Robert scans the rocky area and calls out softly for Louis again.  He's worried but without the sight of violence along the path she would have taken he's curious.  Making a decision he moves quickly through the cover toward the hill.

Robert travels perhaps twenty yards through the jumble of rocks, and then he spots Louis. She's lying limply on her side next to a rocky outcropping, her rifle next to her.

Robert examines the available cover and throwing a rock in the opposite of the direction in which he was headed scurried over to Louis.  Staying low he bent over her.  "Louis, are you ok?"

Robert notes a fresh bruise he can cover with the pad of his thumb on the left side of Louis' head, between her ear and her temple. She's breathing, but she's out cold, and he doesn't see any blood or evidence of other injuries.

Robert gasps as the injury to his wife but goes into immediate trained action.  He checked her quickly for other injuries and then settled her to be more comfortable.

As he works with her, she stirs and opens her eyes. "What happened? I heard a shot, and then something smacked me in the head."

Robert offered her some water. "You have a bruise on your temple.  I would guess you were hit by a ricochet.  He's still out there the bastard."

"We need to get to cover," Louis says after accepting a little water. "Can we make it to that hill?" She points west over about fifty yards of open ground. She appears to be well; her speech is normal, and her eyes are clear and focused.

Robert looks closely at her and then examines the open ground.  "You are the better shot with a rifle than I.  It would be best for you to cover me first and then move yourself.  I can fire and then move while you snipe at him when he reacts."

Time: 1408

"I will," Louis moves over to a large rock and settles in. "Look at this," she says, holding up a chunk of rock. "It has some of my hair on it, so this must have struck me." She lifts her rifle. "Ready."

Robert frowned.  "That was too close.  You'll need to rest for a while after this little dance.  Head injuries are always uncertain." He kissed her and then moved ten yards or so down through the cover.  Leaning out he fired quickly generally toward the last location of the sniper but not really trying to hit, more to draw attention.  He immediately moved quickly toward the next set of cover to flank the hill.

Time: 1413

Louis rejoins him after a moment. "My I have your spyglass? Something looks odd on that hill where the sniper was."

Robert hands Louis the glass as he scans the ridge to over her.

Louis takes the glass, puts it to her eye, and sits still for a moment. "Look at that little saddle about three yards left of that pink rock that's high up by itself." She hands over the spyglass (oog: or binocs?).

Robert sees what looks like dark red paint on the rocks where Louis directed him. "That sure looks like blood, a lot of it. Wasn't that the place the sniper was hiding?"

Robert takes the spyglass and carefully focuses on the spot on the rock. "You're right.  It could be a head shot or a trick.  Cover me and I'll make my way to flank that spot.  If he's dead then good... if he's still hiding then we flush him out."

Time: 1415

Robert takes six steps out of cover, and then something slams into his right hip, sending him sprawling in the dust! A boom from somewhere to his right is counterpointed a heartbeat later by Louis' rifle shot.

A moment later, she is at his side, crouching next to him. "Come back with me, Robert!" His right hip feels like he's been kicked by a horse.

Robert groans as he is hit and attempts to roll into at least somewhat better cover.  He lays back and immediately tries to apply pressure to his hip. "Ahhh... damn... did you get him Louis?"

"I did," Louis huffs as she drags him back into cover. Between the pair of them, they determine that Robert's Webley died in the line of duty, taking a heavy lead bullet directly to the cylinder. Between the weapon's bulk and the tough holster leather behind it, the bullet didn't make it though to Robert's hip, but caromed off the cylinder and out through the holster's back. The Webley's cylinder is shattered, and the upper frame is twisted at the takedown latch. It will need the services of a gunsmith to make good of it.

It takes them five minutes to determine that Robert isn't bleeding, and nothing is broken, but his hip is badly bruised. Louis' smile is a bit tremulous, and her eyes are moist. "We have at least one more shooter, on that hill to the northwest. Can you still walk?"

Time: 1420
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:52, Sat 13 June 2020.

Robert was expecting to bleed out on the Martian desert.  When it seemed that his pistol had given it's all for him he sighed with relief.  Pulling Louis to him he hugged her and then kissed her passionately.  Robert pulled back from the kiss quickly but held her.  He looked down at the damaged gun.  "I'll be limping and that bruise will be with me for quite a while.  Let's take the pistol back with us; it deserves to be fixed."  Robert shook his head.  "It's supposed to be a bible or whiskey flask that stops the bullet but a pistol is appropriate."

He hugged her again and peered off to the northwest.  "They won't know that we took out their comrade.  We can skirt that way to make an approach to the last shooter." 
This message was last edited by the player at 03:08, Mon 15 June 2020.

Louis laughs in relief and returns his kisses and hug. "Let's go get him, and hope that's the last one. I wonder where the navy is, maybe we should use the other rocket."

When Robert looks toward the northwest sniper's last known hide, he spies a bit of crimson cloth among the rocks, and then he sees a gun barrel reflect the light as the sniper moves.

Time: 1421

Robert shakes his head. "We need to deal with this threat first before firing the rocket.  He'll just pick us off."  He stiffens and points as the gun barrel flashes.  "There, the red cloth and rifle.  He's moving off, let's circle around behind him."

"Do we go west, or south?"

"Let's go south and work our way around.  It will be less direct but more effective I think."

From their vantage point, the southern sniper hide is 250 yards away, and only the middle 100 yards has cover. The western sniper hide is 200 yards away, and all of that is open ground. From his hide to the northwest, the sniper can cover the entire area.

"Maybe one of us can stay here and watch?"Louis asks.

Robert shakes his head.  "If we go back around to the west will we have more cover?  This seems suicide."