Worse Than the Disease 2 IC

[Volthawk]

With Sean handling cleanup, Richard spends his time among the powerplant fixers, getting to know them and getting his face known in turn - besides just being friendly and hoping to ensure they have a good impression of the exiles beyond their usefulness, he's curious about their plans going forward beyond just getting this place up and running again, and if there's any ways the exiles might be of help now the place is secure (well, will be once Sean is done inside).

[u-b]

Evantually Sean is done here and the party heads to Gunmetal to make the transaction. It might be still some time before the Waffle House people arrive with the major part of our payment, so we can negotiate in person what exactly the locals would consider acceptable. Whatever the outcome of the negotiations, the plan is then to complete the deal and to sit on the radio, listing the settlements that were hit by the mutants, marking them on the map, trying to make some sense of it and choosing one recently attacked, but surviving, settlement, to be our first point of contact.

[Shoot Da Moon]

With Sean handling cleanup, Richard spends his time among the powerplant fixers, getting to know them and getting his face known in turn - besides just being friendly and hoping to ensure they have a good impression of the exiles beyond their usefulness, he's curious about their plans going forward beyond just getting this place up and running again, and if there's any ways the exiles might be of help now the place is secure (well, will be once Sean is done inside).

The fixers marvel at the riverboat - they've never seen one in person before. They expect to be working on restoring the power plant for a solid month, assuming no interruptions. Once they get the power flowing, they should be able to support five to eight counties of the state. They expect Waffle House to become a major player in the region, a sort of new capital for southern Vermont. The restored power would get farming settlements improved substantially, probably enough to rival Bread Basket. Stopping raiders from sabotaging the power plant will be the main mission for the exiles - the plant is a prime target for those slavers and psychos.

Evantually Sean is done here and the party heads to Gunmetal to make the transaction. It might be still some time before the Waffle House people arrive with the major part of our payment, so we can negotiate in person what exactly the locals would consider acceptable. Whatever the outcome of the negotiations, the plan is then to complete the deal and to sit on the radio, listing the settlements that were hit by the mutants, marking them on the map, trying to make some sense of it and choosing one recently attacked, but surviving, settlement, to be our first point of contact.

The couriers with the payment and the goods show up on time, on motorcycles.

Once the deal is complete, Sean gets on the radio and planning out the lay of the land. The attacks all took place around the most northern point of the state. Most of them are towards the eastern half of the north, some near the border. The attacked settlements number 11 in total. According to reports, the attacking force consisted of about 50 people, all of them clad in black cloth and noticeably mutated. They drove motorcycles, used flammable chemicals and poison gas as weapons, did not steal any supplies, started the attack during the darkest hour of the night, weren't hurt much by clubs or fists, swam through large pools of tainted water without a problem, and did not take prisoners.

[u-b]

Sean proposes we complete the transaction (if they won't sell us the mortar, we might be willing to take some tinted TL8 gas masks, or a second high-tech helmet instead), draw a line on the map through all the settlements attacked, in the order they were attacked, to estimate if the attacks are shifting, expanding, centered on a noticiable feature, or something. Then we ride to the last attacked settlement and try to do some tracking while announcing that we are on call in the region for any future attacks.

Spoiler

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The proposed deal is in the doc, with the caveat that if Richard cannot persuade them to sell us the mortar, we will take either gas masks, a second fancy helmet or some ammo instead, depending on availability.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The merchants can't offer the mortar, but they do have gas masks, a helmet and special ammo in stock. They would happily sell them to the exiles.

(OC: Richard, roll Intelligence Analysis skill please.)

[u-b]

After the group is done with the transaction, they drive the cars north to the last settlement to survive an attack. There, Richard is to question the local population while Sean, Bart and the dogs make sense of all the footprints and prepare to lead the way where the mutants have withdawn. Also, is that the same direction as whence they came from?

Spoiler

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This might be quite some distance, so the proposal is that Tariq and Richard drive both cars. Bart is loaded with all slugs this time.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The drive over to the site of the attacks is uneventful but depressing. The exiles find many grim sights at ground zero, from burnt corpses to wrecked living quarters. The few survivors are heavily scarred and frightened. Close to death, even.

(OC: Richard, what skills are you rolling?)

Bart gets to work directing the dogs to track the movements of the violence. The attackers have withdrawn along the roads towards a large Old World city, Newport. Bart says with confidence that the groups of killers have rode motorcycles with no stops along the way.

[Volthawk]

Given the state of the survivors, Richard takes a softer, reassuring tact with them. He tells them who the exiles are, and that they're here to help, and that if there's anything the survivors can remember about the attack, it might be of use to them when they go to deal with the people who did this.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The survivors explain to Richard that the attackers both hit-and-ran on motorcycles with conventional firearms and snuck up on people to spray them with water and throw small jam-tin grenades full of pollen, for some reason.

The guns they used were revolvers and single shotguns. A few on motorcycles had petrol bombs or improvised flamethrowers - they set the biggest buildings on fire.

[u-b]

Sean proposes we get on the radio to ask if affecting people with "water" and pollen happened in the past attacks and/or other occasions before that, and if those affected seem to suffer any effects, either immediately of after some time. Then Sean proposes we head along the trail as far as Newport and hide the cars somewhere in there to follow through the city on foot.

[Volthawk]

While he doesn't bring them up to the settlers themselves, Richard has two theories about the pollen bombs - they already knew that the raiders made mixtures that attracted mutated wildlife to an area, like they did to the Snowbunnies, so this could be a similar idea, or perhaps given that they know mutated plant life exists, the pollen plus water combination was intended to start something growing there in the settlement?

[u-b]

Sean is of the opinion that anything growing on the ground would be easy enough to deal with. It would be more problematic if it grows on people.

Spoiler

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What do we have to roll to follow the trail to Newport assuming the dogs lead?

[Shoot Da Moon]

The rumor mill that Sean contacts on the radio all come up empty. They have never heard of attacks with squirt guns or pollen. Newport is 5 miles away.

Spoiler

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You've already rolled, it's fine. You avoid any random encounters and hazards.

When the exiles arrive in Newport, they find it outwardly uninhabited, an Old World ruin with total area of more than 7 square miles. It's by a lake, and it looks like flooding has taken place. The water goes up to the waist in some areas. The climate is cool and dry with minimal snow. A highway from the Old World, now thoroughly cracked and broken by greenery, leads into the city. The city had a railroad junction and an airport operating Before The Fall. Green hills rise up in the distance outside the city limits and three major bridges have not yet crumbled under the strain of time. Where would the attackers be hiding in this place?

(OC: Any type of building would you like to seek out here? Got an idea for picking up the trail of the attackers?)

[u-b]

Sean would ideally look for some extensive old-world cottage with a garage for two cars, but he is not picky and will use any suitable accomodations to park the two vehicles not too far from each other and out of eyesight of potential passers-by. If and when the flood prevents the dogs from following the trail through the city, he climbs some tree, roof or the like to look through the scope in the direction the trail led so far, looking for any signs of activity or recent maintenance, mainly smoke, after-the-end modifications or people themselves.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean finds a good building to stash the cars easily enough, although securing the doors is harder without good locks. The dogs manage to follow the trail up to a largely flooded district where the motorcycles were apparently taken through the waters. Perhaps they had a barge for floating across?

Sean wisely gets to work climbing to higher ground, the roof of a nearby building via a fire escape with still intact ladders. From the three stories up, he gets a decent view of the terrain before him.

He immediately notices the district has been cleanly looted, to the point of copper wiring pulled out of the walls. Raised platforms and barricades have been constructed out of wood and metal, some structures even appear to be actually crafted rather than simply piled-on junk. Those structures have been erected around chokepoints and the roofs often have lookout campsites and sniper nests overlooking major streets with little cover. Smaller alleyways have been blocked completely by heavy metal obstacles, funneling the way forward into flooded and bare passageways.

Sean can not see any people around.

On the other side of the district, past the heaviest fortifications, is a parking lot where multiple motorcycles are parked and it looks like a tiny shanty town or rest stop shelter has been built around that bike lot for the riders. From there is a well-ridden road into the hills that the bikers must use regularly. Again, no actual people walking around.

[u-b]

Sean continues observing. He estimates the distance from his position to the parking lot with the motorcycles. He counts the motorcycles. He estimates the size (length x width) of the area supposedly held by whomever is holding it, considering the sections of the perimeter that, by their design, seem like they should have been manned. He chooses what seems to be the most prudent "direct" way from "here" to "there", where "there" is somewhere allowing the team to launch an attack on the shanty town near the parking lot. He estimates the depth of the flood on the way, judging by the flooded houses, vehicle carcasses, lamp posts and what not that is near the way. He estimates the team's chances of fighting that way back or forward on foot, if that seems possible. He looks for the barge or the place where it might have been, or should have been, parked. He estimates the road leading into the hills on the other side, the presence or absence of flood on that side, the presence or absece of cover to safely approach to whatever distance from the other side, and the length of the detour to safely get there well around the perimeter and also around the flood. He describes what he sees to Richard and Tariq, who can hear him on the radio, and asks their opinion on the whole affair.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean figures the distance to the parking lot is 200 to 375 yards. He counts six motorcycles in view. The size of the place is approximately one and a half buildings, so 500 square yards of area? Getting from here to there means either bypassing the blockades on the safer passages or somehow making it form one rooftop to the next. The floodwaters are waist-high at the deepest, that's about three feet. Still deep enough to slow travel, drown someone, and dive then swim. He sees no formal hitching post or a dock for a barge. There is no flooding once you get past the parking lot. Not much cover on the road to the hills. Detouring around the flood would require exiting city limits and traveling the highway for two miles (risky if any raiders are patrolling the roads) or climbing up onto the major bridges (hard to do, not much cover on the bridge, long walk).

[u-b]

Since in general the plan is agreed upon and the details can be worked out along the way, Sean leaves his friends on the roof and is on his long way around. He moves mainly from cover to cover, crouching when he has to cross somewhere open, and has the rifle in hand. He reports from time to time until he is either within 30 yards from the buildings around the parking lot (or whatever is the distance to some reasonable cover / concealment) OR notices something interesting.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean is frustrated.

He keeps finding this way and that blocked or flooded by enough that it would make too much noise and leave him a sitting duck if someone saw him wading through it.
He cannot spot anyone lurking around the ground or the rooftops, but he certainly knows people have been securing the streets against scouts such as him.
He only manages to navigate the city well enough to come 20 yards closer to his goal without taking any risks. If he wants to get any closer, he may to take a chance on the unsafe streets or climb up to the roofs or dismantle the barricades.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean tries to go around the flooding, hiking around the city limits for an alternative route. It takes him a hour of getting the lead out just to get lost a few neighborhoods over from where he started.

When Sean stops to rest, he hears the sound of a small group approaching his position and he quickly hides in an abandoned building.

The people coming over turn out to be eight mutated soldiers, each with guns at the ready. They are covering each other's backs and searching the area...

[u-b]

Crouched beside a second-floor window, Sean occasionally peeks at the approaching group. He waits for them to...
1. Move his way. They should be at least within an earshot for the plan to work.
2. Preferably group somewhere away from nearby cover.

While the mutants are moving along, Sean quietly describes the situation over the radio, saying he should have it under control and at most just Tariq should look in his direction while Richard keeps parking lot covered if it comes to shots. If and when the above conditions are met, Sean gets his rifle pointed at the mutants and shouts: "Freeze and talk or we'll kill you!"

Spoiler

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Preferably ~20..30 yards away, but Sean is not picky. Wait combat maneuver to get as many of them as possible if they don't do as they are told. This will allow them active defense, but at least it would be their choice to get dead.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The eight patrollers, at first, just make hand signals to each other as they scan the area for signs of intruders. They methodically check their surroundings as they walk along, apparently searching for someone.

When they get close (within 20 to 30 yards) to Sean's position, each spread out 4 yards between one another, Sean shouts his ultimatum.

None of them panic when they hear Sean. Instead, they tense up and try to locate him. They do not respond to his words yet.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Unwilling to risk much, the patrollers spread out and get behind cover. They do not attack Sean or even locate him.
One of their number, wearing a big badge displaying a red icon on his chest, shouts orders to Sean.
"COME OUT. IDENTIFY YOURSELF. HOLD YOUR FIRE."

[u-b]

Sean gets off the window aperture and shouts his response while "safely" behind the wall. "Not so fast, mister! You have been told to freese, ran for cover, and now you tell me to what? Consider it enough of a goodwill that I have not pulled the trigger! Radar base guys here, namely, Sean Pires! Investigating attacks on the nearby settlements! Know any of that?!" Then he whispers: "Eight. I let them dive for cover. Will see what comes out of it. Stay put for the moment."

[Shoot Da Moon]

The patroller who speaks for the entire eight listens carefully before responding.
"Hello Sean Pires. We are the ones who attacked those people, yes. We attacked them in order to stop their plans for obtaining massively destructive weapons. It was for the defense of the planet that we killed them."

The patroller with the badge steps out from cover. "We have not heard of any radar base or of Sean Pires before now. We understand if you do not approve of our attacks, but we are on a mission handed down to us from the last remnants of the United States federal government. It would be treasonous insubordination to neglect our duty and let the WMDs slip into enemy hands."

[u-b]

Sean listens for the patroller, then listens for any other sounds, like his friends possibly creeping up, takes a quick look outside, then responds. "These are perfectly legitimate concerns and a justifiable course of action provided your intelligence is correct. We do not have sufficient intelligence about the goings on of these small settlements, but we highly suspect they lack sufficient capabilities to make anything nuclear, sufficient-scale chemical, and likely even biological. Did you mean some Old World stock of weapons? How solid is your intelligence?" Sean gives the mutant time to respond. "We request these attacks suspended until a combined team of yours and ours double-checks and confirms the allegations. We will have the survivors of your attacks at our base not far from here available for questioning. Our people there will be informed to await the arrival of your team. Maybe your targeting can be narrowed down a bit. Is this acceptable?"

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean hears no-one approaching his position. He chooses to interpret that as a good sign...

"The Old World weapons exist. I have seen them. We are their guardians. We have reports that people who betrayed the USA are attempting to grab for themselves." The man with the badge explains. "We do not have great intelligence gathering capacities, but we could not take the risk."

The patrollers stay in cover but they do not become hostile as Sean talks.
"We will consider your proposal. I will have to call in to my superiors and get a copy of the reports for you. You may study the intelligence on the threat yourself before you cross-examine the survivors yourself. Is there a way to get a token of your co-operation in this matter as a show of good faith? I will, of course, present my own. The traditional method is a mutual hostage situation - one of yours and one of mine will be disarmed and tied up together at an agreed-upon rally point where both sides have teams on guard."

The patrollers then discuss the matter amongst themselves in code.
"I do not think I can send a team to where you want, but I can set up a meeting with an officer to present our side of the story. Simply conduct your interview of the survivors and record their testimony for now. What do you think, Sean Pires?"

[u-b]

"Hmm. Let's say I know some people who betrayed the USA. They are, can you write that down..." Sean pulls the notebook to read the coordinates "...at XX°XX'N XX°XX'W at some fairly large and well-defended factory. If you don't know about them, you should investigate, we can provide details and further assistance."

"Give me a minute, I have to contact some friends."

Sean quietly describes the mutants' side of the story as Richard and Tariq should have heard his own. He says he is unsure about this hostage proposition, but makes a guess it being described as a "traditional" method leaves things somewhat open for alternative methods. Then he responds to the mutant.

"We are not perfectly comfortable with allocating people hostage, especially in the method of yours, in part because we don't have enough free guards handy to perform round-the-clock duty at yet another location even two at a time. How about we take your info, leave some gear hostage and don't take any of yours. No restrictions on how you guard and store the gear, but its location is to be disclosed on request when we are done with the deal. We can establish a radio channel if you have the equipment. As for the gear to be allocated... we have one pickup truck. Will this do?"

[Shoot Da Moon]

The patrollers huddle and then return to Sean optimistic.

"That deal is acceptable." The man with the badge nods. "We'll get the papers for you."

The patrollers have to assign a runner to fetch the intel. The runner returns with the stack of papers after 30 minutes. They hand them over to Sean.

(OOC: Studying the papers requires an Intelligence Analysis roll. Other skills may also be helpful, what other skills do you have that you'd like to try?)

[u-b]

Sean has to get out of his cover to get those papers, so he does. He takes them and packs them without looking at them. "Follow me." He leads the mutants to the cars and hands them the keys of the pickup truck. "Now take this one and leave. We will soon leave too. We will be back to you, either here or on the radio, when we have something definite to say, which will, hopefully, be soon."

Spoiler

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If it all goes as intended and the mutants leave the immediate surroundings of the parked station wagon taking the pickup with them, Sean says the team that they can get back to the car (presumably requiring no roll to navigate the streets, or Sean would walk to fetch and guide them). When everybody is in, Sean, still on foot, leads the car out of the city, and then we head to the Radar Base (the dogs, presumably, will have to run outside of the crowded car).

Aaand Richard time!

P.S. Do we establish a radio link with these WMD guardians? Any news from Blackwire?