"And Daylight breaks!  Tina, we're up."

Jimmy gets his gear back together after partly stripping to do that heavy work, takes a last drink of water and with Tina will climb the ladder up and into a new century.  Well, ok it's a forest, but it'll be his first real look at a new century.

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 95):

"Holy crap! You bet! Yeah, let's get a look at a new Millennia!

"You first. Looks like it's raining out there."

She picked up her Stoner, pulled back the charging handle. The bolt snapped back, loading a round. Safing her weapon she slung it over her shoulder, muzzle down.

"I think it will be very foresty."

Jimmy chuckles.  He keeps chambers a round in his M16 as well, makes sure the dust cover is close, and keeps it under his poncho anyway.  He heads on up the ladder slowly and carefully and will push his head slowly through the new hole, looking around slowly at what lies immediately up top.

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 97):

Jimmy sees he's under heavy tree cover.

Under the trees themselves is relatively clear because not enough sun falls here to allow for much undergrowth although there were still bushes and saplings so it wasn't completely clear.

He can see about 10m in each direction, save for the many tree trunks blocking his low-down perspective. The trunks are around 1m in diameter. There is no one in sight. It is silent save for the quiet patter of water dripping off the branches as the rain had slacked off to a drizzle.

Jimmy ducks back in to report.

"Looking clear and woodsy, follow me up buttercup.... oh.. fuck.  One moment."

Jimmy pulls his m16 out of his poncho, pops the reciever open and reseats the bolt, closes it and sets the pin back.

"I had me a single shot M16 thing going on, that should do it.  You did good cleaning your own weapon, lady."

He does SPORTS on the M16 real quick to check it over, then he pushes all the way out of the hole and onto the forest floor.  He takes a covering position laying on the ground with a good field of fire, his feet towards the hole and waits on Tina to come on up the ladder.

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 99):

At Jimmy's signal, she climbed out lay down, taking up a position covering the other direction.

Jimmy waited a minute for them to soak in the surroundings, then started moving in the direction of the vehicle door to check out that, he moved slow and stayed crouched, taking cover.  He would survey the area once he got there to see if it was looking dicey.

"Tina, cover me."

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 101):

Tina nodded, scanning the woods.

She decided against taking her binoculars out due to the limited field of view in the forest.

Checking the Autonav, Tim verifies that they are to RV with KZ-169, then proceed to the city of Bellingham to the west. Lord knew what shape the city was in.

As well, Jimmy had checked the Autonav, carefully recording the compass bearing and distance (the vehicle door opened to the north at 20m).

On top, he carefully paced off the distance. Sure enough, the doors were at least partially blocked by the growth of several Douglas firs partially growing on both sides of the doors. A single Douglas fir 2m in diameter was growing right in the way of the exit, even if the hydraulic rams under the doors were able to push aside the other smaller trees:

                  ^
                  |

            Exit Direction
               (North)

                  0   *
          O ______ ______
           |      |    * *
          *|      |      |
           |*     |     *|
     <---- | *    |      | ---->   Doors Swing up and out to sides.
          *|      |      |* *
        *  |      |      | 0
        *  |______|______|
           :             :*
           :   Vehicle   :
           :   Tunnel/   :
           :    Ramp     :
           :             :
           :             :
           :  Bolthole   :
           :     20m     :
           :             :
                  |
                  V

 0 = Douglas Fir Tree 2m diameter
 O = Douglas Fir Tree 1.5m diameter
 * = Douglas Fir Tree 1m diameter

Tony
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:56, Mon 23 May 2016.

Having folded up the map and placed it in a zip lock bag Tim got up from the table. Nothing had been brought to his attention so it was safe to say everything was moving along just fine. He walks over to the Ranger and after getting a quick run down on vehicle prep he begins to help loading it up.

Jimmy curses softly under his breath then picks up his radio.

"KR-44 Actual this is Jimmy.  We got some big tree problems.  As in, we have some damn big trees blocking the vehicle exit.  I don't think the rams will be able to move the really big one in the path, either.  You might want to come up and take a look."

Jimmy uses his bayonet to mark the boundaries of the door on the trees for easy reference as he awaits reply.

"Tina, can you adjust position to keep us all covered, please?"

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 105):

"Jimmy, Tim. Understood coming up now." Tim puts the last pack on the trailers and then picks up his rifle. He lets Mahalina know he is going up top.

Once out of the bolt hole Tim takes a couple of deep breaths and takes in his surroundings. Walking over to the door he says to the scouts. "Well they are not going to budge and even if they did we would still have to move the trunks. Any ideas ? I am thinking explosives, but the noise could be problematic."

"How far to the rendezvous?  We might want to send scouts at least to make contact.  If we do decide to blast I think we should get a look see around a bit farther than right here on foot.  Definitely get everyone out of the bolthole, and all the equipment.  Someone else might have a better idea, but I got a feeling that walking is our best option right now, grab what we can, stash what we can't, and ask Prime if we should scram our Ranger in it's hole."

Jimmy had been thinking a little while he waited on the commander to come up, and all the options pointed to a lot of walking.  He wished he'd dumped some of the other stuff in his personal stash for a really good pair of boots now.  He just hoped he would be regretting that decision for a long time to come.

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 107):

Tim could do with a cigarette even though he had not smoked for 170 years. He walked around the main doors and when asked about the RV he handed over the map. "We are not going to make it now so yes it looks as if you guys will be going, I will radio prime to let then know you will be late. Leaving the vehicle will be a last resort and a few trees should not be enough to stop us. Does either of you have experience with demo ?"

Jimmy shakes his head, then grins.

"Sorry boss.  I'd recommend sending more than just us two if you can afford it.  I don't think we had one on the team, either.  Donno, if you want us to hurry up and hoof it I guess we can.  Let's see that rendezvous on the map."

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 109):

Getting into position, Tina chuckled.

"Yep. I am fully qualified for demo. Just call me "Lefty". or "Four Fingers McGee"."

Not only was Tina the team Scout, she was also fully trained in demolitions. As well, she was a competent machinegunner (SAW and GPMG). Tina could even handle an autocannon and other Project vehicle weapons, if need be, although those were definitely secondary qualifications.

In reply to Tina Marie Lassiter (msg # 110):

"Great, so you are up. What is your assessment do you think you can bring them down and clear them away from doors ? Hopefully we can still leave at the allotted time and make our RV as long as nothing else happens on the way."

In reply to Tina Marie Lassiter (msg # 110):

The hard copy topographical and road maps indicated the shortest route to the RV point, Lakwway Dr. at I-5, was 10.5km. With a backpack radio a foot element could keep in contact with the team.

Gear and equipment was lavish and plentiful for the Project, at least within some limits. All-in-all abandoning the Ranger wouldn't be the end of the world. Especially as the bolthole itself seemed to be secure and undetected. The Ranger could be recovered at a later time.

In reply to Tim Charles White (msg # 111):

"Cover me, slick," she said to Jimmy. Getting up, she had a look at the largest tree, then the one next to it. She looked at her explosives handbook for reference.

"Ok. There is a 2m tree and a 1m tree blocking the way about a metre apart. Call it 3-4 metres of det-cord and one M1 detonator to do both at once. Or else, uh, 160 grams of C4 and two detonators. A quarter of a block, most on the big tree. I can try to get them to fall out of the way but once we open the doors, we can use the Ranger's winch to drag the trunks out of the way."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:35, Tue 24 May 2016.

In reply to Tina Marie Lassiter (msg # 113):

Tim looked at both trees and then said "great go with which you think is best. I'll go back down and let the rest of the team know what is going on and continue with prep. Radio when you are good to go."
Tim then returns down the escape tunnel.

In reply to Tim Charles White (msg # 114):

"Sure thing, boss. I ain't rushing, so it'll be around fifteen minutes. Give or take."

Climbing back down after Tim, she rummaged around in the explosives locker. She removed a 125m roll of Det-cord (Primercord). More than enough to do the job. She also removed an M2A1 detonator/primer assembly. This was a small cylinder with a pull-ring. Pull the ring and it would blow any attached charge after an 8-second delay. They had ten of these and only 2 of the M1 type, which could be set for a 10-second or up to a 48 hour delay.

Putting those and some tools in her pockets she hefted the roll of Primercord and climbed back up the ladder.
This message was last updated by the player at 18:07, Tue 24 May 2016.

Jimmy gives Tina a 'thumbs up' and moves into a good position to cover both the escape hatch and the work to be done.

"Guess we are making some big noise.  We better stay ready for some attention, then, eh?  Light her up.. is it Kit?"

He settles in and sights in clear points with his 203 and M16 both.

Jimmy was likewise a backup with many things, having a diverse skill set.  Deer hunting in Upstate New York and Pennsylvania meant he had some pretty good wilderness skills, and his stint in the cav meant he knew basic maintenance and tactical driving, as well as a foundation for using heavier weapons.  He even knew a bit about Artillery!

In reply to James (Jimmy) Gerrold MacGuire (msg # 116):

"Kit? Sure."

She walked over to the tunnel and called down, "hey, gonna be a big bang up here!

"Take cover, Jimmy. Behind a tree will work. Not gonna just be fragments but, like trees, falling down too. I did get some training on how to fell trees. Do enough of these in a row in a herring-bone pattern you can block an entire roadway. It's called "abatis".

"There's gonna be an eight second delay when I pull this."

She put her finger in the pull-ring on the detonator that was attached to the Primercord looped around the 2 trees.

In reply to Tim Charles White (msg # 114):

From the side door of the Ranger Bobby looked up as Tim climbed down into the bolthole. "Hey, boss. We got about a half hour to get the rest of this gear loaded. Fifteen minutes if we push it."

In reply to Robert 'Bobby' Michael Kastelein (msg # 118):

Tim moved away from the tunnel entrance once Tina gave the warning. He waited for the boom before addressing Bobby. "No rush yet. We will have to see how the demo of the trees goes and whether we can get the doors opened."

He then returns to the surface to check how well the felling went.