WHEN TRUMPETS FADE

        A warm Saturday morning, it was still dark as I left the warmth of my bed to begin the long trek to LI. It was 31-July, and there was paint in our future. First stop, COFFEE! The little big guy behind the counter could have been a long lost cousin of Todd’s; however it didn't matter - this morning he was known only to me as the "keeper of caffeine." Ah sweet, sweet caffeine. Next stop, Livingston NJ, to drop of my jeep and let Rob drive. As the two of us closed in our final destination of Coram, LI - the anticipation of shooting was getting the better of us. During the last half hour, the road chatter idled into silence as we each retreated into our inner thoughts to plan our individual strategies for the day. Next stop was the last D&D before the field where we would meet up with the rest of our team.

        The parking lot of that particular D&D / Gas station is not new ground to any of us, as we have played a neighboring field twice; however this was our first venture into High Velocity. Rob expertly piloted his big bad Honda CRV into the lot, next to the silver Nissan Xterra waiting patiently. We greeted our brother Dave with enthusiasm, spirits were high that morning. Within the next 5 minutes it was apparent the more "alcoholic" 2/5ths of our 5 man showing were going to be late. We passed the time idly sipping more coffee and making bets as to how late Joe and Dan were going to be. After a few more minutes of discussion it was determined that we would not wait for them, and we once again we climbed into our vehicles and were speeding our way to what was hoped to be our best paintball experience ever.

        By the time the Loaded Crows took the field that morning, we were as complete as expected. All five players were present and accounted for, albeit not alert with some of us questioning if Joe and Dan were really even awake yet. One must realize there were some birthday celebrations the evening before which lasted at least until 3am. Surprisingly everyone's gear even worked properly. The first hour, proved to be the most difficult. It was the Loaded Crows' first scenario game - and we had a lot to learn. Scenario games are played very differently than woodsball, and this was going to require tweaks and modifications both to our play styles, and our strategies. Fortunately we have some of the best novice players in the game. Easily we would have won "greenest" squad if there was such an award. We learned (and it seemed no one else really did) to be effective by working together and drawing on each other's strengths and weaknesses. Scenario and Woodsball are not all about speed, and we were able to use that to our severe advantage. If you take a peak through our Bios, you will see not one of the 5 of us is skinny, well possibly Dan, but he was very hung-over and smokes like a carton a day - so no help there. By Hour Two, it was appeared we were the only group acting as a squad on the red team, and even that we weren't doing very effectively. The two squad leaders ran in one direction (Dave and I), GI Slow in another, with Tomahawk and the Cardiac kid (well *walking*) in yet a third direction.

        Hour Three saw the red team begin to take back the field. During hour two, the slight real estate advantage we had finished hour one with quickly sank into defeat as the red team (grudgingly) gave up ground to the blue team's massive attack formations. As balance began to approach even again, and the red team was winning back the field, spirits began to lift as well. Your very own Loaded Crows were beginning to learn the basics of sticking together on the field of battle, and *almost* began to communicate with each other. We might actually win this thing, I thought to myself. The proceeding hours up until lunch saw us continually working as a team, while our very own GI Slow took the flag in the midst of a trepid battle in one of the smaller clearings toward the rear of the main field. Dan charged up the mound. Dave and I were forced us to drop the paint trading we were each engaged in to cover him, however in the end it was worth it, as he was successful. It had been the first of many aggressive moves that would by the end of the day win GI Slow the award for Most Valued Player, albeit against all known logic. As I stood behind a tree laying cover fire over Dan's head, I was bewildered at how well in just a few short hours we had improved as a team.

        Just before lunch, we truly began to shine as a team. We were covering each other; leap frogging up through the fields in 2 and 3 man formations. Other random people were beginning to look to Dave and me asking for orders, as if we had some sort of authority. I ran a charge up through the rear woods to defend the newly retaken flag (it was actually lost for about 10-15 minutes). We were in serious danger of losing that flag again, as the blue team was amassing behind it in the shelter of the woods. The red team mounted a huge attack and retook the flag. Afterwards, most of the players on both sides were eliminated. Major Nancy, Tomahawk, and the Kid were left with a few others on the red team. Don't fret, the other two squad members were still alive they were engaged the trenches, 30 yards to our right flank fighting their own battle. Tomahawk made like a snake and slithered his Peter Griffin like body up the right flank, hugging the heavy cover of the low trees and bushes the whole way. He got into position, immediately opened fire and started racking up kills. Next was the Kid. Having covered Tomahawk’s assault, I desperately needed to reload. While that was happening, I ordered the Kid to move up behind Rob. There were about 6 other people at that point looking to me for direction, and they were directed to cover and move with the Kid while he moved up to Tomahawk’s position. The poor blue team never knew what hit them, they were just coming back from being eliminated and didn't have enough time to form up before being shot out again. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. Eventually the blue team formed up. It seemed they finally got the hang of what was happening to them, and they slowly began to pick off our small band of rebels. First Tomahawk, then me, next the Kid were eliminated. None of it was before our gang took down at least 3 times its numbers in blue.

        Lunch hour saw 5 very tired souls. I at least (along with a few others) painfully felt the effects of smoking over the 10 years. It was a much needed break for not just food and water, but just as much to get off our feet for a few minutes. There was a nice raffle, though none of us won anything. A few electro hoppers, mid level masks, and a few other items we among the give-a-ways.

        After Lunch, around hours five and six: The tide turned from close to even, to the blue team losing. Our very own Loaded Crows were doing better and better. The morning had taught us something, which was teamwork and communication. We kept our radios tuned to the command channel, and kept half an ear open to what was going on in other parts of the war. The Loaded Crows were beginning to make a difference. The sides had changed after the lunch hour, and the Loaded Crows were determined to defend the airfield. As we discussed strategy and positioning for individual members, I witnessed the unthinkable. Other players were volunteering to join our squad and asking for position assignments. They didn't just want to play; they wanted to play with us. Thanks to some patience (no, it had nothing to do with us being to fat and tired to join the front), the Loaded Crows held most of its squad within the airfield and soon enough the refs swapped insertion points. The blue team was inserting at what WAS the red team's insertion point. This was on the airfield, directly across from where we had set up. Because the Loaded Crows (most of us) were there, and well positioned the blue team wasn't able to get very far. The rest of the red team was eliminating the blues, and as they were trying to retake the field of battle the loaded crows held them back. During this time, our very own Dan had detached himself from the rest of the squad. He kept himself near the fore front and was racking up a great name for himself. GI Slow, I'm told was the quintessential element during several other engagements. These included taking another flag, and a mission retrieving ammo boxes. These missions were worth enough points to not just move the red team into the point lead, but push past the blues enough to ensure they most likely would not be able to bounce back. Eventually the remainder of the red team won the entire field, leaving only the small portion that the Loaded Crows were defending to have any resistance at all, as it was now the Blue's reinsertion point. They amassed, and we repelled. Again and again, with the same result. By now it was approaching 4pm and the blue team was beginning to amount to fodder. They fought hard, they tried different strategies - none of it mattered. Most of the red team came up to reinforce the Crows, leaving the rest of the field un-populated.

        Dave and I had walked back onto the field, and were still on the far side around 5pm. One of our team mates let us know there was a possibility a few blues had slipped though our lines and were hiding between us and the red team main force. We quickly responded with our own sweep and clear mission, finding the two enemies. No sooner had we finished them off, and cleared our team’s rear flank, than the referees swapped insertion points back, the red team was totally unprotected, and blues were beginning to trickle on the field at our backs. The Loaded Crows were there too. Dave and I were still in the area; we linked up with about 4 other reds, and held the area successfully for another 20 minutes until the final whistle was sounded. Red team, victorious.

        After we all regrouped at the staging area, awards were given out. The most deaths, best looking gun, etc. The only one that mattered to us? Most Valuable Player - our very own Dan. He showed up half asleep, hung over, and most likely still drunk from the night before. Booze seeping from his very pores, and yet he played hard, he gave it his all and he won. He held the day, and he began what will grow into a long line of Loaded Crows dominating future scenario games. We Five sat in the parking lot after the game. We looked ourselves up and down, sipped our cold tall boys and reflected back upon a long hard day. Was it worth it? Is it something we had fun doing? Were we tired? Did we think we could generate enough interest to have a regular team? Did all our guns work the way they were supposed to for once? HELL YES! To all of the above. Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you all on the field some day soon.

        A very special thank you goes out to OrionTPT  for hosting at their home field, High Velocity Paintball. Also we met several guys from team Got Kills who did a great job, and we look forward to joining them at the next outing.
 

Lt. Nancy,

(Stats from High Velocity's Forums):

#             Deaths - Name
73-------- 5 -        Aaron
74-------- 4 -        Dave
75-------- 3 -        Rob
108------- 7 -       Dan
118------- 5 -       Joe