Rob follows the two into the office and listened. Once Tyler had stated the plan he   decided to chime in.
"Well does Cyrus have a normal time he goes to this brothel or are we to stay on standby until that goes down? Going during this weather would be ideal. they used a lot of fire with that last defense. This weather would mask the movements and help against the cocktails."
Rob pauses a moment then continues.
"Getting out of here and securing the women and children in the stadium will be tough if the Canucks don't want any loss of life. unless they plan on snatching Cyrus then announcing to the stickies the facts and letting them make the choice. If that is the case we could be in a very dangerous spot. The Cunucks won't be in a position to protect us or act as a distraction and we will have lost the element of surprise."
Rob looks from Ed to Tyler for answers and waits.

In reply to Robert A. Conklin (msg #61):

"From what they were saying, once Cyrus is in custody they will hit the Stickies with everything they have, and they should fold without a leader. If we think we're going to be hung out to dry we can always ask for support. They got a mortar, they could position it to give us fire support."

Tyler shrugged, sipping his hot drink. He looked good, with a new haircut, shave and clean-if-patched BDUs.

"'Cause the Stickies are a gang and not an Army unit, once their top leader is in jail a gang will be paralysed for a while, unable to react. They were saying the lesson of Waco was because the ATF went in when Korresh was there, he could immediately react by rallying his people and bunker up when the initial assault failed. Korresh did leave the compound and was vulnerable then. The FBI did that to another cult leader in the 90's before the war, some cult guy I never heard of in Georgia. They picked him up at the store, and his people didn't put a fight."

"The Canucks plan is to hit them from both sides, from the city and across the bridge, breach their defensive lines with armoured vehicles equipped against Molotovs."

"The plan is to go in, not stop. If they surrender, fine, if not, they still outnumber the Stickies and they got guns while the Stickies don't. The cops will try and take prisoners, to a point."

"If we don't play ball, we don't have a lot of options. They could use that mortar on us, although I don't think they probably would. They might deport us, and right now the military in Washington won't look too good at my desertion."

Tyler drained his mug. "Cyrus visits the whorehouse every Friday. He might go sooner if something or someone he likes gets brought in. He stays all night, comes back in the morning. Our source will let us know when he's going, that'll be when we grab him, on his way back in, early morning. The HAs probably won't intervene, but they sleep until noon anyways."
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:47, Fri 10 Apr 2009.

Rob laughed a little at his own distrust.
"Ok, that sounds better. I just didn't want them nabbing Cyrus then using a bullhorn at the causeway saying 'hey, we are coming in lay down your arms' then giving them a few hours to fortify. Sorry but I don't know these folks and our  asses are swinging in the breeze if we screw it up.
I've done some scouting and found their fuel source. I also took a look at some of their buildings but didn't stick around long enough to get specific details. Most of the old trail system is overgrown and there is plenty of places to hide. The stadium is where most the women and kids were and I think we can coral them into the area under the stands there and keep them out of harms way easy enough."

In reply to Robert A. Conklin (msg #63):

Ed shook his head at Rob.

"No, you're right to ask these kinds of questions, don't second-guess yourself. We need to keep our eyes open, not take things on faith. I think it'll be a good thing to get rid of the Stickies, and we should only be involved with the Canucks if they are going all the way. No "containment" or "limited objectives" or other BS like that. I'm not eager to see anyone die including women and children, I had enough of that in the war, but you are absolutely right that if they pull back and try to wait the Stickies out then we'll be hung out to dry behind enemy lines."

The grey-blue sunlight from the window filtered into the office, glinting off the polished brass of various nautical artifacts and the model ships. This had once been the Sea Cadet commandant's office, and it was decorated with framed historical and current detailed nautical charts of the rugged British Columbian coast, rocky and forested islands and fjords, mountains and reefs. There were also framed prints of a privateer schooner out of Halifax harbour raiding US shipping off the Carolinas during the War of 1812, native canoes surrounding a frigate of the Royal Navy exploring the wild untamed BC coast and a Royal Canadian Navy corvette sub-chaser struggling through massively heavy seas of an arctic gale during the run to Murmansk (according to the small brass plates screwed into the bottom of the wood frames).
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:03, Fri 10 Apr 2009.

Tyler snapped his fingers. "Hey, come to think of it they were going to deploy their sixty mike-mike mortar here to support their operations. Rob, didn't you find some munitions and stuff on the ship? Wonder if there are any more mortar rounds on board?"

In reply to Tyler Gabriel Hope (msg #65):

Ed replied, "Yeah, well Rob and I been through that ship. Found a lot of small arms ammop. mostly five-five-siz NATO, no shells or weapons other than the Ma-Deuce, and we didn't find any ammo for it."

He picked up a pen from the desk, clicked the end a few times in thought.

"Maybe if we have time we can look in one of the other holds. It's an all-night job, it'll leave Rob and I totally wiped out."

"So otherwise, what are the Canucks plans? Not just for the next week, but long term?"

"What are they going to do? Secure the city, of course."

"They already got this program going, they're documenting all the people in the area they control, all resources too."

"Eventually, they want to control the border with the US and the routes to the north and east of the city as well. Criminals like the Hells Angels been getting drugs and guns from the US, and deserters and mercenaries been coming down from the north and from the east."

"I think the Angels aren't going to fight them directly, but maybe keep their heads low try and subvert the city government once it's reestablished, put their men into the police. Stuff like that."

"Once the Stickies are dealt with, they want to secure the Airport. There's a major gang that operates outta there, charging a toll on the river traffic which has to pass by."

He snapped his fingers as he remembered something.

"Upriver there's a fair city remaining, out in one of the suburbs. Can't remember the name, offhand. But there's a Russian nuclear sub parked there! Not a boomer, but an attack sub. Docked at the pier, looks like the crew's trying to repair it or something. The Canucks are concerned but it's not too high a priority because they don't seem to have taken over the city or anything, and they're not flying Soviet colors. Could be deserters or defectors, but that's something they gotta find out."

Rob listens intently but shakes his head at the mention of the mortar.
"I don't like the idea of the mortar in our compound. It makes us a target once it's used. Remember, we have a guard post just outside our gate. They could easily hear that mortar firing and that means we are a major threat and a target. Most of our fighters will be moving out to round up the women and children. They won't be many here to defend. I don't mind checking for ammo for the Canucks but I would rather them not know where it comes from. That ship is our major food supply and I'd rather it stay ours. We also have to work out how we are going to get the fuel truck. Especially if the stickies surrender quickly."

In reply to Robert A. Conklin (msg #68):

Tyler looked a little ambivalent at this. He looked over at Ed.

In reply to Robert A. Conklin (msg #68):

"Sure, I can buy that. Planting the mortar here gives the Canucks reason to be invested in our survival, and I would think taking out any guards would be the first step, but I can just as easy see if they will put the mortar elsewhere and still be able to support us."

He thought about the truck question.

"Hard to say. It would be nice if we could just drive it out of there. I still have to talk to Darryl, our mechanic, a little more about that truck before I get an answer if that's possible."

"With that muscle car, it'll take a little maintenance to get it going, and if it's cherry we can assume the former owner took good care of her (no AAA to bail you out!). Not much, but you can't just start her up and go, either. We can replace the battery with one of ours that's charged, and we need to remove the spark plugs and squirt some oil into the cylinders so they don't seize. If it's only been six months you won't have to replace everything, at least not right away."

"We could get the car running in less than a half-hour, maybe 15 minutes. If the Stickies aren't too observant in their own backyard, we could do it under their noses. Same goes with the truck."

He grinned at Rob and his son.

"I know it's just a car to you guys, but man, I love old Detroit rollin' iron! Had a '70 Mustang fasback after I rotated home from Vietnam. Man, I loved that car. Anyways, I'd like to see if we could get our hands on it. It'd be worth a lot, and heck, we don't have a lot of transport as it is."
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:55, Mon 13 Apr 2009.

"Taking out our guard was my first priority but if the Canucks want this to be bloodless then that's gonna get a whole lot tougher. As far as the truck, what I meant to say is,when are we going to go after it and how. Once the Canucks arrive I would guess the stickies are going to mass in those directions. We can rush the stadium, secure the civies and then move a smaller force on to capture the fuel. My main worry is that the Canucks want this all peaceful like and we are going for a flanking assault into the heart of their territory. Not terrible peaceful although taking their fuel storage is taking away their most destructive weapon and that's how I'd word it to the Canucks if it comes up. We all know they like to use fire. Imagine that truck used as a mobile fuel bomb rolling into a compound.
I got no problems with taking the car as long as it's not gonna slow us down much. I'm sure it's valuable if you could find a decent trade for it. But I'm doubting your gonna want to trade it. I'd also suggest taking that moving truck that was locked. If I was to guess that is where ammo and weapons are stored or something else Cyrus didn't want his folks having."

Rob shakes his head as he thinks more on it.
"I like this a whole lot better when it was more a military operation. I'm not for killing civilians but most of those boys gave up that protected status a while back in my book."
This message was last edited by the player at 09:04, Mon 13 Apr 2009.

In reply to Robert A. Conklin (msg #71):

Ed shrugged. "I don't know why they want to do this as bloodless as possible. It's their country, who knows?"

"As for the truck, We could go at it a couple ways. Let's talk to Darryl in a bit, see how quickly we can move the truck(s). Might be tough to move them around. If it seems too difficult, then we may have to simply grab what we can, like fill some fuel cans, stuff like that. If conditions are favourable and the area is deserted, we may get a chance to do some maintenance and drive them out of there. If the Canucks insist, sure, I'd be satisfied with the car, but in the end I don't want to take any more risk than we have to."

"Why not observe the guard, see if there is some vulnerability we can exploit? If we get the drop on them, and they refuse to surrender, well, no one can say we didn't try!"

Later, before the group meeting, they met with Darryl, a mechanic. He was a black man from Seattle, DeShawn's father and a longtime friend of Ed, altnough not a veteran. "Sure, I could get the car going within 15 minutes if all I have to do is replace the spark plugs, assuming there's no other problems and the hoses don't need to be changed. That fuel truck? If its a diesel, then there are no spark plugs to replace, and maintenance is a lot simpler. We'd need to replace the heavy-duty batteries, check the hoses, fuel and hydraulics lines, and if it's got central tire-inflation, then we could get it moving within minutes. The moving van's probably diesel as well, but if the tires are flat then we could move it but they'd need replacing after.

Rob knew both vehicles had flat tires, which could complicate at least moving the van.

Rob nods to show he's listening then chimes in when it seems Darryl is done.

"Both vehicles had flat tires when I observed them but it's not to far of a drive getting them back here. Do we have a compressed air tank around here somewhere? I'm sure we can rig up a O2 bottle to due the trick in a pinch.

As far as the moving truck goes, I am just interested in seeing what's locked up in there and getting another vehicle is never a bad thing especially something with that kind of load capacity. If we have some bolt cutters or even a good hacksaw will work if we have the time and the vehicle isn't going to cooperate. See what you can come up with on those fronts Darryl and get back to us. We still have to work out how we are going to roll in there while the Canucks are playing good cop a the gates and get away with it all."

Rob looks over at Ed.
" We all have a meeting to attend to at the moment though."

In reply to Robert A. Conklin (msg #73):

Darryl replied, "we have the compressor for SCUBA diving when we raid the wreck for salvage, we could rig up some 72 or 80 (cu/ft) tanks to re-inflate the tires."

After, the meeting started. Ed outlined the situation in broad terms. Most people seemed to want to go along with it for various reasons. There were questions along the lines of what Rob raised (mostly from the veterans in the group) and Ed gave basically the same answers. He did keep the existence of the trucks close to his chest.

Of the forty or so people present, there were still a few reasonable concerns about their safety. Ift was agreed that one condition was that they would evacuate all children and women beforehand at any rate, and the government would promise to relocate them all to some place safe in case things went wrong. However, people were a little unclear what they should ask for in exchange for their help (even if things went well). Most wanted to be left alone, and Ed suggested that as once the park was secure (according to Tyler) it would be the main route for trade to North Van and travel north along the coast, as it was the only remaining bridge north across Burrard Inlet. They could open a trading post here, maybe even be hired to police the park and the trade route (although that would require hiring outsiders.)

Rob's sister Allie brought up that his neice, Cheyenne, was sick and getting sicker, beyond the medical capability of the people there to treat or even diagnose. Other health and dental problems were cropping up as well. At the least, these needs could only be met by mutual cooperation.

After the meeting, Tyler talked to Rob.

"Hey, I think I'll go back and hook up with the Canucks. They told me to call them for a ride back tonight. You wanna come along, see for yourself what the deal is?"

Outside, the rain continued to ease off into a light shower. Still unpleasant to be out in, but not nearly as bad as before.

Rob nods to tyler's question.

"Sounds like  plan to me. Not that I don't believe you but I do want to go over the  recon I did with them and see what their plan is going to be. Let me gather up  some gear and talk to Cherie. If you would, let your father know and we can get on our way."
Rob heads back to his place to gather his gear and break the news to Cherie that he was going again.

0200, Monday 16/04/2001

The weather took a turn for the worse, again. Rain poured down and thunder rumbled, although the monsoon-like lateral rainstorm of the previous day was thankfully missing.

Due to this, Ed decided it was safe enough to risk a trip by a larger boat than a small Zodiac, especially because the trip would be out into less sheltered outer water than the harbour areas inside Burrard Inlet. This time, they took the Zodiac a few minutes out into the middle of Burrard Inlet, far out of sight of anyone lacking sophisticated night-surveillance equipment. After signal by IR light, they were met by a larger "whale-watcher" Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB). Still open, but a lot more stable and faster. Like Ed, Rob and Tyler, the crew wore NVGs. If was difficult to tell if they were wearing uniforms under their raingear, but Rob suspected they were cops instead of militia due to their professional manner, gear and radio traffic. ("10-4" instead of "Roger", etc.) After pickup, Ed took the Zodiac back to the compound.

Ten minutes after pickup they were pulling into the marina at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. The somewhat exclusive-looking establishment looked like it had a security upgrade. There were a few sentries and it was enclosed by fencing, sufficient to deter looters and burglars but nothing a determined attack couldn't easily go through. The luxurious and well-built Yacht Club itself looked in good condition and there were over a dozen boats docked in the jetty-enclosed marina or on trailers on shore. Half the water craft were Zodiacs, with a couple small and medium power boats, with a couple each of 15 foot and 30 foot sailboats. There was even a luxury 60-foot yacht was tied up there.

A couple men met them on the dock. One was in a yellow RCMP rain-slicker, the other was an older bearded man in a GORE-TEX rain coat.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:31, Sun 19 Apr 2009.

The older man stepped forward to greet Tyler and Rob. The mountie waiting with him on the concrete wharf helped the others secure the RIB.

"Hello! I'm Alain Belanger, Provost of the community at UBC. Tyler didn't mention your name over the radio. Glad you both made it!"

"I'll give you a lift in, come on, let's get out of the rain."

He pointed to a soft-topped civilian Land Rover idling in the parking lot.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:35, Sun 19 Apr 2009.

Tyler introduced them.

"Oh, hey, this is Rob Conklin. Rob, this is Alain Belanger. Sort of the security and intelligence chief for the University. He works with the intelligence unit the government has sent here."

He grabbed his gear and weapon, and moved up the wharf to the Yacht Club.

Rob is average height and rather light framed to be carrying so much gear though he shoulders it with practiced easy. He carried what looked like mostly US issue gear. Below the poncho he wore were a few notable lumps and he had a long rifle bag slung over his shoulder. His weathered and tanned face told a story of a life time outdoors as he studied Belanger intently before extending his hand in friendship.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Belanger. You can call me Rob or Gunny will get my attention easy enough. Old habits die hard it seems."

Rob shoulders his gear and weapons and after taking a quick look around, will motion for their host to lead the way.

Tyler and Rob schlepped their gear up the wharf to the parking lot. As they put their stuff in the back, Belanger got in the driver's seat. The Land Rover was in good running condition, even if the patched fabric top did leak in the heavy rain. There were no weapons visible, but Belanger kept a fairly watchful eye on the dark city around them.

The drive to the campus perimeter was quick and safe, and the defenses were elaborate. There was double chain-link fencing topped with razor wire with a road in between the fences, and Rob guessed there were regular patrols. The entry checkpoint was was well-marked and covered by three bunkers in mutually-supporting positions. Signage proclaimed this federal government property and warned against looting and carrying weapons. Rob and Tyler weren't looting on one hand, and no one asked them for their guns on the other.

Once through, they drove for another few minutes through forest, then Belanger dropped them off at their billet, a pre-war low-rise student resident housing block.

"Okay, guess I'll see you guys at morning briefing. 0800 hours. Tyler knows where it is!"

"Thank you, sir!" Tyler said to Belanger, shaking his hand, then picking up his gear.

"Okay, let's hit the sack. I'll show you where."

Rob shoulders his gear and follows Tyler to the billet. Once inside he unpacked nothing besides to unsling his weapons and lay them at the side of his bed. he kept his MP5 at across his waist knowing full well it probably wasn't needed but then this wasn't his compound and an error on the side of safety was never an error at all. He layed down and half slept in most of his gear like he had so many nights before but this time with no stars or night's sounds to greet him. He longed for Cherie's warmth beside him which unnerved him more then a little. Luckily, he'd had some decent sleep the day before. As he was about to dose off he muttered a phrase.

"Night john boy."

Ed had always tried to get Tyler to watch The Waltons with him.  In the nearly complete darkness, Tyler smiled as he stared up at the ceiling before drifting into the sea of sleep.

"Good night...Grandpa," he said in such a way that a listener could almost tell he was smirking.

"...What kind of name is Zebulon anyway?" he said much quieter.