"I'll ask the Boss," Andy said, "we might have to retreat whilst he nukes it from orbit."

"Bishop, this is Rook 1," Andy said over the radio, "do you want us to make contact with the occupants?"

Afirmative. Try to find out who's there and what they do. Over.

Taras just jump in on the radio as he wanted to speed up the tempo of the mission.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:02, Mon 28 Jan 2013.

Meanwhile, the face disappeared from the window.

GM Note: From the gate (in the NW) you can't see the southern window so we'll say the watcher was on the west side of the house.

Mac waits on Andy's lead.

"We'll go out together," Andy said, "I feel like the guy at the opening of Beau Geste."

He walked out on to the road and slung his rifle over the shoulder, "Hello in the fort!"

"Right," said Mac and walked out alongside Andy. He also had his weapons slung, and a friendly look on his face.

In reply to Andrew Montgomery McRae (msg # 577):

The guy must have been already going for the gate because it began to open within seconds. An old coot, well, at least middle-aged but not ageing well. Grey untrimmed hair, bushy beard. Homespun clothing, a real character.

"Hello yourself! I seen you comin'. You some of our boys? I seen your flag. Them Yankess been sniffin' around here, can't be too careful! I'm gonna ask you something only Canadians would know, but that we all know? I know:

"What was "The Goal"? Bonus points for when, who and where.

"Show me the "Trudeau Salute" or the "Salmon Arm Salute"?

"What do you do when someone bumps into you?"



GM Note: have a go at figuring these out. My mom got them! There's no way a couple westerners like Andy and Mac won't get these, so if you're stuck I will give you some hints. As well, I have always assumed you were doing the standard CF practice when Peacekeeping of attaching a Canadian flag to the Cougar's aerial. So he's not psychic, if he sees the vehicles then he can see the flag.

Mac grinned, and raised a finger 'flipping the bird' style.

In reply to Christopher Little Hawk MacDonald (msg # 580):

"An easy one!" the coot snorted.

GM Note: the funny thing is I heard an interview with one of the protesters and far from being insulted or incenced, he thought it was awesome (at least decades after) pretty much the high point of his life.

Hey, there's really only one sport referenced in Canadian culture! As a hint, listen to the first verse of this song, then Google the lyrics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzBuMxd61Mo

Once back at the Cougar, Taras decided to take inventory of the stuff stored in the turret. His concern was the status of the special munitions carried on board. The 25 kg contraption appeared to be safe and sound and the backpack containing his combat engineering equipment was also secured in place.

Ready your equipment folks! We have some time to kill. We well advance a few blocks in a few minutes. The route is clear.

"Roger that boss!"

Kelsey started checking over the 240, and had the pair with her just hanging loose, ready to roll.

The old man waited for a moment, looking at Andy and Mac.

"Well, seems you boys are givin' up on me, here."

"Not in the slightest, Sir. I take it you refer to Paul Garnet Henderson's winning goal in the final minute of the final game in the Summit Series of 1972 against the Soviet Union?"

Mac grinned. He didn't care that much for spectator sports, truth be told, but just about everyone had heard about THAT goal... OOC: Except his player, but hey, she's learned something new!

"Ha ha! That's right! I remember it like it was yesterday. Game 8, Moscow. If there was a tie the commies woulda claimed a win. Now, the whole city of Timmins was quiet, everyone who could be was inside, watching a TV. Usually it would have been black-and-white in those days, of course. When he scored, it sounded like everyone was cheering..."

He rambled on a little, then began pushing the gate door open. Apparently, he forgot his third question. "Why don't you boys come on in? Got a pot of tea going. Seen your mates on the road out there. I's in the army myself, Royal Canadian Regiment. On the thin blue line with UNFICYP in '73-74, then CFB Lahr, Germany in the 80's. Circus (service) battalion."

The door to the fort was open and he stepped through it.

GM Note: Hey, my philosophy about gaming is "... and if you're not careful, you just might learn something!" A lesson learned from Fat Albert cartoons. My mom was telling me that's what it was like when that game was on.

I think Javier might be able to answer the third question, what does a Canadian do when you bump into them? Apologise. The backup question would have been "who was Dief the Chief"?

"Thank you kindly, sir. Cyprus, hey? Was that a good posting, in the sun and all. Heard they had some good Roman ruins out there."

Mac heads in, chattering in a friendly manner but still quite alert.

"Thank you, Sir," Andy said, "always nice to meet an ex-soldier. How is life in the Fort?"

"I was with BHQ in Nicosia, centre of the island. Not a lot of beaches, eh? Plenty of sun. Back then it was a ghost town, and the Turks invaded just after we left. Lots of people went through there: Greeks, Romans, Knights Templar, Ottomans, Egyptians, Venetians, Vietnamese... no, wait, not them guys."



"Ha! Don't call me "sir"! I work for a living, you know!"



Once through the gate they saw the area was relatively empty space. It was on the top of a hill so the ground inside sloped up to their right, with the white "company house" (13) at pretty much the highest point. This was where they'd seen the old guy (name as of yet unknown), he had been on the upper floor of the company house, where he could see over the wall.

The wood palisade only had a walkway and watchtowers on the side closest to the river (3). There was a blacksmithy (6) and a well (9). There were about a half-dozen or so wood buildings.

There was also a smell of wood smoke (much of it coming from the direction of the smithy) plus the smell of manure. Several temporary structures have been set up in the open areas, greenhouses by the look of them, sealed with clear plastic sheeting.

"Anyways, I'm Willi Mazurinski. You boys want to be careful round here, there's been bikers 'round here, yanks comin' across the border up around Aldergrove. Plus people say this place is haunted, and there are cannibals roaming around here. Don't know if I believe that, but a hunter got killed and taken apart pretty close a couple days back. So watch yourselves."

"I'm Chris MacDonald, known as Mac," said Mac.

"Do you live here on your own?"

In reply to Christopher Little Hawk MacDonald (msg # 590):

They were standing near the gate. A well-worn path led from there between the buildings and greenhouses, up to the company house.

It was hard to judge his age. From what he said, he was probably in his fifties but looked a lot older. He was wearing worn and patched blue jeans, a flannel shirt open in the warm afternoon, and moccasins.

"Oh yeah, just me here. You boys want some tea?"

"Yes, please. Patrolling is thirsty work!" said Mac.

"Is there any way in which we can be of service, Mr Mazurinski?"

After Mac had introduced himself, Andy added, "And I'm Andy. I agree with Mac, if there's anything you need a hand with, we're happy to help."

A little ways from the gate a teapot and tea set was sitting on a TV tray. The old guy ambled over and poured them all a cup.

"Herbal tea. Sorry, got milk but no sugar."

"What do I need? I'm doing all right. Do some trading every once in a while. Got some livestock, do you know any veterinarians? One of my "babies" got hurt. I'm a little out of my depth!"

Pausing for a reply and receiving none, he continued.

"Right, well, if you don't got a veterinarian, then I guess you'll be on your way, eh?"

"Well, I'm not a veterinarian, but I was raised on a farm and looked after my share of animals. I'll take a look if you like, but no promises," said Mac, setting down his cup.

"If Mac can't help, at least he can report the symptoms back at the UBC," Andy said, "they might have someone or at least be able to look it up."