that the PCs in question heed his call to assemble. If not, he sends Mariusz to physically round people up.

  Drew replies to the call.  At the mad idea of staying in the area when the survivors of their attack are riding back to alert their presnce he is angry.

"Are you smoking fucking crack?" he asks.

  "Ya know they now know we are here.  What the fuck are you thinking?  Duudem you suffer a head wound we should know about?  I mean, the decisions you are making are really fucked up.  I mean really dude!"

  Drew complies after voicing his concerns and questioning the current leadership.

  As he takes a position he shouts,

"Hey, fucktard!   How about getting some of that horse meat before it rots, some hot food may help us from getting sick in this fuckin rain."

  Drew settles in under his poncho as he mutters,

"I may have ta frag that fuckin polack!"


Sgt Drew
Settling in under his poncho not overly secure in the leadership
M240 w/ 80 rounds
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:27, Fri 02 Apr 2010.

Hearing Konrad's orders to check the fallen enemy across the radio Jan rose from his position.  "Hailstorm's five and three acknowledged!" he replied quickly across the radio net.

"Minh, we're sweeping the enemy, looking for survivors," he said, relaying Konrad's orders.  "Back me up!"

He climbed over the low stone wall he'd been crouched behind and started to make his way forward.  "Tuck and Craig should also be sweeping from the other end," he added, aiming to ensure that Minh knew exactly what was going on.  "Konrad says to leave weapon collection for the moment.  He wants a prisoner to interrogate."


Jan
Moving forward to sweep the enemy dead & wounded.
F88 Steyr AUG (26/30 rounds - 7 mags total)
Underslung M203 (0/1 HE - 9x HE, 4x HEDP & 2x ILLUM total)
Sig Sauer P226 (15/15 rounds - 4 mags total)

Dieter moved quickly to a position to see the remaining riders fleeing. If possible he will compose himself and use his old sports shooting training to target the riders and fire single aimed shots to take them down if he can.

Once this is done he concentrated on the wounded horse. Taking aim, he targetted a shot between it's eyes, trying to kill it instantly and put it out of it's misery. He hated to see a wounded animal, and the sight of so many dead and dying horses made him physically sick, but he had a job to do.

Once the horse was dealt with he acknowledged Dawid's orders. To Thor he instructed, "Thor, you take the South-Western corner and find a good spot, then cover the approach from there." He hoped the Norwegian would understand this instruction, or would have the wits to decide this himself.

OOC - Depending on Thor's location, Dieter will have either given this instruction face-to-face or over the radio.

He then moved himself into the South Eastern corner and found a good OP, and set about covering the flank. Once in cover he made sure his rifle was clear of debris from the fight, and replaced the magazine with a fresh one.

Dieter Brandt
In cover in SE corner of compound, covering East and South
PSG-1 (16/20) - will replace the magazine
1xFrag, 2xSmoke
x25 Image Intensifiers, PRC-77 Manpack Radio

Jeff takes one last double tap at the last rider from the Eastern Flank, and then lowers his rifle.  These strangers had been brutally efficient, finishing the job he and his men had started, although the ones who escaped were an inevitable shame.

Let them tell the Baron what has happened here.  Dissent, Fear, Chaos.  Exactly what was needed amongst his men.

He gives the dead man [Coulter] a quick glance to confirm he is in fact dead.  That one burst had been incredibly lucky to slay the Green Beret.  Ghost wondered if he had seen him before when he first glanced at him, but hostile action had prevented a good look, or formal introduction.  Now with everything above his jaw scattered across the room, it was unlikely he would ever know, and at this point care.  He nonchalantly flicks a tooth off of his shoulder.  He takes the man's knife, and gives him a quick pat down of useful gear before heading downstairs.

Once there, he first amuses himself at the remarks of the man he had taken to be a Marine earlier [Drew], albeit without showing any emotion.  Finding the Hauptmann, Ghost lowers his brown bandanna from around his face to by his neck for the first time, revealing his full face [Eyes are still semi-concealed under Soviet style patrol cap, however].

"One of your men is dead, I do not know his name.  Sorry.  Had an AK-74.  I relieved him of some of his gear, if you don't mind.  He's upstairs."

He then moves with the Captain to watch the rest of the squad slowly move through the dead and dying.

"You know Hauptmann, I can be of use in 'questioning' those survivors. Afterwords, we should still kill them to make an example."

All of what he has said is low, but concise enough to be understood.

OOC: I'll let you guys know what gear I took once I see a list.  It won't be much, and it won't be all the good stuff either.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:18, Sat 03 Apr 2010.

"Thanks," Mariusz said to Dawid. He bent down and picked up the four spent shell casings and then rearranged the spare ammo belts into his ammo pouches.

He looked around and stood next to Dawid, "Who's good with animals? We need to get that horse calmed down and get the injured horse. That way we might be able to attract the strays. Do you want me to stand guard or pick up enemy casualties?"

He listened to Drew's diatribe and cocked his head to Dawid, "What language is that guy speaking? It sounds like American but I'm only getting one word in ten."

In reply to Mariusz Tokarski (msg #187):

Dawid let Drew rant and merely replied, "I am sorry, Drew, I do not have any of this "crack" of which you speak for you to smoke. Please accept my apologies! I do have some vodka if you like."

After Drew stormed off, he confided to Mariusz,

"We were told many American soldiers are criminal drug addicts, and like heavily-armed children often murder their officers and NCOs for little or no reason when they are told to do something. It is little wonder they have done so poorly in this war, despite having so much! It is much like the American war of aggression on Viet Nam, or so I am told." He shook his head ruefully.

He replaced the half-spent ammunition belt with a fresh one, then covered his weapon. Taking out his entrenching took and began digging a fighting position. The rich farmland soil was wet and although it was unpleasant it was relatively easy to dig.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:45, Fri 02 Apr 2010.

  Drew continues to dig.  He casts angry looks at the two Poles muttering,

"Fuckin Pollocks!" as he heaves a blade full of mud from his hole, in their direction.

"Fuckin cannon cocksuckers, don't know jack about shit."

  Drew continues to dig as he grumbles and the rain continues to fall on them.

"Fuckin may as well be diggin my own fuckin grave....fucking <unintelligble grumling>"

  Drew digs a decent position but due to the weather as of late it is not likely a real position will be dug.  Drew does make a point to ensure his M240 is covered by his poncho as he digs and it remains dry.  He also makes sure he is in a good position that allows a good field of view and fire, as well as multiple means of escape to the woods.

  Drew eyes the others positions as well and shakes his head muttering even more.

"May as well put out a fuckin callin card, digging in."  As he looks around surveying their position.

"A fuckin commie kid and pogue....this is gonna suck."

  Drew resists the urge to light up one of his cigarettes although he feels he needs one badly.  He hands instinctivly go to the pocket they are kept and then falls down realizing its too dark.  He mutters,

"Not even a last fuckin cigarette.  Fuck....at least I got my grave dug....what a cluster."

Sgt Drew
M240 w/ E-tool in hand
Digging his grave err fighting position

At some point it occurs to you that you haven't seen Apel for some time. He was on the lower floor of the farmhouse- at least Craig remembers seeing him there as they prepared to fight off the horsemen- but now he is nowhere to be found.

OOC: No need to edit your posts but, just to clarify, no one has seen Apel since just before the firefight started.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:41, Fri 02 Apr 2010.

In reply to Cap'n Rae (msg #190):

Noticing Drew was working alone, Dawid said to Mariusz, "shit. You better go find that Arpel chap. Drew could use a hand before he blows a fuse! He's probably with Konrad."

Positioned in the middle between the farm and the sweep team, Bayer squats alone, watching the progress of the sweep team and keeping an extra eye out on the horizon. Every few seconds he'll also steal a glance over towards the dazed and traumatized horse still standing amidst the carnage of men and beast alike.

After a few moments, Bayer stands and begins walks towards the kill zone, slinging his rifle. Leaving the dead/alive men and animals for the sweep team to deal with, he focuses on the horse. Approaching slowly with his arms down by his sides and palms open, Bayer speaks calmly to the animal. Then after having gotten in close, he squats down in the field, making himself seem as less of a threat as possible while still trying to soothe the animal.

If he can, Bayer will then rise and try to take passive control of the horse. He won't grip onto its reigns or anything, just make physical contact with it by placing his hands on the animal, while giving it room to back off if its not ready.

OOC - Rae, I'm going to try using Bayer's Riding asset to calm/control the horse.

Mariusz listened to Dawid talk about the Americans and said, "Some seem like that, just like some ZOMO were sadistic bastards and others were good guys in bad circumstances. Same with the Russians. I remember what Brother Stanislaw said about them, "The Americans have fought for freedom in three world wars and countless other wars and they have won more often than not, yet all the land they have taken has been the ground in which to bury their dead." Now, I know like all pieces of rhetoric that's not fully true but it's true enough. Drew might be a grumbling old fart but he's here and he's fighting and every enemy he kills is one step closer to us freeing the Motherland. He doesn't have to like us, he just has to keep fighting and I trust him to do that. The fact that he's moaning just means he has the breath to stay in the fight."

He looked at the hasty position he'd been preparing with Dawid, "I'll look for Arpel but things are a bit confused, if I can't find him I'll help Drew. taht sound OK?"