Twilight 2000 - The Modern Dark Ages : The Abridged Version Chapter 19
GM - Fusilier
Chapter 19 - Baltic Coast - Hunters : December 2, 2000
Summary: The unit rests, recuperates, and rearms in Gdansk. Then the Mad Dogs decide to head east back across the Vistula to take on the dangerous cult of Warmia Awakening.

Mad Dogs Unit Roster:
John Jameson McCarthy - player
Helmut Meyer - NPC
Varis Babicevs - player
Arthur Fox - NPC
Francis "Frank" Benucci - Now an NPC
Anna - NPC
Ferro - player
Billy “Crack” O’Brien - player
Aleksandar Mazurek - NPC
Per Kolstrup - player
David "Tosh" Lines - player
Katarzyna Majchrzak - NPC
Walter Krupp - NPC
Czeslaw Kaczka - NPC
Piotr Auttenberg - NPC
Michael Kessler - player
Karel Janku - NPC
Lukas Fischer - Now an NPC
Tomasz Andropov - player
Charles "Charlie" Price - Now an NPC
Chris Walsh - player
Janacek Czerny - player
Gerhard Dietrich - player
William Schmidt - player
Jose Rodriguez - player
Henry "Hank" Voight - player

PC Assets:
Armored Humvee
Volkswagen Iltis
BTR-80 - The Krok
Humvee (Damaged vehicle received in the process of being repaired)
Humvee (Destroyed vehicle received from Woermann / Parts)
Humvee (Destroyed vehicle received from Woermann / Parts)

  • The unit rests and recuperates back at the compound in Gdansk. It's noted that Andropov has completed his work on building out the unit's second Humvee. A funeral is held for Sabine Riedel at the compound.
  • Some Mad Dogs head into the city for some R&R with the new Humvee, which performs well. Others stay at the compound and are debriefed on the Mad Dogs' mission so far. The unit works to integrate its new members and regain morale.
  • The team splits up to figure out what to do next. It's decided to pursue two leads while the unit continues to integrate the new members - find information about what happened to Nowak, and find out information about Warmia Awakening. The team settles on going after Warmia Awakening next. Voight talks to Price about crafting some fake landmines to buff up the compound defenses. The team discusses talking the LoSA into loaning fighters to help provide security for the compound while the Mad Dogs are away on various missions.


Group 1
  • Kessler, Ferro, Rodriguez, Kolstrup, and Voight head out to accomplish multiple tasks.
  • The team tries to learn new information, but there isn't much to be had. Apparently a third of the League's ships have disappeared over the last couple of days with Nowak. The rest of the fleet has been instructed to stay put.
  • They then head to St. Marys to check on Frank Benucci and Lukasz Piszcek. Sergei greets them. The group learns that Piszczek is alive and recovering, and visit him. They let Piszczek know that Sikora Armaments wants to have a private meeting with him, and about the East German prisoner currently held in the compound. Regarding Nowak's disappearance, Piszczek relays his knowledge of Nowak, that she's ambitious but that he believes she has Gdansk's best interest at heart. Piszczek agrees to the meeting with Mrs. Wojcik of Sikora.
  • The group learns that Francis "Frank" Benucci has died of his wounds, and they return to the compound.


Group 2
  • Janacek, Walsh, Schmidt, and Price head to Solidarity Market to do some shopping for additional odds and ends. A random girl seems to say hello to Walsh as though she knows him, but is gone before anything else is noticed. It's possible she knew him from the earlier logging mission. The rest of the shopping trip largely goes without incident before the group heads back.


Group 3
  • McCarthy, Babicevs, O'Brien and Lines head to Sikora to secure some provisions, and then head to LoSA territory. There, they work with "General" Szymanski to secure a team of 4 fighters, along with 4 disabled fighters and some dependents, to live and help protect the compound while the Mad Dogs are away. The LoSA members would return to LoSA during times of emergency or when called upon, but otherwise they would act as a default militia for Kaminskis Compound. The team then heads back to the compound.


(Continued)
  • With everyone now back at the compound, Walter Krupp informs the Major that there's a letter from Sgt. Fox at the Marians Farm. Apparently Piotr Auttenberg has been hospitalized by illness, and Tosh Lines is to take his place.
  • Janacek asks Katarzyna for her help in sewing some over-whites for the crew. She reluctantly assents. O'Brien gets to work on the new minefield emplacements.
  • Work on the community continues, with a trench dug for power lines to the school. Many unit members, along with community members (and Gustek, a community member) chip in and help dig. McCarthy and Kessler discuss visiting Brozek with Monolith, who rumor had it were doing some arresting of people that might be friendly with Nowak. They also discuss getting some unit patches.
  • A stranger appears at the compound gates looking for work. McCarthy is summoned. Kessler gets there first and learns more about the refugee. He's formerly of the US Air Force and is more recently trained as a medic. Reggie Grant then joins the Mad Dogs.
  • Kolstrup, Janacek, and Rodriguez go to patrol the area around the compound. At the nearby firehouse, they find the empty hull of a BTR-60 without armament or engine. It's decided to try to drag the vehicle back to the compound for use as a static emplacement.
  • David "Tosh" Lines is collected by boat, and sent to the farm. Dietrich suggests some further compound hardening. Kessler talks to Gustek about the areas east of the Vistula.
  • It is now December 4th, JJM calls the team together for a briefing for the next mission - dismantling the Warmia Awakening. There's a lot to do beforehand however - introducing the new LoSA group to the existing residents, attaching an AGS-17 to the new Humvee, finishing running power to the school, getting more supplies, etc., but there's no possible way to complete everything. The project list is triaged, and the team splits up to accomplish the various tasks.
  • It's decided that Gustek will accompany the unit on the next mission based on his knowledge of the area the WA is known to be operating within.
  • For the tasks - the following is completed:
    1. The community school (largely converted to living quarters) now has power.
    2. 10 more occupants arrive from LoSA - 4 fighters, 4 disabled fighters, 2 adult dependents, and 2 patrol dogs.
    3. The AGS-17 is mounted to the second Humvee.
    4. Maintenance on the Krok is completed.
    5. Extra ammo and provisions is secured from Tymoshenko and her people. 2 sets of winter clothing are traded for at the market.
    6. Monolith is out, and thus no information is gathered from them about their current operations or Nowak's whereabouts.
    7. No additional information on Nowak is found out, even from family members of some of her sailors.
    8. Some sketches are made of compound improvements, but there isn't time or manpower to get any of them done.
    9. Kolstrup helps teach Ferro how to handle marksman work.

  • Dinner is had before the mission is to begin. Everyone checks weapons and prepares for the mission, and try to rest as best they can. Gerhard Dietrich and William Schmidt are suddenly called into a meeting with the officers, and and quickly afterward sent packing for an unknown reason.
  • At 0300 on Dec 5th, the mission begins and the convoy of the BTR-80 and the two Humvees rolls out of Kaminskis Compound.
  • The team stops at Swibno and is met by Maria Ostrowski, who feeds them a hot breakfast. Kessler asks her if she or the council have a way of contacting Bajek or Netzel to get permission to cross to east of the Vistula. The rest of the council arrives, including Maria who represents Swibno, Councilmember Dawid who represents Komary, Bartosz who represents Sobieszwo, and Jakub who represents the police/militia. The team is informed that Bajek has been called away, perhaps reassigned or arrested, and that Netzel is now in command of the Polish forces over the river. Jakub does say that he can get in touch with Netzel however to arrange a meeting.
  • Kolstrup decides to go and meet Ivar Christiansen, who lives in Swibno, to catch up and to get any intel he can. He learns that the WA are spread on both sides of the lagoon, with the larger group on the east side. He also learns about the size and operations of Netzels men and the 12th Polish Cavalry Division.
  • Meanwhile, others go to meet Netzel across the river, getting there by small raft. They meet with Netzel, who agrees to stay out of the way during the anti-banditry operations. He shows them a map, gives some updates on Warmia's location, talks about which bridges to the south are still workable, and provides a signal of 35-70, callsign 'Saturn' if the Mad Dogs want to reach him.
  • Everyone returns to Hotel Bartan in Swibno and learn about the terrain they're about to face, and it's decided that an old Brick Factory will be the next waypoint for the convoy. Maria at this time also introduces Krysia Kaczmarek, who is to go with the Mad Dogs to the East. Walsh, Rodriguez, and Ferro attempt to give Varis some candy to make him gassy and ruin his chances with the new policewoman. Later that afternoon, the convoy rolls out.
  • The unit reaches the Brick Factory in fairly short order, and take up residence in the abandoned structure, using it as a patrol base. Patrols are sent out, but discover little of import. A second patrol is sent out the next morning.


Patrol 1
  • Kolstrup, Ferro, Walsh, Rodriguez, Janacek, Andropov, Babicevs, and O'Brien go out on a long-range patrol, and come across a small bandit camp.
Engagement North of Katy Rybackie
  • They assault the camp, killing three and capturing one (Andrzej Morawiecki). They run after a small group trying to escape, eventually killing one and capturing two more (Marta Nalecz and Lena Lepper). During the pursuit, Walsh takes a laceration from a bullet passing by close to the side of his head.
  • Back at camp, the BTR starts up to head out and pick up the patrol and prisoners. Sometime after it departs, a motorcycle and a 6-wheeled APC sporting a red flag drives by (heading northeast) the brick factory, unaware of those still inside.
  • The BTR picks up members of the patrol while others hike back, and arrives back at the Brick Factory just after the unknown vehicles leave (though they do see them in the distance).


(Continued)
  • The unit rests, eats, and interrogates their three prisoners. They learn the following:
  • The three prisoners are in fact bandits and Lena is one of their fighters.
  • Warmia is spread out all over the place in small groups. Some are sick. A larger band is camped near Katy Rybackie. The leadership though is thought to be across the lagoon to the east, in a group of around fifty. About the leadership group: "WA is led by a man named Mazur, or General Mazur. He is said to have been a school teacher in Gdansk. He has three lieutenants and the gypsy woman. An African-america woman is also part of his group, acting as some sort of enforcer."
  • The unit then decides to send a night patrol to Katy Rybackie to investigate.


Patrol 2
  • A patrol heads out and approaches Katy Rybackie, seeing a few dozen people appearing to be camped right outside the town. A radio to link back up with the rest of the unit is forgotten. The patrol creeps closer to the campers in order to gather intel, but learns little. The patrol then decides to capture a few of the campers, and successfully kidnap two of them, a man and a woman (Pawel and Nataszja). The patrol then returns to the Brick Factory.


Brick Factory
  • Meanwhile back at the Brick Factory, Walsh is healing from his head wound and questioning Lena Lepper about the mounted patrol that passed by. She tells him that they've seen them before, and that they speak English, but nothing else is known. He also gleans from Andrzej that the patrol might be looking for a hidden cache of fuel (Fuel Depot reference surely) or perhaps looking for someone.
  • Walsh also spills the beans at this time to McCarthy, that he's actually a CIA operative and that the DIA team known as Orion hunting for him with kill orders. McCarthy accepts the news and lets Walsh know that he needn't worry - the Mad Dogs don't turn their backs on their friends.
  • The patrol returns with Pawel and Nataszja. Upon interrogation, the unit learns quite a bit:
    1. That the campers outside of Katy Rybackie along with the two kidnappees, are in fact its healthy residents, its sick ones still within the town inside the warmer houses.
    2. Not much is known about the sickness, although some believe it was from something that was dug up, possibly a biological weapon.
    3. The leader of Katy Rybackie is a man named Adam, who is also sick.
    4. Two youths have been taken by the local WA group, which is currently to the northeast of Katy Rybackie building rafts along the coast of the lagoon. The local WA group is also known to have at least one "high profile" member.
    5. Katy Rybackie appears to also have one prisoner of their own. A wounded Canadian, by his tags.

  • The next morning, the group returns the two prisoners to Katy Rybackie, and meet the de facto leader, a man named Filip Wojcik. The Mad Dogs explain their mission, and Filip reluctantly agrees to have the community support the operation, though not much help can be expected.
  • Back at the Brick Factory, Rodriguez does a morning patrol circuit and discovers fresh, human tracks around the building's exterior. Some are close. It's clear that the factory is being watched.
  • The rest of the Mad Dogs return to the factory, and it's agreed that a new patrol base is needed. The next morning the unit heads out again and locates an abandoned farmstead in between the Brick Factory and Katy Rybackie with a wrecked ZSU-23-4 with East German markings. The unit settles into their new temporary home.
  • A plan is then worked on how to assault the WA group just northeast of Katy Rybackie, and put into motion. A recce team will move forward first to establish the location and get into advantageous position. The rest of the team will move up in the BTR-80 and assault in force.
  • Kolstrup, Ferro, Walsh, and Janacek move up during the night and get into position to investigate the Warmia position, locating a waterside camp and a few occupied homes. A long range radio is again forgotten, but information is still relayed via short range when the recce overhears some WA members talking, and then seeing them start to scatter. The jig is up!
Engagement East of Katy Rybackie
  • The assault force waits along the BTR in Katy Rybackie, and before long the radio call comes in from Ferro that the assault has been compromised. After a quick decision to proceed, the BTR races along the 501 toward the waterside camp. Along the way shots ring out as unknown attackers attempt to slow or stop the APC, but to no avail, and the BTR quickly arrives on scene.
  • After a shitshow of a dismount, the assault team forms a perimeter around the BTR and starts pressing the assault. The recce team at this time also begins opening up on any Warmia members in view.
  • Things are hectic, and lots of people learn valuable lessons. Grant learns how to shoot back. Rodriguez learns that the HEAT rounds aren't very effective against infantry. Babicevs learns to watch his step when he almost falls through some floorboard of a destroyed house. Czerny learns that MOUT work can be dangerous when he gets shot twice (forearm, torso) trying to stop a cultist fleeing from one of the houses by grabbing the man's rifle.
  • Near the end of the firefight, some cultists with an MG open up on the BTR from a distance - a bad move when moments later the BTR lights them up.
  • All in all, the Mad Dogs finish the firefight, taking light wounds and dealing out quite a heavy punishment to the local Warmia Awakening group. All told, there are over a dozen killed, with two more prisoners taken, an older, mute woman, and a younger man. Some of the cultists however, did successfully manage to flee into the woods.



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