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Old 06-14-2022, 03:19 PM
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Raellus Raellus is online now
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Default Encounter 1

"The truth is of course that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time." -David Bowie


July 18th, 2000
Somewhere southeast of Kalisz, Poland



“Stop!” Bird shouts, his normally flat Wyoming twang pitched slightly higher than usual.

Standing in the SKOT commander’s position, the team marksman points out an olive drab disc, about the size of a pie plate, nestled snuggly in a pothole less than 10m from the blunt nose of the former Polish Army 8x APC.

“Shit,” Grease mutters from the driver’s seat, the expletive steeped in a briny mix of frustration and relief.

Pole Position, the afore mentioned SKOT-1, six months in the service of the US 5th Infantry Division, Mechanized (aka, the Red Diamond), had been rolling roughly southeast along on a two-lane hard top when the team’s best lookout (Bird) spotted the first mine.

“Dismount,” Sarge orders. “Form a perimeter and WATCH. YOUR. STEP.” The grizzled former US Army Ranger knows that proper anti-tank minefields always include a smattering of anti-personnel mines to make it harder on the opposition's combat engineers.

The dismounts scan the surrounds, a small, shelled-out light industrial complex, roughly 25 klicks southeast of Kalisz, Poland, looking for enemy positions. As Sarge has explained before, minefields are only truly effective obstacles if covered by fire. It’s only pedantic if it doesn't save your life.

“Looks like Ivan set it and forget it,” Honeybear quips, breaking the tension. There’s no sign of enemy troops still in the area.

“Forward or back?” Sarge asks. The crackle and pop of gunfire can be heard over the SKOT’s idling engine. It sounds like its coming from somewhere off to the northwest, the way they’ve just come, and it’s a bit louder now than it was the last time anyone stopped to think about it.

“What do you think?” Captain Walker asks. Six months ago, she was still in the rear with the gear.

“I think Ivan’s stretched pretty thin. They can’t cover all the roads, so they left these mines here and set up shop someplace else,” Sarge answers. The grey stubble on his chin and the Ranger tab perched over the subdued 5th ID diamond on his left shoulder indicate that he's got a good idea what he's talking about.

Captain Walker's quiet for a few seconds. "Okay, let's keep moving."

The dismounts walk ahead of Pole Position sweeping for mines. Grease does an expert job of moving around those that are spotted. Those that can’t be avoided are carefully lifted and moved out of the way. It’s slow going and nerve-wracking work. Fortunately, the minefield is only about 30m deep. Clear of the danger, the dismounts climb back aboard their armored bus and Pole Position picks up speed.


Ref Notes:

This was the Watch Your Step encounter from the random encounter deck. I needed to push once during the transit of the minefield. I forgot to roll for the day's weather.

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Last edited by Raellus; 07-15-2023 at 11:34 AM.
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