Morning came fast. Springtime in Vancouver could be a blessing. The proximity of the Pacific Ocean could be felt in the fresh salty breeze. After the daily routine of toiletry and breakfast, the briefing was religiously followed. Chaired by the Lt. Cmdr. Clarke and Sgt. Shevchenko it was straight to the point:

Morning, Ladies and Gentlemen! Without much ado about yesterday operations will follow on with todays task: Our main concern for now is to increase our intelligence on our more direct targets: The Stickmen and the Hell's Angels. We need updated information from our mole about the current status of the people in Stanley Park. Kelsey? I believe you still handling the contact. We need also to get in touch with the survivalists for a closer look. We might as well connect with the Undergrounders to feel their pulse. I don't see a need to keep much pressure around Brandie's but I would like to keep Andy around. Yesterdays performance was fantastic! Congratulations!

The Sgt. threw a broad smile and a light clapping towards the infiltrated man. The nerves of steel needed to conduct such feat was remarkable.

I'm going to review RCMP patrol reports and also Block Watch programs to see the level of activity registrered throughout the city and shift men and vehicles wherever may needed most. A good watch of the radio spectrum must be kept at all times. I will suggest to Command to increase the level of personnel and means to that task if possible.

The eyes were on Kelsey. The eavesdropping program was giving tremendous leverage to the team. The potential increase would transform the trainees in a full fledge support unit and promotion would not be far away.

In other news, we have to keep on working on our contacts. Captain Bezhov arrived yesterday to North Vancouver with a vehicle and reduced crew from Bella Coola. He is willing to work with us. I'll be meeting him and together with Bulat we will increase our chances to have a positive impact in New Westminster with that stranded nuclear sub.

Taras was airing pretty much tasks for the team members without much detail. So far the layout for the day seemed to be focus on intel gathering and continuing the lines of duty previously set.

Training of the militia will continue as usual. Maintenance of vehicles and weaponry is a must. The current success of our operations is a great oportunity to report to HQ in the Island about any implement that we may need. I recommend to take a look at what's stored in the trailer of the LAV III. For future references we are looking at the possibility of an attack from the Stickmen and Emergency Response calls fron high risk targets as we got before. 

Taras sat on the edge of the table presiding the meeting room. He covered his eyes with his hand and swept his orange crop of hair backwards:

I didn't slept very well last night...anyways. I will consult with Ms. Kwan about the possibility to activate a climate report team to forecast the weather. Together with the information that we get from the biologist working along the Fraser river we should wide the scope of our intel. I'm trying to create, or better said, transform our job in a more especialize intel unit. It is time to start giving more field responsabilities to the new force and take for us a more dedicated scope rather than the crime fighting at street level. Our skills will still needed but in a more surgical way. Feel free to comment.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:55, Thu 30 July 2009.

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #1):

Rachel had gotten up early, trying to be quiet so as not to wake anyone up. The day was gorgeous and warm, the blue sky was cloudless.

Taking a bike, she pedaled out to where she'd been meeting with Josh, and received his briefing. Wasting little time, she pedalled back to the University to brief Belanger and Khandola, then the team at the morning briefing.

"I have some news... according to Cyrus, it's dry enough to go on his "Little Dresden" fire bombing mission on us here at UBC and the Marina. The plan is for forty warriors to go the day after tomorrow night, Thursday, and infiltrate the UBC perimeter via the water. They will set fires inland just before dawn, then let the westerly breeze carry the flames inland. A dozen other warriors will firebomb the Marina at the same time. Cyrus will command the bigger team, his 2nd in command Yasmin will take the smaller group. The have signals worked out, routes of infiltration, rally points, communications via runner."

"Tonight he's going to visit Brandie's and doesn't expect to be back until dawn. Tomorrow is a dry run of sorts, although apparently Yasmin's been scouting out our defenses and thinks she knows the major holes. Maybe she's right, we haven't had any reports of Stickmen reconnaissance anywhere in the city other than Stanley Park."

She had taken some time to change into her crisp patrol uniform, and yellow-banded hat was on the table in front of her.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:06, Fri 31 July 2009.

0800 Hours Lima, Tuesday, 17 April 2001
15C, sunny and clear, some wind.

The day was turning out to be gloriously sunny and warm. The hard driving rain and thunderstorms of the last week was fading into memory.

Kelsey went over the comms and surveillance reports, there was nothing unusual to relate, other than business had been quieter than usual at the club. A van had been parked overnight and left early in the morning. It was probably still somewhere in the densely built up East End, as it didn't pass through the checkpoints east or south of the downtown.

Keeping contact with the mole in the Stickmen was Rachel's job, and she'd left to do that early in the morning, right after her jog in the pre-dawn light, a run she invited Kelsey to share (but she assured her friend she wouldn't be upset if she declined).

Fox, Tyler and Rob attended the briefing as well. Tyler seemed a little withdrawn, as if wondering what his continuing role would be. After the briefing, he had a meeting scheduled with Dr. Chandra to arrange for medical care for his niece. Rob, uncommunicative at the best of time, sat back and observed, waiting for his part of the plan to be explained.

Belanger listened to Taras and Lee.

"Thank you, Corporal."

"Well, looks like tonight or tomorrow is when we're going to have to go in and take them down. It would be nice to have better intel, but that's the way it goes if we want to take the initiative."

"Taras, I would like you to draw up an operational plan for Commander Clarke and my approval. We'll devote what resources you need to make it happen, all you have to do is ask."

He sipped some tea and read his files, the took off his glasses and looked up.

"As for future operations, the clash in Chinatown and yesterday's sweep convinced me that while the RCMP Auxiliaries and Militia are shaping up here, they are not ready to take on some of the most critical duties. I want this unit to remain as a fire brigade for the most crucial missions no one else can handle, but rest assured daily patrolling won't need to be part of your duties. I think we're on the same page, here, correct?"

"As for the daily intel reports, those are coming in through the unit we set up with your help, and I'll be glad to give you further details. Better meteorlogical data would be an asset, it would be a definite advantage to not only know about these things before assholes like Cyrus, but get a better handle on changes in the weather and climate since the war."

Sgt. Fox was dressed in his CF Combats and red beret, boots shined and otherwise unarmed.

He grinned at Lee's news of Cyrus planning to make his news. "Fu.. freakin' right on! About time that punk gets what's coming to him. The LAV is ready to go, and the militia's been drilling the last couple weeks to get ready for this. Let's do it!"

Kelsey actually has been running most of her adult life, and lifting weights, to keep in shape, and the idea of a morning run with a friend actually sounded wonderful to her.  She'd have shown up to the meeting with a healthy glow and a feeling of well being from the exercise.
"We going to go ahead and take him down while at Brandies?  That might involved the bikers sooner than we want.  Then again, the other choice is to repel the invasion at the shore line, though surprise might we well and good on our side.  If we position the machine guns well, we can chase them off fast.  Do we break into three units, one taking apart the park, and two meeting the assault?  Sounds to me like if we chop off the head of this snake it is more like a hydra, and more heads will pop up, like that second in command."

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg #6):

"The government would like to avoid causing casualties, if we can help it. We not only want to show that we are possess a legal and moral authority, but capable of showing restraint. Repelling the raid could be done with minimal injury, if we were sure they would surrender once we (say) hit them with spotlights and a few warning bursts. If they don't surrender it would likely to be a massacre for the Stickmen, which would help solve our problems, true, but be easy to spin as heavy-handedness."

"However, we think there is a greater chance we can get the Stickmen to surrender is to capture Cyrus alive, away from their territory. The best would be en route to Brandie's in the evening, or on the return trip in the morning as we know his usual route. I'd suggest the evening because you know approximately when he's going to come by (around dusk) but the morning is more of a crap shoot, although he's more likely to be hung over."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:59, Sun 02 Aug 2009.

Shevchenko was more than happy to hear the news about the impending attack the Stickmen were preparing. Not only out of their natural environment but dead on the water is where half of their numbers and leadership will be ending their numbered days. The pay-offs of having not only good intel but also the ability to provide deception will be turning the tide this time.

I will be working on that plan, Belanger. So far, the only thing that I can ask for is to keep a high state of readiness of our troops, vehicles and weapons. I'll be going to the North Shore to meet Capt. Bezhov but I will be back shortly. By the end of the day it should be ready.

It will be a defensive plan.

The Soviet Army looks at defense as a temporary expedient, to be employed locally, while on the offensive elsewhere or while consolidating an objective. The echelon concept is used the same way as with the offensive doctrine. Taras was curious about the decision of Belanger to give him free reign for the elaboration of the plan. Red Army tactics were quite rigid in general and almost despised by NATO Commanders. In any case it could be a good oportunity for advancement...

In the Soviet books are reflected hasty, mobile and area defense chapters. The hasty defense is obviously set up in a rapid basis (not unlike this situation as the impending attack was only a day or so away). It makes use of a large reserve to crush any enemy penetration and is focused around antitank weaponry, not unlike US or Western doctrine. The difference in this case is that there will be no armor to face but the defense will be pillared around the heavy weapons at his disposal. The principle of kill zones for armor would be translated to the water and even the possibility of being bypassed too as the Reds use the all-around defense concept. The first echelon will set up the kill zones. The second echelon will have the main counterattack force in numbers. The main weakness in this is that of the forces massing for the counterattack. They are ideal targets for nuclear weapons - most unlikely... he chuckled - or any other heavy artillery or aerial strike unavailable to his foe.

Taras realized that a more formal,deliberate defense was not possible due to time and size of the forces. A main defensive belt with battalion strongpoints on likely avenues of approach in two echelons was beyond a dream. He will have to manage with company size bits and pieces in place for the main defense to weaken the enemy early in the battle.

Usually in his 62nd Motor Rifle Division at least a tank regiment was retained in the second echelon just for the purpose of counterattack. Tanks were playing a decisive role but this was to be above battalion level. Instead, he will be dealing with lightly armed RCMP and militia foot soldiers. But then again, the enemy will be equipped with even more primitive means of warfare.

With those thoughts, the ex lt. packed for North Vancouver. The weather had vastly improved and he expected a smooth sailing across the English Bay, away from the treacherous shores of Stanley Park.

He was going to visit an old friend.

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #8):

"To clarify, we are finally taking the initiative against Cyrus. We finally have the opportunity we have been waiting for. Once Cyrus is in our hands tonight or tomorrow, we'll go into the park in force, as planned."

"We don't want to let the Stickmen get their chance to launch their attack. We want to have them taken care of and the park in our control by this time tomorrow."

"Option one: take Cyrus on the way to Brandie's. Option two: take him on the way back. Then the assault goes in. We also need to evacuate the Survivalists on Deadman's Island."

He looked around. "Anyone have any questions?"

The team had until noon to do what they liked, get some sleep, check their weapons. Taras took off for the North Shore to personally brief Bulat and his newly-arrived friend, Captain Vitaly m. Bezhov.

After that time, things would go into overdrive, using the plans that had already been prepared for this opportunity.

1200 hours

After Taras returned at noon, Inspector Khandola called the DRI team together for a planning session on the upcoming vital operation. Chariperson Kwan was there, as well as Provost Belanger.

They were meeting in the common-room of Ritsumeikan house. The mats for exercise and entertaining were replaced by tables, chairs, white boards and an overhead projector. There was even a Mac personal computer, hooked into the university's network.

Khandola began. "So far, we have established in principle the objectives and methods of the operation. We," he indicated the UBC VIPs, "have agreed that we shall attempt to capture the gang leader, Cyrus."

"Once this is accomplished, a two-pronged assault will take place to secure the park, one from the city and another over the Lion's Gate Bridge. The main areas are the security outposts along the perimeter of the park, Cyrus' HQ area, and Brockton Oval, where the non-combatant population seems to be held."

"Additional important objectives include evacuating the population from Deadman's Island, prior to operations."

He nodded to Rob, acknowledging his concerns.

"As well, we understand there is a source of fuel located at or near the old park headquarters and police station, which is also Cyrus' HQ. Securing this will be of immense aid in recovery operations."

"Now, we wish to take this Cyrus fellow alive and preferably unharmed, so that charges may be brought against him and he stands trial. We also wish to minimise casualties, both on our side and with the Stickmen, but the weight is on preventing friendly and non-combatant casualties. The media will be present, and the value of this operation could be degraded if it's perceived that we used machinge guns to butcher "practically naked" neo-savages armed only with sticks and bows. We all know they are very much an effective force, but we are setting the stage for the eventual return of control to the Lower Mainland."

"Dealing with Cyrus... we know he's going to the Hells Angels club downtown. It's believed that intercepting him on his way there will mean we will be attempting to operate at night. While we've had some practice, there are over 400 personnel assigned to this operation and night conditions will greatly complicate this. Therefore, we will either wait until he habitually departs sometime before dawn and then launch the assault when he is in custody, or (worst case) if he stays late cordon off Brandie's and do not allow him or anyone to depart. We can then negotiate with the HAs for his release in exchange for guarantees this is not a raid on the club itself, as we believe he is not considered a high-value ally of theirs and (thanks to Master McRae) we have planted the idea they are not our main quarry."

"That said, our resources are as follows. There are 25 trained RCMP in the detachment here, 12 of which comprise our ERT. We have 100 Auxiliary RCMP, organised into 5 watches. There are 200 UBC Militia. West Van has a cadre of 12 trained "armed contractors" (former Soviet soldiers with a BTR-70, BMP-2 and now some more vehicles), plus 20 trained police and another 100 militia. As well, the train master, Rod McArthur, his 50 odd trained security and train personnel, many of whom are former military. They apparently have 2 armoured vehicles, a pair of wheeled Grizzly APCs that were mounted on rail cars and have apparently been made road-worthy. Those vehicles and forces are not as of yet integrated into the West Van forces, and there are no plans to do so at this time."

Kelsey recalled that the former CF soldier in charge of MacArthur's security detail was a friend of hers, a Sergeant David Urry. She also knew the Grizzlies were old 6x6 MOWAG Piranha Is (armed with a paired M2HB/MAG-58 MGS mounted in a 1-man turret taken from the USMC's LVT-7) were something of a fore-runner to the 8x8 LAV-25 and LAV-III. They were purchased as a cost-cutting measure for militia use, so the reservists could train on armoured vehicles without having to buy additional M113s. Likewise, the 6x6 Cougar (armed with a low-pressure 76mm cannon of the British Scmitar) had been used as a "simulated tank trainer" and general fire support vehicle. Surprisingly, the top-heavy quasi-training vehicles had performed in Peacekeeping roles adequately enough, once some modifications had been made. The 6x6 Piranha family had been so successful several versions of the larger 8x8 design had been sold to the USMC and Canadian Forces. They were shorter and smaller than the 8x8 hulls, lacking the forth axle and advanced electronics.

"Generally, the plan is to deploy the UBC militia and RCMP Auxiliary in the downtown. From there, they will assault the park from the West End, going up the west side from Pacific and east side from Georgia. A separate detachment will prepare to cordon off Brandie's if Cyrus oversleeps! Another detachment will evacuate Deadman's island. Your unit, assisted by part of the UBC RCMP detachment, will arrest Cyrus, and then be held in reserve. The ERT will be stationed near the water at the base of the Burrard St. Bridge, with both land and water transport avaialable. From there, they can deploy either by land transport or be inserted almost anywhere in the park by water (except the cliff areas on the western shore)."

"From the north, the combined forces under the West Van police will take the southern approach of the bridge, which extensive reconnaissance has determined is defended and blockaded, but not trapped with explosives. From there, they will fan out and secure their objectives, primarily the civilian housing at Brockton Oval and Malkin Bowl. There are boats available for a water insertion but currently no plans for this, either."

"Supporting them will be our friends under Ed, who will seize Brockton Oval and make sure the Aquarium is clear. MacArthur's private security forces will be kept in reserve."

Khandola looked at Lt. Commander Clarke. "Commander, please accept my apologies. As this is primarily a police operation, and the military forces are operating in support of the civil power, we would prefer Sgt. Shevchenko be in operational command of the DRI unit. He will be brevetted to Staff Sergeant for the purpose of command. You are not being asked to step down by any means, but for the mean time we believe your capacity should be more "advisory" and not to exercise operational command. Is this acceptable? This is absolutely not personal, and no comment on your abilities whatsoever."
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:24, Sat 08 Aug 2009.

"Sir," Andy said respectfully, "I'd strongly reccomend very circumspect use of the media in this mission. It's a major undertaking with the co-ordination of our forces and three allied but different forces, all of whom we have limits on restraining. this first mission is almost certainly going to be chaotic and we may well have to deal with a major incident. It is my opinion that doing all of that under the glare of the cameras would be asking for trouble."

He shifted uncomfortably, he understood the need to minimise enemy casualties and keep this a law enforcement operation but the number of variables they were playing with was astounding, "May I suggest we decline media access to the operation itself and set up the opportunity for them to do some talking head human interest stories with the victims of the Stickmen. then, after the event, the media can have access to eye witnesses and we can sanitise anything that goes out."

I agree...We are walking a thin line between military and police actions. I have serious doubts myself as well...We are basically doing a show of force holding a few good cards up the sleeve. Hopefully the capture of their leader will help. I'm counting with our contact, Josh, to convince them cooperate.

Kelsey clears her throat and speaks up
"Sir, I know Grizzlies, and MacArthur's security chief.  Grizz's are like prototypes for the LAV 25, and if they are still armed the same they are mounted with a fifty and a seven six two coax in an armored turret.  It's not a bad little ride for anti personnel, but not with the fancy electronics of the bigger newer cousins.  David Urry is the name of that security chief, and an old buddy of mine, if you want me to liason with them.  I bet they could be of some use, deployed correctly"

She looks between the men talking about police and military, shrugs slightly.

"As far as I am concerned this is a military action, this man is a leader of a paramilitary force within our borders that does not recognize our sovereign authority.  Since this nation is still recovering from a war, what he is doing is likely high treason, and at the least he should be considered an enemy combatant or rebel leader."  She pauses, looking around.  "He has attacked and wounded sovereign Canadian forces, he holds a grip on our sovereign land, he blocks trade.  This is not something the police would normally be involved in, but something that is the right of the military to clear, this man is far beyond a criminal, he is an aggressive foreign power with a choke hold on our territory, and I see no reason to offer him any quarter."
She takes a seat, still a little charged up with speaking her mind.

Rob stands once Champlain sits.

"This is a military action no matter what you label it. It's strategy, implementation and goals are all military in nature. Tyeing our hands with the notion of a police style raid will only complicate matters and lower our chance of success. I am not saying to use brute force and overwhelming firepower to deal with this threat but I think doing everything we can, to include reasonable force, should be done to ensure success.

As far as the media is concerned, I would hope that you have a good control on it and coverage only starts once Cyrus is in hand and we start trying to convince the stickies to surrender. To start coverage before then could be more of a black eye then a gain."

Rob paused for just a second to let folks consider the implications

"For us survivalists, just getting out of our gate is an issue. We have sticky guards posted just beyond the bridge leading out. As soon as we start to move they will know it and we might be engaged. Silencing those guards is the fastest and safest way of dealing with them before they can raise an alarm or cause casualties. Is that acceptable or is that beyond the police scope of things?"

Rob sits back down and waits for a response.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:59, Wed 12 Aug 2009.

Kwan looked non-plussed with the way the conversation was going, but tried to be understanding.

"To my understanding, military operations are associated with causing maximum damage and casualties, but I hope this won't be the case, and the plans that we've drawn up avoids that. This is still a police operation, and the police will be taking the lead role."

"We're not going to kill Cyrus but bring him and his followers to justice with minimal loss of life and damage to property, which is, after all, our property."

She smiled and added, "I can handle the media. We can't, and won't shut them out. Tney are nominally government-sponsored anyways, and they've been very cooperative. I think I can convince Samantha not to go in with the initial force but we have to give them something worthwhile or we'll lose that goodwill and have to work to get it back."

"So please, don't worry so much about the media. They're on our side and we can reasonably keep them out of the critical areas for their own safety. We have nothing to hide, and we want to move away from military control and thinking about things in a military way to a more civilian and police mode. I'm not rebuking anyone, just making sure we're on the right page."

Her tone was conciliatory, and hopeful.

"Look, we have a good plan here. It will go a very long way to accomplishing our objectives with minimal loss of life and damage on all sides. Not just for the present, but in the future. You've all done great work in getting prepared, so I'm confident it'll all go fine."
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:25, Thu 13 Aug 2009.

"Well, Angela, if you're convinced you can rein in the media, such as it is, then we don't seem to have a lot to discuss on that score."

"We've prepared a pre-trial and holding area at Thunderbird Stadium, capable of holding several hundred detainees, plus transport to get them there. It should be suitable for now to separate the sheep from the wolves."

"If Cyrus doesn't cooperate and doesn't come out of his territory tonight for us to grab, then we can take him and his people out when they attack. This would be the "fall-back" plan, not media-friendly at all (we'd butcher them) but effective. There is already a contingency plan for this. I won't bore you with the details, but any hostiles attacking from the water won't get 500m from the shore."

"Taras, your idea for having our units in the downtown as part of an immunization and STD clinic is good, and we can use your idea of a small explosive/distraction device to stun Cyrus and his people on the way back from Brandie's."

"Anyone have anything else to add?"

"Well then...Is time to make the arrangements for the capture of Cyrus. The distraction of the Hell's Angels is an integral part of the plan. We want to make sure that they will not interfere. We shall deploy our "medical team". With the excuse of a wild spreading of a disease we will set up a mobile hospital that will keep the bikers busy while we proceed in the Park."

Taras looked for Andy in the room.

"Andy, you'll go and visit again "Brandie's" by the time the "medical team" reaches downtown and enquires the guards at the bar. You'll be supportive in any case. Our "nurses" probably will "find" something on you to be more convincing. It will not surprise me if they have some people sick already due to their filthy business, anyways."

Then it was the turn the capture group:

We need a detailed plan for the arrest of Cyrus. I'd like to hear from our SWAT team expert Rachel first. What do you recommend?"

"One of the things that the HAs want to know is our force complement and it's order of battle," Andy said, "I stalled last night because I wanted to consult with you on what we tell them. It damn broke my cover, I can tell you but they bought the "it's not totally clear and I don't want to report to you till I can give you the big picture" line, but it won't work again. What do you think I should tell them?"

The Soviet armed forces learned to preserve in deep secret the intentions to execute disinformation on a large scale to defeat the Huns. Operation Bagration is a good example of what we call Maskirovka. This also goes down to the tactical level and includes all measures, active and passive to deceive the enemy. Here in the West is usually translated as "camouflage" but this is not entirely correct. It has a much more broad meaning. It certainly includes skrytie or concealment but also using decoys and dummies or imitasiia, maneuvers intended to deceive what we say demonstratinvnye manevry and finally dezinformatsiia

Taras was explaining the depth of concept of the deception in war lessons obtained by the Soviet forces at a great cost of life in WW2 and forever attached to the offical doctrine of the Red Army since then. Although a product of the Soviet era , maskirovka has a long history that could be traced back to the times of the Imperial Russian Army and even back to the days of Dimitry Donskoy Battle of Kulikova Field in 1380.

Is going to be virtually impossible to conceal our intentions to take over the enemies of the peace and restore the good living in Vancouver. However, we can mask the scale, timing and direction. If the Hell's Angels are expecting us they will be more receptive to false indicators, especially if their intelligence is inefficient or at least not as well developped as it should be. We have been already doing that. Secrecy of force is vital and as such we cannot afford to give precise numbers to the bikers. I suggest you provide information less a twenty per cent of our real strenght. This will give us a wide margin for maneuver. But also you must spread the rumour that large number of troops are coming from the Island. This will prevent them from thinking about attack us due to the perceived superiority.

Regardless of its form, the enviromental or organizational aspects affecting it, maskirovka is governed by four major principles: activity, plausability, variety and continuity. The first of this: activnost states that offensive action is necessary  to degrade the enemy's observation capability: his ability to locate and identify troop concentrations, and key weapons systems by the concerted use of electronic warfare, dummies and good camouflage and concealment.

Offensive is mandatory and surprise is our best advantage. Once the takeover in Staley Park is complete we will move towards the airport and New Westminster. This is a "flanking" maneuver. The Hell's Angels confrontation will be avoided but we will be winning control of territory and practising area denial. We will gaining allies to close in and will be further working in the infiltration of their ranks.

This was Shevchenko's overall strategy against the "main enemy". In such strategy, maskirovka was playing an important role.

Andy, the false information that you will feed to them must be easy to sustain. When you told them that the Government forces are not interested in start a fight with them we already won leverage. We were able to turn to our side the Chinatown incident and hopefully the capture of the Stickmen will not necessarily start a major confrontation due to the intel that we have about the strategic value of Cyrus for them. This evening just drop by and report about our supposed size. Later on there will be the medical team arriving and you should be able to convince them to go for a medical check the next morning. We will set up a mobile hospital nearby the City Hall. The timing will coincide with the operation in the park and they will be out of the picture for our own security. By the time we consolidate it will be a fait accompli that they will have to deal with. In any case they will be grateful for our services!
This message was last edited by the player at 18:39, Mon 24 Aug 2009.

Waiting for a chance to answer, Rachel smiled as she listened to Taras Speak. Listening to him, she could tell he was a very intelligent person, able to apply and adapt concepts to different situations.

"If I may, the grab is going to be a little complicated, and of course we're making this up as we go along. Ah, we're going to wait until morning and grab him on the way back. We know his usual route, we have an idea of the timing."

She thought for a second.

"Basically, we have the snatch team. Another group to provide a perimeter to prevent him from getting away and to provide warning of his approach. The third element is a medical team to distract the HAs."

"Let's pick a spot on his route, which is mostly along West Pender and then West Georgia. When it gets to West Georgia it'll be too wide, I suggest somewhere along West Pender, somewhere by Burrard or Thurlow. We set up the explosive device, have an ambulance nearby for "assistance", parked around the corner or a parkade. The main team (us) with the LAV III and a couple 4-wheel ATVs to make sure he doesn't get away. We have a couple stunbag rounds available to use if anyone makes a run for it."

"The perimeter team will be, ah, 20 personnel (RCMP and Auxiliaries). I'll command that element, and I'd like Andy and Rob to be in overwatch. They'll be our lookouts. Once the signal is given, they'll seal off the street, secure it."

"Regarding the last element, we'll get the word out today there will be a clinic tomorrow. I suggest Yaletown, it's close to the Main St. Police station, it's in the area we cleared yesterday, so it makes sense."

She looked to see if that was acceptable.

"So, if Cyrus is late coming out of Brandie's, and time is wasting, I suggest we just move the perimeter in and seal off the club. Then negotiate for his release. We have a lot of cards and I don't think the Angels will go to the wall to protect that freak."

This was somewhat uncharted territory for them. The uncomforatble interface between military operations and policing.

At a look from Belanger, Angela added (somewhat uncomfortably), "I understand that this is not a "peacetime" situation, much as we hope it will become one, soon."

"So... while we want to preserve live, even a criminal like Cyrus', if he doesn't surrender to use appropriate force. The Rules of Engagement do allow the use of deadly force to protect your lives. Ultimately, your lives are important and valuable."

Before the meeting, Kelsey had been given some information to pass along. In the heavily built up West End that was sandwiched between the park and the downtown where the club was located, they had intermittently picked up some weak FM radio signals. Too faint or distorted to identify, understand or locate, it was likely that someone was using hand-held radios, even something as weak as a baby monitor. They thought there were civilians remaining in the dense concentration of high-rise apartments, and it was possible they were using radios to communicate locally.

Kelsey wishes the team, and with more care, her friend Rachael, the best on the op.  Of course she intends to oversee the net on it regardless.  She gets together some stuff, and if she can come close to triangulating the source of the transmissions she will use a directional antennae, of if need...

"OK, heads up team, I want to go in as soon as possible to investigate some weak transmissions, if need, I am starting with some directional arrays, but I may need to use a vehicle and a portable.  This could be valuable intelligence, and it is near our scene, I believe"

Winning the upper hand of the invisible electromagnetic spectrum was a mandatory task. Being able to monitor the frequencies will translate into a precious amount of intelligence and the possibility to anticipate the enemy's intentions and moves. Even small signals shouldn't go unchecked:

Kelsey, if you are willing to get a hold of those transmissions, I suggest to take advantage of the previous clearing of the Harbour Centre building and get your aerials up there. Then there is the possibility of getting into a bigger instalation in the North Shore. Currently that territory is under Government control. Geographically speaking it offers the best commanding heights but powerful equipment will be needed and also set up a decent electric grid.

Kelsey gets up and checks the map, pointing out the general area of the transmissions, or at least where she thinks they might be, and then the harbor center

"Let's see... if I get the real gear up there.. with a generator..." She pulls out a calculator, refers to some charts, getting into the real mumbo jumbo and math of a radio expert.

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg #25):

Thinking about it, Kelsey knew that a fixed location with good equipment on high ground was a wise idea. Before the war the government had monitoring equipment on the high ground in Burnaby by the massive Metrotown Mall complex. There was a complex array of antennas and receivers on top of Metrotower 2 (where CSIS's west coast HQ was headquartered).

To an extent, this situation was also a lot like France in WWII. Allied and Resistance radio networks used low-power radio sets, moving frequently to avoid detection. In response, German signals units relied on mobile vans to pinpoint the faint signals, with two or more units working together to triangulate. That might be of help here now, tracking elusive weak signals emitted from within the concrete canyons, bouncing off the many concrete and steel structures.

In reply to helbent4 (msg #26):

>"OK, I want to get a listening post up on the harbor centre, and get out with the command vehicle and roam and monitor there.  Between the two I should be able to triangulate the source of the transmission."

"Okay, time to put a plan together."

Lee went up to the whiteboard and the city map.

"After we get the word Cyrus is at Brandie's, we deploy a snatch team somewhere along his return route. Our reconnaissance of the West End has given us some good infiltration and exfiltration routes."

She made some marks on the whiteboard.

"After talking with Taras, let's go with the intersection of Jervis/Melville and West Pender. It's kind of a 5-way, but the west side of the intersection has a good look down Pender and it's a good bottleneck. Cyrus and friends will be travelling west along Pender towards Jervis."

She made a couple more.

"The bomb will go off just before the intersection of Pender and Jervis, knocking Cyrus and his posse over."

"We'll have a lookout element of 2 at Bute and Pender, 2 more to "backstop" at the NW corner of Jervis and Pender. Taras, at the SW corner of the intersection where he has a good view of the area, and the LAV out of sight a short way away at the corner of West Hastings with 2 crew and a 3-person snatch team armed with Tasers, CS gas and stun grenades. Additional transport will be 2 SUVs in a parkade in the block between Hastings and Pender."

"I figure 12 people at most, for this operation. Backup will be the ERT waiting at the north end of the Burrard St. Bridge (although that's a little ways away, we don't want to flood the area with troops) and there will be the signals teams at Harbour Centre and the mobile van that's going to be in the West End, tracking down the radio signals we've been hearing."

Next came a list of events.

1. Infiltration: when Cyrus goes to Brandis, we come north across the Burrard St. Bridge to the West End.

2. Everyone settles in for the night, Taras prepares a concussion charge near Jervis and Pender, lookouts and backstop get into position.

3. When the lookouts at Bute see Cyrus coming down Pender, alert everyone. Cyrus passes the lookouts at Bute and is in the "box". When they approach the intersection of Jervis, Taras triggers the concussion charge, Cyrus and his party goes down.

4. That's the signal for everyone to move in. The lookouts seal off the block at Bute, the backstoppers seal off the block at Jervis. The LAV moves in and the snatch team apprehends Cyrus and his posse.

5. We load up, and go home."

The plan looked like this:

http://maps.google.ca/maps/ms?...004738584952276db740

"We're a safe distance from the Park and from Brandie's. The terrain favours us, and we have surprise. Last, we are more mobile than Cyrus and his buddies."
Rachel looked at Tyler and Rob. "We'd like to have you along, but I think you're best heading back to Deadman's Island. After we're done, we move into the Park in force. You have your objectives down?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:33, Mon 14 Sept 2009.

"Okay, we got one unit to take Cyrus, another radio van to track the signals. Tyler and Rob need to take off, and we'll be arranging for evacuation of their people when we start the operation."

"Speaking of that, our forces will be converging on the Park from the West end and over the Lion's Gate Bridge. There will be a small unit in reserve that can be amphibiously inserted almost anywhere in the park to support either ground force or the force moving out of Deadman's Island."

"Anything else?"

He looked at Kelsey, "would you mind making up the call-signs for tonight?"
This message was last edited by the player at 09:38, Mon 14 Sept 2009.

Tyler nodded and grinned. "Yeah, it'll be good to see my dad again, get things ready. It'll be even better to get back into action! I guess if everything goes well, we'll see ya'all at the stadium where the Stickmen civvies are located."

"Uh-huh. Well good luck then. See you later, and we'll see those boats to take our people off."

Most excellent, Rachel!

The plan previously concocted was exposed throughout and was elaborated in an unorthodox mix of Canadian Law Enforcement and Soviet military principles of war. Preparedness, initiative and surprise, capability to achieve the mission, coordination, concentration and the primary concern of the security and safety of the members of the team was taking into consideration.

This new approach to planning of combined operations also translated in other contingency plans kept in the folders just in case...

Now I would like to recommend to get ready all the individual equipment that will be needed. In 2 hours will prepare the vehicle fleet and will conduct some drills with the selected militia. Kelsey, you will provide the call signs and coordination with the radio relay in Harbour Centre as well as the reserve force and HQ here in UBC. If there is no further questions so far this briefing is finished.

Inspector Khandola nodded in approval.

"I would like to add, for clarity's sake, that these individuals are considered armed and dangerous. Cyrus is considered a high-value captive, but you are allowed to defend yourselves."

"Simply put, he and his men are to be given the opportunity to surrender, but if they resist you are authorised to use deadly force. As well, under the current military rules of engagement if someone refuses to stop when ordered deadly force may also be used."

He didn't look comfortable about this, but still looked resolved.

"If you want, you may take a couple 4-wheel ATVs on a trailer for pursuit. That might be a good idea if Cyrus isn't knocked down or stunned, and give you more options than deadly force if he runs."
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:16, Tue 15 Sept 2009.

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #32):

"Good luck, Taras, everyone. I'm afraid I'm needed here to help organise our forces for the Park-clearing operation later tonight, whenever Cyrus is in the bag."

Thinking about Khndola's offer, Rachel accepted.

"Having a couple ATVs can't hurt. They're perfect for pursuit, especially for guys on mountain bikes."

"For personnel assignments, Taras is in commnad of the overall operation. Sergeant Fox will command the LAV, I'll head the snatch team, Master McRae and MacDonald will be the lookouts. Tyler? Rob? The evacuation won't take place until after we're done, still time to get involved if you want, we can have you home in time to get your own people together."

Command element: Taras / Kelsey
LAV-III: Fox + Militia driver
Snatch team: Lee + 2 RCMP
Lookouts: Andy and Mac
Backstop: 2 Militia
Security/ATV "chasers": 2 Militia

"So, that's 13 personnel. We have the LAV, 2 SUVs and 2 ATVs on a trailer."

Tyler considered the offer to accompany the team and looked like he thought it was a good idea.

"You know what? I think I'll take you up on that. I wouldn't mind taking part in this little shin-dig. Sergeant Fox has a driver for the LAV and he'll be the commander/gunner, but he could use a dedicated gunner. Unless you think I could be better used elsewhere?"

He looked interested and excited. This promised to be a different experience than the bloodbath in Chinatown. He was used to that kind of do=or-die situation, and looked forward to seeing how the skills and mindset he'd been taught and absorbed as an airborne soldier would apply to these circumstances.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:02, Tue 15 Sept 2009.

Rob smiled.

"Okay kid, you go on, I'll make sure things are ship-shape at home."

"I can't do too many of these late-nights anyways! We''l be packed and ready to leave when you get back to the island."

He slapped Tyler on the shoulder. "Have fun, Ty!"

In reply to Alain Belanger (msg #29):

"Right.  I guess I am on patrol.  Here are the call signs:

Command element:  Echo.
Snatch Element:  Romeo.
Assualt Elements:  Golf.  Victor.  Charlie.  Uniform.

Various parts of the elements are as follows:
Commander.  11
Commo.  2
xo  3


So if you are the commander of the whole shebang, you are Echo-one one
Commo for the Snatch element, Romeo two.
Xo of Snatch team 3, Charlie 3.

Any other codes needed?

Mr. Tyler, I applaud and commend your decision. I don't think that we will need to use the firepower of the LAV on this mission. I do believe that we will require the expertise and skills of a veteran soldier like you for the capture of our targets. Mr Tyler already demonstrated a good deal of courage and is people like you that the Government needs at this point. I'll be more than glad to include you in the snatch team.

Taras paused and looked at Robert Conklin:

Your help will be much needed coordinating your people in the Park. There is no doubt about it. Thank you for your cooperation. Please, before you part lets make sure that we have a radio link with you.

Then turned to Kelsey:

Good job on the call signs. We will produce a list with everybody involved in the operation and their call sign to aviod mistakes. I have to say that coordination is of the most importance.

Final words went to Clarke:

The capture of Cyrus and his bodyguards is just the beginning. We will need a reception comittee to be ready here at UBC as soon as we arrived so we can hand out the prisoners and proceed with the next step and move to Stanley Park. Based on the INTEL provided by the people at North Shore I provide them with the instructions to proceed to the assault of the North side of the bridge and how execute the breach of the obstacles and link with us in the main compound. So they are ready to support our effort at our command.

"Good idea, Tyler can help with the snatch. You've got your ATV, you can be one of the mounted element. Looks like a plan!"

She thought for a second.

"We need a catchy name for this operation. Hmm.... how about "OP SCREWDRIVER". Capturing Cyrus is the Vodka, and taking the park will be the orange juice? Something like that. A metaphor. I don't know where I'm going with this."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:22, Thu 17 Sept 2009.

Belanger laughed.

"Sure! Works for me. OP SCREWDRIVER. Why not?"

"We'll have a cell at the detachment waiting, plus the containment facility that's set up at Thunderbird stadium for the rest of his goons."

"OK," Andy said, "when's Go time?"

Go time? Well, we can count with setting up positions before midnight. I wouldn't expect something to happen earlier. In any case there is plenty to do before of that...

Taras took his notebook with the scratches of the impending operation.

All the people involved in tonight's mission will be going to downtown to see the area of operations in situ. It will be a quick look. Fast enough not to call too much attention but enough to become familiar with it. After that we'll be back to UBC and prepare all the collective and personal items needed. We will select an appropiate location around similar to the ambush site in downtown and we will practice the snatch. No live fire! But this will help to get a better job done.

He could sense some surprise to his last words and he felt obliged to say something else:

This is no longer the war we were used to fight. Now we have the legal, moral authority and enough material means to win the battle. We are superior and it would be really a shame if we do not take advantage of all the resources that we have. It was barely impossible to train for a mission while we were at war within conventional armies. The ability to re-enact the play and fine tunning the orchestra for tonight's concert will help to save lives, increase morale and overall efectiveness.

Lessons learnt. The Chinatown incident still too fresh in the ukrainian's mind. Hasty operations were dangerous business. This time the fruits of intel in depth of the enemy, modus operandi, terrain and exploit superior tactics and firepower would be harvested together and will pay off. "What you reap is what you sow"(Galatians 6:7).

We'll prepare a couple of civilian SUV's to move into downtown as soon as we get out of here. Commander, with your permission...

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #43):

"I am wondering what we can do to mask this flurry of activity.  I'll be monitoring the airways, but we may have to be prepared to interrupt the courriers that the angels tend to rely on."

Shevchenko was interested by the last comment:

This is very important, indeed. Regarding comms there are a few options that we have. We will monitoring the air waves for sure. This will give us an insight on what the Hell's Angels are up too. I believe we do have plenty of time to get out of downtown once Cyrus is captured. The bikers will be late to arrive and I don't see a clear initial reaction from them. The Stickmen don't seem to be high priority or interest for them. The follow on operation on the Park will be another issue but that's why we came up with the idea of the mobile clinic: To keep a good number of them away from the area of operations.

It was a nice sunny day, still a little cool in the shadows.

The team got together to do a little personal recce of the area beforehand. As well, the radio "HAZMAT" van would accompany them both to preserve the routine image and to see if they could triangulate with the comms station on Harbour Centre and determine where the rogue signals were coming from in the West End.

Arriving at the chosen intersection they saw it was a suitable area for their purposes. Taras' and Kelsey's position a few floors up in a skyscraper at the corner of Jervis/Melville and West Pender would give them a clear view of the intersection. Just a few dozen metres down was the choke point around a crashed semi that Cyrus's group would have to squeeze through. They could also see the corner down the block at Jervis and West Hastings where the LAV would wait, as well as the parkade where the ATV-mounted chasers would be, and across from them would be the backstop team. The only element not in sight would be Andy and Mac as lookouts at Pender and Bute.

Maintaining the security and safety of the operation was paramount. The brief visit to the area of operations gave enough situational awareness to all the members of the team. Suitable locations were chosen and upon nightfall and darkness the familiarity with the scene was a positive factor to weigh.

Taras insisted to find a suitable intersection in UBC grounds to rehearse the operation. Basic skills will be revisited: Individual camouflage in urban environment, movement in pairs, selection of targets and snatch, practise noise, light and litter discipline, arresting suspects, convoy driving and specially the communications aspect would be worked hard.

It was a sort of a symphonic movement were all the elements would be playing its own tune but at the same time they will have to follow the canon, bring harmony together. Basically, respecting the leitmotiv of tonight's theme the talented performers will be conducting a concerto that demanded at the same time a solid orchestra and personal virtuoso.

Dynamite will work best. Plastic explosive will be too much. I'll be using a 250 grams charge which is usually the common training charge that we use in training courses in shallow pits. No fragmentation, pure concussion wave.

Taras was giving some introduction to his playing part. Selection of a suitable explosive charge was paramount for the success of the mission. Too few and the beginning would become a dangerous situation. Too much and they will end up with a "road kill".

As a back up...just in case something fails. I'll be using handgrenades with impact fuze. These were developped after the experiences in Afghanistan with time delay grenades running down the rocks. We called them the "mountain grenades" in the Soviet Army. Impact fuzes will guarantee surprise due to the reaction time. These grenades also have a time delay fuze if the impact one fails to function.

Taras produced one of the grenades from his pocket to show to the team:


This message was last edited by the GM at 09:18, Thu 24 Sept 2009.

Right after the briefing it was time for everybody to start collecting the personal items that would be brought into the battle. Taras decided the fatigues over the more conventional uniform. It was a matter of trying not to be too obvious in a territory, Downtown, where everything and everybody remained mostly in the uncharted waters of the twilight wars.

The high end hiking boots were a radical departure in foot wear to the traditional soviet gear or the business attire black polished shoes RCMP standard. Agility, protection and stealth would be requirements of a mission and the Meindl were a solid response. A Colonel's salary worth...Thought Taras.



The duty belt holding a quick extraction Smith & Wesson would come in handy. It was a night mission and the tritium sights were a clear advantage. More punch with a 9 mm Pb. round and double the capacity over the the Makarov. The duty belt also gave the advantage of carrying extra equipment in the form of handcuffs, pepper spray, flashlight and the radio handset.

Over the cammo shirt he wore the assault vest. This item was nothing but a RPK gunner lifchik. The extra pockets for grenades will be perfect housing for the dual fuzed grenades.


In his hands was resting one of the most visually exciting members of the Kalashnikov Avtomat family. This was largely due to its noticeable abbreviated 8,2 inch barrel , chopped down handguards and simplistic, triangular and sidefolding stock. It was certainly designed to be carried more than shot and that was barely one year after the ubiquitous AK-74 entered production. The addition of a 45 round RPK-74 magazine locked into it indicated a willingness to fight in the urban jungle where speed and firepower was the best ally. Taras checked the unique sight, a departure from the bigger brother -74. It was greatly simplified from a sliding tangent to a L-shaped flip sight with two settings. The cirillic character "P" was chosen for a more than optimistic 200 meters battlesight setting.

The civilian type backpack was already prepared over the table. It contained the tools of the trade. Wire spool, detonators, the already prepared 250 grams dynamite charge and a minituare version of your local hardware store. There was enough space to carry the NVG but little else. It was heavy but the design allowed for easy transport resting over heavy padded shoulder straps.

Once fully equipped, Shevchenko moved up and down and around the building to test the loadout for balance, noise and comfort.

Taras' personal weapon.

---

1545 Hours

After the look at the ambush site, the team left the built-up areas of the city and headed back to the UBC compound without incident.

It was still a warm pleasant Tuesday afternoon. The sky was clear, after the strong winds in the morning have driven off all cloud cover.

The radio intelligence van stayed in the downtown/West End to gather more signals information. So far, no one had been able to get a clear fix on them or listen in. The frequencies were in the VHF band consistent with commercial hand-held radios. They seemed to be coming from within a 5 square block area centred around Beach and Hornby on False Creek, still a fairly large footprint. Hopefully, they would be able to keep gathering data through the evening.

However, the van would pull back to the Harbour Centre outpost at dusk, both for safety's sake and to keep to the pattern established by earlier patrols.

As they headed back over the Burrard St. Bridge, Andy thought he saw someone observing them from one of the high-rise apartment buildings along Beach between the Granville and Burrard St. bridges. However, it was impossible to tell, and stopping on the bridge would put them completely in the open, so they continued back (in safety).

Once back at the Uni, the group gathered equipment and got kitted out.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:17, Tue 29 Sept 2009.

Lee got the team together once personal gear had been sorted out.

Rachel was wearing her dark navy ERT assault jumpsuit, balaclava Kevlar helmet and heavy assault vest. Personal weapons were her 9mm S&W and Remington 870 shotgun. She took a couple flash-bangs and a couple CS grenades, plus a couple spare magazines for the pistol. Loading 5 stunbags for the shotgun, she also took 20 buckshot-filled cartridges in case they were needed. These went into pouches on the vest and loops on the shotgun.

She also checked her personal tactical radio, flashlight and her NVGs; as this would be a night operation those would be important. Because of the possibility of tear gas, she made sure her gas mask was ready. She added her steel handcuffs, a collapsible baton, and a pouchful of flexible cuffs, plus extra for the people who'd be doing the apprehension. Topping that off was her Halligan tool and Nomex gloves. Again, most of this gear was attached to or stored on her vest or the cargo pockets of her dark navy jumpsuit.

She had the team gather at an intersection on campus, along with the LAV, a couple parked ATVs, and a small group of male and female volunteers both on and off bikes to play the part of Cyrus, his posse, and bystanders. They were just down from their assigned quarters at Ritsumikan House, and bordering the street was a strip on grass, one of the few lawns that hadn't been sectioned off and plowed under for food production.

"Okay, I think we should practice doing the snatch. It could be tricky, we have a few elements, like the LAV, two ATVs and a snatch team, and we've got to work out the kinks."

Stripping herself of much of her bulky gear for the mean time, she handed Tyler a bulky yellow and black pistol-shaped weapon.

"Tyler, you get a Taser, as does your partner. I'll have the third. We have enough reloaded amunition for you to take a few practice shots. So go ahead!"

"Eddie and Kamal were students here at UBC, on the wresting team. So they figure they can take a shot each. I figure you should practice firing at running targets."

"The rest of you, when the fun is over, this is what's going to happen when it goes down:

"We'll get a warning from Andy and the lookout element and the targets will quickly move into the ambush zone. There will be a BANG! That will be the signal for the ATVs and LAV to move out. The LAV blocks the road to the west, the team disembarks, while the ATVs flank on the north and south side of the intersection. We secure the prisoners, chase any runners, then re-mount and evacuate back to the UBC."

"Let's practice this over and over, we got a few hours before dinner. It's almost 1600 now, and if things are like usual Cyrus will probably head out around sunset, at 1900. I don't think we should move into place until after he passes, going to Brandie's. We grab him on the way back, which will probably be 0500 or so the next morning."

The young Mountie looked energised and enthusiastic. She finally felt more in her element after years of war and rural policing that crossed the line between combat and law enforcement. Briefly catching Kelsey's eye she grinned impishly, then moved along with getting people organised.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:15, Tue 29 Sept 2009.

A couple of athletic young men stepped forward, smiling nervously and trying to keep up their bravado at volunteering for this punishment.

"I guess we, uh, just run for it? Along the grass, of course, don't wanna take a header on the pavement!" Kamal spoke, a slim well-kept Indian man in a turban and scraggly beard. Eddie loosened his muscles a bit. "Yeah, let's do this, eh?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:17, Tue 29 Sept 2009.

Andy set himself up in a good position overlooking Cyrus' anticipated direction of travel. He found a heavy table and placed it a few feet behind the window he would be using to observe from.

He intended to be back from the window in order to avoid being spotted whilst still being able to cover his angles. Andy checked his rear security carefully and then checked his kit once more. He was wearing his combat uniform and his webbing was arranged to allow him to lie down comfortably. His ammunition pouches carried six magazines for his carbine and a second pouch on either side carried two frag grenades, a couple of flash bangs and a smoke grenade. He carried a couple of canteens on his web belt and his radio nestled in a pouch on his suspenders.

The top left pocket of his BDU jacket held two spare clips for the Parker Hale and his NVGs were clipped to the opposite suspender.

Andy rested his carbine by the side of the table and laid his sniper rifle on it. He got behind the big rifle and checked out his zones of fire. He checked ranges and memorised landmarks at different distances.

Happy that he was prepared for the rehearsal he used his radio, "Radio check."

In reply to Andrew Montgomery McRae (msg #52):

Mac joined Andy, also kitted out for the mission, although at this point they were still on-campus and just practicing.

He also has his FN plus six mags in his webbing, his Hi-Power with 2 spare mags in his CF-issue Combats' pockets, a four C13 frag grenades, and a couple smoke grenades plus a tear gas canister.

If any bugger tried to run past him, he planned on simply walloping them with the heavy wooden stock of the C1A1 battle rifle. Couldn't do THAT with a friggin' plastic M16/C7! Nothing fancy, although he also took some pepper spray and got some zap-strap flex-cuffs from Cpl. Lee.

As he wasn't planning on running too much, he had his heavy Kevlar vest (heavier than the US PASGT version and protection against rifle fire). His helmet was attached to his webbing was wearing his green beret instead. As well, he brought his binocular, gas mask, NVGs, and filled both his canteens.

They were in the rez building down the block from the intersection, and they had a good view of the "simulated" Cyrus' approach.

"You know, at some point we should both go down and practice being on the snatch team... just in case we need to switch things up?"

When Andy did his radio check he did his as well, also checking his flashlight. Andy noticed Mac had shaved, but still kept the neat moustache and goatee he'd grown while staying with the First Nations Muqueam band.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Tue 29 Sept 2009.

After returning to the campus, Fox kitted himself up.

He was going to be the gunner-commander of the LAV III, so he didn't need to gear up too much. Aside from his Kevlar vest and helmet, he took his C7A1 and slipped 6 magazines into the webbing pouches. Along with 4 C13 grenades he took an M7A1 HC smoke and M13 WP grenades. He took his Hi-Power plus a couple mags. Although the LAV hjad NBC filtration and night-vision, he took his NVGs and gas mask, just in case, and filled his canteens. When acting as commander he would wear the CVC helmet or his maroon Ariborne beret instead of the infantry helmet. The rifle and extra gear (along with a tactical radio) he stowed in the turret bustle.

"Well guys, I gotta see the LAV's in top condition. I'll join you when we get to the run-throughs. Don't want my driver running everyone over 'cause they don't know how to handle this beast!"

Once in the LAV at the afternoon's practice, he went through the vehicle's passenger bay and made sure it was cleaned out, with no weapons or anything else that might hurt or assist the detainees that would be put in the back. Satisfied, he spent time making sure the RCMP auxiliary was familiar with the big wheeled APC's controls. He himself checked that the 25mm autocannon, 7.62mm coaxial MG and commander's C5 GPMG were fully loaded and functioning (to the extent that he didn't fire them). Next was the check of the comms gear, NBC filtration units. The only thing he didn't check was to see if the hull was still water-tight and amphibious, and of course the night vision (thermal and IR).

Lastly, he made sure he was familiar with the Claymores that had been mounted in their wooden boxes along the hulls sides, with the electircal leads leading to the Driver's hatch. (Putting them up into the turret would of course restrict the turret's traverse). Fox debated whether or not to instruct the volunteer Mountie on their operation, but finally decided that was a little too risky in a situation where they would be operating with several dismounted elements, and it was unlikely that anyone would charge the LAV en masse.

"Okay, that's it! Too easy."

Satisfied, he had the driver roll the LAV over to where the others were practicing for the night's op.

Andy packed his kit up and said, "OK, Mac, let's go down there."

He headed down with his friend to where the snatch squad were rehearsing.

Training was hard. Good coordination was necessary at many levels. Mostly at the personal one. The interaction of the members of the team was the secret to a smooth move. Taras didn't have a part to play so active as the snatch team and after a few rehearsals he did have some time to share some thoughts with the head of the RCMP Mr. Belanger. Seems like the old veteran wouldn't miss the oportunity to check in scene some good old training as in the glory days of the now defunct Airborne.

Belanger, while this operation is going on I would like to keep a close eye on the airport. I've been checking the maps and seems like there a few bridges that connects the island with the North, East and South. If possible I want to have a discreet recon on those bridges and see what's their status, if they are defended or not, etc. Recollection of intel is a time consuming task and we cannot afford to lose the momentum.

Alain was surely making mental notes on this comments...

We have some other means that we can exploit to our advantage. I hear that the youngsters are working on a remoted piloted vehicle that can be equipped with a camera. Aerial surveillance would be great!

OOC: It would be great if we can get an Intel tab on the airport on the Intel threat.

After exchanging some formalities with his boss he inquired to Fox:

Sgt. Fox? Is the LAV-III an amphibious machine? Could it cross the North Arm of the Fraser river?

In reply to Andrew Montgomery McRae (msg #55):

Chris slung his medical bag over his shoulder. Although he was working with Andy as a spotter, he was also the team's nominal medic. He'd managed to somehow avoid the combat that the team had engaged in, but he wanted to be prepared.

"I agree, it's good to keep our focus on the Airport."

"I'll detail some of our Musqueam contacts to recce the airport a little. Keep an eye on them, and report if all the bridges are guarded. I seem to recall they are, with at least a pair of sentries on all the bridges other than the Arthur Lang."

He made some notes.

"I'll have to check my files, make some calls. Get back to you after dinner."

1601-2000 Turn

After practicing the manoeuvers over and over again for a couple hours, they were satisfied that everyone knew their parts. To a degree they were also cross-trained, so that they could switch personnel if need be.

At 1730 they broke for some dinner. Around them, the other units and personnel prepared for the general assault on the Park, scheduled for whenever Cysrus was safely in their grasp. Cmdr. Clarke-Sullivan was in charge of that aspect, and she seemed to have the situation well in hand.

Dark would come at 1900, and soon after Cyrus would be on his way. Once the surveillance team reported he was at Brandie's the snatch team could move into place.

Field security is all about the concealment of own's strenghts and most particularly the intentions. Hammer time was about to come but it was also time to lower the curtains of military security over the operation. Analisys of threats showed to Lt. Shevchenko that a primitive but effective form of surveillance was casting a shadow of doubt. The localized radio emissions and the occasional spotter reported over the Beach-to-Hornby line translated into Taras mind as an early warning screen that will broadcast the arrival of a substantial force to downtown including a large armoured vehicle and several others that forming a convoy would ring alarm bells in an undetermined yet HQ.

Taras transmitted his concern to the team:

...So therefore, I decided to change the route for tonight. We will avoid the bridges not to set or trigger any alarm about our arrival...

Nopt happy with that, the ukrainian called the attention of Belanger and Kelsey and commented to them the possibility of establishing a serious and concerted effort of counter-surveillance over this issue:

For tonight, the absence of movement over that area will suffice to move around the enemy's intelligence cycle. In the future we may consider active measures and always consider camouflage and concealment for every operation.

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #60):

"Taras, if you think the bridges are under surveillance, we'll take that very seriously. Do you want us to send in patrols to check it out? So far, our patrols have been staying on the south side of False Creek and east of Granville in the downtown core."

He thought for a bit.

"Andy would be perfect for this kind of situation."

"Are we about ready to go?

It was after dinner, they were all as practiced as they could reasonably be.

Belanger, we need to have a detailed intelligence on the people controlling thae Airport and its approaches. Being an island itself, from a military point of view is quite easy to defend. That's what makes me think that they have all the bridges covered. We already have some concerning news about some bunkers and automatic weapons and the APC in the middle of the main bridge.

Obviously Sea Island, the geographic accident that contained the airport and fuel storage was a target of extreme importance. So far it was under control of an armed gang that was making use of extorsion and preventing the free access to other areas like the city of Richmond in the South. Regaining control was paramount.

They seem to be well organized. I calculate a strength of a company with strong command and control and surveillance as well as response elements. They are in the lookout and that's why the UBC party looking for scrap got into trouble.

Taras was making reference to a previous incident well known in the community. It appeared that a group of residents where summarily evicted from the surroundings of the airport by the heavily armed group in control of those shores.

I recommend to start our recce missions as soon as possible. I'd like to start with a quiet watch over the situation on the bridges and also the along the South Shore along the South Fraser Arm. Again, I will like to have the cooperation of the Musqueam Indian Reserve. They are our closest allies physically and... spiritually!
We have a clear advantage: In this situation the enemy is holding a well defined defensive position but it's exactly this lack of dispersion what will make the takeover easier. Unlike the Hell's Angels that are wildly spread, those guys will be easier and quicker to bring down. But lets focus for now on tonight's operation...

Operation "SCREWDRIVER" was about to unfold. Specific instructions were given to special purpose team taking care of the snatch as well as key individuals in charge of comms, overwatch, etc.

The patrol order format was ready including the situation and specifically stating related to the enemy forces their location (basically their approach avenue), strength, identification and terrain and weather as well. The previous recon of the area being an excellent preparatory exercise.

Regarding the friendly forces, the team was briefed about the nature of the mission one more time, the location of one and each individual and that was highlighted in the previous training including cross training. For security reasons, an additional force will be available as a reserve force if needed being located in the old Police Station in downtown.

Then came time for the coordinating instructions. Particular actions over the objective, movement techniques and routes were included. As a result of the previous intelligence on the radio emissions and activity on the South area of the downtown peninsula an alternate route was decided for the team. The approach will be conducted not through the compromising bridges but driving all the way East and turning North on Main St. towards Chinatown and from there to the heart of the West End, the final area of operations (AO). The return route was unchanged as the mission would not be compromised after the capture was effective and the Burrard Bridge was the shortest route out of the AO.

Due to the joint nature of the team, military and civilian, special care was taken in stating the exact method of handling prisoners, wounded or dead. A final review of frequencies and call signs and chain of command was also reported.

Time schedule still up to be decided. The mission was not time related exclusevly. The target will provide much of the timing of the operation. Departure time will be choose right after the final inspection of weapons, other equipment and vehicles was done.

The team gathered together in the motor pool next to the vehicles that will take part in the mission. They were ready for a final inspection. Darkness was almost upon the city now.

Andy stood by the motor pool with his gear ready for inspection and any final instructions befor ethe operation.

1900

Dark had arrived. The HAZMAT van, keeping to previously established routine, headed back to UBC via the roundabout route. It would be out of character to have it out after dark.

The vehicles available for the snatch team were the LAV III, a Suburban and UAZ-469 Jeep, 2 ATVs and an ambulance (with 2 paramedics). The reaction team was in 2 vans.

1. Command (Taras/Kelsey) ECHO
2. Backstop (2 Militia) GOLF
3. Lookout (Andy, Mac) VICTOR
4. ATV Chasers (Tyler + RCMP) CHARLIE
5. LAV-III (Fox + 1 Militia) UNIFORM
6. Snatch Team (Lee + 2 RCMP) ROMEO
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:36, Fri 23 Oct 2009.

In reply to helbent4 (msg #65):

Kelsey looks over the available vehicles, she'll decide what command is taking if no one else will.

"Got me driving too, Commander Taras?"

She readied a radio to place.. temp.. in the vehicle they were taking.. maybe that jeep for mobility  "Or shall we inhabit the Hazmat?"

Go ahead and take the wheel!

At this point Taras will supervise the formation of the convoy and will go the order to march as soon as everyboby is ready.

Andy looked over at Mac and said, "OK, looks like we're good to go."

He got into the vehicle that would take them to their OP.

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg #66):

Pausing as she was about to mount the LAV, Rachel looked over at the HAZMAT van and looked doubtful.

"We already got 2 SUVs, 2 ATVs, a LAV-III and an ambulance. Adding the HAZMAT would make this into even more of a circus. Plus, it's never out this late and so this would be really out of character. Also, it's a valuable asset to risk and it's not crucial to the mission; if anything goes wrong we could lose it and that would really hurt our general intelligence-gathering."

"On the plus side, if someone has us under counter-surveillance, this would be the best chance we have of intercepting their signals, bar none."

"Taras, what do you think?" She looked over at the mission commander.

Hmmm...the HAZMAT van eh... We will use it and we will not use it.

The pause was intended as an invitation to resolve a mental riddle not unlike a chess problem. There was an apparent conflict between making use of a valuable asset and risking it.

Deception! We are going to use the van to trigger the interception of possible signals but we will not include it in tonight's area of operation. The van together with the regular police cruiser escort will be taking the place of our original route. They will be crossing the Burrard bridge instead of us.

A slower speech helped to convey Shevchenko's idea. He produced a city map from his side pocket:

Look, we were aware that the southern areas of downtown, along Beach Av. and the North end of Burrard and Granville bridges may be "hot". Faint transmissions and possible overwatch. That's why I decided to switch the route to avoid possible detection.

He was drawing with his finger the route to be taken along the Broadway corridor towards Main St., Chinatown and finally the heart of the West End using an elliptical detour.

The van will fill our route but once they cross the Burrard bridge they will quickly turn right and will return using the Granville bridge. With this rather strange move, if there is any surveillance at all, will surely trigger an alarm that will be registered.

It was a feint, a provocation. Basically an unorthodox move intended to call their attention and help to gather the elusive Intel that could compromise further operations.

The van has a limited escort but by the time they will be executing their dance our convoy will be not far if some serious threat arises. Once the van has executed this maneuver we will be free to move forward and the HAZMAT can return safely.

The planning was a direct application of Maskirovka. Including "Imitation" (A "HAZMAT" van), "Simulation" (a HAZMAT mission), "Demonstrative Action" (mislead the enemy regarding plans and operations) everything shrouded in a veil of disinformation. Implicit were the four main characteristics of this art of war: Activity: giving the enemy a false idea cause then to dtermine incorrect estimates. Plausibility: make it to look real. Variety: avoiding the pattern, substituting the snatch element by the HAZMAT team and finally Continuity: Maskirovka must be part of all plans and must be continued throughout an operation. This was no different.

I will give the instructions to the people at the van and request their escort. We will have a rally point in the intersection of Burrard St. and West 4th while the HAZMAT team conduct their loop.

Alan whistled.

"Nice... provoking a response, and then using the same asset to detect and measure the response from close up. Well done! I guess you're ready to go, then. Best of luck!"

He looked impressed with the idea, but he was already obsorbed in planning the bigger operation that would occur later on in the early morning.

Fox cranked the LAV-III's engine, and the diesel fired up with no problem. The machine really liked the bio-diesel, and there was no cloud of dark smoke spewed out like it would with a petroleum-based fuel.

"Wagons ho!"

He waited for the rest of the personnel he was transporting to mount, and while he did he moved the turret and weapons, just to make sure they were functioning correctly.

Rachel mounted the LAV, making sure her team was situated.

She called up, "Sergeant, we're ready to go."

The rear ramp raised up behind her with a hydraulic whine.

"All right, time to rock!"

This pace of furious action followed by stretches of down time were frustrating. Still, it was far more exciting than hanging around that Goddamn little island, trapped by the water on one side and the Stickmen freaks on the other. He felt energised, alive, even though he understood that most of the night would be spent waiting for Cyrus to pass by in the morning.

"Let's get it on!"

He got into the Jeep with Andy and closed the door.

Mac got climbed into the rear of the civilian jeep, letting Andy drive.

"Okay man, let's go!"

Kelsey finishes prepping the jeep for their temporary inhabitance, cinching her rifle in a good mount for quick retrieval and looking over the vehicle's spots for putting it someplace for ready to fire.  She will fold the windshield down on the hood, and with a smirk she pulls off her glengary in favor of her kevlar pot, and will check the cinches on her body armor, the radio mounting, and with a little look around, where everyone else is, eyes lingering on her friend Rachel with a slight smile.

"Roger then, Echo 1, ready.  Radio check."

Without hesitation, the fully kitted Combat Engineer located the backpack at his feet, tapped the shoulder of Kelsey and motioned forward. While close together, the convoy was able to conduct the radio check and most of the drivers were exchanging thumbs up and even some smiles. The unconventional radio style of the burly ukrainian start rumbling over the speakers:

Attention...this is Echo One-One...We will move directly from here to our rally point. When we arrive everybody will remain in the vehicles until further notice...Over!

Slowly the mixed fleet picked up some speed over the straight length of Broadway. In about ten minutes they will arrive to the established Rally Point (RP). From there, the HAZMAT van equipped with the radio location equipment escorted by a Police cruiser as they were doing for the last days, will be probing the airwaves while driving their designated loop.

The convoy will wait for them to come back. If necessary they'll be ready to respond in force to a possible ambush or attack. If not, they will proceed after gaining first hand INTEL on how the feint worked.

Taras knew that the wait at the Rally Point will only last a few minutes. Right after stopping he dismounted and went to talk to each and every designated vehicle commander in the column. In his previous experience he had to deal with numerous vehicle breakdowns and tasked with retrieving them around Bella Coola. He didn't want to have to go over this type of situation again.

We'll be moving soon. Get one of your crew to inspect the exterior of vehicle for any leak and stand-by.Usually he finished his instructions with a couple of fast, light tapping over the hood.

It would be certainly a faster task to communicate his intentions over the radio but Taras was well aware of OPSEC over the comms. He was also a Commander himself and wanted to reassure the troops looking them in the eye. As to get the feelings and the emotion build-up.

Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Demo charge (250 gr. TNT)

The vehicles idled at the RP, engines rumbling and echoing of the nearest buildings.

All the elements checked their radios as they waited, and checked their other gear as well.

Cool night air seeped in the windows, and the stars were coming out. The moon wouldn't rise until 0425, and it would be a little more than half-full, plenty of light to work with. Right now it was just shy of 2100 hours, plenty of time.

The HAZMAT van and police escort completed it's circuit, with no incident. Immediately, the signals unit notified Kelsey they had a fix on signals originating from on of the high buildings on the downtown side of False Creek, overlooking the Burrard and Granville bridges. There was a few seconds of outgoing signals, mostly code words on an open unscrambled channel. Whoever was doing this, or at least organising this, had some form of military training. There was a short return signal detected, presumably a response/acknowledgement originating from the downtown area somewhere around Brandie's, although not the club itself.

Excited but bored, Mac sat in the back of the Jeep that Andy was driving, checking the near buildings out.

"Andy, er, "Master McRae", do you think it's okay to use my goggles? I can't see anything. I know we're going to need them for later, but the batteries are fully charged, eh?"


Chris "Mac" MacDonald
FN C1A1 (20/20) 6 spare magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) 2 spare mags
4 C13 grenades, 2 HC Smoke, 1 CS, bear spray, Medical kit
Waiting in rear of Jeep, Aiming in Overwatch
This message was last edited by the player at 08:20, Fri 23 Oct 2009.

Near the front of the convoy at the LAV-III, Rachel waited with Taras as they conferred with Kelsey on the new intelligence. Her shotgun was back in the SUV.

"Well, Taras, looks like your gambit worked. Doesn't sound like they are where we're planning on being. We should plan to keep an eye out on all sectors tonight, in case someone comes looking, just in case."


Rachel Lee
Remington 870 (5 rubber bullets loaded) + 40 00 Buck, S&W 5960 (15/15) 2 spare magazines
2 Flash-Bang, 2 Tear Gas grenades, pepper spay
By the LAV-III, talking
This message was last edited by the player at 08:24, Fri 23 Oct 2009.

Very well, very well. There was an initial relief and then a sense of satisfaction in Taras voice.

Seems like everybody is watching everybody. For tonight, we hold the upper card. Now is time to move!

Shevchenko re-arranged the order of the convoy. He didn't like the idea of leading the column in an open top jeep. He motioned the SUV to be ahead and then he found himself a nice spot right before the armoured dinosaur. He didn't feel like inhaling after a caterpillar 3126 diesel engine developing 350 horsepower. It was the turn of the paramedics to suck it up: What an irony! he thought with a chuckle.

With an unorthodox honking of claxon the cavalcade resumed its journey to the heart of downtown. He conversed with Kelsey:

The signals that we intercepted tonight are sending us a clear message. Somebody is watching us. This is not good or bad as long as we are aware of it and we can deceive them at our will. Rachel was right, we will have to be extra alert for any suspicious movement. Also consider that tonight was the last mission for the HAZMAT van. Is too obvious now. We will have to come up with something different. I consider you as being my Intelligence Officer and I hope that we'll figure out something...

The trip will take some time. The landscape at night was daunting. The convoy did have to maintain a reduced speed due to the presence of large numbers of wild life. From coyotes to racoons; from squirrels to feral dogs, the exodus from the burstling life of a metropolis transformed the city into an unhospitable jungle.

East Vancouver in full decadence.  The checkered board of window panes filled and unfulfilled brought the memory of Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik or "Iron Mike" Soviet International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. The 1940s was his decade: 7 first prizes in seven tournaments and Botvinnik held the world title from 1948 through 1957. The Soviet Union regarded chess as a symbol of Communist superiority, and hence the Soviet chess world was extremely politicized. As Botvinnik was the first world-class player produced by the Soviet Union, everything around him had political repercussions. But that didn't matter much to Taras or "The Black King of Odessa" as was known in the little circle of chess players of the 62nd Motor Rifle Division. "Iron Mike" loved iron logic. His goal was to elaborate entire playing systems from the opening to the endgame, typically displaying a blocked centre leading to a complicated struggle with plenty of flank maneouvring. But the entire game against the Stickmen wasn't entirely his. Alain Belanger was betting on a quick surrender after the loss of their main figure. He preferred a less open ended strategy. He was no fan of "Give piece a chance".

Lost into this thoughts while the gaze was wandering along the road scanning for any lurking danger the convoy was about to arrive...

Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Demo charge (250 gr. TNT)
This message was last edited by the player at 07:06, Wed 21 Oct 2009.

Andy replied to Mac, "If you think they'll last, use em now. There's no point saving it for later if we get bounced on the way there."

Kelsey shrugs slightly, then smirks, radioing her people back (scrambled!) "Get ready to squelch that signal the moment they try to transmit again."  She winks at Taras and talks to him "I am assuming killing transmission is preferred to raiding the transmitters?  Who do you think it is?  His people?"

I wouldn't jam the signal for now. Seems like is just a rudimentary means of surveillance but we don't know who's behind. If we step in too quick we may set their alarm bells. They have military background as per the discipline they display and they would notice our hand. Maybe they are Undergrounders or maybe not. I don't know of any other well organised groups that could be behind. The Hell's Angel's wouldn't allow much competition in their turf and we already have a large segment of the population supporting our cause. Remember the Chinatown incident.

Options were flashing across Taras mind. It took a few seconds of ear pulling and chin scratching:

I'd like to mount a counter-surveillance operation. If we can point out the origin of the transmission it shouldn't be too difficult to get them. After learning the lesson from Bulat in the North Shore we might as well detect them using the thermal camera at night from some distance in our side of the bridge and insert a sniper team in the area. See who they are, what's their looks, weapons, etc. If we compromise our EW capacity now we may not be able to take advantage in the future.

Bulat's troops were previously able to detect and track the movements of a recce force (sniper + observer) using the thermal unit usually associated to the 9K111 Fagot or AT-4 "Spigot" in NATO parlance. The same way that dominating the air waves with a dedicated Electronic Warfare suite operated by skillful troops like Kelsey was giving an edge, mastering of the thermal spectrum would bring another element to weigh against the intricated problem of MOUT (Military Operations in Urban Terrain) or FIBUA (Fighting in Built-Up Areas), or sometimes FISH (Fighting In Someone's House), or FISH and CHIPS (Fighting In Someone's House and Causing Havoc In People's Streets).
This message was last edited by the player at 09:05, Thu 22 Oct 2009.

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #84):

"Commander, I think we are on too short a timetable to launch such an investigation, and I have a close triangulation of them already.  I am more worried about them spotting our group and having the time to launch a trap against us.  I proposed the jamming on next transmission, not now, regardless.

While they waited, Fox used the LAV's Thermal sights to scan the area, looking for threats.

He popped his head out the gunner's hatch and informed Taras and the others by his jeep,

"Checking 360 degrees, no targets on thermal."

When they mounted up and got going again, he resumed checking their line of advance.


SGT Fox
C7A1 (30/30) + 6 magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) + 6 magazines
4 C13 Grenades, 1 Smoke, 1 WP grenade.
In LAV-III
Aiming on Overwatch.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:23, Fri 23 Oct 2009.

As they waited, they switched up the vehicle order, and sent back the extra Jeep that had been towing the ATVs. The ATVs were deployed, following the ambulance.

The Order of March was as follows:

SUV (2 Militia)

UAZ-469 (Taras, Andy, Mac, Kelsey)

LAV-III (Fox, Lee, 1 Militia, 2 RCMP)

Ambulance (2 Paramedics)

2 ATVs (Tyler, 1 RCMP)

Back on the move, they trundled up Main street and through Chinatown, entering the downtown proper.

After they got moving again, Lee climbed up into the turret and sat in the vehicle commander's seat.

She got on the commander's independent thermal sight and also helped check out the rear and sides for unexpected targts or threats.


Rachel Lee
Remington 870 (5 rubber bullets loaded) + 40 00 Buck, S&W 5946 (15/15) 2 spare magazines
2 Flash-Bang, 2 Tear Gas grenades, pepper spay
In the LAV-III's commander seat
Observing rear and sides using thermal sights.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:30, Fri 23 Oct 2009.

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg #85):

To do so we will have to call back the HAZMAT van. Our operation is a snatch and we depend on speed. Even if we get detected, and our column is not too difficult to miss after all, the enemy is not going to have the ability and time to set up an ambush, we are almost there already. Once we are on our site we will have overwatch in all avenues and an impressive firepower to respond if necessary.

Taras realized that he did miss something in his planning:

Next time I will make sure that Electronic Warfare will be more integral part of the plan. Tonight the HAZMAT van was supposed to be used only as a decoy to cover our approach to downtown.

Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Demo charge (250 gr. TNT)
Talking with Kelsey

Now on one of the ATVs at the end of the column, Tyler followed the ambulance. The Mountie he was paired with rode his own ATV on his right. The darkness glowed an eerie green through the NVGs. His carbine was in the basket in front of the handlbars, and he wore the taser instead.

"Man, this is fun!"


Tyler Hope
Taser, 3 spare cartridges
CAR-15 (30/30) 6 spare magazines, M1911 (8/80 2 spare magazines
4 M67 Grenades, 1 CS grenade, 1 smoke grenade, 1 Flash-Bang
Pulling drag at end of column.

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #89):

Kelsey coughs a little "You know I deployed a retrans site in that tall tower we cleared yesterday?  And my gear is at the Uni.  Besides, we could just step on their freq with something like.. music."  She grins impishly

Andy kept his eyes on the road and made sure that he kept a safe interval between the Soviet jeep and the vehicle in front.

He listened to the conversation and said, "Music would be an obvious interruption, could you hit them with a buzz of static that made it sound like they're kit was on the fritz? When we were in Europe our bloody radios didn't work as often as not, it might seem more natural than a burst of music," he smiled evilly, "though at some point we might want a pirate radio station that just happens to broadcast on certain frequencies, we could look into that, make a ho-hah of chasng the "punks" down when all the time they just happen to swith to frequencies our watchers are using. For now though, I'd suggest we make it sound like static, this engagement will be intense enough without us trying to get cute."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:19, Fri 23 Oct 2009.

In reply to Andrew Montgomery McRae (msg #92):

"Static was my original suggestion, just a simple open key type jam to step on their transmission"

If it can be done I'd prefer to have some static. Also, in the future I will like to have this electronic warfare thing better addressed. In the Red Army I was a Combat Engineer, just one of the folks of combat support with lots of work. I went to military school but I never got to plan operations other than breaching, setting up defenses and recovery of vehicles. I'd really appreciate some input from people with more experience in this field but it's important to do that in advance, in the planning phase.

Taras was getting comfortable again talking with the troops. The little command element encapsulated in the jeep appeared to be getting, regardless of the obvious differences and backgrounds, in the same frequency.

Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Demo charge (250 gr. TNT)
Shooting the breeze

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #94):

"Roger that, I'll contact my team to have them jam the freq they used, and the usual ones for that style radio with simulated solar flare static."

She grins, then transmits.  "Echo one seven, this is echo one, execute lima charlie.  Repeat execute lima charlie"  Figuring that some base codes for radio operations are set, they will be transmitting static.. loud and clear.. on civilian bandwidths for that scenario.  "Confirm, over"

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg #95):

The radio crackled in response:

"Echo One, roger, we have good copy. Confirming Lima Charlie. Say again, executing Lima Charlie. Out."

As they travelled, the militia in the lead vehicle took them off the main throughfares and down cross-streets or even alleys, although through the downtown core there wasn't much avenue for creative maneuvering. They didn't see anyone in the darkened buildings or deserted streets. As the different routes had been thoroughly surveyed and the local personnel knew the city, there was little chance of getting lost even in the darkness.

However, little chance didn't mean no chance. Turning down a street they thought was W. Pender, it took a moment to realise that they were actually on the wrong street, one that was blocked on all four lanes by wrecked and stalled vehicles that had yet to be cleared. Nervously, the little convoy came to a halt at an intersection, unable to easily pass the blockage and move forward. Recognising the restored buildings on either side as Waterfront Station on the right and Sinclair Centre on the left.

Sure enough, a check of the street signs revealed they had gone one block past Pender and were on W. Cordova and Howe. They were not in "Indian Country", the Harbour Centre listening post was only a block or so behind them. After the short detour they were on their way, and safely arrived at the "ambush" site in a few more minutes.

The convoy finally arrived to the desired site. The five-way intersection was previously analized and selected as having potential to establish the ambush. It forms a nice bottleneck and at the same time offers an excellent view of West Pender or the main avenue of approach for the targets:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=...&ved=0CBIQ8gEwAA

Once arrived the team did not waste time and started to take positions as previously briefed:

"We'll have a lookout element of 2 at Bute and Pender, 2 more to "backstop" at the NW corner of Jervis and Pender. Taras, at the SW corner of the intersection where he has a good view of the area, and the LAV out of sight a short way away at the corner of West Hastings with 2 crew and a 3-person snatch team armed with Tasers, CS gas and stun grenades. Additional transport will be 2 SUVs in a parkade in the block between Hastings and Pender."

Once Taras selected a covered position with ample view of the lane and enough protection to protect him from the initial explosion he started to prepare the charge. Formed into explosive sticks of various sizes for particular purposes, dynamite is safe to handle. Of course caution is always called for when handling explosives and they should never be handled by anyone without proper training. The Red Army Engineer School gave him that skill.  Dynamite is set off by the shock of a smaller explosion. This typically comes from a blasting cap, a small explosive charge that's inserted into the stick. When the blasting cap explodes, the shock is enough to then set off the explosive stick. Otherwise is fairly difficult to activate.  It does not ignite and explode in fire for example. While movies often show a burning fuse attached to dynamite, the fuse is to set off the blasting cap, not the dynamite itself. Without a blasting cap, dynamite can actually be burned. In fact, bomb disposal squads often burn old dynamite in place rather than risk moving it.

Taras placed the charge composed of 250 grs. by the curb hidden in a heap of trash so commonly found in the,  for several years now, unkept streets of Vancouver. The lenght of wire wisely running along the curbside and finally connected to the blasting machine. Once the set up was finished the Lieutenant produced a couple of handgrenades from his lifchik as well as an extra magazine of ammo. During the previous rehearsals Taras already found out that the extra length of the mags needed an extra pull and so he preferred to have at least one of them at hand.

Once everybody was in place Shevchenko radioed HQ communicating the readiness of the "Screwdriver". By then, the embryonic RCMP and militia force will become extra vigilant and especially those selected as a contingency in downtown.

Hurry up and wait.

Trying not to make too much noise. The Lt. accomodated himself for the mission. Without the weight of the backpack and with the trusty AKS-74U ready nearby, he was able to scan the surroundings with the help of the NVG with their little magnification. Everything was quiet so far...


Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Demo charge (250 gr. TNT)
Installing explosive charge/Overwatch
This message was last edited by the player at 07:48, Sun 01 Nov 2009.

Andy made sure that the SUV was parked well out of sight and under guard. He looked over at Mac and the pair of them went to the position they'd planned to use as an OP. Carefully and quietly they checked teh building just in case any surprises had moved in since it had last been checked.

In reply to Andrew Montgomery McRae (msg #98):

After entering the office building, they cleared it to make sure no one was waiting for them. It looked like no one had entered the building since they were there earlier. Andy and Chris had arranged a few items so that if they were disturbed, there would be some sign.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:32, Tue 03 Nov 2009.

"Looks good, Chief."

Mac got set for a long night. Like everyone else he had napped during the evening so he wasn't afraid of dozing off. But it would be boring. He set up his night-vision laser range-finding binoculars on the balcony of the abandoned office building, checked it for function. They remained well-hidden from all except those who might be above them.

"Good to go. Don't worry, I'll be checking all around, not just the route. No good being over-focuses, and those bozos are going to be hard to miss anyways, eh?"


Chris "Mac" MacDonald
FN C1A1 (20/20) 6 spare magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) 2 spare mags
4 C13 grenades, 2 HC Smoke, 1 CS, bear spray, Medical kit
On overwatch of the target's route
This message was last edited by the player at 06:32, Tue 03 Nov 2009.

Taking her "Go Bar", Rachel forced open a door into the office building where the LAV, vehicles and snatch team were located.

"Okay team, let's make sure it's still clear." The building was clear earlier, but she wanted to make sure it remained so.


Rachel Lee
Remington 870 (5 rubber bullets loaded) + 40 00 Buck, S&W 5960 (15/15) 2 spare magazines
2 Flash-Bang, 2 Tear Gas grenades, Pepper Spray
Clearing the building
This message was last edited by the player at 10:36, Tue 03 Nov 2009.

Fox took out the camouflage netting and concealing the LAV. It was parked behind some overgrown trees that had seen a few years between pruning. It wouldn't fool someone walking by, but from a distance in the dark it would be hard to tell anything was parked in the drive between the sidewalk and the building.

The ambulance, SUV, Taras' Jeep and the ATVs were parked in the building's parkade, between the LAV and the ambush site.

He reported on the radio, "Echo One, this is Uniform One. We're set up. Over."


SGT Fox
C7A1 (30/30) + 6 magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) + 6 magazines
4 C13 Grenades, 1 Smoke, 1 WP grenade.
Concealing the LAV-III, keeping watch
This message was last edited by the player at 00:24, Wed 04 Nov 2009.

"Good man," Andy agreed as he carefully set up his rifle, "I'll focus on the route but I doubt that we'll be needed."

He settled down and checked that everything was in order.

Andy
Sniper rifle
HP-35
This message was last edited by the player at 16:41, Tue 03 Nov 2009.

Lt. Shevchenko acknowledge the radio message stating the readiness of the team. Some concerns crossed his mind. The Undergrounders could detect their presence and spoil the mission. Moving such a large entourage into the downtown area was like the probervial visit of the elephant to the china shop. But sometimes you just have to follow your gut instinct.

Granted, they know that we are here...this is their terrain but...Yeah, the Undergrounders have a debt of gratitude towards us...

Torturing those thoughts the time was passing by. The occasional sweep of the surroundings with the NVG produced an array of shadowy green figures as a result of broken glass, overgrown vegetation and the shift of the moon and its reflection. Luckily the batteries were common AA type but they would wear out through the night. Kelsey was nearby, probably scanning other sectors or just munching some other thoughts of her own.

Is everything OK, Kelsey? Let me know if you need to go for a pee or something.

0338 Lima

After the various elements secured their area, they settled in to wait. There were a few radio checks from other units in the city (although the units assigned to OP SCREWDRIVER kept radio silence). The surveillance team reported people coming and going from Brandie's, a little more heavy than normal. Cyrus was still inside, or at least he and his entourage of five hadn't come out the front. By 0300 there were still at least a dozen other patrons still inside the establishment, including staff.

It was fairly dark out, but not pitch black. Although the moon hadn't yet risen it was clear and there were a million stars. The weather had turned cool, with a breeze blowing off the nearby water. The streets were deserted, there were no lights from the surrounding towers that seemingly empty.

In the middle of the night, there was a radio call from Golf, the "backstop" team. They were also the ones closest to the park.

"Echo, this is Golf. Uh, we have have something, over."

Go ahead, Golf.

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #106):

The militia continued,

"Ahhh... I thought I saw someone, about 2 blocks down to the west, on Pender. I was conserving battery power for the NVGs, and by the time I got eyes-on they were gone. One person, on foot. Maybe at Nicola, traveling from north to south. Sorry, I got nothing more than that. Over.

Although it would be nice to have night-vision on all the time, equipment and batteries were limited. Measure to preserve equipment and battery power were being taken to extend equipment use.

Good job, thank you!

A quick brain check on the streets and directions provided gave Taras some peace of mind. Foot traffic was not to be overlooked but this time it didn't seem to represent a direct threat.

Keep a low profile and maintain watch. We are getting closer now.

Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Demo charge (250 gr. TNT)
Talking on the radio.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:49, Thu 05 Nov 2009.

0403 Hours Lima

Almost on the dot at 0400, there was a small burst of radio traffic from the downtown.

As there was only one station intercepting the signals (the outpost on top of Harbour Centre) it was impossible to determine the exact locations of sender and receivers, but there was at least four stations on the radio net for about five minutes. "Stations" in this case probably meant hand-held or tactical radios, not full transmitters.

Fortunately, none seemed close to the ambush point, which was in the northern part of the West End. Likely points of signals activity seemed to be somewhere around Brandi's, in the southern part of the West End, Yaletown, and in the south side of the False Creek area, even possibly around VGH.

The cryptic exchange on the open frequency seemed to last about five minutes, then all stations went quiet. Because of the low power and the intervening buildings, it was difficult to get an idea of what was being said. Two of the stations were positively identified as "Charlie" and "Bravo" (the other two call-signs were garbled and unconfirmed).

0420

There was no immediate reaction from the government regarding the intercepted signals. In about 15 minutes, there were reports from mobile patrols of unidentified vehicles on the move.

Initial reports were confused and contradictory, but it soon became clear there was more than one. One vehicle of an unidentified type was spotted moving east along Pacific by BC Place/GM Place, the other along Broadway. Ground units gave chase but were unable to intercept. They types of vehicles were still undetermined, other than they may have been civilian in nature, and not large enough to be armed military vehicles (like armoured vehicles or Humvees).

Great, so long for the surprise!

The thought came after all the flurry and radio activity. He knew that the downtown area was a hotbed of irregular activity. From the well organized bikers all the way down to professional survivalists growing up pot in the Canada Post central of just chasing the racoons away.

We better start assesing the situation here. Told to Kelsey.

Taras looked at his wristwatch. It was late. Almost morning light. He cross his hands behind the neck and arched the back while exhaling hard.

Out there there are active elements looking us. There are still far but we don't have time to activate our reserves neither is our intention to start a streetfight with whoever wants to join. That's it. we wait up to 20 minutes. After that we'll go home. Please Kelsey, rely the orders. Get a hold of our comrades at the old police station and tell them to monitor the viaduct for any incoming.

Kelsey relayed the orders.

After 20 minutes the OPs at the Police station and Harbour Centre did not report any incoming movement, there was no movement at all.

The observation team at the club didn't report anyone going in or out, no unusual movement. As well, there were no signals from the club indicating a state of alert.

As they were getting ready to move, the OP by Brandis sent the "go code" to indicate Cyrus was on the move, and headed their way.

Kelsey, signal for ready!

Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Demo charge (250 gr. TNT)

In reply to Taras Vladimirovich Shevchenko (msg #113):

The signal alerting all elements was sent out, and the various teams got ready. Engines weren't started due to noise control protocols, but everyone got prepared to move. The personnel in reserve stretched and got ready to rush the "grab zone", while the various lookouts settled down and made sure they weren't exposed or going to move at some crucial point and give up the element of surprise.

Cyrus and his escort, five riders in total, wobbled down West Pender and into view of Mac and Andy. A few of the bikes had front lamps powered by the wheels, and they provided enough light to navigate the few remaining abandoned vehicles in the street.

Looking through the eyepieces of his tripod-mounted x10 night-vision binoculars, Chris easily spotted the approaching figures. The tiny flickering lights showed up like spotlights in the light-intensifier scope. He checked the range, and then started to report the windage.

"Ahhh.... Master McRae, I got five tangos on approach, four hundred metres. Just outside Oceanic Plaza. They'll be here in a few. Windage is... wait, we're not shooting them. Uh, still, wind from 350 degrees, 10-12 KpH."

The flickering lights in the distance were easily picked up from Taras and Kelsey location. The darkness of night presented a dire need to the riders to bunch up together and that would facilitate the task. The explosive charge was tailored for a concussion blast that will knock down the Stickmen therefore providing a momentary advantage to proceed to their capture.

The idea was to let them approach the intersection unmolested and set off the charge. The use of explosives, and more so in military applications, always falls somewhere between the art and the science. Original numbers usually go out of the window when further input regarding the placement, surroundings, wind, temperature, etc is computed into the equation. Taras placed the charge at the ground level, not as deadly as an aerial location would be but certainly more capable than a partially or totally buried emplacement. The Combat Engineer also considered the proximity of a wall that would deflect forward the blast and the lateral buildings that would channel it. The amount of explosive was low, barely the same as in a couple of hand grenades but dynamite was also very noisy. Again, the urban landscape will certainly multiply the effect. Probably some glass will be shattered as well causing even further stupor.

Planning for the unexpected was also integral part of good combat enginnering. Many things can go wrong in the job: A bad wiring, a faulty detonator, even "life expired" explosive can ruin your day.  A couple of RGO grenades were left handy. The only aspect that didn't like much it was the fact that those were defensive and not offensive munitions.  A double layered aluminium pre-fragmented body would send some extra shrapnel down the way. Somehow it would compensate for the limited explosive carried, 90 grs. of trusty RDX.



Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Demo charge (250 gr. TNT)


Taras will detonate at 20 meters aprox. from first "tango". If charge fails then will proceed to release 2 RGOs.

"Good spot, Mac," Andy replied as he followed the little convoy with his scope, "they've probably seen them but call it in anyway."

Kelsey sits in the drivers seat, if she is nervous it is showing probably in her current state of chain smoking Players 100's butt to butt, her left sleeve pulled up as she examines a rather bold tribal tattoo on her left arm in the dim light, her kevlar helmet hung on the barrel of her C8, the buckle on the chinstrap making a light 'ping' 'ping' against the metal of the barrel as it swings idly, visible in the dim light of the dial of the PRC-77.

Cpl Kelsey Champlain
Radio Central, Net Controller
Taras' Driver
C-8 Carbine - 6 spare Mags (5.56 NATO)
6 C-13 Frag Grenades
2 Smoke grenades (Green/white)
PRC-77 (w/scr)

Rachel was heating up some water for tea using an electric kettle sitting on a platform that folded down from the rear side of the LAV. It was plugged into a socket made for that purpose. Alongside was a hotplate. She unplugged both appliances and stowed them, after draining the kettle of steaming water. Her muscles protested after hours waiting in the damp Vancouver chill.

"Okay people, you ready?"

Rachel got the people around her moving, loading them up. Inside the passenger bay, she called up to Fox, "Sergeant, this beast going to crank up when we need it?"

As she waited for a reply, she made sure others' vests was on properly and gear secured, and someone else did that for her.


Rachel Lee
12 ga. Remington 870 (5 rubber bullets loaded) + 30x 00 Buck, 9mm S&W 5960 (15/15) 2s spare magazines
2 Flash-Bang, 2 Tear Gas grenades, Pepper Spray
Loading the snatch team into the LAV
This message was last edited by the player at 05:15, Sun 22 Nov 2009.

Seeing this was his cue from Rachel, Andy and his partner jogged up the sidewalk and ducked into the Royal Bank's parking lot where their ATVs, the SUV and Taras' jeep, and the ambulance was hidden.

"Let's get moving! Fuck, I'm cold. This will probably be the first time since the start of the war I've not gotten into a fight with the express purpose of killing the enemy and destroying property! I'll stay behind you."

He sat on the saddle of the 4-wheel ATV, playing with the ignition key, hoping it would start when needed. In his underarm rig was the taser. He hoped the CO2 cartridge worked and took down the target. If not, he'd run the fucker down.


Tyler Hope
Taser, 3 spare cartridges
CAR-15 (30/30) 6 spare magazines, M1911 (8/80 2 spare magazines
4 M67 Grenades, 1 CS grenade, 1 smoke grenade, 1 Flash-Bang
Waiting for action to start.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:21, Sun 22 Nov 2009.

In reply to Andrew Montgomery McRae (msg #117):

"Thanks, Andy. Come on, you bastards... come to papa!"

He felt more awake now. His body had stiffened, waiting in the cold. Their job would be to hot-foot it down the stairs and seal off the street once Cyrus was past and the trap was tripped.

Mac flipped down his NVGs as the cyclists got close and tracked them via those, now they were close enough. He stowed the image intensifiers in their case so he could move quicker when needed. Noting the slight swaying and recognising it he commented,

"That's it... man, those guys look three sheets to the wind."


Chris "Mac" MacDonald
FN C1A1 (20/20) 6 spare magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) 2 spare mags
4 C13 grenades, 2 HC Smoke, 1 CS, bear spray, Medical kit
Keeping watch on approaching targets.

While everyone was getting ready, SGT Fox made a point of not being distracted and instead kept up a watch of the surrounding area. Sitting in the LAV's command seat he swept the thermal-equipped periscope back and forth, checking for heat signatures.

If someone was  waiting for a diversion to draw attention so they could strike from the flank, this was the time for it to happen.

Fox answered Lee, "Rache, let's hope she starts. Few hours, it's not even freezing out, shouldn't be a problem. Wish we could crank it up now or leave her running, but that's the problem with assholes on bikes, they can fuckin' hear us a mile away. Let me know when to close the rear hatch."

He alerted the driver to prepare to move out, then continued scanning methodically.


SGT Fox
C7A1 (30/30) + 6 magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) + 6 magazines
4 C13 Grenades, 1 Smoke, 1 WP grenade.
On alert in the LAV

Kelsey turns and gives Taras a tight smile and a thumbs up, her other hand engaged a moment to hold her earpiece to her head for a clearer signal from the radio, thinking she might have heard something.



Cpl Kelsey Champlain, CF
Radio Central, Taras' Driver
C-8 Carbine - 6 spare Mags (5.56 NATO)
6 C-13 Frag Grenades
2 Smoke grenades (Green/white)
PRC-77 (w/scr)

Waiting on 'go', engine off in Jeep, sitting in driver seat keeping Radio Watch.

This message was last edited by the GM at 07:50, Mon 23 Nov 2009.

The command element followed the group of cyclists as they approached the ambush zone where the concussive device was planted. There was a flash with some sparks, accompanied by a loud "Bang!" that echoed off the buildings.

All the cyclists were knocked down, rolling along the pavement in a crash of bicycles and painful cries. The LAV driver was able to start it smoothly and the APC rolled out. The Mountie "chaser" started his ATV, but Tyler had some trouble getting his started. Andy and Mac ran down to the street and out the door, sealing off their end of West Pender, while the "backstop" sealed off their end of the block.

By the time the LAV arrived in a roar of turbocharged diesel, two of the riders had struggled to their feet. The rest were still lying in the street, stunned. Lee positively identified Cyrus from the descriptions they'd been given and apprehended him. Tyler finally got his ATV started, and rolled out of the parkade to the adjacent intersection, in time to see two of the cyclists getting away, heading south up Jervis.

One was brought down immediately by a Taser shot from the other ATV chaser, while the other seemed to be making good his getaway. He was passing under Taras' and Kelsey's position, and they had time to get down to the street and intercept him.

Cyrus was in Lee's grip, being led protesting into the back of the LAV. "Get your hands off me, you fucking nazi fascist pig! I want a lawyer, I have rights!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:09, Mon 23 Nov 2009.

The ATV didn't start, the only answer to a turn of the key a whine of the starter engine. Tylet tried it again, afraid of stalling

"Goddamn it! Start, you motherfucking... yes!"

Tyler managed to start the ATV, then take off after his partner. He avoided the tangle of bodies being hauled to their feet and the waiting LAV, then tried to make some ground. He readied his Taser in order to bring the fleeing cyclist down, if Taras didn't beat him to it.


Tyler Hope
Taser, 3 spare cartridges
CAR-15 (30/30) 6 spare magazines, M1911 (8/80 2 spare magazines
4 M67 Grenades, 1 CS grenade, 1 smoke grenade, 1 Flash-Bang
Chasing down a cyclist, getting ready to tase him (bro).

The initial explosion brought some relief to the long wait. The results were quite espectacular. Taras was retrieving his extra equipment left at the ready to proceed to the scene. The large capacity magazine went back to the chest rig and so were the spare grenades when he noticed one of the stickmen trying to get away.

Lets go get him!. Told to Kelsey.




Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Running after suspect.

Tightening her grip as she frog-marched him up the LAV's ramp, Rachel read Cyrus his Chapter Eight rights, roughly equivalent to the US's Miranda rights. For a moment the words wouldn't come, as it had been a while, but then the words came.

"You are under arrest for treason, conspiracy to commit treason, murder and conspiracy to commit murder, arson and conspiracy to commit arson, theft and possession of restricted goods and materials under the Emergencies Act, do you understand? You have the right to retain and instruct counsel without delay. We will provide you with counsel if you do not have your own lawyer. Anything you say can be used in court as evidence. Do you understand? Would you like to speak to a lawyer?"

It had been decided by the Crown to lay conventional charges under the Criminal Code against Cyrus, as well as crimes under the Emergencies act. This way his indictment and future conviction could stand as a turning point, a beginning of a return to civilian law and order.

As she pulled the suspect along up the ramp, she saw Taras and Kelsey emerging onto Jervis in order to intercept the one escaping cyclist. She checked behind her, making sure the rest of the team was pulling in the others, as practiced.


Rachel Lee
Remington 870 (5 rubber bullets loaded) + 40 00 Buck, S&W 5960 (15/15) 2 spare magazines
2 Flash-Bang, 2 Tear Gas grenades, Pepper Spray
Apprehending Cyrus, transferring him to the LAV

Instead of watching what was going on, Fox kept an eye on the surrounding area and buildings. He knew that when Lee and her team were ready, she would signal him verbally. In the mean time, someone could have been attracted by the sound, nearby residents could have been woken up by the sound.

"All clear? Let me know so we call roll."

He sat back down in the gunner's seat, and checked the surrounding area through the thermal sights.


SGT Fox
C7A1 (30/30) + 6 magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) + 6 magazines
4 C13 Grenades, 1 Smoke, 1 WP grenade.
Waiting for the signal to move out, scanning the area for threats
This message was last edited by the player at 10:45, Mon 23 Nov 2009.

Stop! Police!

The suspect was picking up a bit of speed while the ukrainian appeared to be unable to speed up with the full load of kit. Soon he realized that one of the chasers at least would be coming from behind. He stopped panting:

Pidar gnoinyj !!!*. He yelled at the figure on wheels gaining distance down the street.

Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Cursing at suspect.


*- Pidar gnoinyj ~ pidar gnoinyj ‡ rotten faggot
NOTE Mean expression used in the coal
mines of Ukrainian Donbass. Literary means
the passive gay who have gotten an acute
ghonorreia in his anus.Puts the conterpart way
down.

Andy ignored the noise and excitement behind him and kept scanning his sector for potential danger. The night's work was far from over.

Kelsey grins, and snagging her faithful M-6 takes off at a sprint after the lone unapprehended Stickman.  Rifle, still on safe, coming up in a stock military maneuver of 'buttstroke to head', the CAF trooper not having any police training, but keeping in mind that no shots are being fired.


Cpl Kelsey Champlain, CF
On foot, chasing a stickman
C-8 Carbine - 6 spare Mags (5.56 NATO)
6 C-13 Frag Grenades
2 Smoke grenades (Green/white)
PRC-77 (w/scr)

On foot, readying her rifle to strike fleeing stickman with the butt.

The guy was already half-blinded from the flash of the concussion device. He only saw Kelsey at the last second, just as the butt of her C8 impacted on his face. His momentum carried him into the solid object, and the laws of physics took over, leaving him unconscious and flat on his back, the riderless bike crashing to the pavement.

All the other prisoners at the intersection were all rounded up and loaded into the LAV. So far, there had been no intervention from outside forces. The only injured were the guy Kelsey dropped and the other rider who was tasered off his bike. The former may have a broken jaw, while the other had a broken or sprained leg and wrist.

The ambulance personnel were waiting for the signal all prisoners were secure to move in. Fox was free to close up the LAV.

"Everyone's in? Closing up. Everyone buckle up, and put your seats and trays in the upright position."

He closed the rear hatch, then waited for the word to move out. The two injured Stickmen were still lying in the road, in front of him, and he could see Taras, Kelsey, Tyler and the other chaser (the mounties) standing over them.

SGT Fox
C7A1 (30/30) + 6 magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) + 6 magazines
4 C13 Grenades, 1 Smoke, 1 WP grenade.
Closing the hatch, waiting for the signal to move out.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:26, Tue 24 Nov 2009.

"Okay, we're good!"

She waited for the hatch to raise up. As she did so, she transmitted to Taras:

"Echo One this is Romeo One, we have four of the Tangos including the primary in custody. Ahh.... Uniform is ready to roll."

Rachel smiled as she made sure Cyrus was secured to the fold-down seat.

"Got you, you SOB. Hope you had a good time tonight! It's gonna last you a while."


Rachel Lee
Remington 870 (5 rubber bullets loaded) + 40 00 Buck, S&W 5960 (15/15) 2 spare magazines
2 Flash-Bang, 2 Tear Gas grenades, Pepper Spray
Waiting to move out.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:30, Tue 24 Nov 2009.

"Woo-Hoo! The quarteback is toast!"

Tyler rode up just after his prey was clobbered by Kelsey. He skidded to a stop, then dismounted to assist her. He left his rifle on the ATV, taking the taser.

"Man! I just about had him! Great fuckin' hit, you must have knocked out all his front teeth. Phew! This guy could use a good shower and some deodorant."

Flipping up his NVGs, he pointed the taser at the fallen man, who seemed unconscious.

"Want me to tase him? Seems a waste not to use this gadget!"


Tyler Hope
Taser, 3 spare cartridges
CAR-15 (30/30) 6 spare magazines, M1911 (8/80 2 spare magazines
4 M67 Grenades, 1 CS grenade, 1 smoke grenade, 1 Flash-Bang
Covering the unconscious rider

Lt. Shevchenko acknowledge the radio signal from Romeo-One and motioned towards the fallen biker:

Kelsey! Mr. Tyler! Hurry up! Get him to the LAV. We have to go!

Surprise and speed was part of the success of the operation. The explosion of the artifact surely acted as a gigantic wake up call for the neighbourhood and "Brandie's", the Hell's Angel's strip-bar and grill was only a few blocks away.

Taras went to his asigned vehicle. He will be relying messages on the radio while Kelsey will be securing the prisoner and coming back for the ride home. Advicing HQ of the succesful capture, requesting a patrol to recon the Broadway corridor and link up at the Burrard Bridge rally-point and giving the order to start up the convoy was next in the menu.


Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Going back to jeep. Radio comms.

Mac also scanned the area. While Andy looked one way (outwards) he kept an eye on the direction the bikers had gone. He was reasonably sure the takedown was a success, and the radio message confirmed it.

He waited for Andy to move out, then followed.


Chris "Mac" MacDonald
FN C1A1 (20/20) 6 spare magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) 2 spare mags
4 C13 grenades, 2 HC Smoke, 1 CS, bear spray, Medical kit
Waiting for the signal to move out.

Leaving the ATV idling, Tyler dismounted and examined the man who'd been clubbed by Kelsey, using his First Aid training. He helped her drag the man into the LAV, making sure he was sitting up with his head bent forward so he wouldn't aspirate his own blood.

"Rachel, we're ready to go. I'll go back and get the ATV, ride it in."

He left out the back ramp, re-mounting. He gave Taras a thumb's-up to signal the man was secure.


Tyler Hope
Taser, 3 spare cartridges
CAR-15 (30/30) 6 spare magazines, M1911 (8/80 2 spare magazines
4 M67 Grenades, 1 CS grenade, 1 smoke grenade, 1 Flash-Bang
Loading a prisoner

Shevchenko acknowledged the signal of Tyler and responded in kind. All the suspects appeared to be under custody. His unorthodox voice crackled over the comms:

Convoy get ready for departure!

Taras stood up in the open top jeep and indicated with a waving motion the "advance" signal.

Kelsey, we will be going back to UBC through the Burrard Bridge. Is the fastest way home. Go slow while I rearrange the convoy. We will need all radio jamming possible right before we enter Beach Av.

Taras commanded the two ATVs to move forward and  act as scouts. Tyler and the RCMP Officer would be leading this time. Taras and Kelsey will follow and right behind the LAV would throw its way. The ambulance will remain inhaling the fumes of the cavalry while the remaining SUV would close rank. This order of march was achieved before reaching Beach Av and the approaches. Kelsey would be working his contact for the jamming while Taras communicated with the LAV commander:

...on arrival at the bridge swing the turret and make a sweep with the thermal...

No more information was needed. The joint task was well aware by now that there was a lookout in the area and was able to communicate. For that matter Taras ordered the jamming. It would be impossible to go unnoticed but at least they will go with speed, surprise and the shortest route will mean an added security margin. At the crossroad with the 4th Av. the initial rallypoint, a further police patrol will meet them for support after reconning the Broadway corridor.

Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Organizing convoy. Comms.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:53, Thu 26 Nov 2009.

"Hey Tyler"  She grins and takes a moment to 'make a muscle', before helping load him up per Taras' orders.  "Wasn't I sweet to only break his jaw?"  A laugh and a pat to the butt of her C-8, and a heave of a prisoner into the LAV, and she is running back and jumping into the driver seat of the Jeep, grabbing her key "This is Echo One, prepare my Jam, step on the previous jam harder now, and prepare to spread it thick and wide on my signal"


Cpl Kelsey Champlain, CF  / Echo-one
Helping load a prisoner, then back into the Jeep driver spot
C-8 Carbine - 6 spare Mags (5.56 NATO)
6 C-13 Frag Grenades
2 Smoke grenades (Green/white)
PRC-77 (w/scr)

Tyler had replied with a respectful "yes, ma'am!" when he helped her load the captive onto the LAV. Everyone RVd at the intersection, the vehicles were brought up, and everyone mounted up. The convoy assumed it's order of march with minimal difficulty, and they were away. Kelsey's team stepped up the jamming, so no signals were getting through one way or another.

When they were approaching the Burrard St. Bridge, Taras ordered the LAV to scan the surrounding buildings for heat signatures. Fox checked the area, and saw someone hiding in the ground floor of an enormous apartment building complex, on their left.

The street sloped downhill steeply before it met the foot of the Burrard St. Bridge at the intersection of Beach and Burrard. The bridge itself and the right side of the street looked clear.

"Ahhh... Echo One, this is Uniform One. I have a possible thermal contact at azimuth 170 degrees, 107 metres range. Permission to engage with Coaxial machine gun? Holding fire, over."

He swiveled the turret, and aimed the 25mm chain gun and coaxial 7.62mm MG at the building. With a flick of his thumb on the switch at the base of the joystick he selected the MG.


SGT Fox
C7A1 (30/30) + 6 magazines, Hi-Power (13/13) + 6 magazines
4 C13 Grenades, 1 Smoke, 1 WP grenade.
Aiming at thermal contact

Kelsey looks over to Taras, then keys the mic "Uniform one, this is Echo one, hold your fire for Echo one one's word.  Repeat, hold your fire, over.



Cpl Kelsey Champlain, CF  / Echo-one
Driving Taras jeep, and proud of her good jammin people.
C-8 Carbine - 6 spare Mags (5.56 NATO)
6 C-13 Frag Grenades
2 Smoke grenades (Green/white)
PRC-77 (w/scr)

This message was deleted by the player at 09:24, Fri 27 Nov 2009.

Unifom One, negative. I repeat, negative. Contact is not hostile so far.

Taras did have the instict that they will find something. The previous bait in the form of a cammouflaged ELINT van paid off. This time the jamming provided by Kelsey's boys will tamper any possible chain reaction that could translate into an ambush or else. Now, thanks again to the upper hand in tech, with the help of the thermal camera the contact was positively located. A solid step forward in the gathering of intelligence for a counter-surveillance mission.

Our priority is to transport our VIPs. We'll follow our ROE's. Mark your contact for intel. Convoy resume march to rallypoint.

Another interesting by-product of a well planned mission. This could be an positive starting point with a possible cherry bowl effect. While the convoy was progressing towards the rallypoint Taras shared some thoughts with his own appointed S-3.

Kelsey, I believe that we can get something if we put that contact under counter-surveillance. It is like the tip of an iceberg. There should be an organization behind that watch over the bridge. Instead of killing the golden hen with a 25 mm auto-cannon we can follow the tracks to see what's in the corral. Usually I will go for a dedicated sniper team but in this particular case we are going to need also a good deal of coordination with your radio electronic team. What do you think?


  Taras V. Shevchenko
Team Leader. Echo One-One
AKS-74U (45/45) +4 mags
S&W 5946 (15/15) +2 mags
6 RGO hand grenades
Comms.

Kelsey steers around a pothole while she thinks on it, eyes alert to road and conditions.  "I think it bears watching, for certain.  Do you suppose they might have such increased security normally, when our prize is visiting, or it is a new measure?  After all, we didn't pick up any traffic before.  I wouldn't rule out that this is a new force in the area lending a hand."

She taps her thumbs on the wheel, glancing around again  "I'm going to drop all jamming as soon as we are in home stretch, and see what panic we can pick up off listening."


Cpl Kelsey Champlain, CF  / Echo-one
Driving Taras jeep
C-8 Carbine - 6 spare Mags (5.56 NATO)
6 C-13 Frag Grenades
2 Smoke grenades (Green/white)
PRC-77 (w/scr)

The convoy never really stopped, but slowed a little to determine if anyone should be engaged. The thermal contact was ignored for now, but the area seemed to be of much future interest for investigation, either by signals team, sniper element, or both.

As they crossed the bridge, the unconscious prisoners started to stir, moaning in pain and discomfort. Lee and the others with her did the best they could, but aside from morphine there was little they could do in the back of the LAV. Cyrus quieted down and looked thoughtful, obviously thinking the situation over and biding his time.

They picked up the RCMP escort at West 4th, en route to the newer and closer entry point to the UBC compound further west on 4th. They passed the old HQ for the Vancouver Garrison, now taken over by the UBC militia and Belanger's nominal headquarters. There were lights and activity there, as the militia and other forces were getting ready to raid the park in an hours time.

Now that Cyrus was confirmed as being in custody and there was no reaction as-yet from the HAs at the club, the operation to secure the park and break up the Stickmen was proceeding. Boats would be dispatched to carry the Survivalists' non-combatants to safety, once Tyler returned safely to UBC to coordinate with Rob, who was already back on Deadman's Island and waiting for word the operation was a go.

And return safely, they did. At the RCMP detachment, Cyrus and the healthy prisoners were tranferred to custody in the newly-made holding cells. The 2 injured Stickmen were taken to hospital for treatment.

"Well done! How did it go? Anything we should know about? We heard that your little signals ploy flushed some unknowns out from different areas of the downtown, but one was relatively close, at Vancouver General. Pity we couldn't intercept any of them. Well, I guess it's good they decided whatever was happening they didn't want to be a part of it, it could have been worse for us if they decided to stick around and observe or even interfere with the main show, which we're about to raise the curtain for!"

Alain beamed. He had come over from the Vancouver Garrison HQ, where forces for the morning operations were being marshaled.

"We're about ready to go. Everyone is basically organised here. We have routes of march and objectives planned, everyone is practiced and knows what they're doing. We have the deception "clinic" ready to go in the downtown to divert attention away from the park. North Shore is ready to go, they are all in position at the north end of the bridge. We just need to get Tyler home and get his people out of there, and we're ready to go."

Cyrus' apprehension was merely the opening move in a complicated overall operation. Within the hour and just before dawn, all the units involved in securing the park moved into position without harassment. The closest units left the start line in the West End and seized the Stickmen defenses facing the city, while the northern prong overran the bridge defenses and continued down the Stanley Park causeway. The park was quickly cut in half, and the American soldiers on Deadman's Island placed  the non-combatants into custody at the Brockton Oval stadium that served as their shanty-town.

Without Cyrus' leadership, assaulted from all sides and with their families under guard, most Stickmen quickly capitulated. A few government troops were injured by traps and crossbow sniping, but defenses everywhere crumbled. By dawn, a dozen or so (including Cyrus' lover/second-in-command remained unaccounted-for, as units combed the deep forest to the west of the causeway. The Stickmen took twenty-eight casualties, of which six died.

Significant quantities of aviation fuel (kerosine or JP8) was secured, several thousands of litres stored in a US Army HEMTT parked outside Cyrus' HQ. There was also a ten-ton truck parked there, loaded with contraband, supplies and weapons, which was also secured. UBC troops and Survivalists converged on the HQ in order to overcome the last gasp of Stickmen resistance (and this is where the bulk of the Stickmen resistance occured). However, while it was expected they would find up to a hundred litres of gasoline stored in jerrycans, oddly enough there was none to be found, and the Survivalists denied seeing any when they arrived at the HQ at the same time as the government soldiers.

The major objectives were completed before 0730 hours local, While this occurred, there was strangely little or no reaction from the Angels in Brandie's. No unusual movement, no radio traffic  or panicked movement. It looked like the HAs were asleep.

After the whole, exhausting enterprise was finished Taras didn't waste time to communicate with HQ reporting the succesful outcome and promising a lengthy report. This could only be done after a throughout debriefing but the troops were already too tired after spending the night in a seeming endless vigil waiting for their targets.

The advantage of good planning supported by human and technical intelligence was the highlight of the entire operation. For future references those elements will be better integrated in the planning. Consolidating a solid network of "agents" on the field will be mandatory to keep a tab on the "Hell's Angels". So far, the policy of contention was working. Taras planning was based on the selection of strategic targets of geographical value in the city rather than confronting criminal bands spreaded all along the Mainland. Once the geographical advantage would be achieved it will help to isolate those gang-like elements. One of the factors defining urban operations was the high cost in time and human power required for each mission.

The next steps to take will be following the footprints of the past. An strategic target well defined was already identified: The Airport. Another possibility to win an ally through diplomacy was also at hand: The old city of New Westminster.

The wheels were already set in motion to gather intel on the airport. It will take time and the combined effort of many people to gain a clear picture. As a military commnader, Shevchenko understood that this operation was of the most "conventional" type that he could ever imagine in this scenario. There was also a scarcity of means to confront this challenge. Only the joint effort of the Government forces supported by the North Shore, Musqueam reserve, Survivalists and beyond will help to succeed. To win the support of the New West authorities was again a necesity. This diplomatic effort will be the next thing in the agenda while the intelligence, reconnaissace and surveillance was starting to get the shape of the Sea Island, the current seat of the Vancouver International Airport.

Especial requests for materials where already on its way. Taras was willing to acquire a better sealift capability and the word was sent out to obtain a certain type of boat. The previous victory over the Stanley Park dwellers certainly gave an edge over procurement from HQ. Taras stresed the interest of incorporating Bulat's capability into the Task Force. The incoming missions will be a mix of conventional and unconventional warfare. To keep an armoured edge was a big ace up the sleeve.

The next days will be dedicated to consolidate the team. To search for new capabilities as well as develop the plans to recover the city through civilian and military means.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:18, Mon 30 Nov 2009.