OTTBE Mission 5 - Gifts That Keep on Giving - 1 January 1918
Ziebell had been standing at the window, close to the coal-fired stove, which was struggling mightily to shake off the bitter January cold with limited success. The four flyers had taken off just as the sun was rising, the field hard and snowless except where some grass or rut had provided some shelter from the relentless wind. It was so cold one could feel you nose hairs stiffen if you inhaled too deeply. It would be brutally cold at altitude, in the slipstream, but a mission must be flown. He began looking out the window with the field glasses in the direction they were predicted to return. First, low on the horizon, a dot grew into a shape, too big to be one of the scouts, yes, it was the Halberstadt. Wunderbar! Brandt und Jaeger had returned again! The duo had been on target and avoided a lot of the bad luck that seemed to plague the Staffel's first missions. The Halberstadt flared and set down, bounced on the frozen ground once, and rolled to a stop. He banged out the door and lifted his glasses and strained to see farther. Ziebell could make out two more shapes coming in.....should be Von Oderburg and Weber! Strolling out from their only wooden hangar was Reiner Schroeder, wiping his hands on a rag and thrusting them quickly into his pockets to guard against the cold. "So, what will they have done to my planes THIS time" he said, more to die Welt than to Ziebell. "We'll know soon enough, Reiner. Here comes the Pfalz".
Weber was coming straight in, and he was heading straight towards them rather than taxi to the tents. They could hear the engine now, rough, stumbling, missing on several cylinders, a trail of oil smoke staining the air behind it. It was rolling right toward where they stood. As it came closer they could begin to see, not just hear, the damage. The fuselage was riddled with holes, the rudder more empty space than wood and fabric, the tatters streaming behind it, the wings perforated in a dozen places.
Weber rolled the plane to a spot right in front of the command hut and hopped out, looking past them. Ziebell called out "Weber, are you all right?"
"Never better" he replied insincerely, his expression a combination of frostbite, fear, and fatigue. He strode past them into the hut and let the door bang shut behind him.
Von Oderburg had taxied over to the aircraft tents and strolled over to where the duo stood.
"What happened to Weber?" asked Ziebell. "And what has he done to my plane?!" implored Schroeder. Hagen smiled "It was never your plane Herr Schroeder, it is Der Kaiser's plane!" he grinned, rubbing his face with his hands to warm it. "Weber was hit many times, I think he has felt mortal today, and it doesn't agree with him."
The door banged open again and Weber strode past. "I'll see you in barracks, Gerald" said Von Oderburg. Weber did not reply.
"Let's get inside and talk, it is too cold to lark about out here" said Ziebell.
Schroeder walked back to their hangar to get crew to move the Pfalz inside. It would take some work to make it flyable. They would be working late again.
Ziebell and Von Oderburg stepped inside and closed the door. It took them a moment to see what Weber had been doing in his abruptness.
They looked over at the wall. "A little premature, I think" Ziebell intoned. "Not confirmed unless Armee confirms." "I saw it go down in flames" said Hagen, " I think it will stand. But it was bad form to mark up the board himself.
( For Onkel's Benefit, the only non RTB flyer was Millman, whose unedited stats I post here)
Lt Gerald Millman FLM / 0 Kills
C/W Roll 10 -2 WIA, -2 FLM = 6
Pilot/Crew Injured Skip 1D3 Scenarios
Roll 2 - skip 2 scenarios
E/E Roll 7 -1 FLM, -2 WIA, - 1 WIC = 3
Captured and Escaped! Skip 1D3 Scenarios
Roll 3 - skip 3 scenarios
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Another well told & photoed 
Originally Posted by gully_raker
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