Play@YSDC

Briefing Room, UNIT UK HQ
5:55 AM - Thursday, September 5, 1985

The seven members of the newly selected team filed into the briefing room. Brigadier Charles Crichton had personally chosen them, but he hadn't arrived yet and they had no idea what the mission for which he had picked them would be yet. There were chairs already set up facing a podium, behind which rested a cart with an overhead projector. At the very back of the room there was a screen that was currently rolled up but could be pulled down to display transparencies. Chad Engraham could figure out that his piloting skills would be required, but he didn't know what else would be needed of him beyond that. Leonek Novak could guess that the mission would require driving as well. Raymond MacIntyre was the UNIT Technical Advisor, and his assistant was Tobias Maddox. Would their knowledge and skill with technology be important, or had they been chosen for some other reason? Captain Salem Shields was a medical officer, but he didn't know whether he would be expected to use his vast medical knowledge, or if this mission was a dangerous one that would require him to patch up the others - or possibly both. Elliot Webb and Valerie Soames were both covert operatives, though they were very different from each other and had their own specialties. They gathered that their new assignment would call for subtlety.

OOC,Feel free to roleplay and interact with each other, and to describe yourselves. [b]Raymond[/b] and [b]Tobias[/b] know each other. It's possible that [b]Elliot[/b] and [b]Valerie[/b] are also acquainted, as they're in the same field. [b]Leonek[/b] has probably driven [b]Salem[/b] and [b]Raymond[/b] (and possibly [b]Tobias[/b]) before. Beyond that, it's up to you if you know each other already.

Valerie Soames wandered into the briefing room with a distracted air, her capacious handbag half open to reveal some knitting and a magazine. She knew Captain Shields from Medical, of course, and gave him a pleasant smile. She'd seen Raymond McIntyre before as well; he seemed like a proper boffin, as they'd called them in the war. Probably needed feeding up, mind you.
However, she seemed most pleased to see Elliot. "Hello dear, how nice to see you again", she chattered brightly. She cast her gaze around the room with a slight frown, only to brighten at the sight of a water urn and a tray of cups on the side. "Elliot, be a love and see if there's any milk in that jug, and I'll find if there's any tea leaves in that box. Can't face one of these briefings without a cup of char." Without waiting for an answer she began clattering cups and saucers about. "Do any of you gentlemen want tea? But I suppose our transatlantic cousins would prefer coffee. Can't see any, though."

Elliot Webb casually strolls into the briefing room and is surprised to see so many others. Up to now he's been used to working alone or in very small teams. He instantly clocks the lovely old tea lady Valerie Soames and answers her greeting. "Hello Val .... I mean, Mrs S". At her request he checks the milk, disappointingly remarking "Looks like that semi-skimmed stuff. Where's the gold top?"
He looks around the room, all new faces except for Raymond McIntyre who he's worked with a couple of times. "Alright Ray, any idea what this is about?"

Raymond sat with his legs crossed and tucked under him in his chair, absentmindedly checking some math for a recent experiment. "You know Tobias, if they would stop dragging us to all of these meetings we might actually be able to get some work done every once in a while. But then we'd probably have meetings about how they have to second guess the quality of our work because we finished too fast." Raymond says in rather heavy rural American accent. He laughs as his attention is drawn to the room and he puts down his work.

He met a couple of the people in the room before, the little old lady was always pleasant and good for some small talk around the headquarters, but Raymond never really figured out what she did there. "I'd love a cup of tea. Coffee is great and all, but too much gives me the jitters, can't work like that."

Raymond turned to Elliot; he had done a little work here and there with the man - mostly consulting - but he say that Elliot was good with his hand and tools. Raymond admired a man that works with his hands."Can't say I know. I would say it is probably another gong show, but this isn't limited to one department. That and the Brigadier isn't one to waste time like some of the brass."

Finally Raymond turned to the three soldiers in the room and extended his and to each, "Raymond MacIntyre, UNIT technical adviser. Nice to meet you."

Leonek reaches over and takes Raymond's hand in his own large paw. "Likewise, Mr. MacIntyre," he says, his cadence slow as he concentrates on keeping his Polish accent light. "I am Private Novak." He releases Raymond's hand and settles back in his chair. He's a large, ruddy boy of a man, all angles and long limbs; a UNIT beret caps his bristle-short brown hair.

He places his hands flat on the table and tries to stay calm, but it's rare for him to be called in for any of the joint ventures and he's unable to completely hide his excitement--one thumb taps arhythmically. This was going to be a heck of a lot more exciting than rotating tires in the motor pool.

"I, too, would like some tea, please," he says to Valerie.

Valerie prepared tea for everyone who wanted it, and there was 2% milk and a small porcelain bowl of sugar for those who took them. There was no coffee, however. It was now a couple of minutes before 6:00, when the briefing was due to start. They still had a little time to converse before that.

The atmosphere felt thick in this room as Salem unbuttoned the collar and loosened his tie on his officier uniform, he glanced around and noticed Mrs. Soames was serving tea and gave her a warm smile, at least there was a familiar face around here. Salem politely turns down on the offer for tea, "no thank you Mrs. Soames, though I wouldn't mind a glass of water", however scanning around the room there doesn't seem to be a pitcher of water. With a upset look on his face, Salem ran his hand through his red hair and wiped the sweat off his forehead, Salem is at least relieved that he isn't stuck in his office anymore filing away paperwork as he's been dying to see some fieldwork.

"Water hmm...none here I'm afraid, Doctor. You could run down the hall for some, but the Brigadier is a stickler for punctuality" says Valerie with a significant look at the clock. She passes the last cup to Leonek. "Here you go dear. Mrs Soames, or Mrs S as that rascal over there calls me. I knew a Novak in the war you know - an airman - he used to make the strongest tea and then take it black as midnight."

Elliot chuckles at Raymond's remarks. You had to admire the man's dedication to his craft, though it did border on the obsessive. He scans the room more thoroughly. A few studious looking types, which always made the self taught Elliot feel a little self conscious. He notices the heavy scarring to the guy with the pilot wings, there's a story there he thinks.
He gratefully accepts one of Mrs Soames legendary cups of tea and jovially approaches the huge man he'd seen from afar a few times in the motor pool. "Elliot Webb, pleased to meet ya. I notice a slight accent mate. East Europe?" The 5'3" Elliott looks up and extends his small hand. The scene, looking rather comical, draws a few stifled chuckles from the room.

At the smell of tea, Chad Engraham woke from the slight daze he had fallen into. He got up from his seat, rubbing the moisture round his eyes and moving his hand down his scarred cheek, and walked to the group stood conversing. "'Evening, all. Anyone know when this thing's set to get going?"

"Delicious," Raymond let out a sigh, "Not many people make a good cup of tea back stateside. Everyone's so quick to take a cup of coffee, fast, black, and bitter, and just go go go. I was the same way for a while, but if you don't take the time to enjoy things and relax you'll turn into coffee - black and bitter. Not literally of course!" Raymond laughed at his own musing.

"I can't imagine it will take too much longer for the Brigadier. It is quite unusual that he isn't his normal prompt self."

"Indeed he is prompt, Mr. MacIntyre," said Brigadier Charles Crichton as he strode into the briefing room. "It is precisely 0600 hours now." He was a tall, thin man in his forties with short graying hair, and he carried a briefcase in his right hand. "I think you'll find it's morning rather than evening, Flight Lieutenant Engraham," he added as he walked down the central aisle to the podium. "I do hope you've managed to get some shuteye overnight. You're going to need it." When he reached the podium, he set his briefcase down and opened it up, then looked up at the assembled team. "Mrs. Soames, gentlemen, if you'll please be seated, we can get started." As everyone took a seat, he removed a stack of transparencies from the briefcase, placed the top one on the overhead projector, and dimmed the lights. Then he pulled down the white screen and flicked on the projector.

An image appeared on the screen of a dead man of about thirty years old lying on an autopsy table, but there were several oddities. The back of the man's head had been blown out, but his face and eyes still remained, and the eyes appeared larger than normal. He also had webbed fingers. He was severely balding and had little hair left, which left his scalp clearly visible. It seemed somewhat scaly. It was a very disturbing picture, and not just because of the gruesome human remains - if indeed they were human. "This fellow was Simon Armistead, of London. His body was found in his home almost a week ago, and when the coroner noted numerous abnormalities about the body, UNIT was called in, as this sort of thing falls within our remit. If not for the abnormalities, this case would never have been brought to our attention. Four days ago, our Scientific Advisor Dr. Valerie Kirby and medical officer Captain Salem Shields here conducted an autopsy on Mr. Armistead. They determined that the manner of death was a shotgun wound and the cause of death was suicide. This was never in dispute, as the initial police investigation had come to the same conclusion after he was found seated in an armchair with the shotgun in his lap. Our examiners determined that he placed the barrel of the shotgun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, creating a massive exit wound to the back of the head. The circumstances of the man's death do not interest us as much as the deformities themselves, however."

Salem still remembered performing the autospy with Dr. Kirby. He had been hoping to forget, as he had not slept well since then.

OOC,Everyone, please roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 0/1d4, so you will lose no Sanity if you succeed but 1d4 Sanity if you fail. [b]Salem[/b], you will still need to roll Sanity even though you helped peform the autopsy. You just lost the Sanity at that time instead of now, though you will be reliving the shock now if you fail the roll. You may still act freely after the roll, whether you succeed or fail, as nobody can lose enough Sanity to go temporarily insane from this.

Raymond takes a deep sip of his tea as the Brigadier flips through his transparencies with rather repulsing photos but remains unphased. He stares at the photographs intensely before speaking, "While this is all very interesting, these could be a simple isolated genetic defect. What is it exactly you want from us, Brigadier?"

Chad grimaced a little at being called out on his lack of awareness to the time. He'd been inside too long and had little sleep. His previous daze was likely not the only one of its kind that night.

When the grotesque image appeared, Chad held tight to his senses. Suddenly he didn't seem so bad off. But what could a pilot be doing here? He'd better just listen and find out.

Despite the gruesome image, Elliot manages to hold his tea down.

Salem was still horrified by the memories of that autopsy he performed on Simon Armistead, it was one of the few autopsy he has ever performed in his career and the thought of seeing the grotesque photos still gave him the chills as cold sweat accumulated in his palms, he rubs his hands together as to stay calm and keep his composure together.

With a choked-off cry, Valerie lets her cup slip through nerveless fingers; it hits the floor with a melodic crash. "My goodness, is that..." she exclaims. "No, no of course not. Foolish notion," she continues, half to herself. With an effort she wrenches her eyes from the gruesome scene on the screen, only now realising she has committed the great sacrilege of making a fuss. Face still white, she recovers her teacup before forcing herself to again face the screen. "My apologies, Brigadier. I thought for a moment that was...well, it is not, clearly. Couldn't be. Too young, far too young." She tails off, as if she is seeing some other scene, from long ago.

Chad suppressed a chuckle at the sound of the tea cup falling to the floor as someone lost their composure. Though he could hardly blame whoever it was. He still couldn't tear his eyes away from the image, so he couldn't figure out who dropped it.

Tobias puts down his notebook that he was writing in when the Brigadier walks in. He listens politely and watches the slides impassively.

OOC,Sorry I've been slow, something came up. Tobias is new to UNIT so no one knows him yet. Raymond has spent a brief time with him doing office things, reports and meetings; Tobias has been polite, very efficient and pleasant to work with, even coming up with some good ideas to help Raymond's latest work. Everyone else sees a well dressed slim man in a suit and smart shoes. Tobias turned down both tea and coffee with a shake of his head and a small smile.

The cup of tea is halfway to Leonek's lips when the slide comes onscreen, and although the sight did not rattle him he still found it prudent to put the cup down without a drink. He glances in Mrs. Soames' direction at her outburst, but certainly can't blame her. He settles into his chair, wondering if there was a mix-up, if some other Novak had meant to be called to this.

"Quite all right, Mrs. Soames," said Brigadier Crichton. "I am dreadfully sorry. I should have warned you that the picture was graphic." He then addressed Raymond. "I'm getting to why you need to be involved. Dr. Kirby made much the same remark as you did, but nevertheless she needed to investigate further. As you're aware, genetics are her speciality, and she is a pioneer in the new field of genetic analysis. The first thing she did was to track down Mr. Armistead's parents, hoping that there would be some clue to this genetic anomaly in his family tree. She interviewed his father, Miles Armistead, at some length and collected a blood sample from him. The elder Mr. Armistead is a writer, though not a particularly well-known or successful one. He tends to write historical fiction, and he also lives in London. Simon's mother, Beth Armistead, was a historian. She died in May of breast cancer, and Dr. Kirby convinced Miles Armistead to give her permission to exhume the body and collect genetic samples.

"It also turned out that Simon Armistead took a holiday in Dunwich just two weeks after his mother's death. Interestingly, Miles Armistead then recalled that his late wife had visited Dunwich back in 1954, and that she had seemed different when she returned. He remarked that she had never been the same after that. Dr. Kirby noticed that Simon Armistead was born in 1955, the following year. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

"Dr. Kirby conducted detailed analyses of the DNA of both parents. While it takes weeks or months to get conclusive results, she had enough time to gather some preilminary data. Beth Armistead showed no trace of any of the genetic mutations that had affected her son, and Dr. Kirby concluded that she had indeed died of cancer. Miles Armistead's genes were normal as well, but Dr. Kirby discovered something interesting: he could not have been Simon Armistead's natural father. His blood type alone was enough to rule that out. Dr. Kirby deduced that his true father must have been in Dunwich and had fathered Simon Armistead while his mother was there in 1954. She resolved to travel to Dunwich to try to track him down, as well as to find out about Simon Armistead's sojourn there."

"And the good doctor has asked for some support in Dunwich?" Raymond inquired. "Really quite curious. I must say, even though genetics is not my strong suit, this is quite a rare opportunity. Maybe this is a silly question, but Simon Armistead was born like that correct? It wasn't a mutation he developed later in life, perhaps at Dunwich? If there is some sort of radiation issue it could be a catastrophe, it would also explain the cancer." While Raymond may seemed to have been jumping to conclusions, his mind was enthralled by the mystery.

"Not exactly, Mr. MacIntyre," said the brigadier. "Dr. Kirby hasn't asked for support, but we have reason to believe that she needs it. And in answer to your other question, which is a good one, Simon Armistead was not born like that. In fact, he has only taken on that appearance recently. He looked normal for most of his life, and Miles Armistead showed Dr. Kirby recent pictures of him where he did not look unusual. I know there's a nuclear power plant not far from Dunwich, but there's no report of any leaks.

"Dr. Kirby set out two days ago for Dunwich alone, first thing in the morning. She had instructions to call in every day and give us a status update. She checked into the Ship Inn in Dunwich and placed a trunk call to me at a little past 0900 hours. She reported that several of the townspeople had similar abnormal features, confirming her suspicions.

"That was the last we heard from her."

OOC,May I make a History Roll to have heard of/read something by the late Mrs Armistead? I get [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/search/1104247%20/url]a fail at 43 vs skill 30[/url] if allowed

"Hmm, so the tragic young man there discovers he's a cuckoo in the nest, perhaps from a death-bed confession, or something left in his mother's papers, goes to find out the truth, and learns more than he bargains for? But was it the truth of his parentage, or those strange changes, that drove young Simon to do..that," Valerie muses aloud. "Brigadier, do we know anything of his mental state? Was he of a nervous disposition, or is this out of character?"

"I think it is safe to say that the power plant isn't covering up a leak - as if they had the capability to lie to UNIT anyway. Which means it has to be something at Dunwich itself that caused this to him. If Dr. Kirby reported seeing other signs of it I wonder if it is greatly infectious. I assume not - otherwise Mrs. Armistead would have developed the same or similar symptoms as her son. Though he could have a genetic predisposition to whatever changes might be caused there." Raymond continued, "Which leads me to believe that it would be safe for an average person to visit without worrying about turning into some sort of reptile... not that any of this makes sense, I am just thinking aloud."

After Valerie gave her opinion Raymond suggests, "Every man has the capacity for suicide. I doubt it would be finding out that his father wasn't his biological one that would drive him to it - though it probably didn't help. I would say it would have to be the changes themselves - or something he learned at Dunwich. Hell, if I started changing into some sort of monster without any idea of where the changes would stop I would consider putting a bullet in my brain." Raymond laughed morosely as if he was telling a joke.

Tobias Maddox glances sharply at his boss, Raymond. He then says softly to himself, "Something in Dunwich caused a massive and immediate mutation, I wonder if it was just physical or affected his brain also. It would have to be very powerful to cause such a result." In a louder voice, "Would it be possible to see that particular slide again please?"

Chad couldn't suppress a groan at Tobias' request. "Perhaps you would prefer handouts?"

Elliot has had enough hypothesising from the boffins, and pipes up "Steady on lads. All very fascinating I'm sure, but before this turns into an episode of Tomorrow's World, let's say the Brigadier continues with his briefing. I for one want to know what's needed from someone with my, er, talents"

Tobias shrugs, "I can view them later. Thank you Sir." he nods to the Brigadier, almost, it seems, giving him permission to continue. He looks down and writes something in his notebook.

The brigadier nodded back, then glanced at Elliot. "Well stated, Mr. Webb," he said. "The elder Mr. Armistead saw his son regularly. He noticed no physical changes until August, when Simon Armistead started taking on the characteristics you saw. They were nowhere near as pronounced as they had been at the time of his death, which was determined to be August 30. However, he had noticed psychological changes in his son after he had returned from Dunwich in late May. Simon was withdrawn and nervous from that point forward, and it worsened with time. Dr. Kirby did hypothesise that it was the transformation that led to him topping himself. She also believes that its cause is genetic in nature, and someone without the gene would not turn into whatever he was in the process of turning into. You should be perfectly safe going to Dunwich - at least on that score. But there may be other dangers present. Now we get to the reason you're all here. The photo I'm about to show you is a damn sight more attractive than what you've seen thus far." Crichton replaced the transparency on the overhead projector with another one.



"Our Scientific Advisor, Dr. Valerie Kirby, is the reason you're all here. As I said, we have not heard from her in two days, and she was supposed to check in every day. She is very conscientious, and she would have called yesterday if it had been at all within her power. I fear that something has happened to her. Some of you know Dr. Kirby personally, and some of you have...other useful talents. In short, I need all of you to travel to Dunwich, locate Dr. Kirby, and bring her back safely."

Chad Engraham had flown Valerie Kirby from place to place, first while she the assistant to the previous Scientific Advisor and also since her promotion. He remembered her from those jaunts, and it had always been a delight conversing with her. Likewise, Leonek Novak had driven her frequently. In addition to her obvious beauty, her mind truly appealed to him. It was rare for him to find someone who was his intellectual equal, but she fit the bill. He thoroughly enjoyed driving her around, as their conversations had really allowed him to exercise his mind, and she had seemed to enjoy them as much as he did.

Raymond MacIntyre had worked with Valerie Kirby often. As Technical Advisor, his activities sometimes complemented hers, and they had collaborated together on a number of UNIT investigations. He was impressed by her brilliance, and concern for her safety began to set in. Tobias Maddox was new, so he had only met her a couple of times, but she was certainly memorable. Salem Shields had worked with Valerie Kirby plenty of times, not just on the autopsy they had peformed together. Their common expertise in biology made them an excellent team. Elliot Webb had seen Dr. Kirby around a few times, but he didn't really know her. However, her stunning looks had certainly drawn his attention. Valerie Soames had become fast friends with her namesake, in spite of the great difference in their ages. Dr. Kirby would also occasionally pick her brain for her pharmacological knowledge, and Valerie Soames learned a lot about plant genetics from her. The thought that something might have happened to her was almost unbearable.

OOC,That's fine with the History roll. Everyone else may roll History as well.

Raymond felt a twinge of guilt at his earlier comments. He was quite fond of Dr. Kirby and enjoyed working with someone so brilliant - even if they had different specialties. As the Brigadier continued and spoke about her being in danger Raymond couldn't help but thinking back his first project meeting with the doctor. How afterwards he went to a library andread a fair amount of her work since she had impressed him so much.

"Hmm, this is bad news. I hope she is okay." Raymond said, "Will we all be traveling to Dunwich together or will we go in teams? If something has happened to her, say her questions bothered the wrong person, we wouldn't want to draw too much suspicion."

"I do hope nothing has happened to young Val...Brigadier, surely you have enough young men stooging around that you could have sent one with her," said Valerie, concern etched on her face. "We should certainly get to it straight away, but Raymond has the right of it - if we turn up mob-handed like this, we'll stick out like a sore thumb."

Valerie mused on the problem for a few moments, "Dunwich is a sleepy little place...I'm sure I remember getting some tasty fish and chips there years ago. That whole area is good for walking, and with it being just past the school holidays it wouldn't be out of line for someone without children to be taking a late summer walking holiday in the area. If any of you can pretend to an interest in archeology, history or the like, then there's enough old ruins, churches and digs in the area to explain a visit. For myself...the whole Suffolk coast is lousy with the Jam and Jerusalem set. A few phone calls and I'll have a good cover story set up that will let me ask all the questions I want. There might be a space in my cover for a helpful grandson, too."

As Valerie spoke, her earlier shock and concern turned to a keen professional interest, as if the business of cover stories and fake backgrounds was nothing new to her.

"Well Mrs S, you are full of surprises!" Elliot chimes in "I may be a little old for your grandson, but maybe I could pass for a nephew"
Addressing the Brigadier "Sir, I assume you've chosen me to, er, access certain places in our hunt for the doc? Maybe If I partner her as some relative, it gives me a cover and good access to sensitive areas. I mean, who wouldn't trust a little old lady and her loveable cockney nephew!?". He flashes a cheesy grin.

Valerie gives Elliott a sharp look that doesn't quite cover a smile "A very troublesome nephew, no doubt. I suppose I can find some room for you in the Morris."

OOC,If Elliott has ever seen Valerie drive her beloved, if aged, Morris Minor, he may start to feel concerned at this point...

"You're spot on about the need for discretion," said Brigadier Crichton. "It is quite possible that Dr. Kirby's questions reached the wrong ears, and we don't want you to draw too much attention to yourselves. In hindsight, Mrs. Soames, yes, we should have given her an escort, but at the time there was not the slightest hint of any danger. It was a routine investigation, and one she felt she could handle by herself. You know how headstrong she can be. We do have a plan for how you'll travel to Dunwich. Speed is as vital as discretion, and I'm afraid you won't be able to bring the Morris, Mrs. Soames, but we do have another car available I think you'll like. Once the briefing concludes, those of you who are in uniform will change into civilian clothes. You'll all visit the Quartermaster to equip yourselves. If you want weapons, they should be concealable. Handguns and knives are good. Some submachine guns are small enough, though I don't believe any of you are trained in their use. Long guns are out, though. After that, you'll grab some breakfast and board a transport helicopter that Flight Lieutenant Engraham will pilot. You'll be wheels up by 0730 hours. You will fly to RAF Halesworth, which is fairly close to Dunwich. There will be two unmarked vehicles waiting for you there: a Land Rover 127 and an old Tin Lizzie. You can divide yourselves into groups however you see fit and drive to Dunwich. Mrs. Soames, your idea is quite sound, and you can contact your friends to see if you can come up with a good cover story for yourself and Mr. Webb. The two of you would make a good team, considering your...ah, talents. The rest of you can pose as archaeologists or historians, or simply tourists."

OOC,The History roll was to see how much you knew about Dunwich's history, not about [b]Dr. Kirby[/b]. [b]Raymond[/b], with such a good success, you know a lot about Dunwich's history. I'll fill you in from time to time on any relevant details that you know as appropriate, as there's too much to present everything here. Other than that, you can assume that anything you know (or look up) about Dunwich, you know in character as well. Everyone else is free to roll History as well.

Raymond MacIntyre,[b]Raymond[/b] had actually read [b]Beth Armistead[/b]'s book about Dunwich, he recalled. It had been published in early 1955, and he had read it not long after that, though his memory of it was still fresh. The book was called "Dunwich: The Drowned City" and was an extensive, well-researched history of the town from its heyday in the Middle Ages through World War Two, when a radar (or RDF as it had been called at the time) station had been operating there. Once the tenth largest city in England and home to numerous churches, the North Sea had gradually encroached upon Dunwich over the centuries until it was left a shadow of its former self. It had been a rotten borough until 1832, when its Parliamentary seat was finally abolished. Though it remained officially a township, Dunwich was little more than a village with only one church still left on dry land. There were also the ruins of Greyfriars Abbey.

Dunwich? Leonek wasn't even sure if he had ever heard of it, let alone knowing anything that might shed light on these weird mutations. Having nothing to contribute to the planning, he kept quiet, and worried about Dr. Kirby. Hopefully she was still okay... but he and his family knew what it often meant when dissidents and undesirables disappeared. It was why they'd come to this country, after all.

This was shaping up to be a bit more involved than his usual chauffeuring tasks.

Chad sat silent in thought, troubled at what this could mean for Dr. Kirby. He could feel the corners of his mind whispering about Dunwich but they just weren't releasing their secrets.

Then the realization hit him that once again his damned scarred face might make flying below the radar a more difficult task than for the others. Not good to have discerning features when trying to go incognito...

Tobias frowns as he thinks about going incognito. He looks at the time, flashing a brief glimpse of an expensive Rolex on his wrist. He turns to Raymond, "I'll follow your lead in this, Sir."

Mr. Handy,History (20%) [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3741174/]1d100=14[/url] Surprisingly, since Tobias hasn't been in the UK since his college days, he does know something about Dunwich.

Elliot had also heard of Dunwich. He recalls a dreary caravan holiday with foster parents to East Anglia, though whether they actually passed through the place he doesn't recall.

Chad on the other hand had never heard of the place.

"RAF Halesworth hasn't seen much use since the war," continued the brigadier. "It's just north of the town of Halesworth, and from there it's a short drive to Dunwich. While you're in Dunwich, the helicopter will be refueled and will be waiting for your return. Are there any questions?"

OOC,I edited my previous post to change your initial destination to RAF Halesworth.

Tobias Maddox/Elliot Webb,Both [b]Tobias[/b] and [b]Elliot[/b] had heard of Dunwich, though they had never been there. It had once been one of the great cities of medieval England, but over the centuries the sea had eroded the coastline, causing most of it to be submerged. It was now little more than a village, though it was still an occasional holiday spot for tourists and those interested in Dunwich's history.

"Just a few sir, when we find Dr. Kirby should we continue the investigation with her, or just bring her home? I assume we'll be under the same orders to check in every morning as well." Raymond gets the last of his questions in before waiting to be dismissed.

Once they are dismissed, but before the leave Raymond turns to Tobias, "Get your stuff together, looks like we're field agents this time. I'd suggest getting yourself a gun from the armory. Looks like this might not be the safest of trips."

Raymond will gather some things - in particular a small set of tools. After that he will stop by UNIT armory to pick up whatever is the smallest standard-issued UNIT sidearm. He isn't trained with them, but he's been through enough to know that not every problem can be solved with words. Once he is all set up, Raymond will grab a quick breakfast at the mess hall with whoever else is available before reporting for their flight.

Chad raised his hand, not waiting for permission to speak. "Sir, if I'm to be flying everyone in, I would much prefer to check out the craft myself before departing. With your permissions, of course."

Leonek shook his head; no questions from him. He didn't get up yet, though, wanting to hear what the Brigadier would have to say to the others. He'd have to stop by the quartermaster's when this was done and ask for a map--breakfast and the chopper ride would be ample time to study the layout of Dunwich.

Valerie is not interested in guns, although she will pack a small selection of interesting pharmaceuticals. She will also make a couple of calls and put together a light cover story for her and Eliott.

"Thank you Sir, I actually have a handgun." Tobias smiles self-deprecatingly to Raymond, "It's a bit of a hobby of mine. But I would like to take a small camera if there is one in stores; mine got broken recently. I'll take my tools, I guess, and casual wear." As the others file out he takes another look at the slides, writing a few notes on the abnormalities. Then he heads off to get his gear ready.

"I'll leave that up to your judgment and to Dr. Kirby's, Mr. MacIntyre," said Brigadier Crichton. "Much will depend on the situation at the time, but you may pursue the original investigation if you can safely do so. In fact, it may prove beneficial to pursue the investigation before you've found her so that you can retrace her steps. Yes, please do check in after arriving in Dunwich and every morning. You'll be in overall charge of the team. Captain Shields, as the ranking officer, you'll be in charge of the military personnel." He nodded to Chad. "Of course, Flight Lieutenant. Dismissed."

Valerie Soames called up Mrs. Delores Fowler up in Norwich, which was not far from Dunwich. "Yes, dear, I can arrange a little something," she said. "It so happens that there's an author named Virgil Soames living in Dunwich. You can pretend you're on your way there to see him because you believe he might be related to your late husband. For all we know, he may very well be. Your young friend can call himself Soames as well. He can be your nephew from your husband's side of the family."

Raymond was able to pick up a standard Browning Hi-Power pistol and a few 9mm magazines for it from the Quartermaster. It was small and concealable, though it had limited stopping power. Leonek acquired a regional map that would allow him to plan a route from Halesworth to Dunwich, but they didn't have any street maps of Dunwich itself.

Elliot heads to his quarters to pack his gear, including his usual "tools". He also heads to the armoury to request a small, concealable pistol. He has had firearms training from UNIT, though has never actually had to use a gun in the field (and hopes never to).

Mr Handy,Elliot's 'tools' are naturally his burglary kit. Includes lockpicks, torch, gloves, small grappling hook, crowbar etc. Also has a set of black clothing including balaclava and good shoes for climbing. Could you add these, the gun, and other everyday items to his equipment, or shall I do it?

Elliot was also issued a Browning Hi-Power pistol along with a few magazines, and the Quartermaster had no problems fulfilling the rest of his requests. Elliot also received a rope to go with the grappling hook and a backpack in which to carry everything.

Elliot Webb,Only I can edit your character sheet, since I'm the one who originally posted it, so I added everything.

With a sense of urgency and mission to carry out, Salem understood the gravity of the situation and what was needed of him. However, Salem felt somewhat uneasy as he has never commanded anybody under him, Salem was more interested in helping people with his understandings of Medicine and his love for studying the physiology, anatomy, behaviour and origin of organisms. But it was Salem's responsibility that the mission would go through swiftly and to bring everybody back home safe.

Salem unfortunately has never heard of Dunwich as he recalls, but needed to make a request to acquire some medical equipments he needed such as some basic first aid, a few medicines, plenty amounts of disposable gloves, a forensic kit to examine a scene, and perhaps even a small lab set to conduct his investigations. Salem wasn't quite sure if he would need a small lab as it could depend on the length of the mission, Salem could simply procure them from Dunwich though that could raise some suspicions. With a small lab set, Salem could develop a vaccine to isolate the pathogens that plagued Simon Armistead and even prevent or at least delay it's progress from happening to his team.

Salem has also made the request of a pistol, the thought of having a sidearm made the insides of Salem cringe but he knew full well of what was expected of him and hopefully won't have to use it. As the request was being prepared, Salem donned his civilian appearance including his satchel and took his zippo from the drawer of his office desk and tucked it in his back pocket, Salem doesn't smoke but he got it as a present from his twin-brother Isaac.

Valerie finds Elliot shortly after their visit to the quartermaster. She is packing a small wooden box containing several vials, droppers, and a syringe. "So, troublesome nephew, time for Auntie Val's lecture on our cover story, seeing as you're to be a Soames.
"It won't stand up to a proper background check, but we're off to see a local author called Virgil Soames, on the pretext of research into the Soames family tree. In fact, I rather hope he's not the right Soames at all, because he might know enough to trouble our cover.
"The best covers are simple ones - don't deviate too much from real life, use a name and details you can remember. So, you're Elliot Soames, my nephew." Valerie pauses, with a wistful look in her eye."The late Mr Soames, bless him, had a younger brother who was lost serving in Malasia. In truth, his wife remarried a slightly pudgy accountant from Ilkley, but for the purposes of this cover she passed when you were very young.
"So, we've not had much contact due to the tragic circumstances of your early life - that saves us spending the next week memorising details of each other's lives - but we're recently back in contact. We'll chat about a few minor details on this plane ride - it'll take my mind off it." Valerie gives Elliot a queasy look, "Do you know, I trained to jump out one of those damn things into France, but I was young and stupid then. Now if you put me in one for more than half an hour I'm clutching for the sick bag."

Salem was able to acquire a medical kit, forensic kit, and a small portable pathology lab, as well as another Browning and some ammo for it without any dificulty. While portable, the lab was still pretty bulky and heavy, so it would probably need to stay in the Land Rover when not in use.

OOC,You'll be flying in a helicopter rather than an airplane. Is there anything else anyone wants to do before the flight?

As everyone finishes prepping for the mission Raymond fills in those who are interested in what he recalled of Dunwich, "That Beth Armistead wrote a pretty detailed book on Dunwich about thirty years back. I must have read it while working at one of the University labs." He continued, "Apparently Dunwich was quite a big city in England during the Middle Ages. It was in a slow decline though as the sea started to encroach on the land and swallow it up. During dubya-dubya two, I heard the Brits used it as a radar installation."

Raymond finished up, "The book talked about how Dunwich only had a few hundred people living there. I can't imagine it is more than three hundred now. The city is pretty well known for its churches, but most of them sank. Now there is only one church left and the only other notable landmark is the Greyfriar's Abbey - some old Franciscan monastery."

After the last of his prep-work, but before they lifted off Raymond stopped to have a word with Salem, "Don't sweat the investigation too much. I've done things like this before so I can handle that end just fine. You just keep on top of basic security and we will all be in and out of there in a few days. This is England after all, it isn't a war-zone." Raymond does his best to look reassuring and gets ready to board the helicopter.

Just before they go, Tobias heads to the nearest public pay phone and sends a telegram. "Poor old Mum, always worries." He says to anyone who sees him.

Mr. Handy,"Proceeding to Dunwich stop routine investigation stop may have interesting results stop Maddox"

Chad makes sure the craft is up to par and free of anything which will lead to any unforeseen complications. He also makes sure it's fully fueled. "No sense in only getting there," he tells the ground crew. "We need to get back to report what we find."

Chad checked out the large transport helicopter thoroughly. It was fully fueled and in excellent condition. It had seats for a pilot and co-pilot (though he was plenty capable of flying it himself) as well as room in the main compartment for up to ten passengers.

Leonek changes into civvies, packing a couple of days' worth as well. Hopefully they wouldn't be gone any longer than that. He keeps his Browning with him rather than packing it away; he tucks it into the small of his back where shirt tails and a coat can keep it covered. The map goes into a coat pocket.

As prepared as he's going to be, he goes down to where the heli is waiting. "Good morning, Flight Lieutenant."

Tobias walks briskly across the helipad carrying a holdall, a small bag of tools and a briefcase.

By 7:30 AM, the entire team was aboard the helicopter and ready to depart. Chad Engraham took off on schedule, and the flight to Halesworth was swift and without incident. The old RAF base north of the city had fallen into disuse in the last forty years, though there were a few signs of recent activity. As he approached, he and his passengers could see the two vehicles they had been told about in the briefing: a white Land Rover and an old black Ford Model T. There was also a signalman on a flat, paved patch of ground waving a pair of flags. Not far away, a fuel tanker was parked.

"Eagle, this is RAF Halesworth," came a woman's voice on the radio. "You are cleared for landing."

OOC,[b]Chad[/b], please roll Pilot Helicopter at double your skill due to good conditions in order to land. A failure will not cause a crash (except possibly if it's an extremely bad one), but the helicopter may suffer some damage.

Chad made his descent almost automatically, without even thinking about it. He didn't even notice that the signalman was waving him off desperately until it was too late. He was coming down too fast, and when he tried to close the throttle, he mistakenly opened it, increasing the chopper's downward speed. In a panic, he twisted the yoke, but that only made matters worse. The helicopter pitched sideways as it struck the ground, crashing down on its side. As it slewed, the tail rotor went right through the signalman's neck. His head slid off and fell to the ground, his eyes wide with shock.

The people in the helicopter fared better thanks to being strapped in, but there were still injuries galore. Chad wasn't hurt too badly, but the pilot's seat had better padding. Leonek only had minor bruises and abrasions. Raymond was somewhat worse for the wear. Not only that, but his and Tobias's tool kits and Tobias's briefcase bore the brunt of the crash. They were utterly crushed and tangled in the twisted wreckage at the rear of the helicopter. Tobias himself was closest to the rear, and he was horribly wounded in the crash and pinned beneath the ruined metal shell of the helicopter. The pain was severe, but only briefly, as unconsciousness quickly claimed him - though not before he got a glimpse of the hapless signalman.

Salem was lightly wounded in the crash landing. Fortunately, his equipment had been spared all but minor dents, as it had been further forward. Valerie somehow got through it all unscathed, completely without a scratch. Elliot was not so lucky, and neither was his gear. The backpack and all of its contents had been destroyed along with the Technical Advisors' equipment. His pistol and ammo were on his person, but everything else was a total loss.

OOC,[b]Chad[/b], please roll Sanity for accidentally causing the signalman's death. Sanity loss is 1/1d8, so you lose 1d8 Sanity if you fail, and you still lose 1 Sanity even if you succeed. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, you may go temporarily insane. In that event, roll Idea. If the Idea roll fails, you don't go temporarily insane. If it succeeds, you do. As long as you don't go temporarily insane, you may act freely. If you lose 7 or more Sanity (20% of your current Sanity), you will go indefinitely insane, picking up a long-term insanity that will last for months. Everyone else, please roll Sanity for witnessing the death. Sanity loss is 0/1d4. [b]Tobias[/b] is currently unconscious, but everyone else may act. If you apply First Aid to someone successfully, this will restore 1d3 HP to that person (though he cannot get back any more than he lost in the crash). It will also wake [b]Tobias[/b] up, at which point he will be able to act, though he is still trapped. Yes, getting back out just became a lot more complicated. :twisted:

Raymond grunted as a chunk of metal shrapnel lodged itself into his back. Raymond brushed off the signalman's death, it hadn't been the first time he had seen a man die and he didn't expect it to be the last. Instead he turned his attention to his teammates. While not formally trained in first aid or medicine, it didn't take an EMT to know who was hurt the worst.

Raymond rushed to his assistant's side and began removing the metal and applying basic first aid - leaving the more severe wounds for the medic. "Shields, get over here and help me with him!" Raymond's first aid techniques were out of date and ineffective, so he continued to try to get Tobias free without moving him.

The sight of the signalman was minimalized when Chad looked back and saw Tobias pinned beneath the chopper's mass. He unstrapped and tried to move back as soon as the bulk stopped moving, looking for flames as he went. He moves and tries to help Raymond and Salem get Tobias clear of the wreck. In his head, he KNEW he was going to be doing a major amount of answering for his actions just then, but for now, everyone needed to get clear of the mess. "Well, everyone, welcome to Dunwich. Please exit the aircraft in an orderly fashion."

There were no flames inside the wrecked helicopter, but through the shattered windscreen Chad could see a couple of small fires on the ground outside where pieces of the helicopter had broken off. That would not be too big a concern if it were not for the slowly spreading puddle of fuel that was leaking from the breached fuel tank in the main body of the helicopter towards the burning, severed tail section.

OOC,Anyone who does not apply First Aid (or Medicine, which may be used in its place) this round may instead attempt to lift the wreckage and free [b]Tobias[/b] (so [b]Raymond[/b] cannot try to do so this round). At most two people can attempt this each round. In order to do this, you will need to match your STR against the SIZ of the debris that has him pinned, which is 20, on the Resistance Table. A score of 10 or below will fail automatically. If two people cooperate, only one of them rolls, but the sum of the two characters' STR scores is used.

Seeing the fires, he leaves the others to free Tobias and looks for a fire extinguisher to try to buy the others some time.

"Is everybody okay?", as Salem wipes the dusts and debris off his face, his legs feel numb and his back is stiff. Despite the discomforts, Salem shakes the pain away and scans the area and notices the body of the servered signalman, "Shields, get over here and help me with him!", Raymond cries. Just as Salem rushes to Raymond's side,"on the count of three Raymond we lift... 1... 2... 3...", and without much effort, both Salem and Raymond lifted the wreck off of Tobias as they pull Tobias out of the wreckage as well.

Tobias! Wake up! Can you hear me?", as Salem examines Tobias's head for bruises while examining wounds on his body. However, with no avail the wounds appear much worse than they appear as Salem thinks of something else to treat Tobias.

With further treatment to Tobias's wounds, Salem miraculously succeeds in waking Tobias up.

Medicine Roll,Do I roll a 1d3 to restore [b]Tobias's[/b] HP?

EDITED:

OOC/CrackheadC.,I totally forgot about rounds, oopsy I made a HUGE mistake :oops:

As the helicopter took a sickening sideways lurch onto the tarmac, Valerie let out an involuntary cry of fear. For a moment she feared the worst, as the scream of twisting metal overwhelmed her own cry, but then the movement subsided and she found herself dangling safely in her straps. Seeing her feet were dangling lightly against the side of the cabin, which was now the floor, she took a deep breath and looked around, only for her eyes to alight on the sight of the hapless signalman slowly collapsing to the ground, headless. For the second time that morning the macabre had broken through into Valerie's mind, and she let off a full throated scream.

SAN Check,Fail San check, lose 2 SAN. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/search/1104247

OOC,With Str of 3, I think Valerie is more of a hindrance than a help

Elliot's fear for his own safety distracted him from the full horror of the signalman's death. Battered and bruised, he touches his forehead and sees blood on his hand but is otherwise conscious. His first thought is for Valerie beside him, and is relieved to see that she appears dazed but almost completely unharmed. "What the f**k just happened?!" he yells to no-one in particular. Removing his seatbelt, he turns to look back at the twisted wreckage at the back of the chopper. Seeing Tobias trapped he nimbly clambers over and attempts to free him, yelling "Can someone lend a hand here!".

Mr Handy,My STR is only 10, so I assume i need to await someone else to assist?

"Riot must call riot." Tobias sinks back in to unconciousness. He comes back round as Salem continues treatment. "Must...oh my Head." He shuts his eyes as the hammering in his head renews with a vengeance. His mind replays the last few seconds before he blacked out. He tries to forget the tremendous pain and the signalman- now what happened to the signalman? Tobias can't remember fortunately. He lies still, listening to the voices, thankful that most people seem to be alive. "Thankyou." He manages to say to his rescuer.

Chad continues looking for a fire extinguisher but, in his haste, can't find it. Damn thing must have shaken loose in the crash.

OOC,Geeze, I can't roll for anything right now, except Sanity. *sigh*

Shaken and rattled, it takes Leonek a few moments to get his wits. He undoes the straps holding him to his seat and looks around; there's nothing to be done for the man outside, and there are too many people crowded around Tobias in the back, so he reaches up to try and throw open the helicopter's cargo door. "Let's get out, people, out," he says, with his eyes on Valerie. Please let her keep it together...

While the helicopter door now lay underfoot, as the chopper was on its side, it was a simple matter to exit through the shattered windscreen. Leonek guided Valerie safely out of the destroyed helicopter. The leaking fuel was slowly spreading towards the burning tail section.

Salem and Elliot, working together, managed to pry loose the debris and free Tobias. Salem took out his medical kit and began trying to treat and revive the injured man, but so far he remained unconscious, even with Raymond's assistance. He continued to bleed from where a length of metal had impaled his torso, but it did not appear to have pierced any vital organs.

Chad looked around wildly for a fire extinguisher. He knew there was one aboard, but he was so far unable to find out where it had rolled in the twisted wreckage. It was probably under something, which would require more digging around.

OOC,It is now the second round. [b]Salem[/b] has already acted this round by trying unsuccessfully to apply First Aid. [b]Tobias[/b] is now free but still unconscious for now. Everone else may act again once this round.

Raymond leaves Tobias in medical professionals' hands and turns his attention to the chopper. He looks for the fire extinguisher as well, but to no avail.

"Get clear of the area and get Tobias out of here! This helicopter can go up at any moment" Raymond shouts.

OOC,If the extinguisher is not found this round Raymond is going to order everyone away from the chopper and to let it burn.

Valerie picks her way out of the helicopter with the help of Leonek. Noticing people casting around wildly looking for the extinguisher, she spots a red canister rolling behind a seat "Hey," she cries, "by your left foot."

OOC,For next round, can Valerie make use of Pharmacy in some way to help with the first aid? She did bring a small box of interesting pharmaceuticals with her...

Valerie noticed the fire extinguisher right away as Leonek was leading her out of the helicopter. It had rolled loose from the main body of wreckage, which is why nobody had been able to locate it. She easily scooped it up.

OOC,[b]Valerie[/b], since you got a critical success on your Spot Hidden roll, you found the fire extinguisher right away and may still take another action this turn. Attempting to put out the fire will require a Luck roll. If you want to try to come up with a drug to wake [b]Tobias[/b] up, you may make a Pharmacy roll. However, it will not cause him to recover any HP. In addition to [b]Valerie[/b], [b]Chad[/b], [b]Leonek[/b], and [b]Elliot[/b] still have actions this round.

"Can't be that difficult to use" muttered Valerie to herself as she scooped up the extinguisher. Yanking out the plastic safety she directed the nozzle slightly wildly towards the flames at the tail-end of the helicopter. Pulling the handle, she sprayed foam over the flames. "Well done, old girl" she congratulated herself.

Valerie managed to extinguish the fire by the time the spreading fuel puddle was halfway to it.

Tobias came to his senses after Salem carefully extracted the jagged metal from his body and stopped the bleeding.

OOC,We're out of rounds now that the immediate danger has passed, so you may all act freely. [b]Salem[/b], please roll 1d3 to see how many HP [b]Tobias[/b] recovers from your successful Medicine roll. Everyone else may benefit from one and only one successful First Aid or Medicine roll (but not both) to recover 1d3 HP. Each person may attempt First Aid and Medicine on each injured person (including yourself) once. If one skill doesn't work on one person, you may attempt the other.

Chad claps Valerie on the shoulder. "Well done. Where was the damned thing?" Even with no visible danger, he still tries to hurry with the others out of the craft, even knowing there would be an angry welcoming committee.

With the immediate danger past, Leonek helps to gather people and material from the chopper.

"It was rolling around under a seat," replies Valerie. Hurrying over to where Salem was treating the unfortunate Tobias, she says "I might have something for his pain in here", rummaging in her bag.

Elliot assists Leonek with recovering gear from the wreckage. He yells stream of expletives as he discovers his gear is almost completely destroyed, either crushed by the wreckage or flung from the crash and melted by the burning fuel. Blood drips over his eyes, reminding him he's injured. Being used to taking care of himself, he borrows some bandages and painkillers from Salem, and successfully treats his own wounds, albeit rather amateurishly. "Was that bloke the best bloody pilot UNIT could spare?" he mutters not-so-quietly.

Raymond takes a moment to bandage himself up now that the danger is gone. His patch job isn't perfect, but it will do for now.

Adrenaline still pumping in his veins Raymond goes over to the signalman's corpse, "Might as well do it now, because it won't get easier" and checks his body for any messages that might have been pertinent to the mission. Afterwards he gathers the little things he brought and begins loading them into the Land Rover.

Chad turns to Elliot and says simply without malice, "Any landing you can walk away from." He sees Tobias again and adds more solemnly, "So to speak."

He wipes the drying blood from his face, thinking about the new addition to his collage of scar tissue that would be forming. Yet he seeks no means to bandage it. This was his fault. He knew it. This is where his penance would begin.

Tobias was doing somewhat better after Salem's treatment, and Valerie's injection helped dull the pain, though it did not erase it completely. He found that he was able to walk, albeit slowly.

Elliot managed to do an excellent job of tending his own wounds, and Raymond's patch job was adequate; he was far better at fixing machines.

OOC,[b]Elliot[/b], since you got a critical success on your First Aid roll, you recover the maximum of 3 HP. Only [b]Chad[/b] and [b]Leonek[/b] can still be treated. Since [b]Leonek[/b] is only down 1 HP, there is no need to roll to see how many he gets back, as a successful roll will heal him fully regardless. Everyone may roll Spot Hidden.

"Thank you, a good patch job." Tobias leans on Salem as he gets to his feet. "Those pills seem to have done the trick Ma'am." He says to Valerie. He looks at the twisted wreck of the Helicoper. He still seems in shock, "I must get my briefcase before we go." He hobbles slowly over to Raymond at the landrover."Sir, have you seen my briefcase?"

Roll,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3761370/]1d100=100[/url] (not another one!)

"No need for formalities in the field Tobias, you got a few years on me. Just call me Ray, no one is around to complain about chain of command or bosses." Raymond gives Tobias a light pat on the back, relieved to see the man mobile.

"Bad news about your case though, seems it was trashed. You might be able to salvage some of the basics out of it, but it looks like we won't be doing indepth analyses while we are here."

OOC,Dang a failure that bad your eyes must have come out in that crash.

As Chad goes over to the fallen signalman to pay his respects to this man he had never met, literally mowed down before them, he notices something.

Tobias and Elliot both found that their vision was a bit blurry after the crash, but hopefully that was only temporary. Raymond thought he noticed something out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't be sure.

OOC,[b]Valerie[/b] is getting an impressive amount of 2s! The rest of you are getting an equally impressive amount of 100s! :o

Chad Engraham,[b]Chad[/b] noticed a jeep in the distance, approaching from the direction of the control tower. It had UNIT markings, and it was being driven by a young woman in uniform. Beside her was a man in an officer's uniform.

Valerie Soames,[b]Valerie[/b] noticed a jeep in the distance, approaching from the direction of the control tower. It had UNIT markings, and it was being driven by a young woman in a corporal's uniform. She was pretty, with shoulder-length black hair. Beside her was a man in an officer's uniform, and her sharp eyesight picked out major's insignia on his collar. He looked to be in his mid-thirties, with curly brown hair. He also looked decidedly unhappy.

Valerie hurries over to Salem. "Captain Shields, there is a very upset RAF Major coming our way. If you can extract us from this without fuss, then so much the better. If he is intent on delaying you, I suggest you represent at least Elliot and I as unconnected civilian employees in an attempt to let us carry on. I guess we'll be taking the old car anyway."

Making her way over to Elliot, she spoke in a low voice "Elliot, there could be some inter-service drama coming up. If it looks like we're going to get held up with red tape, you and I should try to slope off."

OOC,I'm not sure who else looks sufficiently un-military to benefit from this pretence, if needed.

"Sir, Ray." There is a glimmer of a smile, "Gawd, I feel rough; splitting headache around the eyes. Shields did a good job but I need to get to a hospital to get this stitched up properly before I can move much. I need that case though, give me a minute to see what I can recover?"

OOC,What, if anything remains of Tobias' kit? He's only really concerned about the briefcase, not the clothes or tools.

"This is going well so far", as Salem lets out a long breath, trying to collect himself together. Taking off his gloves, Salem rubs his eyes as to wonder why they would send a high ranking officer instead of a search and rescue.

"Ain't no rest for the wicked", as Salem mutters under his breath.

Leonek rubs his head, fingers coming away slick with blood. He must have gotten a small cut in the crash. It doesn't seem mild enough to worry about, however; he wipes his fingers on a shirt sleeve and continues looking to see if there's anything that can be retrieved from the wreckage.

Tobias hobbles over to the wreckage. "Hey Leonek, how're you feeling? Any chance you can retrieve my briefcase from the back of the wreck? It's plain dark grey. I don't reckon I can climb without reopening my wound."

The Pole makes a 'stay' motion with his hands. "You relax, Mr. Maddox. I will look for your things." He casts a doubtful look into the helicopter's crushed rear, then crouches down to carefully check the wreckage for a dark grey briefcase--or anything else salvageable.

Leonek poked around inside the ruined helicopter. After some digging around, he could barely make out the twisted remains of the dark gray briefcase that had belonged to Tobias. It was crushed beyond all hope of salvage, as were his and Raymond's tools. However, Salem's portable pathology lab and forensics kit were intact, and he still had his medical kit, which he had been using.

Soon everyone could see the UNIT jeep as it approached the crash site. A pretty young corporal with shoulder length black hair was driving it, and a major in his thirties with curly brown hair sat beside her. Both of them wore UNIT uniforms and berets. The corporal blanched when she saw the decapitated signalman. The major climbed out of the jeep and walked up to the team. "What the devil happened?" he asked, clearly upset.

OOC,Everyone has dressed in civilian clothes for this mission. The major and corporal are wearing UNIT uniforms, not RAF. I've already adjusted the inventory lists on your character sheets and deleted everything that was destroyed in the crash. The clothes you are all wearing and the weapons you carry on your person are intact, but if you failed the Luck roll, you've lost anything that you had packed.

"Sir, not quite sure what just happened, but upon landing our helicopter seem to tumbled on it's side." Salem looks over his shoulder at his wounded team, "there has been a casualty and we're in need of medical attention".

"I'm afraid we don't have anyone here who's suited to the task," said the major. "Aside from myself, only the corporal and poor Jenkins there came to guide you in. RAF Halesworth hasn't been used since the war and isn't staffed. We weren't expecting any trouble. I was told you were a medical officer, Captain, so you could render more aid than I. There's a hospital in Halesworth just south of this airfield. Do you suspect that the helicopter was sabotaged?"

Chad steps forward at the mention of sabotage. "No, sir. It was user error. I somehow throttled instead of easing off, an honest mistake which cost one man his life and endangered everyone else's lives." He stands as straight as the pain would let him. "I take full responsibility for this mishap and will accept the consequences of it. However, I suggest the others get patched up quickly so they may carry on in their tasks."

"Damn," muttered the major. "Yes, you'd all best proceed with your mission as soon as you can. You're part of the mission too, Flight Lieutenant, and you don't look too badly hurt. If the captain here patches you up, you should be all right. It doesn't look like you need to go to hospital."

"Right then. Thank you, Major." Ray turned to the group, "Okay, Chad, Leo clean yourselves up and let Salem take a look at those cuts and bruises. There's no need to stand out even more when we get to town. Valerie and Elliot, I assume you will be taking the older car. If there is room for one more in your cover - that would be best. Otherwise we should all get a move on."

Tobias looks at the remains of his gear with disgust. Looking very pale and with thin lips he walks silently over to the land rover and Raymond. There is absolutely no chance of him traveling in the old jalopy. His expression is thunderous.

Chad nods to the major. "I've suffered worse, but very well, sir." He then steps away to mend his injury, but his heart is not in it and he merely cleans up some blood and covers it.

Elliot is keen to get far from the wreckage, so addressing Valerie says "Right Mrs S, I mean 'Auntie', we'd better get a move on. I assume you'll be driving this old banger?" He proceeds towards the old car, and glancing back at his ruined gear he mutters "And I suppose I'd better improvise from now on"

Immediately after the Major's response, without any hesitation Salem quickly grabbed his Medical Kit and quickly rushes up to his team. Looking at Chad's wounds were somewhat complicated due to unusual gashes and contusions found, but with luck managed to patch up Chad's wounds. The contusions and abrasions found on Novak were only minor. Raymond's minor chest trauma was treated easily with some simple bandaging. Glancing over at Elliot, Salem noticed his clever use of the antiseptic gauzes dressed over his wounds, Salem brushes Elliot up with some bandages.

Last but not least, Salem's last concern was his own safety over his team. Salem picks up a shattered mirror off the ground to inspect the wound on his lower back. Given a new perspective, he wraps his wounds up and takes a painkiller for his back pain.

As Salem finishes dressing the wounds of his team, he turns his attention to the major and barks, "Sir! I would like to make a priority one request back to HQ regarding our damaged equipment. Would it be possible to transport my team's equipment back to this airfield in the next forty-eight hours? Sir!", Unsure of the likelihood of getting everybody's equipment back, Salem's sweat begins to drip down the back of his neck as he rarely uses his rank to acquire any sort of perks that comes as being a Captain. Salem anxiously awaits the Major's reply.

OOC,May I make a Credit Roll to see if I could make the request? As well, I noticed [url=http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/viewtopic.php?p=135498#p135498]Elliot has been healed by 3hp[/url], however, I can't seem to find where he got that 3hp other then this. [quote="jimacol"] [...]he borrows some bandages and painkillers from [b]Salem[/b], and [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3760724/]successfully treats his own wounds[/url], albeit rather [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3760725/]amateurishly[/url]. [color=#800000]"Was that bloke the best bloody pilot UNIT could spare?"[/color] he mutters not-so-quietly.[/quote] Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Chad waits as Salem patiently undoes his bandages and reaffixes them with ease. "Thank you, sir." He checks his weapon one more time and heads towards their transport. His job was done for now, but he wanted to be ready for whatever lie ahead.

Valerie looks at the old car and smiles "Happy to drive, Elliot dear. Glad you trust me on these twisty country roads..."

She faces the rest of the group. "Right, do any of you plan to be a walker who's caught a lift with us, or some such? When we get to Dunwich we'll be able to meet up as if we're separate groups who happen to be staying in the same place. Also, I'd suggest a few simple recognition codes. We choose a few ordinary words that, if we drop into conversation, mean to do something. So mentioning pineapple means to casually follow me to somewhere private to talk, and mango means that there's a serious problem and to rendezvous back at this base."

"Thank you," Leonek quietly says to Salem, once he's been patched up. With the adrenaline wearing off, the enormity of what just occurred is catching up to him, and it has cast a pall over the man. He steps over to the Land Rover and settles into the driver's seat, ready to lose himself in that.

Tobias climbs silently into the Land Rover seat behind Leonek and then tries to hide a gasp of pain as the sitting position creases his injured side. He wonders how he'll explain the injury once he gets to the local hospital, a hit and run maybe. He looks through the window at the twisted helicopter and waits.

Chad and Leonek felt much better after Salem's treatment. Salem himself was doing a good deal better too, though he wasn't quite 100 percent.

"I'll call in your request to UNIT and do what I can, Captain," the major told Salem. "It should be possible to get replacement equipment shipped here in a couple of days. I'll just need a list of what was lost and damaged in the crash." He gave Salem directions to the hospital in Halesworth, to the south of the disused RAF base. "I haven't been briefed on the nature of your mission, but I gather it's important considering it was cobbled together on such short notice. You'll probably want to get moving on it ASAP. You have two vehicles, so one group can proceed with the mission while the other goes to hospital and catches up later. Is there anything else you need?"

OOC,[b]Elliot[/b] and [b]Raymond[/b] have already had their wounds treated, so they get no further benefit from [b]Salem[/b]. [b]Elliot[/b] scored a critical success, so I ruled that he recovered the maximum of 3 HP instead of the 1 he rolled. There is no need for a Credit Rating roll. The major will pass on the request to UNIT, and it will be up to [i]his[/i] Credit Rating (which is a good deal better than yours) and logistical considerations.

Chad continues the wait to embark in the vehicle. Absently, his hand goes to the bandages to see just how bad the injury actually feels.

"The gear should be all Major, but I have a feeling it won't do much good coming so late. Thank you for your assistance." Raymond turned to the group, "Anyone who sustained an injury that would conflict with your ability to do the job, I suggest you go to the hospital. Otherwise, we'll have to keep moving on, remember this is a time-sensitive mission."

With his piece said Raymond gets into the passenger's seat of the humvee and awaits the (brief) self-assessment from the group.

"I could do with getting to that hospital asap. I'm not sure how long these bandages are going to hold up. I need stitches and strapping, and morphine for my head. As far as I'm concerned we should have gone already." Tobias says grumpily. It is obvious he's in a foul mood.

"Right Mrs S, there don't seem to be any brave volunteers to share with us, so let's get this banger on the road" says Elliot "Next stop Dunwich. We can work on those code words of yours on the way"

"I'll do what I can," said the major when he had gotten the list of items needing replacement. "Good luck, all of you." He gave them directions to the Patrick Stead Hospital in Halesworth.

Leonek drove the Land Rover south, with Chad, Raymond, Tobias, and Salem along for the ride. Valerie and Elliot went in the Model T. They started out heading south, but soon they had to turn east.

OOC,[b]Chad[/b], [b]Leonek[/b], [b]Raymond[/b], [b]Tobias[/b], and [b]Salem[/b] are moving to the thread linked below.

Accident and Emergency

OOC,[b]Valerie[/b] and [b]Elliot[/b] are moving to the thread linked below.

Infiltration