As the car rapidly approached the Nazi checkpoint, young Corban McGuiness couldn't help but notice that this was not the sniper way. He would have preferred to hang out in one of the buildings in the town and pick these fool guards off one-by-one. But Pop had always said that in the marines, sometimes you had to fly by the seat of your pants. Or drive by them. Something like that. At any rate it was too late to worry about other options.

The seargant told him to hold his gun on the "captive" Doc. What, he didn't know the plan?

But he did as asked and prepared to give the guards his best steely gaze. As they approached he noted where each of the four guards were stationing themselves. He also kept an eye on the guard house in case any additional enemies revealed themselves. Always know your enemy if you can, he thought.

As he sized up the enemy he waited for events to play themselves out. He was just along for the ride until the shooting started. IF the shooting started, he reminded himself.

“Amarikanische Schwein"…..that’s going to help me real good, Doc thought. Sarg didn’t have bring their attention on him, but if worked as a distraction then Jack would play the part of the captive, but this didn’t feel like it was going well. Doc knew it was just part of rouse to have Corbin and the hold their Lugers on him but brought back the memory of the last time a Luger was drawn on him……

The 504th PIR was dropped in the vicinity of Gela in Italy, with heavy losses from both the German and Allied (friendly fire) antiaircraft fire. Despite the heavy losses the division was moved up to the front by motor and reinforced by the 39th Infantry Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division.

Jack had setup a makeshift aid station in a small shack, there were 12 to 15 G.I’s laid out on the floor with serious wounds. These guys were waiting for evac and some may not make to the hospital. Doc had been earning his new title all morning, the men looked to him, the fear and pain on their faces torn at Jack. Corporal Stewart was left to tend these men because he too was wounded. It wasn’t life threatening but it was painful.

Jack had cheated death when a German fighter drawn a sure bead on him as he was parachuting in. He had seen the tracer zip pass him as the fighter started to open fire him. Then the plane exploded, it had been hit by anti aircraft fire, but one of the last bullets fired grazed his side. The searing pain caused him to land hard. He was able to bandage himself, so to despite the pain in his side and legs he start the job he trained to do. He had hid the wound and pushed himself to keep up. When the orders had come to move up with the 39th they discovered his wound and told him that because he too was injured he had to stay to care for the men waiting for the evac. He could rejoin the unit after that, he should also be better healed and rested. So they waited.

At least two of these men Jack carried from the action as shells burst across the field. A young Lieutenant had nearly lost him arm, Jack had sewn him up but it was all he could to control the bleeding, if he didn't get to a surgeon soon, well Jack would keep him comfortable. Jake listened to the pleas of the men to help them as the pain would return when morphine started to wear off. He changes bandages and he helped write letters home,some to families he knew would never see the sender again.

As evening started to close in Jack heard sounds from behind the small build. As he turned to go investigate a German officer step through the back door of one room build. Seeing the wounded and Jack he drew his pistol and open fire on Jack. Doc turned and was hit in his arm and thigh. A bullet grazed his back as he spun. He was knocked to the floor.

Jack reached for his 45 as he fell and was able to clear it from its holster before he hit the floor. The German turned to take aim on the unarmed men in the room. But before he could pull the trigger Jack opened up on him placing two rounds in the officer chest. The officer was nearly lifted off his feet as the slugs roared through him; he was dead before he hit the floor. A movement by the back door caught Jack’s attention, another German soldier had appeared; he was twisting the handle on a “Potato Masher”. Doc swung his 45 toward the door ripping off another three rounds, the first caught the soldier in the face and the back of his head explode as the bullet exited. The grenade dropped from his hands and fell outside the door. With a quick shove Jack forced himself over the G.I. nearest to him as the explosion blow debris into the room. They were all lucky that the shrapnel stayed outside. After checking the men Jack attempted to bandage himself.

Jack was evaced to the field hospital along the men that were left in his care. Jack accepted the Purple Heart with Oak leaf Cluster in stride because it came with the job, but he still didn’t feel that protecting his charges was enough to the earn a Silver Star, that he just sent home to his sister to keep for him…....
Sarg’s movements brought Doc back to the action. Holding the medic’s bag so the Red Cross was in clear view Jack waited for the guards to react.

"Schnell!!, oeffnen Sie das Tor, und warnen ihren Kontact das fremde Soldaten im Dorf von Barovia sind.Ich habe einen verwundeten Soldaten hier und brauche einen echten Arzt nicht dieses amarikanische Schwein" Romo shouts.

The soldiers look to each other at first and for a few moments it seems like bluff works. The Nazi soldier closest takes a number of steps towards the car, "Amerikaner? Wie haben sie ...?" he stops in mid sentence as if seeing or realizing something.

What sets him off you do not know, could be that Romo's accent was too southern, could be something in your body language, or the presence of a gorgeous blond in your midst. Either way, he back stepped and draws his machinegun upwards. "AMERIKANERS! !!! AMERIKANERS! !!!"

The other two closest start to react quickly, also bringing their weapon up. The last one, further away turns and breaks into a sprint across the bridge, staying to the side closest to the waterfalls so the mist gives him partial cover.


OOC: The lead has a Schmeisser. The two in the back have G41 rifles. The guy running has his gun on his back but it looks like a G41 as well.

Actions people! the combat round is very simple in this game. You can move and shoot (I leap out iof the car and fire), or shoot and move(I open up and then hit the ground) or not move and shoot twice (I'm gonna mow them all down!). If you choose not to move, then you only have a basic defense. A round is only 3 second long. Feel free to ask questions as this is your first combat.

Romo having said his piece watched as soldiers looked to each other at first and for a few moments Romo thought the bluff had worked. However as the Nazi soldier closest to the car took a few steps towards them something changed., "Amerikaner? Wie haben sie ...? AMERIKANERS! !!! AMERIKANERS! !!!"

Without a moments hesitation Romo brought up the .45 and double tapped two rounds into the guards face.......

(I'm assuming to get a shot with a rifle requires stepping out of the car. If not, Corban would take the fastest two shots he can get on the fleeing guard, hoping his comrades can do their bit on the close ones.)

"Amerikaners! Amerikaners!"

And with that quick shout all hell broke lose, as was typical in combat. Corban had been keeping his eyes on the guards and picking his target before anything happened, so he already knew that as the best shot it would be his duty to take down the fleeing guard.

Before the guard had finished the first verse of "Amerikaners!" the private was stepping out of the car and pulling his rifle up to site on the fleeing guard. With practiced ease he pulled the trigger . . .

“Great, German with a Texas accent!”,Doc mumbled as he dropped the medic kit and reached inside his combat jacket for his 45’s.

"Amerikaner? Wie haben sie ...? AMERIKANERS! !!! AMERIKANERS! !!!"

Without a moments hesitation Romo brought up the .45 and double tapped two rounds into the guards face.......

As the shots rang out one of the guards turned and started to run back across the bridge. Corbin saw him and pulled his rifle up to site on the fleeing guard.

Through the windshield Jack saw the middle guard eye McGuiness and started to lift his G41. “Not on my watch,” Doc roared. The convertible top was down which allowed Doc to rise to his feet. As he stood Doc shouted “Lady get on the floor.”

In one smooth motion Doc rose from his place cradling the dead officer. With a practiced grace he pulling both 45’s. Extending his arms out in front of him, he leveled his aim on the guard eying Corbin and pulled three shots from each 45 in alternating secession.

As the plan crashed and started to burn, Luke knew they were in a tight spot. Literally.

The car was quickly becoming a death trap, and so he knew what course to take. He flung the door open and jumped behind it, using it as a shield. Cocking his head around the corner he aimed his gun at one of the two Germans with G41s. There was not time for thinking about the lives these soldiers had lived before the war, and the ones they were hoping to be living afterwards. This was a moment of evolution. Survival of the fittest… or the quickest in this situation.

As he shot, he heard Doc call out for lady Hofstetter to get on the floor. He couldn’t help but feel that getting on the floor was probably the last thing she would want to do. So, still clutching the luger and trying to shoot the guards, he reached for his own gun, ready to pass it to the woman.

(OOC: as stated, he’s opting to kill the G41 guys first. If they’re already down once it’s his turn, he’ll take the one who is running. )

The Nazi attempted to bring his Schmeisser up to bear but Romo had his .45 out and fired two shots. The first only grazed the ear as the guard threw himself back, but the second round hit him hard in the shoulder and the impact forced him backward. He opens up with a burst of bullets that put holes on the car and one piece of lead into the Sarge. A wound to the side that knocks the big man to his knees. It could have been worse had it wasn't for Brutal at the moment leaping from the car to level the shotgun at the guard and fire both barrels into him. The guard stops moving completely as Brutal casual disards the shotgun (too long to reload) and brings up his Thompson.

McGuiness is standing and brings his sniper scope to his eye. Mentally he adjust for distance and fires the first shot, The shot blossoms in his back as McGuiness fires again for good measure. The guard is running no more.

The Nazi on the left moves to the cover of the building and fires at the car. His shot shatters a headlight. The Doc returns fire but only forces him to move further back. The other Nazi drops to the ground and also fires a shot. The radiator of the car takes one for the team and sprays out steam.

Luke attempts to fire with the luger but his shots are far wide.

Brutal takes off fast to the left, using the cover of the building against the guards as he moves to get around the house and attack from the other side. "Cover Me!" he calls out.

OOC: Two Guards are down. Two are left. One is on the ground prone to your right, the other is beside the gatehouse, using it as cover.

Romo is injured, taking a bullet to the lower side. He is bleeding but can still function (taken 6 wounds out of 14).

I am NPCing Brutal and he is taking the direct route which I thought was in character. Vanadia will post later but assume she is not attacking.

"Cover Me!"

Brutal made sure the Thompson’s safety was off as he moved to go around the building in a hopes of getting the jump on the guys from the other side…. he stopped at the corner and peeked around quickly before he would move around it towards the next….If at any time he saw anyone he would let loose with the Thompson.

‘F**K!‘ Brutal thought… he couldn’t believe how quickly this whole thing had gone to hell.. One second it looked like the bluff might be working .. The next all hell had broken loose… good thing he kept that shotgun sitting next to him on the seat.. He had been able to grab it and hop out and blast the guard that had fired at the Sarge .. He thought he had seen Romo take a hit.. He hoped the Doc was worth his weight and not just another big mouth know it all.. They already had enough of those…now he just hoped that they would all live through this thing.

As the events played out Jack seemed to feel that time slowed and he could see or hear all that was happening around him. Unfortunately it also felt like he was slogging through water that held him from moving quickly.

He saw the German he had fired at break for cover just as the volley released from his M1911’s. The kick of the 45’s always made it harder to hit a target moving sideways and particularly to his left. The German escaped and headed to hide behind the guard house.

He now was feeling like the proverbial “sore thumb” as he stood in the car. He was ready to leap out the back and take cover behind the car but from the corner of his eye he saw the sarg drop as a stray shot from the German leaders machine gun caught him in the side. Brutal’s scatter gun saved the sarg’s life by ending the Germans.

Instincts started to take over, sarg needed help, he was down and still in the open. A German in front of the car had dropped to the ground and he still had a clear shot at the sarg. The Captain was hiding behind the car door and didn’t have clear shot at either of the guards in front of the car.

Brutal called “Cover me”, as he dashed for the guard house. Jack hoped Corbin would cover Jake because sarg needed Doc’s help more.

With nowhere to hide Doc swung his aim to the guard on the ground. Crouching to use the car’s long hood as at least some cover Jack pulled another two shots each from his service pistols. Doc had to get sarg out of danger and for now killing that guard was his only option.

Romo without a moments hesitation brought up the .45 and double tapped two rounds into the guards face.....
Only to watch his first round graze the ear of the guard, and his second take the guard in his shoulder. As he was wondering how his aim could be so bad from a non moving sitting position he watched quietly as the guard in a semi-reflex action pulled the trigger of the MP-40. Micro seconds later the Sergeant felt a pain in his side telling him somehow one of the guards submachine gun rounds had found a place in his side.

As Romo moved quickly to stop the flow of blood he did not see Clements finish off the guard and jump out of the car on his way to engage the rest...............

Greta was not armed - no one had trusted her enough to give her a weapon, but she didn't fault them for it. She'd have likely refused it, in any case - civilians didn't carry weapons and she didn't want it found if she was searched.

So, she had little recourse when things went south but to take cover as best she could. Someone shouted at her to hit the floor, but that seemed like a bad place - a big black car was an obvious target. Instead, she opened her door and dove out of the car, rolling as far away as she could in the dirt and gravel. Then, she lay still. Let the soldiers think she'd been hit, but let her clearly not be a threat to anyone.

As the guard fell to the ground, Corban felt a touch of satisfaction at a job well done. But he also hoped that his fellows had done their job as well.

At a glance he sized up the action - two down and two to go. The Bigmouth had headed around the building to get the missing guard. Corban took it as his job to cover him. He lined up his sights on the corner of the building where the guard had sought cover, prepared to shoot as soon as he had a target that was clearly not one of his allies. As the guard was shooting at the car, he had his target and fired off a couple of shots. Take that Brutal he thought, you'll just find a corpse when you circle the building. As he lined up his shot he backed slowly around the car (if needed,unless the car is already providing cover, in which case he simply goes down on one knee to leave less of himself exposed, but to still allow a good target) for a little cover.

Romo was hit, and he himself had missed both his shots. Luke could only imagine that this was the beginning of the end of this mission. With an important man in their team wounded, they would have a much harder time bluffing or sneaking their way inside.

Not that bluffing or sneaking had done them any good so far.

He was still holding his gun to pass it to the lady when she dove past him and rolled away from the car. He wondered if she hadn’t understood his gesture or if she refused to take the weapon for another reason entirely. He decided to keep it for now and help his team out first.

From his position behind the car door he had a terrible view of things. He could hear the battle going on, and saw people getting out of the car.
Being in control meant knowing what is going on, and taking steps to get ahead. So, with strong determination he got up straight and put his hands on the roof of the car for stability, aiming his gun at the first enemy soldier he saw.
Then he took two shots.

Brutal took off with gun in hand running as fast as his legs would take him. McGuiness drew his scope across to where the guard was hiding behind the guardhouse. This was a wooden structure, not built with any thought of defence or lasting long. So the sniper fired once at where he thought the guard would be and then again lower and to his left, which was where he'd figure the guard would duck down. Brutal turned the corner around the guardhouse and opened up without hesitation, knowing the Nazi might be ready for him, The guard was waiting but the cover fire had forced him down and the mud slowed him down. Brutal made sure it was the last mistake the German would make.

The prone guard tried to shift himself backward for more cover, firing twice but hitting nothing but the already very damaged radiator of the car. Luke and Doc aimed and fired back. The Nazi cried out once and twitched violently and then moved no more as blood pooled around his body.

Brutal came around the house again and quickly checked inside to see if anyone was lurking inside - no one. A small single room with a small wood burning stove, a table, a log book and some radio equipment which took the worse of McGuiness' shots. The roar of the waterfalls was the only sound left to hear in this remote place.