"Not here, not right now. But you can't expect them all to be sitting on their asses in one big cantonment, at least not forever. Shevchenko is here, so can anyone else. BC was a war zone. It unrealistic to think the only ones that are "here" are all friendly, while the rest freeze and starve in the mountains or out on the islands."

He pauses and adds, "There is a difference between being vigilant and ignoring the possibilities. Don't confuse that with being a psycho or breaking the law... at least while you are part of this patrol."

"Sure, Sergeant." He didn't sound entirely convinced of that logic.

"But hey, if you're not worried about what other people think of us, I'm not."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:52, Mon 18 Feb 2008.

"Last I heard the Reds were either surrendering or heading home. But you never know."

This indeed was the common opinion about the Soviets, that the ones around didn't have any fight left in them.

"Well, whatever you say, Sergeant."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:54, Mon 18 Feb 2008.

Lee sat in the LAV, listening to the conversation over the idling engine. She wanted to speak up, but kept quiet for the time being. She felt, among many of Fox's responsibilities was unit security, and keeping the team readied and on guard gave her the confidence she expected in such a unit. But he didn't need help making that point known so she remained quiet.

Jagelis reassured the UBC leadership that their terms were acceptable in principle, which certainly went over well.

The billet was nearby "Ritsumeikan House", a modern L-shaped 2-story brick apartment building with a flat roof. It was currently empty, its 50 units formerly used to house Japanese exchange students from Ritsumeikan University in Japan paired with Canadian students. They were given 2 4-bedroom units (2 bathrooms per unit) on the ground floor (LAV parked outside). The decor and architecture had a distinctly Japanese flavour. There was hot running water.

[OOC: This is not all that remarkable; back at DRI HQ in Duncan housing was essentially the same (at least for the officers) although the decor here is much nicer and there is no tent city full of refugees next door.]

http://tinyurl.com/33qsq5

As soon as they were shown their quarters by Taras, Jagelis placed a call to HQ. As previously mentioned, using the LAV's radio as a repeater there was no need to put up the long-range antenna, but the LAV might not always be available.

Gaining access to the roof through a nearby stairwell, McRae and Champlain set up the antenna on the NW corner of the roof, where it would provide excellent reception to DRI HQ on the Island.

McRae noted the excellent lines of sight from the NW corner, at least in the local area.

It was as he suspected. HQ's opinion was that what was being offered (at very little cost to the government) was worth considerable compromise.

"All those conditions are acceptable, although the LT-Governorship can only be confirmed by the Governor-General's office, so we'll have to run it by them. We are relying on you to gain not only these peoples' trust, but the other peoples in the areas' trust as well. We have faith you can do this, Jagelis."

"Our current intelligence estimate has not changed in that Vancouver is not a combat zone, and that UBC is in effect a secure rear area. To our knowledge there are no hostile forces, including Soviets, within a hundred kilometres. Acting otherwise is not going to help your mission. Trust us, if we hear of any major threats heading your way, you will be the first to know."

"In a nutshell, whatever they want you to do, whatever they ask, we're relying on you to handle it. It's their turf and they know the rules, and if we can get them to do the heavy lifting for us like they say they will, then there it is. If we keep hearing good things about your performance, there's a distinct chance before too long you could be placed in a combat command, this time with a company instead of a platoon, although I can't say any more for security reasons."

"Out."

After dropping off their equipment at the billet, Taras gave the team a quick tour of the campus.

Rachel was interested to see the 15-member RCMP detachment. The Mounties there were like the ones in the detachment she left back on the Island, and their camaraderie helped remind her that she was a policewoman first, soldier distant second. Mounties were famous for negotiation and diplomacy, and even the ERTs placed a high value on human life. The Detachment was also the armoury, and she noted that the shelves seemed pretty bare of spare weapons and ammunition.

Even here the Mounties had a paramilitary role; they served as the NCOs and leaders of the part-time militia. The full compliment of just over 120 had been called out for the occasion (explaining the lack of weapons in the armoury). Normally, there were less than 40 Militia on duty: 4 teams of 4 (3 Militia + 1 Mountie) on duty at the various checkpoints, another 2 teams of 4 (again 3 + 1, but with dogs) patrolling the wire, and the rest manning the surveillance system and communications station at the detachment or forming the Fast Reaction Team.

They were given a quick tour of the industrial-size stills, a solar panel farm and windmills for generating electricity and ranks of batteries for storing it, the bio-diesel, ethanol and methanol storage tanks, machine shops and garages. There was a wide fleet of campus vehicles from SUVs to ATVs and motorcycles, not to mention various trucks and even several boats on trailers. In one large shed was stored engineering and construction vehicles, and 2 tow trucks. There was a school (closed, it being Sunday), Fire Hall (VFD #1) and the University Pavilions Hospital, with Ambulance parked by the front doors.

Most people they passed smiled and waved. The team reacted according to their natures, with Chris and Kelsey being relatively laid-back and friendly.

The sun was setting at around 1845 when they finished the tour, just in time for dinner. It was served by volunteers (a half-dozen men and women of all ages) in the Tatami Room, a traditional Japanese dining room with tatami mats, low wooden tables and sliding paper walls.

Of course, there was plenty of rice, Sushi (of varying kinds but featuring BC rolls made from salmon) and seafood Sashimi (raw fish). There was Udon (noodles), Miso soup, Gyoza (fried dumplings), Tempura (seafood, vegetables and mushrooms fried in tempura batter) and Yakitori (skewers of barbequeued chicken). All was prepared by a friendly heavy-set Japanese chef called Mike.

Joining them were what seemed to be the heads of the guiding Council of the Faculty: Angela Kwan, Alain Belanger and Sgt. Khandola. Taras joined them as well.

Rachel had no problems at all with her chopsticks, and neither did Kelsey. Chris did okay, but was less skilled. However, the 3 Easterners (sorry, in BC everyone to the east of the Rockies is an Easterner, even Albertans) struggled to cope.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:01, Tue 19 Feb 2008.

After they had eaten Fox sides up beside Chris, out of the way of any of the civilians, "It wouldn't have hurt to give an apology afterwards. Perhaps it should have happened. But putting aside hindsight, doing what else we did is how its done. Security and protecting the lives of the team is the most important factor in everything we will do here."

"Speaking for myself, its a changed world, and its gotten alot more dangerous. If the leftenant didn't call for the perimeter to be cleared, I would have recommended it myself."

He scratches his head, thinking for a moment, "Perhaps if brigade wanted just surveys done and handshakes made... in a place where threats do not exist... they shouldn't have sent a team led by airborne, backed up with support weapons and an armed fighting vehicle."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:58, Wed 20 Feb 2008.

Chris sipped some tea.

"An apology is never too late, Sergeant. 'Specially to the Red Man, whitey!" He smiled, half-joking.

"They're keepin' us on a short leash here now, so you tell me if playing it makin' security our #1 priority was really the best way to go, eh?"

This was a rhetorical question, although it was hard to deny that the instincts that had worked so well in the past were maybe being counter-productive in this situation.

"You know, back at HQ there was a lot of talk that maybe sending "Papa Smurfs" for this job was a real bad move. Guess it's up to you to prove things have changed."

He didn't mention Somalia, but the name hung between them.

Mostly of the food was already gone. Japanese food was a far departure from the homemade goulash, borscht, pyrohy... and the rice tea will not take the place of a beloved Slavutich . Memories of Georgia and the scrumptious shashlyk came also to his mind. But certainly he will choose Japanese food over the Red Army diet of Salo and canned dog food that even the dogs refused to eat in the back alleys of Nalchik.

So, are you guys mechanized infantry? I see that one of you is a snajper but the lady is a Police woman!

"I'll let the fellas speak for themselves, but... I am just as much a combat operative as needed. I have experience in surveillance, FIBUA, and mounted ops. My police background is suitable for providing some expertise the infantry fellas might be able to make use of."

Realizing she might be sounding robotic, she added casually, "Really, I just thought the DRI would be very interesting. I always had a better time on small unit operations anyways... like when I was a real cop, and not in an infantry company."

Turning her attention to Ben she asked, "No warning order yet for us? Any idea when we might be heading into town?"

"I'm more light infantry."

"I studied political science and business in school, so I guess they thought that might be handy for this kind of operation."

"That and I'm a mechanic and radio operator."

Taras knew from briefings that the commonwealth light infantry was something like rifle troops but also a little like redoviki ("raiders").

Andy sits next to Chris at the Sushi bar. He's never had Sushi before- the thought of eating raw fish had never really appealed to him before- but he tried it anyway, as a gesture of good will to their hosts, and found that he absolutely loved it. Eyes watering from a chunk of Wasabe that failed to break up in his little trough of soy sauce, Andy speaks to Chris,

"Don't worry about it. I was in business mode when we came through the wire and your little joke about wasting civies didn't tickle my funny bone. But hey, you manned up and I respect that. We're good?"

Andy reached out to shake Chris' hand.

"Man, I can't get enough of this stuff. I'm kicking myself for never trying it before. Raw fish- who would'a thought, eh?"

Andy looks around the room, surveying the relaxed, smiling faces, the rainbow of civilian dress styles.

"I really wonder who recommended me for this mission. But I guess I shouldn't complain too much. If this is working, right?"

Andy assumed the folks here at the UBC must have a pretty well-stocked library. He looked forward to maybe picking up a novel and getting some quiet reading done over the next few days' innactivity.

What the hell where they thinking? Putting Ben in charge of a Company was like standing them all in front of a machinegun and hoping none of them were hit!
He was the first person to admit he wasn't up to the job. He'd only managed to "lead" the units he'd been assigned in the past by relying heavily on his NCOs for ideas, refering to his notes and history books, and just plain luck. Even his exams during officer training wouldn't have been passed if he'd not managed to sneak notes into the room. Somehow he'd gotten decent marks too while other, more capable and certainly more intelligent were required to re-sit a number of subjects.

All these points were what really made a good officer although Ben couldn't see it. His reliance on NCOs showed a respect for experience, an admition that he didn't know everything and a willingness to listen. Refering to notes also showed he knew his limitations - nobody could be expected to remember everything, even grizzled 25 year veterans still carried "aide memoires" in their shirt pocket or webbing pouch. And sneaking notes into the exams? Well what else was that but initiative? A vital commodity for any soldier!

It had been a long, trying day watching part time amateurs pretend to be soldiers, imitating rifle drill (poorly) and thinking they were doing well. Still, he smiled and kept the cringing (when one nearly dropped his rifle on anothers head!) to a minimum.

Finally dinner rolled around. Looking forward to a decent meal of tender beef cooked to perfection with a side of potatoes, roasted onion and glazed carrots, he was very disappointed when uncooked  fish wrapped in seaweed and rice was served up to him. So disappointed that he almost sent it back for another few minutes on the grill! Fortunately though he was saved embarrassment by a quick whisper in his ear from MacDonald.

"It ain't right," he said quietly shaking his head. "Food's s'posed to be cooked!"
"All Infantry is mechanised at some point," Ben stated in reply to the question.
"Each company rotates through, spending a year or so as Airborne, another as light infantry and then mechanised for a while."
"Of course that's in the normal battalions - we're something special," he said, including Fox and McRae with a wave of his hand and leaving exactly how they were different unsaid.

"Not a thing, Lee."

For a mission that was supposed to be very important to everyone involved, especially what passed for a government these days, they hadn't given much away about their plans yet.

"But I'm not suprised," he continued before lowering his voice so that only those in his immediate vicinity could hear.
"What else could you expect with a bunch of civilians running things?"

Anyone with any military experience of note knew the value of warning orders. Usually just a few words in length which gave a vague indication of the job to come and some idea of when it would happen. The actual orders usually weren't even written up when the warning order was given.

"Corporal McRae, what were you doing before this assignment?" Ben asked conversationally. He himself had been rassigned after his plattoon had nearly been wiped off the face of the planet by an idiot American artillery spotter. The fool had mistaken their captured BMP for the enemy after they'd had it just three days and called in a barrage of 155mm. If only he'd taken a longer look through his telescope across the interveneing mile or so, he'd have noticed the Canadian maple leaf crudely painted on the side as well as the fact it was firing at the attacking soviets another few hundred metres further on.

Even though Ben had been wounded by shrapnel, he'd still managed to find the man responsible and beat the crap out of him.....

"Ah... I thought you volunteered? You sure don't look like someone who'd enjoy this kind of thing, so it was a surprise to me, too."

He manipulated a BC roll into his mount.

"We couldn't get Sushi in Lillooet. Had to drive down to Whistler. Too many freakin' Aussies there, they think they're God's gift, or something, just 'cause they bus tables or work on the mountain."


"Well LT, you could always stick to the  cooked stuff, like the BBQed chicken skewers. Or the Tempura, you cook that yourself!"

He pointed with his chopsticks at a few different dishes.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:35, Thu 21 Feb 2008.

"Say, didn't we get a warning order in the briefing?"

"Yeah, I definitely remember that. Given by Major Anderson, CO of the DRI. Not a civvie running the show at that point."

"You guys not paying attention or something? Sleepin'?"

"I got notes if you need a refresher, but basically nothing's changed: no organised threats here. Possible criminal activity."

[OOC: feel free to refer to the warning order given in the beginning of the Briefing section, no mention was made of Soviets in Vancouver.]

"I think Lee meant a warning order for a specific objective... one for each patrol we'll be going on. Not the main ah... overall mission objective." Fox elaborated.

Pausing for a minute how to phrase his point he adds, "And it isn't "you guys" who you are talking back to. Nor do I want to hear you questioning the leftenant on whether he's been sleeping or not."

Tonguing a piece of food between his teeth, Fox waits for everyone to finish before he can shut down for the evening. He's lost his mood for socializing and looks forward to making himself productive, in a practical sense.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:45, Thu 21 Feb 2008.

"Oh, okay. Taras over there did say that they believe the potential threats here were criminal in nature, not military. That's basically what we were told before."

Full, she sighed and sat back, sipping her tea.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:04, Thu 21 Feb 2008.

Angela smiled and raised an eyebrow, questioningly.

"Please Leftenant, Sergeant, give us a little time! You literally just arrived."

"We'd hoped that we made our overall plans clear earlier today, although by all means it is an excellent advice to be quite specific in the future about what we want and need."

"For now, please enjoy yourselves, get settled in a little!"

"There will be plenty to occupy yourselves with."

Andy's reply was short and to the point.

"I volunteered for a recon mission."

Andy was trying. Hard. It was too late to opt out now- and besides, that wasn't the type of soldier he was. Here he was trying to mend fences with Little Hawk and the guy was busting his balls. Again. In fact, it seemed that both of the enlisted had been sent along on this mission to chide and second guess the military leadership of the operation.



"I was sneaking around in the woods shooting up near where you must have been. Real cat and mouse stuff. We were hunting a Soviet sniper folks called "The Owl". Worked mostly at night; went after the white mice. He got me before I could get him. Luckily my spotter was a better shot than me and got the bastard. I ended up back in the hospital with a fractured collarbone and punctured lung."

Andy unconsciously reached up and rubbed at the scar tissue on the upper left side of his neck.

<Blue>"Well, I'm going to get situated in my quarters. Goodnight everyone. Thanks for the food."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:28, Thu 21 Feb 2008.

"Recon? We're Canadians, we do recces, right?"

He grinned at the American term.

"The DRI's way of doing intelligence-gathering through diplomacy and HUMNIT thing is cool and different, and I like it."

"Well, thanks for listening to me."

Andy was reminded of the briefings where they'd been told how missions for the Department of Reconnaissance and Investigation were of a different character than the usual military SOP of stealthy observation and grab-a-guy-for-interrogation method of intelligence-gathering.

Perhaps this "disconnect" between the two points of view was the main source of the friction between the enlisted and the NCOs that he felt.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:40, Thu 21 Feb 2008.

Sounding slightly agitated, Lee stands a second behind McRae - "Same." Then giving a smiling nod she acknowledges the civilians and follows him out the door.

It was around 1930 hours (7:30pm) on a warm Sunday spring evening. The sun had set, leaving a glow on the western horizon.

Some precious hoarded coffee (with a choice of milk, cream, sugar or honey) was served around. Some coffee beans were grown in the conservatory, but it was still very much a luxury item, highly prized.

The somewhat abrupt departure of several of the team's members provoked a few curious glances among the community leaders gathered there.

Angela, the Council's chief handled the situation with aplomb. Her voice was warm and accepting, tinged with a slight note of tiredness.

"Well, we've got things to do early in the morning. It's Monday tomorrow, after all."

"Please excuse us as well."

"It has been a pleasure and an honour to meet all of you! We are very hopeful that together we can work miracles in returning a better future to the people here."

"We hope you feel welcome here, and do have a pleasant evening."
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:28, Thu 21 Feb 2008.

Andy pauses for a few seconds outside the door, waiting for Rachel to catch up. When she arrives, he walks with her to the quarters they've been assigned.

"Sorry for being so antisocial- I'm not trying to make your job any harder; I'm just not very good at all this PR stuff and I'm genuinely tired. It's been a weird day if ya know what I mean."

OOC: I wondered if should have used "recce" instead of "recon" in my last post. Playing a Canadian is harder than I thought! ; )

Chris broke away from a discussion he'd been having with Taras to respond.

"Thank you all very much for your hospitality."

"Dinner was amazing."

"Especially, thanks for the coffee!"

"Thanks again, and good night."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:58, Fri 22 Feb 2008.

"Yeah, me too!"

"I would like you to know that I'm excited to be here, this is a real honour."

"Good night, and thanks."

Ben hung about for another hour or two exchanging small talk and pleasantries with the locals, all the while wishing he could be back with his "men". Although it was a bit part of being an officer, it wasn't something he took great pleasure in most of the time. He'd much rather be out on the range, or even participating in a "tute" than smiling and chatting with people he barely knew.
Knowing that every last person in the room with him was at least twice as smart, and probably held at least one degree in something well over his head didn't help....
Finally he judged it was time with withdraw, citing the work that still needed to be done to set up their equipment and prepare ofr their coming missions. Shaking each persons hand before he went, he said his goodnights and moved on.....