In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg #138):

As if cued by Kelsey's question, Belanger entered the lounge.

"I heard from Mac, he's all right. Mind if I...?"

He sat down, poured himself a tea from the pot that had been brought in.

"I could have called, but, I felt I should deliver the news in person.

"On their way back down Southeast Marine, some robbers tried to stop them. They took a shot at them and wounded a driver. He's okay, and in hospital.

"Mac's out at the Rez, he will be by shortly. He's got pictures as well, they are being developed.

"First, the group of people from the Musqueam nation he was traveling with met with the "Bridge Trolls" who control the traffic on the main river mouth of Fraser River. They were reasonable traders. He saw an M113 at the bridge checkpoint, probably American, and assault rifles. Plus a .50-cal machine gun and some bunkers."

"Second, the Hells Angels do seem to run the Free Market on Annacis Island. They have armed guards, even an armoured car of some kind.

"Mac said he saw Colt M16A2 assault rifles for sale, 5.56mm NATO ammunition, AK-47 and AK-74 Kalashnikovs and ammunition for them, machineguns, at least some LAW rockets. He was promised if he could afford it, they could get him anti-tank missile launchers, artillery, C4, M113s or LAV-25s or even an Abrams tank. But these items would take time.

"Three guesses where the heavy equipment is coming from.

"Last but not least, Mac said that there appears to be a functioning civil government in New Westminster. They have police, and he heard that there are Militia as well, in the old Westies' ("Royal Westminster Regiment") armoury by city hall.

"He also said he saw..."

Belanger paused to sip his drink, and make sure he had Clarke's attention.

"Well, he said he saw a submarine docked at the Quay in New Westminster. A very large submarine. Not American. He doesn't know subs that well but it didn't have the horizontal fins on the sail.

"He didn't get close, but the sailors guarding it looked Russian. Blue-striped shirts, navy caps, or blue berets, carrying Kalashnikovs. He said the markings didn't looks Soviet... A big kind of double-headed eagle painted on the front of the sail, and a red-white-and-blue tricolour style flag, plus a british-style flage but mostly red with blue and red sripes."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:31, Tue 16 Sept 2008.

In reply to helbent4 (msg #1):

"I want to look at the photos, but the reports of the hardware sound bad.  That kind of stock making its way into the country across the border would make it very difficult for us to control the area.  The sub sounds almost like it's British.  Perhaps the Russians captured it?"

Kelsey sips her beer thoughtfully, then sighs.

"Sounds like the Angels are a bit more than we can chew"

The news about the submarine greatly surprised Taras. The signs were pretty obvious to him. The symbols displayed in the boat, as described, could only belong to a "rebel" submarine. The double headed eagle and the Naval Jack of Russia were iconic representations of pre-Soviet times, Czarist times to be more exact. Even though Shevchenko was a combat engineer, the fact that he was born and raised in Odessa made him at least a tad knowlegeable of the different types of vessels operated by the Soviet Navy. Not far from his home city it was Crimea, the seat of the Black Sea Fleet.

Making quick calculations Taras came to the conclussion that the origin of such machine could only be from the Pacific Fleet. It was extremely difficult to believe, but not impossible, that it could be the case of a diesel electric boat. They could have the range but operations were mainly coastal.

Is going to be a nuclear one...

And three were the options for Taras to weigh in. The first and most unlikely it was that of a "boomer". The size would prevent an upstream river sailing. Then there was the possibility of having an Oscar II, a guided missile boat (SSGN)or an Akula attack type (SSN).

The border must be sealed as soon as possible.

In reply to Andrea Clarke-Sullivan (msg #2):

"I think that the border is becoming a priority. One of many, I'm afraid.

"Until in the 80's it wasn't out of the question for OMGs ("Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs") like the Hells Angels, Outlaws, Bandidos and Pagans to get their hands on military equipment until those conduits were shut down. The Outlaws and Angels were shooting LAW rockets at each others' clubhouses in several disputes!

"Before the war, M60 machineguns, LAW rockets, submachineguns, assault rifles and grenades were all seized at one point or another in the US from bikers.

"In Canada, police recovered ex-military Hi-Powers, even WWII-era Stens and even Bren guns that were sold for scrap but were actually reassembled. And of course there have always been gun runners willing to channel weapons to customers up here.

"As for the sub, our intelligence indicated that the last Pacific Fleet boats were destroyed back in 2000.

"A British sub is possible, I'm not aware of what their current disposition is, if any."

Clarke knew that both facts were believed true: there were supposed to be no Soviet subs left in the Pacific, indeed anywhere. Be they boomers, attack boats or diesel-electrics.

However, if it was nuclear, the coolant discharge from the twin reactors would certainly cause a rise in river temperature detectable here at the mouth of the Fraser!

"If they want that border secured, I think we'll need a wee bit of reenforcement

The proliferation of weapons in the Lower Mainland can only be controlled while securing the border in an effective manner. But at this point we have a more pressing problem in Stanley Park and downtown area. It will not go away regardless of what happens down South. We shall establish our priorities. I will explain:

The stickmen is a criminal entity that can be disbanded in a single day. We have the allies, weapons, vehicles and strategic advantage to do so. This will work in our benefit in many ways. The Park will be secured and the roads open for ground traffic and freedom of movement, the locals will be liberated from the tyranny of a madman and it will send a message about the seriousness of the task that the Government is bent to conduct.

Once this mission is achieved, our troops will be free to be deployed elsewhere. As I said it is our duty to secure the territory through access denial. The amount of land that its been incorporated to our sovereignty without real combat is huge and we have to take this to our advantage. As a result our ranks are growing rapidly and with it the Block Watch program and allegiance of the citizens. So far, up to 12,000 are in our census. Clearing the current problem will also open the door for democratic elections in the city of Vancouver.

The operation's plan against the enemy in the Park calls for an all assault from 4 directions: North, South, East and West. The stickmen will be surprised, overwhelmed and defeated merciless. This is why we are working to hard lately deploying an informer, strengthening our alliance with the people in the North Shore as well as the survivalists and conducting recce of the approaching routes to that area.

Our personal combat experience has no question but as a combined team we have none. We don't have any idea how good we can be against anybody. Sure we pack a good punch with all our gear but until we assure ourselves that we can fight and win it is a useless idea to think that we can prevail over the Hell Angel's, Bridget Roll's or Popeye's nuclear fleet...

The time is up. There is so much we can do in a peaceful manner to enforce the rule of law and restore civil society. Sooner or later we will have to face the armed, unwilling opponent. The Stanley Park will offer the perfect test to measure our readiness. If this fail we can kiss goodbye our expectations of moving forward too fast. If we are succesful, this presentation card in Vancouver Island HQ will give us enough leverage to request military troops to secure the border and continue further missions sweeping to the South. Once our foes are boxed in and without the hope for reinforcements of men and material, we will have better chances to win. And we will.

Andy nodded at the Russian's assessment, "The border is a headache for the bigwigs, not us, we need to gather inteland send it up the line. The Stickmen we can deal with, I'd suggest preparing our action there and encouraging Mac to get more info on the Sub. It sounds like Russians to me, the icons they're using are pre-Revolution so they might not necessarily be antagonistic. We can check that out later, for now, we stick with what we can achieve."

In reply to Andrew Montgomery McRae (msg #8):

"Glad to see that even with our new intel, you are all still focused on our first priority - the Stickmen.  As Taras points out, this is a chance to show what we can do and clear out a pest at the same time.  It will also leave the local HA chapter surrounded on all sides by area controlled by us.  There are other chapters in the area.  They may choose to move on to easier pickings.

If Cyrus remains true to form he will be visiting Brandie's tomorrow.  We've scouted the route.  It's time to lay out where and how we will observe him as he makes his way back and forth.  I'd suggest undercover, take position by blending in and creeping into position rather than entry with vehicles.  Suggestions?"

"Agreed.. Tyler seemed to have the right idea with his ATV, get close then go to foot.  I recommend well armed too, radios, didn't seem to have transmission problems, but I would like a retrans down there for their transmissions.

"Sounds like a very good idea, Kelsey.  Can you have some retransmitters ready to deploy tomorrow evening when we go on the recce?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:07, Thu 18 Sept 2008.

"You betcha, boss"  She smirks at Clarke

Tyler looked over his new found comrades.  In his buzzed state, he brought up a finger before leaning back in his booth.

"Make sure though," he began", your gear is squared away.  Make sure you have only the necessary stuff for a quick hit and run.  Beans, bullets, and band-aids.  If there is anything else specific I have to bring, someone let me know...because I am not going to be running up in there with a rucksack on unless I have to."

Tyler let his hand come down to his side.  He noticed in the main part of the bar the girls he had met earlier that day, and the look on his face catered to say that his mind was not all in the current discussion of operational affairs.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:59, Sat 20 Sept 2008.

"Hey, did I miss anything?"

Chris MacDonald had entered the SUB pub and made his way over to the table, grinning and shaking hands all around.

He nodded and introduced himself to the American. Chris was a short but well-built native guy in civilian clothes, longish black hair with a scraggly beard and moustache.

"I'm Private Chris MacDonald, usually I'm Andy's partner. Sorry I've not been around, mostly hanging out at the Rez, and tonight had to take a friend to hospital*. Doing some traveling around the city. Gonna head back there tonight, I guess."

He carried a folder and laid out some photos.

"Here's an M113 out at the airport. At least one that was at the roadblock on the bridge, and another I saw moving around the airport. An ACAV-style one. Got a picture of one, not the other."



"I saw some Angels at the Free Market. There wasn't mountains of stuff there, but I was told I could get almost anything up to a tank if I asked."

"Here's one of them in the scout car. There were about a dozen, keeping watch over things. At least a few of them, the younger ones, looked like they'd been in the military. Couldn't tell if it was US or Canadian."

The scout car looked like a Vietnam-era V-100 Commando. Some of these relics had been used for airfield security in the US, with many more being built during the war to beef up security in case of Spetsnaz attack. of them had been used





"Now... the sub."

He spread out some more pictures, smelling strongly of developing fluid.

"Here, I couldn't take a picture from too close or else the sailors probably would have minded. It looked fucking huge. I got a fairly good look, and it looked like the bow had been damaged and then repaired. The hull was patched with steel plates of a different colour than the rest of the sub. Also, looked like the propeller was damaged because they were working on it. Arc-welding equipment, a crane, work sheds  and so on."

Looking at the picture there was no doubt in Andrea's mind this was a Soviet Oscar-II class nuclear attack submarine. The class was something of a hybrid with paired launch tubes for 24 anti-ship or anti-shore cruise-missiles. This meant the sub had a very wide beam, but it was not a "boomer", or ICBM-carrying vessel.

"I asked what her name was. The sailors on the dock said it was K-141, the Kursk."

Andrea started. The last she'd heard of the Oscar II-class vessel named K-141, it had been sunk seven or eight months earlier in the Barents Sea off the Kola Peninsula, on the other side of the Arctic, probably the last sub to be sank in combat. Apparently, reports of its demise proved to be premature.





(Note: the above pictures are of a real Russian-built Soviet-era Foxtrot-class Diesel-electric boat moored in New Westminster. However, the vessel in the game is tied up in the same physical location but is roughly double the size, and the sail is a lot longer.)

"Holy Christ," Tyler said, taking in the brutal truth that there really was a submarine nearby, with a fully working crew and everything", so these Hell's Angels?  Are they in cahoots with these sub guys?  Or am I missing a key piece in this puzzle?"

Clearly, Tyler was a bit offish now that he had been drinking a bit too much, and had his attention drawn to his little lady friends at the bar just a few minutes prior to now.

"Ah...I got this...t...too easy," he continued, forgetting where he was momentarily", I say we get 1st and 2nd Squads on line with this MSR..."

Tyler pointed at nothing in particular at the table, clearly having some sort of flashback of his times in the war.

"...get the SAWs to cover us while we shoot and scoot to the waypoint...pop smoke, and extract outta there with the Hawks."

Tyler's head bobbed a few times, and he nearly spilled his glass of beer.  After four beers, Tyler was child's play for the alcohol.  He wasn't nearly as massive as when he was eating at least three square meals a day, and hitting the gym and pt'ing at least twice a day; thus, the alcohol took its toll quicker now.

"Wait," he snapped out of his flashback, the tunnel vision now just a shaky, drunken view of his new friends", what I jus...s..say?"

Kelsey shakes her head, not a one of them had an easy going of the war, some worse than other she was sure.  She'd only rarely had flashbacks, despite the horrors she had seen, maybe it was because the entire time she had remained domestic, rather than overseas, maybe less intense overall.

"Hey Tyler, you are here with us, I think you've had enough to drink buddy"

She looks over the photographs with a grim look

"It kinda pisses me off that people like the Hell's Angels have taken over the government of the area.  It's like having the rats in charge of the ship"

In reply to Tyler Gabriel Hope (msg #15):

The old paratrooper, Belanger, answered Tyler, "you know, that's not a bad question. Considering you don't know some of the things we've picked up."

"Thankfully, we don't think there's a connection between the HAs (Hells Angels) and the city of New Westminster. We heard that "New West" has a functioning police force and militia, and from what we know they've remained independent of the HAs' influence.

"We haven't heard of the sub before from any of our sources, it's kind of a wild card, really. God only knows what it's doing there!

"If they're involved with the New West's city government in some capacity, either as allies or (God forbid) have taken over, that'll complicate things somewhat. For one thing, if the city has their own navy we can't take for granted they'll simply fall into line if we drive down the street."

Belanger sighed and shrugged to convey their ignorance, then sipped his tea.

"For tomorrow, our friend Tyler is correct. We'll have keep things simple. Have the reaction element deployed forward. I can suggest that now you've checked out the Dunsmuir viaduct and the Burrard St. Bridge, having a look at the Cambie Bridge and Georgia Viaduct will be a good idea. I've not really been across the bridges when visiting Shepherd downtown, to keep my direction of travel confidential."

"We'll have an idea how to take down Cyrus after tomorrow, but we should think of something that might delay his attack on us for a little while, to buy us some time."

He smiled over at Tyler.

"Mr Hope, if you are more in the mood to talk to other people, by all means. This is kind of boring, anyways, and I certainly wouldn't hold it against you."

The annoying previews before "our feauture presentation" already started rolling under a vicious spasm of tracking self-adjustment. "Pretty Woman" was next.
This unconventional Cinderella story is one of the most open-hearted romantic fairy tales of the pre-nuclear generation. Julia Roberts, in the role that made her a star, is a street-smart hooker who falls for rich businessman(Richard Gere), and although it’s as realistic as the supposedly summer offensive of NATO forces against Poland and the Baltic, it protects its glittery romance even amidst a world of pessimism and compromise. The chemistry between Gere and Roberts is palpable, and when Edward climbs a fire escape to rescue his princess at the film’s end, you'll wonder why you ever started doubting romance in the first place.

Clarke. I wonder if you have any contact in the island that could help me to deliver a message to Bella Coola. In that place remains a "stay behind" unit. A part of the 62nd. I know an Officer in charge of one Air Defense unit. We are, or were...good friends. I'm aware that he decided to stay over there with most of his men and equipment.

Taras was already planning ahead a new item for the inventory of the government forces. He knew that the request could sound ridiculous at first so he didn't want to go much into details.

My plan is to contact this Officer and make him an offer to purchase one of his vehicles. It could be transported here with the GB Church. The very same ship that brought me here and our team as well...

Lieutenent, Sargent,...Shevchenko was above all a man of arms. He was trained in a decent academy and understood the value of the intelligence provided by his people. The photocopies obtained from the shots taken by his special envoy, far from resting in some dusty folder, where spread on the table. The M-113 was a good one. It seemed to be in excellent shape. The man was able to take that shot of the V-100 pretty close...Next to that the mandatory topographic map, an staple in the combat engineer diet:

Damn...damn...Richmond is flat...just flat...

Then a quick look at the calendar followed:

Summer was coming. Good weather, calm waters. Will they be as calm as back home by the Black Sea? Probably not...it was the Pacific...In any case the Straight of Fuca offered a more relaxed sailing environment between the island and the continental mass.

Calm waters...is a small ship with a precious and deadly cargo... The thoughts kept on wandering his mind.

I hope there is a chance to communicate with somebody in Bella Coola through the HQ in the Island and arrange the business. Can we do that in the morning?

Before sitting down to watch the show, Taras added:

And a last thing...I'm going to need our boy to pin-point in the map where are located the vehicles. Specially the ones of the Bridget Roll's

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #18):

Clarke listened to Taras and looked through the pictures while the previews played in the background.  She absently sipped the tea he offered, finding it supurb.
"That is an excellent idea, Taras.  In the morning I will see about the contact you request.  Another vehicle in the future would be a real asset against what we face." She sipped her tea again.

"I appreciate that you didn't let the revelation of new threats throw you off the need to prosecute our goals against the Stickmen.  The problems were there before, we were merely ignorant of them.  We still need to finish what we started before we move on to a new challenge.  I agree with you.  Cleaning up the Stickmen is a chance to prove ourselves, show our resolve.  We should not be distracted from this opportunity."

Having had her say, she settled back in the couch, getting comfy.  She wrapped her hands around the cup and took another sip.  "This really is good tea, Taras.  Thanks for having me over."

You are most welcome!

Shevchenko was pleased to hear that his humble efforts as host for Clarke were well received. Even though they were a man and a woman, both of them born and raised in different countries and cultures there was a sense of communion between them. Some will call it the officer complex . They both sensed and shared a responsability towards their boys.

Tomorrow we should start briefing our guys about the impending move on the Stickmen . We have exactly one week to be prepared. This time frame may be tight but it also will keep some pressure on us and keep some secrecy.

Taras piled up the documents, maps and pictures into a neat stack on a corner of the table. The methodical senior Lt. mentality at work, again. He noticed the looks on Clarke:

...Away from spillings...you know... Said in a dissimulated tone.

I'm planning to make a visit to Bulat and coordinate the efforts. His people started already with the recce of the bridge detachment. Before I go there we shall get ready the comms frequecies and radio calls.

Back on the screen Julia Roberts was working hard in her incoming Golden Globe Award and nomination for best actress...

Clarke offered that she knew the Commander in charge of Maritime Forces, Western Area, and would get in touch to see if there was some aid she could be in effecting a defection of more Soviet troops.

The rest of the evening was spent socialising.

Tyler eventually wandered off and got into a discussion with some people of various ages. They were polite, open, and curios about him. Careful not to seem like they were prying, they asked where he was from, what he was doing in town, if he was in the US Army, how did he think the war was going, and so on.

Unfortunately, the people had to leave before 9pm. They were up with the dawn, as farming didn't leave a lot of opportunity for late nights.

The others either hung out together or went back to their rooms.