DAY 15 – MAY 2nd 2000
SW of LUBLINIEC, POLAND – NIGHT
PHASE 13
LED walks with a deliberate slow pace towards the stairs, tuning out his heart pounding in his chest while making sure the Russian captain closes the distance separating them.
The bathroom is to his right, and the Russian’s steps right behind him. LED slows while turning left for the stairs, his right hand making sure the knife is in its place.
“Davay, dvigaysya, idiot” says the captain. [Russian: come on, move, idiot]
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
It may be a roll too many, but I think one last is needed for this to be a legitimate ambush: an opposite RECON roll to see if the Russian can spot ALEX hiding in the bathroom.
This is effectively a waylaying ambush by ALEX, who gets a -2 to his roll for the minimal distance from his target (they are functionally in the same hex, see page 61 of the Player’s Manual).
- ALEX rolls RECON [D8+D6] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 6 and 2)
He re-rolls the D6, hoping to get a second success:
- ALEX push-rolls [1 SUCCESS + D6] = 2 SUCCESSES (6 on the D6!!)
Captain SMIRNOV (INT B, RECON C) rolls with a -2 for the dim light. I thought about another -1 for LED keeping him distracted, but ultimately I didn’t go for it.
- SMIRNOV rolls RECON [D8+D6] = 1 SUCCESS (rolled 8 and 4)
Good thing ALEX pushed his roll…
SMIRNOV is in for a surprise. For the upcoming ambush, ALEX will take first place in the initiative order, LED will go second and SMIRNOV will be last.
HINDSIGHT: ALEX could have decided to push after SMIRNOV’s roll.
His mark is now in between him and the bathroom, LED stops “ser, vy znayete, kuda nam sleduyet poyti v pervuyu ochered’?” he says. [Russian: sir, you know where we should go first?]
“Gde?” asks the Russian, his patience obviously running thin. [Russian: where?]
LED turns, his knife already in his hand “Mexico”
ALEX’S ATTACK ROLL [click to expand]
Player’s Manual, page 60: An ambush in the same hex as the target (no matter if it’s in close or ranged combat) gets a +3 modifier. Also, your target cannot block an ambush attack.
ALEX (STR B, CLOSE COMBAT C) lounges at SMIRNOV brandishing his knife; he sees the Russian is wearing his flak jacket and goes for the neck. It’s an aimed blow, meaning -2 to ALEX’s roll. Final modifier for the attack is +1:
- ALEX rolls CLOSE COMBAT [D10+D10] = 0 SUCCESSES (rolled double 1…)
Well… s**t
HINDSIGHT: I wonder whether I should have applied the bonus for unaware target (+3)
In a split-second ALEX emerges from the shadows, sees the Russian man, his figure turned and painted green by the NVGs, and lounges forward with his knife ready to strike.
At the last moment though, he sees the flak vest worn by the man, and tries to correct his attack, but misjudges his distance and ends up crashing against the Russian. His momentum almost carries ALEX to the floor, but he stops before the fall; his knife only hitting the air.
LED sees the enemy captain lean forward as ALEX bumps into his back, and attacks with his knife.
LED’S ATTACK ROLL [click to expand]
LED (STR B, CLOSE COMBAT D) gets the same ambushing modifier (+3):
- LED rolls CLOSE COMBAT [D12+D10] = 2 SUCCESSES (rolled 8 and 7)
- Hit Location Die = LEGS
This roll saves the situation: SMIRNOV suffers 2 base damage points + 1 for the extra success, for a total of 3 damage points (no armor protecting his legs), which is critical for a knife, and kills him (simplified rules for NPCs).
Hard for me to imagine a knife wound to the leg causing instant death, so I’ll portray him as dying (also, as passed out from the shock. The players have earned it).
LED thrusts his knife forward, the blade pointed forward as high as his waist. The knife meets its target, LED feels it penetrating skin and muscles until it finds a bone.
Captain SMIRNOV emits a moan of pain, and falls against LED, who accompanies the body to the ground.
He and ALEX exchange a quick nod to confirm they are okay, then LED checks the Russian: he is unconscious, but bleeding profusely from his leg. LED’s blade found the artery; he won’t last long.
LED’S ATTACK ROLL [click to expand]
There is, technically, a chance that the guard on top of the barracks could see the body through the adjacent window. Let’s say 5%, same as before.
- Roll [D100] = 49 -> the guard is not looking down, not this way at least
Russian towards the center of the floor, out of sight from the sentinel on the roof of the barracks.
The two men stop briefly, looking at each other while taking deep breaths. No time to discuss their thoughts, their job is not done yet. LED strips the Russian of his pistol, ammo, and searches him without finding anything else.
WITH the EYES of the REFEREE [click to expand]
At this point I took a brief pause to consider whether LED and ALEX would leave the Russian prisoner there, just bleeding on the floor, or do something.
I ultimately decided LED would patch him up as much as possible given the circumstances (ALEX is in a small measure of shock given his poor performance in the assault on the Russian, and I portrayed his thoughts as fractionally slower than his comrade’s).
The duo looks at the wounded man and the expanding dark pool around his waist. LED is quick to act, he takes the Russian’s belt and tightens it around the wounded leg, as high as possible on it, like a torniquet.
LED sees ALEX is still there, probably wondering how he can help; he points two fingers at his eyes, then circles one in the air. ALEX nods and checks the rest of the floor on this side. Nobody in sight, and the stairs leading up are quiet as well.
The Eastern corner seems to host an armory of sort: assault rifles (mostly AK-74s) are lined up against the wall, there are containers of magazines, three PM Makarov pistols with ammo, one RPG-7, and RPK and a few belts of ammo, a handful of frag grenades, steel helmets and an assortment of melee weapons.
The area where the Soviet captain was sitting is as LED saw it, but in the corner he couldn’t see there is a radio. A Soviet-made R-392A model consisting of a main body with the battery at the bottom and a dial for the frequency on top (with 6 presets), connecting to a device meant to be operated with one hand, where the triggers for transmitting audio and morse code are located, and a single headphone-microphone combination, with a strap to wear it on your head. By the radio is another base with a hand-crank, for using the radio without the battery. It is now turned off, but judging by its state and position, appears to be functional.
Past the desk the captain was sitting at is a metal door closed by a metal bolt blocked by a lock, and at the height of the eyes is a rectangular hole covered by a sliding metal plate.
ALEX reaches it and slides the metal plate looking inside: it’s a small room with a bed opposite the door. A man is sitting on the bed, probably alerted by the commotion between the Russian captain and its ‘subordinate’. The man straightens up as he sees the pair of NVGs looking at him.
“Kapitan WALICH?” asks ALEX in a whisper.
“Tak” is the suspicious response.
LED has used his medkit and placed sterile gauzes on the wound, wrapping it as tight as possible with bandages. A box under the Russian’s feet to raise his legs completes the very basic assistance, then LED joins ALEX at the metal door.
ALEX turns to LED and points at the door, then gives a thumbs up.
LED gets his mouth close to the comrade’s ear “all clear, I’ll get BIANKA for confirmation, start working on the lock”
ALEX nods and gets the set of lockpicks from his pocket.
“Kim jesteś?” asks the prisoner from behind the door?
“Shhh” says ALEX “na razie siedź cicho”
LED leaves ALEX’s AK-74 against the wall next to his comrade, recovers his M4 and helmet, and moves to the stairs leading to ground floor.
The PATROL [click to expand]
Roll for the patrol:
- Roll[D10] = 9 -> the patrol proceeds
