DAY 15 – MAY 2nd 2000
SW of LUBLINIEC, POLAND – NIGHT
PHASE 5
ALEX looks around once more, then sets his eyes on the BTR, less than thirty meters in front of him, the dark, angled shape tinted green and the wheels emerging from the thick grass.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
ALEX may want to check the BMP he spotted up close; it’s at a short distance, and no guards appear to be in its vicinity. I’ll leave this decision to the die by rolling a D10 (1-5 he stays put, 6-10 he moves for the BTR)
- Roll [D10] = 10 -> his curiosity wins
It’s now or never, he thinks, and starts crawling towards the vehicle.
He proceeds methodically, advancing slowly in the tall grass, his noise covered by the crackling of the fire, until he reaches the front of the vehicle. There is enough clearance from the ground to look at each side and determine there is no one around it.
The grass under the hull is shorter, and there are no wheel signs on the ground in front or behind the tires, indicating the vehicle hasn’t been moved in a while. ALEX can see two large cables departing from the back, and decides to investigate further.
He keeps crawling right under the vehicle and reaches the engine compartment. The small service access is closed, but two thick cables depart from the back section, fall onto the ground, and proceed to the right, past the depot.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
By crawling to the back of the vehicle, ALEX is now within visual range of the soldiers manning the passage to the South, though outside the area lit by the small fire. Time for an opposite RECON roll between ALEX and the sentinel in the guard tower who hasn’t been spotted yet. All three guards have the same combination of INT and RECON, but the guard in the tower has a higher chance of spotting ALEX.
ALEX rolls with a +1 for his clothes.
The sentinel (INT C and RECON C) rolls with -2 for starlit night and +1 for his elevated position.
- ALEX rolls RECON [D10+D10] = 2 SUCCESSES (rolled double 6)
- The SENTINEL rolls RECON [D8+D6] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 6 and 2)
ALEX remains unseen.
[Remember: in an opposite RECON roll to remain unnoticed, a draw results in detection]
ALEX decides he has seen enough, and starts moving back, retracing his steps.
PHASE 6
ALEX re-joins his comrades and reports on his findings:
- The office building has an entrance on the fire’s side
- There is a (probably) artificial light coming from a window on the first floor, likely indicating the presence of someone
- On the same floor is a window with bars, as anticipated by BIANKA
- The BTR-60 comms vehicle is positioned next to the depot, it appears unmanned, in good conditions from the outside, and there are cables departing from its engine compartment
LED suspects they are using the BTR engine as a generator; question is what for, since they are not running it now, in pitch darkness. His best bet is they are either low of out of fuel.
BIANKA confirms that in previous recon she has seen the BTR, always in the same position, never with its engine on.
“What now?” asks ALEX.
“We wait for the foot patrol to show up, and we move for the office building. Problem is: the door is in plain sight, at least from the guard tower to the South”
“There could be another door on the other side” suggests ALEX.
“That would be ideal, or a window on the ground floor, facing the other building; ask her” says LED.
ALEX asks BIANKA in Polish, and she confirms both buildings have another door on the far side, but she has always seen them closed, day and night. As for the windows, she cannot tell.
“In order to stay undetected, we need to go around the barracks, so we’ll see”
BIANKA is informed of the plan, then starts the waiting.
PHASE 7
It takes over an hour of waiting before something happens. Being inactive and stationary this long, right before you need to commit to an operation such as the one the group is about to face, can be quite stressful.
Your mind starts to reconsider every detail, every choice, every possibility, and inevitably you wonder whether there is a better way, a better course of action. Eventually, you start doubting everything you have set your mind on.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
I think a roll is in order to see whether LED or ALEX get a stress point. Time for an EMP check:
- LED rolls [D10] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 8)
- ALEX rolls [D10] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled 4)
LED has experience in navigating the calm before the action, and can keep focus without overburdening his mind. ALEX feels the pressure mounting, and gains a stress point.
I didn’t bother rolling for BIANKA at this point.
Eventually two figures get out of the ground door of the office building; one turns in the alley between the buildings and takes a leak, the other moves to the fire, grabs some branches from one of the stacks and tosses them into the container, fueling the fire.
ALEX alert the other with a whistle and they observe the two men reunite next to the fire, spend a few minutes there, then moving towards the sentinels to the South.
One of the soldiers in in Russian fatigues, with no helmet, the other appears to have civilian clothing and wears a beanie. They both have assault rifles slinged on their back, and carry dark objects akin to batons.
The first patrol the group observed from outside the base did its round counter-clockwise, so LED has ALEX ask BIANKA if they alternate verses. She says they sometimes change during the day, but never during the night.
“Bad habit” comments LED.
ALEX turns “ready? Gotowy?”
Both LED and BIANKA tap his shoulder.
Everybody takes a deep breath, and the trio start moving along the outer side of the dirt berm, darkness all around them, and the stars above.
PHASE 8
First step is to wait for the guard on the roof to move away from the side facing the fire, continuing his round. ALEX moves up, the roof now at the edge of his visibility, LED and BIANKA a few meters behind.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
Once again, ALEX and the SENTINEL on the roof are at the edge of each other’s visibility range. I purposely left LED and BIANKA behind, so they wouldn’t factor in the opposite RECON roll. Modifier are as for the previous roll (ALEX has +2, the SENTINEL has -1):
- ALEX rolls [D12+D10] = 3 SUCCESSES (rolled 9 and 10)
- SENTINEL rolls [D8+D6] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled double 2)
The SENTINEL is really lazing on the job…
The sentinel lingers for a while, then proceeds distractedly along the roof, stops briefly at the N-E corner, and turns it, disappearing into darkness.
ALEX turns and whistles quietly, ten seconds later LED and BIANKA are right behind him, and the trio moves along the fence, past the guard tower and the gate.
The two halves of the main gate are kept shut wide a thick metal chain, secured in place by a lock.
They reach the barracks, crouch right under the ground floor windows on the Northern side, and remain silent, listening to any noise that may alert them of enemy presence.
Beside the crackling of the fire just around the corner, they can distinctly hear someone snoring, one floor above them.
After ten seconds, LED taps ALEX shoulder, and the night march resumes.
The PATROL [click to expand]
THE PATROL
The enemy duo patrolling the fence has started its round. I’m tracking their progression in parallel with the movement of the inside team, and assuming (or house-ruling) the patrol moves a bit slower than the players. Their job is to check the fence meter by meter, and that should slow them down. I’m also establishing (again, house-ruling) a 10% chance (1 on a D10) for each phase that they will stop briefly to check something, maybe probe the fence with their hands or something.
Current phase:
- Roll [D10] = 6 -> nothing noteworthy
