IC-THRU-Unhappy Landings(USAF Officers/Crew/Reinforcements)
Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 4:45 am
Z-Day - 12:16 PM Mountain Time - Inside the UH-1N helicopter transport:
The cramped United States Air Force helicopter flew low over the flat Nebraska terrain, heading southeast towards its destination. 1st Lt. Alan Curtis and the Security Forces troopers under his command had been evacuated from a missile base in eastern Wyoming less than half an hour ago, but they were not on their way back to Warren Air Force Base. Instead they were being sent to reinforce a key communications position located on I-80 between Kimball and Sidney in southwestern Nebraska. They were nearly there.
Inside the cockpit, Captain Jacob Kennedy and his co-pilot 2nd Lt. Rebecca Doolittle sat strapped into their seats, keeping a careful eye on the horizon ahead and on their instrument panels. The two crewmen, Sergeant Larry Hendrix and Airman Brian Kincaid, manned the twin M-240 machine guns, watching for any sign of hostiles below.
The main compartment carried the full complement of nine people, with extra space being taken up by Airman Joseph King, who was lying on the floor near the cockpit entrance suffering from severe wounds. Airman Amy Janssen, the medic, crouched beside him and observed his shallow breathing. Lt. Curtis, who had been leaning into the cockpit a moment ago, stepped back into the main compartment. He nodded to Janssen. "How's he holding up?" he asked.
"Not well, sir," she replied, rising. "He lapsed into unconsciousness a few minutes ago. At least he isn't feeling the pain now. He was in agony before. It's a good thing we're almost there. Those medical researchers can probably help him a lot more than I can."
"Don't sell yourself short, Airman. You're doing a fine job. I need to talk to you about our destination anyway. To everyone, in fact." He stepped past the wounded man and raised his voice. "Listen up, everybody!"
The men in the compartment all stood at attention and faced their commanding officer. Amy Janssen also walked past the lieutenant and faced him, waiting to hear him speak. In the middle of the compartment stood Airman Frank Hodges, Airman Gordon Cheng, and Airman Greg Applebee. At the rear of the compartment stood the other members of King's fire team: his team leader, Senior Airman Roger Coltrane, as well as Airman Thomas Cole and Airman Luis Mendoza.
Once Curtis was satisfied that he had everyone's undivided attention, he went on. "The communications post we're approaching is inside a motel at a truck stop," he said. "I've just learned that it has been compromised from within. There has been a mutiny and a struggle for command, several people have been killed, and there may be infected people within the facility. I want everyone to be aware that this is a hot LZ. I need all of you to be on the highest alert, and be wary of the people currently there - even our fellow Air Force personnel. Until we can assess the situation on the ground, nobody down there is to be trusted. Our rules of engagement are to fire only upon those persons who are infected, or anyone who fires upon us. Are there any questions?"
(LZ is military jargon for Landing Zone, for anyone who doesn't know. At this point, those of you with characters inside the chopper can feel free to speak or ask questions. Note that the helicopter crew is under the command of Captain Kennedy, not Curtis. They can hear everything that's being said in the main compartment, but they are not the ones he is addressing, are not being deployed to the motel, and are not really supposed to ask him anything at this point.
Also, everyone aboard the helicopter should make a Spot Hidden roll. To do this, make a 1d100 roll on Invisible Castle as explained in the Rules and Guidelines thread. Look up your Spot Hidden score on your character sheet. If you do not have a score listed for it, your skill level is 25%. If you have a Kevlar helmet, your vision is slightly obstructed and you get a -5% penalty to your skill on this roll. This applies to everyone in the USAF Reinforcements group, but not the crew or Curtis. If you have a Kevlar helmet and you do not have Spot Hidden on your character sheet, this means your chance is 20%. I'll let you know what, if anything, you see. Failing the roll doesn't mean you won't see anything, but it will mean you don't see anything that isn't obvious.)
The cramped United States Air Force helicopter flew low over the flat Nebraska terrain, heading southeast towards its destination. 1st Lt. Alan Curtis and the Security Forces troopers under his command had been evacuated from a missile base in eastern Wyoming less than half an hour ago, but they were not on their way back to Warren Air Force Base. Instead they were being sent to reinforce a key communications position located on I-80 between Kimball and Sidney in southwestern Nebraska. They were nearly there.
Inside the cockpit, Captain Jacob Kennedy and his co-pilot 2nd Lt. Rebecca Doolittle sat strapped into their seats, keeping a careful eye on the horizon ahead and on their instrument panels. The two crewmen, Sergeant Larry Hendrix and Airman Brian Kincaid, manned the twin M-240 machine guns, watching for any sign of hostiles below.
The main compartment carried the full complement of nine people, with extra space being taken up by Airman Joseph King, who was lying on the floor near the cockpit entrance suffering from severe wounds. Airman Amy Janssen, the medic, crouched beside him and observed his shallow breathing. Lt. Curtis, who had been leaning into the cockpit a moment ago, stepped back into the main compartment. He nodded to Janssen. "How's he holding up?" he asked.
"Not well, sir," she replied, rising. "He lapsed into unconsciousness a few minutes ago. At least he isn't feeling the pain now. He was in agony before. It's a good thing we're almost there. Those medical researchers can probably help him a lot more than I can."
"Don't sell yourself short, Airman. You're doing a fine job. I need to talk to you about our destination anyway. To everyone, in fact." He stepped past the wounded man and raised his voice. "Listen up, everybody!"
The men in the compartment all stood at attention and faced their commanding officer. Amy Janssen also walked past the lieutenant and faced him, waiting to hear him speak. In the middle of the compartment stood Airman Frank Hodges, Airman Gordon Cheng, and Airman Greg Applebee. At the rear of the compartment stood the other members of King's fire team: his team leader, Senior Airman Roger Coltrane, as well as Airman Thomas Cole and Airman Luis Mendoza.
Once Curtis was satisfied that he had everyone's undivided attention, he went on. "The communications post we're approaching is inside a motel at a truck stop," he said. "I've just learned that it has been compromised from within. There has been a mutiny and a struggle for command, several people have been killed, and there may be infected people within the facility. I want everyone to be aware that this is a hot LZ. I need all of you to be on the highest alert, and be wary of the people currently there - even our fellow Air Force personnel. Until we can assess the situation on the ground, nobody down there is to be trusted. Our rules of engagement are to fire only upon those persons who are infected, or anyone who fires upon us. Are there any questions?"
(LZ is military jargon for Landing Zone, for anyone who doesn't know. At this point, those of you with characters inside the chopper can feel free to speak or ask questions. Note that the helicopter crew is under the command of Captain Kennedy, not Curtis. They can hear everything that's being said in the main compartment, but they are not the ones he is addressing, are not being deployed to the motel, and are not really supposed to ask him anything at this point.
Also, everyone aboard the helicopter should make a Spot Hidden roll. To do this, make a 1d100 roll on Invisible Castle as explained in the Rules and Guidelines thread. Look up your Spot Hidden score on your character sheet. If you do not have a score listed for it, your skill level is 25%. If you have a Kevlar helmet, your vision is slightly obstructed and you get a -5% penalty to your skill on this roll. This applies to everyone in the USAF Reinforcements group, but not the crew or Curtis. If you have a Kevlar helmet and you do not have Spot Hidden on your character sheet, this means your chance is 20%. I'll let you know what, if anything, you see. Failing the roll doesn't mean you won't see anything, but it will mean you don't see anything that isn't obvious.)