"Roger that," Griet replied and switched the spotlight to sweep the river and try to pick up whatever Dawid had seen.

Griet fixes the unidentified boat in the beam of the Queen's spotlight. It's right at the edge of the powerful light's range but you can see that the vessel is a large rowboat. It appears to have a relatively large outboard engine, but it doesn't appear to be under power at the moment. It's moving from left to right (west to east) heading roughly towards the large island that splits the Vistula here. The boat looks like it's carrying a load of at least half-a-dozen passengers.

Meanwhile, on shore, after exchanging a couple more bursts of inneffective fire, the recovery team succeeds in breaking contact with the hostile shooter/s (they're fairly certain there were two of them at one point). (Jan- 4 rounds)


Next Moves?

Dawid said over the intercom, "ha, yes, what I said. Ok, hold on..." He peered into the darkness.

"Bravo calling Alpha. One boat in the river, rowing from west to east. Range, 350 metres. Heading towards island in the river."

As this craft likely held their friends, he didn't ask to engage it.

Quyen fires two bursts while pulling back but like the others she intentionally aims just in case it is their own people. Unhindered by any heavy gear allows her to bound and crawl quickly and she is soon out of the way of danger. Then once they broke contact and were reunited further back she removes the partially empty magazine and replaces a new one - locking it into place with a click.

"Everyone okay?" she whispers.

Quyen will then cover the riverside flank until the word is given to move out again. If anyone comes at her through the brush she will challenge once and then fire on automatic if she suspects whoever it is to be anyone but a Kommando.

Jeff checks himself over quickly in case he missed something.  From there he continues to scan the woods, moving as little as possible.  The spotlight had forced him to flip up his goggles, and only now was his vision starting to come back.

"Jan, next moves?"  He was considering slipping off to do some seperate recce.

Now they had successfully broken contact with the pair of shooters who had engaged them Jan turned to Konrad to work out what to do next.  "Capitaine.  What are your orders?  Are we going to hunt down and take out these two who block the path or withdraw back to the boat?"

He was conscious of the reports he'd heard over the radio.

"If the people who take the others prisoner are in the boat that Dawid can see then they either leave two men behind or they have second boat.  I say we hunt them down and kill or capture them!  We can easily try to flank them but they will know the ground better than us so is risky.  Jeff.  Quyen.  What do you think?"

While he spoke he kept focussed on the direction of the shooters, just in case they were stupid enough to follow up!


Jan
Discussing what to do next while keeping alert and watching in the direction of the shooters
AK-74 Assault Rifle (16/30 - 30rnd mag x11) - carried
BG-15 Grenade Launcher (1/1 HE - HE x19) - underslung on AK-74
P226 Pistol (15/15 - 15rnd mag x4) - holster
Frag grenade x2 - webbing pouch
Smoke grenade x2 - webbing pouch
AN/PVS-5 NVGs - worn

Clicking the transmit button on his radio;

"Bravo this is Delta Two, requesting pick up of one causality. Signalling now."

He takes his torch and turns it on and off several times, then stops waiting for a acknowledgement from the tug.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:18, Sat 30 June 2012.

Bayer responds to the Queen over the net, speaking softly into the handset, "Sunray roger. Handle it... and inform me of any developments asap. We are continuing. Over."



"No withdraw." Bayer whispers quickly. He hadn't made up his mind fully on what to do next, but he wasn't ready to call of the pursuit yet. He simply couldn't shake the possibility from his mind that their ambushers were from Robert's group. Those shots that snapped past them were fairly accurate and something that either decent marksmen or shooters with night optics ought to be able to accomplish... or he was just wrong of course.

Bayer then then mulls over his options and nods, "Lead us in Jan. Get around them if you can, but take us in quietly this time." He then says, "If we miss them... get us back on track to the village. Dawid and Griet can handle whatever is on the river."

During the next few moments, Bayer will remain ready to drop to cover. If they come across anyone, Bayer will shout "Tucker" and "Kommando" as loud as possible.

Like a deer on the highway, the small rowboat seems to freeze in the tug's powerful spotlight. There's motion on board, although the boat is too far off to tell what its nature is- it looks, however, like the rowers have stopped pulling. Dawid is fairly certain that he's picked out at least one weapon aboard.

Craig and his casualty appear on the riverbank. The casualty looks like he/she is having difficulty walking on his/her own. If someone can be spared, Craig probably needs a hand getting his charge across the narrow corvus and on to the tug.

Meanwhile, Konrad orders the recovery team's point man, Jan, to attempt to lead the group around the pair of shooters who'd foiled the first attempt at reaching the hamlet that Konrad concludes probably serves as the base camp of whoever took the Kommando's rescue party captive when they washed ashore.


Next Moves?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:55, Sat 08 Apr 2017.

In reply to Cap'n Rae (msg # 234):

He held his fire. In this situation Dawid was probably within his rights to open fire without asking permission first if the boat was in danger. As it was, he felt there wasn't cause to fire, especially if there was their own people on board and in danger.

"Bravo calling Delta, acknowledged.

"Bravo calling Alpha... Waiting for casualty to board. I also see one armed person in boat, maybe more. Boat was heading to island, boat is now stopped. Am ordering Griet to close and capture boat unless you advise against.""

Intercom: "Griet, prepare to receive Sutherland plus one casualty. Look out for signal on shore.

"Then cast off and intercept that boat in river. Alpha is informed of this decision. Please acknowledge these instructions."

Griet looked over at the gunner and said, "This stretch of the river is notoriously dangerous, the course used to change almost daily before the war, what it's like now is anybody's guess. If we try to move during the darkness we might get grounded and if that happens we're screwed."

In reply to Griet Niewiadomska (msg # 236):

"Understood, you are in charge of operating the boat. If you don't think we can get there safely, that is that. But we came in very close to the bank, I would think that's a more dangerous place than the middle of the river?"

Realising she was right he sighed in frustration, looking out at the rowboat caught in the beam of light. It was perhaps an opportunity they were losing, perhaps not, but Griet was right and the safety of the tug was very much her call to make.

Jay, despite his slight build, was becoming a dead weight to Craig, and was struggling to keep his feet. Much longer and he would probably pass out. He did his best to keep going, but knew he couldn't last much longer.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:15, Sun 01 July 2012.

Craig crouches on the bank waiting for help across the corvus. He makes sure his jacket is done up on Jay and gives the guy a rub trying to get the blood moving. He has been in this situation before and knows the feeling. Actually as he thinks back they did this to him in training, probably not this bad but who knows.

Craig gave a quick SITREP to the most senior person before he retrieved his jacket and began to return to the rescue party. Craig uses his radio to warn the rescue party he was returning as he changed the first round in his shotgun for a flechette shell.

He moved twenty meters up the bank before striking inland in a low crouch. He took it slow with his shotgun in hand, stopping every ten or so steps to listen and look.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:49, Mon 02 July 2012.

In reply to Craig Sutherland (msg # 239):

Dawid called for some crew to come help him bring Jay across.

"It's all right, soon you will be safe and warm, my friend!"

Also, he repositioned McClurg to continue covering the boat with the closest facing Dushka.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:47, Tue 03 July 2012.

Before leading the recovery team around the shooters Jan made a comment to Konrad rather stating the obvious.  "Capitaine.  Craig may try to come back and join us.  He should stay on the boat now as finding us in the dark will now be dangerous."  As he spoke he reloaded his AK with a fresh mag, just in case it all kicked off again.

He then lead the four of them off inland, trying to loop around the area from which they had been fired at.  Though he used his NVGs he made as much use of his hearing, taking it slow as Konrad had instructed and listening for anything odd in the night.  Hopefully one or other of the shooters would make the mistake of moving or talking and they would give themselves away.  If they didn't Jan hoped that the route he picked would allow the recovery team to bypass the shooters and uncover whatever it was that they had been blocking them from approaching.

Anneka crosses the corvus and takes Jay from Craig. She helps the woozy Ghurka get back aboard the tug and takes him to the tug's small sickbay. With clinical dispassion, she disrobes Jay and wraps the naked man in a warm woolen blanket. There's a steam pipe running through the small room as well, so Jay starts to thaw out almost immediately. With Jay resting in the sick bay's lone cot, Anneka goes and gets some reheated broth from the galley to warm Jay's insides.

Bayer replies quietly, "Ja I know... but I have concerns too but want boots on the ground." He then says, "I made sure who we sent back had a radio and night optics, and Lt.Sutherland will manage."

"We just need to maintain good coordination." he adds, before setting off.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:26, Tue 03 July 2012.

Jay was vaguely aware of the harsh Israeli woman's hands clawing at his clothing, rapidly peeling off layers of sodden clothing. In another world it might ave been considered erotic, but right now he was just glad to be rid of the clothes that had been biting at him.

Jay lay still, trying to absorb the warmth from the steam pipe. The coarse woollen blanket itched his private parts, but right now he didn't much care.

Jan leads the recovery team inland, slowly moving through the lank, dead rushes in an attempt to circumvent the shooters who held up the first attempt at reaching the presumed camp where they hope to find the beached rescue team. It's hard to be silent in the dark and dense vegitation, but the team comes fairly close. Having functioning NVGs helps as well. It's slow going, but Jan arrives roughly even with the furthest point of the team's earlier progress without drawing any fire or sensing an audience.

Craig is not too far behind, but he's effectively on his own. He does his best to pick up the rest of the team's trail. This is difficult because of the multiple lanes of stomped-down underbrush now crisscrossing the area. It would take a trained tracker of American Indian descent* to find the right path to follow in the dark.

Back on board the tug, Dawid, Griet and the rest of the crew above decks watch the small boat at the edge of the spotlight beam. It's no longer moving towards the large midchannel island. Instead, it's moving slowly away, possibly drifting with the current. It's also visibly rocking back and forth quite a bit. Unless the tug starts to move forward in pursuit soon, the small boat will soon be lost from view.

MacClurg, tracking the odd boat from his position behind the starboard Dushka calls out, "Should I fire a warning shot?"

Belowdecks, Jay is starting to feel much better. In fact, he's starting to feel a little too warm. Anneka returns with a mug of warm broth, hands it to Jay and says, "If you can, try to drink this. But drink it slowly, alright?"


Next Moves?


Updated tac-map: https://maps.google.com/maps/m...pn=0.010113,0.033023


*Anyone, anyone?
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:11, Wed 04 July 2012.

Jay sat up, the warmth of the pipes and the blanket helping him regain some semblence of coherent thought. He took the proffered mug and sipped at it. The hot liquid stung his lips, but he eventually managed to take a few sips. The broth ran down his throat, and he felt the warming effect in his stomach.

As he held the mug he realised that although he could taste the broth, he couldn't smell it. His nose was still blocked with a mix of blood and snot. He wiped at it with the back of his hand to no effect, and so looked around for something to use. He located an old rag that had been used for cleaning the pipes. It was dirty, but would do. He blew his nose into the rag, emptying a disgusting mess from his nasal passages. An attractive sight he was not, but he was starting to feel better.

In reply to Cap'n Rae (msg # 245):



Dawid called up, "yes, fire a short burst over their heads."

He then used the intercom, "Griet, use the loudspeaker and order that small boat to come to us. However, I think there is some struggle going on there. Fighting. If those are our people over there, we may not get a better chance to rescue them. Would you not reconsider taking the tug to where that boat is to help them out, if that's indeed them?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:07, Wed 04 July 2012.

Quyen set off again with her group. She moved quietly and lightly as much as it was possible with the dense vegetation. Her smaller frame and lack of personal gear made it a little easier than the others to squeeze in and under the branches sometimes so for that she was a little thankful. Unlike the others she also didn't have NVGS either but her natural night vision aided by the moon and stars was still pretty good. She thought so anyways.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:12, Wed 04 July 2012.

Griet did her best to keep the spotlight fixed on the fleeing boat and hoped that the loud-speaker would carry that far, "In the boat! We have you under our guns. Start rowing toward us or we will fire on you."

She had been holding the boat against the current and carefully adjusted the screw and thrusters to give them enough forward motion to keep them in range of the boat. She switched off the loud speaker and called to Dawid, "I'll try and keep the row boat in range of the light but I can't risk much more than this, even then if I touch something I'm stopping. Put someone in the prow with a gaff-rail to probe ahead of us."

In reply to Mrityunjay Byanjankar (msg # 246):

Anneka does not seem a bit put-off by Jay's nasal expulsions.

"Here, let me take a look." she says, gently poking and prodding at the damaged proboscus.

"It's not broken. If it starts bleeding again, just apply pressure until it stops. Don't tilt your head back, though. I'll get you some ice for the swelling."