Act 1 - The Free City of Krakow (All Players)

For weeks we'd been on the road, traveling at night mostly, and hiding by day. We'd heard a lot about Krakow, you see, and were hearing more and more as we got closer. Remember the old stories of El Dorado that used to lure the Spanish conquistadors on in the Americas? Krakow was like that for us.

Maybe it wasn't a city of gold, but it was a place where, rumor said, you could have anything, buy anything, but the best thing they had was peace. You see, Krakow was a free city.
It was back in the fall of 1999 when Krakow declared itself a sovereign state. I don't know how they expected to get away with it, but they did, I guess, because the local garrison stayed on as the city's defense. They made the city tough enough that no one left in southern Poland cared to take them on.

We met some merchants on the road south of Radomsko who told us that the garrison now did nothing but keep the peace. The war wasn't allowed in Krakow. We'd be able to trade for food, for ammo, for some other things we hadn't seen in a long time. Peace? Hell, to us, after Kalisz and a month of nothing but running and hiding and fighting, a bit of peace and quiet was exactly what we needed.

Well, it sounded like a good idea at the time.

We found them strung along the main road north of Krakow. It had been a small unit, maybe twenty-five, thirty men, three deuce-and-a-halfs and a couple of Hum-Vees. Someone had been awfully thorough. Helmets, jackets, boots, and (of course) all of their equipment, weapons, and ammo were long gone.

Somebody even took the trouble to gather up the spent shell casings. There must have been quite a few of those, because the trucks looked like swiss cheese. It must have been quite a firefight, and it couldn't have lasted long. They'd been ambushed, caught in the open by heavy automatic fire from at least three different spots among the woods thirty meters from the road. They didn't have a chance. Five had been captured. We found them in an untidy pile off by the woods where they'd been herded together and machine gunned.

One truck had burned; the others had been shot to bits and then stripped of everything useful: tires, engine parts, canvas tops, they even drained the crankcase oil. It was like a plague of locusts had hit, leaving the bare-bone skeletons and a sick sweet death stench. Whoever had knocked off that convoy had gone over the place with a fine-toothed comb.

We were getting ready to move on when we heard the moan from deeper in the woods.

Kawalski upon hearing the moaning coming from the forrest, he jumps down from the ravaged truck looking for anything useful that might have been left behind. Move his rifle in his hand and walks toward the sound. He waves Bear over. In a quiet voice he says "There is a moaning coming forest, Cover me while I go and investigate it." Kawalski flicks the safety off his rifle and begins walking cautiously toward where the moaning is coming from, looking over his shoulder to see where Bear is.

In a very slow crawl, face down a man crawls from the underbrush near the side of the road. Heavily bleeding he leaves a thick trail of red in his wake as he reaches one hand after another before him to claw his way forward, each pull along the ground exerts a pained moan.

Flicking the safety back on and slinging his rifle across his back, Kawalski quickly moves over to the man on the ground. As he approaches him he says "Whoa stop, I'm here to help you." Moves down to him and quickly attempts to roll him on to his back.

Bear approaches the area to stand beside Kawalski, flicking a quick glance at the figure before dropping to a crouch and sighting along his rifleto scan the treeline intently.

The man looks up to Kawalski as he approaches with hazed eyes. The blood continues to gush out from his latest movements obviously increasing its heavy thick flow over the grass.

"Schaeffer, Frederick L...Lieutenant," the man manages to say. "Mission...mission accomplished... almost. Operation...RReset. Got that? Reset. Got to get them through..."

moving slowly towards kawalski's position, john lays his hand on the soldiers head and brushes some of his bloodied hair aside as he kneels next to the dieing man.
"you did good, real good schaffer" john says he leans across him looking directly into his eyes, using his smooth baratone voice to try to calm the wounded man.
"my names john, its a pleasure to meet you fred, hope you dont mind me cutting your name short, but i was hoping that you could help me out on the details for reset".letting his mouth fall into a easy smile, john shows his west point ring to schaffer before letting a more serious expression cover his face "if its important enough to mention to kawalski here" laying his spare hand on the medics shoudler "then its somthing that shouldnt be forgoten" letting his face fall back into its previously gental features, and cupping schaffers face lightly john leans in "can you do that for me lieutenant"

Lawrence casts his eye over the crawling American.

"You see," Lawrence begins in a heavily accented french accent "Zis is anoother fine load of zhit you ahmericans 'ave gotten us into" Shaking his head Lawrence pulls out a pouch of tobacco from his jacket pocket. Extracting rolling papers from inside the pouch and nimbly whisks up a needle-thin cigarette. "Viz your secretive code vords and secretive code names noone is knowing vhat any other is doing" Lawrence puts the cigarette to his mouth and lights it from a match seemingly pulled out of the ether "Silly ahmericans" crouching down next to Frederick he begins "So ahmerican boy, vhat is this," using his fingers to quote the word "'reset' zhit you are talking of?"

Kawalski notices the men around the, but continues to work on Fredrick. He looks straight up at Lawrence, grabs the cigarette from his lips and flicks it away.Kawalski says in a even tone but full of spite to Lawrence "Do you mind? and back off now you cheese eating surrender monkey!" Looks back down at the readily dieing man in front of him, shakes his head and mutters under his breath, "Should have let the Nazi's taken care of them." Quickly grabbing John's hands and placing then on many of Fredricks wounds, Kawalski say to him "Talk to him, no interrogation. He quickly runs backs to the Hum-Vee and grabs his pack. Runs back and opens it up. Looks in to it and mutter's "F@ck f@ck F@CK!. I need an ambulance!" pulls out a syringe and a vile and small plastic water tube. draws up the syringe and begins to admin the drug to Fredrick. Begins to take his pulse first at his wrist, then his upper arm and then finally his neck, which he keeps there for 15 seconds and shakes his head. He sits down and rubs his eye and then continues to look over Fredrick.


<OOC>I got on a roll since I didn't want wait for every post and spread it out over 5 post lol. If anybody actions will directly effect me (I don't class talking as a direct action as I can simply ignore it) I will change it. </OOC>

Lawrence looks momentarily stunned as Kawalski flicks his newly rolled ciggy away "Ah! You dumb ahmerican piiig.. You know how hard it is to come by tobacco in zis stinkin' place.."

Lawrence wanders off looking on the floor for his roll-up. Finding it he brushes off the dust and puts it to his mouth and finding it unlit, produces another match and relights. Looking briefly at Kawalski dashing off for more supplies he gives him a wink "Hé Kawalski! Gaspillage de plus d'approvisionnements sur votre épique inutile? Maybe you should save your zupplies for people vorth saving huh?" he gives a cold laugh as he retires to the rest of the retinue.

Bear continues to scan the surrounding area as the scene unfolds, taking note of the path that the wounded man has come from. with barely a flick of his eyes he offers "Checking the path for unfriendlies or information. Back in fifteen. Get what info you can from 'im and don't f#$%in' shoot me coming in."

Without awaiting a response, the 2nd Lt raises to a half crouch and moves quickly and silently forward along the bloodied trail the fallen man has crawled from, melding into the surrounding foliage ahead of himself with hardly a sign of passing.

Lieutenant Schaeffer reaches up grabbing John by his shirt and pulling him down, the stench of both fresh and old blood from his wounds catches those who get to close easily.

He focuses his eyes on John's face as he says, "20th... Special Forces... Team B, ..." He grimaces in agony and then as Kawalski works, the pain reliever being administered and the bleeding attempting to be stopped he seems to become more comfortable. "US 20th Special Forces Group, Team B." He manages more clearly, his eyes hazing a moment.

"We were-" He trails off, his grip loosing and he falls back to the ground from where he was trying to sit up, his words coming out in a delirious state. "Krakow," He says finally, his eyes seeming to gaze back upon John's face. "It's important, had to get it to Krakow!"

"It was that damned Cutler," Schaeffer says. "Sergeant Cutler. He...he led us...right into a trap. He was with the Captain in the lead Hum-Vee, and they didn't fire on him. He was with them when they rounded up the prisoners. Like he was in charge. He was with them when they marched us over to the woods..."

"Listen to me," he says with a desperate, burning intensity. "This is Operation Reset. Got it? Reset. We were carrying vital plans. Blueprints. Films. All the way from Lodz. They're all there...I don't think they got them. Can't let them get lost. DIA needs that stuff...bad...real bad..."

Hearing Schaeffer's words trail off, Kawalski quickly checks his pulse. Noticing there is one he promptly begins CPR on Scheaffer quetly quietly humming "Staying Alive by the Bee Gees"

With a pain moan the man shows some life in him yet, his bloodied hands grabbing at anything around him as he seems to panicked urgency.

Schaeffer manages a weak grin. "Damnedest things you ever saw. Crazy...Y'know. Used to have one when I was a kid...got it for Christmas...one year. They sure don't make'em like that anymore!" He begins to laugh, then lapses into a coughing fit which leaves him weaker and bleeding from his nose and mouth. It subsides, and he continues. "Listen, you've got to get the papers. They got the...the things...the prototypes...but I don't think they got the papers. That's what's important...the papers! Raiders didn't know...about the papers. Everybody'll want 'em..DIA...CIA...KGB even. Got to get them...get them to...they'll pay..."

With that Schaeffer dies, leaving only the scene of the wreckage of papers blowing gently across the ambush site into the road-side.

as he watches Schaeffer's eyes unfocus, john bows his head slowly letting out a small sigh before laying his hand on kawalski's forearm as he works franticly to revive him.
"hes gone" john says as he closes Schaeffer's eyes gently, leaving a trail of blood across his lower forhead and upper cheeks. john looks towards kawalski for a moment as he tries to wipe the fresh blood of his hands onto the grass.
"somone cheak this man, if hes our's" spareing a moment to look distainfully at Nikolai he continues "then we need to keep an eye out for this cutler" john says before looking back towards schaeffer's body "cause from my experience dieing men dont have too much time for lies" with a slow exhale of his breath John touches his forhead, breastbone and both shoulders in turn forming the sign of the cross before standing up and looking at the other men present "you know the routine, strip him" john says before offering a cheeky grin "waste not, want not, speaking of that somone grab some of that paper... might give us an idea what this cutler guy has"

Kawalski sees that Scheaffer has died, he pulls out some tape and tapes his eyes shut. Goes back to the Hum-Vee and grabs his Back Pack and pulls out his cleanest shirt he has. Finds a trench digger and takes that him back to Scheaffer. Places the shirt and trench digger to the side. He takes off the bloody shirt and searches the pockets as he does. Cleans up the chest as best he can and then puts on the cleaner shirt. Searches Scheaffer's pockets in his pants. Removes his boots. Kawalski cleans up the rest of Scheaffer's body as much as he can. Finally he removes one dog tag and places his pocket. Looks for places with soft soil and grabs the trench digger and begins to dig a grave.

Lawrence watches Kawalski begin to dig a grave. Looking at Frederick he discreetly throws up a salute disguising it as a ruffle through his hair.

"Hey, you f**cking ahmericans going to sit here and dig grave? You should be keeping shoovel out to dig the graves of all the dad people we come across non? What is one mans life? We should keep moving, do as the dad man ses and report this oui?"

Lawrence takes another drag from his cigarette and again finding it unlit, produces another match to light it. "I really need a lighter" Now, satisfactorily lit he takes a deep inhale "Ah, c'est bien! Life is good non!". Lawrence begins to hum along to 'Pelleas et Mélisande' by classical French Composer Charles Debussy "Dah dah dah de dum.. Dah dah dah de dum.. dah dah Dah DE DUM...."

The paper scattered around the wrecks of vehicles and rows of dead and stripped soldiers appears carelessly tossed over the area, the wind casually pushing the hundreds of pages.

Lawrence watches the papers flying haphazardly about in the wind.

"Vell, not everyone needs to go at once. Nevermind the important papers floating about the air!" Lawrence does spirit fingers in the air "Non!? Vous bullshit les abrutis, je doivent-ils faire tout?" He begins to run around gathering up the scattered documents.

Seeing that his efforts are futile, Kawalski stops digging and stands straight. He looks around and comments quietly "Everyday in this hell hole my humanity gets more and more eroded. This just one more thing to add to it." Grabs his Jump Bag and boots and slings them over his shoulders. Walks back to the HUM-Vee places the boots and bag in there and walks back to the corpse. Pulls out his knife and cut the patch saying "KAWALSKI" off the shirt the corpse is wearing. Begins to pick up the last of the papers that are flying about. "Truly the dead have seen the end of war."

"And h'only they shall know it" Lawrence adds to Kawalski's words. "Mes Amie, time to be going now huh?"

as Nikoli wake's up in the back of the hummvee he say's in a thick russian accent

"why are we not moving?... what is going on?...why do people look like they cry?

Nikoli pull's out a cigar from his pocket and light's it and exit's the hummvee and look's around to see what is happening, he sling's his AK-74 over his shoulder and walk's over to Lawrenceand say's to him

"who is dead man? and why do we stare at him?"

Nikoli put's this cigar back in his mouth and draw's in the great taste of a cuban cigar he take's his time with it as he only has a couple.

OOC-Nikoli is a very heavy sleeper hence why i havent posted till now, he could sleep through basically anything.

looking around the area as he picks up some of the floating peices of paper, john notices a large steel footlocker sitting in the back of the burned out truck, its outside scorched but looking undameged other than that, john moves to take a closer look

moving up to the footlocker john pulls out a small set of tools and quietly starts to fiddle with the lock

As silently as he left, Bear slips stealthily back through the foliage and challenges the group. "'eads up you alert bunch o' slack jawed yokels. I'd be keepin' an eye to your surrounds if ya want to be stayin' alive. We aint alone ere." With that he brushes past the others and kneels beside the body, shaking his head as he sees the state of it and checks for a pulse. He begins to look over the man intently, apparently with a purpose. Without looking up he speaks once more."We get any info outta him before he died? The situation out there aint good ...."