In reply to Robert 'Tuck' Tucker (msg # 828):

As he hears Tuckers voice Craig snaps back;

"Understood."

He completes the top off and weapon check before joining Thijs,

"Yes Mister Tuckji." Jay replied simply before heading off to the bow. Once he got there he quickly surveyed the scene then swapped in a fresh magazine before settling in to maintain his vigil.

For the next several kilometers, the tug is a hive of activity as its crew and security detachment repair damage, clean and reload its crew-served defensive armaments, and see to other routine jobs that still need doing. It's good to keep moving in the unyielding, penetrating cold. It's colder on the river than it is on shore, thanks in part to the tug's steady movement and the relatively unobstructed path of the chilly breeze over the river's smooth surface.

The clearing team finds all seven known boarders dead of various and sundry bullet wounds. Each is armed with an AK-74 or variant and one or two fragmentation grenades. They're boots are salvageable, as is some of their clothing, but most of their Red Army-issue winter coats are holed and stained with fresh blood. The two boarders who were caught by the lobster cooker are a mess and all of their clothing is badly fouled and likely beyond rescue (unless you fancy the smell of boiled human flesh).  (Recovered: 5 AK-74/x, 17 full magazines 5.45mm, 7 fragmentation hand grenades, 3 colored smoke grenades)

The wounded are tended to, receiving proper medical care. Aside from Jan, your most recent hurts are mostly just scrapes and bruises- considering the odds against you, the scrap with the Torun garrison went surprisingly well. Jan's wound is by far the worst but, as a soft-tissue wound, it's really not that serious. Given light duty and proper follow-up care, he should regain full usage of the arm in a couple of days.

Below deck, the prisoners from Torun have been behaving themselves, offering no trouble during the run through the hostile city, or since. When polled about possible service on board the Krolowa, none of them accept the offer, preferring, it seems, to be put ashore at your earliest convenience (but obviously sooner rather than later). One of them even goes so far as to promise to report the humane treatment that they've received at your hands when he gets back to the garrison.

It's past lunch and you're all getting hungry. A brisk firefight burns a lot of calories, as does constantly battling the extreme cold above decks. A quick survey of the Krolowa's pantry, however, reveals a steadily diminishing supply of fresh food. A proper inventory will reveal only enough for two more days at full rations. At your last stop, some fuel wood was collected, but at least that much was burned up trying to break loose from Torun.

As starkly illustrated by the most recent combat, the Krolowa's six-o'-clock is still fairly vulnerable. The ZU-23-2 looks impressive, but without a proper gunshield and adequate ammunition, it's bark is much worse than its bite. You have a third Dishka HMG currently in storage and, with a little welding equipment and scrap metal, a new mount for it could be fitted for it on the quarterdeck.

You're not entirely sure what lies ahead, downriver. It's been quite a while since any of you have passed through the area but at that time it was fairly lousy with Soviet troops.


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This message was last edited by the GM at 16:19, Sat 10 Aug 2013.

Quyen remained below. It was warmer down there so she didn't complain and was actually quite happy about it. She never did get used to the temperate zone winters. She kept her distance from the prisoners as much as possible, resting her rifle across her front in a ready position. If any of the men get too close she gives them a look and takes the safety off until they sit back down again. She didn't expect trouble but wasn't going to get comfortable and end up disarmed and a hostage.

If she is relieved before the men are released she will probably stay down here with her relief unless she's given other orders.

"When we put the men ashore we'll need to radio Torun with their location." Griet said, "They won't last long without weapons or food. we also need to sort out the defence of the afterdeck and get the salvaged Dushka up and running. Connoley, do you want to organise a work party for that, please?"

"Yep."  Connolly nods thoughtfully.  "Dushka, gun shield, gun shield for the AGS if we have time and plate."  She looks down at the deck and Tucker's dispositions.  "We don't have a lot of spare personnel.  I'll put Kellerman on it and get Tuck to assist once he's done delegating.  And we really need a stand-down so people can get some rest."

Bayer says to Griet, "You can move to the shore whenever you are ready. I want to get rid of the Russians as soon as possible." He then exits the bridge and collects Mariusz and Jay, "Need a boatman and escort to take the prisoners ashore. Get ready."

Bayer won't involve himself in the tug's weapons upgrade, but will ensure the mortar, have been DSHK given adequate after-action maintenance. He also sees to it that radios are turned off and the watch roster has been set up before going back to the wheelhouse to review his map with Griet.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:40, Sat 10 Aug 2013.

When Craig comes to relieve him at the starboard Dishka, Thijs stays nearby, checking his C7A1 LSW to ensure it is no longer jammed, chatting with the Royal Marine as he does so.  Once the task is finished, he moves to the aft end of the quarterdeck to stand guard until relieved.

Anders took the opportunity to teach his two assistants in how to do the basic maintenance on the Vasilek. He had not really worked with it much yet either, but the mechanism was close enough to what he had worked with before and thus, he knew it well enough. With a few 'Eurekas' of his own, the work went steadily on. "If you have welding gear, we can make a better shield for this", he said. He was a decent welder, after all.

Once the tug was ten kilometres away from Torun, Griet called general stations and took the Queen in to the bank.

They left the prisoners off the boat and then called Torun with their location before getting underway again.

Once they had dropped the prisoners Jan raised the subject of food. "Konrad.  Griet.  Are we far enough from Torun to try hunting again on the opposite bank to the one we dropped the prisoners on?"

"Once we are clear of Bydgoszcz... then we will assess the options for going ashore for that." Bayer answers.

Having counted out what was left in all the mounted weapons, Craig went to find Tucker with his totals. He then returned to the heavy machine gun and remained there until he relieved Thijs on the quarterdeck in a couple of hours time.

He remained on the quarter deck until his watch was up, Craig retrieved the grenadiers vest and HK-69 he had left next to the AGS-17 on the bridge roof. Keeping it close at hand he spent the watch with his G3 looking for signs of trouble.

"Ugh.  I never get used to this smell."  Danny rolls the broiled ex-boarder over the gunwale and watches the current roll him under a car-sized chunk of river ice.  He dispels the grimace from his face and turns to Jan.  "Okay, dude.  Let me wash up and I'll take another look at your arm."

After scrubbing vigorously, he cleans, stitches, and re-dresses Jan's wound, then makes the rounds of the tug to check for other unreported injuries.  Finding none, he logs another round of weather observations, then descends to the arms locker to clean and top off Warren's Sako before returning it to the rack.

Once he's done with those tasks, he seeks out Tuck.  "Heya, Tenth Mountain," he reports, "Russians are stripped and sunk.  Jan's gonna be okay but he'll have to jerk off with his right hand for about a week."  He leans on the rail and squints northward.  "Weather's looking squirrely.  Can't tell what it's gonna do next."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:35, Thu 15 Aug 2013.

Connolly flicks her gaze from Jan to Bayer, then glances around to ensure no one else but Griet is within earshot.  "I don't like this option, but I'm going to suggest it anyway.  Have we considered tying up somewhere friendly and waiting until spring?  It's only December second.  The weather's not going to get any better for three months - maybe longer if all the nuclear winter theories are right.  It might be easier to buy into a share of a community's food stores if we offer to provide technical skills and cadre training until the spring thaw."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:59, Mon 12 Aug 2013.

Tucker stopped when Craig called him to give him the numbers requested by Konrad for the deck weapons.  "Thanks Craig.  You need anything or are you good for now?"
Tuck waits for Konrads attention and then gives him the updated numbers of the ships weapons that he got from Craig.  "Looks like we got lucky again Boss.  I'm not sure how much longer our luck is going to hold out."

Robert turns to Danny's call and approaches him.  "Well, well, well!  If it isn't my favorite Para Jumper!  Jan will get used to it.  It will be like he's switching it up or he can sit on his other hand until it falls asleep then he can pretend it's a 'stranger' giving him a handy!

Good deal on the dead.  Hopefully we can get some rest pretty soon." 

Jan had smiled in gratitude at Danny's stitching up of his latest wound.  The paratrooper medic, or whatever Danny had described himself as (Jan hadn't understood the word Pararescueman, though he had understood the role), was proving to be a very useful member of the team.  Certainly a lot better company to have around than Anneka.

He seemed to be getting hit a lot recently.  None of it was life threatening but that was just luck and a question of time until one found its mark.  He felt old.  Since coming to Poland he had been wounded more than he had in the rest of his military career and he was starting to wonder if he'd ever leave the country.


Jan nodded in understanding at Konrad's logic but posed a question.

"What happens if Bydgoszcz is not friendly for us?  Since leaving Warsaw we have not found a friendly town or village so it may be best for us to do something about food before we reach Bydgoszcz.  Even if that is a foraging party and not a hunting party."


Jan puffed on a cigarette and flexed his hand, exercising his arm gently.

"If we can find somewhere that is friendly then that is a good option to consider.  We also have gold we can trade as well as our skills.  Food is worth much now though."

"If we can find a friendly community we might consider it," Griet said, "but it's a big if. We've travelled from Krakow to here over the last month and we've found a total of one community that was even vaguely friendly and helping them meant we got involved in somebody else's war. Most want our boat more than they want us so even if we find someone that would take us in the odds are we'd wake up one morning with our throats slit and our stuff gone."

"We need to think about food then?" commented Jan.  "If we can not find a community to trade with then we must either hunt, fish and forage for our own or raid someone for it.  I do not wish to become a pirate.  When we stop the Queen for the night we should make sure that we do some fishing to add to our food.  That will be a good starting point."

Danny chuckles at Tuck.  "It occurs to me that being your favorite PJ may not be so much of a distinction, 'cause I'm also your only PJ."  He braces his hands on the rail and begins stretching his right leg, working against the teeth-grating chill that radiates from the titanium screws holding it together.  "So, whaddaya think the odds are of the next town having people who don't want to kill, hijack, or eat us?"

Connolly shakes her head.  "Piracy is a bad option.  Enough people want to kill us for shitty reasons without giving the rest of them good reasons."  She glares out at the snow-covered landscape.  "Between SERE school and growing up camping in Idaho, I can tell you that foraging in this isn't much better.  We won't get enough calories to replace the ones we burn from the work.  Fishing sounds like a good idea, though we need beer for it to work properly."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:43, Thu 15 Aug 2013.

"That is why I want to wait until we are clear of it before going ashore. We are already very close to Bydgoszcz. That way we will know for sure." Bayer answers.

As soon as Mariusz went off-duty he went to the galley and double-checked the supplies in the stores. Once he made sure that their supply stocks were adequate for at least the next few days he worked on something nutritious and filling for the crew.

In order to replace the calories used up by the cold and combat he made a thick bigos or hunter's stew using some of the dried sausage to add flavour to the stew and dried vegetables and lentils to add substance. As people were all cold and hungry he added layers of sliced potato to the stew in order to bulk it out even more and give the unctuous liquor even more to soak into.

Not long after the prisoners from Torun are left ashore, the tug approaches the city of Bydgoszcz (on the western shore). You soon see that 'city' is a bit of a misnomer. Bydgoszcz is not much more than a large rubble-field. The devastation here could only have been caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon. There are no obvious signs of inhabitants.

Mariusz serves lunch in the galley. The young Pole is a master at crafting delicious meals from whatever ingredients are available. The delay during the ferrying operation has put you a couple of days behind schedule and, consequently, your supplies are going to start running short sooner than you'd planned for. At the current rate of consumption (full rations), you probably have another two days worth of food. Fuel will start running low even sooner.

From Bydgoszcz, the Vistula flows north, north-west. The next largest settlement is Grudziaz, about 45km downriver.

There's no suitable metal plate available to craft gunshields for the third Dishka or for the AGS-17. Something could be improvised by removing one or two of the ad-hoc armored shutters from the bridge windows. That, however, would make the bridge crew more vulnerable. Until you can salvage some more decent metal plates, gunners on both weapons are going to be relatively exposed (the AGS, more so).

The tug is currently closing on Bydgoszcz.

There is plenty of compatible LBE for Anders to carry AK ammunition and other combat gear.


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