Scene 1:

Dagrun: Take Cover!!!

[Sounds of explosions all around]

Mal: Hard cover! Get off the beach!

Gav: Move your arse, get under the quay!

[Sounds of wading through water and explosions muffling][Heavy breathing]

Deky: [Vomiting] eugh. Wounds and weapon states!

[Sounds of patting, sheathing and unsheathing, muttered conversation]

Tomo: All good Corporal.

Gazi: Fuck, I lost some bolts. Fine otherwise.

Gav: Stomach wound but I’m mobile. All weapons accounted for.

Mal: Prisoners?

Gav: Tomo. Confirm you got the both of them. 

Tomo: I got the little one. I dropped the big one, I think he was swept away by the current.

Dagrun: Ney bother. The Nix looks to hold rank. Is he breathing?

[sound of hood being pulled down]

Tomo: Aye boss, still out cold….he may have taken a bit of a blow to the head….

Dagrun: Do try a little harder to keep the captures alive will you Tomo.

Gazi: It looks like the Aventine is getting a hell of a pounding. What’s the next move?

Dagrun: I reckon they are firing at our camp. That’s where they’ll have seen the lanterns pop up from. I say we keep our heads down here till they’ve finished with their little tizzy. Then we can go help with the rescue and salvage.

Deky: Sorry to rain on that idea Sarnt Major but look…

Mal: Gods…is that what I think it is?

Dagrun: Looks to be landing vessels to me. I think our friends might be coming ashore. 

Deky: I am not sure we want to be waiting here under the quay for them to find us with one of their officers…

Tomo: Did anyone see anything of Burkhard’s crew?

Gazi: I think I saw some bodies moving…hard to tell… that’s a long swim… they are either dead or…maybe they’ve been picked up by those landing boats.

Mal: Nothing we can do for them now. Boss, we need to start moving. Do we have an emergency rendezvous location?

Dagrun: Aye. We can meet the colonel at the Ivy Gate ERV but we are going to have to go round through New Heath to avoid this lot. 

Gav: That’s gonna be interesting. 

Mal: It’ll be fine. Stay low, move fast and the skinners shouldn’t see us.

Tomo: But if they do?

Dagrun: The last thing the colonel or the brigadier is going to want, is a big dust up with the City Guard…especially now… if worst comes to worst…bollocks…I dunno…we’ll play it by ear…

Mal: Roger that boss.

Scene 2:
 
[Tomo Heavy breathing, intermittent running as the group moves between cover] 

Gazi: Hurry it up Tomo. We don’t got all day to wait for your ass.

Tomo: Might I remind you Gazi, that I am carrying substantially more weight than the rest of you!

Gazi: Spend more time in the gym then I guess…

Tomo: Very funny.

Gazi: Damn it the others have moved up. Are you ready to move?

Tomo: Of course. I’m just waiting for you to stop flapping your gums.

Gazi: Okay, coast is clear. Its maybe 100 metres to the next alleyway. They’ll be waiting for us there. You ready?

Tomo: [Heavy breathing] Ready when you are.

Gazi: Go!

[Sound of Gazi and Tomo running] 

Gazi: Gods damn it. Where are they?

Tomo: There were a few alleyways Gaz. 

Gazi: Corporal Deky should have been waiting to wave us in. 

Tomo: Gaz…

Gazi: How the fuck can they move off without waiting for us? It’s the gods damn basics.

Tomo: Gaz!

Gazi: Give me a minute, I’ve got to figure out where they’ve gone.

Tomo: Behind us.

Gazi: What?

Tomo:  They are behind us Gaz.

Gazi: How the hell did that happen?!

Tomo:[heavy breathing] I think we were supposed to stop short at the bridge… the Sarnt major looks pretty pissed off…

Gazi: How the hell was I supposed to know we had a stop short? They should have given a signal!

Tomo: [heavy breathing] I’ll be honest Gaz… I thought it was a little strange that we were crossing the new-green bridge into the Mile. That’s the opposite way to the Ivy Gate…

Gazi: Why the hells didn’t you say something?  

Tomo: [heavy breathing]. Really? 

Gazi: Fuck. Right…okay…well… lets get back over there. [Whispered signalling to the other group] Yes! Yes! We are coming! Moving now! Come on Tomo, move!

Tomo: Stop!

Gazi: Come on man, you can’t be that out of breath! 

Tomo: They are giving the signal for halt. Listen! Someone is coming. 

[sound of armoured troops clanking and taking up position on the bridge. Sound of hushed whispers and orders being given]

Gazi: Mother of Blackbirds! What the hell are the Skinners doing? 

Tomo: Haven’t you had your fill of bad luck? They are likely setting up a cordon and coordination point to organise a response for the Aventine. 

Gazi: Well, they are right in our way! I can’t even see the rest of the cont with their fat asses blocking the bridge. 

Tomo: We can cut round, across Riku square. Cross further down at Silta Bridge and link up. 

Gazi: Wait…why the hell are we sneaking around? Lets just walk straight through. There are like four of them. They aren’t gonna fuck with us.

Tomo: So…let me get this straight… you want to walk up, armed and wearing no armour or insignia… to a cordon of City Guardsmen, in the middle of an emergency, with an enemy sailor, captured from a dubiously legal raid… slung over my shoulder…tip our caps to the skinners and walk in the direction of the explosions….and you think this is a good plan?

Gazi: No asshole. We two hysterical and alarmed citizens of the city are desperately trying to get our wounded friend home and check on our families…seriously we are over thinking this! We know we’ve been out on a raid…but no one else knows that. Why are we acting like we’ve been out on a raid?! That’s the surest way to stand out!

Tomo: That’s a very good point…it all seems rather dramatic now…

Gazi: Okay Tomo…follow my lead.

________________________________________________________________________________

Scene 3:
 
 Dagrun: Tell me Colour Mal… Which training serial was it, where you taught the actions-on for getting separated by an enemy formation? I have to say…

Mal: Please Sarnt Major… This is difficult enough as it is…

Gav: Is Tomo handing our prisoner over to the Skinners?

Deky: It certainly looks that way…

Gav: There is another crossing just across the square! I don’t get it… 

Dagrun: This is what happens when Troopers start thinking for themselves… Take note Deky…this is what an absence of leadership looks like.

Deky: Soooo… are we going to do anything about it?

Mal: I’m at a bit of a loss here boss…shall we rush them? Catch them off guard?

Dagrun: No… I am curious to see how this plays out…

Gav: Looks like the skinners are letting them pass…

Mal: This should be interesting.

[Sounds of sheepish footsteps of Gazi and Tomo]

Dagrun: Well boys… thanks for joining us….

Gazi:  ummm…

Dagrun: Shall we all get going then?

Tomo: Ummmm.

Dagrun: I’m sorry chaps… is there something I’m missing? Did we forget something?

Gazi: They have our prisoner…

Dagrun: Do they now… now how did I miss that?...and how pray tell did that happen when you two are sneaking about the place quiet as a mouse and black as a witches tit?

Tomo:  We ummm…well…you know how the colonel gave that lecture about hammers and nails….about how sometimes we all think a bit mil’try…and sometimes it helps to think a bit less mil’try…

Gazi: We are all sneaking about the place like assassins… that is far more suspicious than a bunch of civvies flapping about the place in a crisis…right?

Mal: Interesting point you raise there gents. Boss?

Dagrun: Right…okay…yeah…fair one… I got a bit caught up in the whole thing with the explosions and the recce and that... I’m new to all this urban ops crap… I can see where you are going with this but please enlighten me as to what part of your plan involved giving those melts our prisoner. 

Tomo: Yes…well…of course, they offered to provide him immediate medical attention and the captain was so persuasive and insistent…it all rather seemed wrong to refuse…

Gav: Captain? Captain Ironside?

Gazi: Yeah, Luobo.

Deky: Oh dear… 

Mal: Well fantastic….

Tomo: What?!

Deky: He knows all of us….

Gazi: Bullshit. I don’t know the guy.

Deky: Well he knows you. He wrote to the Colonel after the whole drama on the Green…when I…err..got my leg stuck chasing that little shit with the weasel.

Gazi: You were chasing someone with a weasel?

Deky: He had the weasel, not me.

Gav: bit a chunk out of his…

Deky: Yes…that one…

Tomo: Someone bit your…?

Deky: The weasel bit it!

Tomo: Why were you waggling it in front of a weasel?

Deky: What? No…he slipped it into my full plate armour whilst I was on guard duty…little bastard ran off with my coin and his friends took half a dozen crossbows. 

Gazi: Well there is no way a guy can remember someone he saw for thirty seconds in the middle of all that craziness. We had ballista raining down all over us! Anyway he bought our cover! He didn’t challenge us or anything.

Tomo: ummm…also…he came to my joining ceremony…he even gave a lovely speech.

Gazi: Tomo…what the fuck…

Gav: He just smiled and nodded, thanked you…and took your high value prisoner…

Dagrun: I have a theory. [Dagrun whistles loudly][Shouting] Eh! Luobo!

Captain Luobo: [Shouting] Sergeant Major Kova Dagrun! How are you?! I just saw Troopers Hupsu Tomo and Nuori Gazi heading that way! I think they were looking for you! Seems there is some drama on the Aventine! I don’t suppose you know anything about it?

Tomo: [Whispered] Now he is just showing off.

Gazi: Is your name really Hupsu?

Tomo: Shut up Nuori, at least I don’t have a girls name.

Gazi: Still better than Hupsu. [sniggers] Your parents must have hated you.

Mal: In future gentlemen…when you feel inclined to use your initiative…please….dont

Dagrun: Colour Mal, Sarnt Gav. Would you mind kindly going to retrieve our prisoner please?

Mal & Gav: Aye boss.

Scene 4

[Walking to bridge]

Gav: The streets seem very quiet colour. You’d think with all this going on people would be running around in a panic. I don’t think I’ve spotted anyone except the guard yet.

Mal: Think about what the city has been through in the last couple of years. Civil unrest, raids by creepy mystical cults, marauding soldiers and partisans. People are tired and it’s a lot of effort to make all that noise in the background. If people hear explosions now, they just barricade the doors and windows and wait for the dust to settle. 

Gav: Just seems lazy to me Colour. What’s the plan with the captain?

Mal: Hullus knows… I guess we just ask him nicely to hand the nix over…

Gav: And you think that’ll work?

Mal: Maybe…

[Sound of coming to a stop]

Luobo: Colour Sergeant Malcolm Rigby! Sergeant Gavin Fern! Wonderful to see you are both well! It’s nice to see you out of armour for once! You all look smashing in black. Things seem to have gone a little topsy turvy tonight and I was rather hoping you might be able to shed some light on what is going on in the Aventine… It appears that you chaps have attracted the attention of the rather large boat that’s been hanging about.

Mal: It’s a ship Captain Ironside.

Luobo: Of course! How foolish of me, because of how a Barque turns, quite!

Mal: Soooo…we are in a bit of a rush as you can imagine…needing to get back to our exploding camp and all that…

Luobo: Of course, Tomo and Gazi seemed to be in quite a rush too. Even seemed to forget their own names [chortles] called themselves Bombo and Jazi. 

Gav: Bombo….and…Jazi… Fuck my life….

Mal: Yeah….they are a little scatter brained… as a matter of fact… they left one of our lot with you…we were hoping we could get him back.

Luobo: The skinny blonde nix fellow?

Gav: Errr…yeah the one lay down, wrapped up in blankets with your man, on the street over yonder.

Luobo: I doubt that chap is going to be much use to you…looks to have nearly drowned, soaking wet, big bump on the old bonnet, slipping in and out of consciousness and mumbling in strange tongues. Best not to move him… He just needs warming up and a bit of rest I think. Best to have him seen by a healer here…a medic will arrive in no time.

Gav: Yeah…he errr…was blown into the water by one of the explosions….we jumped in to save him.

Luobo: All of you? That explains why you are all wandering round wet in mid-winter. My, that’s very heroic! and Sergeant Gavin…you are wounded too!…why don’t you head over to Constable D’brie and get yourself seen to.

Gav: Right…well…yeah…I… mean….we are in a bit of a rush like, you know.

Mal: So if we could just get our comrade and go that would be much appreciated.

Luobo: So he’s in the regiment is he? Is he new? I don’t think I’ve met…

Mal: I don’t mean to be impolite captain…I like you well enough for a bloody skinner but we really  need to get out of here.

Luobo: [change of tone] I see. Then shall we stop beating around the bush. Who is he and what is going on?

Gav: You gonna hand him over if we are straight with you?

Luobo: Seems like a sensible trade. I think it would be a challenge to prevent you from taking him with my limited man power and you clearly wont be delayed until my reinforcements arrive.

Mal: He’s from the ship. We lifted him just now to get a better eye on whats what. They started firing some sort of weapon and there are landing boats heading toward the shore full of Uruks with powerful weapons. 

Luobo: Seems like a bit of an overreaction to one of their crew going missing, don’t you think?

Gav: Two actually…though we lost one…

Mal: Gav…not helping mate…One of them got swept away when they started shooting at us and… we had to kill a couple who made us on the boat.

Gav: Ship, Colour….

Mal: That’s getting pretty old now Sarnt. 

Luobo: Quick as you can gents. Numbers. Threat. Recommendations.

Mal: At least a thousand on the ship. Light armour, ranged weapons. 3 Landing craft though likely more….… Easily get a couple of squadrons on each. If it were me…I’d land on the east shore outside the city to besiege our camp and try to secure all the docks to prevent a counter attack. They wont need many to do it, if they can keep our heads down with those dragon weapons.

Luobo: Get your man…Commander Vine will want to speak to the Brigadier as soon as possible. New Heath Station is too close to the docks… I recommend we use the Guard post on Riku Square as an RV point. This all has the potential to go very wrong… quick as you can man.

Mal: Wait…where has the Nix gone?

Gav: That’ll be him over there…running away toward the..

Luobo: Oh dear… He seems to have laid Constable D’brie out! Well done that man! He is a fraction of D’brie’s size.

Mal: Did you have to unhood him Ironside?

Luobo: You mean the man I was led to believe was an injured comrade in arms of yours….yes…hooding is degrading. His hands are still bound and he is still gagged I expect.

Mal: Gav.. with me…lets get after him! Luobo…can you…

Luobo: Yes Yes… I’ll let the Sergeant Major know what’s going on once I’ve checked on my constable.

Mal: Cheers.

[Running off]

[Sound of Dagrun, Deky, Gazi & Tomo running toward bridge]

Dagrun: GODS MAN! [Panting] Where in the hells are you going? Luobo! Are you doing this deliberately man!?

Luobo: They are going to retrieve your prisoner. 

Tomo: He’s not our priso-

Luobo: I think we’ve quite dispensed with the ruse now Trooper, How’s your lovely young vir? Olga, Sushila and Dagr wasn’t it? … 

Tomo: umm. They are good yeah, Olda says thanks for the new pots…it was really too kind.

Luobo: It was my pleasure! Really we must have you all over for dinner… but perhaps a conversation for another time. [Change emphasis] Sergeant Major. Here is what we are going to do…I’d like to introduce you to someone very special[fade out]

Scene 5

[Sounds of heavy shelling] 

Colonel: GET MY TROOPS OUT OF THIS KILLING AREA!

Major: They won’t budge Colonel. They are all on their belt buckles waiting for it to let up.

Colonel: I take it you saw the number of weapons on that ship Major! They are only firing a fraction of them at a time. They can keep this up for as long as they like! Right now my entire brigade, minus a few details of footguard are fixed in position, whilst the enemy is waltzing toward us, unopposed. GET MY TROOPS OUT OF HERE! GET THEM TO THE IVY GATE READY FOR A COUNTER-ATTACK.

Major: THEY WON’T MOVE COLONEL.

Colonel: NIGHT MOTHER! Must I do everything myself!

[Colonel begins walking with purpose through the camp as canon balls explode around him]

[Sound of Colonel lifting a man by the scruff of the neck]

Colonel: YOU MAN! GET A SHIELD AND A SPEAR, GRAB AS MANY MEN AS YOU CAN MUSTER AND MEET ME AT THE IVY GATE!

Soldier: Sir! Get down! You’ll be killed!

Colonel: Heavens man! It’s a little bit of heavy rain! Get yourself together!

Soldier: SIR!

[SLAP]

Colonel: SHIELD! SPEAR! TROOPS! IVY GATE!

Soldier: Aye Colonel.

[Sound of soldier getting up and moving off]

Colonel: YOU THERE! STOP YOUR COWERING AND GET MOVING! YOU’D THINK YOU’D NEVER SEEN FIRE AND METAL RAIN FROM THE SKY BEFORE! UP AND ABOUT! TO THE IVY GATE THE LOT OF YOU.

[fade out and sounds of more people mustering]

Scene 6:

Mal: Quick, quick before he…

Gav: Shite…he’s run straight into the fuckin’ row!

Mal: gods damned, shitting, arsing, bastarding, twatting hell! How has this gone so bloody Pete Tong! 

Gav: Surely the Row isn’t like….still going is it?

[faint sound of exotic music in distance]

Mal: I think it is…I’m not sure this place ever closes…

Gav: A patron are ye colour?

Mal: Piss off, half the regiment a regulars here. 

Gav: No judgement colour. We’ve all got to get our rocks off. At least this place is clean.

Mal: Right. Gav: You go in the front, I’ll head through the back.

Gav: I don’t think I know you well enough for all that colour…

Mal: My patience and good humour is contingent on things going well Sergeant. Please don’t make me have a sense of humour fail.

Gav: You know I got stabbed, right?

Mal: Gods man move before we have to spend any more time running about this bloody place.

Gav: And if I get stopped or questioned?...

Mal: Don’t.

 [ Doors open, Ambient sounds of the Row of Rigid Spears, muffled explosions in the distance/ unconcerned patrons]