Landing and cross country

It’s Monday, August 19, 1991. Yesterday, Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev was removed from office in a coup arranged by hard-line communists in his government.

Protests against the coup are breaking out across the Soviet Union. Nationalist insurgents in the various Soviet republics are declaring independence from the illegitimate “State Committee for the State of Emergency.”

The Investigators are members of a Soviet Spetsnaz, or Special Purposes Forces, unit. They were selected for this elite military service due to their political reliability and physical fitness. After intense training and as much as two years of service in Afghanistan, they are hardened combat veterans. Many suspect that the coup plotters intend to use Spetsnaz units to bully the opposition into line. However, fate has intervened and the Investigators’ Spetsnaz unit has been kicked out of bed for a less political, but even more pressing, assignment

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Landing and cross country

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The journey gets progressively rougher as you get closer to the Byrranga Mountains of the desolate Taymyr Peninsula.

At this time of the year the sun is well above the horizon by 05:00, but the An-124 is on-station approximately half an hour before sun-up.

Image

At about 04:30, the pilot calls through to the passenger compartment from the cockpit as he announces;

"We are getting very close to the disembarcation point. Unfortunately we need the sun to be able to find a suitable place to landing, so once the sun rises we can start to search for a suitable landing site that presents a credible chance for a decent open-field landing."

At about 04:55, he calls out again and announces that,

"Well Comrades, the sun is now up and we are s looking for a suitable landing spot. We will be doing a lot of turns as we search the area, so hang onto your sorry asses."

Little over twenty minutes later he calls through from the cockpit and announces;

"We have found what we believe is a suitable site and will be descending once we line ourselves up - Hang on Brothers, this may not be pretty but we'll get you down."

Looking through the cockpit;s windshield you can see little other than the mother of all storms ahead, then your landing field comes into view.

Finally the plane is lined up and it starts to judder and shake as it begins it's descent into the field ahead of you.
OOC:   Listen roll please everyone  
Those that pass,You think you can hear the pilots reciting the a Russian Orthodox prayer
Those that fail,You cannot hear anything over the roar of the planes four engines.
OOC:   Can we make either spot hidden, Navigation or Military Science rolls, whichever you prefer.  
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Re: Landing and cross country

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Viktor begins to pray, echoing the words he is hearing from the cockpit. Then he notices something.
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Re: Landing and cross country

Post by ajcesq »

Vlad has other things on his mind these days apart from god, zrazy for instance, but he grew up in an orthodox household and knows what a heart felt plea to a deity for help sounds like. And what he sees out of the window prompts him to remember the prayers his mother and grandmother taught him when he was small and to consider that divine help might be very welcome with what's to come.
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Re: Landing and cross country

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Nick Korovin hears the prayers, but as an atheist he doesn't join in. Back in the days, a platoon of praying Spetznaz and pilots would have been considered a serious infringement, but nowadays religion is accepted.

He also notices something else...
OOC:   Both checks passed viewtopic.php?f=406&t=5966#p191644  
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You notice that the tech heads from the Strategic Command sit apart from everyone else during the flight and do not respond to any attempts to draw them into conversation, other than fixing you with a disdainful glower.

As you sit strapped into your seats you can hear a sudden hiss, and looking out through the portholes in the passenger compartment you can observe that the pilots are dumping the plane's fuel. This makes the compartment, and presumably the rest of the plane smell strongly of aviation fuel.

"Brace for Impact!" someone shouts above the noise of the plane being tossed like a rag-doll by the storm. Though how something this big could be manhandled by the winds does strike you as being somewhat worrying for the mission ahead.
Those that pass their chosen roll,You notice that the plane's chosen landing site is about 300 meters too short for an aircraft of this size, you can also hear the fuel being jettisoned from the plane. SAN roll please (0/1)
Seeing the plane comings closer and closer to the ground, the less 'disciplined' soldiers start to panic, shouting and screaming about their situation. Several unbuckle themselves and some start to head forwards towards the cockpit, a route that will take them past where your group are sitting. To try and stop them would mean your releasing at least part of your 'bracing for impact.' Other soldiers head aft towards the rear of the plane, a look of fear on their faces.

Three of the four mighty engines splutter and die one by one until there is only the port inner engine running, and that is coughing and will not run much longer.

Those who head towards the rear of the plane descend into the cargo hold. The final engine coughs and dies.

As the plane comes closer to the ground the plane is being buffeted by increasingly strong winds. The view out of the cockpit windshield is more or less total white-out with occasional flashes of shadow and darkness. Suddenly you can hear the pilots start to sing the Russian National Anthem. (Translated here into English)

"Union of freeborn's Unbreakable Republics,
Great Russia has welded forever to the stand.
In Struggle by Created of will of the people,
United and the mighty, Our Soviet land!

To the Motherland Sing, home of the free,
Bulwark of Peoples in brotherhood strong.
Party of Lenin View Blog About, the strength of the people,
the To Communism's triumph's the lead on us!

Tempests the sunrays Through of freedom have cheered us,
Along, the new path where clause great ..."


At the last moment the pilots raise the nose slightly and there is a loud grinding noise as the rear of the plane hits the ground. Hard! Lights go out and most of the troops in the passenger cabin start screaming in outright terror.

As the tail hits the ground, the nose pivots down into the ground, deep beneath the snow. Those who were trying to get to the pilots get their wish as they are catapulted forwards.
OOC:   The jet's top speed is 537 mph, assuming the pilots were slowing it down and when the tail impacted the plane was doing 1/2 the speed, which I reckon would be at about 180 mph, which would have been the impact speed as they hit the windshield.  
This coupled with the impact stress of the crash simply shatters the nose of the plane, concertinaing the front cabin instantly, crushing it like a fly on a windscreen. Debris, snow, ice and rock have been forced through the gangway into the passenger compartment.

Those that went astern met what sounded like a similar fate to their forward bound companions. A loud screeching, followed by screams punctuated with loud bangs emanates from the rear of the plane. A lone voice whimpers. While it is intelligible you can all make out "Please Dear Holy Mother Save your son Yuri Zolnerowich." It soon degenerates into meaningless babbling. You have all served with, and liked Yuri Zolnerowich, who also served as a radio man with the 11th Detached Special Operations Brigade for a few tours in Afghanistan but was cashiered to the general army for knocking out a Major, with one single blow. The fact that Major fully deserved it did not matter a jot because he just happened to do it in front of a lot of witnesses, many of who had personal grudges against Zolnerowich. Hearing this costs you 1/D2 SAN.

There is a muffled whumph from outside, and flames can be seen from the few portholes that remain intact. The flickering light from the flames is the only illumination available inside the craft. But noise - oh yes there is plenty of noise. Loud, pitiful screams can be heard from the injured and dying. The plane seems to be sitting atop a ridge as it rocks and the cargo section falls down with a loud crash, dropping some ten feet or so. The outside world can just be seen peeking through the crack. Wind howls through the gap and the temperature, already cold, drops alarmingly, as snow starts to swirl at the top of the cabin.

A loud crack emanates from the bulkhead above and electrical cables sweep down showering sparks wherever they touch a convenient earth point, Sometimes it is the deck, other times a soldier, and as they scream in muffled agony as the cable ends burn deep into their flesh or causes them shock damage in other ways, through their helmets for example, then the smell of feces and burnt flesh hits you in waves. Some fool had his finger on the trigger of his AK-47, which fortunately was not on continuous mode. As his muscles contracted due to electrification, his gun went off at random instances adding to the death toll. Fortunately whoever was near him managed to knock the cable away from where it had made contact with him, probably saving numerous lives. Suddeny several loud bangs, followed by a hissing sound can be heard, just under the panicked shouting and screaming in the confined space.

Now you can hear several agonised cries as something slick and slippery coats the deck, a light fog is starting to fill the passenger compartment, and it is getting denser, starting to coalesce upon your clothing.
OOC:   Can I please have two Idea rolls from everyone.  
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Re: Landing and cross country

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Those that pass either of their idea rolls,You recognise the liquid and vapour as hydraulic fluid, which is of course highly inflammable. This, coupled with the increasingly violent flames outside the plane do not make for a good resolution.
As the cables sweep down, arcing amidst the vapour soldiers suddenly feel the need to be away from the passenger compartment, preferable in one of the troop transports and not in the burning wreck of the plane. The lead specialist from the strategic command centre unbuckles himself and comes close to Babenko and Kozlov, shouting to make himself heard he says;

"I recognise the smell and feel of the vapour Kapitan, as it looks like they have indeed blown comrade, then we have got to get out of here as quickly as possible. Some of the oils used are highly inflammable, others toxic, especially in vapour form. We should make a move to get away as soon as possible - Move your men Kapitan, they won't listen to me!"
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Re: Landing and cross country

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"I agree, Comrades," says Viktor. "We need to get out now."
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Re: Landing and cross country

Post by kabukiman »

Babenko is still dizzy but he recognizes danger when he sees it.

"Yes Kapitan, we must leave quick this place before it explodes!"
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Melnikov unbuckles himself, grabs his gear, and heads toward the troop transports. "Time to leave comrades!"
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Post by evil_scientist »

Nick Korovin unstraps himself and 'formally' waits for the command to leave the plane... But he recognizes, that the engine's gonna blow any time now, so even if he doesn't get a command in a few seconds, he jumps out.
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Re: Landing and cross country

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Viktor unstraps himself and collects his gear, anticipating the Kapitan's orders.
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Re: Landing and cross country

Post by Vladd »

Time to leave Men, this place is likely to become a little too hot for us. NOW MOVE IT!!
Kozlov grabs his gear and leads his men away from the plane wreck far enough to be safe from any explosions.
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Re: Landing and cross country

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AN-124,s have several exits available to you. You can disembark through the nosecone, though as stated the front of the plane is a no go area due to the cockpit being crushed and filled with rock and ice that protrudes into aisle of the passenger compartment. The tailgate and several side exit doors are all the realistically remain as options to you. What you remember from the sight through the cockpit's windscreen before the 'landing' you reckon that you would not survive more than 20 minutes out there without shelter, and the only shelter would be the MT-LBVs. One of the soldiers opens a side door and it reveals a solid wall of hard packed ice and rock. Another hatch is opened further towards the rear of the plane and flames immediately catch hold on the unfortunate who opened the door, He tumbles out of the plane, screaming. The cold arctic conditions come into play now as the wind howls through the open hatch blowing snow and ice into the plane, as well as spurts of burning aviation fuel from somewhere.

Moving towards the rear of the plane the rear doors are mangled and seem to be glowing in places, probably from the flames outside. In the rear of the plane are four MT-LBVs, three of which escaped their moorings during the crash. This caused the crushing of several of the soldiers, including poor Zolnerowich whose legs and hips are now trapped beneath the tracks of one of the vehicles.By some miracle he is still alive - though one of the medics assesses the situation and grimly pushes his knife through his heart whilst speaking softly to him.

Once the forward part of the passenger compartment has been evacuated, you can all see that something like an electrical cable starts a small fire in a pocket of hydraulic fluid. Time seems to be against you now.
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Re: Landing and cross country

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Kozlov surveys the chaos.
Kriptoshenko get one of those vehicles started, Babenko get the rest of the men in the back. Kozlov joins Kriptoshenko in the front of the MT-LBV he picks and waits for Babenko to signal through the radio headsets that everyone is aboard and then tells Kriptoshenko to get them out of the wreckage.
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Re: Landing and cross country

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As soon as Kriptoshenko selects a vehicle, Viktor heads for the back of it to climb inside.
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Re: Landing and cross country

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OOC:   Sorry Vlad - I'm taking Kozlov over for this post to keep the pace up (he'll sets up a home base and organise the groups).

MT-LBV's can carry 11 personnel in the rear in real life, I've adjusted this part of the scenario to suit by saying it's been modified, but still it is a tight fit.  
The medics went round and gave the final release to those too wounded to survive after the mission in a manner similar to Yuri Zolnerowich, using their knives as they know a gunshot may well set off an explosion with all the vapour in the air. It has been discovered that only two of the four MT-LBV's are still operational, the others being too badly damaged when the plane came down. Kozlov does a quick head-count of those able to continue, and from the initial 80 that left the airfield, only 37 survived the landing and are able to continue, of these 14 have their own injuries, broken arms and the like. He calls out,

"All uninjured personnel are to embark the two functional Emtee's, 3 scientists per vehicle, skeleton crew complements each and the rest equally divided Spetsnaz. Raventonich; you will be i/c the first LB-MTV. The rest of you are to stay behind and secure the fuselage. Once the hatch is open, the fumes will dissipate and you will be good. We need you to hold this place as a fallback base, our success depends on your tenacity. You!", he wheels around and points at the highest ranking injured man, "You' are in charge here when we're gone, Comrade Felanivich."
Image
Raventonich.

Image
Felanivich
The soldier you point to, Felanivich, pales a little at his being in command, but his chest soon swells with the pride of being placed in charge, He stands stiffly to attention and salutes as best he can with a broken arm. "Da comrade Kapitan, I will do what needs to be done to make our mission a successful one. I will try to raise a rescue attempt for us and get them to return for you after your glorious return after the undoubted success of your mission!"
Kozlov puts his hand on Felanivich's shoulder and looks him squarely in the eyes.

"No, chelovek, it is imperative that you maintain radio silence until we reach the missile base. I need you to wait six hours before establishing contact. We need you to do this, Felanivich, otherwise we'll endanger the mission. Can I count on you?"

The response is instantaneous,

"Da Comrade Kapitan, it will be as you request. I will wait six hours after you depart before establishing what contact I can in this foul weather."

Kozlov gives a crisp salute before turning on his heel and barking out orders for everyone to load up.

Once the survivors are aboard the remaining vehicles it is decided that the first MT-LBV will ram the rear cargo doors. The smoke from the low temperature fuel burning from the two MT-LBV's quickly fills the confines of the cargo hold. Suddenly a loud bang, followed by the screeching of metal tearing against metal. The left hand door is now wedged against a snow or ice bank, whilst the right hand door is hanging by it's top hinges, the lower ones being split apart. The frigid air quickly disperses the fog of burnt fuel from the vehicles as the icy wind swirls round the cargo bay. After four further attempts, the first MT-LBV charges out the door and lands with a loud bang onto the packed ice and struggles away up the rut left by the plane crash-landing. "Clear" comes Raventonich's voice on the radio.

Your driver calls down "Ready Comrades, here we go - it look as though it is a rough bump." as the vehicle lurches forwards. Looking out the window, you can all see the soldier with the broken arm saluting as you leave. Your MT-LBV flies into space and with a jolt that rattles your teeth, you land and after a minute the vehicle struggles up the furrow where the other vehicle is waiting. The two vehicles quickly drive off North, hoping to get as much distance between the plane and them as possible. After a few minutes there is a loud explosion behind them and bit's of debris start to land around them. The scientists look at each other, their wide-eyed faces now ashen. Suddenly a large part of one of the An-124's jet engines comes to land just in front of the lead vehicle causing your MT-LBV to swerve to avoid it.

Spetsnaz in the MT-LBV
Image
Ivanov,

Image
Kuznetsov,

Image
Vasiliev,

Image
Smirnov,

Image
Sokolov,

Image
Alexeev.
There are also three of the strategic rocket group on board;
Image
Stepanov,

Image
Egorov,

Image
Semenov.
The LB-MTV's are populated as follows

MT-LBV one
3 Scientists
4 General Soldiers (drivers / navigators)
12 Spetsnaz (Ravetonich i/c)

MT-LBV two
3 Scientists (Stepanov, Egorov and Semenov.)
4 General Soldiers (drivers / navigators)
12 Spetsnaz (Kozlov, Babenko, Krisoshenko, Korovin, Melnikov, Muradov and six others as shown above.)

The first thing that hits you when you exit the plane is the sound of the wind, the second is the sudden drop in temperature. The wind howls like a mournful ghost. The weather outside is getting rapidly worse, the blizzard increasing more and more. Visibility is often below 100m, making getting your bearings difficult, if not impossible. Your outside temperature gauge reads -6 degrees celsius, and dropping. Even quite large features are difficult to spot. The windows start to freeze up as does the driver's periscope. This means that someone has to open the hatch, climb out and clear the periscope and drivers windscreen at least or risk tumbling the vehicle into a ravine or getting it hung up on boulders. The sky is not visible through the storm. The sun barely registers as a smudge of illumination while it is above the horizon. Clearing the periscopes / windscreens etc has to be done every 30 minutes at the moment.

About 45 minutes out from the plane, Ravetonich's agitated voice comes across the radio.
"Comrade Kapitan. Something unusual to report, I think Sir. If you look out the right hand side you can see a herd of Reindeer caught in this severe storm. I have seen several herds already as well as some huge muskoxen all seemingly killed by the temperature drop."
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Frozen Reindeer Herd
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Re: Landing and cross country

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"I don't think I've ever seen the like," says Viktor, "and I'm from Siberia. It's not usually that cold in August, at least for me. Be glad it's not January or February."
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Semenov.
Semenov, one of the scientists leans in to have a closer look. With a tight smile on his face he turns to Viktor and says;

"I too am from Siberia Comrade, and I can never remember anything that would catch a herd of wild animals this unexpectedly. They would normally avoid really severe weather, and look - see how they have tried to protect their young by forming a protective circle round them, and they still died. This must have come very suddenly upon the herd, probably upon the region as well. Something doesn't feel right though, and like you say it's not even January or February yet!"
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Re: Landing and cross country

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Viktor smiles back, pleased to meet someone from his neck of the woods. "Just so, Comrade," he says. "It seems most...unnatural. Do you know of any way the weather could have been altered artificially?"
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Semenov.
Semenov shakes his head sadly "Niet Comrade, that is beyond me, and as far as I am aware beyond all men. However, this is not my field so I probably know as much as you do about this - Now our rocket systems," he inclines his head to look at you, and you can see none of the usual Russian bravado or boasting on his face, "our strategic rocket systems, these are known intimately to me. Tell me comrade - do you hunt. I used to love to go out with my deda and Dyadya Vanyatoski stalking reindeer, wolves, elk and bear. Sometimes we'd kill them other times just stalk them and see how close we could get. My Dyadya could usually get the closest. I am Ivan Semenov"He says as he thrusts his hand out towards you.

Behind you you can hear the sharp intake of the other scientists, who obviously consider themselves a step above you on the food chain.
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