"Oui, mon Capitaine," Jan replied to Konrad.  "We cover you and back you up."

He then turned to the three Kommandos assigned to him.  "If we must pair up Quyen and Thijs will be one pair and Anders and me will be another pair.  Full weapons and ammo.  Quyen, there is spare hand held radio in the stores.  Bring it please."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:45, Sat 30 May 2015.

Slyly smiling and looking Minh in the eyes as he turns, he whispers back, "Never!"  He places the half-smoked cigar in front of her lips, waiting for her to take it.

"Good enough Boss.  If it's all the same, I'll leave my two-oh-three with the ship unless, someone in the support group wants to use it?"

"You want a machinegun along, captain, or should take a rifle?" The Finn could handle both though he was a bit better shot with the rifles. He turned at the Czech. "I suggest you take a lead of our pair - I'm a naval officer rather than infantry. My experience in close quarters is only aboard ships mostly." At least he was man enough to admit, he was not a 'shooter' as some put it. A naval gunnery officer hardly ever had to fight as infantry, with boarding suspected smugglers and pirates an exception.

Craig grabbed his G3 from the wall and with Quyen went to get their small craft ready for transport. He gave his jacket a tug here and there as if he is willing it to work better and then he is out the door.

Once the boat is in the water and they are waiting for the others he takes out his binoculars and gives the shore a scan and then the town itself looking for possible threats and if anyone looks to be waiting for them.

With the Krolowa resting at anchor about 600m upriver of the ferry dock, the recon team sets out on its scouting and, hopefully, trade mission. Gryzyech insists on going along, explaining that he is the only one on board the tug who knows what parts are needed to repair the Krolowa's damaged engine. The recon team carefully boards the River Princess (a large wooden rowboat captured from the Plock militia and fitted with an outboard motor) and sets off for the west bank. It puts ashore near a lightly wooded area about 250m southwest of the primary objective. The team carefully debarks, trying to avoid setting foot in the icy cold water. The boat is dragged halfway up the gently-sloping, partially-frozen bank and made fast to a tree. After staying put for a few minutes, establishing coms and checking out the immediate surrounds, the recon team cautiously approaches the ferry yard.

Several derelict vessels, long, rusty barges mostly, occupy the interior edges of the rectangular cutting. The shallow-draft vessels sit very low in the water- violence, a lack of basic maintenance, or a combination thereof resulting in almost certain leakage. The two or three powered boats that float alongside the partially sunken barges appear to have been thoroughly cannibalized, their innards completely removed, leaving only a few useless scraps lying about. There's no sign of a functioning ferry, on this bank or the other.

It's pretty clear that the yard has been unused and abandoned for some time. The grounds are marred by several shallow shell holes, but then little in this country isn't in some way scarred by war. The damage is old, though, as illustrated by the degree to which the craters have eroded into themselves, partially filling in the bottoms which are now covered in a thin layer of ice. A couple of vessels beached on the west side of the yard have been blasted apart and/or burned, likely also the result of shelling. A few of the nearby work sheds are in similar shape. Everything not destroyed outright has been pretty thoroughly picked over. There are some basic items worth salvaging about, though. Some of the large metal hatches on the barges aren't too badly rusted, and they're thick enough to act as ersatz light armor capable of stopping most small arms rounds. They'll need to be purposed and cut to fit, though.

There are a couple of areas of need on board the Krolowa. Apart from some minor battle damage, the Vasilek auto-mortar's ad hoc barbette is in decent shape. The same goes for the port and starboard HMG gun shields. The ZU-23-2 (mounted on the tug's poop), however, is completely unarmored. Likewise, the aft-facing DShK heavy machinegun on the quarterdeck doesn't have its own  gun shield. A few hours work, much of it involving the Krolowa's metal cutting equipment, will be required to turn the best pieces of available scrap into useable items. Dejected, Gryzyech reports that the parts he needs to repair the Krolowa's damaged engines are not present

As the teams survey the workshops and outbuildings at the northeast end of the complex, Jan spots a pair of riders approaching the ferry yard along a road stretching back in the direction of Swiecie proper. Jan signals his teammates, all of whom quickly settle in behind the nearest available cover. Studying the riders through their sundry optics, the hastily hidden watchers take note of two strange figures approaching. An elderly gentlemen wrapped in a foppish purple, fur-lined cape riding a white horse that looks to be just as old as he is riding side-by-side with what appears to be a dwarf sitting uncomfortably astride a pony or mule scaled to fit. The little man holds a pole to which a blue pennant is affixed near the top. He seems to be having some difficulty simultaneously controlling the horse and holding aloft the standard. The two figures, resembling a Polish Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, ride slowly, yet confidently and, aside from the dwarf's ersatz lance and what appears to be a sword hanging from the old man's hip, neither look to be armed.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/...w8YU&usp=sharing


Your Turn.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 20:56, Sat 30 May 2015.

Somewhat glad to be on solid ground again Craig was one of the first off the skiff to cover the others as they disembarked. He tried to keep an eye out for trouble as those more skilled in salvage and who knew what to look for went about their work. Once the hatches and other material was identified as possible additions to the armor Craig offered his services as labour if it was needed.

Having been working on the fighting position for the aft-facing DShK he knew the need for additional armor. He also checked the roofs on the workshops looking for whole pieces of roofing tin that he could used to replace the shredded tarp that once covered the rear deck.

With the approach of what he expected were the village elders Craig found some good cover and studied them through the scope on his G3. Keeping then covered as it became apparent that they may not be a threat given that they carried no arms.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:25, Sun 31 May 2015.

Mariusz watched the odd couple advancing toward them and thought about the strange things they'd seen on their journey down the river. The world had gone mad when the bombs had dropped and since then nature and society had been slipping further and further into dementia. In a world gone mad, madness was the sanest option.

"Do you want me to go up and talk to them, Boss?" he asked Bayer.

"Looks like we're in a LARP session," Tucker says after he finds cover and begins to scan around when the riders are moving closer.

"Ja, do it." Bayer replies softly as he keeps himself in cover, eying the approaching locals. "Be careful what you tell them about us. We're here to get information, not the other way around. Keep up your guard." he adds. The later was more of a reminder than something the boy needed to be told.

Bayer then looks around. Jan's team ought to be behind them or at set apart from his group, if they have stuck with the formation. Then toggling his radio, Bayer whispers, "Jan, cover the six and nine. Stay out of sight even if my group moves. Over."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:28, Sun 31 May 2015.

Mariusz nodded to the Captain. Given his propensity to be totally honest in negotiations, reminding him about operational security was a good idea.

He stood up and shouldered his rifle. Making himself visible to the riders he took his hat off to let them see his hair and eyes, counting on his youth being a little disarming despite the arsenal he as carrying.

He waved a hand and called out, "Good day, my name is Mariusz. It's lovely to meet you!"

They had bunched up a little as the prospect of searching for salvage had arisen so Jan's team were only fifty meters behind Konrad's team, less than the Captain had really wanted.  Security was the key still rather than scavenging but there did look to be some good prospects, even though the chances of finding what they needed looked to be non existent.

"Understood.  Out," Jan replied over the radio before turning to his team.

"Ferro.  Thijs.  Set up for cover the south west arc.  Anders.  You and me cover north west arc.  Ferro, radio if see problem.  Riders might be diversion as they have clothes for make us stare at them."  Jan then took a position where he could scan around, placing his rifle beside him and pulling his binoculars out so that he could pick out more details on his assigned arcs.

Anders, having grabbed a PKM (which he had carefully maintenanced aboard) and two 100-round cans for it, nodded at Jan and shifted himself in to the best position he could pick. He might not have been an infantryman, but all conscripts regardless of their branch of service get trained with basic infantry skills in basic training and even if he did not show the most elegant maneuvers, it was quite apparent, he had at least some training. Setting the medium machinegun in to the best firing position he could figure on his arc, he steadied the weapon and flipped the small selector switch from safe to fire. The can was resting solidly against a support and the bipod was firmly set, Anders' legs spread wide with toes down for extra support. He lifted his left hand, showing Jan he was ready.

The old man tugs firmly on the reigns and his horse promptly clops to a halt. His diminutive companion follows suit. "Well met, lad. I am the Duke of Grimislaw's castellan, Sir Petr Cwik, and this is my squire, Norbert. I bid you welcome to Swiecie."

The dwarf is trying hard not to roll his eyes.

"We saw your boat. My squire here thought you might be Vikings, but I told him that if that were the case, you'd have come from the other direction. Nonetheless, your vessel is unfamiliar to me and flies no flag. From whence do you hail?"

Mariusz doesn't remember which flag, if any, is currently flying from the Krolowa's masthead. The tug has stopped at or passed by dozens of towns on its journey so far and Mariusz could pick just about any one and the old man would likely be none the wiser. Given their recent management, neither Warsaw nor Plock seem like particularly good choices. The same could be said for Sandomierz, Tarnobrzeg, and most of the others. This supposed castellan certainly doesn't dress or speak like a communist party functionary. In fact, the old man seems pretty harmless, really, so Mariusz decides to level with his lordship, informing him that the tug set out originally from Krakow.

"Krakow? It has been long since we've had news from Krakow. But I'm afraid that this is not the place to treat. There have been rumors of bandits about and my sheriff is nowhere to be found. Please accept my hospitality and join us at my castle for a feast in your honor. Unfortunately, the castle is a little short-staffed at the moment, so you must accept my apologies- I'm ill prepared to entertain guests. Shall we say six o'clock this evening?"

Being as this is several hours off, Mariusz inquires about potential salvage, specifically materials in and around the ferry yard. Sir Cwik seems flattered that he's been asked permission.

"Certainly. Take whatever you wish. Vikings destroyed our dockyard some years ago and we have no shipwrights in Swiecie so this place hasn't been used since. We shall enjoy the pleasure of your company at six then?"

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This message was last edited by the GM at 20:08, Sun 31 May 2015.

"Thank you for your nobleness and largess, Sir Peter," Mariusz said, "rarely in our long journey have we received such a fulsome welcome. We will be honoured to meet you and your Duke at six."

He smiled and continued, "Are you familiar with Mallory's Morte D'Arthur? My mother was an English scholar and read me the tales when I was young. I always liked Sir Gareth best, everyone else ran around being noble and brave but ignoring the commoners. Sir Gareth cared for his squire though, he looked after the little people," Mariusz kept his face straight, "my favourite line in the whole story is where Sir Gareth storms a castle to save his squire, his punch line can loosely be translated as  "I've come for my dwarf"."

"My commanders will attend, Ritter Bayer is a bit like a Teutonic Knight only without the butchering the slaves vibe and Captain Niemadwska has earned herself the title The Queen of the Wistula although she would never claim it for herself. Our boat bears the same title."

"Please, take this token to your Liege," Mariusz handed the dwarf one of the gold bullets, "it is part of the treasure of the evil Black Baron of Warsaw. I'm sure that Ritter Bayer will regale you of the story this evening should you wish to hear it."

The old man beams at Mariusz's mention of King Arthur. One wonders how often Sir Petr's audience plays along with his elaborate medieval fantasy. He's clearly lapping it up. The castellan's companion, on the other hand, shakes his shaggy head and snorts derisively, clearly less than pleased with the punch line.



At the mention of the German, Sir Petr's smile quickly fades. Apparently, Mariusz has touched a nerve. The old man, however, allows the young Pole to continue.



The dwarf cautiously extends his hand and takes the cast-gold 7.62mmS round from Mariusz. He holds it up between two stubby, cocktail-sausage fingers and studies it carefully, cockerel eyes aglimmer, before passing it reluctantly to Sir Petr. The old castellan's smile returns, diminished but genuine, and he puts it into a pocket inside the lining of his purple cloak.

"Such a fine gift, from a fine young man. With such an arrow Eros tormented Apollo. I thank you, my good lad. Now you must excuse us. We have much to do to prepare the feast. The castle is over yonder. Simply follow this road and head towards the tower. You shan't be able to miss it. Farewell."

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This message was last edited by the GM at 16:01, Mon 01 June 2015.

Mariusz returned to Bayer and reported in, "The old man is Sir Peter, castellan of the local Duke. He's invited us to dinner at his castle at six tonight. He's also given us permission to salvage here. I accepted the invitation on our behalf but if you decide it's too risky we don't have to fulfil the date. He seems really nice if a little unhinged which probably means they're ravening cannibals planning to eat us. I mentioned you were German, I thought it's best as you have a massive Teutonic vibe going on, and he seemed upset. I gave him a gold bullet and that cheered him up a little."

With the attention span of a typical teen-ager he flitted off to another subject, "Do you want me to help getting some hatches off? If we have more gun shields I could try out another heavy weapon."

As the comical duo made their way back to the "castle" Craig slung his weapon and got to work making a small pile of roofing iron from the workshops. He also removed a ridge board and some of the spouting and down-pipe. They had already covered it with wood earlier, but a little added weather protection would not go amiss. Once he had enough he joined the rest of the team removing hatches and spare metal for additional armor.

Bayer scowls for a brief moment, looking off in the direction the two locals went, then allows himself to laugh a little upon hearing of the invitation. He can't remember the last time he laughed. "He did, did he? What kind of trap is that?" Bayer then rises up from the ground where he'd taken cover. It was only conjecture, but the more he thought about the situation the more reinforced the belief became. "People would kill for moldy bread and he's here giving it away to strangers in a land plagued with bandits? That man isn't still alive because he's generous." He wondered if he'd have taken the offer up had it been made somewhere just after setting out from Krakow. The river changed him.

Bayer motions for his group to follow and starts to walk back into the scrapyard a little, to where Jan's group still lay hidden. Once he's in earshot of the others he announces, "We have permission for salvage, but keep up your guard."

He then addresses them individually, starting with the reason they're here, "Mattson, pair up with Gryzyech and find out if that part is anywhere here. Don't leave the yard or let him out of your sight." He didn't really care what the Pole thought of having a minder. Bayer was already pissed that the man insisted on coming along, particularly when he was nearly as important as the engines themselves.

Next, he addresses Mariusz's other query, "Lieutenant Sutherland and Mariuz... the armor plating. Work quickly."

For the others in the shore party they're needed for security. "Quyen and Van Lincklaen, set up here, where you can cover the north and east approaches. Jan, I want you to push out more, go southeast through those trees until you can see the river. You'll be alone so if you see anyone call for backup before you do anything. Robert, alone as well, cover the rear from the northwest corner of the harbor." He'd place himself in the center, to cover the two work parties more closely, just in case anyone slipped through the cordon. "Everyone clear?"

Then, once everyone knew what to do, he activated his radio and relayed the situation to those on the tug. "Queen, King. Contact with locals made, meeting was friendly. We're looking now for salvage. Request someone the queen keep watch the water and riverbank, and alert us to movement. Over" He figured she'd be watching the water anyways, but felt better knowing the shore was under observation as well.

"This is Queen," Griet replied, "Reading you loud and clear, King. Will keep watch as you request. Good work on the salvage rights."

She picked up the heavy binoculars and went outside, resting her arms on the Dushka mount as she surveyed the land beyond the ferry dock.

"On it Captain."

It looked as if they were going to miss out on dinner. Mariusz was a little disappointed, he knew that the invitation was probably a trap but it would have been almost worth it to see how they played it out.

Almost, experiences that left you dead weren't much use...

He went with the others to start removing the hatches from the half-sunken barges. He hoped the hinges weren't so badly rusted that the couldn't get them out.

"Got it, captain", the Finn said, moving to the Polish engineer. He slung the machinegun over his shoulder and made a quick inventory on the yard as to figure out the best places for the part in question. Even if they didn't find an exact match, he'd probably be able to manufacture one from other useful pieces. "Chodźmy", he said to the Pole.

"Oui mon Capitaine," replied Jan at Konrad's instruction.  He then checked his rifle and set off cautiously in a southeasterly direction through the trees until he could see the river.  Finding himself a good overgrown thicket with some solid looking trees, he set himself up where he could keep a watch out.  He then stayed still, letting the natural sounds of wildlife return, watching and listening for anything out of the ordinary, anything beyond the sounds of several of his fellow Kommandos tearing up salvage where it could be found.

He also tried to get a gauge on just how much local wildlife there was as it was an indicator of both how well fed the local human population was, lots of rabbits and so on meant that they didn't need to hunt extensively to feed themselves, and whether it was worth trying some trapping or hunting themselves to ease their food situation.

The Kommando shore party sets to work, with one team pulling security and the other focusing on salvage. The outbuildings that rim the ferry yard are in very poor shape, beaten and worn down by battle, the elements, and a long period of neglect. Rummaging through one of them, Sutherland finds human remains- a single, partially bleached skull and a few scattered bones, some of them split. It looks like animals have had their way with them. In another, smaller shed, Mariusz is startled and forced to retreat by an aggressive she-badger. Persisting in his search, Craig finds several unused, mostly rust-free sheets of corrugated tin that previous scavengers failed to. There's easily enough to make a new covering for the Queen's quarterdeck; he also finds enough metal pipe to build a framework for it.

Despite Anders and Gryzyech's best efforts, the required engine part is not found. It's not for want of looking; it's simply not there to be found. They do, however, find a few minor parts that are worth taking, replacements as insurance against future failures.

Moving on to the barge wrecks, Craig and Mariusz, with Anders' help, pick out and remove several quadrilateral hatches. With a little welding, any two of these hatches would make for a decent gun-shield for the quarterdeck Dishka HMG.

Recovered and awaiting transport:
3 10' x 6' corrugated metal sheets
20' metal pipe (in segments)
6x steel hatch doors
Assorted engine parts

All of these materials will have to be shifted to the Queen, which sits at anchor in the middle of the channel. The Princess is capable of transporting all of the salvage, although it will likely take at least a couple of trips, the tin roofing panels, although not terribly heavy, being awkwardly bulky. Of course, several hours of additional work will be needed to turn the raw construction materials into finished pieces.

On sentry duty, Jan spots several rabbits munching on grass in the bare patches in the snow. He concludes that this wouldn't be a bad spot for a little trapping and/or light game hunting. The other sentries see no traffic on the river, or signs of human activity in the industrial ruins off to the north. Swiecie proper, on the other hand, is haloed by the blue-grey smoke of hearth fires.

At about a quarter past two, Jan is watching a particularly oblivious bunny that's managed to hop its way to within a dozen meters or so of the Czech's position. It bolts off into the underbrush as a smattering of gunshots ring out from somewhere north of the river. After a few seconds, it's clear that the gunfire isn't directed at the Kommando. Jan can't see the source but, from the sound of it, a small firefight- no more than a half-dozen shooters participating- has broken out about a kilometer north of the ferry yard. Thijs and Minh, keeping watch on that side of the perimeter, immediately search for the source of the gunfire. Minh spots it first, a lone figure, about a half-a-klick out, heading south. She points this out to Thijs, who takes a look through the Elcan C79 3.4 x 28 optical sight attached to the receiver of his C7A1 LSW. He watches an armed man clad in Polish Army Pantera pattern combat fatigues sprint across a road and jump feet-first into a shallow creek bed, hastened on by a few more chasing gunshots. There's a patch of trees between the OP and the fugitive, making it hard to see much else, but it appears that this man is on his own. (Tucker has a pretty good LOS to this, also.)

https://www.google.com/maps/d/...w8YU&usp=sharing


Your Move

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This message was last edited by the GM at 16:57, Tue 02 June 2015.

Eric hit the creek bed and turned around, kneeling to use the bank as partial cover.  "COME ON WOJ!  I KNOW I TAUGHT YOU TO SHOOT BETTER THAN THAT!” he bellowed.  Phillips fired off two three-round bursts from this Tantal at his closest pursuers.

”I DON’T HEAR YOU COMMUNICATING TO YOUR TEAMMATES!  WAR IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL SPORT WOJ!”  Phillips seemed to use Woj to refer to the Poles as one might use Joe to refer to American soldiers or Tommy to refer to British troops.

SGT Eric Phillips
Taking brief cover in creek bed
Wz.88 Tantal [30/30] – 6 rounds
Yelling plus two quick bursts.

This message was last edited by the player at 19:34, Tue 02 June 2015.

Tucker goes over the sights of his chopped M-14 as he hears the gunfire emerges from somewhere not so far away.  Tucker ques his radio, "CONTACT!  DO WE HAVE CONTACT?  I GOT ONE PERSON ON THE MOVE, NO VISIBLE SHOOTERS.  ANYONE GOT BETTER EYES THAN ME? BREAK, KING, THIS IS TUCK.  WE HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON HERE.  STAND BY FOR SITREP AS I GET IT, COPY?"

Tucker begins to look around the area from where the lone person emerges in the Polish camo to see if he can find where the shooting is coming from and see who is doing it.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:47, Wed 03 June 2015.