Worse Than the Disease 2 IC

[Shoot Da Moon]

Previous IC thread; https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...ease-IC/page50

OOC Thread; https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...he-Disease-OOC

Dice Rolls Thread; https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...ase-DICE-ROLLS
===

The Waffle House settlement accepts the conditions and deals Sean lays out. It will take them a few days and a couple teams of men in cars to do the required trips and deliveries, but it will be done.

While that business is being taken care of, Tariq can rest and heal, and Richard can analyse the intelligence gathered from the cabin.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The exiles settle in and rest in the cabin for the night.

(OC: everyone eats their meals for the day.)

DAY 58

The exiles continue to stay in place as Tariq recovers.

Sean stays on the radio, keeping in touch with his allies.

Richard studies the captured intelligence and figures out some stuff.

The battle bus crew provides reinforcement for the more important and permanent gang hideout, typically the slaver camps or the gangs planning large assaults on settlements. The slaver camp here is mostly meant to protect Stone and his co-ordination of various gangs, or act as a secure corral for recently captured slaves who will eventually be sent to a northern factory and mine. Gunmetal is not yet going to be attacked, but the raiders are considering it and studying the city for weaknesses. For now, the gangs are mostly nibbling around the edges, raiding the lesser settlements within 10 miles of Gunmetal.

The other raider camps are scattered around, sometimes reporting into Stone’s hideout and delivering captured slaves, supplies, stolen bounty and soldier rotations. Once a month, men from the northern stronghold arrive to recieve the slaves and take them to the factory and mine.

Only one raider camp is near the power plant, and it is temporary, 10 men strong, and focused mostly on foraging or keeping watch on travellers.

The Shelters are numbers 38 and 51. 38 is abandoned, it was attacked by the raider army and cleansed of life. 51 is still sealed up, populated by the original survivors and their descendants, ignorant of the larger conflicts, and in contact with Overseer Mailer (who deceives them). Shelter 38 is located on the base of a mountain in the centre of Vermont. Shelter 51 is located 10 miles north of 38, entered through a mountain cave.

The triangulated location was not marked on any maps before now. It is probably the factory and mining operation the raider army maintains.

The papers name and detail various raider gangs answering to Stone; bad guys calling themselves Jackpots, Jacks, All-Blacks, 14 Words, Lucky Strikes, and Gamblers. They all have black tattoos on their necks, of course.

[u-b]

Listening to what Richard has discovered, Sean has more questions:
1. Can we discern "northern factory and mine" location from the intel gotten from Stone? If it is not marked anywhere on the maps, maybe some travel times and/or distances relative to verious points are given or some such?
2. We have been given the location of a "Work Camp" somewhere in the north-west of the state, about 70 miles from the radar base.
2.1 Does it seem to be it?
2.2 Does it match the triangulated location?
3. Can we deduce anything on how many people are there? Roughly approximate numbers would be good for now. Related numbers (slaves/day, food consumed et cetera) also qualify.
3.1 Number of slaves.
3.2 Number of slavers.
3.2 Number of guards.
4. Any combat vehicles mentioned anywhere? In particular, anything more of a combat vehicle than a battle bus?
5. Number of people in a similar rank and position as Stone (also, approx is good enough)...
5.1 Here in Vermont.
5.1.1 Their approximate areas of concern, names, anything.
5.2 In total in the whole organization.
6. Any info they have on the mutants?
7. Any info they have on The Gutter?
8. Any info they have on Shelter 43?
9. When was Shelter 38 attacked?
10. Name and title of the head of the whole lot?
11. What happened to/at Point T?
12. How many teams under Stone have radios?

What are the tattoos of everyone we got? This Sean can check himself. After this check, Sean will help Waffle House men inhume the bodies as he probably does not have much more to do.

Spoiler

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OC: everyone eats their meals for the day.

Done.

[Volthawk]

While looking into Sean's further questions, Richard gets on the radio to relay his findings to their allied settlements. In particular, he wants to talk to Gunmetal City, as the last time he'd talked to them extensively about their position with the raiders, they had thought the raiders were giving them a wide berth, but with what he'd now learnt he wanted to be sure that they kept alert for anyone investigating their defences. He also wanted to stress the need to take this seriously, as after all they'd been skeptical about the ability of the raiders to capture Shelter 38 when Richard had reported their initial information about the place, but his new intel was very clear on what had happened to it - not only had they been able to claim a victory over the shelter-dwellers, but from how the raiders had described it they were able to kill (or enslave, he supposed - it dependended on how literally he took 'cleanse') every one of them.

He also asks around if anyone knew anything about Shelter 51 - naturally, as a sealed-up Shelter their contacts wouldn't have any direct contact with it, but nonetheless he was keen to hear anything of note about the surrounding area, raider activity in the area, that sort of thing. He still wasn't sure what, if anything, to do with 51, but he felt like it was worth asking about, just in case - given their status with Mailer, they could be a source of allies for the raiders if the exiles' campaign pushed them too hard, but at the same time they weren't so far in league with the raiders that they couldn't be brought on-side with the right approach. A dream for the future at the moment, but still one worth thinking about.

[u-b]

While Richard is on the radio, Sean mentions two things that he intended to bring up later, but can as well bring up now. First, that we should probably arrange a face-to-face meeting with Gunmetal leadership to discuss the situation further. Maybe a week+ from now, when we are done recovering and looking through the intel. Second, that we should check with Shelter 43's computer about "treason" / "not treason" status of shelters 38 and 51.

[Shoot Da Moon]

While looking into Sean's further questions, Richard gets on the radio to relay his findings to their allied settlements. In particular, he wants to talk to Gunmetal City, as the last time he'd talked to them extensively about their position with the raiders, they had thought the raiders were giving them a wide berth, but with what he'd now learnt he wanted to be sure that they kept alert for anyone investigating their defences. He also wanted to stress the need to take this seriously, as after all they'd been skeptical about the ability of the raiders to capture Shelter 38 when Richard had reported their initial information about the place, but his new intel was very clear on what had happened to it - not only had they been able to claim a victory over the shelter-dwellers, but from how the raiders had described it they were able to kill (or enslave, he supposed - it dependended on how literally he took 'cleanse') every one of them.

He also asks around if anyone knew anything about Shelter 51 - naturally, as a sealed-up Shelter their contacts wouldn't have any direct contact with it, but nonetheless he was keen to hear anything of note about the surrounding area, raider activity in the area, that sort of thing. He still wasn't sure what, if anything, to do with 51, but he felt like it was worth asking about, just in case - given their status with Mailer, they could be a source of allies for the raiders if the exiles' campaign pushed them too hard, but at the same time they weren't so far in league with the raiders that they couldn't be brought on-side with the right approach. A dream for the future at the moment, but still one worth thinking about.

Gunmetal City is deeply alarmed by the new intelligence. They declare a new inquiry, sending over teams to the abandoned Shelter to pick over the bones and find out what exactly happened. They'll also shore up their fortifications, hire new guards.
Nobody knows anything of a Shelter 51. The location where the Shelter is supposed to be is infamous for heavy raider activity, so most people avoid it.

Listening to what Richard has discovered, Sean has more questions:
1. Can we discern "northern factory and mine" location from the intel gotten from Stone? If it is not marked anywhere on the maps, maybe some travel times and/or distances relative to verious points are given or some such?
2. We have been given the location of a "Work Camp" somewhere in the north-west of the state, about 70 miles from the radar base.
2.1 Does it seem to be it?
2.2 Does it match the triangulated location?
3. Can we deduce anything on how many people are there? Roughly approximate numbers would be good for now. Related numbers (slaves/day, food consumed et cetera) also qualify.
3.1 Number of slaves.
3.2 Number of slavers.
3.2 Number of guards.
4. Any combat vehicles mentioned anywhere? In particular, anything more of a combat vehicle than a battle bus?
5. Number of people in a similar rank and position as Stone (also, approx is good enough)...
5.1 Here in Vermont.
5.1.1 Their approximate areas of concern, names, anything.
5.2 In total in the whole organization.
6. Any info they have on the mutants?
7. Any info they have on The Gutter?
8. Any info they have on Shelter 43?
9. When was Shelter 38 attacked?
10. Name and title of the head of the whole lot?
11. What happened to/at Point T?
12. How many teams under Stone have radios?

What are the tattoos of everyone we got? This Sean can check himself. After this check, Sean will help Waffle House men inhume the bodies as he probably does not have much more to do.

Spoiler

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Done.

(OC: Richard will need to study the intel again for a day to answer those numbered questions. Richard, roll Intelligence Analysis again.)

Looking at the bodies of the prisoners and the dead, Sean finds more black neck tattoos. Some of them look familiar, some are new. Roulette wheels, four playing cards fanned out displaying aces and eights, the ace of spades, skulls, the suicide King, two dice showing ones, the number 77, the Old World dollar sign, poker chips, knaves...Stone himself has a fierce-looking snake coiled up and hissing open-mouthed.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The exiles welcome the new calm after their latest brushes with violence.

(OC: everyone eats more meals for the day...)

DAY 59

The next day, Richard manages to analyse his collected info and comes to some conclusions;

Richard figures out where the factory and mine would be, it is likely the "Work Camp" 70 miles from the Radar Base, or otherwise is close by it (the work camp may have a direct and regular route between the two points). It certainly matches the general vicinity of the triangulated location, to about 10 miles.

A mine and a factory in the same settlement or fortress would imply roughly 200 people. A quarter to one half of those would slaves, the rest are mostly security and jailers. Slaver crews would be the smallest portion, frequently coming and going, dropping off new slaves every month.

An Old World tank is briefly mentioned in the documents, but it is described as a very old model (something marked "WW1") with "only" machine guns and not cannons.

Judging by Stone's tone and comments in some correspondence, the factory and mine have four commanders equal to his rank posted there. And he hates them all.

With the exception of a few slaver gangs and his security forces, Stone's activity in Vermont mostly covers gangs that travel frequently across the state, to avoid getting tracked down and eliminated. Most of them seem to be heading south, near the lower border of Vermont, for the season. Only the slaver gangs did not get new orders to back off their attacks. It is apparently a loss prevention tactic. The total active raiders mentioned in the documents add up to about 80 now, a single gang consisting of anywhere between 8 and 15 troopers. Several gangs reported heavy casualties recently, three were wiped out. None of them are counted among the current active raiders.

The mutants are rarely mentioned in the reports, except for the "Sinful Nature". Stone thinks he can use them as a spoiler while the gangs are retreating, by encouraging them to attack settlements while raiders hide.

The Gutter is mostly off-limits to the men under Stone's command now, he claims the place is too dangerous and not their concerns as far as objectives go. Indeed, a lot of reports state raiders regularly suffer unacceptable casualties when they go into The Gutter.

Shelter 43 is a special objective, mostly handled by other commanders, who do not want anyone messing with it. Stone contemptuously dismisses it as a "secret project", and a waste of time.

Shelter 38 was not attacked recently. Not even within the last decade...

The army Hugh command as a whole considers itself "Shelter 77".

Richard figures what happened at Point T is that a fall back position was prepared sloppily and the retreating raiders were panicking, so they tried to desperately hide at an unvetted rally point - the Shelter - and got slaughtered there by the security robots.

5 teams under Stone have radios.

[u-b]

Sean has a lot less open questions after hearing Richard's findings, but there still are some:
1. Any use stated or implied that the tank is currently or normally put to? Like, guarding the factory and mine or something?
2. Judging by the size of Stone's area of responsibility and other factors, how many other field commanders of his level can we expect to find in Vermont (i.e. not at the factory and mine, but spread throughout the state)?
3. How far back are the oldest Stone's papers dated? How things were back then? How long is he in the area?
4. What are reported to be the cause of those recent casualties? Any specific settlements and/or mititia groups? Who was attacking and who was defending? Are there detailed reports of the events? Sean is mainly interested in:
4.1 How our own actions are reported and attributed?
4.2 Who else is effective at waging this war and how they achieve it?
5. Is it in any way clear how Stone managed to "encourage" the mutants? What is the deal? What are means by which they keep in contact? Radio?
6. Is it in any way clear what the losses in The Gutter are from? Armed humans? Mutants? Automatic security? Something else?
7. Who is the current leader of Shelter 77? Sean would like this name ran through Shelter 43's computer (we have secure radio channel), along with shelter number itself and shelters numbers 38 and 51.

Also, we want to keep in touch with the team going to Shelter 38 and get a clearance to receive a copy of their report.

Spoiler

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OC: everyone eats more meals for the day...

Done.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean has a lot less open questions after hearing Richard's findings, but there still are some:
1. Any use stated or implied that the tank is currently or normally put to? Like, guarding the factory and mine or something?
2. Judging by the size of Stone's area of responsibility and other factors, how many other field commanders of his level can we expect to find in Vermont (i.e. not at the factory and mine, but spread throughout the state)?
3. How far back are the oldest Stone's papers dated? How things were back then? How long is he in the area?
4. What are reported to be the cause of those recent casualties? Any specific settlements and/or mititia groups? Who was attacking and who was defending? Are there detailed reports of the events? Sean is mainly interested in:
4.1 How our own actions are reported and attributed?
4.2 Who else is effective at waging this war and how they achieve it?
5. Is it in any way clear how Stone managed to "encourage" the mutants? What is the deal? What are means by which they keep in contact? Radio?
6. Is it in any way clear what the losses in The Gutter are from? Armed humans? Mutants? Automatic security? Something else?
7. Who is the current leader of Shelter 77? Sean would like this name ran through Shelter 43's computer (we have secure radio channel), along with shelter number itself and shelters numbers 38 and 51.

Also, we want to keep in touch with the team going to Shelter 38 and get a clearance to receive a copy of their report.

Spoiler

Show

Done.

The tank is being used to guard the factory.
The oldest paper is dated a year ago. The raiders were far more sure back then, attempting to wipe out settlements in the eastern areas of Vermont. Stone has been a field commander for 3 years, promoted up from the boss of a slaver gang.

(OC: The other questions not answered requires another Intelligence Analysis roll and another day. Getting clearance and keeping in touch with the team requires a roll against Savoir-Faire (Military), or Soldier.)

[Volthawk]

As always, Richard relays his findings to their allies and starts to look for answers into Sean's new questions. He also tries to get in touch with Gunmetal again, asking about their more advanced weaponry - he remembered that they would need authorisation from the Elders to buy such things, and they'd previously denied the exiles, but hopefully the mention of the raiders having a tank (he mentions the details he doesn't understand, like the WWI designation - maybe given their focus, they might know what it means) and their more recent successes might convince them to part with the kind of equipment needed for a target like that. Sure, Tariq could probably put something together with enough punch to deal with it himself, but there was no harm trying to get hold of something purpose-built, if the Elders went for it.

[u-b]

This time Sean joins the radio chat to make a correction and two proposals. The correction is that the team does not currently need the equipment to go after the tank as that is, as of yet, not anywhere near decided. Still, the decision to go after one target or the other can be made, and the team has demonstrated some level of capability, so... The first proposal would be to get together and chat. Then maybe come up with some plan and maybe discuss the equipment as would be appropriate. Stone's papers and the guy himself could be a part of the deal. The second proposal would be to keep in touch, which we, from our side, mostly do, but would not mind some reciproity w.r.t. outcomes of our leads.

Spoiler

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Hm. Richard doesn't have either skill. Tariq has Soldier, but I suppose since this is the day he's healing up to 0hp he can't do it. I suppose that means either Richard or Sean will have to default Savoire-Faire (IQ-4) - we have the same IQ I believe, and Richard's doing intel work, so I guess Sean should roll?

Sean's Savoire-Faire is at extra -1, making it the same IQ-5 as Sean's Soldier default. Well, at least the chance was non-zero and Sean does not crit-fail.

[Shoot Da Moon]

As always, Richard relays his findings to their allies and starts to look for answers into Sean's new questions. He also tries to get in touch with Gunmetal again, asking about their more advanced weaponry - he remembered that they would need authorisation from the Elders to buy such things, and they'd previously denied the exiles, but hopefully the mention of the raiders having a tank (he mentions the details he doesn't understand, like the WWI designation - maybe given their focus, they might know what it means) and their more recent successes might convince them to part with the kind of equipment needed for a target like that. Sure, Tariq could probably put something together with enough punch to deal with it himself, but there was no harm trying to get hold of something purpose-built, if the Elders went for it.

The Elders are happy to hear Richard out, but their decision will need to hold off for other issues and their final decision might still be not in his favor.

(OC: Richard, make a reaction roll to see how the Elders judge it, apply your usual modifiers and another -2.)

This time Sean joins the radio chat to make a correction and two proposals. The correction is that the team does not currently need the equipment to go after the tank as that is, as of yet, not anywhere near decided. Still, the decision to go after one target or the other can be made, and the team has demonstrated some level of capability, so... The first proposal would be to get together and chat. Then maybe come up with some plan and maybe discuss the equipment as would be appropriate. Stone's papers and the guy himself could be a part of the deal. The second proposal would be to keep in touch, which we, from our side, mostly do, but would not mind some reciproity w.r.t. outcomes of our leads.

Spoiler

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Sean's Savoire-Faire is at extra -1, making it the same IQ-5 as Sean's Soldier default. Well, at least the chance was non-zero and Sean does not crit-fail.

Sean fails to get approval from the soldiers. They say they can handle their own business, and it's not safe to get too open about what they're up to. They'll report back to Sean when they have the time.

DAY 60

(OC: Another day's worth of eating. Mark them off. Tariq, you get to recover some more.)
Richard finds out more from the intelligence.

There might be another 3 field commanders like Stone active in Vermont.
The raider causalities are due to militia pushback and defense of settlements, and the exiles' attacks on them. Not many detailed reports of that stuff at all.
The reports on the exiles are fairly regular, but relatively vague despite their accuracy. (They report the exiles have taken the radar base and repelled attacks, but not how, for instance.)
The Rangers are noted to be especially prolific in defeating raiders.
It seems Stone wanted to bait mutants into attacking settlements mostly by covertly leading wandering patrols of the Sinful Nature into travelers and settlers on the road or by getting people to stumble into mutant lairs, rather than direct methods.
The losses in The Gutter are mostly from automatic security and diseases.
The current leaders of Shelter 77 are a council of five "generals" or oligarchs. The leadership occasionally get bogged down in making high level decisions quickly, but often split up responsibilities and select operations amongst their own personal spheres of subordinates and influence efficiently. One general got "retired" and replaced (reason given; "judged logistically insolvent") four months ago.

The Shelter 43 computer is not taking calls right now. Or perhaps it is simply a bad connection?

[u-b]

Sean has no more open questions. He asks if Richard and Tariq can come up with some of their own. As for the plans, Sean proposes the following:
1. We let Tariq recover to full.
2. We do some crafting. E.g. Richard can make precision ammo when the supplies arrive, then Tariq can spend one day when he is at full health.
3. We hit the raider camp that is near the power plant.
4. We let Waffle House people take over guarding the armed powerplanters as they restore the power and secure the site.
5. By this time, maybe Chalmers will have some news.

Spoiler

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OC: Another day's worth of eating. Mark them off.

Done.

[GnomesofZurich2]

DAY 60

(OC: Another day's worth of eating. Mark them off. Tariq, you get to recover some more.)

Tariq fails his recovery roll, the physician roll succeeds, putting him at 1 hp.

[Volthawk]

Looking over his accumulated findings, Richard just has a few loose ends to try and find an answer to. For one thing, the mutants - if Stone wanted to make use of their patrols and lead people into their territory, he must have had some idea of where their settlements are (or at least which areas have above average numbers of them), so Richard tries to collate any information in the intel on the subject and makes a few calls to the settlements he knows that have had problems with mutants to compare their experiences, hoping to get a better idea of where they're more or less likely to find mutants. It felt useful to have a better idea of where to avoid when they didn't want trouble, and where to go if they needed to take action against a mutant group again.

He also double-checks the reports on the Gutters, hoping to learn about any other ways in than the ones the exiles already knew about - in order for the raiders to lose people, they must have found entrances, and he hoped they might have said enough about it for him to figure out where. The mention on people dying of disease down there also concerns him, so he looks for any information on what - sure, the raiders probably weren't exactly doctors, but they might have said enough to figure out whether they're talking about the kind of regular diseases you find in the wasteland, infections and the like from wounds inflicted by the defences, or something unique to the Gutters themselves. The prospect of the last possibility has Richard a little worried, given what brought about the world they now live in.

He looks over Stone's comments on his peers and superiors again (the commanders at the mine and factory, the other field commanders, 77's generals, etc), hoping to glean any hints about the people themselves, how they like to operate compared to Stone. Sure, it'll be coloured by Stone's own opinions, but there might be something the exiles could use in the future there.

Outside of the intel, he calls around and gets talking to his usual contacts, asking if they any idea about when the troubles with the raiders actually started - between how long it had apparently been since the attack on Shelter 38, and the involvement of Mailer (who had been 44's Overseer for as long as he could remember, and who'd been a part of this long enough to have sent out enough exiles to irritate the people she was working with), he was started to wonder just how far back this went. He had other questions about the beginning of all this, but they would have to wait until they could get their hands on one of the real leaders behind all this. He also checks in with the Funny Platoon, asking if their snooping on enemy radio channels had picked up on anything interesting yet.

[Shoot Da Moon]

A call from Gunmetal tells Richard that the Elders will probably approve his request, but he'll have to wait until tomorrow before he can actually order any goods.

In the meantime, he digs up more findings.

He narrows down the locations of three Sinful Nature bases much like the one the exiles destroyed in Springfield. One is in The Gutter, another is hidden beneath a mansion, the third is in the mountains.

According to reports, raiders enter The Gutter through tunnels in Springfield. The diseases caught in The Gutter sound like nastier cases of influenza and skin-eating rabies. But Richard is not a doctor...

Richard's investigation into the generals and the field commanders gives up some hints. They seem fanatically hateful towards non-Shelter dwellers, selfish, greedy and bitter. They often put their own self-interest ahead of the mission when fighting directly. Their loyalty to the army is mostly secured through personal gain and opportunities to express their unpleasantness.

Most of the non-slavers tend towards shooting on sight or capturing for torture. Most raiders have anger issues and an unreasoning desire to kill their enemies as fast as possible. The slavers tend to buck these bloody-minded trends, but in the worst ways possible.

According to those he speaks to, Vermont has ALWAYS had trouble with raiders and slavers, for decades at least. The Funny Platoon reports rumours on enemy channels that a raider boss has gone rogue, taking his entire gang with him, and is trying to defect. They think it has been confirmed, but they have no details on the traitor yet.

[u-b]

Sean mostly takes some time to relax and do nothing much, but he does think of something else that Richard might try to find out:
1. The yellow substance, its use, origin, composition etc.
2. Prevoius (groups of) Shelter 44 exiles. Number, timing, composition, fate, etc.
3. Location of Shelter 77 (approximate is fine).
4. Any life in The Gutter to carry those diseases (like rats, bats, insects or what not). We should also consult the doctor present here, show him the papers and ask to comment from his experience about curability of any of those diseases etc.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean mostly takes some time to relax and do nothing much, but he does think of something else that Richard might try to find out:
1. The yellow substance, its use, origin, composition etc.
2. Prevoius (groups of) Shelter 44 exiles. Number, timing, composition, fate, etc.
3. Location of Shelter 77 (approximate is fine).
4. Any life in The Gutter to carry those diseases (like rats, bats, insects or what not). We should also consult the doctor present here, show him the papers and ask to comment from his experience about curability of any of those diseases etc.

The reports on the exiles explain that the yellow substance is some kind of beast attracting pheromone they used to herd mutated animals. They often spray it onto meat and then throw it around to get swarms of scavengers or predators to disrupt settlements.

The other Shelter 44 exiles are given only passing mention - they died or were murdered by raiders, that is all the enemy cares to record.

Shelter 77 is not given any location in any intelligence obtained so far. No doubt for OpSec reasons. You doubt even captains and some field commanders know where Shelter 77 is. Maybe the officers at the factory and mine do.

The doctor opines, after looking over the findings, that the diseases were mutated influenza and Ebola. The infection was probably carried through tainted water, a bio-weapon, a mutated animal bite or tainted air. Antibiotics would be ineffective against the "Mega Flu" and curing the Ebola would require Old World high-tech anti-viral medicine.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The exiles continue to enjoy the cabin in the middle of the stone field...

DAY 61

Tariq continues to recover from his wound.

At the end of breakfast, the Waffle House couriers arrive with the stuff ordered by Sean. They ask him where he wants it all offloaded.

[u-b]

Sean tells to deliver 10 rifles, 10 shotguns, 50 shots, 50 slugs, and also 100 rifle cartridges Sean is providing, to the powerplant people at the Waffle House. They would be welcome to allocate the guns and practice a little, but Sean is not providing more ammo, so that is on them. Sean will tell them when it is safe to relocate. Most of the rest of the stuff goes into the trunk. The only exception, and only if the cargo for the Radar Base is not already in transit, would be 50 slugs. In either case, Sean asks when the cargo to the Radar Base is expected to be delivered (food and armor in bulk; maybe these 50 slugs).

Tariq is notified that we now have 26 pounds of TNT. Richard is notified that we now have 200 empty rife cartridge casings and 10 pounds of other components (primers, powder and lead).

Sean asks Richard and/or Gunmetal about the details of the deal:
1. Do we get a permanently elevated status?
2. Or open-ended high-tech purchase limit of some amount?
3. Or one time high-tech purchase limit of some amount?
4. Or some pre-approved list?
5. Or we just name what we want and they see how it goes?

Spoiler

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This makes our accound balance with the power plant people 640 rifle cartridges, to be eventually repaid with power and/or guns back.

Also, should we relocate to Waffle House settlement? They probably have a doc there too, to tend all the wounded fighting the mutants, and we don't really have any business here in the cabin.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The Waffle House crew nods in agreement and gets to business. They inform Sean the radar base cargo is not yet in transit.

Richard receives a call back from The Gunmetal Elders. They inform him that they can approve buying Old World high-tech equipment sets (a primary gun, armor, working gear, gun accessories, a secondary firearm) for two people right now. Any more purchases, and they will need further favors or earning citizenship.

(OC: What kind of TL 8 things do you want to buy?)

[Volthawk]

With his intelligence work done for the time being, Richard turns his attention to the delivery of ammunition parts, grabbing the reloading press from the car and spending most of the day making new match-grade rounds for their rifles.

[u-b]

Having completed the shopping list, Sean checks with the others that it is correct and the expressed priorities are as intended. Then he has a chat with Waffle House people proposing to lend them the good radio and get the bad radio in return. They would be free to use the good radio until a reversing transaction completes and the proposal does not include payments of any kind. Sean explains that he would like to sell a radio to procure some stuff, but does not want to sell the good one. Also, he expects to be able to find more older model radios, so the transaction should be reversible just fine. Whatever the answer, Sean puts two sniper rifles, a radio and some other stuff into the trunk, and, having Bart with him, drives the sedan to Gunmetal and unloads the goods as arrange. He picks up everything that can be picked up right away, asks when other stuff is expected to be available, asks to be notified over the radio when it actually is, makes sure what is purchased is marked against what is authorized (and what is not purchased not marked against what is authorized), tells he will be back to pick up the remaining ordered stuff (and other authorized stuf, funds permitting), then is on his way back.

After he unloads and distributes the gear, Sean intends to lead the way of two cars with the team and two most valuable prisoners to the Waffle House to spend the night there and begin the interrogations in the morning.

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Okay, the proposal is like this. Notably, we purchase quite a lot of armor, so are unable to cram in there most of the other stuff, but we don't plan to go after the tank right away, and likely not into enclosed spaces, so, if we hit one or two groups before the rest runs away, we should be good. We are able to cram night vision goggles in there, which is a good thing. There are still a few things that can be opined about. For one, Sean's IR stuff is optional, but it will take time to produce, so I'd rather order it sooner, not later, and by omitting it we get nothing more urgent anyway. The best alternative I can think of is the lot of anti-armor bullets plus better trauma plates. We don't quite need the bullets right now and trauma plates would be extra $12800 for extra 2 DR, so Sean would rather get the laser. We can upgrade the trauma plates later on and pass these to the troops or wear them on the back, so nothing is quite wasted by going for cheaper ones first.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Tariq sleeps pleasantly as the doctor sees to him.

Richard almost flawlessly crafts some excellent rifle rounds, for future killings. It takes him a total of ten hours, but the effort is worth it.

After a brief exchange of wheeling and dealing, Sean hits the road and the road (thankfully) does not hit back. He complete the deals they made at Gunmetal and the Waffle House, with Bart riding shotgun (almost literally). The radio exchange is accepted as fair. He is informed that he can expect wanted inventory within a few days.

Bart watches over Sean as he goes to sleep in the Waffle House tents, surrounded by strangers and hearing the occasional animal noise off in the distance.

(OC: Mark off the meals eaten, fellas. Tariq, roll to see how much HP you recover...)

DAY 62

The morning is chilly, and the sky is a bit overcast.

[u-b]

In the morning, Sean proposes to choose one most promising-looking mutant, take it away from the others, and see if it can be reasoned with. He proposes we conduct negotiations, rather than interrogations, with this one guy, and our position would be roughly like so:
1. The mutants attacked the Waffle House. Twice.
2. They were hit back. Hard.
3. For reasons that follow, we see this as enough of a retaliation, so if the mutants won't do it again, we also won't do it again.
4. Our preliminary investigations show that the mutants were tricked into attacking the Waffle House by tattoed raiders. We hit the raiders. Hard.
5. We want to know how the situation looked like from the munants' perspective and to what extent it matches the description above. In particular, what they thought was their reason for attacking.
6. We want to know if the mutants would be willing to condict negitiations.

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OC: Mark off the meals eaten

Done.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The mutant mostly stays silent, except for when it starts blurting out random threats and curses.

By the end of the talks, however, it reveals why it hates "normal" people so much;
The Sinful Nature were created in the image of some insane and evil genius just after the virus ravaged the Old World. They were created to kowtow to their creator and serve his twisted whims, helping him carry out his megalomaniacal affronts against nature, apparently with the full backing of the Old World and the blessing of the "normal" humans.

The mutants rebelled against this unnatural evil, and instead destroyed their creator. In the aftermath, they decided they must devote their lives to stopping the threat of humanity of subjugating the natural world to their unholy ambitions, and punish it for their sins. Humanity will once again endorse another savage "genius" like their creator unless they are crushed. Most, if not all, of humanity is probably just as cruel, power-hungry and murderous as their creator, anyhow.

That's what the Sinful Nature believe, anyhow.

[u-b]

Sean listens to the mutant, trying to understand the proposed worldview. He has some things to clarify:
1. What does it mean to be "created in the image" of an evil genius? In particular, does it mean having evil tendencies to begin with? How this relates to clearly unhuman physiology?
2. Sean informs that the Old World was apparently split, with some part of it committing high treason against the other, and that's only on this side on the pool. Can it be known who exactly gave and not gave their blessings?
3. What is the nature of the punishment and the plan for imposing it and how did it work over all those years? What those punished are supposed to do after receiving their punishment? Meaning, it's not a capital punishment, right?
4. What "natural world" are we talking about? Something as evolved before year 10000 BCE? Something no more technologically advanced than 10000 BCE? Other criteria? How the clearly recent and artifical mutations fit into the picture?
5. What is their method of ensuring the mutants don't endorse another savage "genius" maybe like that they were imaged after?
6. Given all this seeming hate, how do they manage to coexist with the people of Springfield? Meaning, they share a city, but so far no side seems to have eradicated the other.
7. Can we contact those higher up to have a more coherent talk about our differences?

Sean displays patience, partial disagreement and genuine interest through his Easy to Read trait, if that's relevant.

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq sleeps pleasantly as the doctor sees to him.

(OC: Mark off the meals eaten, fellas. Tariq, roll to see how much HP you recover...)

DAY 62

Tariq continues resting up. (OC: Both rolls succeed, Tariq is at 4 hp.)

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean listens to the mutant, trying to understand the proposed worldview. He has some things to clarify:
1. What does it mean to be "created in the image" of an evil genius? In particular, does it mean having evil tendencies to begin with? How this relates to clearly unhuman physiology?
2. Sean informs that the Old World was apparently split, with some part of it committing high treason against the other, and that's only on this side on the pool. Can it be known who exactly gave and not gave their blessings?
3. What is the nature of the punishment and the plan for imposing it and how did it work over all those years? What those punished are supposed to do after receiving their punishment? Meaning, it's not a capital punishment, right?
4. What "natural world" are we talking about? Something as evolved before year 10000 BCE? Something no more technologically advanced than 10000 BCE? Other criteria? How the clearly recent and artifical mutations fit into the picture?
5. What is their method of ensuring the mutants don't endorse another savage "genius" maybe like that they were imaged after?
6. Given all this seeming hate, how do they manage to coexist with the people of Springfield? Meaning, they share a city, but so far no side seems to have eradicated the other.
7. Can we contact those higher up to have a more coherent talk about our differences?

Sean displays patience, partial disagreement and genuine interest through his Easy to Read trait, if that's relevant.

The mutant answers;
1) The creator cloned himself. All of the Sinful Nature are clones of the creator, albeit with mutations and genetic drift, thankfully. The cloning labs all have his DNA template on file, and that is what they use to make new mutants.
2) The mutant admits he does not know for sure, but the creator HAD to have a lot of support. How else could he set such horridly brilliant feats of science?
3) Humanity did evil when they enabled the creator, so the Sinful Nature must punish them for it. The Sinful Nature have come to the conclusion that the punishment should be death, as the creator's crimes were too grave to be forgiven.
4) The natural world is the world without humanity's interference. The wilderness where no human lives must be protected, with force if necessary.
5) So far, no Sinful Nature clone has ever done so, the issue has never come up.
6) The Sinful Nature tried, but the humans of Springfield pushed them back every time. The attack on the Waffle House was a splinter faction trying to wipe out a settlement so the greater mutant population could gain a foothold in better territory.
7) No. Leadership is a fluid and scattered thing amongst the Sinful Nature. Aside from their shared goals, the mutants rule each other mostly by charismatic mob rulers who direct mere bunches of mutants at a time, who are easily replaced or unfollowed in accordance with the fortunes of war.

The mutant seems deflated and uncomfortable, not used to such intense social contact.

[u-b]

1. Sean inquires how the mutants reason about a modified clone of evil being a model for good. Would not it be better to find someone "provably" good and clone them instead? Or being good is not necessary for one's fight against (other) evil?
2. Sean enquires about the mutant's awareness that the humanity is not a clone of one person, so, even leaving alone culture and education, not everyone is the same. So, even assuming humanity did evil by enabled the creator, not everyone would be neccessarily in favor of it, even if they would be aware of it and capable of doing something. And many things are done by the leaderships without consulting the masses. How do the mutants feel about replacing the leadership only? Maybe with themselves or "good" clones discussed above?
3. How long had the Sinful Nature this goal of imposing the death on the humans? Do they have positive progress so far? Are they noticiably closer to their goal? What must happen, to them and to the world in general, for them to reconsider either the desirability or attainability of this goal?
4. Why do the mutants need a territory? Sean has an impression they do not necessarily need to eat, so not require agriculture or hunting. What purpose would it serve to have control of some territory? In what respects this territory was seen to be "better"?
5. What is planned to happen after all the humans are killed? Do the mutants want to establish a civilization of theirs? Devolve their culture to live naturally as animals? Kill themselves to rid the planet of all possible future sources of evil?
6. What is their take on responsibility and blame? Sean explains that the Old World humans largely had individual responsibility in many matters*, so it was not customary to punish someone for something he had no real influence on committing. There were other concepts of blame, though. Group blame was to some extent used, where a group was often an oganization or a country (the first - mainly for economical matters, and the second - for political and military matters). There was an older practice of family/tribe blame, which involved all three of genetic, cultural and organizational similarity by those committing the acts and those held responsible for them at the time this practice applied. There is also a religious notion of the "original sin" that is supposedly passed down to every new generation and cannot be lifted from those that had no business committing it. The mutants seem to extend the blame to the whole genus, so Sean does like to know if this is a conscious decision and whether the much greater diversity of natural humans relative to clones was taken into account making this decision.
7. Can the order of the eradication be subject of negotiations? Like, coming to an agreement that some humans are more evil than others, then teaming up to eradicate them first, then fighting among ourselves for our lives if, by that time, we are unable to reach a consensus?
8. Is there an idea how the slaver/raider leadership could have influenced the decision of the splinter faction to attack this settlement? Meaning channels, contacts, arguments, etc.

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*I assume Sean's basic education covers that much. We do know today of Ancient Greece, for example. I will edit it if Shelter education in this regerd is in some way limited.