After charging her weapon, Kelsey crouched against the base of the slope and nervously covered the trees above her with her carbine. It was hard to see anything. There were torches moving in and around up there, backlighting the branches and leaves in a kind of satanic glow.


Take Cover/Aim
(Ready for opportunity fire)

Fox moves back as quickly as he can in the direction they just came. Once he's back into the lead he will try to ignore the activity above and cover ahead in the direction they are traveling.

Moving

Continuing the reloading of his weapon, Ben urged his people on.
"Get moving! Don't wait for me, I'll be right on your heels!"
In a perfect world, Ben would have already been a hundred yards or more down the path, but this was wartime. Such luxuries as personal safety came a very distant second to taking care of those under his command.

As the Soviet doctrine learned back in the military emphasized extensive use of smoke during tactical exercises, Taras couldn't help but to ask the Lieutenant in charge.

Lieutenant! Lots of lights out there, Sir. How about a smoke screen? The smoke will raise towards the bridge as well. We need some cover.

Almost finished with reloading, Ben urged his people to shake a leg. "Get moving! Don't wait for me, I'll be right on your heels!"

Fox snapped out of his shock and bolted towards the rear. This time it was Lee's turn to hesitate and she stayed where she was. Champlain was waiting for her to go past her and looked towards the woman to see what the holdup was.

Waiting for Fox and then Lee to pass him, Taras first cocked his ASK-74U "Okoruk" (cigarette stub) and then also covered the trees while crouching down.

"Lieutenant! Lots of lights out there, Sir. How about a smoke screen? The smoke will raise towards the bridge as well. We need some cover."

Debris from the wooded hillside above them was flying at them thicker now: branches, rocks and pieces of trash like a plastic milk carton. A rusty metal leg wrenched from a patio table crashed through the bush not too far from Lee's head and she flinched in reaction.

There was no chance for the LT to take Taras' excellent advice. A bottle dropped from above crashed into his helmet, staggering him and spraying him with liquid, and Lee also felt a blow on her back. More bottles dropped from the bridge above and behind them landed around the team, spraying him and those around him with more glass and liquid.

They smelled something sharply familiar and unforgettable they'd not smelled for years: gasoline. With a WHOOOOMP!!! the world lit up with brightness and flame.

---

Watching in horror from over a kilometer away, in the greenish-white glow of the night scope McRae could just make out several burning objects being hurled off the bridge at the people below, exploding into orange blossoms of flame as they hit.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:33, Fri 14 Mar 2008.

McRae looked on with increasing frustration. He was unable to help the rest of the team but was relegated to a useless spectator. He braced his rifle the best he could and tried to judge the range. He was desperately trying to work out if he could get frounds in close enough to make the people on the bridge think twice about staying up there.


Go Prone/Aim
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:32, Fri 14 Mar 2008.

Forgetting absolutely everything else, Ben raced from the fuel soaked area before dropping and rolling, desperate to extinguish the flames.
At least now they knew the locals were hostile. Now proper action could take place....


Walk 10m NW to I9/Extinguish Flame
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:08, Fri 14 Mar 2008.

Seeing Andy lie down, unfold the bipod on his rifle and chamber a round, MacDonald also got down on the rail bed. Gravel digging into his elbows he aimed the image intensifier at the far end of the bridge and pressed the button to fire a laser ranging pulse. He read the numbers in the green display and frowned.

"Range: 4223 metres... not a hope in hell, Master Corporal. Not even with a "Mac-Tac"." CF Snipers also used MacMillan Tactical TAC-50 rifles, a precision bolt-action weapon that fired a massive match-grade 12.7mm (cal-fifty) round.


Go Prone/Aim
[OOC: Canadian snipers of the PPCLI using the Mac-Tac rifle in Afghanistan, 2002 tallied the world's longest confirmed kill at 2430m.]
This message was last edited by the player at 11:07, Fri 14 Mar 2008.

Fox follows the burning Ben out of the blazing impact area and will try to extinguish himself. Dropping his rifle he rolls and tries to smother the flames. He hoped at least one of the team wasn't in the same situation as Ben and himself. Somebody had to remain armed and defend them.

Trot NW to I9/Extinguish Flame

"Ahhhh!" Flames licking at her legs, Kelsey ran to escape the inferno surrounding her.

Once clear, she turned, switched her C8 to full-auto and fired most of a magazine from her carbine up at the bottom of the bridge. Bullets spanged off the underside of the decking, the substructure and side walkways. It was impossible to see if she hit anything.


Trot 20m NW to I9/Fire 5x 5-shot bursts (25 rounds)

After the bursts of flame from the molotovs she tries not to panic. Despite her disorientation she heads in the direction she thinks they just came from. Lee sees another person on the team rush by, also on fire, but doesn't recognize them in the chaos. Following the automatic gunfire, she drops onto her back and tries to muffle the flames.

Head NW and drop to prone/muffle the fire on her arms, and back.

Andy frowned and nodded, wishing that he could close the distance by sheer force of will alone. What a FUBAR. The team was deployed in a way that they couldn't mutually support each other. The main team were literally toast and his binome was left with their dicks swinging in the air. At least their dicks weren't burning he thought stoically.

"OK, we're like a spare prick at a wedding here. I see three options. We stay here and watch the guys burn, we head to shore, arrange a pick up and try to help out, or we continue with the mission and hope there's a team to report back to. I'd value your opinion on these options and any suggestions of your own, especially if you packed a howitzer in your bum bag. I'd love to hear you've done that." McRae said.

Watching in horror the rest of team going up in flames Taras felt somehow lucky. A splash of incendiary caught up in his lower back and was quickly to addressed it. Being right under the bridge prevented major exposure as the leading members. On the other hand he found himself caught behind a large burning area. To stay was not an option and moving forward will put him in even more danger. The only option now was going back to the insertion point and get out of the shore as soon as possible. To try to put a fight would be useless. The enemy above was well protected. God knows how many of them would pour out of the woods. Taras decided to get out of the potentially deadly road by heading North and continue moving under the brige. He will come out to join the road flanking the flames. The enemy above will be covering their heads as he could hear bursts of fire aiming towards the structures above.


Climb down to K9/Extinguish flame

While the debris and eerie animalistic calls rained down on them from the front, several bottles of liquid fuel (Gasoline? Kerosene?) crashed onto the team from above and the rear. Pools of flame quickly spread as those splashed by the liquid tried to put it out.

Down below them, flames from where another molotov cocktail had impacted burned along the side of the seawall and in a pool on the wet mud and rocks. Taras nimbly jumped down the 2m to the sand and rolled around to smother the flames, succeeding.

Fox also dropped and rolled on the wet branches and leaves carpeting the seawalk. The fire on arm went out, as did the flames on his upper (but not lower) vest. His arm felt numb and there was no pain. Yet. His rifle was lying next to him, highlit in the crackling flames.

Running and then dropping, Jagelis put out the flames on his right arm. Unfortunately the SAW bouncing on its sling prevented him from effectively extinguishing his left arm (now starting to hurt like a mother-fucker), helmet and vest.

Breaking out of her brief shock, Lee sprinted out of the flames in the direction she came from, also dropping to roll to put out the flames. Her Nomex-weave police jumpsuit had protected her from the fire so far.

Champlain fired up at the bottom of the bridge to suppress the attackers up there. There was no cinematic slow-motion falling of a bullet-ridden body from the heights or other obvious effect.

Immediately, there was a single wolf-call from the general area of the lookout above them, and the howling, cat-calling and rain of missiles gradually ceased. The torches were either doused of hidden, and within seconds the woods and the top of the bridge became quiet and dark.

The flames from the molotovs lit up the underside of the bridge and the trees in a hellish yellow-orange glow from below.

In the sudden relative silence, parts of Fox and Jagelis were still burning, Taras and Lee managed to put themselves out fully; all were on the ground. Champlain was still crouched by them, pointing her C8 first up at the bridge, then at the now-quiet hillside.

---

Over in North Van, McRae sighted-in on the end of the bridge just in time to see the molotovs hit.

There was a burst of full-auto return fire, muzzle flash a sudden starburst. After, the lights on the clifftop were dimmed.

The action was taking place in a kind of eerie quiet. They were far enough away that the sound of the shots or indeed any action would take several seconds yet to reach them.

The radio still crackled with at least two people (one panicked and the other asking for information) transmitting on the same channel at the same time.


(Start Turn 4)


[OOC: Technically, McRae/MacDonald can't have much of a conversation in a 5-second turn at 1 or 2 sentences per post. However, it's no problem to overlook that while not in combat.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:44, Sat 15 Mar 2008.

MacDonald put his Laser rangefinder binoculars and sighed. He contemplated the dark water some 30m or so from the rail line at this point, then looked over.

"Thanks for asking, Master Corporal. We can't go anywhere at the moment, everyone's concentrating on the other guys, we won't get a pickup, if we could even contact the other units. If we run into anything, we obviously won't get any backup. Basically, I think we should chill here with our dicks in our hands until things get sorted out. Maybe we can Charlie Mike ("Continue Mission") then. If we're lucky."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:43, Sat 15 Mar 2008.

Not yet ready to deal with anything beyond the flames, Ben released his grip on the C-9 and continued to roll about on the damp ground. The moment his clothing and vest were extinguished, his helmet was ripped from his head and driven into the dirt to extinguish it also.
It was a good thing they'd packed plenty of ammo into the LAV and trailer. Payback was gonna be sweet.

Some sort of war call brought some calm to the previous inferno. The rain of debris and fire appeared to stop and the flames on the road begin to dissipate except for the occasional dry bush that still burning as a torch illuminating the night with a devilish collection of white smoke and crackling. Glad to be out of harms way, Lt. Shevchenko was moving towards the stairs located about 40 meters in front of him. The numb pain in the legs and the continuous shoulder check to prevent any flying object prevented a full speed escape.



Head towards stairs.
(Run to I7)
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:13, Tue 18 Mar 2008.

Opting for a "tactical reload", Kelsey hit the C8's magazine release button and caught the magazine.

"Reloading!"

She pulled out a fresh magazine, replacing the mostly-empty one in the pouch in its place. Then inserted the fresh one into the empty magazine well and slapped it home. There was no need to trigger the bolt-release; not firing the weapon dry meant there was still a round in the chamber.


Reload/Talk

No longer on fire, Lee rushes over to Fox "Here! Lemme help!"

She will try to extinguish the remaining flames on him, throwing herself on top to help smother the flames if necessary.

Extinguishing the flames on Fox
(Crawling 2m)
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:15, Tue 18 Mar 2008.

Fox tries to stop rolling about enough to allow Lee to help him. "Get it out!" he says in both pain, fear and anger. "My shoulders." he says.

Extinguishing the flames/Prone

Because of the distance, the sound of the gunfire still hadn't reached MacDonald and McRae before the muzzle flash ceased. At a little over 4km away, it would take about 12 seconds for the sound to catch up with the vision.

There was something going on in another area of the park, over towards Siwash Rock. More fires, more muzzle flashes and even explosions, again by the water.

---

Grabbing his AKS-74U. Taras picked himself up and ran NW towards the stone stairs that would allow him to easily climb up to the seawalk. It would take him several seconds to make it.

Rolling around and starting to be in a lot of pain, Jageilis managed to smother the fire on his left arm and upper vest, but his lower vest and helmet continued to burn.

"Here! Lemme help!"

Lee crawled over to Fox, helping him to put out the last of the flames on him.

"Get it out!" Fox said in both pain, fear and anger. "My shoulders."

"Reloading!" Champlain caught the magazine as it dropped from the bottom of her carbine, stuffing it in between her vest and tunic. Pulling out a fresh magazine from an ammo pouch, she inserted it into her weapon.

The odd missile still whizzed out of the foliage above them, obviously unaimed. The calls died out and the trees became mostly dark. The area around them still lit by the orange and yellow flames from the burning fuel, giving off an oily black smoke.

Then the roar of twin outboard engines reached them, from the direction they left the RIB and the Militia guarding it.

With it came the flat hammering stutter of the Mk.19 being used to hose down a target, and the echoing bangs of the 40mm grenades impacting. Most came from the direction of the cliffs to the west, but a few must have skimmed over the line of the bluffs and impacted somewhere in the park.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:14, Tue 18 Mar 2008.

When the sound of gunfire reached them, MacDonald broke off the conversation to look out over the water again towards the park.

Seeing a different second disturbance was taking place over by Siwash Rock, he raised the big LRF/LI binoculars to have a look.

"Holy Shit!"

There were other flames in the darkness. Not by where the team was at the bridge, but further west where they left the Militia and the RIB.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:23, Tue 18 Mar 2008.

Andy saw the flashes of light near the boat. He cursed harshly once more and tried to see what the hell was going on. The Americans had a word for this, "It's a shame we don't have a camera with the range, we could take pictures for the 21st century dictionary, this would look good defining "clusterfuck". Can we reach the boat that dropped us off? Maybe they can pull off a rescue of the main team."

The fire out on Fox, Lee notices the slight black gleam of his C7 on the ground and grabs it. "Here." she says quietly, "You going to be ok? I got a little singed myself."

Handling her own slung SMG, she puts it into a ready position and reevaluates their location. She scans for any threats, places of cover, and the status of the rest of the team. Seeing that only Ben's helmet (removed) seemed to be in danger of burning, she decided to provide security instead of rushing over.

Covering in direction Champlain and Taras are not facing

Taras tried to regain composture after the initial chaos. He realized that they were the victims of a well planned ambush. The initial reactions of the team were not coordinated but so far they appeared to walk out of harms way quickly. Jagelis still struggling with the flames was promptly helped by a member of the team. Noticing this circumstance he decided to consider what could be the next step.

Radioman! Tell the boat to get ready for hot extraction and request backup! Is everybody OK?

Move towards the stairs/Talk