[kcdusk]

Day 4 Morning
The day started earlier than expected for Geddes. A light patter turned into a constant thrumming of rain on the canvas above his head. While cold outside, Geddes was comfortably warm in his bivvy. Growing up outdoors had its advantages, and sleeping rough was enjoyable rather than a chore. The protection of his bivvy from the rain a relief and he felt safe. The rain was also likely to keep any wandering people bunkered down, so he was able to drift off to sleep unworried.

Waking up in the morning, the rain had lessened but was still a constant drizzle. The hard part was getting dressed without putting a foot in the mud and contaminating his sleep wear with dirt! Still, today Geddes expected to reach the village which might mean sleeping under a roof for the first time in days. From there he expected to leave the safety of Ukraine and enter what was expected to be a heavily contested area.

Hiking through misty rain enabled Geddes to clear his mind and take in his surroundings as he marched on. Expected landmarks came and went routinely. With only a few kilometres to go, Geddes began tracking slowly through some dense woods where he thought the village would be on the other side. He was careful on his approach, not being sure of what kind of welcome would await him.

The village can now be seen not far away in the distance. Stone buildings, mainly single story with a few scattered two story buildings. Lots of people going about their day in a routine way. The village looked calm, peaceful. After watching for a short distance away, it becomes obvious that the village receives many visitors. It looks like this is some kind of meeting place, a popular place for trading given all the horses, carts and trucks coming and going (the trading post was a characteristic rolled randomly from a list in the referees manual. The list is quite long and could provide any place with some character, that could be beneficial or a detriment to a character. I like its possibilities).

There was a string of power lines entering the village, but there were a number of poles laying down in a field, indicating the power had been cut, potentially from artillery or sabotage (again this was the result of a die roll that added a touch of character that could be played on).

Entering the village Geddes felt exposed, he had been travelling by foot for days. He smelt. Despite best efforts he was quite dirty. Hell, he was carring a FAL over his shoulder! Yet no one glanced at him.

As well as being a trading centre, the village was a collection point for “United Nations” soldiers. No, this didn’t make it an official UN operation. In fact it was the opposite, all kinds of wanna-be soldiers had travelled to many towns looking to fight the opposition. In reality it was nothing more than soldiers of fortune types, some ex-military looking to sign on for a final tour, some extreme tourists looking for a thrill. Geddes didn’t know what type he represented, but he now knew he had found the right place.

Geddes asks a military looking type where the muster point was, and headed over to determine his next steps.

Geddes having his own weapon (a FAL) on display meant he was able to bypass some of the initial discussions with new recruits. He was soon standing in front of an officer who would decide his next movements.

“You are a trained soldier?” asked a heavily bearded man. Looking Geddes muddy appearance over, FAL held relaxed at his side.

“yes”, replied Geddes.

His answer hung in the air. The silence dragging on. Still no one took the initiative.

“well, it seems you have had many experiences” replied the officer. “Normally people applying to go to the front line talk too much, are bragging of their kills and destruction. Not you though. You are quiet. Respectful. I think you have actually done these things for real”.

Geddes gently lowered his head indicating “yes”.

The officer points with his chin towards a tent off to the side indicating “that way”.

Geddes nods again.

(a series of rolls for the attitude of the village, and then primary and secondary motivation cards saw Geddes meet with an officer who would decide his fate. I decided Geddes fate in this case would be decided more by the results of the Officer who he was meeting with rather than Geddes interpersonal skills.
The two cards I drew indicted a reluctant helpfulness followed by helpful. This lead to the small amount of role play above.)

Geddes was received and processed reasonably quickly the next day. The war was expected to kick off very soon, and while the village seemed to be overflowing with soldiers (amateur and national), no doubt this surplus would change once (if) (no, unfortunately, once) the war began.

Given his experience and skills, Geddes was provided with an RPG and a location to travel to the next day, where tanks were expected to traverse. Geddes load out included two rockets. "Do your best".