Worse Than the Disease 2 IC

[Volthawk]

A full debriefing could wait, so for now Richard just goes from prisoner to prisoner and confirms their name, grabs a quick summary of who they are and what they're skilled at, and brings up Blackwire to see their reactions. If they have everyone they came for and his quick conversations don't bring up anything of concern, he'll pass that information onto Sean, but if someone's missing he'll try to follow up and ask what happened to them.

[Shoot Da Moon]

A full debriefing could wait, so for now Richard just goes from prisoner to prisoner and confirms their name, grabs a quick summary of who they are and what they're skilled at, and brings up Blackwire to see their reactions. If they have everyone they came for and his quick conversations don't bring up anything of concern, he'll pass that information onto Sean, but if someone's missing he'll try to follow up and ask what happened to them.

The prisoners only give up their names and their rank. Otherwise, they refuse to talk further. Blackwire merely gets them silently glaring.

The exiles load up the vehicles with their loot and people. The freed hostages are grateful for the rescue, and three of them claim to be Blackwire's faithful comrades. They are eager to see him again.

[u-b]

If there are no other suggestions, Sean proceeds with the plan, leading the whole caravan through the night to the Radar Base. Assuming we are not ambushed, we are then to rest for the remainder of the night, all newly-acquired people under guard, but separately so.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The exiles and their allies escort the caravan of people and supplies through the countryside without incident.

It is later that night, perhaps ticking over midnight, when they get back to the radar base, finding that the usual home base staff has been joined by various vagabonds, refugees, wandering merchants and wanna-be mercenaries in a small camp outside the base fences. Having heard of the exiles and their heroics, the motley have set up a friendly pseudo-settlement right nearby to both cater to them and to enjoy some degree of protection.

(OC: New player, this is where you introduce your new PC to the group, joining them properly. All players earn 1 bonus Character Point as a reward for defeating the slavers and saving the hostages.)

The exiles and the radar base staff discuss the situation, for both of them. They bring in the new load of people and things, setting up proper areas for handling them.

[u-b]

Sean wakes up early enough, despite the late arrival. He dumps the barely working radios with Simone, then checks with the staff if there are any news, rumors, or business to attend to.

[JbeJ275]

One of the new arrivals is a man in a long raggedy poncho. He's more eager than most to get inside the gates, looking around eagerly at the storerooms and barracks of th base. He wears a long flimsy coat with a backpack slung over his shoulder behind it, an odd position butnothing more. His face beaars patches of soft greyish hair contrasting with the salt and peper hair on his head, and odd colour on someone who still seems to be rather young. He carried a spear and a net in the caamps, like some sort of schizo-gladiator but has put botth away since arriving. He seems more interested in looking around than tlking to others, but when he hear of Sean's role he still seeks hom out to volunteer his services.

[Shoot Da Moon]

DAY 74

The morning after the action-packed outing is chilly and overcast.

The radar base regulars report in that Blackwire has left a contact incognito with them, he's undercover as a miserable refugee in the outside shanty town right now. Tell him that you've secured the hostages and want to meet up with Blackwire again - he'll handle the prep.

They also report a mass of armed mutants moving from Newport to an unknown destination somewhere in the north, they look like they're on the warpath.

[u-b]

Sean tells the radio ops to arrange a meeting with the mutant contacts in Newport, some time this afternoon. Whether the meeting is arranged or not, sean then goes to Blackwire man to say that a mission is accomplished, but it might take an extra day or two to procure food and water, so we should arrange a meeting with that in mind. He then goes to check the rest of new arrivals to ask if they have needs, wants, skills, desire to join a militia and anything alse that has anything at all to do with Sean here. He says Richard will interview everyone willing to join militia and Sean will try to handle the rest.

When one man in a long raggedy poncho displays too much of a desire to join, Sean decides he can as well take him along for a hunt, because food is definitely on the list of issues and that will give an option to do something useful and chat while the rest of the party sleeps after the long arrival.

"Sean Pires. Sort of in charge here, but we are an anarchy. You willing to join, you come along. Good at hunting?"

Sean Pears is certainly known in the refugee camp in here, even though few, if any, have met him so far. He is well-equipped, and not just by local standards, he is well-equipped, period. A fine rifle with a scope and a strange flashlight under the barrel, light kevlar vest, a visored helmet the man has in hand while talking to people. The whole affair looks about at least as expensive as the whole refugee camp.

[JbeJ275]

”I can hunt. I’m better with a rifle if you got one lying about somewhere. Had to ditch my last one two nights ago. I can still make a pretty good go at it with a spear and net though.”

[Volthawk]

Richard spends his time walking around the camp and the base, talking to everyone he comes across and getting a feel for the kind of people they have here and getting his face known (and hopefully, a good impression of the exiles as people beyond their reputation). If anyone has a problem or request he can deal with, he's happy to hear about it too.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The radar base staff confirm that they'll pass along the messages to the relevant parties.
The techs get busy working the radios. They comment that reports of mutant animals are becoming more common on the airwaves.
The people living outside the radar base are friendly to Richard, they find him easy to trust. They admit that they mostly came here to seek a better life, after their previous settlements failed due to food shortages and raids. They hope things will be better here, and they're all willing to work to make it better.

Sean's attempt to go hunting takes a hour of tracking animals in the wilderness, before he comes across a herd (about ten to twenty) of wild chickens in an abandoned farm. Ramsey comes along with him, keeping in his footsteps.

[u-b]

"Well, I think we should be able to get you a rifle, but now it's time for some other skills..." Sean smirks. "Let's give it a try..."

Spoiler

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Is there a henhouse or some such anywhere in the vicinity? Sean wants to locate the place these chickens call home for the nights and get them in there as "phase A" of the plan.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean does not see any henhouse, but he does spot plenty of signs of a chicken nest in the abandoned barn - lots of feathers, scratches typical of rooster feet, and collected straw gatherings. The chickens probably keep their eggs and resting nests there.

[u-b]

"I think it is too far from the base to use this chicken-barn on the spot, so how about we catch them and take them along? First, we get them inside, carefully, and then you can catch them as you see fit."

Assuming no objections, Sean proceeds to do just that. If that is accomplished, we try to close most or all of the holes and then Ramsey can catch the chickens while Sean either helps or watches any remaining holes.

[Shoot Da Moon]

It takes a good while (OC: 5 minutes x32 = 160 minutes due to extra time taken), but eventually the birds are all herded into the barn and secured inside.

By the end of it, both men are very sick and tired of the sound of clucking and bawking.

[u-b]

"Okay, your turn now. Go ahead!"

[JbeJ275]

Ramsey advances with his nets, bagging one or two of the fowl at a time and steadily growing his collection until they’ve got as many as they can hope to carry.

”Lets head back. I can get back here to grab the rest of them later if need be.”

[Volthawk]

Back at the radar base, Richard thinks over what he's been told in his first pass through the base and settlement. They're willing to work to improve this place, huh? Alright then, it was time to get something organised.

Heading back down to the camp, he now focuses on trying to find out what useful skills the people there have, sorting them in his mind into several categories. He doesn't make any assignments or talk about the categories yet, wanting to see what they have before putting anything into place.
- Skilled workers, people who have the knowledge to help keep whatever they create here going. Medical knowledge is a big one - while quality-wise they'll have to make do with whoever they have, this budding community is going to need some source of medical help going forward (particularly as Richard still wasn't entirely sure that the raider wouldn't try another attack here at some point), and knowing who's capable of patching up minor injuries would just make life easier for them. Beyond that, he's also interested in any skills around making or maintaining things - clothes, tech, vehicles, guns, whatever - so that the community can make better use of what it has got and maybe even set up new things.
- A construction crew - people who can handle tough labour, people who know how to put some kind of structure together, people who know what to look for in the wider world to get the tools and materials they may need, and people who can fix any damage to their shelters through time and wear. They've already put something together themselves, of course, but if this is going to be a permanent settlement they'll need to keep working on it and make it better and larger, particularly since more will probably trickle in as time goes by. While he doesn't mention it at this point, he's also considering the potential for establishing better defences given the fact that they're outside the base here.
- People with field skills, who can go out and do any jobs that need doing away from home, preferably quietly. Hunting is the big thing here - a place like this needs feeding, after all, and bringing in their own food will make life easier in that regard - but he'd also like having a team capable of patrolling a little further out from the radar base given the various threats out there these days - in particular, the rise in the number of mutant animals spurs on this point, as if they can be found and taken out before they get close to the radar base that reduces the risk of them picking off one of the settlers. He does keep an eye out for anyone who seems capable and trustworthy enough to join them in the field when needed, though.
- Fighters, people who don't quite fit into the previous category but still have some combat experience. A settlement needs to be guarded, after all, and those that Richard deems suitable - ie not too unstable, and willing to play by someone else's rules - could be put to use as some kind of organised militia like Sean was suggesting, to protect the place in case trouble comes. He also notes who seems like they could be trusted keep some kind of order inside the camp as well as guard it from outside threats (if they seem receptive to his ideas on the topic, at least - after all, law and order and the role of those who enforce it are things he has a fair few views on, views that are probably a little different from typical wasteland justice).
- Leaders and coordinators, people who can take the system Richard's trying to put into place and keep it functioning. He's planning trying to make the camp a proper community, after all, and that requires people working together and not being entirely self-centered. He'd need people that have some sway among the people here (or enough charisma to make that happen, he supposed) as well as people with the brains to keep things flowing, to ensure that it all doesn't fall apart - particularly given that Richard spends a lot of time away from the base and can't handle it all himself.
- Merchants - they're here already, but Richard takes a little more time to see what exactly they all trade in, and asks around about if they have any established supply lines or sources or if they're just selling what they have. He figures they'll mostly want to operate by themselves, although he makes the suggestion that it'll be in everyone's interest if other settlers get a good deal on the things they need to get this place going, but he still checks in with them since it's important to have a flow of trade around the place. Considering their contacts in the larger settlements already, he also wants to see if anyone's capable of handling any long-term arrangements the exiles may make. He's also curious about their goods for the simple reason that there may be something among the accumulated goods here the exiles could use out there.
- For everyone else, he's still interested in what they're capable of, what they know, and what they can contribute to this place thriving. Everyone's going to need to pitch in somehow if this is going to work - naturally people are going to be able to put in varying amounts, but so long as there's something they can do Richard will be happy. Besides just helping the place work, he also doesn't want anyone going forgotten and starving around here if he can help it. While he's also trying to get hunters sorted out, he also asks around for ideas about alternate food supplies that would work with the environment and climate, and the nature of their past food-related problems - he's noticed how many of them have had troubles problems like this in the past, and wants to avoid that happening here if he can help it.

Partway through the day, he heads to Tariq to pick up his refurbished pistol before swinging by the radar techs. He asks if there have been any updates on the movements of the Newport mutants and requests that they keep track of where mutant animals are being reported, particularly if they're anywhere near here - there's the possibility that the increased numbers have a source, and recording where the reports are coming in may help with tracking that down. He then heads back to the camp to continue his work.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Ramsey and Sean throw the net-sack of chickens over their shoulders and hump it back to the radar base.

In the meantime, Tariq gets to work fixing up gear for hours and Richard does a sweep through the crowd of people.

Richard finds three of the people know enough about first aid and drugs to serve as medics for the base's infirmary, four know about sewing and garment making, one knows about mechanics and fixing things, and almost everyone knows something about scavenging.

He can organize a construction crew from plenty of the refugees - they're all hardy and strong. A few were involved in proper building projects in the past, and remember how to put one brick on top of another.

There's five men and women who know how to hunt, but they'll need gear - and not just guns, either. Maps, proper footwear, camouflage and backpacks are just the start. Scouts can be recruited from the motley, one-eighth of them are experienced in matters of stealth and wilderness.

One quarter of the crowd are reliably combat-capable. They would like to be equipped with armour and firearms, if possible.

Only one or two of the refugees are really good with people and scheduling. They can serve as supervisors and managers.

Merchants are reluctant to "knuckle under" as "citizens" of the exiles' base. They like to roam free on a regular basis. Their sources of goods and supply lines are shaky, thanks to random misfortunes. They get most of their stock from favoured scavengers. The cities already have established merchants who often squeeze them out - but they do have contacts and regular customers spread out over the state. Most of them trade for bullets, food, water and durable gear for everyday tasks.

Tariq gives Richard his gun, the work finished with a remarkable quality. The radar techs report in to Richard that the Newport mutants have managed to travel further north and gotten out of sight of regional scouts for now. New reports of mutant animals are increasing, there's been three settlements that have had contact with them, almost hostile before they were driven off. They seem to be moving west-ward across the state.

[u-b]

Sean dumps a netload of chickens at the refugees, saying he does not care if they eat them or set up a chicken farm. He names the location of the barn, in case anyone would go there to fetch the eggs or what not (maybe even the building itself might be of some use, if for materials).

Sean checks if the Newport WMD-guard mutants are ready to meet us. If they are, he proposes we take a few new men with us to see them in action and go there to return the papers and chat with the mutants about what we have found in them.

The following gear would be provided for the mission to anyone coming with us, including Ramsey:
1. Springfield M1 Garand, .30-06, Fine, TL6
2. Concealable Vest + Anti-Stab Plate
3. Some ammo (at least 50 per person is available).
4. Boots, gloves and/or sharp-protectives if desired.
5. Other things on request and we are specifically collecting the requests.

Sean will check with the merchants for...
1. Any gear requested, but out of our stock (we can pay for it in whatever).
2. Special ammo. Namely starting with APHC and all the way up to APDSDU+P to save us a trip to Gunmetal.

[JbeJ275]

Not wanting to give the elements time to damage their contained haul of chickens and chicken based resources Ramsey empties out his net, then walks out of line of sight camp and ditches his coat. Taking to the air to make a straight line to the barn and back much quicker than he would while walking.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The Newport mutants have left a message to the exiles; they have a small outpost outside the city, where some of their number always stays for patrols and road lookouts. If you want a meeting to talk, it is a slightly shorter trip (5 miles less) than the one from the base to Newport proper. The troops at the outpost will receive your reports and pass along the intelligence.

The merchants have no special ammo on sale, sadly. Gunmetal is where you get that, they're the ones with the best gunsmiths and armourers, after all.

[Volthawk]

Richard's quite happy with the skills he finds among the crowd. He introduces the people with medical skills to each other if they weren't aware of their respective skills and asks them collectively about the state of their supplies and what they'd need to keep the people here in a decent state. He similarly checks with the people with sewing skills and the mechanic for what they'd need to get started. As far as the construction crew goes, he encourages them to check out the barn Sean's talking about to see if they can use the building's materials here, and checks for any tools he can quickly acquire on their behalf before they head out. The hunters and militia are pretty clear on what they want, so he finishes off by updating the managers on the situation before checking on the merchants. Besides checking if they have anything to satisfy the immediate needs of the exiles and the settlement, negotiating the best deal he can, he focuses his attention on confirming their position here. He's fine with their request to be left free to roam and come and go as they like, with the assumption that they'd stop here regularly enough to keep the settlement supplied of course. Richard does have a request for them, though, to pass on anything of interest they hear (either themselves when they roam away from here, or from their scavengers, contacts and customers) to the radar base personnel when they stop by - it might not be helpful, but another source of intel is never a bad idea. If any of them have radios, he gives them the frequency of the base to more easily arrange their business here - and if they have one or more for sale, he considers the value of getting one for the settlement (or maybe more than one to keep in touch with any groups heading out to hunt or scavenge) to provide a more direct link for the merchants and the exiles.

[u-b]

Sean does his best to organize the people before we leave for Newport. He is, at the moment, reluctant to issue high-value gear to the people he has just met, so decides that getting proper militia up to speed will take some time. He can start with all the less-expensive stuff. He hands Richard a load of sharp-protective armor to sell and get the things needed. He also hands a proposed shopping list. The idea is to outfit all eight scouts/hunters and leave some funds at the base under control of the managers to handle the techs, the medics and all running expenses. This includes the techs being tasked with replacing the van's windshield and what not. The managers are to track all the expenses in the notebooks provided.

After all of this is done, Sean outfits three most promising men, including at least one who can drive, with rifles and early concealable vests and takes them with us to a designated place near Newport.

Spoiler

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Selling 10 arms and 10 legs of sharp-protective armor.

Map x2
Compass x2
Notebook x5
Ballpoint Pen x5
Hiking Boots x8
Camouflaged Coat x8
Large Backpack x8
FMJ Rifle Cartridge xNNN

Leaving in two cars. Sean, Richard, Bart, dogs and 3 new men. One of the men picked would be Ramsey.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The would-be medics kindly request a first aid kit for each of them, plus as much bandages and antibiotics as anyone can scrounge up.

The garment makers ask for fabrics, sewing kits and materials.

The mechanic just needs a tool kit, a garage and spare parts or the means to fabricate them.

The construction crew makes a note of the barn, and requests building tools (saws, hammers, nails, bricks, etc.) and wheelbarrows before they head out for the barn.

The merchants have only one radio, but it works. They can provide basic materials right now, but specialised tools will require a few days before they can bring it into the settlement here.

The merchants accept the limb armour, and exchange what they can from their inventories; the maps, the compasses, the notebooks, the pens, the hiking boots, the backpacks, rifle bullets...
The camouflaged coats will need a trip out to Gunmetal, to see a specialist contact and commission the gear.

The men join the exiles on their journey to the meeting place. The drive over to near Newport is smoothly made, but Sean cannot help but notice while he is crossing the state that the road-side scenes have gotten grimmer - in particular, he spots more and more freshly dead people, tore to shreds by animal attacks. At one point, he hears a distant battle, rapid gunshots filling the air.

(OOC: Sean, the time is just after midday...)

[u-b]

Seeing the recent fights as more humans-vs-animals sort, Sean does not fear the gunshots and wastes no time, turning in that direction and driving there without slowing down.

Spoiler

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Richard has rolled +5 on Merchant, but I also need to know how well the traders rolled to assess the exact amount of bullets that we got after the listed purchases.

If that's indeed humans-vs-animals fighting and humans seem not to be slavers or such, driving as close as 20 yards from the nearest animal.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Taking a turn, Sean drives towards the sounds of the fight, he arrives at a clearing with a shack in just under 30 seconds.

What he sees worries him greatly.

Already, he sees four people have been ripped apart by hungry animals, still holding emptied firearms with bullet casings scattered around. They have been swarmed by 16 wolf-like creatures biting the flesh off what they can as five other monsters attack the shack 20 yards away. Three of the larger animals look like horse-sized reptilian quadruped horrors.

A man hiding in the shack is firing out a window at a large beast that's clawing at the barred door. The beast looks like some kind of twisted brown bear. Another bear-thing is charging towards the shack, up an incline.

All around the edges of the clearing, various mutant animals are dead, dying or knocked out from gunshot wounds.

(OC: Sean, do you still have the Flashbacks Disadvantages?)

[u-b]

Sean stops his car facing the shack (and the monsters around). The scene of the massacre is very disturbing and requies a certain amount of confidence in the group's abilities to avoid thinking about the group being next. Sean has that much confidence. Leaving the car to hum on neutral, Sean engages the parking brake [1]. "Out." He then opens the door [2]. The door is now also facing the shack. He then grabs the rifle and gets out of the car [3]. "Mine at the shack." He then aims at the monsters around the shack, planning a burst to hit a number of them without placing any bullets into the shack itself [4+].

Spoiler

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So, that would be at least 4 rounds. Richard is probably doing something similar with his car, maybe taking 1..2 seconds more to end up at the same range. We'll see what happens in that time.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The man in the shack lets off another burst from his gun at the bear-thing...and now he is out of ammo.
The bear-thing by the door is hit by one of the bullets, wounding it severely but it fails to completely knock it out.

The other bear-thing makes it to the shack.

The reptilians all Move 7 yards towards the shack. AT this rate, they'll be right at him in another 1 or 2 seconds.

[Volthawk]

Richard's not particularly afraid of the animals, confident in their skills, so he's quickly out of the car and ready to go, rifle in hand as he runs up to Sean's side. As he does, he gives instructions to one of the men in his car to watch the wolves in case they decide they've had enough of their current meal and want more.

Spoiler

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So in the 4 seconds, assuming one turn's movement gets him to Sean's position, that's Richard next to Sean and ready to fight but with no aiming time yet.