In reply to Andrew Montgomery McRae (msg # 119):

"Who knows, we could find a vet," commented Hawke as he put the vehicle in gear and started rolling forward, once everyone was on board.

"Negative Master Sniper, we will lead, you hop up to us."

"Roger that," Andy replied to Kelsey.

"OK guys, set up to cover the first leap."

"Let's hop, Bishop cover us on the main road somewhere, signal when clear."

"Did we get what we came for?",  Abbot asked as they loaded up and moved out.




OOC - Still here.

In reply to Stanley Alistair Abbot (msg # 124):

"We got tools, and we got data on the elephants.  History on them.  I made a list of the names of the people who used to work on them."

Everyone mounted up, and the unit moved down the road towards CFS Aldergove.

Several of the buildings had burned down or been destroyed, but the comms towers and main blocks were still standing.

It was clear some kind of fight happened here, but a while ago. There were several perimeter bunkers and emplacements that were clearly intended for AA guns, now gone.

There was another crashed Hip transport just inside the compound, this one burned to a blackened skeleton. The trees and grass surrounding the comms station were overgrown but had been cleared back at some point in the past to provide a free fire zone. There was one burned-out Western Star CF light tactical truck in the parking lot but no other vehicles, civilian or military, remained.

All in all, it was a peaceful, deserted scene. Birds sang in the trees, insects flitted about. Far down the road they could see a couple deer eating the long grasses growing on the shoulder. One looked up and watched them, but they didn't run.

OOC: As this is a rural area, many roads have soft shoulders and deep weed-grown drainage ditches.

"This is Bishop to Knight.  The target area appears abandoned.  Do you wish a foot investigation?"

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg # 127):

"It's standing? Great! Check out the main building. See if the server rooms are intact. It'll take a half hour, tops."

In reply to Alain Belanger (msg # 128):

"Right you heard the boss folks.  I'll need Rook to set up an overwatch, one man on the big gun on the Hummer, The rest of you will take to foot with me.  Belanger wants to see what is intact."

She transmits radio out

"Knight, watch your approach, Rook will over watch, Bishop will man the big gun, the rest of us go in on foot.  I need to get personal eyes on this one."

Of course, Kelsey knew.. she was HQ's comm person, she was the best person they had to evaluate this stuff.

"Knight acknowledges last transmission," Andy said over the radio.

"Ok," he said to his team, "Kel is going in to check out the gubbins and we're on sentry duty up here. Spread out and keep a good watch."

Andy set up so  that he could cover the back trail of the convoy.

Tom excited the vehicle with everyone else and took up his position as they moved towards the objective. He had his rifle at his shoulder and the Carl Gustav across his back.

The dismounts exited the vehicles and started their sweep of the site.

In the area behind the transmission towers was a mass grave (one marker) and several individual graves (with markers), about a dozen of them. The one marker proclaimed that buried there were six Soviet Spetsnaz, the dozen individual graves bore the names of what sounded like Canadian soldiers. It looked like the graves had at one time been tended but no longer, for some time. Other places in the complex showed signs of an old battle: burn marks, bullet holes, broken and shattered windows, some boarded up with plywood.

Moving cautiously. they found that inside the remaining central building, it looked like someone had been living there until relatively recently. In fact, that person was still there, in bed (a sleeping bag on a cot in a cafeteria-turned-apartment). The corpse looked to be about six months old and was mainly bones. Scattered clothing looked to be both civilian and CF issue. A C7 lay next to the cot, with  There was still a faint odour of decay in the cafeteria, trapped in by the intact panes of glass. Supplies were mainly military issue (MREs and IMPs, cans, sacks of rotted potatoes and carrots, flour, etc. All well-gnawed at by small scavengers.

Dust lay in a thick coat everywhere, undisturbed save for some animal tracks (mice, rats, probably raccoons).

Kelsey checked the body for dog tags, and would take one if she found it.

"Died on station, we were a little too late.  We'll have to give..."  She reads the dogtag "HER a good burial, and report him missing.  Let's see what she kept up for us, shall we?"

She heads for the comms area, or at least tries to navigate to it, she is betting there is a generator set and maintained comms if this man felt he needed to die maintaining this place.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:56, Thu 15 Aug 2013.

From his stop point next to the entrance door Tom surveyed the surrounding countryside keeping an eye on vehicle access points to the complex. He would remain next to the door after taking a knee until the rest of the unit exited or he was called inside.

It seems Able Seaman. Maria B. Lalonde had not died of obvious violence or trauma.

There was a lack of used-up medical supplies (dirty bandages. used styrettes, etc.) as would be there if she or someone else had dressed any wounds, and her ragged corpse did not have obvious bullet or other trauma. Still, she was still mostly shrouded in a sleeping bag. Fortunately, at some point it was theoretically possible the body could be examined for evidence of what killed her by a pathologist or at least a doctor, back at UBC.

There were dark musty rooms with grey metal desks with dust-covered computer monitors, boxes of floppy diskettes (3.5" and 5"), metal chairs. The good saior been guarding an intact computer room and generator. Several rusted black metal garbage pails with scraps of burned paper inside, and a dumping place outside a fire door indicated many documents had been destroyed. The inside of the computer room had been sealed and animals had not penetrated inside. Massive cabinet-sized mainframes sat, silent in the still air under a coating of grey dust.

Kelsey looks around, shakes her head and comes back outside so she can radio, careful to seal the room back up.  She makes sure she is on secure net to radio Bellanger.

"Bellanger, we got a real prize here, and an Able Seaman appears to have kept it for us, probably cost her life.  We manage to use this place, I say we call it Maria Lalonde center.  You want us to test it, or leave it dormant?"

She checks on the fuel, and the ventilation, having a hunch on what could have killed the seaman.

As the sweep continued in the building Tom studied the surrounding area from his position. He was looking for anything else of interest, other buildings, signs of habitation or wrecked vehicles. He would use his binoculars, but only if something catches his eye.

In reply to Thomas Matthew Andrews (msg # 137):

Hawke sat behind the wheel of the hummer, keeping an eye on the fuel gauge, as the engine idled.

He tapped out a highland march with his index fingers, as his eyes searched for threats.

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg # 136):

There was no reply to her transmission. The period without reply stretched uncomfortably.

At that moment, off in the distance of where Belanger's detachment was making its bound, they heard a series of faint echoing cracks, pops and bangs, unmistakable sounds of a firefight. It intensified within seconds to an almost continual, if faint, racket.

Kelsey heads for the HMMWV at dead run, hitting the radio.  "I hear shots fired. Report!  Bishop, mount up!"

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg # 140):

"Ready"

Hawke put the vehicle in gear, but kept his foot on the clutch and one on the brake.

As the call came over the net Tom waited for everyone to exit the building before running back to their vehicle. He jumped in and carried the launcher on his lap for the short bound to the fire-fight.

In reply to Kelsey Sarah Champlain (msg # 140):

"Copy that! Meet you at the truck!", Stanley replied over the team radio.

He fell into formation and followed Sgt Champlain to the HMMWV.

Once there, he secured his C9 and took his position in the turret.

We are probably too late to get in on this, but if they are pinned down, we best get on it.  We will want sniper team to cover us, and i bet taras wants us approaching from an alternate route.

She flips the map and stares, looking for a fast alternate route.


Ooc:  looking up asap