Play@YSDC

"Shit - where's that fire coming from private?!"

Eric darts into the undergrowth, but it's hard for a man his size to disappear. Fortunately, nobody seems to have noticed him.

Sarge turns around at the gun fire and trips over a fallen branch just as the enemy force exits the tree line from the direction the squad is moving towards.

The squad of The Walking Dead hear and spot between 7-12 black clad troops in flat rice hats carrying rifles running at high speed intent on crossing the dry river bed. Both Berkoviz and White feel they remain unnoticed by pure luck.

Luck, Sarge:

Luck: "Light 'em up boys!" Sarge hisses through gritted teeth. If he feels he can do it unnoticed, he will draw his sidearm now that he dropped his M-16.

"Oh God, oh God, oh God," James whimpers as he scrambles into the brush. By some miracle, he manages to shut up and stay down.

OOC,:shock:

The foliage swallows Beckett as he goes invisible. Drawing the sidearm goes by automotion, adrenaline pumping, making anything seem possible.

Further ahead, Mullins gets into cover, as smoothly as a refridgerator. Lyckily, at the same time one of the NVA soldiers trips and shouts out in surprise and anger.

Mullins stays low for a good fifteen seconds, then crawls out of hiding, signalling to move on.

Those two encounters with fate, lifts the spirits of the squad as they move closer to the designated hill and it´s settlements.

Mullins squats by a large stone block and whispers, "Most likely those men who sneaked past us came from here. The first shed is along that path.", he points at a small path laid with wooden boards. "I go first, with one of you. The rest of you keep our backs free. We need two minutes - then come after. We´ll secure the first shed and plan where to go next."

Eric knows better than to volunteer for anything. Besides, he needs to stay with Sam Hobbes, as he's toting around his ammo.

Fired up by adrenaline and a desire to be accepted by the squad, Berkowitz speaks up...

"I'll go along to secure that first shed..."

But, as the words leave his mouth, he begins to have second doubts, based on the lack of volunteering by his fellow platoon mates. Berkowitz considers the squad demolitions pack, wondering if he should attempt to pawn it off for the time being, but thinks better of it, considering he has the most know-how....

Berkowitz resigns himself to his fate...

" 'Kay Sarge. Ready when you are."

"Fall in.", Mullins says as he moves past the sheltering boulder and up the path to the first shed.

Mullins and Berkoviz, continue over here!

The rest of The Walking Dead, continue in this thread.

Protect the block-

Sarge, Whitehouse, Hobbes and Beckett take positions to keep the perimeter of the path, large boulder and the small clearing in the dense jungle. The tree line on the north side of the clearing is too dense to pass without difficulty.

The clearing lies to the east side of the path leading from the south northward. The clearing could fit two trucks side by side. The boulder is three times three meters. (10 x10 feet)
Visibility in the jungle is five meters due to the density and the rain that´s still only a drizzle. The points of defense are the following: Covering the path from the west - in cover of the block, bird´s eye Watch from top of the boulder - in a South / South west direction (North and east have higher trees and are no option), cover from the east side of the block to defend against enemies entering the clearing from the south and the east, one option is to send an observer to the river bed to scout for the troops who might be returning - giving at least 100 meters of headway to return and report on the incoming troops, disregard the orders and follow Mullins and Berkowiz at a distance as they most likely will need support... or climb the trees and survey from above.
Obvously other tactics are available, at your own imagination.

Your grid, according to the maps Sarge is handling as well as the radio are B4 111.

"I'll take the position on top of the boulder," says Eric. "I've got my binocs and good eyesight."

Whitehouse gets up on the boulder and scans the south edge of the clearing and tries to make something out through the trees. Below, Beckett and Hobbes make sure Whitehouse don´t have a mishap and damages the core´s equipment by falling down. All the while, Sarge keeps his M16 ready at the path coming from the south.

Listen rolls:

Eric hears something as he moves into position.

With a newfound spike of confidence due to his hiding skills, James considers the path with a clear head. How long has it been since Berkowitz and Mullins left? The jungle feels a little emptier without them.

He knows better than to say anything, though. Just keeps his mouth shut and his ears... also pretty shut.

The dripping from the tree tops, the drizzle has been collected on the larger leaves and an occational downpour splashes next to Hobbes , this drizzle make time hard to gauge.
Checking his wristwatch he finds no more than the two minutes assigned to guard duty have passed.

Just made it.,[url]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3489009/[/url]

"Somebody get to the top of the boulder and check for better visibility."

Sarge:

From on top of the boulder, Whitehouse looks down at the sergeant, binoculars in hand.

Whitehouse lookout:

Eric looks around in all directions through his binoculars. "I can't see anything much, Sarge," he replies, "but I did hear a muffled scream to the north. Maybe our guys took out one of the enemy quietly."

Having stayed by the block for just about two minutes it´s time to exit the clearing. All seems quiet as the squad starts after Mullins and Berkowiz. In the drizzle the boards covering the path have become slightly slippery.

As the squad get to the first building, at the crest of an uphill climb, a small cottage with a single window facing down the path can be seen. A wooden chime can be heard from the village. From their current position the squad can also see the roof tops of some of the other buildings.

There´s no sign of either Mullins or Berkowiz.

On this slippery planked path, it strikes the team what their situation is. One small squad, in a large jungle - filled with an opposing force many times as large as their own combined forces. Fighting for what? A hill?
Gathering information?
Surviving?
The people here probably do need their help, but ut doesn´t feel like it´s worth the trouble.
The state of shambles, the Khe Sanh battle camp are at shows that this spot is in no way a high priority location. If it were, there should be more troops and be located at an more advantegous spot.