In reply to Tim Charles White (msg # 69):

Bobby waited for Alice to hit the switch to lower the Ranger. Then he would disconnect the power umbilical from the hood.

Jimmy and Tina were almost done. The dirt started to pour down. It was dark at first for about a layer of a metre, then a kind of odd strata of greyish powdery kind of dirt for about a foot or so, then another foot of more normal seeming dark earth. Finally it stopped, but still there was no sunlight.

In reply to Tim Charles White (msg # 69):

Over at the Personnel Exit, Tina chuckled at Jimmy's comments. She stopped and straightened up when they heard the pep talk. After, she smiled at Jimmy. "Well now. I was a little worried there for a moment, but I guess it don't matter much one way or another. We knew it was a-gonna be bad when we signed up, and I ain't the kind of gal that quits before I begin. Once the goin' gets tough, then I quit!"

She nodded at Tim. "I think we're almost done, chief." Taking out her flashlight she shone it up the shaft. "Well I'll be. Looks like a mat of roots and such. Doesn't look too thick, ain't no tree grown over the hatch. Guess we'll just have to cut through. Tell you what, handsome, hand me that short handled shovel. That should cut through nicely."

In reply to Tina Marie Lassiter (msg # 71):

Tim moves over to the expanding pile of soil poring out of the hatch. "O.k guys as we are going to have company arriving so lets keep it close to begin with O.K. ? Check the doors, the flanks and rear then set up a perimeter to the front we will drive out if we can and then park setting up security on the vehicle with yourselves and the dismounts, then we wait. Good luck."

He returns to the map on the table and begins to plot a course to the grid reference.

"Right, I'm the same way Tina.  Good to go until I come apart all at once, like a grenade.  Careful of the schrapnel."

He will come back down the ladder, checks the map after the radio speech from Prime.

"Sure, get on up there Tina.  Ladies first!"  He'll even hold the shovel and hand it up.

Lina sat quietly taking in the content of the broadcast from Prime.   She sighed and them plugged the next squad radio into the manpack to synch it.   Four down, two to go.

In reply to Mahalina Rae Powell (msg # 74):

Bobby collected personal radios from Tina, Jimmy and Alice.

He took them over to Mahalina. "Hey, 'Lina. Here you go. Need a hand?"

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 73):

After some cutting and chopping upwards, Tina was treated to her own shower of dirt knocked down from the carpet of roots and rootlets. They hung down in a tangle and she used the shovel to cut through them.

"Blegh! Lots of dirt... up in these here... roots!"

It looked like she was getting nowhere. "You know what would work here? Some C4. That's what my instructor said in Project demolitions class. "There is no problem that can't be solved with the proper application of explosives." True dat."

Jimmy stayed well clear of the action so that he was not needlessly showered with dirt.

He did a quick Radio Check "Jimmy, Radio Check."

Then looked up to see how Tina was doing.

"We might have to try the other exit, I don't think we want to announce our presence with explosives.  I wonder if we might have a chainsaw or sawzaw in the kit thought?"

He looks the way of the vehicle and nods "Nope.  Tina, if it wears you out let me take over and hack at it some more.  Maybe the Machete will help?"

He will go to get the machete, and stand by.  If she comes down he will take her place hacking at the roots.

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 77):

Reluctantly, Tina climbed down the ladder and exited the tunnel.

"No guarantee that it'll be more clear. Could be I've got the wrong tool? Go ahead, Take your best shot!"

She accepted her radio back when Mahalina was finished with it, handing Jimmy his radio (Assuming that Jimmy doesn't refuse Bobby when the latter takes it to the team RTO to setup, as would be standard practice.)

In reply to Mahalina Rae Powell (msg # 74):

Setting all team radios on the proper channels and checking the encryption was a simple task for Lina.

PD Note: All players can assume they are on the correct freq. No roll is required by Lina to accomplish this. She can make a Comms check (Routine difficulty, +20% to skill) to draw some conclusions from Prime's transmission.

"No promises, but we don't need to kill ourselves with hard work right on the heels of that long freeze.  We will cycle in and out until we can get it clear."

Jimmy will hand off his radio and take both shovel and machete... and with a little thought, the damn pickaxe as well up the ladder and into the hole.  He takes a good look at what he has and tries first with the machete to start chopping a route through the roots.

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 80):

If anything, Jimmy seemed to be having less luck than Tina! It seemed clear that maybe a tree had grown over the hatch location. After several minutes of trying it was obvious that this wasn't going to work. Time to try the Emergency Exit.

She understood the transmission.  She was just thinking about what was said and the unexpected turn of events.

Jimmy Tries harder, apparently.

"GAh, it's a damn tree!"

"Let's try the emergency exit."

He'll lead the way over to that exit, and set to work opening it and letting the sand pour out, then on to digging.
Not illustrious work, hard work.

"I think I am awake now."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:13, Fri 20 May 2016.

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 83):

"Shee-it. C'mon, Let's get this over with."

Tina sighed and, following Jimmy, trudged over to the shaft marked Emergency Personnel Exit.

The other exit was labelled "EMERGENCY PERSONNEL EXIT". Unlike the other one, which had an open shaft until 1m under the prewar ground level, this one was filled with sand. When they opened the hatch at the bolthole level, this filler material spilled out onto the floor. They scooped it out and let gravity do it's work. Then they climbed up the other shaft again and opened the exit hatch.

More borwnish clay dirt, a metre's worth, then the 30cm strata of grey powdery dirt, poured down. Then more roots and rootlets hanging down in a dreadlock-like snarl. Tina tried first, then Jimmy. They dug and chopped for a while.

PD Note: I'm going to leave it here for now. Let's let the other group catch up!

In reply to Project Director (msg # 85):

Bobby lowered the Ranger and disconnected the power umbilical.

While he was waiting for the recon element to clear the surface area, Bobby assembled his kit. He cleaned and reassembled his weapons. Aside from the Stoner and Hi-Power was his personal sidearm, a .45ACP Colt Commander pistol and custom barrel threaded for a Sionics suppressor.

"Ok, chief. Ready to go with my personal gear. Alice, let's load the Ranger."

PD Note: Thanks for waiting a little, I think the other group is underway now.

Jimmy takes turns with Tina (Tina Turner?) clearing the roots.  Hopefully this time a full sized tree did not block the exit.  There is hope, yes?  150 years can grow a mighty fine tree.

He starts humming, then singing...

"Working in a Coal Mine, going down down."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAzAucMOE0s

Alice and moves to help glad to have some thing to do. "You know some one was having a bad joke when they gave us this".
She adds as they work "the V150 has far better road holding ect"
This thing was designed for patrolling air fields for the USAF.
And they did not think much of them either

Jimmy laughs, pausing his "work song" and winks to Alice.

"I was Cav, we like to ride.  Prefer a FAV myself, it's like a tactical dune buggy, Fast Attack Vehicle it's called.  But hey, anything that rolls if preferable to walking."

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 89):

Alice grins "now that is true and yes I have ridden in some right death traps in the Ambulance service, doing 60 plus in bad conditions with gas bottles in the rear is not rational let me say"

Jimmy chops at a few move roots, whistling low in reaction to that.

"Well, ouch.  I got a bad feeling us scouts will be walking anyway.  When you trail-blaze folks tend to be walking out in advance when the vehicles are delicate."

Alice smiles "yes it has to be said I prefer walking in many cases".
"I have covered a fair amount of this country on foot"

Jimmy chuckles, chops some more.

"Impressive!  I try to avoid walking when I can ride, but that said me and the LPCs have covered a lot of distance."

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 93):

Finally, the tunnel mouth is open in a shower of wet earth. The final layer is rich forest loam and detritus (rotting needles, leaves, twigs, pine cones).

Above Jimmy is wan overcast sunlight, weakly shining through the forest tree cover overhead.

The autonav display seemed to indicate this was once a patch of forest near a couple of buildings just NW off the intersection of Lake Whatcom Road and Lake Louise Rd.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:09, Mon 23 May 2016.