Craig securely slung his weapon across his back as he made his way across the small bridge. He tried to clear the water as much as possible, more to keep his feet dry then any tactical reason. Once on the bank he unslung his rifle and with it at his shoulder he crawled slowly over the bank scanning for stragglers or sentry's left behind.

He lay flat as he slowly scanned the terrain in front of him.

Rescue Team
Laying flat as he scans in front

HK G3SG/1 (w/ Zeiss 1.5-6 x 42 mm Telescopic Sight)[20/20] w/14 magazines
L32A1 (Browning A5) 10" Barrel [4/3]
Browning HP-35 (w/ silencer) [20/20] w/2 magazines
Smoke grenade x1
Frag Grenade F1 x6 RKG-3 AT Grenade Grenade, L13A2 CS E-108 Thermite Grenade x2
Kukri

In reply to Konrad Bayer (msg #175):

Before Konrad and the others left, Dawid suggested the two groups use call signs along the lines of the last engagement:

Alpha: Shore Party (Konrad)
Bravo: Fire Support (Dawid)
Queen: The tug (Griet)

Technically, calls would be between the Queen and Alpha. OOC: can we rig some kind of retrans using the Queen's radio, and Dawid's hand radio? Anyone know?

If the shore party needed to split up they could add designation as needed (Alpha One, Two, etc.). That was unlikely to affect comms with the Queen.

"Try and find a wharf! I'd love to unload the Ural, get it back on land, again. Again, good luck."

Jeff jumps the gap and lands on shore dry.  Once there he moves 10 meters off into the woodline until everyone is ashore.  Satisfied that there are no contacts in close proximity, he moves back to Konrad.

"Order of march?"


Jeff Warren
On Shore
SAKO TRG-21 [10/10] + 5
SOCOM Mk.23 [12/12] + 2

After he'd made it ashore and was in the all-round defence position Jan responded to Konrad's question.  "OK, I will take point, then Craig, then the Capitaine, then Quyen and then Jeff bringing up the rear."

He then quickly conducted a radio check before fixing his NVGs over his eyes and turning them on.  He then set off in the direction that Konrad had indicated, setting a good pace initially to try to catch up with their missing friends.

As he moved he looked for a recently travelled path alongside the river.  The men who they were trying to follow had seemed to be in quite a sizeable group so there were bound to be signs of their passing on the route they had taken, even though they would be hard to spot in the dark.  Trampled grass, boot prints in the mud or something like that.  Jan had some experience of tracking, though he was more concerned with finding the right route rather than working out details of their targets.

He also kept his rifle ready, though he intended to follow Konrad's orders and stop and go to ground if he spotted anything vaguely threatening.  The lack of firing when the others had been captured or rescued or whatever it was that had happened made it unclear whether Jan was walking everyone into a violent confrontation or not!


Jan
AK-74 Assault Rifle (30/30 - 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

"Understood." Quyen whispers back with a nod.

Minh then waited and covered her arcs until it was time to move. She didn't have NVGs like most of the others but didn't mind the equipment deficiency. Her eyes had gotten used to the night since the pirate attack and she rather liked using just her own natural senses, all of them, to help keep alert for any trouble. On the move she glided throught the riverside grasses silently, not burdened down with heavy and bulky webbing and body armor.

If Quyen spots anything (on the flanks) she will tap the person ahead and point, and then quietly lower herself into cover.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 01:59, Tue 12 June 2012.

The recovery team regroups on shore and sets out after the inaptly named rescue party. Jan has little problem finding the spot where the strangers presumably captured his friends. The soft earth near the bank is pitted with footprints and the dead grass that borders it is smashed down by many booted feet. It isn't too hard to follow the trail for a bit, but eventually, Jan loses it. It's too dark and the nearly-frozen earth beneath the tall, dormant overgrowth is relatively clear of grass, leaving little sign of the passage of even a large group. The best that Jan can do is follow the azimuth he believes the captors were taking and keep his eyes open for positive spoor supporting his hunch.

Meanwhile, back on the tug, the security forces keeps a close eye on the near (west) bank. McClurg, an accomplished machinegunner, keeps watch on the tug's unengaged side from behind the gun shield of the starboard Dishka. Dawid keeps an eye on the near shore, watching the recovery team move up towards the spot where the rescue party had set foot on shore. They linger for a while, picking up the trail, before disappearing into some brush and trees to the northeast.

The recovery team moves slowly and cautiously, aware that the strangers they are attempting to follow may have set up an ambush along their backtrail.

After advancing probably 200m or so, Jan stops the patrol. He hears movement up ahead- someone or something is moving noisily through the brush and it sounds like it's coming straight for them.


Next Moves?
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:53, Tue 12 June 2012.

After signalling to the rest of the recovery patrol that he could hear some men approaching from the direction he had guessed the rescue party had been taken, Jan ducked into cover on the land side of the path.  He positioned himself so that if the enemy fled away from the path they would be blocked on one side by the recovery group and on the other side by the river, after a short distance.

Jan then aimed his rifle, ready to fire if necessary but intending on issuing a challenge once the approaching group were in the middle of the kill zone.  As the main Polish speaker amongst the recovery group he was conscious that he would need to ensure that the encounter didn't immediately turn bloody!

There was also the chance that the approaching group was actually the rescue party returning, though he would have expected many of them to move a lot more quietly!


Jan
Lying prone on the landward side of the path.
Covering the approaching group, intending on calling out a warning to halt and surrender once they are in the middle of the kill zone.
AK-74 Assault Rifle (30/30 - 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

Griet continued to man the bridge in order to keep a careful watch and run the radio relay. She used the intercom to speak with engineering, "Good job people, leave one person on the engines and get some rest in shifts."

In reply to Griet Niewiadomska (msg # 183):

Satisfied the bow and port sectors were covered, Dawid walked over and looked up, making sure McClurg was on his arc.

Getting back to the Vasilek, he used the intercom to call up to Griet, "is there some way we can rig up this speaker and microphone to transmit via the ship's radio set? That way I could receive coordinates for fire missions without the extra step. Less chance for a mistake."

Jeff freezes when Jan signals.  He slowly and carefully lowers himself down, taking the time to shift himself to the rear.  He did not want to be snuck up on.


Jeff Warren
Covering Rear

Griet replied to Dawid, "Not that I know of, the boat's radio is a push to speak system, it only transmits or recieves. There might be a way of doing it but not one that I can rig up. At least the intercom's better than yelling."

Bayer catches the signal and hastily passes it on the rest of the patrol beside him. He then takes cover like the rest, scurrying into an somewhat extended line, but still roughly in the middle of the group. Bayer then turns on his night vision goggles and whispers into his radio, "Jan, one clear challenge... make it count."

Bayer then levels his weapon in the direction of the approaching party and flips the selector lever to automatic just in case Jan's challenge is met with gunfire. Inside of his launcher sits an ILLUM paraflare.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:00, Fri 15 June 2012.

As the noise of breaking brush draws nearer, Jan calls out a challenge.

"Halt! Who goes there?"

It's followed by a few seconds of silence. Whoever or whatever was making the racket has stopped. The rest of the recovery team is primed and tense, ready to lash the area up ahead with fire should the need become apparent.

Then, out of the darkness comes a somewhat slurred response.

"Ith Jay! Don't thoot!"


Next Moves?

Still positioned in the hasty ambush, Bayer responds, "Are you alone?" If Jay is by himself, Bayer will call back to instruct him to advance closer. However, if he is not alone, regardless of who is with him (friendly or not), Bayer will follow the usual method and instruct only Jay to approach him and the rest of the group.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:21, Sat 16 June 2012.

Dawid clicked on the intercom.

"Understood. Well, maybe we can rig up a speaker down here, so at least I can hear the incoming instructions. So that we don't drop explosives on the wrong person."

Quyen remains motionless and keeps her arcs covered. The ground is cold but she is so focused on what was happening that she barely feels her body heat draining away. Quyen listens to the natural sounds of the night and those of Jay, and tries to hear anything else that might help alert them to more might be out there. If any shooting does break out Minh will try to engage only muzzle flashes and not just any shadowy figure that enters her view.

Craig had slung his rifle and now had the short barrel shotgun covering the potential ambush. Buckshot was always good in a pinch and had discourage further attack before.

He doubted Jay would be a willing participate in any enemy action but you cant be sure in these mad times.

Rescue Team
Second in line taking a knee


L32A1 (Browning A5) 10" Barrel [4/3]00 Buckshot

"That should be possible," Griet said, "the intercom system was rigged up using old telecomms gear so there should be a way of rigging up a duplex system and getting you a headset for hands free work. If one of the fly boys knows electronics I'll get them on it."

"I have the impression that one of them, not McClurg but Kellerman, is a mechanic. Try him. Thanks!"

When Jay called out Jan felt a sense of relief!  At least one of the missing troops looked to have escaped and with a bit of luck he would know what had happened to the others!  There was even a chance that he had been released as a messenger by whomever had taken the others prisoner and they could get more of an idea as to what the hell was going on!

Jan continued scanning into the dark in the direction of the voice however, using his NVGs to peer into the gloom in an attempt to pick out any forms.  Jay had been making a lot of noise compared to what he usually made so Jan suspected that he wasn't alone.

Though he held his rifle ready to fire he kept his finger away from the trigger, conscious that it was still a confused situation.


Jan
Lying prone on the landward side of the path.
Scanning into the dark, trying to spot Jay and anyone with him.
AK-74 Assault Rifle (30/30 - 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

Jay stumbled down the trail, trying to be quiet but probably with as much subtlety as a rogue elephant. The cold was biting deep, and he knew he couldn't continue for much longer. Suddenly he heard a voice ahead. He paused. Was the voice familiar? It sounded like they had said something in English, but couldn't be certain.

He decided to chance it. If they weren't friendlies then he would either be captured or dead, either option seeming to be better than his current predicament. He called out, Is Jay, d d d don shoot."

He stumbled forward pressing on until he could see who called. Suddenly faces appeared in the dark, and he recognised the first two as Jan and Craig. He pressed on, before eventually collapsing at Jan's feet. He looked up at the legionnaire, and started speaking. The words were jumbled, an ugly mess of English and Nepali, complicated by his shivering body and chattering teeth. It was clear that his clothing was soaked through, and his face was coated with mud, with a mess of snot and blood running from his nose. It wasn't clear what he was saying, but Jan and Craig managed to snatch some of the English words, and Craig may get some of the Nepali ones as well.

"No capture.... Others taken.... Follow.... Sneaky sneaky.... No soldier.... Fire...."

As he rambled he gestured down the path he had appeared from. As he spoke his eyes started to close, his body wracked by uncontrollable shivering. Any further speech was incomprehensible.

In reply to Mrityunjay Byanjankar (msg # 196):

Craig stripped off his own jacket and wrapped the Gurkha in it after quickly stripping off his top clothes. He was sure those around him knew what was going on but he said;

"He going into severe hypothermia, he needs to get back to the boat. Do we have any other dry clothes ?"

Once it was clear Jay was alone, Bayer places his weapon on safe and gets up off the cold ground. He didn't want to keep the man around long, so he kept his interrogation short and just to confirm what was already suspected. "Which way did they go Jay? The village?" If anything else could be gained from him, Griet and Dawid could always relay what else he knew once he was safe on board the tug again.

Bayer then faces the rest of his team, but unsure of what vital equipment they brought with them from the Queen, decides against selecting someone for the task at hand. Instead he asks openly, "I need a volunteer to take Jay back. If we don't catch up to Tucker's group we will wait for you outside of the village, for you to link back up with us. For that, you will need a radio and night vision." Bayer then looks around at the dark silhouettes for someone to quickly step forward.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:58, Mon 18 June 2012.

In reply to Konrad Bayer (msg # 198):

Jay could vaguely make out the sound of someone else talking. He gestured again, pointing down the path from which he had emerged. "Vi... Vi... Hou... Fire..." He then muttered a few more words in Nepali.

In reply to Konrad Bayer (msg # 198):

"I will take him Captain, he keeps saying something about a Tiger, Guard and a child though.

With that he tries to rouse Jay enough to start walking towards the boat and gives those on the tug a heads up to prep for a causality.