Story Market Day
- Thread starter ComCamGuy
- Start date
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Sabine sat there in the bed, holding Andrea. She was thinking of all the steps over the last couple of months leading up to right here. Tracking temperatures to find the right cycle time, pouring through the med records of everyone left on base looking at compatible blood types, narrowing down that list with other discriminators, all leading to finding who to approach.
The approach was full of other issues. Sabine had done a rotation in a fertility clinic back in the day. She had long conversations with her preceptor about what worked best. One of them focused on how to make the most of the sample. In this he was old school. Without all the perfectly proper lab conditions, he was a proponent of straight from the spout to the womb. It minimized degradation of the sample due to age.
He also felt all the processes leading up to the act helped prepare the body for the event much better than a cold and impersonal medical procedure. This dovetailed with Sabine’s core belief and religious upbringing of the energy or soul of people fueling the mystery of life.
Sabine talked to Andrea about this at length. Andrea said she was willing to do anything to increase their odds of it working but she wasn’t sure how she could get her body enthused for it. She had never been attracted to men. Her other concern was she wanted it to stay anonymous. She didn’t want to know the donor and she didn’t want the donor to know it was her.
Both sides staying anonymous while blending their most intimate parts was a puzzle Sabine had to crack before she would approach the donor. Her solution was inspired by the blackout style restaurants where people ate in the dark with blind waiters. If both the donor and Andrea wore blindfolds and earbuds, they would have to work by feel and wouldn’t have a clue who each other were.
The next piece of the puzzle was how to have both excited enough to work and able to find one another and work the solution, compounded by Andrea’s particular libido cues. The most obvious solution was they needed a chaperone or a guide to keep both excited, engaged and on task. Sabine knew this had to be her task. She also knew she had to disguise her being that person. She had an idea how to do that as well.
Once all the puzzle pieces were in place Sabine approached the donor. She spun a story. She was looking to help a dependent who was working fertility issues and now needed a donor since there was no longer military support available locally with the current problems. Sabine informed him of the desire for anonymity and his selection due to medical compatibility. If he agreed, Sabine would work out the arraignments. It would be here on base at one of the remote buildings. Sabine would have someone drive him there blindfolded where the dependent’s sister would bring him in and help with the process.
He wanted to help so he agreed. On the day agreed upon, he met Sabine at her office. She had him go wait for his driver in the UTV. He was to already have the blindfold on. Ten minutes later, his driver showed up. They said not a word the whole drive. When they got to their destination, the sister led him inside. Her French accent was a bit hard to miss.
What he didn’t see was the ‘sister’ was Sabine. She moved the donor a few feet from the vehicle and leaned in to whisper in the driver’s ear.
“Unless I say so Petra, we are to never speak of this again. Ever. It has to do with Patient confidentiality. And thank you. I couldn’t trust anyone else. They would have asked too many questions.”
The approach was full of other issues. Sabine had done a rotation in a fertility clinic back in the day. She had long conversations with her preceptor about what worked best. One of them focused on how to make the most of the sample. In this he was old school. Without all the perfectly proper lab conditions, he was a proponent of straight from the spout to the womb. It minimized degradation of the sample due to age.
He also felt all the processes leading up to the act helped prepare the body for the event much better than a cold and impersonal medical procedure. This dovetailed with Sabine’s core belief and religious upbringing of the energy or soul of people fueling the mystery of life.
Sabine talked to Andrea about this at length. Andrea said she was willing to do anything to increase their odds of it working but she wasn’t sure how she could get her body enthused for it. She had never been attracted to men. Her other concern was she wanted it to stay anonymous. She didn’t want to know the donor and she didn’t want the donor to know it was her.
Both sides staying anonymous while blending their most intimate parts was a puzzle Sabine had to crack before she would approach the donor. Her solution was inspired by the blackout style restaurants where people ate in the dark with blind waiters. If both the donor and Andrea wore blindfolds and earbuds, they would have to work by feel and wouldn’t have a clue who each other were.
The next piece of the puzzle was how to have both excited enough to work and able to find one another and work the solution, compounded by Andrea’s particular libido cues. The most obvious solution was they needed a chaperone or a guide to keep both excited, engaged and on task. Sabine knew this had to be her task. She also knew she had to disguise her being that person. She had an idea how to do that as well.
Once all the puzzle pieces were in place Sabine approached the donor. She spun a story. She was looking to help a dependent who was working fertility issues and now needed a donor since there was no longer military support available locally with the current problems. Sabine informed him of the desire for anonymity and his selection due to medical compatibility. If he agreed, Sabine would work out the arraignments. It would be here on base at one of the remote buildings. Sabine would have someone drive him there blindfolded where the dependent’s sister would bring him in and help with the process.
He wanted to help so he agreed. On the day agreed upon, he met Sabine at her office. She had him go wait for his driver in the UTV. He was to already have the blindfold on. Ten minutes later, his driver showed up. They said not a word the whole drive. When they got to their destination, the sister led him inside. Her French accent was a bit hard to miss.
What he didn’t see was the ‘sister’ was Sabine. She moved the donor a few feet from the vehicle and leaned in to whisper in the driver’s ear.
“Unless I say so Petra, we are to never speak of this again. Ever. It has to do with Patient confidentiality. And thank you. I couldn’t trust anyone else. They would have asked too many questions.”
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Henrik was out in the barn early the next morning, working on some last minute projects before his tools were packed. He had gotten up before everyone else it seemed. He knew Paige was going to apologize to Andrea this morning and who knew how long the conversations around that would take. Paige felt like shit. Jumping down Andrea’s throat was uncalled for and he knew it had taken a lot of build-up on Paige’s part to get to the point she stuck up for herself. All of that to turn right around and be the one in the wrong, well it stung a lot.
Henrik worked quickly. This was the third one he has built and the third one had to match the other finished one. He would take the original prototype even though he wasn’t as happy with it. He hoped everyone would like them. He was keeping them a surprise.
Henrik worked quickly. This was the third one he has built and the third one had to match the other finished one. He would take the original prototype even though he wasn’t as happy with it. He hoped everyone would like them. He was keeping them a surprise.
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
There were sobs, there were laughter, and there were tears. With as good of friends as Paige and Andrea were, they weren’t going to stay screwed up over Paige not knowing Andrea was pregnant. After the apologies and the congratulations, Paige and Andrea got down to some old-fashioned girl talk. When the topic of how they did it came up, Sabine took that as her own cue to excuse herself and Petra from the conversation and go out to the barn.
Halfway to the barn, Sabine stopped Petra to talk. Before Sabine could say anything Petra interrupted, stopping her.
“I know. I won’t say anything!” Petra sounded a little bit scared. At this, Sabine did something unexpected. She placed her hands on both of Petra’s shoulders and knelt down. With a foot and a half height difference, she knew she could be intimidating and imposing. Now was not the time to make Petra feel threatened. Sabine needed Petra to look in her eyes, feel her sincerity, and understand the depth of the situation and her faith in her.
“I know. I trust you.” Sabine dropped her head a moment to collect herself. “Hell, I knew this would get out some, but I was hoping it would be later, after we got north. Time and distance would have made some of this awkwardness not happen. Shoot, in some ways it is good for someone other than me to know who it was in case something happens to me.”
Petra stood there a moment, looking down into Sabine’s eyes. What’s she talking about? Something happening to her? “So if you knew I wasn’t going to talk, why did we leave?”
Sabine chuckled as she stood up. “Because it’s embarrassing enough with how much Andrea discusses our sex life with Paige, I really didn’t want to sit there while she gives a play by play of everything from the event and I sure as hell didn’t want you in the middle of that conversation. I would have preferred Andrea not tell Paige how we did it, but….” Sabine shook herself a bit. “There was nothing we did we should be ashamed of. All involved were consenting and no one was hurt.”
Petra looked up at her as she replied, a large grin on her tiny face. “But did everyone have fun?”
“None of your business!” Sabine snapped back, maybe a bit too sharply.
She had been thinking of the events that night. Leading up to it, she had so many worries she was suppressing with her medical focus. Once everything was underway, the terror she feared never materialized and she was able to do what she needed to do. She was working so hard to make sure Andrea had a positive experience she hadn’t looked at her own reactions at the time. She remembered the relief she felt when she was sure she had made the experience enjoyable for all involved.
“And, yes, I think so.”
Halfway to the barn, Sabine stopped Petra to talk. Before Sabine could say anything Petra interrupted, stopping her.
“I know. I won’t say anything!” Petra sounded a little bit scared. At this, Sabine did something unexpected. She placed her hands on both of Petra’s shoulders and knelt down. With a foot and a half height difference, she knew she could be intimidating and imposing. Now was not the time to make Petra feel threatened. Sabine needed Petra to look in her eyes, feel her sincerity, and understand the depth of the situation and her faith in her.
“I know. I trust you.” Sabine dropped her head a moment to collect herself. “Hell, I knew this would get out some, but I was hoping it would be later, after we got north. Time and distance would have made some of this awkwardness not happen. Shoot, in some ways it is good for someone other than me to know who it was in case something happens to me.”
Petra stood there a moment, looking down into Sabine’s eyes. What’s she talking about? Something happening to her? “So if you knew I wasn’t going to talk, why did we leave?”
Sabine chuckled as she stood up. “Because it’s embarrassing enough with how much Andrea discusses our sex life with Paige, I really didn’t want to sit there while she gives a play by play of everything from the event and I sure as hell didn’t want you in the middle of that conversation. I would have preferred Andrea not tell Paige how we did it, but….” Sabine shook herself a bit. “There was nothing we did we should be ashamed of. All involved were consenting and no one was hurt.”
Petra looked up at her as she replied, a large grin on her tiny face. “But did everyone have fun?”
“None of your business!” Sabine snapped back, maybe a bit too sharply.
She had been thinking of the events that night. Leading up to it, she had so many worries she was suppressing with her medical focus. Once everything was underway, the terror she feared never materialized and she was able to do what she needed to do. She was working so hard to make sure Andrea had a positive experience she hadn’t looked at her own reactions at the time. She remembered the relief she felt when she was sure she had made the experience enjoyable for all involved.
“And, yes, I think so.”
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Leaving was only a few days away now. Paige was spending what might be her last day at the shop. She had a few last minute pieces to pick up and the remainder of the weapons and ammo she was taking. Everything else was for the other guys. As she stood looking around, her mind went back to everything that happened here in the last six months. God how her life had changed! Hell, everyone’s lives changed. She walked around the areas, remembering. Along the way, she ran into Silas.
“Hey, Paige. Last walkthrough?”
“I think so.” Her voice had a bit of a quiver in it.
“Hard leaving, I’m sure. But we will all be back together in a couple of months.” Silas beamed.
“I know, but…every other time I was going to somewhere already set up. I knew where my money was coming from, how I would live, buy food and stuff. This is just a big leap into …..I don’t know what!”
“You will be fine. Your Grandfather knows the situation on the ground there and told you to come bringing as many as you wanted to. I don’t think he would do that if there weren’t resources there for you, and us. Besides, you four together can do almost anything! We won’t be far behind you. We are pulling out in no more than sixty days, even if I have to hogtie everyone and drag them.”
“I know, and you’re right. The pile in the middle of my armory is what’s left for you guys to bring, along with the stuff in the storage bunker.” Paige reached in her pocket, pulling out a key. Slowly, hesitantly, she handed it to Silas. He took it and before the tears sprang into Paige’s eyes, he wrapped her up in a great big hug.
“You will be fine. Just remember, I love you like the daughter I have.”
At this, their new old joke, Paige busted out in laughter along with her tears.
“You guys should come over to the house one more time before we leave.”
“I don’t know if my liver can take another party.” Silas quipped.
“That’s ok, we are not drinking much. We have too much to do and if you guys come over, you can drop off more of your stuff. We are almost completely packed out now.”
“I like the idea. We can have one more as a send-off and to set the stage for our first one once we all get together up there. One of the first things you guys need to do is set up a good fire ring, since that seems to be where we all end up.” Silas was glad they were able to turn the conversation to cheerier things. He hated goodbyes. He had too many of them throughout his career.
“How about tomorrow night. That gives us the next day to clean up and finalize. Hell, we have the sleeper sofas Veronica and Violet kept using that we can sleep on, so we could do a left seat right seat and you guys could move in, so it can be a bon voyage and a housewarming!” Paige was getting excited again.
“That sounds like a great idea! Maybe the move will help light a fire under these guys and we can leave sooner! I’ll talk to Ivar and we will get with our respective spouses. I like it!” They talked a few moments more before Silas moved off to take care of a few lingering elements requiring his attention. With promises of tomorrow night, they parted ways. Ten minutes later, Paige was leaving the base for what turned out to be the final time.
“Hey, Paige. Last walkthrough?”
“I think so.” Her voice had a bit of a quiver in it.
“Hard leaving, I’m sure. But we will all be back together in a couple of months.” Silas beamed.
“I know, but…every other time I was going to somewhere already set up. I knew where my money was coming from, how I would live, buy food and stuff. This is just a big leap into …..I don’t know what!”
“You will be fine. Your Grandfather knows the situation on the ground there and told you to come bringing as many as you wanted to. I don’t think he would do that if there weren’t resources there for you, and us. Besides, you four together can do almost anything! We won’t be far behind you. We are pulling out in no more than sixty days, even if I have to hogtie everyone and drag them.”
“I know, and you’re right. The pile in the middle of my armory is what’s left for you guys to bring, along with the stuff in the storage bunker.” Paige reached in her pocket, pulling out a key. Slowly, hesitantly, she handed it to Silas. He took it and before the tears sprang into Paige’s eyes, he wrapped her up in a great big hug.
“You will be fine. Just remember, I love you like the daughter I have.”
At this, their new old joke, Paige busted out in laughter along with her tears.
“You guys should come over to the house one more time before we leave.”
“I don’t know if my liver can take another party.” Silas quipped.
“That’s ok, we are not drinking much. We have too much to do and if you guys come over, you can drop off more of your stuff. We are almost completely packed out now.”
“I like the idea. We can have one more as a send-off and to set the stage for our first one once we all get together up there. One of the first things you guys need to do is set up a good fire ring, since that seems to be where we all end up.” Silas was glad they were able to turn the conversation to cheerier things. He hated goodbyes. He had too many of them throughout his career.
“How about tomorrow night. That gives us the next day to clean up and finalize. Hell, we have the sleeper sofas Veronica and Violet kept using that we can sleep on, so we could do a left seat right seat and you guys could move in, so it can be a bon voyage and a housewarming!” Paige was getting excited again.
“That sounds like a great idea! Maybe the move will help light a fire under these guys and we can leave sooner! I’ll talk to Ivar and we will get with our respective spouses. I like it!” They talked a few moments more before Silas moved off to take care of a few lingering elements requiring his attention. With promises of tomorrow night, they parted ways. Ten minutes later, Paige was leaving the base for what turned out to be the final time.
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sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you very much.
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
I may be wrong but I think this is the largest 'building block' yet, certainly in this story; maybe in any story on TB2K. No question of a solid foundation here.
Having said that, I foresee many twists, turns, wide swings and hard runs just over the horizon. In preparation for the next part of our journey, I have invested in an upgraded chair and a very bottom-heavy mug do I don't spill my tea as we swerve our way North; transferred and tightened up the belts on the new chair, too.
Having said that, I foresee many twists, turns, wide swings and hard runs just over the horizon. In preparation for the next part of our journey, I have invested in an upgraded chair and a very bottom-heavy mug do I don't spill my tea as we swerve our way North; transferred and tightened up the belts on the new chair, too.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
While Paige was at the base, Henrik took time between coats of varnish to start the final loading. It had all been diagramed, photographed and mapped out layer by layer as Paige packed and repacked the test boxes for the two vehicles and the trailers. These were printed out and a copy of both vehicles and trailers load plan and diagram would be in each vehicle. This way anyone looking for something would know just where to find it, i.e. where is it, which corner, how many layers deep. This was to prevent having to unload everything to get one item.
Some things were organized by function instead of best use of space. All the vehicle recovery gear and tools to work on them were in pull out drawers. This was lessons learned by watching people with broken 4x4s dumping everything out to get to a single wrench alongside the rad in the mud. The same thing with the emergency medical gear and basic survival gear. All of this was packed for ready access.
The heaviest stuff went as a bottom layer to help with the center of gravity. The heaviest, densest weight they were carrying was ammo, cans and cans of it. Then the larger bundles of tools, extra weapons and such came next, and so on and so on.
Many times Henrik had to keep going back to the pictures again and again. Sometimes it was something as simple as which way an ammo can was turned that made the difference on whether it fit or not.
Each SUV had a pair of spare tire mounts on the back. All the tires had the right pressure, checked and double checked. The same with the trailers. Two spare tires mounted and all the tires on the trailers also fit the tow vehicle pulling it.
While Henrik was doing this he had to work around Sabine, Andrea and Petra were swarming over the SUVs and trailers with huge irregular pieces of peel and stick vinyl in black, grey and white.
“Ok, Sabine, what’s the idea behind this.” Henrik asked when she started.
“Well, the SUVs and trailers are pretty big and would be hard to disguise while on the move. I figure it’s kind of like the old navy idea of dazzle camouflage. If you can’t hide the object, you confuse the observers about what it is, which direction it’s going and how fast by making false shapes, shadows and directional indicators. They did this with troop ships, battleships and so forth. With mine white and Paige’s grey, I figure to confuse the silhouette and make it harder to see what it is, how big it is and where it’s going and how fast. This can give us time to deconflict or just plain make us an unattractive target.” She paused as Henrik seemed to get the idea and was now following. She had forgotten he was a boat handler type and should have caught on quicker. She continued.
“It’s winter time so I was thinking a blocky pattern like some of the Swedish and Finnish camo patterns would be easier for us to make with what is basically colored shelf paper on the SUVs. I have cans of spray paint for the trailers. The other thing this pattern will help with is when we stop, depending on where we are at and the surrounding terrain, it will be effective camouflage, especially at night.”
“Makes sense, I’ll try to stay out of your way. Just let me know when you start painting the trailers. I don’t need more paint on me.”
The four of them were working hard. Time was running out.
Some things were organized by function instead of best use of space. All the vehicle recovery gear and tools to work on them were in pull out drawers. This was lessons learned by watching people with broken 4x4s dumping everything out to get to a single wrench alongside the rad in the mud. The same thing with the emergency medical gear and basic survival gear. All of this was packed for ready access.
The heaviest stuff went as a bottom layer to help with the center of gravity. The heaviest, densest weight they were carrying was ammo, cans and cans of it. Then the larger bundles of tools, extra weapons and such came next, and so on and so on.
Many times Henrik had to keep going back to the pictures again and again. Sometimes it was something as simple as which way an ammo can was turned that made the difference on whether it fit or not.
Each SUV had a pair of spare tire mounts on the back. All the tires had the right pressure, checked and double checked. The same with the trailers. Two spare tires mounted and all the tires on the trailers also fit the tow vehicle pulling it.
While Henrik was doing this he had to work around Sabine, Andrea and Petra were swarming over the SUVs and trailers with huge irregular pieces of peel and stick vinyl in black, grey and white.
“Ok, Sabine, what’s the idea behind this.” Henrik asked when she started.
“Well, the SUVs and trailers are pretty big and would be hard to disguise while on the move. I figure it’s kind of like the old navy idea of dazzle camouflage. If you can’t hide the object, you confuse the observers about what it is, which direction it’s going and how fast by making false shapes, shadows and directional indicators. They did this with troop ships, battleships and so forth. With mine white and Paige’s grey, I figure to confuse the silhouette and make it harder to see what it is, how big it is and where it’s going and how fast. This can give us time to deconflict or just plain make us an unattractive target.” She paused as Henrik seemed to get the idea and was now following. She had forgotten he was a boat handler type and should have caught on quicker. She continued.
“It’s winter time so I was thinking a blocky pattern like some of the Swedish and Finnish camo patterns would be easier for us to make with what is basically colored shelf paper on the SUVs. I have cans of spray paint for the trailers. The other thing this pattern will help with is when we stop, depending on where we are at and the surrounding terrain, it will be effective camouflage, especially at night.”
“Makes sense, I’ll try to stay out of your way. Just let me know when you start painting the trailers. I don’t need more paint on me.”
The four of them were working hard. Time was running out.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
When Paige got home, the smell of paint in the barn was thick. Looking over the job everyone had done while she was gone, she was impressed. And a little sad. They were leaving. It was one thing to be planning this great adventure, but now the day to go is almost here. Paige looked around the barn, her workshop. This was the place where she had done so many things. This was where she convinced Henrik to move in with her. This was where she fixed Sabine’s SUV. This was where she had made so many tools and taught herself so many things.
The bench still held the radio she had talked to her grandfather on and set into motion the whole exodus. She had spoken to him last week. She had sent him their proposed route and he sent her a list of potential contacts along that route he had contacted in case they needed help. She had a list of lat longs, frequencies and call signs all copied down for each of them. All of their plans were coming together. What was she forgetting?
Finally she remembered. She had one more gunsmithing project to do.
The bench still held the radio she had talked to her grandfather on and set into motion the whole exodus. She had spoken to him last week. She had sent him their proposed route and he sent her a list of potential contacts along that route he had contacted in case they needed help. She had a list of lat longs, frequencies and call signs all copied down for each of them. All of their plans were coming together. What was she forgetting?
Finally she remembered. She had one more gunsmithing project to do.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Paige pulled out a box she had set aside for this. In it were several older pistols she had acquired over the years before she came here. She was enamored with the Marine Colt Rail guns. There were none for sale out there but she did keep coming across something else that was similar. Back during the early days of OIF, may of the returning units were getting commemorative pistols made for their troops. It was basically a purchase agreement with the company for a specially marked pistol, bought direct from the manufacturer by the soldier. The most prominent company was Para-Ordinance. They were producing double stack 1911s mainly in 45 ACP. Later they branched out into offering them in 9mm and 40 S&W. They were giving a discount and were willing to work with the units so many were made.
Paige always considered them kind of middle of the road as far a quality goes. They were big and heavy, not that she minded, but fifteen rounds of 45 can add up after a while. They also could use tuning and reliability work. She never ordered one, but she started to see them pop up at gun shows as they lost their luster to their original purchasers.
Paige decided to try one. She picked up a basically new in box one in 40 caliber. It shot ok, but she knew she could get it to run and shoot better. This project got sidelined several times and she kept seeing them pop up, often for stupid low prices where she was. When the deal was too cheap to ignore, she would buy one. Finally she had to stop herself once she had six of them when she PCSed to the position here. Two of them she tuned, tweeked and later sold, then she forgot about them for years here. She had too many other projects.
When she was packing up her stuff she came across the box with them in it. Each only had two magazines. She also only had 150-200 rounds of 40 caliber ammo for them. She had an idea shortly after finding them again. If there was an incident like the carjacking attempt on Jenson and his family, one of these might be better than the 9mm Glock to have readily available to the driver, especially after she was done with them.
Paige was intimately familiar with the 1911 with thousands of hours staring at them on her bench. She knew she could tune, manipulate and massage the internals just right and end up with something pretty stupid, loud and intimidating. The standard magazine for these pistols in 40 caliber is 16 rounds, plus one in the chamber. With what she did, it would dump them full auto in under two seconds.
Paige wouldn’t do this to one of her ‘good’ guns. These would probably tolerate it for the couple magazines worth of ammo she had but would start beating themselves to death in short order. He plan was to have one each for the driver and passenger. She would mount holsters to the center consoles in each, giving everyone a quick grab, up close and personal defensive weapon without having to pull it from their waist or have a rifle on their lap.
Part of Paige kept telling her it was illegal, but she reminded herself she was rolling around with full auto suppressed M-4 type assault weapons, so what did the pistols matter. The first one is expensive, the rest are free.
Paige always considered them kind of middle of the road as far a quality goes. They were big and heavy, not that she minded, but fifteen rounds of 45 can add up after a while. They also could use tuning and reliability work. She never ordered one, but she started to see them pop up at gun shows as they lost their luster to their original purchasers.
Paige decided to try one. She picked up a basically new in box one in 40 caliber. It shot ok, but she knew she could get it to run and shoot better. This project got sidelined several times and she kept seeing them pop up, often for stupid low prices where she was. When the deal was too cheap to ignore, she would buy one. Finally she had to stop herself once she had six of them when she PCSed to the position here. Two of them she tuned, tweeked and later sold, then she forgot about them for years here. She had too many other projects.
When she was packing up her stuff she came across the box with them in it. Each only had two magazines. She also only had 150-200 rounds of 40 caliber ammo for them. She had an idea shortly after finding them again. If there was an incident like the carjacking attempt on Jenson and his family, one of these might be better than the 9mm Glock to have readily available to the driver, especially after she was done with them.
Paige was intimately familiar with the 1911 with thousands of hours staring at them on her bench. She knew she could tune, manipulate and massage the internals just right and end up with something pretty stupid, loud and intimidating. The standard magazine for these pistols in 40 caliber is 16 rounds, plus one in the chamber. With what she did, it would dump them full auto in under two seconds.
Paige wouldn’t do this to one of her ‘good’ guns. These would probably tolerate it for the couple magazines worth of ammo she had but would start beating themselves to death in short order. He plan was to have one each for the driver and passenger. She would mount holsters to the center consoles in each, giving everyone a quick grab, up close and personal defensive weapon without having to pull it from their waist or have a rifle on their lap.
Part of Paige kept telling her it was illegal, but she reminded herself she was rolling around with full auto suppressed M-4 type assault weapons, so what did the pistols matter. The first one is expensive, the rest are free.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Everyone was a strange mix of sad, excited and uncertain at breakfast. It was all hitting home now. By the end of the day, there will be new people in what used to be their bedrooms. True, they were friends and all, but it was still a bit unsettling now that leaving was so close. Before they all left the table, everyone agreed to not say anything about Andrea being pregnant.
Paige, Henrik and Petra were finishing the last minute adjustments to the vehicles carrying them to their new home. Andrea and Sabine were working on the food for the get together.
All too soon, around noon, the new occupants arrive. Everyone helped move stuff in and helped them get settled except Andrea, who was still working in the kitchen on the food.
In reality, they didn’t move much into the house. This was only to be theirs for two to two and a half months, so a lot of stuff was just moved into a corner of the barn. After the advanced party left, there would be plenty of space to spread things out and prep their own vehicles and gear for the trip north. Petra was already looking at versions of the load plan boxes Henrik built to figure out the packing.
One of the reasons they hadn’t already built some for the second wave was the lack of a decision on which ones to use. The only two solidly in the line-up were Andrea’s R32 and Henrik’s jeep.
While the adults were moving and unloading and generally causing chaos, Jennifer was hanging out with Andrea in the kitchen. This kept her out of the way. Andrea was glad to have her there. There were times she found herself hoping she would have a little girl as wonderful and Jennifer. Sometimes, when she thought no one was looking, she would watch Jennifer and rub her abdomen. Maybe she could get some time to talk with Jonas and get some tips when the second crew got north. By then, she would be showing and she wouldn’t be hiding it any more.
Sabine was swinging through the kitchen frequently to check up on the food she had simmering and baking, or at least that was her excuse. She was really checking in on Andrea and Jennifer. She couldn’t help but be amazed at how far Jennifer had come in such a short period of time. She knew there would still be some long term health issues to deal with when they got north and Sabine knew she would be the one addressing them.
Sabine was also observing Andrea’s interactions with Jennifer. Andrea was going to make a great mother. If there were any issues or gaps in knowledge she needed, she would have Amber, Sofia and Jonas to support her. All were experience parents and could help her through the rough spots. All three had proven track records and well behaved and proper children. With them as parental role models and guides, Sabine was sure things would go well. She was sure they could do a lot worse than to have Andrea’s kid turn out like Jennifer, Violet or Veronica did.
Paige, Henrik and Petra were finishing the last minute adjustments to the vehicles carrying them to their new home. Andrea and Sabine were working on the food for the get together.
All too soon, around noon, the new occupants arrive. Everyone helped move stuff in and helped them get settled except Andrea, who was still working in the kitchen on the food.
In reality, they didn’t move much into the house. This was only to be theirs for two to two and a half months, so a lot of stuff was just moved into a corner of the barn. After the advanced party left, there would be plenty of space to spread things out and prep their own vehicles and gear for the trip north. Petra was already looking at versions of the load plan boxes Henrik built to figure out the packing.
One of the reasons they hadn’t already built some for the second wave was the lack of a decision on which ones to use. The only two solidly in the line-up were Andrea’s R32 and Henrik’s jeep.
While the adults were moving and unloading and generally causing chaos, Jennifer was hanging out with Andrea in the kitchen. This kept her out of the way. Andrea was glad to have her there. There were times she found herself hoping she would have a little girl as wonderful and Jennifer. Sometimes, when she thought no one was looking, she would watch Jennifer and rub her abdomen. Maybe she could get some time to talk with Jonas and get some tips when the second crew got north. By then, she would be showing and she wouldn’t be hiding it any more.
Sabine was swinging through the kitchen frequently to check up on the food she had simmering and baking, or at least that was her excuse. She was really checking in on Andrea and Jennifer. She couldn’t help but be amazed at how far Jennifer had come in such a short period of time. She knew there would still be some long term health issues to deal with when they got north and Sabine knew she would be the one addressing them.
Sabine was also observing Andrea’s interactions with Jennifer. Andrea was going to make a great mother. If there were any issues or gaps in knowledge she needed, she would have Amber, Sofia and Jonas to support her. All were experience parents and could help her through the rough spots. All three had proven track records and well behaved and proper children. With them as parental role models and guides, Sabine was sure things would go well. She was sure they could do a lot worse than to have Andrea’s kid turn out like Jennifer, Violet or Veronica did.
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ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
I wasn't hinting at sources, just parenting assistance and advice. If Andrea raised her kid in the same manor as the three mentioned, then all should be good. You don't take parenting advice/tips/assistance from the crackwhore down the street. You look for the kids that act like you want yours to turn out and learn from those parents.
Sabine had the entire base to shop from. Shopping in your own living room for such a thing is unwise and generally not a good idea. If you are implying what I think you are, two are married and one very recently widowed (under 90 days) so I don't think it would be well received.
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Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
Yes very much so but, even if I'm wrong, I'm going to stop worrying about whom the donor might be now; there's about 12-13 sub-plot lines in here so, when you get the whole thing published, I'm sure it'll all come together and, maybe we'll never know. Who cares? So long as the child is healthy & grows into a real person, it's a success story. I can think of a couple of people in my youth who became worthy adults even though they weren't totally healthy at birth.
Until then, I'll amuse myself by considering where all these little crumblet trails might be headed; for me, there's half fun right there and this story ranks right up there for my version of fun
One day, you can tell us how you keep it all straight; was there a lot of this
involved so far?
Until then, I'll amuse myself by considering where all these little crumblet trails might be headed; for me, there's half fun right there and this story ranks right up there for my version of fun
One day, you can tell us how you keep it all straight; was there a lot of this
involved so far?
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Yes very much so but, even if I'm wrong, I'm going to stop worrying about whom the donor might be now; there's about 12-13 sub-plot lines in here so, when you get the whole thing published, I'm sure it'll all come together and, maybe we'll never know. Who cares? So long as the child is healthy & grows into a real person, it's a success story. I can think of a couple of people in my youth who became worthy adults even though they weren't totally healthy at birth.
Until then, I'll amuse myself by considering where all these little crumblet trails might be headed; for me, there's half fun right there and this story ranks right up there for my version of fun
One day, you can tell us how you keep it all straight; was there a lot of this
No problems, I just didn't want you to get the wrong idea what Sabine was thinking. I will have to massage that part to avoid it seeming like I'm hinting.
Now, if you really want to spin up your VISIO, think forward to where all of this dovetails into 1 and 2 as we move forward. I have to make sure they don't grind and bind while I also ensure things are setting and curing right for parts 4 through 7 and their associated characters and situations.
Oh and as far as
, It does get interesting to be working on 3, planning 4-7, editing and crosschecking 1 and 2 all at the same time.
Lake Lili
Veteran Member
You are a wonder and we are most appreciative to you and your editor.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Dinner was a simple affair compared to the extravagant and elaborate spreads so recently done. Everyone was around the table, laughing and joking and swapping stories. No one wanted to breach the ‘leaving’ topic yet. They had all day tomorrow for that.
After dinner, the group broke down into smaller clumps as the new arrivals tried to settle into their new space while the leaving group tried to stay out of their way. Eventually it ended up with the leaving group plus Jennifer and Petra down on the couches, watching some silly movies on DVD while Ivar, Amber, Silas, Sofia, and Jonas sat around the table planning the next steps for themselves moving forward.
Late in the evening, Petra came up the stairs to the dining room level, a concerned look on her face as all eyes turned to her.
“Guys, there might be a little problem. Jonas, Sofia come on downstairs.” Petra waved them down and over to the couches. Jonas and Sofia followed. Everybody down on the couches were asleep. Everyone that is except for Sabine who was holding Jennifer and slowly rocking back and forth muttering soothing words, Jennifer’s platypus clutched between them. Touching scene as it was, the part that disturbed Petra (woke her up actually) was Sabine’s crying.
Jonas came around the couch and gently scooped Jennifer up. Jennifer shifted and clung to him in her sleep as he carried her up the stairs to her bedroom, Sofia close behind.
As soon as they had cleared the first set of stairs, Sabine got up, grabbed her jacket and headed right outside, ignoring everyone as she rushed by. Everyone had a confused look as they looked among themselves. They weren’t sure what was going on. Amber waved everyone to stay inside as she grabbed her coat and went outside in search of Sabine.
Amber found Sabine standing barefoot in the snow by the unlit fire pit, openly sobbing. Amber came up behind her.
“Sabine?” Amber said as she placed a hand on Sabine’s shoulder. Sabine turned and put her head down on Ambers shoulder as she cried. Amber held her a few moment before she spoke again. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”
Sabine, through choking sobs gasped “She called me ‘Mommy’”
Amber wasn’t sure what kind of a trigger this was to Sabine, but at the least, a child who recently lost their mother violently to call someone mommy in her sleep was heartbreaking in its own right.
Sabine got a bit more control and spoke more. “She was curled up between Andrea and me on the couch. She was having a bad dream and grabbed me in her sleep. She needed her mommy to protect her.” Sabine was almost completely under control now and straightening up.
This made sense to Amber. “She is still going to have bad days when things creep up on her. You were there and could help. I’m sure you helped her.” Amber was trying to be reassuring and comforting. Sabine's next words were a gut punch however.
Sabine’s voice goes soft, wispy and far away for a moment. “Jennifer is about the same age mine would have been if I carried to term all those years ago.”
The two of them stood there silently holding one another in the snow. Finally Amber saw Sabine was barefoot.
“Come on, let’s get you inside or get the fire going. It’s too cold for you to be out here barefoot.” Sabine didn’t resist as Amber led her inside. Once inside, they saw everyone had gone to their respective rooms. Amber got Sabine situated and tucked in on the couch with Andrea before going to bed herself.
After dinner, the group broke down into smaller clumps as the new arrivals tried to settle into their new space while the leaving group tried to stay out of their way. Eventually it ended up with the leaving group plus Jennifer and Petra down on the couches, watching some silly movies on DVD while Ivar, Amber, Silas, Sofia, and Jonas sat around the table planning the next steps for themselves moving forward.
Late in the evening, Petra came up the stairs to the dining room level, a concerned look on her face as all eyes turned to her.
“Guys, there might be a little problem. Jonas, Sofia come on downstairs.” Petra waved them down and over to the couches. Jonas and Sofia followed. Everybody down on the couches were asleep. Everyone that is except for Sabine who was holding Jennifer and slowly rocking back and forth muttering soothing words, Jennifer’s platypus clutched between them. Touching scene as it was, the part that disturbed Petra (woke her up actually) was Sabine’s crying.
Jonas came around the couch and gently scooped Jennifer up. Jennifer shifted and clung to him in her sleep as he carried her up the stairs to her bedroom, Sofia close behind.
As soon as they had cleared the first set of stairs, Sabine got up, grabbed her jacket and headed right outside, ignoring everyone as she rushed by. Everyone had a confused look as they looked among themselves. They weren’t sure what was going on. Amber waved everyone to stay inside as she grabbed her coat and went outside in search of Sabine.
Amber found Sabine standing barefoot in the snow by the unlit fire pit, openly sobbing. Amber came up behind her.
“Sabine?” Amber said as she placed a hand on Sabine’s shoulder. Sabine turned and put her head down on Ambers shoulder as she cried. Amber held her a few moment before she spoke again. “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?”
Sabine, through choking sobs gasped “She called me ‘Mommy’”
Amber wasn’t sure what kind of a trigger this was to Sabine, but at the least, a child who recently lost their mother violently to call someone mommy in her sleep was heartbreaking in its own right.
Sabine got a bit more control and spoke more. “She was curled up between Andrea and me on the couch. She was having a bad dream and grabbed me in her sleep. She needed her mommy to protect her.” Sabine was almost completely under control now and straightening up.
This made sense to Amber. “She is still going to have bad days when things creep up on her. You were there and could help. I’m sure you helped her.” Amber was trying to be reassuring and comforting. Sabine's next words were a gut punch however.
Sabine’s voice goes soft, wispy and far away for a moment. “Jennifer is about the same age mine would have been if I carried to term all those years ago.”
The two of them stood there silently holding one another in the snow. Finally Amber saw Sabine was barefoot.
“Come on, let’s get you inside or get the fire going. It’s too cold for you to be out here barefoot.” Sabine didn’t resist as Amber led her inside. Once inside, they saw everyone had gone to their respective rooms. Amber got Sabine situated and tucked in on the couch with Andrea before going to bed herself.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you
Griz3752
Retired, practising Curmudgeon
There is more psychological under pinning in this story than anything I've ever read under the banner of PREP and that's the load so many carry privately, day-to-day.
So maybe the donor won't ever factor in but we still have yet another layer, courtesy Sabine's history and Jennifer's trauma.
It's all real-world stuff, just like we have to deal with. There's a lot of 'literature' which doesn't run this deep and fast.
Well done and, brought into focus with so very few words ....
So maybe the donor won't ever factor in but we still have yet another layer, courtesy Sabine's history and Jennifer's trauma.
It's all real-world stuff, just like we have to deal with. There's a lot of 'literature' which doesn't run this deep and fast.
Well done and, brought into focus with so very few words ....
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
Real people are complex. One of the other threads I was reading the other day reminded me of some conversations I've had with co-workers which goes down to the phrase
"Everybody was something before what they are now"
The old guy walking too slow at the mall and irritating you? He walks slow from all the damage to his knees humping a 70lbs pack up hills in the jungle for a year with people trying to kill him.
The grandmother drinking 12 cup of coffee at a sitting at your favorite diner? She's seen more blood and shattered bodies than most combat vets in her 20 years as an ER nurse.
and so on and so on.
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Sportsman
Veteran Member
"Real people are complex." So true. Reminds me of a management course I took decades ago from Morris Massey titled "Who you are is what you were when" and some follow on psych courses. Sure helped us better see into the depth of our employees and friends.
Thank you.
PS: I just looked it up and Dr. Massey retired in 1995, but that course is still being taught, 40 years later.
Thank you.
PS: I just looked it up and Dr. Massey retired in 1995, but that course is still being taught, 40 years later.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
The morning was bright and clear as Paige, Henrik, Sabine and Andrea were finalizing checks on the vehicles. Everything from fluids to lights to communications were gone through with a fine tooth comb. Recovery gear was re-checked again and again. Maps were checked and positions in the ‘cockpits’ for the navigator/copilots to reference. Everyone made sure the batteries were fresh in weapon lights, flashlights, GPSs and hand held radios. Drinks and snacks were prepositioned. Everything they could think of was gone through.
One of the innovations they came up with was a way to do a ‘handsfree’ push to talk for the radios. Andrea was used to the idea of just running a ‘hot mic’ i.e. constantly on, but this gets annoying fast. Paige came up with the idea of using the really old school concept of floor mounted headlight dimmer switches to make a rugged enough push to talk button. This way she didn’t have to let go of the steering wheel or map or, heaven forbid, weapon, to activate her radio. This would let them talk back and forth between the two vehicles without a lot of extraneous noise or movement.
Paige mounted long gun brackets next to the doors just like in the military vehicles. She put one of the carbines in each bracket, They each had a spare magazine attached to the buttstock of the carbine. They weren’t expecting to need them, but Paige wanted them close at hand.
All four would have their pistols as well. The extra ‘special’ ones were in their holsters mounted to the consoles of the SUVs. All of this was hopefully overkill, but better over prepared than underprepared.
Henrik spent a lot of time walking Silas and Ivar over the maps with the intended routes and phase lines or checkpoints for their trip. They would call back periodically with updates so in two months, the next group could be ready for any observed problem.
With the intent to leave early in the morning, long before the sun came up, meals were brunch and lupper. Things were anxious and sad at the same time. Heading off on a new adventure, but they didn’t want to be away from their friends who had come to mean so much.
One of the innovations they came up with was a way to do a ‘handsfree’ push to talk for the radios. Andrea was used to the idea of just running a ‘hot mic’ i.e. constantly on, but this gets annoying fast. Paige came up with the idea of using the really old school concept of floor mounted headlight dimmer switches to make a rugged enough push to talk button. This way she didn’t have to let go of the steering wheel or map or, heaven forbid, weapon, to activate her radio. This would let them talk back and forth between the two vehicles without a lot of extraneous noise or movement.
Paige mounted long gun brackets next to the doors just like in the military vehicles. She put one of the carbines in each bracket, They each had a spare magazine attached to the buttstock of the carbine. They weren’t expecting to need them, but Paige wanted them close at hand.
All four would have their pistols as well. The extra ‘special’ ones were in their holsters mounted to the consoles of the SUVs. All of this was hopefully overkill, but better over prepared than underprepared.
Henrik spent a lot of time walking Silas and Ivar over the maps with the intended routes and phase lines or checkpoints for their trip. They would call back periodically with updates so in two months, the next group could be ready for any observed problem.
With the intent to leave early in the morning, long before the sun came up, meals were brunch and lupper. Things were anxious and sad at the same time. Heading off on a new adventure, but they didn’t want to be away from their friends who had come to mean so much.
ComCamGuy
Remote Paramedical pain in the ass
After dinner, several of them sat around the table talking when Ivar excused himself suddenly. When he came back, he had a huge stack of manila envelopes. He set them down in the middle of the table in two stacks.
“OK, here’s the reason I told you guys you should travel in uniform.” Ivar handed several envelopes to each of them. Paige was the first to bite.
“So, what is all of this?” As she was talking, Andrea was pulling a fat sheaf of papers out of the top envelope. Ivar started explaining, a huge grin on his face.
“These are your ‘TAD’ orders and ‘Classified’ Ops plan.” He looked around the table at the confused faces before he went on.
“In here are the TAD orders dispatching you as weapons couriers and operational support for the strategic disbursement of tactical assets in support of further continuity of defense operations.” He smiled, pleased with himself and obviously feeling his explanation covered everything.
Henrik was leafing through the half inch stack of papers. “Great! Wonderful! So, what exactly does that mean?”
“What it means is until you complete the TAD, you are still on active duty, your retirement papers go in effect when the temporary duty is ended. So, if they ever get this shit show under control again, they will owe you back pay at active duty rates, TAD pay, and since you will be away from home station while promotion boards would have occurred, you will be automatically promoted to the next rank as soon as you are eligible, just like the POWs were.”
“Well, isn’t that some sneaky shit!” Paige exclaimed.
“You don’t know the half of it!” Sabine interjected as she was thumbing through the pages of the orders. Having been on more temporary duties than the others, she knew some of the funny little nuances Ivar had packed into it as she came across them. “He has us as one element of a larger operation that includes the rest of them for their travel north. He has several other fictitious groups on here as well. As weapon couriers, it covers anything we are traveling with as well as has lines in here for our carry and defense of the cargo, civilian clothes authorized as needed, vague and blind check in points, methods and intervals, separate routes indicated for dispersal. It goes on and on.” Sabine looked up at Ivar. “When the hell did you have time for all of this?”
At this Ivar just smiled wider. Silas however was frowning. He was in agreeance with having a paperwork smokescreen, but this took hours, hell days, to construct. They could have spent the same time getting their own departure date days earlier.
Andrea was flipping further towards the back. “Local lodging, meals and incidentals authorized for reimbursement, civilian and personally owned vehicles authorized, deadly force authorized in protection of mission assets and personnel,”
At this point Sabine interjected. “and in the medical section, full authorization to operate as a provider independent of Medical Director oversite to the full extent of knowledge, skills and training for the duration of the temporary duty.” Sabine was used to working without a net on the far edges of her protocols and training, but to have something like this? In writing? This made her similar to Nurse Practitioners with their own license. The medical addendum was even signed by the current clinic commander as her medical director. She basically had a doctor who signed a piece of paper telling her she could do whatever she felt necessary medically. This was also at the federal level so she didn’t even have to worry about state lines or guidelines! However much of the rest of this stuff was a smokescreen, this one part, the medical document in her hand, this was real, whether Ivar knew it or not. The tiny part buried deep in her that was sad about dropping out of med school to go into the military, it didn’t hurt as much now. She could help people, she could practice medicine to help people. She looked at the bottom of the document the doctor signed. ‘This document and the authorizations within are valid until specifically revoked by myself or my successor.’ Now she had to live up to being ‘Doc.’
Andrea was hip deep in the communications section, trying to follow all the twists and turns Ivar built in. He made everything so convoluted that anyone following it to try and contact one of the teams or higher headquarters would never be able to decipher the process enough to even attempt it. Ivar was a mad genius! “Ah, Ivar? Correct me if I’m wrong, but section four, where you are talking about the alternate encryption methods if the SINGARs isn’t available? It looks like your giving instructions on how to set up a WWII German five rotor Enigma machine, all the way from which rotors in what order and what patch cable to which ports.”
“Yup!” Ivar couldn’t help smiling now. All his trickiness was being appreciated. “So if someone gets hold of the document, and tries to back check your story, unless they also have a five rotor WWII Enigma, there is a very solid reason they can’t get someone to contradict your version. Besides, did they try it at the right contact times of the right hour base Z time plus or minus the offset for the day? And there is a mandatory 30 day radio blackout of operational headquarters in the op order anyway.”
Henrik and Paige were confused. They didn’t have some minor dedicated section to be amused by reading. They were trying to figure out what the overall theme was supposed to be. Paige finally asked when Ivar and Andrea paused in their radio chatter.
“So, what is all this for and what are we supposed to be in theory doing and why all this stuff? I thought we were retired and moving to our new home. This makes it sound like we are now doing some secret squirrel bullshit.” Paige’s temper was starting to spike.
“What it is, is a way to sidestep anybody trying to stop you, hijack you for some other military mission or question why you have the weapons, ammo and radio equipment you have with you.” Ivar thought it was obvious, but he had to remember these guys weren’t long time special operations and didn’t think like him.
Silas understood where Ivar was going with all of this and figured he better help him out.
“Guys, if you come across some other military or federal recovery crews who try to federalize you and drag you along to help them, or commandeer your vehicles, weapons and such, these documents will let you show you are already federal assets and assigned a high priority military mission as part of the recovery operations.”
“So you see,” Ivar picked up where Silas left off. “All this is mainly a big protective smoke screen. Oh, and if it all smooths back out, you should get a great big fat paycheck of back pay and you are retired in place when they pay you.”
Henrik was shaking his head as they were talking. “Ivar, you are one sneaky, conniving bastard. You know that, right?”
Sofia was in the kitchen and spoke up. “Now you know where Veronica gets it from.”
“OK, here’s the reason I told you guys you should travel in uniform.” Ivar handed several envelopes to each of them. Paige was the first to bite.
“So, what is all of this?” As she was talking, Andrea was pulling a fat sheaf of papers out of the top envelope. Ivar started explaining, a huge grin on his face.
“These are your ‘TAD’ orders and ‘Classified’ Ops plan.” He looked around the table at the confused faces before he went on.
“In here are the TAD orders dispatching you as weapons couriers and operational support for the strategic disbursement of tactical assets in support of further continuity of defense operations.” He smiled, pleased with himself and obviously feeling his explanation covered everything.
Henrik was leafing through the half inch stack of papers. “Great! Wonderful! So, what exactly does that mean?”
“What it means is until you complete the TAD, you are still on active duty, your retirement papers go in effect when the temporary duty is ended. So, if they ever get this shit show under control again, they will owe you back pay at active duty rates, TAD pay, and since you will be away from home station while promotion boards would have occurred, you will be automatically promoted to the next rank as soon as you are eligible, just like the POWs were.”
“Well, isn’t that some sneaky shit!” Paige exclaimed.
“You don’t know the half of it!” Sabine interjected as she was thumbing through the pages of the orders. Having been on more temporary duties than the others, she knew some of the funny little nuances Ivar had packed into it as she came across them. “He has us as one element of a larger operation that includes the rest of them for their travel north. He has several other fictitious groups on here as well. As weapon couriers, it covers anything we are traveling with as well as has lines in here for our carry and defense of the cargo, civilian clothes authorized as needed, vague and blind check in points, methods and intervals, separate routes indicated for dispersal. It goes on and on.” Sabine looked up at Ivar. “When the hell did you have time for all of this?”
At this Ivar just smiled wider. Silas however was frowning. He was in agreeance with having a paperwork smokescreen, but this took hours, hell days, to construct. They could have spent the same time getting their own departure date days earlier.
Andrea was flipping further towards the back. “Local lodging, meals and incidentals authorized for reimbursement, civilian and personally owned vehicles authorized, deadly force authorized in protection of mission assets and personnel,”
At this point Sabine interjected. “and in the medical section, full authorization to operate as a provider independent of Medical Director oversite to the full extent of knowledge, skills and training for the duration of the temporary duty.” Sabine was used to working without a net on the far edges of her protocols and training, but to have something like this? In writing? This made her similar to Nurse Practitioners with their own license. The medical addendum was even signed by the current clinic commander as her medical director. She basically had a doctor who signed a piece of paper telling her she could do whatever she felt necessary medically. This was also at the federal level so she didn’t even have to worry about state lines or guidelines! However much of the rest of this stuff was a smokescreen, this one part, the medical document in her hand, this was real, whether Ivar knew it or not. The tiny part buried deep in her that was sad about dropping out of med school to go into the military, it didn’t hurt as much now. She could help people, she could practice medicine to help people. She looked at the bottom of the document the doctor signed. ‘This document and the authorizations within are valid until specifically revoked by myself or my successor.’ Now she had to live up to being ‘Doc.’
Andrea was hip deep in the communications section, trying to follow all the twists and turns Ivar built in. He made everything so convoluted that anyone following it to try and contact one of the teams or higher headquarters would never be able to decipher the process enough to even attempt it. Ivar was a mad genius! “Ah, Ivar? Correct me if I’m wrong, but section four, where you are talking about the alternate encryption methods if the SINGARs isn’t available? It looks like your giving instructions on how to set up a WWII German five rotor Enigma machine, all the way from which rotors in what order and what patch cable to which ports.”
“Yup!” Ivar couldn’t help smiling now. All his trickiness was being appreciated. “So if someone gets hold of the document, and tries to back check your story, unless they also have a five rotor WWII Enigma, there is a very solid reason they can’t get someone to contradict your version. Besides, did they try it at the right contact times of the right hour base Z time plus or minus the offset for the day? And there is a mandatory 30 day radio blackout of operational headquarters in the op order anyway.”
Henrik and Paige were confused. They didn’t have some minor dedicated section to be amused by reading. They were trying to figure out what the overall theme was supposed to be. Paige finally asked when Ivar and Andrea paused in their radio chatter.
“So, what is all this for and what are we supposed to be in theory doing and why all this stuff? I thought we were retired and moving to our new home. This makes it sound like we are now doing some secret squirrel bullshit.” Paige’s temper was starting to spike.
“What it is, is a way to sidestep anybody trying to stop you, hijack you for some other military mission or question why you have the weapons, ammo and radio equipment you have with you.” Ivar thought it was obvious, but he had to remember these guys weren’t long time special operations and didn’t think like him.
Silas understood where Ivar was going with all of this and figured he better help him out.
“Guys, if you come across some other military or federal recovery crews who try to federalize you and drag you along to help them, or commandeer your vehicles, weapons and such, these documents will let you show you are already federal assets and assigned a high priority military mission as part of the recovery operations.”
“So you see,” Ivar picked up where Silas left off. “All this is mainly a big protective smoke screen. Oh, and if it all smooths back out, you should get a great big fat paycheck of back pay and you are retired in place when they pay you.”
Henrik was shaking his head as they were talking. “Ivar, you are one sneaky, conniving bastard. You know that, right?”
Sofia was in the kitchen and spoke up. “Now you know where Veronica gets it from.”