New OOC thread because I'm OCD like that.

Chapter One (I've renamed the previous IC thread "The Workup" as a minor retcon) will pick up with Mike and Seb having just geared up in Tripoli.  Meanwhile, the rest of the team will be a few miles past the Tunisian border, heading toward the rendezvous.  I'll run those as split threads until the teams rejoin.

For the vehicle load plan, assume Lina, James, Hannah, and Crad have two civilian 4WD vehicles (Toyota Hilux or Land Cruiser, Land Rover Defender 110, etc.), rigged appropriately for cross-country travel in North Africa.  In Tripoli, Mike and Seb have their choice of a third 4WD vehicle or an older but well-maintained BMW M5.

Working through sources recommended by the CIA's man in Tripoli, Mike and Seb have access to most of what would reasonably be available in a current-day Libyan backroom arms deals.

Spec out any comms, surveillance gear, other electronics, or miscellaneous kit that you're planning on packing.  Don't get too far into the weeds - we're not operating on a salvage economy like T2k, so we can safely assume that everyone has enough flashlight batteries and spare socks.

Unless otherwise directed, Crad will go full Belgian with two Browning Hi-Powers (one with extended/threaded barrel and suppressor) and an FN F2000.  He'll pack his full ditch medicine ensemble, supplemented with any prescription pharma the team needs and the blood pressure medicine that both of the Tambolis are prescribed.  He'll also go over everyone else's blowout kits and ensure that both vehicles have more comprehensive trauma bags.

Dear Santa,

I know I've told everyone at school that you're just my dad in a cheap red suit and a fake white beard, but, aside from that, I've tried to be extra good this year.

This Christmas, I want:

A fully tricked-out* AK-103
A GLOCK 19 (Gen 4) or Walther PPQ M2 (9mm)
A secure, multi-band/multi-channel compact radio w/ earpiece and throat mike
NVGs suitable for nighttime driving and lowlight combat ops

If the HK416 is too big, I'll take a suppressed H&K MP7 w/ holosight instead.

Thank you in advance.

Your friend,

Little Jimmy Choi


*Suppressor, foregrip, 5-position collapsible stock, IR and visible light spotlight, top-of-the-line combat optics

Also, low profile body armor, fashionable ballistic shades, a fighting knife, handheld GPS, satellite phone, comfortable, practical, and non-descript climate-appropriate clothing.

-
This message was last edited by the player at 00:49, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

Durand would like the following.

Firearms

For a sidearm preference would be a Glock 17 or 19 with both tactical and concealed holsters (if Keys has a preference for something in a different calibre for Mike I'd be happy to change this so they are using the same calibre thus reducing the number of different types of ammo they need to procure - my first thought was an HK Mk23 but the Glocks seem more likely to be locally available and less likely to scream NATO Spec Ops if discovered)

For a long arm first choice would be an AK103 with best available optics

A brief trawl of the web would suggest AK103's are relatively common in Libya. e.g. http://securityscholar.wordpre...03-exports-to-libya/

Detail on optics here

http://rogueadventurer.com/201...the-libyan-conflict/

Logic - they're common in theatre, use a relatively heavy calibre round (7.62 x 39mm) and the ammo should be relatively common if he needs to obtain reloads locally (either from local dealers or by looting corpses). Obviously he wouldn't plan on carrying this openly.

Alternatively he'd take an AK104 carbine (with same optics as above) or an HK MP7, again with best available optics and a suppressor (am thinking that may be a bit of an ask for local procurement?). If none of the above are available can he have an AK of some sort?

Can he get some frag grenades? A couple would do.

Also, can the land team bring in a long arm for him to use if required? Preferably something like a G36 (standard or K model) with lots of shiny accessories?

Gear
Civilian clothing, hot weather, casual
• Casual clothing, assorted, including two pairs of cargo pants (1 pair tan, 1 pair olive green), assorted t shirts, button down shirts (dark / neutral colors), fleece (black)
• Shemagh x 2 (one red / white, one tan / olive)
• Baseball cap, black, no logo
• Photojournalist vest with multiple mesh pockets
• Desert boots, tan
• Running shoes
• Casual shoes
Civilian clothing, formal
• 1 x formal suit Paul Smith / Hugo Boss, black
• 3 x formal shirts (1 x white, 1 x grey, 1 x blue) w/ matching ties
• Formal shoes,  black
• Wristwatch, moderately expensive
Covert outfit (all black)
• Cargo pants
• Long sleeve t shirt
• Work boots (Caterpillar, etc)
• Balaclava
• Gloves
Wristwatch, Basic
Personal hygiene kit
Plate Carrier Vest, Blue with "PRESS" patches velcro'd to front and back OR Undercover Vest
Trauma Plates (highest level available)
Combat Helmet, Ballistic, with blue cover
Rucksack, civilian, 40 litre capacity
Tactical Radio w/ covert headset
Hydration bladder, 3 litre
Cigarette Lighter, refillable
Compass
Wristwatch, GPS
NVG's, Panoramic if possible, otherwise best available
Zip Ties
Military Spec First Aid Kit (disguised to look like civilian first aid kit)
Multitool
Knife, Survival
Knife, Pocket
Notebook / pen
Locksmith's tools
Flashlight, Tactical
Headlamp
iPod with good music (Queen, Dire Straits, Deep Purple, Sting, etc)
Sunglasses, expensive, must look cool
Items for bribes
• Money. Preferably USD, otherwise Euros.
• 2 bottles, good Scotch.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:28, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

[otherwise directed]
Painter - sodium thiopental and amobarbital to facilitate field interrogations (not sure if this breaks the verisimilitude level - if so, please ignore) and flunitrazepam to facilitate honeytrap operations

For the two Hilux
-
Barrett M82A1 or XM500 anti-material rifle w/thermal sight, mag-1, + match and AP ammo [killing technicals if needed]
Remington 870 MCS (the whole system) + assorted ammo (lethal, non-lethal, utility) [ballistic breaching, beanbagging uncooperative scientists, using the pump action sound to intimidate the weak]
Hand Grenades (Flashbangs, CS gas, Smoke, Thermite)
M53 for everyone! (fitted and labeled before departure)
Compact geiger counters w/earphones x3
Camera, digital, professional w/Lens set [Mag-1, Mag-2, Mag-3, Mag-4]
Parabolic & laser microphones
Laptop, SOTA
Covert collection devices, digital, various input types (telephone, Ethernet, and fiber-optic tapping; audio/video, etc.)
Evidence collection kit
RQ-11 Raven UAV & terminal (local terminal is secondary, primary control will be with Dealer - and this is a secondary system to whatever real drone system TF-47 can arrange)

For Lina
-
HK MP5K-PDW, w/reflex sight, detachable suppressor
Shoulder holster/harness with twin magazine pouch for MP5K-PDW
Glock 17 (Gen 4)
Glock 26 (Gen 4) BUG
Shemagh (tan/black)
Outfit, hot weather (5.11, coyote/olive) w/vest of holding
Boots, hiking (tan)
Wristwatch, complex
Outfit, hot weather (Suit, jacket cut for concealed carry SMG and pistol)
Shoes, casual
Burqa and niquab (black, cut for carrying a small arsenal)
Shoes, running
Dress (cocktail, slinky, red)
Shoes (black, high heel, * Me Kitten)
Purse (designer black)
Smartphone, GPS, SOTA
Sunglasses
Pepper spray canister, police
Binoculars, compact, mag-2
Tactical flashlight
Cigarette lighter, refillable
CamelBak Aventura (tan/white)
Strobe light, IR
Hydration bladder, 3 liters
Fiberoptic borescope
Drill, low speed, sound dampened
Micro-tape recorder
Lock pick gun
Folding knife
Undercover vest
NVGs, binocular
Tactical radio w/covert headset
IFAK
Balaclava
Gloves, light
Flexcuffs
This message was last edited by the player at 23:38, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

Yeah, maybe we should think about carrying common gear whenever possible, to facilitate cross-loading of ammunition should thinks go south fast. I know we're all having fun with dream gear but keeping it simple is a little more practical/realistic.

The AK-103/104 idea is a good idea- it might not stick out as much as an AR derivative or other NATO weapon and ammo should be widely available in our AO. I've seen some pics of AKs just as tricked out as ARs, so one wouldn't need to do without all the bells and whistles either.

So, make Jimmy's primary an AK-103 with a telescoping stock and all the SPECOPs fixin's.

-

I'll work on a full wish list and post tomorrow, but I agree with the AK model choice for the mission profile.  A fully loaded AK-104 carbine will be Michael's tool of choice for the ground team to bring in.  He'll have to pick a different weapon, or at least a stripped down version to go with a pistol on the initial deployment.

I do have to admit to having a general aversion to long gear lists.  Still, I will do my best to include the important stuff!

Last to the party with their shopping list:

HK MP5K-PDW, w/EOtech sights and suppressor, tactical sling, yadda yadda yadda...
Glock 17 (Gen 4), shoulder and hip holsters
Folding knife, Spyderco (C36GBK)
Leatherman MUT multi-tool (black w/molle brown sheath)
Wristwatch, precision, analog
Smartphone, GPS, SOTA
Sunglasses, Oakleys (of course)
Keffiyeh (tan/olive)
Burqa and niquab (black, cut for carrying a small arsenal)
Shoes, running
Dress (cocktail, a-line, black and white)
Accessories:
  Jacket (suede, bolero-style cut - slightly long to accommodate potential pistol conceal)
  Shoes (black, 'kitten' height-heel)
  Purse, small (designer, black); leather belt;
  Jewelry to match: bracelet earrings, necklace, tiara (silver, understated)
Balaclava (black)
Gloves, light
Outfit, hot weather (Suit, jacket cut for potential concealed carry SMG and pistol)
Outfit, hot weather, casual (x2)
Shoes, casual (three sets, one each appropriate for each hot weather outfit)
Boots, hiking (tan)
Osprey Sirrus 36 Pack - Women's (stealth grey)
Hydration bladder, 3 liters
Binoculars, compact, mag-2
Tactical flashlight
Night Vision Goggles, binocular
Tactical radio w/covert headset
Undercover Vest
Individual First Aid Kit
Flexcuffs (2 sets)

I pretty much cribbed Lina's list (thanks, hon) and adapted it...

EDIT:  Added multi-tool, burqa/niquab, and high fashion outfit/accessories.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:07, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

I'm going to swap the Uzi for an MP5-PDW so we have some commonality among the SMG aficionados.    I was going to try to lobby Teg for a cold iron/silvered weapon type bonus (Zionist forged weapon vs. Islamic extremist bonus?), but being able to trade mags and whatnot is probably better.

PS: Also added a burqa, niqab, and accessories.  Might be something for Hannah to consider as well.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:37, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

If we're consolidating around one ammo type score the G36 off the list for Seb. If he's OK to source a 103 locally he'll stick with that, in which case there's no need to have the land crew bring anything in for him. If he's limited on what he can get locally I'll revisit this.

I'll also try and expand slightly on personal gear later tonight.

@Spartan, do you want to include some flash bang and / or CS grenades as part of the intimidation / incapacitation gear (and some gas masks if we bring CS grenades)?

Good idea.  I added in smoke and thermite for signaling/concealment and equipment destruction (since the vehicles may quickly become portable armories if everything is approved).  Plus a few geiger counters and gas masks and whatnot.

Well, Hannah mostly chose that out of familiarity (standard for aviation spec ops, which was her most recent training at Fort Campbell) and, of course, for the ammo compatibility with the Glock 17.


That is good thinking.  I've added it to her list, along with a semi-formal/party dress (like Lina - hopefully, the two compliment each other).  I keep wanting to put BDUs down and such, but have to keep reminding myself that we are going in undercover...:D

Also, everyone make sure they have their multi-tool ... ;)

Well there's some indication that the Uzi Pro has magazine compatibility with Glock 17s (using 17 or 33 round magazines).

Paul has some info on his site about para-micros being modded by Israeli CT's for that functionality.  So perhaps we'll leave the door open and see what Teg can find out or be talked into...

http://www.pmulcahy.com/submac...i_submachineguns.htm

http://blog.cheaperthandirt.co...-iwi-uzi-pro-pistol/

http://www.military-today.com/firearms/uzi.htm

I don't see it happening with this version of the gun because the magazine is perpendicular to the upper, and glock mags are angled a bit.  There must be a different lower for it.


This is probably the para with a glock mag though.


This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

True, true.  That is one funky looking mod.

In all honesty, neither Hannah nor her player are mated to the PDW; so, if Mon Kapitan prefers the Uzi, she can follow suit (for the sake of group cohesion, of course...:D) and equip similarly.

One concern with the Uzi might be that using a clearly Israeli weapon in an Islamic country might attract the wrong sort of attention.

Of course, if we've reached the stage where it's necessary to have drawn weapons, the group might have already attracted the wrong sort of attention... ;-)

         A
         |
            Yeah, that...

That's a feature, not a bug!  ;)  They can all go blame the Mossad and rampage in front of the closest Israeli embassy.

Hey, if we are really concerned about being a few SMGs creating a false flag impression, I say we go with PP-2000s or Bizons.  You guys already have the AKs.  We'll just lay it all at the door of the Russians.  I can see the CNN ticker now:  Spetsnaz team wreaks havoc in Tripoli.  Carefully crafted disinformation suggest they were targeting arms dealers supplying Chechen rebels.  Film of hot blond chick emptying a 64 round magazine while yelling in Russian at 11.


Heads are going to explode when they see any woman holding any gun.  I don't see higher level cognitive processes in the average jihadi surviving to identify the shape and likely origin of the weapon a female is holding.  The amygdala hijack they are going to experience will be...legen...wait for it...dary.  LEGENDARY!
This message was last edited by the player at 19:37, Thu 04 Dec 2014.

OK, I've updated my wish list. Probably still missed some stuff so if anyone can think of anything just shout!

Man, you can just basically use Seb's list as a cheat sheet for me.  I'm adding:

Infil Kit:
Land Rover (suitably beat up)
AK-104 Carbine with 8 mags
Russian Pistol Du Jour with 4 mags
Body Armor with Tac Vest and trauma plates ("Press")
Concealable bullet proof vest
Cell Phone, Sat Phone, GPS
Lap Top with Sat Uplink
DLSR Digital Camera (Nikon) with lens kit
GoPro4 Camera with mounts
2x hand laser pointers
2x IR strobes
Encrypted Tactical Radio with covert headset
Wireless signal detector/bug detector/jammer
Lowe Pro 3 day Backpack and Camelback
First Aid Kit, milspec done up to civilian look alike
Tactical Flashlight, multitool, sunglasses
Electronic Tool Kit
Assorted Reading Material
Assorted Civilian clothes for warm weather (formal suit, casual, covert)
Black Fleece Jacket
(sixteen suitcases to carry it all)

In Vehicles:
Spec Ops Mod AK-104 Carbine with holographic reflex sight (8 more mags)
HK SOCOM with suppressor and laser sight
1 Laptop (hardened)
2x PRC-119s with extra batteries and one Sat Uplink kit
1 roll GLINT tape
3x fabric marking panels
3x Thermite Grenades (one to burn each vehicle)
4x body bags

All personal equipment requests are approved (and amusing).  AK-103s/104s are eminently feasible.  For the subgun team, MP5-series weapons are sufficiently ubiquitous that those are approved.

All of the vehicle equipment is likewise approved except for the AMR.  The primary control for the Raven is a USB accessory for Mike's laptop.

Crad will reluctantly dump his F2000 in favor of a FN FAL with a 4-12x scope and an MP5K-PDW.

Mike/Seb - apologies if I missed it, but did you guys take another truck or the M5 for your vehicle?

There's a Land Rover indicated on Dacovetti's wish list.  Also, just to verify from what I was seeing, an AK-104 carbine is size 3/4 so will fall under pistol, correct?  If that doesn't work, I'll move to a more conventional sub machine gun.  Thanks!

Size 3 is when the stock is folded, so SA (Pistol) then.  SA (Rifle) when it's at full extension.

Who needs a stock anyways...

My old drill sergeant would be so disappointed.

"CHEEK TO STOCK, NOSE TO CHARGING HANDLE PRIVATE!"

"Uh.. there's no stock Drill Sergeant."

"FRONT LEANING REST POSITION PRIVATE!  DIAMOND PUSHUPS!  EXERCISE!"

Somehow diamond pushups fixed all known problems when I was in.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:15, Fri 05 Dec 2014.

I will say I preferred diamond push ups to the "front thinking rest."  That just hurt.

I feel like my gear request was inadequate. Y'all put me to shame. Then again, I figured that stuff like skivvies and socks were a given. Teg, do want a more detailed, comprehensive list from me? If so, you should know that James prefers Crest to Colgate.

-

It would be really great if you somehow an anti-material rifle factored heavily in your oral hygiene by the way.  :P

I assume all the PCs are professional personal hygiene operators and have packed the appropriate equipment for bed-ops.

Hey Teg, should we refrain from reading the IC thread our characters are not involved in? On the one hand, y'all write so well that I'd like to keep up with the other group's story arc. On the other, I'd prefer to avoid being tempted by the succubus of metagaming. I'm fine either way, though. What would you prefer we do?

-

By all means, read each other's threads.  We're here to be entertained - no sense in missing out on some damn fine writing.  I trust y'all not to metagame negatively.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:10, Fri 05 Dec 2014.

By the way, I hope no one's having any friction with Caradoc being something of a GM-PC.  It's not my intention to upstage any of the PCs, but this is the kind of game I have to run myself because no one else will run it for me to play in.  :)  Please speak up if you feel he's getting out of hand.

Guys, just a quick heads up - I have a busyish weekend coming up with family and christmas related stuff so will probably struggle to post anything more than brief posts from my phone from Saturday morning until Sunday evening UK time.

No worries.  I'm expecting everyone's schedule (including mine) to suffer holiday-related disruptions and will adjust accordingly.

Woo.  Very lucky 20 in Attar's dice roller there, Dave...

In reply to Tegyrius (msg # 34):

La chance, la chance, toujours la chance...

Puts my reserve PC back in its folder for the time being

Just so I've got this clear in my head, am I right in thinking that Durand is at ducked down on one side of the Peugeot and Attar is at the other?

Correct:





       +------+
       |      |A
       |      |
       |      |
      S|      |
       \      /
        \____/


--+___________________+-------
                       M

                                 other car over there --->



S = Sebastien
A = Attar
M = Michael

Let me know what nicknames we are using for Hannah and Choi and I'll amend my last post.  Bok Choy is funny, but from realism POV, not a great choice over the radio.

Alternately, we could have a layer of radio call signs in addition to team nicknames - Empire One through Six, that kind of thing.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:51, Mon 08 Dec 2014.

Just to try and clarify intentions re: my last IC post

X = Spot from where he throws the wrench; W = area he wants the wrench to land in
Y = Spot from where he hopes to fire on Attar
Z = Where he hopes to finish

Yeah, I don't think James would be too thrilled with Bok Choi but turnabout is fair play, I suppose.

Does the main body have a dedicated bio-specimen containment device? My guess is no, in which case James will use an igloo cooler or something like that (I'm assuming the team has packed a nice picnic lunch).

Netflix doesn't currently carry Strike Back so I'm not real clear on the tone we're going for here. I hope I'm not wildly off the mark with my IC posts. Every now and again, my satellite provider does free premium channel previews so I'll try to catch an episode or two if Skinemax comes on.

-
This message was last edited by the player at 04:40, Tue 09 Dec 2014.

Sorry about that, James (I was just getting you back for the 'Dahl/Doll' reference (well, that and I couldn't resist the food-cooking link).  If you want a different callsign (which I would) you don't need to stick with that one.  Hannah wouldn't want anything to negative (she has been on that side of the nickname stick in the past).

What would you prefer?

Don't die from Unknown Trauma on us Seb!

Rae, how do you feel about Overachiever for Choi?  A few edits in the SOP thread and it's yours.

Negative on a dedicated specimen box.

I wasn't sore about Bock Choi, I just imagine that James wouldn't be too thrilled with it, especially given his thoughts in previous IC posts.

Overachiever is better, but I think it has one too many syllables, especially if it might be used also as a radio call sign.

I'm a big believer in that, for a nickname to be truly authentic, one one can't choose it oneself. Whatever you guys like for James, I'll just roll with it- even if that happens to be Bok Choi.

Teg, do we have a cooler in the truck? I should think so. Otherwise, how would we keep our juice boxes chilled?

-

Just so I'm clear on my last rambling post,

Michael will spend about four seconds trying to find something to clear Seb's eyes with.  After that, it's going to be dragging him to the idling car that was left vacant, supporting Bullfrog between his shoulder and Boulos (right arm free for Michael of course, weapon in hand).  He will utilize that car to get them back to the Rover.  Should it come to that.

Yup.

Trying desperately to avoid it - he needs to stay alive long enough to hit on Lina!

Re: Choi's nickname, this is probably extremely unoriginal however...

Given what Jim's just said about what happened to the camels being related to extra terrestrials and the fact he is an FBI agent

How about

Mulder?
Fox?

Given the Korean heritage of the most recent actor to play the role, how about Sulu? :)

I derped this earlier.  Currently editing my last GM post from this morning to reflect your intent.

FYI, the Rover is only four doors down from the shop, so the car doesn't provide much advantage in terms of transport.

I can see where this is going already.



Caption: Special Agent Choi and Special Agent Patel after an interagency roundtable discussion at DHS.



Caption: Special Agent Choi and Special Agent Patel evaluate security at Guantanamo.

And there's my replacement for when Caradoc gets expended.  :)

Advance Team IC thread updated.  Proceed, gentlemen.

Is there any chance the course these four vehicles are on might take them through the camel grave yard we just came through?

Also, is the desert such that we are leaving easy to follow tracks everywhere we go, or is there enough hardpack or wind that it would be difficult to follow us?  I'm trying to figure out if these four vehicles cross our path at night, how likely is it they will notice and follow?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:08, Sat 13 Dec 2014.

Not on their present course.  They'll pass east of you and the cameltrocity was west of your current position.



Between wind and varying surface conditions, they'd be looking at a formidable Tracking check to pick you up.

All, I'm flattered that my PC's nickname is such a fruitful discussion topic. On a less cheerful note, I'm worried that I might have inadvertently metagamed with James' recent IC comments about ETs. I was acting under the impression that our PCs all knew that we might be dealing with unearthly elements- I thought something to that effect was mentioned in our briefings. I didn't go back and rereading those posts to check. If we weren't briefed on it, then James wouldn't have said as much as he did- he probably would have joked around a little but left it at that. I'm going to go back and read the briefing posts again right now. Teg, if ET stuff wasn't mentioned in the briefings, is it OK for me to go back and make a couple of edits to James' last IC post? If so, I won't do anything that will negate Omdahl and Crewe's subsequent IC responses.

-

The PCs have not been explicitly briefed on ET involvement at this point.  Several, but not all, have prior experiences in their backgrounds.  James is the only one who discussed the matter with his recruiters and it hasn't come up since the PCs arrived at Incirlik.

Crap. I must have been thinking of his recruitment meeting. Is it OK if I tweak his last bit? I think the tone is all wrong.

-

Go for it.  I may adjust Crad's dialogue based on your changes.

The edit's done. I just changed the tone a bit from This is it! to a much less certain/serious What if?. Omdahl and Crewe's pieces still fit, IMHO, with no need for alteration.

-

Works for me.  Hey, BTW, PM over in your game when you have a chance.

Main body folks - are you going to try to hide from the incoming convoy or are you maneuvering to a place where you can observe them visually?

I almost put something in about this, but I'm kind of already tired of how bossy I sound in character.  Was going to suggest Crad and Choi orient on the convoy to maintain security and act as an LP/OP.  I couldn't get a clear idea of how far a parabolic mic would work (everything I found via google was couched in terms of db gain and nothing really indicated the distance you could hear a voice conversation), but if that will help, we'll use it.

Hannah, the light on her face from the terminal, and the two vehicles will be masked by terrain if we can pull it off.

Bossy?  I thought you said you were having Lina channel Malory Archer...  ;)

ETA: At the distances you're looking at, I don't know that a parabolic mic will pick up much more than the engine noise from the vehicles.  Though Clancyverse surveillance tech isn't quite my forte.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:05, Sun 14 Dec 2014.

Team -

I'll be scarce over the latter half of this week and the subsequent weekend as I discharge the annual holiday obligations with the in-laws.  Will try to get a GM post for the advance team up later this evening but it may not happen until tomorrow if I get distracted by travel prep.

Based on where the main body is located relative to the incoming convoy, is the latter moving to our left to right or from our right to left? Depending on the answer, I may have to amend James' latest IC post.

-

You're facing east.  They're moving north to south, so left to right.

GM posts will touch down tomorrow night.  In the meantime, since Spartan gave us ass pennies over in Rae's game, I'll reciprocate with a clip of what the corporate world would be like if Karolina were a CEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct2AWh-nKSk

In reply to Tegyrius (msg # 65):

That's funny.  I was about to say the rifle looked bit small, but the mortar made up for it.

I did craft the first line of Lina's last post just for Rae's entertainment.  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 02:37, Thu 18 Dec 2014.

I'll be out of touch for the next 96ish hours.  Feel free to talk amongst yourselves ICly and OOCly to figure out where you want to go from here.

The following additional points may help you improvise dialogue or plan:

• The Global Hawk video feed is unresponsive in about a four-mile radius centered on the wadi where the convoy was headed.  Attempting to focus anywhere in that area results in loss of signal until the technicians at Creech do some reset voodoo.

• Mike is sure it was Attar they killed. 

• Crad and Choi weren't able to get a 100% positive ID on the Attar in the truck due to distance and movement, but Choi is about 80% sure.

• Mewes will not approve an air strike at this time due to the confusion over Attar and the electromagnetic weirdness in the area.

• Boulos, if asked, has no knowledge of Fortean events.

• Given the apparent alien interest in the Tambolis, retrieving them is still a major objective.

• Grey Cell's main body is about three hours' drive time from Tripoli's southwestern outskirts.

• Your Amber Cell support element is expediting their own insertion to get in place ASAP.  They're currently 18 hours out (arriving around 2000hrs local) and will be fully operational two hours after that.  They will be in a warehouse on the south side of the currently-closed Tripoli International Airport.

Correct.

So I guess we should drive on in to Tripoli and link up with Seb and Mike?  Any other suggestions?

That sounds logical. We kicked off at 0216 local. According to the interweb sunrise in Tripoli in mid March should be around 0545 local (sunset should be around 1745) and you're approx three hours from us so provided no more than 30 mins or so has elapsed since we started (which I would think seems about right) and you should be able to get to us by sunrise (just - try not to drive into any crop circles!).

How about if we can then get everyone (presumably including Boulos) to a safe house (Teg's intro post for the advance team mentioned Seb and Mike scoping a couple out)  we can lay up during the day and have an opportunity to combine planning next moves IC with OOC discussion here?

I got nothing else.  We can't approach either in person or remotely without a significant chance of death/failure.  So, let's high tail it to Tripoli!

Maybe Amber Cell can get us our very own rocket launcher...:)

It is the only way to be sure...

EDIT:  Until we get our own blaster bombs, at least...
This message was last edited by the player at 06:21, Sun 21 Dec 2014.

I wish RPoL had a like button.

-

If you guys want to go ahead and fast-forward to a full-team planning meeting at the safe house, go for it. I will assume the main body moves into Tripoli without incident.

In reply to Tegyrius (msg # 75):

Sounds good.  I'll post something tomorrow when I get a chance.

Hey all. Tegyrius has been pretty busy with a family illness situation, hence his absence here. He's eager to get back to the game and will resume posting again as soon as he's able.

-

Thanks, Rae.

My father died (not unexpectedly) a little after 7 tonight.  I'm going to step away from the keyboard to tend to family matters but I'll be back after the new year.

In reply to Tegyrius (msg # 78):

Very sorry for your loss Tegyrius.  We will be here when you get back, take all the time you need.  Your family will be in my thoughts.

My condolences, Tegyrius; my family's thoughts and well-wishes go out to you and your family in this difficult time.  Take care of you and yours and only return to us when everything else is taken care of.

My sincere and deepest condolences as well.

Tegyrius, sorry to hear of your loss - my thoughts are with you.

Dave

Thank you.

I'll be re-engaging on my usual commitments over the next few days.  I'll try to get us back under way today or tomorrow.  I'll skip the timeline ahead to the team's reunification in Tripoli.

Good to have you back, Tegyrius.  I hope everything is settled on the RL home front.

Happy New year, everyone!  Looking forward to RPing with you into 2015 and beyond!

I'm probably going to have have intermittent Internet access until the 6th, so feel free to NPC Lina as needed.

Does Boulos know anything about the Amazing Dissolving Attar, or did Mike and Seb keep him away from the video and subsequent discussion?

I think the decision was to keep Boulos in the dark until the teams reunited and bring it to him when our professionals could interview him.

An excellent plan.  He has zero need to know at this point.



I'm thinking Hannah's right about earlier being better than later when it comes to getting to the garage.  Lina can chat with Boulos about the Tamboli's while Painter is checking him out (I'm not taking any crypto-aliens along with us) if needed.

I'd like to tip my hat to Spartan for,

A. Coming up with a nickname for Choi that I can live with. (As a weird aside, just this Sunday afternoon, I was playing a computer game with my 10-year-old son and saved a game under the title "Jim Morrison", because of a certain reptilian boss we were about to battle. He wanted to know why and I so I gave him a PG-rated explanation. Synchronicity, indeed.)

B. The Asian HRT sniper comment. I wouldn't have caught this Ruby Ridge incident reference if I hadn't read up on the HRT and its major OPs while I was creating Choi.

Nicely done, sir.

-

Yeah, I caught the Lon Horiuchi reference while I was at the office and had to suppress a giggling fit.  Well played.

Is the team going to hit the garage in daylight this afternoon (about 2 hours total delay between Boulos' physical and travel time), wait for nightfall (sunset is ~1815 hrs), or establish surveillance ASAP but wait for nightfall to move in?
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:55, Wed 07 Jan 2015.

My vote would be for option three. We need to get there fast, before anyone else does, preferably, but it would be extremely imprudent to go in half-cocked.

-

Sorry all, I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of days.  Evidently that last post took it all out of me.  I'll try to draft something tonight or tomorrow.

Post coming up tonight

@keys - would Dacovetti have a way to patch the feed from Nazca into the rest of the team's tactical channel, and would he have done so?

If memory serves, the PRC-119 can operate simultaneous channels.  With two  119 radios in operation, he should be able to capture and rebroadcast across frequencies...so yes.  And he would have set that up.  Good catch.

Not my catch, Spartan asked in PM.  I was just derping along...

Heading out to dinner and Fury at the $2 theater.  I'll probably end up posting tomorrow, but the gist will be that the Libyans have literally done the heavy lifting, so we'll check the bag and assuming it's the body, we'll can hopefully bug out without sticking around to deal with the Mercedes guys.

Alright, this is coming up next.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dJy2mnl5y0

PS: Trzeba iść pomieszkać!
This message was last edited by the player at 20:52, Fri 16 Jan 2015.

Slow GM is slow.  Next turn will be up shortly.

Just an fyi - I’m away this weekend. I’ll follow what’s happening via my phone but wont have the opportunity to post anything from Friday late afternoon until Sunday evening UK time.

Cheers

Well, I struggled like hell to find a way to get this into a post to follow Rae's fine example, but couldn't do it.

Best players ever.

I'm heading out to catch American Sniper.  May or may not get the next turn up when I get back.

FYI, the sniper team does have the Land Rover parked behind the building on which they're set up, so the ground-level element doesn't need to go pick them up.

It's a good movie.

Don't get any ideas though.  I personally want to see some alien bizarreness without the ultra violence.  When we see more of this rolling through the streets of Tripoli, minds will be blown and much fun had by all.


This message was last edited by the player at 03:00, Fri 23 Jan 2015.

It looks like the team is just trying to exfil at this point.  If that's the case, speed and overwatch from the Global Hawk will let you escape cleanly.  Unless there are objections or other desired actions, I'll skip ahead to the linkup with Amber Cell.  Cool?

I'm good with this if the others are.

Works for me...

Works for me, too!

Cool with me

GM post delayed until tomorrow night on account of something in my neck going twang ow fuck.

Damn, that doesn't sound good.  No worries on posting, but my unsolicited and ill-informed advice on neck pain would be to seek medical care or bourbon; maybe both.

It's the latest iteration of a long-standing issue.  I have TMJ problems that flare under stress, and they're exacerbated by too much time at a keyboard in a bad posture.  When it gets really bad, the muscle pain goes all the way from temple through neck to mid-back and I can't turn my head more than about 30º in any direction.  Usual treatment is Ibuprofen, heating pad, and dental splint.  Though bourbon appeals too.

Sorry to hear that Teg.  I hope it gets better.

Thanks.  Range of motion is back to normal after a full day of wearing the splint.  That seems to be the biggest part of the fix, as it forces my jaw muscles into proper alignment.  Fortunately, my dentist has the same problem and recognized the symptoms a couple of years ago.  Dude's worth every boat payment I give him.

And I have committed GMing.

This message was last edited by the player at 15:12, Fri 30 Jan 2015.

Could we add bits on Foundation and Nazca to the SOP thread?

-

Ok, I've added a small table in there.  Not sure if this is what you are looking for:



I think your best bet is to just call into Foundation as Empire Two and tell them you what we need.  Let them coordinate on the back end with Tucson to get it.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:47, Sat 31 Jan 2015.

That's it, thanks. Don't know how I missed seeing that in the SOP thread. Derp.

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You guys entertain the heck outta me.

One minor correction to the last couple of IC posts: in the second wave (the guys who came from the Mercedes), the two aggressors at ground level were apparently human (and reacted like humans when shot).  The two on the roof were the ones who had abnormal heat signatures.  I've tweaked the IC posts accordingly.

ETA: Also, woo, 500 posts!  Hooray momentum.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:46, Sat 31 Jan 2015.

I was gonna get the next turn posted tonight but I think I'm kinda fried after re-engaging on my current freelance project and writing 3,300 words today.  Hang tight and I'll plug the plot machine back in tomorrow.

No worries.  Paying jobs come before hobbies and if you've done 3,300 words, then you've written enough for today.

On a different note, I've gotten my wife into watching Strike Back.  Which required me to re-watch the whole first season (didn't argue too much), and we finally finished that a week ago.  We, are now 1/3 of the way into the second season.  I've been interested in South Africa's nuclear program since I first read about the Vela Incident a few years back, so the 2nd season has been pretty awesome so far.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:24, Mon 02 Feb 2015.

I should try to get my wife to watch it with me.  I'll bet I could sell her on the eye candy value of Philip Winchester.

GM post is up.  I tried to provide a little something for everyone.  We're still in investigative/recovery mode here, so let me know if you're getting bored and I'll speed things up a bit.

Just an fyi, I probably wont get a post in until Friday evening (my time). I've been hammered at work today and am expecting the same tomorrow and I'm out tonight.

Cheers

Please assume Lina's still doing leadership-ish things (she's a career officer, which means the more presentations and PPTs she does, the more points she gets for promotion... I'm sure of it), so I'm depending on everyone else to do actual stuff.  So I probably won't post again until most everyone else does.  At the very least, I'm waiting for Hannah to check out the whirligig, Alien Autopsy to finish, and King Leonidas of France to bring us heavier weapons.  :P  So my next post will probably be this weekend also.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:16, Sat 07 Feb 2015.

Teg, am I OK to assume Durand can source two HK417's and one Sako from the French paras?

Any chance of some of the MR73's as well?

Cheers

Your assumption is correct.  Also, two of the gun collectors among the paras are willing to hand over their MR73s in exchange for Michael's Grach and Crad's suppressed Hi-Power.

James is willing to trade his AK-104 for an HK 417, if someone else can make use of the former.

-

Since it might be easier to sort this out in OOC, Lina would prefer a 7.62mm rifle, either the x39 or x51, with a full-length barrel if possible.  She also planning to carry the Remington MCS for breaching/utility and her Glock.  With Pistol/Rifle cascade (vice Rifle/Pistol), she's comfortable trying for headshots and leaving the wheelguns for someone else, though if it's come to that, we have other problems.

After a substantive weapons reshuffle, it's likely we will all need to adjust sights and confirm our zero.  I think we should try just one shot center mass with an MR73 at an appropriate distance and see if it can penetrate also.  While the idea of wailing away on some alien corpse with a variety of small arms is appealing, we don't want to mangle the body too badly before we hand it off.

OK, as an OOC summary of our current weapons, afaik we have the following

MP5PDW			        Dancer
MP5PDW			        Double Down
AK103				Bullfrog	(Swapping for HK417)
AK104 (fully accesorized)	Lizard King	(Swapping for HK417)
AK104 (fully accessorized)	Dealer
FN FAL				Painter

So, assuming Painter and Dealer are happy to keep what they have that leaves Dealer and Double Down able to choose from the following  (assuming Choi swaps as noted above)

1 x AK103 (formerly Durand's)
1 x AK104 (fully accessorized, formerly Choi's)
1 x AK104 (Stripped version, procured locally)

That leaves the Sako as a team asset.

IC Logic for Durand to swap out is that if we split into Butch and Sundance there's commonality of calibre in each team however if either Dancer or Double Down desperately want an HK I'm happy enough OOC for Durand to continue with a 103.

Maybe we can allocate the revolvers once we have a plan for extracting the Tambolis and have established who's doing what role (i.e. if there's an assault element and a support element the revolvers should be with the assault element?)

I've also edited my last IC post as I had mixed up the 103's and 104's (in my defence I am British so clearly I know nothing about these things)

Does that make sense to everyone?
This message was last edited by the player at 17:09, Sat 07 Feb 2015.

FYI, Lina's post isn't meant as dickish as it may come across.  I found this cool image a few weeks back and have been trying to tie in Winged Hussars to a post ever since.

Sweet painting. I know the feeling. In my old T2K PotV campaign, I had an American SOF major-turned-local-hetman employ a captured Russian hovercraft fitted with an oversized Hussar "wing".

@Durand: Choi's AK is a 104. The 104 is the carbine model of the 103, which is a modernized AKM. Choi's 104 has all the bells and whistles as well.

-

Durand's just wondering if all that talk about lances was another double entendre...

@Choi Sorry, I thought Jim had a full size 103 - I'll edit accordingly.

In reply to Sebastien Durand (msg # 131):

Well you have some insight into Polish expectations now.  1.5 meters longer than the other guys.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:11, Sat 07 Feb 2015.

In reply to Karolina Kowalska (msg # 132):

According to historian Alessandro Barbero, French cavalry lances at Waterloo were almost three metres long and were "terrifyingly efficient". The Commanding General of the French 4th Division is quoted as saying "I had never before realized the great superiority of the lance over the sword". ;-)

Edit.

You win. Apparently Polish lances were up to 6.2 metres. Clearly the French were inadequate...
This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Sat 07 Feb 2015.

Random unreliable internet website says Polish lances were 4.5 to 5.5 meters.  That's a lot of standoff in that era.

http://www.kismeta.com/diGrasse/lance.htm

Ok, Lina will take Durand's 103.  I've updated my post.  I keep getting confused by the 103/104 thing myself.  Damn Russians... don't they know you are supposed to divide by 4 to get the new carbine designation number?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:15, Sat 07 Feb 2015.

In reply to Karolina Kowalska (msg # 135):

Yeah, I cocked it up then compounded my cock up by thinking Choi had a rifle and not a carbine so made references to a rifle when I should have been referencing a carbine. Going forward - and on the basis that we survive this mission - we should maybe have something in the SOP thread when we start a mission detailing who's carrying what (I went back through the gear requisition posts upthread to try and work out who had what and I think there were a few amendments to what was originally posted that I missed).

Sorry about the delay in responding.  The RL work week has been hectic.  I think that I got everything that Hannah was supposed to reply to, but feel free to let me know if I missed anything (which is always possible).

DD will take Choi's tricked out AK-104, as long as he doesn't mind - just to make it explicit.

Oh, and I love that picture, Spartan.  Very nice, indeed.

I'm just gonna leave this here:

http://gearscout.militarytimes...enough-for-a-pistol/

Three super nitpicky questions for when you have the time:

What version of HK417 did James just acquire?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heckler_%26_Koch_HK417

And it's probably too soon to have heard back, let alone received a delivery, but is there any word on the compact thermal imagers for weapon mounting?

And lastly, what does the test with the .357 pistols suggest about the effectiveness of a .45 ACP round against the Attars? The .45 is a bigger but slower round, correct? I'm guessing that it wouldn't be as effective but would it be better than the faster but smaller 9mm P round?

No rush.

Thanks.

-

Both are 16.5" models.



They're being couriered to Sigonella from the US.  Someone will figure out a quick way to get them to you from there.  ETA 12 hours.



Correct.  .45 carries more mass but about 30-40% less velocity.  James' best guess is that it'll cause some serious blunt trauma but penetrating that subcutaneous membrane will be iffy.

So we're going to have to get all Dirty Harry on their ass, eh? Oh, wait, that's .44 magnum, right? That would have comparable ballistic performance vis-à-vis the .357 round, correct?



-
This message was lightly edited by the player at 02:02, Thu 12 Feb 2015.

That's a nice long drive between the two sites to hit the convoy if we need to.  That may be a better option than attacking at a strong point.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:28, Fri 13 Feb 2015.

I think we are coming to the point where we need to go out and gather more intel.

It would be nice to know what's in that house to the west of the Tamboli residence?  Another infantry platoon?  The Alien Queen?  A retirement home?  What's in that house will make or break an extract from their residence if it comes down to that.

Also, I think we need to see how feasible it would be to get into the reactor site and ID the Tamboli's there.  Stealth is going to be important on this one.

I think getting the Mi-17 online is also important.

Thoughts, ideas, comments?

In reply to Karolina Kowalska (msg # 143):

A few random thoughts

I agree it would be good to get more intel including actually getting our own eyes on the ground rather than solely relying on drone imagery. Seb and Mike came in using the journo cover so we could fall back on that if we're travelling around the City (no reason why other team members couldn't participate - a standard journo team could include on air talent, cameraman, sound guy, local fixer. security, so that accounts for at least five people if we have to).

Or maybe we could split up and one element recces the residence and the other recces the reactor?

If we do have to start looking at a hard extraction initial thought is that the private residence may be less heavily guarded than the nuclear reactor site. The residence also appears to be closer to the sea than the reactor. So perhaps approaching the residence after dark and planning for an exfil by sea may be an option (IC Seb would probably push for this as his background includes a number of years in the French marine commandos specialising in maritime assault and exfil, hostage rescue, etc).

Alternatively, if we're going to use the helo I guess we need to recce possible landing sites? Looking at the map there look like a couple of places the helo could set down at the reactor site but they might be hot. There also appears (on the map at least) to be what might be a possible LZ immediately south of the residence. Which again makes me think that the residence is the best option if we have to go get them. However, as you say, we don't know what other forces may be in the vicinity.  That said, if it turns out there is another infantry force there, perhaps our air support could neutralise them either as soon we commenced the extraction or if things go tits up?

Yeah, the large lot behind the house looks promising.

I was thinking Lina and Seb could recon the base (only because both have Stealth listed as above average).  Have Bolous drive us near there in taxi guise.  We get him up on comms and with a tablet, and we try for a photo using the digital camera and telephoto lens.  That way if we are unsuccessful and have to abort the recon, we have a secondary option of paralleling or trailing the convoy back to the residence when it leaves in order to get an ID.

Crewe, Choi and Dacovetti would recon the residential area.  Hannah and Barbrak finish working on the bird and would be on standby.  Once we have the ID, she can come pick up Lina and Seb, and if the house looks like a good site for the extract, Crewe, Choi, and Dacovetti pull the ambush, either alone, or with with Lina and Seb's help from the helo (i.e. areal platform shooting or fast roping in).  After we have them, we extract via the Mi-17.

None of that will survive contact with the enemy, but it gives us two teams of three on the ground, with the Mi-17 to help consolidate when we need to.

PS: We'll have someone from Amber see if they can have a couple of boats near the beach as a secondary exfil option.  That's a good idea and I keep forgetting that we don't have to do everything ourselves.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:45, Sun 15 Feb 2015.

I'm good with splitting up again.  It will keep us agile and able to respond to multiple options, especially if we can get the Helo in the air, and has the advantage of being conducted faster.  The teams won't be as able to deal with threats, but again, this is diminished if/when the Helo is operational.  Although we probably shouldn't wait until it's fixed to start our recon.

I also vote for prepping a secondary standby mode of evacuation, at least to be ready for go time.

So are we leaning towards sending out two ground teams to recce the residence and the site then rendezvous back at Amber to make decision on our next moves? Only thing would be does it keep Hannah involved if most of us are running around Tripoli and she's stuck in the hangar working on the bird (and also provided splitting up again doesn't increase Teg's workload as GM to a silly level)

@Lina, Seb has a 12 in Stealth and (also a 12 in Intrusion if required) so am happy for him to be assigned to recon either site at Kowalska's discretion.

One thing I should have mentioned - Seb's recent IC posts have made it apparent he wants to take the Attar knife, but his STR is only 7 (damn age effect rolls) so that plan is parked - if someone else with higher STR wants to take it feel free.

What I envision is one team handles the recon of the residence and the other the recon of the reactor.  I'm thinking a firefight in a random Tripoli suburb won't draw as much attention as a firefight at a nuclear reactor research site, so the reactor site is where we need the folks with the best stealth.  Honestly, I don't expect the recon of the reactor site to be viable (these things tend to be heavily guarded - how do you say pull-out in Polish - wyciągać), hence the secondary option of paralleling the convoy to get the ID.  While hitting the convoy would be a good option for extraction, I just don't think we'll have a green light in time, unless of course the reactor recon goes very well.

Hannah is welcome to come on either op if she doesn't want to sit around with the chopper.

So in summary:

Team A pulls a recon of the reactor site with the objective of IDing the Tambolis
 -Team A's plan B is to follow the convoy to get the ID

Team B pulls a recon of the residence and surrounding area.  IDs any LZs, nearby hostile forces, etc.

Amber arranges for a water extraction if we hit the residence and can't arrange for a helicopter extraction.

I don't know if it's worth planning much more than that, since new information from the recon will likely change our goals and objectives.  Also, even though I as a player am naturally inclined to provide what I think is the most optimal distribution of resources/skills/talents/etc., I'm also always open to input.  Really, as long as your PC doesn't have AGL 1, no Stealth, and your character is prone to Tourette syndrome outbursts in Arabic, feel free to make your case to go on the Reactor recon.

Also, I'm sympathetic to the workload issue splitting the team makes for Teg, but I also know he can solve that issue with any NPC chiming in with more tasty, delicious intell that would preclude our need to do a split mission. :P

The Mi-17 is airworthy for VFR conditions.  It has no radio, radar, or transponder but the core instrumentation appears functional.  Barbrak has re-labeled most of the cockpit in English.  Structurally, it's battered and could use a new coat of paint (and a few patches over some bullet holes) but everything appears sound.  The engines are in good shape.

Barbrak is just enough of a pilot to start it up and take off and land in good weather.  He's not going to be soloing any combat missions, though.

Also, the limited information currently available suggests that there's a guard force of about 12-15 individuals at the residential compound, in addition to the Tambolis and the other unarmed subjects.  7 of those security personnel were on the convoy.  In the absence of the convoy vehicles, there are two small cars parked at the compound, which appear to be in use for shopping and running other errands.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:23, Mon 16 Feb 2015.

Ok, I'm pretty sure that the Mi-17 bubble windows on the side can be opened to create firing stations, but let me know if that's incorrect.

I'll go along with the photographic evidence.

Here, 10 inches of snow since dawn.  Just screen-capped this from my Twitter feed:

We have an inch or so in northern VA and are we expecting 10-12 inches by morning.  Had to cancel a work trip to to Ft. Lauderdale because of it.  I'd be more broken up about it if I wasn't secretly relieved.

Pretty much the whole state is shut down here.  My last communication from my boss is that we're probably not going to activate the county EOC because there's nothing we can add.  Police, Sheriff's office, Fire/EMS, and Streets and Roads are all going all-out, there's no large-scale human services need to coordinate (no power outages), and we'd only endanger ourselves coming in.  So I'm sitting in my basement doing remote WebEOC support for counties that haven't logged into the system in six months.

Folks, I'm sorry for the delay here.  I've been focused on work and my painfully-overdue freelance contract and simply haven't had the time or energy to put together the next IC post.  I'll try to get something up tomorrow night if nothing else goes horribly wrong.

Damn you, real life!! Damn you!

No worries.

Hey no worries dude...you do what you have to do...we ain't going anywhere!

I'll expand and expound a bit more in a follow on post, but I didn't want to hold anyone else up from posting because they weren't yet awake.

Totally reasonable.  Assume the other PCs are being awakened now.

So all the PCs are back at the FOB now?

-

In reply to James Choi (msg # 160):

Yep. Gotta sleep sometime.

I hope I wasn't talking out of my butt in the last IC post. I swear I recall the convoy composition being posted somewhere but I couldn't find it. I went with what I remembered. If it's too out of sync, please let me change it.

-

In reply to James Choi (msg # 162):

Hey Rae, MSG #157 is the one you need.

I don't think it was established one war or the other whether or not an Attar was present though...

Neither of the surveillance teams picked up any evidence of Attars being present in the Tambolis' security detail or the research facility's guard force.  Neither did the Global Hawk.

Also: the mini-thermals arrived yesterday.  The French para who's serving as armorer has mounted them to all the long guns (both Amber Cell and Grey Cell).  They're in side rail or offset mounts, so they don't obstruct (or cowitness with) existing optics or iron sights.  The intended use is to verify target ID with the thermal, then switch to your normal sights for aimed fire.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:34, Sat 21 Feb 2015.

FYI - I'm leaving this one to Crewe and Choi since they were the ones who had the convoy under their scopes and could best confirm vehicle information.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:36, Sat 21 Feb 2015.

What other info do you guys need to plan your next move?

I've been waffling between having Amber try to get a line to General Haftar, or just have Michael and Seb break in on their security detail comms and alert them directly (Dealer has the technical skill, Bullfrog the language).

Any thoughts comrades?

We're on the clock. Cut out the middle-man.

-

Okay, just to be sure I have the planned sequence straight:

1.  Team gears up and spins up the Mi-17.
2.  Dealer and Bullfrog break into the Tamboli security detail's comms.
3.  As soon as that anthill is kicked, the team launches in the Mi-17.
4.  Double Down (with Barfight as copilot) sets down the other five Grey Cell members in the motorcade's path.
5.  The Mi-17 orbits while the five team members on the ground knock out the convoy and grab the Tambolis.
6.  ???
7.  Profit.

In reply to Tegyrius (msg # 169):

Everyone's seen Blackhawk down right?  Single shot through the engine block..

Recreated in loving Arma 2 detail.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pHDDzAR-_E

We light the vehicles up from the air, with the Mi-17 approaching from the rear, then overtaking every vehicle in sequence.  Team fast ropes in behind cover to do the ground assault.  It might make sense to keep one person in the bird on suppressive fire detail, just to keep the security detail honest.  We want them to stay in cover and not simply carjack someone else and take off in a different vehicle.

Any better ideas?
This message was last edited by the player at 23:56, Thu 26 Feb 2015.

Predator takes out lead vehicle with Hellfire, stopping the convoy, while we come in from behind in the Mi-17?

-

Available CAS is a pair of Tornados with 500lb bombs (dual laser and GPS guidance) and 27mm cannon.  You'd be risking a lot of collateral damage in an area that's under nominally friendly governance.

That's not a "no," that's a "do you trust the RPoL dice roller?"  :)

Oh. I don't want to chance it. I thought we had a Predator or Reaper on station. My bad.

-

Oh, derp.  I put the air support inventory in a private to Dealer instead of in OOC.

Your CAS is a two-ship flight of Italian Tornados, each carrying four GBU-49s (500lb dual-mode laser JDAMs) and two AGM-88s.  The Rivet Joint is orbiting over the Med with an escort of two F-22s, and there are two Italian Typhoons covering the tanker.  The surveillance drone on station over Tripoli is an unarmed Global Hawk.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:00, Fri 27 Feb 2015.

Guys, just a quick heads up, I've got family visiting this weekend, so after tonight I don't expect to be able to post anything until Sunday mid / late afternoon UK time.

Cheers

Roger that.

You guys are wrecking me with the eyewear oneupmanship. :) GM post coming tonight.

Turn is up.

Seriously, I've been giggling over the gearing up comments all day.  This is an awesome player team.

Alright, Grey Cellmates, what's the plan here? I think priority #1 should be stopping the convoy. Are we going to try to do this from the air? If so, I'll volunteer Choi to shoot the lead vehicle with his HK417. A few rounds through the top of the hood and/or crew cab should probably do the trick. I'm only suggesting this because I can't think of anything better. I'm all ears.

-

I think the intent was to do pretty much that, working from the back of the convoy forward with Seb on the Lapua.

The convoy order of movement is:

#1 - police car (unarmored)
#2 - G-Wagen with Tambolis (presumed armored)
#3 - H3 (presumed armored)
#4 - police car (unarmored)

Well, that was interesting.  Total surprise will get you a long way.  That 20 on the convoy's Observation check gave you a second round of fire before they could react.

How do you guys feel about putting one or both ground teams on the top of the apartment building?  My first thought is one team fast ropes on to the building and starts to work their way down, and the other team fast ropes on to the ground, moving toward the building.  Any thoughts, better ideas, or suggestions?

Everything I've read about CQB says that it's preferable, whenever possible, to clear a building from top to bottom. That said, we have, what, four people on the assault team? That's two teams of two with one team doing more sitting and waiting, most likely. I like the top-down assault, I don't like the numbers.

What do the rest of y'all think?

-

In reply to James Choi (msg # 182):

The concern I have is how do we keep them in the building if both teams land on the roof an begin to clear it?  Will the nearby chopper be enough to fix them in place?  What keeps them from just running out the back door into building B, while we are derping around clearing building A?

Right, which is one of my points. If we all go in at the top, who's watching the ground level? If we split so that a team can watch the ground level, we're two weak teams instead of one strong. It's a classic tactical conundrum.

-

Do we still have access to the security detail's coms network? If so, can we (by which I mean Durand in the helo) a) monitor their comms traffic to try and get an idea of what they're up to an b) transmit on it to try and sow seeds of confusion?

Re the assault plan, I don't have anything that hasn't already been mentioned. If both teams go in via the roof Seb will try and cover the ground but he's gonna be might busy...the only thing that springs to miond refers to my first question, i.e. particulary whether Seb transmit on their net and if so can that be used as a force multiplier by "encouraging" the security detail to take a certain route?

I'm about to start my work day, so afraid that's all I got for the moment...will give it further thought...

There has been no further traffic since Mike and Seb broke into their frequency.  It's probably safe to assume that they've switched frequencies.

OK, so sowing seeds of confusion is out. So it’s down to whether to put two teams on the roof or one on the roof and one on the ground?  Which carries the least risk to our own people if it goes pear shaped?

If we put two teams on the roof it seems to me that it should be easier for both teams to withdraw to the roof if they need to be extracted in a hurry - I’m not saying it would be easy, just easier compared to putting a team on the ground and risking them being cut off / surrounded / overrun etc?

I know that just leaves Seb on overwatch in the helo, but which is the lesser of the two evils?

My locale is about to get smacked with another winter storm.  Latest National Weather Service models show 8-12" overnight, which may shut down the city for a day or two.  I don't know if my office will have go to oh-shit mode.  We didn't last time but, thanks to wetter/heavier snow, limited icing, and high winds, we're more likely to see power outages from this event.  My posting may be sporadic for a few days.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:52, Wed 04 Mar 2015.

I just caught the 1800-0600 EOC shift tonight.  Access may be sketchy for a few days depending on snow, flooding, and power outages.

Don't worry about us. Stay safe.

-

All good here. I'm not on the road responding to any of the 35 accidents our guys are currently working...

As a reminder, your CAS is carrying JDAMs with the newer dual-guidance heads.  You have laser designation as an alternate targeting method.  I have been assuming Michael knows this and has a designator.  The Leopard Frog element does not, however.  Let me know if this changes the choice of positioning for Michael.

I think it's time to start bringing in the heavy ordnance.  I’m worried we are going to get stuck up here trading rounds for an extended period of time if we don’t start stomping these guys with the big hammer.

I am thinking that Lina and Choi should move to breach the building and locate the Tambolis, with Michael up top guiding in JDAMs and Crad popping targets of opportunity and helping with security.  We still need to play exfil by ear for now.

Let me know what you guys think.

Teg – how easy would it be for the Mi-17 to extract from the roof?  I know you can’t always land where you can fast rope.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:22, Fri 06 Mar 2015.

In reply to Karolina Kowalska (msg # 193):

I'm good with that...short term at least Seb can back up Crad and vice versa.

No-go.  The roof is about half the size of the helicopter.  The best Hannah could do would be to hover with the lip of the ramp propped on the parapet and hope no one walked into the tail rotor.

Also, I just noticed on the images - it looks like there's a third-story patio.  So, in profile, the building looks something like this:

   +-----------+
   [ 3rd floor ]
   +-----------+-----+
   [ 2nd floor       ]
   +-----------------+
   [ 1st floor       ]
___+-----------------+____

On both the roof and that patio, the parapet is about chest-high.

I say we nuke the site from orbit.  It's the only way to be sure...

Oh, did I say that out loud?

More seriously, Hannah is fine with trying to get the ramp as close as possible.  The tail rotor is the main issue.  But I suppose we could try to keep the Hip at one of the corners to try and keep the rotor off to the side (and theoretically in mid-air where no one should be...).

It'd be easier in a Chinook:



The Mi-17's tail rotor sits up pretty high so clearance for it on the roof and fixtures (Dish Network dishes, etc.) won't be an issue:



... but it is still a big whirling disc o'death.

That is Group Captain Mewes' specialty, not Hannah's...:D  But, yes, you are right - the double top rotors would be better in this case.  Of course, the thing is huge....

Sorry for the wait folks.  Between being dog-ass tired at the end of the training day and the first message on my laptop informing me of multiple virus attacks after hooking up with the hotel's wi-fi, posting was a no go.  I will have something up today.

Life has intruded.  Post will be up tomorrow, complete with CAS goodness!

Turn is posted.  I finally got to use the aircraft hit tables in Nautical/Aviation Handbook...

Can the Global Hawk paint a target for CAS?

I'm curious with the other heavy hitters starting to move.  Or if Bannon et al. can get the grid coordinates of the vehicles marshaling near the reactor, we might be able to fling a JDAM at the from like 7nm and stall their progress too.

Assuming we're cool with bombing a reactor site...

A quick Google check doesn't indicate that a Global Hawk carries a laser designator.  However, yeah, if you pull its optics off your position, it can easily get the GPS coordinates for the force at the reactor.  It'll take a couple-three turns to set that up, during which you won't have overhead on what the local threats are doing.

I'm going to be out of coms until the 21st (my annual European tour) so please NCP Choi as necessary. Sorry for that stinker of a last IC post but I'm not going to be able to edit so it'll have to stand.

See you again next Sunday.

Cheers,

Rae

-

Roger that.  Travel safely, have fun, return with the same number of kids you took over.

Everyone has posted quick like ninja but it is late and I am tired and just cranked out a big juicy post of IC orders in Rae's game, so I will get the GM post (with extra explosions) up tomorrow or Friday.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:15, Thu 12 Mar 2015.

Just FYI, I have to fly out Monday to go to Ft. Lauderdale for work next week.  This is absolutely not a boondoggle.

I'll check the game via my phone and should be available for quick OOC stuff, but properly formated coherent posts in the evening may be a bridge too far, given the number of networking events already lined up.

For the current turn, do we have any idea how many security staff are with the Tambolis?  Any count on the number of people who got out of their car?  I've got the impression that there can't be more than 1-2 left with them, but I'm not sure why I think that.

If we were dealing with just a human threat, I'd say that unless LD's insider is the last guy standing on the Tamboli protection detail, the information LD has is going to get stale very shortly.  If both ground teams consolidate in the basement, the natural course of action for LD to find them will be to follow us into the building.  The Xrays however, may have other forms of detection and information however.  So I'm a bit worried about having us all head in to a tunnel system where aliens might pop out from any and all directions.

Of course if we lose comms, at least having both teams together would beat having them apart.

Thoughts, ideas, suggestions or comments?

Based on the capacity of the vehicle and the group you briefly glimpsed exiting it after it wrecked out, you believe the Tambolis have 2, possibly 3 bodyguards remaining.

It is likely that Lina and James will lose comms if they proceed farther into the basement.

Fall back to the Ops Centre, set up the sentry guns and barricade ourselves in. But nobody gets left alone with the corporate dude.

Wait, hang on, different aliens.

On a serious note, who's LD? Am I missing something obvious and / or being thick? (I've only had two beers watching the rugby)

LD = Libya Dawn I believe.

I'm voting for link up simply because if we get pinned in were stuck with multiple vehicles and dismounts approaching.  Movement and heavy firepower may be our best defense.  Especially if we lose comms.

In reply to Michael Dacovetti (msg # 210):

Doh...cheers. I was trying to connect it with a person. Clearly I'm getting old -  two beers do corrupt my thought processes.

Link up seems like a sound idea. Do you want Seb to join you? (If you're all underground I don't know how long the helo will be able to loiter. If it starts taking fire and has to bug out of the local area, even temporarily, Seb becomes a passenger if still aboard).

I'm good with that, but are you and Hannah up for flying back into potential M249 fire again?

My only concern with bringing Seb into the fight is how much longer we would have to hold the rooftop to bring the Hip back in.  If it's quick, no worries.  If not, Seb might be more effective on the ground as a sniper on his own until we can direct him to our new location.

If Seb deploys on his own he loses a lot of mobility (and if his position gets compromised he might need a hot extraction, which could expose the helo to risk).

Another option would be for the helo to loiter southwest of the target building (based on Lina's transmission that the tunnel runs west then south) with Seb still aboard if we can do that safely. That way if the Tambolis pop up above ground and looks as though they are going to either a) escape or b) be taken by the other side, Seb can attempt to terminate them (which is Seb's interpretation of "prevent [the newcomers] from securing the Tambolis by whatever means necessary").

That removes the need for Dealer and Painter to maintain their position any longer than required and retains an element of top cover.

In reply to Sebastien Durand (msg # 214):

Let's go with Seb in the helo providing cover to the SW.  I'll post something IC in a bit about getting Crewe and Dacovetti down to the basement and ask Hannah to shift position.

This trip sort of snuck up on me, but I'll be traveling for an emergency management conference Monday night through Thursday night.  I'll try to get a GM post up Monday evening once I get to the hotel if the wireless is stable and not too sketchy.

Hotel wireless is flaky like a good biscuit.  Unlike the biscuits in the breakfast buffet, which are flaky like something that flakes off into hard inedible chunks under the influence of a dull butter knife.

Is the plan to wait for the wizard and cleric before continuing into the dungeon a four-person assault team before continuing into the basement, or will Lina and Choi blaze ahead and let the others catch up as best they can?
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:10, Wed 18 Mar 2015.

Not that Dacovetti is there, but if say push.  Momentum is our friend.

I'm going to give Crewe the opportunity to do a Sean Connery impression if he wants to.

Can Seb positively ID any of the four people that he can see as a Tamboli / non Tamboli?

Both Tambolis are present.  None of the four have Attar-like thermal signatures.

Sorry, I meant can he positively ID which two are the Tambolis?

If he can then he'll try and take down the other two, i.e. the two that aren't Tambolis.

Ah!  Sorry.  Yes, he can.  They're unarmed.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:34, Sat 21 Mar 2015.

Erm, sorry, Dave - I should have been clearer. Tambolis are unarmed. Their companions are armed - looks like the male has a G3KA4 and the female has a SIG 552.

No worries Teg, have edited post accordingly...intent remains unchanged.

Cheers

I'm back and attempting to catch up.

-

Teg, can Seb see the machine gun position that's just opened fire from the chopper?

Not yet. The helo is coming around the south side of the building; they're firing from the east-facing windows. If Hannah doesn't turn away to the south, Seb will have LOS after her next maneuver.

Two questions:
1) can either Overlord or the HARMs that Nero is carrying pinpoint the EM disturbance?
2) Dacovetti's load out indicated 3 thermite grenades for the vehicles, any chance he brought one or two with him since they don't need to melt them to slag?  I'm leaning towards no since they weren't specifically mentioned for the assault, but I thought it couldn't hurt to ask :)

1. Overlord is working on it.

2. Michael has one thermite grenade on him. The other two are aboard the helo.

I'll be travelling with the family to Disneyland for the next couple of days (through Friday).  It will be my seven year-old's first time there.  Thus, while, I suspect that I will have Internet access, I likely will not have the much time to post (even if the lines are long).  So, though I will try to keep abreast of the situation IC, please feel free to NPC/Bot Hannah as necessary to keep things moving forward...

I will hopefully be back and able to post on Saturday!

In reply to Hannah Omdahl (msg # 231):

Enjoy!

Stumbled across this interesting piece.

http://specialoperations.com/2...nds-black-ops-libya/

-

Dcoda, how was the Magic Kingdom?

Rae, that is fascinating.  I especially like the bit about the operators deploying on their totally legit second passports.

Final turn is up.  This concludes Chapter One (or our pilot episode, if you prefer).  I'm going to put the game on pause for a couple of weeks while I tend to some IRL obligations.  We'll re-engage sometime after the 20th.  Feel free to use this time to discuss desires and expectations for where you'd like the campaign to go from here - assuming you're still interested in continuing.

I'll figure out XP in the next couple of days.  Also, take this as an opportunity to re-tool your PCs if you're seeing capability gaps.

Per some backstage discussions, Spartan will be retiring Karolina, though I have not ruled out her return at a later point in the story arc.  Her injury was legit but fortuitous from a dice-rolling perspective.  His new PC will be introduced as your local liaison at the beginning of Chapter Two.  Dave has graciously agreed to put the command bull's-eye on Sébastien's chest.

The whole thread is great, but this is brilliant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUOKWKeXfr0

The Magic Kingdom was.... magical.  We had a lot of fun, though the lines there are horrendous now; maybe 45 minutes worth of rides ... and 4.5 hours of waiting in lines and such.  Still, a good time to be had by all.

I've been very happy with the RP and the action in the first chapter.  I know that it can be difficult when the party is in three different places at once (though the comms help), but I thought that the narration on the various spurs of op were handled very well.  It felt visceral and dangerous (and fun - insofar as danger and such are fun...:)) without being burdensome.  The pacing as well has been good for me, though I know that I am on the slower end of the spectrum (I often post last in the cycle).  I'll admit that I cannot reliably post much fast (sometimes I can sustain daily for a bit, but not long term).

And though I know that some like to roll their own dice, I am fine with not doing so (just for the record).  Part of that is that the dice roller can be tricksy (in the 'I know that you need to roll low here ... so, here is a '20' on a twenty-sided die for your troubles) ... so, I am fine with not having to mess with it.

In any case, as long as the other players are willing to put up with Hannah's player's lack of any real military experience or knowledge of jargon, I am happy to fly with this bird.  Really, the player is just waiting for that alien fusion-powered hybrid saucer with the pulsed-plasma array to come online for Hannah to pilot ... :D

Oh, and I second Spartan's assessment of Warren Zevon, though thankfully, we are not reenacting 'Werewolves of London'.

+1 to what Spartan and Dcoda have already said...I think the theme / pacing / action has been really good. As has been said several times already during the course of the thread, you are a great group of people to write with - am looking forward to resuming after our mid season break?

And...yeah..."Werewolves of London" was the only Warren Zevon song I knew prior to this week...I think a visit to iTunes is on the cards...

I suspect that you don't want to name your character Van Owen or Roland in Tegs games.  Nor should volunteer for any 'tricks'.  And with that I've now exhausted my WZ knowledge.

As for continuing... this is going to be hard to explain.  Part of me thinks yes, absolutely, this has been awesome, so more of it please!

The other part is accurately aware that good closure is very hard to come by here on RPOL.

Perhaps I’m the only idiot that does this, but sometimes, if I really like a moment, I may never go back and try to reproduce it.

It is like after you’ve had a great meal and evening out at a very special restaurant.  Then you look back on it over time and realize how unique the whole situation was: the ambiance, the company, even the music they were playing.  You know if you ever returned, it just wouldn’t be the same.

There are places in the world I would find very difficult to go back to, not becuase I disliked them, but becaused I liked them so much.  Now, maybe that’s a bit heavy to lay on a pbp game, but hopefully the basic sentiment comes through.

So while I’m very happy to continue, I’m ok if Teg has other thoughts or ideas, or if we as a group want to do something else.  At the very least, I think the two week pause is a great idea, just to allow some time to enjoy the sense of accomplishment.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:59, Wed 08 Apr 2015.

In reply to Karolina Kowalska (msg # 238):

I think the key thing for me is that we have an absolutely awesome group of people here, so whatever we do (and I stress that I am very happy to carry on with Grey Cell), let's make sure we do it as a group.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:10, Wed 08 Apr 2015.

Just wanted to drop my thoughts as well.

Writing with this small group has been really enjoyable and I hopes that it does continue.  I understand the concern of not "going out on top," but if we can keep the momentum going (or really just tap back into it when needed) we can probably continue to wring some seriously cool stuff out of this.  Towards the end of Chapter 1, I kept thinking "ah, crap, two more days until the next turn is up!"

Really, I just want to compliment everybody on their writing and willingness to contribute their time.  Thanks folks!

Zevon seems to be about a third of my autobiographical soundtrack.  I recommend starting with Learning to Flinch for a good live cross-section of his work or Mr. Bad Example for the best of what I can only term noir folk rock.

This was the tightest writing I've seen in any PbP in which I've participated, probably because we had an all-star team.  I'm glad everyone's mostly satisfied with the play thus far, as this was the first PbP I've actually gotten off the ground.  I will admit to going back and re-reading bits of the IC threads just for entertainment.

Spartan, I hear what you're saying.  Part of me is a bit concerned that I can't bottle this particular lightning again.  However, if you guys are on board for a continuation, I'd like to try.  I have a good idea of where I want to go for the next mission and a vague idea of the main conflicts and revelations of the two past that.  As the first one took us a bit over four months from briefing to conclusion, I think I can come up with additional stories before I exhaust those.

I'm prepping to run a fairly large LARP event at a local con on the 17th-19th and I have a massive amount of work to knock out before game start, so I will be mostly away from RPOL through the 20th.  I'll start the briefings for Chapter Two later that week.  In the meantime, pull down 8 XP each.  Spartan, you can apply that to Karolina in anticipation of an eventual return, or you can save it for use on your new PC once he's finalized.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:04, Sat 11 Apr 2015.

8 XP!  Awesome!

Does Lina's departure leave us with any skill gaps? Am thinking things like Stealth, Disguise, Interrogation? Seb has all three but is weak on the second two, so just thinking about where to spend my XP but not sure of anyone else has them covered?

Hannah has remedial Stealth (re: quite low) and no Disguise or Interrogation.

I was thinking of boosting her Mechanic and Airplane Mechanic skills (and maybe a little more Stealth).  Or blowing pretty much the entire allotment on boosting her Pilot (Rotary Wing) ... The latter is her bread and butter, but likely to give less bang for the buck than bumping a number of lower skills...

Of course, her Gun Combat skill(s) might be nice to bump as well.

So, many places to spend ...

James has 4/12 in interrogation, not great but not bad. We haven't had to do a whole lot of... investigating yet, though.

-

In reply to James Choi (msg # 245):

You got Seb beat - even if I pumped all 8XP into Interrogation I'd only have 4/10...

My FNG has Stealth, Disguise, and Interrogation, but not at the same levels Lina had.  That's subject to a bit of change since Teg and I are still finalizing things based on background (which I've got to finalize once I'm back at home).  Of course Lina's interrogation was 2/10, so Choi's always going to be our best bet there.  At this point I'd say Slavic language skills are the big hit.  There's a lot of dangerous crap out there with Cyrillic labeling.  On the plus side though, 倪浩...

Slight guidance (no spoilers).  Next op will be in Canberra, looking into an Attar sighting in conjunction with an Aboriginal separatist group's terrorist links.

Are you taking Cantonese or Mandarin?  All I can say is that Hannah's Norwegian hasn't gotten any use (though in all honesty, Teg, was up front about it not likely being a factor...).
This message was last edited by the player at 21:36, Sun 12 Apr 2015.

I'm just glad we're going to Australia and not New Zealand.

French Intelligence officer + New Zealand = bad combination.

I have to attack a couple of glaring deficiencies on Dacovetti's part.  You know, stealth, unarmed combat, things like that.  The stuff building a tech nerd leaves you hanging on...

We know why she was really there...

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/brita...editerranean-1497691

In reply to Sebastien Durand (msg # 252):

Awesome reference.  In my mind, Teg has all these bits of information coming into him from various sources all the time, so the real question is... was it all part of the plan?  Did you know this would happen before Dave found it Teg?  :)

On an unrelated note, wife on the phone to mother-in-law.  Decided to play Quite Ugly One Morning again on my laptop while sitting beside her.  Wife is giving me looks now.  lol
This message was last edited by the player at 00:43, Thu 23 Apr 2015.

If you really want to see behind the curtain...

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
I burned over an hour looking for a NATO vessel that would have a good enough medical facility to take Karolina and was, in the real world, close enough to the Libyan coast to be plausible.  I didn't have any advance warning of this movement.  What finally settled me on Bulwark was her assignment to the Response Force Task Group combined with a complete dearth of information on her actual position in March.  :)

---

:)

I have one or two more staging posts to do before I open up Chapter Two.  Had to fiddle my initial plot based on some things I uncovered in the course of my pre-episode research...