Operation Guillotine (closed, attn Excalibur Squadron)

by **Calizorinstan** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 8:39 am

Pat smiled wearily at the new guys, trying to feel happier than he really was, and he walked up to Commander Noble "Pleasure to see you again Commander." He said, trying to brush off the blood stains on his uniform from the dogfight. He still had a guilty look, if only he had just looked over to the left, instead of going after that -88... He frowned, his mind was restless and he had to get off that subject, it would do nobody any good if he was moping. Needless to say, he was far quieter and subdued than usual.

by **Nua Corda** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:07 am

Lt. Carrie sat back in his chair, hunched deep into his bulky greatcoat, with the collar turned up and his cap pulled low. He watched as the others, his soon-to-be squadron-mates, filtered in, scanning them with an appraising eye. He blinked, and stifled a yawn. It had been a long, dreary flight from Boston, where he'd been staying with family, to an RAF processing center, to this place. He wished they could have bloody well waited 'till morning with this, but there WAS a war on, after all.

As the woman left, he dug into his pocket, recovered tobacco pouch, rolling papers, and his lighter, and began constructing a cigarette. This was one of the skills he allowed himself to take pride in, he allowed as he carefully measured and distributed the rich, brown mixture across the paper, then wetted the edge with his tongue and deftly rolled it together with long, clever fingers. He perched the completed cig' on his lip, and lit it with a flick of his battered windproof. The silence was uncomfortable. Releasing a cloud of smoke from his mouth and nostrils, he slowly rose to his feet and approached the recent arrivals, holding out his hand to the one with the Captain's insignia, who appeared to be in charge.

"Second Lieutenant Adrian P. Carrie, formerly o' the Internationals, at your service, sir" He said, returning the cigarette to his lips and pushing up his cap with his free hand. His voice was soft, and his accent, while noticeable, was not intrusive.

by **Britcan** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 1:10 pm

Matthias looked wearily at the three new pilots. There was a tall, black haired man who was smoking a hand rolled cigarette. Matthias couldn't tell what it was, but he didn't like the look of the man. The other two seemed more amiable. He acknowledged them all with a slight nod and a quick "Hello." He didn't really care who they were provided that they could fly. He was itching to get back in the air. He felt more vulnerable on the ground, especially with the front line so close by. He slipped his hand into his trouser pocket where an Iron Cross sat. It was one of only two things of his father's he still had. The other, an old Luger was in his holster instead of a British revolver.

by **The Tiger Kingdom** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 8:59 pm

Page returned to the room, and took a position up at the front, next to the Commander. The rest of the squadron sat up close in the nearest rows. Outside, the sun had gone down completely, giving the illusion that outside the room, there was only darkness.

"Alright Swords, listen up. To our new members: we're glad to have you here, and we're sorry that there's very little time to get acquainted or settle in. As of now, Operation Guillotine Phase 2 is commenced."

The Captain looked down at a sheet of notes in his hands, and continued.

"According to the latest data from our forces (provided by Commander Noble, of course), in the course of our operations at Dunkirk today, we have evacuated approximately 64,000 British and French troops. Today. Let me put that in perspective: when the Operation Dynamo evacuation plan was commenced, we foresaw no more then 50,000 troops being brought out of France in a week. This is absolutely excellent.

"However, this will have an effect on the rest of the beachhead. We estimate that the Dunkirk Pocket - shrinking as it is - can hold out no more than two or three more days in all. It may be an actual miracle that we've managed to save so many troops, but it can't last forever. As to what will happen after the evacuation is finished...we have very little idea."

"Many of the French troops we are evacuating are dead set on being transported back to France via ports on the French Atlantic coast, and we have agreed to help them with that. However, many French generals seem to place high hopes on the belief that the BEF will be reconstituted and re-landed at someplace like Brest or Nantes. Quite simply - " Page brought his voice down to a conspiratorial tone, " - that is not going to happen.

"Our command is convinced, and not without some reason, that France is a lost cause. We are hoarding our fighter squadrons, our troops that are making it home, and our ships, for what we can only assume will be an imminent and massive German attempted invasion of the British Isles. We can't afford to extend ourselves here. We already have taken heavy losses - our Saar Force, AKA the 51st Scottish Highland Division, has already been hopelessly cut off in the east of the country, near the German border. We haven't had contact with them in weeks. We can only assume that they've surrendered or are on the verge of it.

"The French government, as you can imagine, is alternately crying themselves to sleep or desperately plotting with mad abandon as to how to turn things around. Apparently, Prime Minister Reynaud has decided to bring some new people into his War Cabinet - General Maxime Weygand, leading the overall defense, some armored General named De Gaulle, and - most notoriously - Marshal Henri Philippe Petain, the "Hero of Verdun", from the last war.

"This sounds perfectly fine in concept. However, we believe Weygand is a defeatist, De Gaulle is too obscure to turn anything around, and Petain is - to put it simply - 84 years old. On top of that, he's quite senile. He's gone on record saying that Hitler's Reich is the only hope for Europe and the world to be saved from Bolshevism. With these unhelpful additions, we can come to the conclusion that not only will France surrender to the Germans, and soon - we expect that Petain and Weygand will potentially be leading a French state that will simply be a German slave state. From our...sources, we know Hitler and his political cronies are discussing the idea right now.

"And there's still one joker in the deck: the fate, in such a case of the French Marin, their naval fleet. It's still moored at ports on the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, and it is one of the most powerful assets the French state still has. The fleet is basically undamaged, and politically neutral - our analysts predict if France should go over to the Axis, the fleet would stay loyal. The fleet is also large, and among the most modern in the world. Two of their battleships still under construction - called Richelieu and Jean Bart - are the equal of any of the largest ships in our navy."

At this point, Noble spoke up.

"I don't need to tell you that if the Germans secure the services of these battleships - in addition to the legions of cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and smaller vessels that the Marin possesses - our Royal Navy will be stretched to the breaking point. There are, of course, forces in the French government that don't want the Navy to be turned over to the Germans. There are indications, however, of a conspiracy that suppresses those people.

"We suspect that there is, in fact, a network of German spies and operatives in Paris right now. These men are working with the objective of feeding misinformation about the superiority of German forces and the duplicity of the British, as well as committing acts of sabotage and infiltration, with the ultimate goal of turning over the French Navy and aiding the establishment of a French puppet state. We're being sent in to track them down and eliminate them."

Page nodded.
"Exactly. As such, we're... wait. Did you say 'we'? You're coming with us?"
She smiled. "Of course. I noticed the squadron is still under-strength, and I'm perfectly qualified for such a mission."

"...Very well, I'll take your word for it, for now." Page tried to conceal a small grin. I certainly won't be objecting to that, if she thinks so...
He turned back to the squadron. "So, we'll go and retrieve our equipment from the transport, load it on the trucks the Frenchmen were kind enough to leave for us, and set out for Paris via a night train. Command has decided that a British fighter squadron flying into Paris would draw too much attention, so we have to go in the low-profile way. Once we get there, we'll set up shop and get in touch with our informants that the Embassy referred us to."

Page leaned over the desk at the front. "So that's the rough plan. It's fairly different from anything else we've done before, but there's no one better suited to such a job than us. Any questions or objections?"

by **Lancearc** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:15 pm

"God, all of this cloak 'n dagger nonsense. If I wanted any of this I would'a joined MI6 or somethin'" Monroe said with a small grin. "Though I don't 'spose I've got much o' a choice really. No questions 'ere cap'n." he finished, nodding slightly. Had he not been present during previous operations, he would have called this scheme crazy.

by **Calizorinstan** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:26 pm

Pat grinned "Definitely a change of pace from our last mission, though it won't be any less dangerous. I'm game for this cloak and dagger stuff Captain. It will be nice to have the fair maid.. I mean Commander Noble aboard Captain." He flushed slightly at his mistake and he mentally blamed it on the booze still in his system. "I'm telling ya, I wasn't planning to spend my honeymoon alone in France, but if that's what old Churchill and the RAF want, then I will do so. All I ask is, when this stuff is all over, a nice all paid expenses honeymoon somewhere tropical." He piped up grinning "After all, this whole war came right in the middle of my wedding practically." He said, finally starting to feel light hearted enough to joke.

by **Tiltjuice** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:59 pm

"No argument from me, Cap'n," Tom put in, Southern accent thick. "Ready to put some hurt on the Germans, after our last mission." He'd become a Sword purely for money, but that had changed.

by **Britcan** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 11:54 pm

Matthias leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. It seemed like something that they could pull off and it would be interesting to finally be deployed on the ground with the squadron. However, Captain Page had seemed to have missed out one important detail. "I've got just one question, Captain." He stated. "Are we going to be using any sort of disguises? We'll stick out like a sore thumb walking around Paris in RAF uniform and getting captured or shot doesn't sound all that fun to me." He asked, leaning forwards in his chair.

by **The Tiger Kingdom** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 2:44 am

Britcan wrote:Matthias leaned back in his chair thoughtfully. It seemed like something that they could pull off and it would be interesting to finally be deployed on the ground with the squadron. However, Captain Page had seemed to have missed out one important detail. "I've got just one question, Captain." He stated. "Are we going to be using any sort of disguises? We'll stick out like a sore thumb walking around Paris in RAF uniform and getting captured or shot doesn't sound all that fun to me." He asked, leaning forwards in his chair.

"Good question. According to the file, among the stuff brought in for the mission are disguises and cover documents for us while we're in Paris. We'll get them on before we leave. Our cover is that we're an Irish business delegation in Paris, here to import electrical equipment. Our French-speakers and our Irishmen are going to be pretty important on this mission - keep that in mind, Lieutenants Bray and Carrie.

"Alright, we've no time to lose - the last train to Paris leaves in an hour. We've got to be kitted up and ready to go by that time - get your equipment from the plane, get it into your suitcases, get into disguise, and board the truck."

Page quickly packed up the notes, and led the squadron back out to the transport plane. The back was opened, and Page rooted through the crates of weapons and equipment. The Captain chose to arm himself with a Welrod pistol hidden in his coat, his Webley revolver in his suitcase, along with a disassembled Lanchester SMG. He also stowed his RAF gear, exchanging it for a business suit and documents identifying him as Seamus Devlin, of Waterford, Ireland. Cases of equipment were also brought onto the truck, including a full radio set.

As the squadron got packing, Page turned to Commander Noble, who was poring over a map of the Greater Paris area.

"So at first, I think you're just Newall's private secretary. Then, I see you're his personal attache and the main planner of our operations. Then, you say you're fully qualified to go on some crazy spy-hunting mission with us against some German infiltration cell. I'm half-expecting you to now reveal you had a hundred kills over Spain or something like that."

She chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint you on that front, Captain, although I am flight-certified. I've never flown in combat though. And, unlike you, I've no real experience in ground combat either."
"You ever shot a gun?"
She nervously looked around, and lowered her voice. "Unfortunately, no. It's not that complicated, surely?"
Page smiled. "Well, it does depend on what gun you're using. Let's see what we've got here..."

He rooted through a crate for a few minutes before coming out with a Colt M1911 and holster.

"This one's fairly simple and has a helluva kick to it. This is the safety, it's on right now. Do not remove it under any circumstance that ISN'T a shootout. It's fairly easy to point and shoot accurately, and this - " he unloaded and reloaded it - " how how it's reloaded. I'll make sure we've got an extra box of .45 ammo for you. As for cleaning/maintenance...that can wait until we've gotten where we're going, at least."

She strapped on the holster, and carefully stowed the pistol. "Thanks ever so much, Captain."
Noble turned to the rest of the group.

"5 minutes until we've got to leave."

by **Nua Corda** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 7:50 am

Adrian managed to avoid rolling his eyes at this mission. He'd signed on to blow up krauts, not wine 'n' dine with the frogs.

Ariving at the cargo plane, he swapped jeans and flanel shirt for black slacks and a white buttonup. He kept the greatcoat and scarf. Lifting the top off a crate and examined it's contents, he raised an eyebrow at the funky-looking welrod pistols. None of that silenced, single-shot bunk for him. Ah, here we were! He thought, pulling a weapon from its nest of straw. It was a squat, ugly thing, made of aircraft aluminium and some sort of Bakelite, with a wide, quad-stacked magazine. He'd heard about these Hafdasa C-2 pistols, from Argentina, if memory served. Small enough to fit in a lady's handbag, but almost as much firepower as a tommy-gun with a 50 round drum. This appeared to be the .45 ACP model, with a 40 round magazine. He found a strap for it, and slung it under his arm, beneath the greatcoat. Next was his M1911A1, with the stainless slide and ivory handles, the big 7 inch clasp knife, and a little snub-nosed Webley for his boot. He packed a few changes of clothes in a suitcase, carefully tucking several bricks of explosive and a bundle of fuse and detonators in with the clothes. Like the American Boy Scouts said, Carrie liked to be prepared.

Finally, he retrived his papers. The alias they had given him was Markus O'Connolly. Not a bad handle. He'd known a kid named Markus at his uncle's carnival, great horserider, didn't know squat about pyro. Nearly blew his head off once, filling in for Adrian when the latter had been off with his "friends" from the PIRA. He'd felt guilty about it for weeks.

by **Calizorinstan** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:58 am

Pat arrived at the cargo plane, armed with his M9111A1, which was his father's from World War 1, and two knives. He sat down inside and put his head in his hands, thinking of the past 24 hours. He was still recovering from the Dunkrik evacuation excitement and the loss of James, who had been pretty much his best friend. He sat and quietly watched as the others began boarding.

by **Britcan** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:39 am

Matthias stepped onto the plane dressed in an expensive-looking suit that seemed to fit him surprisingly well. As he spoke both French and German fluently he was posing as the group's translator this cover also helped excuse his German accent. He was not, however, unarmed. His Luger was concealed on the inside of his jacket. It was almost unnoticeable at first glance but could be easily reached. He also had a dagger strapped to his leg as a secondary weapon if he had need of one. His suitcase contained all the usual things you would expect a businessman to have; changes of clothes, business papers and various other items. However, under a false bottom it also contained several magazines of ammunition, detailed maps, a compass and a few other useful tools. He quietly took a seat on the cargo plane opposite the Irishman.

by **Tiltjuice** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:31 pm

Tom sat running through a list of things he'd brought. His M1911A1. A wide-bladed fighting knife, which he'd picked up between Lancer and Guillotine but never used - he'd taken a page out of the Malays' book for that one. And a few vials of Paris Green left over from the strike against the Graf Spee.

by **Calizorinstan** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:33 pm

Pat began field-stripping his 1911 and cleaning it, to make sure it was in fighting shape. He had changed into his civilian clothes, or rather it was his older brothers' salesman clothes that he had leant him for a possible disguise, along with a briefcase that had a hidden bottom for his weapons and stuff. He looked up at Tom and smiled, but for some reason, the importance of this mission was worrying him like no other. "Is it just me, or does this mission seem far risker than any of the others, this cloak and dagger stuff, than like blowing up a German ship for instance?" He mentioned casually.

by **Tiltjuice** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:45 pm

"Well, you know, it's always the hardest, riskiest one until the next one. Any way you slice it though, it's a chance to hit back at the Germans," Tom answered. He held out one of the vials of green poison, which clearly had copper wiring around it. "Want one? They'll add a real bang to the party."

by **Calizorinstan** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 3:52 pm

Pat shrugged as he took the offered vial "Sure, any chance to increase my explosives experience. I have a feeling with all of this behind me, I could get a job in the OSS, our spec ops, soon enough. Though, I don't think I will be leaving Excalibur any time soon, unless I die, which I hope not too. I get what you are saying, but it just seems to me that these cloak and dagger missions always are the hardest. I can't say that I miss that Botmagot, or whatever his name is though, he and Abdullah nearly got us killed in Lancer. In fairness to Abdullah, he was a good shot, but rather quiet guy at the bar."

by **The Tiger Kingdom** » Mon Sep 17, 2012 11:01 pm

"Yeah Pat, I get what you're saying about the undercover ops being the most dangerous," Page murmured, doing a final check on all his gear. "We may have a little breathing room in Paris, but it could fall any day now. Not to mention the fact that it seems there may be certain Frenchmen there who are just as hostile to us as the Germans are. Keep on your toes while we're there."
He chuckled at the Lancer memories. "Yeah, I guess in the Philippines, 'knife the Kraut in the back' means 'creep up directly behind him and hit him in the head a whole bunch'. We got majorly lucky that time."
He turned to the squadron. "That's it. Grab all you got and bring it out."

He grabbed his suitcases (loaded with his guns, equipment, and spare clothes), and walked out towards the parked truck. He dumped his equipment in the back while the squadron took their seats at the benches along the sides, as the Commander took the wheel. Page slipped through the hanging cloth separating the cab and the rear, and took the shotgun seat.

As Noble started the engine and began driving to the station, Page turned to her.
"So, you do speak French, right?"
She laughed. "You don't have to worry about that, Captain."
"Is that a yes?"
"I was raised partly in Geneva. My father was a diplomat, who did a lot of work for the League of Nations there, for all the good it did. I can speak German, Italian, and French fluently, although I've been told I speak all of them with an audible Swiss accent. Bits and pieces of Spanish and Russian, too."
Page raised his eyebrows. "That's pretty damn handy. And you say you're flight qualified?"
"Yes. Well, on trainer aircraft, anyway. I had an interest, and my father pulled some strings."
Page folded his arms behind his head. "Seems to me...I mean, we got an opening in the squadron right now. If you wanted...I'm sure that -"
Noble laughed again. "Oh I see where you're going with this. You want me to actually join your crazy little group, as opposed to simply managing it and planning for it."
"I guess so."
"Captain, have you noticed that I'm not the typical gender for such pursuits, by any chance?"
The Captain nervously chuckled. "Y-yes, I have noticed. But think about it - it'd be the absolute last thing the Krauts would ever expect."
"True enough..."

The truck continued speeding into the night...

by **Cosgravia** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 12:06 am

Daniel had changed into a pair of jeans, a dark shirt, a deerskin jacket and a tartan flat cap. Concealed within the lining of the jacket was a knife belt with 7 knives. At his back was a concealed holster with a Webber pistol, and a SMG sat within the leather briefcase he sat at his feet. He was raring to go, and get at the Germans.

by **Altito Asmoro** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 6:47 am

Edward changed his clothes to black jacket, with black pants, and a hat, with leather shoes. He concealed his newly-picked Smith & Wesson Model 10 inside his jacket, and two knives inside the socks. The documents had identified him as Robbie Kent, which he didn't like the name.

He also filled his suitcase with ammunitions, MRE, and small smoke bombs. and clothes.

by **Nua Corda** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 8:56 am

Adrian settled into the back of the truck, and listened to the others talking as he broke out the Hafdasa and began to field-strip it. By the end of the ride, he intended to be able to disassemble and reassemble it blindfolded. Internally it strongly resembled a Berreta 1918, which he had carried in the Spanish Civil War, so he was pretty confidant he could master it quickly.

"so. We're chasing saboteurs now. Well, that may offer an explaination 'as to why ah was tossed inta this unit so quick. Send a thief to catch a thief, as it were" he chuckled, sliding the bolt out of the reciever "Do we 'ave any particular plan? Like, d'we just start shakin down any Jerry-lookin bastard we find, or air we goin to be smart about it, detective like?"

by **Britcan** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:24 am

Nua Corda wrote:Adrian settled into the back of the truck, and listened to the others talking as he broke out the Hafdasa and began to field-strip it. By the end of the ride, he intended to be able to disassemble and reassemble it blindfolded. Internally it strongly resembled a Berreta 1918, which he had carried in the Spanish Civil War, so he was pretty confidant he could master it quickly.

"so. We're chasing saboteurs now. Well, that may offer an explaination 'as to why ah was tossed inta this unit so quick. Send a thief to catch a thief, as it were" he chuckled, sliding the bolt out of the reciever "Do we 'ave any particular plan? Like, d'we just start shakin down any Jerry-lookin bastard we find, or air we goin to be smart about it, detective like?"

"Shaking down the first 'Jerry looking bastard' you find won't do you any good." Responded Matthias, letting his soft German accent explain why that was the case. "The embassy has got us in touch with some informants who, I presume, will lead us to one of the operatives trying to give Die Führer the French Navy. I'm guessing that the plan is to persuade him to tell us about their plans and to take it from there." He said, sounding like he'd thought this through extensively.

by **Calizorinstan** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:29 am

"It may not be a German we are looking for, could be a Frenchman, Spaniard or almost anything." Pat mused aloud. "Don't think that the Germans would be obvious, they would use inside connections if they were smart." Pat finished as he finished cleaning his 1911. He then held up the 1911 and said "This gun has a funny story behind it. In the trenches of World War 1, my father wounded, not killed, goodness nows if he had killed the man, this stuff wouldn't be happening, a young Austrian corporal. Anybody care to guess this corporal's name?" He said with a smirk, before pulling out a picture of the young Adolf Hitler with his soldiers. "Yup, my father happened to have shot Hitler himself. That is why I am carrying this 1911 with me."

by **Britcan** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 9:44 am

Matthias rolled his eyes to the heavens. The guy was clearly pulling their legs, when it came to the Great War you never knew the face who shot you, much less their name. On top of that the Western front was hundreds of miles wide, the odds of him being shot by Hitler himself were minute. Even ignoring those two factors Matthias knew that Hitler hadn't been shot in the war, he'd only been hit by shrapnel and hit with mustard gas.

The story of the gun was interesting though, it seemed Matthias wasn't the only one who carried his father's gun. He drew his Luger from his pocket. "You're not the only one with a relic from the Great War." He said, showing his Luger to him. "Mine comes from the other trenches though. My father used this weapon." He said, with a hint of pride.

by **Calizorinstan** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:05 am

"Honestly, I am not sure if I believe my father's story about wounding him. He may have fired at him at missed, or he may have gotten a man similar to that. I don't know." Pat shrugged and looked at the Luger "That is quite nice. I've been interested in the Japanese equivalent to that, called the Nambu, looks like that, but is an 8mm cartridge." Pat then added "I did not bring along my katana, why attract any attention? I admit I am fond of it, but that is only because a soon to be enemy gave it to me."

by **Cosgravia** » Tue Sep 18, 2012 10:20 am

Daniel leaned forward.
"My dad fought in the trenches and aw'. He was at the second battle of the Marne, and ended up trapped for 2 days in a shellhole with a French soldier. This guy was bleeding heavily from his chest, and couldnae speak English. My dad wasnae able to do anything for him, but kept him comfortable uptae the end. Before he went tae sleep at the end o' the second day, he handed my dad his pistol. The next mornin' when the Coldstream Guards found ma dad, the Frenchman was dead. My dad carried the pistol with him for the rest of the war, and passed it onto me." Daniel pulled out a Modèle 1892 revolver from concealed side holster, and showed it to Pat.

Operation Guillotine (closed, attn Excalibur Squadron)

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