Down Range (Open)

[✚ Peter T. Brannigan]

The barn seemed slightly cosy for a brief moment, as Peter’s head flopped back against the wooden frame of the wall behind him, trying to soak up all the confidence and courage he could wield for what was about to face them - perhaps a platoon of Jerrys. As the Captain called over to him - if he was okay, the Corporal just about ushered out “Ye--” when a few sudden barrelling shots tore into the barn, causing Peter to abruptly grasp and hold his rifle tightly, shuffling his legs in against his body so they didn’t take any hits.

“Crikey” Peter murmured to himself, as his eyes rolled up to glance at the pierced holes in the shack wall, before looking over to Captain Matherson who hollered him over. Peter eagerly lept to his feet and in a low-prone stance, made his way towards the Captain who pointed and motioned in the general direction for him to fire off into. “Alright, Sir” Peter quietly said a little discouraged about the order, knowing he didn’t fancy losing his head anytime soon, particularly as he was going to be the prime target for the Nazis on the other-side - the only soldier shooting at them.

The Corporal slowly raised his Lee-Enfield against the lower frame of the window and ever so gingerly, raised his head slowly, just enough that the horizion of the nearby woodland was in his view, as well as the nearby barn to an extent. Peter’s rifle was locked and loaded, but as for seeing any moving targets - well, he couldn’t see any, that was until a moving shrubbery caught his eye in the short distance. The distinct grey uniform gave it away, but still a very effective cameo, when motionless…

“Think there’s a sniper sir, either that, or a shrub’s got it in for us” the Corporal said somewhat seriously, rather than jokingly, as he took slow careful aim and suddenly rammed his finger back onto the trigger, sending a spiralling shot towards the target in his sights. Quickly, Peter reloaded the weapon with the usual twist and clunk, before aiming again and taking another lucky shot. “C’mon…” Peter muttered to himself, as he twisted and clunked the bolt on the side of the rifle to load another round, making his third and final shot, before falling down below the window and reloading out of sight from the enemy - knowing three shots was more than enough to give away his position to anyone, before he’ll shoot again.

[jynx]

Leutnant Kempster heard a shot from thesmall farm house the enemy troops ran into. The bullet hit a tree long before it ever got close to Justin. The accuracy was well off, and this made Justin feel very warm within. He ran forward to advance to the next tree, almost getting cocky.

Soon as Justin settled down, he heard two shots ring out from Max. Max had swept through the large barn, behind the haystacks mainly. He must of not found a single sign of any other soldiers, which once again gave Justin a warm feeling. His advancement led to a window in the barn, which is where he saw the inexperienced new soldier peeking out of the window.

Justin instantly followed Max's firing with 2 more shots, in the same area. Although Justin was further away, the bullets were almost with the same accuracy due to the scope on his karbine. He then pulled back and layed against the tree. Max would most likely advance again, or they would attempt to fire upon Maxs position. If they fired upon Justins position, Max would fire first. If they fired on Maxs position, Justin would fire first.

The advancement seemed to be going very well, by Justins standards. The enemy was pinned down, he had reserve troops if they were to get in trouble, and complete control of both flanks.

[PuNk! ™]

Moderation Post:
It's best I intervene now, before anyone else decides the outcome of the enemy’s projectiles. No one’s in the wrong, you’re more than welcome to do so, saves me a task of marking -Winks- but at the same time, the thread may enter a stalemate and I’m beginning to feel that here… You’re both even anyway, C.Matherson marked the outcome of Jynx’s first 3 shots and Jynx marked the outcome of Peter’s next 3 shots.

Again, you’re more than welcome to control the outcome of one another’s projectiles, but doing it all too often can make it seem like you’re evading any damage. So please don’t do it too often guys, thanks.

AXIS:[/B]
Justin Kempster: The two shots impaled the barn-wall, thinning it, but not breaking through.

NPC Private Hoffman: One shot inaccurately hit the window frame, the second broke through the thinning wall and slit Corporal Branigan’s upper arm with a minor flesh wound.

NPC Private Wagner: Out-of-bounds, not in combat.

ALLIED:[/B]
Chris Matherson: Yet to fire, remains silent to enemy.

Corporal Branigan: Prior shots missed, but slowly gaining valuable experience. Also, wounded with a minor flesh-wound.

*Next Post…* Captain Matherson
~Danny

[Captain Matherson]

Matherson hadn’t fired a single shot the entire battle, primarily because his Thompson wouldn’t be able to accurately make the distance to the sniper over in the woods. No doubt the rounds would get there, but they would be all askew and not where he wanted them. Perhaps he could spray the area and hope that one hit, but if he failed then he would have just given away his position for nothing.

Instead, he flicked the auto switch just above the trigger guard off, reverting the rifle back to a single shot state. More accurate, less recoil. He quietly crawled up to one of the small holes left by the sniper rounds, and fitted the end of his barrel through it. There was just enough space on top for Chris to look down his iron sights and see where he was shooting.

Then the two shots came in from the barn, and Chris had a new target. He swiveled his barrel around to face the enemy in the barn, who was well within his rifle range. This one I can hit. Chris took a deep breath. I hope.

He fixed his sights around the window and waited. The Captain could see the German’s head, peering at Peter’s position. But he didn’t fire immediately. He wanted the shot to work. Two seconds past, three, four, five. Then wind light wind ceased for a moment, and the German moved his face to watch Peter. Now. Chris stopped breathing and made sure he was on target one final time. Before…

Crack!

[✚ Peter T. Brannigan]

As the Nazis suddenly retaliated with snipe’ and rifle rounds on his position, below the window, Peter’s head burried down against his chest, gripping at his rifle, feeling the wall behind him throb and clunk now and again, knowing it was too risky to move from the wall in-time to avoid being hit, as obviously, a bullet travelled faster than your average Joe. Soon enough, his prediction was set into motion, as he felt the stray end of a bullet rip through the wall beside him, cutting through his flesh and once new uniform to the Ranger’s Corp.

“Arghh…” Peter let out in a slight anguish of pain, gritting his teeth somewhat, looking to the wound that suddenly began to ooze blood, that subsequently soaked up beneath the fabric of his uniform. “Bastards…” he muttered beneath his breath some, as he clenched his eyes closed little, peeling back the fabric around the wound, so no stray strands entered into his body. In some cases, most bullets carried the fabric with them into the body of their victims - hence causing the most damage, as the wound wouldn’t be able to heal or close properly, all due to a fragment of fabric… Ironic.

Peter could see the Captain was more occupied at firing back towards the enemy, as the Thompson SMG let rip through a broken strand in the wall of the shack. Peter had a plan of his own though, as he reached over for his medical bag, dragging it to the bottom of his feet and scuffling through it for some morphine - a small bottle infact, one in which he’d jab his needle-ends into to suck the pain-killer out, rather than your standard already packaged syrettes.

Grabbing a chunk of wood on the ground from the haywire of rounds being pounded into the shack, the Medical Officer used his initiative, grabbing long strands of bandages to wrap around the hunk of wood, before breaking the filter on the top of his morphine cap and dousing the new projectile with the lethal substance that smelt all too clinical. Strong. Leaving a stray end of bandage dangling from the end, Peter pulled out his lighter and began to flint a light, setting the bandages on fire pretty abruptly.

Instead of jumping to his feet, Peter knelt behind the window frame, bucking himself up onto his heels a little and bouncing in his place as he tossed the flickering projectile towards the barn with a hefty grunt, hoping to set a hay bale or the wooden structure of the building into a blaze.

[PuNk! ™]

Moderation Post:[/b]

I will make a mod-post after every ‘side’ has posted their actions. So once Peter/Chris have posted, I’ll mark the actions made - if need be and after Jynx has posted, I’ll make his actions made, if need be once again.

This way, no one should have their actions ruled out - seeing as the Allied have made some serious actions in this thread, which may be ruled out unknowingly, whilst Jynx’s actions may not be, as I’d be marking immediately after his post. Which is obviously unfair.

ALLIED:

Captain Matherson: (You made one accurate shot, right?)
- Captain Matherson’s shot from the Thompson SMG ‘somewhat’ accurately penetrated (NPC) Private Hoffman’s Shoulder, rather than the head, causing a minor flesh wound.

Corporal Branigan:
- Corporal Branigan’s flaming projectile successfully hit the barn’s wall, but failed to get the projectile inside. The projectile immediately set the brazen wood on fire on the outside.
- Corporal Branigan will have no Morphine Rations for the remainder of this thread.

~Danny

[jynx]

Looking through the green and brown chaos of entanglements in the roof of the forest, Justin could see the smooth calm clear sky. It was a nice day, but they were trapped underneath this chaos of war and there was no escape. Justin heard a round from a small caliber, making him smile a little once again. Holding 4 bullets in between his fingers on his left hand, and his finger on the trigger of his sniper rifle on his right hand, Justin swung around from the cover of the tree and scoped in on the small barn.

The initial sighting showed the window opening to the barn with no one inside. Justin fired right below it. Pulled back the bolt, grabbed a bullet, shoved it in the chamber, slammed the bolt closed. The rifle barely moved, but Justin moved it to the left below the window and fired. Firing all 5 shots in low regions of the barn, as they were obviously not standing where Justin could see them.

Max Hoffman shrunk back in horror at the sting in his shoulder. He pushed back and begin to move to a different spot like he was trained to. Getting shot was the consequence of staying in one spot, and Max knew better to keep on the move. Looking at the golden brown hay he ran against solid walls, slowing behind the beams slightly at times. He ran behind some hay bails and positioned himself so his sight plained through the window to the barn. Deep in the barn it would be much harder to see him under the darkness and shade provided. Hoffman watched as his leutnants bullets ripped on the barn, and he soon begin to follow in suit with where he saw Justin firing his rounds. Although Hoffman was much less experienced and he was reaching into his pouch every round, his shots were still with great accuracy.

Justin pulled back behind the tree to take cover when his rounds were all spent, and he reloaded his chamber while reloading his fingers. He noticed there was a small brush fire set in the farmhouse where Max was positioned in. "Good thinking Max, burning the house will give you substantial distance from the enemy and that small caliber gun, making your and my job that much easier." Justin thought to himself. Max Hoffman pulled behind the hay stacks and moved behind their cover to a new position that would give him good shots on the farmhouse the enemies were positioned in when he noticed Justin had stopped firing.

[PuNk! ™]

Moderation Post:[/b]

Axis:[/b]
Justin Kempster: (Speedily fired five shots)
The shots rung-out against the barn’s wall, but the strength of the rifle wasn’t made to impale wood or versatile objects. Three rounds did however, manage to break the decaying surface from afar, but only one managed to hit a target, as Captain Matherson’s forearm takes the rebound of a split bullet.

NPC Private Hoffman: Bullets did manage to penertrate the barn’s wall (from close quarters), but none had substantial accuracy in hitting the enemy.

Allied:[/b]
Corporal Branigan: The fire has now began to spread, as a hay bale within the perimeter of the barn catches fire.

~Danny

[Captain Matherson]

Chris cursed as his forearm was cut by a shattered bullet. The wood splinters flew into his face as the bullet smashed itself through the wooden barrier. He rolled back and crawled to a new position, further to the side of the farmhouse, away from Branigan. ”You hit Corporal?” He asked over the din of gunfire.

He heard a beam collapse nearby and he sneaked a look through one of the bullet holes in the wood, to see the barn on fire and burning slowly. Fire! he thought suddenly. That’s it! ”Peter you’re a bloody genius.” Chris prayed to god that this would work.

He undid his bum pack and felt around for the bottle of beer he had. When he found it he flicked off the cap, took a swig, tore a piece of fabric off his arm, where he had been shot, and stuffed it into the top. ”Never thought I’d make one of these again.” He took out his lighter and quickly brought the flame to the tip of the cloth, as it caught, he leapt up quickly and tossed the bottle at the corner of the building next to him. The bottle smashed on the wood and liquid sprayed everywhere before the flames caught the spread.

Chris fell back to the ground, the act had cost him when he looked down and saw a bullet hole through his bicep, the same arm he’s been shot in the forearm with. He shook his head, trying to push away the searing pain, and grabbed a grenade from his webbing belt, pulling the pin out. It must have been the pain that clouded his perceptions, because, like a fool he leapt up at the exact same place as before, and hurled the grenade at where he thought the enemy was.

He never saw the flash from the sniper rifle so far away, but he surely felt it. One of the bullets that the German sniper was firing chanced to rip past his temple, taking out a chunk of flesh as it went. The sudden impact snapped Chris’ head back and he fell to the ground well and truly knocked out, his head welling up blood, at the same instant the grenade detonated somewhere nearby…

[✚ Peter T. Brannigan]

The commotion of the sudden barrage of gunfire had Peter curling up a little within his position, to best avoid his limbs from taking any stray bullets or debris that fluffed and drifted around the barn when some veracious bullets made it through the thick exterior of the wood. Although it wasn’t being bombed, it almost sounded it for a brief moment, as the Corporal held his mouth open, to best avoid any ear-drum damage from occurring.

Surprisingly, Peter heard the soft yearn of the Captain, almost like it was his sixth sense to pick up the noises of being hurt or wounded. “I-I’m okay…” Corporal Branigan shouted out a little, as he touched his arm, feeling the blood finally become congealed and blotchy, nature’s way of saying “I’ve blocked that hole in you”, but the wound wasn’t major anyway, just a minor flesh wound, none-the-less, untreated, it may become infected or deformed in the healing process, meaning, it may never heal properly.

Peter looked a little stubbed as the Captain called him a genius and began to devise a quick plan of his own. A Molotov cocktail suddenly sprung into mind, just like Peter had ‘roughly’ created with his medical supplies, setting part of the barn alight, that seemed to be spreading nicely - hopefully it’ll rat out that German inside, but the problem with the sniper still remained. It wasn’t long until Peter was staring in ore of Captain Matherson as he stumbled a little with another wound? Abruptly, the medical officer sprung to his feet, but before he reached the Captain, he’d already tossed a grenade and fell like a domino.

Ruggedly falling to Chris’s side, Peter abandoned his rifle down beside the Captain and ripped through the Officer’s webbed shirt mangled with gear and pockets. “Sir! Sirrr!” Peter shouted somewhat till his throat hurt and his eyes watered a little. “C’mon, stay with me!” he soon tallied out, giving the Captain a soft few pats on the cheek, needing him to regain consciousness. The battle was lost in Peter’s eyes, there was no way he could take on the enemy alone now - infact, he didn’t even know how many remained? But even if he did, he wouldn’t even be able to touch the Sniper with a barge-pole, as he’d be ripped down in his place within a matter of yards.

Grabbing his Medical Bag, Peter rugged and quickly placed a soft cotton banage against the Officer’s head, before using a thick mound of bandaging to cast around his head really quickly, tying a stern knot in the end as he tore the fabric off with his teeth. Grabbing the Thompson SMG (sorry if this is seen as god-moding a little) Peter quickly leaned towards the window and cast out a last bout of covering fire, just incase their cease in shooting for the past few minutes had made the Germans cocky enough to advance.

Abruptly turning back to the Captain, Peter rested his rifle and the Thompson on his stomach, before wrapping his arms up under his shoulders to drag towards the back of the barn -- retreating.

OOC:
I’ve retreated on behalf of C.Matherson and Myself, seeing as he’s unconscious and unable to make the order himself. Great battle though, shame we got pinned so early. Nice moves Jynx.

[PuNk! ™]

Moderation Post:[/b]

Okay, so C.Matherson has written himself out and Peter's retreated on behalf of the Allied, now proclaiming the Axis as Winners of this thread; i'm still going to mark the last actions made though, seeing as it wouldn't be fair not-too.

Allied:[/b]
Captain C.Matherson:
The pre-made bomb from the beer hurled at the barn, did indeed catch fire to the exterior.
The Grenade also did successfully ignite, but from prior wounds acquired by C.Matherson, the Grenade failed to accurately penertrate the window, exploding and destroying the barn's wall, injuring NPC Private Hoffman's leg in the process, from wooden cascaded debris.

Rendering the NPC unit imobile. (but this now has no effect, as the thread is now closed)

Corporal Branigan:
After a small bout of cover-fire, the Medical Officer successfully retreated with C.Matherson, preventing any worse injuries or deaths from taking place.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

AXIS CP EARNED: 50CP - You successfully pinned and controlled the battle throughout.

ALLIED CP EARNED: 37CP per' - Although you were pinned and outnumbered (slightly), you still showed heroism in fighting the enemy.

~Danny