Incirlik Air Base, Turkey
10 March 2015
0831 hrs local (0631 hrs Zulu)

Conference Room B in Incirlik's SCIF smells of dust and weapons-grade coffee.  The arrhythmic rattle in the air handling equipment almost certainly isn't part of the design specs for blocking listening devices, but it's probably as effective as the officially-sanctioned countermeasures.

Chief Bannon detaches his spillproof mug from his fist and starts flipping a stack of file folders onto the scarred conference table.  Each one bears the usual alphabet soup of classified material with the codeword VEHEMENT HARPIST - a designation no one on the team has encountered before.

The door opens to admin Group Captain Mewes.  He closes it behind him and flips the switch which illuminates the red bulb in the hallway, then takes a seat at the head of the table.  Bannon silently slides another coffee mug onto the table at the RAF officer's elbow, then folds into his own seat at Mewes' right hand.

"Kapitan Kowalska, Miss Omdahl, gentlemen," Mewes begins, "congratulations on a successful final integration exercise last week.  I've been in Brussels over the weekend on consultation with our chain of command and the council is pleased with your workup.  As of zero-eight-hundred today, your team is authorized for operations under the designation Grey Cell.  Well done.  And not a moment too soon, because we have an urgent tasking."

Mewes gestures for the team to break the tape seals on their briefing packets.  The faces staring up from the photograph within are a South Asian man and woman, fiftyish, bespectacled, captured in a laboratory setting and scowling at the interruption of their work.

"Meet Doctors Satish and Jayashri Tamboli.  They're Pakistani nationals with a taste for oil money.  The late Colonel Gaddafi recruited them in '99 for his nuclear weapons program.  After A.Q Khan and Friedrich Tinner were taken out of the picture, they officially moved into teaching positions at the University of Tripoli.  However, no students or other instructors who were then in the Department of Nuclear Engineering seem to remember them, and they've not published since - which is like unto death for academics.  Our sources suggest their employment there was a cover for ongoing participation in fusion research.  Tab Delta, please."

He waits for you to turn to Tab D, then continues.  "The Tambolis dropped off our radar during the Libyan Civil War.  About two months ago, rumors began to place them back in Tripoli, helping get the local oil industry on its feet again.  That's when they came to the attention of the unpleasant gentleman you see there--" weathered, Middle Eastern, late thirties, sneering at something out of frame, nasty web of burn scar across his right cheek and temple "-- who goes by the nom de guerre of Mas'ud Attar.  Our lad Mas'ud is the prime hatchetman of Abu al Afari al Turkmani, who's the Islamic State's current director of provincial governance."

"This op is a covert extraction.  You will insert into Tripoli, locate the Doctors Tamboli, and bring them out along with any records of their fusion work.  If necessary, destroy the records rather than allowing them to remain in play."  He pauses for a sip.  "Intercepts indicate Attar has an advance team on the ground in Tripoli and is en route to join them now, so we're on an undetermined but definitely tight schedule.  Fortunately, someone tipped off the Tambolis, so they've gone to ground.  Unfortunately, we don't know where.  Fortunately again, we have better analysts than Attar, starting with you."

Bannon shifts in his chair and takes up the briefing.  "Tripoli is still infested with Islamist militias - I ain't gonna say 'under control of.'  So we have no cooperative local authorities to draw on.  We have two ways to insert you.  First option is covert - fly into Tunisia and drive across the Libyan border when the militias aren't looking.  Second choice is to draw on DGSE --" he nods to Durand "-- to build a cover as French-backed petrochem consultants, then fly in commercial from Alexandria.  Westerners are still pretty safe in Tripoli if they're there to help keep the petroducats flowing.  That'll be faster but you'll be limited in the gear you can get in-country until Amber Cell arrives to provide ops and logistics support.  Either way, Amber will be at least two days behind you."

Lina entered the SCIF and glanced suspiciously toward the air handler noise.  She half expected to hear bad 90’s music start up at any moment, in the form of pirated low-bit rate MP3’s streamed off an old hard drive.  In Poland, SCIFs were typically a nexus of intellectual property rights violations and national security.   After Iraq, she had briefed myriad unit CO’s on insurgency activities before they deployed to the South Central Zone in a SCIF similar to this one.  A whole litany of thoughts filled her head about the meeting location and what appeared to be its poor maintenance, but Lina suppressed them.  This was neither the time nor the place, to bring them up.

”Thank you Group Captain,” Lina said, acknowledging the team’s final clearance for operations.  It had been almost a month since they had arrived in Incirlik and Kowalska was pleased that the workup cycle had gone smoothly and without any unexpected delays.

Pulling the briefing packet from the table, Lina popped the seal and began thumbing through it, pausing after a few seconds to listen attentively to Mewes’ briefing.  Her mind raced considering the information and the various options and requirements for the mission.  Lina thought of a dozen different ways to attempt to locate the two scientists, much of which could be farmed out to Bannon and his team, assuming they were not already working on it.  Both insertion options had merit but deciding on one of them now, with the information at hand, seemed premature.   Lina was a backwards planner and needed another piece of information before she could discuss insertion choices with the team.

”Once we have the Tamboli’s and their research, what are our options for extraction?”

"I've got some of my guys working that," Bannon replies.  "Right now, we see three possibilities.  Maybe four.

"Option One is an overland run west to Tunisia, then a CIA or U.S. Air Force flight to Sigonella.

"Option Two is for Amber Cell to procure a small boat - you take that out to international waters and link up with an American or Italian naval vessel.  We're looking now to see what we can arrange for that.

"Third way to do it is for us to arrange an aircraft, either fixed or rotary."  He nods to Hannah.  "Depending on type, range, and sea state, you'd go for either the at-sea rendezvous or Sigonella."

He pauses and grimaces.  "Fourth, which I don't like for what I hope are obvious reasons, is to disguise the packages and fly out commercial, going back to France.  Which, right now, is about the only usable country that still has commercial flights into Tripoli.  But that'll need this to go off so quiet that no one at the airport is paying special attention."

The folder is open in front of Dacovetti with a cup of coffee sitting in line with the right top corner of the document he is perusing.  A legal pad is sitting at his right hand where detailed notes are being taken.  Even though the notes will never leave this room, they help formulate and consolidate his thoughts.  He scans the pictures and info while the other half of his brain pays attention to the conversation around him, but the word "fusion" has him stumped more than a little.  What he wants to do, is interrupt the whole shebang and say: "I'm sorry, did you say 'fusion?'  Pakistani experts in fusion?"  How is it even remotely possible that experts in fusion have come from the smoking hole that is Tripoli via Pakistan?  And everyone here seem remarkably composed discussing a technology that has perpetually been coming "in the next two or three decades."  Oil money, indeed.

Still...more pressing details.

Infil, exfil, primary mission objectives.  The words and phrases burn themselves into Michael's mind as the mission briefing takes place.  It is a remarkably democratic process as opinions are made, taken, and responded to as each person is accorded the respect of an expert in their field.  All things considered, Dacovetti is relaxing into the structure of an actual mission.  After the last month of repeated kill-house runs, most at the side of the SAS man, it feels good to spin up for a real world deployment.  This is what they work and prepare for.

"If our exfil is flexible, or more precisely mission dependent, I'd like to bring up a point or two on the infil."  Dacovetti pauses for a second or two.  "We do have the advantage of being able to split the difference.  Crewes and I could enter via French air and set up somewhere with limited gear.  With a satellite hook up and our computer equipment we might be able to facilitate the rest of the team driving in with the heavy gear.  Especially if we can get some interagency cooperation and tap into the comms from the militias to figure out where they are.  Or more importantly where our people need to be."

Finally Dacovetti smiles.  "Also, just because I'm a JTAC at heart, if the proverbial shit goes down, how much back up can we count on?  Hot extractions? CAS? Boy Scouts?"

Getting out was just as important as getting it, even more so considering the heat on the ground in Tripoli, but James wants to take things one step at a time, starting at the beginning.

"I'm not a big fan of going into xenophobia central unarmed. I'd feel a whole lot better with cold steel on my hip. That said, Option Two provides us with a reason for being there. It's a thin cover, but its a cover. Option One doesn't give us a solid starting point."

He looks around the room his teammates' faces. A week of two-a-days in the kill house has given him a pretty good read on the folks he'll be entrusting his life to. Since no one seems to register any strong objections to his current line of thinking, he continues.

"Using a French connection as a cover story is a double-edged sword. The French have a presence in the region, meaning that the locals probably won't look at us too hard. At the same time, if they start asking around, they'll figure out pretty fast that we're not as connected as we claim to be."

James is going out on a limb here. Making a proposal means owning it.

"I can pass as a Korean citizen. What if instead of a French-backed petrochem advance team, we pose as a ROK-backed one? That'll be a lot harder for the locals to poke holes in. The local jihadis will probably want our heads just the same, but maybe not quite as much. I'm sure that Amber Cell logistics can get us the proper bona fides."

He looks at the briefers for confirmation.

-
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:45, Wed 26 Nov 2014.

Hannah stood and saluted when the Group Captain entered the room, sitting only once Mewes had sat.  She nodded to older aviator, when he greeted her by name.  She was appreciative of the strings that Mewes had pulled to make sure that the younger aviatrix had gotten her required hours to maintain her flight status.  Of course, that had meant that she had been quite busy for the last month.  She'd spent pretty much every waking moment either training with the team, doing extra practice on the range or the shoot house, or flying equipment and personnel around to keep her certs up.  Naturally, Hannah hadn't necessarily considered that last duty to be onerous in any way; it might be difficult and sometimes dangerous, but she had always found flying to be thrilling ... and almost comforting given her familiarity with it.  Well, except for the parts where she got shot at - that was never glamorous, exciting or thrilling really; which probably occurred more often than she would have liked to admit.  Still, the month had passed in a blur almost with everything that was going on.

And now, they got to see if all of the training had actually paid off.  Hannah glanced around the table at the other Grey Cell members.  She felt a better camaraderie with them four weeks later.  Her expression was much more relaxed than when she had first introduced herself to Sebastien and the others during the initial runs in the shoot house.  At that time, she was more beleaguered than friendly.

Her long fingers traced lines on the pages as she read through them while listening to the briefing.  She stared at the pictures of the two scientists, trying to memorize their faces.  "Tamboli." Hannah noted softly putting the name with the faces.

She listened with keen interest to the question and then the answer to the extraction question.  The Kapitan had the right of it, knowing those options could influence their insertion method as well as their tactics (and teaming) on the ground.  Hannah inclined her head towards Chief Bannon when he mentioned the third extraction option, noting simply, "I can fly us out of there, if necessary."  There wasn't an air of arrogance in her tone, but a simple matter-of-fact manner to it; she hadn't spent those many thousands of hours, both real and simulated, with various aircraft for nothing.

"Tunisia is over 50 miles from Tripoli," Hannah noted off-hand, addressing the first option and its potential feasibility, "as the crow flies.  It could be a treacherous ride.  But then so could trying to navigate open water - unless we do it at night."  That is, if she remembered her geography correctly.  Which brought her back to her own questions, "Do we have more information on Attar as well as the team he has assembled for the job?"  She paused for a thoughtful moment, "And what assets to do we already have access to in Tripoli?"  She looked mainly at Mewes, but also at the others, as it was certainly possible that any of them might have contacts there.  It was going to be important to know who they could trust there.

She did agree with Michael's assessment, tacking on the tech sergeant's musings, "It is worth considering entering in two separate groups.  Trickier logistics, but may be well worth the effort."  Though with respect to James' suggestion, the army aviator was a bit more skeptical, "I'm not sure that anyone else in the team besides you can pass for a Korean national."  She did readily concede, "Though my Korean is just as good as my French..."  Which meant that while she might be able to fake a scientific background - actually having an engineering degree, she probably couldn't pass for a French national either.

Crad nods at Dacovetti's suggestion.  "That could work.  If we go in with a media cover, we shouldn't even have trouble justifying the comms kit to anyone who asks."
This message was last edited by the player at 11:40, Wed 26 Nov 2014.

When he first opens the folder Durand takes a moment to study the faces that stare at him from it before turning his attention back to what is being said, returning Bannon’s nod when his colleagues at the DGSE are mentioned then listening as the discussion begins. He likes the fact that everyone is getting involved, putting forward opinions, questions.

”I’ve been to Libya” he offers. ”I was there when Gadhafi fell. Not there as in physically watching when he got the bullet, but I was in country. My team was based out of Benghazi.” He turns to Mewes, pre-empts what would be the most obvious question. ”I doubt if I would have any sources on the ground in Tripoli that would be able to help. Even four years ago when we were supposed to be on the same side as the rebels the situation on the ground was fluid. Guys that would be your friend one day would turn on you on the next.” There is perhaps a hint of bitterness in his voice.

His elbows are on the desk, his fingers steepled together. It’s something that he does when he’s deep in thought, that or pace around.  ”I agree with Jim. I would prefer not to go in unarmed, and I also think there are risks associated with going in undercover. The French aren’t too popular with Daesh – excuse me, that is how my Government prefers to refer to the so called Islamic State – at the moment. Of course, just because our cover would be that we are working for a French company that does not mean that we would all have to pretend to be French. The petro chem industry is multinational.” Perhaps having a brother who was a Senior Exec with Total in Paris might finally come in useful after all. He turns to Omdahl. ”Same if we go for the Korean option; Jim could be the big boss, we could be the hired help.” He grins at Choi.

His attention goes back to the group at large, his comments not directed at any one specific individual. ”But whether we’re supposedly working for the French or the Koreans, I don’t think we can disguise the fact that at least some of us will look western, which makes us a target. There used to be some nationalities that were safe, but these days?” he shrugs. ”Anything goes, so if we do go in that way, do we have any options at all to take weapons in or procure them locally? And what about logistics on the ground? Do we have access to vehicles?” He pauses again. ”I also think some people flying in and others driving in is definitely worth exploring. “

"I've requested fast-burners be staged at Sigonella," Mewes tells Dacovetti.  "Most likely either Italian Tornados or your Super Hornets.  I'd wanted a Spectre but they're all tasked elsewhere.  On the other hand, the pointy-nosed lads will be faster to get on station if you have to call."

Turning to Choi, he adds, "Legitimate credentialing will be difficult to arrange.  We're a NATO operation and Korea isn't cleared for our compartment at this time.  That said, we can certainly forge something."  He nods to Omdahl.  "Though my fellow rotor-head brings up a valid point regarding your cell's multi-ethnicity."

Bannon leans forward to address the aviatrix's other point.  "Attar's hard to pin down.  He's originally Iranian - we have photos of him in Revolutionary Guard uniform, field-grade officer rank, through about 2006.  He dropped out of sight after that but an asshole matching his smell showed up in interrogations of captured insurgents in Iraq.  The dirtbag in question was a 'technical advisor,'" he airquotes, "teaching insurgent cells to use EFP IEDs to kill heavy armor.  We're pretty sure that was a Quds Force operation.  Sometime between '08 and '12, he went native - stopped taking orders from Tehran and linked up with IS.  Operationally, he's a micromanager.  His EOD signature is redundant triggers, including at least one wire or fiber-optic command detonator."

"We'd prefer not to make our footprint any larger," Mewes responds to Durand, "but Brussels has given us a couple of local fixers we can use if we have no other options.  CIA has a well-connected officer in place - most of his local connections think he's Egyptian intelligence, and he can arrange logistics.  There's also a militia commander who's nominally friendly to Westerners thanks to some well-timed medical intervention for his family.  Or we can expedite Amber Cell's insertion, try to move them into Tripoli concurrently with you, and turn them loose to procure."  He pauses to drain his coffee.  "They'll be inserting via rustbucket freighter, necessary for moving the Nest."
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:48, Thu 27 Nov 2014.

"I like the media cover," Dacovetti offers.  "Crewe and I could make contact with a fixer under that guise just as well and procure baseline supplies that would provide us protection without significantly altering our operational footprint.  Presumably any western organization operating in the zone is going to want to have a little bit of self defense capability as well as the chance to patch up any wounds they might suffer.  Obviously we wouldn't be able to tap anything obscene, but a couple of pistols and an AK might not be out of the question.  We can work on establishing a safe house as well."

Addressing the commander he asks, "What are the odds that we can get an info feed from our cohorts at the NSA?  They should be able to map the locations of the operating cell phones and radios that the militias are using. If we can get a real time update, we can navigate our people through the desert with the heavy logistics and our own vehicle.  That supposes, of course, that we go with a two team insertion plan."

Durand nods when Mewes mentions the two possible fixers. Mentally he is weighing up the pros and cons of the two. Clearly the CIA officer was likely to be the more reliable of the two, but he suspects that Langley would be less than impressed if their man was compromised.  The militia commander was an unknown commodity. He may be friendly to the west at the moment, but the Frenchman would rather not depend on that.   He turns in Dacovetti's direction when the American airman speaks. "I think that sounds workable. The question seems to be whether we go with just one method of insertion or the two. Six of us going in on commercial air posing as media will look suspicious I think, and I do like the option of being to take in our own kit overland. I wonder though if you guys would need an Arabic speaker with you? You don't speak Arabic, do you Mike?" He turns to the SAS Operator, uses the nickname that the Welshman has acquired. "Painter, do you?"

"Lie face-down on the ground and put your hands on your head," Caradoc replies in badly-accented Arabic.  "I can get around but I won't pass for a fellow traveler.  My French is better but the vocabulary is geared toward leave on the Mediterranean coast.  Bengali's about the same as Arabic."

"Signals intercept support is entirely do-able," Mewes tells Dacovetti.  "If not NSA, then I'll get GCHQ to step up to the table.  I'm still working on prying loose some drone support, too, both for a hypothetical border crossing and for operations once you're on-site."

Lina didn't want to interrupt the brainstorming that was going on, but she also didn't want the team to feel hidebound by the org charts she had disseminated earlier.

"Michael, given the tasks you've identified such as establishing safe house and making contact with local fixers, would Sebastian's tradecraft training and experience be useful?" Kowalska asked, looking over at Durand.  "Personally, I'd have more peace of mind if Caradoc was with us for the border crossing, given the presence of militias in those areas," she added.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:08, Sat 29 Nov 2014.

So a French-backed petrochem company can sub-contract a Korean employee, but not the other way around? James is tempted, his sense of injustice inflated by the indignity that accompanied the knee-jerk emotions that have just flooded through him, but he's too politically savvy to play the race card. Dispensing with all histrionics, he slowly takes a deep breath. In his mind, this sort of thing is a manifestation of the subtle, latent bias he's had to deal with all of his life. His "people"- he felt pretentious just thinking the word- hadn't suffered the way that other American minorities had, but at times like this he could definitely relate to his brothers and sisters of color. Maybe if I'd suggested Kim-Chee delivery instead... He shook his head mentally and tried hard to shrug off the hurt. Maybe I'm just being oversensitive, he reasons. They probably didn't mean anything by it. Maybe I'm just butt-hurt because they didn't like my plan. He knew he stood the risk of getting shot down before he'd put it out there, but that doesn't soften the sting any. The next question on his mind begs asking but he worries that asking it will come across as sullen, pouty contrarianism. If it's his head on the line out there, he's got to say something. How he couches the question is going to determine how they others interpret it.

"If the CIA has elements in country already, why aren't they handling the op?"

It's too soon. Timing is everything. He'll hold off for now.

"A media angle could work, but all the jihadis know that reporters and NGOs are soft targets nowadays. Those are the folks who've been losing their heads lately. If we go in as big oil, a couple of us could play the corporate stooges," Do I come off as a chauvinist hypochrite and suggest that the ladies take that roll? "And the rest can go along as private security. It'll give us an excuse to go in armed. I'm sure there's protocols in place for foreign bodyguards to bring their own hardware into the country. We could all go in together, by civilian charter, if that's how it's done. I know I'd feel a whole lot better going in strapped."

-
This message was last edited by the player at 01:08, Sun 30 Nov 2014.

"There are such protocols," Mewes acknowledges.  "If you go in that way, we can pump CIA and DGSE now for recommendations on reliable sources of wheels and other resources.  Once you're on the ground, you can make your own arrangements through those sources without contacting the Agency's man directly.  As far as the flight goes, we can locate a charter firm that operates in the area, or we can use our own Hawker and Blue Cell crew.  The outside firm would help maintain cover by showing the locals something they already know and expect, but the flight crew wouldn't be in on the mission."

"If you do that, the techies need a crash briefing on petroleum refining so they can pass as the engineers," Bannon puts in, pointing to Omdahl and Dacovetti.  His finger swivels between Choi and Durand.  "One of you is the mysterious Franco-Korean corporate master, the other is his Korean-French bodyguard.  Crad, security too.  Captain, you're the secruhhhhexecutive assistant, which gives you a reason to be in contact with everyone all the time."
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:46, Sun 30 Nov 2014.

Durand takes a sip of water from the plastic cup that is on the table before him. "A thought has just occurred to me. As I mentioned, I have operated in Libya previously. Whilst I think it is extremely unlikely, I cannot completely rule out the possibility of meeting someone who may know me. When I was last in country I didn't wear a jacket with DGSE on the back in big yellow letters like the American FBI do in the movies" He grins at Choi to emphasise to the FBI Agent in the room that he is joking "But by the same token it was quite obvious who we were and what our line of work was. So, if we choose the petrochemical option, I suggest Jim takes the role of the corporate big shot and I play the hired security together with Crad. Let me explain why."

He nods to Choi. "As I mentioned, petro chem is a multi national industry -- forgive me, I did not say, my brother is a senior executive with Total " he pronounces the name of the French oil giant ToTaal "So I have a little familiarity with the industry. Jim, I see no reason why the senior man on this trip must be French, even though we are using a French company as cover. For sure at the very top levels  the leadership is French, but those guys do not go out in to the field, they sit behind their desks in Paris. But at middle level, what the military would call field grade, the talent is multi national."

"So, Jim can be our boss. Crad and I both have the background and skills to allow us to easily pose as PMC's. Jim, I know you have those skills as well, but if I do encounter anyone that knows me - which I stress I think is unlikely - it would actually be consistent with the cover if I was posing as a PMC. whereas if I play the boss that is not compatible. My story would simply be that I left Government service to make more money in the private sector. I would not be the first Government employee to do such a thing." And indeed if he had not been recruited into this organization, it might actually have been the truth. He looks over to Kowalska. "The same logic would apply if we take the two team option and I went in with Mike. The story could be that I was hired to provide security and translation."

"If we do go down the oil route, I think the Chief's suggestions sound feasible for the others." He turns to the tall American. "Chief, if we do go in by charter it's perhaps less likely to arouse suspicion if we use the local charter. I presume that in either case the jet will not be hanging around on the ground, so not sure if there is any benefit in using our own plane?  If we use the outside company can we take in our own small arms? Like Jim I would prefer to be armed from the moment we arrive in country."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:02, Sun 30 Nov 2014.

The lithe army aviatrix nodded to the answers to her questions and comments; there wasn't much to follow up on.  Attar was a bit of an unknown - a known unknown to use a phrase that a previous Secretary of State was fond of.  And she had had her say on her abilities.  Pretty much.  Still, she gave another nod, when the topic of petrochemical engineering came up.  "Oil is not my engineering specialty." she noted off-hand, "I was mainly aeronautical and material sciences."  But then the dark-haired flyer shrugged slightly, "But, I do know a little bit about oil and gas.  Both from a practical use and manufacturing standpoint."  Once couldn't get by without it really in any engineering discipline worth its salt; and she made it a point of knowing something about what she put in the machines that carried her about.

"Oh," the thin aviator added as an afterthought, "I do speak a little Arabic as well, though it is no better than Painter's."  And as a female, it was probably not reasonable for her to insert as part of the cover team.  A lone, unmarried foreign woman travelling with other single males (foreign or not) might be misconstrued - or at least looked upon unfavorably - by the local Arabs.  "Seb?" the young aviatrix asked of the older Frenchman, "How is your Arabic?"  Then turning to Special Agent Choi, "Or yours, James?"  As neither of them had actually answered that question yet either.

Hannah had actually kept relatively quiet during most of the briefing and its subsequent discussion.  In all honesty, it seemed to her that this discussion was a bit over her pay grade in some respects.  Either that, or she had risen to the level of her incompetence.  She had little experience in the strategic planning aspect of covert missions.  More often, Warrant Officer Omdahl was simply given her flight orders and attempted to carry them out to the best of her abilities.  This briefing was much more than that - and it made her a touch uneasy.  The posited mission seemed a very fluid situation, undoubtedly; and that made things tricky.  Or messy, depending on how you viewed it.

"There are plenty of possibilities," she wagered as she listened to all of the brainstorming, "But we have settle on one.  And hopefully it is one of the ones with a high chance of success..."  Though, from her expression, it was fairly obvious that Hannah didn't necessarily know how to assess that properly.  "I still favor the two team insertion." she posited, "It seems the safest, even if it is slightly harder to coordinate."  In some ways, it seemed that it shouldn't be too much harder - as it was merely a variation on the fact that Amber Team was inserting separately as well; though there were obviously other logistical considerations at work there as well.

Of course, if they inserted separately, Hannah was pretty sure that she would be the driver for the overland team.  It was one of her sub-specialties after all.  Even though she didn't drive as well as she could fly a chopper, Hannah could handle most ground vehicles well enough.  It sounded as though Michael and Sebatien were going in the cover team; and Caradoc and Kapitan Lina on the overland squad along with Hannah.  Which left:  where to place James.  There would obviously be enough space on the overland convoy, if he really wanted to enter with the weaponry; but his observational skills might be better put to use with the cover team.

"If we want our top grade hardware available from the get go, we're going to have to use a two team insertion," Dacovetti replies.  "There isn't a cover story in the world that is going to put top end military gear in the hands of a personal security team.  If we can wait for the Amber Team insertion to get our hands on the equipment, the single team option is viable, but I'd rather know our tool box is on the way from the onset."

Michael swallows briefly.  "Obviously this isn't a democratic organization, but for what it's worth, I favor the two team option, as Chief Omdahl suggests."

Durand first turns to face the slim aviator, answers her question.  "I'm fluent. Specifically in Standard Arabic." The Arabic speakers present would be aware that Arabic was split into a number of different regional groups; the version Durand is fluent in was the 'official' or literary version in use throughout the Middle East and North Africa. "I also know several choice swear words that I learned from a Sergeant in the Algerian Special Forces. The sort of stuff they don't teach you at University."

He next turns round to face Dacovetti. "Ok, let's look at the two team option. So we're suggesting that you and I go in on the ground using a media cover. " His choice of words was deliberate. Whilst the American is correct that it isn't a democracy, the team are the ones who are going to be going in on the ground, so opinions mattered. He's using the word 'we're' as an endorsement of the two team insertion, tacit support for Dacovetti's plan. Waiting for a nod from the American, Durand continues. "As you say, that gives us the option to take in certain items of equipment that we could not do so if we posed as an oil executive and his retinue." He's repeating the point that the Airman has just made to emphasise it, stress the benefit.

The Frenchman pauses, looks towards Mewes and Bannon. "Gentlemen, if we go down this road, is it feasible that Dealer and I could still fly in by chartered aircraft? As you said, scheduled flights to the region are limited, so I am thinking that perhaps we could fly in on a charter flight from somewhere like Abu Dhabi? As you are probably aware, France already has a presence in the UAE at the Al Dhafra Air Base, so provided we have the cooperation of the local authorities we could have the equipment that we wish to take flown in there." And after all, the Gulf States were already members of the coalition against Daesh, so persuading them to allow some equipment to pass through their territory should be simple enough. "I am sure you can also arrange for Mike and I to fly from here to the Gulf? We then get a charter direct into Tripoli. Whilst we would not intend to take a small arsenal with us, is it possible that either of our assets on the ground in Tripoli can reach out to the local authorities so they might be...persuaded" - clearly he means bribed - "to not pay too much attention to our luggage so we can take in at least sidearms? Perhaps you could also facilitate passports from nations that are perceived to be less hostile by the Islamists. For me I think the obvious option would be Swiss, or perhaps Algerian, for Mike perhaps something Mediterranean or South American?"

He sits back, takes a sip of water, looks at Dealer. "Mike, if that is practical, how does that sound to you?  Obviously we would need to establish our cover story, but if it sounds workable, my next question is whether we should have a third person with us or not? Clearly that will also be affected by the requirements of the ground team. "

That made three voices in favor of the two team option.

"The background seems workable to me, Seb." Michael answers with a slow nod.  "I'm not in favor, however, of breaking up the team driving in.  While it would certainly beneficial for our initial arrival in Tripoli, for redundancy the ground insertion team will need at two vehicles to handle any possible breakdowns." Or other mandatory complications, he leaves unsaid. "With security concerns, each vehicle will require two personnel to operate effectively.  Two vehicles also gives us the advantage of flexibility on exfil.  With our target package we will need the extra seats anyway should an overland exit be necessary."

Durand nods. "Ok, I agree two vehicles makes sense. So, me and you are the undercover team." He turns to address the room in general. "Then I think the obvious teams would be Painter in one vehicle and Jim in the other, each of them with one of the ladies. Ladies, excuse me, I do not intend to be ungallant and suggest that you need to be teamed up with a man, I simply think that is the best allocation of our available skill sets."

The Frenchman pauses. "Assuming, of course, we are using the two methods of insertion." After all, it hadn't been approved by the leadership yet.

James shook his head at Omdahl's question. "No Arabic, but my Korean's pretty good. And if you need me to pin down the location of the nearest toilet in Spanish or Navajo, I can do that for you too."

It was starting to look like James would be one of the border runners. Although crossing a lawless desert frontier in a couple of civilian 4Runners wasn't without its own inherent risk, going in armed would reduce his chances of featuring in the next viral jihadist Youtube video.

-

”We’ll go with the two team option.  If there’s one takeaway from all the range time these last few weeks, it is that everyone loves their toys.  The last time we went out, Caradoc’s rifle optic had another optic on top of it.  An optic, on top of an optic, on top of the rifle.  Like, what is this character I am thinking of,”  Kowalska’s English deteriorated a bit with the last sentence as she struggled to place the name of the movie character.  ”...Mini-me.  Mini-me optic.” Lina held up her hand and made a pinching motion.  Most of the shooters realized she was probably talking about the RMR’s that the armory had started mounting on some ACOGs a few weeks ago.

”The German economy would go into recession if it weren't for all the HK hardware being used by this Task Force,”  Karolina said with a snort.  ”It strains credulity to think we'll be going in as Petrochems with a few Glocks for protection,” Lina added in an amused tone.

”Let’s work up a load plan for the vehicles and finalize a strategy to get Sebastian and Michael into Tripoli.”
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 02:55, Wed 03 Dec 2014.

Swipe to satellite view of Libya.  Highlight boxes stutter into life:



                                            [ ] Team One
                                                Mitiga Airport, Tripoli
[ ] Team Two
    6 miles east of the Tunisian border
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:41, Wed 03 Dec 2014.