The four of you left behind with the vehicles continue with the few routine tasks that need doing at every stop. Refueling and checking for any damage or loose bolts etc are almost done without thinking while Brown and Winters keep watch from their respective positions.
Finnegans patrol has been out of sight amongst the buildings for almost half an hour but there is no need for concern - regular contact via radio has been maintained. So far they haven't encountered anything beyond a few rabbits and other opportunistic animals that have moved into the abondoned village.
Wolbrom it seems is a ghost town.
[Private to Donnachaidh (2nd Lt): Rolls Observation skill please]
[Private to Sergeant Michelle Gallin: Rolls Observation skill please][Private to WO1 William Brown: Brown spots four horsemen wearing Russina uniforms and armed with light military weapons]
This message was last updated by the GM at 10:27, Fri 30 Dec 2005.

Winters rubs his face as he struggles to stay awake pulling the always boring, but all important task of guard duty or overwatch with the main gun of the BRDM.  He talks to no one in particular, "This f**kin' sucks ass. I wonder why there ain't no one in town?" Actually two separate thoughts mashed together, the mind tends to wander trying to grasp onto something that will keep the gunner awake.  He unconsciously rubs his chest pocket that holds his most prized possession in this plane of hell, the picture of his family.

PM [Private to Nuked: 07:37, Today: Sergeant Michelle Gallin rolled 9 using 1d10. Obs skill. ]

Walking around the vehicle, Don is in thoughts. hey lass... Why do you think the place is empty? Nukes, Bio or chems?[Private to GM: rolled obs 3 have 3]
This message was last edited by the player at 21:26, Sun 18 Dec 2005.

The whirring of the electric motor above him causes Don to stop and look in the direction Brown has now trained the BTR-80's guns in.
Four horsemen wearing ragged Russian uniforms and armed with light military weapons can be seen approaching somewhat cautiously from the village. They are between you and where the last reported position of Finnegan and his team.
They appear to have little equipment or supplies and armed with only their personal weapons, are certainly no threat to the two armoured vehicles.

" 'ey laddies. We've got visitors. You can aim but don't shoot unless they shoot me, hehe!"

With this, Don fixes his gear trying to look as non-threatening as possible. Weapons on back and all, then he takes a couple of steps closer to the russians.

With a distinct scottish accent he raises his voice, asking in russian.

"So.. Off the horses and leave your weapons there if you want to talk to me!"

With four machineguns pointed directly at the horsemen, Don's non-threatening display takes on almost comical proportions.
Speaking calmly albeit a bit brokenly, Don attempts to convey his message but fails miserably. Is it because the riders eyes are focused on the two heavy vehicles? Is it Don's incomplete grasp of the Russian language? Or is it because they don't actually speak Russian?

Who knows?

Still, the general idea comes across clearly enough. Move and you get blasted to pieces. Money and or your life!

First one, and moments later the other three ragged men raise their hands as high into the air as they can. The horses seem to sense the riders fear and one begins to dance about forcing it's rider to regain the reins or face being thrown.

NPC'd
Up in the BTR-80 turret, Brown had easily spotted the approaching horsemen as they appeared from amongst the buildings. A gentle press of a foot pedal and the turret spun quickly about bringing the heavy machineguns it contained to bear. With one finger hovering near the PK trigger, Brown activated the radio.
"Brown to all. Contact. Wait. Out."
A few moments went by as Don attempted to open a dialogue.
"Brown to Finnegan. Four horsemen at vehicles. Soviet uniform. Small arms only. Possibly others in cover. Request return and clear area asap."
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:51, Mon 19 Dec 2005.

Michelle was totally looking the other way when the horsemen appeared, silently scolding herself, she looked the small group over and shook her head as Don tried to speak russian again. wasn't this what got them in trouble the last time? She tries to remember her russian and at least tell them hello and ask whats up.


09:45, Today: Sergeant Michelle Gallin rolled 8 using 1d10. language check.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:46, Mon 19 Dec 2005.

The four on horseback begin yabbering away in an unfamiliar language. It appears that they are afraid they will be mown down by the machineguns.
[Private to WO1 William Brown: They are speaking Estonian although inside the vehicle it is nearly impossible to make much out.]

Winters brings his guns to bear down on the obvious threat, but continues to scan his entire sector of fire.  It would be classic to send in the four horsemen of the apocalypse to set them up for an ambush. He calls out again to no one in particular, "Keep yer eyes peeled, there may be more waiting for a signal to ambush." He frowns to himself wondering when he got so friggin' paranoid.

Keeping his guns pointed in the direction of the horsemen, Brown ensured that at least his eyes roamed elsewhere. A supprise attack from elsewhere was certainly a possibility and it wouldn't be the first time a diversion had been made to draw the eye.
"Brown to Finnegan. From south. Over"
This was exactly the direction the ground troops had gone. They had to have almost walked right past each other!
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:12, Tue 20 Dec 2005.

Don is surprised to hear the other language, and starts to make greetings on the other Eastern languages in he knows of. Someone of them ought to have had a grandmother from Slovakia or something.

"Can you at least speak English??? Ever heard about James Bond?"

Making his usual Sean Connery impersonation.

Don quickly runs through Czech, Polish and Slovak with no apparent result. He even tries Scots Gaelic out of sheer frustration as the four continue to sit on their horses looking scared out of their wits.
Confusion crosses their faces as Don attempts to impersonate the famous actor.

"Hey, Michelle! Do you speak any other languages? Their way of speaking sounds as if they have been living too close to Chernobyl or something. I can't understand a single word from them..."

Don trys another angle. He starts to state all the capital cities in the eastern europe, and then goes over to some of the western cities as well.

"Bucharest, Budapest, Sofia, Vilnius, Kaliningrad, Riga, Minsk, Kiev..., blabla,... Stockholm"

Gee, I hope they're not form Turkmenistan or Chetchenia or something. I really am bad speaking the languages from them southern sovietstates...

"Sorry Mate, English Polish and really bad Russian are my specialties." She looks over the men and looks up at Brown. "Take the guns off of them, I'm going to try to approach." Slowly she walks towards them, hands up and open, unarmed.

"Sure lass, you go ahead. Maybe they get interested if you flash som leg? hehe..."

"Always the smartass..." Michelle mutters to herself as she removes any weapons. Raising her hands and approaching them, she frowns as she can't help but think maybe Dons idea wasn't so bad anyway. Definitely a way to "improve relations" under stressful circumstances.

Winters doesn't like the looks of things and keeps his guns trained in the four horsemen's general direction.  Again, speaking to no one in particular he mutters, "What the f**k, this is like some bad SWAT movie.  Is she the f**kin' negotiator now?" He shakes his head and just hopes for the best as he continues to scan.

Don tries to make out if there is any vodka still left in his gear. That is always a good ice-breaker, especially in these countries. For now Don just stands back, letting Michelle have a shot at it.

The riders are easily disarmed and with a few gestures (and the very threatening presence of machineguns), persuaded to dismount.
Michelle has no more success than that with communications. Although they talk excitedly amongst themselves, not a single word can be picked out nor even what language they may be speaking.
Until Brown pokes his head up out of the BTR-80...

Brown speaks in what seems like the same language as the riders. They reply and appear astonished. A few more exchanges and he switches back to english.
"They're Estonian although I don't yet know why or even how they're so far from home. As far as I know, no Estonian unit ever left home."

"So, did I really forgot to say Tallinn? Well, ask them what it's all about!"

Sure enough, a few moments later a head or two is seen bobbing up in the area specified, unseen by the apparent Estonians.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:25, Fri 30 Dec 2005.