Play@YSDC

Tatsuo bows to Santiago and quickly returns to his mother's side as if he had done no more than walked away for a short time to release some gas from deep within the fat of his innermost bowels.

"I won't let them hurt you," Elisabeth assures Posie, embracing her. This must be what it feels like to be a mother, she thinks. Her own mother and father are here with us of course, but she's depending on me.

Tabs wrote:
Mrs. Kolchak says to Dr. Renwick: "The men have killed a Japanese soldier. We need to get away."

Renwick pauses slightly, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he asks "Did the Admiral send you to bring me? I was trying to get information from ... from the officer there which I was doing reasonably well until you drew me away. But no matter - what's done is done and we had better tend to my 'wife' I suppose"

Once they reach the train, he assists the Admiral's wife aboard and scans the dark interior of the carriage looking for his new friends.

Santiago takes the gun and checks it is loaded. "Watch for a signal. It'll mean the coast is clear. Good luck Admiral, I hope we see each other soon." He says no more as time may be short but shakes the Admiral's hand and then sinks to the ground. He crawls under the carriage and, keeping to the darkest places starts to run crab like (!) towards the mill. Every few paces he stops to listen and scan the darkness for enemies.

"Did the Admiral send you to bring me?

"No, he didn't, but he knew I was coming for you." Mrs. Kolchak listens to Dr. Renwick and appears doubtful when he says he was gathering information from the officer--"I hope I did the right thing? . . . "



"On your signal," repeats Admiral Kolchak to Santiago. "I'll see you again, at the mill or Valhalla!"

He addresses everyone inside the wagon: "The Japanese intend to murder all of us--why? I cannot say." His gaze wanders toward Mingzhu. "We shall escape across the millet field. You must be quiet!" hisses Kolchak. "Assemble in the field beside the wagon. We await a signal to advance--all of us at the pace of the slowest--from Señor el Aguila."

"When the time comes," whispers Samuel, "make sure you crouch low as you move. You'll be a smaller target that way, and harder to hit."



Elisabeth nods, knowing her father had learned this lesson in the Great War. Those who had learned it the hard way hadn't returned. She grips Posie's hand with her left and Mingzhu's with her right and slips out of the train and into the field. Samuel follows close behind them.

Santiago scans the mill in the low light, he is glad to see plenty of hiding places; if necessary some people could hide while he and some of the stronger ones could lead any chasing soldiers away. He thinks about a signal but is concerned about alerting any soldiers that may be looking this way and whether they could hear anything from inside the carriage. Also, speed is of the essence and the surest way of delivering a signal ... Santiago el Aguila lopes silently back up the furrow to the carriage and, crouching low, "Psst!"

Admiral Kolchak steps forward from the gathered "guests" to greet Santiago. "All clear, señor?"

Several rifle shots--dull sounding reports--echo from inside the Golden Pumpkin Restaurant.

Mingzhu pipes up: "The staff are being executed!"

"My friends!" moans the barman.

"I think Ladies and Gentlemen that that is the signal we need to make good our escape. But where can we get away to?" Renwick asks with a grave look on his face. going over to the barman he continues, "There is nothing you can do for them now. Honour their memories by getting out of here in one piece and making sure their untimely demises are not in vain."

OOC - Regarding the rifle shots from inside the bar - have the soldiers between the platform and carriage moved into the bar or are there other people at play here? If there are others at play, how do the soldiers, react if at all and if they have moved into the bar then there is little to stop us making for the mill that I don't know about just yet. I would have seen the presence or absence of soldiers as I returned to tend to my 'wife.'

"Well spoken," says Samuel, lowering his voice. "If we don't go now, we may never get the chance. We will no doubt be next. I know that Chenchow is along the tracks to the left when facing the field, and Peking is to the right."



Tears drip down Elisabeth's cheeks. "Those poor people..." she says quietly. "You're right, Father. We have to go now."

Santiago climbs into the carriage, he speaks quietly and succinctly, "Ladies and Gentlemen, for those who don't know me I am Santiago el Aguila. We are in serious immediate danger and we must escape from here now. I have found a route away from these soldiers, Admiral Kolchak and Dr. Renwick here are good men and will help you along the way. We will creep low along a deep field ditch to a mill first and then further on.

You must keep silent, don't talk as sounds will travel to the soldiers. Keep together and move as quickly as possible. If we are discovered by the soldiers then you must hide as best you can and I and some of the other men will try to lead the soldiers away from you. Those who would rather stay may do so: may God go with you."

He turns to Kolchak, "Admiral, lead the group: follow this ditch to the mill, if all is quiet wait for us there. Renwick and I will wait until the end and bring up the rear. And, (he smiles) keep the ladies quiet." He says meaningfully.

Li, the barman, nods to Dr. Renwick. He puts his arm round Mae and says something encouraging in Chinese.

"Hǎo," answers Mae quietly, but with determination.

[ooc: There are other soldiers inside the restaurant, under the command of a delightful sergeant, one Sergeant Takahashi. The soldiers outside are next to the platform beside Officer Toshiro and Mad Dog. The guests are in the field on the opposite side of the wagon--too far away, with the rain and darkness, to see.]

Admiral Kolchak, holding his wife's hand, leads the way into the night; he follows a low ditch.

Elisabeth follows the admiral, leading Mingzhu and Posie by the hand and crouching low as she traverses the ditch.



Samuel proceeds behind his daughter, also ducking low to avoid being seen.

Tatsuo waits for a short moment for Posie and Elizabeth to gain some distance on him. He does not want the child to be hurt by any stray bullets directed at him. The sumo's hand grips his protesting mother's arm tightly.

They are Japanese you fat oaf. They will not kill their own.. We must stay and weather this storm.

Tatsuo has not yet told his mother that he just murdered one of these Japanese soldiers and suffers no further protest. When hie is confident Posie is out of danger from any bullets directed at him he lifts his mother into his arms and moves with alarming speed toward their rendezvous location; his fat shadow like a small hut in the dark.

Drawing Santiago off to the side, Renwick says in hushed tones to the Spaniard, ensuring as much as he could that he faced the platform whilst Santiago faced the ditch and field.

"I was talking to the Japanese Officer trying to get some information about what is going on here and I was pleasantly surprised by him. He came across as erudite and was certainly well spoken. He did not reveal too much about what was going on other than to say it was a delicate matter and the old military catechism of 'just following orders.' I would have liked to have had some more time with him to see if he would open up some more but that damned fool woman dragged me away at the most inopportune time." Shaking his head regretfully he continued. "Still and all, that cannot be helped now. There is something more afoot here - He said that he was sad that Chee's daughter had been killed, so I think that the assassin in his control may have overstepped the mark a bit. But with these inscrutable eastern foreigners you can never be sure that the words or actions reflect their true motives."

Santiago keeps watch over the field as the passengers make their way fearfully through the dark. "You are right, Doctor; there is more here than meets the eye. However, innocent people have died - and are still dying - those staff in the restaurant." Santiago shakes his head. "If we can get these people to safety then we'll be in a position with options - sitting here we are just sheep. What can his orders consist of that he can slaughter bystanders? Why send an assassin backed by a whole contingent of soldiers? Was the whole restaurant from Owner to bottlewasher involved in some crime? Will we, by escaping, become implicit in this crime? It's a far cry from a simple drink at the bar eh Doctor?"

"UTSU!" The brace of machine guns on the platform begin their furious chatter, the bullets are directed at the locomotive wagon; deadly splinters are torn off and fly all round, especially inside the wagon; sparks flame where stray bullets strike the undercarriage and steel wheels . . .



[ooc: The end of the introduction. Time to roll your characters, but no rush, because I fancy a few weeks away from China. Roll only for your main characters: Dr. Renwick, Santiago, Tatsuo and Elisabeth. Attributes will match the characters you've created, e.g. Tatsuo's SIZ s/be 16+, so a bit of rejigging may be necessary.]