My 2013 campaign started....first log entry

[stg58fal]

Finally, after far too many delays, my 2013 campaign kicked off. Here's to hoping no unforeseen badness happens to muck that up.

I decided to start them prior to the President's 04 July message. 14 May, 2013 to be exact. Figure I'll give them a little time to get used to the system, operate as part of a larger unit, etc., then play the POTUS "You're on your own" card on them.

A little bit of background...

Started them in St. Petersburg, Russia. The unit they're with was part of one of the last offensives that NATO could mount. They were to secure a beachhead so that a follow-on force could be landed; said force would then continue the drive to Moscow and end the war. Only it never worked out that way.

Most of the supplies and equipment for the follow-on force arrived, but the troops never did. After weeks without seeing one reinforcement, and getting only excuses and "We'll get to you....soon" from his superiors (when he could communicate with them at all), the commander of the task force the PC's are part of decided since this was going to be their new home for the foreseeable future, they'd do what they could to make it as good a home as they could. Since they had supplies, fuel, ammo, etc., for a unit roughly 3 times their size, sharing with the population of the city was possible. And what better way to improve relations between the military and civilians?

Anyway, that was the real condensed version. If anyone is really that curious, I can provide more.

Characters:

1LT Libby Reed, US Army: Recalled to active duty. She's a good mechanic, and a fair shot with a rifle. Not so great with people, and not happy about being in a leadership position. Played by my girlfriend.

1LT Erik McCreedy, US Army: A doctor that really doesn't like people. Why he became a doctor is beyond me, but hey, whatever. He's a very skilled doctor, and has some people skills (strangely enough), but is next to useless in a fight (no Longarm skill, and his Sidearm skill is one small step from nonexistent). Played by my younger brother.

I can't remember the names of the other characters, but here's the gist of them:

One is a Spec4, US Army, military police. From Louisiana, he's barely understandable to other Americans (the languages he took are Creole and Spanish), forget the Russians understanding him. Played by a friend and fellow gaming group member from way back when I was in high school.

Another Spec4, US Army, SpecOps (by way of the combat engineers). A former NFL linebacker, he joined the army after only a couple years in the NFL, due to a "misunderstanding" involving a great deal of physical violence on the field. Played by another friend from high school.

A PFC, US Army, also military police. A small-time crook from Los Angeles, he joined the army to straighten his life out. Ended up invading Russia. Played by the above player's brother, who I also gamed with some in high school.

I really like the Twilight Later Days blog, so I decided to bribe my players into doing something similar. In addition to the regular rules for skill advancement, I added generic Experience Points that can be used to improve skills (attributes, too, but damn is it expensive). And one of the ways I told them they could get XPs is to write a summary after our sessions. Basically, tell the story, like what you'd see in a blog or a novel.

Yes, I'm lazy, and would rather let the players write it for me. LOL

My girlfriend is one of my players, and she wrote a summary for the first session. If anyone else writes something, I'll make additions from that person's viewpoint.

And now, without further ado....

[stg58fal]

Tuesday, May 14, 2013
St . Petersburg, Russia
1LT L. Reed, US Army

Hell can take this whole decaying city with my blessing. Every day comrades become hurt, missing, or dead, and I see Death looming closer with every breath this cesspool takes. I do not belong here. My squad (even the doctor, Dr. Erik McCreedy, who has been recruited as a medic) continues to speak in a language I cannot even begin to comprehend. They speak in terms of bullets and blood, while I long to return to my quiet world of engines and wrenches. I see no end to the war, and I have no idea when I will be free to finally find my family again. I have had no word in over a year, and my prayers seem to be bouncing off a glass wall between Heaven and Earth.

I find myself with an unwanted promotion to commanding officer to my small squad, the previous officer having entered into whatever afterlife he believed in. On top of the unwanted responsibility, we were briefed on a mission today. Apparently the locals have become restless despite the good relations (in general) between them and us. They are acquiring guns (AK’s to be exact) and turning them on us. My squad was given a sector of the city to search and question with permission to retaliate should anyone open fire on us.

Our small squad of seven plus one interpreter left shortly after the briefing. After denying the doctor driving privileges to the Humvee (I’m fairly certain the man has never even driven a Dodge in the course of his life), and with the grunts taking point, we soon arrived in our sector. We were able to score some information through the doctor as he treated several of the locals. I’ll never understand why he chose a profession in which he treats the illness of others. He doesn’t seem to like people at all.

We were directed to a farm a few blocks away owned by Dimitri Korokov. Mr. Korokov had apparently dealt personally with the rebels after some trouble on his land. We arrived at the Korokov farm to find an incredibly old and sarcastic Russian man. He seemed to find our questioning both amusing and annoying. The cynical farmer even went so far as to believe he could take on the rebels with what looked like an antiquated firearm.

While several of us questioned Mr. Korokov, the rest of the team ran a sweep of his farm. They spotted movement across the street in an abandoned house that looked as if a strong wind would tumble the whole thing down. After some deliberation, the doctor and I were set up as a distraction. The doctor promptly tried driving off with the humvee, and it took almost more self control than I possess to not club the man with the butt of my H&K. Several of our team in the meantime, swung around to the back of the house. What felt like an eternity passed as I tried not to imagine my men being found and shot, before shots could be heard from the house. Shouts soon told us that our people were ok and had the situation under control. Leaving Ramirez in charge of the humvee, McCreedy and I jogged over to find they had captured a Russian deserter. Sgt Gregor Kruschev did not seem to possess much information in regards to the enemy even after a few knocks with the butt of my machine gunner’s stock. I gritted my teeth at the treatment, but it seemed to make Kruschev talk so I let it go this once. Denying my squad the chance to beat the poor man (who seemed hungry, exhausted, and scared), I bound his hands and feet with duct tape.

I never bought into the Treat-Your-Enemies-Like-Mud sort of mentality. Kruschev was bundled into the back of the humvee and we headed to a security checkpoint to drop him off so the higher ups could question him more fully. My squad seemed appalled by this idea and called for his death or torture on the spot. Blood and bullets…

Before we could reach the checkpoint, we were opened fire upon by a sniper hidden away in an abandoned apartment building. Naturally my squad runs right in to confront the sniper. We had no idea how many of the enemy there were, and they certainly had the advantage with knowing where we were. I tried to drive out, but the humvee was shot, causing engine damage. We also lost our interpreter, one more man who won’t draw breath because of this curse of a war.

My squad was quickly out of my sight. I could only hope and pray they kept each other alive. I cut the tape around Kruschev’s ankles. I got him behind the vehicle, wanting him to stay alive because of the information he may carry, and then radioed in our predicament. Reinforcements were on the way, but it would be several minutes before they could arrive. I watched the street, and surrounding buildings as the sound of gunfire ripped through the air. I saw several Russians drop as my men swept through the building. Movement in the corner of my eye alerted me to a Russian sneaking behind me. He hadn’t noticed me yet, and with a short burst of fire from my H&K his knee gave out and he dropped. I felt sick at the sound of lead hitting bone, but my men were more important than my immediate comfort. A few seconds later and all gunfire ended.

We had escaped unscathed. They brought a Russian down with them, one who had surrendered, and McCreedy was able to stabilize the one I dealt with. Hopefully with the three Russians, HQ would find the information they were looking for. For now, the mess is calling. I will finish later.

[Cdnwolf]

Love it...

[mikeo80]

VERY NICE!!!

WELL DONE!!!

Encore!!!!

My $0.02

Mike

[DocSavage45B10]

Good stuff. I believe this LT is a real person.