Worse Than the Disease IC

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Wasting no more time, Sean lets the team clarify any remaining questions, replaces 2/3 full magazine with a full one and leads the way north to the edge of the parking lots. There he spends some time to observe the large open space, the edge of the forest beyond, and the clearly visible buildings: Ramshed Lodge directly to the west and the numerous buildings beyond the parking lots to the north. If nothing in particular attracts his attention, Sean will then lead the group to the front of the hotel, where the earlier firefight took place.

[Shoot Da Moon]

(OOC: Richard and Tariq, you get to ask questions of the soldiers - type them into OOC and assume they were answered before you guys left.)

Sean's scanning the area notices a car driving around the Ramshead Lodge and dropping off passengers just around the bend, where they can get behind cover.

The car waits until the passengers open fire upon the Lodge's windows and then drives away, down the road to east...right past his group's position in two minutes.

The northern parking lot is empty, except for a single body getting chewed on by some animals - large rats, Sean thinks.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean warns the group of the approaching car, takes a position where he cannot be easily targeted from the Ramshead Lodge (behind a corner or such), and starts aiming at the driver. He makes a shot as soon as he's sure enough, or when he thinks he is spotted.

Spoiler

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Not waiting for the car to get closer than 30 yards (shooting at it there and then). If it will drive past at a greater distance, shoot when it's the closest. Not a great stealth roll, but hopefully the range penalties would suffice.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The driver does not see Sean.

The rifle shot hits him right between the eyes, and he dies instantly.

The car is still coasting 10 seconds after the raider's corpse has slumped over and blaring the horn. When the car finally comes to a stop (the engine is still going, so the foot must have slipped off the petal), the inside is quite soaked by the blown out head. A single large hole is in the windscreen where Sean faded the target.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Ignoring the car for a moment, Sean takes a peek at those shooters around the Ramshead Lodge. Of particular interest is whether they seem to have noticed what might be just another shot not originating from them, and whether they have weapons effective at whatever range is currently between them and the group. If they all seem calm and occupied, Sean would invite Richard to join and take an aim. Otherwise, he'll be the only one to do so.

Spoiler

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Basically, whether they are looking in our direction. If they do, Sean still risks taking aim kneeling behind the corner. If they are still occupied with Ramshead Lodge, Richard could stand and aim behind the same corner and above Sean. Also, how far are they from our current location?

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean notices with relief that the raiders are fully occupied with shooting the Ramshead - probably because the occupants are returning fire. None of the gunmen are looking his way, nor have they realized their driver won't be picking them up from their little war...

The bad guys attacking the Lodge are 40 yards away from the exiles (the car took the long way around and drove slow to avoid slipping on the ice). One of them is armed with a combat shotgun, the other two have multiple pistols of various types.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean tells Richard to take one of the pistoleros and aims at the guy with the combat shotgun, pulling the trigger when Richard is ready.

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq readies a Fragmentation grenade, and says to Richard and Sean, "I think I could get them with this." He moves up slightly, trying to remain in cover, but waits for their response before pulling the pin.

[Volthawk]

Richard nods at Tariq as he lines up his shot, muttering "Only if we can't drop these two. No point just blowing up one guy, when there's going to be a lot more inside.", before getting back to aiming, moments later whispering "Ready." and firing at the same time as Sean. This tactic was working quite well so far. Hopefully these rifles would keep being so useful when bullets started flying in both directions.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean and Richard both fire. Richard nails his target in the heart, who drops to the floor in a cry of pain as the bullet hits him and dies quickly. Sean, however, finds his target slipped a little as he squeezes, causing the bullet to miss.

The shotgunner and his remaining friend immediately notice the shots and turn their heads to see the exiles. They hesitate in anger for a moment, and then swing their guns towards them...

(OOC: Tariq, you have a brief moment to react before the fight starts in earnest...)

[GnomesofZurich2]

Sean and Richard both fire. Richard nails his target in the heart, who drops to the floor in a cry of pain as the bullet hits him and dies quickly. Sean, however, finds his target slipped a little as he squeezes, causing the bullet to miss.

The shotgunner and his remaining friend immediately notice the shots and turn their heads to see the exiles. They hesitate in anger for a moment, and then swing their guns towards them...

(OOC: Tariq, you have a brief moment to react before the fight starts in earnest...)

Tariq will just duck down to take cover. He knows his likelihood of hitting with the revolver at this range are minimal, and if his grenade isn't needed for know, he'll wait for his moment.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Neither of the two raiders are too keen to waste bullets on snap shots - they squint down their barrels at the exiles, drawing a bead on them.

(OOC: one turn of Aim. COMBAT TIME STARTS - next action, post your Basic Speed as a reminder.)

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean shoots a long burst, hosing both targets with varying degrees of success, then gets behind the cover.

Spoiler

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Extra effort as per AtE45 (move and attack at no penalty), costs 1 fp. Basic speed 6.00.

[Volthawk]

Seeing the raiders aim, and Sean's spray going wide of the shotgunner, Richard fires a more focused burst at him before starting to move.

Spoiler

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Basic Speed is 6.00.

[Shoot Da Moon]

As the exiles get behind cover, they see the bursts were not as effective as they hoped.

The pistolero has managed to flinch away from the shots, even as the gunfire clips his shotgun-wielding comrade, killing him.

(OOC: when you rapid fire, be sure to remind everyone of your Rcl, please.)

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean shouts: "Surrender or die!" Then he whispers: "Hold this position." Then he moves around the building to try flanking the enemies (he does that before he learns the result of Richard's burst). Still under the impression of the incident, he is less than perfectly stealthy when he peeks around the corner on the other side of the building.

Spoiler

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A fright check for the guy or something? Sean, for one, was quite uneasy with as much as guns pointed his way, not speaking how he'd feel receiving two volleys of auto fire with all the comrades dying around.

The action as described is going to take some time, so if Richard feels like continuing with the fighting, that should be resolved before (and instead of) this one. Ditto if the guy does something active.

[Shoot Da Moon]

(OOC: Sounds like an Intimidation roll. Against Will 10. What is Tariq gonna do now?)

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq readies his revolver in case their opponents get closer.

Spoiler

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Basic Speed 6.0

[Shoot Da Moon]

Huffing and puffing, the remaining raider quickly scoops up his fallen comrade's shotgun.

(OOC: Combat time ends.)

And then he starts running away, to the west, breaking off his attack on the Lodge and out of sight of the exiles.

In the meantime, Sean hears an inhuman howl on the horizon, somewhere south-west and about 20 yards of his position.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean spots two people in thick clothing stabbing at a raider, but lets them proceed with the task. He aims at the running man, takes a shot, observes the result, then turns back to these three to see if the two are finished with the third or if they need more time. Anyway, he addresses them loud enough for everyone to hear clearly, including both Richard and Tariq. "Hello. It seems we are in the same business here. Sean Pires."

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean's shot smacked right into a stone wall as the survivor escapes his sight. Darn.

In the meanwhile, the two strangers have finished off their kill. They stare at Sean as he speaks. They look at each other, pause, and then nod.

Then they turn away and run as fast as they can. It seems they are not in the mood to chat, or even fight...

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean approaches the two men the group has recently shot. He does this with the rifle low and waving a hand at Ramshed Lodge. "Hey, Tariq!" he shouts "Can you search these guys and the other one over there?" points to the recently stabbed one "I want to move the car."

After Tariq and Richard move out from behind the building, presumably to do searching and covering, Sean goes to the car, throws out and searches the corpse and then drives the car to a place where it could be easily targeted by people in the Waffle Cabin and/or Ramshed Lodge. He shuts down the engine, uses a multitool to disconnect the battery, takes the key and locks the doors.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The dead body is unpleasantly heavy - the blood soaking the clothes has not yet dried. Sean finds nothing on the corpse.

Driving the car is also unpleasant. As he drives it away, blood is shaken loose from the ceiling of the interior and drips heavily onto Sean's head and shoulders. Ew.

He is happy to leave the car once he parks it.

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq does as Sean requested, searching the bodies for anything of value. He pays particular attention to their feet, to see if any of them have boots that might fit him.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

After he's done with the car and while Tariq finishes searching the bodies, Sean replaces the largely depleted magazine with a full one and makes another mostly full magazine of the two partially depleted magazines. He keeps an eye for the outside events while at it and declares that he wants to check the outcome in front of Grand Resort before following on with the plan.

After the bodies are looted to everyone's satisfaction, he leads to the western end of the Grand Resort, where he drops the backpack, and then along its northen wall to the point where he expects the raiders were trying to enter it, or to the entrance to the main hall, or to any other place where he can take a solid peek inside, whichever comes earlier. He's ready to shout a pass-phrase as soon as he's sure he's detected, but no earlier, in case the raiders have won.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Tariq does as Sean requested, searching the bodies for anything of value. He pays particular attention to their feet, to see if any of them have boots that might fit him.

Tariq finds some interesting stuff on the dead. A bandolier holding 8 shotgun shells, a holdout pistol loaded with two bullets left in the magazine, another magazine filled with 5 pistol bullets, a small flask full of cheap booze, a pill bottle full of 2 heroin doses, 2 pairs of boots, 2 pairs of leather gloves, a waist pack, 2 small batteries, 2 hand flares, a cheap pocket watch, 4 small knives, a large screwdriver, an empty cigarette lighter, a small box of chalk, 3 bandages, another pill bottle containing 8 opioid pills, 2 extra pairs of socks, a pair of pliers, and a felt cap.

(OOC: The bandolier holds up to 25 rounds and weighs 1 pound. The holdout pistol is on B278 - it is the .380 Holdout Pistol. The waist pack holds 10 lbs. and weighs 1 pound. Need any more stats?)

Sean Pires

After he's done with the car and while Tariq finishes searching the bodies, Sean replaces the largely depleted magazine with a full one and makes another mostly full magazine of the two partially depleted magazines. He keeps an eye for the outside events while at it and declares that he wants to check the outcome in front of Grand Resort before following on with the plan.

After the bodies are looted to everyone's satisfaction, he leads to the western end of the Grand Resort, where he drops the backpack, and then along its northen wall to the point where he expects the raiders were trying to enter it, or to the entrance to the main hall, or to any other place where he can take a solid peek inside, whichever comes earlier. He's ready to shout a pass-phrase as soon as he's sure he's detected, but no earlier, in case the raiders have won.

The Grand Resort Hotel is eerily still. Nothing has happened since the exiles stopped observing it...right?
Sean makes his way over to where he saw raiders breaking in, and finds it empty - no signs of violence except for the broken barricade. The firefight was further in, perhaps? He could track the raiders who got in by their footprints, at least.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean points at his pack that he's left at the corner, points at Richard and Tariq, then waves them east. He covers the two while they pass the hotel, then shouts a pass-phrase. If there is no response, the whole group will head into the woods above the Whiffletree Condos the exact way they came.

[Volthawk]

Once again, Richard brings up the rear, keeping an eye on their backs - they might have a rough idea of where everyone is now, but a place like this has enough scattered buildings and hiding places that he didn't want to potentially leave them open to a surprise attack. Sean has shown that he knows what he's doing out here, so Richard follows his instructions at the hotel. Hopefully the survivors in there had held out against the raiders. If the rush their sniping had caused had led to the people in there getting killed...that wouldn't be something he'd be happy with.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Nobody responds to the pass-phrase Sean shouts.
The exiles move over to the woods near the Wiffletree Condos, and wait.
From there, they spot two groups of people in the distance - one is entering the Bear Lodge and the other is leaving the Grand Resort Hotel by rappelling down the rooftop on the furthest-most corner.

Looking through their scope, they notice the group on top of the Hotel are dressed in thick snow camo, and are probably friendly militia. The group entering the Bear Lodge, on the other hand, are dressed in black leathers.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean looks at the militia group for some more time. Of particular interest is where they seem to be heading and whether they seem to be taking control of the attackers' car that is supposedly still in the parking lot in front of the hotel. If the car seems like it is to be left unattended, Sean intends to shoot one of its front tires to make it less attractive means of transportation while not making it less valuable loot.

"Okay, men, here's the plan. Feel free to provide alternatives or corrections. You've seen the map. There's basically one car-capable road leading to the Bear Lodge. It splits in two several hundred meters from there, but that's just as well. Their smart commander guy basically has himself trapped. We'll help him with that. I propose we go south-south-east now and trap the road in two separate places. Nothing fancy, just a Claymore blasting from the side across the road, and another one say three hundred yards from the first. Then we approach from north-east and take a look at the place and its parking lot. Will be somewhat dark by the time, which is perfectly fine."

Spoiler

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Note: the plan does not involve walking along the road anywhere. We will walk strictly through the woods.