Play@YSDC

The rain keeps drizzling down. Along the boards on the path, the two marines move on leaving their comrades in the clearing. After a couple of turns and twists of the path they come upon a shed being the South edge of a small village. From their survey point at a low Point of gravity, they see the roofs of nine or ten sheds further along the path. This being the higher point of the area, at the crest of an uphill climp, the shed would make a good Place to keep lookout. Mullins leaves the path before the two reaches the top, still knife in hand. He is quickly swallowed by the green.

The only thing facing the South direction is a small glass less window. A wooden chime can be heard from somewhere in the village. No sign of anyone living in the village can be made from this location.

Berkowiz waits on the path, covering the window and the ridge of the path. The chime rattles to the ground and all is quiet.
A noise comes from the shed, followed by something moving inside the shed. The movement is ended by a scream of anger. The voice is of a man and most certainly not Sgt Mullins´.
The scream abruptly changes in to a gurgle.
The chime is audible again.

Berkowitz is uneasy. He wants to call out to Mullins but thinks better of it....besides his mouth is ridiculously dry, despite the humidity and weather, and he is unsure of what is happening in the shed...

Better stay quiet...don't want to make myself out to the enemy...

Berkowitz begins to slowly step towards the window of the shed to take a look. He keeps his M16 at shoulder height, sighted and ready but slowly moving it back and forth from the window to the ridge of the path then back again...

Sneaking up to the window, Berkowiz sees Mullins pull out his combat knife from the neck of a vietnamese farmer. Beside the farmer´s cot a rifle is leaning. Mullins slowly glances in Berkowiz´ direction. He raises Three fingers and motions to Tobias to join him.

Berkowitz is relieved to see Mullins alive. He quickly and cautiously enters the shed to join him...

"What's the plan now, sarge?" Tobias whispers.

Having pulled out the knife, Mullins turns back to the dead farmer and kneels by his side. He works on him for a bit and uses the knife to cut something off. He tucks something reddish to his belt and turns to Tobias.
"We go from one side each. I take the left side, and you and the others take the right."
He rummages through a pile of papers on a table next to the bed. Then he joins Berkowiz at the door.
He seems quite excited by the job so far.
Mullins points at the lyaout of the small village of ten sheds, barely worth being called houses and whispers. "The Three larger buildings to the left are likely gathering halls and social sites. The six to the right looks like sleeping cottages like this one. Wait for the others and join me at the middle of the Three larger buildings. Make sure you secure all houses. We don´t want anyone alarming the VC. And we are finding their hideout" He eyes Tobias, "Understand, private?"

As far as Tobias can see, there are no activity in the village. Most certainly the villagers are hiding, or they had already met them running past at the river bed. Another thing that bothers Berkowiz is the first squad sent to this hill. Had they been here already or will they arrive anytime soon?
From the tales he´s heard from friends coming back from tours, the actions of others played a larger role in the events than the actions they themselves had taken.
Like in life itself, no matter how good a driver you are - there are Always a schmuck who drives intoxicated and brings death to the highway of life.

"Yes, Sir! Understood sir!" Berkowitz takes his place by the door to await the rest of the squad then take the sheds on the right, meeting in the middle building on the left....

"While I wait, should I take out any hostiles I sight or are you doing this on the down-low?"

Berkowitz is in awe of Mullin's killer instinct and determination....

"Just make sure they don´t escape. Use whatever force you need, Prisoners, sure. Bring them to me in the middle shed." He then leaves the shed and disappears to the left.

"Yes, sir!"

Berkowitz takes a position by the door with his M16, eyeing up the path to the village but also checking back for the rest of the squad...

Tobias scans the village, all nine remaining sheds. Seeing no apparent movement he also starts checking the treeline and the rising hill beyond, scattered with trees.

Rolls: Having scouted the premise, he peeks around the corner after having shown two fingers doing the v-sign before popping his head out. Better lose a finger than something else, right?

From down the path, the Walking Dead stay hunched down, preparing to advance up the last bit of the stretch.
Sarge stays low in the back, beside Hobbes who stands tall, biting down on a cigarette trying to light it. "Makes the bugs fuck off.", he mutters.

Inside the shed there´s basically only a cot with a stabbed farmer in. He has blood all over his upper body. Beside the cot stands a table with papers all scattered across it, and a rifle is resting against the wall next to the cot.

Tobias sees no signs of life in the village or the surrounding area...

Tobias scans the hut, noting the body, rifle and papers but decides he should wait by the door before securing the rifle or investigating the papers....

After signalling outside the door, he peers out...

Again, all seems quiet in the humid, jungle rain. From up the path, he thinks he hears something...

Must be the rest of the squad....

Tobias, mildly distracted, keeps glancing up the path in order to signal the rest of the platoon to his location....

Eric follows the others towards the shed, keeping alert to his surroundings and behind cover whenever possible.

James stays close and keeps quiet, staring at the chimes like they might mean something.

I will collect the papers to see if they contain intel.

When the rest of the squad arrives, Berkowitz fills them in....

"Mullins is taking the three sheds on the left...the larger ones that look like gathering places. The rest of us are to secure the six sheds on the right then meet at the middle one on the left. Any force necessary is allowed, as well as prisoners."

Despite his fear, Tobias feels emboldened by adrenaline and his training...

"I've scoped the perimeter and think we're clear. I can go first and secure that first shed then give the signal for others to follow. Maybe someone should stay back to cover us from this point, being as it is at a slightly higher elevation...."

Berkowitz prepares to quickly cross the path and approach the first shed from the jungle cover on that side while he waits for his fellow grunts to reply...

Whitehouse, Hobbes and Sarge enter the cottage as Berkowiz provides a cover arc over the village. Inside, Sarge checks the papers finding they are in Vietnamese. They have some maps and diagrams, though. Guessing someone at camp can translate, he pockets them with his other gear. Hobbes covers the crest they arrived from via the small window facing west.
As Sarge is checking the papers,
Whitehouse helps out scanning the village with Berkowiz. Becket checks the the chimes, as in trance. As he does, his eyes wander to the dead farmer in the bed. He sees that his tongue has been ripped out…
The drizzle keeps coming down.

Berkowiz´ set up for the team echoes in Becket´s ears and he snaps back to the task at hand. Let him take point. The rat at his job.

The tunnel rat moves to the first of the row of sheds.

The others follow his route from the crest shed.
From the large buildings, a loud crack from a sniper rifle is heard.
The sound gives Whitehouse a general direction of the shooter. Then a second shot is fired, only five seconds later - giving away the location up on the hill behind the village.

Whitehouse and Becket can shoot at the target as the two have a clear line of sight.

Keeper rolls,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3511531/]Mullins´ wounds[/url] [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3511578/]Team alpha ambushed[/url]

Berkowiz reaches the first of the three sheds as the first shot is fired. As the second one cracks, he can either enter through a closed door (opening it) or check the shed by a small window next to the door. An alternate action is to see if he can spot the sniper from his location.

Hobbes stays at the window of the crest shed, just in case the VCs were on the way back. "Get that sniper! What are you waiting for sissies?"

Sarge can head to the rear window with Hobbes or join the others at the front.

Berkowitz jumps at the sound of the first shot. The patter of the rain on the leaves of the jungle trees almost had a hypnotic effect and lulled him into a sense of calm but now his mind was at full attention. The sound of the second shot finds him pressed up against the outside wall of the first shed, gun raised to its sights. He mulled over his options...

In the distance, he can hear Hobbes barking orders to locate the sniper...

He glances around, unsure where the shots may be coming from. Then he remembers the armed farmer in the first building that Mullins had killed...

What if this gunfire brings out more armed farmers?

Berkowitz decides to enter the first shed, hoping to kick open the door and surprise any occupants there, if any. Once secured, he can monitor the main path for any hostiles which may appear...

Tobias forces the door and finds the shed, vacant. Two beds, a low table with wooden plates and mugs sit are in the middle of the room. The food on them are still warm.

From the lookout through the bashed door, he sees no forces coming running at the houses.

The patter from the downpour keeps on drumming.

Berkowiz sees a movement in the trees on the hill behind the village as the sniper looks for new targets.

Berkowitz crouches down at the doorway and attempts to signal the location of the enemy sniper to one of the other squad members but cannot see any of them...

Geez, I'm not a sniper...Where are those guys? Dammit!

Berkowitz takes aim on the point in the trees where he saw the movement and hopes to get a clear shot...

Dammit..dammit..DAMMIT!

He can feel the sweat build on his brow and begins to pray for the best....

Syrinx,So if I get a clear shot, am I to combine Direct Fire(55%) and Rifle(25%) for this shot (80%), based on my understanding of the rules or have I misunderstood the Rules and Guidelines? Or, are there other qualifiers here, such as the rain, stress, etc.?

James regards the dead farmer and his missing tongue with mild interest. Fear only mars his face when the shot rings out.

Why's Hobbes doing all the yelling? He's the one with the big gun, and I can't shoot worth...

In a manner unbefitting a good, upstanding military youth, Beckett tries to stay out of sight.

Secondary shooter: Aiming - Berkowiz,At this Point the attack roll should be 40% that will get a clean hit at a random hit location of the target. That way we don´t have to weigh in too many factors. The range is normal, weather is only drizzle and the guy is showing his location. Take the shot and hope for the best. .

While nudging himself behind the wall of the shed, Beckett looks at the large Hobbes covering their rear. He hears Whitehouse and Sarge adjusting their prone positions in the doorway. Somewhat in beat with his heartbeat and in tune with the chime.
Is this the bells ringing for the end round? Is this all...

The chime clanks away as the monotonous drizzle keeps ever on.

Half in a daze, Beckett sees Hobbes crawl out of the rear window muttering something about having do do evrything himself. Out of sight, Hobbes crawls up the slope to the crest and adjusts his machine gun to get the sniper in his sights.

Tertiary shooter: Hobbes´fire (after Berkowiz),[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3516024/]After a moment, a burst of LMG fire escape from the crest as Hobbes lets the lead rain down on the trees where the sniper is sitting.[/url]

Primary shooters: Sarge and Whitheouse fire options,I guess you are holding your fire? If not, feel free to go before Berkowiz and Hobbes. Total of Direct fire + M16 skill divided by 2, that´s the shot to make. Ah- one more thing: If more than one shot is fired, deduct 5% from every shot as the gun recoils. 40% first shot, 35% second shot, 30% third shot etc. You may shoot up to ten rounds. (the last rounds Always have 01% chance of hitting. The rule with 5% + per round feels a bit too kind so I have changed that. Hope you don´t mind

Berkowitz closes an eye and takes aim at the sniper's location, hoping for the best...

Eric lines up his shot and squeezes the trigger, but it is well off the mark. His second shot is a little closer, but it still misses. The third one strikes home, blasting through the sniper's calf.

OOC,If that didn't take down the sniper, I may make additional shots.

Whitehouse fires just before Berkowiz. The almost echoe effect of the two shots ring in their ears as Eric fires his second shot. The sniper moves away from the hail of bullets, as a burst of LMG rounds shatter his leg. To make sure the sniper is kept down, Whitehouse puts a last bullet in the target.
"Shoulda stayed down.", Hobbes comments.
The silence after the fire fight is surreal. The drizzle continues, but with no sound. Maneuvers seem to be made in slow motion.

"He'll stay down now," remarks Eric in a wry tone of voice. He tries not to think about the fact that he has just killed a man, albeit a man who was trying to do the same to him and his friends. This wasn't the first time, and it probably wouldn't be the last - but he knows that it might have if they hadn't shot the sniper.

Berkowitz is relieved that someone else in the squad got the kill, especially since his own shot missed...

He breathes a sigh of relief and double-checks the path before leaving the first shed to secure the second one, when a thought comes to him...

What if that sniper got Mullins? He may need medical attention...

Berkowitz attempts to spot Mullins through the rain...

Syrinx,Can I see [b]Mullins[/b] or determine his location based on my knowledge of his last known position?

Berkowitz ponders a course of action....

...Can't see Mullins. Where is he? Tobias tries to rationalize. My orders are to secure these sheds and, considering the food on the table is still warm, these farmers could be anywhere...I have to secure these sheds, if not for Mullins but then for the safety of the rest of the squad...

He decides to carry on to the next shed and secure it. Berkowitz cautiously exits the first shed and moves towards the second...

Sarge and Whitehouse watch as Berkowiz gets to the second shed. Beckett stays inside the shed on the crest, relieved that the shooting has ended. Hobbes keeps covering the village from the crest, only marginally aware of the drizzle.

He glances backwards to make sure he´s not got visitors from the boarded path.

Inside the second shed, Tobias finds it empty after kicking the door open. No food in this room. No bed either. Only two crates with canned food sit in the middle of the room. The floor echoes when he walks around, dripping rain water on the boards.

Sarge will look for trapdoors on the floor and under any furniture.

Berkowitz is relieved that the second shed is empty. He observes his surroundings but decides he should move on...

The guys behind me can investigate further....I should get to Mullins,in case he is hurt. He quickly decides....If no one is in here, they are either in that last shed or across the road. Better play it safe...

Tobias moves to the next shed, opting to peer into the window first instead of kicking in the door, if a window is available....

Tobias runs crouched to the third shed and peers through a window on the back of the building, facing the door in the front. It´s empty of people as the first two sheds. Only two cots and an ammunition chest are in the room. He looks at the remaining three sheds and then to his comrades behind.

Sarge trails Berkowiz and disappears in the first shed and checks the flooring for trapdoors, finding none.

Whitehouse and Beckett stay put in the crest shed, overlooking the progress and scouts for new snipers.

Hobbes checks his back once more, and brings the M60 to point down the path.
Seeing no danger, he stands up and walks back over the crest.
"This place is deserted man. Let´s just head back and report this hole a dump and return to the camp."
He walks by Whitehouse and Beckett, M60 held in a mean way. He spits and walks towards the three larger buildings.

As the last shed is empty, Tobias runs towards the last estimated location of Mullins. When he reaches the middle large building he finds blood spatter on the wall at shoulder height. By then Hobbes has cleared the three small sheds on his way to the larger ones by kicking down the doors finding them without guests.

Listening, Tobias hears sobbing around the corner of the middle larger shed. The sobbing is followed by a sloshing sound and a scream.

The other of The Walking Dead also hears the scream from the far end of the village. It´s most definitely a woman.
From the east the unmistakable hum of an incoming heli starts to build up.

"Should we check that out, or do we hold our position?" Eric asks.

Berkowitz rounds the corner of the large middle shed, gun sighted, to investigate the unusual and uncomfortable sounds...

"You stay, I´ll cover your six." Beckett responds to Whitehouse.

Berkowiz turns the corner steadily with the M16 trained at whatever comes up. The sight is gruesome. At a clearing behind the large shed, Mullins has mounted a woman´s head on a spike, planted in the ground. The scene plays out around a campfire. The sobbing comes from two women with hands tied behind their backs. One of them screaming her lungs out.
The remains of the beheaded girl lays next to the screaming one.

With hands drenched in blood, wielding his knife, Mullins turns to the screaming woman. "Where are they? I know you know...Tell me." He takes no notice of Tobias turning the corner.

From the crest shed, the screaming can still be heard. It´s mixed with the increasing sound of the incoming helicopter.

Hobbes reaches the first large shed and sprints for the rear side while Sarge checks the last three sheds for trapdoors.
Whatever Mullins is doing he´s making a lot of noise.

At the crest shed, Beckett listens to the chime, as to calm himself. All is clear. Sarge´s radio sparks to life. "ETA bird Alpha Lima Charlie, two minutes. Over."

Berkowiz:

The gruesome spectacle took Berkowitz by surprise but he was able to maintain his composure...

"Sarge...?" Berkowitz spoke, clearly shaken....

Eric nods and keeps an eye out, ready for trouble.

James isn't sure whether he feels reassured or frightened by the screaming. He knows it can't be one of the Walking Dead, at least.

He tries to see it as a good sign.

James and Eric spot a child crawling out from under the left of the three large sheds. He is about five years old and covered in grime. He walks out towards the center of the village. About thirty meters from the crest shed, the boy stops and watches the sky. As he does, the drizzle stops and the village seems to bathe in colour. Rays of sunshine flicker through the tree tops and only the screaming from behind the sheds disrupts the beautiful scenery.

Behind the large sheds, Mullins looks up at Berkowiz "Shut her up, private. I´ll need to hear what her friend has to say." He leans closer to the spiked head and listens.
Off to the left, Hobbes arrives turning the machinegun at the scene. "What?" He is visibly shaken by the sight but remains in control.

Berkowitz watches Mullins lean up close to the spiked head, listening, and is a little more than rattled...

What in God's name is he doing? Tobias stares wide-eyed...

He realizes he has orders and moves towards the screaming girl. He has to shut her up but he is not sure what Mullins wants or expects....

He covers the girl's mouth with his hand and pleads with her, even though he is unsure she understands...

"Shhhhh.....!" Tobias whispers. "If you keep it down, you will live..."

He is not entirely sure. He glances back towards Mullins to watch the horrible spectacle...

"Man, I don't think she speaks English," Hobbes hissed, quietly.

"...Tobias, is our commander doing what I think he's doing?"

Tobias speaks to Hobbes without taking his eyes off of Mullins...

"I...I think so..."

His hand presses tightly against the girl's mouth in order to keep her quiet and, almost unconsciously, in an attempt to hear anything from the severed head...

Behind the large shed Mullins becomes aware of Hobbes and Berkowiz not being with him in his technique. "This place ain´t safe, men. These are Ngai women. Evil spirits." He puts his hand in the mouth of the head and pulls out the tongue, then tucks it to his belt, where already one tongue hangs.

The young woman under Tobias´ protection wriggles but remains quiet.

Stunned from the scene Hobbes and Berkowiz now hear the incoming helicopters.

Whitehouse and Sarge for a second watch straight into the eyes of the four year old that looked up in the sky. The two feel a strange sensation behind the eyelids, as a fever growing. Then the boy looks up to the sky again, concentrating at the first heli sweeping down on the village. Beckett gets ready to leave the shed when the heli touches down.

"That must be our ride," says Eric. He remains in position keeping watch and covering the others until ordered to move.

Ngai...? Berkowitz is confused as he glances down at the two women tied up on the ground but then his attention immediately turns back to Mullins when he tears the tongue out of the mounted head...

Tobias' mind is racing in confusion when he hears the sound of the choppers, causing him to regain some composure...

"Sarge...." Tobias addresses Mullins."I think the choppers are back to get us..."

It is then that Berkowitz feels a dread premonition. He looks back down at the two women, his hand still covering the mouth of one of them, then he glances at the decapitated body lying next to her...

"Shit..." Tobias mutters under his breath while casting a fearful look at Hobbes, wondering what their seemingly insane sergeant may do next with the prisoners before leaving the area...

"Uhh... Sargent? We have to get out of here, now."

Berkowitz looks at Hobbes, slightly stunned, but acknowledges the sound of his voice and follows suit. He looks back at Mullins and agrees...

"Damn Sarge! We gotta get outta here!"

Tobias hopes this is enough. The anticipation is sickening him to his stomach..

Mullins steps away from the spiked pole and puts away his knife. "Yeah, fall out!"
The helicopter gets ready to touch down in the middle of the village, stirring up dirt and sand. The little boy stands still, staring intesly at the big metal bird. Then, in a ball of fire, the helicopter explodes...

The shockwave sends debris from the metal carcass in all directions along with splinters and stone grains, hitting everything in it´s way.

Out of danger, Mullins, Hobbes and Berkowiz hear the havoc and are spared from the spray. Sarge, Whitehouse and Beckett, however ducks in cover to escape injury. Over the radio, Sarge hear, "We´re taking fire! Bird deklta foxtrot is down. We´re going in hot. Prepare for air cover. Over!"


In the air above the burning helicopter, three more helis turn up. They circle and look for another LZ.

The boy looks form helicopter to helicopter, untouched by any debris, only dirt covers his face now.

One of the tied up women... or rather older girls scream towards the mayhem. "Tao Song!!!"

OOC: Whitehouse, Sarge and Beckett, roll against DEX to avoid 1d3 damage from the explosion debris. 1d20 against DEX. Lower is success and you duck for cover.

Eric instinctively dives for cover, letting out a stream of curses.

Berkowitz hears the explosion of the helicopter and with it, the cry of 'Tao Song', from one of the hostages....

He was shaken by Mullins' performance but the explosion and the chant cause him to react uncharacteristically...

He releases his grip on the younger hostage and slaps the older, noisy one in the face...

"SHUT UP!" He growls....

Even as he smacks her, he stares at his hand in disbelief..like it doesn't even belong to him...

He proceeds to cover her mouth while giving the other hostage the evil eye, as best as he can....

Sarge unfortunately is a bit too slow to duck. The shrapnel, however only rips the uniform causing a small scar that turns red. It barely feels through the strain of throwing his body on the flooring.

Inside the shed, Beckett takes cover effectively and hears the chimes get bombarded of flying debris.

The boy focuses on the middle of the three helicopters. As he does, the heli to the right fires a .50 at the square. Not finding a viable threat, the square is ripped by a long salvo. Dirt flies up at the boy as a figure can be seen by those at the shed. It´s a woman rushing towards the boy from the edge of the woods. She shouts "Tao!!!"


Having slapped the bound girl, Berkowiz hears the other voice shouting. Hobbes scans the woods for a target attacking the helicopters. Finding no threat he stares at the small boy in disbelief. He gets his gun up and takes aim. Could it be?

Mullins jogs up to where Hobbes waits and waves at the helicopter to spot him and stop shooting up the square.
"Motherfuckers, we´re here..."

The two bound girls wriggle trying to get loose of their ropes. The one next to the one Berkowiz slapped gets free and gets to her feet.

Eric takes out a bandage and tries to bind Sarge's wound, but he only ends up making things worse.

"Man! What are you doing? It ain´t worse than I can lick it up faster than it pours out. It´s nuffin!" Sarge buffs Whitehouse away and gets up. "What are those birds doing? Get down here already!" He exits the shed and follows Mullins´ example waving at the choppers to stop shooting.

Eric shrugs and stands up too, waving his arms at the helicopters in the hope of getting them to land. "We could use a signal rocket, Sarge," he says. "They won't be able to miss that - but neither will the enemy."

Berkowitz stands shocked by his actions and the excitement around him...

He has never hit a woman and he is not sure how to react but when he sees the one prisoner wiggle free, he attempts to tackle her...

Syrinx,I am attempting to bring her down. Should I roll Grapple (25%) or are my military training skills (i.e. Hand-To-Hand) in play here? Also, does my gear factor in as a penalty?

OOC: Tobias launches himself at the girl who just freed herself... Mullins keeps on waving at the helicopters getting shrouded in dust and sand.
At the shed, Sarge gets a SR up and aims up in the air and shoots the indicator. Soon, a green light falls, slowly towards the square.

From behind the shed, gun fire is heard as well as shouting. Both in Vietnamese and English.

Several bursts of fire get closer for every moment. Over the crest of the path come six Viet Cong soldiers. The first three seem barely wounded. After them come three who look quite bad. Two of the first angle to go around the shed. The rest of the VC stay at the crest and go prone and take aim at the visible threat of the three helicopters.

Hobbes, having heard the incoming force, lays cover fire on the crest.

The woman who had shouted at the boy, runs and snatches him in her hands and runs for the trees again. All under the smattering of the fire from the crest and Hobbes´ .50.

Beckett takes aim at the rear window and presses his back to the wall next to the door opening. "This isn´t happening..."

The helicopters circle a little and notice the target at the crest as well as the signal rocket.
One opens fire at the VC while two descend to pick up soldiers.
The salvo hits directly at the crest, covering the four VC in mud and lead.

The side doors of the two helicopters fly open. "HURRY UP!!!"
A female officer shouts at the shed. As she shouts, two marines exit each heli and cover the perimeter. Two of them face the shed while the others are facing the large buildings.

"Let's move," says Eric, leading the way towards the helicopters in a low crouch, his rifle at the ready. He takes advantage of the covering fire to advance from cover to cover, trying to steer closer to Hobbes's position if possible in case he needs more ammo.

In the chaos, Tobias is focused on preventing the girl from escaping. He dives for her feet as she runs but misses, landing face down on the muddy ground. He glances up, the grime mixing with the sweat on his face but she has put at least 5 yards or more between them. He rises to his feet to continue the pursuit when he hears Whitehouse...

"Let's move..."

He realises his companions are making their way to the chopper and he follows suit. He glances back just in time to see the girl disappear into the mist of the jungle rain...

Eric reaches the farthest helicopter and notices Hobbes has a band of ammo left. Berkowiz pass Whitehouse at the helicopter and enters. "Good work, private.", a voice booms from inside the heli.
Sarge sprints to the closest heli seeing Eric pass it and run to the second one. He sprawls on the floor of it and is hyperventilating.
Meanwhile, Beckett, still in the shed, can´t make himself to leave the wall. He fiddles with his M16 and keeps it steady in both hands, pointing it at the window.
Waiting for a head to pop up, his eyes widen as a grenade is lobbed in through the window.
The chimes´ wooden clanking come to a slow motion speed. The grenade´s arc is fulfilled and the explosive lands next to James. who gets to his feet - a bit too late.
As the grenade goes off, the blast lights up the interior of the shed and James is nowhere to be seen.
In the ball of fire, James feel the heat of the blast as it hits him dead on. Luckily his helmet [AC6] protects him from a directly lethal blow. His larynx, however gets ripped and he feels an excruciating pain in his throat. His left forearm is blown right off, leaving a stump halfway down the elbow. He doesn´t feel a thing. The flak jacket is perforated by the blast and James is thrown back at the wall. The chimes get back to normal speed. Beckett fails to remain conscious as the chimes pick up speed. The last thing he sees before the relief of oblivion is his left arm in front of him - on the floor of the shed. "That must hurt...", he thinks and fades off.

The two VC behind the shed come around the corner at the same time as the grenade goes off. Both hold M16 rifles and shoot wildly at the square, hoping to hit anything. Hobbes lets the M60 eat away at the crest and the four soldiers prone over there. The salvo goes high and the four VC get up and charge the helicopters!
They have barely left the crest when Mullins walk through the swirling sand of the helicopter closest to the large sheds, unarmed. He places a hand on a handle and sets a foot on the ledge. "Let´s leave and bury this in flames."

The fire from the VC by the shed fly wild and smatter at the the hull of the two helis. Fortunately, the rain of lead is stopped by the obstacles of the helicopters and the soldiers protecting the perimeter return fire. One of the shots of the VC go through the glass of the first helicopter and hits the pilot, though. Hit in his left upper arm, he is also scarred by shattered glass. The visor of his helmet saves his eyes. He manages to stay alert. He does, however move the lever for the gas and the heli lifts from the ground in an awkward way, tilting to the right. The soldiers firing at the VC scatter as the rotors roar and threaten to get to close. This make the two marines to miss their shots.

All civilians except the one girl still bound by the clearing have left the square. From the north, shouts in Vietnamese can be heard through the gun fire. It sounds like more men reinforcing the VC.

"I said let´s leave!!!", Mullins screams at the pilot.

**************

Beckett down in the shed.
Sarge on board on the careening chopper... wounded pilot.
Mullins and Berkowizon the second heli, telling it to leave.


Eric and Hobbes, still on the ground.
Eight uninjured marines, holding the ground.
(No sign of the first squad who walked to the hill. Most likely they were taken out by the VC coming over the crest.)

Four charging VC from the crest. Two laying fire from the right side of the shed.

"Let's go!" Eric shouts to Sam as he scrambles for the nearby helicopter, still crouching. He can give him the ammo once they're both safely aboard, and then the machine gunner can fire his M60 out the door as they lift off, but if they stay on the ground they're toast for certain.

Sam Hobbes gets a move on, hauling the M60 the last bit to the grounded heli. He and Eric get on at the same time, while the four marines shoot at the charging VC from the crest, before they join up in the heli. Now, when there´s only one helicopter left grounded, they see fate smile their way.

In the careening heli, the pilot stabilizes the bird but can´t land as the VC are too close. Two of the marines signed to that heli back into one of the smaller sheds while firing at the approaching Vietnamese soldiers. The two marines who scattered to the right, now face the two VC who shot the helicopter.

Up above, the third helicopter turns to the forest north west of the square, and cover the hills in fire.

*********
When the helicopter ascends, the view below isn´t petty.

By the shed, the VC soldiers shoot first at the scrambling marines. The left marine is hit in the eye and goes down screaming, covering his face with both hands. While doing so, he is hit in the right shoulder. The other marine return fire and hits the closest of the VC in the right upper arm, making him drop his M16.
In the havoc, both VC and the marine duck respective attack as they close in on each other. The blinded marine searches the ground for his M16 and wipes blood from his face. Finding it he shoots.
The wounded VC is aiming while sitting one one knee, after getting his dropped M16 up again.
As this stand off happens, the remaining combatants reach each other and the VC tries a kick at the marine, who uses the butt of his M16 to take the attacker down.

From the helicopter the observers see the shooters miss. The VC throws his malfunctioning weapon and charges the wounded marine. The other two combatants meet and the VC aims a kick but is brutally knocked down by the butt of an M16.
The winning marine gets the M16 trained at the defenseless VC and shoots. Pumped with adrenaline, he misses. The one-eyed marine, however, shoots him down. Using their bayonets, the two brothers in arms finish the job.

The four charging VC are stopped by the cover fire from the marines entering the helicopter. Two are shot dead, while the others drop to the ground.
This give the two marines in the shed an opportunity to shoot. Another one is killed and the last raises his hands and screams something in Vietanmese. "DAU HANG".

*****************

From the perspective of the helicopter, Eric, Sam, and Tobias see dark spots in the woods moving in on the village from all sides.
The pilot radios the other helicopters. "Mission over. Return to base. Over."

The wounded pilot of the second heli responds. "Negative. Can´t leave my men. I´m going down."

Seeing the dots come even closer, Sam tries to find a target, but has a hard time finding one in the moving helicopter. He fires anyway. More for his conscience than anything else.

The wounded pilot puts down the heli just as the first black dot enters the square. The surviving marines shoot in all directions while trying to get to the heli.
Helicopter three spews lead over the square, but it´s stopped as the entire helicopter becomes a ball of fire. Berkowiz saw no sign of any missile, it just exploded. Down on the square, Sarge shoots from the heli and is repaid by being gunned down by the approaching black army.

********************

The lone helicopter fly high back to the base. Spirits low.

*******************

Up above the clouds, a satellite catches the action and a voice is relayed to another location.
"Ngọn đồi được bảo vệ.Chúng tôi bắt đầu."

[translated: The hill is protected. We commence.]

Eric feeds ammo to Sam, making sure he has plenty for the M60. He lets out a stream of profanity as looks around for suitable targets to snipe, preferably VC officers or noncoms. "Where'd they all come from?" he says. "I didn't think there were this many VCs left after Tet."

As the VC soldiers mill around the helicopter on the square, bullets from Sam´s M60 is mixed with debris from the exploded helicopter. The pilot tries to get the bird up with the surviving marines clinging to anything they get a grip on to. The stress is too much for the pilot who only get a few feet off the ground before the engine dies off and the aircraft returns to ground. The marines are overrun and they lay down their weapons.

The last thing Sam and Eric see is a rectangular opening in the square, as the ground seems to shift. A square black hole as big as one of the sheds.

In the helicopter, Mullins booms, "That was close." He checks the crew of the Walking Dead. "Berkowiz, Hobbes, White. Good job down there." He leans towards the back wall of the heli.

The beating of the rotors take them closer to the base.

Eric exhales at last, turning it into a low whistle. "Thanks, Sarge," he says, not even noticing that Mullins had gotten his name wrong. "What the hell just happened down there?"

Berkowitz lets his head fall back against the wall as he waits to see if Whitehouse gets any sort of reasonable answer. He is tired but relieved even though his breathing is still hurried from adrenaline...

The sights he witnessed have shaken him up...

What killed that helicopter? I saw no missile yet it exploded...and why was Mullins collecting tongues? For trophies...? Tobias shuddered. As sick as it was, at least that made sense but it didn't explain why Mullins mounted that severed head on a stick and was drilling it for answers...

Tobias wondered if he really wanted to know. This was nothing like the stories he heard in boot camp before arriving here...

Mullins rolls a cigarette and lights it. "I know we lost a squad down there and three helicopters. What did you see, son?" To the pilot he orders, "Send the coordinates and ask for a Agent Orange to hit the hill a visit. Verification Kreuter-Mullins." THe pilot radios the order. "In five, Sgt Mullins!"

Mullins draws on the cigarette and mutters. "Bloody voodoo shit is what it was. Napalm always wins that battle. Ngai or not. That was no women down there only Ngai. He pats his belt with the trophies." From his belt, four old, dry bits of meat hang. Meat with two tips as if from giant snakes.

"We lost Sarge and Beckett down there. Hobbes, were you close to Beckett?" Mullins asks as if he actually cared.

Ngai? thinks Eric, looking away from the grisly trophies. Must be some Vietnamese word I never heard before. "I'm not sure what the hell I saw any more," says Eric. "First Charlie came flooding in, and then it was like the ground just opened up. I don't think anyone knew Beckett real well. He was the new guy, green as a cucumber. But Sarge...man, I didn't think anything could kill him."

The camera pans backwards, leaving the helicopter as a speck against the sky. The sound of napalm igniting over the hill fades over to the credits.

This concludes the Eyes of Doom.
I thank the parties who tried the game out, even if it was touch and go on reaching completion.

/Dave

Eric Whitehouse and Tobias Berkowiz continue in Vertical Run

D e f i n i t i o n : Vertical Run is a military rappel technique developed in the late 1960s, to safely and quickly move from a helicopter to the ground when a squad was exposed to fire.