In reply to Dawid Waldus Piotrowski (msg #93):

Jeff found Minh already on the DSHK Dawid had called him too. This was okay with Jeff though as she seemed to be much more familiar with it than Jeff was. It wasn't so much the Soviet weapon as Jeffs general lack of fondness for automatic weapons.

Instead he wraps the sling of his rifle around his left fore-arm and uses years of practice to steady his aim against the motion of the tug. He trains his scope after the searchlight, following it out to the shape ahead.

In reply to Jeff D. Warren (msg #101):

Noting that no one seemed to be with him, Dawid chuckled and shook his head.

"Warren, on me, turn this Vasilek forward. Don't worry, it moves easily and I will fire it if needed."

He turned back and continued looking forward as Griet started to orient the spotlight correctly.

"Over there on the West Bank," Mariusz cried, "head that way!"

"All right Mari!  Good job buddy!  Guide me in and of either of you have a radio on you call the Queen and let them know we got two coming back shortly," Tucker says to Jay and Mariusz as he begins to steer the zodiac towards the shore.

Quyen nods and waves to indicate she was alright on the gun. She then traverses it forward and readies the weapons for firiring (including making sure there was enough ammo on the current belt for at least a few bursts). Quyen then grips the two handles and peers over the top of the gun through the gunshield - waiting.

When the light is shown on the object Quyen will hold fire unless self defense becomes an issue. If that's the case she will fire short bursts using both the tracers and splash on the water to guide her rounds onto the target.

Quyen
DSHK (unknown belt)
Ready to fire

Craig spends some time trying to pick up the object in his scope before lending a hand with the mortar.

Jay gestured to Mariusz to indicate that he had no radio, then turned his attention to the bank with his flashlight.

In

Jeff helps Dawid with the big gun. He follows Dawids instructions closely, as he'd never even seen a Vasilisk before.

"Very good, just turn it forward. It swivels. Then come here and assist me with the PKM, or stay behind the Vasilek's gun shield."

With the spotlight's high-intensity beam fixed firmly upon it, the approaching object is identified as a rather large floating tree trunk. The tug's reinforced bow can probably shrug off its impact with minimal fuss or bother while the Zodiac has the manouverability to avoid it (assuming they pick it up visually).

Mariusz finally spots LaRue's little flashlight jiggling about on the riverbank. Tucker turns the boat about and heads towards the spot where the rescue crew finds the soaked, shivering Pararescueman and his charge waiting. After a few minutes wrestling through the mud at the water's edge, the pair are pulled aboard and the Zodiac, now filled nearly to capacity, heads back towards the tug.

The tree trunk hits the the tug's bow a little right of center. The head of the trunk (actually it's rooty base) gets hung up on the tires slung over the tug's nose just long enough for the other end to swing around and change positions. When the roots pull free of the chainged tires, tearing one away, the trunk slides by on the starboard side. On the way, the tree smashes into the pirate's half-sunk wooden sailboat, ripping it free of the tug and dragging it along as it continues downriver.


Next Moves?

In reply to Cap'n Rae (msg #110):

"Kapitan, It's just a tree! Warren, get your hand light on it. I'll push it away if I can."

"Everyone else, maintain your sectors."

Dawid grabbed a boat-hook and used it to try and fend the tree off.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:39, Mon 21 May 2012.

Robert makes sure that everyone is back in the boat and that they're clear of the shoreline before he turns and steers the zodiac back toewards the Queen at the best possible speed.  "Should have us back on board in a couple of minutes Danny.  You guys OK?"

Jay helped haul the bedraggled pair on board the small craft. If there were blankets on board he would use them to wrap around the two in an attempt to warm them up a bit.

As soon as they get back to the Queen he will he get the two aboard, before helping to secure the Zodiac.

"No sense wasting the battery.  I'll be at the crows nest."  Jeff turns from Dawid as he pushes the log away.  He returns to the crows nest and watches the incoming zodiac.  Once the passengers are onboard he resumes scanning the shoreline ahead with his scope and binoculars.  Almost time for a shift change...

"Yeah, get going. This tree's not going to shoot anyone."

He looked up at where Craig was located. "Sutherland, form a detail with you, Minh, and, ah, Jan. Salvage what you can from the other Zodiac, then help with the rescue party.

"Tell McClurg to hold his position, keep watch on the stern arc.

"With me in front, McClurg covering the rear and Warren up in the crow's nest we got everywhere covered."

Mariusz looked at Danny and asked, "Is there anything we can do to make the journey to the Queen better for you?"

Now suitably dressed and equipped Jan ran back up on deck and made his way forward where he could keep watch down river.

"Capitaine, any orders?" he called out.

Bayer looks over at the Czech in the darkness and replies quietly, "Stand down... get the men out of the water."

He then gives both shorelines a scan through his image intensifiers before watching the recovery of the inflatable from the upper deck. Once that was done and Griet was free, he confirms there was no damage to the tug and coords with her, "We'll move at first light. Can you have the boat ready thirty minutes before dawn?"
This message was last edited by the player at 23:12, Wed 23 May 2012.

"No problem, Kaptain," Griet replied.

She got on the intercom to engineering and said, "Stand down and get some rest but we need to be at full steam at least thirty minutes before dawn."

Dawid's attempt to fend off the large tree trunk meets with failure- its mass and velocity are simply too great for the force he can produce to deflect it. Jeff, deciding to head back to his nest atop the bridge, stops tracking the log with his flashlight beam. Dawid can only watch as the log reduces the pirates' wooden sailboat to splinters as it brushes by the tug. The dark traveller then continues downriver, disappearing into the inky blackness outside the dim halo of the tug's running lights.

After winning the battle against the mud of the riverbank, the small boat crew picks up LaRue and Connolly, and oblivious to the approaching danger, proceeds back towards the Queen.

No one aboard the Zodiac notices the large bower until it strikes the rubber-hulled boat head-on. Everyone is thrown forward violently and Jay, in the bows, strikes his head against wood. If it weren't for his helmet, he'd be unconsious. If he survives the encounter, he's going to have quite a headache. The Zodiac's nose collapses and is caught fast by the jagged end of the huge log. Tucker knows enough to pull the propeller out of the water- trying to push the log is only going to fold the Zodiac in half, hastening its inevitable demise. The tree rides the Zodiac's bows under and the boat begins shipping water. Everyone aboard is doused in frigid water as the river rushes aboard. The small boat is foundering as it's being carried downriver by the floating tree.


Next Moves?

Craig has returned to the wheel house landing once the log was identified as not a threat. He continued to scan both banks for movement, unsure if any of the enemy had made it to the banks.

If he was aware of the drama unfolding he tries to help, either finding a rope he could throw or a life ring if any are present.

In reply to Cap'n Rae (msg #120):

Satisfied he couldn't have done anything more to affect the outcome of the collision, Dawid got onto other things.

"Craig? Status report!"

"How's salvaging that other Zodiac coming with Jan and Minh? If we can't patch it up we can use it to patch the other boat. Plus the engine might be salvageable."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:06, Fri 25 May 2012.

In reply to Dawid Waldus Piotrowski (msg #122):

"Ok on it, we cleared the dead its still attached I believe. I'll try and get it on board."

He then went about trying to at least recover the engine if not the whole thing.

Quyen slings her rifle and moves to help Craig with recovering the boat engine after it was safe to stand down again. If he can't find any rope she will rush down to her where her pack is and grab the few meters she has coiled up in one of the pouches.

Once Griet had issued the stand down orders to the engine crew she moved the searchlight forward again to pick up the zodiac and guide it safely back to the Queen.