OOC:

LNG: RUS in three pairs please

2 x ESY, 2 X AVG, 2 X DIFF

OOC: The die roller is back to hating me again:

14:19, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 38 using 1d100. LNG Failure. (CATASTROPHIC FAILURE - Broken Tounge - Chunk will have to splint - Tabby will be very unhappy.)
14:19, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 100,56 using 1d100,1d100. LNG: DIF.

14:19, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 9 using 1d100. LNG Failure. (NOT CATASTROPHIC -JUST REGULAR FAILURE)
14:19, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 32,96 using 1d100,1d100. LNG: AVG.

14:18, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 49 using 1d100. LNG Failure. (NOT CATASTROPHIC -JUST REGULAR FAILURE)
14:18, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 84,90 using 1d100,1d100. LNG: ESY.

The silence of the guns, the raised voices coming from the truck where the Captain was shouting with the Earthman, and the drooling Chunk Jackson served to distract the FISTer as he tried to extract info from these soldiers.

He did realize that the language was Ukrainian, and the tall, light-skinned men with their fair hair and green, blue, and light brown eyes seemed to back up his guess where they were from. It wasn't anything they said, but the language, the looks, the new uniforms, and the rifles all served to paint a picture that these troops were not long-serving combat veterans.

Barr finished up with the three Ukrainians and then pawned them off on some unsuspecting enlisted cannoner.  "Process these guys, I gotta talk with the Captain."

Barr approached Captain Rivers and the Infantry Lieutenant.  He saluted,  then waited for the Captain before speaking.

"I don't give a shit what your orders are Lieutenant, you pull out of here, we die" Cpt Rivers said as 1Lt Barr walked up.

"Sorry sir, orders are orders" the Lieutenant said, noticing Barr approach.

"Fuck's the matter with you Gavin, you trying to get me shot?" Rivers said when he's been 'Barred' by the salute. "You've been spending too much time up front with these types."

”Sorry, Captain, I had more faith in our perimeter until just now,” Barr said after hearing the infantry Lieutenant speak.

”Where the hell are they going?” Barr asked.

OOC: Saluting your CO in combat – where Military Courtesy and Advancement Opportunity intersect. :P
This message was last edited by the player at 12:21, Sun 06 Jan 2013.

As the three officers were talking, the sounds of battle picked up. The low thuds of the Soviet artillery pounding Kalisz increased, and they were punctuated by the high-pitched crack of tank cannons to the south.

"We're going" the infantry officer said, turning and swallowing hard at the same time, "Towards that."

"Un-believable" Stephen Rivers said, his arms folded across his chest watching as the twenty infantrymen formed to columns and started walking to the south. "Just...unbelievable."

Gavin shook his head as the stupidity level kept rising.

"Sir, I'm going to have to go back to 1-40 at some point, but first I wanted to see if there was anything I could do on the ammo front?" Gavin asked.  He was attached to 1-40th and technically they controlled his taskings and assignments.  But Gav liked to play in the space created between his chain of command and theirs.  It allowed him to be more effective on the battlefield, and find time for his extracurricular activities.  He knew without 155 support, he and Abernathy would just as likely end up as a scout for the armor, in his soft skin HMMWV.

"Like hell you are" Cpt Rivers said. "I need you here. I sent you to those armor clowns to spot artillery for them, Gavin. We don't have shit except a few smoke rounds yet, so why would you have to go back there?"

"No arguments here.  If I'm unattached from 1-40th, it's no skin off my nose.  What can I help with here Sir?" Gavin asked, shifting gears from worrying about 1-40th's issues, to worrying about 2-21st's problems.

Steve Rivers took a deep breath. When he let it out, he felt some of the stress leaving him. He didn't want this. He wanted to be a pilot. Up there winging over all this mud and blood. If a frog had wings he could hear his mother say. He motioned for Barr to follow him with two fingers.

Cpt Rivers walked over to the deuce and a half he was using as a command vehicle/tractor/wheelbarrow for his broken dreams. He reached into the passenger's side door and pulled out the wrinkled, beat up 1:50,000 with red, blue, black and green grease pencil marks all over it. Shining a red-lensed 'moonbeam', the two officers crouched down over the map on the ground and talked business.

"We're here, right?" the battery commander confirmed, pointing to 2-21 FA's current positon. "You just came from here, friendlies are here and here, bad guys are here, here, here, over here, oh, here too...fuck, basically everywhere."

Stephen Rivers rubbed his mouth with his non-flashlight hand. The cordite on his hand transferred to his face, and it reminded 1Lt Barr of an extra from a low-budget WW2 movie. When he realized he wasn't saying anything by Barr's face, he continued.

"DivComm is up my ass to support those tank jockies holding Kalisz" he said in the dark, shifting a bit and moving the red light as he did so. "Personally, I'm ready to spike the one five fives and go native. If I spoke one word of that devil fucking language these fucking greasy Slavs speak, I might try it."

With the red light on the map, after he moved the light Gavin Barr couldn't see the artillery officer's face as well as the moment before. There was no laughter, no smile and the Master FISTer was at a loss whether his OIC was kidding or not.

"Three-nineteen eff ay is here" he said, pointing at the map. "If you can get there, beg, borrow, or steal, I don't know, and I don't want to know how you do it, but get some one five five shells and bring them back here. Then if you complete THAT fucking miracle, I'll need you to go spot for those Doofi tank turds one last time."

OOC:

Updated map

”Well I could have spent more time banging coeds at Sydney Lewis Hall for all the good Russian has done me.  Ukrainian, Armenian, Russian, Georgian… How the fuck the Soviet Union works, I’ll never know.” Gavin said in response his CO’s comment about the devil tongue.

Barr listened intently his CO’s commands.  When Rivers was finished, Gavin sounded off.

”Ooosha Sir,”  It was the much gayer version of the Infantry Hooah - the version that was used around the Field Artillery School at Ft. Sill.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."  After a nod instead of a salute, he turned and doubled timed it to the FISTv.

OOC:

If Tabitha is asleep in the back (hopefully), Gav will drive and let her get some rest on the way up.  Chunk is hanging at 2-21st for this one.

40 kph on the major roads, 20 kph on the back road segment that skirts Opatowek.

20:56, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 83 using 1d100. RCN. Misses AVG, makes ESY

1. Kieruj się na południe
2,2 km
2. Skręć w prawo
5,2 km
3. Skręć w lewo w kierunku Trasa 12
1,2 km
4. Skręć w prawo w Trasa 12
5,0 km
5. Lekko w prawo w Łódzka
97 m
6. Skręć w prawo w Warszawska
550 m
7. Skręć w lewo w Aleja Generała Władysława Sikorskiego
1,0 km
8. Skręć w prawo w Stawiszyńska
Przejedź przez 1 rondo
2,5 km
9. Kontynuuj wzdłuż Trasa 25
1,4 km
10. Skręć w lewo
500 m
  Nieznana droga
This message was last edited by the player at 03:59, Tue 08 Jan 2013.

"I would say it doesn't, but the truth is, they sure as shit have us on the run" Cpt Rivers said. He looked around in the half-moon night, his eyes wide as saucers. When Gavin gave him a nod, Stephen Rivers put out his hand.

"I'm sorry I have to ask you to do this, Gav" Rivers said as the two men shook hands, possibly for the last time. "I wish...well, take care of yourself."

"Good Luck, Sir."

On the way to the FISTv, Gavin could swear he heard bagpipes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB2Ad04mukI

OOC:

Are you sure he doesn't hear these bagpipes instead?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0_EwUfTzO0

His 'assistant' asleep in the back as he drove, 1Lt Gavin Barr drove back south towards State Road 471. It was beautiful, Poland at night, when you got away from people trying to kill you and you were able to sneak a peek at the stars.

A staccato belt-fed weapon in the distance followed by an explosion brought the Master FISTer back to his present reality. Turning right onto Turkowska, he was able to pick up the speed a bit. His NVGs pulled on his head and strained his neck as he thought about everything from fuel concerns to his current mission to how he felt about the young girl asleep in the back and everything in between.

The next turn was the rondo, and Gavin had enough sense to slow down for it. Rondo. A cheap way to control traffic popular all over Europe and the UK, it was almost like a mini roller coaster if you sped up on the exit and timed your turn right.

Coming out of the rondo onto a two word street Gavin couldn't pronounce and wouldn't care to try, he increased his speed. He loved the lateral g forces as he came quickly out of the rondos here in Poland. Even with the big 33 inch tires and almost a foot of rubber on the road, Barr could get the tired to squeal if he hit the turns fast enough.

In the fast exit of the turn, a black shape emerged in the darkness. Brake or swerve, if Gavin didn't do something, he would hit the black shape clearly in the road in the next second or two.

OOC:

Actions and DIFF:WVD, please

”Jesus,” Barr said, his foot having already shifted over to the brakes.  He pressed down hard and fast, but avoided stomping on the big pedal.  As he did so, Gavin tightened his hands on the steering wheel.  With the HMMWV rapidly decelerating it took concentration and strength to keep control.  He tried as best he could to judge the distance in the dark, and swerved, now at a lower speed, to avoid the object, hope that he FISTv would both miss it, and have lost enough momentum not to go too far off the road.

05:06, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 7 using 1d100. WVD: DIFF.  WHOO!  Made it!

OOC:

OK so to be clear, you want the Hummer to try to stop, or you want to avoid the lump and keep going?

1Lt Barr got hard on the brakes. The FISTV was heavier than most Hummers, but the brake pedal was wide enough for Gavin to get both feet on it. He put so much pressure on it as he swerved, his quad muscles activated as his 'seat' came off his seat.

In reply to Niewiele Dupek (msg # 27):

"Five more minutes, Momma" Pfc Abernathy said after 1Lt Barr's hard brake through her off the back seat onto the floor. She was obviously not yet awake yet, and Gavin could hear her stirring on the floor as she tried to swim through consciousness and realize where she was.

"<You idiot!>" Gavin Barr heard a Russian man swear in Russian. The FSO was stopped half on and half off the road with the headlights off, the interior lights off and the engine still running. After a couple of jogging steps, a yelling Russian infantryman was suddenly standing in the FISTV's open window at what Gavin could only assume he thought was a Soviet jeep.

<"Da"> Gavin said, and he quickly grabbed the Russian's web gear with his left hand and yanked him hard, toward the HMMWV's door rails and jambs.  Barr stomped the accelerator peddle, one hand on the wheel, one hand on the Russian, releasing him after it was clear the infantry man had lost his footing.

"Stay down Tabby," Gavin ordered, his second hand now back on the wheel.  He knew small arms fire would follow and she would be better protected in the floorboard.  Gavin's eyes struggled in the darkness to find the road and Barr fought the steering wheel to stay on it.

OOC: Ok, tried to get all the rolls I thought might be needed at once:
07:48, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 7 using 1d100. RCN. (Gav's Skill: 80 - Outstanding Success)
07:48, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 32 using 1d100. WVD. (Gav's Skill: 50)
07:46, Today: 1LT Gavin Barr rolled 50 using 1d100. BC. (Gav's Skill: 70)

Too late the Junior Sergeant realized his mistake. His eyes wide as saucers, the FSO dragged him like a British baddie in a movie made by some small-dicked nobody called Guy Ritchie.

Realizing that not even the Soviet Army are known for dragging their NCOs, about half the squad 1Lt Barr just tried to run over opened up with their fancy Kalashnikovs. Muzzle flashes were seen in two hundred seventy degrees as the FISTV sped away at a high rate of speed.

In reply to Niewiele Dupek (msg # 30):

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck FUCK!" Pfc Abernathy screamed from the backseat as the rounds shattered the glass of the window by her feet. The roar of the powerful FISTV's diesel engine was punctuated by smaller 5.45mmB rounds that tore through the thin metal rear and side as the vehicle sped away into the night.

"Are you hit Tabby?" Gavin asked as he kept the HMMWV moving.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 16:31, Fri 18 Jan 2013.

"...no..." Pfc Abernathy said a bit later, shameful at her previous outburst when they were taking fire. She rotated onto her right shoulder, attempting to shake the broken shards of window off her BDU top onto the foot wells of the backseat of the FISTV.

Taking the 'sixty' slot slowly, Abernathy stood a bit dazed by what had just happened. The two American soldiers were quiet the rest of the ride. The previous ferocity of the Soviet artillery strike had waned, and the FSO officer took more time to take the route back after his last encounter with the Soviet infantry patrol.

On the north-south hardball road about 1.5km short of their destination 3-19FA, the FISTV was hailed by some American soldiers from 3-77 Amd, who had formed a roadblock. The Blazer ADA vehicle blocking the road flashed its headlights twice at the FISTV in rapid succession.

From the driver's seat, 1Lt Barr could also see that the M60A4 and the M113 covering the road were manned. There seemed to be a platoon of soldiers on either sid of the road who had formed hasty positons with sandbags, leading Gavin to believe the unit had not been there that long.