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 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 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
 
 Originally Posted by 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. 
 

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.


 
 Originally Posted by 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 

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 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: everyone eats more meals for the day... 
 

Done.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by 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 

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 

 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 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
 
 Originally Posted by 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. 
 

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.)


 
 Originally Posted by 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 

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 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: Another day's worth of eating. Mark them off. 
 

Done.
 
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
  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
 
 Originally Posted by 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. 
 

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 
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.

 
 Spoiler 
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.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 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
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 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
 
 Originally Posted by 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. 
 

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.

 
 Spoiler 
*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.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The mutant asserts that their status as clones of the creator does not mark them as evil - they DESTROYED the creator, not take after him. If anything, the creator's visage constantly reminds them of the importance of opposing evil. As for cloning another, they know nothing of that particular technology.

The mutant seems ignorant of human culture and society, really. It also knows little of human leadership, come to think of it.

The Sinful Nature have been waging their war on humanity for "decades". The mutant is not sure how the war is going, just that it is not over yet. They'd like humans to leave Vermont or be killed to the last in Vermont, at least. Securing Vermont would keep the entire world from falling to the human evil, at least. The mutant is not sure what could happen to make him change his goal. Whatever made the creator evil, that would have to be removed from the enitre human race.

The Sinful Nature need territory so that the good in the world can be protected from evil by them. They do not need to eat or drink. Good can flourish under their care if evil was driven out of the region.

The Sinful Nature, once they secure the region from the evils of humans, will occupy the region and nurture whatever good they can find. Whatever good remains, it is in danger from humanity. The Sinful Nature will probably simply live as they have done, without the warfare, once humans are out of Vermont. Their culture is communal and harmless, free from evil.

The Sinful Nature believe that good is simply the default and evil takes deliberate effort to attack the world. When one does evil, there is no mistake. They must be punished for doing evil, simply for the sake of protecting good, as all evil threatens good willfully. The mutant knows nothing of this "education" and thinks Sean is lying somehow. It knows very little of countries, organizations, religions, genus and armies. He understands tribes and towns, but not "human diversity".

The mutant does not know if the order is subject to negotiation. Some mutants might negotiate, it guesses, but some is not all. Very little has changed regarding the shared goal of the Sinful Nature since the beginning.

The mutant knows nothing of "raiders" or "slavers". It has never talked to one, or even a human at all, before now.
u-b
Sean was at a loss how this could be salvaged. There just did not seem to be any solid point of contact.  "Say, chap, just  how old  are you? What did you  do  in that isolated hole you've just emerged from? Would you think your faction leader values your faction lives enough to come here and talk?" 
 
 Spoiler 
If Richard has ideas, this might be a good time to try some.
 
Volthawk
Richard was a little stumped too. Ideology like that was a lot harder to deal with than self-interest, mutual betterment, and what Richard believed was most people being basically alright people, particularly when it this...blanket in its applications of good and evil. There was one point that confused him though.  "If good is the default state of the universe, and evil is perpetrated willingly, why are those that you don't know to have committed any evil acts still judged guilty by your people? If it is a matter that a given human may at some point in the future do evil, why do you consider yourself exempt from this? Surely you don't think that mutants are incapable of comitting evil acts - attitudes like that, a total certainty in your own beliefs and your superiority over any others, is precisely what leads to people like your creator arising in human communities."  He doubted that someone like this, a devoted follower of the cause, would be swayed by any of this, but he was curious about how much they actually thought about all this, and how much they just accepted as gospel. On that thought, a memory came to mind.  "On another note, we first met people of the Sinful Nature..a month and a half ago or so. They were suspicious of us at first, seeing us as invading their home, but they were willing to talk and we came to an agreement. They called us non-sinners, and let us stay where we were. They wanted to make sure we were alright people, and given that they left us later that day without any more complaints or attacking us, it seemed like they'd judged us kindly. We didn't even know that humanity as a whole was your target until much more recently. Is the way they acted unusual or normally forbidden for your people, or is there room in your beliefs for humans to be judged good?" 
Shoot Da Moon
The mutant is confused by what Sean and Richard are saying.

It does not know how old it is. It spent most of its free time training for a fight, learning survival skills, engaging in group story telling, and playing with animals. It does not really understand what Sean is getting at when he brings up his leader. The leader does not negotiate - nobody he knows is in charge of negotiating. After all, anyone can talk, right?

Richard gets even more blank stares. As far as he understands, the mutant thinks Richard is arguing good will...eventually lead to the evils of the creator? Did humans not do evil? Has he ever met an evil mutant? Met a good human? He does not think so. Quite frankly, the mutant is not smart to grasp the point.

Richard's account of his brush with friendly mutants is shrugged off. So what if some other people judged them sinless? They're not his people.
u-b
Sean sighs.  "Humans don't always do evil. I'll prove my point. Go think about it, and think about it again next time you are to murder a child. Come back with a white flag if you want more of yours released." 

Sean leads the mutant outside, a bit away from the settlement, and lets him go. He is not sure if this will do any good, but just one extra mutant probably does not increase the world threat level by all that much, so he's willing to risk it. He warns Waffle House people about the mutant possibly returning with a white flag, even though he does not have much hopes. He's ready to hear all the things they would say about the idea, as long as nobody claims he's overstepped his authority.

 
 Spoiler 
Let's spend some more time, shall we? Sean does nothing much. If Bart needs some funds to relax in the settlement, he just has to name the amount.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The other men accept the idea.
They actually have heard accounts of mutants being friendly with normal people.

The mutant, once freed, graciously flees into the wilderness as fast as he can. He seems unsure about what he should do, or how he should feel about Sean and his talk.
Volthawk
Happy that the talk with the mutant ended about as well as he could expect, and thinking over the conversation to figure out if there was anything useful there, Richard returns to work on the bullets - he's a little slower than usual, taking more breaks and enjoying being in a proper settlement, but he figures he has the time for once.
Shoot Da Moon
6 hours of work later, Richard has made 60 match-grade bullets, which should make the killing to come easier.
u-b
Sean first decides he won't do anything useful today, but then he thinks why this would be the case and comes to a conclusion that he does not want to hunt near Shelter 44, Springfield, mutants and all. So he chooses a different approach. He takes Stone's radio, has Richard set it up so that Sean only has to push a button to place a secure call, takes Bart, the dogs, and drives to the Sky Resort, saying to expect him back some time tomorrow. At the Sky Resort he tries to get two men to help and chooses a place somewhere around the mountain where to release the dogs, hoping to shoot, kill and butcher something big enough to worth the trouble.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean makes the drive without trouble, gets two men to help him, lets the dogs lead the way, and finds a good pack of 8 wild dogs to hunt.

(OC: they each have Dodge 10. Your hunting companions have Guns (Rifle)-12 and they do 5d Pi per shot.)
Shoot Da Moon
Sean shots three dogs dead as they get spooked by their own dog companion.

Each dead dog weighs 80 lbs.

(OC: Sean's fellow hunting men also get to take a shot each, as well. Roll for them.)
u-b
Bart and the two local men each take a shot. Sean then tries to get the remaining dogs before they get away. Whatever is the total catch, Sean allocates the local men one dog each and takes the rest for himself, placing them in the pickup truck. He drives everyone back to their base, which is close enough, and says he came here to hunt and share the news. The first part is done for today, so we can proceed about the second. Dining with the local militia, Sean tells about the recent operaton against the raiders' outpost (how it went and that one man got seriously wounded) and the mutants (their attacks on the Waffle House and the retaliation, also the mutants' tough physiology and their resistance to e.g. melee and buckshot attacks). Sean says nothing about Chalmers and his op, nor about the north-western base, nor about the team's further plans, but is otherwise ready to answer the questions. He says he expects the surrounding lands to be calmer, at least in short term, and if the locals can start looking for that vault that is pesumably nearby and if they need any help or have any expectations with regard to the task. Meanwhile, do the locals have any news of their own?

 
 Spoiler 
That's it for today and Sean will go hunt the first thing tomorrow.
 
Shoot Da Moon
All of the wild dogs die as the men continue to open fire and then coup-de-grace the dogs who were merely knocked out. 8 corpses of the dogs are left over, bullet holes in their torsos.

(OC: each dog corpse is 80 lbs., for about 40 meals and weighing 40 lbs., IIRC.)

Back at the ski resort, the men skin and cook the dogs, and dine on their meat that evening. The militia stationed at the resort share that it's been very quiet since the attack that the exiles helped out with. They've focused exclusively on rebuilding the base and repairing gear. They've had the occasional new recruit come in.

After dinner, Sean can take it easy and rest.
Richard hits the hay as the sun goes down.
Tariq goes to sleep feeling better...

 DAY 63 

(OC: mark off meals eaten.)
Everyone wakes up to a clear day.

Richard spends 6 hours making new bullets.

Sean goes hunting at the ski resort area when he gets up. He, Bart, the dogs and whoever he can to come with him all eventually track down a herd of bulls and cows grazing in a lonely field. A quick count puts the herd at 12.
u-b
Sean designates the targets (he gets the the side with the most compact group and everyone else gets the other side, in the ame order as they are themselves positioned), then tries to carefully approach the herd, but not too close as not to alert it prematurely. Then he shoots one long burst, trying to get as many targets as he possibly can.
Volthawk
The bullets handled, Richard turns his attention back to the prisoners, particularly Stone. He spends a few hours questioning the raider leader, focusing his questions on the northern raider holdings. Besides trying to use Stone's knowledge to get information on the layout of said bases and operations, Richard also tries to learn more about the people involved - Richard's investigation of Stone's notes  had already told him that the man hated his northern counterparts and given him a general overview of the kind of people they were, but perhaps Stone could be convinced to elaborate a little more about them.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard's pressure bounces off Stone even after more than a hour.

Sean gets a stoppage and only slaughters five cows, while Bart and the two other men fatally shoot one bovine each. The rest of the herd stampedes away, leaving eight dead huge piles of raw burger behind.

(OC: each cow weighs 1390 lbs.)
u-b
Sean takes his time to clear the stoppage without damagin the gun. It takes a minute for what looks like a simple task, but Sean really does not want to end up with a non-functional gun off the base. It turns out just a shot case failing to extract, which Sean extracts, and the rifle seems to remain in a perfect condition.

The cows seem a perfect match for pickup capacity, if transported one at a time, so Sean estimates getting them anywhere would take a while, as he does not want to risk and overload the pickup, having no ability to fix it. He asks the snowbunnies to guard the location and transports two cows to their base, one at a time. At the base he unloads them saying it is their share and says he will transport the rest to Gunmetal. Also, he asks if the locals would be interested in a similar deal the party has with the Waffle House, namely, to get stuff in exchange for some future repayment in services or such. If so, do they want to get something in particular? Then Sean drives the rest of the corpses all the way to Gunmetal, which is not quite far away, but it's still a number of trips, so might take all day. On the last trip he makes a quick detour to bring local people home and thanks them for their cooperation. In Gunmetal, Sean asks if they will take the whole lot of fresh dog meat and dead cows in their present condition in exchange for adding a trauma plate and some radio detonators to his previous order.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: mark off meals eaten. 
 

Done.

UPD: And I think I'll need to account for the mileage:
1. Waffle House to Sky Resort
2. Sky Resort to Gunmetal and back (11 one-way trips)
3. Gunmetal to Waffle House (today or tomorrow, depending on how late is it now)
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean makes good time on his deliveries of meat.

The folks at Gunmetal are wary of making a deal of "store credit" or whatever, but they certainly accept the dead animals as payment - worth $2 per pound of edible meat as rations.

The people of Gunmetal mostly like the idea of salvage from The Gutter - particularly quality metal for their workshops and factories, and Old World electronics for study. That would be worth "credit".

They add the trauma plate and radio detonator to the order in exchange for the food.

(OC: do you need any help counting the miles?)
u-b
When it starts getting dark, Sean is back to base. He returns the Stone's radio to Waffle House men at the workshop and then parks the car in the party's garage. He shares the news with Richard and Tariq and asks if they have some of their own.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean has to refuel twice, mid-way and in the end, for 4 bullets each time (8 total).
 
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 When it starts getting dark, Sean is back to base. He returns the Stone's radio to Waffle House men at the workshop and then parks the car in the party's garage. He shares the news with Richard and Tariq and asks if they have some of their own.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean has to refuel twice, mid-way and in the end, for 4 bullets each time (8 total).
 
 
 

Tariq replies, " Still convalescing, looking forward to getting out of bed and back into the workshop! "
Shoot Da Moon
Richard tries to crack Stone some more, but finds the scum defiant.

It takes another four hours of badgering him before Richard breaks for the day, having seen the sun go down.

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

Sean is back just in time to go to bed.

(OC: going to the next day?)
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 (OC: going to the next day?) 
 

Sounds good to me.
Shoot Da Moon
 DAY 64 

The exiles all wake up at the remains of the slaver camp, the sun shines brightly in the sky and the winds are chilly.

(OC: if you guy are still waiting on a delivery of stuff you've bought, it arrives today.)
u-b
Sean wants to get the following info out from Stone, for a start:
1. An actual hand-drawn map(s) of the north-western facilities.
2. Some comments.

The map(s) and the comments answer the following questions:
2.1 The number of differents sites in the area.
2.2 The purpose of each site.
2.3 The number of people verious sort at each site (slavers, guards, technicians, etc.).
2.4 Which site is guarded by the tank.
2.5 Whether the tank standing in the open or in a garage or maybe  dug in  to some extent.
2.6 Whether the tank is camouflaged.
2.7 How many men guard the site along with the tant.
2.8 What equipment these men have and use (like, snipers, machine gunners).
2.9 What are the fortifications.
2.10 What buildings are at this particular site (number, purposes, sizes, etc.).
2.11 What would be the distance from the buildings to the outer perimeter of the guarded area.
2.12 What would be the distance from the outer perimeter to bush/forest type of vegatation (both the minimum such distance and the maximum such distance - Sean wants to know both how close he can sneak in and from how far away he can shoot, he's not yet sure what approach would be preferred).
2.13 What traps etc. are employed.

Also, there is a bunch of unrelated questions that either Stone or his papers could answer:
3. Can the groups Stone had under him communicate only with Stone's base and among themselves? Or can their radios reach any other entities, such as the HQ? If so, Sean would like the list of all those entities.
4. What would they most likely do now that Stone is out? Is there a contingency plan? Will they try to do business as usual? Try to move and hide? Something else?
5. How many cars of what types do they have?
6. What is the purpose of moving south for the summer? Are there any specific seasonal dangers to run from?
7. What is known about the situation outside of Vermont? A general picture would suffice. Any interstate war, commerce, or maybe other interaction? Radio contact?
Shoot Da Moon
Stone won't give up any information without some hardcore focused questioning, taking notable time.

(OC: Sean, roll Interrogation skill against Stone's Will 13. The base time for each roll is 1 hour.)
Shoot Da Moon
8 hours of sweaty confrontation later, Stone still does not crack. He is wavering, however.

(OC: Stone wins three of four contests, ties on the last. No information is gotten.)
u-b
Sean attends the interrogations, but otherwise does nothing much. He is not particularly surprised that this Stone is one tough cookie. Given Tariq's condition there seems to be no pressing need to hurry up, so Sean intends to spend another day or two doing the same and see how it goes.
Shoot Da Moon
After a hard but fruitless day of interrogating Stone, the exiles go to bed as the sun sets.

 DAY 65 

The next day is clear and temperate.
Shoot Da Moon
In the next eight hours of interrogation, Stone breaks a bit and reveals information.

Stone has been in contact with groups under him, and those group do not talk to anyone else. He does not trust other field commanders to do their job well enough. Anything those other commanders want with his subordinates, they have to go through him for it.

The men under Stone, now that he is captured, are likely to either drop their flags and run to hiding, or hook up with raider bosses if they can.

Most raiders have only motorcycles, sedans, horses, their own feet, and bicycles to use as transportation. Trucks may be used by certain raiders assigned to supply runs and slave transportation. There are exceptions, of course...

Fleeing south is meant to be a strategic withdrawal from a situation that's gotten too hot. They'll lick their wounds in the south, gather their numbers, build back up, and move back north to fight again when they have the chance.

Stone does not know much about regions outside Vermont, nor does he care. He knows the raiders have training camps and proving grounds down south, where new raiders are somehow recruited or raised, then prepared for their duties.

Stone resists talking about other things.
u-b
Sean is present during all of the interrogation and wants to clarify one thing: whether the withdrawals like this are a regular occurence or this time is somehow different. He is then inclined to let Stone be for the evening and try getting more info from him the next day.
Shoot Da Moon
Judging by how Stone phrases it, Sean thinks that the withdrawal is not a regular thing. It is probably a response to recent events.
Shoot Da Moon
Another slow day down, the exiles turn in and try to dream of better things.

(OC: everyone records the meals eaten, of course.)

 DAY 66 

The morning after their slumber is peaceful and clear.
Volthawk
Thinking over what Stone had told them, Richard gets in touch with his contacts across the settlements again, asking if any of them have contacts or ties to the south - people who might be in the path of the raiders' withdrawal and who might be willing to pass on information if they do see anything of them, or who might need the exiles' help if the raiders' resupplying and regrouping comes at the expense of the locals. While the confirmation that they're having an effect is nice, and fewer raiders operating here was always nice, Richard was still concerned about the longer term situation.

Once he's done talking, he gets back to interrogating Stone, this time staying focused on the matter of the northern base and anything Stone has on it - he was resistant on the topic previously, but Richard really needed to know what they might be heading into if they tried to take the base on.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard's contacts do know a few scattered settlements to the south, even across the Vermont state border. They pass in the message to be on guard against the raiders coming their way. They've already heard reports of highway banditry, so it seems the information is good.

His 8 hours of interrogation hits a breakthrough today.
Stone confesses to some juicy intel.
He draws a basic map of the mining operation and factory.

 
 

According to Stone, there is only a base for the raiders stationed there and their prisoners, other than the factory and mine. The base has living quarters, an amory, mess hall, and other standard areas. The factory is for manufacturing gear and supplies for the raiders region-wide, and the mines are for getting raw metal materials with slave labor. The mine and factory has about 40-90 slaves at any one time, a staff of 100 guards, 20 technicians, 10 officers, and a total 40 of miscellaneous base staff serving them all. The tank mostly guards the factory. The tank is kept in its own separate garage for most of the work day and is scrambled if there is an alarm or substantial corralling of slaves. The tank is not camouflaged. 10 men accompany the tank, the rest of the guards patrol the sites (factory, mine, base) on rotating shifts. The tank has a machine gun, the guards have automatic rifles or shotguns with slugs, a few snipers in high places, body armor, barricades on checkpoints, and searchlights. The sites have metal security doors, checkpoints for pat-downs, holding cells and a big pen for slaves, murder holes, watchtowers, barred windows, stone cover, barrels filled with sand or water, and barricades. The buildings are pretty big, much bigger than any found in the rest of Vermont. The base has four buildings worth of areas, where the raiders sleep and eat when not at work. The entire collection of sites is almost a city in of itself. The outer perimeter is 25 yards from the buildings, but a checkpoint has been set up at the entrance. Woodlands is 20 to 30 yards from the outer perimeter, but the terrain is also rocky and fairly mountainous. The sites have barbed wire fences, flare guns for signaling, alarms, some surveillance cameras, sweeping searchlights and locks.
u-b
Sean adds a few more question for tomorrow's interrogation:
2.14 Judging from the map and accompanying comment, the buildings are just 50 yards from the trees. Does it mean they pretend to be hidden or just are not afraid of anyone coming that close?
2.15 How do they secure the woods? Like, traps, secret snipers camouflaged on the trees, patrols, other stuff? If patrols, how far do they go and how often?
2.16 What is the composition of the perimeter? Solid concrete wall? Low wall of sandbags? Wire fence? Or some other design?
2.17 How many searchlights? Any backup strategy in case those are disabled? Like flare guns maybe or night vision gear?
2.18 How many stories high is the tallest building?
2.19 How Stone expects the base would react to something like artillery fire?
2.20 Where exactly is the tank's garage? What is the garage built of? Does it have anything like windows facing the perimeter?

 
 Spoiler 
I thinks the pics elude us. I'll put them here as URLs:
1.  https://ibb.co/gTkJMdh 
2.  https://ibb.co/3NG0HRX 

Ready for tomorrow.
 
Shoot Da Moon
With that progress made, the exiles turn in as the sun goes down.
(OC: note number of meals eaten.)

 DAY 67 

The next day is pleasantly temperate. Stone is still defiant, despite the cracks in his resistance.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and Richard get more out of Stone.

Stone says most "rabbits" never close to the buildings or the trees - they have men watching the roads a mile away from the place, with strict checkpoints and orders to shoot to kill if they encounter anyone not a part of the army.

The woods are secured by regular patrols, who keep an eye on the local roads up to a mile away. They switch up teams on a weekly shift.

The perimeter is mostly a wire fence with barbed wire, and watched by guards in towers. They also have stone walls and metal gates on buildings and restricted areas.

Eight searchlights. All the guards have flashlights and one in five have flare-guns.

The highest building is three stories high.

Artillery fire is something they are not prepared for.

The tank's garage is half-way between the base and the factory. It's made of concrete, it is probably an Old World structure. It does not have windows.
u-b
Sean can think of no more questions to ask of Stone at the moment. He can think of some to ask of a random mutant guy. It seems the one we let go does not report back, so maybe we should prepare for the worse, if only because we have the time. So, Sean lays out the following proposal for tomorrow:

1. Ask radio guys (or, if they do not know, ask over the radio) if the mutant attacks seem to have stopped. If not, ask how they are localized.
2. Take one random mutant guy and ask him a few things:
2.1 What building(s) in Springfield are in use by the mutants and for what purposes? We do not necessarily disclose that one of those buildings is out, but, if more than one major building is mentioned, try to determine which one of those it was.
2.2 How many mutants are in Springfield and how they interact with other locals?
2.3 What they produce, what they trade for and whom they trade with?
2.4 Where the mutants were produced or born? How quickly did they grow up?
2.5 Are there different kinds of mutants? If so, are they different from the start or are the differences somehow acquired? What kinds of mutants can be named?
2.6 Anything known about mutants/clones attack at Killington Sky Resort?
2.7 Anything to be told about centaur type, other strange types and, especially, the one big guy?
2.8 Any way the mutants interact among themselves, especially long-distance (radio or what not)?
2.9 Anything known about the nanomachine injectors that cause mutations?
Shoot Da Moon
With that planning completed, the exiles can wait out the night.

 DAY 68 

The next day, Sean and Richard get to work.

Asking their contacts on the radio, they learn mutant attacks right now seem to come, usually, from out of entrances to The Gutter, around Newport, and around a mountainside.

The captive mutant refuses to talk. He looks afraid of the exiles.
u-b
Sean would like to know more about the mutants' attacks:
1.1 Total number of attacks recorded. The timing (day / night / either). The composition of the attacking forces (numbers, gear used).
1.2 Their success (both absolute and relative). Number of settlements fallen, people killed, attacks repelled, etc.
1.3 What exactly seems targeted (major / minor settlements, travelers, etc.) and any insights about sanity of those attacks or an overall plan  (we might have to roll something for this) .

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 ...and around a mountainside... 
 

Is this Mount Mansfield we are talking about? How are Red Brick and Bread Basket positioned relative to this?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean would like to know more about the mutants' attacks:
1.1 Total number of attacks recorded. The timing (day / night / either). The composition of the attacking forces (numbers, gear used).
1.2 Their success (both absolute and relative). Number of settlements fallen, people killed, attacks repelled, etc.
1.3 What exactly seems targeted (major / minor settlements, travelers, etc.) and any insights about sanity of those attacks or an overall plan  (we might have to roll something for this) .

 
 Spoiler 

Is this Mount Mansfield we are talking about? How are Red Brick and Bread Basket positioned relative to this?
 
 
 

The mutant attacks have numbered eight so far, mostly at night. Two settlements were destroyed, three were damaged severely enough that their long term survival is in serious doubt, the rest were repelled successfully with only a handful of causalities. A total of 33 people have been killed.

The mutants have mostly targeted settlements with a strong food trade or those dealing in drugs. Travelers have ben picked off opportunistically along the roads. The usual method of attack is simply rushing the front with a wave of enemies on foot backed up by a few enemies on horseback or on motorcycles.

 
 Spoiler 

It is Mount Mansfield, yes. Red Brick and Bread Basket are both west (give or take some north-ish) of that place. About 20 miles and 40 miles respectively, but it's not a straight route.
 


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 2. Take one random mutant guy and ask him a few things:
2.1 What building(s) in Springfield are in use by the mutants and for what purposes? We do not necessarily disclose that one of those buildings is out, but, if more than one major building is mentioned, try to determine which one of those it was.
2.2 How many mutants are in Springfield and how they interact with other locals?
2.3 What they produce, what they trade for and whom they trade with?
2.4 Where the mutants were produced or born? How quickly did they grow up?
2.5 Are there different kinds of mutants? If so, are they different from the start or are the differences somehow acquired? What kinds of mutants can be named?
2.6 Anything known about mutants/clones attack at Killington Sky Resort?
2.7 Anything to be told about centaur type, other strange types and, especially, the one big guy?
2.8 Any way the mutants interact among themselves, especially long-distance (radio or what not)?
2.9 Anything known about the nanomachine injectors that cause mutations? 
 

The mutant captive is easily broken, giving up what he knows.
The mutants in Springfield have a dozen different buildings they've taken as safe places, they often sleep there during the day.
The mutants mostly attack and kill normal humans in Springfield that loiter near the biggest buildings because they are mostly evil drug dealers and bandits. They otherwise stay away from humans, since they are often diseased.
The mutants sometime produce this or that advanced Old World medical drug, so they can secretly trade it to humans outside Springfield for lots of food, in disguise if possible. The buyers for the Old World stuff tells them as little as possible, in return for no questions about the mutants.
The mutants are usually created out of Old World laboratories they guard in secret, highly defended, underground areas. They usually come out of the cloning labs fully grown.
There are plenty of mutants in all sorts of...sorts. The mutant can only tell you that some mutants have multiple heads, multiple legs, wings, webbed feet, weird eyes, flippers, and any number of unusual traits. He understands nothing of the cloning process itself or mutations as a medical condition.
The attack on the ski resort was done by another tribe of mutants, ones trying to secure the southern border from humans.
The centaurs are war leaders of various tribes, directing foot soldiers in attacks. When not fighting, they defer to smarter and stranger mutants. Giant mutants are sometimes seen around the southern border, but the mutant itself has never seen one. Tribes often use the giants as secret weapons against humans with explosives.
The mutants communicate with each other by information couriers making trips around Vermont every 3 months or so.
The mutant assume you mean Old World technology...and he knows little of it. Maybe a mutant running a lab is making it?
u-b
To ask over the radio:
1.4 Would any of the heavily damaged agrarian settlements want to relocate? We can negotiate if they are, and can start negotiating now if they have the radios. What do they need for long term survival besides protection? This offer does not extend to known drug-dealing settlements.
1.5 Would Bread Basket want to chat about the situation, either in person or by radio (we have strong encryption available, so the later should be viable as well)? Maybe they might think they need assistance, desire to post bounties or just comment on the matter...
1.6 We warn Radar Base to watch it at nights, possibly burn fires near the perimeter and have shotguns loaded with slugs.

Assuming it did not take too much time to get the info out of the mutant and we have made lots of rolls, some more questions to ask him today:
2.10 Why do they target settlements with strong food trade? Why do they trade for food? It's not like they have to eat, or have they? Why don't they grow their own instead or hunt for it or something?
2.11 Does this one mutant know the whereabouts of any such secret laboratories? Like maybe the one which he's from? If not, how comes?
2.12 What does he know about that lab, if not the location? Like, how many people were in his batch, how long time per batch, does it seem to be running at full or seriously reduced capacity (and if later, reduced by what), how exactly it's guarded and so on and so forth...
2.13 How comes the mutants avoid diseased humans in Springfield, but not afraid to use The Gutter? Is The Gutter free of disease?
2.14 Do they operate motorcycles and horses through The Gutter?
2.15 Is he aware of any specific reasons to target mountainside and Newport in particular? Any specific reason to start now and not earlier or later? Can he contact the tribe claiming command of the ops in the area? Any relation to the attacks in the south?

Then Sean thinks of one more question:
2.16 How do mutant animals come to be? Are they being fed human corpses?

Aster all of that:
3. Provide Waffle House leadership with all this information and ask if they would like to comment or chat.
Shoot Da Moon
The other end of the radio says to Sean that the survivors of the attacked settlements would love to join up with the exiles, they can go to the radar base and restart their farms and operations there. Food, water, and shelter is what they want most.
Bread Basket can get in contact with the exiles, they have representatives that handle matters with outsiders, the rest of the settlement seems to prefer extensive isolation. Maybe they are shy? They do not need assistance, but they would like to trade their food for other kinds of supplies.
The radar base crew roger that, and double their security.

Attacks on settlements with lots of food discourages the normal humans from sticking around, they won't risk starvation. The mutants mostly steal food to bribe normal humans for various favors or supplies. The mutant himself once got a new gun from a human this way, buying it with a month's worth of rations. Getting food other ways either takes too much time, or exposes them to danger through hunting.
The mutant knows little of the other laboratories. That's by design, they can't risk this knowledge getting out to normal humans.
The lab was being maintained by the smartest mutants he knows, of course. It was protected by the best equipped and best trained warriors. The lab had a huge steel door isolating it from everywhere else. He thinks most batches are ten mutants at a time. Each batch took a month to produce. It might be running at reduced capacity, he does not know. He is not allowed to be near the lab for very long or a lot, the mutants who are tend to be the very best of the batches.
The Gutter is VERY diseased...but the mutant tribal leaders know where you can get anti-biotics for those specific diseases. The labs can make some, and they know a few traders who sell the stuff. And the diseased humans in Springfield tend to act weird and somehow get really good at finding and killing mutants.
The mutants do not bring horses or motorcycles into The Gutter, of course. What a ridiculous question! That's way too dangerous!
The mutant is unfamiliar with the mountainside and Newport. He does not know how to contact the other tribes, that is handled by special members of his tribe. He figures those attacks might be driven by the local humans annoying them.

The mutant shrugs when Sean brings up mutant animals. He thought they might be creations of a lab, or simply the result of animals eating mutants. He thinks most mutated animals like eating people. They certainly like eating mutants unless they are tamed. And no, he does not handle animal taming in his tribe, that's someone else.

The Waffle House leadership is intrigued by the information provided. They want to know more about mutants infiltrating settlements or disguising themselves as normal people. They would like to know the identities of anyone working with mutants, including merchants trading with them.
u-b
Radio communications:
1.7 The survivors would be welcome at the Radar Base. There is food, shelter, and should be enough water. There will be also protection. Sean gives the survivors directions and tells the base to expect arrivals.
1.8 Sean asks if Bread Basket has means to do delivery (after all, food is bulky), if they have any problems / limitations trading directly with Gunmetal and what supplies they would like to get?

Last few of questions to ask of the mutant today:
2.17 Can he name / locate / describe any traders who he know deal with the mutants?
2.18 Can he name / locate / describe any mutants operating in disguise?
2.19 Does he know if Bread Basket is in any way infiltrated? Can he tell about any other settlements? Like, maybe, this one?
Volthawk
As the mutant describes the lab, Richard asks whether the mutant remembered seeing any numbers labelling the lab - a secure location sealed with a thick door made him think Shelter, so it was worth seeing if the mutant knew anything to help inform him one way or another.

The news of survivors coming to the radar base raises Richard's spirits quite a bit, and he asks the guards there to keep in touch as the situation develops and people get settled, and to let them know if any of the newcomers find that something important is missing there. It felt good to be able to provide something to people other than their combat expertise.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 As the mutant describes the lab, Richard asks whether the mutant remembered seeing any numbers labelling the lab - a secure location sealed with a thick door made him think Shelter, so it was worth seeing if the mutant knew anything to help inform him one way or another.

The news of survivors coming to the radar base raises Richard's spirits quite a bit, and he asks the guards there to keep in touch as the situation develops and people get settled, and to let them know if any of the newcomers find that something important is missing there. It felt good to be able to provide something to people other than their combat expertise. 
 

The mutant remembers lots of numbers, but he can't say which ones. It was usually a string of numbers and letters with the occasional dash breaking them up.


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Radio communications:
1.7 The survivors would be welcome at the Radar Base. There is food, shelter, and should be enough water. There will be also protection. Sean gives the survivors directions and tells the base to expect arrivals.
1.8 Sean asks if Bread Basket has means to do delivery (after all, food is bulky), if they have any problems / limitations trading directly with Gunmetal and what supplies they would like to get?

Last few of questions to ask of the mutant today:
2.17 Can he name / locate / describe any traders who he know deal with the mutants?
2.18 Can he name / locate / describe any mutants operating in disguise?
2.19 Does he know if Bread Basket is in any way infiltrated? Can he tell about any other settlements? Like, maybe, this one? 
 

The messages go through over the radio.
The merchants of Bread Basket prefer to trade in person rather than risk a delivery. They can deliver, but they typically only do so for truckloads with armed escorts. Their trade with Gunmetal is mostly limited by The Elders' lack of trust and Bread Basket's policy of "shyness". Bread Basket would like medical supplies, guns, ammo, melee weapons, gadgets, fuel and tools.

The mutant can not talk about traders who deal with mutants, as that was not his job. It was special information, trusted to better mutants than him.
Likewise, the mutant was never authorized to get involved with espionage in any way.
The mutant is certain Bread Basket is safe from mutants, their security and isolation is too tight. As for other settlements, the mutants guesses there's infiltrators in Red Brick. But not this one.
u-b
Sean has no more questions for the mutant and is inclined to call it a day.

 
 Spoiler 
Skipping until the next morning, I guess.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: mark off the meals for the day.)

The exiles leave their captive to his cell and rest for the rest of the day.

The night is peaceful, even with the wolves howling.

 DAY 69 

The exiles wake up and have their breakfast. A few hours later, as they do their morning chores and check the perimeter, a call comes over the radio. It is addressed to the exiles, and it is from a man identifying himself as a former captain of a raider gang. He wants to cut a deal.

The man says his name is Blackwire.
u-b
Sean is not against making a deal with Blackwire as long as it is understood the man will not be trusted anytime soon. He wants to hear what exactly is being proposed.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: mark off the meals for the day. 
 

Done.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Blackwire wants the exiles to help him defect to their side, including safe housing at the radar base. Do that and they’ll get his full co-operation, including his gang fighting for them.

Soon after Blackwire ends his communication, the exiles receive another message. This one is from The Rangers. They demand the exiles do not accept Blackwire's deal, but instead capture him and deliver the raider boss to them. Do this, and The Rangers will allow the exiles to join the militia as full soldiers, with all the privileges of rank that entails.

And still after that, the exiles get a message from Red Brick. It turns out the gang leaders of the city have an alternative offer to Blackwire's as well. The Commission of Red Brick want him tortured and executed instead. Do this, and the exiles will be recognized as a fully established members of any major gang in good standing of Red Brick they wish to join, any boss with a chair on The Commission will welcome them as made men.
u-b
Sean takes some time to discuss the proposals with the companions. Nobody else should be present and Bart is to make sure of that. He states that the options seem to be like following:
1. Accept Blackwire on his terms.
2. Accept Blackwire on different terms.
3. Hand him here.
4. Hand him there.
5. Do nothing.
6. ???

Sean does not like option 1 as proposed (he  said  he is not going to trust the man; housing him at the base should be out of question, even if Waffle House people would choose not to object). Sean also does not want to share the man's reputation, for past and future actions of himself and his gang.

Sean is not sure if option 2 is possible, and if it is possible, what should be the terms. Off the top of his head, Sean can think of only two uses for Blackwire at the moment. One is to put him at the power plant (this will need agreement of power plant people, will not offer solid protection against those going after Blackwire's head  and  is not guaranteed to be a good plan for all the other reasons, but this  is  a plan). The other is to hire Blackwire to defend people against the mutant attacks while housing him  somewhere  (this will offer the man even less protection and Sean is not sure how he could compensate for that, but seems otherwise as foolproof as it gets; might even get him reputation enough for a pardon or something).

Sean does not totally like option 3 as that would mean acquiring a reputation of a traitorous guy. Also this would discourage subsequent defections of other slaver gangs, which Sean sees as a minus. The opportunity to be "full soldier", while it might seem attractive, probably comes with orders and duties, so would severely limit our choices (we are now an independent force and might cease to be such).

Sean does not like option 4, for mostly the same reasons.

Option 5 would mean we pass on all the opportunities, moderately annoy at least two parties and let Blackwire harvest the supplies however he can, so even in that regard is far from ideal, but at least it  is  an option.

Sean welcomes any thoughts or proposals related to the matter.

 
 Spoiler 
Did the messages from Rangers and Red Brick come encrypted? The Rangers do totally have the ability, so might have as well used it. Not so sure about Red Brick - they could have done it too, if they really wanted to, but maybe they chose not to care.
 
Volthawk
Richard's...conflicted about the offer. On the one hand, it really appealed to some parts of his beliefs - the idea that this could end in some kind of peace, that the raiders on the ground could be open to negotiation, hell, just that at least one potential fight can be ended before it begins was a nice thought. However. Richard, being the one who'd spent the most time reading through the intel and talking to their prisoners, was also well aware of the nature of their enemy. They were the ones with proper intelligence networks, the ones with spies and scouts everywhere who'd managed to infiltrate many of the other factions of the region. He wouldn't put it past them to attempt a trick like this, presenting a false defector they could use a double agent and who'd betray the exiles at the worst time - could they really trust the gang to not change sides again at an unknown time in the future, or to use their access to the radar base to pave the way for a successful retaking of the facility, to attack the exiles' support structures like they'd been doing themselves? Richard just wasn't sure. He's also concerned about the gang's future behaviour - the raiders hadn't needed to follow any kind of moral structure or code of behaviour before now, and Richard wouldn't stand for them fighting in the exile's name and acting in the same way. Could they trust the gang to act properly, and not ruin part of what they're building here by bringing disrupute to the exiles' cause?

As far as the offers from their allies goes, Richard instantly dismisses the prospect of taking Red Brick's bargain - he was willing to deal with them to an extent, to ensure the exiles had access to what they needed and to work together against the raiders, but this was a step too far. He wasn't handing a man off to be tortured. No way. Ignoring both Blackwire and their allies didn't seem like much of an option either. The Rangers and their offer, however, gets more consideration from Richard. They were much more like the proper forces of law and order of the old world which he looked up to, and it seemed like they had some kind of sense of justice to them. Blackwire had definitely done enough wrong in his time among the raiders, given the rank he'd reached, that imprisonment would be justified, but he definitely saw what Sean was talking about when it came to their independence (although he reckoned that, given their record so far, it wouldn't be too hard to convince the raiders that they were best left to act as they were now), and the point about their reputation and the prospect of future defections definitely gets him thinking.

After some thought, a potential route comes to mind - a bit of a mixture of their options, albeit with some caveats and necessitating some negotiation. Was there some way of having Blackwire's gang nearby to the radar base, and able to benefit from it's protection and resources, but not fully brought into the fold - a camp within the fence, perhaps? A way to mitigate the potential damage the gang could do if they turned against them but still give them what they need. If they figured that out, then they could potentially negotiate a middle-ground option with the Rangers - Blackwire would stay with the exiles, but a condition of their agreement with the gang would be that they would have to also cooperate with the Rangers and answer any questions they might have. Not quite what anyone wanted in full, but a way that the most people got a little of what they wanted. It was a rough idea at this point, but Richard thought it had potential.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
Did the messages from Rangers and Red Brick come encrypted? The Rangers do totally have the ability, so might have as well used it. Not so sure about Red Brick - they could have done it too, if they really wanted to, but maybe they chose not to care.
 
 
 

(OC: Yes, both messages were encrypted.)
GnomesofZurich2
Tariq, after his long recovery from the sniper's bullet, weighs in. The thought of dealing with a defected, possibly treacherous Blackwire is not appealing, nor is Red Brick's offer. I think either we propose different terms to the Rangers (some reward other than becoming full militia members and compromising our independence), or just pass on the offers.
u-b
Having collected the input, Sean enters the following message for Vermont Rangers:
1. We will make a deal with Blackwire. We have people under attack by the mutants and want to have Blackwire at those mutants as the first task, a probation of sorts.
2. We provide them with another gang leader instead. Namely, with Rex Stone. And with what is left of his gang.
3. We invite them to send a team to have a chat with Blackwire and his men to extract information.
4. We ask them to defer imposing any punishment on Blackwire for as long as he works on our side. Whether he gets an amnesty or exile after the war would depend on his performance and contribution to ending it.
5. We have not yet made this proposal to Blackwire and the terms are not final. We ask The Rangers if the terms as proposed would be acceptable, maybe with some corrections. We don't insist on being joined in as full soldiers under these terms, we would be satisfied enough with maintaining friendly and productive relations.
6. We are ready to take an encrypted voice call to discuss it further.

If he has no objections form neither Richard nor Tariq, he sends this message to Vermont Rangers over an encrypted channel. If they chime in, Richard is to explain our reasoning.
Shoot Da Moon
When they respond with an encrypted message, The Rangers do not seem very pleased with Sean's proposal. They do accept the idea of getting Stone delivered to their clutches, they hate the idea of Blackwire escaping their punishment. Blackwire was directly responsible for several battles that killed Rangers. They do not trust Blackwire to give good intel or make a deal in good faith. As far as they are concerned, killing Blackwire or capturing him for their jail NOW is worth two in the bush, or whatever. They reject the terms, they can still treat the exiles as friendlies, but not full members. They restate their previous terms as their best offer.
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
  They do trust Blackwire to give good intel or make a deal in good faith. 
 

Is that supposed to be, "They do NOT trust Blackwire..."?
u-b
Well, that went as good as it might have been be expected, which is not very good. Sean is not rushing to make an offer to Blackwire, a honest one or otherwise. He asks Richard to get more info. From docs and from Stone himself on these topics:
1. How long ago has Blackwire defected? Assuming it was before we got Stone (this is important), but Sean would like the details.
2. What Blackwire and his gang did before and after the defection? Did he control a territory? If so, which one?
3. What seems to be the reason for defection? Too little pay? Too little hope? Too much work and/or risk? Personal issues maybe? Anything else?
4. What was done about it by his former bosses and why it does not seem to have worked?
5. What was the man's reputation with his superiors and peers? Competence? Reliability? Was he known to be lying?
6. How long ago and under what circumstances he was recruited? His track-record in general and compared to peers?
7. Other Blackwire-related topics that Richard might invent or come across.
8. And, while he is at it, we might try to get some tangentially related info on Blackwire's peers, his bosses, and  Mailer . Anything that can be easily had. Like Mailer's/Shelter's part in this whole business, for one.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by GnomesofZurich2 
 Is that supposed to be, "They do NOT trust Blackwire..."? 
 

(OC: Yes. Fixed.)


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Well, that went as good as it might have been be expected, which is not very good. Sean is not rushing to make an offer to Blackwire, a honest one or otherwise. He asks Richard to get more info. From docs and from Stone himself on these topics:
1. How long ago has Blackwire defected? Assuming it was before we got Stone (this is important), but Sean would like the details.
2. What Blackwire and his gang did before and after the defection? Did he control a territory? If so, which one?
3. What seems to be the reason for defection? Too little pay? Too little hope? Too much work and/or risk? Personal issues maybe? Anything else?
4. What was done about it by his former bosses and why it does not seem to have worked?
5. What was the man's reputation with his superiors and peers? Competence? Reliability? Was he known to be lying?
6. How long ago and under what circumstances he was recruited? His track-record in general and compared to peers?
7. Other Blackwire-related topics that Richard might invent or come across.
8. And, while he is at it, we might try to get some tangentially related info on Blackwire's peers, his bosses, and  Mailer . Anything that can be easily had. Like Mailer's/Shelter's part in this whole business, for one. 
 

Neither the documents nor Stone know anything of Blackwire dropping his flag. It must be a recent development. Stone has never interacted with Blackwire, he just knows OF him, as a gang boss in charge of assassinations and pitched battles against militia.

Stone has never heard of Mailer or the former Shelter of the exiles. He has never set foot in a Shelter, but he thinks the commanders above him are from Shelter 77.
u-b
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 It must be a recent development. ... a gang boss in charge of assassinations ... 
 

Well, those are important news, in Sean's opinion, and might suggest the intent. So, do we get this guy, and, if so, how?
Volthawk
The information about Blackwire's reputation and role has Richard concerned - if this was their enemy trying to infiltrate the exiles with one of their agents, someone with Blackwire's skillset would be their choice. But at the same time, if he was legitimate...an assassin might know a lot of useful information, things that someone with Stone's role might not be privy to. Decisions...

 "Why don't we go to see Blackwire for ourselves? Perhaps it'll make it easier for us to make the proper judgement call if we can actually talk to him face to face, and see what he has to say for himself." 
u-b
Sean responds to Blackwire as follows:
1. We won't  start  the deal by providing the housing, but this can be done.
2. This radio channel is being monitored. Unless Blackwire has a high-rech radio capable of establishing a secure channel over an insecure channel like ours can, we should discuss the details in person.
3. [If no secure communication] The meeting will be near the hideout of Oscar Rex Stone. We will provide the details when Blackwire is there. He is to choose, and announce, the time.
Shoot Da Moon
Blackwire does not have good encrypted communications, so he sets up a face-to-face meeting.

Blackwire can get his gang over to the meeting place near Stone's hideout in three days of travel. He'll need to travel slow and careful to avoid getting caught by those who want him dead.
u-b
We do nothing much for the rest of today. Tomorrow morning Sean plans to operate some radio. The party Sean wants to contact in the morning is the Funny Platoon and the questions he is going to ask are as follows:
1. Have they intercepted the party's comm with Blackwire? If so, have they an approximate location of where he was at the time? Have they intercepted other noteworthy activity from the same general area, even if on different frequencies?
2. We would be very interested in any radio transmissions pertaining Blackwire. In particular, we would like to hear about anything with him on the radio as well as any ongoing effort to to help or hunt Blackwire from yesterday on, including in the future. We kindly ask to be promptly notified about any such stuff.
3. Have they intercepted anything from the subordinates of Oscar Rex Stone? Of particular interest is whether they seem to have moved anywhere since the moment we got their boss, but anything else might be of use. We kindly ask to be promptly notified about any transmission from or to these guys for, say, a week, assuming they are still in the area.

 
 Spoiler 
UPD: Using secure encryption, of cource.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: everyone eats their meals for the day.)

The exiles turn in for the day, and get some sleep. Tariq is no longer aching, but he still has scars where the bullet hit him.

 DAY 70 

The exiles wake up the next morning to rough winds.

Sean gets on the radio and contacts the Funny Platoon.

He learns the Funny Platoon did not intercept communications, they simply learned of Blackwire's efforts through second-hand informants. They figure Blackwire was probably hiding out in the backcountry at the time, near the abandoned farmland along the biggest trails. Activity in general is thick around the area, but no large settlements are there and no reliable intelligence operations are embedded there. Not that Sean would be cleared to know about it if there was.

The Funny Platoon is reluctant to share what they know about Blackwire with the exiles. They simply note that Blackwire is a wanted man, for very good reasons. Lots of people want him dead.

The Funny Platoon share that many of Stone's former subordinates have panicked and scattered since their commander was defeated. Raider bands have dropped their flag or simply fled the region across the border to the south.
u-b
Sean proposal is that we check all the raiders' camps in the region marked as occupied in Stone's papers as of the day we got him. This will achieve two objectives:
1. Make sure the area is secure indeed.
2. Maybe they have left in a hurry and we can scavenge something.

Sean does not insist on taking Tariq with him if the man would prefer to spend the time with his grenade launcher. After all, if the group  does  find an occupied campsite, we can turn back and come another day.
GnomesofZurich2
Well, Tariq is finally at full health, and you had asked him to make some multi-flechette shotgun rounds a month and a half ago IRL (it took that long to heal up, in part thanks to a streak of really bad rolling), so he was going to start with that. What do we have to use for parts? Is it lines 54 and 55 of the spreadsheet?
u-b
Having preliminary information that the gangs have vacated the business, Sean takes most of the party for a ride to visit the sites they have supposedly left. Hopefully, they have left in a hurry, after all they were monitoring Stone's frequency, weren't they? Sean takes some care in case some gangs feel themselves brave enough or have left some surprises.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: everyone eats their meals for the day. 
 

Done.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: each such site is 2dx5 (roll individually for each camp) miles away from Stone's base camp and cabin, if we have not already established the distance. If we have not established the number of camps, let's call it 1d+2 camps on the map.)
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and his comrades drive a decent amount (35 miles) through the wrecked backroads of Vermont to arrive at a raider camp near the power plant.

Being sensible and cautious, Sean has the car camouflaged and slowly sneaks up to the camp on foot. He finds the well-trod camp site is deserted, previously well used by a gang of six, and horse tracks leading into the wilderness. Trash and remains of people living rough litter the area.

A dead body, picked clean by scavengers, was left hanging on a tree. It is mostly naked.

Looks like this site's a dry hole.
u-b
Sean searches the deserted campsite for anything of significance, takes anything of value, then plans to leave for the next site, in some sensible order.

 
 Spoiler 
Rolls in  #947 .

As for the buggy shells, I think if they are clearly identifiable, we just discard them to simplify accounting.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean tosses over a few logs of cut down trees and discovers a box of ammo left behind, no doubt due to severe hurrying.

The box contains 20 pistol bullets, 15 shotgun shells, and 20 rifle cartridges, all of it ready to fire and wrapped up in waterproof plastics.

There is nothing else of any use at this camp site.

(OC: the closest camp site closest to here is now 10 miles away.)
Shoot Da Moon
When Sean drives the car to the next X on the enemy map, he finds what appears to be a small settlement built out of old cars. The rusted out automobiles have been converted to secure people shelters, with raised platforms and barricades on the ground. A large fire pit, black with constant use, is at the center of the camp. In the tree-line, Sean spots four dead people left hanging from branches and well past rotting. The ground has lots of motorcycle tracks tearing up the soil, leading in and out of the camp site.

All is quiet here.
u-b
Having not spotted any guards, Sean leaves Ricahrd and Bart on position where they can observe the settlement, then takes a tour around it to make as sure as possible that it is all clear, there are no bikes and seem to be no people, and that the latest footprints in and out are not too recent. If that is the case, he sneaks in to take a closer look.

 
 Spoiler 
Any signs of continued presence? An antenna or smoke would be those, but there might be others.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Walking through the site is disappointing. There is not sign of recent human activity here. No smoke, no electronic equipment set up (let alone turned on), no food waste, no unfurled sleeping bags...

More horse tracks into the wilderness can be found at the outskirts, near abandoned hitching posts and scraps of hay. All tracks he finds are too old. Blood stains are dried well past brown.

Another dry hole.

(OC: Next closest camp site is 10 miles away.)
u-b
Sean spends one hour searching through the site for anything usable, packs whatever he finds, then drives to next one and follows the standard procedure of camouflaging the car, approaching on foot, and taking a good look through the scope.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's insistence pays off when he discovers a small case left behind, under a car ruin.
Inside the case, there's 4 HMG cartridges and 15 LMG bullets.

Pretty good for a gutted hideout.

Moving on, Sean drives 10 miles, and takes care to camouflage the car before sneaking around. The road to this camp site has been blocked by newly wrecked cars. Sean hears the growls and patting of a wild dog pack around the area as he makes his approach. When he finally gets a good angle on the site, he finds 5 feral canines chewing on corpses in a barren and ruined camp - the fire place still has a few scant embers. Sean counts six dead bodies of raiders still intact enough to be confirmed as freshly dead people. A tipped over and destroyed stagecoach (with no horses) is at the far end of the camp.

(OC: The next unexplored camp is 10 miles away.)
u-b
Having finished preliminary observations, Sean tries to sneak upon the dogs and kill them all, for meat and profit. When all the dogs are dead or away, he proceeds to examine the site, the corpses, their possessions, and also asks for Richard's expert opinion on what might have happened here.

 
 Spoiler 
Who and when might have most recently left the site is of particular interest, but also generally what happened.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean successfully avoids attracting the attention of the dogs and fires a nasty barrage of lead their way, killing them all and wasting only 2 shots in the havoc.

The shots tear through the hounds and leaves them dead on the ground. With the threats taken off the board, Sean and Richard can have a good look at the grisly scene before them. The dog tracks are recent, of course. So are the dead raiders, who all have the black tattoos (the ace of spades, eight of spades, ace of clubs, eight of clubs) on their necks.

The dog were also certainly rabid, foam around their mouth suggesting hydrophobia. The raiders all died of bites to the throat and major veins. They were all carrying small knives, bloodied. They were wearing padded leather armor under cloaks. Tucked into the trousers of one dead raider is an emptied and cheaply made derringer, recently fired. Going through the pockets of the dead, they find a total of 24 pistol bullets, unloaded into guns.

The stagecoach looks like it was sideswiped by a car and then run over - there's nothing left inside it. The two horses galloped off in a panic. Bullets holes from less than 4 hours ago are embedded in the surrounding wood and rock. Spent brass is nowhere to be found.
u-b
The fact that the dogs turned out to be rabid was somewhat disappointing. Sean leaves them when the bullets caught them. He pockets the knives, the bullets and the casings from his own shots. Sean wonders how long ago have the horses ran away, but does not set to track them right away. Instead, he spends one hour to search the site for any valuables while Richard and Bart stand guard. If this ends up without any surprises, the group then sets after the horses - they are presumably herd animals, so probably are to be found together. The dogs are to be let loose by Bart, then followed by Sean while Richard is driving the pickup and Bart rides the pickup in the open to issue any dog-related commands.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: the -4 penalty to Scrounging skill means the roll fails. Sean finds nothing.)

The site is a gross carnival of offal, dirt, bodily waste and small bits of materials. Sean can not scavenge anything useful from the wreck.

Bart's dogs go forth and lead the way through the woods. Sean and his allies follow behind for 30 minutes, until they all arrive at a clearing. There, grazing on fresh grass, are two horses with damaged barding. They certainly have saddles, bits and braces, blinders, reins and all the usual gear you'd put on them for travel. Both horses seem healthy, their manes groomed and their coats a rich brown.
u-b
Sean takes an aim at the horses, but lets Bart try to handle them first, in case they are human-friendly enough (or at least human-tolerant enough) to tie them to the back of the pickup and lead them home.
Shoot Da Moon
Bart approaches the horses and gets them under control, taming them enough that they'll allow Bart to take their reigns.

The exiles can take the animals back to their cars.

(OC: Back to the Waffle House is 35 miles.)

Sean and his comrades make the journey without incident.
u-b
Back at the Waffle House, Sean gets someone competent to appraise the horses - some guys have cared enough to put barding on them, so maybe they are worth more than their meat value. Sean then gets their gear summarily appraised and checks for anything that might be in the saddlebags. With all of this done, he checks back with Tariq to share the news and rest for the evening and night.
Shoot Da Moon
The animal handler at the Waffle House looks the horses over and finds that they're minorly injured but otherwise pretty good draft animals, capable of pulling a coach or cart. Their gear is also up to snuff. The saddlebags contain supplies for the horses - hair brush, feed bags, spare horseshoes, blankets...

Sean checks back with Tariq no problem.

(OC: Richard and Tariq, anything to discuss or get done before the day is done?)
u-b
Sean gets on the radio and:
1. Contacts Gunmetal to check if they have, and will sell, a broken Desert Eagle instead of one of our pre-allocated fully operable sidearms. The motivation stated is that we are low on funds, but should be able to repair the thing. Sean would not be surprised if this "item" is out of stock.
2. Also with gunmetal, checks if they have a stock of cheap and/or broken WWII-grade rifles. Springfield M1 Garand would be ideal and we'd be willing to procure upwards of a dozen.
3. Contacts Chalmers to check if the man has news.

All of the communications should be securely encrypted.

UPD: In the evening, Sean has a chat with power plant people to:
1. Explain them the suituation (mostly "all clear").
2. Give them new ammo instead of conventional shots.
3. Ask if they want additional armed escort (if so, Sean will arrange with Waffle house to provide said escort funded out of our account and partially equipped by us).
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean gets on the radio and:
1. Contacts Gunmetal to check if they have, and will sell, a broken Desert Eagle instead of one of our pre-allocated fully operable sidearms. The motivation stated is that we are low on funds, but should be able to repair the thing. Sean would not be surprised if this "item" is out of stock.
2. Also with gunmetal, checks if they have a stock of cheap and/or broken WWII-grade rifles. Springfield M1 Garand would be ideal and we'd be willing to procure upwards of a dozen.
3. Contacts Chalmers to check if the man has news.

All of the communications should be securely encrypted.

UPD: In the evening, Sean has a chat with power plant people to:
1. Explain them the suituation (mostly "all clear").
2. Give them new ammo instead of conventional shots.
3. Ask if they want additional armed escort (if so, Sean will arrange with Waffle house to provide said escort funded out of our account and partially equipped by us). 
 

The Gunmetal merchants are a little reluctant to sell the exiles a Desert Eagle, as that is a very high tech and powerful pistol...They'll discuss the matter for a hour and then get back to Sean.
(OC: Sean, make a reaction roll at an extra -4.)

In the meantime, they discuss the old rifles in stock. They can sell the exiles 3 semi-junk items, but no more than that. The rifles won't work without getting fixed thanks to broken firing pins and wrecked internal springs, and they're well-worn to the point of needing new parts anyhow.

Chalmers confirms that mutant attacks have been increasing, while raider gangs have been pulling out and breaking off attacks. He claims that one of their patrols discovered multiple raid camps in Newport.

In the evening, Sean gets in touch with the power plant crew. They accept the new ammo shipment, and would prefer an armed escort just in case, thanks.
u-b
Sean defers the negotiations about the  broken  (or  cheap ; I think we can stretch a bit to afford cheap) Desert Eagle to Richard, who would be the one to use it and who's better at talking. Richard is told to mention two horses worth of food if the negotiations don't go as expected, but no sooner than that.

Sean asks Chalmers about the deal with Shelter 43 and progress there, if any. He also asks about those "raid camps" - whose camps they are, are their locations known, will someone do something about that or we better do it ourselves... that sort of thing.

Sean then talks to Waffle House people and asks if they can allocate three men to accompany power plant people. They are free to allocate more, no problem with that, but three is the number we can equip  almost  to our standard and the power plant men will have at least 20 guns among them, so we are talking more about bringing in some qualitative edge. We will be on-call nearby and check the site before everyone is there. The assignment is to last until no longer needed and to be funded from our account with the Waffle House.

 
 Spoiler 
So three cheap broken Springfield M1 Garands for $204 apiece?
 
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 (OC: Richard and Tariq, anything to discuss or get done before the day is done?) 
 

No, Tariq is good for now.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
So three cheap broken Springfield M1 Garands for $204 apiece?
 
 
 

(OC: Yes, 3 cheap broken Springfield M1 Garands for $204 apiece.)

The Gunmetal merchants come around to accepting the deal, they need the food. They offer the exiles a broken Desert Eagle for the rations.

Chalmers simply says the Shelter 43 thing has come to peaceful terms, but the settlement within wants everyone to stay away from the Shelter for now, as part of the accord negotiated. He says the raid camps found had dead and dying mutants left behind by their previous inhabitants. He informs the exiles that the general region around Newport is where such camps were found.

The Waffle House settlement agrees to committing three more men to the power plant workers. They record the account changes.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles welcome the cool night and go to sleep after a satisfying dinner.

 DAY 71 

The exiles wake up to a quiet and cold morning.
u-b
Sean leaves Tariq with his toys and takes the rest of the party to the rest of the raiders' campsites...

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Mark off the meals eaten. 
 

Done.
 
GnomesofZurich2
Tariq spends the day crafting, producing 22 HEDP TL8 rounds, 8 IR illumination flares, a Glock 17, and an upgraded Milkor with 12-shot cylinder in a bit over 6 hours.
Shoot Da Moon
Tariq makes excellent progress, surrounded on all side by spare metal and tools for hours on end. He loves the feel of mechanical weaponry in his fingers.

Sean drives 20 miles from the base to the marked area on the map. The road gets increasingly rough as the trip goes on.

When Sean and his companions get near the site, they leave the car, camouflage it, and start sneaking.

What they find further ahead is a fortified cabin in the middle of a clearing. No sign of an outside campfire, or hanging corpses...

Through the scope, Sean spies two cars - sedans, just his own - parked around the back of the cabin. Both of them look pretty weathered. 6 armed raiders are living in the cabin, casually eating breakfast and carrying guns (zip gun pistols, 2 H&amp;R Model 8 shotguns, and one Winchester Model 92 rifle). There is an bell on a pole next to the cabin, an alarm to be rung by the raiders in case of...well, him.

They're not on alert, but they know enough about guarding that they may spot Sean and his comrades...
(OC: Stealth vs Observation contest tied.)
Indeed, one of the wandering raiders pauses a little, suddenly looking in Sean's direction!
(OC: think fast, Sean, either get your gun out quickly and shoot, or duck and hide NOW. You have not been fully busted yet, but you're in the danger zone.)
u-b
Being crouched, preferably behind some cover and with the rifle in hand, Sean tries to bear the rifle to do real business as fast as he can...

 "Got contact. Release the bastards." *

 
 Spoiler 
*Might be only Richard hears that, depending on the range between Sean and them (which depends on the amount of cover and concealment available).

 Will use extra effort on any active defenses.   Not this round as it was an all-out attack. 
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
*Might be only Richard hears that, depending on the range between Sean and them (which depends on the amount of cover and concealment available).

Will use extra effort on any active defenses.
 
 
 

(OC: Got a throat mike or comms headset equipped? Roll Electronics Operation skill. Alternatively, roll Gestures. -6 Range is correct, as that is the distance you chose for your position.)

Sean breaks the silence with rapid fire. He hits only once. The range, awkward posture and inadvertent cover that some raiders in the cabin have causing the scout to mostly miss.
The man Sean bulls-eyes drops dead without a prayer. The rest are shaken from their morning routine by the hostile action.

(OC: combat time starts. Richard acts next.)
Volthawk
Between the shooting and Sean over the comms, Richard has a pretty good idea what's going on, so he indicates to Bart to follow and let the dogs off the leash as he starts heading to Sean's position.
Shoot Da Moon
Bart the Hunter nods, and drops the leashes while making the command whistles for his dogs.
The dogs receive his crying havoc with gusto, and charges forth towards the enemies.

Speaking of the five raiders, they are surprised and freeze up, but the adrenaline kicks in for all but one. Soon, they will start fighting back.

 TURN 2 

Sean catches his breath as his rifle steadies from the kick of the last second's burst-fire...
u-b
Sean shoots another burst at the men then reloads in an instant.

 
 Spoiler 
No active defense this turn, but with distance, cover and crouching, Sean expects they'll have to spend time to aim.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean nails two of his targets in his lead spraying, both in the belly rather than the heart. One falls down dead, the other is merely dealt an extreme wound...and falls down, out of the fight.

The dogs rush over to Sean's position, eager to help their friend.

(OC: Richard, you can't see the enemy yet?)
Volthawk
Richard keeps moving towards Sean, trying to get eyes on the enemy.
Shoot Da Moon
Bart the Hunter follows Richard's lead, moving with him, gun in hand.

The raiders get the hint and move out of Sean's line of sight, ducking down or running away, into cover. The lone raider still out in the open does not snap out of it. He is left to be picked off by his fellow scum...

 TURN 3 

On that note, Sean has only one target available...
u-b
Overtaken by the dogs on their way to the the raiders, Sean joins the movement, taking a bit to the side from Richard's and Bart's lines of fire, and makes a short burst on the go. He misses, but the bullets fly all around the stunned raider.

 
 Spoiler 
Move a total of 7 yards, of those 5 are forward. The dogs should have overtaken Sean some time about now, but then Sean also moves. If attacked, will dodge with extra effort.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The dogs keep barking and charging as Sean lets loose. The lone exposed raider trembles some more as the bullets fly past him.

(OC: Richard, your turn. Players, do you have orders for Bart the Hunter or the dogs?)
Volthawk
Richard holds his fire as he keeps advancing, instead shouting out  "Surrender! You know you can't win here!" 
Shoot Da Moon
One bad guy breaks, throwing down his gun and raising his hands. He shouts pleas to not hurt him.
Another raider screams and spits, refusing to yield.
The stunned raider drops his gun, falls to his knees and starts crying.

Bart the Hunter takes aim as his dogs get closer to the enemy positions.

 TURN 4 

Sean sees the un-surrendering raider is in good cover 15 yards away.
u-b
 "You two will live."  says Sean as he shoots another burst at another guy, while still on the move.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean moves up to 7 feet (forward and/or to otherwise have a better shot at the fighter) at the cost of another FP. Will use extra effort and drop if he is to dodge.

Bart will watch fot the crying guy to shoot if he does anything inconsistent with surrender. He has been aiming last turn, so that will be aimed shot, if it comes to that. He will call back the dogs if and when we are done with the actual fighting.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's gunfire hits home and shreds the target. The last hostile crumples over, dead.

The dogs bark and growl at the surrendering enemies, keeping them under control.

(OC: combat over.)

The place looks secure now that the raiders are either subdued or given up.
u-b
Sean makes sure the surrendered guys are disarmed and searched, then leads them outside to be guarded by Bart and the dogs. He has a few questions to the prisoners:
1. If we got all the men stationed here or some are currently away.
2. Why haven't they left after their boss got taken out.
3. Did they hook up to a new commander or otherwise what was their plan for future operations.
4. Whether they have received any instructions at all, from anyone on the radio or in person.
5. If they can say anything about the states of any other teams.

While Richard does the interrogations, Sean searches the rest of the bodies and the site for any valuables, especially the weapons, the car keys, the radio and the supplies, but also for anything else. This will take at least four hours.
Shoot Da Moon
The raiders allow themselves to be corralled. But they may not respond well to Richard's interrogation...

The raiders are disarmed and searched, the exiles and Bart find a total of four small knives, 12 black powder paper cartridges, five zip guns, six sets of leather gloves, 2 H&amp;R Model 8 shotguns, 7 shotgun shells, 13 trail rations, six sets of leather torso armor, 20 rifle bullets, one loaded flare gun, six sets of boots, the car keys, and one Winchester Model 92 rifle between all six of them.

There is a small and no-frills radio set up in the cabin, turned off. The cabin is a rather pathetic living space, mostly given over to cramped improvise beds with one private bathroom off to the side. Everything else is in the same space, a chaotic mix of domestic drudgery and planning for violence. The cars are all in bad shape, and packed with a few supplies for the road.

The cars and cabin (in all) have 2 road maps, 20 gallons of fuel in jerry cans, 48 trail rations, 3 whistles, 8 blankets, 2 first aid kits, a stack of firewood, a fishing rod, 4 buckets full of water, cooking instruments, an axe, group basics for camping, 20 full plastic bottles of water, 2 sets of binoculars, 20 black powder paper cartridges, 8 shotgun shells, 10 rifle bullets, and 12 human skulls stripped of flesh and put on display in the cabin's main room.
u-b
Unless Richard's interrogations uncover something  funny , Sean proposes we get the cars, the loot and the prisoner back to base, then visit the last site, approaching it the usual way.
Shoot Da Moon
For the first hour of interrogation, things go poorly. The newly captured raiders simply zone out with tears in their eyes or scream foul language at Richard.

Then Richard makes a breakthrough.

The raiders confess that there are no other men stationed here, just the people the exiles found here. They didn't leave because they were running on food and water, they needed to restock before they could make the journey. No new commander has contacted them yet, they assume chaos has overtaken the chain of command for now, so they decided to regroup at a fall back point across the southern border. No instructions from other raiders have been received since Stone got hit. They suspect the other gangs were killed or captured or simply deserted. They do not care, they were wastes anyway.

The prisoners - the ones who still live - are tied up and are easily escorted back to the exiles' base along with the rest of the spoils. The last X on the map is 25 miles away from the Waffle House.
Shoot Da Moon
After settling the aftermath of the camp encounter, Sean and his comrades drive to the last camp they've heard of, and make excellent time.

Just like the last times, the exiles get out a decent distance away, camouflage their car, and send Sean ahead to scout.

Sean screws up, however. He bumbles into a small flock of birds resting on a nearby fallen log, disturbing them into flying away and squawking loudly. From a small distance away, Sean hears some men shout to each other that something is up here. They are walking towards his position.

In the tiny clearing ahead, Sean spies just under twenty alert raiders, trying to both corral 3 bunches of prisoners (9 people in total) and search caravans full of stuff. He can see 4 people with ready guns (revolvers) coming to investigate the noise he made.
u-b
Sean whispers  "Contact. Incoming. Incoming are yours."  then aims at the largest group of raiders  not  coming after him and, eventually, shoots a long burst.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean would be crouching, but not necessarily behind cover.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The sudden outburst of gunfire fills the air as Sean unleashes his wrath upon the raiders ahead.
He hits 8 of his targets, spending 13 bullets in a big spray.
The assault leaves 5 bad guys dead and 3 enemies knocked out by the severe wounds.
10 are still standing, ready to fight...

(OC:  Combat time starts.  Richard, it is your turn...)
Volthawk
When Sean alerts him to incoming raiders, Richard tells Bart the situation before gets moving towards Sean's position but off a little to one side, trying to get a line on the advancing group before they find Sean.

 
 Spoiler 
Moving up - I suppose the time Sean took to aim and this move, and the fact that they were also moving closer, means Richard might be be able to see the investigating group now? Not sure.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
  
 Spoiler 
Moving up - I suppose the time Sean took to aim and this move, and the fact that they were also moving closer, means Richard might be be able to see the investigating group now? Not sure.
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
Yes, Richard can see the group moving towards him. There is four of them. They're all 15 yards away from Sean, -5 Range. The rest of the raiders are further away, -8 Range penalty.
 


Bart the Hunter keeps up with Richard, the dogs stay close.

The raiders react with vicious violence. The four that are closer open fire - all of them shooting at Sean. Fortunately, at that distance, none of them have the skill to land a shot on the scout. Instead, Sean feels a few bullets whizz by him.

The 6 remaining enemies at the camp site, by the caravans, get nasty. Three fire their guns at prisoners, but only one hits his helpless target, brutally wounding the captive in a potentially lethal manner. The captives scream in horror as their friend goes unconscious and bleeds like a lamb.
The other three reach for grenades in their pockets.

 TURN 2 

Sean is relatively exposed, but he has the range advantage...
u-b
Sean shoots another long burst at the far group of raiders and quickly reloads his rifle preparing for more action.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 There is four of them. They're all 15 yards away from Sean, -5 Range. 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 4 bad guys shooting;
skill 13 -8 Range +1 AoA
(3d6)[8]
(3d6)[7]
(3d6)[7]
(3d6)[10] 
 

I notice some range discrepancy here, even above and beyond the difference between "-5" and "-8". Suppose the main group is some 50 yards away from Sean (in fact, 31+ yards away). Suppose they started towards Sean (1 move), Sean aims and warns Richard, who also takes 1 move, then Sean shoots, then Richard takes another 1 move, then the raiders shoot. This scenario does not bring them in 15 yards from Sean. Any scenario that  does  bring them in 15 yards from Sean would have given Richard considerably more time (at least two more rounds or so). Anyway,  if  they have been AoAing from 15 yards from Sean (and how many yards from Richard?), those sevens would hit even a crouching target and the question becomes whether they have been targeting the torso... Their guns do some solid pi+ damage, and Sean's armor is concealed, so they might as well try not to waste it on the limbs. I'm writing Sean's attacks with this assumption.

Extra effort to reload instantly. Sean will defend himself also using some extra effort (and also drop from what seems to be the  last  attack from this group of four).
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
I notice some range discrepancy here, even above and beyond the difference between "-5" and "-8". Suppose the main group is some 50 yards away from Sean (in fact, 31+ yards away). Suppose they started towards Sean (1 move), Sean aims and warns Richard, who also takes 1 move, then Sean shoots, then Richard takes another 1 move, then the raiders shoot. This scenario does not bring them in 15 yards from Sean. Any scenario that  does  bring them in 15 yards from Sean would have given Richard considerably more time (at least two more rounds or so). Anyway,  if  they have been AoAing from 15 yards from Sean (and how many yards from Richard?), those sevens would hit even a crouching target and the question becomes whether they have been targeting the torso... Their guns do some solid pi+ damage, and Sean's armor is concealed, so they might as well try not to waste it on the limbs. I'm writing Sean's attacks with this assumption.

Extra effort to reload instantly. Sean will defend himself also using some extra effort (and also drop from what seems to be the  last  attack from this group of four).
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
Yeah, you're in the right here. I'm comfortable with still saying the shooters all miss. The reason the group of 4 are closer to Sean (Richard is probably less than 5 yards from Sean, correct? So the Range penalty is only one step worse, I guess.) is because they were patrolling the perimeter when you guys showed up. They were also full Move for multiple turns when alerted. The shooters would be shooting at your torso. I also note you basically chose the Range penalty and distance when Sean first made his attacks (your post specifically said "-8?" Range), I assumed that was you telling me how far from the bad guys Sean would be sneaking. Richard's Move would put him within 10 yards, I assume, when Sean is sneaking and scouting ahead. Although I guess we should work these specifics out when Sean declares he's scouting, in the future.
 


The raiders in the distance hit the dirt as Sean fires at them. Three of them manage to avoid the bullets coming their way, but two take it in the heart. One is knocked out and the second dies. All six of the raiders further away are now face down on the ground.
Volthawk
Needless to say, Richard is not happy at the sight of prisoners being executed, and a not small part of him wants to ignore Sean's plan and put more bullets towards the raiders at the camp, make sure they're dead and can't harm the innocents any more, but he keeps his cool and takes on the closer group, firing a burst at them as he keeps advancing,
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: the closer group is -5 Range. Richard potentially hit with all shots.)
The advancing raiders try to avoid the shots. Only one barely manages to do it. Three suffer a nasty body hit and fall over, down and out.

Bart the Hunter joins in, and fires off a blast at the one who was lucky. Bart clips him, and the pellets strike him in the groin. Ouch!

The dogs charge forth, eager to chew on some throats.

The lone investigating raider, clutching at his groin, throws himself to the ground.
The raiders at the center of the camp (those who AREN'T dead or brutally savaged) continue to lie on the ground, crawling away 1 yard.

 TURN 3 

Sean is pleased to see the enemies have wisely chosen to stop murdering captives...
u-b
 "Admit you have lost, throw your hands up!"  shouts Sean aiming at one of the remaining raiders, specifically at one he thinks could soon get out of sight.
Shoot Da Moon
To his horror, Sean realizes the 3 men who pulled out grenades have pulled their pins and they're now on a fuse!

(OC: Sean has Aimed, Richard's turn now.)
Volthawk
Still walking towards the last of the investigating raiders, Richard calls out  "How about you? Had enough? Surrender!" 
u-b
The dogs close on the man that Bart has just shot while Bart himself aims at one of the grenadiers that is further away from the civilians.
Shoot Da Moon
Bart the Hunter aims his shotgun as two raiders (one grenadier and the closer survivor with a pellet in his private parts) take Richard's advice and surrender, throwing up their hands. The surrendering grenadier lets go of his explosives and lets it roll a bit on the ground, indifferent to the threat to his own life.

The other two, however, scream defiantly that the exiles will have to kill them both. One throws his grenade at the prisoners' pen, the other prepares to throw his grenade at the exiles. The toss goes wide, 3 yards to the right. The merchants, bound in their pen, freak out all the same.

 TURN 4 

Sean knows the fuses can't be anymore than 2 or 3 seconds now...
u-b
Sean lets the surrendering man be and shoots a long burst at the other two, mostly at the one still with the grenade.

 
 Spoiler 
Let's say 9 bullets + 2 wasted + 1 bullet?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean lets the surrendering man be and shoots a long burst at the other two, mostly at the one still with the grenade.

 
 Spoiler 
Let's say 9 bullets + 2 wasted + 1 bullet?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
No, waste no bullets, they're crawling side-by-side. Just spend 9 on the attack.
 


Sean's attack complies with the demands of the two defiant raiders - they both suffer a lethal injury courtesy of the automatic rifle.

(OC:  Combat over.  But think fast, the grenades are still live!)

As the blood sprays out from the raiders, the grenades continue to count down...The captives are too restrained to get away from the grenade near them, the surrendering raider does not move, and several raiders are not even conscious.
u-b
 "Everyone duck away from the grenades!"  Sean aims at the grenade closest to the captives and ignores the other two. He could do only so much, and he hoped what he does would have the desired effect.

Bart makes the dogs accept the nearest man's surrender and aims at another surrendered man just in case.

 
 Spoiler 
Shoot if I have to, as per the dice thread.
 
Volthawk
Knowing that Sean's a better shot and trusting him to handle his part, Richard gets closer to the captives - they might not be able to escape before the grenades go off, but if they survive he wants to be able to get to them as quickly as possible.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean lets loose in a desperate attempt to wreck the grenade before it explodes.

For a moment, no-one is sure if he managed it...

Until the grenade at the feet of a surrendered raider  and the one in the dead raider's hand both blow up, and the one Sean fired at does not. As he recovers form the recoil, Sean sees the grenade he shot at was torn up by the bullets.

The dogs panic and run back to Bart as the explosions go off, the injured raiders and the one surrendering at the camp are caught in the double blasts, killing them all. Dirt and pebbles fly and rain down. Only the man who has hit in the groin remains alive. The three besides him are near death, bleeding heavily.

The merchants held in the slave pens are not harmed by the blasts. But one is also in critical condition.

 (OC: all Player Characters are rewarded with 2 bonus Character Points.) 
u-b
 "Richard, you make that man hand over a first aid kit! Bart, you go to the car to fetch ours!" 

Sean then takes the lockpicks and tries to free the captives. It takes some time, but eventually the lock is unlocked and a first aid kit is produced. Sean does no better job at bandaging than anyone else would, but at least the man will live. After that, while Richard collects the stories from the captives and the raider guy, and also wishes / requests from the captives only, Sean goes all over the area to search for useble stuff.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 BTW, you should heal the injured merchant if you can, because I think at least one of you has the Guilt Complex disadvantage.
Freeing the merchants from the prison goes without saying. 
 

Yeah, Sean was planning to do exactly that, though for reasons of some inexcusable oversight, that is more problematic than it could have been...
 
Shoot Da Moon
The injured merchant is still unconscious, and will need to spend a lot time recovering.
The prisoners are freed from the cages. They hurry to check on their caravans full of possessions and inventory stock.
The 4 captive raiders have concealable torso vests on under their shirts, and Colt .45 SAA revolvers in their hands. Pistol bullets gathered from their guns and pockets totals 37.

(OC: The concealable vests are DR 12/5* for the torso.)

The other raiders were blasted by the grenades, and their gear is thoroughly ruined - it seems their ammo cooked off. Nasty way to go. Lot of twisted metal and shredded fabrics. The food's wasted. Camping gear's wrecked. Bottles of booze started a small fire. Blood everywhere.

The raiders have no radio at their camp site. The merchants explain that the gang stumbled upon their own journey two days ago, and got forced into the restraints. The initial gunfight destroyed most of the raider's equipment when a stray shot hit explosives carried by an unlucky raider. They say two more gangs met up with and joined the raiders who grabbed them, in the time between now and then.
u-b
Sean lets the merchants check their possessions. He is in no hurry. Eventually, he sets to talk to some of their lot.

 "Now, gentlemen,  I'm sorry about your wounded friend, but overall, I'd say you got out of this well enough, assuming your stuff is in order. Your caravan belongs to you, and you yourselves also belong to you. That said, we don't get paid by any form of taxes and would like to know if you would like to negotiate some entirely voluntary reward for our rescue services. If you do, my friend Richard will work with you on the details. If you don't I will be disappointed." 

Sean does not say what, if anything, he would do if/when he will be disappointed, but he did say the reward should be "entirely voluntary", didn't he?

Sean lets Richard negotiate the details, and walks away to get the car on the site. While at it, he describes over the helmet-mounted radio the parameters of the deal he is expectimg to make. The loot from the raiders is ours. Not negotiable. The caravan and the wares is theirs. We want something in between the following endpoints: (A) ten percent of the total value of the caravan, including the wares and the transportation, (B) zero percent, but they procure some amount of sufficiently exotic and sufficiently expensive goods for us, paid by us at par. If they do not agree to something of that order, we walk away, but we will spread the word.

 
 Spoiler 
Things of particular interest:
1. Shots and/or medicines against typical Gutter diseases and/or non-dexterity-limiting NBC suits. The later would be TL9, but so are the nanomachines, so we  might  be in luck. If they have it all, we'll buy at  their  price and express many thanks.
2. A TL8 video surveillance drone set, like  this  one.
3. A TL8 radio surveillance receiver set.
4. A TL8 notebook computer and software to use with #2 and #3.
5. Other stuff might be considered.
 
Volthawk
Richard...isn't entirely comfortable with Sean's plan (and he's bad enough at bluffing that the merchants can probably tell), so when he talks to the merchants he leans his arguments more towards the potential for a good-value trade deal - besides the fact that the exiles are always looking for newer and better equipment in the field (he emphasises the things Sean's specifically looking for, seeing if they have them or know where to get them) and have enough barter goods for anything of interest the merchants may have, he also talks about the radar base and the people settling there, suggesting that if a good deal could be struck between the exiles and the merchants a good word could be put in for them at the base, opening up a new potentially valuable revenue source for the merchants. The idea isn't just for the merchants' benefit, of course, as Richard sees quite a bit of value in the notion of getting smaller merchant groups to include the base in their routes, but naturally his pitch focuses on the value of the contact to the merchants.

He won't say no to a reward here and now if they are willing, and it'd be an excellent source of goodwill, but he doesn't reinforce Sean's implications there, presenting himself as genuinely appreciating any support for the campaign against the raiders and trying to appeal to their better natures and the idea that the exiles are working to stop what happened here from continuing (although he does take the point of the raider's things being the exiles' property now as a given). He also asks about the merchants' needs and if there was anything more the exiles could do for them - naturally, any material needs or further work for the exiles would need recompense, worked into any greater deal established, but Richard is confident that something can be worked out that is (while probably advantageous to the exiles) a good deal for everyone involved.

 
 Spoiler 

GM, should this be a reaction roll, a Merchant roll, or both
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean lets the merchants check their possessions. He is in no hurry. Eventually, he sets to talk to some of their lot.

 "Now, gentlemen,  I'm sorry about your wounded friend, but overall, I'd say you got out of this well enough, assuming your stuff is in order. Your caravan belongs to you, and you yourselves also belong to you. That said, we don't get paid by any form of taxes and would like to know if you would like to negotiate some entirely voluntary reward for our rescue services. If you do, my friend Richard will work with you on the details. If you don't I will be disappointed." 

Sean does not say what, if anything, he would do if/when he will be disappointed, but he did say the reward should be "entirely voluntary", didn't he?

Sean lets Richard negotiate the details, and walks away to get the car on the site. While at it, he describes over the helmet-mounted radio the parameters of the deal he is expectimg to make. The loot from the raiders is ours. Not negotiable. The caravan and the wares is theirs. We want something in between the following endpoints: (A) ten percent of the total value of the caravan, including the wares and the transportation, (B) zero percent, but they procure some amount of sufficiently exotic and sufficiently expensive goods for us, paid by us at par. If they do not agree to something of that order, we walk away, but we will spread the word.

 
 Spoiler 
Things of particular interest:
1. Shots and/or medicines against typical Gutter diseases and/or non-dexterity-limiting NBC suits. The later would be TL9, but so are the nanomachines, so we  might  be in luck. If they have it all, we'll buy at  their  price and express many thanks.
2. A TL8 video surveillance drone set, like  this  one.
3. A TL8 radio surveillance receiver set.
4. A TL8 notebook computer and software to use with #2 and #3.
5. Other stuff might be considered.
 
 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Richard...isn't entirely comfortable with Sean's plan (and he's bad enough at bluffing that the merchants can probably tell), so when he talks to the merchants he leans his arguments more towards the potential for a good-value trade deal - besides the fact that the exiles are always looking for newer and better equipment in the field (he emphasises the things Sean's specifically looking for, seeing if they have them or know where to get them) and have enough barter goods for anything of interest the merchants may have, he also talks about the radar base and the people settling there, suggesting that if a good deal could be struck between the exiles and the merchants a good word could be put in for them at the base, opening up a new potentially valuable revenue source for the merchants. The idea isn't just for the merchants' benefit, of course, as Richard sees quite a bit of value in the notion of getting smaller merchant groups to include the base in their routes, but naturally his pitch focuses on the value of the contact to the merchants.

He won't say no to a reward here and now if they are willing, and it'd be an excellent source of goodwill, but he doesn't reinforce Sean's implications there, presenting himself as genuinely appreciating any support for the campaign against the raiders and trying to appeal to their better natures and the idea that the exiles are working to stop what happened here from continuing (although he does take the point of the raider's things being the exiles' property now as a given). He also asks about the merchants' needs and if there was anything more the exiles could do for them - naturally, any material needs or further work for the exiles would need recompense, worked into any greater deal established, but Richard is confident that something can be worked out that is (while probably advantageous to the exiles) a good deal for everyone involved.

 
 Spoiler 

GM, should this be a reaction roll, a Merchant roll, or both
 
 
 

The merchants talk amongst themselves before they turn back to Richard with smiles on their faces.
"Well, we have rifle bullets and magazines to hold them in. They have plenty of bottled water, clean and fresh. Would you like that stuff as your reward for helping us? We have antibiotics that can help with exploring The Gutter, it's been proven, you can have some for free. We don't have any advanced Old World technology on us now, but we do know other merchants squatting at our shared hideout in the mountains that can sell you the stuff. It'll take time, but we can arrange a deal with Mary that scores you the gear. She has a small computer, radios, video surveillance gear, a few other electronics gadgets..."

The merchants take 300 rifle bullets, 10 gun magazines, 60 bottles of water and 12 doses of antibiotics out of the caravans' stocks, and offer the lot of it to the exiles. They ask if the exiles would like different types of bullets instead of the rifle rounds?
u-b
When Sean is back with the car and learns the details of the deal, he seems quite satisfied. The immediate reward is good enough, and a proven medicine would be very good too, but the prospective deal with that Mary is what Sean is really after. He carefully examines the antibiotics, comparing them to what he purchased earlier and asking the merchants whether they know if those other brands also work, and how common would be the diseases that even this stuff is ineffective against (like some mega-flu or suchlike). As for the deal with Mary, Sean would like to procure  a full-blown quad-copter kit right away (a "takes time" sense of "right away" is acceptable) for the cost of about one car, plus or mius some stuff. We will buy the radios and the computer at some later time as a separate transaction. If this hideout is hidden, do they run the delivery? Sean would like the delivery to Waffle House and there would transfer the car. The car is right there at the moment and will be designated for this deal. Sean asks to be notified over the radio if there is any change of plans. Speaking of radios, do the merchants want to buy one? Sean has one spare. Also, if their base is active on the radio, Sean would like to be given the contacts for future communications. We can communicate encrypted, so this won't give away all too much.

After all the negotiations are complete, Sean drives the party and the POWs back to Waffle House and starts to prepare for tomorrow's trip to the power plant.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean has some antibiotics from HT226 and some antibiotics from B289 and he checks if these are some of those or different.

Anything better than 60% and they can have a small TL7 thing right now. They probably don't need one  in general  (as the hideout hosts some), but if they don't have one  with them , might be worth striking a deal.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 When Sean is back with the car and learns the details of the deal, he seems quite satisfied. The immediate reward is good enough, and a proven medicine would be very good too, but the prospective deal with that Mary is what Sean is really after. He carefully examines the antibiotics, comparing them to what he purchased earlier and asking the merchants whether they know if those other brands also work, and how common would be the diseases that even this stuff is ineffective against (like some mega-flu or suchlike). As for the deal with Mary, Sean would like to procure  a full-blown quad-copter kit right away (a "takes time" sense of "right away" is acceptable) for the cost of about one car, plus or mius some stuff. We will buy the radios and the computer at some later time as a separate transaction. If this hideout is hidden, do they run the delivery? Sean would like the delivery to Waffle House and there would transfer the car. The car is right there at the moment and will be designated for this deal. Sean asks to be notified over the radio if there is any change of plans. Speaking of radios, do the merchants want to buy one? Sean has one spare. Also, if their base is active on the radio, Sean would like to be given the contacts for future communications. We can communicate encrypted, so this won't give away all too much.

After all the negotiations are complete, Sean drives the party and the POWs back to Waffle House and starts to prepare for tomorrow's trip to the power plant.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean has some antibiotics from HT226 and some antibiotics from B289 and he checks if these are some of those or different.

Anything better than 60% and they can have a small TL7 thing right now. They probably don't need one  in general  (as the hideout hosts some), but if they don't have one  with them , might be worth striking a deal.
 
 
 

The merchants change out 80 rifle bullets for APHC pistol rounds. They promise to contact Mary, who will contact the exiles via their radio frequency, she has a full dedicated staff for deliveries and money transactions. They can definitely handle journeying to the Waffle House and make the trade. Expect her radioing you in the near future.

 
 Spoiler 
The antibiotics are as per HT226.
 


The merchants comment that they've heard of Old World nanotech medicine that can completely prevent infections from wounds AND all diseases with only a few side effects, but they've only seen such wonders a few times, sold by a big shot merchant who only deals in Red Brick. The same guy also sold another type of nanotech med, that dramatically speeds up the body's natural healing, at the cost of increased consumption for the patient.

The merchants are willing to buy a radio from Sean. They offer 70% of the item's full value, what say you?

The merchants swap contact numbers.

The car is somewhat cramped as the exiles drive back to Waffle House. They eat their meals for the day as they get back in touch with Tariq and their allies. The rest of the day goes by smoothly, even when it rains during the night.

(OC: everyone eat meals.)

 DAY 72 

The next day is still lightly rainy.
u-b
In the morning, Sean gets everything ready to leave for the power plant. The plan is to take two cars (the station wagon and the pickup), overtake the caravan, then park / camouflage the cars and approach on foot just as usual.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: everyone eat meals. 
 

Done.

Yes, we trade the radio. We are willing to take in return any and all of the following (will pay or get paid for the difference in bullets or such):
1. Crash kit, at $3200
2. Dark 'military' sneakers, at $160
3. Simple camouflage clothing, at $480
4. Basic camouflage net (woodlands), x3 at $320 each

We will use any gear we buy. The bonuses are not included in the rolls as I'm not sure about what would be available. Also, upgrading Bart to wear a better vest.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 In the morning, Sean gets everything ready to leave for the power plant. The plan is to take two cars (the station wagon and the pickup), overtake the caravan, then park / camouflage the cars and approach on foot just as usual.

 
 Spoiler 

Done.

Yes, we trade the radio. We are willing to take in return any and all of the following (will pay or get paid for the difference in bullets or such):
1. Crash kit, at $3200
2. Dark 'military' sneakers, at $160
3. Simple camouflage clothing, at $480
4. Basic camouflage net (woodlands), x3 at $320 each

We will use any gear we buy. The bonuses are not included in the rolls as I'm not sure about what would be available. Also, upgrading Bart to wear a better vest.
 
 
 

Sean and his allies can easily outride the caravan. It is still faintly raining when they arrive at their destination. Approaching the power plant, however, reveals the job is going to be rougher than expected - Sean spies eight winged humanoids flying around the power plant's outside, all of them packing heat. It seems they are patrolling the area.

(OC: How far from the power plant's front entrance do you wish to be (where most of the enemies are), Sean? 20 yards? 30 yards? Your comrades are further back than that, at least 5 yards.)

Despite the drizzle, there are three burning car wrecks around the front entrance of the power plant. Three large packs of mutated hounds (5 to a pack) are being roughly led by familiar armed guards. The goons are bizarrely twisted, with gross facial features and discolored skin. The Sinful Nature are staking out this place. Most of them are carrying pistols or axes, the fliers have shotguns. Sean counts five of them. One of them is stationed atop a rickety wooden platform, built out of stacked furniture and a ladder, keeping an elevated position. The last lone guard is standing right at the door to the power plant, alone, 3 yards from anyone else.

(OC: Range penalty could be -4 to -7, depending on how close Sean wants to get. The fliers have an extra -2 to their Range penalty, because they're in the air. The raised platform also gives the guard (4 yards away from the nearest pack) on it +2 for him and -2 to target him. The three packs of dogs are 3 yards apart each, with one guard each directing it - no bullets wasted if a burst targets JUST a single pack. You will waste bullets in a burst if you target more than one pack or the fliers, 3 rounds. The lone guards plus anyone else in a single burst means 1 wasted bullet.)

They're all on watch, but not alerted to the exiles' presence and none of them are in cover. Yet.

 
 Spoiler 
You can buy the crash kit, the dark sneakers, the simple camouflage and the camouflage net. They're all available for purchase. You choice of shotgun shells, pistol bullets, rifle rounds and SMG bullets can make up the difference.
 
u-b
Crouching behind some appropriately-sized tree, Sean observes, and describes, the scenery. He is not sure what to make out of this. The mutants, who supposedly shun all technology, occupying a power plant? The level of due diligence of their, can we say, "employers"? The burning cars... any signs of a recent fight anywhere around? Tracks, corpses or such?

Sean whispers to Richard over the radio:  "I am not sure we can survive failing the negotiations. So, shall we attack? If so, I take the fliers, yours are the right bunch, but please start with the lone guy near the entrance. Tariq should place two or three grenades centered at the central bunch, which would also hit the other bunches with fragmentation. Bart loads a slug in the chamber and targets the guy on the platform." 
 
 Spoiler 
Let's say Sean is 20 yards away for -6 range penalty and the rest of the group is 30 yards away for -7 range penalty.


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 You can buy the crash kit, the dark sneakers, the simple camouflage and the camouflage net. They're all available for purchase. You choice of shotgun shells, pistol bullets, rifle rounds and SMG bullets can make up the difference. 
 

Sean will buy  three  camouflage nets, if they have that many. The whole transaction then would be as follows:

+2800 Small radio
+2000 Rifle cartridge x200
-3200 Crash kit
-160 Dark 'military' sneakers
-480 Simple camouflage clothing
-960 Basic camouflage net (woodlands) x3

I will update and send you the sheet.
 
Volthawk
From his own cover, Richard looks over the scene in front of them and frowns, before responding to Sean.  "Yeah. A big group like this will probably be more entrenched in their views than the small group we were able to negotiate with before. Particularly if they had to kill the previous occupants to get hold of the place. They're not going to make a deal with a group of "sinners" like us that we'll like. Shame. Haven't figured out the right way to deal with them yet."  He sighs, getting his rifle ready for the fight and starting to aim at his target.  "I'm ready to go on your mark." 
u-b
Sean whispers again:  "Relay the plan and tell when everyone is ready." 

Sean is not quite sure about the mutants and the laser, especially in the rain, so he flips it on when evaryone is ready and just before he shoots a long burst at the flyers, getting most of the lot.

 
 Spoiler 
Operating a familiar control of a familiar gun is a free action with the limit of one such free action per round, so even if they can see the laser, they won't have time to react.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 The burning cars... any signs of a recent fight anywhere around? Tracks, corpses or such?

 
 Spoiler 
Let's say Sean is 20 yards away for -6 range penalty and the rest of the group is 30 yards away for -7 range penalty.

Sean will buy  three  camouflage nets, if they have that many. The whole transaction then would be as follows:

+2800 Small radio
+2000 Rifle cartridge x200
-3200 Crash kit
-160 Dark 'military' sneakers
-480 Simple camouflage clothing
-960 Basic camouflage net (woodlands) x3

I will update and send you the sheet.
 
 
 

There are no corpses, blood trails, drag marks or other such signs of violence around. The burning cars look like they've been neatly arranged before they were set alit. Maybe they're simply sources of fire and light for the enemy?

 
 Spoiler 
Range noted. Three camouflage nets are available. Purchases made, and noted. Use the new stuff well, this situation could be trouble.
 
Volthawk
When Sean opens fire, Richard joins in and fires a two-shot burst at the mutant by the door - they'd learned before that these guys could be tougher than they thought, so he wanted to be sure he put his target down.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean, Bart and Richard unleash a satisfying hail of gunfire upon the front security.

6 of the fliers drop out of the sky, most of them dead. One notices the shooting of his fellows and where the shots came from...but the other is completely clueless.
Bart the Hunter blasts the guard on the raised platform with a slug and absolutely punches a skylight into his chest. Sliced away with the reaper's scythe, the sentry's deceased form falls over, off and onto the ground.
Richard nails the guard at the door twice in the heart, leaving two very big ugly holes in the poor SOB's solar plexus. The mutant slumps over onto the wall behind him and slides down, blank eyed.

(OC: Tariq, you can act with the rest of your allies, this is a surprise attack.)
GnomesofZurich2
Tariq carefully aims his shot and then fires three grenades at the centre of the opponents.

(OOC: It looks like one shot hits, and the other two are going to scatter. I'm one off the recoil score needed to have two hits and three off the recoil score needed to have three hits on target, so that probably indicates how far the second and third shots scatter.)
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: I think three attack rolls, in a Ranged Rapid Strike (with -6 penalty for two attacks, -12 for three attacks, Quick Shot Technique buys off the penalty), is more appropriate than a burst fire, but whatever. Did you mean to shoot all three grenades at the same hex?)

The explosive expert brutally KOs one guard with a grenade, killing the 5 dogs around him.
The second grenade rumbles another pack, breaking bones of the 5 dogs and severely wounding their handler.
The third grenade has similar results; the dogs are ripped up and the mutant directing them lies on the ground bleeding and sliced.

(OC:  combat starts proper.  2 flying mutants are still active. Normal turn order takes hold, Sean goes first. The guards act after Tariq, if they can.)
u-b
Sean shoots a short burst at the remaining two flyers.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
  I think three attack rolls, in a Ranged Rapid Strike (with -6 penalty for two attacks, -12 for three attacks, Quick Shot Technique buys off the penalty), is more appropriate than a burst fire, but whatever. Did you mean to shoot all three grenades at the same hex? 
 

Sean's idea (and I think that's how Tariq understood it) was to target the hex of the one central guy, getting enough concussion to take him out and enough fragmentation all around to get most or all dogs. The state of the other two handlers would then depend on their reaction to numerous [2d] fragments, about which Sean was unsure, so they might well be still up. No fancy targeting was intended, just RoF 3 Rcl 2 at the same hex, not a burst, but still one attack semi-auto.

I am not sure how many bullets would be wasted between the remaining two flyers. I default at shooting 5 rounds (as that is the lowest number to spray-fire at multiple targets and maybe has something to do with the previous round's waste of 3). If Sean can waste less than 3, he'll target one or both of the guys with more than one round (preferring the guy looking at him over the other guy). If he has to waste more, he has 4 spare and will use them as needed.
 
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 (OC: I think three attack rolls, in a Ranged Rapid Strike (with -6 penalty for two attacks, -12 for three attacks, Quick Shot Technique buys off the penalty), is more appropriate than a burst fire, but whatever. Did you mean to shoot all three grenades at the same hex?)

The explosive expert brutally KOs one guard with a grenade, killing the 5 dogs around him.
The second grenade rumbles another pack, breaking bones of the 5 dogs and severely wounding their handler.
The third grenade has similar results; the dogs are ripped up and the mutant directing them lies on the ground bleeding and sliced. 
 


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 

Sean's idea (and I think that's how Tariq understood it) was to target the hex of the one central guy, getting enough concussion to take him out and enough fragmentation all around to get most or all dogs. The state of the other two handlers would then depend on their reaction to numerous [2d] fragments, about which Sean was unsure, so they might well be still up. No fancy targeting was intended, just RoF 3 Rcl 2 at the same hex, not a burst, but still one attack semi-auto.
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
Yes, u-b has it right, this was intended as a RoF 3, Rcl 2 attack targeting the same hex, with the assumption that any shots that did not 'hit' would then scatter from that point.
 


Tariq learned from his last encounter that left him lying bleeding out from a sniper hit, so he is looking for cover before attacking further (OC: Move action to nearest cover).
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's gunfire claims another two lives, as one mutant tries some aerobatics to avoid the bullet, but fails.
The direct hits destroy their vital organs, and their limp bodies smack into the ground half a second later. Clear skies.

(OC: Richard, your turn.)
Volthawk
Satisfied that the state of the remaining mutants makes this relatively safe for the moment, Richard starts moving forwards towards the power plant.
Shoot Da Moon
As Tariq and Richard move towards their desired spots, the two guards who barely survived the onslaught look tom each other for a micro-second before they both shoot themselves in the head with their pistols, killing themselves simultaneously.

(OC: combat over.)

With that, there is no more enemy presence in the area. The mutated dogs who were caught in the edges of the exploding grenades twitch and bleed in an icky fashion, prone and dying.
The guards are all shot down like clay pigeons.

The power plant is a large abandoned building housing a decommissioned turbine and generator, hooked up to a off-line transmission interconnect. A penstock and tailrace lets a diverted river flow through the powerhouse from the hills, where an intake channels it through a forebay and a sediment exclusion bay almost a mile away.
u-b
Sean is not too quick to call this over. He tells Richard not to enter the building, then tells Bart to take the dogs and wander around looking for any signs of other groups or individuals. While Bart is thus occupied, Sean reloads with a full magazine and spends some time looking around and at the bilding, in case any more threats surface. In case no threats are found in, like, half an hour, Sean tries to sneak into the building and check it out.
GnomesofZurich2
Seeing the combat is done, Tariq will take the time to reload and then just keeps an eye out for any trouble.
Shoot Da Moon
Bart gets the dogs under control and directs them to sniff around the area.
Sean, meanwhile, scans the building with his binos.

Their caution pays off royally. They easily detect the telltale signs of nesting and swarming animals going in and out of the building. Bart thinks there's ratdogs afoot - packs of mutant animals numbering 14. Occasionally, a few dire bears wander through the place to predate on the smaller animals.

But that's not all. The building has a lot of its interior infested with mutant plants. Bart recognizes them as spore bombers and venus guy-traps - the first one releases air-borne toxins and the second mimics other plants then lashes out with biting mouths.

Oh, and the other entrances to the building are booby-trapped with tripwires hooked up to noisemakers and fragile bottles full of...water? The mutated humans mostly kept out of the building other than that. Indeed, their presence is relatively light around here. Perhaps the guards the exiles just defeated were simply a stay-behind? Or scouts? Bart certainly doe snot think the primitive camp site the guards had could be for anymore than 15 people.

Sean spies a way in up top, a window on the second floor where the most plants are. The front door is not booby-trapped, but the animals inside would certainly take that as an invasion of their territory. The side doors are not safe, secured by crude guerilla warfare.
u-b
Sean discusses the findings with the group. A direct advance seems not very wise. He  thinks  we should be able to handle the bears, but too many ratdogs, and any spore bombers would be somewhat problematic. Sean lets the group think about it and fetches the cars. Then, while the rest of the team covers him, searches the bodies for loot and for any survivors. Those are brought to the cars. Then Sean proposes we radio our "employers", describe the situation at hand and have their opinions regarding the following:
1. Have they been aware of the situation and, if so, what would be their plan?
2. If not, in what condition do they want this building? We can easily hand it over infested, blasted and/or burned, but if there is any major equipment in there, it might not survive the later two options. Sean highly  suspects  the building is wanted safe and intact, but he prefers to be sure.
3. When they are expecting to arrive on site?

As for the plan, Sean thinks we can try to get the animals out, with smoke, gas and flashbangs, but maybe we should have a larger team to aid with the shooting, if they can arrive soon enough. Sean is not so sure about the plants.
Shoot Da Moon
Two-thirds (10 counting) of the dogs are still technically alive, but they won't last long without immediate medical care.
Most of the mutants are also dead, except for 2 flying men who just barely survived getting shot and falling straight down. Their blood shines weirdly rainbow-ish in the light, like oil.

Going through the mutants' pockets and wraps turns up not much ammo. Aside from the shells and bullets already loaded into the guns, only 5 other shells are loose, for 13 shotgun shells and 28 pistol bullets in total. The five Colt SAA revolvers and the eight H&amp;R Model 8 shotguns are all in okay condition. It seems the guards were running low.
Aside form that, the guards were all wearing mere cloth armor over their unnaturally hardened skin. Tucked into their bags and satchels, Sean finds a bunch of empty plastic bottles (7 of those), three torches (unlit, obviously), two cigarettes lighters with some fuel left, two glass bottles of strong liquor, four lengths of strong metal wire, a screwdriver, two pocketknives, two wrenches, a claw hammer, five bandages, 6 pairs of socks, eight tobacco cigarettes, three small batteries, a pill bottle with 8 pills inside, and a large towel.

Calling up on the radio, Sean discusses things and gives his sit-rep.
They reply that they did not know of any mutants in the area, but gingerly comment that they should have anticipated that the monsters may be around. Their only plan in the case of mutants is to simply avoid them if possible, unless they can be dealt with decisively.
The building must be cleared out AND kept in one piece, or else they will have to abort the whole operation. If they can find a way to get the animals and plants out or dead without damaging the machinery within, that would be ideal. Perhaps some kind of chemical warfare is in order?
They expect to arrive in 3 hours.
u-b
Sean kills the mutant dogs, packs the loot, the two live flyers (he spends two bandages to keep them that way and two pairs of handcuffs to keep them from causing trouble) and one dead flyer (the blood is quite interesting and he wants to take a more thorough look inside). Then he reloads the magazine he has used in combat and uses two camouflage nets to camouflage the cars. He uses the third net to set up an ambush site for Richard, Tariq and Bart, which would allow shooting at anyone approaching or leaving the building. Then he leaves the rest of the corpses near the burning cars, throws one flyer ontop of the fire, maybe makes some shots at the lock(s) (but not the traps) to make sure at least one exit facing the burning cars and the ambush is freely operable, takes a hiding spot in some location, separate, but not distant, from the rest of the group, and waits for either the caravan or some movement that can be fired upon.

 
 Spoiler 
If burning meat does not attract anyone and no mutants appear from anywhere heading to the site, we just wait those three hours for the arrival of the main group.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Tariq scopes the building and figures the ground floor is mostly taken up by the internal workings of the hydro-electric generator and the turbine. There may be smaller rooms around the edges, but none of particular importance or sturdy interior doors. The upper floor, meanwhile, is where most of the windows are, and there is a larger room (an main office?) dominating the place with catwalks and stairways leading down to the ground floor and up to the roof.

Sean piles the meat up and prepares the camouflaged kill zone. The stanch of burnt death fills the air in less than ten minutes. 30 minutes later, four large mutated animals lumber out of the nearby wilderness to investigate the corpses. The animals are on all fours, furry, extremely muscular and large toothed. Sean recognizes them as black bears that have undergone the unnatural biological changes that so much of the region's wildlife and plants suffer from.

Eager to devour the free food, the bears do not care to look around the area, and simply snack on the dead bodies left out. None of the animals realize the exiles are there...

(OC: how many yards away from the bears have you set the camouflage spot, Sean?)
u-b
The animals come from not exactly the direction Sean would expect them to be, but they go after the meat, not after Sean, so that might be just as well. Sean waits for them to get busy together and, before they start dragging the corpses aside, announces his plan over the radio, heard only by Richard.  "Mine are left to right, yours are the other way around. Tariq and Bart stand ready in case that won't be enough."  If the plan is accepted, he says  "Shooting at implied zero... five, four, three, two..."  a silence for one and then one long burst.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 how many yards away from the bears have you set the camouflage spot, Sean? 
 

Let's say  both our spots are some 40 yards away from the building, if it can be clearly seen from that far, making them maybe some 25..30 yards away from the fire? The spots would be, say, 15 feet away from each other (one left and one right) and the cars are some further 30 yards away.
 
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 The animals come from not exactly the direction Sean would expect them to be, but they go after the meat, not after Sean, so that might be just as well. Sean waits for them to get busy together and, before they start dragging the corpses aside, announces his plan over the radio, heard only by Richard.  "Mine are left to right, yours are the other way around. Tariq and Bart stand ready in case that won't be enough."  If the plan is accepted, he says  "Shooting at implied zero... five, four, three, two..."  a silence for one and then one long burst.

 
 Spoiler 

Let's say  both our spots are some 40 yards away from the building, if it can be clearly seen from that far, making them maybe some 25..30 yards away from the fire? The spots would be, say, 15 feet away from each other (one left and one right) and the cars are some further 30 yards away.
 
 
 

Tariq will aim at the nearest bear, should his grenade launcher be needed.
Volthawk
After Richard relays the plan to the others, he take aim and fires along with Sean.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: I forgot to mention, the bears are SM+1. Sean's burst only wastes 2 bullets, ditto Richard.)

The rifle fire is deafening. The four hungry bears are slaughtered by the shots tearing through their lungs and hearts.
When Sean and Richard lower their smoking guns from their shoulders, they see the ursine mutants are nothing but gruesome roadkill now.
u-b
Sean reloads with a full magazine, then goes for part two. He aims at the bottle hooked up to a tripwire across an entrance, makes his shot, and waits patiently.
Shoot Da Moon
The bottle explodes into shards and liquid splashing everywhere along the doorframe. Inside, there is some scattered and hurried movement by small creatures, spooked by the sudden destruction. Five minutes pass, but nothing happens. Four dog-like beasts with glowing eyes and rat snouts skitter out of the underbrush near the building, and start nibbling on the corpses of the dead. Circle of life.

(OC: the beasts are SM +0.)
Volthawk
Richard nods as he sees the ratdogs appear.  "Thought so, same stuff that was used against the Snowbunnies to cause their animal problems. Interesting security system, although a little unreliable. I wonder if the mutants have a way of dealing with these things peacefully so they don't have to fight them off every time someone triggers it." 
u-b
Sean thinks if he should spend more bullets, but then decides to let the explosives person have some fun.  "Tell Tariq he can have a shot at the lot. I wonder why none appear out of the building and if those there are locked in some of the rooms. If so, would be less problematic to handle." 
GnomesofZurich2
Tariq takes his time setting up the shot, and then fires a single grenade targeting the centre of the ratdogs.
Shoot Da Moon
Gore flies as the grenade lands and explodes!
All four ratdogs die as the blast and shrapnel rips them apart.
The pile of corpses is brutally disrupted by the blow up. Entrails and skin are left scattered around.
u-b
Sean is inclined to let the caravan appear and the scents disappear before checking the building. He says that and, if no objections, does that.
GnomesofZurich2
Sure, Tariq is in no hurry. He will reload his grenade launcher and otherwise just keep an eye on things.
Shoot Da Moon
An hour passes as the exiles rest in their hiding spot, keeping watch on the power plant.
Mostly nothing happens. The blood and meat mess made of the corpses attracts birds to peck and nibble on the offal.
The rain increases a little, it is now a bit more heavy but it does not affect sight lines or soak anyone too bad.
45 minutes after the exiles start resting, 10 more rat-dogs crawl out from the power plant building to both feed on the corpses AND attack the carrion birds. The strange ten monsters make a meal of slow birds and wrecked bodies.

In the distance, the exiles also hear a riverboat's engine rumbling and steam billowing further up the nearby river connected to the plant, coming closer to the power plant.
u-b
Sean warns Richard about the approaching boat, requests a grenade or two at the doggies and declares his intent to meet the boat as it lands while keeping in touch with the rest of the ambush, which probably should remain put. If/when the doggies are out, Sean plans to approach the river and observe the boat while it's still some way away. The boat's reaction to the explosions is of particular interest.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean's speed is 7+1 for most of this movement, then he will slow down to use stealth.
 
GnomesofZurich2
Tariq obliges Sean's request and will put another carefully aimed grenade into the "doggies".

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
The damage looks pretty low, he's prepared to launch another one if needed.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Tariq's salvo hits the center of the animals, who are spread out more than previous clusters.
4 of the animals are caught in the innermost blast, injured badly enough to knock them out, flinging them through the air.
The other six animals are merely hurt by the rim of the explosion. They screech and scatter away, as fast as they can.
(OC: the rat-dogs can Move 6 yards every second.)

Sean can not quite see the riverboat approaching, it looks like the explosion does not affect it. Did the crew not hear the boom?
u-b
Seeing the flight of the surviving dogs as something unfortunate and not yet worrying too much about alerting the approaching vessel, Sean and Bart spend a few seconds practicing shooting...

 
 Spoiler 
Three seconds worth of actions rolled. Will wait for Richard/Tariq/GM to act and resolve what happens. If most or all dogs are out, Sean will hurry to look at the boat ASAP, using stealth on approach to the shore only.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean manages to bulls-eye three of the mutated animals with deadly precision, and Bart the Hunter bags one of his own with a shotgun blast, putting it down and out. Then Bart takes aim at another rat-dog...
Volthawk
Given that the ratdogs are more concerned with escape than attack, Richard is content to leave it to Sean and Bart and instead looks in the rough direction of the riverboat. They might still be a fair distance away, and out of sight, but Richard still feels better keeping eyes in that direction at all times - after all, people may have left the boat and began a stealthier approach on foot, and if they're mutants who knows what abilities they may have at their disposal. He was probably worrying for no reason, but he still kept a lookout, just in case.
u-b
Sean and Bart target two remaining dogs, after which Sean tells everyone to stay put and quickly moves to some hiding spot near the water where he can see the vessel.
Shoot Da Moon
Bart shoots the animal he previously hit, knocking it out once and for all.
Sean kills another animal with a shot to the vitals.
Only one rat-dog thing left running away.

Neither Sean or Richard can see the riverboat too much. It is very much far away. The steam from its chimney rises high into the air. It is moving at a minimal pace, perhaps 1 or 2 yards a second. It's too hard to make out much more detail than that.

It is now about over ten minutes away (600 yards?) from the power plant.

(OC: if you want a Range penalty, consider it -15, extreme range. Note that the riverboat itself is SM +10.)
u-b
That was quite a large boat. Sean highly suspected we could still take it out, but was not yet sure if we wanted to. He decided to spend a minute or two on observations, telling everything of note on the radio. Of particular interest:
1. Any signs of whom this boat belongs to? People onboard, mutant air support, flags, whatever...
2. What is the type of the boat and relevant details about it? A TL7/8 cargo vessel? Passenger vessel? A steambot from a museum? Some sort of conversion?
3. Any warlike modifications to it? Armor plating? Gun mounts?
4. Where it seems to be heading? Assuming Sean got to the river wherever it was closest to his original position, the actual pier might be some distance away. Or the boat might head to the far side of the river or something, or be turning right now, for example...
5. What is the terrain at the pier? How much distance those disembarking will have between the boat and the cover? Can we navigate safely hidden somewhere about there, e.g. to plant some radio mines?
6. How wide is the river here? What is the condition of the dam? Is the water up to power plant operation levels or ways down or what? Can the dam be safely crossed out of view of the boat?
7. Not an observation, but just a note: how long it would take us to fold down the nets, start the cars and get lost?
8. Any effect from the rain on these long-distance observations? Expected effect from the rain on long-distance shooting?

 
 Spoiler 
The boat should be ~500 yards away when Sean is done with the first pass of observations. I'm not sure how many rolls would be needed. Sean is in no hurry, so could repeat with more time on any topic(s) he's not immediately sure about. Skill is 15 with an extra +3 to offset range penalties, so the boat itself would be observed at an effective skill of 13 before extra time. Even better about the pier, river and such. People and guns might be problematic if they are not in plain view (an x8 scope means those in plain view should be observed just fine). All of the above is before rain modifiers, whatever they are.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 That was quite a large boat. Sean highly suspected we could still take it out, but was not yet sure if we wanted to. He decided to spend a minute or two on observations, telling everything of note on the radio. Of particular interest:
1. Any signs of whom this boat belongs to? People onboard, mutant air support, flags, whatever...
2. What is the type of the boat and relevant details about it? A TL7/8 cargo vessel? Passenger vessel? A steambot from a museum? Some sort of conversion?
3. Any warlike modifications to it? Armor plating? Gun mounts?
4. Where it seems to be heading? Assuming Sean got to the river wherever it was closest to his original position, the actual pier might be some distance away. Or the boat might head to the far side of the river or something, or be turning right now, for example...
5. What is the terrain at the pier? How much distance those disembarking will have between the boat and the cover? Can we navigate safely hidden somewhere about there, e.g. to plant some radio mines?
6. How wide is the river here? What is the condition of the dam? Is the water up to power plant operation levels or ways down or what? Can the dam be safely crossed out of view of the boat?
7. Not an observation, but just a note: how long it would take us to fold down the nets, start the cars and get lost?
8. Any effect from the rain on these long-distance observations? Expected effect from the rain on long-distance shooting?

 
 Spoiler 
The boat should be ~500 yards away when Sean is done with the first pass of observations. I'm not sure how many rolls would be needed. Sean is in no hurry, so could repeat with more time on any topic(s) he's not immediately sure about. Skill is 15 with an extra +3 to offset range penalties, so the boat itself would be observed at an effective skill of 13 before extra time. Even better about the pier, river and such. People and guns might be problematic if they are not in plain view (an x8 scope means those in plain view should be observed just fine). All of the above is before rain modifiers, whatever they are.
 
 
 

From his viewpoint and through his scope, Sean sees only a few people patrolling the open decks of the riverboat, all of them clad in black that covers the entirety of their bodies. The riverboat has multiple barricades set up on the decks and metal panels on the sides, seemingly as armor.

The riverboat flies no flag. If it has guns mounted, Sean does not see them. If the people on board have guns, they do not have them ready.

The boat looks older than any nautical vehicle Sean has ever seen. It is Old World tech, of course, but not in the advanced whiz-bang connotation of that term as usual. Steam engines were outdated for the pre-virus civilization.

The riverboat is definitely heading towards the power plant. There is a wharf by the river, 20 yards next to the building. The wharf is minimal, merely four wooden boardwalks and hitching posts. From there to the building is open ground, no cover.

The river is very wide, 50 yards from one end to another. Sean can not see the dam, it is probably much further upriver, maybe two or three miles away. The water is high right now, lots of it and flowing rapidly.

Getting the nets down and starting the cars would take about 2 minutes, if done smoothly.

The rain is not yet heavy enough to obscure vision significantly. It certainly makes the vista more miserable, and the river look more menacing, but it's clear enough for shooting. Hopefully, it does not pick up today.
u-b
Having described what he sees, Sean then turns to actual options. It seemed the teem could do quite a lot of things, which Seans tries to summarize as follows. This is audible only to Richard, who is expected to consult with the rest of the team.

 "So, first of all, we can just pack and leave. This would abort the whole mission and I don't see enough of a reason to do it, but we certainly can. Second, we can shoot at them from some distance and either sink them or make them turn. Might be the safest, short term, but not my preference. Third, we can get them here at the wharf. Will be much more risky, but will do them for good, one way of another. Might also get us the boat. We also can try to parley before that, if you, Richard, feel lucky. I would suggest Tariq to place the whole load of our TNT with an attached remote detonator into a small backpack we have in the trunk, then put that on the warf near some mooring gear, then get a safe distance away, where I will wait him. We will discuss the rest while he does that, but I will want the safe distance to be announced up front. Richard meanwhile could take a spot behind a corner of the building and Bart will take the camouflage net and bring it here where I set camp." 

Sean hopes the lone backpack would not look too scary, thus not preventing the mooring, and will give Richard an option to parley with the sailors from a position of strength. If the general plan is agreed upon, we can discuss our position for negotiations while we carry it out. To summarize:
1. Tariq is to place 25 pounds of radio-controlled TNT on the wharf near the mooring gear / landing gear.
2. Tariq is to announce a safe distance. By my calculation, the explosion will deal 6d6x10 damage, averaging 210 cr ex damage at the spot, falling fast. 20 yards away, at the building, it will deal an average of 3.5, likely safe enough with armor and protected vision/hearing that Richard now has. Bart and Tariq (and, thus, Sean) should be a bit further away (and in a different direction). Let's say, 40 yards along the river, for an average of 1.75 (rounded down).
3. Sean will set up a hiding place woughly where told, trying to get both some cover and some concealment (trees/bushes), while sill able to see and target the ship and the way to the building.
4. Richard is to wave at the arrivals and start negotiations by shouting when the ship is at the wharf. The details TBD.
5. Just a note: shooting the bag with TNT will do nothing much. It is not dynamite.
6. 210 damage does not seem like that much for a ship-sized target, but if it gets to the boiler, the inhabitants might get all sorts of  additional  damage.

Sean is open to other suggestions.
Volthawk
Richard relays Sean's summary to the others, before considering the situation himself.  "Yeah, I want to talk to them. We don't have confirmation of who they are yet, and I'm not firing at a potentially neutral party, particularly since if they aren't mutants or raiders they might prove a useful ally - I haven't seen or heard of anyone else in these parts with a boat like that. So let's go with your wharf plan. Still, if it does come to blows lets see if we can handle the situation without using the explosives. An intact riverboat is worth taking some risks to get hold of, I think." 
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Richard relays Sean's summary to the others, before considering the situation himself.  "Yeah, I want to talk to them. We don't have confirmation of who they are yet, and I'm not firing at a potentially neutral party, particularly since if they aren't mutants or raiders they might prove a useful ally - I haven't seen or heard of anyone else in these parts with a boat like that. So let's go with your wharf plan. Still, if it does come to blows lets see if we can handle the situation without using the explosives. An intact riverboat is worth taking some risks to get hold of, I think."  
 

Tariq considers the plan, " If you think the backpack might scare them off, I could rope it in UNDER the wharf, out of sight. And, if we decide the ship needs to get taken out, my HEDP grenades should help with that. "
u-b
Sean looks at the warf to see if Tariq's change of the plan is compatible with its particular construction and comments on that, possibly giving Tariq a go on the whole affair.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean looks at the warf to see if Tariq's change of the plan is compatible with its particular construction and comments on that, possibly giving Tariq a go on the whole affair. 
 

(OC: Do you have the Architecture skill, Sean? Does anyone else? I'm certain Tariq does. Please note the riverboat travels approximately 90 yards towards your position every minute.)
Shoot Da Moon
Tariq loads the TNT into the backpack and takes it onto the wharf. Once it's set to blow on compound, he'll attach it to one of the posts supporting the wharf, near where the ship would presumably dock, using rope and duct tape, and try to conceal it. It takes 3 and half minutes.

He feels uncomfortable, as the rain chills him even as the work makes him sweaty and hot under the collar.

When the bomb is in place, Tariq backs off. Just in time, too, as the riverboat is only 25 yards away from the wharf by the time he bugs out. It as slowed down upon approach.

Nobody can be seen on the boat. The people who had patrolled the deck went inside 2 minutes ago.
The passenger riverboat is driven by a single big stern wheel and steam coming out of multiple tall smoke stacks from high-pressure boilers. The riverboat has three decks with staircases (plus a pilot house on top of the highest deck) connecting them. Lights, winches, whistles and ropes can be seen left out on the lowest deck.
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Tariq loads the TNT into the backpack and takes it onto the wharf. Once it's set to blow on compound, he'll attach it to one of the posts supporting the wharf, near where the ship would presumably dock, using rope and duct tape, and try to conceal it. It takes 3 and half minutes.

He feels uncomfortable, as the rain chills him even as the work makes him sweaty and hot under the collar.

When the bomb is in place, Tariq backs off. Just in time, too, as the riverboat is only 25 yards away from the wharf by the time he bugs out. It as slowed down upon approach.

Nobody can be seen on the boat. The people who had patrolled the deck went inside 2 minutes ago.
The passenger riverboat is driven by a single big stern wheel and steam coming out of multiple tall smoke stacks from high-pressure boilers. The riverboat has three decks with staircases (plus a pilot house on top of the highest deck) connecting them. Lights, winches, whistles and ropes can be seen left out on the lowest deck. 
 

With the riverboat so close, Tariq is going to quickly try to make up some distance, hugging what cover he can. (OOC: under the circumstances, the very slow movement that goes along with Stealth seems unwise, so he'll just do Move actions trying to keep what terrain he can between him and the ship).
Volthawk
As the others get into position and prepare, Richard steps out from the corner of the building, in sight of the boat and raising a hand in greeting to the boaters. He still has his rifle with him, but as a sign of goodwill he doesn't hold it ready to fire. Hopefully they were the type willing to at least try talking.
u-b
Sean mostly covers the boat and the bomb, making sure that nobody does anything fancy, like stealthily disembarking, including under the water, disabling the bomb, aiming at Tariq and Richard, etc. The net has been already set up, covering Bart, Sean and dogs, but Tariq took his time almost to the limit, so Sean does not expect the man here in the hiding. Maybe he will side with Richard or take some other spot.
Shoot Da Moon
The riverboat comes over to the wharf and starts to dock. The people in black scramble out of the cabins and the deck, getting ready to disembark.

One of the dockers spots Richard and alerts the rest of his crew. The sailors seem disturbed and wary. They particularly do not like the sights of a messy fight, what with the blackened ground from the bomb blasts and gruesome offal scattered around. They do not attack or flee at the sight of Richard, they talk amongst themselves and do not call out to him...

Richard then notices another mutated bear wandering closer, out of the wilderness behind him. It sniffs the air with deep curiosity and eyes him with heavy stoicism. Perhaps the dead bodies are giving off enough of a meaty stink to attract the beast?

(OC: the bear is 15 yards away from Richard.)
u-b
 "Bart, you watch the men and the bomb. Richard, please disregard the bear, I have you covered."  Sean aims at the bear's heart through the scope, but does not shoot right away.

 
 Spoiler 
Waiting with an aimed shot. Will shoot before the bear is in melee range of Richard.
 
Volthawk
Richard murmurs back a quick  "Got it."  to Sean over the radio before getting back to his part of things - the boaters. They were wary but not hostile, which was a good start, and Richard was confident that if he got talking to them he could make something happen here. He starts walking towards the boat, arms outstretched to show that he's not about to start shooting, but doesn't call out - Sean may have the bear in his sights, but that doesn't mean Richard wants to get more of its attention on him than he can help.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean can see the bear starting to eat the gore of the dead mutants and animals.
Richard sees the sailors are caught between keeping an eye on him and doing their work. They call out for someone, probably a superior, to come over to them.
Bart tries to keep his dogs under control. The two canines seem to want to sniff around the trees.

(OC: Tariq, what are you doing?)
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 (OC: Tariq, what are you doing?) 
 

Tariq is likely still seeking to get into cover and out of the notice of those on the ship.
Shoot Da Moon
Both the riverboat crew and the bear seem to have their attention squarely held by Richard or food respectively. Neither notice Tariq as he slips away. Sean's camouflage suits him fine.
GnomesofZurich2
Tariq will continue moving away until he's reached what he judges to be a safe distance should there be need to use the explosives.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard picks up on the sailors' distrust of him, fearing him like some sort of rabid animal. They all keep their guns close to their hands.

And speaking of their guns, they're all carrying SAA revolvers, all of them loaded and in okay condition. Judging by some of the scratch marks, they were bought in bulk by a dedicated arms dealer, who smuggled them in a crate. They were not just picked up from dead people or cobbled together with junk - an actual craftsman with a complete workshop made those weapons.

In 2 minutes' time, another humanoid in black arrives at the dock, led by a sailor and coming from below deck. This one is obviously a lieutenant of some sort, as he seems to hold authority over the sailors. He certainly has a better quality garment covering his body. A lit cigar turns in his mouth, smooth smoke wafting from the burning end as he surveys Richard.

With an suspicious eye, the newcomer steps off the boat and approaches Richard. He makes no secret of expecting a trap...or a fight. The lieutenant takes out his cigar to coolly blow out a gray cloud as he walks toward the exile. He's ready.
Volthawk
The quality of the guns isn't too much of a surprise to Richard - they have a working boat of that size and sophistication, and them having one or both of pretty high-quality facilities or good trading connections follows naturally on from that. Although...fear? Sure, they might be distrustful, but why would they fear him like that? Unless...maybe. While waiting for the representative to show up, Richard whispers his theory into his helmet's mic.  "I think they might be Sinful Nature." 

He doesn't let his suspicions change his reaction to the lieutenant turning up, though. They'd been able to deal fairly with a group of mutants before, and he might not even be correct about his theory. Nodding in recognition of the man, Richard starts talking.  "Hello! I'm Richard. Nice boat - I haven't seen anything like that before. Are you traders or something like that?" 
Shoot Da Moon
The lieutenant rolls his eyes at Richard's compliment.
"We are not traders. We are protectors of America, avenging the treason of the dark overlord Malice. The overlord you serve, the mutiny of the Shelters you carried out on the orders of that evil woman."

The stern stranger in black leans closer, talking deliberately, "Richard. Why have you chosen to serve the overlord? Do you not know of her evil? Why did you betray America?"
u-b
Since the bear seems pretty much occupied and the negotiations have started, Sean takes the liberty to have a look at the negitiators. He does not quite like the close approach, so...  "Bart, watch the bomb and the bear, them both. I'll have to take care of this one guy..."  Sean switches to watch this new target, ready to pull the trigger to shoot at the guy's heart whenever he does anything funny.

 
 Spoiler 
Richard also hears that. Bart will not be able to shoot right away, but the bear seems occupied at the moment, so the instant reaction will hopefully be unnecessary.
 
Volthawk
Richard pauses for a moment in surprise when the man talks, blinking before laughing.  "You think we work for Mailer? Hah, that's a good one. My friend - and if you're being honest about your aliegances, you are my friend - we personally pissed her off a few months back and ever since we've been on the top of the raiders' to-kill list and doing quite a lot to kill them back. I think we've been doing a pretty good job - after all, their recent withdrawal south is because we, and the settlements we've been helping, have been doing enough damage that they've needed to."  He pauses again, thinking. Proof...he did have the intel they'd accumulated so far, that showed he was telling the truth about their enmity with the raiders and the withdrawal, along with an apparent enemy of the raiders information to use against them, but...it sounded like this group took the rogue Shelter angle very serously, and it might be the case that if they found out the exiles were originally from 44, Mailer's personal Shelter...it might not end well. Richard takes a breath. He had to risk it, and if it went badly he had the team backing him up. Okay.

 "I think, in the interest of showing that we're on the same side, I should tell you the exact situation. We're originally from Shelter 44, you see - the one that Mailer, the evil woman you talk about, is Overseer for. The people in there have no idea about the situation out here, the deals she's made or that the betrayal happened at all, but every so often when people in there do something that angers her enough - for instance, I supported a group trying to politically oppose her influence and change the way things were run in there - she exiles them. We didn't know it at the time, but she also then gets into contact with her raiders and gives them orders to kill the exiles. A little sadistic game of hers, I suppose. We managed to survive, though, and since then have been fighting the raiders, helping the settlements they've been targeting around here, both as a matter of survival and morality. We've accumulated a lot of intelligence over this time, through attacking their bases and interrogating their people, and part of it should prove my story - we have the dossiers they passed out on us, straight from our Shelter records, and the related orders, for instance. Perhaps, if you accept this, we can share information against a common foe?" 
 
 Spoiler 

Going to try a Diplomacy roll to get a better reaction from this guy, if allowed.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The man looks quite convinced by Richard.
"Alright, let's say I believe you. Is why you came here? To talk to us?"

The man looks back at his crew and the boat.
"We suspected something was seriously wrong with the Shelters. We figured the overlord had total control over the people within..." He says absent-mindedly to no-one in particular.

He looks again at what information Richard is offering. "I'll have to pass this all up the chain..."
He signals to a sailor who was watching him and Richard. The sailor goes to the riverboat and heads below deck.
Volthawk
Richard shakes his head.  "Until now, I had no idea you existed. Hell, I didn't know anyone outside of their organisation knew Mailer was involved. No, we're just here because we've been generally helping out the settlements around here when not fighting the raiders, and a group wanted to restore this plant to functionality so we went out to make sure it was safe for them. Is this place yours, then?" 
Shoot Da Moon
The man in black shakes his head.
"No. We do not own this place, it belongs to America, we merely use this building as a landmark and shelter from the elements. Are your people aligned with America or the overlord Malice?"

The bear behind Richard moves over to another pile of corpse meat. It greedily gorges on the dead, making disturbingly juicy sounds as it chomps, chews and swallows.
GnomesofZurich2
If Tariq is, presumably, now at a safe distance, he'll ready his grenade launcher in case the people on the ship become hostile.
Volthawk
 "We're not allied with her, no. Hell, the reason I'm out here is because I joined a group in the Shelter that was opposed to her. As for America..."  Richard pauses, putting the thought into his next words he felt the topic deserved.  "Before going into the shelter, my ancestors were among the lawmen of the old world. They upheld order in the old world in the name of America, and were a force for justice. My family has always held onto that principle, which is why many of us joined the security forces of the Shelter, unaware of what Mailer was really up to but wanting to honour that legacy."  Richard reaches into an inside pocket and pulls something out - an old badge, the name of one of the organisations of the old world barely legible on it, and looks at it when he continues.  "It's why I did the same and joined up, and why I tried to change things when I saw the unjust ways Mailer had led my fellow officers to act. It's why out here I've been doing whatever I can to restore order and help the people we come across to rebuild and live in safety."  He looks back up at the man.  "So yes, I suppose you could say I'm aligned to America, loyal to its values." 
 
 Spoiler 

Neat, a chance to play up some of Richard's quirks that haven't come up much (namely "Carries a family heirloom" and "Idealistic about the old world").
 
Shoot Da Moon
The man in black looks at it and nods.
"You carry a heavy burden and a worthy heritage then. So do we. We are dedicated to fighting the overlord Malice and her betrayal of America."

Then the man in black looks over the area.
"That bear is dangerous. We should either kill it, or leave the area. What say you?"
Volthawk
Following the man's gaze over to the bear and readying his rifle, Richard nods and gets on the radio.  "Sean, we're good here. They're on our side. Guess it's time to deal with the bear, can't leave it hanging around for the settlers to run into." 
u-b
From his hiding, Sean aims at the bear and makes two shots.  "You stay here, Bart."  He says as he emerges from hiding. Assuming nobody is too startled, he then approaches the arriving delegate, with the right hand empty and the rifle in the left hand. Sean has heard only half of the discussion, so is not really up to speed, but Richard's final conclusion is clear enough.  "Sean Pires. We have a lot to discuss." 
Shoot Da Moon
The gunshots scare the riverboat crew and the man in black, they all draw their guns and look around for the shooter. The mutated bear dies as Sean drills it in the heart twice.
The man in black eyes Sean with anger and aims his pistol at him, but he keeps it cool enough to stop shooting.
"First thing we should discuss, Sean, is that you need to tell me before you start shooting that big gun of yours."

The riverboat people come out with guns at the ready to greet Richard and Sean, demanding answers. When the two men explain, they calm down.
Eventually, another higher-up man in black arrives on the scene, walking out of the lower deck flanked by bodyguards. He is introduced as the sergeant of the sailors, not the highest ranking man on the riverboat, but definitely in charge of the boat's fireteams.

The riverboat people ask the exiles for a full debriefing.
u-b
Sean nods and starts talking. Accirding to him, the events have been as follows:
1. Two recent attacks of the mutants on the Waffle House, who seem to be friends with the people of the region. Repelled, taking some mutant prisoners.
2. The retaliation against the mutants in Springfield. Mutated animals feeding on human bodies.
3. Information from a hit slaver camp about them effectively inciting the mutants. Matching some earlier facts about the slavers inciting mutated animals.
4. The attempt to start some meaningful communication, releasing one of the mutant prisoners and quoting him #3 above. Intending release of the rest if peace is established. Lack of effect.
5. Desire of some people to restore the power plant's operations to provide the neighborhoods with electrical power.
6. Some mutants here, with some mutated animals. Too many to safely come out and talk, given #4 above. Hit them. Hit the mutated animals. Have not been inside, but planning to.
7. You came. We made sure we can safely talk. We are talking.
GnomesofZurich2
Tariq is a bit disappointed at the lack of opportunity to make things go 'boom', but seeing that his comrades have both approached the boat, he sling his grenade launcher and make his way over towards where Bart is stationed.
Volthawk
When it becomes Richard's time to talk, he takes a broader view of things, telling the general story of the exiles and their clashes with the raiders - from learning of their existence, to the battles at the radar base and the early information they learned there, to the battle at the ski lodge helping the Snowbunnies and the leads they learned there, to their campaign since of attacking raider camps and bases and using the intel and prisoners found at each to decide the next target. He talks about Stone, his papers and the information they learned from his interrogation - about their northern holdings, the factory and mine, and also about the southwards retreat and the training camps apparently down there for the retreating raiders to rebuild out of. He mentions the spies, too - he didn't know how much the riverboat people knew about the raiders' intelligence network, but much like with the settlements he felt it was important to make sure they knew now.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean nods and starts talking. Accirding to him, the events have been as follows:
1. Two recent attacks of the mutants on the Waffle House, who seem to be friends with the people of the region. Repelled, taking some mutant prisoners.
2. The retaliation against the mutants in Springfield. Mutated animals feeding on human bodies.
3. Information from a hit slaver camp about them effectively inciting the mutants. Matching some earlier facts about the slavers inciting mutated animals.
4. The attempt to start some meaningful communication, releasing one of the mutant prisoners and quoting him #3 above. Intending release of the rest if peace is established. Lack of effect.
5. Desire of some people to restore the power plant's operations to provide the neighborhoods with electrical power.
6. Some mutants here, with some mutated animals. Too many to safely come out and talk, given #4 above. Hit them. Hit the mutated animals. Have not been inside, but planning to.
7. You came. We made sure we can safely talk. We are talking. 
 

The "war chief" nods along and listens.
He comments that there are apparently several different bands of mutants active in the region - he has never heard of his people attacking Waffle House. His people have been sticking to the rivers, and trying to find the Shelters so they might eliminate the overlord.
He reveals that the men who were guarding the power plant - the flying shotgunners and the dog handlers - were their stay-behind rear guards meant to make sure the army of darkness does not get their hands on the power plant.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 When it becomes Richard's time to talk, he takes a broader view of things, telling the general story of the exiles and their clashes with the raiders - from learning of their existence, to the battles at the radar base and the early information they learned there, to the battle at the ski lodge helping the Snowbunnies and the leads they learned there, to their campaign since of attacking raider camps and bases and using the intel and prisoners found at each to decide the next target. He talks about Stone, his papers and the information they learned from his interrogation - about their northern holdings, the factory and mine, and also about the southwards retreat and the training camps apparently down there for the retreating raiders to rebuild out of. He mentions the spies, too - he didn't know how much the riverboat people knew about the raiders' intelligence network, but much like with the settlements he felt it was important to make sure they knew now. 
 

The war chief takes it all in. The man confesses that most of it comes as a surprise to him, despite being an active member of the band (and created) for 8 whole months. He had no intel on the local regional militia, the raiders and their network of spies, the ski lodge, the training camps or the northern factory.

He asks the exiles what they would like to know about him and his people, or what he found out. He offers to tell them about their origins and their campaign against the overlord's dark army.
u-b
Well, what is done cannot be undone, but we can try to do the next best thing, including the following (debatable individually):
1. We can offer some reasonable compensation and will hand over two guys that are still alive.
2. We offer the mutants an option to continue to guard and/or monitor this power plant, provided they don't mind it being brought online. In particular, they would be allowed to get and verify information on what amount of power goes where and raise any related concerns.
3. We probably should establish some legal status for this group of mutants with the local settlements so that both parties know they won't be attacked on sight. We have unverified information that some 7shelters were not part of "treason" back in the day. We have verified information that some settlements based on some of those shelters oppose Mailer's allies today. Some are more wary of the mutants, some are less goodly-good, but hopefully some sort of understanding can be reached if we do not consider the world black and white only. In particular, some faction name, territorial claim, flag, chosen color of headband / armband, a public statement and other such things could be useful. We have the radio frequencies to start the process.
4. Feeding animals on humans, even on enemies, would be very bad public image and is therefore strongly discouraged. Using mutated animals wherever humans can see them is somewhat bad public image and therefore is somewhat discouraged. Sean is not quite sure about flying guys and the lot, but they should be probably ok, if introduced gradually.
5. Direct radio communication between the mutants and us should be established. Encrypted, if they have the gear. If they don't have it, but want to obtain it, it's debatable.
6. We have had reports about mutants attacking settlers in the north. We request all sorts of assistance solving this issue. We can provide and request from the sources additional details as available.
7. We'll want to consult with the mutants about The Gutter, but this one can wait.
8. We are ready to hear any information deemed relevant and/or valuable. Of particular interest would be the date the campaign was started, it's success (if any), any major events or changes of the approach to it, whether each group of the mutants has its own cloning facilities, or those are shared between some or all groups, if this group has any established relations with any human group or settlement (and, if so, whether it is secret or advertised). Of tangential interest would be the mutants desire in trade (anything specific they would buy or sell), their desire to participate in joint operations (we don't aim for Mailer at the moment, but her allies have been, and would be, heavily hit), their desire and ability to participate in preparing the building for normal operations (clearing out mutant plants and that sort of thing).
Volthawk
Richard is very interested in what the war chief has to say about their origins and what they've been doing. He's also curious about their relationship (if any) with the Sinful Nature - when they were able to talk to members of the latter group, they didn't say anything about the war this group is fighting. Hell, the raiders planned on using the Sinful Nature as a weapon, trying to direct them at settlements to cover their retreat (albeit indirectly, by misdirecting their patrols into people or leading people into mutant settlements). When it comes to the power plant, he emphasises the fact that the people planning on coming here to restart the plant were opposed to the raiders, the settlement they're from having suffered their attacks like anywhere else, and would be bringing their own security eventually (whether in addition to or instead of the chief's own men is up to him and anything that be can worked out there), ensuring it can hold up against any raider attention.
Shoot Da Moon
The riverboat mutants take those still alive back into their care. They state they would prefer any compensation in the form of guns, armor, bullets, tools, motorcycle fuel and survival gear. They do not want any rations or water.
The mutants are not against restoring the power plant, but they mention that the interior of the building has a whole host of dangerous mutated flora. Clearing that out without damaging the internal machinery would require a lot of herbicide. The mutants suggest seeking out some kind of chemical stockpile. They have not studied the interior of the building in any depth.
The mutants can modify their uniforms with some kind of insignia - one that is used by friendly human settlements. The mutants would like to know more about the Shelters, the hardest intel the exiles have. The riverboat men have not had contact with other gangs of  humanoid mutants. They suggest contacting the Waffle House and establishing an alliance with them as a first step.
The mutants do train and leash mutated animals when they have the chance, usually when they have to come ashore for long periods of time. They often feed the animals with plants or rations. They have multiple working motorcycles. There aren't many flying mutants among their number - the eight stationed here were the majority of every one.
The mutants do not have a radio or phone. They're not sure about getting one - they do not have that kind of mechanic on board.
The mutants have not been to the north in a while. They can patrol up there, the river reaches the north. They'd like to know more about the attackers - how can they identify them?
The riverboat men have not been to The Gutter.
The people in black were created by automated cloning laboratory, with mostly identical looks and some variation in mutations. The records and messages from their creators found there gave them their mission; defeat the Dark Lord Malice, who betrayed America and usurped the Shelters. For most of their first months alive, they simply scraped by and stuck to the same general area as the lab. They found a riverboat 2 months after they were "activated". By then, they had scavenged enough gear and supplies to hunt down local raiders. They took the riverboat as their "base" and main ride. They travelled up and down the river whenever they could, slowly improving their operation. They made secret deals with merchants, gaining better stuff in return for whatever valuables they could pick off the dead raiders or steal from settlements with stealth. It's been slow-going, fighting raiders that aren't too embedded or well-equipped. They've otherwise avoided contact with humans. The mutants mostly want to left alone for now. They would co-operate if there is a raid on a really big raider operation or a Shelter.
The riverboat people have only heard of the Sinful Nature in bits and pieces - they're some other group of mutants, right? What is their deal?
The raiders are fine with friendlies taking over the power plant and turning it on.
u-b
Okay, we give them weapons, armor and all other gear of their dead, namely:
1. Cloth Armor x13
2. H&amp;R Model 8 Shotgun x8
3. Colt M1873 SAA, .45 Long Colt x5
4. Assorted stuff x22

Then we add to that some assorted compensation:
5. Colt M1873 SAA, .45 Long Colt x5
6. H&amp;R Model 8 Shotgun x2
7. Winchester Model 92 Rifle x1
8. Leather Armor + Boots + Leather Gloves x6
9. Steel Corselet + Mail Coif + Face Mask + Studded Leather Skirt + Shin Guards x1
10. Small Knife x10
11. Binoculars x2
12. Group basics x1
13. Axe x1
14. Wire Cutters x1
15. Bucket x4
16. Blanket x12
17. Flashlight x1 (with batteries)
18. Small battery x10 (good for the flashlight)
19. Road map x1 (with slavers' marks, but whatever)
20. Shotgun Shot x150
21. Shoutgun Slug x50
22. Pistol Cartridge x200
23. Rifle Cartridge x50
24. Gasoline x40

After the goods are transferred, Sean says he would like to know whether this settles the matter or more stuff is required.

Sean says the hardest intel they can dissiminate is what is publicly known about Gunmetal, Bread Basket, and Red Brick, all of which came from their own respective shelters, which are marked as enemies of Overseer Mailer, so not all shelters are necessarily evil. Sean tells what he can tell about them. Sean admits he has other hard intel, but he cannot dissiminate it now for various reasons, and he has some flimsy intel, which he would not dissiminate until he gets a clearance from allied forces (that is, after this group of mutants has confirmed legal status).

Sean says the group that will soon arrive here to restart the power plant will have a radio, which can be used to contact Waffle House and other places as needed, but only from the power plant. And we can take/escort 1..3 delegates directly to the Waffle House (more if they have motorcycles onboard).

Sean requests that no more stealing from the setlements should be performed. He would be willing, and, hopefully, able, to finance subsequent operations against the slavers and in defense of this power plant. If it's not a secret, how many new mutants in this group are created per month?

Mutant attacks right now seem to come, usually, from out of entrances to The Gutter, around Newport, and around a mountainside of Mount Mansfield. The mutant attacks have numbered eight so far, mostly at night. Two settlements were destroyed, three were damaged severely enough that their long term survival is in serious doubt, the rest were repelled successfully with only a handful of causalities. A total of 33 people have been killed. The mutants have mostly targeted settlements with a strong food trade or those dealing in drugs. Travelers have ben picked off opportunistically along the roads. The usual method of attack is simply rushing the front with a wave of enemies on foot backed up by a few enemies on horseback or on motorcycles.

If the mutants have any good leads regarding groups of raiders they deemed too dangerous to attack, Sean would like to know about those.

Sean tells that Sinful Nature rather seems a group of groups, but lets Richard disclose what we know about the lot.
Volthawk
On to the topic of Shelters, Richard does bring up what little they know about 43 - that there's another Shelter out there aware of Mailer's wrongdoings (that's how they first learned of her involvement, after all), a group the exiles are on good terms with have made contact with them, and that they were staying out of any conflict as a part of some deal negotiated between them and the people the exiles went in there with (the details of which the exiles aren't privy to, presumably due to their origins in 44). Between that, the settlements originating from Shelters that are opposed to Mailer, and the fact that 44 itself is ignorant of what she's doing, the picture is much more complicated than simply all the Shelters being on her side. While he doesn't mention it, this line of thought does bring a question to mind - just how much  do  the leaders of those settlements, the Elders of Gunmetal and their equivalents elsewhere, actually know?

As for the Sinful Nature, while Sean recounts what they've done, Richard focuses on what they know about their origins and ideology. It seems they were also created in a similar facility (or facilities) to the one the riverboat mutants come from, but much earlier - apparently they were around when the virus destroyed the world, and have been waging their war ever since. Instead of recieving orders like the riverboaters, they (or at least the first of their kind) knew their creator first hand, being created to serve the man using his own DNA - Richard doesn't know whether or not the riverboat mutants are of the same genetic origin or a different person was used. They saw the man's work as an affront to nature, and killed him for it, before deciding that the rest of humanity was evil by extension - particularly as, as far as they could see, their creator's work was backed by the government of the old world, but this isn't proven, just an assumption, one that Richard is doubtful about (a side effect of him having long-established belief in the goodness of the old world). They believe that, if unchecked, someone else as evil as their creator will arise among humanity, which combined with the belief that the creator's sins are reflected upon the rest of humanity and are unforgivable, has led to their hostile stance towards everyone else.

The mutants taking part in the raids fully believe this, and as such are difficult to talk to - they'd captured one before and talked to him, and any arguments the exiles made to challenge that core belief was denied or not understood. Others seem more reasonable, though, as the first time the exiles encountered the Sinful Nature is was a small group that decided that they weren't sinners, and as such they were able to get by without violence. He agrees with Sean about them being decentralised groups - as the mutant they talked to put it, they didn't have strong leadership and were generally moved to act by certain charasmatic individuals within their ranks.
Shoot Da Moon
The mutants accept the goods offered by the exiles.
The mutants dutifully record the information the exiles share. They are reluctant to share more information about themselves. They are sensitive about the details of their lab, in particular.
They invite the exiles aboard the riverboat to rest and shelter from the rain, eating lunch, while they wait for the people to show up to fix the power plant. Just in time, too, as the rain is beginning to pick up.

(OC: fast-forward to the power plant fixers show up?)
u-b
Sean says he'll stay in the car to handle the arrival of the caravan as they haven't been fully introduced to the situation. The dogs should probably remain with him, because dogs. No objections to everybody else going.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean does not normally eat lunch, so is not losing much, if anything. He'll park the car where he can see the approach from the direction of the Waffle House, the boat and the building. He'll make periodical observation checks and honk when he sees the powerplanters.


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: fast-forward to the power plant fixers show up? 
 

Yep.
 
Volthawk
Richard happily accepts the offer to wait in the boat. Besides the shelter provided (and the meal doesn't hurt either), it felt important to respect their offer and accept their hospitality, for the sake of helping to strengthen any relationship between the two groups that may come out of this. He was in good spirits about it - while the circumstances behind their origins had several unanswered questions (such as who had access to the labs and the will to set them against Mailer), it was good to know that they have allies dedicated to the fight.
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The mutants accept the goods offered by the exiles.
The mutants dutifully record the information the exiles share. They are reluctant to share more information about themselves. They are sensitive about the details of their lab, in particular.
They invite the exiles aboard the riverboat to rest and shelter from the rain, eating lunch, while they wait for the people to show up to fix the power plant. Just in time, too, as the rain is beginning to pick up.

(OC: fast-forward to the power plant fixers show up?) 
 

Seeing the group seems to be peaceful towards his allies, Tariq will come join them on board the boat and out of the rain.
Shoot Da Moon
The hours go by peacefully.
The mutants discuss the power plant - they point out that getting rid of the dangerous plants inside without damaging the equipment or the building can be done with chemicals. Maybe a merchant somewhere has something like that? Does anyone know enough chemistry to mix their own?
The people who hired the exiles to keep them safe while they fix the plant show up eventually. Sean sees them first and meets them as they arrive by the road. Their journey was uneventful.
The mutants diplomatically keep their distance from the fixing crew.
The fixers take a look around the building from the outside as the exiles brief them on the situation.
u-b
After introducing the fixers to the situation, and then to the mutants, Sean asks a few questions regarding future plans:
1. Do the fixers think they have capability to safely clean up the building?
2. Do they want some mutants stationed here as additional guards? Sean says three Waffle House guards will remain stationed here for some time, but the team will have to leave.

If the fixers need help with the building, Sean wants to contact some people over the radio, starting with Waffle House, Gunmetal and Bread Basket. The questions to ask them:
3. If they have chemicals that'll do as herbicide?
4. Do they have appropriate dispensers?
5. Do they have NBC suits and gas masks?
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The mutants discuss the power plant - they point out that getting rid of the dangerous plants inside without damaging the equipment or the building can be done with chemicals. Maybe a merchant somewhere has something like that? Does anyone know enough chemistry to mix their own? 
 

 
 Spoiler: OCC 
Tariq has One-Task Wonder (Chemistry defaults to full IQ when concocting incendiaries), I guess he could spend his unspent character point to upgrade it to full Chemistry, but that would only give skill 12.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The fixer do not think they have the capacity to safely clear the building. They risk injury or death fighting those mutated plants without special help.
They're fine with the mutants standing guard.

Waffle House has some industrial chemicals on hand, but they're not sure if they kill plants well. Gunmetal definitely does. Bread Basket does not, they mostly sell food.
Gunmetal has some top quality liquid projectors on sale. They can spray herbicide without a problem.
Gunmetal has NBC suits and gas masks available for purchase.
u-b
Sean proposes that:
1. The fixers and the mutants begin the appropriate evaluations and fixes around the building (power lines and what not), camping outside and/or onboard while...
2. We take the backpack from the wharf and make a full-fledged trip to Gunmetal to purchase all sorts of stuff.

 
 Spoiler 
I guess today would be to late for a round-trip, given how we also want to transport a horse...
 
Shoot Da Moon
Everyone of the mutants and fixers is okay with taking Sean's lead.
It's 15 miles to Gunmetal from the power plant.

(OC: Sean, make your Driving and Navigation rolls.)
u-b
Taking the team (sans the dogs) with him, Sean drives the car to Gunmetal and arranges a transaction there. This does not include a lot, as the lot of value, including the cars and the horses, is left at the Waffle House, but selling a flare pistol, a bit of assorted crap and adding in a few rounds yields a perfect-condition squirt carabine with an additional spare tank, a quart of high-quality concentrated herbicide, and a well-used well-duct-taped NBC suit, complete with an ancient gas mask. Sean then practices donning the NBC suit in the presence of both the team and the seller or seller's associated expert, making sure he does it right, and drives back to the powerplant.

At the power plant, Sean dons the NBC suit again, including the gas mask, letting observes make any corrections, prepares two full squirt tanks of working-concentration herbicide and gets ready to use it, telling Richard to cover him from some distance upwind.

 
 Spoiler 
Spending a point on NBC Suit, leaving 0 spare. The herbicide should not be too bad, but spores could be an issue mitigated if the suit is donned right.

We have a total of 180 squirts, but some could be left for a second pass if the first is not enough. Do I have to roll?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
We have a total of 180 squirts, but some could be left for a second pass if the first is not enough. Do I have to roll?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
Roll? You have to play it out as an encounter...BTW, do you need prices for the gear or have you found it all in the book already? Either way, I need Sean to roll Observation and Naturalist skills.
 


Sean enters the power plant suited up and ready...
The first thing he encounters inside is a mess of animal spoor. The ratdogs have compiled multiple nests of soft and warm materials. Not to mention all the droppings...

On the upper floor, accessible by ladder and stairs, Sean can see a tangle of greenery that covers most of the few rooms above. There are large bulbous plants that resemble smooth-skinned artichokes stuck into the ground stem-down. There's shrubs and kudzu covering some 20-yard stretches of building.
Shoot Da Moon
 [...] his original plan before the rolls above would be to shoot through the windows (at either the concrete ceilings or the plants, but generally into the rooms given that the roots are likely to be all over the place and not localized near their particular stalks. Say, three rooms for a start, at three different densities of 20, 40 and 80 pints of herbicide per room. Then to come back to take a look in the morning. 

Sean squares his shoulders for the task ahead.
Over the course of 30 minutes, he identifies which plants are dangerous (there's nine patches of man-eaters and nine bulbs of toxin spore spitters), and carefully positions himself away from them as he begins spraying the herbicide.

His instincts turn out to be right as the plants lash out with their natural defenses when the chemicals douse them. They writhe unwholesomely as the weed killer soaks in.

After he is done doing his best to kill the offending flora, Sean retires outside, to rest until the next day. The riverboat people and the power plant fixers bunk down with the exiles to set up camp. The humans eat meals and drink water from the river but the mutants do not. The car wrecks are still on fire even when the rain picks up. They may still be burning for another hour or so.

(OC: Mark off meals eaten. Anyone got any business before we fast-forward to tomorrow?)
GnomesofZurich2
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 (OC: Mark off meals eaten. Anyone got any business before we fast-forward to tomorrow?) 
 

(OC: Not for me)
Volthawk
(Good to go)
Shoot Da Moon
 DAY 73 

The exiles and their allies wake up the next morning to a very cold day.
Sean looks inside the power plant to see what his work yielded. To his satisfaction, he find most of the greenery wilted and brown, dead.
Without much more closer investigation, he concludes the dangerous flora died when he sprayed it with the chemicals.
u-b
Sean dons the NBC suit again, takes a shovel, a hatchet and a loaded squirt gun, then enters the building for a complete walk-through. He intends to finish everything that is there to finish and make an estimate if the place is worth looting for something  not  related to power plant operation.

Whatever is the outcome of these actions, Sean then does the following:
1. Contact Waffle House, inform them of the events at the power plant and ask them to deliver a specific sedan, two horses with their gear and 500 rations from the party's stores to Gunmetal, the sooner the better.
2. Contact Gunmetal, inform them of the events at the power plant, securing which we are potentially claiming, and two earlier groups of slavers, eliminating which we are claiming, for a total of 2 or 3 additional allocated pieces of gear, which, in order of preference, would be:
2.1 Cheap Watervliet M1 with one light bomb (this is only TL6, but a major piece of gear, so I suppose it is not universally available and needs being aloocated; buying now)
2.2 Ballistic Helmet + Tinted Visor + Tiny Radio with Tactical Headset (we have two and want the exact same third; buying now)
2.3 Night Vision Goggles (buying now)
3. Inform them on our final picks for previously allocated two sets of gear:
3.1 Cheap Springfield M1 Garand x2 for the long arms (buying now; we are also buying three of cheap broken ones, as previously agreed)
3.2 Large Entry Shield (deferred)
3.3 Small Flat White/IR Tactical Light x2 (to be mounted on the entry shield, deferred)
3.4 Tritium Reflex Sight x2 (to be mounted on the sidearms, deferred)
3.5 APDSDU+P Rifle Cartridge x40 (deferred)
3.6 Buying one Cheap Desert Eagle sidearm for two horses and 500 rations (buying now)
4. Say we won't be modifying these allocations, but may take some time buying them all. Most of the payment for the current transaction would be delivered by the Waffle House guys and we'll come to pay the rest and pick up the gear ourselves.
5. Bill the powerplanters' account 86 additional rifle cartridges for the herbicide and the NBC suit / gas mask. Transfer the ownership of the NBC suit / gas mask. Neither bill for, nor transfer the ovnership of, the squirt gun.
6. Give one the waffle house guard who has an early concealable vest a modern vest instead. Two of them three are still equipped with plain steel plates, but we'll be working on it.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean finds no loot in the power plant - it looks like it was picked through completely since the Old World fell.

(OC: Reminder, in case you haven't checked the OOC thread yet, everyone earned  2 bonus Character Points . You'll get more when the power plant is restored to functionality.)

He continues to "weed" the interior, clearing any greenery that survived yesterday's spraying. There is not much left alive, the task is mostly just cleaning up the brown dead compost out from the building. He finds human remains in various states of decay lying around the building, both upstairs and downstairs. Victims of the fauna and flora?

His call to the Waffle House goes through without a problem. They confirm the order and get a courier to deliver the requested goods, it will take just over a hour and ten minutes by their reckoning.
Gunmetal is also easy to contact. The merchants can not confirm or deny that they have a Watervliet M1 on hand, and they are not certain they would be okay with entrusting outsiders with one, mostly because they do not like the potential threat of someone "dangerous" (the exiles or the buyers) getting their hands on such extreme weapon...
They do have a Ballistic Helmet with the bells and whistles on the shelves, however, so the exiles can buy that. Ditto the NVGs.
The cheap rifles are ready to go, the shield and its lights won't be too much of a problem, the reflex sights are a question mark, the custom rifle ammo is okay, and the cheap DE is certainly available for immediate purchase.
The Gunmetal quartermaster confirms the purchases and the arrangements for payment and pickup. It should all go smoothly.
The power plant account records the numbers that Sean gives them.
The Waffle House guards switch up their gear, relieved to be upgraded.

(OC: What are Richard and Tariq doing while this is being sorted out?)
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
 
 Originally Posted by 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). 
 

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.


 
 Originally Posted by 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. 
 

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 
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 
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 
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 
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 
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 
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?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by 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 
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?
 
 
 

The mutants take the keys and follow Sean's lead. The man with the badge checks the equipment over as his squad relaxes. Sean goes back to his fellows without any further trouble. Sean can easily make it to the car he drove.

The trip back to the radar base is also uneventful.

(OOC: Do you need to know how many miles it is between Newport and the radar base?)

Sean establishes a radio link to the patrollers, who comment that they'll probably be passing his communications up the chain soon.
Checking in with the radio and the base staff, Sean learns that Blackwire has sent only a single message to him, encoded.
"We're in place, but we want to make sure the meeting place is safe. Come meet us after the sun goes down."
Then it lists a location.
Volthawk
Once the group is reunited, Richard's keen to hear the whole story of what happened from Sean (as opposed to what he could figure out from the radio) as he reads through the intel and tries to figure out what motivated the attack on the drive to their next destination.  "So another group of mutants activated on old world orders, huh? Or at least believing they're old world orders, I suppose. I talked to the people they attacked, and unless they're much better liars than I gave them credit for I doubt they know anything about this - doesn't mean that these guys are entirely wrong either though, I suppose, since there's plenty about the old world most people probably don't know about at this point. Let's see..."
 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard can't understand the reports he is given. A wall of jargon hits his eyes as he starts and sketchy diagrams do nothing to articulate the details. He needs more information on the situation.
u-b
Sean asks Richard to help him and diggs very carefully through the papers trying to make sense of their notation and, ultimately, their meaning. He plans to dedicate at least four hours to this task, more if needed. While they are at it, Tariq takes the recently acquired guns and spends some time in the workshop cleaning the rust, gluing the cracks in the wood, tightening the loose parts, cleaning, oiling, and generally bringing the guns back to their original shape. It turns out the guns were originally of a fine-quality stock and in four hours Tariq is able to fully restore three of them.

 
 Spoiler 
Please check my math on gadgeteering.
 
Shoot Da Moon
It takes a long time before Sean and Richard manage a breakthrough; the reports have been altered! The writing and photos have been carefully changed, and the fine details on some of them do not match up to reality! The reports are forgeries, slipped into the mutants' recon to mislead them on a potential threat! Most likely, this sabotage was the work of a raider spy. Sean remembers one past interrogation of a raider, wherein the prisoner admitted that the raiders have been trying to get the mutants to attack settlements for them.

As for the gunsmithing, Tariq manages to fix up the broken rifles.
(OOC: Your math is good.)

By the time everyone is finished with their work, it is dark.
Volthawk
Seeing the alterations pointed out to him, Richard isn't particularly surprised. It wasn't his first thought for an explanation, but it did make a lot of sense. Still, being able to meddle this directly in the mutant's business was more than he'd expected the raiders were capable of - Stone talked more about just leading them in the right direction, not this kind of subtle manipulation. Something of a concern going forward, but for now he just passes on their findings to the patrollers to be passed on up the chain along with a more general warning about the raiders - that they were large and organised, tied to individuals that had performed treasonous acts, and that they had a sophisticated intelligence network.

As for the Blackwire situation, that needs a little more thought. Richard's main thought is that if it is a trap, they don't all need to expose themselves at first - while Sean and the others can join him if all is clear, he'd rather have them able to react freely if it ends up being an ambush. He'd rather Sean be free to pick off the most dangerous of the gang than in the middle of the ambush with him, for instance, same with Tariq's explosives. As for what to do if the situation is legitimate...Richard shrugs a little. He still thought their earlier idea for what to do with his gang might work - having them at the radar base but not fully in the fold for now, letting their allies question the gang but little else, putting Blackwire to work against their enemies in exchange for the protection and short-term amnesty (Richard was still of the opinion that this would have to be reeaxamined once the raiders were dealt with), and learning all they could of use from them - but there was still a strong possibility that Blackwire would need to be convinced and negotiated with. He couldn't say for sure what might come out of that until it was over.
u-b
If Richard is willing to stake his life on Blackwire not going after him while the rest of us are  somewhere  nearby, Sean comes up with the following plan:
1. We radio the power plant that we'll pick up the three waffle house guards for a single night mission and so they should be ready.
2. We put on the NVGs and drive two cars (including the sedan we have at the base) with lights off to the power plant (miles?).
3. We pick up the three waffle house guards. Tariq loads with a single illumination round and a the rest of 9 HE, 2 HEDP.
4. Still with lights off, we drive to within two miles of the meeting point. We park cars off the road and camouflage them.
5. We go parallel to the road, with Sean some distance ahead and the waffle house men lead by one NVG-equipped man each.
6. We stop some 500 yards off the meeting point, still some distance beside the road.
7. While everyone waits there, Sean makes a half-circle around the meeting point, still some 500 yards from it.
8. Sean then gets closer until he can observe the meeting point and observes it.
9. Richard then starts to move towards the meeting point. At 250 yards from it, he lights a hand flare and the rest of the team follows that flare to within 100 yards.
10. Richard is then to approach and conduct the negotiations alone.

Sean proposes our position in the negotiations would be as follows:
1. Too many of those who want Blackwire dead would rather kill him than negotiate a truce. We are unable talk them off that at the moment, but...
2. We have been told by the rangers that one Blackwire is worth two other slavers' commanders. So, if we can get two slavers' commanders with the help of Blackwire, things are bound to improve substantially.
3. Then we would be able to house Blackwire somewhere, employ him in our operations and reasonably  demand  he is not attacked by forces allied to us and opposed to the slavers.
4. So our proposal would be that Blackwire either gets two such commanders himself  or  hands us the information about  all  such commanders so that we can choose and get two of them.
5. If he chooses the later, he'll have two options until we are done: either to continue to be on the run  or  to to surrender and be held prisoner (we can reasonably demand him not attacked while we hold him prisoner).
6. Alternative proposals could be considered, but no guarantees.
7. If Blackwire needs food stock to lie low, or whatever other supplies, we can trade with him, for either material things or the info.

This assumes the night won't be pitch-black (stars and/or the moon would be enough). If it would be pitch-black, there would be corrections.
Volthawk
Richard's fine with the plan - he knows the risks, but reasons that if there's going to be an ambush, it's better that they don't get all caught in it. Sean's more useful as a shooter from outside the ambush than just taking a few extra bullets meant for Richard. The planned negotiating position makes sense to him too.
u-b
The team sets the plan in motion, taking three shotgunners from the radar base, giving them each a full load of five multi-flechette rounds out of Bart's 20. Sean drives strainght to the desired spot, which is  not  the announced meeting spot, camouflages the cars and proceeds to lead the team  not  quite along the road to where he'll leave them to circle, alone, around the announced meeting spot to eventually observe it.
Shoot Da Moon
The approach goes smoothly, there appears to be no danger.

The meeting place is camouflaged from a distance, but you can only hide an entire camp of people so well.
The man named Blackwire (matching the description given to the exiles) sits at the center of the camp, eating his dinner as his underlings tend to the chores around him. Sean counts two whole gangs' worth of raiders at the camp. 22 people with guns, two cars and 10 motorcycles. Approximately, half of them are injured, and five of those injured are too wounded to do anything but rest.

The bootstrapped shotgunners and Sean keep watch from afar as Richard approaches to talk to Blackwire. Despite the camp's paranoia, Richard is allowed to come over and discuss the situation.


 Sean proposes our position in the negotiations would be as follows:
1. Too many of those who want Blackwire dead would rather kill him than negotiate a truce. We are unable talk them off that at the moment, but...
2. We have been told by the rangers that one Blackwire is worth two other slavers' commanders. So, if we can get two slavers' commanders with the help of Blackwire, things are bound to improve substantially.
3. Then we would be able to house Blackwire somewhere, employ him in our operations and reasonably demand he is not attacked by forces allied to us and opposed to the slavers.
4. So our proposal would be that Blackwire either gets two such commanders himself or hands us the information about all such commanders so that we can choose and get two of them.
5. If he chooses the later, he'll have two options until we are done: either to continue to be on the run or to to surrender and be held prisoner (we can reasonably demand him not attacked while we hold him prisoner).
6. Alternative proposals could be considered, but no guarantees.
7. If Blackwire needs food stock to lie low, or whatever other supplies, we can trade with him, for either material things or the info. 

Blackwire enjoys a bowl of hot soup as Richard outlines what's going on his end.
He admits that he may have to stay in hiding for a good long time, with the exiles' help.
Blackwire tentatively suggests that he knows where the exiles can find more slavers to take down.
Blackwire asks for more food and water to supply his people, he can pay it back with service and backup later.

Blackwire explains that three of his trusted underlings were captured by raiders and held for interrogation and execution when he defected. He would like the party to rescue the captured men from a slaver camp and return them safely, as they all know the location (and lock codes) of supply safes. On the plus side, he has at least one gang of former raiders ready to go right now. He can scrape together even more gangs of raiders if he just has time to call in the troopers - in the chaos of the raider army pulling back, some soldiers are deserting.

If the exiles rescue the three lieutenants, they can take at least half of the supply caches in the safes for themselves. At the very least, those three sub-commanders are tough and smart soldiers.
Volthawk
Richard's pleased to see that it isn't an ambush, particularly once he gets a good look at what's there - sure, plenty of wounded, but still enough to cause problems if things went south. As all seems well, he sits in the camp by Blackwire and listens to his response, broadcasting it on the radio for Sean to listen to. It sounded promising, although Richard was sure to stress to Blackwire that when it came to the response of the Rangers and the settlements to the gang there were no promises, but the exiles would try to make peace there with all good faith and he felt that the plan of capturing other commanders would work. When it comes to the need for basic supplies, Richard's confident that something can be worked out - he understands that the defecting raiders need to survive, and although he doesn't explicitly say as much, he wants to make sure they have no reason to try and take what they need. They may be opposed to the main raider army now, but Richard is still very much aware of what these people have done, and as a part of the general conversation makes it clear that the exiles' support is dependent on them not interfering with any non-raider holdings and settlements.

He's already inclined to help anyone captured by the raiders, and is keen to ensure that the idea of the exiles being accepting of defectors stands (for the time being at least, while the Blackwire deal seems promising), so he's already in agreement when the caches are mentioned. He waits for Sean's input (either over the radio or in person, depending on if he's decided to join them or stay on watch) before debating specific terms and strategies, though - he's personally inclined towards not waiting for more gangs (although more generally he's supportive of attempts to recruit said deserters, rather than let them keep raiding just as independents now), as there's no telling how long the lieutenants will be kept alive or at least healthy (he figured the main army wouldn't be particularly kind to attempted defectors) so he'd rather secure them quickly.
u-b
Sean remains in position and communicates through Richard. The mission to rescue three lieutenants seems good, so Richard should ask for any and all relevant details. Regarding food and water, we can provide two day's worth for everyone at the camp right away, and can provide more later. While Sean does not mind running a balance, he would prefer to be paid with some information, especially that can be acted upon. Of interest:
1. His former side.
2. Mailer.
3. Shelters.
4. Mutants.
5. WMDs.
6. Gutter.
Shoot Da Moon
Blackwire plays dumb. "Not quite sure what I know about all that, but maybe  my captured second-in-commands  hung onto the intel better."

Nevertheless, he does give basic information, just to bait the hook.
His previous allegiance was run well enough, carefully developing methods for seasonal raiding - including a pattern of establishing safe houses and operating bases in preparation for raids. They made sure cells of raiders were separated enough to stem the loss if one gang got captured, wiped out or defected. But the separation was never too complete to prevent information leaks...
He thinks this "Mailer" character is some kind of urban legend that the generals encourage to raise morale and keep defection low.
He's never been to a Shelter. Only scuttlebutt tells of this or that gang raiding a Shelter, but nothing concrete.
He's definitely set up mutants to attack settlements in the past.
Blackwire never used, saw or wants any Old World WMDs. He does not think the generals or anyone else in his organization has access to such horrors, or they would have used them by now.
He occasionally oversaw gangs that went into The Gutter, yeah. Never ended well...
u-b
Sean does not know much about the place mentioned. He proposes the following plan:
1. We are not quite satisfied with the infos we are getting, but... We leave enough food and water for everyone for two days. We leave it on the road. It is to be picked up after we are away. The condition is no expropriation of anything from anyone while these supplies last.
2. We will be back after that time or such. We might or might not do something about those three men during that time, we'll see.
3. If Blackwire has modern equipment, we can set up a secure channel for future communications.

Assuming everyone agrees, Sean makes a half-circle back to the main group, leads them to the cars, with Tariq's help gets the cars on the road not far from the Blackwire's camp, gets the supplies out (132 water + 132 food). Then recalls Richard. Then drives straight to the vicinity of the town mentioned by Blackwire saying we might as well do that tonight and that anyone feeling sleepy can take some Modafinil. After hiding the cars somewhere, Sean leads the way. He might have problems noticing the details in the dark, but assuming these slavers don't have night vision equipment, rather expects them to burn fires or such...
Shoot Da Moon
It's getting dark out, Vermont nights are dangerous for their rough terrain in deep black.
(OC: Darkness penalty -7.)

Blackwire only has a basic radio at the moment, less advanced than what the exiles have.

The food and water is unloaded, and Blackwire's people seem very happy with the gift.
(OC: Way less Reaction penalties!)

The drive to the town takes only 40 minutes, thanks to Sean's excellent leadership. Sean gets the approach subtle and undetected. The cars are well-hid and the exiles stay out of sight.

The exiles make their way over to the Old World building which the slavers have claimed as their base. It looks strongly built, it was something called a "bank". The slavers have erected an improvised but solid wall around the parking lot and entrance of the building. There is only one opening in the wall, watched intently by guards. In the "courtyard" past the wall, slavers have built elevated platforms and bonfires for their vigil. No traps anywhere, except for the guard patrols. Sean counts 20 armed people in the courtyard, taking cover under tarps and eating dinner.
u-b
Sean looks for more things and relays his findings. He does not hurry anywhere.
1. What is the size of the courtyard?
2. Can we target inside of the courtyard one way or another? What is the darkness penalty to target there (wherever the people are around the bonfires)?
3. Any tall buildings anywhere nearby to have vantage view on the courtyard?
4. Any fortifications of the building itself (like sandbags, blinds, what not)? How large it is (how many windows wide and stories tall)?
5. Any vehicles anywhere?
6. What is the equipment of the people we see? Can we somehow confirm these are slavers and not some other group?
Shoot Da Moon
The courtyard is about 40 square yards of area.
Getting higher up could give you a sight line into the courtyard over the walls.
(OC: The darkness penalties is 0 around the bonfires, -3 for areas just far enough away from the bonfires.)
There are tall buildings around, but climbing up them could be dangerous and difficult.
The building itself has been fortified mostly around the entry doors (barricades and a checkpoint) but the inside could further fortified. It is two stories tall, all the windows are boarded up with metal. The building itself seems to be solidly built since the Old World days, thick walls and tough doors. Maybe valuable stuff used to be stored inside?
No vehicles are in sight.
The slaver guards are carrying rifles and SMGs, they are armored around their limbs, torso and extremities. You can tell they are slavers by the shackles and handcuffs some of them are carrying on their belts and lying on equipment tables. There's also an empty metal cage, big enough for a human to stand in, placed in the center of the courtyard, besides a few tents and a bonfire.
u-b
When everyone is ready and have aimed their guns, Sean sneaks in to take a long burst from the darkness. It does not go quite well...

 
 Spoiler 
Crouched. Will use extra effort on all dodges. No drop. Landing, like, two hits and then ouch. Presumably, only 4 bullets expended.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 TURN 1 

The aborted spray hits two guards sitting around a bonfire, in their hearts. The surprise attack claims their lives.

(OC:  Richard acts now , then Bart, then Tariq. Then a new turn, then the bad guys act on the same Speed as Sean and Richard...)

Too bad Sean's sloppy handling fumbles his gun...
Volthawk
From his current position, Richard doesn't have a line in on the slavers in the courtyard but figures that now Sean's got their attention they'll be on the move now, so he stands ready to fire on anyone who crosses into his sights.

 
 Spoiler 

Assuming from what's been said that Richard can't see anyone yet, so he's taking a Wait manuever for opportunity fire covering the visible 1-yard area (so he can still use his aim bonus) closest to where the slavers are sitting.
 
u-b
Bart makes one shot at the guard near the courtyard entrance. The needle-like flechettes cluster mostly to his lower left. Tariq places a flashbang into the lower part of the wall of the building itself, from where it potentially affects the whole courtyard and potentially some people inside, then follows with a gas grenade into the same exact spot for good measure.

 
 Spoiler 
Okay, it seems I should post for both Bart and Tariq. I'll do it with an assumption that they have  some  view through the courtyard entrance and maybe at the building entrance, but a least at one guy. This does not quite match Volthawk's understanding, so please confirm and clarify. Waffle House people will take Wait maneuver covering three most promising windows, one man each.

One unrelated question: can Sean use Fast Draw (Long Arm) in this situation to try readying the rifle without spending a round?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
Okay, it seems I should post for both Bart and Tariq. I'll do it with an assumption that they have  some  view through the courtyard entrance and maybe at the building entrance, but a least at one guy. This does not quite match Volthawk's understanding, so please confirm and clarify. Waffle House people will take Wait maneuver covering three most promising windows, one man each.

One unrelated question: can Sean use Fast Draw (Long Arm) in this situation to try readying the rifle without spending a round?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
From outside, one can indeed see the building entrance. There are no people inside the building that you can see from the outside. Volthawk is a little wrong, but he is covering the opening in the courtyard wall which is valid.

You can roll Fast Draw to ready the rifle.
 


Bart's shotgun blast tears through his target, knocking him out as the pellets cripple his left leg and clip his groin and left arm.

Tariq's explosion catches everyone in the courtyard in a great flash, stunning them. The subsequent smoke cloud is less effective, but it does make them unable to see what is what.

 TURN 2 

The enemy is in disarray!

(OC:  Sean and then Richard , take your turn now, then we roll for the bad guys...)
u-b
Sean manages to get the rifle ready quickly as he hurries forward and a bit to the left, to use a part of the courtyard wall as cover from half of the opposition and target the other half. His quickly-restored grip of the rifle turns out to be not solid enough, so this time, after four shots, he drops it altogether.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean is standing up in the smoke not far from the entrance to the courtyard. Will use extra effort to dodge.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean hits one guard in the vitals, eliminating him.

Another is shot in the belly, and dies in pain.

(OC: Richard...)
Volthawk
Richard fires a burst into the courtyard, switching on his powerful flashlight to hopefully keep the disarray and confusion about the situation among the raiders going.
Shoot Da Moon
The spray of hot lead hits two targets and blows through their abdomens with terrifying vigor. They both fall down and pass out of the fight.
The rest of the burst suppresses the bad guys as the air is torn and the bullets ricochet.

The enemies in the courtyard do not recover from blindness or stunning. And they do not manage to fight back yet.

(OC:  Bart the Hunter, then Tariq, then the Waffle House backup NPCs .)
u-b
Bart and the rest watch four most promising windows and plan to do that for the rest of the fight unless things really happen. Tariq keeps his MGL aimed at the same spot as the first time to add more stunning as needed (e.g. if requested by Sean).

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Bad guys try to recover from stun (12) 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The enemies in the courtyard do not recover from blindness but 8 do recover from stunning 
 

Note 7 on HT192 says "roll against HT-5 to recover each turn". Assuming HT stat of 12 and no protected senses, the target to beat would be, like, 7... (that is, if I get it right)
 
Shoot Da Moon
 TURN 3 

The enemy is still in disarray!

(OC:  Sean and then Richard , take your turn now, then we roll for the bad guys...)
u-b
Sean stays in place and picks up the rifle.
Volthawk
Conscious of the amount of ammo he has remaining and Sean being down with you, Richard fires a more restrained burst this time at the slavers on the other side of the courtyard from Sean.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard manages to hit one of the targets, wounding him badly enough to knock him out and down.

Twelve hostiles remain not (quite) in the fight. Only three manage to shake off the effects of the flashbang...

(OC: Bart the Hunter, then Tariq, then Waffle House backup.)
u-b
Bart and the Waffle House people keep watching four most promising windows while Tariq keeps his aim. Sean, still taking some cover crouching behind the courtyard wall, shoots a butst into the courtyard then instantly reloads.

 
 Spoiler 
Extra effort reload. Not checking the book, but probably blinded and/or stunned guys should not be able to dodge.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 TURN 4 

Sean's gunfire walks through the crowd of the hostiles. None of them manage to see it coming in time, and kills a good handful with heavy caliber lead straight through their vitals. He's pretty sure he got the enemies who just recovered from the stun and they are all still blind.
Volthawk
Seeing his targets are more scattered, and conscious of the ammo he had left in the magazine, Richard fires off a burst at one of them before reloading.
Shoot Da Moon
Much to his frustration, Richard fails to hit his intended target. The shots go far too wild.

3 enemies manage to shake off the stun, the rest are still in a blind haze of confusion and horror.

(OC: Bart, then Tariq, then the Waffle House backup.)
u-b
Bart and the Waffle House people keep watching four most promising windows. They might be somewhat surprised that a fortified building with this many guards just outside seems to be uninhabited at all, but they keep watching it. Tariq keeps aiming at the same spot. Sean shoots a long burst at the remaining men, hitting most of them. He is  certainly  surprised that no firefight is going on between our men and the inside of the building, but does not object it at all...
Shoot Da Moon
 TURN 5 

Sean eliminates another 4 enemies with heart shots in a 16 bullet spray, leaving only two blinded men left standing and screaming in fear.

The ground of the courtyard is now unwholesomely painted with fresh red. Bullet holes mark the back wall. Sean and Richard are sweating heavily thanks to the strain and adrenaline.

(OC: Richard, your turn again.)
Volthawk
Not wanting to waste too much more ammo now most of them are dead and the survivors still aren't able to fight back, Richard takes a moment to more carefully line up a shot at the survivor most distant from Sean.

 
 Spoiler 
Aiming.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The few remaining enemies are stuck in the smoke, one regains his senses just in time to comprehend how many of his fellows are dead and dying.

(OC: Bart, then Tariq, then the Waffle House backup.)
u-b
The four shotguns remain aimed at four windows while Tariq is ready to pull the trigger to launch another flashbang into the courtyard at slightest provocation. Sean shoots another burst into the courtyard, then shouts  "Hands up and you'll live!"  and steps to the left to take full cover behind the wall of the courtyard.

 
 Spoiler 
Tariq: wait maneuver, will shoot if the man does not surrender and tries to do something else instead.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 TURN 6 

Sean eliminates the second last guard with a shot to the heart.
The last remaining enemy takes the hint, drops his weapons, and throws his hands up in surrender. He shouts cries of fear and begs for mercy. He stands alone in the midst of 6 dying and severely wounded comrades and 13 corpses.

(OC:  combat over. )

The shotgunners whisper that they see no activity in the upper windows, but that could mean the bad guys are simply smart enough to stay away from the apertures.

Tariq twitches a little as he keeps the grenade launcher steady.
u-b
 "Now, lucky bastard, on my voice. Come here."  When he comes to Sean, he gets pointed and, in case he still cannot see clearly, pushed, towards where Richard is located.  "Now that way. You'll be told when to stop."  Then Sean takes cover behind the wall again and reloads. Then he starts to circle the wall around the building to be on the other side and see how things are over there. Meanwhile, he comments over the radio what he wants done with the captured guy.  "I'll go around in case some people would like to reatreat. We do not enter the building. Take cover and interrogate the guy. I want to know how many friends of his are inside, who and what else are there, any reinforcements that might come today or tomorrow, and then let him explain about their general business here and future plans." 
Shoot Da Moon
The lone survivor follows Sean's instructions. He is incredibly shaken up by the sudden violence and the death around him right in the middle of when he was resting with his comrades.

Sean stays low, in the shadows, as he circles the building. He does not seek much, the windows on the other sides are firmly barricaded and closed. Only a few cracks in a few second story window reveals a light on upstairs, a single room being occupied. The rest of the windows are either completely boarded up or moderately dark inside.

There is no other entrance into the building either. At first glance, there's an old metal security door at the back, but a closer inspection reveals it is welded shut, the lock and doorknob has been replaced with sturdy metal plates. Guess someone does not care about the fire hazard?
Volthawk
Richard reloads once the situation seems calm and watches their new prisoner approach, directing them to get behind the cover he'd been using for the firefight before starting to ask questions, following Sean's suggestions.
Shoot Da Moon
The captured man does initially respond to questioning, he seems lost in his own horror.

Only when Richard take a harder tack after 20 minutes, does the man come back to reality and break his silence.

There's ten more guards inside the building, including the commander of this little love fest. They keep their high value prisoners and their supplies under guard in the bank vault. The upstairs bank manager's office has been taken by the commander as his own personal room. Ten slavers are out at the moment, either scavenging for more supplies, taking new slaves, or scouting - they're on motorcycles and one van. The slavers would normally stay in their hold and not take any chances, but orders from the top demand they keep maximum security watch over some VIP hostages who tried to desert or defect. That means they have to maintain their forty-man-strong hideout on their own rather than splitting up into smaller gangs and spreading out over the region or out of Vermont. That means they need food, water, ammo and slave labor to keep their base functioning in hostile territory.
u-b
 "So, ten men..."  says Sean having heard the results of the interrogation  "...in a fortified building. I bet they won't be ready to surrender and must be rooted out close and personal, so..."  Sean tries to think of a plan  "...we can just come in front. It's not like they have a way to retreat here - the back door has been welded shut. Your choice of NVGs or the lights. A flashbang into each and every room we enter or I try to be sneaky until first contact? If you use light, we could don the gas masks, but gas grenades have to be adapted for close quarters and I have other plans for Tariq." 

The plan for Tariq, and the Waffle House men, is to set up an ambush against possible return of the ten riders. For that, Tariq is to load with all frags. Bart is to come with us to cover our backs, but to leave the dogs with the ambush.

 
 Spoiler 
How many rooms do we expect to be there in Sean's and/or Tariq's opinion?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
How many rooms do we expect to be there in Sean's and/or Tariq's opinion?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
A building of this size could have 5 big rooms (2 or 2.5 times that in smaller rooms) per floor. Probably bigger rooms on the lower floor than the upper floor.
 
Volthawk
Richard thinks it over for a moment.  "They must know we're out here by now, and must be aware that we're not going to leave without taking the building. With most of the windows boarded up and the back door sealed, there's only so many ways in and we have to assume that they're watching each of them. You're sneaky and it's dark, but there's only so much you can do if they're on guard. With that in mind, I say we go with the light and the flashbangs - the latter can shake up any ambush they have planned, and anyone still watching the door after that will get the lights when we go in, bright enough that it might throw off their shots." 
u-b
 "Well, yes, they know we are here somewhere. And probably know where we'll have to enter. But they don't know exactly when we do that, so we might have some luck on our first contact. We don't have enough flashbangs for the whole building, so let's try the following. Richard and Bart  take positions on both sides of the entrance to the courtyard. Bart with NVGs and Richard without. Then I advance to the entrance of the building and take a quick look. I will advance and take quick looks until I see something.  Then  we start flashbanging them, with Richard in front and with light. Bart will just cover our backs and maybe look after the rest of the bunch as I am not sure if I'm very comfortable with Tariq being the only one seeing things there. Good enough?" 

If there are no strong objections, Sean proceeds with the plan.

 
 Spoiler 
It is a free action for a familiar shooter to either disengage the safety  or  turn the light on, so if Richard waits with the gun on full auto, turning the light on will not take him time.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The team stacks up on the building's front door. Opening the door, they finally get a good look into the place's interior.
It is mostly dark, but there has been a single floodlight turned on, behind a corner from the entrance and shining onto a wall besides the entryway. Walking into the open floor lobby further means walking in front of the light. The floodlight is out of immediate reach for anyone not walking into the lobby and around the corner.

The open floor lobby features a bunch of Old World machines lined up across the wall (3 yards away from the entrance), couches in the center (5-7 yards away from the entrance), and a door going further into the building past a line of teller counters with security glass windows (about 10-15 yards away from the entrance).
Shoot Da Moon
Sean advances to the entrance into the building, listening for some time and taking a quick look inside only if nothing fancy is heard.

The scout hears nothing wrong...

Taking a quick look around, he quickly deduces that no-one is standing in the middle of the lobby. He peeks around the corner, and sees the floodlight is completely by itself, hooked up but not guarded. Nobody is around the corner...
u-b
Sean withdraws back towards the entrance and stands beside it next to the wall.  "Well, there is a full-fledged lobby in there. Lots of space, mostly unlit and with some obstructions. Also there is a floodlight on a stand. I could blanket the place with one or two flashbags, but not sure. If they are even there, would take some time to search it all through and there is thick glass barrier that is not too easy to cross. Watch the entrance, I'll be back soon."  Sean goes outside and to the main group. There he takes two grenades out of his backpack and also takes one dog with him. On the way back, he transfers the control of the dog to Bart and repeats to him what he've just told over the radio.  "I want the dog to search the inside once the light is out. We won't yet come with our own lights on, but you and Richard should be reado on both sides of the entrance."  Having said that, Sean readies a frag grenade, then approaches he corner and throws it in general direction of the floodlight without exposing much more than an arm. He then withdraws, noting  "I don't suppose they keep their captives in the lobby..." 
 
 Spoiler 
All out defense, then attack and step back, then all out defanse all the way back. Will use extra effort if targeted. If the flood light is taken out, the dog is given a go.

I am pretty sure some of this should be in bold, but important thing is that  Sean now has an extra TL7 frag grenade on him  and has thrown a TL6 one.
 
Shoot Da Moon
For just a micro-second, all is quiet.

Then the world descends into madness.

First, the explosion of the frag grenade destroys the floodlight, plunging the lobby into darkness.
Second, the flashbang brings it back into the light for a moment.
Third, someone somewhere else in the lobby reacts by blindly opening fire with SMGs. The spray of lead puts holes in the all along the wall opposite the floodlight - Sean feels deeply uncomfortable by the terrible noise and the fierce impacts.

(OC: Sean might be able to locate where the gunfire is coming from with a roll.  Combat time has started, TURN 1. )
u-b
By the time of explosion, Sean is out of the building. He crouches behind the left doorpost, waiting for anyone or anything to appear, but mostly just for the men inside to stop shooting. He says, just loud enough for Bart to hear clearly,  "The bastard goes in the moment they stop shooting." 
 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Second, the flashbang brings it back into the light for a moment. 
 

Not sure about this one. Sean and I have contemplated flashbangs, but decided to conserve them for other rooms, so used only one frag grenade. The stun effect is that of regular explosion as per Side Effects of Explosions section in HT181..182. There's a lot of effects listed in there, variously conditional, but the other important one is possible Hearing panalty that could be relevant after the dog is in.

The plan is now to do nothing much until they stop shooting,  then  Bart sends the dog,  then  Sean goes to peek around the corner. Sean would not quite object to something more aggressive by Richard, but thinks there is likely no need.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The next few seconds have someone in the building open fire with short bursts before stopping.

Bart has one of his dogs sent into the dark building, noticeably skeptical. The dog stays low, and sniffs around the lobby.

Sean goes in after the canine, peeking around the corner. He sees no-one, dead or alive, lurking there. The shots must have come from somewhere else...

Sean notices the dog has picked up a scent. The good boy makes a low growl and comes over to him, nudging him with his nose to alert him to something. Sean follows the dog's hint and realizes the dog has detected people behind the counters with glass dividers.
u-b
Sean pats the dog and turns on the IR flashlight mode of his combined illuminator, leaving the laser mode also on. Then he spends some time observing the scenery, pointing the flashlight everywhere he looks. The doggie thinks the opposition is behind the counters, so that is the first direction where Sean concentrates his attention. If he sees no one in there trying to peek at him, he'll also look around in general.

1. Anyone in the direction the dog has pointed, maybe hoping to remain unseen in the dark? I mean, the dog has detected them, but can Sean actually see anyone?
2. Any way to lob a grenade in there (either over the glass or through some sort of a window)? If so, will need applicable range and size penalties.
3. What would be the expected effect of such a grenade? Will it be localized to one counter or would it spread assuming we can get it to the "other" side of the bulletproof(?) glass? If localized, how many counters are there in total?
4. Also, to what extent was that glass damaged by the latest grenade? This might give hints as to how strong it is. While at it, what is the distance between where the grenade has exploded and the counters?
5. Where have the bullets hit relative to Sean's current position? Can the pattern be used to help localize which counter they were shot from?
Shoot Da Moon
Sean spots three people mostly hidden by the counter, behind the glass screen. Very little of their bodies are exposed. None of them seem to detect Sean, no surprise given the heavy darkness in the building. He sees no other heat signature in the lobby. They're certainly in the right position to open fire on the front entrance or the opening of the lobby, where the floodlight was pointing.

The openings in the glass screens are very narrow, as large as a human face at the biggest. Throwing a grenade in there would be very hard.

(OC: Shooting at the people through gaps in the glass is an extra -5 penalty (not counting Range or Darkness penalties) but only for certain hit locations not covered by the glass, everything but below the neck is covered by the counter for an extra -2. The skull, face, neck, and eyes can be targeted without the counter getting in the way (although the glass DR might still get in the way). The Range is about 10 yards, 15 yards from the front entrance, IIRC. Not sure how different Throwing would be compared to firearms attacks, probably can't claim the +4 bonus for targeting a hex.)

If a grenade were thrown in there, the space behind the glass would not provide much protection against the blast other than area to run away. The counters are close together, and only separated by thin wooden "walls" that one can easily step around. A decent explosion could ruin about three-fourths of the six counters.

The frag grenade did not damage the glass dividers. It seems the wall separating the counters from the rest of the lobby took the brunt of it. The corner where the grenade went off was too far (at least 8 yards) from the wall to reach the glass.

Checking the bullets, Sean sees the shots were mostly hitting where the floodlight was shining on. It probably had the shooters behind the counters poke their guns through the gaps in the glass while firing, aimed at where the floodlight was pointing and hitting chest height. Judging by the angle, they could still hit Sean standing further into the lobby if they knew where to shoot. If he went into the corner where the floodlight was standing, Sean would be in their blind spot, behind a wall to their side.
u-b
Standing upright 10 yards from glass-covered counters and preferably near some corner, Sean takes his aim and shoots a burst at the three men he can see. Then he quickly retreats to avoid return fire and shouts out loud:  "Hey, you, the last one! Care to surrender?" .
Shoot Da Moon
The bullets rip through two of the sentries, bull's eye-ing them both through spaces in the glass dividers. The third is much more lucky - the two bullets go off course and simply spiderweb the glass. The shots went through, weakly, and the glass overall shakes and cracks around the hole.

(OC: the glass DR is semi-ablative. The bullets going through it just reduced it by 4.)

The last man standing is defiant. He answers Sean's offer to surrender by yelling a cuss word and firing his gun once through the space in the glass divider, hitting nothing. He is not backing down, even if he does not see Sean well enough to fight back effectively.
u-b
Having retreated back after shooting, Sean gives the man a couple of seconds to shoot around blindly or otherwise act, then returns back without making a noise to give the situation another shot...
Shoot Da Moon
The enemy does not fire off any more shots as Sean slinks away.
Instead, the enemy turns on a flashlight and sweeps the lobby, trying to locate Sean.
He does not manage to see Sean in time, and dies when the scout shoots him in the skull.

The lobby is then quiet. Sean keeps his eyes open as he checks on the dead enemies. The door to the area behind the counter and further into the building is locked and sturdy metal.
u-b
Sean lets Bart and the dog make sure no one hides anywhere in the lobby while he watches the door leading further in. He informs Richard of the recent events. When Bart reports he's done with the lobby, Sean sends him to guard outside, asks Richard to watch and illuminate the door, then checks if the lock on the door can be picked or shot from the side Sean is on.
Shoot Da Moon
Bart has his dogs take a sniff around the lobby.
Bart reports back that the dogs definitely smelled constant human foot-traffic in the building. He's not sure if the hostages are in the building, since their scent could've faded away even if the dogs had it in advance. Bart comments that people within have definitely been injured or dead in the past, judging by the dogs' reactions.
The door is locked, but Sean goes to work and manages to click the tumblers into place without much fuss.
Nobody comes into the lobby from areas behind the door. Sean certainly hears no-one moving around - upstairs or otherwise.
u-b
Having the rifle in hand and himself out of the doorway, Sean opens the door just a bit to see if there is light behind it. If there is no light, he'll open the door enough to have a quick look.
Shoot Da Moon
The area past the doorway is not immediately lit. Sean can see bottles of water and rations piled up near where the sentries were lying in wait behind the glass, they were camping out in case anyone came in. But ignoring that, and going forward into the building, there is a corridor with working lights past another door.

The corridor has where a staircase going up past two closed doorways, another bigger doorway at an opposite end to the stairs, and light switches. The bigger doorway looks downright fortified, like it was a vault that reminds Sean of the Shelter. (That doorway is closed, too.)

The upstairs is also lit.
u-b
Sean relays his findings and proposes a plan that is to let the group more-or-less safely advance while conserving the flashbangs.

 
 Spoiler 
I am not sure I am getting it right, but the plan should be like this, if reasonable:
1. We get Bart back inside, with NVGs off and face mask on.
2. We also have Richard with NVGs off, visor on, tactical light on.
3. They should occupy the most of the width of any corridor following a dog through any and all areas not including the vault.
4. Sean would cover them from some distance behind, maybe stopping near the corners, as-of-yet-unchecked doorways and intersections and that sort of thing.
5. If the dog notices any presence, we stop and Sean comes forward to 'bang them.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles and their allies spring into action.

Bart makes his way back to the exiles' side, helping Sean, Tariq and Richard with their forward advance.
Keeping watch from the corridor, Bart has his dogs sniff around the building. Immediately, the dogs growl at the stairs, apparently smelling men on the steps going up.

According to Bart, the dogs also smell traces of a chemical near the vault.

The stairs up lead to a landing. Very close by is another door, the room beyond lit judging by the bottom crack. All the other rooms on the upper floor do not have lights on. The dogs are sure someone is in there.
u-b
Assuming there is no one in the corridor, Sean leaves Bart and the dog downstairs with an instruction to look the other way until a thing goes "boom" and maybe close the ears as much as they are able. Then Sean stands beside the door to the lit room and tries to determine the following:
1. If it is locked or something.
2. Which way it opens (into the corridor or into the room).

If we seem like we can get it open, the plan is to have one man (Richard) to handle the door and step aside and the other man (Sean) to throw the flashbang and step aside, all while remaining mostly out of the doorway. This would be easier if the door opens inside, but presumably even if not, something can be arranged.

 
 Spoiler 
Corrections:
1. Only one dog is with us at the moment because (a) we do not want to risk both and (b) the other one sort of guards the rest of the people, which are...
2. Tariq and two waffle fouse men. They watch for the mobile guys whi might return to the bank while we are occupied.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Spoiler: corrected 
Oops. I stand corrected.
 


Sean examines the door and sees it is not locked. It opens inward, into the room.

Sean and Richard can easily continue, stacking up on the sides of the door.

(OC: roll Throwing skill to get the grenade in there?)
u-b
 "Might be a trap, but hopefully not an explosive one, and we have to start somewhere."  Sean draws a flashbang, pulls the pin, then stands beside the door near the hinges. He makes a few practicing motions with the grenade, then nods. When Richard, stading on the other side, opens the door wide, Sean throws the flashbang in and steps away.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles are starting to worry with how much they're getting used to explosions.

From inside the room, a man screams in terror and confusion as the flashbang lives up to its name.

When the exiles rush in, they find the room used to be some kind of office for a bigwig. It was probably much nicer back in the Old World. Now, it's occupied by one very tormented slaver stumbling around, dazed and unable to fight back. He's carrying an advanced crossbow in his hands, but can't bring himself to shoot the darn thing at the exiles.

He's easily cowed and captured, slammed to the ground and disarmed as he swears and screams. He was in the office alone.
u-b
Sean leaves the guy with Richard and peeks back into the corridor to see if there would be any reaction. If there is none, he calls Bart and the dog to help guard the captive and starts to think of topics that he might want Richard to inquire about.

Topics of interest:
1. Where's the rest of your lot?
2. Where is specifically the boss?
3. Anyone else is here?
4. What about the vault?
5. Any working emergency exits?
6. Anything you might tell us to get you  freed ?
Volthawk
Richard agrees with Sean's priorities (although he asks about the vault after any emergency exits, given the potentially time pressures on each, and spares pumping him for broader intel until they're more secure later and he can take more time and focus on it) and, confident he can handle anything their prisoner tries, directs Bart to search the room for any intel of note while he questions the slaver.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean sees and hears no activity downstairs. Apparently, this is no-one else upstairs or down stairs?
Bart searches the upper floor as Richard gets to work pumping the new captive for info.
The hunter unfortunately finds little of interest - mostly just stocks of rations and water bottles. He counts 50 meals and 90 pints of water.

For 15 minutes, Richard fails to get anything out of the man.
Then he manages to break through resistance and get some answers.
The rest of the slavers stationed here are either out on a raid or sheltering in the bank vault. Six to nine other privates and their base commander are in the vault. 10 privates out.
The man clams up after that.

Sean keeps watch as everyone else works on their own thing. He gets a raise over the radio, from Tariq. He's reporting in that he and the other men outside have spotted approaching vehicles. They'll be here in five minutes, at their current speed.
u-b
Well, that was about as good as it gets. The bunch that took refuge in the vault should be effectively trapped. Sean proposes Richard, Bart, dog and the captive be left to guard the (presumably, sole) vault's entrance while Sean would prepare to meet the arrivals. Some more topics of interest to ask of the captive:
1. Anything about that scent? We would not want to be gased or something, so there are options to guard the vault from afar and/or don the gas masks, but the topic is still interesting.
2. How the vault is to be opened? Are there the means to open it from the outside?
3. How it is ventilated and illuminated? How long can it remain shut?

Sean clarifies the direction whence the vehicles are incoming, then looks if the bank has handy slits or usable windows or something on the relevant side of the second floor. Anyway, he chooses and assumes  some  position, preferably behind  some  cover and with  some  field of fire and sight. He makes sure Tariq knows his position and does not plan landing frags near it. Now that we have the things under control, Sean thinks we can as well go after the vehicles (as opposed to heaps of burnt metal), so does not mind if Tariq reloads the first six shots with alternating stun / gas / stun / gas / stun / light (or something). It presumably would take some time to shut off the headlights, so the light does not have to go first.

 
 Spoiler 
I propose Volthawk takes over Tariq and his whole bunch while Richard is effectively removed from combat, but other arrangements can be considered.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Richard will have to make more Interrogation rolls if you want answers to those questions.)

Sean moves into position and takes stock of the incoming hostiles...
The vehicles are coming from the main road, 6 bikes and one van.
The bank has fully boarded-up windows on the second floor. Removing them in time is impossible.
Sean finds a good place, a corner of the courtyard that is easy to set up a barricade, with a clear line of sight to the main road. Tariq and Richard can get a good spot, too.

The incoming slavers do not seem to notice anything untoward as they approach. 3 minutes before they arrive proper, just outside the courtyard.

(OC: Sean's Tactics roll gets him  one reroll  on an upcoming Observation, Stealth, the opening attack roll or an active defense in the encounter-to-come, if he or another character needs it. What's your encumbrance levels and ready weapons now?)
u-b
Sean opens with a long burst all over the windshield of the van that is aimed to first get the driver and then maybe whomever else is in the vehicle without damaging the systems. Sean does not mind if any biker gets in the way, assuming they ride straight enough.
JbeJ275
While one of the Wafflehouse men has their shot smash into the dirt around the bikes front wheel, the other sees flechettes directed straight toward the oncoming biker's heart. The then lean back into cover around the doorframes, and ready for another shot.
Volthawk
Tariq ends the first volley of fire by launching a flashbang at the remaining bikers, aiming to disorient as many of them as possible while they're still figuring out what's going on.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean blows the driver away, his skull annihilated. His comrade besides him soon joins him as Sean wastes him with two more shots. The rest of the burst penetrates the van and goes through, putting holes out the van's back door.

The Waffle House men are firing too light. The biker shot in the chest looks like they shrugged off the flechettes.

Tariq launches the flashbang right on target. It explodes into light and thunder, causing the bikers to curse and scream as they lose control of their motorcycles. Only one averts his eyes in time to avoid the flashbang, but he is now alone in the fight.
u-b
Sean aims at one side motorbiker.

 
 Spoiler 
The one away from Tariq / Waffle House men.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Alright, what are Richard, Tariq, Bart and the Waffle House men doing?)
JbeJ275
Both Wafflehouse men aim at the same targets as before, this time moving the focus of their aim to their enemies' arms.
Volthawk
Tariq takes aim at the biker still active, in case another flashbang is needed to leave him in the same state as his comrades.
Shoot Da Moon
Four of the bikers wipe out, crashing to the ground.
(OC: one's badly hurt, almost KO'd.)

The one biker who resisted the flashbang tries to drive off, seeing the writing on the wall.
(OC: All-Out Defense, increased Dodge, using Driving skill /2 +3 an active defense. Move 5, turning away.)

The biker who did not wipe out hangs on even as he growls in frustration and pain.
(OC: still stunned.)
u-b
Sean shoots at the man he has been aiming at.

 
 Spoiler 
I am assuming Sean's target is out of the smoke, but a potential hit even if not.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Are you aiming at the biker who was not stunned?)

Sean eliminates the biker, tearing through the bad guy's heart.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: The biker who was not stunned, did not get shot.)

The bikers who ate dirt are kicked while they're down, the Waffle House men open up on them.

One is hit brutally in the arm, where his armour is much weaker. He screams in agony as his arm is tore up and he quickly loses consciousness, gushing blood in the middle of the road.

(OC:  Tariq. )
Volthawk
Seeing the conscious biker start to move away, Tariq fires a flashbang at him, hoping to stop him before he gets away.
Shoot Da Moon
By some miracle of toughness, the sole un-affected biker manages to resist the new flashbang!

(OC: He made the HT-5 roll!)

Seeing the continued fire as a sign that he's not wanted here, the biker continues to drive his bike away another 10 yards, accelerating.

The bikers trying to shake off the first flash, most of them having crashed, fail to recover except for one still prone on the ground. The stunned goon on the bike crashes, smacking almost face-first onto the gravel road, his bike rolling as his body demonstrates kinetic force colliding with an large object so at rest that it's practically immovable.

(OC: all bikers but one no longer on bikes, on ground.)
u-b
Sean aims at the retreating guy hoping to get him before he hides behind some obstacle.
JbeJ275
The Waffle house men scan the bikers splayed out on the ground, screaming at the men to stay on the ground and drop there weapons, they both get ready to fire their weapons at anyone recovering and attempting to fight back.
Volthawk
Tariq aims at the biker again, in case Sean can't pick him off.
Shoot Da Moon
The prone men follow orders from the Waffle House and give up, hands in the air. They couldn't get their weapons out in time, so the shotgunners easily threaten them into surrender.

The lone biker manages another 10 yards away from the bank. Another second of gunning it, and he'll be out of sight of the exiles and their comrades.

(OC: Add 10 yards to the distance when shooting the biker.)

The van with the two dead slavers up front idles out front, all acceleration gone. It came to a stop, the driver apparently braking as he slumped over.
u-b
Sean shoots a short burst to chase the biker, then reloads with a full magazine and carefully advances to see if the van contains anyone willing to either surrender or fight.

 
 Spoiler 
Forgot to account for the smoke for that burst, but numerous hits anyway. Will use extra effort and drop down if anyone tries to shoot.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's shooting eliminates the fleeing biker, leaving the motorcycle to crash and roll as the fresh corpse falls off the moving bike.

Moving in carefully, Sean approaches the van and opens the back doors to find two dead men, gunshots grimly punched through their chests.

(OC: Combat over. Surrendered enemies restrained.)
u-b
Sean brings our cars in, one by one. Makes sure the captives are properly duct-taped and inside the building where Richard can handle them and continue the interrogation (any not-quite dead guys go there). Anyone dead is dragged onto one side of the courtyard, among with all their gear. Our vehicles are parked on the other side. The bikes and the van are checked to see if they have survived well enough. Ideally, the bikes are parked in the courtyard and the van just out of it. Then we can think if we do something about the vault, but some answers first.

 
 Spoiler 
The questions are  here  and the rolls are  here , so what do we learn? Also I rolled on Tariq's architecture of 13.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The bikes are merely banged up from the crash and low on fuel. The van is low on fuel and sustained damage beyond just the gunshots. The dead and beaten slavers all have minimal ammo in their guns - one magazine to one-half of a complete load for every gun. Their armor is mostly good around the torso, but much lighter on the limbs, hands and feet. The van has a few lockboxes, but they are mostly empty.

Richard gets some answers from the captives after 30 minutes of leaning hard.
The captives say the vault has poison gas supplies stored in it.
It usually only gets opened when the camp officer says it does. He alone has the key to the vault.
The vault is lit by electric lamps powered by a gas-powered generator. It is ventilated by a vents that go up to the roof. They could stay in there for days, if they ration power and have enough supplies and the air vents stay clear. Oh, and the captives admit they lied before. The slavers have no poison gas what so ever.

Tariq's inspection of the building comes to the conclusions;
The bank is hooked up to the city's power gird (currently offline), but it also has its own generator on-site if they're smart and prepared. Which they are.
The vents are vulnerable to infiltration and/or gas.
Getting the lights off in the vault means messing with the internal wiring or the generator...which is probably impossible from outside the vault.
Wrecking the vault doors open or going through the ceiling above the vault would require some real heavy explosives. But it could be done...

(OC: the vault door has DR 70 and HP 60, use 25 sticks of dynamite to open it up. The ceiling above the vault has DR 20 and HP 47, so that's 9 sticks of dynamite to blow a big hole in it.)
u-b
Sean proposes that we...
1. Get to the vents.
2. Plug all but one of them with some garbage.
3. Modify and throw a gas grenade down the only vent.
4. Then use the same vent to communicate, claiming to have gotten everyone else, with a count and names, to have explosives, the ability to plug the last vent, and the ability to add some tear gas every few hours. Proposing to let people live.

 
 Spoiler 
What would be the best way to the vents from either inside or outside of the building? We can take a ladder or suchlike. Or, failing that, we can use some tools or explosives to blast the vents as they go through the building (presumably, much thinner walls than of the vault itself). What do we roll to execute the plan?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
What would be the best way to the vents from either inside or outside of the building? We can take a ladder or suchlike. Or, failing that, we can use some tools or explosives to blast the vents as they go through the building (presumably, much thinner walls than of the vault itself). What do we roll to execute the plan?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
Well, the vents are accessible from the roof, there's stairs to the roof on the second floor. Door's unlockable from inside. Finding the vents inside the building is a roll of Architecture and accessing them depends on the roll. There are access points to the vents, you just need to locate them, the tools needed are basic screwdrivers or Forced Entry. Once you access the vents, make an Intimidation roll against enemy Will 13 to negotiate a surrender - although making contact with the enemy will require getting them a comms device.
 
u-b
Tariq quite easily finds what he supposes is the nearest access port to a vent serving the vault. Then he provides the team with a 40mm gas grenade modified for a simple time fuse. It looks somewhat ugly, but is expected to work. Sean tests if the vent pipe serves as a good enough communications device by simply shouting in there:  "Hey, you, in the vault! We got some of your people alive and the whole rest of them dead! We have explosives, gasoline, access to this vent and some creativity! We can make what remains of your lives extremely misedable if you do not surrender, like, now! Care to negotiate the terms under which this will happen?" 
 
 Spoiler 
If there is any response, the situation is hereby handed over to Richard, who can try to persuade the guys.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The people in the vault do indeed hear Sean's shouting...

They yell back.

(OC: Don't make a Hearing -1 roll. We'll just assume they make it through clear enough.)

"You make demands of me?! How dare you?! You know what? Kill the men you have captured, they're all useless to me anyway if they could not stop you! If you want something from me, you can either let me leave here in exchange or take it off my cold dead body!!"
u-b
Sean comments on this, mainly to Richard:  "We can let this man go some time tomorrow if he transfers to us whatever he has in good shape - that is, papers, people, valuables... If he does that, we give one bike with a full tank, a loaded handgun, his own set of clothing... and I say that's about it. I don't mind if you can negotiate better terms." 
Volthawk
Richard nods, thinking.  "There are the other privates in there. While the commander might agree to leave by himself, they might not be so happy about those terms. And given these are slavers and raiders we're talking about, any disagreement in there might be...messy. Although...huh. Thoughts on the odds we can get the rest of them to give the boss up in exchange for them going free instead?" 
u-b
Sean shrugs.  "Normally, they'll be detained until the end of the war or until we reconsider. At least they will live. If they hand us the boss, we can let them all free instead. They'll get the van if they hand him alive." 
Volthawk
Nodding, Richard thinks his words over a little longer before heading to the vent and shouting down.  "Alright! We have two competing offers for you. Offer one is that your boss there opens up the vault and hands over any intel and valuables he has. The rest of you become our prisoners, and he walks out with a gun and a bike with a full tank. Offer two is that the rest of you hand over your boss and his possessions, open up and disarm yourselves - we'll give you back your van, and you're free to go wherever you want. There  is  the third option, but I assure you that you won't want that - we can make life rather unpleasant in there if we want, and if you come out we're prepared and you will not win. Either way, your choice. Have a think about it and we'll be waiting to see the door open." 
Shoot Da Moon
The response is less than optimal.
"No deal! Get the **** off our turf! Do your worst!"

Followed by half a minute of deeply hurtful and vulgar name-calling.
u-b
Sean grabs some bedding and plugs most of the relevant vents that Tariq points him to.  "We will now give you some time to reconsider!"  He then throws down a modified gas grenade and plugs the last vent.

He lets Tariq prepare an explosion on the vault's ceiling by placing the TNT there covered by something to direct the blast downwards. Dead bodies will do, but Sean will first search them, which he starts to do right away. Bart and both Waffle House men will guard the vault and Richard should be nearby.

 
 Spoiler 
Here goes some torture. I am not sure we have to roll again, but they probably do, with modifiers or what not. The gas probably has nowhere to escape.

Search the van, then search all the bodies with skill 15 and load all the loot in the van.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
Here goes some torture. I am not sure we have to roll again, but they probably do, with modifiers or what not. The gas probably has nowhere to escape.

Search the van, then search all the bodies with skill 15 and load all the loot in the van.
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
You've already made a roll to modify it. It goes off. Just roll the effects for the explosion.
 


The vents are plugged and the gas grenade is dropped in.

In the meantime, Sean has the bodies and the van searched.
The haul in total form the bodies is 15 Bergmann MP18/I submachine guns, 200 SMG bullets, 35 pairs of gloves and boots, 35 pairs of sharp-protective limb armor, 35 concealable vests with anti-stab plates, 15 Winchester Model 92 rifles, 100 rifle bullets, 15 Colt .45 SAA revolvers, 70 pistol bullets and 35 large knives.

The van contains very little else than a few jerry cans of gasoline, a spare tire, 8 empty plastic bottles and 10 bottles of water.
Shoot Da Moon
The enemy hiding in the vault do not take the tear gas well. They do not surrender or open the vault door to escape/try to murder the exiles for their gassing.
Instead, they seem to keep their discipline and hold fast in the vault.

When the exiles' dynamite explodes a hole in the ceiling of the vault, they find the tear gas is still going strong and the people inside are screaming and crying in pain even as they clutch their guns and hide behind heavy metal cover.

The vault has been repurposed into a fortified base with supplies and gear for the commander to operate his slaving gang. The best bed in the building has been maintained next to a big stack of papers and a desk full of equipment.

They are all exposed to gunfire from the above ceiling hole, they were counting on the exiles coming from the vault door. Being blind and coughing does not help matters. Take out the commander of the slavers, and they will finally surrender. The commander is probably the man at the back, behind a solid stone pillar and holding a bound prisoner in front of him with a revolver to his head.
u-b
Sean steps back from taking a quick look down the hole. His eyes start to water a bit. He whispers to Richard, also pointing in one direction:  "Your turn. Their boss is best taken alive and maimed. Likely one this that way. Also, take care not to target the prisoners. Tell me if and when you would want a flashbang." 

Sean takes a flashbang, pulls the pin and puts it into a pocket. Holding the flashbang ready, he lets Richard go about handling the situation.
Volthawk
Richard nods as he puts on his gas mask (if he was going to be hanging around the hole a while, it was worth making sure the gas didn't affect him much), and looks around at the others in thought.  "I need someone's pistol. If we're talking this out, it won't do to be standing there with my rifle raised, but if something kicks off I want to be able to quickly draw something and start shooting."  Once he's supplied with that, he walks back over to the hole and crouches down, shouting down to the commander.  "Alright, here we are. We did warn you that you couldn't hold out in there forever. I see your prisoner - who are they, why should we care and what do you want to come of this? You must have a plan and a goal in mind for a hostage scenario, so let's hear it." 
Shoot Da Moon
The commander pauses to consider Richard's words...then deflates.
"Okay, fine..." He spits out. "The prisoners are dumb jerks who tried to defect. We caught them and we were holding them when you came here and shot all my men. The captives apparently know the location of supply caches, and the location of their commander. We were given orders to torture them for the information they have and then execute them."

The men in the vault seem broken by this admission of defeat from their CO.
"How about this? We give you the hostages, all of them, and you leave us all alone? We can simply sends them out of the vault, and you let us live, safe in here. We don't care what happens to these traitors, and we need to get out of here anyway."
u-b
Sean nods to Richard. That was far from a perfect arrangement, but that's what we came here for, so will do.  "Ask them if they have a radio. We'll let them live, but won't let them broadcast info on us and on this one arrangement." 
Volthawk
That was faster than he expected, but alright. This worked just fine. After looking back at Sean, Richard returns his focus to the slaver boss and nods, calling down to him.  "That exchange works for us, with one...well, two conditions. Firstly, you hand over any radios or similar means of communication you have. Secondly, we're taking those papers of yours as well as the prisoners." 
Shoot Da Moon
The commander growls and groans in frustration for a moment before relenting.
"FINE! We'll disable the radio, hand over the documents! Now can you all please stop bothering us?!"
u-b
 "Deal. Observe them from here."  says Sean to Richard as he carefully inserts the pin back into the flashbang. Then he moves downstairs to some place that would allow him to monitor the vault door without unduly exposing himself and observes the prisoners emerging with papers and radios (or whatever form this is going to take).
Shoot Da Moon
It takes the slavers in the vault a good ten minutes to organize themselves and get it together, then out come the hostages from the vault.

The hostages are four men and three women, all looking shabby and bruised. They are holding the radio equipment and the papers. They make it over to the exiles over any trouble.

The slavers cower in the vault the whole time, trying to stay out of the gas.
u-b
Sean directs the hostages to the lobby, oversees the closing vault door, then sends one Waffle House man to fetch Richard.  "Richard, can you please interview these people? I want to know if we are done here and if they can ride the bikes."  Then he puts the papers into a car and examines the radio(s) to see if they are any good.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Then he puts the papers into a car and examines the radio(s) to see if they are any good. 
 

The radios are functional, but they are all damaged and badly maintained - no doubt a result of the recent down-and-out circumstances and downward slide the enemy army is in right now. One rough jostle, and the radios could all be out-of-commission.

(OC: All the radios are Very Fragile (-2 HT, half DR, -0.5 CF) TL 6 medium models ($1250 x4 -50% = $2500, 30 lbs.) with a 5-mile-range and a battery runtime of 14 hours for 4 medium batteries. All of the batteries are mostly run down by now. Repairing all the damage is a major job, they're all down to 0 HP exactly, from 12 HP. They're not broken...yet.)
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
 
 Originally Posted by 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. 
 

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 
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 
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 
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 
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 

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.
 
JbeJ275
Ramsey grabs one of his sticks of dynamite and a match from his matchbox, the box itself held in the same hand, and the match struck. He then leaps through the car door, leaving his thin coat behind him.
u-b
Sean keeps aiming until all of the animals are close together, then shoots a long burst, walking it from beside the shack and at the rest of the approaching things.

 
 Spoiler 
1..3 more rounds here, Wait action eventually converted to an attack.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles and Ramsey see the horrid bear-like and reptilian animals converge on the shack as the man inside retreats from the window and scream for help. The larger monsters, if and when they get to the shack, smash and ram the walls and doors of the shack - none of them manage to get in but they all make a good show of ruining the outer décor. The wolf-creatures snacking on the corpses pay no-one any mind - they have delicious human meat to sample.

 TURN 5 

Then Sean brings his rifle to bear, and fires away.

(OC: Sean fires 12 bullets. The bear-things are SM+1 and the reptiles are SM+2.)

His results are satisfying - none of the monsters are aware of the attack and Sean's aim is true.
The wounded bear-horror is shredded by the two bullets Sean puts into its heart(?).
The other bear is also exterminated by Sean's shots.
A reptile catches two bullets and is immediately slain.
The second reptile is hit by two bullets, and dies without a prayer.
The third monster takes both hits coming its way and falls down dead.

In less than a second, the five large animals are all deceased.

(OC: Richard, it is your turn now. Then it's the wolves.)
Volthawk
Seeing Sean's handled the other animals, and that the wolves are still not focused on them, Richard takes his time to line up a shot at them.

 
 Spoiler 

Aiming.

How far away are the wolves from our position?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Seeing Sean's handled the other animals, and that the wolves are still not focused on them, Richard takes his time to line up a shot at them.

 
 Spoiler 

Aiming.

How far away are the wolves from our position?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
10 yards at the nearest. The furthest is 14 yards.

Ramsey?
 
JbeJ275
With the crowd of animals diminished, Ramsey realises his dynamite might be.. over enthusiastic. Thus he drops them and the match unlit on top of hit coat and picks up his spear instead.
Shoot Da Moon
The mutated wolves stop their eating and start running away, apparently spooked by the gunfire.

(OC: combat over? Anyone shooting at their backs or anything?)
u-b
Sean is not inclined to let the animals flee so shoots a burst at them with the rest of the magazine. Bart get that as an example to follow and shoots at the wolf he was aiming at.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean blazes away (spending 12 bullets in the process) and scores hits on seven of the horrors. They all die, torn apart by the high-powered hot lead.

Bart, meanwhile, follows the scout's lead and opens up with his shotgun. The blast is brutally on-target, shredding the mutant animal's fur and muscle, splattering the ground with blood in a chaotic pattern.

8 of the fleeing animals are dead, the rest still manage to keep moving.

(OC: The 8 animals have Move 6. After 3 seconds of action, and the wolves will be out of sight, into the wilderness and only found via tracking.)
Volthawk
While Sean deals with the wolves, Richard makes his way straight to the shack - there may be people inside in trouble.  "We've cleared them out - are you guys alright in there?" 
Shoot Da Moon
(OOC: Richard will be Moving for a few seconds. In the meantime, what will Ramsey be doing?)
u-b
While Richard is walking and everyone else is aiming, Sean quickly reloads and shoots another long burst at the retreating wolves...
JbeJ275
Ramsey quickly ticks his coat back on, but ultimately stays near the vehicle keeping an eye out for other approaching threats.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's burst fire nails all the remaining mutant wolves, killing them all in a brutal sweep of hot lead.

The scene goes quiet as the blood pools grow from the fresh corpses.

No signs of further life are visible, as the man inside the shack has retreated in completely and is presumably weeping in fear and horror.
u-b
Sean lets Richard handle the shack and first goes to check those eaten people. If there are signs of life, he is to provide first aid. If there are not, he'll just re-fill the magazines and collect the casings from the rounds spent.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean sees all the people being eaten by the wolves are stone dead, it seems their throats were torn out by hungry jaws. They all sport defensive wounds on their hands and arms - they tried to fight the animals off. He gathers his brass and reloads his magazines without further incident.

Richard, meanwhile, goes to the shack and knocks on the door. He looks into the window to find the man cowering in the corner, still clutching his emptied SMG. He looks pretty traumatized. Tears are streaming down his cheeks.

(OC: I do not think your Guilt Complex Disadvantage triggers here. But it's a grim scene none-the-less.)
Volthawk
Damn. This was...a mess. At least they were able to save one of them. Richard could take some reassurance from that, at least. Slinging his rifle back over his shoulder, he tries the door to slowly enter and approach the man, hands up.  "Hey. It's over, wee've killed them and we're here to help with...what's left. Are you hurt?" 
Shoot Da Moon
The man in the shack barely manages to respond, "Yeah, yeah...I'm okay...They didn't touch me..."
He then bursts into another crying jag. Richard confirms he is unharmed (physically) with a quick glance-over, as the man allows Richard to get close to him and comfort him.

Richard notices the inside of the shack is in good condition, none of the monsters got past the doors and windows. But it is not secure now, the ways into the shack are damaged too bad to keep out any more bad guys or animals.

The man in the shack eventually slumps as the adrenaline and the shock wears off (and the trauma sinks in). He allows Richard to lead him out and follow him, slinging his gun.
"They chased us all the way here from the other end of the valley..." The man quietly explains. "They just came out of the woods, a huge swarm of the blasted things..."
u-b
Sean thinks of what can be done about the situation.  "We are too busy at the moment and I am not sure we'll ge able to come back here to backtrack the things anytime soon. We'd like to, but we'll have to see how it goes. We also don't have the time to properly bury your comrades, unless you invent some way that's more quick. That said, I think despite we've killed all of the lot attacking you, it might still be unsafe to remain here alone. Will you pack your and your comrades' gear and come with us? We should be able to drop you somewhere safe in a matter of days." 
Shoot Da Moon
The man tearfully agrees.
"Okay. That's good. Take me away from this awful place."
He shivers and shakes as he gathers his things for 10 minutes and tries to avoid looking at the corpses.
The exiles and their allies get back on the road soon enough.

The drive over to the meeting place is quiet and sad. The roadside scenes get a little more hopeful for a half a mile, as the exiles spot a caravan of people slowly making their way south in wagons pulled by mules.

The exiles pass by without incident, and arrive at the meeting place, a clearing campsite with plenty of sight lines and cover. The sun is still high in the air. Mutated people in thick black all-covering gear stay away from plain sight of the road, they are busy tending to campsite chores. A few are eating lunch. They quickly recognize the exiles and welcome them into the camp. The camp commander is looking over a regional map and instructing his scout to take a pair of binoculars and keep a lookout on Newport until night falls.

He's ready to talk business with the exiles...
u-b
Sean shows the camp commander and anyone the camp commander invites for the meeting the fake report and the party's notes about any and all discrepancies found therein. He starts to explain the discrepancies in much more details than mentioned in the notes as the notes are basically a reminder of what is wrong where without any details of the thought process that went into this classification. Then he states the conclusion that this is a fake, based on some original, which might or might not be correct, but it is not possible to say what the original has contained only using the fake at hand. Sean suggests that the mutants try to contact the original report's author if they care about its contents and do their investigation of the transmission channel this one went through. Sean asks if this is or is not enough to get our collateral back (we can post a lesser collateral if that seems appropriate). Sean says he is sure not entitled to, but would like to, be kept informed about how this ultimately turns out, especially since the original report might have said something important and relevant to the lot of quite important stuff the party is currently busy with. Speaking of which...

The party has received, first- or n-th-hand, the following pieces of information we would like to hear some comments about  :
1. A lot of mutant animals appearing in large numbers indiscriminately attacking people in the area.
2. A mass of armed mutants moving from Newport to an unknown destination somewhere in the north.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean shows the camp commander and anyone the camp commander invites for the meeting the fake report and the party's notes about any and all discrepancies found therein. He starts to explain the discrepancies in much more details than mentioned in the notes as the notes are basically a reminder of what is wrong where without any details of the thought process that went into this classification. Then he states the conclusion that this is a fake, based on some original, which might or might not be correct, but it is not possible to say what the original has contained only using the fake at hand. Sean suggests that the mutants try to contact the original report's author if they care about its contents and do their investigation of the transmission channel this one went through. Sean asks if this is or is not enough to get our collateral back (we can post a lesser collateral if that seems appropriate). Sean says he is sure not entitled to, but would like to, be kept informed about how this ultimately turns out, especially since the original report might have said something important and relevant to the lot of quite important stuff the party is currently busy with. Speaking of which...

The party has received, first- or n-th-hand, the following pieces of information we would like to hear some comments about  :
1. A lot of mutant animals appearing in large numbers indiscriminately attacking people in the area.
2. A mass of armed mutants moving from Newport to an unknown destination somewhere in the north. 
 

The commander is convinced by Sean's presentation and gives them their collateral back without a scratch.

He comments that while he can put in a request to clean house and double-check their reports, there is no doubt that'll be a delay in processing it...

...because all of his mutant comrades have been called to war, gathering in a huge march (leaving a skeleton crew behind, which includes his own unit) and taking to the north to attack an army base.

He has not heard of the mutant animal swarms before now, however. He speculates the beasts are being controlled somehow, either by Old World technology or by a mutant's extra-normal abilities.

(OOC:  all players earn 1 bonus Character Point for alerting the mutants of the false reports. )
u-b
Sean thanks the mutant commander for the information and tries to make sure he understands (1) which "army base" is this and (2) how it relates to the slavers' factory. If that is the same thing, he says he can provide some information about it. If that is not the same thing, he'd rather request some information.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean thanks the mutant commander for the information and tries to make sure he understands (1) which "army base" is this and (2) how it relates to the slavers' factory. If that is the same thing, he says he can provide some information about it. If that is not the same thing, he'd rather request some information. 
 

The mutant squad leader looks reluctant for a moment, and then shakes his head.
"I'm sorry. I can't share too much. Orders. But I can't tell you that the army base is dangerous and our assault on it could go wrong. For now, just tend to your own business and we'll handle it."
u-b
Sean nods. Secrecy he can understand. But he doesn't have it on  his  side, as far as the enemy bases are concerned, so he shares that part of Stone's info, including the  tank ,  both   maps  and that sort of thing. He tells the mutants to "have us in" if they ever are after  that  base.

If no one has anything to add to the exchange, we then drive straight to Bread Basket.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean nods. Secrecy he can understand. But he doesn't have it on  his  side, as far as the enemy bases are concerned, so he shares that part of Stone's info, including the  tank ,  both   maps  and that sort of thing. He tells the mutants to "have us in" if they ever are after  that  base.

If no one has anything to add to the exchange, we then drive straight to Bread Basket. 
 

The mutant nods his head as he takes in the information presented. He asks about the source of the information. He copies the juiciest bits into his own notepad, just in case, before taking the original copies from Sean. He raises an eyebrow at mention of a tank. He passes the stuff over to his subordinate on the radio.

He comments in a sideways manner that Sean's base is the same as the one the Newport mutants is marching on, but he can't authorize the exiles to help without an okay from the higher-ups. He highly doubts his bosses will allow the exiles any further access, due to paranoia on their part. He is resigned to that.

(OC: Bread Basket is 60 miles from here.)

The exiles leave with a warm farewell. Sean leads the way, driving across the state to the farming city. The journey will take about 5 hours and 30 minutes, assuming nothing goes wrong...

Along the way, Sean notices more and more grisly scenes of dead by the road as he makes his way south and west into Vermont. It seems the carnage is going in a specific direction?

He drives deeper into wilderness, towards a valley where Shelter 33 bloomed into the community of Bread Basket decades ago. As he comes up to a big fork in the road, he spies automobile wreckages. A car lies upside down, crushed flat under its own weight. Some meters away is another vehicle which tried to meld with a tree along the side of the road. No bodies appear to rest in either car, so the drivers must have made it from the accident. A couple of long-dead road flares speak to medics who have been here. A blackened husk of a car is on the other side of the road. The exposed ribs of a corpse is hanging out an open door, picked clean by time and carrion eaters. A light rain drums a funeral rhythm on the rusting roof. Old bullet holes let faint light through the left and right sides of the vehicle.

(OC: Will the exiles stop and check out the scene closely, or keep driving?)
u-b
 Mutant Commander 

Sean informs the mutant commander that the info is from the notes of a slaver commander that we have gotten some time in the past, along with the slaver commander himself. If the notes are in doubt, slaver commander can be also provided. He also informs the mutant commander that he is about to procure some anti-tank weapons, just in case, and if mutant superiors find it prudent, will provide some of those, with or without himself, on the condition that the slaves kept at the base be left unharmed to the extent practical. He will be on the radio and has secure encryption, handing a code right now.

 Bread Basket 

At the car wreck, Sean stops and gets out of the vehicle. That is too many "accidents" too closely packed to just drive through. So he takes any volunteers and first makes a wide circle around the scenery, looking for any potential observers, but also for other stuff, like fresh tracks. If nothing suspicious anywhere, he'll check the actual crashes too, and the road ahead, for possible causes, traps and what not.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Bread Basket is 60 miles from here.

The journey will take about 5 hours and 30 minutes... 
 

Should not the road conditions have improved by now from the winter? These numbers average to about 11 mph. Plausible, but we  have  been moving faster.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 At the car wreck, Sean stops and gets out of the vehicle. That is too many "accidents" too closely packed to just drive through. So he takes any volunteers and first makes a wide circle around the scenery, looking for any potential observers, but also for other stuff, like fresh tracks. If nothing suspicious anywhere, he'll check the actual crashes too, and the road ahead, for possible causes, traps and what not.

 
 Spoiler 

Should not the road conditions have improved by now from the winter? These numbers average to about 11 mph. Plausible, but we  have  been moving faster.
 
 
 

Sean notices that the scene used to be very disturbed, but has been cleaned up of whatever stuff was put down previously. He figures someone once set bear traps and tripwires out here, but they were taken down after that.

This spot was definitely used as an ambush zone in the past, probably a week ago. But it's all clear now. Any human tracks he finds is old enough to be long gone.

The crashed cars have been scavenged throughly. Metal has been stripped out of the engines and frames.

(OC: the roads are in a terrible state, so the conditions are not great in terms of speed, but you at least do not have to worry about cold temperatures or snow blindness.)
u-b
Sean shrugs and proposes we be on our way. There does not seem to be much else to do besides going paranoid.
Shoot Da Moon
On the road again, the exiles quickly find a good route to the city of food. It's about dark when they arrive at their destination. Bread Basket is located in the middle of lush greenery, carefully cultivated for harvesting fruits, vegetables, fresh water and some animals. The metal tower of the city's main facility raises out to the sky, as if struggling to reach the clouds. It strikes an odd contrast to the urban sprawls the exiles have seen so far.

Driving into the visitors' center ready to meet newcomers, they quickly find that Bread Basket has a somewhat strange policy on citizenship; it seems only city natives, born and raised in the underground former Shelter, are allowed to enter the inner circles of the city.

The exiles are only allowed to enter and do business in the city's outward circles, running trade requests to the higher ups through the lower level bureaucrats. It reminds them a little of Gunmetal's policy. Those meeting the exiles ask the exiles to introduce themselves, record their business purposes, and submit to security measures.

The outward parts of Bread Basket are home to shanty towns built by outsiders and home/accommodations to non-citizens. There's multiple hotels, service stations, leisure establishments and specialty merchants available in the outer city.

(OC: expect an interview with city security, so list reaction modifiers and the ratings of relevant skills, don't roll anything just yet.)
u-b
Sean introduces his bunch as Radar Base Guys now busy mostly with a sort of war against the tattoed slavers (both as a personal as well as a general matter), but also with trying to help people hit with all sorts of recent attack, by slavers, mutants, mutated animals and whatever. Sean states we are here to trade in goods and maybe also in info and does not mind any reasonable security measures that might come with that.
Shoot Da Moon
The security guard writes down what Sean tells him, nodding all the while.
"That sounds...complicated. There's a big marketplace for visitors just down the road there, you can buy and sell stuff there. As for information...Well, Bread Basket folks don't get out much, really. You'll have to talk to other outsiders."

A van passes by, leaving the city outskirts. A security team stops it, asking the people inside to "sign out".

The security guard motions to his fellows as the van is processed.
"We'll need to check your cars for contraband. Anything to declare? Weapons, drugs, poisons?" He puts his notebook away and puts a cigarette in his mouth.
u-b
 "Sure. Lots of stuff. I won't declare every weapon, unless you really insist, I mean, I've said we are at war, so we have quite a number. In fact planning to sell some of these if there is a demand. Not a contraband, mind you, all proper channels and whatever the procedures you use. Drugs and poisons... well, some medical nanomachine injectors, some morphine injectors and whatever else goes into them first aid kits, a heroin pill, trace amount of herbicide in a tank we haven't cleaned after use... I guess that's it. None of these are for sale." 

Sean does not mind if the security guard has a look at the cargo.
Volthawk
Richard nods.  "Most of what we've got is stuff we've taken from the raiders, although some of it is the equipment we use out there, or the tools we use to keep our gear maintained. Also, while we're here we'd like to speak to whoever it is here who handles security in general - or a representative, naturally. We have information taken from the raiders we'd like to share." 
Shoot Da Moon
The security guard sighs deeply as Sean and Richard explain themselves.
"Well, that's just great. Sounds like we're going to be out here for over half a hour..." He sulks as he begins the inspection.
His fellow guards help him take note of the stuff the exiles have. They grumble a bit as they gingerly look at the weaponry.

Meanwhile, in the background, the guards talking to the van driver start yelling at the driver to get out of the van. It seems the paperwork was out of order...

"Hey, you said you guys want to talk to the head of security? To report something?" The security guard asks as he writes down after his fellows announce the make and model of the firearms the exiles are carrying.

"What exactly did you want to report? Do they plan to attack here? We've heard rumours about raiders planning to raid here."
u-b
 "Not sure about attacking the city itself, but there has been a lot of attacks in the countryside, by mutants and by mutant animals. The former were instigated by the raiders and are, presumably, dealt with. The later we are not sure about and are continuing. So, wanted to check if your outer sites or routes were affected - we've had the information they were going against the sources of food. Whatever they do at the moment, we have learned the raiders have you on the list of priority targets, so checking if you are aware of this and want something done about the matter. I think we would be interested in acting upon your info about an impending attack, one way or another." 
Shoot Da Moon
The security guard nods along.
"Okay. Sounds good. We'll get in touch with the scene commander, see if we can't move this up the chain, but for now you and your friends are going to have get comfortable. Do you have an idea of where you'll be staying the night? There are a few hotels--"

BANG BANG BANG

He is interrupted by gunfire coming from over where the van is. Someone has triple-fired a pistol.

(OC: everyone, make an Observation or Per roll, whichever is higher.)
Shoot Da Moon
Sean sees it first.
The van driver drew a pistol and fired it straight into a security guard's chest.
The rest of the security forces spring into action, shouting orders to drop it and getting out their own weapons.
Then the passengers in the van start shooting too, clipping at least one security guard in the shoulder before they start exiting the van.
Sean thinks they're all blasting pistols.

The security guard Sean was shooting the breeze with has already got his gun raised and he's moving in. He waves the exiles away, shouting them to get out of here and find cover in the visitors' center.

(OC: Join the fight, or get to safety?)
u-b
 "Shout at me if you need any help. Men, take cover!"  Sean then starts to withdraw to take cover  behind the front of his car  (which is  not  as instructed, but Sean suspects should be fine). He has the rifle nearby, but doesn't take it in hand and ready for action, mostly to avoid causing any additional misunderstandings with the guards. He  does  lower the visor.
Volthawk
Richard joins Sean behind the car - he's not exactly happy to just stay there and not help, particularly since shots are being fired, but in the circumstances he understands Sean's stance here.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles' comrades join Sean and Richard behind cover.
The Bread Basket security forces quickly get embroiled in a full-blown firefight with the occupants of the van. It seems more people (5 to 9 combatants) on the side of the van pistoleers join in from the outside of city limits, firing upon the security forces with shotguns and hunting rifles.
In less than 20 seconds, the security guards have eliminated half the hostiles from the van (who number about 4 to 6) in a hail of hot lead. The driver was the first one to catch a lethal bullet in the neck and go down pouring out crimson life.

Eventually, the firefight hits a lull as everybody stops to reload behind whatever cover they can manage. A few bad guys are behind the van, at least 4 more are 6 to 10 yards away from the checkpoint and behind trees, the security guards are behind prepared barricades at the city limits.
u-b
Sean observes the whole process, noting each and every detail that is in fact visible. He does not come up with a good plan what to do after that, but an armed gang outside could not be just a coincidence, so Sean calls out loud:  "Hey, you, security! Want us to resolve this one?" 
 
 Spoiler 
That is one failed tactics roll. As for the perception roll, can Sean come up with any idea about wealth and/or affiliation of the people fighting against the guards? Not necessarily neck tattoos or obvious mutations, but anything at all, including protective and other equipment. Also, if given a go, we'll need positioning of everyone and everything, including ourselves, our three vehicles, the van, the barricades and the fighting parties, complete with distances and directions.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The security forces do not notice Sean shouting his offer.

From what Sean can see, the men inside the van are attempting to escort something they have in out of the city.

Their backup from outside seems to be a plan B in case security caught onto them and a fight broke out.

The backup shooters were dressed in multiple styles of clothing, apparently in an attempt to disguise their shared affiliation.

Sean is pretty the enemies are equipped with concealable armour around their torsos.

One of the security guards is getting ready to sweep the scene with a SMG, the burst fire should take out at least three or four bad guys in a second.

The bad guys are 8 yards from the exiles at the nearest, the farthest enemies are 19 yards away.
Volthawk
Richard's seen enough at this point and raises his rifle, aiming at one of the further-away hunting rifle-equipped backup shooters.
u-b
Seeing these are not random cheapo guys  and  Richard set to be joining in, Sean decides not to sit idly on the sidelines and prepares to pop out with a long burst at the outside bunch the next time shots are fired.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean joins in when the security forces fire a burst from a SMG. The racket is painfully loud as Sean rapidly blasts 12 shots. Sean counts eight men shot in the chest by his hand, the SMG man racking up another 4 or 5 dead or KO'd.

And with that, the fight is pretty much over. Only a few stragglers at the city limits remain of the hostiles, and they quickly retreat into the wilderness at full speed when they see most of their fellows have been killed by the twin burst fires.

The security forces take a moment to let the ringing in their ears stop and make sure no-one else is attempting to kill them, before moving in to secure the dead around the van.
u-b
Having fired the burst, Sean holds his right hand up while holding the rifle if his left hand, well away from the trigger. Observing no particular interest in his herson from anyone involved, he says:  "You three, cover me." , apparently directed at the new militia. Then goes to check the men he has shot. Of interest:
1. Any remaining forces in the area.
2. The number of people that have just left.
3. Any survivors.
4. Any tattoos or mutations.
5. Any loot.

If all goes without incident, he leaves the militia load all unclaimed loot into the cars (anything claimed by the guards is not contested), then goes back to the van to look inside and chat with the guards.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean looks over the recent dead and the severely wounded.
He sees no more hostiles in the area, or sticking around.
He figures three or four people just scattered away from the edge of the city.
About one third of those wounded by the SMG or Sean are still alive, not yet dead. But they're all bleeding heavily and probably won't make it unless given first aid immediately.
The injured and slain all have black neck tattoos, all in the design of a striped big cat posing near a spread of playing cards.
The enemies were all carrying guns, ammo, light kevlar vests under their shirts, small knives, bottles of water and rations wrapped in cloth. The security guards has Sean pile them up on a laid-out blanket.

Looking inside the van the pistoleers came from reveals a vat of unknown chemicals was being kept hidden under a blanket, along with a decent cache of travelling supplies and spare cans of fuel. The security forces quickly move to take it out and away, demanding the exiles stay clear of the scene while they work.
u-b
Sean complies with the request to stay clear of the scene with the exception that he drags everyone still alive someplace away from the van and applies just enough bandaging to keep most of them that same way until a further decision is made. When the guards are next able to give him some attention, he inquires whether they want any or all of the lot one way or another, whether they want the fleeing lot, and whether they have any other requests for the group.
Shoot Da Moon
The guards scratch their heads and huddle for a bit, arguing procedure before they tell Sean that they want the lot so they can launch a proper investigation into just exactly happened now and why. The bad guys fleeing might not be safe to follow right now (it's getting dark, and they've probably got a pre-determined rally point), so letting them go is for the best. The security forces have no further need to delay the exiles and their allies, they're free to go.

The security forces finish up the paperwork. Welcome to Bread Basket city. The sun goes down just as other visitors filter into the streets, ready to enjoy a night on the town. Judging by the lit up signs on the buildings, the usual vices and entertainment can be had past the checkpoint. A few security guards go off duty to drink at a nearby watering hole, walking alongside Sean and his comrades.
u-b
Sean takes a moment to talk to Richard when he expects nobody would be able to overhear them.  "It's getting dark and we have night vision. Probably less dangerous than they think. I might be inclined to run our own investigation and eventually hit wherever they were trying to deliver the stuff. What's your opinion?" 
Volthawk
Richard thinks it over for a moment before nodding.  "We shouldn't antagonise the guards by appearing to ignore them or by getting in their way, though. I suppose that means we check out the scene again, and try to find any tracks - they're not wrong that they'll have probably reached a rally point by the time we find them, but we've taken on more organised and ready groups than them before." 
u-b
Sean proceeds to rent the rooms for the night and park the cars somewhere guarded. He reloads the half-emptied magazine while he parks the cars. He then takes everyone willing to go for a walk. Richard and bart are specifically invited. He leads the way to the retreating tracks he has found earlier and lets Bart release the dogs. The men are to go well behind the bastards and look for them finding something or some fires or what not. Sean does not expect the attackers to plan a night's wort of hiking, so most likely we either find some camp or some car tracks running away.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: The hostel charges every PC and NPC with $10's worth of barter equivalent (bullets preferred) for one night with meals and water included. Parking the cars in a safe lot is another $10's worth per vehicle per day. Opposing enemy skill is 13, any other PC and NPC can pitch in with complementary skills. Just to confirm who's in and who's out before I roll for the enemy.)
Shoot Da Moon
The escaping hostiles tried to cover their tracks, but Bart trained his dogs well. They quickly sniff out the trail left behind by the gunmen.

The enemies hiked through the woods for 30 minutes, judging by the way they follow. When the dogs finally signal to Bart that they've located the position the quarry is currently resting at, Sean and his friends spy a campsite in a clearing, a fire burning in the centre next to a cabin-sized structure and an elevated open platform where a man is sitting on top. There are three or four men around the campsite, either walking around or sitting.

From this distance (20 yards), the details are hard to make out, but the dogs are reluctant to go closer. They seem positive that these campers are the enemies Sean hoped to track down.
u-b
Sean takes a look at the site through the scope, intending to uncover anything that might otherwise surprise him later on. Then he quietly says:  "Well, probably no need for complex tactics. We want as many of them alive as humanly possible, because we don't know who of them knows the stuff we are here for. They might have traps, so please no quick advances. Hm. I'll try to get the ground-level guys, Richard gets upper-level guy, Bart remains ready to handle anything threatening and the rest remain ready in case they shoot a flare or such. Good enough?" 

If that's good enough and nothing very interesting is spotted, Sean gets ready to attack the ground-level lot.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Sean and Richard have vision aides, though, so it is not a problem for now. 
 

And Bart. He does not have a radio, but we got him some NVGs.
 
Volthawk
Richard nods.  "Works for me. Man up top is probably their marksman, so taking him out and some automatic gunfire their way will hopefully convince the guys inside to hunker down so we can convince them to surrender."  That said, he starts taking aim at his target.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean makes a critical error when he tries to spy upon the campsite.
He leans out too far from cover and a glint of light might have been caught off his scope.
The man on the elevated platform spots it and yells out. The other men are shocked and alerted by this warning, and the man himself raises his rifle...

(OC:  combat time starts.  If Sean and Richard still have Speed 6.00, everyone acts at the same time. Still going to shoot, Sean?)
Volthawk
While not quite fast enough to stop the man on the platform from calling out, Richard makes sure its the last thing he does with a burst of gunfire.
u-b
Sean shoots a long burst at the campsite, missing most of his targets.  "Bart, yours is the one to the right!" 
 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Still going to shoot, Sean? 
 

Yeah, that same shot, just without the acc bonus. Bart will aim.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and Richard let loose a hail of lead, prompting the the targets to dodge and drop.
Sean only manages to hit one man once, tearing his arm off at the elbow. He screams in agony and clutches the fresh stump.
Richard's target on the elevated platform gets hit by three bullets, he goes limp as the shots penetrate his heart. From this distance, it's hard to tell if he's dead or simply unconscious.

The dogs stay by Bart's side as he aims his gun.
The militiamen also aim their firearms, watchful for easy targets.

No-one can see if the prone targets still alive are doing anything but cowering...or writhing in pain.
u-b
Sean quickly reloads and shoots another long burst and the men, left to right, targeting the arms again, then makes a step to the left not to stay in the same plafe where the muzzle flashes have been. Between the darkness, the crouched posture and a slight change of position, Sean doubts he will be succesfully targeted, but is ready to dodge anyway.

 
 Spoiler 
Using extra effort to reload with a full magazine. Now at 9 of 12 FP. Will dodge with extra effort if attacked.

Will need to know the following before deciding if Bart shoots:
1. How many men are there visible on the ground level? Sean targets three to the left. Is there another one to the right?
2. If not, has Bart seen whether the man he is targeting had just been hit?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean manages to shoot up two men in the arm, ripping them off with high powered bullets. They quickly break down into absolute terror, blood spraying.

 
 Spoiler 
1. All the enemies are visible on the ground. No one is on the right.
2. Bart's target has been hit and he saw it.
 
Volthawk
Seeing the state of the enemy after that last burst, Richard starts approaching the camp, shouting out.  "Anyone left alive, surrender now and we'll let you live!" 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: combat over.)

The last hostile to remain conscious eagerly accepts Richard's offer. He surrenders and begs for medical attention. He puts up no resistance as Richard and his friends approach to capture him. Everyone notices a strange chemical smell in the air as they walk through big bushels of weeds around the camp. Noisemaker traps were set up just before the rush of weeds, meant to catch anyone sneaking up on the camp.

When the exiles and their entourage finally get to the campfire, they make note of the encampment’s “features” - it is fairly barebones outside of the big wooden box-like semi-cabin which the elevated platform was built upon. An attempt at camouflage was made, but the men here were too inept to make good use of it.
A pair of big plastic barrels that look to have been recently dug up out of an adjacent hole - now kept next to the wooden pseudo-cabin.
Rows of stacked firewood have been stacked close to the firepit.
Behind the cabin, hidden from the exiles’ viewpoint up until now, is a big hitching post where seven horses with riding gear on have been tied to the post.
The cabin’s door is shut.

The enemies are easily tied up. Only the sniper on the raised platform atop the cabin is dead without a prayer. The rest are merely bleeding profusely and close to death.
u-b
Having confirmed that there's no one in the cabin, Sean disarms and tourniquets the survivors, then scotches them, then, provided they agree to talk, proceeds to give proper first aid. The later is bound to take some time, so Richard can as well start to ask questions. Of particular interest:
1. Who are these guys (rank, unit and the rest of the affiliations).
2. Who's their boss.
3. Where's their boss (we want both the coordinates and the whereabouts).
4. Where are everyone else of theirs.
5. What's the smell.
6. What were their friends trying to smuggle out of Bread Basket.
7. Where that substance was to be delivered.
8. How it was supposed to be used.
9. What do they know about earlier similar operations, whether successfull or not, and/or the other sources of the substance.
0. Anything else Richard can think of (or, actually, the guy can think of, if he would like a premium treatment).

UPD: Oh, and who are their men in the city.
Shoot Da Moon
The captured enemies agree to talk in exchange for first aid. They're completely shaken, however, and in great pain.
(OC: Make 3 First Aid rolls to treat them. The Interrogation rolls are unopposed, you just need to keep them focused and calm during questioning.)

The cabin is empty of people, yes. But it is where the raiders have stored their supplies...and the corpses of five dogs, preserved as best as they can. The dead dogs seemed to have died from violent animal attacks, throats or bellies ripped out. Stacked next to the door is two weeks' worth of animal feed for dogs and horses. The rest of the cabin is devoted to lockers, barrels and chests.

Sean finds in the containers; 40 loose pistol bullets, 10 loose rifle bullets, 5 loose shotgun shells, an empty (no magazine) Walther PPK pistol (HT99, HT101), three 10-dose tubes of antibiotic ointment (HT226, each tube worth $40), 40 morphine doses (HT226, each dose worth $2…more to an addict), an antitoxin kit for snake venom (10 doses, HT226, $40 per dose), 6 doses of truth serum (HT227, $40 a dose), an antitoxin kit for treating curare poisoning (4 doses, HT226, $40 per dose), 4 doses of curare poison ($100 each), and 50 cans of food. The raiders also kept a thick stack of papers (one of which is a map of Vermont) on a desk. From a quick glance, the papers look like scouting reports.

In addition, there's 100 pints of clean water in a small plastic barrel, and a total of 75 gallons of alcohol kept in one large drum and a wooden keg (6.8 lbs. and $2.60 per gallon for the booze, another 50 and 55 pounds respectively for the weight of the keg and drum, HT53-54), all stored at the back of the cabin.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean helps the injured captives. He stops the bleeding from the severed arms.
When he checks the horses, he finds them without saddlebags but with horseshoes, saddles, bits and bridles. They all look worn and somewhat scarred by past injuries.
The dead sniper had a Rolling Block rifle, one rifle bullet chambered.
The pair of big plastic barrels are empty, and are in addition to the containers found in the cabin.

(OC: Anyone got Veterinary skill?)

Richard's questioning of the captives is slow going at first.
He finds out they're all raiders, part of the larger army that has been terrorizing the state and trying to murder the exiles. They have the usual black tattoos on their necks. These ones depict two dice, one showing a 3 and the other showing a 4.
Their unit patrols the roads around here and maintains this encampment of supplies for other units. They also provide back-up for other units, which is what they were doing at Bread Basket.
Their boss is dead, disease got him a few days ago, they've been following standing orders out of inertia since, until an unit in Bread Basket requested backup.
Their boss answered to a nasty raid captain, but they know little about him and they have not heard from him in weeks.
Other raiders come and go to this encampment, giving reports, mooching supplies, hiding out, delivering supplies, and so on. They're all jerks.
The smell is a highly flammable chemical the raiders have coated the bushes in, as part of their defenses. The idea is, at the first sign of trouble like the noisemakers going off, the raiders would toss lit firecrackers or flares into the brush, setting them ablaze. The fires would prevent enemies from hiding there, and frighten off animals.
The raiders from the city did not inform the camping hostiles what they were doing or why they needed backup. It could have been a drug dealing thing, or just simply an attack on security forces.

After one hour of Richard interviewing the captives and Sean securing the camp, everyone starts hearing a great mass of people slowly walking towards their position. Looking to the east, they can see at least 20 humans(?) approaching from 35 yards away in the darkness. None of them seem to be carrying much of anything, and they all sport ghastly injuries or are grossly sick from what is visible of their skin.
u-b
Looking at the approaching men(?), Sean thinks of no better plan than to kill them if they would seem to be dangerous. He points at the captives.  "You three get inside. Bart, you are with them."  He then addresses the militia.  "You three on the roof."  He then reloads the rifle and prepares a lit flare to throw at the soaked bushes to the east.  "You do as you will, Richard." 
Volthawk
Richard frowns as he sees the approaching group. Sick and injured. He feels obligated to do  something  to help, but some of them look pretty badly ill and he can't afford to get sick. He looks back at Sean as he sets himself and the men up.  "I'll try to talk to them - from a safe distance, of course. If they don't listen, turn violent or try to close the distance...we'll see."  Richard really didn't want to see them shot. It's probably not a surprise to Sean, given their time together so far, that he doesn't even directly bring up the prospect of shooting the group.

That said - or not said, as it were - Richard walks forward a few steps and shouts out into the darkness.  "You lot! Stop there! We can give you help and supplies, but you have to stop approaching! Some of you are sick!" 
Shoot Da Moon
At first, Richard thinks the approaching people do not hear him...
They simply keep lurching over, as if in a trance.
Sean sees it first, through his vision aides. About half of the people coming closer suddenly start twitching violently as they approach...

Then their heads open up like gory blossoming flowers into strange insectoid stalks of wet flesh, and their necks twist and bend in unnatural ways as if something within is whipping it around. He notices that almost all of them appear to be days old corpses that somehow still amble. What on earth...?!

(OC: Sean, Richard, both of you roll a Fright Check at -2. Roll the same for your NPC companions.)
u-b
Sean is shocked by the sight he is seeing and takes some time to get his bearings together. Luckily, the approaching  things  are not very fast...

 
 Spoiler 
Sean is stunned and will remain so for a total of 4 seconds. The militia men react differently, but the details depend on their respective Wills. Not sure when they are able to see what is happening (they have no night vision aids) and thus when the effects start. If they take long enough to notice it, maybe we will be already in combat by that time, not sure if that gives a +5. Bart in the cabin will probably take some time to notice that the things are amiss, after which he will fail his fright check, unless +5 for being already "in combat", because by that time shooting will likely start.
 
Volthawk
Richard keeps his nerve a little better than Sean, and the fact that they're clearly not human any more quells any hesitation about shooting them. There's a lot of them, so Richard just keeps firing into the approaching horde, trying to thin their numbers while the rest of the team get it together.
u-b
The first thing Sean does when he can get his senses together is to throw the lit flare at the fuel-soaked bush.
Shoot Da Moon
For the next five seconds, Richard let loose his fury as hard and as fast as he can. The awful monsters are less than 30 yards away...
He shoots down two horrors in the first second.
His next burst ends on a slight fumble as the gun turns in his hand. He still manages to nail 3 more monsters hard enough that they fall down.
He quickly corrects his slip.
Then goes back to the comforting roar of automatic gunfire. He easily tears through the horde but only one of the hellish things gives up the fight...
On second number five, as Sean throws the flare, Richard scores another horror downed in the blaze of bullets...

The mass of monsters still numbers over two dozen, and they are now only 10 yards away.

As he ends his shooting, Sean recovers from the fear and throws a flare into the soaked bushes and enjoys the sight of a blaze starting up right away. It immediately begins to spread...

The fire in the bushes catches the middle of the horde quite well...
u-b
Standing his ground for now, Sean shoots a long burst at the approaching lot, trying not to spread it evenly, but instead to concentrate it where Richard is  not  targeting. He shouts:  "Meh, shoot the back ranks!" .

 
 Spoiler 
The militia men on the roof now see the illuminated baddies and, to the extent able, probably aim.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Does switching to your rifle require a Ready before you start shooting?)

Sean lets loose with his rifle. He easily gets some hits in on all his targets.
His first target seems to swallow the two bullets coming it's way, and ignores them both even as the holes leak black fluid.
The second target is hit twice for identical effect.
The third horror also takes the bullets like a champ.
The fourth one to be shot at gets knocked down by the bullets, out of the fight.
The fifth monster is hit once, to minimal effect, blasting away a chunk of flesh that it barely reacts to.
The sixth target also barely reacts to the two bullets that penetrates its chest area.

Sean realises, worryingly, that his gunfire seems far less effective against these targets, like throwing pebbles into tar...Everything he knows about human biology tells him that these monsters do not have vitals, somehow.
Volthawk
Seeing the subpar effectiveness of their rifles, and how clustered the...whatever these things are...were together, Richard pulls out a grenade. Fragmentation might not be up to much, like the bullets, but the raw explosive force might hopefully do something.

 
 Spoiler 

Doesn't look like any of Richard's potentially-relevant things are relevant (Lightning Fingers does gun gadgets, he just has gun, sword and ammo Fast-Draw specs and grenades are probably separate), so that's a Ready to pull it out. One more after this to pull the pin, and then he can throw it in the third second overall with it detonating on the fourth second since Richard finished his bursts, for the ninth overall (grenades have between a 2 and 4 second fuse, given we're the people who modified grenade launchers to ignore the safety short-range mechanism I figure our fuses are on the shorter side).

He's going to take a step back for this action and the next Ready, just in case.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: okay, while Sean and Richard are acting, what will the NPCs on top of the cabin do in the meantime?)
Shoot Da Moon
When Sean first fired his gun, the men on top of the cabin froze in the face of the horror for varying moments of time.

They eventually aim and then open fire on the back ranks of the horde.

The hardiest militiaman recovers after a second and blasts two monsters right where it works, knocking them down.
The second militiaman shakes like a leaf for 2 seconds before getting his nerve back and shooting the monsters...to minimal effect.
The third militiaman also shivers for 2 seconds before he manages to make his shots. He hits twice, but none of his targets seem particularly beaten down.

(OC: the NPCs are now mostly acting alongside the PCs. I think we can safely  enter combat time officially , after five seconds of action. Now the monsters are 10 yards from the PCs, one fifth of them are on fire, more will be on fire every second as the fire spreads. The NPCs all managed to Aim for 3, 2, and 2 turns after shooting as Turn 1 begins...)

 TURN 1 

Sean is on the ball. But can he make a difference?
u-b
Sean moves a few yards back and shoots another burst at he approaching lot, not quite satisfied with the effect he is having on that lot as a whole.  "We retreat. Will cover the ladder and lure them through the fire again and again."  That leaves a question of Bart and the captives, but Sean is not sure he can do anything about that now.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The mass of monsters still numbers over two dozen, and they are now only 10 yards away. 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Now the monsters are 10 yards from the PCs... 
 

I mean, again?


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 ...after five seconds of action... 
 

Sean should have just thrown the flare allowing the men on the roof have a clear view of the targets. And Richard should have just finished shooting after which he is to spend two more seconds getting a live grenade in hand.

I think we should be now after 7 rounds of action and so the opposition should be a bit closer.

Bart probably looks at the scenery and tries to barricade inside.

Defenses: if they can reach Sean, he'll dodge and retreat.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean moves a few yards back and shoots another burst at he approaching lot, not quite satisfied with the effect he is having on that lot as a whole.  "We retreat. Will cover the ladder and lure them through the fire again and again."  That leaves a question of Bart and the captives, but Sean is not sure he can do anything about that now.

 
 Spoiler 

I mean, again?

Sean should have just thrown the flare allowing the men on the roof have a clear view of the targets. And Richard should have just finished shooting after which he is to spend two more seconds getting a live grenade in hand.

I think we should be now after 7 rounds of action and so the opposition should be a bit closer.

Bart probably looks at the scenery and tries to barricade inside.

Defenses: if they can reach Sean, he'll dodge and retreat.
 
 
 

Sean sweats heavily as he fires a long burst from his rifle. His shots all hit, but only one of the horrors gets knocked down and out of the fight. He counts about 30 of the monsters still active!

(OC: Richard, your turn. I believe you have a Ready grenade on hand, which you had a chance to pull the pin before combat time proper began? You can throw it this turn, right? The NPCs act after you, they all had 2, 2, and 3 seconds of Aim by now.)

 
 Spoiler 
Yeah, the 10 yards figure came up twice because the post was covering the same five seconds again. They were acting at the same time as Sean and Richard. It does not cover the seconds after that in detail. Sorry for the confusion.
 
Volthawk
Richard lobs the grenade a short distance ahead of the horde and starts following Sean backwards.

 
 Spoiler 

The grenade goes off after they next move, but unless they speed up or down compared to before Richard should have it about right to catch as many of them as possible. It does 16 crushing damage point blank, 5 crushing a yard away, 2 damage at two yards (I figured we'd rather not do the "roll damage for everyone caught in the blast separately" approach given the number of enemies involved - let me know if you'd rather they all get a roll each GM).

The fragmentation suffers a -3 range penalty to hit Richard (he moved 2 yards back, factoring in encumbrance and the whole moving back is 1 yards per 2 normal movement thing), so he gets hit by 2 fragments, both hitting the torso and thus doing nothing against his steel plate. For the enemy, given size and posture mods are both -0 for them, that makes it so those within three yards get hit by 3 fragments, and those further out get hit by 2. That includes any of our people within 10 yards of the grenade, which may include Sean (oops). I'm also not sure if I should've rolled fragmentation damage separately against everyone - given I didn't, and I'm not sure how many will be left when it detonates, I'll again leave that call to you GM.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The militia backup steels themselves with more squinting down the barrel, bracing their guns.

The horde of awful things keep moving towards Sean and Richard, the grenade is not going off yet. They move another 4 yards towards the exiles - not too far from the cabin structure.

But the fire keeps burning, catching an extra handful of the horrors. The exiles count an even dozen of them set alight...

And every single one of the unnatural horrors succumbs to the fire, falling down in a seizure-like manner and letting out unnervingly not-quite-animal screams as they blacken into carbon under the red and orange illumination. They are out of the fight and into the cookout.

 TURN 2 

Sean finds himself just less than a handful of meters away from the frontline of the monsters.
u-b
Having observed that (1) we don't have the bullets to kill every monster and that (2) the fire works, Sean comes with a plan to just let them die in the fire. This could require some creative maneuvering, but he's quick enough on his feet to do as much.  "Men, defend the cabin only! Don't just shoot at the crowd!"  shouts Sean as he is moving around.

 
 Spoiler 
The goals are...
1. Not get hit by fragmentation.
2. Not get caught by monsters.
3. Not get caught in the fire.
4. Keep luring the monsters...
4.1 Away from the cabin.
4.2 Where they will burn.

Sean is moving fast (move 7), but in no particular hurry to finish the task as long as the overall plan works.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean is fairly sure the fire is doing much more harm to the monsters than his bullets did, yes...and he spots something peculiar about the monsters at this close range; despite their heads appearing quite gruesomely inhuman at first glance, he sees a strange fleshly bulb the size of a brain at the center of the flesh stalks that is being encased in some translucent shell and engulfed by smaller stalks.
Volthawk
Seeing that Sean seems to have a plan, and that he only had the one fragmentation grenade, Richard keeps moving towards the cabin.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Noted, both of you keep track of your distance from the monsters. NPCs' turn now. Do they open fire?)
Shoot Da Moon
The men on top of the cabin follow orders and brace their guns on the platform's guard rails.

A monster catches fire from the spreading blaze, and instantly screeches in agony as it is engulfed by the burning brightness. It is out of the fight.

 TURN 3 

Sean feels sweat putting down his forehead and from his armpits. He has put himself through his paces in this fight and the last.
u-b
Sean keeps moving away, quickly reloading the rifle, then turns back at the monsters. The plan was well and good, but he had some new information to check.  "Just testing a little hypothesis..."  he says and shoots a long burst at the nearest lot.

 
 Spoiler 
Round 1: 2 yards =&gt; 5 yards (3 steps back, end up facing the monsters) =&gt; monsters move 4
Round 2: 1 yards =&gt; 6 yards (turn 2, move 5, end up facing away) =&gt; monsters move 4
Round 3: 2 yards =&gt; 7 yards (move 5, turn 2, end up almost facing the monsters) =&gt; ...

Extra effort to reload and extra effort to move and attack, ending up with 5/12 FP.

If this has the desired effect and the men on the roof get it, they might want to aim at those brains-like things.

UPD: What about the grenade?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
UPD: What about the grenade?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
The grenade goes on Richard's turn, so now.
 


Sean is getting very tired. He fears he may not be able to keep fighting well enough...

He lets loose a barrage, and manages to pop the strange "brain bulbs" on approaching monsters. His shots completely destroy 5 targets, causing the horrors to fall down without any further struggle, eliminated with prejudice. He hits the torso on some, taking out another. He thinks he found a weakspot.

Richard's grenade explodes shortly afterward, tearing up another two monsters until they can not menace anyone.

(OC: Richard, your turn.)
Volthawk
While a quick glance back shows Sean having encouraging success with the monsters somehow, Richard keeps moving for now to join up with the militia at the house and...do something. Maybe Sean was onto something.
Shoot Da Moon
The militiamen hold their fire as they wait for the signal from Sean and Richard.

One more monster catches fire from the chemical-soaked bushes. The flames do petty damage as the nine horrors shamble towards the exiles.

 TURN 4 

Sean continues to run a bit more.
u-b
Sean shouts  "Brains where the stalks originate! Fire at will!"  and then continues to demonstrate his findings before running away with an empty mag, planning to lure whatever is left into the fire while not being burned himself*.

 
 Spoiler 
Round 1: 2 yards =&gt; 5 yards (3 steps back, end up facing the monsters) =&gt; monsters move 4
Round 2: 1 yards =&gt; 6 yards (turn 2, move 5, end up facing away) =&gt; monsters move 4
Round 3: 2 yards =&gt; 7 yards (move 5, turn 2, end up almost facing the monsters) =&gt; monsters move 4
Round 4: 3 yards** =&gt; 9(?) yards* (turn 1, move 6, end up facing away) =&gt; ...

Extra effort to move and attack, ending up with 4/12 FP.
*Can turn a bit for free as he enters each and every hex. The intent is to eventually be on the other side of the fire relative to most of the remaining lot, so the total distance from the nearest might end up shorter than 9 yards, but then there would be a fire in between.
**This is the distance to the closest baddies, but the front row(s) should be by now rather sparse.

Militia men will likely aim at the "brains".
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean is fleet of foot and fancy-stepping as he puts distance between him and the horrors, before firing another burst of lead at the "skulls" of the monsters.

He scores 4 lethal hits, destroying their brain bulbs, the twisted bodies of the unnatural things falling flat on the ground like a sack of wet dirt.

Five left...
Volthawk
Hearing Sean call out the solution, Richard turns and fires a burst at the remaining monsters, trying to hit the bulbs.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard is not used to shooting heads (or things the size of human heads anyhow...) and only manages to bullseye a single monster, who collapses into complete stillness as the bulb is splattered by the shot.

(OC: Do the militiamen open fire now? It's their turn....before the monsters come after Sean and Richard.)
Shoot Da Moon
The militiamen on top of the cabin open fire on the monsters, taking Sean's lead to fire at their "skulls" weakpoint.

(OC: Sean, the NPCs get +2 to their attack rolls because of their elevated position.)

Two of them score hits on the horrible things, taking them out with satisfying brutality.

Only three of the monster remain combat ready, lurching after Sean and Richard for 3 yards, not in danger of suffering from the fire. The one who was on fire died in the previous salvos of bullets.

 TURN 5 

Sean is feeling way less panicked, now the horde of monsters has been reduced to less than a mere squad.
u-b
From now on, Sean just keeps moving around until he is, say, 20 feet away from the monsters or they all are dead. One or the other should come first depending on whom they will chase.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean gets the lead out.
(OC: Full Move.)

Richard acts as his comrade books it...
Volthawk
Richard starts moving towards the cabin again - Sean was making some distance for himself elsewhere, and the militiamen knew what was up, so he could get some distance while any following him got closer to and easier to hit for the men up top.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles' backup take aim again, hoping to get in more headshots before the monsters reach Sean and Richard.

Speaking of the monsters, they all keep moving towards Sean, apparently liking the way he smells...
(OC: 4 yards of Move.)

 TURN 6 

Sean has managed to keep the monsters on his tail, now he just has keep his distance...
u-b
Sean has to move it move it, so he surely keeps doing that. He choses a trajectory based on two properties: first, to keep the monsters in clear shot of the people above, and second, to eventually get some fire between them and himself.
Shoot Da Moon
With the way the fire is spreading, Sean will need to lure the monsters in a diagonal angle quickly before the fire circles the campsite totally. Luckily, it is not hard to keep them in sight of the elevated platform.
Volthawk
With the monsters all following Sean now, Richard starts to aim at one now he has the time to accurately pick one off instead of wildly firing.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles' comrades also take aim some more. They yell at Sean to watch out and not take stupid risks.

The 3 monsters continue to chase after Sean, moving another 4 yards. It would take another 2 seconds of chasing before they all get over to the spreading fire, at this rate.

 TURN 7 

Sean needs to put some distance between him and his inhuman pursuers.
u-b
Sean just keeps moving as per the plan.

 
 Spoiler 
The militia men likely shoot.
 
Volthawk
Richard double-taps the one he'd taken aim at, more confident in his chances now he's taken a moment to steady himself and not seeing the need for a long burst at this point.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard manages to blast the unholy thing's brain bulb to pieces.

The militiamen open fire with him, also scoring headshots on the remaining horrors.

As the gunshots fade into silence and ringing ears, the exiles and their men see with relief that all the awful monsters have been sent back to the pit that spawned them - only wretched defiled bodies remain.

(OC:  combat over.    All player characters earn 1 bonus Character Point for taking down the outpost and the horde!  )
u-b
After the last thing is done with, Sean quickly gets on the inside of the ring of fire. Then he drags two bodies, one killed by a brain shot and one killed  not  by a brain shot, to some place beside the cabin.  "I'll want to examine these later, but now I will have to rest. I'll give you guys an hour to pack things and ask questions. See if you can get all these barrels with us. Not sure how you load them onto the horses, but we have enough brains in the area..."  the pun was apparently intended  "...so you might come up with something good. The questions are to include these guys very appropriate defenses and generally their experience with these sorts of things. I'll be on the roof in case I'm needed." 
 
 Spoiler 
The plan is to rest for 1 hour after which the militia men should have packed as much as they could, preferably incluing the barrels, both empty and not.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: alright, what does Richard do while Sean is resting and the militiamen are packing up the stuff?)
Volthawk
Richard watches their captives while the men work and Sean rests - ostensibly, he's there to ask questions, but after the stress of what just happened he mainly just makes sure that they don't get any ideas and uses the time to think things over and catch his breath now things are calm.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean examines the dead monsters as he finally catches his breath. Most of the horrors that weren't shot in the head were burned by the fires. The very few that knocked down by torso hits stayed still on the ground...for ten or so minutes before they began squirming and shaking violently. Fortunately, the militiamen saw this and immediately acted.

They blasted the strangely moving flesh-things in the head and then threw them all onto the fire just in case.

The militiamen have trouble handling the big bulky barrels. The rest of the supplies are easier to move even if they are a lot of them.

(OC: No space in the car/s?)
u-b
 "Well, seems we'll have to come here tomorrow. No problem with that."  Says Sean observing the barrels that have to be left at the site. He then proceeds to lead the group of men and horses back to Bread Basket.

He plans to check with the guards there whether they want to have the captives right away or let the group hold onto them until the morning.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 No space in the car/s? 
 


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean proceeds to rent the rooms for the night and park the cars somewhere guarded. ... He then takes everyone willing to go for a walk. 
 

So we have left the cars in a guarded parking lot the city.
 
Shoot Da Moon
It takes way too long for the exiles, their friends and the captives to make it back to Bread Basket. The woods seem just a little too spooky now, too deep and dark. It gives everyone chills.

The Bread Basket security forces welcome them back with narrowed eyes. They take the captives off their hands and prepare to hold them for interrogation. The exiles are thanked, but warned that taking unnecessary risks like this should not become a habit. After helping security write a report of what the exiles saw and did, they are let go to do as they wish. They comment that plenty of people would like to buy the horses they have with them.

The cars and their stored belongings are right where they left them, protected by Bread Basket's walls and patrollers.
Volthawk
While they're talking to the guards, Richard makes special mention of the monsters they faced, curious as to whether they're a known entity to the people that live here and if they know anything about them or where they came from (or if they could point them in the direction of someone who did). The exiles had seen their fair share of mutants at this point, animal and humanoid, but nothing quite that...unnatural, he supposed was the word for it.
u-b
Sean wakes up early in the morning, but lets everyone else sleep to their full satisfaction. He chats with the traders to say the following:
1. The horses are available for sale at NO DISCOUNT, accepting payments in FOOD ONLY and with PAYMENT DELIVERY to a specific place that we name (the delivery might be paid for as reasonable). Their gear and feed is available at NEGOTIABLE PRICE.
2. There is a lot of guns that are for sale at NEGOTIABLE PRICE, accepting payments in FOOD MOSTLY and with PAYMENT DELIVERY as above.
3. Some assorted armor parts are for sale at NEGOTIABLE PRICE, accepting payments in FOOD MOSTLY and with PAYMENT DELIVERY as above. This includes all anti-stab plates and maybe some sharp-protectives. We also have kevlar vests, but these are reserved for bartering for something exclusive, that's not found on the open market.
4. We'd like to transact in bulk, some minor transactions are also possible.
5. If weapons or armor are sold at no discount, we'll make our best to make the transacting party the priority buyer of ALL LATER SHIPMENTS of the same.
6. We propose to arrange the transaction some time today afternoon / early evening. This time can be spent to examine the wares and arrange the funding. Our people will be informed to provide adequate access.

Eventually, Sean is ready for some interview with the officials.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 While they're talking to the guards, Richard makes special mention of the monsters they faced, curious as to whether they're a known entity to the people that live here and if they know anything about them or where they came from (or if they could point them in the direction of someone who did). The exiles had seen their fair share of mutants at this point, animal and humanoid, but nothing quite that...unnatural, he supposed was the word for it. 
 

The guards look confused and scratch their heads in response to Richard's tale. They have no idea what he is talking about.


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean wakes up early in the morning, but lets everyone else sleep to their full satisfaction. He chats with the traders to say the following:
1. The horses are available for sale at NO DISCOUNT, accepting payments in FOOD ONLY and with PAYMENT DELIVERY to a specific place that we name (the delivery might be paid for as reasonable). Their gear and feed is available at NEGOTIABLE PRICE.
2. There is a lot of guns that are for sale at NEGOTIABLE PRICE, accepting payments in FOOD MOSTLY and with PAYMENT DELIVERY as above.
3. Some assorted armor parts are for sale at NEGOTIABLE PRICE, accepting payments in FOOD MOSTLY and with PAYMENT DELIVERY as above. This includes all anti-stab plates and maybe some sharp-protectives. We also have kevlar vests, but these are reserved for bartering for something exclusive, that's not found on the open market.
4. We'd like to transact in bulk, some minor transactions are also possible.
5. If weapons or armor are sold at no discount, we'll make our best to make the transacting party the priority buyer of ALL LATER SHIPMENTS of the same.
6. We propose to arrange the transaction some time today afternoon / early evening. This time can be spent to examine the wares and arrange the funding. Our people will be informed to provide adequate access.

Eventually, Sean is ready for some interview with the officials. 
 

Sean and his friends bunks down for the night...

 DAY 75 

The next morning, Sean wakes to the comforting noise of civilisation.
The merchants in Bread Basket gladly accept the horses at the offered price - they need the animals for farming. The gear and feed fetches their full value.
The security forces have room in their budget to buy the guns, and the visiting merchants also express interest in weaponry. Sean can get the full value of the firearms. Ditto the armour pieces.
Payment in food and water is pretty standard around Bread Basket, so no problem there. They even prefer that over bullets, to an extent. The food is mostly canned for preserving, but there are bulk supplies of fresh meat and vegetables available thanks to nearby farming facilities. It doesn't take too long for interested parties to start getting out their accounting books and inventories.

The officials meet Sean sometime after that. They are friendly about discussing business. They let him start, if he has a particular topic he needs to know about...
u-b
Sean lets Richard do most of the talking, but makes sure the following topics are eventually covered:
1. Ski Resort raider boss papers listing the raiders' priority targets.
2. Shelter 43 Computer(?) information about history of "treason".
3. Stone's papers about inciting the mutants' attacks.
4. The fake used against the WMD guards.
5. All sort of mutant and otherwise abnormal creatures.
6. The recent "power smuggling" attempt.
7. The current situation in general and our both parties' view about what should be done about it, by either party or third parties, if we are to bring us "priority targets" into some sort of cooperation.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean lets Richard do most of the talking, but makes sure the following topics are eventually covered:
1. Ski Resort raider boss papers listing the raiders' priority targets.
2. Shelter 43 Computer(?) information about history of "treason".
3. Stone's papers about inciting the mutants' attacks.
4. The fake used against the WMD guards.
5. All sort of mutant and otherwise abnormal creatures.
6. The recent "power smuggling" attempt.
7. The current situation in general and our both parties' view about what should be done about it, by either party or third parties, if we are to bring us "priority targets" into some sort of cooperation. 
 

(OC: Richard, try rolling Carousing, Current Affairs or Diplomacy - or a Reaction Roll for requesting information. These guys are friendly enough, all such rolls are +2. Anything you want to discuss, too?)
Volthawk
Besides the things Sean reminds him to bring up, Richard brings attention to the problem of the raiders' information and espionage network. Some of Sean's points touched on this, but Richard mentions the intel they found referring to spies in all the major settlements in the area, offering to pass on any details pertinent to Bread Basket - he doesn't remember anything specific to this place, but if they were elsewhere it was safe to assume they'd done the same thing here, particularly in light of recent events - and mentions how the others they've worked with have already put the information to use finding spies in their own settlements. He's also not sure if the group the exiles just fought were the only ones lurking around in support of raiders within the city, or if the ones the security forces stopped were the only raiders operating within the city. He does note that they didn't find the local captain among their captives or the dead.

Also, when it comes to the topic of monsters and mutants, he makes special mention of the things they just fought - they hadn't seen them before, and they were close by to Bread Basket in significant numbers, and the group they killed may not be the only ones around. If nothing else, he passes on Sean's observation about their weak spot, just in case some threaten Bread Basket.

 
 Spoiler 

I forgot the +2 for those rolls I just made, but that doesn't change anything - still a success on Diplomacy and a "Very Good" reaction.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The Bread Basket people gently talk with Sean and Richard about what they know.

The raider boss at the ski resort was apparently tasked with some big projects, with state-wide implications. The locals look it over and comment that they never had a real problem with raider attacks until recently.

The talk about Shelter 43 and the computer's talk of treason strikes them as very weird and probably not solid intel.

The Bread Basket locals claim there have been no attacks by mutants anytime around here. In fact, there are no mutants, period, anywhere near Bread Basket and there never have been.

Information about WMDs and faked intelligence worry them. They're not immediately alarmed, as the ruse seems to be distant from Bread Basket but they thank the exiles for helping anyway.

The people of Bread Basket deny ever encountering mutants - animal or sapient.

The "power smuggling" attempt seems to be an attempt at heisting a major rechargeable battery - it's capable of providing electricity to several households like a generator and can be recharged by solar panels and other converters. That's what they've heard anyway.

The information about the raiders' espionage network is very much appreciated. It had not occurred to them that there were spies in their midst. The security forces are already trying to find the trail of the raiders they fought at the checkpoint, to see what they were doing in Bread Basket in the first place.

The monsters are a new one for them. They seem unconvinced, but they note what the exiles report about fighting them anyway.

Bread Basket currently has a few problems that they can hire the exiles to help with.
They've unearthed (from a recovered old world military map) the location of an advanced old world scientific facility hidden in the mountains, and want explorers to journey there to get a copy of their scientific records.
There are two scavenger gangs (not raiders, they're just wanderers who pick through ruins and lost settlements) are feuding with each other over territory and loot 10 miles from Bread Basket's city limits, they threaten to spill over into other people’s home turf, Bread Basket wants hirelings to put a stop to the conflict.
A city VIP wants someone to track down a missing person and deliver them home.
The security forces are trying to crack down on the local illicit drug trade in the city.
Bread Basket would like to recruit a militia known as "The Black Parade" as extra security for the city. Could you make contact with them and convince them to sign an employment contract?
The city also needs more generators to power various utilities. Could you go scavenging in old world factories and hardware stores?
u-b
Sean listens carefully then brings up the following:
1. Shelter 43 told us that its information about the location of other Shelters was deliberately erased. Can the locals clarify whether they still have this sort of information? If yes, what it would take to be cleared to access it? If no, can they comment on the history of ending up in this state (like records of it being destroyed or they never ever had it or what).
2. Sean admits being confused by the locals' response regarding the "power smuggling" attempt. Sean has used the term to mean the ettempt was backed by a noticiable armed force. It  looked like  the last attempt was about some sort of chemical, so...
2.1 Did Sean get it wrong?
2.2 Were there other attempts? Are they a regular occurence?
2.3 What was the chemical, if it is not a secret?
3. We certainly will take a look at the specified scientific facility. We'd like to have a copy of that whole map, if possible. Where exactly is the facility located, relative to here and other notable landmarks?
4. We'll talk to those scavengers, but beyond that, no guarantees.
5. Sean is not particularly sure about other topics. We might be able to do one or the other, but only if it does not take an undue amount of time, so drug dealing part likely gets indefinitely delayed.
6. We'll need all information about the missin person, if and only if, it they are not presumed to be still inside the city.
7. We'll need the location of "The Black Parade". We already have they radio contacts, which we should probably also confirm as we have so far not talked with them over the radio. We'll also need some business details, like the proposed pay / budget or what not.
8. Looting for generators can and will be done in spare time, if any. We are acception any leads about sites to explore. Do these people have a reliable supplier of required amounts of fuel? Would they explore the possibility of hooking up to some real power plant across the state? Sean is not sure the transmission lines are any good and they will sure be vulnerable to all forms of sabotage, but a power plant  might  come online in a few monts' time.
9. Sean proposes we establish an encrypted radio channel for future communications.
Shoot Da Moon
The people of Bread Basket have no information about the Shelters, sad to say. They have no idea if they ever had it in the first place. They have had little contact with other Shelters in the past.

The locals simply shrug. They have not noticed any thefts of chemicals...
The reports state that raiders were after large batteries.
This was the first such raid they've suffered in living memory.
They have not heard of any chemicals being relevant.

The map to the mountain laboratory is good and thus mildly classified, they can share it with anyone taking the job.

The Bread Basket people share the locations of the scavengers' home bases, as well as the names of the relevant people in charge of the gangs. Please try to smooth out whatever causing this feud.

The Bread Basket people seem disappointed by Sean's reluctance to tackle the other jobs.

The contact details for the VIP is given to the exiles - he'll brief them in full when they do talk to him. It's apparently a sensitive matter.

The locals helpfully give Sean and his friends the full rundown on The Black Parade. The militia is based out of a "stone castle", they have maps to the base. They also give them a copy of the proposal for payment and the details of what the job would require. They wish them luck.

The locals show places on a regional map where they suspect industrial facilities can be found. They can trade for fuel, they can convert corn to ethanol, they can scramble scavengers for more fuel, they figure a few types of generators run on muscle or solar power, they are not that worried about it. They are reluctant to try hooking up to the power plant, the connection across the state would be vulnerable to attack by raiders.

They note that their local engineers could build a semi-portable steam engine generator cobbled together from junk scavenged from city ruins, if hired explorers do the scrounging for them and deliver the parts. That kind of generator consumes wood and water. It converts the steam directly into electricity.

Bread Basket does have radios, they can set up a channel for contacting the exiles. Encrypting it could also work.
u-b
If Richard does not mind, if locals do not insist on getting anything other than info from the scientific facility, and if the time frame for the mission is measured at least in "weeks", Sean is inclined to accept it.

It's up to Richard to accept or decline the missing person job as he's the one competent in these investigatibe matters.

The plan is then to finalize the deal with the merchants and maybe go visit the VIP.

Regarding the merchant part:
1. What is the expected schedule of the deliveries, both to Radar Base and to Gunmetal? We will transmit the general idea to "expect food truck(s)", but neither the schedules or the amounts. The food should go to storage at the base and be credited to our account at Gunmetal.
2. We tell people at Gunmetal that we have been selling arms to Bread Basket, but...
2.1 These were arms taken from the raiders, not bought from Gunmetal.
2.2 We do not plan to (and, on request, can promise not to) sell them arms bought in Gunmetal.
2.3 We request three truckloads of perimeter parts manufactured according to our specification (dual wire fence with steel posts + barbed wire ontop + tanglefoot wire in between). These are to be delivered to Radar Base when ready and when sufficient food comes in to pay for it.

 
 Spoiler 
By my calculation based on the internets, a truckload will cost as little as $12000 and will contain as much as 200 yards of ready-to-assemble perimeter, but this assumes...
A. Current (TL8) prices from Chinese suppliers, which is  in bulk  about $3.5 per yard per fence and way less than in piecewise retail in America (maybe $16 per yard per fance).
B. Using the multiplier of the invention (TL7), not of the production.
C. Specifically, this  ignores  HT204's pricing of concretina wire, which, by itself, would cost over $100 per yard for two coils after TL modifier, which is way over today's US prices of, like, $1.5 per yard per coil in retail (times whatever TL modifier it would be).

So I'm giving an absolute minimum price. Corrections welcome. We'll cover any delivery fee.
 
Volthawk
Richard's enthusiastic to accept the missing person job - there's a chance this person may be in real trouble, so he can't exactly refuse the request to help. On a more practical level, one he doesn't bring up, getting on the good side of a Bread Basket VIP seems very useful. The talk of it being a sensitive, private matter is a little concerning, though, but not enough to reject it. He asks for more information.

When it comes to the offers Sean turned down, Richard is a little more receptive towards them - he doesn't overrule Sean, but he does ask for more details about the fueding scavengers. More information about the local groups is never a bad idea, and they might be able to do something about it at some point.

The scientific facility definitely grabs Richard's attention the most, though, and he readily goes along with Sean's intentions there. He does make sure to confirm that the exiles will be able to have a look through the records as well - there's a not-insignificant chance that the facility may have something to do with the mutants and monsters out in the world now, given what they already knew about the origins of the mutants, so Richard would appreciate the opportunity to add to their intelligence on the topic. He also asks the officials if they know anything about the place beyond its existence and the map, whether that be related to its current state or its original purpose.

He's also quite positively inclined towards the prospect of making arrangements with the Black Parade. Making places safer and more secure, and the people that lived there more interconnected and inclined towards working together, was something he was very interested in, after all, and bringing in more security for Bread Basket suited him just fine - particularly since a fair deal for the Black Parade would ensure that they stay on the straight and narrow themselves. With that in mind, he looks over the contract, curious as to the kind of terms they're supposed to be negotiating and how fair they are.

When it comes to the power situation, he's up for finding them the equipment and parts they need, sure. When it comes to the power plant, he understands their reluctance, although he does bring up that they've got the raiders on the back foot. Something to keep in mind for when the region is safer, he supposed. For now, he just noted down the suggested locations for scavenging for future reference.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Regarding the merchant part:
1. What is the expected schedule of the deliveries, both to Radar Base and to Gunmetal? We will transmit the general idea to "expect food truck(s)", but neither the schedules or the amounts. The food should go to storage at the base and be credited to our account at Gunmetal.
2. We tell people at Gunmetal that we have been selling arms to Bread Basket, but...
2.1 These were arms taken from the raiders, not bought from Gunmetal.
2.2 We do not plan to (and, on request, can promise not to) sell them arms bought in Gunmetal.
2.3 We request three truckloads of perimeter parts manufactured according to our specification (dual wire fence with steel posts + barbed wire ontop + tanglefoot wire in between). These are to be delivered to Radar Base when ready and when sufficient food comes in to pay for it.

 
 Spoiler 
By my calculation based on the internets, a truckload will cost as little as $12000 and will contain as much as 200 yards of ready-to-assemble perimeter, but this assumes...
A. Current (TL8) prices from Chinese suppliers, which is  in bulk  about $3.5 per yard per fence and way less than in piecewise retail in America (maybe $16 per yard per fance).
B. Using the multiplier of the invention (TL7), not of the production.
C. Specifically, this  ignores  HT204's pricing of concretina wire, which, by itself, would cost over $100 per yard for two coils after TL modifier, which is way over today's US prices of, like, $1.5 per yard per coil in retail (times whatever TL modifier it would be).

So I'm giving an absolute minimum price. Corrections welcome. We'll cover any delivery fee.
 
 
 

The delivery of the ordered goods will take about one or two days for both destinations.
The Gunmetal radio jockeys receive Sean's message about the sales.
The ordered parts can be traded for the food delivery, yes. They can load it up and get it to the radar base via van without trouble, it will take one and half days at a guess. The price of the stuff is covered by the food delivery. Hopefully, the raiders do not interfere with the deliveries, but that is less of a concern since the exiles have done a good job pushing them back and out of allied territory.

 
 Spoiler 
Price is correct.
 


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Richard's enthusiastic to accept the missing person job - there's a chance this person may be in real trouble, so he can't exactly refuse the request to help. On a more practical level, one he doesn't bring up, getting on the good side of a Bread Basket VIP seems very useful. The talk of it being a sensitive, private matter is a little concerning, though, but not enough to reject it. He asks for more information.

When it comes to the offers Sean turned down, Richard is a little more receptive towards them - he doesn't overrule Sean, but he does ask for more details about the fueding scavengers. More information about the local groups is never a bad idea, and they might be able to do something about it at some point.

The scientific facility definitely grabs Richard's attention the most, though, and he readily goes along with Sean's intentions there. He does make sure to confirm that the exiles will be able to have a look through the records as well - there's a not-insignificant chance that the facility may have something to do with the mutants and monsters out in the world now, given what they already knew about the origins of the mutants, so Richard would appreciate the opportunity to add to their intelligence on the topic. He also asks the officials if they know anything about the place beyond its existence and the map, whether that be related to its current state or its original purpose.

He's also quite positively inclined towards the prospect of making arrangements with the Black Parade. Making places safer and more secure, and the people that lived there more interconnected and inclined towards working together, was something he was very interested in, after all, and bringing in more security for Bread Basket suited him just fine - particularly since a fair deal for the Black Parade would ensure that they stay on the straight and narrow themselves. With that in mind, he looks over the contract, curious as to the kind of terms they're supposed to be negotiating and how fair they are.

When it comes to the power situation, he's up for finding them the equipment and parts they need, sure. When it comes to the power plant, he understands their reluctance, although he does bring up that they've got the raiders on the back foot. Something to keep in mind for when the region is safer, he supposed. For now, he just noted down the suggested locations for scavenging for future reference. 
 

Once they've officially accepted the jobs, the employers hand over the full (semi-secret) details about the objectives and what the Bread Basket people have confirmed. They mark the appropriate locations on the regional map for them. The job about the missing person will require a private meeting later in the day with the VIP to discuss the matter, the locals send the message to the man and give the exiles the address. The locals discourage the exiles about the VIP's want for privacy regarding the job (they seem to have a hunch about what exactly the problem is, but they do not want to discuss it with outsiders - it's a taboo that they may share).

The contract with The Black Parade looks pretty good to Richard. It occasionally seems concerned with protecting certain "trade secrets" regarding Bread Basket's inner circle and Shelter-centric homes. (It looks like the residential areas underground in the old Shelter space are strictly off-limits to outsiders of any stripe. Apparently, they are very protective of their children, who are born and raised until adulthood there.) As a former security expert for a Shelter, however, Richard can tell there's more to it than that. Bread Basket is keeping something hidden down there and is willing to go to extreme lengths to make sure the outside world stays ignorant of it. The Black Parade is apparently being recruited for the purpose of patrolling potential entryways into Bread Basket's inner sanctums.

The scavenger gangs are both about 15 people strong.
The first gang is an extended family of sorts, led by the oldest son of a mother of five. Children answer to parents, the parents work it out as the faces of the gang, the leader settles disputes among them and sets the general policies, grandparents are trusted advisors to the leader. The leader of the gang is named Ten-Thousand Paper Fans, he's a canny survivalist and experienced travelling merchant.
The second gang used to be a work-gang that hung around a slum until they caught a big break while working the streets. Their leader is Joey Lowman, a professional thief with connections to organized crime in Red Brick.
The feud seems to have started over a "claim-jumping" or the alcohol trade.

The job about the mountain lab gets the most tight-lipped deflections from the Bread Basket folks. They share the location of the objective, what they want the exiles to find for them, but they get vague about other details.
u-b
Sean proposes we immediately contact the VIP's men and arrange a meeting. Later today should be fine. Then we proceed depending on what time is it now and what else must be done around the city. Things Sean wants done today and tomorrow are...
1. Meeting the VIP. Probably done by Richard, Sean, and nobody else.
2. Meeting the scavengers. Probably done by Richard accompanied by whomever else. Our position would probably be to...
2.1 Get some basic understanding of the situation.
2.2 Then either resolve it naturally or hire one of the gang to scavenge the locations listed.
3. Visiting the raiders' cabin again to...
3.1 Dissect some remains. Done by Sean.
3.2 Grab the barrels. Done by more then one person.
3.3 Backtrack the things as reasonable. Done by at least Sean, Bart and the dogs.

This potentially requires splitting up, which might be problematic if we are ambushed, but probably not so problematic in all other cases. If Richard does not object splitting up, Sean asks him to set up and test using our car radio to relay between our helmet radios, thus getting us some reasonable range bust, allowing to operate more freely in hereabouts (up to 20 miles or so).

 
 Spoiler 
Are the scavengers within about 20 miles from both the city and the raiders' cabin?
 
Volthawk
Taking everything they've been told together, Richard is very much aware of all the secrets at play here, and he can't help but be curious - what would an agricultural powerhouse keep so hidden? He could come up with theories with little founding (such as considering things like the examples of cloning technology, body-altering nanomahcines and other biotechnology they've seen and heard of), but that wasn't helpful here, and naturally he doesn't pry further. Perhaps the talk with the VIP may shed some light on things.

Sean's plan sounds good to him, and he has no problem with splitting up. He'd want some of their people backing him up when he meets the scavengers, just in case.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles and their backup eat and drink as they discuss their options. Sean and Richard test their radio.
(OOC: One of you roll Electronics Operation (Comms), please? I believe High-Tech has detailed rules about pushing your radio range in the section on the gear?)
The militiamen backing the exiles up seem to prefer hanging out with Richard more, but Bart and his dogs seem to like Sean more...

The scavenger gangs are within 20 miles of the city, but the cabin is further away than that.

The VIP is easy to find, the men are hushed and rushed into the meeting. The VIP is an old weather-beaten man in thick brown clothing that covers most of his body. He is enjoying a hot drink of some kind out of a mug when the exiles meet with him. His guards are stone-faced, tall, buff, and toting automatic firearms in excellent condition.

The VIP lays out the job; the missing person is his grand-daughter, suspected to have either run away from home or to have been kidnapped. She suffers from a serious medical condition that runs in the family, so it's dangerous for her to be out on her own. Please find her and get her back home. The VIP shows the exiles on a city map the location of his grand-daughter's hovel, where she lives/lived alone. He instructs the exiles that they should start their search there, maybe some clue about where she went was left behind in her living quarters. Pick up her trail, follow it.

His grand-daughter goes by the name Daisy. He gives the exiles a photo of her. He figures that kidnappers would want ransom from him, but he can not rule out that Daisy went off by herself due to "severe interpersonal clashes" with him and her fellow citizens. The VIP seems uncomfortable with the subject.
Volthawk
Richard nods as he hears the VIP's story, thinking it over before putting his questions forward. He knows better than to directly ask about what the "medical condition" and "severe interpersonal clashes" actually are - the Bread Basket people have made it very clear that those are related to secrets that they're not telling (but perhaps Daisy would be more forthcoming...) - but he does bring up the matter of if there's any risk her condition may cause complications in the field, and if there's anything the exiles would need to do to make sure she gets home safe. Does she have special medication that they should bring along, just in case, for instance? Any particular substances or conditions they should avoid with her?

It also seems obvious that the difference of opnions between Daisy and her family were also why she was living out where she was, alone and in a place that seems to be...rather below the standards the VIP himself lived in, as far as Richard could tell from the map and directions given. That meant that her entire life was likely separate from the family, beyond where it was necessary to interact with them, as far as he reckoned things. It was a little nostalgic, thinking about this stuff - there was never anything as dramatic as a kidnapping back in the Shelter, but a fair few times he'd seen family disagreements spill into matters that needed security's involvement, or at least to the point where some people involved thought it was his business to intervene. In any case, just to make sure, he asks if the man knows anything about the groups she ran in, if there were any people she was particularly close with, or if their differences meant that the exiles would have to find that out for themselves.
u-b
Sean has the following questions he wants clarified:
1. How old is this grand-daughter of his?
2. When it was discovered that she's missing? How it was discovered? How long she could have been missing before that?
3. Was the possibility ever discussed in any form by anyone?
4. Supposing that she ran away on her will, whether alone or not, what amount of force, if any, are we allowed to use against her and her companions?
5. Is anyone else tasked with this? If so, what should we know about this parallel activity?
6. Does she have any transportation? Was she ever/often away from the city? Is she known to have contacts outside?
7. What amount of funds she could have used to finance her disappearance?
8. Any known friends of her with whom we can chat? What about her parents, siblings or other family members?
9. Are we allowed to pay the ransom to get her? If so, what would be the cap?
Shoot Da Moon
The VIP tells Richard that Daisy's medical condition, among other things, makes her very vulnerable to cold tempatures, so she should be covered up at all times. She also has severe skin rashes, so make sure she stays away from sharp objects. A good leather coat that is just a bit oversized for her would be great.
Daisy was involved in trading. She sold luxury foods for bullets and guns. Her work friends were often gun-runners from outside the city. She had friends but no more-than-friends that the VIP is aware of. Daisy had been contacting the VIP less and less on a day to day basis in the lead up to her disappearance.

Daisy is 28 years old.
She was reported missing five days ago. Her home was discovered empty and no neighbors asked could remember seeing her for 3 days at the time. Before that, she was last seen leaving her home in the morning with two men that no-one recognised or took a picture of. Daisy was wearing a backpack on her back when she was leaving, but no-one saw where they all went.
No-one ever discussed that possibility, to the VIP's knowledge.
No violence is to be used against Daisy and her compatriots, unless absolutely necessary. If she is being held against her will or menaced by an animal, of course, that is extremely different.
The job offer to find Daisy was put out just two days ago, the exiles are the first to apply.
Daisy knows how to drive a car, ride a horse, ride a bicycle...She usually has transportation arranged by a co-worker who owns a truck. She sometimes leaves Bread Basket for work, for never more than a day at a time. She has contacts on the outside.
The VIP suspects Daisy has barter goods and bullets stashed away in secret for unusual expenses - he certainly has. She could have huge amounts of resources, for all he knows.
The VIP does not know any of Daisy's confidants personally. Maybe her neighbors know? Her family can not be reached at this time. They are currently interred at a citizen's hospital within Bread Basket's underground, and have been for a decade. Non-citizens are not allowed to see them, and they would not have had personal contact with Daisy for years.
Pay the ransom. The VIP will cover any amount. Daisy is too valuable to risk being cheap.
u-b
10. Was she seen leaving the city that same morning she was seen leaving her home? We could go ask the guards, but probably would need some authorisation, whether a paper given to us or the guards told to expect us.
11. In general, was her and her friends' departures and arrivals normally registered, either informally or in writing? Like, we were asked to declare our goods when we have first arrived, less so when we've arrived next time the same day, but that time we also had less to declare. At the time, Sean did not care much about the peperwork produced in the process, and the process for more regular visitors and for the citizens themselves, but this might be relevant.
12. What was she dressed in the last time she was seen and what color is her backpack?
13. Can she handle a gun? Does she normally carry one when she's out of town?

Other than that, Sean is unable to come up with any questions to ask the VIP, so listens up as he lets Richard continue to his full satisfaction.
Shoot Da Moon
Daisy WAS seen leaving the city the same morning.
The guards have already been consulted, but they did not record much more of Daisy's departure other than time, place and name. They did not ask why she left the city or where she was going. The papers on that day do not help much. They seemingly do not record any men accompanying her. Perhaps they parted ways before hitting the edge of the city? No cargo or special items were declared by Daisy when she left. The VIP suspects the security guards were not doing their job with proper diligence, perhaps bribed by someone.
Daisy was apparently dressed in her usual outfits - a big brown overcoat with a hood over her head, hiking boots, thick leather gloves...Her backpack was a light brown.
Daisy can, of course, handle a gun well. She usually carries one all the time - she has a prize autoloader pistol and a high powered semi-auto battle rifle, both in good condition.
Volthawk
Richard nods thoughtfully as the VIP keeps talking, giving Sean a pointed glance when he describes Daisy's condition - after all, Sean himself had problems with the cold these days, after using a certain injector. The suggestion of a coat isn't a problem - after all, if they were going to check out Daisy's place first, odds are she had more than one suitable coat. He does seek confirmation on whether or not what the VIP described is definitely what they can expect, or if circumstances - time away from Bread Basket (and maybe treatment?), rough conditions if she was taken, and so on - could lead to her being in an exacerbated state.

When it comes to the prospect of her having left by her own will, Richard seeks confirmation on what the thing to do there is if the exiles find out that's true. To be sure, they're just to confirm her location and that she's free, and then report back?

If the guards were bribed or otherwise convinced to not pay proper attention to Daisy, that raises the possibility of people within Bread Basket being involved, particularly as she met with people inside but left alone. Given the...Richard thinks for a moment, and settles on 'desire for privacy'...that most of Bread Basket seems to have when it comes to outsiders like the exiles, what are the rules the VIP wants them to play by if the trail leads to another citizen being involved?
u-b
Sean does not seem to be much concerned about that particular part of overall medical condition. It's warm enough, the group has cars and a heated suit... well, if the girl gets dead before we find her,  that  would, of course, be problematic. A reson to hurry, but not much else is to be done. Then he nods at Richard's question about our course of action if she is all right enough according to whatever's her plan.  "Good point. To what extent should we respect her wishes, if she is, or we make her, all right? Should we limit our report to whatever she consents to have reported? Help her do whatever she does?"  Given that the girl has, apparently, left, Sean does not seem to be concerned with local peculiarities, at least if we can confirm the "left" part.

Then Sean thinks of something else.  "Do you have a good enough radio? We can report near-real-time and encrypted, but as is, that'll come to this city's general purpose trunk. You can provide another freq and/or some code to use." 
Shoot Da Moon
The VIP acknowledges that Daisy may have simply chosen to leave Bread Basket of her own accord secretly for whatever reason. He does not care. Deliver Daisy back to Bread Basket and his home regardless. Do not kill her, but he will understand if Daisy sustains injury in the course of being corralled. He can supply medical treatment for Daisy and anyone else, any medical supplies the exiles use to treat Daisy will be compensated for by the VIP.

The VIP does indeed have a good radio, he will make sure the exiles can stay in touch with him during the search for Daisy. He gives them the radio frequency.

If another citizen is involved, do what is necessary to find Daisy. If that causes violence, so be it. The VIP does not care if the exiles are merciful as long as Daisy is retrieved alive and well. Results matter, dead kidnappers do not.

Try to be patient and graceful when dealing with Daisy. If she needs to compete some errand before she returns to Bread Basket, assist her.

The VIP hands over four batteries for the radio, if the exiles want to be sure.
Volthawk
Richard nods as the VIP tells them what exactly he wants - Richard might not be quite sure about all of it, but broadly it's acceptable. He couldn't but feel like this might reach a point where they're more kidnappers than rescuers, but he resolves to cross that bridge when they come to it and so doesn't raise his concerns.

He's about out of questions for the time being, and so is happy to get going with preparations unless Sean has anything else come to mind.
u-b
Sean asks if they could have the map (and, for that matter, the key), but admits they could do without either. He then leads the way to the hovel specified. He takes a good look at the outside part of it, checks for traps and maybe spare keys under a rug or some such, then facilitates the entry. He then makes sure he does not miss any traps or anything lying in the open and proceeds to search the place all over, using Richard's professional directions to make sure he does not miss any place of interest.

 
 Spoiler 
Richard: roll something complimentary and professional?
 
Shoot Da Moon
The VIP generously hands over the map and key. Richard confirms his radio works well enough before the exiles set out for the missing woman's place.

Getting to the hovel takes not much time. Sean and Richard simply hop on a public cart going that way through the streets and arrive at the residential area in ten minutes. The doors are well-fortified and windows are barred.

Daisy's home is on the ground floor of an apartment building, her flat has twice as many rooms as your usual working class living quarters but is unmistakably low class.

Tossing the place for clues is a rough process. Sean's caution pays off when he discovers the front door is booby-trapped by a gun on a tripwire tied to the doorknob. He disarms it before he and his comrades go further in. It is not the last booby-trap he'll find in the hovel - there is a bear trap placed in front of the back door.

Richard looks around the place's living room and discovers a metal suitcase, locked and full of heavy stuff.

Going into Daisy's bedroom and checking around the furniture reveals a hidden chest under the bed. The chest is locked, so Sean carefully picks the lock. The chest lid is tied to another trap inside, a blade is set to stab anyone opening the chest without proper care or manipulating an internal mechanism. Sean disarms it.

The chest contains a weighty package of opioids. Richard immediately pegs it as a stash with intent to distribute, produced in a professional lab. The drugs are illegal in Bread Basket. He does not even need to see the papers also in the chest, which details Daisy's involvement in the drug trade. She was hiding the product in her legitimate shipments. He can track down Daisy's fellow drug runners and her network with the found information. He also deduces that Daisy's partners were skimming off the top (both the drugs and the pay) - Daisy seemed to have discovered this herself when she double-checked her buyers' and sellers' recent exchanges.
u-b
We are still on our own internal settings at the moment, but Sean toggles the helmet-mounted radio off, and waits until Richard does the same. Sean very much doubts anyone is in the car listening, but this is too big to ignore a very easy precaution.  "So, can you confirm she was smuggling them  in ? What would be the evaluation of yours? What side of the channel was taking an advantage of her - the supply side or the distribution side? What you propose we do with the stuff? I'm somewhat disinclined to both leaving it here and smuggling it out, and if we declare it, we will be asked questions. Should we flush it this local toilet or hand it to our employer guy? Radio the guy and ask for his suggestions? Can you fish a lead to the outside guys out of these records? Including places would be ideal." 

Then Sean thinks what to do with the suitcase. After what he has seen so far, he pretty much expects it to be trapped, so takes it in some far-away room, places on a sill of an  un-barred  window, and takes a good look. If he expects he could open it safely, he proceeds to do that, still on the windowsill, and with his visor down.
Volthawk
Richard shrugs as he leafs through the papers, having taken the same radio precaution as Sean.  "Trade like this, everyone's taking advantage of each other. The ones she figured out were her people here in town, though. Looks like she realised she was getting less than she should for the amount she was smuggling in, realised that her people were using some of her supply and taking more of the proceeds for themselves, and then...well, things are looking more and more like she didn't leave willingly. Odds are those two men she was seen with on the day she left were former partners of hers, but they left separately from her to avoid suspicion - either they convinced her to go out for the normal work, her not realising that they knew she knew, or they had some way of convincing her to go along with them. Once they're out of Bread Basket, it'd be a lot easier for them to...deal with her. One way or another."  He sighs as he looks down at the package of opiods.  "Don't tamper with it too much, in case this ends up needing to be a matter for the local law. That does raise the important question here. Are we still going ahead with this as planned? Way I see it, we have two ways to go here."

"First plan, we stay the course, keep operating solo under the VIP's orders, focus on getting Daisy out of this mess and keeping things clean and not embarassing some important people around here. Probably the best choice for getting the leaders of this place on side, and the more lucrative choice, but that does mean that we're taking personal risks when it comes to the local law and stuff like this package. That, and...you know me. I'm not exactly comfortable with lying to the authorities, so if we go this way let's keep ourselves as subtle as possible, hey?

Second route is that we make ourselves known to the local law, given we just uncovered part of a drug smuggling operation into their city, and then...either we operate with their backing, or we're off the case. Either way, we couldn't avoid Daisy's name getting dragged into it, and by extension our VIP, and that means he won't be happy - remember all the talk about this being a 'sensitive matter' before we got brought in? I'm not sure if he knew about this, or his caution was just about whatever secrets his family has, but outing his granddaughter as a drug smuggler publicly isn't going to make him happy. It would make finding her, and taking down this operation, a lot easier though, even if we may not be the ones doing it." 

He sighs again.  "As much as I don't like it, I think we need to keep on plan. We just need to make sure of one thing - that, regardless of what happens with Daisy, we make sure this operation is shut down. That way, we're not making things worse for our own benefit, just taking care of it ourselves. I should be able to track down other members of the ring with this information, so we can look for a lead when we're done here." 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's hunch proves correct; the metal suitcase is boobytrapped with an electrical shock mechanism that would harm anyone trying to open the case without activating certain controls. He bypasses the trap and opens the lock.

Inside the case is a high quality rifle disassembled into its component parts, two empty rifle magazines and 50 loose rifle bullets in a small card box.
u-b
 "That's interesting..."  says Sean trying to recognize the thing between all the mods and attachments  "...she left without this thing. I wonder if she really left the city, but she sure did not wish to, it seems." 

Sean bars the window again, then goes to check if the house has any not-yet-done laundry or something else we can prime the dogs at. If there are no objections, he eventually turns the radio back on.  "I'll go fetch Bart and we'll see how it goes while you do the neighbors?" 
 
 Spoiler 
1. Can Sean name all of the things in the case? Like the rifle model and what's hanging off it? Or, if not exactly name, then maybe classify and describe: a 7.62 full-auto battle rifle, a .50 BMG sniper rifle with an x8 variable scope, or some thing along these lines.
2. Do people leaving the city normally do that on foot (e.g. walk through customs and to the vehicle on the other side) or they can as well do it without leaving the vehicle?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean finds uncleaned clothes in the flat without any trouble. Bart has his hounds sniff at the clothes to pick up the scent, but he reminds the exiles that the smell trail has probably faded by now.

The radio turns on without a problem.

The rifle in the case looks to be a semi-automatic battle rifle used by Old World militaries. No accessories.

(OC: the rifle has the stats of a H&amp;K HK93A2, once it is properly assembled.
damage 5d-1 pi, Acc 5, Range 460/2900, Weight 9.1/1.2, RoF 3, Shots 25+1(3), ST 8 two-hands, Bulk -5, Rcl 2, $1300x8)

People leaving the city usually go on foot, ride a horse out, or catch a ride on a stagecoach, if they cannot drive away in their own automobile or motorcycle. Customs checkpoints do not mind if they submit to a check-in before or after they enter any kind of locomotion. Daisy could have entered a car after she went through the checkpoint.
u-b
Sean agrees that using the dogs in the city might not be the brightest idea, but it's not like we are of much use to Richard for his interviews, so we'll go ahead and try.
Volthawk
While Sean and Bart head off with the dogs, Richard stays in the apartment building, asking around to see if anyone noticed anything on the day of her disappearance.
Shoot Da Moon
Bart has the dogs sniff around according to Sean's instructions. After 30 minutes of putting the hounds to work, Bart comes to the conclusion that Daisy did not come back to her home after she left that day, and no-one else has entered this place except themselves.

When they get to the checkpoint, Bart tries to make sure the security forces do not find him and his faithful companions suspicious. He has the dogs sniff around for fresh scents of the missing person. He eventually concludes that any trail of Daisy is too old for her to have snuck back into Bread Basket. When she left on the day she went missing, she did not come back.

Bart and his dogs follow Sean's orders and try to study Daisy's trail. He quickly decides that Daisy was on foot, until she got on a motorcycle somewhere in the shanty town outside city limits, less than a mile away from the checkpoint. It was probably waiting for her, although he is not sure if she was the driver or a passenger (the motorcycle had a sidecar).

Richard asks around the apartment block in the meantime. The first neighbor he knocks on the door for slams the door in his face, not wanting to get involved.

The next person he talks receives him much better. The man in the flat above Daisy smiles warmly at Richard and invites him for a meal while they discuss the disappearance. He confesses that he knew Daisy was involved in drugs - she was selling to several underground establishments in the city despite the prison sentences being decades long at worst. He asks Richard to keep his not saying anything to the city police a secret in return for his help. He confesses that, on the day of her disappearance, Daisy was armed to the teeth and even carrying a shovel.
u-b
Sean is not particularly sure he can make anything else out of the situation, but gives it some thought. Since the motorcycles are used by quite a lot of people with some regularity, tracking one across the state would be impossible. Short-distance tracking might be possible, but what is the chance of that? Sean tries to estimate how dense is the wheeled traffic in hereabouts, and motorcycle traffic in particular. Then he tries to estimate if some locals are living or hanging around the place that might have had noticed something. If so, he does  not  go around to ask these locals. He relays all his findings to Richard.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean figures out that the area around the city limits is heavy with all kinds of traffic - horses, cars, motorcycles, etc.

But he deduces that the shanty town around Bread Basket is dense and crowded enough that there just might be witnesses to Daisy's departure and travelling, for at least the immediate few minutes of driving through the makeshift slums.

He asks around, and manages to get in touch with mainstays in the shanty town who regularly watch the roads in and out. They confirm that they saw Daisy riding out on a motorcycle, but are savvy enough to ask Sean if he would kindly pay them for their report.

(OC: The "eyeballs" are asking for a baseline price of $50 in bullets or barter goods.)
u-b
Sean does not object to the fee and pays five rifle bullets up front, to minimize the possibility of "creative inventions" on the part of the speakers.
Volthawk
Richard nods, promising that nothing said here was going to the police - he doesn't explain why he's interested, naturally, but it wouldn't be hard for the man to see that Richard's trying to keep this low profile himself - and graciously accepts the offer of a meal while he thinks of more questions. He asks a little more about the people Daisy was selling to, curious if he knows anything Richard couldn't figure out from Daisy's papers, but his main focus is on the day she left. Richard had already heard that she'd been seen with two men within the city, although he didn't have a description of them, and asks if the man saw her meeting anyone that day, or if he otherwise had any idea who they might be.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean does not object to the fee and pays five rifle bullets up front, to minimize the possibility of "creative inventions" on the part of the speakers. 
 

The street-rats smile and nod as Sean pays up. They helpfully point out the road Daisy travelled down (they also comment that the road eventually pass by several "picnic spots" that all kinds of scum hang out and do business at), and inform him that Daisy was not driving the motorcycle herself. She was in the sidecar along with a shanty town regular, the driver was a man somewhat familiar to them. Both men were friends with Daisy.

They can tell Sean about the driver, the other passenger and help him find them...for another 5 rifle bullets or equivalent barter goods.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Richard nods, promising that nothing said here was going to the police - he doesn't explain why he's interested, naturally, but it wouldn't be hard for the man to see that Richard's trying to keep this low profile himself - and graciously accepts the offer of a meal while he thinks of more questions. He asks a little more about the people Daisy was selling to, curious if he knows anything Richard couldn't figure out from Daisy's papers, but his main focus is on the day she left. Richard had already heard that she'd been seen with two men within the city, although he didn't have a description of them, and asks if the man saw her meeting anyone that day, or if he otherwise had any idea who they might be. 
 

The neighbor is very helpful. The meal is a delicious ration of preserved meat with some sauce, plus a drink of fruit juice.

He lists a few "jugglers" (drug dealers) in the city that he knows of, who would all get supplied by Daisy's network. He shows Richard on the city map where he can find the hawkers. She did not sell directly to the "end-users" - she was always too classy for junkies.

The day she left, Daisy had killed four men the day before. The security forces did not bother question her about the incident, or investigate the deaths. He also noticed Daisy was trading for bullets the night before, but that could have been for any normal reason.

He did not see any more of Daisy after she left her home in the morning. No-one was waiting for her directly outside her door as far as he could see.
u-b
Sean pays an additional 10 rifle bullets: 5 to have things told to him and 5 more for any extra assistance. He apparently likes where this is heading.
Volthawk
She'd killed some people the day before? Richard was very interested in that, given how it hadn't been mentioned to the exiles before now. Did the man know who they were? Just some random jugglers, or something else? As for the men on the day, he supposed they must have been waiting for her later on (although as he thought it over, he was more and more thinking that things there didn't quite play out how they thought it did, and perhaps those two men were dead now...). In any case, for now he focuses on the killings mentioned, staying focused on things the man can answer.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean pays an additional 10 rifle bullets: 5 to have things told to him and 5 more for any extra assistance. He apparently likes where this is heading. 
 

The men smile widely as they accept the payment.

The motorcycle driver was a smuggler working in the surrounding region and the city, a man nicknamed Blue Bird. He imports and exports plenty of contraband, but his usual work is illegal drugs. Blue Bird is a tall, strong pale guy in his thirties with brown hair and blue eyes. He’s got a bunch of scars all around his chest and the left side of his face has been burned a bit.

The passenger was a racketeer who worked Bread Basket, a man nicknamed Dusty. He sells most of the illegal drugs coming into Bread Basket, and he has killed lots of people to keep his profits. Mid-forties old, married, wanted dead for murder in Red Brick and Gunmetal. He’s got long red hair, one eye under a patch, tanned skin, some teeth missing, and he’s shorter than average by about a head.

The informants helpfully give Sean directions to their regular hangout, a bar on the east side of the shanty town.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 She'd killed some people the day before? Richard was very interested in that, given how it hadn't been mentioned to the exiles before now. Did the man know who they were? Just some random jugglers, or something else? As for the men on the day, he supposed they must have been waiting for her later on (although as he thought it over, he was more and more thinking that things there didn't quite play out how they thought it did, and perhaps those two men were dead now...). In any case, for now he focuses on the killings mentioned, staying focused on things the man can answer. 
 

The man thinks they were street dealers, if he recalls correctly. Probably people Daisy has dealt with before. He suspects the security forces of Bread Basket did not bother to investigate because they do not care if the lowly scum kill each other off. Daisy shot them all, with her favourite gun. Their bodies were dumped down a sewer grate, left to rot.
u-b
Sean nods acknowledging the information and thanks the men for assistance. There would be a few more things to know before he's on his way. No objections if the men know only some of these:
1. What everyone of the three was armed with on that particular occasion? What they are normally armed with?
2. How one can recognize the bike? Model, color, notable wears, tears and mods?
3. How does this Blue Bird normally dress like? Does he wear long or short hair? Facial hair?
4. At the place specified, do they generally hang out with a gang? If so, which gang and what can be said about the gang in general and its part hanging out at that bar at any one time in particular? Is that bar in any way exclusive to their particular gang (like, excluding other gangs, or excluding strangers in general)?
5. Is it known whether they transport the contraband through the customs or through some sideway trails? If through the customs, is anything known about their men at the customs? If trails, if anything known about those trails?

Sean is giving one extra bullet per each of first four points covered, and gives 1..5 for the fifth, depending on the coverage.
Shoot Da Moon
All 3 people were armed. All of them had an auto-loader pistol and a long arm, plus whatever concealed weapons they had. None of that is out of the ordinary for them.

The motorcycle had a big sidecar attached, a black paint job, a common model, a few nasty dents on the front of the frame near the headlights.

Blue Bird wears heavy leathers and cowboy boots. His hair is long but he keeps it tied up. No facial hair, he shaves regularly.

Yeah, both guys have a gang of toughs they boss around. The gang calls themselves The Regulars, they carry sawed-off double-barrel shotguns as their usual firearms, their colours are navy blue jackets with yellow stripes, they sell drugs out of their hangout most days, there are other gangs hanging out at the bar but they stay out of each other's business for the most part. "Tourists" do go to the bar for "pleasure".

They think the drug traffic goes through either bribed security forces or a secret passageway into the city. They are not sure, and they don't feel like risking their lives finding out.

The informants accept the extra bullets given with pleasure. They assure Sean that now they'll never dream of snitching on him like they just did with the men and the gang.
u-b
Sean commends the men for their wisdom and is on his way. The intention is to meet with Richard at the hotel and discuss our respective findings.

 
 Spoiler 
I'm basically done with solo part of this investigation, so waiting for Volthawk to resolve his part (which does  not  mean Sean is waiting for Richard, as all that sniffing around was bound to take some time).
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean is certain he was not lied to by the informers.

(OOC: Richard, how are things on your side?)
Volthawk
Richard nods thoughtfully as the man explains. Street dealers...perhaps Daisy had already started cleaning up the people that had been stealing from her, before things reached a head, people started noticing and she had to disappear one way or another (whether or not that was by her own will, though...he wasn't sure either way yet - it could be a kidnapping, or just someone getting out of town and waiting for the heat to die down). At this point, he's happy enough with the information he's gotten, and the routes of investigation that he can see coming from this are things he should discuss with Sean first, and not involve a random citizen, no matter how helpful they are. With that in mind, he thanks the man for the meal and makes his leave at a moment where it wouldn't seem rude, making his way to meet up with Sean, not wanting to talk about his findings over the radio but telling him when they're together and in private.
u-b
In our room in the hotel, with only Sean and Richard present and with the radios off, Sean starts the discussion by just relaying what he's heard from the informers. Then he listens to what Richard found out, if anything. Then he raises the following topics that presumably worth being discussed:
1. It might be that Daisy has indeed killed some of her dealers, presumably for some of their wrongs.
2. That might have been her own idea or a request made by some other people. Either way, Sean is unsure what the actual plan for turning It the situation back into a profitable business is.
3. Four dealers being dead means we'll have less leads to the rest of the distribution network, but with Richard's new leads we might still have some. Also, she might have killed just  some  of her distributors, so reading the paper might lead for some more. Sean is unsure if we want to pursue any of those leads at this stage.
4. It seems that Daisy left the city on her own preference. Preference to what exactly is still debatable.
5. Given the circumstances, Sean is absolutely unsure if Daisy is better off in or out of the city.
6. Sean would probably like to investigate the legal and practical aspects of getting Daisy back here without her being jailed, because her baing jailed is probably not what our employer intended.
7. Sean is unsure if we should contact our employer to discuss (some of) the findings and the aforementioned legal and practical aspects.
8. Sean would like to know Richard's take on local legal status of a person wanted dead for murder in Red Brick and Gunmetal. If that status is low, Sean would like Richard's opinion on whether we should officially take the drug trade quest we were offered before.
9. Sean would like to hear Richard's ideas about how to proceed.
Volthawk
As far as the first two points go, Richard's in agreement as to the narrative of things. His call on what she was planning to turn things around is simple - fear. Those in the network that were skimming off the top were doing so because they felt safe, judging that the potential profit outweighed the risk of getting caught and the consequences if that happened. By killing some of those involved, Daisy was sending a message, one that was intended to make those left reexamine that judgement, shifting the balance so that the risk wasn't worth the profit.

As far as where she's better off is concerned, Richard doesn't really care what's best for her. Way he sees it, she's ending up in one of three places - with the VIP (Richard figures once he gets her back, he'll probably keep her under watch and ensure she doesn't kill more people - he's fairly sure the VIP's priority is about reputation and the family), with the local law for her part in the drug trade, or in the grave. Naturally, he'd rather the first option, given their own goals, but he's not particularly inclined towards letting her go free once they find her. He suspects that the VIP already knew some of this - he's almost certain the man knew about her criminal activities in general, but he likely didn't know about these recent events. He can see the value in keeping the VIP informed on the details and their next moves, though - there may be preparations he'd want to make to ensure Daisy's safety when she's back here.

When it comes to the risk of her being jailed...Richard figures she's okay now - the impression he's gotten of things is that violence within the criminal class is broadly ignored by the authorities here, if it stays there, so at the moment she's off their radar. The exiles can bring her in, get her to the VIP, and then it's out of their hands - maybe she'll get named when the network as a whole is brought down, but at that point the VIP can protect her politically, or throw her to the wolves if he rathers. Either way, they'd have done their part.

He's not entirely sure of the situation when it comes to the reach of the law between cities. The three governments didn't seem to have particularly strong ties and contacts, just going off the exiles' own experiences, and it didn't seem like the local law had any plans to arrest Dusty and turn him over to another city for his actions there - maybe they'd cooperate with a team from Gunmetal or Red Brick, whether just letting them know what they know and standing back or directly helping, but there didn't seem to be a formal agreement on the subject, as far as he could tell.

When it comes to the network, and Sean wanting input on their next move, Richard is still quite confident that they could track some involved people down. Richard does want this done at some point, but it doesn't have to be an immediate priority, and likely shouldn't be. Given that Daisy probably left of her own will - he guesses either to let the heat die down (from the underworld, not the local law) or to the supply end of the operation to law down her law there. Either way, their priority should be on following the trail before it gets cold. Maybe they just find her bolthole and can get her out, but maybe they find out where all this stuff is coming from and can come back later to put a stop to it.

Richard's...cautious when it comes to officially getting hired to deal with the drug trade. He wants the operation stamped out, yes, and getting paid for it and raising their status in Bread Basket at the same time wouldn't hurt, but he does raise the point that getting officially involved like that raises the odds of a conflict of interest around Daisy significantly. Maybe if they get her to the VIP first and then start bringing people in officially and investigating...like he said, maybe that way the VIP can keep her out of it, and they won't get into trouble with the VIP, but...it'll be a rougher path to take.
u-b
 "So, what would be our plan now? Do we report to the VIP that we go find those Blue Bird and Dusty and propose they sell us Daisy for what, two concealable vests and a car? And if they do not agree to the terms we do what, apprehend them on their way from the bar and torture them until we get all the infos? "
Volthawk
The word "torture" gets a frown from Richard.  "Let's go talk to the VIP, yeah. Make sure we're right about him knowing, make sure we're covered if things go south, and then...let's just track those two down and we'll go from there." 
u-b
We radio the VIP's to arrange a meeting. "Right now" would be good.
Shoot Da Moon
The radio works, and there is someone to pick up on the other end.

But the servant informs Sean and Richard that the VIP is very busy with serious personal troubles at the moment, so the meeting with him will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon.
u-b
Well, then we book tomorrow afternoon and we will see how it goes by tomorrow. Would Richard want to act or wait now? Sean's fine either way and he  does  have other business.
Volthawk
If there's other business to attend to in the meantime, Richard's fine with erring on the side of caution and holding off for today.
u-b
Sean's proposal is that Richard spends some time digging through two stacks of paper we have: one we got from the raiders and one we got from Daisy's house. Meanwhile, Sean would take most of the men, two cars, and go back to the raiders' shack to finish the business in there. Richard would be advised to let the helmet on to remain in touch in case Sean needs something.

Assuming Richard agrees, he will be left with one militia man and one sedan to dig through the papers in whatever order he seems best. Sean would like, among the other things, to find the answers to the following questions:
1. The amount and value of illegal substances handled, per month or per year.
2. The names and personalities of the suppliers.
3. The details about the distribution network, including names and stuff.
4. The amount and value of the discrepancy found.
5. Daisy's  personal  (i.e. not business) relationships with the supply-side guys. We, basically, want to know if they were good friends or Cosa-Nostra-style colleagues or tried to be as much unrelated as practical or hated each other or something else of note.

Sean will ride with two cars to the shack, check for anything present or happening since we left, then, if all clear, let the men load the barrels and drums while he dissects some of the remains (preferably uncooked, but cooked will do).

 
 Spoiler 
What would be the time by this moment?
 
Shoot Da Moon
It is the early afternoon by the time Sean arrives back at the Raiders' camp and cabin. He eats a quick lunch as he pulls in.

To his dismay, much of the dead bodies at site have rotted significantly and it looks like wild animals made a feast of them in the intervening period.

The material goods are intact, and get loaded into the cars without much fuss...

Looking around the tracks on the way over, there is still a lot of people travelling around these hills. Sean is sure that some people other than the ones he knows of were here sometime in the past 12 hours, but he has no idea who. The people were at least five in number, and they came from the north, and then left to the east. Other people tracks in the surrounding area did not come to the cabin, and were bigger numbers. None of them were heading towards Bread Basket.
u-b
Sean chooses the fresh tracks leading east. Mostly because the  things  have come from the east and he was here hoping to backtrack them. Fresh human tracks were somewhat unexpected, but inteeresting enough to follow, especially if they  also  try to backtrack those things. Sean leads the way some distance ahead of the cars and lets the dogs run around as they see fit, in case they also find something interesting.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard has trouble figuring out the papers that belonged to Daisy. He has better luck on the reports seized from the raiders. They are mostly just collected rumors, declared false. The rumors declared  plausible but not confirmed  are; valuable documents about a secret Old World military operation are hidden in a cache somewhere in a ruined city, a powerful army is amassing in New York state to invade Vermont, a great lost Old World treasure is somewhere in The Gutter, a hurricane is heading this way, a glowing meteor has crashed in the countryside, a gang of thieves has pulled off a major heist in Gunmetal, the city of Bread Basket is experiencing some kind of medical crisis.

In the meantime, Sean follows the trails heading east. In about 4 miles, he stumbles across a farm ablaze from a firefight. From the distance, Sean does not think he sees anyone inside the inferno, nor in the immediate vicinity. But he is sure that the people he was following came here within the last 4 hours.

(OC: Is Sean walking the 4 miles? That decides the travel time...)
u-b
Sean describes what he sees for Richard and Bart to listen on their respective radios (the helmet's and the car's) and makes a circle around the scenery, counting any tracks in or out, bodies of the attacking side, shot casings or maybe amything salvageable away from the fire. He's largely inclined to move on along the trail, unless interesting things are spotted.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean does not find anything interesting or helpful when he examines the tracks.

But he does spot distant signs of people in vehicles moving towards this place on the horizon. They will arrive here within 10 minutes.
u-b
Sean says that much and proceeds to arrange a reception. He tells to park our two cars some 50 yards from the fire in the direction where he expects the cars to come from. He tells the people to be there, armed, ready and waiting, greeting the approaching people, but demonstratively taking cover behind those cars. They are not to attack unless provoked. Sean chooses a hiding place some additional 30 yards in the same direction and a bit to the side. He uses the scope to observe the people as they move closer and maybe past him.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean watches from afar as the people come closer.
He can see that they are two motorcycles (two people riding on each) and a stagecoach being pulled by two horses (a pilot at the reign and a man riding shotgun besides him). He can definitely see their firearms (passengers have their guns ready but the drivers have them stowed, of course).

They are coming to check out the burning building, of course. They slow down as they spot the parked cars. It seems they considering turning around and leaving...
u-b
When they decelerate enough to start turning around, Sean shouts from the bush:  "And now you stop, remain in place and send a delegate! I mean it!" .
Shoot Da Moon
The new arrivals co-operate. A man steps forward, alone. They even make a good faith showing of leaving his weapons behind. The delegate is a scruffy young man, dressed in the expected road leathers and riding googles. He approaches with hands open by his side.

"What's going on here? What happened to the Lanes?" He points at the burning barn.
u-b
 "Not sure. It seems there was a firefight here just a few hours ago and now the farm is burning. I guess they either have left or are dead. We're going to... hm, let me see the back of your neck for a second?" 

Assuming the delegate does not object and there is no tattoo.

 "We're going to track the group of people that have left here."  Sean opens the visor so that the man can see him and his scar.  "Sean Pires. Radar Base Guys. We have taken out a raider outpost last night, about four miles west, and when checking back on the location have found it was since visited. We have been tracking the visitors and they seem to have passed through here. Now, what can you tell me about yourselves and your business here, as planned and as changed to reflect the new circumstances?" 
Shoot Da Moon
The delegate is dismayed by Sean's report.
He shows the exile his neck.
He has no tattoo.

"We're traders on our route. We routinely buy and sell stuff with the farmers in this valley. We know the Lanes well as regular customers. When we saw the fire, we came running to help out...Aw, heck, what am I going to tell Bill?"

The man looks heartbroken over their deaths.
u-b
 "Did you ever interact with the raiders? We'd like to wipe them out, that is, if we can. If you knew these Lanes, I'll leave it to you to handle what's left of the farm. We will move on following the trail." 

Whatever the answer, Sean thinks he should discuss one more thing.

 "Last night, we have also encountered a large bunch of walking... infested zombies? Well, something of the sort. They also came from this general direction, but not exactly from here. Can reliably be killed by fire or by a shot in what stands for the brains - the blobs in place of the heads of former body owners. We plan to investigate these too. Anything you can tell or do to help us? You can also send a motorbike with us to have some first-hand knowledge." 
Shoot Da Moon
The delegate shakes his head. "The raiders have stayed out of the valley for as long as I can remember."

When Sean brings up the monsters, the delegate looks at him like he's crazy. "I have no idea what you are talking about. What is a zombie?"

The delegate and his men start trying to put the fire out as best as they can.
u-b
 "Stayed out, hm?"  Sean looks past the man for a moment.  "Richard, can I have your attention please? I'd like to know the oldest date on the raider's stack of papers, like, now."  Then Sean looks back at the man.  "A zombie? A piece of old world folklore, a person walking with their brain either dead or otherwise mostly non-functional. I don't believe they had zombies for real, but that concept does spring in mind upon seeing these things. That is, if you have been exposed to the culture. I guess, most people no longer are. The perticular kind we have encountered seemed to have some major parasite controlling the body instead of the brain." 

Sean does not believe it to be possible to put down a major fire without a fire truck, and, for a mostly wooden building, even  with  a fire truck, but if these people have some plan and some hope, Sean and his team will help them hovewer they can.
Shoot Da Moon
The newcomers still seems very skeptical of Sean's explanation of a zombie.

As expected, the attempt to put out the fire is not successful. At best, the team manages to retrieve the dead bodies of the family and valuables from inside the inferno before the barn is consumed.
The work takes 45 minutes and leaves everyone tired and demoralized at the end of it. The newcomers bitterly begin digging graves for the deceased after they get a chance to rest up.
u-b
Sean examines the bodies for any and all signs of wounds, if only to see what guns the attackers have had, has the traders confirm these are Lanes, and all of them too. He describes the sights and the events for Richard to have an idea about what's going on. Sean exchanges a few final words and dates, then a thought has visited him about how to address scepticism. Do the guys have an action camera in stock? Sean might be inclined to buy one and later arrange watching a movie together if something posing a danger to these guys' trading routes and clients is encountered. A specified location or a specified radio frequency should do as a means of contact.

 
 Spoiler 
1. It seems we'll have a lot more to do outside, so how about Volthawk takes control of the troops?
2. How tired, exactly, everyone is?
3. Do they have an action camera? If so, what storage media are available and how much do they cost? I've made the entries on lines 224..226 of  our doc  to compare today's prices with HT prices (presumably, taken much earlier at TL8).
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean wipes the sweat from his brow.

The bodies have gunshot wounds, but that's hard to figure out thanks to the fire. It looks like it was a rifle shot to the head in most cases.

 
 Spoiler 
1) Sure, if he wants to.
2) Let's call it 1 FP plus your current level of encumbrance. You're at Medium (2)?
3) No cameras. The traders you've met are mostly dealing in food, water, medical supplies and bullets. You'll need to find a merchant specializing in electronics.
 
u-b
Sean leads the group on, following the same trail in the same arrangement as before.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 2) Let's call it 1 FP plus your current level of encumbrance. You're at Medium (2)? 
 

Sean is at no encumbrance, so loses 1 FP. The others should have light encumbrance at combat load and medium with the backpacks. Nobody fights a fire with backpacks, so they have lost 2 FP each. Bart will not drive a car, so will recover to full in ~20 minutes.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Another thirty minutes of moving through the wilderness, and Sean eventually stumbles upon busy men in a clearing.

He can tell from a decent distance, they are a group of hunters carving up a large dead animal - possibly a moose or a horse. They are dressed in camouflage, wearing backpacks, carrying long arms and survival gear. As a hunter himself, Sean can see plain as day that they are well-trained and prepared.
u-b
Over the radio, Sean tells the cars to stop. He then takes a position behind some tree just over 50 yards from the scene. He counts the men. He then asks if any one of his men would volunteer to go chat with the hunters. The man moving forward would get a modern concealable vest from the trunk, Bart's trauma plate, a flashbang and a powerful frag grenade from Sean. And afterwards, he'll get his due reward with any reasonable terms acceptable, up to the vest itself if things go really hot.

 
 Spoiler 
1. So, volunteers?
2. How many men there are?
3. Any darkness penalty or is it still bright enough?
 
Shoot Da Moon
One of the backup militiamen raises his hand, puts on the vest and grabs the stuff. He is not afraid.
There is six men working on the dead animal. They look very wary of their surroundings.
The time of day is still afternoon.

(OOC: Darkness penalty -0. Maybe -1 in the shade?)

When the volunteer approaches the men, the man who spots him raises his rifle and demands he stop.
It seems they are protective of their kill. The men with knives continue to skin and cut the corpse as the other four make a big show of readying their guns and scanning the area.

The men demand the volunteer explain who he is and why he is approaching them.
Volthawk
When the hunter raises his rifle, the volunteer immediately stops and raises his hands. You didn't survive out here long without having a pretty good idea of how to act when someone had a gun pointed your way. Now, how did the bosses do this stuff again? He gives it a go.

"Relax, I'm not here for your kill. I've eaten today. Just want to talk and suss out the situation. Y'see, about half an hour that way," He gestures back with one of his raised hands. "There's a burning farm and even further out some..." He pauses, thinking of the word Sean used. "Zombies? I think that's what they were called. Weird people that weren't people any more. Like the stories the old man back home used to tell sometimes. Just wanted to know if you gentlemen knew anything about any of that."
Shoot Da Moon
The hunter lowers his gun slightly.
"Alright. Stay where you are..."

The other hunters seem disturbed at the mention of a burning farm.
"What do you mean? Was there an attack on a farmstead around here?"

The talk about zombies is just as confusing to the hunters as the previous strangers found it.
"We have no ideas what you're talking. Zombies? We've never heard of it. Or the monsters you're describing."

The hunter motions to the volunteer to move along.
"If you've got no further business, we're in the middle of something here. Please leave, if you would..."
Volthawk
The volunteer nods and gestures in the same direction as earlier. "Yeah, back there. We tracked the things that attacked us that way, and there it was, burning up. Whole family dead. The...tch. Not sure what they had to do with our monsters, but hey." The guy with the gun pointing in his direction getting antsy is enough to get the volunteer to shrug and back off, though. He'd done the job, no point getting shot over it. "Alright, alright. Like I said, not after your kill. Enjoy."

Once he's taken a few steps backward and is pretty sure that the guy isn't about to put a bullet in him, the volunteer turns and runs back to Sean and the others, reporting back what was said, before shrugging and saying  "Could be liars, I guess boss. Didn't look like it though. Nobody knows what those things that found us were. Lucky us."
u-b
Sean frowns. The report was highly inconclusive. The men were suspicious, right, but nothing rock-solid. Sean thought for a moment, in case any additional information might illuminate the situation in any way at all. In particular:
1. What were the valuables recovered from the Lanes' farm? Any weapons at all? Did the farm and the people seem to have been looted to any extent?
2. Were there any other fresh tracks leaving the farm?
3. Do the hunters carry any "extra" long arms (that is, more than one per person)?

Sean relays the findings over the radio. Well, "findings" might be too bold of a word, given the situation, but we have what we have. Then he consults with Richard about the following:
4. Should we inform the city forces that Lanes are dead? Would they even care?
5. The city seems too reclusive to claim police powers over its surroundings, but if they do, maybe we can cooperate one way or another.
6. Failing the above, should we just let the men be? Track them tomorrow? Do anything else?
Shoot Da Moon
The valuables from the Lanes' farm included lots of bullets, several shotguns, several rifles, a dozen revolvers, electrical equipment and medicine. It seems the Lanes managed to fend off a home invasion only for their attackers to simply write them off as dead with the fire that got started.

There were fresh tracks from the farm. No more than 4 to 6 hours old when Sean and his comrades arrived?

The hunters only have one long arm per person - some have knives or pistols of varying models visible in their holsters.
Volthawk
Over the radio, Richard listens to the updates and thinks it over. He's still not entirely sure how the zombies and the fire connect to each other, and is starting to think that they didn't. He's tries to make a chain of events to figure out how things went went. He's pretty sure that the zombies didn't pass through the Lane farm, as none of the evidence Sean has described suggests that they fought against monsters rather than men - the causes of death and the fire don't line up with fighting those things, the combined firepower of all those people should have dropped one of those things (even if they didn't figure out the weak spot) and there weren't any other bodies there, and the zombies didn't seem like they'd ever retreat when the exiles fought them. He does raise the passing thought that most of the Lanes were killed by headshots, and whatever was going on with the zombies was focused around the head, that strange insectoid thing, but he's not sure if he has a point there.

In any case, that (and the way things were when Sean arrived at the scene) suggests that the incident at the Lanes' farm happened after their own battle. Whether that means that the people who passed by the cabin did it, or just passed by without helping, it's hard to tell. It seems strange that the hunters would stop to hunt and butcher so close by to the scene of the crime, relatively speaking, if they did it but perhaps they just don't think that any consequences will come of what they've done. That would track with some of the people they've encountered. He asks for confirmation that the trail led directly to the hunters, or if they were just close by to it - the hunters denied knowing anything about the farm, as he understands it, so if the trail says otherwise then they're lying about that much (but again, that might just mean they ignored the fire and the corpses and don't want to get blamed by anyone connected to the Lanes, and doesn't prove that they actually did it, even if it is  highly  suspicious).

There's also the question of motive, which on second thoughts may explain what's happening here - perhaps the hunters weren't having much luck finding their next meal, tried their luck at the farm, things went south and they had to fight and leave empty-handed, and then finally found a meal here. Perhaps, but he's not particularly confident there - it's not like Sean has ever had too much trouble finding something to hunt out here, so maybe that actually gives them no motive to raid a farm. He leaves that call to Sean, since he's more experienced when it comes to survival matters and the kind of decisions a group of hunters may have to make out there.
u-b
Sean confirms there was just one fresh trail leading out of the farm and that lead him to these men. They did not deny visiting the farm, only claimed not to know about attacking it. This could mean a lot of things, the obvious them being liars. But there are other explanations, some more dubious than the others. Namely, some flying mutants, some people competent at hiding their tracks or what not. Not robbing the Lanes is also suspicious, especially since these people seem to have the time. Given the observables, Sean proposes we do the following:
1. We drive back to Lanes' farm to report and describe the men to the traders. Warn them sort of thing, but also question if these guys are known. The problem is we did not request any identification, but Sean is not sure about going in and asking more questions. We also ask where the traders are going to camp for the night and how we are to contact them, e.g. by radio.
2. We then drive back to the outpost. This also should not take long. Then Sean starts following the trail of the zombies back to origin or some other notable point.
3. When Richard is done with the papers, he is to go to the authorities to bring them in the loop. Sean will also participate over the radio. Sean could probably contact authorities himself, but that would mean fiddling with the radio, which he prefers not to.

Since the hunters will be occupied for some more time and may even camp on the spot, which, after butchering such a large animal, will be notable, returning to track them again in the morning should not be problematic.

If the plan is accepted, Sean fills a page or two with the people's descriptions and is on his way.

 
 Spoiler 
The phase 1 of the plan is to drive back to the traders and chat.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The drive back to the Lanes farm (what's left of it) is uneventful. They discuss the situation with the traders, and get their radio contact (they do not have encryption). The traders are going to camp around the farm for the night. They want to mourn some more, and tidy up what they can. They appreciate the warnings Sean and his friends give them.

The drive back to the outpost is also uneventful. The place is just as depressing and battle-scarred as ever. Anyone who has not eaten lunch yet, does so at this point. Richard talks with Sean over the radio, coordinating their actions.

Then it's back on the road again, trying to figure out where those monsters came from...

(OC: Richard, you may need to make a Reaction Roll when you talk to the authorities. Sean, make your usual skill rolls. Be warned, this could be more dangerous than normal, it's getting late in the day...)
u-b
At the raider's shack, Sean makes sure the grenades are transferred back to him, trauma plate is transferred back to Bart, but lets both militia men wear a better vest and have a flare. Then he starts tracking.
Shoot Da Moon
Much to Richard's relief, the authorities of Bread Basket do not laugh him off when he tells tales of strange monsters. His report gets noted down and given to people higher up the chain. They promise that they will look into it, but he has suspicions that the matter is not a priority.

Meanwhile, Sean is doing an excellent job on following the trail from the outpost. It takes him only 30 minutes to arrive at a building where the tracks originated. From the outside, it looks like an abandoned structure, what the Old World termed a "gas station". It was where people of the Old World re-fueled their automobiles. He can see the rows of fuel pumps near the entrance.

Observing the outside from at least 20 yards, Sean spies armed people moving around within the station. They appear to be taking care to stay out of sight most of the time, hiding. Taking care to take in the details, he notices the people inside have rifles and shotguns, wearing decent amour and they've all got black neck tattoos. He counts 10 within, but there definitely could be more.

The tracks of the strange beings came from inside the station.
u-b
Sean remains hidden and calls Richard again. He tells he expects Richard to arrive at the raider's outpost before it gets too dark and that he'll be greeted by a man with NVGs waiting there in a car to lead him the rest of the way. Sean designates "his" car for the mission, the one with the radio, and issues an order to retreat from anything dog-sized and up. The remaining car is to be camouflaged with a net and some bushes near where it is.

 
 Spoiler 
The plan is to get Richard into action in some reasonable time. We will attack when darkness is about -6. Hopefully, they will turn on illumination and/or go to bed by that time. Also, everyone will be fully rested. Also, the hunters will return, if they are from here. Any transportation anywhere nearby or maybe a garage?
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Richard, you can post now. I posted earlier in the OOC thread you will find relevant, BTW.)
Volthawk
(OOC: Wasn't sure if there was much to post about before it got to go-time)

Richard nods when he meets the militiaman waiting for him at the outpost, taking the ride to Sean and the next problem. Once there, he listens again to what Sean knows so far now he can see what's going on to go along with the report, and thinks it over. So the raiders...made those things? No, that didn't make sense. Drove them off, maybe - but that also didn't match what they'd seen. Captured and sent out...now that made sense. They'd already seen the raiders use chemicals capable of attracting mutated animals, so why not a substance that can either make those things not notice the raiders, or just drive them off into the wilderness to attack at random? They do have the scientific resources of at least one Shelter at their disposal, after all. Looking over the wider situation, he is a little concerned about the risk of them having something more armoured hidden away and asks Sean if they have brought anything with them that might do some work if that was the case. The fuel pumps out front also catch his eye - perhaps those could be used to do some serious damage, but that's definitely not the preferred strategy here, between the raw value of the fuel itself and more importantly the importance of getting some kind of intel from this, whether from prisoners or documents.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles and their friends settle in for a stakeout, keeping watch on the gas station and its occupants for hours until it gets dark enough for Sean's plan.

(OC: all of you and your allies eat rations and drink water for lunch/dinner, record the consuming.)

As the hours go on, Sean and his fellows observe the raiders in the gas station from afar. They send out a group of six on foot, heading east, one hour after Sean came here. (They do not come back.) A hour and a half later, a different group of people arrive on foot from the north and enter the gas station, clearly more raiders joining this group.

The raider occasionally have three or four of their number go outside to patrol the immediate grounds and scan the horizon for ten or so minutes before going back inside. Sean is certain they did not spot him or his allies.

Eventually, darkness falls. Every raider is inside the station and is trying to stay hidden, turning the lights off. Sean has noticed that they have set up barricades on the entrances he can see just before the sun goes down.

(OC: Sean, spotting the raiders again will require a contested Observation roll. Spell out what you guys decide to do now.)
u-b
Observing the raiders, Sean takes a note of which entrances are used and where the guards are positioned for the night. Eventually, he comes to some cover within 20 yards from the barricade and starts to plan his opening burst. Over the radio, he whispers Richard to tell the two militia men to be ready in case some illumination is employed by the raiders, while Richard and Bart use NVGs from whatever distance they find comfortable, right after Sean. Currently, we don't have anything armor-piercing, but hopefully, we'll just have to deal with the men.

 
 Spoiler 
1. For now, the dogs are to be left with militia.
2. Sean notes the exact routes taken by people coming and leaving and whether any extra traps are placed for the night.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and his comrades stay hidden as they observe the gas station.
Sean realizes that there is another way into the gas station - a locked metal back door that is guarded by two raiders and booby-trapped with a landmine.
When night falls, all the guards go indoors. They have at least five watching the front entrance. Three go into the backrooms.
Targeting the raiders from the outside is not easy. Most are behind medium cover/concealment (counters and covered windows), even full body cover/concealment (going low behind the shelves).
They have noisemakers set up on the front entrance.
Most raiders in the station seem to have "beds" laid out on the floor, out of sight. About a quarter of them are standing and patrolling, checking the windows, swapping watch every hour as the others rest. Sean definitely thinks they carry flashlights, but none of them turn them on when patrolling.
u-b
The arrangement suits Sean just fine. He leaves Richard and Bart in his stead some 20 yards from the site, makes a short trip to the cars to pick up more grenades, then, rifle in hand and bending low, starts to advance all the way towards the building, careful not to trigger any noise maker or mine. The goal is to end up somewhere between the windows and thus out of sight.

 
 Spoiler 
Picking up seven M67 grenades for a total of 8. That's in addition to a standard TL7 frag, an ARGES and two flash-bangs. I guess Sean will have all his pockets full.
Assuming the barricade is in front of the door, not all the way around. If it  is  all the way around, consider Sean thinking of the ways of using and/or crossing it.
 
Volthawk
Richard stays at the front, although he indicates for Bart and the militiamen to spread out to other cover the same rough distance away, to mitigate the risk of any explosives the raiders may have and to potentially get a better shot. For his part, he intends to start firing on a signal from Sean (whether over the radio or simply hearing him starting to cause trouble) - the idea is less to take them all out from here, and more to be loud and attention-grabbing, getting them to get their heads down and hopefully be more vulnerable to what Sean is planning.

 
 Spoiler 

If anyone is visible from Richard's position, he may as well spend the time Sean takes moving about aiming.
 
Shoot Da Moon
For a few nerve-wracking moments, Sean creeps up to the gas station entrance. He can see the barricade is not all the way around, just blocking the front door. He finds a blind spot fairly easily, he thinks.

The raiders within the station did not think to set up more traps around the fuel pumps or directly outside the front door. Perhaps they did not to risk arousing suspicion?

Richard tries to draw a bead on a raider inside, only to be frustrated by the patroller moving in and out of concealment, thus blocking line of sight from the outside every few seconds or so. No doubt a deliberate precaution by the raiders. At best, he can manage to shoot one (they're spread out relatively far) with two seconds of aiming, if violence became necessary.
u-b
Staying next to a window and just out of it, Sean puts the rifle on the ground leaning against the wall, draws and arms a frag grenade, then throws it into that window without exposing himself all too much. He tries to hit the "bedding" area. The trow goes  somewhere , a bit too far and a bit to the right, but at least it clears the obstacles. Sean quickly draws and arms another grenade, releasing the handle to have it cooking while he listens to the activity inside and maybe observes any lights turning on, as much as he's able to do it without exposing himself.

 
 Spoiler 
That's two rounds worth of actions.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean did not nail his intended target exactly, he figures his arm was off by...1 or 2 yards? It certainly rolled a bit too much.

(OC: The range penalty for the throw was -3.)

Luckily, none of the sleepers or patrollers notice the grenade.

Sean grits his teeth and cringes as he waits for the inevitable boom...

(OC: Richard, you have 3 seconds before the explosion, what're you doing?)
Volthawk
Richard starts firing, a long burst at one of the more exposed raiders (as much as 'more exposed' was a relative term here), as soon as the grenade goes off - shooting earlier would make them pay more attention to his direction, sure, but it also means that they'd start moving before Sean could do whatever it was he was doing back there, and the explosion serves as a pretty good indicator to Bart and the others to join him in lighting the place up with gunfire.
u-b
Whan the first grenade should be about to explode, Sean throws inside a second one, this time targeting the active guards. He tries to draw another one, but the expected explosion startles him anyway, so the third grenade is dropped under Sean's feet.

 
 Spoiler 
I want to know whether the dropped grenade is live. This covers all actions up to and including the round of the explosion. The grenade goes off for 8d cr ex [3d cut]. Another explosion is to follow.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC:  Combat time starts  as Richard opens fire. Sean, roll grenade damage. Is that dropped grenade live? Well, one of you has Unluckiness, IIRC...How long has it been since it last triggered, in-game time?)

Richard lets loose a stream of bullets into one poor bar-stead, tearing up his heart like a Saint Valentine's Day card sent through a paper shredder. He falls down dead without a prayer.

Then the first grenade explodes...

(OC: both of you control your NPC followers this combat. They act before the hostiles.)
Shoot Da Moon
Sean hears one of the people inside shout "WHAT THE HE--!!", only to be cut off by the first ka-boom.

He definitely wounded multiple people with that grenade, judging by the subsequent screaming and a few nasty blood spatters.

He's not sure how many exactly got caught in the blast or struck by fragments - or how many died as a result.

Richard can only see the explosion, but he can't judge who got harmed by it. None of the patrollers he can see (3 of them) were caught in the blast.

The militiamen stand-by as Sean and Richard do their thing. They hold their fire until there is better illumination or the exiles give them the signal to move in.

Bart guards the rear.

Richard can see the patrollers inside the station move around, often behind cover. He sees one slip out, into the back rooms of the station. Now he can see only one raider, crouching down behind cover, peeking out only his head.

 TURN 2 

Sean's second grenade goes off. He thinks two guards are still within range of the explosion.

(OC: Roll the 2nd grenade damage. The third grenade at your feet is live.)
u-b
Sean bends down to pick up the dropped grenade. It's missing the handle and makes quiet fuse-burning noises which, given the circunstances, are hard to hear even for Sean. Inside the building the second grenade does a loud BOOM.
Volthawk
Seeing the movement inside, Richard gives Sean a warning of  "One coming your way!"  over the radio as he takes a moment to aim at the one raider he can see. Bart does the same.
Shoot Da Moon
More screams from inside follow the second explosion. Sean is lucky that the loud noises aren't affecting his hearing (so far).

He sweats a little as he picks up the live grenade.

Richard sees his target cringe in fear and go prone in response to the 2nd boom. He squints down the barrel and gets Bart to join him.

The militamen scan the area to make sure no-one comes from any blind spot.

The raiders inside the gas station move a bit more...Sean thinks. Richard's target does not move form his cover.

 TURN 3 

Sean's grenade continues to tick down to the inevitable...
u-b
Sean has no idea where the people inside will want to be in a second or two, so just throws the grenade inside according to his understanding of where the most of them are  now , as scarce as this understending currently is.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean makes his toss. He spots a person inside the gas station towards the back wall.

Richard still has his target in sight...
Volthawk
He's not sure exactly what's going on with the other man, but Richard can at least handle this one so he opens up with another burst. Bart waits to see if the guy survives.
Shoot Da Moon
The target did not see Richard in the chaos and darkness, and so the burst hits him right in the head.

The raider does not survive. All that remains is a rather grisly scene.

The militiamen and Bart continue to hold their fire.

No-one can see what the raiders in the gas station are doing.

 TURN 4 

Sean thinks he heard people running around...
u-b
Sean grabs the rifle. He is not sure what he should do now other then maybe blasting apart the whole of the inside, but he is now more concerned with the possibility of explosive stuff being thrown the other way and with the Richard's warning. So he just starts to move towards the nearest corner of the building, crouching low under the line of the windowsills and keeping an eye on where he's stepping.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean spots no dangers as he moves. The night air is refreshingly chilly, or would be if Sean was not cold-blooded.

(OC: Sean, you're still outside the gas station, right?)

Richard and his comrades spy no active raiders from where they're positioned. They have no-one to shoot at. That might be comforting...
Volthawk
Richard considers approaching while the others hold their position, but they haven't checked the front of the station for any traps or the like, and Sean seemed to be handling clearing out anyone who isn't visible pretty well with grenades - and he's fairly sure that the only one left is the one that he saw heading to the back - so he stays where he is, waiting to see if he's wrong and anyone pokes their head into view.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: out of combat time.)

Richard and his fellows brace for impact for a few seconds.
And then the third explosion goes off. It tears down at least one shelf inside, wrecking the various contents of the enemy camp. He thinks he sees a fire starting? Glass is breaking.

Much to his concern, Richard sees no-one active in the gates station. He hears no-one screaming their last as the last ka-boom rocks the gas station.

No activity. All is...quiet.

Richard yells out an order to surrender, breaking the silence, and gets no responses from the building.

Sean, meanwhile, stands his ground at the corner, away from the windows. He sees no-one else around, neither coming along the road nor coming out the back of the gas station.
u-b
Sean waits for some time. If he hears nothing much and there is no light or people coming from the inside, the next step is to clear the way for Richard. Sean is not very concerned about the noisemakers, but does not want Richard to step into something more serious. Leaving Bart as the only one man with night vision with the rest of the troops, Sean leads Richard towards some window. Then he looks in and, potentially, climbs in, to see if there are any survivors and what exactly they do.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean is relieved to see no-one is active inside the gas station.

He sees two fires have started thanks to the grenades. One looks like it came from something destroyed near the bedrolls. The other seems like a burst container of flammable liquid near the other side of the gas station.

About nine or ten people are knocked down and unresponsive. They are clearly bleeding heavily and probably KO'd or killed by the explosions. Most of their gear and belongings have been wrecked by those same grenades.
u-b
Sean quickly makes sure there are no other rooms, cellars, and suchlike, whence more people can emerge, then, if he's encountered no dangerous traps along the way, asks Richard to go fetch everyone else. The plan is to get everyone and everything out before the fire expands. Sean starts with the men/bodies closest to it, and proceeds from there.

 
 Spoiler 
Assuming opening the door from inside will not be problematic.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean realizes that the explosions wrecked noisemaker traps that were set up inside the gas station.
He spies a back room with a metal security door that was let open. He figures raiders may have run into there but not leaving the gas station.
He finds at least one supply cache near the bed rolls that was destroyed by the grenades.
He and his men can drag out the injured and dead raiders with a few minutes of effort per 3 or 4 persons.
By the end of it, he counts 12 bodies dragged out - two of them are definitely dead.
u-b
Sean lets Bart and militia do all the lifting and handling while he and Richard do something about the back room. With the fire ongoing, the inside should be somewhat bright, so Sean proposes Richard takes off the NVGs and prepares to switch the tactical light if and when things start happening. He takes a position along the wall next to the open door and has Richard positioned next to him. Then he throws a flashbang inside, waits until it goes off and for about a second for any activity after the bang, then, if there is none, takes a quick look inside.
Volthawk
Richard's...not exactly happy to see the state of the place up-close, given his hopes to get information out of the place (at least a few of the people down aren't dead yet, he supposes), but while the men handle moving everything out his mood brightens when Sean points out the back room, taking his position next to Sean and waiting for the flashbang. Maybe they'd get something concrete out of this after all.
Shoot Da Moon
When the flashbang goes off, Sean and Richard move in.

Through the door, they find something unexpected; the room seem dedicated to a large electric cargo lift of some sort, next to a ladder hatch down.

The lift is currently raised. It looks like both it and the ladder lead to an underground room bigger than the square area of the entire gas station.

Looking down the ladder hatch, the room immediately below looks empty.
u-b
Sean proposes Richard remains in the room, guarding the lift and the ladder. He is not sure if the facility below is a dead end or people can leave it to run away or attack, but is willing to give the situation some time. The news are that we probably do not want this place burning to the ground (if only because this might restrict access to the facility below for quite some time), so Sean tries to organize an effort to fight the fires after we are done with evacuating the men next to them. It has to be seen how it turns out, but the things to do next are binding the men, stripping them of any vauables, bandaging them, looking at their neck tattoos, and choosing the most promising one to revive.

 
 Spoiler 
If this does not go well and the man remains unresponsive, will solicite Richard's opinion on whether inject him with nanomachines or chose a second guy. If this  does  go well, will change places with Richard and let him do interrogations.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The men do their best to fight the fires.
(OC: Do you guys have any fire extinguishers in your gear? I believe you guys once found at least one scavenging.)

Sean successfully heals the injured.
Their armor is all wrecked by the bombs, as are their guns. Their ammunition is ruined, too. They were not carrying much else besides, at this time of day.
Large metal fragments got embedded in their bodies and it has to be removed with care. The shards hitting the torso merely cut up the body armor but hits to the limbs, extremities and head slice through much thinner protection.
Their neck tattoos are all black - depicting a seven of spades and a two of diamonds playing cards in a pair.
Once they regain consciousness, they can be questioned.
Shoot Da Moon
Meanwhile, inside the gas station, the exiles' back-up throws buckets of water onto the flames but only manages to dampen and slow down most of the blaze.

There is still a lot of the building that is being ruined by the fire.

One of the men yells for more water.
u-b
Having spent some water with minimal effect, Sean is reluctant to spend more. He orders people to withdraw from the building and to some spot nearby where the militia will wait near the cars until...
1. The fire dies on its own.
2. (Some of) the prisoners regain consciousness and are interrogated.

Sean himself will watch to see that nobody comes or goes in or out or from the woods or what not. That is, on his feet and moving around from time to time, for up to 4 hours.
Shoot Da Moon
The fire keeps going for hours. It spreads mostly around the interior, but only engulfs about three-quarters of the building's main room. It seems it will eventually go out by the morning rather than completely destroying the gas station.
The night gets deeper and darker in the meanwhile.

The captives only recover enough to start speaking after 4 hours of rest and triage. The brutal impact of the explosions really knocked them for a loop, it seems. The deep cuts make it hard for them to move.
u-b
When Sean is back again for N-th time and notices the captives are awake, he wakes up Richard and one militia man, whom is given Bart's NVGs for the time of his shift, then takes a nap, instructing to wake him up some time shortly before dawn or if something happens. He does not take his armor off for the nap.

 
 Spoiler 
Okay, Richard, your turn!
 
Volthawk
Richard spends his shift alternating between joining the awake militiaman on watch and spending some time with the prisoners. They're not exactly in the state for a prolonged interrogation, so for now he keeps his questioning simple, seeking to find out ahead of time of what exactly is down in the underground section they've found - whether it's a small hidden storage area/panic room or whether it's a larger facility, what people or monsters are down there (he hasn't forgotten  what  trail brought the exiles there), and an idea of what exactly the raiders were using it for (even if he had strong suspicions).
Shoot Da Moon
The raiders spill the beans.

The ladder and elevator go down to a really big section of The Gutter.
In particular, the section was home to a big gang of mutants and their Old World laboratory.
The raiders took over the lab, killing or enslaving the mutants.
Then they used the lab to create some sort of infectious monster from corpses, to use as a terror weapon against Bread Basket.
u-b
Sean wakes up fully rested. He expects everyone else to be not quite so, but we do have Modafinil available for those who feel the effects. Still, it's just before dawn and we still have a whole day to go to get tired or, possibly, rest. When briefed about the specifics of the complex, and of the inhabitants thereof, Sean's main concerns are:
1. The number of rooms.
2. Gun turrets and stuff.

Having the lot of guards ready in those tight spaces is also somewhat problematic, but maybe something we could deal with. So far, we do not have a full-fledged strike team, something Sean is now inclined to be fixing, and the Vermont Rangers seem like they take their time, so... what do we do, really? Sean is soliciting opinions from whole of the lot. Send a small team down to see how it goes? If so, maybe Sean, Richard, Bart, one dog and one guide from the locals? The rest would be hard-pressed under a serious attack, but we can give them grenades and will leave them a dog to stand some guard duty. Sean rather intends to do  something  before the inhabitants vacate or re-fortify the whole gig, and does not trust Bread Basket.
Shoot Da Moon
 DAY 76 

The gas station is an ugly sight in the morning light. Not just rusty and faded, but now a good portion of it is gutted by fire.

As the sun goes up, Sean spies a big line of people approaching the gas station from the north-east. Over 3 dozen people are marching along, most of them in chains or in cages on wheels, forced along by armored men with guns at the ready. Most of them are walking, but four guards are on motorcycles riding alongside the line.
u-b
 "My f*cking god!"  Whispers Sean pointing in the direction. Not that he believed in any, but the feat of running such a busy place with no one  actually  noticing was borderline divine. Probably, someone has some explaining to do, if we know who, exactly, and know how to ask.  "I'm going to flank them. Get ready to shoot as soon as they seem to notice anything. Yours, guys, are the motorcyclers. A suspicion will do."  The remark about the motorcyclers was, apparently directed at anyone except Richard, who is laft to do as he will.

He then moves to flank the caravan, with his rifle in hand, and a minimal complement of just three grenades.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean manages to sneak up on the marchers.

He spies on the people and takes in more details.
The armed men are carrying rifles. The same make and model as the other raiders he's encountered were carrying. The body armour they are wearing is thickest around the torso. No head armour.
The armed men have black tattoos on their neck, too. He thinks they're the same design as the ones in the gas station?
The people in chains and cages look to be in poor health. Probably starving or/and thirsty.
The motorcycles are loaded with packs, no doubt supplies for the convoy.
u-b
Sean relays his findings about the armor, but he does not expect modern trauma plates, so proposes that everyone but Bart simply aims at the heart. He aims at one of the walkers, intending to get more than one when he actually shoots.
Shoot Da Moon
When Sean gives the signal, his side unleashes a hail of gunfire.

In less than a second, all four men on motorcycles are blasted dead, falling off with a thud as their thundering machines beneath them tip over uselessly. Sean murders two patrollers on foot at the same time with rifle shots to their chests.

The bad guys were not expecting an attack. Screams of terror rise up from the prisoners and the armed men look around for their ambushers wildly.

(OOC: Richard, you get an action at the same moment Sean and your comrades act, before combat time starts. I say you achieved surprise and the bad guys are mentally stunned.)
Volthawk
On his end, Richard takes aim at one of the pairs watching the prisoners and fires with the others, aiming to take one out with a headshot and then swing down to hit the other center mass.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard's burst only hits the first target twice - but it blows the bad guy's head apart without a problem.

The second burst misses his target.

 TURN 2 

Sean sees the bad guys are still mostly active, but relatively easy pickings for now...
u-b
Sean shoots a short burst at the next pair of guys.

 
 Spoiler 
Militia's aiming.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean bull's-eyes both his targets, killing them both with shots to the heart.

They fall silent right in front of the prisoners they were prodding along.

(OOC: Richard, please post...)
Volthawk
Seeing that the second of the pair he shot at is still up, Richard tries to finish the job.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard picks up the spare, slaughtering the one he missed.

The militiamen and Bart aim at new targets.

The four bad guys still alive, realizing they are under attack, scramble into whatever waist-high cover they can find or going prone if they cannot. They're also more spread out.

(OC: Move 6, the 4 remaining hostiles are in cover or prone - half one, half the other. Going from one target to another in the same burst will waste 6 bullets now.)

 TURN 3 

Sean can still target the enemies, but it will be a harder shot...
u-b
Sean shoots at the next pair from his end. They are somewhat spread out, but that is not a huge problem. Militia men shoot at two guys from their end. Bart aims.
Volthawk
Richard keeps up the rate of fire, finding another target and firing a final burst before running empty.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean kills one target (who is not quick-thinking to avoid ALL the bullets coming his way) and the other fairs no better.

The militiamen are not as on point, hitting only one and leaving him badly injured.

Richard blasts the last of his magazine and is rewarded with his target taking a lethal hit to the chest.

(OC: forgot to include the -3 for prone in the active defense rolls. So they all failed.)

The last injured enemy surrenders, tossing his rifle out and begging for mercy. The fight is over. Meanwhile, his comrades are all deceased, their former prisoners kicking the bodies or frantically searching the dead for key to their shackles.
u-b
Sean makes sure our men free all the prisoners from bonds, cages and such. He instructs everyone to remain in the area until a further notice. We will provide food and water for immediate consumption in whatever amount (just let's have it accounted for). The guy who has surrendered is bound and turned over to Richard. Sean is interested in where this caravan has come from and what was the purpose of bringing these people here (the first question is obviously also answerable by the captives). While Richard is busy chatting with the guy and the freed men, the militia is busy tending to the freed captives and Bart with his pair of dogs keep watch for anyone or anything coming from both outside and inside the building, Sean runs a quick account of the stuff captured, including gear, supplies, transportation and what not.
Shoot Da Moon
Every one of the captives wants food and water. They scarf down whatever the exiles give them and chug the water. It seems the armed men were keeping them too weak to escape by not feeding them.

(OOC: there is 36 prisoners total. They all want at least 3 rations and 2 pints of water, do you have enough?)

The surrendering scum barely manages to stay conscious as he is bound, the wound he got is pretty nasty.

(OC: the defeated raider is at less than 0 HP, so each attempt/roll at interrogation will require him to roll his HT 12 to avoid passing out under intense focused questioning.)

The militiamen keep order and tend to whoever they can. Bart is on guard for any more danger.

Sean finds 87 rifle bullets in the enemy guns (the 14 men all had the same rifle), plus armour on every one of them. The armour is mostly light except for the light concealable vest plus anti-stab plates on their torso. The four motorcycles look okay even after the battle. Their fuel tanks are one quarter full. The men riding the motorcycles were all carrying big rings of keys - not just keys to the shackles, the cages and cuffs on the prisoners. Some of the keys look like home door keys. The motorcycles all have backpacks containing lots of rations, water bottles, camping tools and a few medical supplies.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard fails to get answers out of the surrendered man for 45 minutes. It seems the man is too resentful of the gunshot wound to co-operate.
u-b
As people are getting themselves fed and watered, Sean proposes they take arms and armors to defend themselves until we get them somewhere safe. This would go as follows:
1. A total of 36 concealable vests (including 14 with anti-stab plates).
2. A total of 14 rifles.
3. A total of 22 grenades (M67 x11, ARGES x11).

They might be in much less than perfect shape, and not everyone might be skilled, but the numbers should compensate for that some.

Then Sean asks the first bunch of raiders a question: does  any  one   of them want to be released and 100% free to go? The catch is guiding us through the lab. We'll give him two or three vests and a forward position.
Shoot Da Moon
The prisoners take the gear they need to defend themselves. But they will still need at least a day of rest with food and water before they can fight particularly well.

They ask how many bullets they have for the guns.

The captured raiders all meet Sean's offer with scepticism. They all seem to regard the below-ground lab as too well-protected to attack without dying.

(OOC: reaction roll at a basic -4 plus whatever modifiers Sean or Richard has.)
Shoot Da Moon
After a bit more cajoling, one of the raiders decides to accept the offer.
He claims that he knows the layout of the labs and the security systems.
He warns them that he may need lots of protection, food, water and medical attention if he is do the job for them.
u-b
Sean finds the proposed terms acceptable. We sure can provide medical services, food, lodging, protection while at it and then either employment with our allied forces or a ride at any specified point in the state, we'll see how it goes. In either case, there will also be a sum to start with the new life. Sean gives the man a few pages from his notebook (without the notebook itself), a pen, and ample opportunity to use these. He'll want, at a minimun:
1. A map of the lab and its immediate surroundings, including exits and entrances, as far as this gutter stuff goes.
2. Markings with type/purpose of every room and connection.
3. Markings for any and all security features - guns, cams, traps, strong doors, dedicated guard posts and so on.
4. Detailed information about the gun turrents, including, but not limited to:
4.1 Their locations as part of #3 above.
4.2 Their armaments (the exact types of guns and ammo involved).
4.3 How they are aimed (cameras on the gun or elsewhere, are they robot guns or operator-controlled, centrally or individually).
4.4 How they are powered (battery and/or mains).
5. Any night vision on any of the cameras (including those in #3 and #4.3).
6. How would it be possible to shut down the whole gig (meaning power connection, power room, IT room and stuff).

 
 Spoiler 
@GM: I'd like to see it, actually. Hand-drawn in Paint would be fine.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The captive nods and gets to work writing and drawing.

All the doors in the place are strong metal Old World electronics.
They have bear traps and landmines set up at the checkpoint.
Cameras are in every room. They cover every part of the rooms. They have infrared vision.
The turrets shoot the same rifle bullets as their own guns. They are made of metal and are controlled by a computer in the barracks.
There's guards stationed past the turrets - the turrets are stationed at the door to the checkpoint.
The security systems are connected to external power, via an Old World generator.
The computer and control panels for all this stuff is in the main lab.

 
u-b
Sean does not quite like electronics on strong metal doors, and does not like the lack of a map, but continues to explore the prospect of gutting the site. Follow-up questions:
7. Are the metal doors all normal anti-burglar doors or are there full-fledged blast doors anywhere? Regarding normal doors, do they have locking bars extending on the lock side only or on all four sides?
8. How are the landmines placed? Are they camouflaged into the structure anywhere? Like maybe behind the drywall, false ceiling and what not. Or they are mostly visible not unlike the bear traps have to be? Are they at any spot remotely controlled?
9. Are there any cameras above ground? Around the way down? Along the way from the lift to the lab? Are their hidden or are placed openly?
10. How many bullets are loaded into a turret? What is the rate of fire?  (OOC: And I'll also want the rough damage class, so far I am not sure what rifles we are talking about) 
11. Are all the turrets generally in one place? How many of them? Are they particularly armored?
12. Is the security set up generally around that one checkpoint?
13. Are the checkpoint defenses targeting the lift and the ladder?
14. Are any defenses targeting the lift and the ladder?
15. So, they run a generator there under the ground 24/7? Where is their vent?
16. Do people there have any night vision or infravision besides the cams?
17. Do they carry grenades?
18. Are there any chemical weapons or irritants that the defenders can use?
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: not sure if the image on my post is working.)


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 7. Are the metal doors all normal anti-burglar doors or are there full-fledged blast doors anywhere? Regarding normal doors, do they have locking bars extending on the lock side only or on all four sides?
8. How are the landmines placed? Are they camouflaged into the structure anywhere? Like maybe behind the drywall, false ceiling and what not. Or they are mostly visible not unlike the bear traps have to be? Are they at any spot remotely controlled?
9. Are there any cameras above ground? Around the way down? Along the way from the lift to the lab? Are their hidden or are placed openly?
10. How many bullets are loaded into a turret? What is the rate of fire?  (OOC: And I'll also want the rough damage class, so far I am not sure what rifles we are talking about) 
11. Are all the turrets generally in one place? How many of them? Are they particularly armored?
12. Is the security set up generally around that one checkpoint?
13. Are the checkpoint defenses targeting the lift and the ladder?
14. Are any defenses targeting the lift and the ladder?
15. So, they run a generator there under the ground 24/7? Where is their vent?
16. Do people there have any night vision or infravision besides the cams?
17. Do they carry grenades?
18. Are there any chemical weapons or irritants that the defenders can use? 
 

7) They are all normal anti-burglar doors. The normal doors have bars on the lock side only.
8) Just laid out on the floor, detonating on proxy.
9) No cameras above ground. On the way down, yes. Along the way, yes. Not hidden.
10) 300 bullets. Fires as fast as an military assault rifle. 7.52mm.
11) All in one place. Five. Steel armour, as good as a security door.
12) Yes.
13) No.
14) No.
15) Yes. The vent is in the barracks.
16) No.
17) No.
18) No.
u-b
19. Do cameras with infrared vision use IR illumination + near infrared sensor or are they passively imaging in thermal infrared?
20. Are the turrets equipped with their own sensors to aim through? Do these have infravision?
21. How are the wires running from the turrets to computers and power protected? Like steel conduits or burried under the floor or something?
22. Where is this vent on the ground level and how it is protected against things thrown or poured in?
23. How is the vent protected against being blocked? What the people inside could be expected to do if it is blocked for an extended period of time?
24. Is there any backup power (including backup generators and/or batteries)? Is it lab-wide and/or local so some things? What are these things and how long can the lab and/or the things run in that backup power?
25. Could people inside expect any help expected to arrive today? If so, what and when that could be?
26. How can they contact the outside world from there?

 
 Spoiler 
Does Richard has more questions to the man?
 
Volthawk
 
 Spoiler 
For reference, the map's working for me as-is.
 


Richard's got a few thoughts:
 
 To confirm, the way down we've found goes into the checkpoint, right? If so, surely there's a route from there to the door that doesn't hit the mines, given that they need to get inside to use the place. Does the guy know it? 
 Does he know anything about that bit of the wider Gutter connected to the lab? 
 How are the prisoners down there being held? What kind of cells, how they could be opened, etc. 
 What do they have in storage? Anything he's aware of that might be hazardous to be around, dangerous to expose to the dangers of a gunfight and/or explosives, or the like? 
 Last he saw, were they currently any of those monsters in the labs being worked on? 
 How much a supply of food and other essentials do they have down there? 
 
u-b
   
Some questions about the map:
27. If we descend here, do we approach the lab from green arrow direction or blue arrow direction?
28. Any dangers going from either direction to pink side of the door? Any dangers staying there while the door is closed?
29. How long are brown arrows?
30. Are gun turrets in front of the checkpoint room outside of it or inside it? If inside it, how are they placed (along which wall(s) and the like)?
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 19. Do cameras with infrared vision use IR illumination + near infrared sensor or are they passively imaging in thermal infrared?
20. Are the turrets equipped with their own sensors to aim through? Do these have infravision?
21. How are the wires running from the turrets to computers and power protected? Like steel conduits or burried under the floor or something?
22. Where is this vent on the ground level and how it is protected against things thrown or poured in?
23. How is the vent protected against being blocked? What the people inside could be expected to do if it is blocked for an extended period of time?
24. Is there any backup power (including backup generators and/or batteries)? Is it lab-wide and/or local so some things? What are these things and how long can the lab and/or the things run in that backup power?
25. Could people inside expect any help expected to arrive today? If so, what and when that could be?
26. How can they contact the outside world from there? 
 

19) The later.
20) Yes. Yes.
21) Yes. Buried under the floor.
22) The vent's on top of a concrete tower. No ladder up.
23) The vent is Old World tech, it has a security system. An alarm will sound, so the people in the labs will evacuate.
24) Yes. Extra batteries and another generator that runs on gasoline. Lab-wide. They can run the lab for months alone.
25) No.
26) They can't.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Richard's got a few thoughts:
 
 To confirm, the way down we've found goes into the checkpoint, right? If so, surely there's a route from there to the door that doesn't hit the mines, given that they need to get inside to use the place. Does the guy know it? 
 Does he know anything about that bit of the wider Gutter connected to the lab? 
 How are the prisoners down there being held? What kind of cells, how they could be opened, etc. 
 What do they have in storage? Anything he's aware of that might be hazardous to be around, dangerous to expose to the dangers of a gunfight and/or explosives, or the like? 
 Last he saw, were they currently any of those monsters in the labs being worked on? 
 How much a supply of food and other essentials do they have down there? 
 
 
 

Yes. He does not know of any route that's landmine-free.
He does not know much of The Gutter, no.
The prisoners are kept in big steel cages. There are ten cells. They are locked with padlocks. Guards have the keys.
Storage? Huge stacks of food, water, batteries, fuel and bullets. Lots of guns and explosives, too.
No monsters, no.
A year's supply of everything.


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Some questions about the map:
27. If we descend here, do we approach the lab from green arrow direction or blue arrow direction?
28. Any dangers going from either direction to pink side of the door? Any dangers staying there while the door is closed?
29. How long are brown arrows?
30. Are gun turrets in front of the checkpoint room outside of it or inside it? If inside it, how are they placed (along which wall(s) and the like)? 
 

27) Blue arrow.
28) Both sides of the pink door. Yes, many dangers - turrets, guards, explosive charges.
29) 30 yards.
30) Both. Inside, the turrets are flanking the door and in front of it.
u-b
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 27) Blue arrow. 
 

31. How are the openings of the shaft of the lift positioned relative to the direction facing the pink door? How is the ladder positioned relative the shaft of the lift and the same direction? Sean is thinking of a way to get down safely without being shot by the turrets. A concrete cover of any sort is thought to be sufficient. Besides, does lift have any more positions than "up" and "down"?
32. Any known way to approach from green arrow?
33. Any mines in the immediate vicinity of the lift or the ladder or they start further down the passage?


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 28) Both sides of the pink door. Yes, many dangers - turrets, guards, explosive charges.
30) Both. Inside, the turrets are flanking the door and in front of it. 
 

34. Three turrets out of checkpoint and two inside it or some other arrangement?

35. How tall is the vent tower?
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 31. How are the openings of the shaft of the lift positioned relative to the direction facing the pink door? How is the ladder positioned relative the shaft of the lift and the same direction? Sean is thinking of a way to get down safely without being shot by the turrets. A concrete cover of any sort is thought to be sufficient. Besides, does lift have any more positions than "up" and "down"?
32. Any known way to approach from green arrow?
33. Any mines in the immediate vicinity of the lift or the ladder or they start further down the passage?
34. Three turrets out of checkpoint and two inside it or some other arrangement?
35. How tall is the vent tower? 
 

31) He does not know, it was only spoken of to him once, some other guy checked out that vent. The lift only goes up and down.
32) No.
33) No, further down the passage.
34) The outer way round, two out and 3 in.
35) Probably 80 yards?
u-b
Sean mostly likes what he learns. He rearranges the grenades assigned to the rescued people, leaving them with more ARGES HG 86, but less M67s. He gives all twelve unassigned M67s and one flashbang to Bart, to be carried in an otherwise empty backpack that is to be left open so that they can easily be taken by someone (e.g. by Sean). Sean gives two concealable vests to the volunteer guy and asks Richard to part with his steel plate temporarily. The plan, as envisioned at this point of time, would be as follows:
1. The volunteer climbs down and confirms it is safe to do so. He says it  is  safe to do so, right? And we  do  want some of his skin in the game.
2. Sean climbs down and shoots any cameras pointed.
3. Richard and Bart climb down.
4. We remain out of LoS of the turrets and slowly advance, the volunteer pointing at the security features (mainly mines and cams) and Sean shooting at them from maximum distance. If shooting at some mine(s) seems too dangerous because it cannot be done from a safe enough distance, Sean will trow grenades instead and take cover. Sean also will keep an eye for security features, but this is not expected to bring additional benefit.
5. We thus advance to a spot where Sean can throw a few grenades around some corner at the turrets near the door to the checkpoint.
6. Then we will see how it goes but mainly envisioning checkpoint + grenades.

The following things are to be kept in mind executing the plan:
7. Keeping an eye on the volunteer at all time is Bart's responsibility. This does include shooting the volunteer's head off if he does anything funny.
8. The volunteer is not really expected to fight at this point, but is to be kept near the front for easy consulting and bearing the risks of the mission.
9. One militia man is to sit in the car with the radio to remain in touch with the group.
10. It is expected that the gutter and probably also the checkpoint are sparsely furnished, so no major fire is expected to take place. Sean will confirm this before he proceeds.
11. Sean will probably be lower-contrast object on thermal vision cams.

Any objections / corrections from either Richard or the volunteer?
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Clear on my end. Might want to note Sean and Richard's ready gear and encumbrance levels as they enter the below ground area, just for easy reference.)
Shoot Da Moon
Once the exiles have confirmed their plan, they start.

The captive is the one they send in first. He climbs down, and the exiles do not hear or see any trouble so far.

"Uh, hang back, guys. It looks dangerous, just going to confirm..." The captive shouts up to them as he steps out of sight from the top of the ladder.

The exiles do not hear any gunshots or explosions after that, is that a good sign?
u-b
 "You go NOWHERE!"  shouts Sean as soon as the steps out of sight without getting explicit permission. So much for the plan.  "Do not follow."  he says to the others and starts to climb down quickly while still keeping an ear on the guy and looking for any deviations of what was previously declared. He plans to climb all the way down unless he spots anything dangerous (like, say, this ladder going straight into the checpoint or no cover to the turrets or some such).
Shoot Da Moon
The captive does not follow Sean's orders, he does not stop. He picks up speed and starts running.
As Sean climbs down the ladder, he sees no threats, but he does see that the landing at the bottom has five different doors away from it. Two of the doors are behind him when he reaches the bottom of the ladder.
He thinks the captives went through one of these doors. But which one?
The signage on the doors and walls of this area have been defaced a decent time ago, painted over with bright yellow obscenities.
u-b
Sean shouts up the ladder:  "You go here and haul a dog! Change of plans, dammit!"  Then he spends some time looking for traps or a fresh footprint.

 
 Spoiler 
We do have a large backpack for dog-hauling, but that's going to take some time.
 
Shoot Da Moon
To Sean's relief, he finds no traps in the area or on the doors.
He also finds a thin trail of small blood drops leading over to a door - the one furthest from the ladder.

Hauling the dog down takes 5 minutes.
u-b
While Richard climbs down and Bart goes to haul the dog, Sean gives a quick chase to see if he can learn which way the man ends up. Sean does not expect the wounded man to start a long trek through the gutter, so this should be near enough.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean's move is 7 (up to 8 sith sprinting). The man's move now is probably 2 or thereabouts and by sprinting he will probably risk straining the wounds. The last tracking roll is good for a minute, so up to 80 yards, depending on how exactly it goes. Sean will open only the doors the man has opened, and to that with all-out dodge out of the doorway.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean gives chase through the door, and finds himself in a small square room with two more doors.
He follows the blood drops to one of the doors, only to find it refusing to open.
The door is not locked with the usual tumbler-and-key method (either internal or padlock). This door seems to have an internal bolt engaged that prevents opening, it was engaged from the other side.
"Picking" this lock means either cutting through the metal door's outside to its internal mechanism so it can be manipulated or cutting through the bolt.
The captive definitely fled through this door.
u-b
Standing out of the doorway of the door in question, sean reports up to the surface that he would like to get some pieces of cloth to tie grenades to doorknobs, looks around for cameras, then knocks at the door and proposes to chat.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean sees no cameras around, and his knock on the door gets no response.

But the door looks big and sealed and thick, so perhaps no-one can hear the knock?

His men pass down cloth to Sean without an issue.
u-b
Sean makes sure everyone is safely back, takes a M67 grenade from Bart and uses a piece of cloth to attach it to the door handle such that it is in a contact with the door itself and that its own handle is free to move. Then he pulls the pin, retreats back behind the open door and closes it just enough to stop the shockwave and frags, but not enough to let it activate its own locking mechanism, if any.
Shoot Da Moon
The door is sturdy stuff. The grenade barely cracks it a little, even the fragments just give it superficial scratches.

(OC: Note to self; the door loses just 4 "HP".)

To occurs to Sean that the explosion is very loud and will echo out, which could attract all kinds of trouble...He hopes not...
u-b
Failing to see a sure way in with the means at hand, Sean proposes we abandon the pursuit, acknowledge our loss and head for the city. Still, he is somewhat curious about the way that the man got inside and wants to investigate it a little. What of the following seems true or false given the information Sean has at the moment:
1. There is an electronic card / code / fingerprint / whatever input device on this side of the door and which one it is.
2. Said device was probably intact before the explosion.
3. Said device still seems to be functioning.
4. The guy could have the key token that we have missed.
5. The guy could have communicated with people controlling the door by some means that we have missed.
6. The tall vent mentioned is present and does, in fact, look like a tall vent.
Shoot Da Moon
No integrated electronics is observable on the door. It appears it is just a big slab of metal with a steel bolt inside and a valve handle mechanism to engage the lock on the other side. Like a submarine bulkhead door or something.
The explosion should damaged the outside of the door a little.
The (former) captive probably just turned the valve once he was on other side to seal himself in.
Sean sees no communications equipment, no intercom, in the room or the other rooms.
There are vents in the rooms, but they do not appear to be vertical, just horizontal.
Volthawk
Richard's read of the situation is that the door must have been open when the guy got to it, allowing him to close it behind him - although whether the people down here opened it once he shouted out at the exiles to hang back, or whether it was always open, that he can't tell. As far as the general situation goes, he does ask if they brought any claymores with them, but really if there was some way of making it generally difficult or impossible for them to leave the lab he'd prefer that - the more effectively they bring this place out of operation, the better. It does strike him that if they can make the entrance they used no longer an option somehow, the lab personnel would have to make the journey to some other Gutter entrance to come in and out, making using the place more dangerous and time-consuming, so he mentions that too.
u-b
Sean coments that we have a lot of claymores back at base, but none currently with us. Neither we have that load of TNT that Tariq was hauling. And no AP bullets in rifle caliber. So, we can use up most or all of our grenades only to end up in a situation where we need those grenades to make further progress. Looks like we'll have to make another pass at this one, maybe even soon. The lab is  probably  not going anywhere, wherever it currently is. Sean proposes we return back to town and make a few calls.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 There are vents in the rooms, but they do not appear to be vertical, just horizontal. 
 

What about a vent outside? Anything at all rising in roughly the declared shape?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 

What about a vent outside? Anything at all rising in roughly the declared shape?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
Nope. But you could take a chance on surveying the area for a few miles, to see if such a vent can be found.
 
u-b
Having made sure that everyone dead is left and everyone left is dead, Sean leads the whole lot back to Bread Basket. This is going to take some time, but presumably we can reach there early afternoon at worst.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean, Richard, their allies, their captives and the freed slaves arrive back at Bread Basket in the early afternoon.
(OC: Mark off one food and one water for everyone, it is time for lunch.)

They find the big settlement has not changed much while they were away, to no-one's surprise.
They can turn in the raiders they captured to the security forces and get the freed slaves help at the local community square.

The storage the exiles have paid for still has their stuff in good repair, not to mention the usual comforts of friendly civilization.

It will be getting darker in about two or three hours.
u-b
Back in town, Sean makes sure to request continued access to the the raiders which they can be turned in. The reasoning is that the business is not yet finished, and we will need more intel. Sean does not mind Bread Basket also getting that intel and even relaying it to us, but we might want to double-check or go more in depth, so will need at least some access some time. Sean will also narrate the events to some competent person that is willing to listen and make records. He makes sure everyone else is fed and hydrated and also refills all the bottles that the party now has. He does not refill the barrel at the moment. He gives 6 pistol cartridges to every freed slave, which should be enough for them to hang around for up to three days to get better and decide what to do. If they are all local, they surely can arrange from there. If they decide they have nowhere to go or that goin back to where they were captured would be too risky, we can transport some or all of them to the Radar Basem which is supposed to be safe. Or we can fund them more to go some other way, Sean will collect the requests in those three days, but no earlier than the morning tomorrow. Sean then gathers back the armaments given and makes an account of all the loot from the trip.

Meanwhile, Richard should probably do some or all of the following (we have secure radio channels to the parties mentioned):
1. Chat wit freed slaves to get any info about the slavers' hunting parties, camps or what not that they might have witnessed. Also the geography thereof.
2. Chat with Vermont Rangers and/or Chalmers directly to inform them of the recent events and question whether any of theirs would like to get involved.
3. Also a question to Vermont Rangers would be if they would like to appoint one to few men to train and/or lead a strike team we would be organizing.
4. Chat with Radar Base and Tariq in particular to propose he...
4.1 Plan to defend the base against the strange zombies.
4.2 Plan to arm and equip a strike team Sean wants to be organizing.

After that we will probably go to see VIP.

 
 Spoiler 
The spendings will be like this:

Water: refill x71 + drink x36 + drink x8 = $115
Food: meal x36 + meal x5 = $82
Gasoline: gallon x20 = $120
Paid: $320 = pistol cartridge x64

Funding for the slaves: 3 days x36 = pistol cartridge x216

And we probably should have an account of all of new loot.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Bread Basket security is reluctant to let Sean have access to the captured raiders, even if he and his friends did capture them. They agree on two conditions; one, guards must be present for the interrogation and be allowed full control of their recordings and questions, so Sean must keep everything revealed in the interrogations secret. Two; the exiles must pay for the access; one pistol bullet or equivalent barter for every hour of interrogation.

The local well lets the exiles fill up their water bottles.
The freed slaves are mostly okay on their own, with the bullets given, they have settlements they can go back to.
About six of the freed slaves wish to settle at Radar Base instead, seeing the exiles as worthy protectors and community leaders.
(OC:  freeing the slaves gains every player-character one bonus Character Point! )

The raiders had armor and weapons that could fetch a good price around here.
(OC: Need any help with the loot record? Each raider at the gas station and herding slaves had Boots, Leather Gloves, a Concealable Vest with Anti-Stab Plate, Sharp-Protective Armor on arms and legs, and a Winchester Model 92 rifle, plus other stuff like bullets, motorcycles and food. May need to go digging back in the thread...)

Richard finds he can discuss business with the former slaves quite easily.
They tell him they were all grabbed during various raids on small communities - all their communities were a decent distance north-east from Bread Basket and its valley. They found it quite strange to be herded over here.
They think the slavers did not have a proper camp or base outside of the valley. They certainly did not stop at any permanent dwelling on their way to the valley. The slavers had ten more of their number than what the exiles encountered, but those bad guys died off during the raids or on the road. About half died of disease.

The Vermont Rangers report that things have been somewhat quiet on their end. They have received news from informants living in smaller settlements that bad guys have placed a big bounty on the exiles’ heads and a VIP from Red Brick has been taken hostage by raiders. They cannot confirm any of that is accurate, though. The Rangers have been taking bodyguard jobs to raise funds for maintaining their stockpile of bullets and guns in the meantime.
They are not sure they can spare men for any jobs that take them away from their currently assigned security patrols without compensation - Sean and Richard would need to supply them with bullets, armor, weapons, medical supplies, water and food in return for their help. Chalmers is sorry, but he's stretched a little thin.

Radar Base is relieved to hear from Sean and Richard.
Tariq gets on it right away, planning to craft defensive weapons that can repel these "zombies".
A flamethrower might be a good first choice...
The available fighters at the Radar Base has grown slightly since they last went there, as wandering gunmen heard of their settlement and decided that there was steady work. The Base staff asks for specific details on what and how they need to arm a team.

The VIP is indeed available to meet within the hour. He has them come to the same place as last time.
u-b
Sean has no problems with the conditions imposed by Bread Basket guys. He says we'll start interrogations some time today.

The bounty on our heads is no news, but if it's mentioned as news, maybe its size has been increased. If so, we do expect it to increase even more. A possible hostage VIP is a relevant intel, it's good that we are told that and we'll keep the possibility firmly in mind.

The financial situation of the Rangers is kind of unfortunate, but also kind of fortunate. Sean explains our situation to convey what he means. Currently, we have much more leads than we can timely handle  and  the leads taken so far yield quite good loot. So, we have absolutely no problem paying the Rangers double standard rates to have them  assigned  to work on our leads, double  that  any time they have to actually shoot someone. We are perfectly fine providing the gear for the missions, assuming we get competent men. Sean's wish list would be roughly as follows:
1. In a matter of days, at most weeks, we'll want...
2. A leader guy with some sense of tactics.
3. Another leader/instructor guy to stay back at base.
4. An artillery guy to handle a mortar. With a mortar, preferably, we can provide car-loads of ammo, so that should be good.
5. An RPG/demolition guy.
6. A car driver/mechanic.
7. A few riflemen that can drive a bike. For a start, one dozen will do.

Do they need an up-front payment to proceed with the request? Sean is more than inclined to get the Rangers out of their state and into something offensive.

Sean requests Tariq does:
8. A few underbarrel GLs.
9. A few "dragon breath" rounds in 12ga and 40mm.
10. Some appropriate liquid for Simone to train with.

He expects that should be enough for the moment, but more requests will come in.

 
 Spoiler 
And then we'll be at the VIP's. If he has no news, we'll tell ours, I'll write what Sean tells, but Richard's opinion of this takes precedence.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Chalmers gladly takes the big payday and work Sean is offering.
He informs Sean that he can round up most of what he wants, except for the artillery guy with a mortar. Mortars are rare weapons these days, only scavenging a military base can hope to score one. As such, men trained in the weapon are also rare. An more general explosives expert is far more common and easily trained.
Up-front payment would be great.

Tariq informs Sean that making the stuff he wants is a bit tricky, unless Sean can already provide good parts. In particular, he would like quality metals, flammable chemicals and gunpowder. As much as he can find. Otherwise, expect delays as Tariq must barter with merchants after locating suitable traders. Even with the right tools, fabricating parts will take even more time.

The VIP has no news on his end, but he expects Sean and Richard do...
u-b
 
 Spoiler 
I'll wait for Richard to narrate our take of events to the VIP, but Sean is interested in hitting Gunmetal over the radio and asking them...
1. If they can allocate some REAL weapons to  Vermont Rangers  of all gangs. We can have their major approve every use or something. Of interest are:
1.1 A mortar. In any condition.
1.2 An RPG-7. The same.
2. If they have a limit on trauma plate allocation, for that same gang, for good use.

We will pay 100+% in food.
 
Volthawk
When it comes to the VIP, Richard starts off with two cautious questions, in order to suss out how this conversation is going to go and to get an idea of how much of what they found was just going to be repeating what he already knew. First, did the VIP know about how Daisy made her living, and the company she kept? Second, what was his relationship with the local authorities, and if their investigation lead to a potential conflict of interest with the authorities what stance did he want them taking?
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
I'll wait for Richard to narrate our take of events to the VIP, but Sean is interested in hitting Gunmetal over the radio and asking them...
1. If they can allocate some REAL weapons to  Vermont Rangers  of all gangs. We can have their major approve every use or something. Of interest are:
1.1 A mortar. In any condition.
1.2 An RPG-7. The same.
2. If they have a limit on trauma plate allocation, for that same gang, for good use.

We will pay 100+% in food.
 
 
 

Gunmetal admits it's a generous offer, but they are very concerned about letting outsiders have mortars and RPGs. They feel that kind of firepower could be used against them if allowed to proliferate. They can outfit squads with rifles and armour no problem.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 When it comes to the VIP, Richard starts off with two cautious questions, in order to suss out how this conversation is going to go and to get an idea of how much of what they found was just going to be repeating what he already knew. First, did the VIP know about how Daisy made her living, and the company she kept? Second, what was his relationship with the local authorities, and if their investigation lead to a potential conflict of interest with the authorities what stance did he want them taking? 
 

The VIP claims he had no inside information about Daisy's private life, or her friends. The VIP claims the local authorities are only good for guard duties, not investigations. Just ignore the security force, don't start fights with them, or bother them with your discoveries. His own men can back up the exiles if they need assistance...
u-b
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Gunmetal admits it's a generous offer, but they are very concerned about letting outsiders have mortars and RPGs. They feel that kind of firepower could be used against them if allowed to proliferate. They can outfit squads with rifles and armour no problem. 
 

Sean understands Gunmetal's concerns and proceeds with them regarding the stuff for new men. First, this will require additional funds, so Sean attempts to sell some more stuff to Bread Basket, on the same terms of 100% value and truckload delivery to Gunmetal, paid for by Sean. This proposed transaction would be as follows:
1. Concealable vest x12 for $192000.
2. Anti-stab plate x14 for $33600.
3. Sharp-protective arm armor x14 for $22400.
4. Sharp-protective leg armor x14 for $22400.
5. Boots x30 pairs for $2400.
..in exchange for...
6. Canned food equivalent x22 truckloads for $264000.
7. Delivery x22 truckloads for $13200.

If this transaction comes through, he will propose Gunmetal the following:
8. Exchange his Concealable Vests for their Assault Vests on 1:1 basis. The former are lighter and concealable, the later are heavier and cover more area. They are both basically torso armors and concealable vests are nominally more expensive, so, should work?

If this also comes through, Sean sends 16 concealable vests along with the truckloads of food, presumably free of additional charge on the condition that the vests may be used by the drivers and guards on all trips up to and excluding the last return one.

 
 Spoiler 
This sure does not happen at the same time we talk with the VIP, but I guess we can well play through it at the same time to speed up the things a bit.
 
Volthawk
Richard nods when the VIP explains his stance. Good enough for now,even if he's still not convinced that the man didn't know about what was going on. Now, there was just the matter of how to put it...he decides to just be blunt about it. The VIP seemed like the type who could take it.

 "Put simply, Daisy was heavily involved in the local opiate trade, and it's gone sideways for her, all rooting from other elements of the operation skimming money for themselves. We seearched her place and found her documents, describing her role in things, packages ready for distribution, a rifle...and a followup investigation let us know that she's killed several of her former...colleagues recently, street dealers and the like, and her leaving the city seems to be involved. We're pretty sure that her leaving wasn't involuntary, that she either headed out to deal with loose ends on the production end of the operation she was involved in - the information I found suggested that her problems with people skimming was at pretty much every level, and her current actions seem intended to bring them in line through fear and kill off particularly troublesome people - or to let the heat die down from anyone upset by her murders - as you say, the local law seems unconcerned about the matter, but everyone has friends and those that might want payback. She didn't leave alone, but we have several leads in that regard, so I'm fairly confident we can pick up the trail. As you probably guessed, this meeting was more to check how much you know about the illegality involved, and to warn you about the risk of this escalating - she's out of town and dealing with criminals, so we should be able to keep things discreet when it comes to people here in Bread Basket, but there's good odds she's continuing to antagonise organised crime and, well, to get her back we might have to either pull her out of a hot situation or help her clean up this mess. Either way, from what I've seen...there's a good chance things will get violent around her, if they haven't already, and when we get her back you might need to keep a closer eye on her than you thought." 

He doesn't see the need to get into their exact leads at the moment - if the VIP didn't know what she was up to, there was little chance he was holding onto a useful bit of information about the people she left with (Blue Bird and Dusty), or the operation they're tangling with. In any case, he looks to Sean to see if he has any additions.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean understands Gunmetal's concerns and proceeds with them regarding the stuff for new men. First, this will require additional funds, so Sean attempts to sell some more stuff to Bread Basket, on the same terms of 100% value and truckload delivery to Gunmetal, paid for by Sean. This proposed transaction would be as follows:
1. Concealable vest x12 for $192000.
2. Anti-stab plate x14 for $33600.
3. Sharp-protective arm armor x14 for $22400.
4. Sharp-protective leg armor x14 for $22400.
5. Boots x30 pairs for $2400.
..in exchange for...
6. Canned food equivalent x22 truckloads for $264000.
7. Delivery x22 truckloads for $13200.

If this transaction comes through, he will propose Gunmetal the following:
8. Exchange his Concealable Vests for their Assault Vests on 1:1 basis. The former are lighter and concealable, the later are heavier and cover more area. They are both basically torso armors and concealable vests are nominally more expensive, so, should work?

If this also comes through, Sean sends 16 concealable vests along with the truckloads of food, presumably free of additional charge on the condition that the vests may be used by the drivers and guards on all trips up to and excluding the last return one.

 
 Spoiler 
This sure does not happen at the same time we talk with the VIP, but I guess we can well play through it at the same time to speed up the things a bit.
 
 
 

The Gunmetal merchants accept Sean's offer. They immediately get to ringing up the trade and arranging for the deal.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Richard nods when the VIP explains his stance. Good enough for now,even if he's still not convinced that the man didn't know about what was going on. Now, there was just the matter of how to put it...he decides to just be blunt about it. The VIP seemed like the type who could take it.

 "Put simply, Daisy was heavily involved in the local opiate trade, and it's gone sideways for her, all rooting from other elements of the operation skimming money for themselves. We seearched her place and found her documents, describing her role in things, packages ready for distribution, a rifle...and a followup investigation let us know that she's killed several of her former...colleagues recently, street dealers and the like, and her leaving the city seems to be involved. We're pretty sure that her leaving wasn't involuntary, that she either headed out to deal with loose ends on the production end of the operation she was involved in - the information I found suggested that her problems with people skimming was at pretty much every level, and her current actions seem intended to bring them in line through fear and kill off particularly troublesome people - or to let the heat die down from anyone upset by her murders - as you say, the local law seems unconcerned about the matter, but everyone has friends and those that might want payback. She didn't leave alone, but we have several leads in that regard, so I'm fairly confident we can pick up the trail. As you probably guessed, this meeting was more to check how much you know about the illegality involved, and to warn you about the risk of this escalating - she's out of town and dealing with criminals, so we should be able to keep things discreet when it comes to people here in Bread Basket, but there's good odds she's continuing to antagonise organised crime and, well, to get her back we might have to either pull her out of a hot situation or help her clean up this mess. Either way, from what I've seen...there's a good chance things will get violent around her, if they haven't already, and when we get her back you might need to keep a closer eye on her than you thought." 

He doesn't see the need to get into their exact leads at the moment - if the VIP didn't know what she was up to, there was little chance he was holding onto a useful bit of information about the people she left with (Blue Bird and Dusty), or the operation they're tangling with. In any case, he looks to Sean to see if he has any additions. 
 

The VIP appreciates Richard's information and help.
He chews over what he has learned for a moment before instructing the exiles, "The overall mission has not changed. Find Daisy and protect her. Eliminate any threats to her. I know of a safe place far from Bread Basket that Daisy could use to hide from her enemies. In the meantime, be prepared to make sure no friends or family of the people Daisy killed pose a threat to her, pre-emptively if necessary. You have my full support in this matter, I have bodyguards and...specialists on call."

The VIP lights a cigarette and starts puffing pensively, "Do you require any more men and weapons for the next phase of your investigation?"
u-b
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The Gunmetal merchants accept Sean's offer. They immediately get to ringing up the trade and arranging for the deal. 
 

Sean chats with Gunmetal and Chalmers about the best possible outfit for the riflemen. He mentions he's more interested in short-range combat, like, under 50 yards, but the possibility of longer-range combat should not be totally discounted. This takes some time. He finally decides on getting all-in only on some positions and leave some other positions in "should be enough" state to have some funds available for whatever other expenses he might come across. What he settles on is:
1. An advertised combination of high-quality refurbished Browming M1918 BARs and refurbished Vietnam Era duplex ammunition, which, according to the dealers should be "super effective" when used up close. Sean orders 8 of these rifles, for both commanders and for half of the riflemen. He also orders some of the ammo and also orders some APHC duplex cartridges made.
2. Sean also orders 6 Colt M16A1s. These are not particularly good or reliable, but they  are  automatic rifles and they are light. Sean's primary goal here is to mount underbarrel GLs on all of them and use  those  as the troops' primary weapons.
3. There will be some 30-round extended magazines for all of these rifles, which would most likely hinder or prevent using the BARs while prone, but to Sean that is not of real concern.
4. There would be 14 battery-powered collimating sights on all rifles, 8 tactical lights on the BARs, and enough batteries and chargers to have it all running.
5. The driver and the explosive guy won't be well-armed at the moment, we'll first have to see what they are good with, but we have some cheaper rifles and grenades as an interim measure, and may later acquire some pistols.
6. Everyone of those 16 men will be armored in an assault vest with frontal trauma plate, ballistic leggings and steel armor for their heads and arms. We also provide 16 pairs of boots and 14 pairs of gloves, in case the men don't come with their own.
7. Sean allocateds $20000 in funds, receivable at Gunmetal, for the commander of the squad to maybe buy some miscellaneous things, pay the salaries and otherwise fund the operations. Sean will expect some regular reports of the funds withdrawn and/or spent.

Also, in the same transaction, Sean allocates $15000 to Tariq to order various kinds of steel, broken guns and gun parts, chemicals and explosives, as long as that fits in a truck. $1500 for the delivery is also allocated.

Sean also Requests the Rangers pick up some ammo for him, namely 48 APDSDU+Ps, 124 FMJs and 10 semi-extended magazines that better match M14s' RoF.

The first funding should start to appear at Gunmetal either today or tomorrow, with more in a few days after that. Gunmetal should probably start scheduling production of everything they do not have readily in stock, but the actual work is to be done after the funding arrives.

Most of the transportation for the Rangers would be available at the Radar Base and can probably be delivered elsewhere by Waffle House men, with whom we also have an account. And/or the Waffle House men can run their own bus. Sean wants one commander to remain at the base with two of his men to recruit, train and oversee the militia, while the other commander, along with the rest of the men should be on the move and available for the actual ops.

 
 Spoiler 
The proposed transaction is on the first page of the doc. This would completely drain our short-lived account with Gunmetal, but should be just fine because we still have quite some portable funds. There are still some things to buy for Sean and Richard, but I don't want to pay for them with Concealable Vests, so I'll leave it at that. We can provide 4 bike loads of supplies (and some extra) to the Rangers commander, so he does not have to buy everything, he'll just have to say what he needs and we'll see if we have it.

Duplex cartridges are mentioned on HT173 under Mult-Ball heading, where they have Rcl 1, and on HT115 under Springfield M14 heading, where they have Rcl 2. I think we should rule they have Rcl X-1, where X is normal Rcl of the rifle (which is 3 for M14 and 2 for BAR).

The stuff bought for Tariq should count between Barely Related (x0.5) and Very Closely Related, Broken (x4) for all sorts of gadgeteering, but I don't want to track individual parts, so, can we just assume Tariq could use that much of Related (x1) parts of materials until he uses them all up?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Chalmers suggests semi-auto battle rifles like the SCAR, H&amp;K G3 or AR-15.
The Gunmetal merchants can sell Sean the BARs, the ammo, the M16A1s, the extended magazines, the sights, the tac lights, batteries, one or two chargers (they simply have not got many in stock), the assault vests (although trauma plates are less available, maybe half of the vests will get them), half of the 16 can get steel helmets and ballistic leggings due to supply issues, the boots and gloves are all fine...
Chalmers confirms the $20000 slush fund should fully meet their needs. The Rangers are on their way to pick up the ammo for him.
Tariq confirms that the $15000 should be enough to buy what he needs, but actually finding merchants selling all that stuff could be troublesome, requiring three or so days of legwork.
The driver and the explosives expert may be best outfitted with hunting rifles and reliable pistols if they need to resort to shooting, suggest Chalmers.

(OC: Everything on the doc looks okay. Tariq is fine with the parts, they count as Very Closely Related, Broken (x4). Tariq will use that much of Related (x1) parts of materials until he uses them all up.)
u-b
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Chalmers suggests semi-auto battle rifles like the SCAR, H&amp;K G3 or AR-15. 
 

Sean has became less of a fan of semi-auto as of lately. Normally, yes, that would be cheaper, especially if we take old models, but Sean is shooting too much on full auto to consider this stuff for shock troops, only for the militia. Also, he's wary of requesting new models as they are prohibitively expensive. What are Chalmers' concerns with the proposed models? Weight? Ammo consumption?


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The Gunmetal merchants can sell... the assault vests (although trauma plates are less available, maybe half of the vests will get them) 
 

We've ordered the plates that normally come in pairs, but we want to install them in singles. Does that extend it to all of our vests? If not, we'll also accept more expensive plates that come in singles and, failing that, some steel plates.


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 half of the 16 can get steel helmets and ballistic leggings due to supply issues, the boots and gloves are all fine... 
 

We have alternative loadouts with  Studded Leather Skirts   (not with fully-assembled Assault Vests specifically, but the rest of the question stays)  and Shin Guards and can use these for the rest if they are bike-compatible or we can consider Riot Gear, Heavy Leather Leggings or whatever else  is  actually available. Boots and gloves in the specified numbers Sean is providing himself (we have them looted).

 
 Spoiler: This is a bit OOC 
$ 0 9200 for Browming M1918 BAR, .30-06, TL6 (basic model, before the adjustments)
$24000 for SCAR-H, 7.62x51mm NATO, TL8 (which is like the same, but much less weight and the barrel cut short; also before the adjustments)

It's lighter, so you can walk everywhere, but we are providing the bikes and the car, so there is, like, no reason to pay more funds to have less damage and more Rcl. And duplex ammo gives you RoF 18 with a BAR, which is a +4 to hit, which is the same you get by spending a second to aim with a semi-auto SCAR... H&amp;K G3 better (read: cheaper), but still is $12000 a pop for some downgrade and no real improvement other than weight. Sean  does  propose, essentially, full-auto AR-15 for half of the team. It's not like they lack the single-shot capability to use when everyone is safe.

The two best things about BAR are that...
1. It's a full-power LMG disguised as a Rifle.
2. It's TL6.
The closest weapon to match that is maybe RPK, and even that only half-way.
 
Volthawk
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The VIP appreciates Richard's information and help.
He chews over what he has learned for a moment before instructing the exiles, "The overall mission has not changed. Find Daisy and protect her. Eliminate any threats to her. I know of a safe place far from Bread Basket that Daisy could use to hide from her enemies. In the meantime, be prepared to make sure no friends or family of the people Daisy killed pose a threat to her, pre-emptively if necessary. You have my full support in this matter, I have bodyguards and...specialists on call."

The VIP lights a cigarette and starts puffing pensively, "Do you require any more men and weapons for the next phase of your investigation?" 
 

Richard nods thoughtfully as he hears what the VIP has to say. He's a little uncomfortable about some of the VIP's suggestions, but overall he's fairly confident that this can be worked out in a way he's happy with.  "We're not sure yet how much cleanup will be needed,"  Preferably enough to bring down the whole network, is how Richard's thinking, but the VIP doesn't need to know and probably won't care about that - it's not for the sake of bringing Daisy back, just his own sense of justice.  "But we do have a lead on where she went and who was with her. As for manpower and material support..."  He looks to Sean to see if he has any input.  "We're going into the unknown when it comes to what resistance we'll face. Weapon-wise, it depends on what you have - if you have it, something heavier or explosive may be useful if the suppliers end up being quite well equipped or fortified, or if she's been captured and we need to make some holes or take out a vehicle or two to get her out safely. In terms of people...Sean, what do you think? Can we handle this well enough with our own?"  He's a little reluctant to have people along who'll have someone else's orders in mind above theirs, just in case this takes another unexpected turn or the VIP's men take a different read of a situation than they do and decide their way is better, but still wants to hear Sean's opinion on this - he doesn't doubt he'd be having similar thoughts to Richard, after all, given their attempts to work with others before.
u-b
Sean, in fact, has no objections to get assistacne from the VIP's men, if not for much of the actual fighting. He gives his own take on the situation as follows:  "It seems that Daisy owed some money to her supplier or some such. She's left the city on her own accord acompanied by that supplier. I am not sure about the amount of persuasion involved, but she was not bound or such. We have learned who the supplier is, and he usually hangs with a gang who might object to us coming in and getting him. We thought of buying Daisy back from that supplier and have arranged this meeting to report our progress and confirm that plan. Unfortunately, we have just recently the word is spreading of a local VIP being taken hostage by the raiders, the guys with those neck tattoos. Which likely means Daisy already got sold, unless there is anoter VIP missing. You may expect to receive demands or suchlike, but now that her business partner likely does not have her, a change of plans might mean going after the raiders directly. We've found one of their bases and got some of their men. We couldn't raid the whole base because of light blast doors there, but if you have an explosives expert, that should be solvable. Also, we can spend the night questioning the bunch of them currently held in the prison. If you have competent interrogators, you could join Richard's efforts of learning about the locations and layouts of all of the bases they have in the area. I somehow think this could be more effective than getting through her business partner, but we can always revert to that plan if the rumors don't turn up to be true. Or we can also name this business partner if you want to run things in parallel." 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean has became less of a fan of semi-auto as of lately. Normally, yes, that would be cheaper, especially if we take old models, but Sean is shooting too much on full auto to consider this stuff for shock troops, only for the militia. Also, he's wary of requesting new models as they are prohibitively expensive. What are Chalmers' concerns with the proposed models? Weight? Ammo consumption?

We've ordered the plates that normally come in pairs, but we want to install them in singles. Does that extend it to all of our vests? If not, we'll also accept more expensive plates that come in singles and, failing that, some steel plates.

We have alternative loadouts with  Studded Leather Skirts   (not with fully-assembled Assault Vests specifically, but the rest of the question stays)  and Shin Guards and can use these for the rest if they are bike-compatible or we can consider Riot Gear, Heavy Leather Leggings or whatever else  is  actually available. Boots and gloves in the specified numbers Sean is providing himself (we have them looted).

 
 Spoiler: This is a bit OOC 
$ 0 9200 for Browming M1918 BAR, .30-06, TL6 (basic model, before the adjustments)
$24000 for SCAR-H, 7.62x51mm NATO, TL8 (which is like the same, but much less weight and the barrel cut short; also before the adjustments)

It's lighter, so you can walk everywhere, but we are providing the bikes and the car, so there is, like, no reason to pay more funds to have less damage and more Rcl. And duplex ammo gives you RoF 18 with a BAR, which is a +4 to hit, which is the same you get by spending a second to aim with a semi-auto SCAR... H&amp;K G3 better (read: cheaper), but still is $12000 a pop for some downgrade and no real improvement other than weight. Sean  does  propose, essentially, full-auto AR-15 for half of the team. It's not like they lack the single-shot capability to use when everyone is safe.

The two best things about BAR are that...
1. It's a full-power LMG disguised as a Rifle.
2. It's TL6.
The closest weapon to match that is maybe RPK, and even that only half-way.
 
 
 

Ammo consumption.
The number of plates available is only half of what Sean fully wants. It assumes he's talking pairs of plates per vest. Single plates could fit each and every ordered vest.
Chalmers is okay with either armor loadout.

The BAR might just be the right choice.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Richard nods thoughtfully as he hears what the VIP has to say. He's a little uncomfortable about some of the VIP's suggestions, but overall he's fairly confident that this can be worked out in a way he's happy with.  "We're not sure yet how much cleanup will be needed,"  Preferably enough to bring down the whole network, is how Richard's thinking, but the VIP doesn't need to know and probably won't care about that - it's not for the sake of bringing Daisy back, just his own sense of justice.  "But we do have a lead on where she went and who was with her. As for manpower and material support..."  He looks to Sean to see if he has any input.  "We're going into the unknown when it comes to what resistance we'll face. Weapon-wise, it depends on what you have - if you have it, something heavier or explosive may be useful if the suppliers end up being quite well equipped or fortified, or if she's been captured and we need to make some holes or take out a vehicle or two to get her out safely. In terms of people...Sean, what do you think? Can we handle this well enough with our own?"  He's a little reluctant to have people along who'll have someone else's orders in mind above theirs, just in case this takes another unexpected turn or the VIP's men take a different read of a situation than they do and decide their way is better, but still wants to hear Sean's opinion on this - he doesn't doubt he'd be having similar thoughts to Richard, after all, given their attempts to work with others before. 
 

The VIP can help Richard, he has four grenades (all frag and combustion) in his supplies, they might help even the odds. His men have many more fire bottles (molotov cocktails) to hand out, but they may not fit Richard's standards...


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean, in fact, has no objections to get assistacne from the VIP's men, if not for much of the actual fighting. He gives his own take on the situation as follows:  "It seems that Daisy owed some money to her supplier or some such. She's left the city on her own accord acompanied by that supplier. I am not sure about the amount of persuasion involved, but she was not bound or such. We have learned who the supplier is, and he usually hangs with a gang who might object to us coming in and getting him. We thought of buying Daisy back from that supplier and have arranged this meeting to report our progress and confirm that plan. Unfortunately, we have just recently the word is spreading of a local VIP being taken hostage by the raiders, the guys with those neck tattoos. Which likely means Daisy already got sold, unless there is anoter VIP missing. You may expect to receive demands or suchlike, but now that her business partner likely does not have her, a change of plans might mean going after the raiders directly. We've found one of their bases and got some of their men. We couldn't raid the whole base because of light blast doors there, but if you have an explosives expert, that should be solvable. Also, we can spend the night questioning the bunch of them currently held in the prison. If you have competent interrogators, you could join Richard's efforts of learning about the locations and layouts of all of the bases they have in the area. I somehow think this could be more effective than getting through her business partner, but we can always revert to that plan if the rumors don't turn up to be true. Or we can also name this business partner if you want to run things in parallel."  
 

The VIP helpfully informs the exiles that he has four men to spare for their mission. At least one of them is an interrogation specialist, if a "heavy handed" one.
The VIP suggests going after Daisy's business partner first, he'll probably be the easier nut to crack.
And if the business partner gets some punishment for betraying Daisy in the process, so much the better.
u-b
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Single plates could fit each and every ordered vest. 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 ... half of the 16 can get steel helmets and ballistic leggings due to supply issues... 
 

Now to this part. Sean has requested mail coifs + face masks. There is a whole lot of other designs of head armor he could be considering. Namely, he could buy some Ballistic Helmets, equipped like his one. How many of those are available? He can also consider various designs of old-style steel helmets which are currently available (like maybe Legionary Helmets) OR some delay on the delivery of Face Masks (no problems with mails sleeves and mail coifs?).
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Now to this part. Sean has requested mail coifs + face masks. There is a whole lot of other designs of head armor he could be considering. Namely, he could buy some Ballistic Helmets, equipped like his one. How many of those are available? He can also consider various designs of old-style steel helmets which are currently available (like maybe Legionary Helmets) OR some delay on the delivery of Face Masks (no problems with mails sleeves and mail coifs?). 
 

8 Ballistic Helmets are available.
8 pairs of mail coifs + face masks are available.
Volthawk
Richard thinks it over some more - he still doesn't like the tone or implications of what the guy is saying, particularly when referring to his men, but if there were sticking to working with the VIP and seeing this through, he couldn't exactly turn down the help. He does frown a little at the mention of an interrogation specialist, imagining what that might involve, but nonethless he agrees to take all the help the VIP is offering, including the grenades - he's not sure if Sean wants some molotovs, but he's personally happy to let the VIP's men keep them for themselves. He had a bad feeling about this, but this was the situation they were in.
u-b
Sean is very unimpressed by four grenades and, especially, molotov cocktails, and that, to some extent, shows, if clearly not deliberately. Still, he wants things done. He says four armed men would be appropriate to get the guy who sold out Daisy (or whatever he did), but not to get the underground base, which Sean wants to have done as well. It's not the first thing to do if we go according to the VIPs order of preference (no objections to that), but Sean wants to plan "Phase 2" as well. So, to that end:
1. Can we get some real explosives here in this city?
2. Can we get good armor-piercing ammo (for rifle and/or for shotgun)?

Of course, we will be paying. If we cannot, we can plan a short trip to Gunmetal, so...
3. Can we delegate such a trip, on some fast enough vehicle, or will we have to do that ourselves?
Shoot Da Moon
The VIP hands over the grenades - well, his men do.
Then he tells his men to get 4 of his mercenaries to come in here, and assist the exiles in their mission.
The VIP recommends that the exiles see a black market contact of his, if they wish to attain heavier stuff. He provides the address and passphrase of the supplier. He warns them not to offend the hawker, especially as they're shopping by his vouching. He promises them that bombs and AP rounds are available, at a markup. He recalls that the hawker has some poison/chemical weapons in stock and on special for a limited time.
The VIP knows a good courier and deliveryman, the exiles might like to hire him for any trips or exchanges. Again, treat him right because they will be vouched for by the VIP.

(OC: The exiles now have details for buying the above stuff in Bread Basket.)
u-b
Sean thanks the VIP for the contacts and promises not to abuse them. The first thing for that is not to use them before we get to know if we really need the stuff  now . Which means Sean is inclined to let Richard organize talking to, or outright getting, the man named Blue Bird. This will be fully at Richard's option, as would be all the details. Sean is not exactly an expert of using just limited force in crowded places, less so resorting to special sorts of talk.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Richard?)
Volthawk
(OOC: Sorry all, bad couple of days so I fell behind on most pbp stuff)

Richards nods and agrees to the VIP's warnings about his contact, the terms seeming perfectly reasonable. He does ask if the courier has access to radio comms, or any other way to remotely contact them, and if so what the exiles need to know to make that happen. Besides that, now the exiles have the supplies and manpower and the VIP is up to date on the situation, he figures the meeting is over and so politely makes his goodbyes and leaves.

Once outside, he takes some time to consider the information they had on Daisy's companions. They had names and descriptions for the two of them, they knew the gang they ran with, and where that gang (and by extension, potentially Blue Bird and Dusty - if they survived whatever's happened since they were seen leaving with Daisy - or someone who knew where they went) hung out. That was enough to work with for now - the bar was their next destination. Richard does have some words of warning for the others, though, in order to make sure they're all prepared and know how to act in there. The bar was somewhere several gangs went and did their business, and they did not want to cause a mess in there - the gangs may normally keep out of each other's business, but brawls had a way of escalating and if the gangs got the impression that they were a threat to more than the Regulars...things could get bad. As for the Regulars themselves, they didn't want to start a shootout with the gangers if they could help it - those sawn-offs of theirs would be nasty in the confines of a bar. That also raised the matter of how heavily equipped to go in - they could get away with going in armed and armoured for sure, it was that kind of place, but too much might send the wrong message. Or maybe it'd cow them into cooperating rather than trying their luck with buckshot against advanced body armour. Either way, going in heavy was the provocative choice compared to going in lightly equipped and trying to blend in.

As for the game plan, Richard saw three routes. One, they go in subtly, try to make some friends, and take advantage of loose lips around alcohol to get a lead from one of the Regulars - or if one of the two are there in person, potentially just trying to get the targets themselves well-disposed to them and try to pump them for information on Daisy. It had the risk of leaving them the least prepared if things turn violent anyway - if someone saw through them, or took offence to something they said, or something else goes wrong. Two, they go in hard and overtly, basically a social shock and awe plan that relies on raw intimidation to find out where their targets are - or if they're there, to get them to surrender and answer questions without firing a shot. It'd leave them in a good position to survive any violence, but at the same time would make violence far more likely, meaning they'd probably have to do what they do with the raiders and just find a survivor to interrogate, and this route also had the biggest risk of pulling in other gangs into the fight. The third plan...that one was a little less well-formed, but he saw some definite merits if what they saw at the bar worked for the plan. If the Regulars had the bar as their main hangout, then surely they wouldn't all be inside all the time, right? Gang members would go out to do personal stuff, meet contacts, or hell maybe even to take a leak. Worst case scenario, some of them probably lived away from the main group. If they can find someone alone and grab them, get them somewhere quiet to question, then they can potentially get all the information they need without needing to engage the majority of the Regulars in any way. That's his preferred method, although it does have the issue that they might need to do it several times to find someone who actually knows what they need to know (although there's a good chance that even the ones that don't might know who in the gang actually knows what's going on).
u-b
Sean shrugs. He's not experienced in this kind of problems. To him, we can as well just throw some money at the problem: barge in, say we're here to buy Daisy, and proceed from there, maybe to get Blue Bird captive when he rides from the bar, if the negotiations fail. He has no strong opinions other than not shooting down everyone.
Shoot Da Moon
The VIP comments the courier has a relatively basic radio - an AM transmitter. He otherwise has an office where his allies receive messages for him and keep them safe for his reading.
(The VIP gives the address of this office and the frequency for this radio.)

(OC: Since you know the address of the bar, you could position a capable spy (if you are one yourself, all the better) around the bar as a casual customer for a bit, to subtly take the measure of the gang - evaluate the human terrain before you go in and approach them openly. See who is in charge, who gets violent fast, what the standard operating procedure is, how paranoid everyone is, etc. The appropriate skills would be Psychology, Observation, Body Language, Streetwise and Criminology.)
u-b
Sean has no objections to the idea of scouting out so that Richard gets a clearer picture of the present to base his plans on. Assuming we take everyone and drive to some place about one city block away from the establishment, and out of line of sight to its parking lot, Sean then proceeds to take a short walk. He does not enter the bar at the moment. Things of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:
1. The number and types of vehicles parked near the bar (and also of animals, if any are present).
2. The presence of that particular bike.
3. The presence of any people (armed, smoking or what not), in front of the bar or otherwise, including Sean's fromer informants.

 
 Spoiler 
I think we let the VIP's men have the VIP's grenades, in case that is relevant.

Sean has the rifle with him and  not  ready. He has the helmet on and the visor  up .
 
Volthawk
Richard is...he can see that plan working, definitely, but it'd depend on the nature of the gang. Sure, a lot of groups like this would be willing to give up their friends if given enough stuff, but not all. They didn't know exactly what kind of attitude they had towards their leader - if he was just the guy that paid them or intimdiating enough to keep them in line, then maybe they'd sell him or Daisy out, but if not then they would be being as provocative as the overt plan. For now, he suggests that they head out and check the place out - he'll go in and try to suss them out, and once they're better informed of the situation they can decide which way to go. If any of the VIP's people have relevant skills, they're welcome to join him.

 
 Spoiler 

Whoops, didn't see that u-b had just posted while I had the post window open. Doesn't seem like anything contradictory between the two posts, thankfully.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles and their backup travel to the dive bar frequented by the criminals, it takes 10 minutes of walking.
The VIPs carry the newly acquired grenades.
The establishment is a cramped and obscure place, almost crammed into a corner of a parking lot at the end of a dark alleyway. The patrons have to sit on low walls outside with their drinks, if they can't get to a table with chairs inside. Most of them seem to care more about talking business than relaxing or drinking, though.

Sean stays a little bit away from the bar, as his fellows hang back and in a position where they are ready to help or spot approaching threats.
He notices that the patrons all have horses and motorcycles (5 of each) hitched up by the improvised chairs. The animals are occupied with feedbags and water troughs. The particular motorcycle Sean wanted to find is present, and damaged by recent impacts.
The people outside the bar are carrying weapons, including guns, but not ready ones. Plenty of them are smoking, doing drugs, drinking or eating. He can't see his former informants here.

Richard joins Sean in scoping the place out. He keeps an eye on the gang that's his main target.
From 15 minutes of observation from afar, Richard can make a few educated guesses about the people of interest.
One of the men is the leader, a tall and buff biker armed with the biggest automatic rifle. His men all suck up to him, trying to placate his temper and suspicion with gifts, cuts of their profits from illegal ventures. He accepts the gifts, but without any grace, gratitude or appreciation. He is abusive, never communicating with ANYONE except via orders and threats. Blue Bird is not currently present.

And then the leader notices Richard looking at him and immediately jumps into fierce barking, "GET THAT GUY!!"
It seems the gang is ordered to rush at Richard, and beat him up!

(OC: Critical failure on Criminology. You guys have about two or three seconds to defuse this situation before combat proper starts.)
u-b
Sean slams down the visor and gets the rifle ready for the action, laser on, safety off. He points and aims at the leader's right arm, though because of the distance, it might be less than perfectly clear what he is aiming at or that he's even there. So, Sean shouts:  "Easy there!! If we wished you harm, that guy would not have came alone!"  Sean leaves it an exercise for the listeners to notice that the man has not exactly came alone. Sean also leaves it an exercise for the listeners to also play as keen observers and notice some or all of the strategically positioned men of  our  gang, at some distance to the place here and there. He does not exactly mind a fight, as long as he is clearly seen  not  starting it, but also does not mind sowing some doubts to pause the action and let Richard talk his way out of it. He wonder if the boss is smart enough to reassess the situation.

 
 Spoiler 
Crouching now, still some distance away and maybe behind some corner or something, but Sean  wants  to be noticed from now on.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The leader of the gang goes absolutely berserk at Sean's threats.

The boss screams in anger, "KILL HIM AND MAKE IT HURT!!" He then gets his shotgun out of his sling, eager to start shooting.
His gang cringes and obeys, continuing to rush at Sean.

(OC: Reaction Roll was...extreme.  Combat time starts.  Sean goes first.)
u-b
Sean opens fire with one full-length burst. Natural selection at its peak. Hopefully no one will mind us doing it...

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The furthest away anyone of you could be and still see inside the bar is 25 yards, to the front.
The leader is 5 yards inside the bar, from the front. 
 

Then Sean will be right there, 25 yards from the bar, 30 yards from the leader. Not sure if I can hit the whole 9 gangsters to that side of their boss or if there even is that many there, so cut the shots rolled as appropriate. If targeted, will dodge with extra effort.

All of our men will be 25+ yards away from the bar and  not  directly in front, but maybe can see the goings on outside and start targeting and/or shooting.
 
Volthawk
 
 Spoiler 

As for Richard...given he was going off body language and such and needed a closer look, I figure he's probably more like...let's say 15 yards away from the bar, off to one side? I also figure he probably wasn't standing around with a rifle in his hands, given he was at least trying to be a little subtle, so let's say he's using his Desert Eagle for this. Not the best situation for him practically speaking, but it feels like what fits the situation to me.

Action-wise, he's drawing the pistol as a free action with that Fast-Draw roll, and then spending an FP on a Heroic Charge, moving forward 4 yards (BM 6 w/ Light Encumbrance) towards the bar and the motorcycles and taking a shot at one of the gang members outside the bar (should be able to just get one within 10 yards).

EDIT: For ease of reference, that shot hit the guy's right arm, so no wounding multiplier but if it does half HP damage then the arm's crippled and excess damage is lost.
 


Richard was...not happy with the situation. This was about the worst-case scenario for how this could've gone, but this was the situation they were in now and he had to improvise. Fire support from the others helped but, as the main target, Richard had to act himself. The way that leader worked, the only way the gang members were going to get discouraged is if they were more scared of the exiles and their men than him. That meant not backing down, and showing the consequences for standing their ground. Instead of backing up, Richard keeps moving forward, drawing his heavy pistol and firing it at the closest target as he moves, daring the next guy along to stick around for the same to happen to them.
Shoot Da Moon
The fight is over before it even really begins.

Sean's rifle fire bulls-eyes the leader's arm, tearing it off at the elbow. His other shots all blast the gangers in the heart. Without any armor to protect them, most of them die on the spot before they even hit the ground.

Richard blasts one of the survivors with his pistol shot, killing him.

(OC:  combat over. )

The leader of the gang is brutally disarmed, and rolling on the floor screaming in agony.
The rest of the bar's patrons flee the scene without hesitation.
The bartender himself ducks below the counter.

And then Blue Bird saunters onto the scene, coming out of a nearby bathroom. He looks very confused by the sudden gunshots, and appears shocked by the dead on the ground. "What the heck is going on here?" He asks no-one in particular.
u-b
Sean lets the surviving men run. He has his own questions and answers, but expects Richard to resume the lead from now on.
Volthawk
Richard sighs as the dust settles and he sees the bodies. He  really  didn't want things ending this way. If only...

He shakes his head, to himself more than anyone else, clearing his head for what's ahead. They weren't done here. Holstering his pistol, he walks over to Blue Bird.  "We came here for you, but while I was figuring out the situation here your man there decided he wanted me dead. Didn't like my face, I suppose, or someone looking at him. De-escalation failed, we shot first and, well..."  He gestures around. It somewhat disturbed him to realise being around dead bodies didn't bother him any more, but more importantly...  "I think some of them are alive. Hey, barman! You got anything to help people back there? Sean, how about you?"  After saying that last part on comms, he starts looking to see if anyone other than the noisy leader was still alive but injured, before looking back at Blue Bird.  "We need to talk, so don't run. Once we've done what we can here, then we can talk."  He sighs, muttering more to himself than to Blue Bird, but loud enough for the man to hear.  "At least you know what we're capable of..." 
Shoot Da Moon
The bartender simply yells back at Richard, "Forget it. These jerks are already way behind on their tab, I'm not wasting medical supplies on helping them recover form a fight that THEY started in the first place!"
Then he goes back to hiding.

Blue Bird, meanwhile, gulps at Richard's mention of coming here to meet him.
"Listen, I don't know what you fellas have heard, but I am not in the drug dealing business anymore. I've never even sold a spliff since last month, ask anyone here..." He stops, realizing that the people here would not back his claim up, or even vouch for his character. The fact that the present men are unable to even talk does not help.
u-b
Sean takes the gun(s)* away from gang boss, then calls up Bart and his dogs to watch over him and the area while he tries to save everyone still alive, starting with any and all** that are  not  the gang boss. The gang boss is, in no uncertain terms, told this:  "Stay put. We'll get to you in due time. If you want aid and morphine  now  you tell why you have issued that order." 
 
 Spoiler 
*What gun it is? Also the sidearm, if any.
**I guess at least the one shot by Richard.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean takes the gun(s)* away from gang boss, then calls up Bart and his dogs to watch over him and the area while he tries to save everyone still alive, starting with any and all** that are  not  the gang boss. The gang boss is, in no uncertain terms, told this:  "Stay put. We'll get to you in due time. If you want aid and morphine  now  you tell why you have issued that order." 
 
 Spoiler 
*What gun it is? Also the sidearm, if any.
**I guess at least the one shot by Richard.
 
 
 

(OC: The gang boss has a shotgun, a H&amp;R Model 8 Standard 12G (Pulp Guns 1 page 27), and a backup pistol tucked into his belt loop, a S&amp;W Model 29 .44M revolver (High Tech page 94). He's got ammo for both, 10 shotgun shells and 12 pistol rounds.)

Sean and his comrades are dismayed to see that only three goons survived Sean and Richard's bullets. They are all severely injured, and won't be ready for any more action for quite a while. Sean at least stops the bleeding after 30 minutes of work. He saved 3 lives...from himself. Not a great score for the day.

The gang boss looks angry and sullen when Sean gives him that command but otherwise simply stays put and stays quiet. His torn-apart arm reminds me of what the cost for antagonizing Sean is. The exiles and their men have the vicinity on lockdown, and no-one feels like challenging them while they work.
Volthawk
Richard's still downbeat about how the situation played out, even if them saving a few of the gang members helps a little. He just shrugs when Sean asks the leader why this happened.  "People like that are just like that. They see someone they don't like the look of, get a response, a look or something, that they can work into a problem, and they'll leap at the opportunity for senseless violence."  He sighs.  "Such a waste." 

He shakes his head to clear his thoughts before looking back at Blue Bird.  "But as I said, we didn't come here for random gunfights. We came here to talk to you about someone. Let's step outside and talk, away from this guy and the bartender."  He looks over in the barman's direction.  "No offence intended, I hope you understand."  Back to Blue Bird.  "Shall we?" 
Shoot Da Moon
Blue Bird looks like he is about to object to Richard...but then gives up, defeated.
He nods and follows Richard into a corner, making sure to take a big gulp from a beer along the way. He's been dreading this conversation.

"This is about Daisy." The man states, guessing correctly. "I told Dusty it was a dumb idea. Too bad I didn't have any better ones."

Blue Bird reaches into his jacket and takes out a map of the region. He points to a big red X marked on it. It's 12 miles from Bread Basket.
"She's there. We lured her into an ambush, subdued her and sold her to some slavers. We said she could get them guns and drugs. It was that, or Daisy would kill us all for skimming. Damn my sticky fingers."

Blue Bird takes another deep swig.
"Has that, at least, earned me a quick death?"
u-b
Sean is busy tending the unconscious men, but if he's consulted over the radio, his opinion would be as follows:
1. We state that we are not law enforcement, but we are, indeed, revenge enforcement. The good news is we have some leeway administering the revenge. In particular, a quick death is perfectly fine form of revenge provided we succeed at our primary objective...
2. Which is to get Daisy alive, well, and back. If we do, Blue Bird will have his option to get his quick death, as painless as possible, but other options might be also offered...
3. Namely, we have some tertiary objectives, like ensuring the drug trade is not resumed by and employing any parties previously involved, eradicating slavers' spy networks, etcetera. We'd also like to extend revenge on that Dusty guy, so if Blue Bird can meaningfully help us with any or all of the tasks, he might get the revenge on him tuned down even more.
4. Sean's proposal would be to hand Blue Bird to VIP's men for further safekeeping, under the terms stated above. Then we'll try to get Daisy alive and he'll think who or what he can sell us for his benefit. When we are back, we will talk, but anything that might help us save Daisy is better said now.

When Sean is done with the gangsters, he asks the gang boss if he would like to finally explain his order. If he does not, the things to do would be as follows:
5. Administer the gang boss one doze of morphine. No first aid.
6. Take all his gang's bikes in adverse possession and let the gang take any actions, legal, or otherwise, to get them back.
7. Let the VIP's men take the guns from the gangsters.
8. Possibly pay the gang's tab*.

Eventually, Sean takes a look at the map to judge the location marked against any locations visited or known.

Assuming that's all done, the next things to do would be:
9. To get the bikes parked near our hotel, declared to the local law enforcement as possibly contested.
10. Leave Blue Bird with VIP's men and have details how to meet him when necessary.
11. Meet the local supplier, buy stuff, and be on our way to the marked location as soon as late evening / early night.

 
 Spoiler 
*How much?
 
Shoot Da Moon
If the exiles can offer Blue Bird mercy and another chance at life, he could co-operate with them more.
He'll help get Daisy back only if she gives up on murdering him because of the thefts.
Blue Bird is perfectly fine with giving up Dusty. He can help lure the man into a trap. He knows how to contact him, but he is unsure where he is now.
He can also help by betraying dealers he knows to be part of Daisy's old network, who stole from her. The slavers also are more-than-acceptable losses. Dusty knows more about the slavers than him.
Blue Bird is fine with imprisonment over death.

The gang leader enjoys the morphine shot he is given. Once the pain goes, he is more talkative. He explains that he gave the order to kill Sean because he figured Sean is a spy for another gang. He pleads Sean not to take the bikes, he claims they're the lifeblood of his business.
The backup takes all the guns and weapons on the defeated thugs. They're less well-armed than the raiders, but they do have some decent revolvers and plenty of bladed melee weapons.

The gang's tab is $300, payable in barter goods or bullets.

The map seems to be leading somewhere obscure, an Old World general store in an abandoned small town. Locations visited or known are pretty far away, no roads connecting to the marked place. To be expected for a hideout, really.

The bikes can be parked at the hotel, law enforcement may want to confiscate them as evidence or "criminal tools".
(OC: roll a Reaction Roll for the security forces (your normal modifiers PLUS another +3), see if they let the exiles have them, take them and give a reward, or simply return them to the gang.)
The VIP has Blue Bird put in a private holding cell. They allow the exiles full access to him.

The local store has a good selection of supplies and goods on offer. The merchants are crowding around, jostling for deals.
(OC: what are you buying?)

In all, it will take the exiles about 1 hour to do all that before they can set out for the new location.
(OC: roll Navigation and Driving skills when you go to the location. 12 miles of distance, remember.)
u-b
Sean wonders and inquires what local gangs can sport ballistic helmets and full body armor that Richard came in. He  could  be satisfied without a specific gangs being named if the gang boss concerns seems plausible and/or genuine enough to include unknown well-equipped gangs. If Sean is satisfied, he only takes Blue Bird's bike.

At the local store Sean sells the gang boss' shotgun and gives the proceeds to the militia man that had earlier volunteered to talk to the hunters.

At the VIP's recommended dealer Sean wants to buy an Early Concealable Vest worth of APDS+P Shotgun Slugs (up to 35 of them under perfect conditions, but likely much less) and hear about any and all special offers valid at the moment.

We take our whole team and two VIP's men on two cars to within a thousand yards of the marked location, then hide the cars somewhere, possibly camouflaging with the nets or putting in an abandoned barn, garage or something. Sean then takes the lead, intending to find and observe the location while having his ass solidly covered by the people behind.

 
 Spoiler 
I think Richard should be doing the talking to the security people about the bike(s).
Sean gives the barman 30 shotgun shells.
What would be the darkness penalty by the time Sean finds the location?
 
Volthawk
Richard listens to what Blue Bird has to say about Daisy with interest, glad to finally know the full story even if he didn't like what he was hearing. Slavers, too...on the bright side, they could do a lot of cleaning up around here in the process of getting Daisy back, and he's pleased to hear Sean bring that up first. As far as Blue Bird's fate and what helping them may bring, Richard agrees that his help should save him from Daisy's revenge - he doesn't get into the details of the VIP and such, but he does say that once they get her back she'll likely be forced to lay low for a while, and she won't be killing anyone then, and if she doesn't the exiles will be in the position to get at least one person off her kill list given they'd have saved her life, so either way he should be fine. Of course, if she doesn't get back, or things go south because of bad info...well, he  was  going to be in the custody of the people with enough of an interest in Daisy's wellbeing to hire help, and they wouldn't appreciate that one bit. So it was better for everyone if Blue Bird played it straight and fair, and Richard would follow suit. After he's got all that out, he lets the VIP's men take him.

When it comes to securing bikes (either just Blue Bird's or the whole lot), Richard takes the lead in explaining the situation to the local law - explaining that they were attacked out of the blue, fought back and, after applying medical attention to the people who tried to kill us, took the bikes as compensation for the whole fiasco.

Once they arrive at the location on the map, Richard directs the men to keep an eye on any nearby buildings while they wait for Sean - this wasn't the first time they'd gone in or around one of these small Old World towns, and there was always the risk of more lurking around in the ruins than what they were looking for, and even if it was just the slavers they could hide lookouts anywhere around here.
Shoot Da Moon
The gang boss informs Sean that most criminals around this region do not have armor that's better than light kevlar at best. Anyone better armored than that is coming from outside the valley, he's sure. He himself has encountered such invaders. He apparently jumped to conclusions, perhaps suspecting Sean was one of the heavily equipped raiders who are stationed near the south border.

Of course, the boss could just be a mad-dog killer by instinct.

The shotgun is worth $600, easily paid in bullets (whatever type Sean wants) by the merchant. The militiamen thank Sean for the piece of the action.
The vest is traded for 35 APDS+P slugs like Sean wanted. The merchant has a special offer for farming equipment and food preparation tools (even one or two Old World kitchen appliances are available).

Sean pays the barman, earning him some local goodwill.
The enforcers gladly let Richard keep the bikes, or sell them to the enforcers at a good price (80% of their buying price). The enforcers prefer to pay in food, water and medical supplies. They need the bullets.


  
 Spoiler 
What would be the darkness penalty by the time Sean finds the location?
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
The sun will set in  two or three hours, for -5 Darkness at least.  The  12-mile  trip over can't take much more than a hour, right? In 3 hours and 30 minutes, the Darkness penalty will go down to -7.

Sean should roll Navigation and Driving, then Camouflage. Both Richard and Sean can roll Observation.
 


After all that business is done, the exiles and their allies hit the road...
Shoot Da Moon
Sean manages to avoid most problems driving through the unknown territory. It's still late afternoon when he arrives.
(OC: mark off the fuel used, it was a distance of 12 miles.)

When he arrives near the location marked on the map, he spies a bunch of armed men have set up a roadblock, with sandbags, in the middle of the old road passing by an Old World building (the general store, in times past) that's been repurposed into a base.

Sean, Richard and their men observe the place from a distance and in hiding.
Five men are at the sandbags (medium cover), spread out with at least 2 yards between any one of them. These guys all have SMGs and wearing metal armor corselets covering their torsos, groins and necks.
There's another five men spotted in heavier cover further away from the sandbag line (and each other), standing guard among the buildings, somewhat hidden and two are elevated on a second story. Those guys have different weapons; compound crossbows and the occasional stick of dynamite, it seems. Same armor as those manning the sandbags.
There could definitely be more, currently out of sight...

The general store looks abandoned (boarded up windows and closed doors), but it's probably just disguised as another ruin by the slavers. The store is 25 yards inside the sandbag line, the road past it blocked. No motorcycles or cars in sight.
u-b
Sean examines the tracks on the road. He's tries to minimize exposing himself in the process, but it is dark enough, so not a huge worry. He also looks throught the scope for an antenna or such. There are a few more things Sean intends to consider before we proceed with the attack:
1. What is around that general store, on all sides? How far it is? Buildings, trees, bushes, etc. are of interest. Thinking about a possibility to choose a side for attack and/or to attack from multiple sides and, if there seems to be one, a range of ranges we can choose from each side, especially targeting the hidden group of men.
2. Do they have any illumination on? Any ways to have illumination? Thinking of maybe bonfires, lit and unlit torches, flare pistols, flashlights, lamp posts that seem mostly intact or whatever. What exactly is and is not illuminated at the moment? To what extent?
3. Do the boarded windows feature any slits or what not to see through without removing the doarding? I gather the second story's not boarded up? Does the roof seem walkable?
4. No cars means there's an empty parking lot or we don't see the parking lot from here?
5. Any high enough walkable roofs anywhere nearby providing vantage view on the site? Or just a multi-story building?
6. Is there anything, beyond being the armed men at the specified location, that suggests these are or are not our raider/slaver guys? Not very hopeful about this one, but maybe there is a cage somewhere or footprints of a caravan of slaves on the road some such?
Shoot Da Moon
Sean sees no antennae.
The general store is surrounded on the 3 non-road-facing sides by more buildings, it seems (they seem to share a back alley or back lot). Maybe one could enter the general store by going through the other buildings? No trees or bushes around.
The men at the sandbags have unlit lanterns at their position (it's not dark enough to light them), but none are visible inside the store. The setting sun is what illuminates the sandbag guards, but the other guards are in the shadows looking out at the lit places right now. They have a few metal drums with open tops around, they could be filled with firewood and set on fire for warmth and light at night. No lamp posts. The men could have flashlights, flare guns or glowsticks but Sean sees none of them openly carrying those things.
The boarded windows look pretty solid. Any slits in them are very narrow. It's hard to tell from a distance. The second story is also boarded up. The roof looks flat and not guarded, but there is no obvious way up (no fire escape or ladder, for example).
The closest parking lot is some distance away from the sandbag line and the store. It is empty. Easy line of sight from the sandbags.
Some second-story buildings down the street (about 55 yards from the sandbags, plus another 25 yards to the store) can be entered and maybe provide a vantage point, if the stairs are still intact and the building is stable enough (and not boobytrapped) to safely enter.
Getting a real close look at the guards' necks for tattoos could be a hint as to what their affiliation is. That would require a serious telescope or getting real up-close, though. Maybe an extended stakeout observation to see what they're doing here could confirm their identity?
The nearby road has car and motorcycle tracks that are days old. Any cages or whatever they have are not on display from the street.
u-b
Sean is unable to confirm the allegiance of these people but proposes to proceed assuming that Blue Bird's info is correct. The specific proposal is that...
1. Sean takes the guys behind the sandbags.
2. Richard takes the guys on the second floor.
3. The six remaining men take the five remaining men with VIPs men targeting 2-on-1 and Bart using a slug.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The men at the sandbags have unlit lanterns at their position (it's not dark enough to light them)... 
 


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The  12-mile  trip over can't take much more than a hour, right? In 3 hours and 30 minutes, the Darkness penalty will go down to -7. 
 

I am not sure how these two statements match each other, given the maximum possible darkness penalty of -9. And given the size of the penalty, -7 seems large enough. I'm fine either way, just making sure we are on the same page.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean is unable to confirm the allegiance of these people but proposes to proceed assuming that Blue Bird's info is correct. The specific proposal is that...
1. Sean takes the guys behind the sandbags.
2. Richard takes the guys on the second floor.
3. The six remaining men take the five remaining men with VIPs men targeting 2-on-1 and Bart using a slug. 
 

(OC: Just to make it clear; the men behind the sandbags are two yards between each other, expect losing bullets between targets if you burst-fire. The men on elevated platforms are even farther apart from each other - the ones with the least distance between one another are 9 yards apart. You might need to make a Ranged Rapid Strike (use the Quick-Shot Technique if you got it) instead of a burst?)
u-b
Sean then proceeds with the plan. First, he researches the way(s) through the abandoned buildings that would get people to within 50 yards of their targets on the other side further down the street. He positions the men in these places where they can brace on something some distance into the room and  not  sticking their weapons out of the windows. The men evaluate their shots and complain about them being quite difficult. Sean responds by allowing to target any exposed part of the body, whatever that is, even if the shot won't be lethal, and allows Bart to use multi-flechettes throughout. After the men are in position and commanded to shoot when they hear the first shot, Sean gets in position crouched between a pair of houses just within 30 yards of  his  targets, which is not necessarily any closer to the store than the rest of the men, according to how the target placement varies. If all of this succeeds and Richard confirms he is ready, Sean shoots.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 ...The Darkness penalty is not much, maybe only -3 (in the shadows) at worst...

Does that clarify things? 
 

I think so. Will use the following values, please correct as applicable:
1. Those indoors, observed from outdoors: -3 darkness penalty.
2. Those indoors, observed from indoors: -1 darkness penalty within 10 seconds of entering indoors, -0 after that.
3. Those outdoors, between tightly-packed buildings, observed from outdoors: -0..-1 darkness penalty (anyone positioned to observe and be seen along the road are at -0, those deeper in are at -1).
 
Volthawk
Richard nods when he hears his targets, but after assessing the situation decides that taking both the crossbowmen on the second floor with one burst would be...impractical. Better to make sure one's down, then deal with the other quickly. With that in mind, he takes a position among the buildings that puts one of the high-up crossbowmen within 30 yards of him, and fires a double tap at the guy's head.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean then proceeds with the plan. First, he researches the way(s) through the abandoned buildings that would get people to within 50 yards of their targets on the other side further down the street. He positions the men in these places where they can brace on something some distance into the room and  not  sticking their weapons out of the windows. The men evaluate their shots and complain about them being quite difficult. Sean responds by allowing to target any exposed part of the body, whatever that is, even if the shot won't be lethal, and allows Bart to use multi-flechettes throughout. After the men are in position and commanded to shoot when they hear the first shot, Sean gets in position crouched between a pair of houses just within 30 yards of  his  targets, which is not necessarily any closer to the store than the rest of the men, according to how the target placement varies. If all of this succeeds and Richard confirms he is ready, Sean shoots.

 
 Spoiler 

I think so. Will use the following values, please correct as applicable:
1. Those indoors, observed from outdoors: -3 darkness penalty.
2. Those indoors, observed from indoors: -1 darkness penalty within 10 seconds of entering indoors, -0 after that.
3. Those outdoors, between tightly-packed buildings, observed from outdoors: -0..-1 darkness penalty (anyone positioned to observe and be seen along the road are at -0, those deeper in are at -1).
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
Yes, that's correct.
 


Sean and his fellows manage to position themselves in their spots...and then unleash hell.
Sean manages to hit 3 of the guards at the sandbags, killing them in a hail of hot lead.
The militiamen open fire in concert with Sean, and they all hit the arms, brutally crippling another 3 targets and effectively knocking them out of the fight.
(OC: The backup NPCs have Guns-13. Remember to take into account who has medium cover (sandbag line) and who has heavy cover (everyone else but the arm is exposed in this case).)
Bart the Hunter gets his target straight in the face, and he goes down without much fanfare.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Richard nods when he hears his targets, but after assessing the situation decides that taking both the crossbowmen on the second floor with one burst would be...impractical. Better to make sure one's down, then deal with the other quickly. With that in mind, he takes a position among the buildings that puts one of the high-up crossbowmen within 30 yards of him, and fires a double tap at the guy's head. 
 

Richard waxes the crossbowman with a masterful double-tap to the dome, tearing the guard's head apart in a rather gory manner.

The VIP's men start shooting as well, picking up the spares. One targets the other crossbowman, another targets the man Sean missed. One hits the remaining sandbag guard and KOs the miscreant. The other nails the other crossbowman in his chest, racking up another KO.

(OC:  combat time has started...and ended?  Remind me again; how many VIP men are backing you up? More than two, the rest are standing by in case there's more bad guys. Typo in the dice roll thread, typed "arm" rather than "cover", same penalty.)

All spotted ten hostiles were either cut down or crippled in the one second of gunfire...
If there's more, they could come running any moment...
u-b
Sean carefully reloads, looking for any signs of movement anywhere for, like, three seconds. If there is none, he proposes Richard orders the militia to cover him and repositions as he sees fit (maybe his side of the snadbags, if that does not seem too ballsy). Sean asks Richard to send Bart and the dogs behind the houses to behind the shop, and that would be where Sean would be heading. Sean does not dare go along the street, at least, not yet.

 
 Spoiler 
For the record: gas and shots marked as expended.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean senses no movement or even any more forms of life.
He gets Richard to command the men and then makes his way over to the back-alley.
Again, he spies no other people around...but there are definitely security measures here.
The (metal) back door of the general store is not only locked, but it also has a tripwire trap attached to it.
The tripwire is discretely tied to a live grenade in a tin can on the floor. If the wire is tripped, the grenade's pin will be pulled and it will soon explode.

(OC: the grenade is an improvised/cheap TL 6 combustion(?) model. Damage 5d cr ex, fuse 4. You may need to roll to disarm the trap safely. The lock on the door has a -3 modifier.)
u-b
Sean takes his time disarming the trap and picking the lock. He's not in hurry anywhere. He listens to any possible sounds while he works and has Bart and the dogs watch over him from some distance, so he  hopes  he won't be just shot in the back by some unseen guy from somewhere, and all the other possibilities seem much less problematic.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: the grenade is an improvised/cheap TL 6 combustion(?) model. 
 

Concussion. But hopefully disarmed.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean is successful at disarming the trap and picking the lock, but the extra time he takes definitely gave the people inside an opportunity to move around stuff - he hears a lot of shuffling and creaking coming inside the store. Muffled conversation that he can not make out. The hostiles have certainly managed to fortify their position, but they may still not detected Sean specifically.

(OC: the extra time equals to 4+16 minutes, I believe? Base time for both tasks is 1 minute. Each +1 doubled the time needed.)

Sean can take the jam tin grenade and the wire for himself.

His backup do not detect any more enemies outside the store, so Sean might just be safe from behind. But what is in front of him?
u-b
Sean does not mind the fortification that much. At least, unless the door* he's just picked has been barricaded. He leaves the grenade and the wire near the door, to pick them later. He takes a look at "this" wall of the store that might or might not feature a fire ladder, covered porch or some other way to get to the upper floor, but for now that would be plan B. He waves to Bart to come closer and open the door and gets ready to shoot a long burst inside.

 
 Spoiler 
*Did he hear  this  door being barricaded?


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: the extra time equals to 4+16 minutes, I believe? Base time for both tasks is 1 minute. Each +1 doubled the time needed. 
 

Yeah, that's the time.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean did not hear the back door getting barricaded…but it could’ve been secured before he showed up.
Looking around the outside, he finds no alternate entry into the general store. The windows on the upper floor are all boarded up.
Bart nods to Sean and stacks up in the back door.
As Sean takes aim, the hunter slowly opens the door, pushing it back…
His good instincts pay off as he stops and shows Sean that the inside of the door is also boobytrapped. A big stack of empty cans have been propped up against the door. If someone were to open the door too fast, it would knock over the cans and create a noise, alerting everyone inside that someone coming in the back. And right next to that, there is a stick of dynamite placed on the floor, wired up to a detonator elsewhere, the wire snaking it’s way around a corner.
Clever.

From where Bart is peeking, no-one is directly near the back door. He asks Sean if he wants to try disarming the can stack and the dynamite?
u-b
Sean observes the trap himself then quietly retreats behind a corner and gets Bart do the same. Sean gives some short time for anyone inside already observing the door to notice it being moved and do what they were intending to do while he listens and thinks what  he  can do about it. Of interest:
1. How large are the cans? Are they like beer cans or paint cans? How many of them are total and now many "stories" of them? Do they stand on a surface that is flat and level all the way in? Overall, does it seem to be possible to open the door  slowly  and  wide  without having the stack of cans fall?
2. Where is the dynamite stick relative to the gap we peek through? Does it seem possible to reach and take the detonator out of it as the  first  part of disarming the whole setup? Would that be a trivial operation like taking a detonator off normally is or would it be more tricky? Or can we reach the wire with some cutting tool?
3. Can Sean remove the cans, one by one, starting from the top, without moving the door any further?

 
 Spoiler 
In particular, Sean would prefer to spend minimum practical time next to the still-connected dynamite.
 
Shoot Da Moon
They are beer cans. About 40 to 50, in five high stacks. The surface is flat and level, yes. Opening the door slowly may not work.
The dynamite is placed 1 yard away from the gap, and right in front of the way the door swings open. Reach the dynamite would take a stretch and it would be awkward. But it could allow disarming the explosive by severing the wire to the detonator. It would probably require some of reaching tool, but it would otherwise be easy enough to cut the wire.
Removing the cans could work if Sean had the time and managed some awkward stretching around the door.
A single trip while taking the cans or cutting the wire, though, and you’d knock over the cans, and make noise.
u-b
Sean is unsure how to best handle the trap, but ultimately decides that being fast and furious should do. He tells Richard the details of the situation and requests him to stealthily reposition towards the corner where Sean and Bart currently are, tells Bart that he's going in past the door  real quick  and that the dogs should be sent to follow Sean closely (and possibly overtake him on the way). When everyone is ready, Sean stealthily closes in with the door, then, pushing it out of the way with a shoulder, moves along the wire as fast as he can, ready to shoot at any people in there.

 
 Spoiler 
Extra Effort 1 (if applicable): Multi-Task as per AtE45 to open the door
Extra Effort 2 (if applicable): Heroic Charge as per AtE45 to make a burst at some targets

Not sure if it is still Ready to just push the door moving through and not sure if there would be targets, so please clarify. That would be one second worth of actions. I'll roll the attacks after Sean sees the targets.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: It's a Ready to open the door, a Move and Attack action to charge forward and shoot. But before we commit to this course of action, Richard should be allowed to get in a word.)
Volthawk
Richard's...not exactly happy with the situation as Sean describes it, but isn't sure if he has a way to improve it - he does raise the thought of using his shortsword, using one of their belts to strap it onto one of their rifles (or something else sufficiently long) to make a tool that could potentially reach the wire, but from Sean's description of the setup in there isn't sure if that would work. The main alteration he suggests is that he goes in first - besides the trap, there's a good chance that they'll be ready to shoot at anyone coming in, and Richard's got better overall armour if that happens (and although he doesn't say it, he'd rather put himself in that kind of risk than one of the others, including Sean).
u-b
Sean does not object discussing the situation while Richard is on his way. A shortsword cut across the wire could be ideal, but only if we do not trip the cans  and  fail to cut it at the same time. The problem seems to be not as much with length of the reach required as with the setup itself. Other alternatives and lines of reason, which Sean has actually considered, would be roughly as follows:
1. There is a way to blast the dynamite stick with the grenade. As safe as it gets for that particular operation, but then they'll have a few more seconds to address new threat and we  do  want to enter.
2. Sean does not expect the people to be waiting to shoot in his particular direction and hopes to be shooting first, but he admits that it won't be necessarily enough to be safe. He also admits Richard is better armored, but Sean is more mobile, which might even the odds.
3. Thinking of it, Sean does not mind coming in together and spreading out right away, as long as no one remains standing near the dynamite for any length of time after the door is thrown open.

 
 Spoiler 
Okay, so corrections:
1. Richard estimates his chances with the shortsword (any setup; we  have  to either cut the wire  or  not make any noise with every attempt). If less than 2/3, we pass on this one.
2. Richard enters  closely  followed by Sean who takes any appropriate alternative route that still leads him far away from the explosive (he'll presumably move more than Richard, but maybe in a somewhat different direction so as not to obstruct Richard's line of fire).

Also, is it totally clear this is electric wire and not a det cord?
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: It's a det cord, that much is for sure, sorry if that wasn't clear before. Cutting the wire with a shortsword is a DX-based Explosives (EOD) roll at -3.)
Shoot Da Moon
Not willing to risk it, Sean instead prepares to make a run in.
Richard, Bart and the others stay back as the exile charges forth, bashing down the door in front of him.
He hears the cans fall and clatter on the ground, but he keeps moving.
Sean feels the lactic acid build up in his muscles as he turns the corner, following the snaking det cord, but sees no enemies when he makes the turn. He has his gun at the ready, but no targets...
He realizes the det cord keeps going, deeper into the building...and the people inside almost certainly heard him...

(OC: Sean burns 2 FP, the dynamite is going to detonate, Sean is about Move yards away from the dynamite now, everyone has  1 second  to act further before it blows. I suggest you make a diving Dodge away from the dynamite, Sean. Richard and Bart are probably shielded from the blast.)
u-b
Sean goes all the way towards the corridor and enters it, careful not to step on det cord and maybe even keeping to the other side of the corridor. He is not overly concerned about the dynamite stick after he has a whole second of movement past that point. He keeps a note of where the doggies are going and intends to follow.

 
 Spoiler 
I think Sean can make 10+ actual yards (7 + 8 yards of nominal sprint movement) and that would divide cr ex tamage by 30+. There  could  be wall fragments catching up with him, depending on layout and stuff, but he does not expect any.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and his fellows are in the corridor when the dynamite goes off.

The blast sounds awful, shaking the ground floor of the building, but the wall and distance between the group and the explosion protects the exiles and their allies from getting hurt.

The poor dogs, however, are pretty badly shaken by the sudden loud noise. Bart gets them under control and huddles with them close to calm them down. He says the dogs seem to have detected people upstairs…

The front area of the building looks empty from where the exiles are. It seems the people retreated upstairs?
u-b
Sean tells Richard to moan as if hit and, leaving everyone on the first floor, advances  some  way up the stairs, crouching and sneaky. He wants to do the following before he decides what's next:
1. Surprise anyone looking to finish off the people affected by the dynamite blast.
2. Surprise anyone looking to take control of the stairs.
3. Listen for possible other reaction.
4. Look at the  ceiling  of the second floor to esimate the immediate layout as it can be seen.

 
 Spoiler 
How many turns the stairs have before reaching the upper floor? One? So far Sean keeps his head below the floor level.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The stairs are just a straight shot up to an upper floor door. No turns.
Sean stays stealthy and hears someone on the other side of the door, just barely. They sound angry about something and just barely about to panic. Definitely a male voice. But no words can be heard distinctly. It seems they are content to stay upstairs for now. (Smart move.)
Judging by the building layout, the room beyond is supposed to be a large office of some kind. It probably does not have an escape route, or many rooms. The room is about twice the size of the back room, as it makes a right angle turn to continue along above the first floor front room.

Richard, meanwhile, sees the ground floor front room used to be the general store's sales counter and products display. It was cleared out to be a barricaded outpost where beds and supplies are kept behind cover.
u-b
Sean quietly proposes that we place a grenade on our side of the door, wait for it to explode and then demand a surrender quoting more grenades that we have at hand. Only Richard should be able to hear him.

 
 Spoiler 
What can be said about the door?
1. Does it cover some / most / all of the upstairs?
2. Is it metal / solid wood / fibreboard or something?
3. Is it push / pull from Sean's side?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  
 Spoiler 
What can be said about the door?
1. Does it cover some / most / all of the upstairs?
2. Is it metal / solid wood / fibreboard or something?
3. Is it push / pull from Sean's side?
 
 
 

The door is the only way into the upper floor. The door looks like a solid wooden type. It opens inward, requiring Sean to push.
Volthawk
Richard's a little unsure about the plan. If these guys are the guys they're here for - namely, the slavers who have Daisy - there's a not-insignificant chance that she's in there with them (providing there's not a prison elsewhere in the town that the exiles didn't find yet). It was more likely than not that his concerns were unfounded - it'd require that she was already in this building for some reason, potentially the slavers wanting information of some kind or keeping her close in case of trouble - but the risk of them inadvertently killing the person they're here to rescue concerns him. He'll follow Sean's lead here, but he feels like he had to raise the point.
u-b
Sean expects a solid wooden door would stop the majority of the fragments and the overpressure will fade fairly quickly with distance (they probably don't keep the hostage near this very door), but he admits he's not quite sure how these two sources of damage and its reduction will interfere given the single door affected by both. He makes two changes to his plan. First, he goes with a weaker grenade, at least for a start. Second, he warns people.

So, after Richard, Bart and the dogs are safely behind some cover on the first floor, Sean places a live ARGES HG 86 adjacent to the door and quickly makes his way downstairs. Just before he is completely behind the cover, he shouts, as loud as he can:  "Fire in the hole!" 

Then, after the explosion, he returns from the cover to observe the door from downstairs and lets Richard make any and all proposals as appropriate.
Shoot Da Moon
The grenade goes off and does a good job of wrecking the wooden door. It has a sizeable chunk of it ripped off by the explosion, leaving less than the top half hanging off a hinge and the rest in splinters or chunks.

Everyone on the upper floor - perhaps half a dozen people - are left appropriately shocked and screaming at the sudden boom. A quick burst of SMG fire is blasted at the doorway, hitting no-one, in response to the destructive intrusion.

A few men are yelling in confusion and cursing loudly. Sean can see no-one coming over to check, but he is sure someone was watching the door and let off rapid gunshots when it exploded.

Now is the time to make threats from downstairs, in the hope that the men upstairs have no grenades of their own to respond with…
Volthawk
Naturally, Richard doesn't move into a position where another wild spray of fire would hit him, but he gets as close as he can outside of that area so that they can hear him clearly and calls out.  "Surrender! You're surrounded, and we have bigger guns than you, more men and a lot more grenades where that came from! We do, however, take prisoners where we can, so...it's up to you! Surrender to our custody, or keep fighting and we'll just have to both hope one of you survives getting blown to hell!" 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Richard, make an Intimidation roll versus the opposing Will 13.)
u-b
 
 Spoiler 
I suppose Richard's intimidation does not go very well given the rolls. If it goes well, disregard the following. Sean's roll is much worse, but that's not the point.
 
 
 Spoiler: Conditional 
 "Listen, men, this is Sean Pires! You know who I am and you know the drill - it's not like you are the first bunch to be taken out. We don't kill prisoners, so your last chance before we proceed!" 
 
 
 Spoiler: Even more conditional 
Crouching halfway upstairs, Sean throws one flashbang in there and spends some time observing the effect, both before and one full second after explosion, ready to dodge and fire as the situation directs. No problem if he himself is in range of the flashbang as long as it lands on the other side of what remains of the door.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles’ attempt to threaten the enemy into surrender does not work.

“Get lost! We ain’t giving up this score!” A woman yells from upstairs.

Sean responds by tossing a flash bang into the room.
“Oh heck!!” The woman screams in horror as the stun grenade lands and then explodes.

For a brief moment, there is sheer chaos on the upper floor. Rapid gunfire fills the air as the people scream and curse. Everyone with guns appears to be firing all over at random. Sean is not hit. They seem blinded, deafened and extremely mad about it.
u-b
Sean waits a bit until the shooting mostly ceases, either for empty guns or otherwise, stands up from crouching, shoots a long burst into the smoke, then drops prone on the stairs.

 
 Spoiler 
Stand up from prone, perform an attack, then dodge and drop below any fire returned.
 
Shoot Da Moon
It takes about 3 or 4 seconds before the upstairs gunfire dies down.

(OC: I assume that is not a pop-up attack, Sean?)

Sean rises and sees four people in the open, another guard behind cover next to a large metal cage containing a woman matching Daisy's description. No-one is capable of firing back, the stun grenade did its job well. None of them are more than 7 yards away.

He opens fire as best as he can, and then hits the dirt, perhaps risking hurting himself on the staircase.

(OC: Sean should roll DX to avoid taking 1d-3 crushing damage from landing wrong on the steps?)

Sean is sure he managed to hit all 5 guards with his shots, including the enemy in cover. He is not quite sure where he hit all of them, but he got at least 1 torso shot. He's willing to bet all of them were disabled, if not killed.
u-b
Sean gets up to his feet after a soft enough landing and, if there are no additional gunshots heard from the above, takes a look.

 
 Spoiler 
All-out dodge maneuver, with possible extra effort + drop if some of them are able and waiting.


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: I assume that is not a pop-up attack, Sean? 
 

Not quite sure. Sean does not go out of his way to return to cover on  his  turn, so one condition is  possibly  out, but he does  not  see the opposition at the start of his turn, so the other is in. I see it can be ruled either way. Sean surely does not invoke "a special attack maneuver", he justs stands up from crouching (free), uses a regular attack ( not  spending its associated step action), then drops for free as part of a defense against a (non-existent, as it turns out) attack. Or at least that was the plan.


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: Sean should roll DX to avoid taking 1d-3 crushing damage from landing wrong on the steps? 
 

Done. Safe landing.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Having landed right and avoided hurting himself, Sean carefully gets back up and peeks at the upper floor.

Inside, he can see the guards are all disabled by his gunshots. One is lying on the ground, probably dead. Four are either leaning against a wall or slumped to a sitting position, nursing their injuries ineffectually. Only Daisy in her metal cage is relatively unharmed, albeit still affected by the flashbang and suffering a near total ongoing shutdown of her senses thanks to the loud gunshots, the screams and the smoke.

The fight is over.
The search is over.

The upper floor room features supplies for both the slavers and their captives. Sean can see in the room; 3 plastic barrels that look full of water, 300 rations stacked on a desk, 2 first aid kits hung on wall hooks, bullets for a SMG in both a pile and in 3 magazines left on a table, a few big quivers full of crossbow bolts next to the bullets and a stockpile of illicit drugs kept in a locked metal box.
u-b
Sean lets Richard take control of the room and make sure the prisoners are secured. He tells Bart to organize the team to drag everyone and everything in two nice heaps near the store and stand guard. Those who survived but then tried to run, if any, are to be caught to join the rest. He spends some time getting both cars to the store, then starts to sort through the bodies and loot. He wants to positively establish what we have of the following:
1. Live men.
2. Dead men.
3. Weapons.
4. Armor.
5. Stuff.
6. Keys to the cage, if Richard has not already solved it.

Any volunteers to tell us anything of value will get medical help. For anyone else he has enough of duct tape in the trunk.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean’s allies go to work. They easily tie up the injured people.

The hostiles had a decent variety of weapons - 3 combat knives, eight SMGs, 3 composite crossbows, 5 sticks of dynamite, 8 jam tin grenades, the detonator, 40 yards of det cord, 2 cigarette lighters and 3 wooden cudgels.
55 crossbow bolts and 100 sub machine gun bullets are among the bodies and supply cache.

Each guard, all 15 of them, were wearing metal mail corselets, leather gloves, boots, sharps protective limb armour and bandanas. They all have neck tattoos; black images of three squares in a row, with the number 7 in an ornate font in each square.

Six of the people shot have died. The rest are alive, albeit severely wounded (they probably lost limbs). None of them want to talk, even as they continue to bleed.

A guard on the upper floor has the keys to the cage. Daisy is released from her bonds and de-gagged. She is thankful, but sluggish from being hurt and starved.

The illegal drugs are opioid pills and syringes of heroin.

All this work takes 15 minutes.
u-b
Looking at what we have and how to pack it into our two cars, Sean asks Richard if we really need all those prisoners. Meaning, they have not voluntarily surrendered, they are uncooperative, and there is no way to pack all 9 into cars with all the people and loot. If we do, Richard should hit the radio to get some transportation from the Bread Basket dispatched  right now . If we don't, things are much simpler. Sean does not mind if the prisoners hear any of that, as long as they are, by that time, securely bound.
Volthawk
Richard's first priority once the floor is secured is Daisy, making sure she gets some food and water in her and gets downstairs safely away from the situation with the survivors. And as for that situation...Richard isn't exactly happy with what Sean's talking about, of course, but he had a point that they never surrendered, even now, and with those injuries...did they even have the equipment and know-how to keep them alive? At the end of the day, Sean was the one there with the most experience on that topic - if some of them can be patched up enough to survive in a state that'll mean they're able to talk soon, then he'd rather have  someone  to interrogate about the details of what happened and further connections to investigate, but if they're still all refusing to even consider talking and fixing some of them up would be a waste of resources...Richard wouldn't like it, but he'd understand.
u-b
We load the loot. Sean asks Daisy if she suggests leaving any of the survivors alive (maybe she can point  the  boss of these people or someone has been especially nice with her). Everyone else who fails to volunteer to cooperate is to be executed by Sean when we leave the area, some time after the cars leave and Sean stays to finish the job without unduly traumatizing our people. Sean then catches up with the cars that are to wait for him just outside of the area and leads the ride to the city.

Assuming we safely arrive, Sean declares the new loot, especially guns, explosives and narcotics. He asks what the guards tell he can do with the later: deposit to some storage facility and get back on his way out, surrender for destruction or maybe something else. He does as he is told. Then Sean escorts Daisy to the VIP or the representative of the VIP that has the authority to declare mission accomplished. This is to prevent any accidents with her on her way there, accidental or not. Sean schedules a meeting with the VIP to discuss the reward and/or further business. Tomorrow evening should be good enough. We recommend Daisy being detained by the VIP until such a meeting is over. If that goes as planned, we leave the VIP's and go about the last thing we have planned for today...

...which is the gutter lab. We drive there in two same cars without the loot and without the VIP's men, take a different road than previously, park in a different place than previously, approach from the different side than previously, and check for new tracks.
Shoot Da Moon
Daisy is easily fed and watered with the supplies in the general store. She is still weak from the wounds she was given by her captors. Richard notices Daisy has multiple severe blatant mutation signs (mostly vivid skin discoloration) around her torso, that would normally be hidden by clothing. The slavers denied her garments to cover them up. Daisy glares at Richard when he inspects them, silently warning him to keep quiet about it. She dresses herself in heavy clothing as soon as she can.

Daisy says Sean should kill everyone here, none of them are worthy of life or even sufficiently high ranking to know something important. (The slaver boss is off-site, working at a remove and issuing orders from somewhere else.) He guesses her recent past has a long to do with this assessment, she is very bitter.

None of the slavers bother to co-operate. It seems that their masters are fearful enough that betrayal is not on the table, or maybe they are all nihilistic enough to not care about their own lives in the face of justice.

The logistics of the cars and getting everyone out of town goes off without a hitch. The drive back is similarly uneventful, much to everyone's relief.

When he arrives at Bread Basket, the security forces appreciate that Sean is honest about what he is turning in. They confiscate the narcotics, and thank him for his aid. They promise to pay him back with favours in the future for getting the smack off the streets. They also offer to buy the guns and explosives off him - they can trade food and water at full price for them. The security forces are also very interested in how the exiles found all that illegal drugs, did they stumble into a major smuggling ring? They would like to bust the people moving all that product, so any information the exiles can give would be great.
 (OC: your Disadvantages would be very relevant here...) 

He drops Daisy off at the agreed-upon safe house for the VIP. The back up who accompanied him leave his side now and care for Daisy as she recovers. The VIP is contacted and agrees to the later meeting to confirm the mission accomplished. Tomorrow evening is fine.
 (OC: rescuing Daisy earns everyone one bonus Character Point!) 

The following drive to the gutter lab entrance takes little time (it's only 5 miles of travel). Nothing of note happens on the way there. The scene when he arrives back at the ruined gas station is less than comforting, though. The dogs and the eyes of his men detect no "zombies" or even guards. But they confirm that big packs of wolf-like creatures are roaming the surrounding hills. They estimate the packs are over a dozen animals(?), and there's at least three packs of the darn beasts stalking the wilderness. This worries Sean very much, who deeply fears wolves. While the creatures are not near or even closing in right now, that could change very soon...
u-b
Sean tells that the narcotics were had by a gang of Slavers that was eradicated in the process of rescuing a person from them. So, the lead pursued at the time was about the person, not about the drugs. Sean would prefer not to disclose the leads about the drugs, if he has any, in part because there was a job posted for outside help with dealing with this exact issue and messing outside with the inside might be counter-productive. Meaning,  if  he takes the job, he'll try to involve the locals as little as possible, likely as per the intent of the posted offer (he had not the opportunity to confirm or deny this intent or to discuss the offer because of more pressing matters at hand). This stance is to be reconsidered if he does  not  take the job. Right now he is unfortunately too busy to do anything much, up to and including the trading. He promises he will get back to it when he has more time.

At the the gutter lab entrance Sean considers how he should best secure the position against the wolves. With his luck and the events so far, some mutant monster-wolves no less. The first idea is to get people on a roof, upper floor or the like, so he looks for a way to do that. He also takes a look at the things to see what they are and estimates whether he can shoot some of them before they close in or escape and, if so, how much time he's going to have after his first shot before that heppens.

 
 Spoiler 
Slavers killed. Bullets spent.

I spend 1 character point to upgrade one level of reputation from People Affacted (Settlers) to People Affected (Almost Everyone Except Slavers) - we have been active in the city  and  run major commercial operations, so I expect I'll keep improving it a bit at a time. I guess we don't have to pay for reputation with slavers, whatever it is.

Sean is Easy to Read. It could be possibly read he is telling the truth, but not all the truth. But he  does  say he is not telling all the truth...

I will need the ranges to the packs and from the packs to any cover they can use.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: The security forces may have detected some falsehood coming from Sean. Character Point spend noted, you may want to post your updated Character Sheet in the OOC thread now for record keeping. Your Reputation would indeed improve thanks to your daring deeds.)

Sean finds a decent lookout position, an Old World telephone pole made of metal. He climbs it and gazes out to the hills, but does not catch sight of the wolf packs. They must have fled into the trees or other ruins. He thinks that they could be somewhere from 30 to 45 yards away from the gas station. If the wolves wanted cover, there is plenty of it to be found around here, as the local ruins are pretty close to forest. The gas station itself has open ground within 8 yards.
Volthawk
Daisy's mutations get a shrug from Richard, and while they're alone he quietly explains that they're not in the business of hunting mutants - hell, they've been able to negotiate with some of them, and in any case are well aware of the difference between the mutants that come from the cloning facilities and those that weren't mutated before but have become so after contact with certain Old World compounds (he's assuming Daisy is in the latter category). He's not going to say anything.

He's...not happy about the slaver situation, but can't see a better way. Needless to say, he stays with the cars rather than joining Sean to actually do the deed, and he's very quiet on the way back.

When they meet security, Richard nods and backs up Sean's account of things. He goes a little further in his explanation, saying that he found someone unvinvolved but willing to talk who set them on the right trail, and then from there to an involved gang - he's not sure if they heard about the shootout at the bar, but that was involved, the gang opening fire pretty much on sight - and then off to find the slavers who do seem to be involved. He agrees with Sean that they can't tell security everything quite yet, though, and tells any of them that asks him exactly that. He does tell them that he very much plans to do whatever he can to deal with the drug rings, so one way or another the problem will be resolved.

At the gutter station, Richard raises the thought that they likely won't go underground, so if they get moving now and get inside quickly, they might avoid having to deal with the things. There is the risk that on the way out they're in a position that's worse for the exiles, of course, but there's also the chance that they'll be able to leave smoothly too. He's not too confident in the idea, being honest with Sean, but he feels like it's worth bringing up.

 
 Spoiler 

In terms of disadvantages influencing how Richard deals with all this...

He has Selfless and the Broad-Minded quirk, so that's influencing his (lack of) judgement on Daisy's mutations. He does have Truthfulness, but I think that'll only come up if the topic of her being a mutant is brought up (forcing him to lie by omission).

When it comes to the slavers, he doesn't actually have a disadvantage about this - he has "prefers to offer enemies surrender" as a Quirk, but that's been done and refused, his Guilt Complex+Sense of Duty is just for us, his Pacifism is just for innocents (and these guys were happy to use lethal force), and Selfless likely doesn't apply here...he's going to feel bad about it RP-wise, but disadvantage-wise we're okay.

When it comes to the guards, Richard is also Easy to Read, and also has that Truthfulness I mentioned before, but since we're not lying but just refusing to tell them everything I think we're okay? "No, I'm not telling you this." isn't a lie in my book. I put in Richard saying a bit more than Sean anyway, just in case.
 
u-b
Sean looks at the nearby buildings and is more or less satisfied. He leads the group across the road to the nearest one offering an elevated position, then works to get everyone in there, excluding himself. If that is a roof, then that's it. If that's a second story, some doors are closed or furniture is moved to obstruct the stairs up. If that is all completed without interruptions, Sean makes sure there is a way for him to also get there quickly, with outside help, then proceeds to sneak his way to the gas station or until something happens.

 
 Spoiler 
I've done the loot. Also marked some gear taken along for the mission:
1. A frame backpack.
2. 50 yards of rope.
3. Some choice tools to help opening damaged doors.

For now most of this is left with the group. The rope might be left dangling for Sean and/or taken by him as appropriate (chosen before Sean leaves for gas station).

Any possibility or penalties to climb the gas station roof?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean finds the building has a second floor. And it is not very stable. He can block off the stairs with furniture.

(OC: the structural integrity modifier is -2.  Sean should roll IQ-based Architecture skill. And then roll Per, Per-based Architecture or Urban Survival, -2 and +2 if Danger Sense, I don’t think any of you have Perfect Balance. Failure means Sean has a mishap. )

Sean can leave a rope down from a window, dangling down to the streets for easier access.

(OC: no penalty to climb the gas station. But you also risk a mishap, the structural integrity modifier for the gas station is +1, thankfully.)
u-b
Assuming people are safe and Sean gets to, and onto, the gas station without incident, he spends some time illuminating the surroundings with his IR tactical light. It'll shine like a beacon to anyone with night vision, potentially blinding them temporarily if they look directly at Sean. Sean meanwhile looks through the scope at what he's illuminating, trying to see glowing eyes reflecting that light or otherwise any presence or reaction.

 
 Spoiler 
Rolled a bunch of stuff for the situation.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean is skilled at urban exploration so he avoids any mishaps while scoping out the buildings.
His scouting atop the gas station gets him a few quick glances at animals with glowing eyes far off in the distance, who quickly scurry away into trees and buildings when he catches sight of them. Looks like they’re being cagey, as typical beasts do. He figures there’s at least 10 such creatures lurking around who actively want to get closer to this position…until Sean scares them off with the IR light.
u-b
Sean tells Richard to send people one by one, starting with militia. Sean covers their advance and helps the militia ontop the gas station. When everyone is at the gas station (Richard is presumably the last), Sean explores the way down the trapdoor for anything new, including footprints and traps. If nothing untowards is noticed, and the closed door is still closed, the plan is to get down (Sean, Richard, Bart and the dogs), use Bart's APDS+P rounds against that door one at a time, preferably targeting any structural parts, like the locking and the swinging mechanisms, not just the flat surface. Sean will examine the door after each shot and maybe fiddle around with some tools to more clearly assess the damage and move away moveable parts.
Shoot Da Moon
When Sean descends into the depths, he immediately notices that the area around the way down has been…updated.

Someone has been busy fortifying this position.
He can see every door away from the elevator and ladder are secured with a landline each and a metal grate blocking access.
He can also see new surveillance cameras with wireless connections installed at every ceiling corner. They probably already saw him and his friends come down.

Bart turns to Sean, for further instructions. Does this change anything? Or shall he open fire and try to bust down a door?
u-b
Sean looks around at all those "improvements" and things that might be less apparent. Unless this whole site looks like it has been turned into some gigantic booby-trap, Sean is rather inclined to chat with the locals. He walks to the nearest comm... then stops. Then sends people upstairs. After all, there is more than one type of traps. He then looks into the nearest security camera while having his visor up, waves at it, then shoots it. Then does the same with all of the rest of the cameras*. Then he tries one of the comms.  "What's up, people?" 
 
 Spoiler 
*How many?


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 He can see every door away from the elevator and ladder are secured with a  landline  each... 
 

Like voice communications device? If so, Sean is going to chat. The one on the door he had tried to blast the last time around. Or, if that is not accessible, the one leading there. But only after everyone else is safely upstairs.


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 metal grate blocking access. 
 

Do they seem moveable? If so, what the conditions to move them would be and what way they are moving? Also, do they seem compatible with our 30-pound heavy bolt cutters (these are in the cars)?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean looks around at all those "improvements" and things that might be less apparent. Unless this whole site looks like it has been turned into some gigantic booby-trap, Sean is rather inclined to chat with the locals. He walks to the nearest comm... then stops. Then sends people upstairs. After all, there is more than one type of traps. He then looks into the nearest security camera while having his visor up, waves at it, then shoots it. Then does the same with all of the rest of the cameras*. Then he tries one of the comms.  "What's up, people?" 
 
 Spoiler 
*How many?

Like voice communications device? If so, Sean is going to chat. The one on the door he had tried to blast the last time around. Or, if that is not accessible, the one leading there. But only after everyone else is safely upstairs.

Do they seem moveable? If so, what the conditions to move them would be and what way they are moving? Also, do they seem compatible with our 30-pound heavy bolt cutters (these are in the cars)?
 
 
 

(OC: Typo there. I meant “landmine” - as in explosive. Bombs on the floor.)

There is six cameras placed in here. Sean shoots them all and breaks them easily.

The metal grates have been welded on, it appears. It looks like someone wants this entire area sealed off from the rest of the underground. The bolt cutters could get rid of them, with time and effort.
u-b
Sean does not mind the impression that we came here, shot the cameras and left, whether or not that ends up being the case. He still entertains the thought of getting through, if the real doors themselves do not seem to have been welded shut. Even so, he does not feel competent to disarm the landmines, nor does he feel like detonating them while he's still down. So he just counts them, evaluates them and estimates if it would be possible to safely run some det cord to all of them or detonate most of them by a grenade thrown from upstairs. Then he gets up following everyone else to have a chat.

 "I don't know. These people do seem to have the resources to do this kind of securing the site in this kind of time. Might be more than we will be able to handle. But then again, might be better prepared if we give them any more time. Opinions?" 

Sean is clear he is soliciting opinions from everyone, not only Richard. He wants some response from Bart, because if we go in, he is going with us 100%. Sean is still not quite sure if he wants the rest of the people above or below, but either way their opinions are welcome.

 
 Spoiler 
1. What seems to be the method that triggers the mines? Foot pressure? Remote activation? Maybe some tripwires or more fancy stuff?
2. Is it clear what type of mines are those?
3. How many are there in total?
4. How can one safely detonate the lot (at once or in batches)?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Bart think it's too dangerous to try cutting the metalwork out - it would take so long that an attack on their position would be practically inevitable.

(OC: 1: The mines are triggered by someone stepping on them, it seems.
2: Yes, you've seen these things before.
3: Six.
4: Shooting them from afar (very afar) would work...)
u-b
Sean is still not sure he wants to start doing things "now" or "tonight". He checks the area for tracks and discovers the people installing new hardware to have come from underground, but maybe a different one than the raider man ran through. Sean spends a few minutes drawing a map of the underground area, marking which door is which and proposes we spend some time with the rest of prisoners before we  do stuff. While at it, Sean has a few ideas about the hardware required, but he does not expect to get all of that overnight, even at Gunmetal, so that's one more reason to defer the activity.

Unless advised otherwise, Sean intends to ride back to Bread Basket and hit the radio.

First comm is with Gunmetal, regarding availability and pricing of...
1. A thermal lance.
2. Expendables for it, such as the working-end steel tubes and oxygen tanks.
3. A competent man to use it.
4. An electric disc grinder.
5. Expendables for it, such as steel-cutting disks.
6. A generator to power it.
7. An electric welder.
8. Expendables for it, such as electrodes.
9. A generator to power it (if #6 generator is not powerful enough).
10. A competent man to use it.
11. An acetylene torch.
12. Expendables for it, such as acetylene and oxygen tanks.
13. A competent man to use it.

Sean does not mind if they respond the next day.

The second comm is with The Black Parade, regarding possible employment for a major entity, which Sean would like to discuss with them the first thing in the morning, in person.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: alright, does Richard object to all this and have a different idea, before we confirm and move onto what Sean proposes?)
Volthawk
(OOC: Oh sorry yeah, to confirm the plan sounds good.)
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: very good.)

Sean makes his map, travels back to Bread Basket without a problem and then gets on the horn.
The contact on the radio checks the available stock for him.
According to his business partner, Gunmetal merchants do not have thermal lances available right now (it will take days at least to arrange buying one), steel tubes and oxygen tanks are purchasable without much difficulty, they might be able to hire a technician for the task for only $20 a hour, an electric disk grinder runs into the same issue as the thermal lance, a generator is available but the price is high, an electric welder is yet another problem item that will require days to make the order, the electrodes are less common than steel tubes and oxygen tanks, technicians can be paid to operate it, acetylene torches and their fuel are also a question mark.

The Gunmetal merchant wants to know when and where Sean will want this stuff, warning him that additional costs could be incoming.

The Black Parade is harder to get in touch with. The contact says he can pass along the messages Sean wants to give, but he informs the exiles that there's been a problem they are distracted with which will delay their response. Expect a reply in 3 or so days.
u-b
Sean explains he does not need all of that, just something to cut and something to weld. So one acetylene torch would do. Or a grinder + welder. Or a lance + welder. A grinder + welder combo will probably need the least bulk of consumables, and would be easiest for Sean to eventually handle himself, so if it's about the same, supply-side, we go with that option. Waiting for days is okay. We'll either pick up or arrange or pay for delivery, so check again when it is in Gunmetal. And of course, keep hold of that one generator. Do we have to make down payment of some size or something?

About The Black Parade guys, well, the message is that a contract is being proposed. Sean does not think it would be the best course of action to negotiate the precise terms on air, especially with a round-trip delay of three days. That said, Sean says we have been in a business of helping sort of like everybody with sort of like everything, so if we can discuss that one problem, on air or in person, that might be a good thing to do.

 
 Spoiler 
I think we've had The Black Parade radio contacts for some time now. Given by, I don't know... Snow Bunnies? Is the delay between their radio man and their boss?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean explains he does not need all of that, just something to cut and something to weld. So one acetylene torch would do. Or a grinder + welder. Or a lance + welder. A grinder + welder combo will probably need the least bulk of consumables, and would be easiest for Sean to eventually handle himself, so if it's about the same, supply-side, we go with that option. Waiting for days is okay. We'll either pick up or arrange or pay for delivery, so check again when it is in Gunmetal. And of course, keep hold of that one generator. Do we have to make down payment of some size or something?

About The Black Parade guys, well, the message is that a contract is being proposed. Sean does not think it would be the best course of action to negotiate the precise terms on air, especially with a round-trip delay of three days. That said, Sean says we have been in a business of helping sort of like everybody with sort of like everything, so if we can discuss that one problem, on air or in person, that might be a good thing to do.

 
 Spoiler 
I think we've had The Black Parade radio contacts for some time now. Given by, I don't know... Snow Bunnies? Is the delay between their radio man and their boss?
 
 
 

Yes, Sean is instructed to prepare a down payment of half the total cost in advance.
The Gunmetal merchants will need two days, at least, to get the industrial manufacturers on the task of getting the requested products fabricated.
The Black Parade can set up a meeting in-person. But they first must deal with something else. It is a somewhat private matter, so discussing it over the radio is probably unwise, and the people in charge may not trust outsiders with the issue.

(OC: Yes, the radio man is a go-between, sending messages up the chain.)
u-b
Sean is unsure what he could or would get in the end, but gives the Gunmetal side his approval to place a hold on some of his account as appropriate. This will mean the Rangers won't be able to complete picking up their stuff, but that should be still some time ahead, by which time Sean expects to deposit more funding. Since we are talking fabrication and not something they have on hand, Sean discusses what they could, and should, be manufacturing. He is no expert, but eventually talks to an expert, and comes to a conclusion that the best arrangement would be as follows:
1. A 80 Amp heavy plasma cutter with a nominal price of $12800.
2. A 200 Amp arc welder with a nominal price $1120.
3. A 100 lb 240 VDC rechargeable power pack to power either of the two for 1+ hours with a nominal price of $8000+.
4. A charger to charge the power pack off the mains, one 24 V battery at a time, with a nominal price of $880.
5. A modern welding mask with a nominal price of $640.
6. About $2500 worth of consumables.
7. Two frame backpacks / customized backpack frames suitable for carrying this whole setup.

This should allow us to cut through most metals, including 1.5" solid steel armor (not just mild steel), will cut through thinner steel real fast, is sufficiently portable if we don't hike cross-land, and will be fairly stealthy sound-wise. If Gunmetal confirms they can provide this stuff, Sean asks Richard to approve the spending.

Sean agrees to hear back from Black Parade when they are ready to discuss any thing.

We spend the night in the same hotel, posting one guard at a time.

Then we probably ride to meet the two scavenger gangs.

 
 Spoiler 
The proposed setup and some alternatives are in the Wish List part of the doc, lines 251..267.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Gunmetal can juggle the orders and payments transfers, as long as the exiles can pay the bills ASAP (immediately if possible).

The Gunmetal factories are in a position to best fabricate the 200 Amp arc welder, although the charger and power pack are going to take much more time, the welding mask is available right now, the consumables are variable (batteries are the most troublesome to manufacture), and the backpacks should be easy.
The generators available are less portable than Sean would like and are not powered by gasoline (ethanol is on the table).

The Black Parade asks Sean to call back later in the week.

The hotel will cost each member of the exiles' gang $5 equivalent in barter or bullets for the night. The guards will be posted in shifts, they should be able to handle it.

(OC: Richard, you should chip in your two cents before we fast-forward to the next day. The scavenger gangs are 5 miles south-east from Bread Basket.)
Volthawk
Sean's spending plan looks good to Richard, and when it comes to Gunmetal's concerns about the project...so they can get the tools and supplementary equipment sorted fairly easily, but the bigger problem is on the power side. Alright...besides just waiting, Richard raises the possibility to Sean that perhaps they could go looking for some things to make the fabricator's job easier (and lower the price, he supposes) - there have to be batteries and power packs and such out there, even with time leading to many getting scavenged, and they've been able to hit up places that the average scavenger would steer clear of. It's more of a passing thought than a solid plan, mind, but he feels it's worth suggesting - just accepting the problems and eating the delay and not quite ideal parts works fine for him too, given they've still got local work and the lab isn't going anywhere. That gets a pause from him. Is it? They fortified the place, so they must think that hunkering down is more worthwhile than moving their stuff out, so yes. It probably isn't going anywhere.
u-b
In fact, if they  can  make stuff, including power pack and heavy plasma cutter, Sean does not mind the delay. He'll stay away from semi-portable generators. More time to sort other things here and interrogate the men that we have. He will pack up the whole setup when they have everything ready. As for the payment... well, Sean is unsure they can eat it as fast as he's sending it, but they  are  the only convenient source of stuff, so the first thing in the morning he proceeds to sell some more stuff to send a few more trucks on the way.

 
 Spoiler 
That one order is placed and Sean will complete shopping the first thing in the morning. How much is 80% of Blue Bird's bike?
 
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles pay their hotel fees, converse some more about their shopping, make their orders, and finally settle in for a good night's sleep.

However, Richard begins to feel very ill sometime during the night. He becomes wracked with a grim ache that disrupts his sleep for a hour.

(OC: Richard, you lose 2 HP to toxic damage. Tell me when your current HP is below 2/3 max.)

 DAY 77 

When the morning comes, the exiles are somewhat ready to ride out to the scavengers...

(OC: Blue Bird's motorcycle is unflawed, for being worth full list price.)
u-b
Supposing Richard reports ill, the first thing Sean suspects is some kind of disease. He asks Richard to describe the symptoms, looks him all over, quarantines everyone else, then hits the radio to check if the VIP's men can recommend a good doctor here in the city.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean is not sure what he is looking at.

When he radioes the VIP, the servants pick up and discuss the situation with him.

They give him a name, address and description of a good clinic in operation. It is 2 miles outside Bread Basket, but it is well-stocked and well-staffed.
u-b
Sean is a bit surprised that the recomended clinic is outside the city, but whatever, as long as they are competent, that is fine. He leaves most of the people quaranteening at the hotel and sends 10 more trucks of food to Gunmetal, selling Blue Bird's bike and some, but not all, combat loot. He takes some of the payment on the spot in rifle rounds to pay for possible medical expenses, hoping the traders understand, and asks to pick up some non-bulky gear in Gunmetal and drop it with his people at the hotel. That should be no problem with the returning empty trucks, but if they would like to charge for that delivery too, Sean will pay when it's done. Sean tells the Gunmetal men the final details of the transaction and that we are buying some pre-allocated stuff which is to be given to Bread Basket truck drivers for delivery. Then he drives Richard to the clinic to see if they help.

 
 Spoiler 
Notably things sold:
1. Blue Bird's Heavy Bike + Sidecar.
2. Bergmann MP18.
3. S&amp;W Model 29 .44M.
4. Composite crossbows.
5. A heap of Boots and Leather Gloves.
6. Some minor stuff.

Notably things bought:
1. APDSDU+P Rifle Cartridge x48 (finally picking it up).
2. Large Entry Shield.
3. Small Tactical Light x3 (White/IR; two flat for the shield, one traditional for the handgun).
4. Reflex Sight for the handgun.
5. Some semi-extended capacity magazines.
6. Ten truckloads of delivery.

Notably not sold:
1. Sharps limbs.
2. Winchester Model 92s.
3. Mail corselets.
4. Dynamite / det cord.

The wish list page should be final. Things marked with "Bread Basket" are to be picked up or delivered there. We will end up having $60000 account balance with Gunmetal.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The merchants take down the order without a problem. They accept the goods sold to them, and exchange them with the stuff requested.

The two exiles set off for the address, and travel the distance without an issue.
As Sean nears the destination, though, he gets an uneasy feeling - he can't help but wonder if this "clinic" is some kind of trap. That servant taking the call for the VIP did sound a little forced with her friendliness.
Richard, meanwhile, notices a man with a revolver ready waiting in the shadows near the building.
Volthawk
After a particularly unpleasant-sounding cough, Richard speaks up, slightly indicating towards where the man's hiding.  "Hey. Do clinics usually keep their security in the shadows out here?"  He shrugs.  "Can't exactly start anything here though..."  Another cough.  "Can't be sure about whether they're legitimate or not this far out. Cover me as I go in, maybe?" 
u-b
Sean's reaction to indicated guard is much more abrupt. He does three things at once: turns the car to face the man, turns on the high beam and hits the brakes. The next things to do would be to open the door, get out of the parked car with the rifle in hand and shout  "Hi there!" 
 
 Spoiler 
1. How far?
2. Any people or vehicles, like the patients or what not?
3. Any visible signs that it is really a clinic?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean's reaction to indicated guard is much more abrupt. He does three things at once: turns the car to face the man, turns on the high beam and hits the brakes. The next things to do would be to open the door, get out of the parked car with the rifle in hand and shout  "Hi there!" 
 
 Spoiler 
1. How far?
2. Any people or vehicles, like the patients or what not?
3. Any visible signs that it is really a clinic?
 
 
 

 
 Spoiler 
1) 5 yards away.
2) None that you can see.
3) No signs in the windows or on the door…
 


When the car’s headlights focus on his position, the man is startled and turn slightly…before opening fire.
Sean is still in the car when the shot rings out.

(OC: It is a potential hit, I think, but the windscreen is still in the way.)
u-b
Sean is hit in the chest. He completely ignores it. Things go quite fast after that as Sean does quite a lot of things seemingly all at once. He draws a grenade. Armed. With its handle immediately flying away. He opens the door. He gets out of the car. And then, all in the course of just one second, he lands the grenade directly in front of the man.  "Stop shooting! Now!" 
 
 Spoiler 
Assuming he targets the torso. No active defense. No consequence except for repair to windshield.

Fast-draw successful. Stun grenage is in hand, armed, cooking.
Extra effort: multi-task to open the door.
Extra effort: heroic charge to get out of the car.
Attack action: lob a grenade. It lands one yard in front of the man.

Two FPs spent. Will use drop  and  extra effort on next active defense, if applicable. Some cover behind open door.

I hope that would be intimidating enough. The man might be able to make some perception, observation and/or familiarity roll to know what, and approximately when, the grenade will do. It goes off on the start of Sean's next turn. I guess Sean has his visor down given he's had his suspicions. Not so sure about the seat belt. It seems appropriate to have it away just in case, but even if not, one more multitask.

Please confirm I am correct in my understanding of possible.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The bullet bounces off Sean's torso armour. He really pushes himself to get out and toss a grenade in response. The grenade is where he wants it...

(OC:  combat time started.  Richard's turn now.)
Volthawk
Well that wasn't the reaction Richard had hoped for, but it was about what he had expected. He gets out of his side of the car, quickly raising his rifle and taking aim - odds are this guy was just the lookout, so if he didn't yield they needed to deal with him quickly.

 
 Spoiler 

Extra effort to multitask and get the door open, then taking an Aim action using my step to get out of the car.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The man who took a shot sees the grenade land near him and wisely decides to make a run for it.
(OC: Move 4.)

Sean notices there is another person holding a gun, drawing a bead at him, 20 yards down the street, having stepped out from a door frame in an abandoned building.
(OC: Step, Aim.)

 TURN 2 

Sean feels sweat pour down his forehead…
Volthawk
Hm. After running that far, the guy probably wouldn't die when the grenade went off, just get shaken up and maybe take some shrapnel, and that was fine by Richard. He takes the shot, aiming for one of the first shooter's legs, following it up by shouting out  "Stay down!" .
u-b
The grenade goes off with a flash and a bang, affecting everyone in 10 yards and filling the area with smoke. Sean, crouching behind his door, takes the gun out of the car and gets ready to dodge. This looks less and less like a random misunderstanding, but Sean makes his last attempt to end up in the clear:  "What the hell are you doing?!" 
 
 Spoiler 
Crouch leaving only the head above the metal. Ready the rifle. Will extra-effort-dodge-drop if applicable. The area is filled with smoke for -4.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The flashbang makes the whole situation a confusing mess.
The attacker is affected by the loud flash and falls to the ground wailing in pain. Richard's gun shot rings out, to join the cacophony.
Richard is less than amused by his comrade's use of the stun grenade in relatively close quarters.

Sean thinks he can see more gunmen joining the fight off in the distance. The new one is also 20 yards from his position, also carrying a handgun and also aiming at him.
(OC: Step, and Aim.)

 TURN 3 

(OC: Richard, did you resist the flashbang? If so, you hit your target despite the smoke, I believe. If hit, the target's leg is definitely crippled.)

Sean is covered by the car door and the smoke, but he still feels in danger...
u-b
In Sean's opinion, the men seemed too much aggressive and too little talkative for this to be an accident, so he goes straight to use deadly force and gets exposed enough to shoot a long burst at one of the men. That goes basically all around the man, missing by inches.

 
 Spoiler 
Will extra-effort-dodge-drop if applicable. The area is filled with smoke for -4.
 
Volthawk
Seeing Sean's rapid fire having little luck, and that the newcomers just have pistols, Richard decides it's safe to take a little time to aim at the newcomer.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean can see that there is another fighter directly behind the second pistolero - this one appears to be readying a big long arm attached to a backpack of some kind.

In the meantime, the two gunmen continue to aim at Sean, stepping a little. The burst fire does not make them flinch.
(OC: Step, and Aim for the two pistoleros. The third attacker is staying behind one of them.

 TURN 4 

Sean is pretty sure that the enemy will open fire soon.
u-b
Sean can sort of tolerate pistoleros, but does not like the backpack guy even one bit. He moves aside, then shoots another long burst, now mainly trying to get that new target.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean will dodge with extra effort if applicable, but without drop.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean misses the pistolero, but he clips the man with the backpack in the torso once.
The target hangs on despite the nasty gunshot straight on.

(OC: Richard, your turn.)
Volthawk
Richard, meanwhile, doesn't move now he has a bead on the front pistolero. Instead, he just fires a full burst at the pair of them, the pistolero in front and the backpack guy using the former as a meatshield, hoping to just blow through them with weight of fire.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard’s gunfire does not hit the targets. The pistolero flinches out of the way at the last moment, spoiling his aim.
The revolver-wielding gunmen respond with shots of their own, both at Sean. Only one is on target, though, as Richard’s burst shakes the other too much for the long shot…

(OC: Sean, make a Dodge roll, or get hit in the left leg for 8 pi+ (x1.5 wounding modifier) damage.)

The man with the backpack struggles through the pain…and prepares to blast Sean with his flamethrower…!
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's move into the smoke means the gunmen cannot shoot him with their revolvers.

The man with the flamethrower holds off on shooting, it seems.

 TURN 5 

Sean considers how long the smoke will protect him and Richard. It is outside, so eventually the smoke will fade away...
u-b
Sean moves through the smoke, mostly forward, but not quite out of it. He reloads a new magazine on the way. Then he shoots 7+ rounds at the baddies' vitals, trying to persuade them to die already.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Sean's move into the smoke... 
 

Not quite moved into, but not moved out of, assuming the smoke fills the whole flashbang radius.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The flamethrower man tries to stop Sean by blasting his position with white hot gasoline derivative...but he shoots way too wide.

Sean's counter-attack comes too fast for the enemy to avoid it, and he suffers a brutal hit to the vitals. It almost kills him several times over, but the tough SOB screams through it. The flamethrower keeps spraying hellfire all the way through it.

The second pistolero next to him barely avoids getting shot by Sean right in the heart.

(OC: Richard, make your move.)
Volthawk
Figuring the flamethrower guy was going to drop any moment now, Richard keeps his focus on the pistoleros, firing more bursts at them.
Shoot Da Moon
The gunfire is underwhelming. Richard misses one pistoleer completely, and the other avoids the lead flying his way.

The revolver-men get the hint, and start dashing away, out of sight.
(OC: Move 4, into total cover.)

The flamethrower attacker, meanwhile, stays conscious and his flamer continues to burst. The enemy manages to steer the flames towards the exiles' car but barely misses just as the jet of fire sputters out, thank goodness.

 TURN 6 

Sean can only see the flamethrower man from his position, no longer spraying flames and looking severely injured.

(OC: Sean, attacking the weapon is -4 because the carrier is facing you. If you hit it, roll 1d if damage penetrates DR 2, the flamethrower explodes on 1 and is disabled on other results.)
u-b
Sean moves generally at the flamer guy. He does not mind jumping over some burning fuel on the ground, but most of it has landed elsewhere and he has enough freedom choosing his way to avoid having to treat it as a problem. Sean finally emerges from the smoke cloud and shoots a short burst at the guy's right arm. Seans primary attention is elsewhere, though. He does not expect the pistoleros to turn around right now and shoot him, but he does intend to catch them one way or another, presumably without getting shot. He lets Richard decide if the car has to be moved.

 
 Spoiler 
Heroic charge and Sean ends up having 6/12 FP.

So, where did the pistoleros go?
1. Behind a corner?
2. Between two buildings?
3. Inside one building?
4. None of the above?
And, generally, what can be said of their options, movement-wise, for the seconds to come? Can Sean reasonably expect to be able to target them with yet another heroic charge or does he expect there to be more cover after that one corner or thing?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean manages to shoot the arm of his target 3 times, destroying it.
The pistoleros moved into two different buildings, both 20 yards away from Sean and across the street from one another. He cannot tell what is inside either building, so the bad guys could move around in all sorts of ways.

Sean realises that moving out of the smoke exposed him when he hears two high-powered rifle gunshots ring out…
(OC: roll Dodge twice. Potential hits to the face.)
Sean thinks the shots came from above and much further away than the pistoleros.

(OC: once that is resolved, it is Richard’s turn.)
Shoot Da Moon
One of the sniper shots hits Sean and penetrates his helmet visor. The pain is horrific, but he grits his teeth and somehow remains standing despite it all.

But he definitely can’t continue this fight without some serious evasive manoeuvres. And Richard’s help.
Volthawk
 "F***! Sean!" 

Those shots sounded bad, so Richard ran forward and firing, in case Sean was down and he needed to pull him out of there, and at the least to present another threat for the people closer to the exiles to hopefully focus on. If he drops one of them in the process, all the better.

 
 Spoiler 

Reloading instantly for an FP, then using Heroic Charge for another to move forward and fire a burst at the pistolero Richard can see.

Richard has spent 3 FP this battle (2 here, 1 at the start with the car door), so hes currently at 10/12 HP and 8/11 FP.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard shoots at the entrance of the building he saw a gunman flee into. His bullet may have been on target, into where the target could be, but he is not sure if he actually hit someone. He can’t see anyone through the smoke and the darker building interior.

The snipers do not fire again. Maybe they are out of bullets? Or taking their time?
The flamethrower attacker is on the ground, arm torn off, bleeding heavily.
The pistol shooters make no re-appearance.
In the distance, the exiles can hear a loud noise, some kind of ringing church bell. What is up with that?

 TURN 7 

Sean is severely injured and in a lot of pain. He cannot push himself much further, it is SO HARD…
(OC: Shock penalty?)
u-b
Sean is in many ways shocked by having one new hole in the head. Luckily, neither the brain nor the jaw was damaged. Or so Sean has discovered trying to speak. The church bell ringing does away with what little Sean thought he understood about the situation.  "Get the man in the car, we are leaving."  He says as clearly as possible, but not very loud. Hopefully, the radio's working. Sean had no intention to widely announce his plans. He was pretty sure the snipers were aiming at him once again, so he made it back into the smoke moving towards the car.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Sean may still have moved into the smoke. Richard, your turn now.)
Volthawk
Richard does hear Sean's words over the radio, and for a moment is torn - his instincts are to go ahead, find Sean, but...the exiles have gotten this far trusting in each other's ability to handle himself, so he instead heads towards the pistolero whose leg Richard took out. Hopefully the guy was down but alive - they needed answers, and Richard could do without needing to subdue someone in the middle of all this.

 
 Spoiler 

Move and Attack, heading towards where the guy Richard droppped fell, while firing in the direction of the building the closest still-up pistolero ran into. Intent is to try to make him keep his head down, so I don't think I need to roll anything (particularly as it seems he can't hit anyone where he is anyway)?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard sees no active gunmen with pistols, they have fled into cover (perhaps out of the fight?).
The pistolero he shot in the leg is still on the ground, still reeling from the stun grenade, and not clutching his gun.
Richard can grab him and haul him, if he gets the chance...

(OC: The guy weighs 165 lbs., Richard. You can drag him around if you're willing to accept the encumbrance (your BLx15 is probably enough to start pulling, if you're put over BLx10 you lose 1 FP per second). See B353. The floor is not smooth. He's 5 yards from the car. It will take an unopposed grapple Attack, then one or more Moves. 2 Ready actions to get him in the car  if  Sean opens and closes the door for you.)

No-one comes out of the buildings. The snipers do not fire any more shots. The flamethrower man looks like he is dying or dead, bleeding profusely. The bell keeps on ringing.

 TURN 8 

Sean is now in the smoke, and his face aches furiously from the wet ragged hole in it...
u-b
Sean moves another four yards straight towards the driver's door of the car.

 
 Spoiler 
Move 3, +1 for sprint bonus?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean finds much better when he's within spitting distance of his familiar driver's seat.

(OC: Yeah, sprint bonus. Richard's turn. He can grapple the downed gunman and then Step (maybe more if he All-Out Attacks?) to drag.)
Volthawk
Now he's next to the guy, Richard tries to get a good hold on him, but doesn't quite manage it yet.

 
 Spoiler 

For future reference, with Richard's BL 29 the man will comfortably fit within BLx10.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard can hear the gunman’s laboured breathing and moans of pain as he tries to get a handle on him, slipping up.

Other than that, there is an eerie stillness as only the ringing bell continues to echo through the ruins.

 TURN 9 

Sean feels an anxious shiver down his spine as he wonders if the snipers are still taking aim at him…
u-b
Sean moves even closer, getting ready to dive into the car on next turn. He does it in a less than straight line. That is, mostly straight, a continuation of the route he was taking so far, but then he ends with a step to the side, ending up just over his body width away from both the straight line he was moving and the straight line from his expected position to the snipers. He hopes that this little deviation won't be immediately observed...
Volthawk
He's still breathing. Good. Finally able to get a good hold on the guy, Richard starts dragging him back towards the car - he hadn't heard any more gunfire, so hopefully Sean wasn't having any trouble on his end...
Shoot Da Moon
Sean finds a good hiding spot in the smoke, keeping the car between him and where he figures the snipers are.
Richard grabs the injured gunman and can start dragging him away.
The snipers do not open fire on anyone. They probably can’t see Richard. Maybe they are waiting for the smoke to dissipate?

 TURN 10 

Sean is in cover and the smoke…
u-b
Sean gets in the car, on the driver's seat, but keeps his body mostly horizontal extending into the front passenger's space.  "I think they have lost me. You next." 
 
 Spoiler 
I think Richard might want to move both himself and the man onto the back seats, opening the back door as an extra effort and keeping low hiding behind that door while he's getting in.

I think the engine should be still on, and the gearbox on neutral, right? What would be the penalties to drive without straightening up? I guess the task difficulty is otherwise easy, so there would be enough plusses to offset the downside. Sean would prefer to go straight back until the nearest intersection where he plans to turn and then enter the parallel street to drive away along that. Does he remember the map of the area? Given its layout, can he do what he wants?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean gets in the car, on the driver's seat, but keeps his body mostly horizontal extending into the front passenger's space.  "I think they have lost me. You next." 
 
 Spoiler 
I think Richard might want to move both himself and the man onto the back seats, opening the back door as an extra effort and keeping low hiding behind that door while he's getting in.

I think the engine should be still on, and the gearbox on neutral, right? What would be the penalties to drive without straightening up? I guess the task difficulty is otherwise easy, so there would be enough plusses to offset the downside. Sean would prefer to go straight back until the nearest intersection where he plans to turn and then enter the parallel street to drive away along that. Does he remember the map of the area? Given its layout, can he do what he wants?
 
 
 

(OC: The engine is still on. The car is in neutral gear. Keeping yourself down while driving is worth a -2 to Driving rolls. Roll Navigation if you don’t have Eidetic Memory or Photographic Memory. Driving away in reverse will get you out of here or at least away from where the snipers could hit you. Assuming you don’t run into more hostiles. Remember, extra effort means spending FP and becoming exhausted…)
Volthawk
Richard doesn't really see any other option than to keep dragging the guy to the car, hoping that the snipers don't spot an opportunity through the smoke...
Shoot Da Moon
Richard does his best dragging the gunman over to the car.

Two more shots ring out from afar, and both hit the car.
Sean wonders if they were aiming at him, or if the car was their target in absence if not being able to see him.
Either way, the car is damaged by the nasty hits but not disabled...yet.

(OC: The car is now down a total of 15 HP.)

 TURN 11 

Sean feels like he's being run ragged by this attempt on his life.
u-b
Sean turns off the car's lights and moves the car forward, stopping it as close as possible to the desired position of having the rear door directly besides Richard. He is not sure if the car can be stealthy, but hopes the snipers will have to adjust from looking through the smoke illuminated by high beams facing a them to simply looking through the smoke. He is not sure how, and if, he's getting alive out of this.  "Quickly." 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean manages to get the car in position, now Richard can make his move...
Volthawk
Thankful to see the car closer than it was before, Richard reaches out and pulls the door open before hefting himself and the pistolero inside. It's not exactly the cleanest entrance, but it does the job.  "Let's get out of here!" 
 
 Spoiler 

I assume that's an FP on Multi-Task to get the rear door open as Richard moves. Does the manhandling of guy into car also need that, or is that fine as a part of the normal moving and dragging?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard pushes himself hard as he piles into the car with the gunman in tow.

(OC: Spending 1 FP, Richard. Your move and the extra effort allows you to work the door and drag the enemy in one turn.)

No-one tries to shoot the car again…

 TURN 12 

Sean is happy to hear Richard get in…

(OC: Make a Driving roll. You don’t get bonuses for an easy situation, this is not one. If you make it, combat ends as you drive away.)
u-b
Not wasting time to close any doors, Sean drives in reverse as fast as he can.  "More flashbangs."  He had no idea how long it would be until the next shots, but wanted to have to complicate them as much as humanly possible. He takes the first turn leading  anywhere , then, when out of line of sight of attackers, closes the doors and finally switches to forward movement. He drives  by memory across the streets to move  anywhere that's niot a dead end , and then puts some distance between him and the site and then finally stops to be able to do the following:

1. Duct-tape the guy.
2. Let Richard drive.

While on the move, Sean than does the following:

3. Take off the helmet and bandage the head using the car's central mirror to see anything at all. That is no proper first aid, by any measure, but at least stops the blood loss.
4. Take a dose of morphine.
5. Bandage the guy.
6. Navigate for Richard.
7. Rest.

 
 Spoiler 
How far to Radar Base?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean makes his way through the streets, sweat pouring down his forehead. He manages to avoid any more encounters with hostiles of any kind. He hears the bell ringing in the distance, and then something like the loud barking of many dogs. Oh boy.

But right now, he is in the clear, he hopes. He stops the car in a place out of the way, and attends to other tasks.

(OC: Sean or Richard may roll Knot-Tying to duct tape the captive. Gonna roll First Aid skill? It's 80 miles from near Bread Basket to the radar base.)

It is approximately 15 minutes after the exiles escape the ambush that they get a call over the radio from their backup in Bread Basket. Bart the Hunter is the primary voice, warning them of a bad recent development.

"We need to get out of the valley as soon as we can, Sean. The authorities in Bread Basket just put out an alert saying you and Richard have robbed a truck full of food. They're charging you with grand larceny. The security forces here will arrest you if they find you. That's not all. We got news that someone in the slums just put out a big bounty on your heads, wanted dead. Lots of local hired guns see you as a payday now. Stay away from here."

Bart puts another one of their allies on the horn as he goes to prepare his gear.
"Listen, boss, don't worry about things here. We got it in hand, we'll just pack things up and sneak out of town here. You guys focus on leaving the valley alive. We'll catch up to you, we'll meet you at the fallback point. Okay?"
u-b
Sean is  super  grateful to Bart's ability to get to him over one of those captured radios. At least the Bread Basket men were not particularly smart choosing the accusation. This does not mean  we  were anywhere close to smart, but we'll see...

Sean approves Bart's plan to leave quietly. The comm is not encrypted, so he does not say where Bart is to meet him. That's likely not too hard to guess, but no point in making the life of the listeners any simpler than they currently are. He asks Bart to contact him from any safe place.

Meanwhile, Sean has to rest and to think it all over. He'll surely have some ideas how to play this when we are back to base, but right now has some problems getting our losses less than our finds.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Sean or Richard may roll Knot-Tying to duct tape the captive. 
 

I rolled it, but should be no problem with both Sean and the guy in the back, so his duct-taped hands should be visible and legs... well, out of reach  and  in bad shape.


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Gonna roll First Aid skill? 
 

Only if it looks doable. Otherwise, just bandage a bit for a single hit point.

We probably should not talk about anything in the company of the captive, so back to base first, then we will see. 80 miles is no problem, call it 4 hours.
 
Volthawk
Richard's...surprised at first to hear the accusations thrown their way, but after a few moment's thought it isn't hard to see how this happened. The VIP didn't want a rogue element knowing Daisy's secrets, huh? He guessed that explained the ambush, too. Were those the VIP's men themselves, or the first band of would-be bounty hunters? He sneezes. Oh, and there was that too.

For now, he just drives, looking out at the road ahead of them as he continues to think it through.

 
 Spoiler 

Richard has FA 13, but he's driving and it seems like stopping now isn't the best idea, so he'll only stop and help Sean if it seems really necessary.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: alright, Richard is driving. Sean helps him navigate. The drive will take 4 hours, note how much fuel it takes. Also note that the two of you may feel like eating lunch after that drive. The backup and Bart will catch up to you later.)

The drive out of the region wracks their nerves. They do not encounter any more people, let alone hired killers. Their captive suffers noisily while Sean tries to grit his teeth. He is not as comfortable as he could be, so recovering from the physical strain takes some time. The injury is abated just a little by his bandaging, it aches keenly as the adrenaline fades.
The morphine helps.

It is 1 hour into the drive that they are near the edge of the valley, when the drive is interrupted by Richard noticing strange wolf-like creatures running through the wilderness next to the old dirt road he is driving down. He worries that the pack of mutant animals could be planning to block and rush them…

(OC: Richard, consider rolling Animal Handling, Survival or Naturalist skill. Sean may suffer Flashbacks if he has to confront the “wolves”. Richard can roll Driving at no modifier to try escaping the animals before they close in.)
u-b
Assuming Richard notifies Sean that he sees something animate, Sean does the following, somewhat in parallel:
1. Look in the direction pointed trying to see and count any potential targets.
2. Lock his door (the one to rear right).
3. Open his window.
4. Get the rifle ready.

 
 Spoiler 
The car is going at, say, 24 mph. This means 12 yards/second. Richard can change this up or down as he sees fit. Sean will open fire as soon as he can hope to hit something, whether it seems that he has to or not.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Assuming Richard notifies Sean that he sees something animate, Sean does the following, somewhat in parallel:
1. Look in the direction pointed trying to see and count any potential targets.
2. Lock his door (the one to rear right).
3. Open his window.
4. Get the rifle ready.

 
 Spoiler 
The car is going at, say, 24 mph. This means 12 yards/second. Richard can change this up or down as he sees fit. Sean will open fire as soon as he can hope to hit something, whether it seems that he has to or not.
 
 
 

Sean deduces that this pack of animals is probably on the hunt in response to that big bell the ambushes started ringing during the shootout. Maybe they figured aggravating the wildlife would get you and your friends attacked.

Sean counts more than 15 of this mutant wolves out there. They spread out, only bunching up close together in 3s at a time. Each such bunch is about 5 yards away from each other. The animals in general are keeping at least 10 yards from the car at all times (the farthest out is 20 yards), but they are circling. If they decide to attack, the bunches will close in from all directions. Scaring them off may require setting a big fire. The wolves are sporting nasty mutations; bulging muscles, tentacle-like appendages, horns, extra legs and very large jaws. Some seem to have strange colour changing fur.
u-b
Sean quickly gets his rifle in hand and flips the infrared tactical light switch of all things. His laser is off and his safety is "safe", but he does stuff before he handles those two. Namely, he points the rifle out of the window and shines the tac light.  "Drive!" 
 
 Spoiler 
It is a free action once per turn to flip  one  familiar switch on the gun and Sean chooses that one. Then he makes All-Out Attack (Suppression Fire) all over "his" side of the car using a cone of continuous beam. Since it's the daytime, I'm not sure there would be effect unless they choose to move closer (like, melee range or so). Also, would only work if they have some night vision.
 
Volthawk
Richard hears Sean moving around, but keeps his eyes on the beasts to the front and sides, which might immediately try to intercept the car, leaving the ones behind them to Sean. He takes a moment to check his holstered pistol is easy to draw, just in case, and then floors it.

 "Don't have to tell me twice. You good to take care of any that come in that way?" 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard sees a good gap, pops the clutch, and tells the world to eat his dust.

The pursuing wolves try to move to block his way and/or follow, but Richard’s command of the car is too good for them.

They quickly lose track of the car and the exiles escape the animals safely.

(OC: Sean, you know the wolves will have Tracking skill, but they may not manage to catch up to you.)

It’s another 3 hours (that would be just after midday) before Richard can get his fellow exile and the captive back to the radar base…

(OC: state what you plan to do when you arrive, then I’ll roll in secret to see if there are any more encounters on the way over.)
u-b
We want to...
1. Drive straight towards the base in the usual manner.
2. Announce our presence to the security forces at the base and be let in.
3. Summon 4 armed guards (hunters, militia or something).
4. Summon Tariq of Simone.
5. Send the captive with 2 armed guards and Tariq or Simone to be held safe and not contacted by  anyone  for some short period of time.
6. Summon some doctors.
7. Have the doctors examine Sean and Richard and declare their verdicts.
8. Still with 2 guards go to the radio room to hear any news.
Shoot Da Moon
By some miracle, the rest of the drive is boring, completely uneventful.

When the exiles reach the radar base, they find the militiamen and Bart are still on their way over.

The security at the base is glad to see them again, if not feeling particularly well.

Their fellow exiles meet them along with the guards.

The captive is ushered inside and into a holding cell.

The medical staff available is summoned to examine both Sean and Richard. They express shock that Sean has been so awfully savaged. They comment that Sean will need constant attention for days and probably dipping into their supplies. Richard, in the meantimes, is diagnosed as sick with an antibiotic-resistant flu. They say he should be quarantined as soon as possible.

The radiomen are advised to expect calls from Bart and his fellows, and to scan for news reports. They obey.

Sean and Richard are advised to have a decent lunch in comfort. The base has decent beds available for them, of course.
u-b
Medical supplies should be no huge problem, if they are generic enough. The rest and the quarantine are more difficult to achieve. Sean thinks he might have had a shot against this flu, so is willing to quarantine with Richard. We don't particularly care about the prisoner's health, so he will be with us, in Simone's room. This means Simone and Tariq are forced out. Sean hopes they understand. Doctors can visit Richard and Sean after they ventilate the room, or maybe we can do some telemedicine. Sean takes the car's radio inside with him. When a new latch is installed on the outer side of the door to Simone's room, the latch on the inner side is removed, and everything is arranged as envisioned, and some guards posted outside of the room until we are sure we know what we are dealing with, Sean checks the captive for any and all special marks, including the neck and the belly, and any possible signs of him being a mutant or a clone of someone Sean has seen before that. Then he lets Richard interrogate the subject. Of particular interest:

1. What was the sequence of events leading to the recent encounter? Any and all relevant events, with timing, are to be listed.
2. Whom does he work for, in general, and who gave the most recent orders.

Sean might have more questions, but we'll see how it goes after that.

Then Sean hits the radio. He contacts Gunmetal to learn:

1. If they have heard the news.
2. If they have received any food trucks sent by Sean, and if so, how many and on what schedule.

Again, he might have more people to contact, but we'll see how it goes.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean is currently cold-blooded and does not need a lunch.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The people at the radar base are skeptical of Sean's idea, but allow him to try it anyway.
The doctors on call prepare their stock of bandages, painkillers and anti-sceptic.
The room is set up like Sean wanted.
Sean finds no sign of mutation on the captive. He has tattoos, but none like those found on raiders or slavers. He has nothing on his neck, they're all on his chest. The tattoos depict all sorts of things (spiders, snakes, birds) in many colors, too. Nothing like the black neck tattoos he's used to. The gunslinger does not appear to be a clone, seeing as his face is unfamiliar.

(OC: Richard, roll Interrogation. How much time is each roll? The base time is 5 minutes per question, I believe.)

Sean contact Gunmetal and learns they have not heard much that is new. The food trucks are on their way, there are three on the road (not counting their armed escorts), expect them in one or two days.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard grills the captive for answers for several hours.
The captive confesses he is simply a mercenary, hired to kill Sean and Richard on orders from an anonymous employer back in Bread Basket. He comments he’s been hired as a guard or hitman by all sorts of people over the years. His employer never told him why he wanted Sean and Richard dead, and he never asks such things. The other people who attacked Sean and Richard were also mercenaries, some of whom he has worked with before. His employer worked through “fixers”, go-between contacts who arrange the jobs and plan out what happens. The plan on the job to kill Sean and Richard was that the two exiles would be lured out to an abandoned remote building, they would all take positions around the building, plant some boobytraps inside the building and other buildings, get 2 snipers and their spotters on distant building roofs, ambush the two of them when they were off-guard, and then dispose of the bodies. If something went wrong, the mercenaries would fall back to buildings where boobytraps were set up to deter following, ring some big bells in order to attract dangerous mutant animals to the position, and retreat to try again later.

Bart and the other backup arrive at the base two hours after Richard starts his interrogation.
They report no problems getting here, and they do not think they were followed. They managed to transport the stuff kept in storage with them.
u-b
Sean welcomes the report of Bart &amp; men arriving safely and bringing in the wealth. Sean thinks they absolutely deserve a raise, but the details are to be thought out. For now, from his side of the door, he tells the men to rest, relax and intrview the candidates to join their ranks, if there are any. Sean'll pay for any reasonable expenses.

Sean is not so happy with the lack of timing in the captive's report. He insists to be told:
1. When, exactly, the captive was notified that there is new work that needs doing.
2. When, exactly, he has arrived at the site to occupy it (and not to survey it before procuring the traps or what not).
3. How many men they were expecting to arrive with Richard and Sean, if any.
4. How much for the job and what would be the method of payment?

Meanwhile, Sean hits the radio. He contacts the VIP's men and tells that the circumstances prevent him and Richard from attending the meeting scheduled for today and that it has to be postponed until some later date. He asks:
5. Whether we can get any (part of) reward before the debriefing.
6. Whether there are any other messages for us.

Also, we loot the guy.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Bart and the other backup arrive at the base two hours after Richard starts his interrogation.
They report no problems getting here, and they do not think they were followed. They managed to transport the stuff kept in storage with them. 
 

There were 2 cars, 4 bikes and a load of other stuff. I think they could have driven two cars and two bikes and could have loaded two other bikes in the pickup. If they did, they are golden. I'm pretty sure they could not have taken all the barrels and drums in that case, which Sean would be pretty happy to lose.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Bart and the men paid a few guys with a van to help them move the stuff, but it’s fine. The hired men lowered their fees in return for protection. While there are more people travelling through the area and visiting the radar base settlement, most are transients not looking for a permanent home right now.

The captive says he was hired at about 9 PM the night before he attacked Sean and Richard. He was approached by a high-end fixer who often worked on behalf of Bread Basket elites.
He arrived at the ambush point 2 or 3 hours before Sean and Richard arrived.
He expected only Richard and Sean to show up. His own side had about 10 people in on the ambush, counting the spotters, the snipers, and backup. He was on the front line, as Sean knows.
The job paid about four times the expected amount for a hit, 200 rifle bullets worth of barter goods or straight ammo.
The VIP’s receptionist seems to accept Sean and Richard’s post-ponement. They state that they can indeed set up a payment at a meeting point. They know the perfect spot, Sean and Richard just have to meet the courier. They ask Sean and Richard if they can tell them where they are now and where they can be contacted at in the future, as there may be problems in the future that they’d like to bring in Sean and Richard for.

The captive was carrying a Colt SAA revolver loaded with 2 pistol bullets, two speedloaders each loaded with another 6 pistol bullets, a large knife, sentry armour on his front torso, a heavy helmet on his head, 30 rifle bullets, a plastic bottle of water and a small knife.

(OC: The sentry armour is torso and ground DR 14F, worth $300x4, 20 lbs., HT 65-66. The heavy helmet is skull DR 6, worth $100x4, 5 lbs., HT 69-70.)
u-b
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 His own side had about 10 people in on the ambush, counting the spotters, the snipers, and backup.
The job paid about four times the expected amount for a hit, 200 rifle bullets worth of barter goods or straight ammo. 
 

Is it 200 each for $20000 total?


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 The VIP’s receptionist seems to accept Sean and Richard’s post-ponement. They state that they can indeed set up a payment at a meeting point. They know the perfect spot, Sean and Richard just have to meet the courier. They ask Sean and Richard if they can tell them where they are now and where they can be contacted at in the future, as there may be problems in the future that they’d like to bring in Sean and Richard for. 
 

Sean tells that he and Richard can be best contacted by radio. Their equipment is good enough to receive being texted anywhere in the state and, since the securely encrypted channel has been already established, and access to our end is password-protected, just bringing up a general idea of the topic and and applicable timeframe to discuss it should be safe enough. Sean says medical issues, including the illness that he mentioned in the morning, prevent them from leaving the quarantine room... well, not  strictly  prevent them, but better not to spread the stuff around as the doctors would say. While Sean does not object to arrange a transfer at a given point, inside or outside of Bread Basket, he would first like to get a solid idea about the transfer. He was told the VIP has a man that can handle deliveries, but, overall, what amout of what are we talking about? Sean would like to know how much stuff is to be transported because e.g. food is bulky and bullets seem not to be a preferred method of payment in Bread Basket. He's not really in hurry, just planning his finances sort of thing.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: 200 rifle bullets is $2000 worth in the AtE economy.)

The VIP's spokeswoman comments that she can arrange the payment via courier in a few days, setting up a meeting point outside the valley region. The payment can be in bullets, whichever ones the exiles prefer, but that will take a day to get a hold of. The courier travels by motorcycle most of the time. They can supply the exiles with the courier's name, description, identifying signals and callsigns.
u-b
Sean is fine with being paid with bullets delivered to a location within the state that he would specify tomorrow. He's fine if a delivery fee gets subtracted. Yet again, how many that'll be, assuming we take standard rifle rounds?
Shoot Da Moon
The VIP's spokeswoman says her employer has authorized a payment of 200 rifle bullets or equivalent barter for the exiles. The courier gets paid by the VIP, he is kept on retainer.
u-b
Sean acknowledges the information and says that at some later time, most likely tomorrow, he will say either where this has to be delivered or when his courier will arrive. He asks whether the VIP can order his people investigate a recent attempt at Sean's life that happened somewhere near where the hospital should have been. Sean says he would gladly pay back those 200 rifle bullets for any solid enough info. He waits a bit for any reaction, then says no reply on this proposal is necessary right now, but he'd like to have one tomorrow. He then ends the exchange and starts another one, with the Radar Base of all places, also securely encrypted. He says he'd like to have himself and Richard chat with the person in charge of Waffle House personnel here at the Radar Base and/or of Waffle House operations in general. Since we are quarantining, this probably cannot be in person, but Sean has secure encryption on his end, so this dshould be good. The topic would be some shaky infos of maybe strategic consequences. If a time is appointed, preferably today or tomorrow, Sean would prefer to have Bart invited as well. Inviting the Funny Platoon and Vermont Rangers is at Waffle House's option.
Shoot Da Moon
The spokeswoman is happy to hear from him tomorrow. They will inform the courier that he is needed.
The VIP will consult his contacts right away about any assassinations bought recently in Bread Basket, yes. It should not cost too much at all.

Richard, listening in, is almost certain the spokeswoman is lying to them with every second breath.

The Waffle House transplants chief is in high spirits today. He chirp a greeting with almost irritating enthusiasm. He states that they can round up a posse of 8 men at a moment’s notice to help fight. The fighters have shotguns with slugs, semi-automatic internal magazine pistols, 3 reloads of ammo, metal armour, survival skills, motorcycles or horses, a decent range of diverse other knowledges amongst all of them, and a good overview of the state region. Bart the Hunter can join up, we have enough food so he does not need to bring home any more bacon.
u-b
Sean proposes Richard gets out of the captive:
1. Some history of interaction between him and the fixer and the fixers like him at Bread Basket (including a number of most recent, notable and/or typical tasks done for them, including for trends and changes in targeting).
2. Some history of interaction between him and the mutant animals and, generally, mutants.
3. Some history of interaction between him and the raider/slaver men with neck tattoos.
4. A list of names, roles and descriptions of everyone involved in the attempt on our lives. Sean is not sure he'll do anything with this, but why not? It's not like we don't have the time.
5. A bit more in-depth on the fixer, like where and how he is located and contacted sort of thing. Sean would like to know if one can get at the guy one way or another.

This might end well into the evening or be completed tomorrow, Sean does not mind. Sean will take a nap while Richard conducts interrogations and stands guard for most of the night. We switch from duct tape to handcuff to keep the man, because  that should be more convenient for letting him take a piss or what not.

Healing-wise, we have a Doctor's Bag at Radar Base arsenal and a Crash Kit in Bart's bakcpack and some spare antibiotics to prevent opportunistic infections and are willing to use those as appropriate. Sean generally follows the advice if the doctors, but also questions any part of the treatment he does not immediately understands.

 
 Spoiler 
Physician 10 and Sean would like to end up understanding what and why is being done.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard gets to work grilling the captive further.
(OC: Only a single Interrogation roll is needed this time, it will cover the entire range of questions Sean wants you to ask plus any you come up with on your own. The captive opposes the questioning with Will 12.)

The captive is pretty annoyed with all this. He almost prefers being left for dead or even executed. It would at least give him some measure of privacy. The doctors looking him over declares the leg injury is a badly torn muscle  and  a broken bone, it will take 2 months to fully heal without surgery. They comment that it could have easily been permanent...

The doctors tending to the exiles are not doing anything out of the ordinary; snitching skin, staunching any bleeding, replacing bandages, anti-sceptic for infections, keeping the patients clean and warm, etc. The medical supplies should hold out long to fully heal with bed rest. The medics are nervous, however...

(OC:  Sean,  you can roll HT with +1 for recovery AND roll Physician-16 (bonuses already applied) for the medics in addition to that, at the end of the day, as per B424-425.
 Richard,  if time passes into the late night, roll HT-4+1 with your usual bonuses for resisting disease (Physician skill by NPCs gives the +1 already noted, antibiotics won't help in this instance). Failure means you lose another 2 HP. You can't recover HP until you are cured.)
Volthawk
Richard sighs and nods when the doctors explain about the state of the man's leg, and explains how it was a choice between that or killing him dead there and then. Regardless of what the guy's saying now, Richard's still of the belief that alive is better.

Besides Sean's questions, Richard also asks about the mercenary side of the equation - the man's peers, individuals notable in the world he lives in, others that might come after the exiles with an eye towards collecting that bounty. After all, people tended to settle into favoured strategies and approaches to problems, so if they had an idea of the kind of tricks other teams might pull the exiles might have a better chance of getting out alive. On a related note, he was also curious about what kinds of arms trading went on around Bread Basket, the caliber of equipment those coming after the exiles might have. They already came up against snipers, sure, but what other kit were teams running around with, to his knowledge?

Richard also can't help but pick up on the medics' concern, particularly combined with his existing concerns about how he was feeling. In the morning, feeling little better, he pulls one of them aside and asks them straight - how bad an illness is this? After a few moments, he adds on the more paranoid part of his thinking on the subject - was there a chance that this isn't a natural thing, but something left over from the old world? Given what they already knew about the kind of biotechnology being worked on in those days, and the way things ended...
Shoot Da Moon
The captive is sullen and surly. Questioning him is a tedious process.

He comments that he never really trusts fixers, even the ones with good records and decent pay. He thinks he have too much motive to screw over people to be worth trusting. The guy who hired him to kill Sean and Richard had a reputation for paying on time and keeping his mouth, but why let that stop you from being on guard? The name he mentions, “Lemon Juice”, is unknown to the exiles.

He hates mutants and animals. Never worked with them, just killed everyone he ever came across. He’s not a hunt for food type, but he got no problem with blasting a game animal. The bells ringing to attract wildlife was someone else’s idea.

The Mercedes hates raiders and slavers, he’s shot plenty of them and he loved every second of it. It seems it’s personal for him, but the matter is something he refuses to discuss further.

He knew only the other pistoleros by name. They are called Brickbuster, Blister, Sam-O, Pizza and Jo-Jo. “You wouldn’t know them.” The others were keeping their distance, not unusual for professional killers. He thinks the guy with the flamethrower was an outsider to the valley, probably never set foot in Bread Basket until 3 days ago.

He claims Lemon Juice approached him with the job, he doesn’t know the guy well enough to know where he hangs out or how to get in contact. Not that he’d bother anyway, the guy looked like a flake or a chiseler. Best avoid characters like that.

The merc thinks Sean and Richard should stay out of Bread Basket and the valley. The enforcers aren’t gonna help you, they’re corrupt, paid off by plenty of scum. He figures mercenaries after the bounty won’t travel out past the valley’s outer limits just to track you down. The exiles are safe from the hunting party if they keep about 10 miles north of Bread Basket.

He comments that most other bounty hunters set up ambushes along major roads for days to catch their quarry. His usual allies carry shotguns and SMGs, but he works best with other pistoleros.

He shrugs when asked how the bounty hunters might try to get the exiles. “Beats me. I usually just wait outside a bar, they come out drunk, I blast ‘em from behind or smack ‘em in the back of the head. They know some nutty stuff, I never bought into it.”

If you want guns in Bread Basket, you buy heavy pistols, semi-automatic rifles and various kinds of shotguns from biker gangs and racketeers. Most prefer solid slugs to buckshot when they load up shotguns. The gun trade is pretty illegal, but bribes can keep you out of jail. Armor is either the unimpressive metal stuff, but you can find some genuine Kevlar if you got lots of barter and the racketeers like you enough. He bought his own body armour from a gangster working the slum hangouts.

The medics are concerned by Richard’s condition. They comment that the illness may cause some nasty nausea if it progresses too much. And the flu could last a whole month at worst. Maybe some Old World nano-tech meds could boost his physiology enough to fight off the disease, but that’s a long shot to acquire at best.
Richard starts feeling worse later that night.
(OC: Richard loses another 2 HP.)
u-b
By the morning Sean feels good enough to actually think and do something, so he proceeds to discuss stuff, with Richard at first. The captive gets some respect for not being aligned with the slavers and the creators of mutant animals, but for now that does not change anything much, so Sean leaves the man in the next room, behind a closed door, with hands manacled behind the back and with ears full of earplugs. Then goes the actual discussing...

1. The notion that we might have attacked a food truck might lead to food trucking being suspended for some unknowable time or cancelled outright, which might or might not be intended. Which will severely affect our funds, which, again, might be as intended.
2. Bread Basket is probably not FULLY allied with slavers and people making mutant monstrosities because, as we have seen, they were even unable to quietly ship the materials there, but some or all of the leadership might be cooperating, infiltrated or allied. The fact that they were having a drug-fighting task posted for outsiders suggests they are not all in the same boat on this one as well.
3. Sean sees the following reasons why we might be targeted (these are not exclusive with each other):
- a general cleanup by the VIP following us potentially learning something sensitive; this is possible, but seems rather extensive and expensive as a preventive measures go; such a big deal out of drug dealership before we've even discussed how we proceed about it?
- a targeted prevention of us interfering with the mutant lab creation facility; if this is the case, the fact that the VIP's people are involved in the attempt probably means that the VIP himself is involved in the activity
- a business decision to avoid paying for goods we have sold (this probably is NOT the sole reason)
4. They definitely have a lot of official secrets in there, judging by how they deny obvious stuff and how they wanted to restrict our access to the prisoners.
5. If they are behind the recent mass off attacks by mutant animals, especially on their main competitors in food-growing business, we probably cannot just leave them alone and will have to treat at least some of them just like we treat the raider guys.

So, what are Richard's thoughts about the situation and what he proposes we do next?
Shoot Da Moon
 DAY 78 

The morning weather is slightly dreary today. Perhaps it may rain later?

Richard and Sean are delivered their breakfast by medics with face masks. They otherwise stay out of their way and let them rest.
Shoot Da Moon
During the late morning, another caravan of wanderers visits the radar base. They bring news from around the state, most notably they talk of robot sentinels patrolling along a mountain trail. They also speak of a drug-dealing gang spreading their influence across the middle of the region, hawking bootleg booze and opioids they made in some Old World lab, seriously annoying the mobsters in Red Brick. They also claim to have discovered a sealed vault of Old World cultural artefacts that they could not penetrate into, but could reveal the location of (for a good payment).

Later that day, as the sun I starting to go down, multiple vans and their escorts show up at the base to complete the deliveries Sean has ordered. Updates over the radio confirm Waffle House received their shipment, too. The base staff spend a good hour getting it all unloaded for the exiles.

The delivery people complain of running into multiple packs of rabid mutant creatures and man-eating planets en-route. They had to open fire a lot, sometimes literally (they have a small improvised flamethrower and some petrol bombs). Thankfully, none of the cargo was damaged, and the injuries were minor.
u-b
Sean calls Bread Basket on the radio. Not the VIP guy's people, but those of the city leadership. He raises the following topics:
1. There was an attempt on his and Richard's lives, which has to be sorted out before we can continue with the jobs the city is posting.
2. There seem to be a reward on our heads or something, so this does not seem to be one-off, so this will have to be investigated before we return to Bread Basket.
3. Is the city in any way behind it or maybe has  anything at all  against Richard and Sean? If not, maybe the city is interested in knowing more about it? This might or might not be related to the tasks we have contracted to be doing.

When the caravan arrives, Sean listens to the radio as the radar base people relay the important news that have come with it and/or give the microphone to the comers. Sean says he would be buying the info, both about the robot sentinels patrolling along the mountain trail and about the sealed vault. He lets Richard negotiate the actual payments. He also asks which entities seem to be most troubled by the abundance of the mutant animals and which seem to be most ambivalent. Does the caravan sell anything? Sean will not be open for business until he learns that his stuff has arrived, but the caravan probably won't leave before tomorrow, so we can as well trade with them.

 
 Spoiler 
I still wait for Volthawk's reply to #937 above, but also moving things a bit forward. Sean has a lot of plans for today, none of which require getting out of the room.
 
Volthawk
Sean's suggestions for why the VIP turned on them gives Richard some pause. He'd been a little tunnel-visioned on recent events when thinking about this, and hadn't considered the possibly of the VIP being involved in some of the other things going on around here, like the mutant lab. He's a little skeptical about that explanation though, but when it comes to whether or not events directly tied to the VIP would be enough to warrant all this, Richard brings up the point that Sean may have forgotten - they know that Daisy is a mutant. Given they heard nothing about that before finding Daisy, and the way she reacted when Richard noticed her mutations - the look she gave him, the way she went for heavy clothing immediately to hide them - combined with the experiences they've had elsewhere when it comes to the matter of mutants (he's sure Sean remembers the trouble they had at Red Brick just from his minor nanomachine-caused mutations) leads him to be pretty certain that that was the real secret that meant the VIP wanted discretion. Odds are, if Richard never noticed the mutation, they'd have parted ways amicably enough - people with that amount of power and influence could sway the scales of justice easily enough to keep Daisy safe from criminal accusations, but the exiles being out there knowing about the mutations...that may have been enough to force the VIP's hand to clean house, particularly when...

Richard needs a few moments to piece together this next thought, before putting it foward to Sean for consideration. Did he remember how the VIP talked about Daisy's family? The unspecified medical conditions that run in the family, the general discomfort the VIP showed towards talking further about the topic...what if an entire family, powerful in Bread Basket's society, were mutants? They would have to hide that fact from the general population, given the general attitudes towards mutants they've seen out in the world - in no small part due to the Sinful Nature, of course, but the average person out here probably isn't going to put too much effort into distinguishing between mutant clones and other kinds of mutants, and Sinful Nature mutants and mutants with other affiliations. If their secret were to get out, that'd cause...instability. They might not fall outright, but there might be unrest. Disruption. The kinds of things those in power don't want to see. With those stakes, perhaps then a bit of preemptive defamation and assassination would be in order to make sure we don't cause any problems - either by killing us outright, making it so we stay well away from Bread Basket, ruining our good name in the region so people don't listen to us, or some mixture of the three.

Circling back to Sean's other ideas about the leaders of Bread Basket...Richard's still not convinced that they're involved with the monster-making research directly, he's not sure where sufficient benefit for them comes into it, although...before Richard's theory about Daisy's family, they'd only benefit in...payment from the raiders, perhaps, or some general notion that unrest in the wider region strengthens the city's position, but when you put the raiders doing biotech work and a Bread Basket family being mutants...perhaps they're benefitting in more specific ways. Raiders get their monsters to carry out their mission of destabilising the region, and this family either gets the benefit of their research to help with their own problems, or a cut of the raw materials used in the research to supply their own medical procedures focused around their own mutation. With that in mind, of course they'd try to hide what they're doing as much as possible, smuggling the materials involved instead of openly transporting them, making sure that any prisoners taken when parts of the operation are exposed are unavailable and swept up in the bureaucracy...using the drug situation as cover for as much of it as possible. This was...starting to make a degree of sense to Richard, and he wasn't sure he liked that.
Shoot Da Moon
The caravan is not selling anything but the information at the moment.
They offer a base price of barter worth $100 for information on the robots and $1000 for the location of the sealed vault.
The wanderers claim that all the settlements in the state are reacting to the increased presence of mutant wildlife by further fortifying their walls and sending out heavier patrols of hunters to thin their numbers.
They judge Red Brick in particular as very eager to slaughter all the threatening fauna, to the point of despoiling the surrounding wilderness in a frenzy of industry.

Richard is taking a turn for the worst, he feels like throwing up every time he moves around too much.
u-b
When the food truck from Bread Basket arrives at the Radar Base, Sean calls Gunmetal to ask if they have also received the food trucks. When they confirm they have, Sean...
1. Redirects all the stuff bought straight to Radar Base. This includes stuff originally scheduled for Bread Basket and stuff scheduled for self-pickup. Sean has already ordered a caravan of steel parts for the perimeter and a bunch of assorted chemicals and gun parts to be delivered to Radar Base, so sending some more stuff along with Tariq's order should be just fine.
2. Warns about mutant animals wandering around.
3. Orders a bit more stuff, if this can be included on such a short notice:
- a new visor for his helmet
- a new windshield for the van
- three simple 2x fixed-power rifle scopes
- 1290 rifle cartridges

This should bring our balance with them down to $40000, which Sean is inclined to keep for the moment.

After that Sean tells Bart to pay the men 110 rifle cartridges for their info.

After that Sean gets in contact with Chalmers in Red Brick and says that:
4. The remaining gear for the troops should arrive from Gunmetal to Radar Base soon enough, maybe even tomorrow. The transportation has already arrived.
5. There are mutant animals wandering around, so care should be taken traveling to Radar Base.
6. We have a man that seems to have caught some viral disease in the gutter, so we might need medical help from Red Brick. Can Chalmers procure something or give us a radio contact of some entity with which we can discuss it further?
7. We seem to have some leads on mutant fauna and/or new drug production facility which we would want to investigate, so if Chalmers can talk to any entity in Red Brick that might be willing to send some representatives to take part in the ops, he should probably do that and give those people our contacts. We have the funding to cover any expenses. Sean thinks it might be beneficial if #6 and #7 goes through the same entity, assuming it actually goes on both counts.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean calls Bread Basket on the radio. Not the VIP guy's people, but those of the city leadership. He raises the following topics:
1. There was an attempt on his and Richard's lives, which has to be sorted out before we can continue with the jobs the city is posting.
2. There seem to be a reward on our heads or something, so this does not seem to be one-off, so this will have to be investigated before we return to Bread Basket.
3. Is the city in any way behind it or maybe has  anything at all  against Richard and Sean? If not, maybe the city is interested in knowing more about it? This might or might not be related to the tasks we have contracted to be doing. 
 

The people at Bread Basket refuse to hear Sean out.
They accuse him of working with Red Brick gangsters, and they threaten to execute him if they ever find him anywhere near their territory again.
Then they abruptly hang up.


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 When the food truck from Bread Basket arrives at the Radar Base, Sean calls Gunmetal to ask if they have also received the food trucks. When they confirm they have, Sean...
1. Redirects all the stuff bought straight to Radar Base. This includes stuff originally scheduled for Bread Basket and stuff scheduled for self-pickup. Sean has already ordered a caravan of steel parts for the perimeter and a bunch of assorted chemicals and gun parts to be delivered to Radar Base, so sending some more stuff along with Tariq's order should be just fine.
2. Warns about mutant animals wandering around.
3. Orders a bit more stuff, if this can be included on such a short notice:
- a new visor for his helmet
- a new windshield for the van
- three simple 2x fixed-power rifle scopes
- 1290 rifle cartridges

This should bring our balance with them down to $40000, which Sean is inclined to keep for the moment.

After that Sean tells Bart to pay the men 110 rifle cartridges for their info.

After that Sean gets in contact with Chalmers in Red Brick and says that:
4. The remaining gear for the troops should arrive from Gunmetal to Radar Base soon enough, maybe even tomorrow. The transportation has already arrived.
5. There are mutant animals wandering around, so care should be taken traveling to Radar Base.
6. We have a man that seems to have caught some viral disease in the gutter, so we might need medical help from Red Brick. Can Chalmers procure something or give us a radio contact of some entity with which we can discuss it further?
7. We seem to have some leads on mutant fauna and/or new drug production facility which we would want to investigate, so if Chalmers can talk to any entity in Red Brick that might be willing to send some representatives to take part in the ops, he should probably do that and give those people our contacts. We have the funding to cover any expenses. Sean thinks it might be beneficial if #6 and #7 goes through the same entity, assuming it actually goes on both counts. 
 

Gunmetal got their trucks and the delivery, yes.
Sean's request goes through.
The warning is noted. They comment that local hunters and rangers have indeed reported more dangers out there.
They can sell him a new helmet visor, a new windshield, the scopes and the rifle bullets. They record the charge, and arrange the delivery.

The wanderers are paid by Bart, and helpfully draw up a map along with a full account of their findings.

Chalmers is thankful to hear the delivery is on time.
Chalmers is confident his men can travel safely.
Chalmers can try asking around Red Brick for a doctor. It might cost a lot, though. And the journey between Red Brick and the radar base is not trivial.
Chalmers can pass along the leads. He has a underboss working a casino who can help with what the exiles are concerned with.
u-b
Sean confirms willingness to pay the doctor: consultation, transportation, guards, fees, drugs and what not. Two preconditions are the reputation of the doc and his willingness to take our specific case.

Sean contacts the VIP's person and tells that the payment should be delivered to a trusted lawyer local to Bread Basket that would be willing to take Sean's case. The service would be to determine the kind and relevant details of legal situation the Sean is currently in and to report to Sean over the radio. Any subsequent representation to resolve said legal situation might be paid for separately, we'll see when we get to that stage.

Sean finally gets off the radio and asks the prisoner if he has any leads against raiders / slavers that he would like us to pursue?

 And we probably call it a day. 
 
 Spoiler 
Two question about flamethrowers:
1. Do all models ignore range attack penalties?
2. Do they still count as ranged for the purpose of determining All-Out Attack's benefits (+1 or +4 determined)?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean confirms willingness to pay the doctor: consultation, transportation, guards, fees, drugs and what not. Two preconditions are the reputation of the doc and his willingness to take our specific case.

Sean contacts the VIP's person and tells that the payment should be delivered to a trusted lawyer local to Bread Basket that would be willing to take Sean's case. The service would be to determine the kind and relevant details of legal situation the Sean is currently in and to report to Sean over the radio. Any subsequent representation to resolve said legal situation might be paid for separately, we'll see when we get to that stage.

Sean finally gets off the radio and asks the prisoner if he has any leads against raiders / slavers that he would like us to pursue?

 And we probably call it a day. 
 
 Spoiler 
Two question about flamethrowers:
1. Do all models ignore range attack penalties?
2. Do they still count as ranged for the purpose of determining All-Out Attack's benefits (+1 or +4 determined)?
 
 
 

The doctor would cost $6 per mile of travel to where Sean wants him, each day of the doctor’s work costs $50, the doctor has two bodyguards who require $25 per day of work each.

The VIP contact agrees to Sean’s idea and promises to make arrangements.

The captive knows nothing of raiders and slavers.

(OC: flamethrowers are Jet attacks. I think they count as melee attacks with very long Reach, not affected by range penalties. +4 for AoA Determined.)
Volthawk
Naturally, Richard has no opposition to Sean's plan to get him a doctor through Chalmers - he quite liked the man and the Rangers as a whole, and saw no reason to distrust him. Help with the leads they've found would also be appreciated - Richard asks Sean about the status of that equipment they were trying to get to force their way into the zombie labs, although he's not sure how much Red Brick or the Rangers would be motivated to help there, since these creatures they've found seem to be new enough that much of the wasteland doesn't know much about them yet, and so doesn't see them as a significant threat yet (although Red Brick's general anti-mutant fervor and this particular operation against mutated animals may be easy to extend to the lab and zombies, he supposes).

When it comes to the wanderers, now they have the map for the vault and presumably rough ranges for the robots, Richard's mainly curious about details of the latter. The exiles had come across a degree of artifical intelligence before, but this was the first time he remembered hearing about full-blown robots wandering around. What did the wanderers know about their behaviour - did they attack everyone they see, or have they held their fire at times that might suggest some kind of criteria before firing, or precise targets they're after? Was there anything known around that mountain road that might suggest their interest?  Hell, what did the wanderers know about their appearance and equipment?

He's still not entirely sure what good continuing to make arrangements with the VIP's people is, given what's going on behind closed doors there, but he's willing to let Sean work and see where it's going.
Shoot Da Moon
According to the purchased information on the robots, the machines are equipped with integrated automatic rifles, they have only opened fire on people who "trespassed" onto certain distinct Old World buildings (described as large concrete structures with heavy metal security doors built into the mountain side) along the trail or attacked the machines first, they have treads and multiple red-glass sensors.

The exiles go to sleep without incident that night...

 DAY 79 

The morning comes with good weather. Sean continues to recover, but Richard is still ill.
Come midday, the exiles receive news from their radio operators that the delivery trucks have all finally arrived at their destinations and dropped off the orders.
Everything looks all clear on that front.
u-b
Having gotten a "go" that the hardware is coming, Tariq spends a day laying out the fortifications. The perimeter is conceptually a simple enough thing, but even so has more than one way to be drawn, and then there would be buildings inside that should be somehow integrated into the whole plan of defense - which buildings should have how many stories, which buildings would feature which type of positions in basements and which would feature positions in windows or on roofs, and where we might want to place some gabions and a lot of other such matters. Sean does his best to give tactical consultations about how attacks on these fortifications might be performed or defended against.

While at it, Sean also tells the men back at Waffle House to observe the demonstration of the copter, see that it is a full extensive kit as agreed and, if everything seems to be in order, to pay with the car we have parked there and eventually send it here to radar base. This is to be paid for by debiting our account with them.

When the equipment arrives, it is to be unloaded. Most of the heavy lifting concerns the perimeter (three full truckloads of it), but then there are less bulky, but more expensive parts. The later are to be accounted for by Tariq. If we have to pay for people to unload the trucks, we do that, but supposedly people here would be eager enough to improve their protection by working on it, especially since we have already paid for the hardware.

In the afternoon, Sean does not do much. He checks with the radio people if there are any news about the mutants that earlier went somewhere about the raiders' factory. He also places the two locations bought on the map to see where they fit the picture and how it would be most convenient to visit one or the other.
Shoot Da Moon
The work goes along swimmingly. The most pressing concerns is the perimeter fence and the entrances into the base. Both are fortified with the new stuff, defense trenches are dug, camouflaged sniper perches are planned. The wanderers, the hopeful laborers, and those taking shelter from the wilds all pitch in to complete the work. It might take a full few days to get it all done, but morale is high and the materials are all there.

Waffle House confirms the delivery and the orders. They already have a man on it, expect him in about 18 hours.

News of any mutants going north is rare, but eventually someone reports in that they heard of a big battle going off around there. They're not sure if anyone survived or why they started shooting, however.

The reports of the robots come from the middle of the state, about 50 to 70 miles away from the radar base.
The reports of the vault place it somewhere in a small town that's at the western border half-way between the southern end and the passage into Canada. Estimated to be 65 to 80 miles away from the radar base.
Volthawk
Not wanting to heavily exert himself in this state if he doesn't need to, Richard mostly does more reading, going back to the old intel (both information found in the field and written down information from interrogations) they have about various raider positions, holdings and areas of interest and checks them against the new areas of interest, the robot patrols and the vault - if they can know in advance if the enemy has a presence in the area, that'd be useful.

He also considers what they're going to actually  do  about these two rumours. If nothing else, they'd need to pack appropriately - Richard raises the thought to Sean that depending on the resilience of the robots (it struck him overnight that the wanderers didn't specify how big these things are, just their equipment) they might need to bring something heavier than their normal rifles, or perhaps they could try to get a supply of armour-piercing rounds from Gunmetal? They'd also need to actually get into the vault, or the bunkers the robots are guarding - they do have that plasma cutter coming eventually, but thinking back to their own old Shelter Richard's dubious about anything they could carry being able to just cut their way in if they're sealed. Perhaps they could try to find someone skilled enough with computers to make use of whatever surface-level equipment remains to force the door open that way, or maybe try to find another military facility above ground in search of codes or keycards or something like that, or...now he thought about it, he wondered if and how the Shelters and other underground bunkers were connected to the Gutter. Thinking some more about the robots, he also wonders if there's potentially a way to fool them - military killbots must have some system in place to not accidentally shoot their own men or a VIP from the old world government, right? At this point, most of this is just speculation without much certainty, though.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard's cross-referencing with his old intelligence reveals not much. He does note, however, that most of the raider scum have not explored or travelled near the supposed location of the robots' patrols, from what he can see. Perhaps they had the good fortune not to stumble upon forces that could easily destroy them? The vault of stuff in the ruined town is similarly untouched, because it seems the black neck tattoo people avoid urban ruins if they can help it (logical enough).
u-b
Sean points that being equipped with integrated automatic rifles probably places both lower and upper limits on their size. No one in the Old World would equip a tank-sized thing with just automatic rifles. Armor-piercing rounds are sort of available. Sean has bought some very good ones for Richard and himself. These will leave nice small round holes in just about anything, but for  real  effect you'll have to target the robots' vitals, which means knowing the robots' vitals, which might require some guessing if they would appear armor-clad all over the whole area. Sean bought two extended magazine worth of cheaper AP rounds for anyone with M1918 BAR and Tariq will probably make some HEDP stuff for the GLs, so offense-wise we are about good, but Sean clearly does not want to just go and fight some robots without first being convinced that it would be a good thing to do.

Sean is not very concerned about getting into the vault mentioned. Meaning, it's a vault, not a Shelter, so probably not nuclear-blast-proof and we have already gotten into one bank vault lately, so we'll see what can be done about it, but it sure will be something. Sean does not expect it to be breaking military-grade encryption, but likely more some physical thing.
Shoot Da Moon
The two exiles in quarantine continue to keep warm and fed for the rest of the day.

Nothing of importance seems to happen as night falls...

 DAY 80 

The exiles wake up to a bright morning, and find Richard still feels horrible.
2 hours after both men eat their breakfast, a doctor from the city of Red Brick arrives at the base with his bodyguards, expecting a paying job.
u-b
Sean tells Bart to pay 50 pistol cartridges to the doc and to send him in along with local doctors. The doctor from Red Brick is to...
1. Review the diagnosis.
2. Review the healing plan.
3. Advise on any better healing plans, including those needing better medicine and/or better facilities and/or directed against only the symptoms*.

 
 Spoiler 
I have 22 miles recorded between Red Brick and Radar Base, so 50 rounds should be enough to both pay and show we are not penny-pinchers.

*Meaning primarily negating further damage, even if Richard will require continued medical help.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean tells Bart to pay 50 pistol cartridges to the doc and to send him in along with local doctors. The doctor from Red Brick is to...
1. Review the diagnosis.
2. Review the healing plan.
3. Advise on any better healing plans, including those needing better medicine and/or better facilities and/or directed against only the symptoms*.

 
 Spoiler 
I have 22 miles recorded between Red Brick and Radar Base, so 50 rounds should be enough to both pay and show we are not penny-pinchers.

*Meaning primarily negating further damage, even if Richard will require continued medical help.
 
 
 

The doctor takes the payment, then gets down to business. He warns the exiles that the cost will only be going up from here.

(OC: The recovery roll for HP is improved by the doctor; the Physician effective skill is now 20. This may not help Richard directly, but he’ll need it in the future.)

He rolls out his equipment in a personal working space and makes sure to double-check the base’s medical staff’s findings on Richard’s illness. He pitches the idea of inventing an antidote, but he warns them that it will both cost huge amounts and take time.

(OC: see AtE2 page 40-41, an antidote is a $5,000,000 invention (-15, 5d-4 days). The doctor NPC has Pharmacy-20, limited Gadgeteer (only 30% of parts needed), Versatile, a professional and right workspace (+2), and medical supplies worth $20,000 of his own. He’ll want the exiles to supply more medical supplies for the project if they can.
The antidote is basically a TL 8 item, +0.
The antidote for the disease did not exist before the New World and does not exist now, -2.
The doctor can fabricate “parts” for the invention with his lab and Chemistry-15, this doubles the time.)
u-b
Given the declared scope and difficulty of making an antidote, Sean doubts if could be ready in time to help Richard, if at all. He could be interested in eventually pursuing this route, if the disease is encountered often enough, either in The Gutter, the cities, or in general. What is known to the doc about its appearances? Sean would also want the following considered:
1. Are there any existing anti-viral antidotes  anywhere  that could be similar enough to have their compositions analyzed and modified?
2. Would it be more or less difficult to make a vaccine instead? Or is a vaccine from this, in any sense, available? Would a vaccine from this even work, at all or for extended period of time?

Having considered these questions about the future of us and the general population, Sean would like to discuss the following idea of how to help Richard now:
3. He was with Richard all this time and does not seem to have contracted the disease. He knows he've had quite a number of immunity shots back in the day or might be just naturally resistant or immune. Anyway, it's either his body temperature or there is something in his blood that counters this disease. Might be complete antibodies or what not. Sean is not sure about just transfusing raw blood (at least, the compatibility would have to be checked and there might be other complications), but he is kind of more optimistic about extracting the relevant parts and transfusing them only. Maybe they can even be tested in vitro to see if they work. How would the doc estimate any possible configurations of this project?
Shoot Da Moon
The doctor can remember this disease popping up mostly among those exploring The Gutter or living in the wilderness, as far as his knowledge goes.

He does not know of any anti-virals anywhere, but it’s not like he has access to every high quality medical lab in Red Brick.

Vaccines are less difficult to make than antidotes. He does not know of any vaccines for this disease. If he could invent one, it would work on the disease until it mutates into a variant, but working on a vaccine for a variant would be easier if he already created a vaccine already.

The doctor thinks Sean may not caught the disease thanks to limited contact with infected and a sturdy immune system. Using him for anti-bodies MIGHT help, it would be a part of inventing the vaccine.
u-b
Sean discusses the possibilities at length. Making an antidote seems too challenging and not likely to succeed in time to help Richard. So Sean shifts the focus to prevention of the disease among the people we might be taking along the next time around. He tasks the doc with slowly and carefully making any and all preparatory steps and  then  coming back to Sean with a figure of additional funding needed. Sean funds two weeks of work from the start, with 140 rifle rounds, assuming today would be a set-up day, not the lab day.

Sean's willing to be test subject to the doc, but expects this will not take too much time besides taking the samples, which will then be analyzed at length. He does some thinking and planning today, then reads any materials accompanying the drone when it finally arrives, but does not much else. Sean is fairly confident he will be able to handle this drone model after some limited practice - after all, he has access to the sims back at base. Not to some actual drones, and he was not supposed to train on the sims, but he had access to them and it was about as good as just another video game...

Meanwhile, Tariq is busy supervising the construction. The plans for the fortifications are ready, but the people are just starting and not everyone employed can read plans, so this takes some time from Tariq to actually point his finger and tell what to do and how to do it. Tariq expects the project will require much less supervision from the following day on.
Shoot Da Moon
The doctor gets to work, trying to mix up a vaccine for Richard's disease. He takes the blood samples from Sean to see how well his immune system is fighting off the illness. He presents Sean with a possible bill of $100 per day of medical work. His bodyguards will stay out of everyone's way well enough.

The drone manual is extensive on technical details but not as helpful for the dexterity-required task of flying it.

Tariq oversees the construction work. He finds the project goes along swimmingly. The materials are handed out and moved to where they are needed.

When night falls, progress is strong.

 DAY 81 

The next day has decent weather.
Richard continues to feel awful, while Sean recovers...
u-b
Sean is relaxing reading the drone's manual. It might not be overly helpful for actually piloting the thing, but you have to know the hardware, and, in this case, also the software, and now, when he's unable to do anything much, seems to be the best time to familiarize himself with that aspect of the thingie. At lest, he'll be aware of all modes, functions and limitations when he finally gets to piloting the thing. In the evening Sean calls the radio men to ask if they have any news about that big battle around the raiders' factory. It has been two days, afterall, maybe they are done one way or another, but he agrees the news that he wants are still quite hot.

Tariq proceeds to actually make the underbarrel GLs that Sean has requested for the troops. He makes one perfect specimen taking about the whole work day. He has only the breaks from that activity to oversee the construction of the fortifications, which should be enough to stop anything done wrong, but not to instruct otherwise and oversee it done right, so that part might be delayed until tomorrow, if it's applicable.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean hears from the radio operators that the mutants who attacked the raiders seemed to have gotten routed. Scattered survivors are limping back through the wilderness, at best. He looks in a mirror, and notices with approval that the nasty bullet hole in his face has shrunk to a minor tear.

Tariq burns a lot of elbow grease and cobbles together a piece of hardware for the troops.

The construction work around the base continues apace. The base slowly begins to take on a more "heavy" appearance as wood and metal are raised to new positions.

Richard is still ailing, beginning to pass in and out of consciousness. He feels a slight primal terror at being so close to death...

(OC: record the meals consumed today (and yesterday if you have not already), mostly by Richard.)

Night falls on the radar base as new wanderers arrive seeking a safe place to rest. They build a large fire at the base's edge, submitting to oversight from the base's security forces.

 DAY 82 

The next day's weather is a bit harsh. Strong winds, periodic rain, chills.
u-b
Sean is in a pretty grim mood today. First, Richard is still getting worse, not better, and this increasingly reminds Sean of the last time, when he let people catch a disease and some ended up getting dead. Second, the mutants having been beaten at the raiders' factory is also bad news. Sean gets to the radio men and asks if there are, or could be, some intercepts of raiders' radio communications to see how bad they have had it, whether they have called in some reinforcements and, generally, how they are affected and going to react. The weather is not looking good for drone operations, so Sean just finishes reading the manual.

Tariq spends a total of four hours making another perfect grenade launcher for the troops. He spends the rest of the time supervising the construction, which has a somewhat limited progress because we do not push people to work outside in the rain.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean hears back in 2 hours. Reports say they have no luck intercepting communications from the raiders. Although they continue to find little reports of raider activity from anywhere in the state, so perhaps they are still pushed back and in hiding? It appears the enemy has withdrawn just as they were last heard of.

Tariq makes a lot of noise for a lot of time inside his workshop as the rain outside pours down. He makes the new weapon without much fuss. He only hopes it is enough.

(OC: new dice rolls thread;  https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...e-DICE-ROLLS-2 
Post there when you need to roll, players.)
u-b
Having no local intercepts, Sean contacts...
1. The Funny Platoon. He mentions that Richard is ill, so he's radioing instead to check if they have available intercepts about any big battles at the raiders' factory location, especially how tough the raiders have had it, or maybe any other information for us.
2. Vermont Rangers HQ. The same questions.
3. Major Chalmers. He asks whether the major can tell when to expect the troops to arrive at our base. We are  not  in a hurry, but just want to plan the operations.

And that would be the end for today.
Shoot Da Moon
The Funny Platoon reports that no information has been forthcoming. Their scouts have been pulled back recently, due to supply issues. As far as they know, the raiders have not made contact with hostile forces.

The Vermont Rangers report a battle at a raider checkpoint against unknown combatants 2 days ago. The outcome of the battle was not learned, the recon had to bug out due to encroaching patrols.

Major Chalmers thinks the troops will arrive in 30 hours.

(OC: VoltHawk, to avoid sidelining you while Richard is sick, I am allowing you to play as NPC allies like the Rangers (when they get here), maybe Tariq and Bart in the meantime. Sorry for the inconvenience.)

When night falls that day, another group of merchants and vagabonds arrives seeking shelter and camp at or near the base. They offer to help with the labor force's ongoing project. None of them are professional doctors, just bush medics at best. The traders do have an inventory of food and water for sale. The travelers do bring news and rumors from elsewhere in Vermont.

 DAY 83 

The next morning comes clear and slightly cold. The construction work goes back to full speed, overseen by Tariq.
u-b
Having finished the manual and feeling well, still with zero symptoms of the disease, Sean thinks he can as well leave the quarantine, if the doctors permit. If doctors let the prisoer out of quarantine too, then the following arrangement will be proposed:
1. The prisoner goes to the rest of the prisoners.
2. Richard goes to Simone's room.
3. Sean remains quartered in our main room, but starts to wander around the base.

Sean plans to...
4. Contact Vermont Rangers HQ and ask them to look through their maps and backlog of places worth visiting and people worth contacting if one wants to find...
4.1 Military equipment of all sorts, especially light artillery (mortars).
4.2 High-tech electronics, especially  radio monitoring equipment  and other EW gear.
4.3 Utility equipment, especially power generators of all sizes.
This can ge provided straight to him, in pieces or in bulk, or to their men that are to be arriving at our base.

Then Sean is to...
5. Start charging the welding power bank to make sure it's full.
6. Meet and chat with the travelers, especially asking about the situation with mutant animals, but also about any other news / infos that they deem worth mentioning.
7. Meet Blackwire's guy here at our camp, asking for any updates and saying we can finally hand over water in bulk (drums, barrels, lots of plastic bottles). They can pick and choose, but will have to arrange their own delivery. Sean asks when we can expect the Blackwire's team to be ready for the operations?
8. Meet the militia and hand over some Mail Corselets to anyone who has a gun and needs armor (we have a total of 15 in stock). He also makes a note of anyone willing to join militia, but not having a gun.
9. Practice flying the drone. This is going to take the better part of the day, going at least twice through each of three batteries. Sean warns people about this upcoming activity and starts carefully enough. Then he asks everyone outside to look at the drone when they hear it and wave at it when they see it the first time around or after some interval and goes after the base as if it was a hostile base and he would like to reckon it at length. He takes note of when people hear and see the drone and how the base and the surroundings look like from above and whether there is anything of note anywhere.

Meanwhile, Tariq spends under three hours making another GL, but looking at it, thinks it might be better to scrap it work more slowly the next time around. He also oversees construction.
Shoot Da Moon
The doctors recommend the prisoner is kept apart from others, as he is wounded and may be vulnerable to disease because of that. They also fear he is planning something. Richard is allowed to move around only where most people do not regularly go - this restricts him to a few areas, Simone's room would be off-limits. Sean can wander a bit, but he should keep his physical distance from anyone not wearing the right PPE.

Sean's contact to the Vermont Rangers gets an useful bit of information; there was an Old World city named Burlington (apparently 65 to 85 miles away from the radar base). It's believed there was a military base from Before there, that contains powerful artefacts known as F-35 fighter jets. Scavenging a power generator is often a matter of cobbling together parts easily gotten from city ruins and then assembling a semi-portable homemade steam engine out of them.
(OC: see High-Tech page 14.)
Of course, it's said stuff like solar panels and windmills can be found in Burlington, too.

Old World electronics is often scavenged from The Gutter, if you can't find a good ruin like a Shelter or fight your way into a good technology stash spot in Springfield. Radio gear is hard to manufacture outside of Gunmetal, the remaining Old World artefacts of that nature is usually found at airports and military bases.

The power bank is easy to recharge, if you've got the time. The base has battery chargers and cords for that.
The travelers report waves of mutant animals, mostly twisted wolves, moving around the south end of The Long Trail. They have no idea what is going on there. They think staying out of the wilderness would be for the best right now.
Sean hears a rumor; an Old World monstrosity has awoken from her 200-year slumber. She takes the form of a giant lion!

Blackwire's mouthpiece meets Sean and helpfully discusses the situation. They will gladly take the water in bulk, they'll send a guy with a sedan over to transport it. The men under Blackwire's command (four gangs of armed deserters) are ready for action, they've carefully setting a wilderness camp in the meantime. Blackwire's rescued subordinates help immensely - they had the locations and lock codes for supply safes. Blackwire generously lets the exiles know such information, there's four safes hidden in various town ruins and outposts.

The militia tools up, they now number about 20 permanently with another 10 to 15 less hardcore "weekend warriors". They all have guns, but most of their firearms are low-tech black powder or in bad condition.

Sean's practice with the drone goes well enough. He avoids damaging it even he gets clumsy. His helpers report having problems spotting the drone when it is going fairly fast and especially far away, but it's easy to hear when it gets within moderate pistol range of a sentry. The sentries spot the drone almost every time when it is closer than 10 yards but only one-third of the time when it is at the fence line. When the drone's at the treeline (20 to 30 yards from the fence line), no-one at the base has a hope of spotting or hearing it.

Tariq gets the work underway, well in hand. He figures it'll take another 2 or 3 days before they are close to done.
u-b
Sean hands over the following stuff to various people:
1. Steel Drum, 55 gallon, TL6 x1 for/with technical water
2. Plastic Drum, 55 gallon, TL8 x1 for/with drinking water
3. Wooden Barrel, Large, 30 gallon, TL5 x1 for/with drinking water
4. Plastic Drum, 15 gallon, TL8 x2 for/with semi-portable drinking water
5. Bottled Water x200 as portable drinking water
6. Mail Corselet x15
7. Winchester Model 92 x14
8. Colt SAA x1 + M67 fragmentation grenade, TL7 x4

The water is to Blackwire gang and the weapons/armor to militia, on the condition that their existing gear is also to be rearranged such that better trained and/or more experienced and/or more involved people get better gear and the rest get what's best of the remainder, regardless of who owned what before the rearrangement. The gear is to become the property of the user in three months from now.

Taking most of "low-tech black powder or in bad condition" as things of TL5, like Cheap Remington Rolling Block, Cheap Winchester Model 92, 12G Remington Hammer Lifters and such (and  not  the flintlocks, at least for most of people), Sean keeps that part as it is for the moment and makes sure to have an account of it, mainly because he plans Tariq to bring the stuff into some sensible shape when he has the time after more urgent work.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles and their allies do their own thing for the rest of the day, either resting, lab work, construction, standing guard or some other task.

The day goes by smoothly, the sun goes down, and the soldiers Sean requested arrive at the base just a hour after things get dark. The troopers drive up in a humvee and are armed to the teeth, their bulky black body armor looking menacing in the night.
The newcomer Rangers simply say to Sean; “Alright, we’re here, sir. Now what?”
u-b
 "Good evening. Have a dinner, get yourselves quartered, then I will brief you about the situation and we will discuss what we can do." 

Sean Introduces the men to Waffle House personnel here at the base and asks if the whole 16 can be quartered reasonably comfortable inside the base proper. If not, he'll accept the next best thing for now, but plan to work on the matter.

When it comes to the actual briefing, in which Sean participates in person and Richard over the radio, Sean states the following:
1. They should know general situation with the mutant animals spreading through the state. We have a potential lead on the origin, but that turned out too difficult to investigate when we attempted to do it. Now we should have the men and the gear to do it, but there is one catch: it's in the Gutter and one of our men already gotten himself ill, very seriously, presumably in there. We are working on a vaccine, but will not have enough of that anytime soon, so if the men are villing to risk their lives to a viral disease to investigate a lead potentially freeing the state from the onslaught of mutalt animals, we could try to procure gas masks, face masks or what not and go do that. Sean will provide all the details on request.
2. There is a large factory on the north-west that belongs to the raiders and has recently been attacked, unsuccessfully, by some mutant guys. We do not yet know the actual foces on both sides, and how hard each side was hit, but we might try to find out and assess if we can have a better effect. Sean originally intended to leave it for later, but if they have been weakened by the attack, now could be the time.
3. There are minor and major leads that can reasonably be looted if we do not feel comfortable doing the above.
4. Sean proposes we spend the day tomorrow doing preparations and then proceed with whatever route we choose.

Then Sean listens to what the Rangers will say.
Shoot Da Moon
The Ranger nods, and signals to his men to settle in. They are eager to eat and drink, so they apparently ran out of food on the way over. The briefing goes smoothly. There is a large room in the base where the soldiers can set up tents and bedrolls.

The soldiers consider the issue of disease in The Gutter carefully. They may require full PPE to avoid the risk, they only have face masks, gloves and heavy clothing to avoid exposure right now. Scavenging an Old World hospital or buying from Red Brick is the most obvious way to secure a sealed suit these days. Going into The Gutter is not a big problem for the soldiers, they feel confident that they can overcome obstacles in there.

The soldiers suggest sending a light recon force up north-west to scout the region and see what’s up.

The soldiers are fine with scavenging promising sites for resources. They’ve done such things before.

Waiting a day is fine with them.

One of the Rangers comments that he’s heard the exiles are working with the Red Brick bosses and the Gunmetal elders. Is that true? Because he hears that some sort of conflict is brewing between the cities and he wants to know who is aligned with who.
u-b
Sean is not quite sure about full NBC suits as they might interfere with, like, everything, and be in short supply, but hey, we have a doc from Red Brick right here! So, Sean calls the doc and asks him for any and all advice he can possibly give regarding exploring the gutter and getting equipped for that. He wants to end up with a list of gear, a name of supplier of gear, a list of procedures to follow and maybe some other piece of advice as the doctor seems fit to give us.

About us working with bosses and elders... Sean says that not quite. We started way out of their league and now have our hands full several times over, so we have not been seeking further contact or employment. We have been trading  a lot  between Bread Basket and Gunmetal in a short timeframe, but have gotten ourselves some big sort of problems with the former, so here we are. In fact, we'd rather see the cities allied among themselves, if it can be helped. There is enough problems already without that kind of conflict. Speaking of conflict... we've had some first-hand info about the raiders using deception to get the mutants attack all sort of targets, so  maybe  the conflict is heated by some outside force? What is known about this potential conflict and especially its possible motivations, both real and nominal?
Shoot Da Moon
The doctor advises going into Red Brick, there are medical supplies for sale there. He knows a merchant who specialises in such things but warns there’s going to be a markup unless you’re connected to a mobster. He recommends avoiding contact with anything alive or organic (animals, fungus, mold, insects, etc.) in The Gutter. That goes double for any water encountered down there, as it is reported that water sources within The Gutter are tainted. Clothe yourself in thick cloth all over, no bare skin, wear safety googles over your eyes, patch up any cuts or puncture wounds good and quick, and have a cloth over your mouth and nose if you can.

One of the soldiers comments that Red Brick and Bread Basket have hated each other for a long time. Gunmetal openly distrusts any outsiders, but it seems to regard other cities with the most suspicion. The other cities resent Gunmetal despite (or because) trading the most with it. Bread Basket is not liked much by the other cities for being very secretive and insular but the other cities have to maintain food trade treaties with the city so they do not get hassled too often. Mutants have attacked cities before, but it never makes any headway or hurts them much. The cities are currently too tough to openly attack, which is why the raiders have mostly stuck to covert sabotage or attacking smaller settlements allied to the cities instead. Another soldier comments that Bread Basket has recently been cracking down on the illicit drug trade in their territory, so Red Brick gangsters are really angry with them.
u-b
Contacting the designated guy in Red Brick should be good, but Sean is unsure if any of ours are "connected to a mobster" - Chalmers could be, but then again this is not necessarily transitive, so Sean clarifies that part with the people present.

With the existing gear as present, how much the doc expects we'll have to pay for 16 sets of what we are missing? Sean would like to have both low and high marks to better plan his finances. Then he thanks the doc and discusses the rest only with Richard and Rangers.

Sean makes sure Richard has no objections about the plan for us to go Gutter while he's still lying ill, then proceeds to review the Rangers' roles and equipment to see what he can add to that lot.

 
 Spoiler 
I propose I run Sean, Bart and militia while Volthawk runs all the Rangers. Do we have stats and gear for the Rangers? Sean might spend some time tweaking that part. I expect two troop leaders, one driver/mechanic, explosives guy and 12 riflemen, but even if it is exactly that way, would like to have some details about the people.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Half the soldiers here think Chalmers is friendly with a mob boss, the other half think he's clean of such underworld connections. They all generally assume anyone in Red Brick acting as a go-between or trade contact is mobbed-up or at least pays bribes.

The doctor says coming up with PPE for 16 people will cost a whole lot - air masks alone are between $200 and $4000 each depending on how advanced the model is. Biohazard suits are $2000 each and are worn with an air mask. He recommends having someone experienced with disease control help you put it on properly.

He comments that a decontamination sprayer for 10 people or 2 vehicles is $2000. Ideally, the exiles could get a decontamination shower or a quarantine tent, but he admits there is practically no hope of buying such big ticket equipment.
Volthawk
Richard...well, he's not doing  well  by any means, but there isn't quite the same decline as in other days, and he's able to mostly stay focused on the information he's given and think it over.

Hearing more about the politics between the cities from a neutral party worries Richard a little. After all, the exiles had just been going between them freely without considering how such matters might complicate things. That said, at the moment he figured that whole situation was in their favour - the Bread Basket VIP's plot to frame them would have less of an effect outside their valley if the other cities already distrusted each other, particularly considering the reputation the exiles had already been fostering and the good work they'd done elsewhere. If push came to shove and they had to pick a side, Richard privately shares with Sean that Gunmetal seemed the best choice - he was morally ill-disposed towards much of what Red Brick did anyway, and Bread Basket clearly had its own corruption and the VIP's influence, while Gunmetal was distrustful, sure, but they'd been able to work fairly enough with the Funny Platoon and trading with the city did a lot for the exiles. Still, he hoped it wouldn't come to that, since their current looser arrangement worked quite well for actually getting things done out in the world outside the cities. He's also in agreement that there's a good chance that tensions would be deliberately inflamed by the raiders - after all, they'd already done a lot of work giving the cities information to dismantle spy networks, and there was almost certainly more where that came from when it came to the raider's tricks.

He quite likes the idea of a recon force scouting out the factory and giving them a clearer picture of the situation up there, given that it seems to be a core part of the raiders' logistics and industry, and suggests Sean passes on the maps and other information from interrogation they'd found that might be relevant to such an operation, but at the same time leaves it up to Sean on whether he'd rather the extra manpower for the Gutter raid instead of sending some men northwards.

When it comes to the Gutter operation itself...Richard is in favour of it, but urges Sean to get as much protection as he can afford for himself and the squad. As someone who is currently suffering from one of the diseases down there, he can very much attest that is something to be avoided at all costs. It's pretty clear that this is less of a logical cost:benefit analysis of the situation and more rooted in Richard's personality and his strong desire to not see the exiles, or anyone under their command, get hurt if he can help it, though.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles conclude their briefing with the troopers for the night, and settle down to rest…

 DAY 84 

The next morning, everyone wakes up to clear weather. The troopers have enjoyed their sleep, and they are ready to continue discussion of operations after breakfast.

Richard wakes up feeling way better than he had previously. A quick examination by the medics confirms that he has beaten the disease, now he is no longer suffering from whatever it was. He is still in pain, however, the illness did a number on his body. The doctors recommend he avoid any more dangers until he fully recovers.

(OC: disease cured, but Richard’s HP is still very low.)
u-b
Sean wakes up early as usual he spends some time thinking over various activities and has an overall plan ready by the time Richard wakes up. When he learns that Richard is better, he makes a minor correction to his plans. Namely, he asks Richard if he feels well enough to contact the mutant WMD guardians some time today. If so, Sean names the following he would like to have discussed:
1. Our condolences regarding the unsuccessfull operation.
2. Our desire to run a successful operation sooner or later.
3. Their thoughts on having that as a joint operation. Sean expects we should be able to accomodate just about any reasonable terms that the mutants can come up with, and throw more stuff on top, like  really  equipping them if they are low on gear.
4. Failing that, their thoughts on aiding  our  operation by providing us intel, including the one they got during the active part of their op. We can just finish what they have started or pay them for the info or something.

Having that outlined to Richard and letting him work out the details as he sees fit, Sean goes outside to chat with Blackwire contact at the base. He says he would be expecting them to...
5. Propose operations they are both willing and able to undertake, based on their understanding of their capabilities, our interests and the state of the world. Sean can clarify on his interests on a case by case basis if there are any doubts. The possibilities include, but are not limited to...
6. Selling us some their former colleagues, earning 10% of each successful hit.
7. Buying us some of their former colleagues, earning 100% of what we buy them for (negotiated piecewise) after they prove their switch.
8. Killing some mutated animals, earning $100..$500 per head accompanied by a story (including time, location and the detailks of the fight).
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Sean and Richard may both have to make Reaction Rolls, no extra penalty or bonus in either case.)
Shoot Da Moon
Richard manages to get in touch with the mutants from before, but it seems they are in very bad shape. Indeed, they report being down to a mere handful out of their entire settlement. They are reeling, falling back as fast as they can. They are fine with joining the exiles at the radar base or somewhere else, but they can’t go back to their home right now in case the raiders are following them. They may need help with gear, as they spend a lot of ammo and medical supplies in their previous fight. They can provide plenty of intelligence from their disastrous crusade, although most who knew more than them perished.

The mutants ask Richard where they should go to meet the exiles?

Sean’s contact with Blackwire is much more cheerful.
Blackwire can gather gangs under his command and launch an offensive against an entrenched base. They are all tooled up and ready to rock.
They do not know the location of enemy raiders at the moment, but they’ll try to dig up bad guys to hunt if that’s what the exiles want.
They have not been approached by any new recruits lately. They don’t really expect any, either.
They can go and hunt hostile wildlife, they’re equipped for that.

Blackwire sounds confident in his position.
u-b
Sean states, in no uncertain terms, that he does NOT want Blackwire's gangs to attack any fortified or extensively staffed locations at the moment. This is mainly motivated by Sean's desire to limit the risks to the gangs. He would instead want these locations confirmed, superficially scouted and named to him, then we will decide how to proceed. Sean does not object the gangs attacking lightly staffed locations, lightly staffed convoys, etc. as long as their affiliation is positively established.

For now, Sean declares two main tasks to be:
1. Locate enemy raiders (and see above).
2. Hunt... well, not natural wildlife, even if it could be hostile, but specifically the life that has been tampered with. The goal is to make the area safer to general population. To assist doing that, Sean proposes Blackwire dedicates a receive-only radio to listen to Radar Base frequency, where Sean will make the reports of sightings and attacks relayed.

Assuming there is nothing more to discuss with Blackwire's man, Sean gets in touch with Radar Base radio men and request them to...
3. Make an announcement that the Radar Base is intersted in hearing about all mutant animal attacks and sightings, preferably, but not exclusively, in real time.
4. Repeat this information every time they get it, so that anyone listening to Radar Base frequency can hear it even if out of range of the reporting transceiver.
Shoot Da Moon
Blackwire confirms, he understands and will obey. His men will start patrolling around the most dangerous wilderness, looking for trouble.

The base's radiomen pass along the message to whoever they think will hear and respond.

After one hour after that, another merchant caravan arrives at the base. They're 8 people in multiple vehicles, selling fuel, firewood, good quality metal, batteries, booze, writing supplies, vehicular parts and illicit drugs.

(OC: Richard?)
Volthawk
Richard agrees that the mutants should head to the radar base - Richard's going to be resting up there for a while, so when the group gets nearby they can get in contact and then Richard can see what they can do about resupply and support. The situation with the Sinful Nature means that their group coming in properly may or may not be possible (as much as Richard would like that to happen), but again he'll do what he can. He asks for an estimate on how long they expect it'll take to get to the base (providing information on its position if they need it), and also for any specifics they might be able to provide on their needs, such as the type of ammunition they need (as if they're primarily using weapons other than rifles, the exiles may or may not have a sufficient stockpile, and so might have to bring some in for them), so that the people here can prepare for their arrival properly.
u-b
Sean spends the rest of the morning shuffling around the gear, mainly around his stock and the rangers. Each ranger gets a better basic suit of armor, some sensible limb armor (shough Sean does not have enough  best  gear for everyone), a new ceramic plate (that is both stronger  and  lighter that what they came with, but not as durable), and most of them also get better weapons, though Sean has only two underbarrel GLs, so the rest has to wait. Sean proposes the men to keep only that front ceramic plate and hand  all  existing plates to the officer that will train and equip more troops. This way they will have only slightly increased weight of protection even with full limb armor on. Sean expects the downside of having less protection on the back to be tolerable, especially since the plates can be used to equip more troops. He remains open to other suggestions though.

Assuming Sean eventually learns about the mutant guys coming, Sean leaves the men to familiarize themselves with the gear while he visits Waffle House personnel here and asks their opinion on hosting some mutants that seem to share with us some common enemy. Whatever their opinion, Sean goes to the traders to buy some minor stuff*. He absolutely does not want to wipe the traders clean of spare change (and they don't have enough to cover Sean's needs anyway), so he maybe buys half pistol bullets or something*.

Meanwhile, Tariq makes switches from making GLs to making some ammo to have the two men with GLs something to actually shoot.

 
 Spoiler 
*The details will be filled later on. Mainly medical stuff for the mutants, but rounding up with some cash.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The mutants confirm, they will start heading over to the radar base. They have to travel about 65 miles to get there, so expect them in 5 or 6 days. They request medical attention when they arrive, as most of them are hurt, two of them are hurt badly. They'll also need replacement guns (they prefer shotguns but they know how to handle pistols) and probably ammo for it.

Sean equips the Rangers. They train for hours and familiarize themselves with the new gear.
(OC: Make a note of the gear stats in the OOC thread, Sean, just in case we need a quick reference.)

The Waffle House reps balk a little at mention of mutants. They remind Sean that mutants have attacked Waffle House in the past. They want his promise that he'll keep them on a tight leash and under guard, preferably disarmed unless necessary.

The traders are happy to have Sean as a customer. They offer some black powder paper cartridges as "small change" ($1) to help him buy stuff.
(OC: Sean, you think the traders might have ulterior motives here. They keep engaging people in small talk and gossip, but they seem to be using this as a pretext to hang around parts of the base to inspect it, needle people about their problems, and allude to the regional drug trade. Richard might do a better job of sizing them up...)

Tariq is very satisfied with his work. When he gets back to overseeing construction, he does so with a bright grin on his face.
u-b
Sean takes a note of Waffle House concerns. He says these mutants are not allies of those mutants, as confirmed by chats with the representatives of both groups, but yeah, we can play it safe. Sean tells Waffle House people and Richard that the mutants are to be housed outside of the perimeters until people inside of the perimeters are persuaded otherwise. With this arrangement, and not excessively arming those guys until we are satisfied, Sean says he does not expect explicit guarding to be necessary.

Dealing with the traders, Sean sells a bulk load of captured alcohol, a bulky blanket, a heavy helmet with additional cloth cap, a junky improvised pistol, two knives of various sizes, eight boxes of waterproof matches, a pair of shoes, his old broken visor which still might be some good and a set of sentry armor. He buys a pair of leather gloves, small first aid kit worth of medical supplies (expended and to be expended healing Sean and Richard), enough gasoline to top up all the vehicles, a good modern vehicular fire extinguisher and 115 pistol rounds. He becomes somewhat wary of how they may be overdoing "know your customer" part of the business, but does not bring that with them.

Having concluded the transaction, he goes to one of our local managers and asks if he can fetch an off-duty scout. Whether he can or cannot, Sean brings up the topic of infromation gathering by visitors to the base. While Sean thinks nothing is to be done at the moment to prevent it on top of what we already do (we separate the perimeters of base proper and the add-on, limiting all visitors to add-on only), he suggests we do some info gathering too, to which effect he'd like to have the traders tracked when they leave the base and for some amount of time, if our scouts can say they can do that.

 
 Spoiler 
Which group of thaders seems to be suspicious,  that one  or  this one ?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean’s orders are understood. They’ll cross the bridge when it comes to them.

The traders exchange the goods. They warn Sean that fuel may be harder to come by in the next few weeks, as Gunmetal City is slowing down the petrol and ethanol trade.

Sean can get an off-duty scout to report in. The guardsman opines that these traders may be agents of Red Brick City, probably trying to do some manoeuvring in the regional drug trade. The guards organise the visitors and merchants around the base. The scout agrees to try spying on the shady merchants, he’s apparently dealt with gangsters and drug runners before.

(OC: the latter group of merchants are suspicious, the ones selling firewood and illicit drugs.)
u-b
As for drug trade... Sean is not against the trade as such, even though he knows Richard has a more solid opinion, but he certainly does not want to run a town full of druggies. So, hmm... how about we assemble a thin stack of proposals about how things are to be done here and let people decide? Sean's minimal proposal on this particular topic would be, essentially:
1. Trade not restricted.
2. Use punishable by expulsion.

The details are to be filled in. He does not necessarily expect this proposal to win the vote against stronger proposals, but would advise against weaker proposals if any would be brought to vote.

Anyway, he does not intend to resolve this matter today, so leaves it as is at the moment. He then goes to call Chalmers over the radio to ask if he has found anyone in Red Brick who would like to be in any way  involved in Sean's action against mutant animals and the source of them. He says so far no one seems to have arrived, but maybe they are still in the city? Sean says he might be willing to meet them, say, in an hour or so?

Whatever the answer, he takes two cars (one Humvee and one Pickup Truck), some company (the officer of the militia and two men he designates, preferably ones having or willing to get a Red Mark, the Rangers' driver, Bart, two dogs) and some valuable loot, then leaves for Red Brick to meet either the person designated by the doc or those named by Chalmers.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 You remember the distance from the base to Red Brick, and then the distance from Red Brick to Gunmetal? 
 

I have Radar Base to Red Brick marked as 22 miles and Radar Base to Gunmetal marked as 90 miles, but no exact distance between Gunmetal and Red Brick.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The merchants grumble a little but agree to Sean's terms.
One of them makes a snide comment that punishing drug use will make people leave the base to get high.

Chalmers responds that recruiting gunmen in Red Brick is tricky. "The odds are good but the goods are odd." Plenty of mercenaries are available but he is not sure if he can trust any of them. He can try sending out the word, but he advises Sean to take a careful look at them before hiring them on. Sean can come to a bar he knows to meet him and discuss the matter further.

Sean is accompanied on his trip by reliable allies who know about about the city.

(OC: record the fuel used, and then make a Driving and Navigation roll, Sean. It's getting a little late by now, for a -2 Darkness penalty. I think your Colorblindness might factor in, too.)

 
 Spoiler 

I have Radar Base to Red Brick marked as 22 miles and Radar Base to Gunmetal marked as 90 miles, but no exact distance between Gunmetal and Red Brick.
 


(OC: Okay, the distance between Gunmetal and Red Brick is 68 miles then.)
u-b
Sean is unsure about recruiting people piecewise. He reminds Chalmers about the  last time  he brought up the topic, and says that his intent is largely unchanged since then. Was  the lead  not fruitful? Mainly, Sean's plan would be to have some high interested party in the loop in exchange for them blessing the mission and, optionally, providing observers of theirs.

Failing that, Sean goes straight to the doc.

 
 Spoiler 
Dice  rolled .
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: you shaved off 20% from the travel time.)

Chalmer's meeting with Sean starts when he gets to a quiet bar in Red Brick. It's safe enough, clean enough and the crowd is thin at this time.

Chalmers reports that the underboss working at the casino has not yet contacted him back.
He comments that three or four street gangs were willing to talk to Sean about providing muscle. They are all charging about $50 to $75 per day of fighting, and they might be under-equipped for the task ahead.
Chalmers advises Sean not to try hiring gangsters working in the drug trade or running a casino, as they may "bring too much baggage to the job".

Chalmers has lined up a few interviews, leaders of some gangs, who might help Sean. The two of you enjoy a drink at the bar before the first interviewee comes along.

(OC: Sean, you may need to roll interpersonal skills like Body Language, Detect Lies, Psychology, Streetwise, Criminology, Propaganda and so on.  Or rather, I will roll them in secret.  Just list them in the OOC or DICE ROLLS thread, I will roll them for you. Please note any bonuses or penalties that may affect the result, as well as base skill level.)
u-b
Sean knows himself about alcohol, so drinks only as little as practical. He does not want to look odd or out of place, but also does not want to get drunk. If questioned, he'll say he's on a  protracted  business today, so has to pace himself.

Sean expects hiring decisions to be made by sort of a committee consisting of himself, Chalmers, and the officer that will be responsible for commanding the gang(s), so tries his best to establish a solid opinion about each gang, including the topics raised by Chalmers, but does not intend to rely solely on that opinion.

 
 Spoiler 
Streetwise 10 including modifiers, Detect Lies 13, the rest are at defaults.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The drinks served at the bar are tasty enough, and so watered down that it's hard to get drunk without buying six packs of the stuff.
The interviews take 30 minutes in total. Chalmers and Sean sit down with 8 different gang leaders to see how well they suit Sean's needs.
Sean cottons onto three of the gangers lying about their past experiences and drug problems, so he dismisses them from the line-up.

The remaining five are a mixed bag - two of them seem capable enough but demand more payment. (OC: $100 per day of action.)
The cheaper gangs are either smaller (5 members instead of 11) or less equipped (only melee weapons and low tech armor).
Two of the gangs are hardened enough to fight well even in the face of bigger numbers, better gear or freaky mutants - but they are also volatile, resistant to taking orders or refraining from immoral actions.

The first gang, The Thousand Sorrows, is good enough. They have some guns, a few good armor sets, not chaotic enough to risk ruining a plan, payment is reasonable ($75 per day), 11 members.
The third gang, The Kingslayers, are good enough. They demand more money ($100 per day), but they make up for it by being better than the rest across the board. One of them has great armor (OC: TL 8 with trauma plates), but he admits he's also a bad shot (OC: skill-10 with any firearm).
The fourth gang, The White Booze, are also better than average but demanding more money. They also have an automatic battle rifle and know how to use it. Too bad they also have discipline problems, and shady practices (drug dealing, mostly).

The other gangs are a bit too weak for the job that Sean's got in mind.
u-b
Sean tells The Thousand Sorrows and The Kingslayers that they have cleared the first round of interviews. There would be a second round, but meanwhile they will get paid. Sean leaves 10 pistol rounds at the table for the barman, hands over 200 pistol rounds to The Vermont Rangers officer, telling these are now his men and this is now their pay. Sean will provide more when this fund is up. Things Sean wants to have clarified before we are done here:
1. Would the pay be different for days if inaction? Sean can Contract the gangs on case-by case basis or hire them for year-round outright if the inaction pay is reasonable.
2. The "bad shot" guy is asked if he is good with something other than firearms. Like maybe a shield or thrown stuff or we can try to train him with a flamethrower or some other heavy weapon if he's brave enough to bear one.

Then Sean takes his men (not the gangs, not the militia officer) and Chalmers to the supplier that the doc has designated to see what can be had and on what terms and time scale.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: skill-10 with any firearm. 
 

Now, that is kind of interesting. Having "skill 10 with  any  firearm" we can hand him a grenade launcher, a LAW or some such, and he'll be just as good with them as anyone else? Or does he has something else, like "skill  minus  10" to Guns (any) or something?

The Vermont Rangers officer has a radio helmet so will remain in contact while we remain in the city.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The bullets are handed out and taken with appreciation.
The gangers simply say that any day where serious action (a gunfight or brawl or hours of labor) takes place means they demand payment. They prefer a case-by-case basis. Long stretches of bodyguard work concern them if they don't have food, shelter, rest and water for the time at work.

The ganger in heavy armor (his name is Dorlan) claims he can use a flamethrower, a shield, throwing weapons, grenades and bows. He's not afraid to commit violence.
(OC: The ganger has base skill 10 with pretty much all specialties of Guns. He can handle a LAW or GL, just not particularly good.)

The supplier in Red Brick is a squirrely fellow, operating out of a semi-hidden shop down an alleyway, surrounded by armed and armored bodyguards. When he sees Sean is a customer flush with goods, he opens up and shows him his wares in big rugged cases.

Grenades. Sixteen swords. Six Concealable Vests with Anti-Stab Plates. Seven H&amp;R Model 8 Standard 12G single shotguns. Speedloaders and gun magazines - 12 of each. Compound Crossbow (plenty of bolts available). Heroin pills. Twenty Colt .45 SAA revolvers. Five "Tommy Gun" Auto-Ordnance Model 1921 SMGs. Two Remington Model 32 shotguns. 3 Ithaca Auto &amp; Burglar shotguns. Trench knives. Twenty-five S&amp;W Model 10 M&amp;P revolvers. Four S&amp;W Model 29 .44 revolvers. 6 Beretta Mod 92 semi-auto pistols. 13 Colt Government semi-auto pistols. 1 Remington Model 870 shotgun. Three Remington No.1 Rolling Block rifles. One Winchester Model1876 rifle. A Springfield M1873 rifle. 18 Remington Double-Derringer pistols. 30 S&amp;W Safety Hammerless revolvers.

He's got more "in the back room" and can file some "special orders" - if he's got the bullets to pay for it. The merchant himself has 3000 pistol bullets, 1000 shotgun shells, 1500 SMG bullets and 1000 rifle bullets on hand.

What does Sean desire?
u-b
Sean says he mainly wants good quality NBC protection gear, in bulk, if available. He can pick, choose, or request gear as appropriate depending on current and future availability. Sean has some bullets and barter goods of the shop's specialty on hand so can make any reasonable down payment or first batch payment, but will have to withdraw more from his account, taking, say, one day, if there is enough of gear available to fulfill  all  his needs.

 
 Spoiler 
I think I can see the gear in High Tech, especially after you've named some, just am afraid we might have trouble getting dozen+ NBC suits and gas masks.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The merchant sighs heavily as Sean specifies. He admits that he has a few ratty and worn NBC suits and gas masks, yes. But getting more will take a lot of time, and the products may not be good value for money.

(OC: rolled your luck, found it bad. The merchant is selling 4 sets of suits and masks, but they're all Cheap/Very Fragile (-1 DR, -2 HT, price -60%). Getting more will take 11 days, there's a 50% chance any of them will also be Cheap/Very Fragile.)
u-b
Sean buys all of that, paying cash, but does  not  place an order to have more in two weeks. He also buys ten rolls of good quality duct tape which he suspects he might need with the suits. When he's done with the transaction, he returns to the cars and calls Gunmetal merchants on the radio, asking if they have any NBC protection equipment.

 
 Spoiler 
Buying 4 suits, 4 gas masks and 10 rolls of duct tape for a total of 900 rifle rounds.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The merchant gladly takes Sean's payment and hands over the suits, masks and duct tape. He warmly encourages Sean to come again.

Returning to the open road, Sean makes the call. The Gunmetal contact on the other end pauses to check what's available, and come back with a bit of oil in his voice.

"Yes, we can hook you up with what you want...How would you like a discount? We can arrange a deal on your desired products...IF you help me out with a favor. Sounds good, right? I just need your help with something..."

(OC: Do you remember what the distance between Red Brick and Gunmetal is? I believe it's come up before.)

The Gunmetal contact then lays out his request; he wants Sean and friends to go spy on a certain gang of criminals, who are hiding out in a secure fort (built from the ruins of a skyscraper). Just find out what they're doing, who're selling drugs to, who's in the gang, what their gear is, that sort of thing. If you have to wipe them out, fine, that's good, too.

Do this, and the Gunmetal fixer can arrange a 75% discount.
u-b
Sean requests it confirmed that they are offering a 75% discount ( not  75% price) on the whole batch of 12+ modern biohazard suits and gas masks. If that's the way the things are, Sean is interested. He requests the following information before he proceeds with the task.
1. Time frame for this task.
2. Location (the specific point  and  the description of thereabouts including that of local population).
3. When they have taken control of the building.
4. When, and under what circumstances, they were designated as of interest (at all, and/or for this particular investigation).
5. What makes them be called "criminals" other than "selling drugs" (outside of the area controlled by Red Brick?).
6. What is already known about these "criminals".
7. Whether Sean can also buy modern computerized radio intercept equipment, preferably  before and  after the task.
8. Who is requesting the info (authorities, private individual(s), or what not). If that's private individuals, identifying them is not strictly necessary.
9. Whatever questions Sean can get from Chalmers and Richard.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean requests it confirmed that they are offering a 75% discount ( not  75% price) on the whole batch of 12+ modern biohazard suits and gas masks. If that's the way the things are, Sean is interested. He requests the following information before he proceeds with the task.
1. Time frame for this task.
2. Location (the specific point  and  the description of thereabouts including that of local population).
3. When they have taken control of the building.
4. When, and under what circumstances, they were designated as of interest (at all, and/or for this particular investigation).
5. What makes them be called "criminals" other than "selling drugs" (outside of the area controlled by Red Brick?).
6. What is already known about these "criminals".
7. Whether Sean can also buy modern computerized radio intercept equipment, preferably  before and  after the task.
8. Who is requesting the info (authorities, private individual(s), or what not). If that's private individuals, identifying them is not strictly necessary.
9. Whatever questions Sean can get from Chalmers and Richard. 
 

Whatever Sean would ordinarily pay, the man promises a 3/4ths off discount.
The man making the offer gives these answers.
1) One week to do the job.
2) The gang's fort is in the middle of a ruined Old World city, 30 miles from Gunmetal.
3) They've occupied the structure for 2 years.
4) 3 months ago, a truck full of their product was discovered getting smuggled into Gunmetal.
5) The gang also kidnaps people for ransom on occasion. They also steal and take on assassination jobs.
6) The gang calls themselves "The Ripcords," no idea why. They have good guns and armor.
7) Probably not.
8) Just him.

Sean suspects the man making the offer is leaving out certain political contexts regrading the job.
Just who are the targets of this job? He was awfully vague about that part. And he was straight-up lying on point number 8.
Volthawk
Hearing the deal, Richard asks Sean to check whether the guy needs an answer  now , or if they can think about it for a little bit (and while it's pretty clear Sean shouldn't relay this part, so they can check their concerns out a little first) with the understanding that the deadline wouldn't move either way. Besides just finding out how much information gathering they can do without comitting, Richard's also interested to see how the guy reacts to the proposal itself. The fishier the job, the more likely he is to pressure them into it, is Richard's thinking.

As far as the job itself goes...well, that depends on just how much they're being lied to here. If it's just a case of the contact wanting to hide the way this relates to internal Gunmetal politics, then...perhaps, although Richard's quite concerned that this might lead to a repeat of the Bread Basket situation, particularly given how little they actually know about the way Gunmetal works outside of the specific parts they've interacted with. At the same time, though, Gunmetal  is  an invaluable ally and supplier, so...perhaps. His main concern is the gang themselves - if they were the kind of people their contact is claiming they are, then Richard has no problem doing the job, but that "if" is doing a lot of work there. Given that the exiles already know he's lying to them, there's the possibility that these people aren't as bad as he's saying either.

And then there was the question of what this was all for...was Gunmetal planning on hitting them at some point? That'd be unusual, from what the exiles have generally seen of the way the cities have operated. After all, Mailer's army have had free range out in the wider world because of the cities keeping their attention close to home. Since when did they go out and hunt down gangs? There was the possibility of Gunmetal hiring another team to do the job, Richard supposed, but from what they'd seen it wasn't like hired guns were normally supplied strong intel gathered by another team. It all seemed...odd. As Richard thinks about it, part of him can't help but have the feeling like their contact is banking on the exiles getting spotted and having to fight their way out. Even then, that was a risky thing for him to bank on. Richard really isn't sure what to make of it, but suggests that Sean might want to ask about what the guy is planning on doing with the intel after they've collected it. He'll probably lie, of course, but even that might help narrow it down.
u-b
Politically, Sean is afraid this might be used to make us enemies of Red Brick, even if we "succeed" on the mission by whatever way. He sees risking his life against "real" bad guys much less problematic. He has an idea, though, and so proceeds to execute it. He calls Funny Platoon and raises the following topics/questions, in order:
1. Are they aware of an attempt to smuggle a truck full of drugs into Gunmetal about three months ago? If so, what they can tell about it?
2. If they know  anything  about that event, do they suppose it might be by the gang named "The Ripcords"?
3. What do they know about that gang named "The Ripcords" and its relation to the world in general? Where they are, what they do, who might wish them well or ill, and that sort of thing.
4. Do they allow, forbid or endorse traders in Gunmetal placing private bounties to spy on such gangs?
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 1. Are they aware of an attempt to smuggle a truck full of drugs into Gunmetal about three months ago? If so, what they can tell about it?
2. If they know  anything  about that event, do they suppose it might be by the gang named "The Ripcords"?
3. What do they know about that gang named "The Ripcords" and its relation to the world in general? Where they are, what they do, who might wish them well or ill, and that sort of thing.
4. Do they allow, forbid or endorse traders in Gunmetal placing private bounties to spy on such gangs? 
 

1) Yes. The contact has heard of such an event. It shook up Gunmetal quite a bit, got a few sabers rattling. Red Brick got a lot of flack over it, the Gunmetal elders threatened an embargo over it. They ended up raising tariffs instead.
2) No, The Ripcords were never involved in smuggling drugs into Gunmetal.
3) The contact knows The Ripcords only by reputation. They are scum working under big-dawgs in Red Brick. They have robbed merchant caravans here and there, or deployed strike teams against the black-neck-tattoo raider army.
4) The traders in Gunmetal are allowed to post bounties on most things as long as it is not ruled as treasonous by the elders. Spying on Red Brick gangs should be fine, by the city's rulers' standards.

Sean can tell the contact is being technically truthful, but still parroting official lines. There are things he deliberately avoids saying or alluding to, as a rhetorical strategy. He figures the contact's leaving out context when he talks about The Ripcords specifically.
u-b
There are enough discrepancies in this to turn down the offer outright, but Sean thinks if he could get that week to look into the situation without actually delaying what he was intending to do. So, he radios Richard, tells him the news, asks for an approval of the following plan and, if he gets it, proceeds to execute it.

Namely, Sean radios the trader to say he would have to learn more before accepting the task, but wants to proceed with the purchase right away. So how about...
1. The clock starts ticking.
2. Sean is NOT on the task and the task can be taken by any other entity.
3. If Sean decides to BE on the task, he'll call and check if it still has not been completed.
4. Meanwhile, Sean will purchase the gear at 100% full price and...
5. If he completes the task in a week, he'll get either 50% cash refund OR 100% additional gear for no additional money.

Whatever the reply, he asks Chalmers the following:
6. Whether Vermont Rangers would want or not want their name be anywhere in this op? Like, would they accept the tass themselves, knowing what they know?
7. Whatever his answer to that, Sean asks if Chalmers can conduct some investigation regarding goings on. Sean does not insist on it being fruitful.
Volthawk
Richard's in agreement with the plan. The information from the Funny Platoon about the Ripcord's reputation has Richard a little more at ease than he was before, but the politics of this were still a concern.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 1. The clock starts ticking.
2. Sean is NOT on the task and the task can be taken by any other entity.
3. If Sean decides to BE on the task, he'll call and check if it still has not been completed.
4. Meanwhile, Sean will purchase the gear at 100% full price and...
5. If he completes the task in a week, he'll get either 50% cash refund OR 100% additional gear for no additional money.

6. Whether Vermont Rangers would want or not want their name be anywhere in this op? Like, would they accept the tass themselves, knowing what they know?
7. Whatever his answer to that, Sean asks if Chalmers can conduct some investigation regarding goings on. Sean does not insist on it being fruitful. 
 

1) Sean has 4 days to accept the job before it goes to someone else.
2) As long as the job gets done...
3) That's fine, just don't flake.
4) Very well.
5) Acceptable.

6) Chalmers is skeptical, nervous. He would like the exiles to not take unnecessary risks. The Rangers may help out, but they would prefer a less chancy arrangement.
7) Chalmers can accept digging up some information. What would Sean like to know?

(OC: What skills would you like Chalmers to roll on your behalf? They may be rolled in secret.)
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Let's say Sean goes to Gunmetal as planned and does some shopping there and stays overnight. Meanwhile Volthawk can play the Rangers' officer in charge of militia doing his thing, like...
1. Evaluating the gang in more practical sense to get a better understanding of how we can use them and whether that matches what they have said (and whether they have any kind of their own transportation, etc.) and/or arranging how they are to be contacted when needed (radio, certain bar(s) or what not) and probably paying the men one day worth welcome pay for their trouble out of the pre-allocated funds given earlier by Sean.
2. Being contacted by Leemus and having him pre-screened for the superiors (like Richard and Sean).

We'll pick the officer (and Leemus) some early time tomorrow. 
 

Sean makes a trip over to Gunmetal city. He manages to shave off 20% from the expected travel time.

(OC: note the fuel used for the trip.)

He is welcomed by the usual Gunmetal crowd, free to do some shopping.

(OC: note purchases. Then spend $5 for a hotel stay or otherwise make camp for the night. Once that is confirmed, we go to the next day…)
u-b
At Gunmetal, Sean  transacts  as follows:
1. Sell sharp-protective arm armor x15.
2. Sell sharp-protective leg armor x15.
3. Buy brand-new biohazard suit x7.
4. Buy brand-new best quality gas mask x7.
5. Buy properly stored still sealed disposable one-size-fits-all NBC suit x2.
6. Buy decontamination sprayer x2.
7. Buy rifle cartridge x640.

This completely drains our account. Then Sean asks if gas supply is in any way limited and pays for the hotel to stay overnight.

 
 Spoiler 
I have deducted 7 pistol cartridges for everyone's stay both in Gunmetal and Red Brick.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 At Gunmetal, Sean  transacts  as follows:
1. Sell sharp-protective arm armor x15.
2. Sell sharp-protective leg armor x15.
3. Buy brand-new biohazard suit x7.
4. Buy brand-new best quality gas mask x7.
5. Buy properly stored still sealed disposable one-size-fits-all NBC suit x2.
6. Buy decontamination sprayer x2.
7. Buy rifle cartridge x640.

This completely drains our account. Then Sean asks if gas supply is in any way limited and pays for the hotel to stay overnight.

 
 Spoiler 
I have deducted 7 pistol cartridges for everyone's stay both in Gunmetal and Red Brick.
 
 
 

The merchants shuffle around their stockpiles for a bit looking for the items Sean wants, but they do manage to make the trade he wants in the end. With the trade done, Sean settles down for the night at a hotel.

The gasoline for sale is somewhat limited; there's only up to 10 gallons for sale. The price is what he's used to.

(OC: note the food and water consumed for the day.)

 DAY 85 

Sean wakes up the next day well-rested. So does Richard.

After breakfast, Sean is contacted by the Vermont Rangers. They have their intelligence report for him.
The Ripcords are accused of kidnapping a Gunmetal elder’s son and holding him in secret. The Ripcords’ boss is a high status Red Brick gangster who infamously advocates a war with Gunmetal. The Ripcords are believed to have stolen a Gunmetal cache of high tech stuff and/or killed important Gunmetal merchants in the past.

(OC: AdamSpeg, you can introduce yourself to the campaign now.)

Sean and Richard prepare themselves for the new day and organize their forces.
Volthawk
Richard's not happy to hear the additional context provided by the Rangers, but it's for the best that they know. Thinking it over, Richard figures that one way or another, they're going to get dragged into the politics of this - if they help one side, then obviously that's going to reflect on them, but if they do nothing...well, there's a very real risk in Richard's mind that them keeping out of it, the fact they were asked for help but refused, might reflect badly on them towards the Gunmetal elders, and that's a connection they've done a lot of work to foster. Perhaps...Richard supposes that if they did the work subtly, they might be able to minimise blowback from Red Brick. The Gunmetal merchant probably wasn't going to go tell anyone associated with Red Brick who did the job, after all, and the exiles can hopefully control knowledge of the details on their end...so  maybe , just maybe, they might be able to avoid blowback from either side. Or they could just refuse and hope Richard's concerns about their refusal making its way back to important people in Gunmetal are unfounded. He's not sure which is better.
AdamSpeg
Late in the day, Richard and Sean hear a knock at the door of their rented room. Standing in the hallway is a man nearly tall enough to brush his head against the ceiling, wearing plain (but enormously sized) clothes. The man appears unarmed, and speaks after a moment of silence.

He asks if they are the men from the Radar Base, and comments on how they've become big news lately. He inquires if they are still hiring extra bodies and introduces himself as "Lemus", but explains no further.
u-b
Sean spends 6 rifle rounds to buy all the gas. He asks what is the reason for the shortage and whether he can help with that. Whatever the answer, he intends to do the other business first, but is inclined to resolve the fuel problem later.

Anyway, with full tanks and some extra in a plastic drum that will later need washing, Sean leads the way back to Red Brick where he finds the Rangers' officer in charge of militia chatting with some big guy.

 "Sean Pires. And you are?" 

Learning that the man is...
1. A candidate to our militia and...
2. Supposedly good shot on top of raw physical power and...
3. Does not request a huge amount up front and...
4. Does not look particularly problematic, as far as Red Brick men go...

Sean quickly proposes the man to get into the car for the recruitment process to be finalized back at base. He sets to drive right there, right then.

The plans for the day are...
5. Give some men some biohazard suts and gas masks.
6. Instruct them on how all this stuff is supposed to be used.
7. Test all this stuff with an enclosed room and some tear gas.
8. Maybe use some duct tape as needed.
9. Let the men familiarize themselves further and meanwhile conduct a proper interview.
AdamSpeg
The large man seems to size Sean up. He appears contented.

 I'm Lemus. 

He agrees to ride back immediately, and loads himself into the vehicle. He doesn't seem to own anything besides the clothes on his back and the hiking pack he's carrying.

 Why are you hiring so many men? 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean spends 6 rifle rounds to buy all the gas. He asks what is the reason for the shortage and whether he can help with that. Whatever the answer, he intends to do the other business first, but is inclined to resolve the fuel problem later. 
 

The merchant explains that Gunmetal is transitioning to other types of fuel, particularly gasifiers and ethanol. The gasoline industrial processes are being converted into other tools and machines. Gunmetal is doing a lot of gasoline sales to Bread Basket and the smaller settlements, in preparation for getting out of the fossil fuel business.

Sean makes his trip to Red Brick and the radar base in good time.
(OC: 20% less travel time for both trips. Note the fuel expended.)

(OC: AdamSpeg, do you need links to the OOC and Dice Rolls threads, sorry?)
AdamSpeg
 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 (OC: AdamSpeg, do you need links to the OOC and Dice Rolls threads, sorry?) 
 

(OOC: I've got the most recent threads, thanks. Looks like you all are pretty on top of knowing when to roll without being prompted, driving and navigating between settlements. I'll try to be proactive on rolling skills so I don't slow things down, but lmk if you need any from me.)
u-b
 "Well, we... have no better use for the funds."  Sean does not seem overly certain about this statement, but also does not seem to be making it up.  "You can load only so much useful gear on a man and that gear can do only so much for a person. We've wiped out a few slaver gangs, got all their stuff and now are trying to turn that pile into something usable. You see, the slavers have sort of moved south, but they are also sort of here. There are also weird critters killing people left and right... Some people you see here at this camp have been hit by one or the other to there is a sort of understanding something better be done about both. In fact, we'll try to do something as soon as tomorrow. Doing some Gutter sort of thing, if you are interested. Hm. What are your usual terms, by the way?" 
 
 Spoiler 
The GM will explain what you know about the Gutter.
 
AdamSpeg
 Sounds like you're trying to make a lot of waves around here. I've heard a little about your group the last few days, people talk. 
Lemus shows a grimace that may have been an attempt at a smile.
 No terms, consider me at your beck and call. For anything. I just like to be where the big things are happening. 
u-b
Sean grimaces as lots of waves, big things and last few days are all mentioned all close together.  "Should have been killed more than once, so if you are not specifically aiming for a long career, we can guarantee aiming big here and there. Not exactly my choice, sometimes it just escalates, but we'll see how it goes."  Then Sean turns to more practical matters.  "Good shot huh? You know what. Take this and hit a pinecone over there."  Sean hands over his M14 rifle with what seem to be a x8 magnification scope and a... tactical light or a targeting laser of sorts... and points at a pine tree some 40 yards away.  "Any one will do." 
 
 Spoiler 
Assume they are between SM-8 to SM-6 with a range penalty of -8.
 
AdamSpeg
Lemus accepts the rifle and examines it with an experienced eye, it looks small in his hands. He's impressed by the care that's been given to maintaining it.  "I don't embellish my skills, sir."  Bracing against the body of the car, he spends a few moments selecting a low hanging pine cone before blowing it clean off the branch. Lemus ejects the round and collects it in a practiced motion, then offers the gun back to Sean.  "Do you plan to stick me on pine cone hunting duty?"  Lemus says, without any humor.
Volthawk
Richard takes a little bit of time to join Sean and Lemus after the pair get back from the Radar Base - if Lemus asks, he'll briefly explain that he's still recovering from a nasty bout of illness, which is also why he isn't coming along on the next mission out. He gets there soon enough to see Lemus display his skill with a rifle, though, and to catch a little of their discussion. Once Lemus is done shooting, he says his piece.  "It's not quite as simple as 'making waves', really. The...slavers, raiders, neck tattoo guys, whatever you want to call them...to cut a long story short, there's a history there between them and us, and we only found out about it after we ended in the middle of it. We've had to fight them to survive at first, and then as we learned more about who they are and what they do, we became opposed to them for far more important reasons as well. Things have just...escalated since there, as we've learned more about what's out there, and...well. Put simply, we have the skills and the equipment to make this land safer, to bring...some kind of justice, I suppose you could say...so that's what we're doing, and hiring more manpower just makes that mission easier. " He shrugs - he clearly believes in what he's saying, but he still feels a little self-conscious laying it all out like that to someone who isn't Sean.  "And from a more selfish perspective, we've generally come out ahead from our encounters out there so we can afford to keep improving our gear and keep everyone well fed and paid, so that's nice. But that's more Sean's department, really." 
AdamSpeg
Lemus seems to have blanked out a bit by the end of Richard's explanation.  "Shooting back is usually the best response." , he offers. Grandiose talk seems to have made him uncomfortable and unsure of how to respond.
u-b
 "Not quite pinecone hunting..."  says Sean while trying to evaluate what he's seen  "but that's the closest thing to a brain-sized target at ranges at which we are actually shot at. I chose to leave human brains intact for this evaluation."  As for evaluation... well, the man did not embellish his skills, but neither did he showcase them. Putting himself in man's shoes, Sean thinks he would not have cared to take the few steps to the car and would have chosen a smaller pinecone, but, well, a hit is a hit, we'll just have to see how it goes. He speaks of the other things though.  "The mission we are now planning will be in tight quarters with less range and less time to shoot. So I guess we can get you a full-auto rifle or..."  he seems to think of something  "...just wait here a bit." 

Then Sean fetches up Tariq and the officer in charge of the strike team.

 "This man comes with us and is fairly good shot. I guess we better come up with some sort of plan for the op, or at least with a soadout. Like maybe..."  And he continues explaining his first proposal, requesting comments. The proposal is roughly like this:
1. Seven men in good NBC gear with Browming M1918 BARs and underbarrel tac lights advance in front. The NBC gear will adversely affect them, so they likely will have to aim for a second at whatever they are to shoot at, unless very close, which will give some time to the opposition and this makes us want to do something about that part.
2. Two men in poor NBC gear with Colt M16A1s with underbarrel GLs will come next. Sean proposes the GLs to be loaded with flashbangs as that would be perfectly safe even shot straight at our frontline men who will have both ear and eye protection.
3. The two remaining men, in poor NBC gear, will be a guy with a plazma cutter to open all sorts of doors and a guy to disarm the explosives. These will move between front and back depending on our immediate needs.
4. Sean fits into this picture  somewhere , presumably behind frontline men, with a gas mask, but no suit. He explains he've had a lot of immunity shots over the course of his life, did not catch the disease the last time and so is willing to risk it to provide a rapid response in case something shows up.
5. Lemus is also to fit somewhere. Sean proposal is if Tariq will loan us his GL, we can then load it with flashbangs and tear gas and have the man dispersing that freely all over when he sees the need. We'll also have to borrow Tariq's gas mask. Sean thinks a disposable NBC suit  should  fit Lemus, but he's not unpacking it until we are at the spot.

 
 Spoiler 
So, alternatives? Opinions?
 
AdamSpeg
Lemus watches Sean leave and return with the 2 other men, and listens quietly the proposed plan. He speaks up a few times, clarifying that he's never used a grenade launcher before but will figure it out. A NBC suit may need to be modified to fit him, he's never had much luck finding gear his size. The proposed organization of the other men sounds well thought out, if this group is so well supplied Lemus has a few requests: A reliable conventional firearm and something flexible to wear underneath the suit for added protection. He also offers to carry any additional or particularly heavy equipment

Lemus has personally never been down into the Gutter beyond a few feet, and asks what they're expecting to find down there.
Shoot Da Moon
The officer meets Sean with a nod, he barks orders to his men to prepare.
The soldiers take the orders with professional grace, smoothly equipping themselves with the gear.
The NBC suits are not what they're used to, however. Even with their focus and training, they are obviously a little clumsy in the protective gear. They look weirdly ominous in them, too.
u-b
 "Expecting men, mines, security systems, disease and some bio lab."  Sean think that about covers it, but adds the last relevant bit.  "Mutated animals above ground."  There  might  be mutated animals below and other biolab products, but he does not expect them to be present or much of a problem. Having recently spoken of a plasma cutter, Sean hands it over to the driver / mechanic Rangers guy to practice. He can as well practice with the welding equipment, but that he has a better chance to be familiar with. Lemus' request is basically granted. Sean departs to fetch him the gear.
AdamSpeg
Lemus is glad to be employed by someone willing to properly equip him, others would have sent him into the Gutter knife in hand and handkerchief around the face. Low risk high reward investment as far as they'd have been concerned. He sets about picking gear out and familiarizing himself with their workings. He will be ready to depart as soon as the word is given.
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus manages to avoid butter-finger-ing the new guns he is handed by Sean, to everyone's relief.

(OC: Made your DX roll to avoid disaster via Klutz, Lemus.)

The Ranger makes sure he can handle the torch, he wants to be ready for action.
u-b
Tariq instructs Lemus about using the grenade launcher (and hopes both make it back all right). He recommends targeting the ground, because that is much easier (OOC: +4 to hit) and a miss by several yards might still have most of the targets in the area. Consulting with Sean, the recommended loadout for Lemus is all HEDPs while outdoors and alternating flashbang / tear gas / flashbang / tear gas while indoors. We do not have enough tear gas for the whole extended capacity, so in this case the rest should be just flashbangs. This way Lemus can shoot them in pairs for all-around effect.

Tariq spends the rest of the day overseeing construction.

 
 Spoiler 
And I think we are done for today.
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Richard, are you resting for the day? Once we've confirmed that, we'll move onto the next day.)
Shoot Da Moon
The rest of the day goes by smoothly, the construction work makes decent progress.
The people at the radar base settle in for a peaceful night...

 DAY 86 

(OC: I believe the construction work is close to completion?)

The next morning is clear. Not too cold.

To everyone's horror and sorrow, however, the people of the radar base discover three merchants who came to this base selling clothing, blankets and other cloth items have committed suicide sometime last night. They left no note. Their fellow merchants mourn...

(OC: Sean and Richard, I believe you two have the Guilt Complex Disadvantage? You may be severely troubled by these deaths...)
u-b
Sean does not quite believe in mass suicides, so as soon as he learns of the event, he does the following, in order:
1. Tell Vermont Rangers and Wafle House men to inform everyone that no one should leave today without an explicit permission by either Richard and Sean. Those wishing to obtain permission are to seek either of us ASAP.
2. Take [D]oc, [R]ichard and Lemus to the site and invite the rest of the [M]erchants to be available nearby. Then start asking questions.
3. [MR] What is the place of the deaths?
4. [D] What are the times of the deaths?
5. [D] What are the manners and causes of the deaths?
6. [D] Do the deceased seem to have been normal healhy humans?
7. [DR] Are there any signs of struggle anywhere on the bodies or the site?
8. [D] Is anything else (tests, autopsy or what not) necessary to be sure of the above or anything more to say?
9. [M] Who else was present anywhere nearby?
10. [M] How were the deceased related among themselves and with the rest of the merchants.
11. [M] The details of the last day's worth of interactions with the deceased, including the time, place and manner of the last contact with the deceased.
12. [M] What property did the deceased have and what would be its fate?
13. [R] Anything interesting to be found on site?

Sean intends to do whatever is in his power to get to the bottom of this.
Shoot Da Moon
The militia and Rangers close up ranks and tighten security according to Sean's instructions.

Sean and his friends look over the scene.
The doctor says he thinks they died at approximately 10 PM last night, right where they were found.
They all died of a drug overdose, but they also cut their wrists as they took the overdose.
The dead people did not have any mutations.
No signs of a struggle.
The doctor is not sure what else he could do, aside from a full autopsy, which he is not that good at.
The nearest person near the dead is another merchant, a man trying to sell bullets who was sleeping in a tent near their sleeping site.
The surviving merchants did not seem to know the diseased well. They think they were all friends for over a year. They joined up with the survivors 2 months ago.
The surviving merchants did not interact with them much yesterday. It was mostly just eating meals together, swapping items for sale as trading, talking about where to go next.
The dead people still have a small stock of cloth, clothing and blankets plus their camping supplies, tools, bullets, simple weapons, water and food. They have not decided what to do about that yet.
Lemus does not find anything out of the ordinary in the diseased peoples' belongings. None of the merchants had a diary or a recording device.
Volthawk
Richard takes the news about the merchants badly. Suicide, here...they were here to make this place better, and so far the growth around the radar base had been a perfect example of that, so hearing about someone here still finding it hard enough for that...it bothers him. When he hears Sean's insistence that there's something else going on...well, he's not quite sure Sean has it right, but trusting Sean's gut has gone well for them before, so Richard goes along with the investigation.

While Lemus and the doc look at the bodies, Richard focuses on the wider room. If there was foul play here, then someone must have come in here - presumably, if this was murder, the killer came in and slit their wrists while they were too high to resist. Vocalising his thoughts while he searches for any signs (he's a little doubtful, given this was hardly a sterile environment to start with, even before the merchants who found the bodies presumably came in and then the exiles, but he had to show due dillegence - some things from his old life remained, he supposed), he asks the doc whether it was possible that someone gave them more of the drugs they were taking while they were under the influence, to push it into an OD. On the topic of the wrist slitting, he asks whether either of them have seen the blade that is was done with nearby to the bodies.
AdamSpeg
Lemus wonders about calling these people "merchants" in the first place. It seems they barely had goods to sell, and what they did have were simple blankets and provisions. If they did kill themselves, seems to him like they might have done so because of their poor future survival prospects. He finishes sorting through the belongings, and lets Doc and Richard continue their investigations. Lemus listens to Sean ordering the various base personnel around, and offers,  "What do you want to do with the bodies?" 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard does indeed find knives in their hands. It seemed that the blade across their wrists was the backup plan in case the drugs did not kill them quick enough. In one case, the poor person did indeed resort to the blade, but the other dead perished from the drugs.

This looks like a pretty solid case for suicide to Richard. There are no unaccounted for entries into the scene before anyone showed up this morning. The bodies have not been disturbed, no signs of a struggle. The knife wound is clearly self-inflicted. If someone else murdered them, that person would have to sneak past the guards around the merchants' tents, and would probably leave behind footprints. He can find no footprints and the guards report no suspicious activity last night.

And why would a murderer go such lengths for three kills and leave all the valuables behind? The motive, other than simple sadism, could only be revenge or some other similarly personal drive. But he does not know the story of the merchants, so he can't say with any confidence that someone killed them for that (he may have to dig deeper with people who knew them, which the other merchants did not). He's more certain that they died by their own hands.
u-b
This was increasingly looking like an overreaction to Sean's proposed drug regulation and Sean was feeling increasingly unwell. He asks the doc if he can confirm they were habitual drug users and checks if they seem to have had enough funds to get by if expelled. He asks the merchants if (and when) these people have interacted with the merchants selling drugs and whether (and when) the merchants selling drugs have left the base.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 This was increasingly looking like an overreaction to Sean's proposed drug regulation and Sean was feeling increasingly unwell. He asks the doc if he can confirm they were habitual drug users and checks if they seem to have had enough funds to get by if expelled. He asks the merchants if (and when) these people have interacted with the merchants selling drugs and whether (and when) the merchants selling drugs have left the base. 
 

The doctor claims they show no signs of being long term drug addicts.
The dead merchants did not have much funds and supplies left. Maybe a week's worth, if they went half-rations.
The merchants claim the drug hawkers had little contact with the suicides.
The drug pushers have cleared out from the base just yesterday, a little after noon. They apparently had a hot tip for well-heeled buyer.
u-b
This did not make a huge amount of sense. They've just bought half their wealth worth of drugs so they have stuff to kill themselves with? Sean asks Richard to interview some or most people that these three have contacted over the last several days (maybe starting with merchants as these are most prone to leave, but buyers and the rest of people here at the base are sure to be included too) for signs of harsh financial contitions, chronic depression, suicidal tendencies, major recent events or some such that the deceased might have been showing. Meanwhile, Sean semi-lifts travel ban meaning that if you leave today half an hour chat with Richard is mandatory, but that's about it.

Sean does not like it even one bit, but proposes that, with exception of Richard, we are done here and should get ready to leave.

The allocation of the cemetery is left to Tariq and the actual burial and what not is left to their fellow merchants, unless they decline.
Shoot Da Moon
The other merchants take care of the burial. Two of them have shovels. They can bury the dead outside the base grounds.

The people who had the most contact with them were buyers (mostly base staff who wanted new clothes or bedding) and the merchants specializing in bullets (who traded with them).

One bullet merchants interviewed claims the suicides were running out of funds, doubted that they could get enough supplies to make a trip across the state for better markets, and were increasingly depressed at the prospect of starving or getting slaughtered on the road.

Another bullet merchants claimed the suicides had recently lost a friend to gangsters "collecting on a debt" about two weeks ago.
u-b
While Richard is occupied talking to people, Sean takes most Vermont Rangers, Lemus, Bart, three militia men, the dogs and the drone all riding two cars and six bikes and makes a trip to the facility that has been of his interest. He is not expecting a safe trip, but is willing to take the risks. Even if the team is safe most of the way, Sean plans to stop some half a mile from the site and make the rest of the jorney at slower speed, with Sean scouting some distance ahead and some of the rest of the men near the cars ready to open fire if things start to happen.
AdamSpeg
If the group makes it to their destination safety, Lemus attempts to organize the men into a defensive posture while moving the last half mile/setting up nearby the facility. Strategic placement of the vehicles for cover from open shooting lanes, lookouts keeping eyes to the sides/behind of the convoy, etc.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's convoy over to the place goes smoothly enough.

(OC: -20% travel time, mark off the fuel used. Do you need me to remind you of the distance?)

When they arrive, Sean scouts out ahead, staying low.

Lemus has problems getting the men under his command to form up properly. Some are distracted by personal arguments. He does, however, keep his eyes peeled for threats and help Sean spot columns of black smoke rising far to the south.

Sean, alongside him, makes out more points of interest (apparently something new introduced to the area by someone) closer to the targeted destination; two cars has been abandoned in the parking lot attached to the building lot, a pack of 20-or-so mutated wolves are resting about 60 yards from the building, a large teepee has been set up atop the building's roof (no smoke or light is coming from it, it may be empty), a line of heads set on 2 meter long wooden spikes near the building as to warn off trespassers, and lots of white chalk lines (symbols?) drawn on the cement just outside the building.
AdamSpeg
Lemus is primarily concerned with pack of mutated animals nearby. Does it seem like they've been nesting in the building, or just happen to be passing by? How far away from the convoy is the pack, and how feasible is it to start firing to clear their numbers and scare them off?
u-b
Sean is not afraid of mutated wolves too much, but is somewhat concerned about snipers and columns of smoke. He ignores the later for now and looks for a position where...
1. Most of the group can practically reach without alerting the wolves of the people in the gas station.
2. The troops will have their choice of shooting at the wolves and maybe the gas station from partial cover and going to full cover if some unseen attackers surface.
3. As far from both the wolves and the gas station as possible while meeting both points above.

If there is no such position, Sean chooses the next bast thing. In any case, he leads the men there in a route that does not expose them much.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus is primarily concerned with pack of mutated animals nearby. Does it seem like they've been nesting in the building, or just happen to be passing by? How far away from the convoy is the pack, and how feasible is it to start firing to clear their numbers and scare them off? 
 

Lemus thinks the pack is roving around in the open, not nesting anywhere. The pack is quite far from the convoy, easily over 80 to 100 yards. Firing at them would certainly scare them off, even if no gun hit any of them.


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean is not afraid of mutated wolves too much, but is somewhat concerned about snipers and columns of smoke. He ignores the later for now and looks for a position where...
1. Most of the group can practically reach without alerting the wolves of the people in the gas station.
2. The troops will have their choice of shooting at the wolves and maybe the gas station from partial cover and going to full cover if some unseen attackers surface.
3. As far from both the wolves and the gas station as possible while meeting both points above.

If there is no such position, Sean chooses the next bast thing. In any case, he leads the men there in a route that does not expose them much. 
 

Sean figures there's a few elevated positions, mostly ruined buildings, which could help his people get eyes on the station and the pack - but that's where he'd put the boobytraps if he were protecting this area from intruders.
The troops think shooting at the wolves is a waste of time and bullets. And they think the station is not going to be protected by just guards inside. There's going to be patrols and snipers hiding out in the buildings around the station. A position as far from both the pack and the station is the top of a wrecked four-story building, 200 yards away from the station.
u-b
Sean does not quite like the idea of getting the men climb some wrecked building. Can he say how far he can be on the ground level while still able to line a shot? And what sorts of things limit that?
AdamSpeg
Using the ground level of the 4-story building as a bunker sounds like a good idea, full cover/concealment from any roving guards while still giving sight over everything. He'd be willing to brave the upper floors and rooftop to have a better shot at the station's roof, where snipers are most likely to be watching from.

(OOC: What is the range penalty for shooting that far?)
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean does not quite like the idea of getting the men climb some wrecked building. Can he say how far he can be on the ground level while still able to line a shot? And what sorts of things limit that? 
 

The view from the ground floor is a straight 80 yards to a target, but it can be easily blocked by buildings or natural flora. The pack can easily slip away into undergrowth or a building, easy cover and concealment.


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Using the ground level of the 4-story building as a bunker sounds like a good idea, full cover/concealment from any roving guards while still giving sight over everything. He'd be willing to brave the upper floors and rooftop to have a better shot at the station's roof, where snipers are most likely to be watching from.

(OOC: What is the range penalty for shooting that far?) 
 

Lemus' attempt to climb to the top is ill-thought out. He brings down a wall on the ground floor and barely gets away unscathed, and climbing up a ladder to the next floor results in him collapsing a load-bearing wall onto him...

(OC:  DARN CONNECTION/FORUM ATE MY POST AARGH , structural integrity modifier is now -4. Tally is 3 from mishaps.  Lemus takes 5 crushing damage before DR , can roll to avoid getting trapped but probably won't make it.)
AdamSpeg
Lemus is briefly trapped by the collapsing wall, but is able to shoulder the weight off of him after a moment. He does suffer many bruises and scratches from the incident though. Lemus decides not to press the old building, and just sets up on the floor he's ended up on. He watches the station from a window.
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus spots no-one in or around the gas station.

But he does hear people walking around close-by, in the same building as him. They are closing in on his position. They might have heard him flailing around the collapsing walls...
AdamSpeg
Lemus calls out to the rest of the group, trying to alert them that this building is occupied. He retreats away from the entrance to the room and sets up behind any kind of cover.

(OOC: Wait, All Out Attack if an enemy walks through the door)
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus feels his sweat roll down the side of his face as he keeps his gun pointed at the doorway.

10 seconds after he first heard the noise and called out, a man unknown to him walks into view.
The brawny man is dressed head-to-toe in unimpressive leather armor and has a sword ready, menacingly.

(OC: Lemus, roll DX to avoid mishandling your gun due to Klutz. And then roll your attack afterward if you make it. The range modifier is -2. And no darkness penalty.)
u-b
Sean is a bit unsure what to do and that man in the house did not have the radio, so... Sean quietly orders the rest of the men to take positions around the house, either adjacent to it or behind some cover as approptiate depending on the terrain and the state of the house walls. Sean himself takes a position next to the wall of first floor, more or less directly below where he has heard Lemus. He does not yet announce his presence.

 
 Spoiler 
Bart and three militia riflemen will remain hiding behind cover some distance from the house in general direction of the cars. They will try to observe the scene from time to time. The Rangers are expected to be more aggressive, but that's up to Volthawk to actually handle. Those with the radios should have heard Sean talk and the rest might follow suit.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus avoids fumbling his gun and fires a 4-round-burst at the newcomer.
All four rounds land right into the swordsman. The enemy(?) goes down, dead without a prayer.
(OC: remember that you now have 4 less shots in your current magazine.)

Just 5 seconds later, Lemus hears more people moving around this floor of the building.

Sean gets the men into position around the building. He feels his blood become ice cold as he hears a bell start to ring out in the distance, an alarm raised somewhere within 100 yards of the gas station. One of these buildings has a big church(?) bell that someone is ringing.
u-b
Sean tells quietly over the radio:  "You storm the first floor, take cover from snipers and get ready to leave."  Then he takes a quick look inside, intending, if nothing there seems unsafe, to enter the first floor himself, either through some missing wall or a window, and take cover from outside threats behind this building's non-missing outer wall.

 
 Spoiler: If that succeeds 
Sean shouts it out loud:  "SURRENDER OR TALK!" 
 
AdamSpeg
Lemus moves quickly after downing the swordsman, and attempts to hide in the dark rooms of the (not-so) abandoned building. He's all for shoot first, question later, but seems like Sean wants to give talking a chance. He listens closely to the people moving around on the same floor as him (the second floor?), trying to make out their conversation.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean tells quietly over the radio:  "You storm the first floor, take cover from snipers and get ready to leave."  Then he takes a quick look inside, intending, if nothing there seems unsafe, to enter the first floor himself, either through some missing wall or a window, and take cover from outside threats behind this building's non-missing outer wall.

 
 Spoiler: If that succeeds 
Sean shouts it out loud:  "SURRENDER OR TALK!" 
 
 
 

The men hustle.
Sean's peek reveals what he thinks is two or three men running around the ground floor of the building, but they are quickly out of sight, behind walls and into other rooms.
He's sure the men he saw were carrying swords.


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus moves quickly after downing the swordsman, and attempts to hide in the dark rooms of the (not-so) abandoned building. He's all for shoot first, question later, but seems like Sean wants to give talking a chance. He listens closely to the people moving around on the same floor as him (the second floor?), trying to make out their conversation. 
 

Lemus hears more men moving around the building. He thinks they're somewhere around a staircase or a corner room. They are definitely talking to one another, but it's all one word sentences and probably single code words for pre-planned phrases.
He finds a good hiding spot in one of the rooms, behind an old desk in a dark corner.

(OC:
 (3d6)[9] vs 15 Stealth (any bonuses for darkness?) 

 Not exactly. More like the people looking for you suffer penalties.)
u-b
Sean is not really afraid of men with swords. He's more afraid of snipers. So he  does  enter the building and  does  demand they talk. He is just careful not to remain near any corner leading further in, but instead near some way leading out.
AdamSpeg
Lemus waits to see if the men answer Sean's repeated calls. If they refuse to talk, he'll begin to creep around the floor, trying to locate the enemy's position.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean is not really afraid of men with swords. He's more afraid of snipers. So he  does  enter the building and  does  demand they talk. He is just careful not to remain near any corner leading further in, but instead near some way leading out. 
 

Sean can see one thug in the distance (about 15 yards away) peeking around a corner. He's not sure if the man is carrying a sword, as he is keeping most of his body out of sight...
(OC: You have one second of action to react, Sean.)


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus waits to see if the men answer Sean's repeated calls. If they refuse to talk, he'll begin to creep around the floor, trying to locate the enemy's position. 
 

Lemus does not see any more attackers.
(OC: consider making a Tracking or Observation roll to pick a trail.)
u-b
Sean makes one shot at the man's scull and shouts again:  "START TALKING NOW, YOU, PEOPLE!" 
 
 Spoiler 
If targeted, will dodge with extra effort.
 
Volthawk
The rangers follow Sean into the building, the majority (ten men, evenly split between M16s and BARs, with one GL-equipped M16) setting up in positions that mostly cover the squads' backs - they're not going to poke their heads out where a sniper could pick out, of course, but while Sean's distracted with the people inside they're ready to open up if anyone approaches the building from outside.

The team that joins Sean is made up of five men - both shotgunners, joined by one of the rangers whose M16 has a grenade launcher, and a pair with BARs. While the shotgunners seem happy to wait and blow away any swordsmen that try to rush them, the ranger with the M16 coughs meaningfully and taps his grenade launcher, indicating to Sean that he's ready to launch a flashbang at the far wall on command, should shouting for a surrender fail.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean makes one shot at the man's scull and shouts again:  "START TALKING NOW, YOU, PEOPLE!" 
 
 Spoiler 
If targeted, will dodge with extra effort.
 
 
 

The peeking man is caught off-guard by Sean's shot, and is killed right away by the bullet taking his head off at the shoulders. He sees a quick burst of flame engulfing the spot where the dead man falls. He was carrying a petrol bomb bottle that hit the floor and exploded.

The other men lurking in the building seem to react to this by screaming in alarm and running around, perhaps away.
"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!!", Sean hears in the distance.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 The rangers follow Sean into the building, the majority (ten men, evenly split between M16s and BARs, with one GL-equipped M16) setting up in positions that mostly cover the squads' backs - they're not going to poke their heads out where a sniper could pick out, of course, but while Sean's distracted with the people inside they're ready to open up if anyone approaches the building from outside.

The team that joins Sean is made up of five men - both shotgunners, joined by one of the rangers whose M16 has a grenade launcher, and a pair with BARs. While the shotgunners seem happy to wait and blow away any swordsmen that try to rush them, the ranger with the M16 coughs meaningfully and taps his grenade launcher, indicating to Sean that he's ready to launch a flashbang at the far wall on command, should shouting for a surrender fail. 
 

The rangers keep a good lockdown on the various angles. The three of them watching the places north and north-west of Sean see five enemies moving through the building. One of them has a pistol in his hand instead of a sword.

Lemus can't find anyone hiding or making a break for it.
AdamSpeg
Lemus hears the additional gunshot, and assumes negotiations have failed. He shouts out and fires a shot off, hoping to either funnel the retreating enemy into the waiting Ranger's sights or draw them up to him and allow the Rangers to close in behind.
Volthawk
The rangers don't immediately open up - the ones without comms glance at the ones with comms, and one of them quickly asks for confirmation over the radio whether or not they're free to fire at will. While they wait, the rangers take the time to aim at anyone they can see.
u-b
Sean clears the rangers to shoot at anyone who's not either Lemus or him.
Shoot Da Moon
The bells continue to ring in the distance.

Lemus, meanwhile, catches two men with swords trying to sneak up on him while he is sweeping the floor. They are both 7 yards away from Lemus, 4 yards between each other. They blink hard as they realize they gave themselves away by trodding on the floor too hard, causing Lemus to swing around and face them.

(OC: Lemus?)
AdamSpeg
Lemus focuses fire on one of the swordsmen.
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus hits his targets with most of the 5 shots.
The swordsman tried to save his hide by hitting the floor, but he mostly just got airholed by the incoming gunfire. He goes down and stays down.
His partner tries to get up to his knees...

(OC: the second swordsman gets penalties for his kneeling position, take this into account if you attack him next...)
AdamSpeg
As the first swordsman crumples, Lemus moves his attention to the other.
Shoot Da Moon
The target manages to flinch away from Lemus' shot and stands up quickly after that...
(OC: Are you taking Range penalties into account?)

The Rangers see the five goons are moving around, but not what exactly they are doing.
AdamSpeg
Lemus takes two shots at the now standing swordsman.

(OOC: Sorry, forgot to apply the range penalty)
Volthawk
Now that they're sure that they can fire freely, one of the BAR-equipped rangers calling it out to the other two watching the group out there, the trio open fire, trying to quickly cut that group down with weight of fire and give anyone else out there cause to think twice before approaching.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus takes two shots at the now standing swordsman.

(OOC: Sorry, forgot to apply the range penalty) 
 

Lemus' fire hits home, killing the thug.


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 Now that they're sure that they can fire freely, one of the BAR-equipped rangers calling it out to the other two watching the group out there, the trio open fire, trying to quickly cut that group down with weight of fire and give anyone else out there cause to think twice before approaching. 
 

The gunfire rings out throughout the building and beyond. It momentarily drowns out the bells.
The goons all were expecting attacks, though, and began diving into cover as the Rangers let loose.
The nearest two goons manage to avoid all bullets coming their way.
One of the goons a bit further away gets clipped by 2 hits and goes down. His counterpart is quicker on his feet and
gets his head down.
The goon furthest away is shot twice and dies almost instantly.

Now all the targets are out of sight, having found cover in other rooms.
AdamSpeg
Lemus needs to regroup with the Rangers, it's only luck that he's gotten the jump on these swordsman before they could close the distance. He tries to safely and quietly make his way back. He hopes the Rangers recognize his 7 foot tall silhouette and refrains from shooting.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Lemus can move his usual Move in a safe and stealthy way. That's just one second of action, however, so I think it will take another turn or two before Lemus can reach his allies. In the meantime, VoltHawk must resolve a firefight...)
u-b
Sean stays on the first floor inside the building and mainly looks  outside  for stuff that is happening there. He sort of keeps an eye on the entrance to his room, but over half of the time just listens. He does not want the people storming the building to be caught by surprise from the outside.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean hears the hoof beats of approaching horses. He is certain there is more than one, perhaps 3 to 5. He is also sure that the horses are mounted, he can hear the indistinct chatter of rough men riding towards his position...

(OC: Sean guesses they're coming from the direction of the gas station or a nearby building.)
u-b
Sean does not worry too much about this obvious threat. He warns the men over the radio:  "Incoming horse riders from gas station side."  and continues to look for less obvious threats, such as hidden snipers, until a horseman comes into view.

 
 Spoiler 
Will Sean be able to engage the types before or after the Rangers?
 
Volthawk
The three rangers who opened fire are joined by the other ranger with a grenade launcher on his M16, keeping alert for any signs of the targets popping up again.

The team joining Sean split as he hears the horses - the shotgunners stay put and watch the door, while the rest follow Sean, backing up the rangers already in place in the direction the horses are coming from.

The other rangers cover the flanks where there currently isn't any enemy activity, keeping alert in case they try to attack from another angle.

 
 Spoiler 

So to confirm, the ranger team is currently split as following:
 - 2 BARs, 1 M16 and 1 M16 w/GL watching the north side, where they shot at those guys.
 - 3 BARs, 1 M16 and 1 M16 w/GL watching the gas station side/backing up Sean (fluffwise, the M16 w/ GL and two BARs are following Sean while one BAR and the plain M16 guy were already there).
 - 2 shotguns (driver and demo guy) watching the area/doorway where Sean saw that guy he fired a warning shot at.
 - 2 BARs and 2 M16 covering any other areas that would otherwise be left open.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean does not worry too much about this obvious threat. He warns the men over the radio:  "Incoming horse riders from gas station side."  and continues to look for less obvious threats, such as hidden snipers, until a horseman comes into view.

 
 Spoiler 
Will Sean be able to engage the types before or after the Rangers?
 
 
 

(OC: Before.)


 
 Originally Posted by Volthawk 
 The three rangers who opened fire are joined by the other ranger with a grenade launcher on his M16, keeping alert for any signs of the targets popping up again.

The team joining Sean split as he hears the horses - the shotgunners stay put and watch the door, while the rest follow Sean, backing up the rangers already in place in the direction the horses are coming from.

The other rangers cover the flanks where there currently isn't any enemy activity, keeping alert in case they try to attack from another angle.

 
 Spoiler 

So to confirm, the ranger team is currently split as following:
 - 2 BARs, 1 M16 and 1 M16 w/GL watching the north side, where they shot at those guys.
 - 3 BARs, 1 M16 and 1 M16 w/GL watching the gas station side/backing up Sean (fluffwise, the M16 w/ GL and two BARs are following Sean while one BAR and the plain M16 guy were already there).
 - 2 shotguns (driver and demo guy) watching the area/doorway where Sean saw that guy he fired a warning shot at.
 - 2 BARs and 2 M16 covering any other areas that would otherwise be left open.
 
 
 

The Rangers position themselves.
They hear the previous targets moving around the building, apparently trying to avoid getting seen by the gunfighters again.
Lemus can hear them, too. But he doesn't see them.
Sean sees 4 men on horseback coming closer to the building, from behind a corner. They are currently 18 yards from the doorway Sean is guarding. He can see half of them have lit petrol bombs in their hands, ready to throw them.

(OC: the horses are moving at a speed of 12 yards per second.)
u-b
Crouching halfway behind the doorpost, Sean shoots a long burst at the horses.
AdamSpeg
Lemus keeps moving to rejoin Sean and the Rangers. He's regretting getting caught off guard and separated.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Crouching halfway behind the doorpost, Sean shoots a long burst at the horses. 
 

The gunfire rattles the horses a bit, but their riders see it coming. They try to jerk the reigns and command the beasts away from the hostile action.
None are quick enough to evade the gunfire Sean sends their way.
One horse is blasted in the heart and dies immediately mid-gallop.
Another horse follows suit as Sean nails it in the heart.
The third targeted horse also eats a fatal shot.
The fourth and last horse dies as Sean tears through its vitals mercilessly.

The human riders are all thrown and land hard as the animals die and crash.
Sean can see now that two of the riders were holding grenades. Grenades that are now rolling or flying out of their hands now that their horses have been shot out from under them and are crashing hard with haphazard momentum.
The riders with ready petrol bombs fare even worse. They explode on impact with the ground, Sean can not see through the flames to assess the full damage of his brutal shooting.
But he's pretty all four horsemen are out of the fight just like their steeds.


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus keeps moving to rejoin Sean and the Rangers. He's regretting getting caught off guard and separated. 
 

Lemus manages to find a good set of stairs down, and he quickly spots his comrades on the lower floor. He also sees three hostile men armed with swords lurking in the rooms from his position, hiding from the gunmen on his side. And they see him, coming down the stairs...

(OC: bad guys are 5, 7 and 12 yards from you, Lemus.)
u-b
Sean takes one more second to assess the situation, saying  "Horsemen down. Grenades rolling. Take cover."  and then takes full cover himself. While he waits for explosion, he once again looks at way(s) deeper into the building to make sure he is not sneaked upon and chooses some alternative position from which he can observe the outside, expecting any possible snipers to have spotted where he just was.
AdamSpeg
Lemus rapidly fires his rifle, dragging his aim between the swordsmen.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus rapidly fires his rifle, dragging his aim between the swordsmen. 
 

Lemus blazes away as the targets dive away for cover, and the results are mixed.
The closest target barely evades the bullet, tumbling into a darker corner of the room and out of sight for Lemus.
The second swordsman also manages to get out of there before Lemus smokes him.
The third one takes the bullet dead on, though. He is hit straight in the torso, and passes out.
AdamSpeg
Shouting after the two escaping enemies, Lemus covers in the stairwell and tries to alert his allies to the remaining danger inside.

(OOC: Wait in cover, firing on any enemies that reveal themselves)
Shoot Da Moon
There's a second's pause...

Lemus thinks he hears nearby movement...
AdamSpeg
Lemus tenses, listening quietly for the movements of unseen enemies.

(OOC: All-Out-Defense, +2 to dodge)
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus hears some more movement coming from where he saw the goons scamper away.

Sean, meanwhile, see the grenades blow up - he times the fuse as about 3 seconds. The men who rode in did not manage to get away in time.
The blasts look to be somewhat weak, but they are nasty enough in close quarters. And the metal fragments definitely shred stuff.
Sean definitely hears men scream as they go off, and sees tinkles of red mess in the blast.
AdamSpeg
Lemus isn't keen to chase multiple swordsmen into close combat, but carefully advances in the direction they ran away.
u-b
Sean repositions himself to some semi-distant window, where he tries to keep observing the outside while keeping an ear and occasional eye on the inside and not being an obvious target for anyone. He's somewhat worried for Lemus, but does not plan to storm the building ahead of the troops.
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus advances and sees the swordsmen are moving in opposite directions - both are trying to reach an exit from the building. One is going for a window, the other is running towards a open doorway out into the side street.

(OC: both are 10 yards from Lemus.)

Sean sees a crew of four men down the street pushing a cart saddled with some kind of big heavy lump under a cloth tarp, positioning themselves for a clear view of the street.

(OC: the four men are 35 yards from where Sean is.)
u-b
Sean braces his rifle on the windowsill and shoots a burst at the men at their cargo, placing most of the bullets where he wanted them. Sticking out of the window that way being potentially risky, Sean intends to take full cover behind the nearest wall as soon as he sees what effect the burst has.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean nails the cargo on the cart twice. It does not blow up, at least...

The men seeing to the cart, on the other hand, are all hit once each.
One dies upon getting one straight to his heart.
Another is knocked down and out by his wound.
The third is killed by Sean's shooting, too.
The fourth target gets knocked out by his injury.
AdamSpeg
Lemus fires at the man escaping out the door.
Shoot Da Moon
The runner does not see it coming, and gets it right in the back. The goon is KO'd by the shot.
Lemus looks over his shoulder to see the other enemy escaping from his sight. Where is he going?
The alarm bells continue to fill the air in the local area.
u-b
Sean relocates yet again, keeping a somewhat low profile near another window, and looking for things to happen outside. He hears a single shot not unlike AK47's and assumes Lemus is still alive and, not shouting for help, maybe even quite well. Still Sean he thinks it is prudent to repeat the orders:  "You storm this floor men, and watch out on all four sides." 
AdamSpeg
Lemus charges to the window, meaning to swing his legs over and follow the escaping man.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Lemus, the enemy is Move 6. You can just barely keep up with him despite his lead. He started 10 yards away, remember.)

Lemus hustles. He can still hear the man running. He makes it close to the window in a second...

Sean scans the outside. The fires are still burning. The bells are still ringing. But the streets outside look clear...

The militiamen start sweeping the floor. They report no movement or signs of active threats in the building. They stay on guard as they keep moving...
AdamSpeg
If the building is secured and the only threats appear to be coming from outside, Lemus will stop at the window and use it as cover. He watches outside as the Rangers finish their sweep.
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus sees the goon running away, into another building across the alleyway. He manages to get out of sight, when he ducks into an open doorway.

The militiamen find no further hostiles lurking in THIS building.
u-b
Having received the report, Sean's plan now would be as follows:
1. Leave most of the toops at floor 1, take a BAR guy, an underbarrel guy and Lemus (who presumably is to be found somewhere) and have Lemus brief and be briefed about the situation.
2. Then we four are to go to the last floor (not the roof) and have Sean observe...
2.1 Our cars and the position of the men left with them. The Bar guy and the underbarrel guy are then to be left observing those until they are instructed otehrwise.
2.2 The other building(s), especially the one Lemus reports as occupied by the fleeing opposition. The intend is to maybe spot someone.
2.3 Failing to engage any men in any building(s), the goal then would be to obverse the gas station and the mutant animals that we have seen there.

 
 Spoiler 
I'm not sure where and when Sean spots something interesting. I've rolled for 3 floors of the building as Sean leads the men up and three counts of Observation, but please stop as soon as something of interest is seen.
 
AdamSpeg
Lemus agrees with this plan.
Shoot Da Moon
The militiamen move to Sean's plan with fluid precision. They go through the floors of the building and see nothing out of the ordinary in their sweeps. Even the last floor looks clear.

Sean observes that the cars and the men left behind are untouched by the recent chaos. They are on-guard, thanks to the bells ringing out.

The other buildings near the gas station, it seems, have the occasional goon peeking out of windows and into the street. None of them are stupid enough to look out of the same windows for very long (aiming at them for more than 2 seconds is not possible), nor are they armed with rifles for sniping. They move around in-between looking out. The goons in the other buildings are about 30 to 50 yards away from Sean's position, all on the highest floor or the roof of buildings.

The gas station looks deserted by contrast. No-one can be seen lurking in or around the station.
The mutant animals have scattered and gone completely out of sight. Maybe they sense trouble approaching?
u-b
Sean makes a couple of shots to further dissuade the observers, then tries to locate the bell, or at least the structure that houses it.

 
 Spoiler 
I'd also like to have a general layout of the area, to have an idea of what buildings are there around us and the gas station and in which directions we can proceed. Can we have a hand-drawn map maybe?
 
AdamSpeg
Lemus watches the buildings near the gas station, trying to get a count of all the men moving between the windows and on the roofs.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean makes a couple of shots to further dissuade the observers, then tries to locate the bell, or at least the structure that houses it.

 
 Spoiler 
I'd also like to have a general layout of the area, to have an idea of what buildings are there around us and the gas station and in which directions we can proceed. Can we have a hand-drawn map maybe?
 
 
 

Sean makes only one shot, hitting a scout in the skull and killing him. The rest scatter into cover and hiding like rats. They try to spot him no more.

(OC: basically, imagine a grid of 9 squares. The gas station is the center square. The building you're in now is the bottom right square. You just shot a enemy in the "top left square" building.)

The bell is ringing at least 75 yards away. Probably even further?


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus watches the buildings near the gas station, trying to get a count of all the men moving between the windows and on the roofs. 
 

Lemus counts 4 armed men moving around in the distance.
u-b
Sean is not quite sure what we do now. Retreating again does not seem quite warranted at the moment, but just sticking around also does nothing much. Maybe we clear the area while they call the reinforcements and then, when we see the reinforcements, decide what to do next? Or do Lemus or the officer have other ideas? If they do not, Sean proposes he, Lemus and two M16 guys suppress any pop-ups and moves, go to next building to the west and proceed from there.
AdamSpeg
Continuing ahead would mean a lot of dangerous close quarters building clearing. Lemus elects to move forward with Sean's plan, securing buildings as they move through them. Maybe have the reserve forces back at the car occupy the buildings behind us as we clear?
Volthawk
The officer is fine with taking it careful and clearing out the adjacent buildings, but have some other thoughts. The enemies they've seen so far have been quite lightly armed - melee weapons, pistols and such - and he doesn't reckon they have much heavier here yet, but he puts emphasis on "yet". The reinforcements coming will likely be more heavily armed, so if they are to make any larger pushes or leave the cover of the buildings, it may be better to do it sooner rather than later - say, if they wanted to take the gas station now, and hold it against the reinforcements rather than trying to take it off them. That does come with risks - for instance, if there are a significant group of enemies already inside the Gutter lying in wait, and we can't deal with them quickly enough so we end up fighting on two fronts - but he feels like it's worth consideration at least.
u-b
Sean would prefer not to leave the cars unguarded and four men in an armored Humvee should hold until they get help from the Rangers. Occupying the buildings, on the other hand, risks spreading our forces thin for no obvious benefit. That is, as long as we can observe the approach to those buildings. Sean plan now is mostly a probing action, surrendering the initiative and looking what comes out of it, but doing it in a less static way. He's absolutely ready to fall back to the building now taken, to the cars, and to Radar Base if it comes to that, just not yet. He would prefer not to go down the Gutter, mainly because he's intended to do that in force and in NBC suits, which would take time and leave us quite vulnerable to what would respond to the bell. Taking the gas station now and holding in there seems like of no benefit. A large four-story building seems a better fitting position and if it looks we'll have trouble taking the gas station, we can simply opt not to.

Assuming we have reached a general understanding, Sean robs some of our M16 men of some of their bullets ( not  those two we are taking with us), recommends that Lemus does the same, then prepares to take a closer look at the next building and to sneak in there while people are covering him. Then we will see how it goes. Some of the robbed M16 guys can maybe search the building and the corpses, if we will fail to initiate more shooting in the minutes to come.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Unless corrected, Sean's plan is to...
1. Look at the next buiding to the west from a window of floor 1.
2. Reach the SE corner of that building while covered by Lemus, two M16 guys and potentially some of the rest of the group.
3. Look along both outer walls of the building and inside of it.
4. Either open some fire or wave for the rest of our four to run over to him and then enter the building.
5. Then we'll maybe search it and see how it goes. 
 

Sean, Lemus and their backup get their rears in gear.

Checking the western building reveals nothing of importance; it seems lots of travelers and scavengers have used it as a camp over the years. Certainly, there are no people inside making themselves known to observers.

Going around to the corner, Lemus and his companions see and hear no more combatants in the streets or nearby the building. The outer walls are covered in fresh red graffiti, but the symbols and phrases are completely unfamiliar to him and his fellows.

With no obvious threat active, Lemus and his fellows take a chance and wave to the rest of the squad to join him.

Searching inside the building yields no standout oddities or dangers. It's deserted and has apparently been abandoned by humanity for months. Any signs of camping here are very faded and dusty.
AdamSpeg
Lemus takes the opportunity to reload a fresh magazine, wouldn't want to get caught out. In the moments following the building being declared secure, he asks Sean,  What's the story with this gas station base anyway, old friends of yours? Seems too close for comfort to the Radar base. "
u-b
 "Not too close, I'd say. But they are doing something evil down there, and we are  always  one step outdone by the defenses, it seems. I wonder what they will bring this time. Hm, speaking of which..." 

Sean proceeds to call the Rangers officer over the radio and have him send one BAR man to the cars to send one Militia man to Sean. The Militia man is to bring the drone set and the crash kit. Meanwhile, Sean proposes we do the next building west. The BAR man is to remain with the cars, keeping the head count of 4 men there and bringing there his radio link.

 
 Spoiler 
If people don't mind, we do the next building west just like this one and then Sean will launch the drone while a Ranger does some First Aid on Lemus.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The backup man makes the trek over and sends another man back as per Sean's instructions...

Sean is sure he hears a big racket off in the distance. He thinks the sound is to the north, and is apparently some large animal like an elephant approaching?
u-b
That kind of sound to the north was kind of all right, but we still should meet it prepared, so Sean aborts the plan to move to next building, instead moving a few stories up to look north from there. He invites those with him to closely follow, but not to stick out of the windows just yet. On the way, Sean narrates what he has heard, telling the people to get ready for a giant zombie elephant or biped mutant sort of thing or something. Sean thinks it has to be a zombie or such or otherwise it wouldn't worth the bother. Sean doubts it would be heavily armed. People should look for weak spots then and the underbarrel guys might as well switch the grenades to flame jet.
AdamSpeg
Lemus prepares his borrowed grenade launcher, making sure it's prepared with the HEDP shells. He awaits Seans observation report.
Shoot Da Moon
From Sean's vantage point, he sees a 15-foot-tall humanoid creature lumbering around near the far corner of a building. The creature looks bizarre - its hands are wicked clawed and carrying a huge "club" of concrete on rebar, no clothing is worn, its skin is scarred and reddish-yellow, its "face" features two big red eyes without pupils, its mouth resembles that of a crab, its hair looks like ropey tentacles, and it's nose is a bit bigger than one of its eyes.

(OC: the newcomer is SM+2. About 40 yards from Sean, but the building provides some cover if the creatures steps just a few yards over...)

The beast-thing is searching for prey, hunting...
u-b
 "A huge biped. Two men with me aim for the eyes. Two men with BARs aim for the legs. Me and Lemus will go for the heart..."  though Sean was unsure about  the  heart  "...and everyone else aim and hold. I'll want short bursts after me in 7... 6... 5... 4..."  Sean stops counting aloud not to disturb his aim. Then, about at "zero", he shoots.

 
 Spoiler 
I  think  that "7d(10) cr ex" part of HEDP should have improved effect against vitals (not unlike tight burning?) and that it would be one extra frag along with all the other frags and concussion because of contact and  maybe  we can score an effectively contact or internal explosion with one of the follow-up rounds depending on how well Lemus rolls... (B415 only lists contact explosion when the explosive is packed on most sides, so probably not on the initial roll)
 
Shoot Da Moon
The onslaught is incredible.

The storm of bullets and the grenade round pepper the rough and tough flesh of the giant creature. He thinks the hits straight into the heart(?) played a good part in wounding it brutally.
Sean thinks he may have destroyed the target with just his shots, but he is not going to say no to the backup assault.
The monster dies in the hail of hot lead and the boom, its bizarre form torn apart.
The racket of the gunfire and the grenade round drowns the bells for a moment.

When all is said and done, and the dust settles, the target is well cooked, its blood drenching an area easily five yards from the prone and filleted body. It is surely dead...

(OC: the target hit -5xHP under the strain of the hits.)
u-b
So, not a zombie. Was it worth the bother? Sean was not sure if the defenders planned for that thing to be killed that fast, but he rather suspects that was  not  their main line of defense. Better not to stick out of the same windoes.  "Reposition. Underbarrel guys switch back to flashbangs."  That were some useless orders, switching back and forth, but at least the changes themselves were simple. Sean also changes position and looks for any troops accompanying the big guy or observing the scenery and also listen for possible cars and what not. If all is clear the plan would be to do the next building west just like we did this one and wait for the courier there, but Sean also expects to maybe shoot some guys with too much curiosity who might be looking around...
Shoot Da Moon
Sean, Lemus and their backup see no-one around. 30 seconds pass without any further excitement. And then the bells stop ringing.

The area around the gas station appears to be quiet, if not exactly peaceful - there's too big a nearby blood stain for that.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 I think north is the gas station. We've moved one building west already and will move one more building west as Sean's intended in #1118i. 
 

The building west of Sean's current position looks to be boarded up on all its doors and windows. He doesn't think it's occupied, and it seems no-one has entered or exited the place in a while.
u-b
Sean intends to leave one man to wave the courier in the correct direction while the rest of us enter the building to the north of the abandoned one. Sean and Lemus will go through that building until any contact while the M16 guy will be at SE corner of floor one looking at the M16 guy awaiting the courier at the abandoned building. All three of them are to catch up with Sean and Lemus when the delivery comes.
Shoot Da Moon
No-one spots any enemies lurking around as they slice the pie.

The building north of the one they're scoping out looks to be a tavern of sorts - it even looks like it's still being used as an establishment. Like, one could walk right into the door and order a pint right now. But no-one sees people moving around inside, or hear anyone going about their usual drinking business anywhere.

Perhaps it's empty?

(OC: first glance through the windows shows the place is an empty tavern, basically. You have not entered yet, consider what skills you want to roll and what precautions you want to take.)
u-b
Sean waits for Lemus and one M16 guy to approach the corner, takes another quick look inside to choose where he wants to be entering (like a door or empty window) and where he wants to be ending up once inside (behind the bar counter might be a good place), then tries to stealthily enter and move from here to there, and from there, have a better feel of the current state of the things.
AdamSpeg
Peaking inside, Lemus looks for potential ambushes. Where would he lay in wait if it were him? He moves carefully and quietly behind as Sean leads the entry.
Shoot Da Moon
The observers peek into the tavern and see that there are three different noisemaker traps set up inside. If someone were to hit any of the tripwires, it would trigger an crude alarm made out of electronics on pull-strings. It also looks like the door to the backroom of the tavern is secured with a strong padlock. Behind the bar counter is a large frame backpack and two leather sacks with stuff in them (a noisemaker trap is protecting these items from being touched). There are no people inside, however.
u-b
Sean does not like the noise noisemaker traps, but they are at least known quantity, or so they seem to be. The backpack and sacks are unknown quantity, so worry Sean a bit more. He tentatively aborts the entry and thinks what should be done. He does it not quite aloud, but for the record, so that both Lemus and the team can be informed of the situation and Sean's thought process.

 "There is a bar here, unoccupied, trapped with noisemakers, and with suspicious bags also trapped with noisemakers. The traps use electronics, so no telling what else they could do, like maybe detonating the bags sort of thing. The door further inside is protected by padlock on our side of the door. Letting it be for a moment, will try to see more. Plan B would be to withdraw to the empty building we've checked and shoot some grenades. We'll see if it comes to that. I mean, it is probably still occupied, seeing no real bang on those traps." 

Then Sean continues to observe the building from the outside, south side only. Of interest are:
1. Any other windows and rooms on first floor - or does the bar occupy the whole of first floor?
2. Any windows and rooms on second floor - Sean probably can reach those standing on Lemus and peek in.
3. Generally how this building looks like:
3.1 All glass windows / some barred windows / some empty windows?
3.2 How many stories it is?
3.3 Any other doors, ladders or anything?
3.4 The type of roof.

The plan is to throw in a cooked grenade if we see someone.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Then Sean continues to observe the building from the outside, south side only. Of interest are:
1. Any other windows and rooms on first floor - or does the bar occupy the whole of first floor?
2. Any windows and rooms on second floor - Sean probably can reach those standing on Lemus and peek in.
3. Generally how this building looks like:
3.1 All glass windows / some barred windows / some empty windows?
3.2 How many stories it is?
3.3 Any other doors, ladders or anything?
3.4 The type of roof. 
 

1) The bar seems to occupy the whole of the first floor. Perhaps there are stairs up to the next floor in the backroom?
2 and 3) Rooms on the second floor. Three windows on the second floor, all of them intact with bars on them and the fire escape has been torn down. No other ladders. Getting to the second floor from the outside could require a decent amount of climbing. There is no third floor. The roof looks like it's flat and has no stairs up to it, requiring even more climbing.
u-b
Sean proposes we retreat to the abandoned house to the south of the gas station, meet the courier, look into the bar's second-floor windows from our fourth-floor windows through the optics and maybe put some 40mm grenades in there depending on what we see.
AdamSpeg
Lemus thinks that sounds overly cautious. He would like to try his hand at reaching the second floor from the outside before retreating.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean proposes we retreat to the abandoned house to the south of the gas station, meet the courier, look into the bar's second-floor windows from our fourth-floor windows through the optics and maybe put some 40mm grenades in there depending on what we see. 
 

Sean gets to a good position and spies through his binos. The windows offer only a slight glance into the second floor - he can see what looks to be a lived-in apartment above the tavern. It was definitely occupied recently, and it has a decent pile of clutter on tables, and a used bed. No people are sighted.


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus thinks that sounds overly cautious. He would like to try his hand at reaching the second floor from the outside before retreating. 
 

Lemus tries to climb up the building but just barely fumbles the attempt. Fortunately, he is not too far up and merely lands with a soft thud from only 1 meter up. He is not hurt, let alone injured. But he's still on the ground despite his efforts.

(OC: Lemus just barely failed, no damage. Repeated attempts without rest in-between will now cost 1 FP now for Lemus, however.)
u-b
Sean tells Lemus that he is not sure this building is unoccupied, but also is not sure we can just ignore it and move around. Specifically, Sean would prefer to be next to a buiding when he next meets a gang of mutant animals. The options are thus at least the following...
1. Keep trying the climbing. Probably not a very good plan.
2. Get a rope and a grapnel. Then Lemus can occupy the whole roof, but it's low and there are taller buildings around, so probably not a good plan.
3. Get a rope and a grapnel, but occupy second floor only. Will make glass-breaking noise, which  might  be good enough.
4. Move through the building. Sean does not like the traps.
5. Move around the building. Sean does not want the mutant animals.
6. Fall back and do the building to the east of gas station.
7. Anything else?
AdamSpeg
Lemus thinks declaring this building secure would make our way forward a lot clearer. We wouldn't have to worry about getting shot from behind if we continue past without making sure. If someone is carrying climbing supplies, Lemus will attempt to reach the second floor again. Once inside, sweep the floor and watch for more booby traps.
u-b
Sean changes the proposed plan a little:
1. We receive the drone and the crash kit from the courier.
2. We send the courier back to the cars and request another courier with the grapnel and the rope.
3. We receive that too (waiting int the cleaned-up building, I think).
4. Sean throws the grapnel on the roof and checks it is not going to get loose.
5.  Sean  climbs to observe floor 2, then possibly enter floor 2, while the other four cover him from some 15 yards distance (Lemus with a 40mm flashbang aimed at the very window Sean's observing / entering).

Sean will choose a window on the southern side near a corner further away from the backpacks on floor 1.
AdamSpeg
That sounds like a reasonable plan.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean changes the proposed plan a little:
1. We receive the drone and the crash kit from the courier.
2. We send the courier back to the cars and request another courier with the grapnel and the rope.
3. We receive that too (waiting int the cleaned-up building, I think).
4. Sean throws the grapnel on the roof and checks it is not going to get loose.
5.  Sean  climbs to observe floor 2, then possibly enter floor 2, while the other four cover him from some 15 yards distance (Lemus with a 40mm flashbang aimed at the very window Sean's observing / entering).

Sean will choose a window on the southern side near a corner further away from the backpacks on floor 1. 
 

It takes 6 minutes for the courier to move around and hand off the goods.
The courier nods and passes the baton to another.. It only takes that guy 5 minutes to complete the task given to him.
Sean then tries to throw the grappling hook...

(OC: Sean, make a Throwing roll at the Range penalty for 11 yards.)
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 [roll0] on Throwing 17 (11 skill, +2 aim, +4 hex)
[roll1] on Climbing 13(?) (11 skill, -2 rope-up, +2(?) bracing against a wall, +2 at speed of 5 ft/min) 
 


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Okay, that's a good throw, so let's suppose the grapnel caught something solid and the rope runs down roughly along a side of a window (left or right, I presume no big difference). It might be spotted if people are paying attention and the landing of the grapnel itself can be heard by an unmodified roll at 4 yards (but the closed windows likely further affect it).

Sean climbs parallel to the window, then leans a bit to peek inside.

[roll0] on Stealth 16
[roll1] on Perception and Per-based Traps 15

If nothing preventing the following is seen, he'll then break the window to get inside, fast and legs first. 
 


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 ...and I forgot to apply range. That's -5 for a total of 12, so still a hit. 
 

The grapple caught onto something on the roof. The rope is strong enough and has a good enough grip on the building.

Sean starts climbing, and he does not slip.

He manages to get a good peek inside a window. He can not see any sign of people in the building. It looks like someone has stashed another backpack, and left a bunch of glass bottles out (they look to be tinted and full of some kind of liquid).
No more traps have been set up in the room beyond the window.
Sean chooses to take that as a good sign, and breaks the window open. With a bit more effort, he hauls himself into the building through the opening.
The room he gets into looks lived-in, random clutter is all over the place. And no movement besides his own...
u-b
Sean does not like the backpack and the bottles, but no men is at least good enough. He shows a thumb up out of the window, then an open palm shown like "stop". He listens for some time for possible reaction, then goes on to explore the second floor of the building and to look at any ways down. The priorities are to...
1. Not trigger any trap or, like,  anything  the purposes of which is not clear.
2. Not be easily noticed.
3. Confirm if this is indeed unoccupied.
4. Find a position to look north out of the building, preferably from a corridor or a room without any traps or strange bottles/backpacks.
AdamSpeg
If Sean can find a proper north-facing vantage point, Lemus would take the 3 other men with him to continue their clearing. Starting with the building just north of the tavern.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean does not like the backpack and the bottles, but no men is at least good enough. He shows a thumb up out of the window, then an open palm shown like "stop". He listens for some time for possible reaction, then goes on to explore the second floor of the building and to look at any ways down. The priorities are to...
1. Not trigger any trap or, like,  anything  the purposes of which is not clear.
2. Not be easily noticed.
3. Confirm if this is indeed unoccupied.
4. Find a position to look north out of the building, preferably from a corridor or a room without any traps or strange bottles/backpacks. 
 

Sean looks around the second floor. He finds no people currently staying here.
The stairs down to the first floor are barricaded from his side by a large metal cover.
There are no boobytraps active on the second floor. There's a metal ladder going to a hatch, a way up onto the roof.
He finds another room, this one looks like a living room converted into another stash area - more piles of junk, two more sacks and another backpack.
When Sean looks out a window to the north, he spies someone on the roof of the different building, who quickly ducks out of sight.


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 If Sean can find a proper north-facing vantage point, Lemus would take the 3 other men with him to continue their clearing. Starting with the building just north of the tavern. 
 

Lemus gets his men lined up behind him, and then takes up his position.
The building north of the tavern looks to be an Old World hotel, left somewhat to ruins. The windows are ALL boarded up, obviously after the Old World fell, probably as part of making it a secure hideout for locals. The front door is locked up, barricaded with metal.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Attempting to lob a pre-cooked M67 grenade somewhere near the center of the roof of the hotel:

[roll0] on Throwing 10 (11 skill, +4 hex, +2 aim, -7 range) with scatter [roll1]

Concussion damage [roll2] divided by 3 for every hex of range
Fragmentation attack [roll3] on effective skill 15 modified by range rcl 3 for [roll4] [roll5] [roll6] 
 


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Oh, and it goes "boom" after [roll0] rounds after going live... 
 


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 This is  cutting  damage to hit locations [roll0] [roll1] and [roll2] 
 


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 [roll0] vs Observation 10 
 


 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Lemus watches the windows/doorways of the hotel for movement or commotion as the grenade detonates on the rooftop. 
 

Sean's bombing of the hotel's roof shakes the dust off some surfaces.
The explosion itself apparently hits some flammable fuel or unstable explosives stored on the roof, as the bang cooks off some accelerant - there are two small follow-up bangs and then a raging fire. The flames quickly spread all over the roof and will no doubt begin roasting the lower floors within 30 minutes.

Lemus sees no movement in or around the hotel's ground floor. He catches nobody in the slits of the boarded-up windows of the higher floors.
u-b
Sean repositions to the window further away from all of the backpacks and, trying not to be seen, continues observation. He intends to cover everyone, including Lemus and himself, against people shooting from the burning building, and also see what our ground team would do. Unfortunately, the ground team has no radios and Sean does not want to shout to coordinate, but he expects them to do something sane and if not, he will shot at that point. Meanwhile he comments over the radio:  "That's a grenade of mine and some explosives of theirs. I feel like I currently occupy a building with more of those, but not sure if it would be safer to freely roam in the open, we'll see how it goes. They might be willing to shoot or retreat before their building burns down, so keep an eye on there from your side as far as you can." 
Shoot Da Moon
Despite having so many eyes on the burning building, no-one sees any people moving around in there.

The fire keeps going, spreading. The floor below the roof is soon nursing an inferno of its own, as well.
AdamSpeg
Is the fire in danger of spreading to nearby buildings? If so Lemus says we stay back and let the flames flush out any buildings it reaches.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by AdamSpeg 
 Is the fire in danger of spreading to nearby buildings? If so Lemus says we stay back and let the flames flush out any buildings it reaches. 
 

(OC: your character is not sure. You do not have the Explosives (Fireworks) skill or any pother appropriate skill, so you can't really judge an arson job.)
Shoot Da Moon
A hour goes by as the hotel burns. By the end of it, it looks like the entire building is consumed in red and orange destruction.

No-one comes out of the building as the flames ravage every room of it. It will be completely gutted by the time the last embers peter out.

No newcomers arrive - it seems the fire has been taken as a warning, not a curiosity.
u-b
Sean looks at the result, trying to determine some or all of the following:
1. Whether the materials that the building is made of seem like they ought to have survived the fire with their structural strenght mostly intact (like, brick and concrete sort of thing).
2. Whether the materials used to cover the windows have survived the same way (like, bricks and sandbags OR wooden boards). If so, how strong are they (like, bricks OR sandbags sort of thing).
3. Whether it seems to be safe to enter the building now, taking only the fire into account.

Overall, Sean intends to enter the hotel building and search it all over, including the roof and any entrances leading downstairs, and looks for reasons why he shouldn't. Using one or two 40mm grenades to clear the way would be perfectly fine.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean looks at the result, trying to determine some or all of the following:
1. Whether the materials that the building is made of seem like they ought to have survived the fire with their structural strenght mostly intact (like, brick and concrete sort of thing).
2. Whether the materials used to cover the windows have survived the same way (like, bricks and sandbags OR wooden boards). If so, how strong are they (like, bricks OR sandbags sort of thing).
3. Whether it seems to be safe to enter the building now, taking only the fire into account.

Overall, Sean intends to enter the hotel building and search it all over, including the roof and any entrances leading downstairs, and looks for reasons why he shouldn't. Using one or two 40mm grenades to clear the way would be perfectly fine. 
 

1) The materials seem the usual Old World fare, only somewhat resistant to fire (more resistant materials are either too expensive for common buildings or are health hazards like asbestos). The remaining brick, metal and concrete has been mostly weakened by the flames and the internal building collapse. Maybe the rebar can be salvaged, after the whole thing has been knocked down a little more. Sean feels it's best to write them off.
2) The materials on the windows burned up pretty bad - they were wooden. They were not particularly strong, just big enough to cover the whole thing.
3) Sean thinks the wreck is far too dangerous to be around, for at least a day. Give it time, for it to finish collapsing into a totaled heap.

The hotel's front lobby looks to be ruined, the ceiling fell in and crushed the place - unsafe. The roof is where the damage is worst - even more unsafe. The windows on the other floors might lead to less ruined rooms, but that would be hard to determine without looking into the place from the window (and thus requiring a bit of climbing on the outside walls).
u-b
Sean returns to the rope and starts to slowly climb down. He hits the ground, one way or another, and leaves the rope be for the time. Telling the team to cover him, he goes around the burnt building from south, west and then north, looking inside and outside for any and all of the following:
1. People (alive and dead, anywhere, including observers now looking at us).
2. Stuff that has burned and any other signs of how and how long has this building been used.
3. Any possible exits and entrances that the people in the building might have been taking, both during the fire and in days before, either downstairs or outside.
3. The next building to the east.
AdamSpeg
After Sean rejoins the main team, Lemus asks,  "You did see someone in there, right? Strange they've leave themselves to burn to death. Something is off about that hotel." 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean returns to the rope and starts to slowly climb down. He hits the ground, one way or another, and leaves the rope be for the time. Telling the team to cover him, he goes around the burnt building from south, west and then north, looking inside and outside for any and all of the following:
1. People (alive and dead, anywhere, including observers now looking at us).
2. Stuff that has burned and any other signs of how and how long has this building been used.
3. Any possible exits and entrances that the people in the building might have been taking, both during the fire and in days before, either downstairs or outside.
3. The next building to the east. 
 

Sean makes it back safely.

He does not see anyone lurking around.
A lot of the hotel's interior and contents have burned away. And there might not have been much in there anyway.
The entrances and exits of the building seem to be unused. No-one escaped the fire that way. Maybe there's an exit to the underground inside? But finding that would require entering the hotel's gutted and hazardous interior...

The building to the east is an Old World commercial structure once known as a pawn shop. It was apparently meant to function as a place to buy and sell miscellaneous valuables and tools, but was really functioned as an open secret trading post for thieves and drug dealers.
u-b
 "Have seen a man on the roof. Thought this looks defensible enough to have a lot more inside. Not sure if this was the case, though, and it does not seem safe to check. At least they do not seem to have escaped on ground level. Let's leave it alone for the moment and continue on." 

We reposition to the pawn shop building and Sean proceeds to explore the inside, careful for any people and traps.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean sees there are two doors into the pawnshop, one at the back.
Both doors are locked and tough. And he's pretty sure there's a boobytrap rigged up to them both.

(OC: -5 to Lockpicking. Doors have DR 25 and HP 40. Disarming the traps have a -2 penalty to both.)

One of the militia quietly reports in a hiss that he thinks he saw someone creeping around 15 yards away to the north-west.
u-b
Sean touches Lemus by the arm and whispers:  "Snap shot three grenades in there."  Then Sean prepares to observe: first, as soon as Lemus raises the launcher for any movement or other reaction to that, and second, after the shots have landed and some vegetation(?) has cleared, for anything caught in the blasts.

 
 Spoiler 
15 yard is all right with our improved grenades. Lemus should still have one first round as flashbang and the rest as HEDPs, so with a RoF of 3, he can shoot a flashbang and two HEDPs in one second. He probably does not see the creeper(s), but he definitely sees a hex of ground at 15 yards to NW, so should be able to land all three grenades somewhere around there without an advance warning of a long aiming time.
 
AdamSpeg
Lemus smoothly sends 3 grenades to where Sean indicated, they'll know if someone was indeed lurking there in a moment or so.
Shoot Da Moon
The grenades land where Lemus wants them.

They blow up real good.

Judging by the sound of some screams and a large burst of flames, it managed to explode someone out there...and started another fire by igniting flammable stuff.

The militiamen ask the exiles and Lemus if they should go in for a closer look, to see who exactly they just blew up?
u-b
Sean rather thinks he's still in charge here, and he denies the request, suspecting this to be the flamer guy and maybe some entourage, meaning the snipers have probably also arrived. He rather commands we retreat the way we came and then see how it goes from the abandoned building to the south of the gas station. Sean would be the last one to retreat. He does not mind if Lemus blows up a door to the buiding to the north of the gas station while on the way.

 
 Spoiler 
Okay, according to  this one  Sean should see anyone failing their stealth by 1 or worse. Given the circumstances (and maybe some penalties to Stealth) there might be some of those. Does Sean see things?
 
AdamSpeg
Lemus reloads the grenade launcher while they retreat along Sean's route, making sure the first 3 are once again 2 high explosives and a flashbang. He thinks it would be best to hold shooting any grenades until they have more plausible targets, they wouldn't want to constantly advertise their location.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean rather thinks he's still in charge here, and he denies the request, suspecting this to be the flamer guy and maybe some entourage, meaning the snipers have probably also arrived. He rather commands we retreat the way we came and then see how it goes from the abandoned building to the south of the gas station. Sean would be the last one to retreat. He does not mind if Lemus blows up a door to the buiding to the north of the gas station while on the way.

 
 Spoiler 
Okay, according to  this one  Sean should see anyone failing their stealth by 1 or worse. Given the circumstances (and maybe some penalties to Stealth) there might be some of those. Does Sean see things?
 
 
 

The backup agrees, and repositions themselves in accordance with Sean's orders.

The abandoned building south of the gas station offers a good vantage point.

Sean sees no enemies lurking around where the target was last seen. Perhaps he was scouting alone?

Five minutes later, however, he hears bells ringing out in the distance again. He figures they're the same ones that were ringing earlier. Now who could be doing that, and why?
u-b
The smoke should have dispersed in five minutes, so Sean does the next thing: he gets the drone ready to fly, places it on the roof away from any obstacles, gets back inside the building where he's not easily shot and lifts off. The flight plan would be roughly as follows:
1. Look at what's left at the scene we blew up.
2. Look at the bell and around the bell.
3. Look at the whole of the area, particularly for...
3.1 Vehicles and other transportation, including fresh tracks.
3.2 People, mutants and animals not camouflaged from above.
3.3 The map of the land outside of the immediate vicinity of the gas station.

The flight should be the higher of 20 yard over obstacles or 50 yards off the ground. Sean intends to land the aircraft at the roof in 15 minutes or so, for which purpose keeps a close track of the time and battery status. He describes what he sees in real time and answers any relevant questions. He takes short video clips of anything of particular interest, which will include the dead big guy on return flight if Sean still has the time.

 
 Spoiler 
Please resolve until the first actionable thing that Sean notices, which is not necessary all the way through the plan.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean gets the drone flying, barely.
He feels nervous as he gets it into his blind spot...

The scene of the recent grenade explosions is predictably nasty. A fire about big as a small room. A nearby wall got damaged by the blast/s, crumbled brick torn off and scattered. The remains of a single man in combat gear can just be barely made out - the fire and blood obscures a lot. It's safe to say whatever he was carrying is a write-off.

The bell, meanwhile, is even more attention grabbing. The bells are located in a high concrete tower with sturdy metal doors as entrances. The bells are being rung via thick ropes, the people tugging at the ropes can not be seen - they are a floor below, inside the tower's walls.

Moving on, Sean sees a car by the side of the road north of the building north of the gas station. He also spots fresh animal and people tracks. Following those tracks, he manages to spot several groups of mutant wolves and a few armed men running to cover. The animals go into nearby woodlands, the men get to hatches by buildings similar to storm shelter doors. Then they're out of sight.

The area further out from the gas station has more buildings here and there, but more space between them than Sean's current locations. He often sees human heads set on lines of 2-meter-long wooden spikes around places more than 150 yards north of the gas station. One of those places is a large teepee.
u-b
While the drone is in flight, Sean wants to learn or double-check the following:
1. The distance to the bell tower.
2. The possibility of targeting either the top or the bottom of it from the roof of any nearby building (preferably the ones S or SE of the gas station as we now occupy these two).
3. The ground-floor details of the bell tower (does it rise from the ground up or from some wider structure; also any doors, windows and stuff).
4. Some details about the armed men, mainly equipment-wise.
5. The distances to those hatches they got into. Can they be targeted from any nearby roof?
6. The distances from the car to the north of the building north of the gas station to whatever is further north, at least the hatches and the woodlands.
7. Anything to be seen encircled by wooden spikes with human heads. Can it be targeted from any nearby roof?
8. Any good sniping positions that might be of interest to people targeting us? Anyone in there? Can we target them from any nearby roof?
9. Whether Sean can make any sense of the teepee or white chalk lines on and around the gas station.
10. Types, conditions and maybe other observable details of all three cars (two near gas station, one near the building north of it). Are there other cars anywhere nearby?
11. Whatever Lemus and Rangers would like to learn.
12. Flight time so far.
Shoot Da Moon
The bell tower is about 200 yards to the north.
The top of the bell tower is at least two stories higher than the top of the tallest building close to the gas station. The bottom of the bell tower has doors but they are on walls facing away from the buildings near the gas station.
The bell tower bottom floor is secured by metal doors (probably locked). It rises up from the ground, unless there's underground floors. No open windows, they all have bars and curtains on them. Looking into them does not help much, if at all.
The armed men are carrying shotguns. Their armor is a somewhat light kevlar vest with an anti-stab plate worn around their torso or just under their shirts. They certainly have pouches on their belts or satchels carried on their backs that may have ammo and other stuff in them. They wear boots and leather gloves.
The hatches are 40 to 75 yards from the building Sean is in. None are in line of sight - most are hidden under covers or out of the way from the street, no doubt meant to preserve a bolt hole or something. Sean will need to seek them out on foot to get to the hatches, they can not be sniped
The car's 40 yards from the building.
The severed heads seem to be warning people away from buildings with less material security (boarded up windows, metal doors, etc.). The heads can be targeted from the roof of the buildings north of the gas station.
Potential sniper threats could come from the taller buildings (but not the bell tower) north of here or a very tall (100 yards high) hill very far (at least 250 yards) south of here. Nobody has been seen in the buildings (they could easily be hiding), and Sean has his doubts that ANYONE anywhere near the southern hill. The places much further north of the gas station are a bit too far to be an easy sniping perch to Sean's current position, the buildings close to the gas station are more of a concern. Counter-sniping is possible, but might be hard.
Sean has no clue what that could be about. He could interrogate a local hostile for answers, if he had the chance.
The cars near the gas station are in good condition. The lone one in the north looks so run down, it's more rust than metal, ready to fall apart. No other cars nearby except what his own forces brought here.
The Rangers are concerned the hostiles here are carrying any advanced tech. So far, Sean has not seen any...
The drone's been in flight for 30 minutes so far.
u-b
Seeing the battery running out, Sean crash-lands the drone onto the roof... or something.
Shoot Da Moon
The drone's landing is rough.
Sean worries that he may have broken it. It'll at least need repairs later...

(OC: The drone effectively takes falling damage from 10 yards. That's 3d crushing before DR.)
u-b
Sean turns off and packs the cracked drone. The fact that is still sends the signal is reassuring, but having the camera mount cracked and a propeller arm completely broken means it would be of no use at least for the rest of today.

Sean proposes the following plan A:
1. We return to the SE side of NW building and blast a door of N building.
2. Assuming there is a normal explosive booby-trap there and not a lot of gasoline, Sean then enters the N building and makes sure it's safe to invite the rest of his team, in which case he waves them in.
3. Then we proceed from there.

The opposition, scared by the drone, should not have much time to react between us blasting the door and us ending up in a building together (either N one or S one again). Plan B would be much more gradual along the east side, but Sean does not thing it would be any safer. He's open to hear any competing plans.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean proposes the following plan A:
1. We return to the SE side of NW building and blast a door of N building.
2. Assuming there is a normal explosive booby-trap there and not a lot of gasoline, Sean then enters the N building and makes sure it's safe to invite the rest of his team, in which case he waves them in.
3. Then we proceed from there. 
 

(OC: Remind me, is the North building you're talking about here, the one you're blowing up a door, is that the pawn shop?)
u-b
Sean leads the men to position from which taking out the door or the lock is supposed to happen.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Are you taking out the front door or the back door? Either way, Lemus did hit the target, so roll damage for the grenade.)
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus launches his grenade right at the front door.

The impact explosion is a mighty thing to see. The door is battered dramatically, given brutal thick cuts by the fragmentation. The hinges and lock on the door are warped to the point of nearly gone by the powerful blast. The frame is partially rocked off. The door's central mass is itself only somewhat still intact. It can all be pried off and open by mere muscle or a crowbar now, considering it's almost wrecked.
u-b
Sean was not sure he wants to spend time trying to open the door manually with no guarantees of success. Moreover, he was not sure he has seen the booby-trap going off.  "Another one." 
 
 Spoiler 
Any signs of booby-traps going off with that explosion? Anyway, Sean prefers to move in quickly as soon as the door is completely away.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus dutifully obeys Sean and blasts the door again.

This time, there is no ambiguity. The second grenade completely ruins the door and it is savagely knocked off its hinges. The exiles and their fellows duck for cover as they see the entrance get blasted open. The front door is a write-off.

Sean can see that the wrecking of the door has knocked loose something inside or incidentally triggered a boobytrap from afar. Now, a big cloud of some kind of chemical has been unleashed by the impact, perhaps by puncturing a canister. Sean thinks the chemical cloud is a poison. It has engulfed the front room of the building.
u-b
That seems good enough. Sean would like to blast the other door too, but we don't have unlimited ammo, so he is skipping on that. Instead, he evaluates the weather and commands the retreat. The weather permitting, the plan would be to go past W, S and SE buildings towards E building and have a closer look at that one.
Shoot Da Moon
It's still morning.

(OC: I believe you guys first came here early in the day? I don't think you've been here for more than 2 hours?)

The weather is more or less clear. No clouds on the horizon.

(OC: I believe none of you have looked at this building yet?)

Sean directs his allies over to the building he was interested in. This one is not at all taking the New World with good grace. Whatever it once was, it is now a derelict. It has no doors intact, all its windows have no glass let alone shutters or bars. It has only one story, just the ground floor. It does not look particularly big compared to the other buildings. From the outside looking in, the place is mostly empty with some half-wrecked crumbling furniture inside.

Nobody appears to be lurking within. Fingers crossed.
u-b
Sean intends to carefully walk through this building and wave for the team to come around if and when it looks safe on the north side.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean can see the entire interior of the building has been gutted long ago. Not from a fire, it was a very thorough ransacking. A bunch of junk has been piled in one corner, all of it rusted out metals and faded plastic containers. It looks safe, at least, in that there are no traps lying in wait. But exposed to the outside, and observers.
u-b
Sean decides there is no point in going through the building if he can see all of it through. As for the exposure, he spends some time looking for potential observer positions to the north and the east and generally at the next building north of it.
Shoot Da Moon
Scanning the rooftops, Sean can see no-one on the surrounding buildings.

But when it comes to street level, it's a different story. Sean notices two men with long arms on the west side of the north building, trying to hide behind some metal trash cans. The potential hostiles do not seem to taking aim yet, but they certainly seem to be watching him and his allies.

They are both wearing decently heavy frontal torso armor, plus leather gloves and thick boots. Their guns are H&amp;R Model 8 single shotguns.
u-b
While the men are observing us and we are observing the men, Sean does not raise his rifle, instead, asks the Ranger men in the SE building if they can see the men at that specific location and if so, if they can take them out. This, Sean expects, would not alert them before it is too late. Sean makes sure to warn about the torso armors, because that is relevant.

 
 Spoiler 
I guess it's for Volthawk to decide, but please name the body parts (partially) exposed and also the range. That is, if the guys could be seen.

Not sure if Sean has observed them through the scope or not. They seem too passive for have been observed through the scope, so going with unassisted direct observation instead.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 While the men are observing us and we are observing the men, Sean does not raise his rifle, instead, asks the Ranger men in the SE building if they can see the men at that specific location and if so, if they can take them out. This, Sean expects, would not alert them before it is too late. Sean makes sure to warn about the torso armors, because that is relevant.

 
 Spoiler 
I guess it's for Volthawk to decide, but please name the body parts (partially) exposed and also the range. That is, if the guys could be seen.

Not sure if Sean has observed them through the scope or not. They seem too passive for have been observed through the scope, so going with unassisted direct observation instead.
 
 
 

The men in the SE building do not manage to see to the location, it is hidden around a sharp corner and behind a building from their perspective.

(OC: Observed through a scope. The watchers are 20 yards away. Their heads, upper torsos, arms, and necks are exposed right now, they shifted a little.)
u-b
Sean was unsure about how to proceed from here. The men saw him point a rifle at them and did not as much as duck down? He warns his team to be ready, steps a few yards away from the team, then gestures and waves at the watchers:  "ONE" , then  "COME HERE" .
Shoot Da Moon
The two men pause as they notice Sean's gestures...

And then one of them gives the other his gun, and then walks over to Sean. The other one hangs back, crouching low behind concealment.

His face is scrunched up in tension and bitterness. He says nothing even as he gets within talking range...
u-b
 "Why are you defending this site and why are you refusing to talk?" 

Sean's position is that he had demanded the people in the SE building to surrender  or talk  the first time he met them, and they chose neither. Now he is offering the same option to this one guy. Sean does not yet demand that all of his questions be answered to his full satisfaction, but some talking must take place if we are to stop.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  "Why are you defending this site and why are you refusing to talk?" 

Sean's position is that he had demanded the people in the SE building to surrender  or talk  the first time he met them, and they chose neither. Now he is offering the same option to this one guy. Sean does not yet demand that all of his questions be answered to his full satisfaction, but some talking must take place if we are to stop. 
 

The man fixes Sean with a withering stare as he answers; "We have our orders. The penalty for insubordination is death. And so is, intruder, the punishment for not complying with this demand; leave. Never come back. The gas station and the surrounding block is our turf."

The men follows this up by pulling his jacket open and showing Sean what is under his clothing.
A bomb vest, on a dead man's switch. The man's eye twitches in anger.
"Do you understand now, intruder? I am to secure this area, or die in the attempt. Can you say you are as committed to your trespassing? Worthless fool. Arrogant weakling. Ignorant filth."
u-b
Sean is impressed by this one dead man's switch, especially since it's now so close to him and his troops.  "A bomb vest and a dead man's switch... that shows you mean business and I take your demand for us to leave this area very seriously. I'd like to be given some time to consider it. One thing that might affect my decision... would you prefer to die following orders or live not following them? We might look to decouple one from the other, so if you fancy getting yourself a new life... can be done. Or would you like for evils done under your turf to continue? I mean, do you include the gutter below in "your turf"? That is the thing we are after, though I'm sure not as committed as you." 

Sean is completely unimpressed by insults, though. To him, these are just as well and, given the man's situation, are natural and expected.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean says what he says in part to get the situation on air and let the Rangers Officer to think it over. I assume the Rangers in SE house can target us somewhere near S of E house. This also should make the men that are now with Sean some time to back off a bit. Sean is Easy to Read and it can be read (as far as closed tinted visor would permit) that he's not violent, but he's very busy thinking, which might be up to no good, but at least he is not  lying ...

Also, I'll need current distance and what Sean can see about the bomb.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean is impressed by this one dead man's switch, especially since it's now so close to him and his troops.  "A bomb vest and a dead man's switch... that shows you mean business and I take your demand for us to leave this area very seriously. I'd like to be given some time to consider it. One thing that might affect my decision... would you prefer to die following orders or live not following them? We might look to decouple one from the other, so if you fancy getting yourself a new life... can be done. Or would you like for evils done under your turf to continue? I mean, do you include the gutter below in "your turf"? That is the thing we are after, though I'm sure not as committed as you." 

Sean is completely unimpressed by insults, though. To him, these are just as well and, given the man's situation, are natural and expected.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean says what he says in part to get the situation on air and let the Rangers Officer to think it over. I assume the Rangers in SE house can target us somewhere near S of E house. This also should make the men that are now with Sean some time to back off a bit. Sean is Easy to Read and it can be read (as far as closed tinted visor would permit) that he's not violent, but he's very busy thinking, which might be up to no good, but at least he is not  lying ...

Also, I'll need current distance and what Sean can see about the bomb.
 
 
 

The man is only 2 yards away from Sean. The bomb itself looks to be sticks of dynamite wired up to a detonator elsewhere, and packed next to a case of something (ball bearings? nails? oil?). He's not an explosives expert, though...

The men he has with him back up quickly as the two men talk. They are dithering on wherever they should just break into a full sprint away.

The bomb-vest hostile simply shakes his head at Sean's question. "I have no interest in your deep thoughts, swine. I have my orders, I follow them. You have no right or allowance to question me on my business. Just leave. I do not care why you came here, only that you leave. That is my life, now and always. Last and only warning."

Sean notices the other hostile in the distance, where the two were once hiding and watching, is now discretely retreating away. Perhaps he fears the man in front of him will detonate his bomb-vest? Or maybe he's trying to report back to his superiors?
u-b
 "Got that."  says Sean, then suddenly turns around and runs at full speed.

 
 Spoiler 
Two seconds of running should give Sean something like 15 yards distance and then we'll see (or, in Sean's case, maybe hear) what the man will do.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The man with the bomb vest does not chase after Sean.
He simply stand his ground, taking a quick glance over his shoulder to check on the man he was with just a few moments ago.
When he sees his comrade sneaking off, he turns back to Sean and his allies with a defiant expression.
But he stays silent and stays still.
Not blowing himself up. Yet?
u-b
Sean continues to run until he is some like 30 yards away, makes sure his people are the same distance away and raises the rifle at the man. He does not shout anything and does not shoot right away, but that should be enough to clarify his decision. He'll let the man go if he does that right away. If not, it's three seconds before Sean shoots.
Shoot Da Moon
The man stands still, barking out demands that Sean and his friends leave. He otherwise does nothing. He's waiting on them to make the first move.

(OC: If you do shoot, roll the target's Dodge and Drop 9+3 for me as you post, please.)
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and Lemus open fire from afar - but the man with the bomb vest hits the dirt immediately, and thus both shots miss the man's body.

He starts crawling away once he's on the ground and the heat is on.

He screams threats and profanities at Sean, Lemus and their allies the whole time.
AdamSpeg
Lemus won't get closer to get a better shot, and voices to Sean that they should pull back and cut their losses.
u-b
Sean is hesitating. After all, he has invited this man to talk and he feels bad for not letting him out after Sean himself was allowed to go. Still, there was no denying he will have to fight this very man this very day. Ultimately, Sean almost gets himself convinced that he did attempt to let the man live and if the man would just  shut up  he might have given him another chance... but no, that was not going to work. Sean will have to live with this.

Aim.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*
AdamSpeg
Lemus shrugs and follows Seans lead, firing on the retreating man.
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus does not manage to hit the target.

But Sean totally does, however.

The bullets tear through the target's torso and almost certainly kill him.

And if that did not kill him, then the bomb vest detonating definitely does. 4 sticks of dynamite strapped to a small case of ball bearings explode with amazing force.

(OC: the rolled damage is 78 crushing, I think you're all far enough from the blast to not get hit, the fragments are also too far from you guys to be a threat.)
u-b
Sean orders most of the group to retreat to NE house. One militia man is told to go to the cars. Bart is ordered to come to NE house with the dogs. Sean will take his time observing the north from the NE house, then we will move out.
AdamSpeg
Lemus watches the area close by while Sean looks to the north, making sure their retreat isn't being pushed on.
Shoot Da Moon
The men follow Sean's orders, shaken a little by the sudden huge blast.
Lemus and Sean grimly note that the explosion of the man with the bomb vest hit the sides of two buildings, and it may have started a fire inside one.
And on the horizon, Sean spies a windowless black van driving towards the area in the distance, going down a old broken road. It is coming from the far north east.
u-b
 "A van over there. Aim AND HOLD."  Sean aims for three seconds, then shoots a long burst.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and Lemus open fire at the van, and score some hits.

Sean thinks he managed to hit the driver, and the person slumped over in their seat. They might be dead or KO'd. There is some movement inside the vehicle...

(OC: Any more shots, or are you simply watching the van from a distance to see what happens?)
AdamSpeg
Lemus thinks they should push on the van, should be easy to shoot anyone as they try and get out.
u-b
 "Say, two dozen more shots at the cargo total from everyone." 

Sean, meanwhile, does not direct his own interest at the cargo, but at the seat next to the driver he has just shot. He directs his x8 scope on there, looking and aiming...

 
 Spoiler 
Intending to put some bullets in there after 4 seconds of looking, even if not quite sure.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean thinks he sees...somebody moving around next to the unresponsive driver?

He also sees the back doors of the van open up. Someone may be exiting, hard to see from this angle. The doors would partially hide someone stepping out, and then they could rush to cover from there.
u-b
Sean shoots the last rounds at the suspected guy next to the driver, replaces the empty magazine with a new one, then aims his x8 sight at the scene again, looking for any outcomes and activity, including how it went about stopping the car and hitting the people.

 
 Spoiler 
So, 7 seconds total to reload and observe.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean, Lemus and their fellow gunmen all fire off an impressive amount of bullets.

The shots all seem to mostly hit the target/s(?) in the distance, ventilating the van with holes in a satisfying manner. By the time they're done, the van is easily out of commission, full of holes and its internal guts hits by shots. It probably won't be good to drive now.

Sean still can't tell whose left in the van or how many were eliminated. The racket and the flash of the gunfire must have messed up his concentration. But he's fairly sure that no-one survived that barrage of lead.

Right?
u-b
Sean repositions and then observes for some more time while Bart and the dogs are underway. If nothing funny is seen in that time, the plan is then to throw a grenade into the pile of junk in east house and then let  one  dog ahead towards northeast house while we follow some 20 yards away.

 
 Spoiler 
I think it's getting error-prone to track the troops in our heads, so made a  sheet  for them with the desired allocation.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean scans the horizon for a bit and notices even more vehicles incoming.

They are motorcycles, most with only one rider but some with two men on them. Coming towards the buildings around the gas station. Easier to hear them than see them, their engines are making quite a racket.

They're coming from many directions. 3 from the north, 2 from the east, 1 from the north-east, 1 from the west, 2 from the south-west, 2 from the south-east. All of them are far away right now, from about 120 yards from Sean. Travelling at about 12 yards per second.

They aren't all on proper roads, some are going down streets between buildings or behind obstacles. That'll make it hard to aim at them from afar. Looks like they're patrolling, looking for someone. Probably Sean and his allies.
u-b
 "Fire at will!"  Sean aims and makes two shots at the driver of the last bike to the north.
Shoot Da Moon
The driver was not wearing any good body armour, it seems, as the shots both penetrate his torso right where the vitals are.

Dead or knocked out, the driver crashes the bike, and his passenger goes flying. Sean does not see where the man makes his sudden stop, a building gets in the way, but he bets that's a double kill.

(OOC: any combat actions for the NPC gunmen? They can act as Sean is acting. The bikers will no doubt hear the gunshots and respond...)
u-b
Lemus follows the order directed by Sean, placing a burst completely within a bike rider. The militia men at the cars hear the order relayed and shoot at some biker too one second after that.

 
 Spoiler 
Not sure if any overpenetration applies: there is a damage roll of 24 and a damage roll of 23.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The militiamen open fire at the south-east, but only one hits. It looks like it managed to take out a biker, who crashes.

Lemus scores an excellent hit, easily annihilating his northern target. The motorcycle is left a wreck on its side by the road.

It seems the other bikers respond by accelerating. About half drive into alleyways or building covers, hiding. The rest make a turn away from the gas station, perhaps fleeing the general area.

(OOC: all bikes increase movement speed to 20 yards per second.)
u-b
The Rangers also waste no time executing Sean's orders. They were more or less securing the perimeter of the SE building, so were in position to shoot at all the sides and hopefully had good enough training to pick their targets without much unnecessary overlap.

 
 Spoiler 
I guess Volthawk is being busy, so I've rolled for the Rangers' initial attacks too. Those should have gotten all the drivers, maybe some of the passengers, but not necessarily the bikes themselves.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Lucky for the shooters, the bikers have not yet pinpointed the origin of the gunfire.

The riflemen make their shots, to varying degrees. When the dust settles and the noises stop echoing, Sean observes that all the men driving the bikes were blasted center mass. They all fell, and fell hard. The bikes crashed, some of them out of sight. Their passengers took a dive along with it, possibly taking them out, too.

He's fairly sure that a good portion of the targets are dead.

But making sure would require approaching their positions and examining them with care...
u-b
Sean interviews the shooters and makes an account of all bikes and all riders that were on them. Having learned that the drivers all should have been gotten, Sean turns his attention to passengers. He then proposes the following plan: the driver takes the Humvee next to the building to the south, where one BAR guy, one M16 guy and Lemus stealthily assemble and get into the vehicle. From there the car is to ride through  some of  the following crash sites, in order: west, south-west, south-east, east then north-east,  skipping any site where there were no passengers . The north crash sites are not to be checked. The car is not heavily armored but is the best thing we have for the mission. The men are to start moving  now  and make sure each passenger has gotten his bullet before he can sneak away from crash site. Meanwhile, Sean will monitor each location the car is to visit next while the rest of the team is to monitor the remaining locations. Sean advises people to remain more-or less hidden as worst case some snipers might have been on those bikes. The men in the car should also be wary of any suicide bombers, by taking a path mostly away from the cover and having Lemus ready to pop up out of the hatch to open fire an anyone he sees.

The plan is exposing the car to the fire and leaves the people guarding the rest of the cars without a semi-armored hideout, but still does seem better than both letting survivors disperse and going all those places on foot. For reasons of speed, no site is to be looted on the first pass.
Shoot Da Moon
The militiamen agree to the plan, they organize themselves into the hummer, and get to work.

The drive around the crash sites does not take that long. The HMMWV doesn't go very fast, eventually reaching a cruising speed of 30 yards a second, the drive-around covering 278 yards of distance.

When they report back, they say they discovered every passenger but one was found dead at the scene of the crash. The remaining passenger is unaccounted for, but he's definitely severely injured - big blood trails are a common sight around the crashes (most of them ending in a corpse).

They think the one survivor of the crashes has sheltered in an eastern building. Shall they go after him? Or just count on his injuries to sort it out? Certainly, he can't be in fighting shape right now?
u-b
Sean considers the question. Before he answers, he asks the men about the equipment they've seen at crash sites. The questions of particular interests are:
1. Whether it's dangerous (like assault rifles, sniper rifles and explosives).
2. Whether it's expensive (like assault rifles and sniper rifles).
3. Whether the surviving guy's weapon was observed on the ground or likely taken along by the guy.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean considers the question. Before he answers, he asks the men about the equipment they've seen at crash sites. The questions of particular interests are:
1. Whether it's dangerous (like assault rifles, sniper rifles and explosives).
2. Whether it's expensive (like assault rifles and sniper rifles).
3. Whether the surviving guy's weapon was observed on the ground or likely taken along by the guy. 
 

The scouts report that they saw no dangerous or expensive stuff - the bikers seemed to have cheap shotguns, pistols and one SMG ready when they came driving in.

As for the surviving biker, they saw a discarded pistol on the ground, which was probably his. The survivor may have a backup weapon.
u-b
Sean proposes the following plan then:
1. The humvee takes a position in the open some 60 yards east from the north end of the northeast house.
2. From there people monitor for anyone approaching all the north houses from the north, and also observe stuff happening near northeast and east houses and the approach from north and east.
3. Meanwhile, Sean takes a BAR guy, a M16/GL guy, Bart and the dogs and leaves the southeast house heading to somewhere like the southeast corner of the east house and leats Bart release one dog in general direction of the east house and/or approach likely taken by surviving passenger as Bart and the dog would see fit.
4. Sean then follows and covers the dog while BAR guy, M16 guy and Bart follow and cover him.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean proposes the following plan then:
1. The humvee takes a position in the open some 60 yards east from the north end of the northeast house.
2. From there people monitor for anyone approaching all the north houses from the north, and also observe stuff happening near northeast and east houses and the approach from north and east.
3. Meanwhile, Sean takes a BAR guy, a M16/GL guy, Bart and the dogs and leaves the southeast house heading to somewhere like the southeast corner of the east house and leats Bart release one dog in general direction of the east house and/or approach likely taken by surviving passenger as Bart and the dog would see fit.
4. Sean then follows and covers the dog while BAR guy, M16 guy and Bart follow and cover him. 
 

The men obey Sean's orders. They park the humvee where he wants it. They then get out their binos to keep watch. The other men go on patrol south-east, looking out for more coming from the east. Sean follows after them, covering their six.

The sentries report no further activity right away, but that may change in the future...

(OOC: how long do you want everyone to keep up their vigil, players? 1 hour? Less? More?)
u-b
No waiting. As soon as the humvee is in position, Sean gets hit team out of SE building and when appropriate orders Bart to release the dog to look for the survivor. We will proceed with securing the area as soon as we get this one guy.

 
 Spoiler 
The troops should be now assigned  like this .
 
Shoot Da Moon
The dog gets the scent from the blood trail and starts sniffing the survivor out.

It takes only two minutes before the dog leads Sean and his allies over to a wooden door hatch to a building's basement. It seems the survivor went inside, closing the door hatch after him.
Being careful to follow the trail with weapons ready, they open the door and walk down some stairs to what looks like an old small basement.
The dog keeps following the scent in the basement. The pooch eventually leads everyone over to a metal trapdoor in the corner of the basement, behind a dusty shelf made of rotting wood. The survivor went down there, it might be an entrance to The Gutter.
u-b
Sean is not sure he wants to do the gutter at the moment. He reports and remembers the trapdoor's location and instead goes back to send the dog to check the NE building of the lot. He wonders where the other explosive guy is at the moment and wants to find him before he gets to explode, preferably at distance.
Shoot Da Moon
The dog leads Sean and his allies around the area, picking up the scent.

The NE building is clear, no signs of people hiding in there very recently. The dog keeps smelling down a trail, going east for 40 yards.

The trail ends at a small ramshackle wooden booth, stained with oil and tire tracks on the ground that suggest it was a place to dock motorcycles. Empty containers that once held fuel are scattered around. Discarded rags and other detritus imply people were maintaining motorcycles here as best as they could, a week ago.

The dog barks at a set of bike tracks that are very recent. The tracks pull out of the booth, and drive through rough dirt going east. The tracks eventually hit a road, and seem to continue moving east off into the horizon. If this was the other suicide vest sentry, he's fled the area on bike while Sean and his friends were distracted by other matters.
u-b
Sean contemplates how much this one guy could have heard of Sean talking with his colleague. That will add to what he'll be able to tell higher ups. Given what he has seen, though, that will in any case be a lot. Which likely means more competent help the next time around. Which likely means we should get out of here without undue delay. But first, since we do seem to have  some  time, Sean tries to complete the mission, so... first Sean rearranges  the troops  and the gear. The bikes are left only remotely guarded from the SE house. NE house gets its own complement of troops. Some troops will be with the Humvee guarding the entrance Sean is going to take (the one taken by the escaping man), but neither the Humvee nor the men should just stay in the open, so Sean camouflages it somewhere in the bushes to act like an ambush that would prevent the approach from the east. The rest of the men, six of them, including Lemus, Bart and demolition man, are to don protective equipment and be ready to follow Sean downstairs. Lemus is instructed to load the grenade launcher with alternating stun and tear gas, and then stun only, no frags. Bart will take along the backpack with crash kit and grenades. Sean reviews the men's donned protective gear to see if there are any gaps or other things to fix and makes sure the equipment is correctly prepared for use. He takes a bit extra time while at it. Then he examines the trap door for actual traps and gets ready to open it and assess the level of illumination downstairs.
Shoot Da Moon
The men are shuffled around to their new positions. The Humvee is hidden away from casual observers. It should be enough.

The NBC suits the men are wearing are somewhat shoddy, but Sean manages to keep them worn correctly and any potential dangerous flaws in them are patched up nicely. The men complain about how they smell kinda rank. But that could just be their sweating (they've out in the sun and involved in serious action for a bit too long, by their reckoning).

The trapdoor Sean inspects is rigged with a simple noisemaker trap. A bunch of tin cans and glass bottles on strings connected to the doors that will clatter if opened too fast or too much. Cute.

(OC: Sean is talking about the way down NOT found in the gas station, right?)
u-b
Sean opens the trap door a bit and carefully disconnects the string(s). He lets the demolition guy hold them while he opens the trap door all the way and looks for:
1. Dangers he should dodge from.
2. Illumination levels below.
3. Anything that can be seen just looking in there and then maybe poking one's head in there.
4. A way to disable the trap or enter downstairs without making noise.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: Sean is talking about the way down NOT found in the gas station, right? 
 

Right.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The noisemaker is disarmed fairly easily. The entryway is slipped through with minimal noise.

Looking around the...small basement? Sean sees the area is unlit. Not much furniture left down here, just two bookshelves and a desk in the center. Wrecked heaps of junk are sloppily discarded here and there. The stairs up have completely collapsed into rotten wood piles. The door to the upper floor is closed.

The standout feature of this basement is a large hole carved out of a wall, leading into a tunnel. The hole looks to be about two people big, made by tearing down the bricks in a wall and then removing all the earth beyond. The project must taken months, even years.

The tunnel beyond is roughly made and unclean, but sturdy. And dark.
u-b
Sean lits the IR tac light and beams it down and then into the hole. He first wants to ascertain whether someone is there to shoot at him where he's still a bit illuminated from the back. Assuming no one is there, Sean next wants to ascertain whether the man went through here or not. Assuming he did, Sean gets one BAR man next to him without his light on, so not seeing much of anything, but ready to start illuminating on command. The others are to be near the trap door, but not going in. Sean is not immediately sure whether he would go forward ahead of the men, so for now just takes a look. Of interest:
1. Is the tunnel straight or curved?
2. How long a section of it can be seen?
3. Any potential illumination devices (like totches or holders for them, lamps, electric cables, etc.).
4. Where does it seem to be going, direction-wise?
5. Whether there are any traps in the tunnel section seen.

 
 Spoiler 
Not sure about collapsed stairs. How did the fleeing man supposedly went here? This should not prevent Sean from going down and looking into the tunnel, but if he has to climb or be pulled back up, I'll have to plan for that.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The men take up position as the scout scans the area.

Sean sees no gunmen lying in wait. No traps either.
Someone bleeding definitely went into the tunnel. They were apparently dragged into there.

The tunnel is straight. It seems to go on for about 40 to 50 yards, ending in another opening to another room. He can see all the way over there, but not much of the room beyond. No signs of people being around recently are there or in the tunnel, including any illumination devices. The tunnel is going north.
u-b
The tunnel did not look much like the Gutter, but Sean decides to check the other end anyway, it should not take too much time. Shining the IR tac light ahead, he tells people to stay and starts to advance, with some care not to make any noise, until he notices someone or something that would cause him to stop.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean keeps going forward, his light steady as the tunnel continues into another room.

This place has two other tunnels without doors leading into it. It has a few waist-high concrete barricades and light wooden slat-walls prepared, to break up lines of sight and give cover for anyone holding out here. They are all in front of a single metal security door (locked).

There are no light sources active in the room. Sean checks behind every wooden slat and concrete barrier, but finds no-one hiding here.

It is only by checking the ground and finding a light blood trail, he realizes the person coming through here went into the door.
u-b
Sean takes a look around the room for any ways that people outside could observe if the light levels in the room rise substantially (like security cameras, key holes, etc.). Then he beams and observes the other tunnels (length, shape and emptiness). Of all seems to be clear, he then he takes his cigarette lighter, lights it and places in on the floor of the room on the tunnel side of the barricade nearest to the tunnel. He then whispers over the radio for one BAR man and Lemus to come quietly and gather on the sides of the lit cigarette lighter without making any more light. Meanwhile, he places the rifle leaning on the wall near the door, where it would illuminate the ceiling and, because of the strength of the beam, also the whole of the room in infra-red range. He then tries to stealthily pick the lock in the metal security door, taking some time.

 
 Spoiler 
Assuming petrol-burning cigarette lighter that can stay lit if left lit, not liquid gas burning one that requires constant pushing.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean sees no cameras or peepholes in the room. He wonders if the people securing this area ran out of resources or simply did not have the time to complete the job. The other tunnels are about half as long as the one he just went down and are curved, going in turns towards the south or west. They look mostly empty, except for a few empty wheelbarrows left behind.

Sean's lighter illuminates a little. He think it looks a bit eerie, here in this darkness. It stays on once Sean leaves it by itself. He radios in without much difficulty, but the underground does interfere - some mild static. He places his rifle where it can help.

Sean gets to work on the locked door, and it seems that the hardware is easy enough to pop off. The door becomes openable.
u-b
Sean takes the rifle in hand and opens the door a bit to peek through. At a minimum, he wants to see/hear if the area beyond is occupied and if he's being noticed. Getting some idea of the area's layout will follow after that.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's peek beyond the door reveals a room where people seem to have been sleeping in. There's mattresses and sleeping bags all over the floor, big wooden tables on opposite ends where huge piles of junk have been left, a crude camping site.

In the center of the room, there's a dead man's body, looks recently deceased and in the middle of a pool of blood. It's been stripped of all gear, down to the skivvies.

There are two more doors in the camping room. Both are simple metal doors, they look unlocked (no keyholes or padlocks visible).
u-b
Looking at me metal doors without keyholes Sean rather expects them to be barred from the other side, but this, of course, has to be checked. Sean examines the door he has just went through. Of interest are the material (like, ordinary construction steel or armor-grade steel) and thickness. Whatever he sees, Sean then approaches the dead body to examine it for any additional wounds not caused by us and for any special marks like maybe neck tattoos. He then approaches one of the closed metal doors, compares it to the door previously examined, and carefully checks whether it would indeed resist an appempt to open it enough to peek through. If it does, he checks the same about the other door.
Shoot Da Moon
The doors are not barred. There's a handle on both that easily works and opens the door, creaking loudly. The door's materials seem to be thinner than the previous security door's. It's metal, but much less tough.

Both doors allow peeking through. Peeking in one door reveals the room beyond is some kind of storeroom, multiple shelves full of stuff. The other room, peeked in, is a corridor with multiple doors.

The dead body has injuries consistent with what Sean and his allies have been dealing out. Blood loss is extreme, probably the cause of death. The dead man's neck does indeed sport a black tattoo; three boxes in a row, each with a number 7 written in an ornate font inside.
u-b
If the storeroom does not seem to be trapped, Sean first enters it to briefly investigate its layout, a ballpark of the date of construction and maybe any doors leading out. As for the contents, the goal is to estimate the kinds of stuff stored there and, roughly, the amount thereof, spending two minutes at most. For example, "half a shelf of ammo, one shelf of chemicals and two shelves of assorted steel, mostly junk" would be a satisfactory estimation. He then observes the corridor and the doors without fully opening the door leading there, trying to determine, among other things, the following:
1. Whether it seems illuminated, occupied or observed by any method (like security cameras or non-solid doors or what not).
2. Length, width and general direction of the corridor and whether it has any connections anywhere that are not through the doors.
3. Where are the doors located and how many of them.
4. Whether the doors look like thinner metal doors, thicker metal doors, blast doors, wooden doors or something else.
5. What the walls, floor and ceiling seem to be made of.
Shoot Da Moon
The storeroom is dank, perhaps it was abandoned a month ago. It's square-ish, containing two big wooden tables and four different shelves. It looks like it was first built many years ago, if not during the initial tunneling out of this underground maze. It has probably gone through several cycles of use and abandonment since then. There are no doors in the storeroom.

The tables have the most bulky and large stuff on it. It looks like several big pieces of machinery have been placed upon them - car engines? Generators? The machines have been partly dissembled, taken apart into discreet "chunks" of metal, cog wheels, spokes, controls and wires.

The shelves seem to mostly store junk, batteries, machined parts, spare tools, containers (plastic and metal), industrial cleaners, and discarded rusted knives.

The corridor has been very recently travelled within, footprints tracking mud and dirt all over are fresh. The doors' handles and knobs have been touched within a day of now. No lights are currently on, except for behind one door. There is enough of a faint racket behind it that Sean is confident that multiple people are active in a room beyond. At least 12. He sees no security measures on or around the door.

The corridor is 3 yards wide, 20 yards long, and going straight from east to west. It definitely is connected to a larger network of underground tunnels and passageways. Perhaps it is a part of The Gutter?

The doors are mostly on the further away end from Sean. None of them look locked, they're all thin metal numbers. There's two on the north-west side of the corridor, one at the west end, another one at the south-west.

Judging by the first glance, Sean sees the walls, floor and ceiling are made of metal.
u-b
Sean takes a note of the door that seems to have light behind and starts to whisper his orders:
1. The M16 guy, Bart and both dogs are to join Lemus and BAR guy around the burning cigarette lighter.
2. After they are assembled, Bart and the dogs are to stay put until the action starts, after which they are to follow to join us in the direction and route they can now barely observe.
3. Lemus, BAR guy and M16 guy are to take the cigarette lighter with them and join Sean at the start of the corridor, moving as quietly as they possibly can.
4. Sean is then going to issue the final orders and act depending on which door is lit.

 
 Spoiler 
If all is clear, the actions and orders will then depend on which door is lit, specifically, the one at the end of the corridor or one of those to the sides.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The lit door is at the end of the corridor.

Sean's allies pull in, backing him up.

All looks clear...
u-b
Sean arranges the troops at "our" end of the corridor as follows:
1. BAR guy standing up halfway behind the left doorpost.
2. Lemus lying down in the doorway with M32A1 aimed at the closed door.
3. M16 guy crouched halfway behind the right doorpost.

These positions are 20 yards away in the dark, so should not be readily targeted after the door gets open, Sean thinks. Lemus is told to be ready to shoot one flashbang through the door after Sean opens fire. The other two men are instructed to aim at any opposition they see and not to shot at anything they cannot see or identify as the opposition. The BAR guy is additionally instructed to turn on the tac light whenever he feels aimed at. Sean himself takes a position crouched near the handle-side doorpost and does the following:
1. Swing the door open by giving it enough impulse over the minimum possible time.
2. While the door swings open (and maybe reflects its direction of travel from the other side and starts to move closed again), shoot a long burst into the room at the opposition he sees.
3. Step out of the way completely behind the wall to his side of the door.

 
 Spoiler 
The actions are to take one second as follows:
- Multi-Task as per AtE 45 (extra effort) to open the door
- Attack, followed by a step
- Extra effort for +2 to all dodges as necessary

Will roll Sean's and Lemus' attacks after the first part of the round is resolved.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus and the other gunmen take up positions...

Sean grabs the knob of the door, gives it a turn, and opens it...

As soon as the door swings open, he fires his gun at what he sees beyond; the room is wide and spacious enough that there are parts unseen from their position/angle (although it's fully lit in terms of illumination). What they can see from their position, is 3 armed men in armour standing guard, apparently to prevent access to the door Sean just opened. Clearly, more of the hostiles in the area.

(OC: One enemy is 3 yards from the door, another is 7 yards away, the third is 10 yards away. Maybe there's about 3 yards horizontal between each one, so a burst catching all three wastes two bullets. Sean, roll for the attack.)

The enemies are caught off guard. They did not hear Sean's approach. Sean steps away, into cover, as he finishes his gunfire.
Lemus throws the flashbang after Sean's blazing away.
The men back them both up with aiming overwatch.
(OC: roll Lemus' skill with Throwing, I guess.)

It all kicks off now...
u-b
Sean is quick enough to grab the rifle with the hand he used to open the door and shoots inside all the proper way, spraying a long burst at all three targets there. He is not sure if that would be good (like, it wouldn't have been too good against  his  armor, but he has no time for detailed observations). He does try to observe the actual effect and the rest of the room, but actually processing the image might require some time after he's out of the way...

Lemus then shoots a flashbang into the room. It lands a bit too short and thus affecting Sean, but that was about as intended. At least, it got into the room, so that is good enough.

Sean then will have to process the information, maybe taking a whole second at it. Of interest:
1. Whether the door was swung hard enough to reflect from the fully open position back to somewhat closed. If so, what is that "somewhat"?
2. What are the dimensions of the room past the door...
2.1 Left of the door.
2.2 Right of the door.
2.3 Ahead past the door.
3. Who and what are there (people, objects, obstructions, etc.)?
3.1 Specifically, anyone or anything we might prefer not to destroy?
4. What was the effect of Sean's shooting on the three armored men.
5. What were they armed with and armored in?

This should take at most two rounds total, including the shooting, even if Sean is unable to process all the info by then.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's gunfire hits all three men in front of them - only one of them was turned towards him, and thus his frontal sentry armour protected his torso...but well enough. All three are eliminated, falling down dead in a heap.

A moment later, Lemus clumsily shoots his stun grenade into the room beyond. Fortunately, it seems that the room is small enough and his shot is just accurate enough that it catches more hostiles in the flash and bang anyway. Judging by the screams, it seems the people further inside are rendered blind, deaf and in chaos. Now is their chance...

Sean's allies behind him stay on guard, aiming and waiting for any new hostiles to present themselves.

The door stays in the position Sean leaves it in. The room beyond looks to be about 10 yards in both distances from one to the opposite. To his left, he sees a wall. To his right, he sees 5 armed gunmen circling around a bunch of humanoid figures tied up on the ground (right in the center of the room), and then another 2 more behind those at the opposite end of the room. Straight ahead, there's a wall where Sean just put a few bullets when he was shooting.

Not much is left in the room aside from a few backpacks full of stuff left against a far wall, guarded by the far two. It looks like the room was cleared out earlier. The bad guys seem to be half armed with long arms (the ones at the ends, including the ones just shot by Sean) and half armed with revolvers (the five surrounding the humanoids in the center). Their armour is heavy frontal metal plate and simple heavy helmets.

(OOC: The five bad guys in the center are effectively 6, 7, 7, 8 and 10 yards away from the door due to the angle. The 2 at the back are effectively 10 and 11 yards away.)

The sudden gunfire seemed to catch them off-guard. The stun grenade, even more so. They're shocked and awed.
u-b
Thinking he can get a good part of them in one go, Sean steps partially back in the doorway and shoots a long burst and then quickly reloads with a full magazine. He targets only the armed men, not the bound ones.

 
 Spoiler 
Extra Effort for Rapid Reload.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean wastes 2 bullets in the burst, as the targets are spread out a little.

The flashbang left the targets reeling despite being alert enough to know that they're under attack.

Sean misses one target, but he bull's-eyes 6 of the bad guys. None of them manage to evade the assault. All of the targets are shot somewhere that they can't afford to be blasted, and fall down out of the fight. He thinks at least a few died from the shots to the vitals.

(OC: what do the rest of the guys do, then we handle the remaining bad guy.)
Shoot Da Moon
The goon screams in frustration, Sean can hear him from his vantage point outside, as his allies stay frosty.

(OC: Sean, it's your turn again. Better stop the last man before he does something drastic...)
u-b
Sean shoots a short burst at the guy, missing him because of the range and the smoke, but then maybe shoots two more bursts, or however many it takes to bring the man down, provided he does not recover from stun and Sean still has the ammo.

 
 Spoiler 
Okay, I've rolled three bursts over three seconds and two checks for the guy's HT. The HT checks are both failures provided they are at a penalty to HT as per HT192, but please resolve only until something happens. If he dodges, please roll again for more of the same.
 
Shoot Da Moon
For precious seconds, it's confusing mess as Sean blazes at the last goon.

Eventually, he drops him in a semi-wild shot to the heart. The bullet tears through his heavy amour and kills him.

Then all is quiet...
u-b
With his heart still beating at an accelerated rate, Sean takes a short pause to let the opposition in any other rooms react in any offensive way and the bound people to recover from stun. While this pause lasts, Sean listens, and, to a lesser extent, looks. If it's all quiet, Bart is commanded to assist the bound people, Lemus is commanded to skip the gas grenade so that the next one shot is another flashbang and Sean himself might eventually take a short walk to have a better look at the people and/or at the doors. Of interest:
1. Any sounds from anywhere.
2. Any doors leading out of the last room?
3. Any details about those doors.
4. The number of bound people and whether they are all alive and conscious.
5. The details of how they are bound (can walk or talk without assistance)?
6. Any tattoos on anyone alive or dead (will not unbind anyone with a neck tattoo).

This gets Bart and the dogs ahead of everyone else, especially since the rest of the men are to hold their positions, but that should be about just fine since we are not, at the moment, attacking.
Shoot Da Moon
The smoke of the exploded grenade eventually dies down. The people lying on the floor stay down, crying softly. The men who were shot stay motionless. It's mostly quiet.

Bart is sent in, gun at the ready. He stays on guard as he approaches the captured people. He examines them, and comments to Sean that the captured people have been tied up with rope or chain. He asks if Sean wants them to be freed. They are dressed in rags, and a closer inspection seems to uncover mutations in the 5 captured people. Not to mention, they've been beaten up.

Lemus configures his weapon, nervous.
There are five backpacks kept on the floor against the far wall.
Bart asks if Sean wants the bodies and/or the backpacks searched. He thinks six of them are dead, four are just KO'd.

When Sean comes in and looks around, he hears no noises in any nearby room except for the pained moans from the captured mutants. There are another door in here, just at the opposite end, it's closed and identical to the one he just came in from.

The hostages are 5 in number. They can walk, if given the chance. They won't like it much, though. Two of them have their mouths gagged with rags.

A look at the guys who got shot reveal black tattoos on their necks. Six of the goons have the triple 7 design that Sean found earlier, the rest have an illustration of 2 playing cards; a Jack of Diamonds and an Ace of Clubs next to each other. The five hostages have no tattoos of any kind anywhere on their bodies.
u-b
Sean un-gags the gagged people. He does not untie them so far.  "We are the enemies of your captors and came here to clear this place. We'll set you free if and when we are done with it, and after you are questioned. The lot of you, think what I would like to know right now and tell it to me also right now. We'll talk about other stuff sometime later."  Sean expects the topics to be raised would include at least the following (and will mention it if it is not included at first):
1. The layout of the site, as far as these captives could tell.
2. Any more captors' forces.
3. Any other people, like captives or what not.
4. Any security measures.
5. Normal operations here that we might have interrupted.
6. Anything else relevant to the task  (UPD: including things recently said by the captors) .

If people are in the mood to negotiate, Sean is reasonably open about the details of setting them free, up to providing them with healing/transportation, but says that it would be predicated on their cooperation on the intel department.

Sean tells Bart to look for any keys in the appropriate pockets. He is not otherwise into looting right now.
Shoot Da Moon
The hostages are grateful for the rescue. They stay quiet and try not to move much.

The captives worked at a Old World tech laboratory hidden away in this underground complex, connected to The Gutter. They know their way around for 2 or so miles. Is there anywhere specifically Sean and his allies want to go?

The people who took them hostage split up into smaller groups when the alarm went off. There used to be 20 to 30 bad guys milling around, but all of them except for the 10 or so Sean just gunned down scattered to either retreat or handle a pullout. The rest of the bad guys are probably escaping through The Gutter or going to the surface by now.

Everyone but them got executed by the bad guys when the alarm went off and the enemy sounded the retreat or when they first took over the laboratory.

Security measures mostly consisted of alarms, locks and a few automated gun turrets. They have no idea what exactly happened with all that. The bad guys set up a bunch of bombs in their wake as they ran off, a stay-behind network of explosive traps.

The bad guys stormed the place months ago, and took the laboratory workers hostage, forced them to create some kind of weird plant-based monsters piggy-backing off humanoid biology ("zombies"). When the alarm went off, the raiders decided to go scorched earth. The lab is gone, wrecked, blown up. Their fellow mutants were murdered en masse. The hospital was stripped clean of supplies.

The raiders were trying to make an army of "zombies" to use as terror weapons. The attack up top has clearly put the kibosh on that. There still might be a stockpile of food, water and chemicals that the raiders have not yet managed to transport out.

Bart finds a few keys in the pockets of the dead. Handcuff keys. Access cards. Normal building door keys, like you'd use for houses or apartments. He also finds a whole bunch of other stuff...
u-b
So, we have lost the lab and most of its personnel... this was not Sean's lab to begin with, nor was it Sean's personnel, nor Sean would have expected to operate or evacuate this lab, but still, this gave a strong feeling of imperfection to this operation. He states that Bread Basked should have  talked  to him if they wanted this one intact, because doing it that way would have required more care. He notes how the mutants react to mentioning of Bread Basket, then orders Bart to untie and uncuff them. Now, the next question would be to assess the state of the things here, because, while Sean does trust the mutants telling the lab is destroyed, he'd like to see this and that himself, at least as far as practical. He tells the men above to look for anyone trying to escape. The men were already looking out and are not to move anywhere else, but Sean thinks it would not hurt to have them updated about the events. Now, turning to what we can salvage out of the situation, Sean hands the mutants his notebook and his pen, then tells the mutants to start drawing and talking.
1. Sean would like to have drawn the layout of the complex around this room. A range of two rooms in every direction from here would be satisfactory for a start. The purpose and the contents of each room are to be mentioned, both in the original and the expected condition. Also, Sean wants all security features marked, like turrets, cameras, security control computers, known minefields and what not.
2. Sean asks what the lab did, before being overtaken, if that's not too much of a secret itself. Both the original purpose and what the mutants used it for are of interest. Maybe a bit of a history lecture too, like between then and now.
3. How did the bad guys take over the lab and the security systems and would it be possible to take over the security systems again? At a minimum, Sean would like to look through the cameras. At the maximum, he'd like to shut down and dismantle gun turrets. Any IT or security guys among these mutants? Would any of these access cards help any way?
4. Anyway, what was everyone's occupation?
5. What can be known about the recent operations of the lab? At a minimum, Sean would like to learn:
5.1 The number of live and dead people and animals brought in here, separately per category.
5.2 The numbers and types of finished products that have left the base.
5.3 Assuming the above numbers are not equal, some account of the difference, including monsters left here or something.
5.4 The amount of time that has passed between the takeover and the first finished product. How did they manage to have it that fast? Who was directing the research? Specifically whose idea was to create plant-based zombies off the humans, of all other options? Was it by mutants or by captors?
6. Would the mutants know how to ride a motorbike?
7. Would any or all of them want a new job?
8. Would they want to establish a communication and maybe a security agreement between Sean's men and any of mutants' allies?
9. Anything that can be said about any other lab, under whomever's control? Or, for that part, of any other Gutter facility or point of interest?
10. Say, the raiders have been evacuating for the last hour or two. And there were about 10 to 20 of them leaving. Were they taking the stuff in backpacks and hiking through the Gutter or was it some other way?
11. Were there any off-site backups of any valuable infos (like, formulas, technologies or what not) that could be recovered? Or maybe something local, but not disclosed to the bad guys?
Shoot Da Moon
The hostages state that they have no connection to Bread Basket, and both parties like it that way. The settlement of Bread Basket hates them for being known mutants, the hypocrites. They have an entire Shelter of mutated population that they keep hidden away in their secret underground Old World bunker, maintaining a false face of normality for the sake of their trading contracts. Bread Basket makes a big show of eliminating outsider mutants to throw suspicion off their own dirty secret.

The mutants are happy to be free, and promise Sean that they will help him out however they can. Not that they expect to be much help, since their resources were stolen by the raiders and their people were slaughtered.

They tell him where to find the lab's location, what's left of it. They warn him that it could be very dangerous.

The allies of Sean take up defensive positions to keep things locked down. They nod to Sean and Lemus, guns at the ready.

The mutants write down what Sean asks of them.

The complex they know of seems to be a few inter-connected square rooms around rectangular hallways. They write down the nearby locations of a hospital, the lab, a storeroom, four empty rooms for miscellaneous functions, a living quarters, three hallways and an exit up to the surface. There are turrets around the lab and cameras around the storeroom. The lab has a computer terminal connected to a larger network.

The lab was for making new mutants. That's all it ever was supposed to be. They had a full record of their history and purpose on the lab's computer files, but none of the mutants alive now have memorized it. The lab director and the other leaders of the mutant tribe knew more about it than mere techs such as them. Half of the leadership got killed off by the raiders when they took the lab. The other half is probably stone dead right now.

The raiders seemed to have hacked the security and then rushed the mutant's warriors by surprise. They had SMGs and explosives. The guards of the tribe all died in the assault. The camera feeds and logs are stored as files on the computer. Shutting down the turrets may require either hacking a computer or sabotaging a local electricity grid. There might a way to access the electrical systems in the living quarters? The mutants are all lab techs, they are familiar with the computer systems, yes. The access cards are only for room doors. Maybe rooms further away from here have terminals connected to relevant networks?

The hostages were all lab techs, responsible for handling the computer's functions, assisting in biological experiments and for running the scientific machines. Other members of the tribe died, murdered by the raiders.

The lab under the raiders brought in a lot of animals, both dead and alive. And corpses of humanoids. Easily dozens of each category. They made them into "zombies" or pumped them full of mutagens. The raiders wanted attack drones of flesh and blood.

The lab created entire hordes of monsters, unleashed them into the wild. The hostages guess about 50 "zombies" every month and a half, 70 feral mutant animals every month and a half. This went on for...4 to 5 and half months? On average? The computer files will be more exact. They don't know what happened to the lab products after they were created, when they left the lab and went to the surface. They figured it was an attempt to attack settlements?

It took 3 weeks after the raiders took over and starting the "work", that the product was finished enough to be used. The raiders had brought their own files on Old World black bio-tech and "zombies." Who knows where they got that? The guy in charge of the raiders had the rank of "General" but he rarely made an appearance in person, usually just giving orders over the computer and by messengers from the north. It was all his idea, his personal project. He seemed to think the "zombies" could turn things around for his "war" against the settlements.

No. The mutants do not know how to ride a motorcycle.

A new job sounds great. Working for Sean would be ideal.

They can join up, but none of them know much about security protocols. That was handled by other mutants.

They know of no other lab.

The Gutter is not well known to them. Other mutants have explored The Gutter, their findings recorded on the computer files. They have heard tales of Old World robots (somehow advanced enough to be fully thinking intelligences) armed with machine guns and flamethrowers lurking elsewhere in The Gutter to the north-east.

The raiders mostly had backpacks, waist packs and hand carts. Some hiked through The Gutter, others went to the surface.

They definitely know the computer network has heaps of files that recorded complete libraries on many different topics. The raiders probably missed something in there.
u-b
Sean looks at the drawings, trying to devise a plan. He asks to confirm or refute the following:
1. The gun turrets are not really movable without major effort, so would not have been moved as part of the evacuation.
2. The mutants can at least attempt to take over the security control computer if Sean gets them to a (or is it the?) terminal.
3. Sabotaging electricity grid will likely require some overvoltage sort of action as simply switching all the breakers will leave the gun turrets to run some (what?) time on their batteries.
4. The raiders here did not seem to wear any NBC gear. How about contamination here, both expected and possible? We seem to have contracted some serious dicease either the last time we've visited the local entrance or maybe elsewhere, Sean is unsure.
5. How are the products controlled by the raiders? Can we get to command them? Cause them not to attack us or some such?

 
 Spoiler 
Okay, so we have two options:
1. We pack and leave.
2. We first poke around.

I strongly prefer poking around at least somewhat, even if that requires spending more IC and OOC time in here. I'll try to limit it to a reasonable amount. To that effect I'll want a paint drawing with sizes/distances, named rooms and known security features.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The gun turrets can be moved, but that requires deactivating the turrets' stands latches and partly disassembling it. Not to do if the turret is not turned off or powered down.

The mutants could try hacking a computer if they have access to it.

The turrets have minor internal batteries, yes...

The raiders may know a good route through The Gutter to avoid diseased areas. There are definitely nasty germs at work in there.

The raiders mostly avoided getting attacked by zombies because they had some special chemical "perfume" that repelled the zombies. The feral mutant animals also hated the smell of the chemical. Nothing more precise than that, they could not really command them much except by clumsy herding or keeping them in cages for transportation.

(OC: my main computer's down right now, getting a map done will take a few days, sorry.)
u-b
Sean makes the following assumptions which he double-checks with the mutants:
1. There is no or minimal raider personnel still occupying the area.
2. The gun turrets have likely not been moved as part of the evacuation.
3. The locks, the alarms and the security cameras should not pose much of immediate danger because #1, unless we talk remote-controlled bombs.
4. There are mines, old and new, that  do  pose danger.
5. There might still be some lab products left, but presumably somewhere separate from the mines.
6. We still want to limit our exposure to the cameras, because they are likely still watched from somewhere else (about this one Sean is less sure than about the others).

He then also asks or looks at the following:
7. Are there computers in the living quarters? If yes, are they connected to security network? If no, what were people supposed to do when off duty?
8. What would be the safest route to the living quarters and what permanent security features are along this route?
9. How many entrances to the lab are there? How many gun turrets guarding each entrance?
10. What is behind the three doors leading out of the corridor Sean just went through?
11. What is behind the door leading out of this room?
12. What types of guns and ammo are used by gun turrets? How much ammo they have? How many of them total in the area? How intelligent are their automated controls? Can they be controlled remotely by an operator?
13. What is the safest way to some blast door / reinforced steel door, assuming we want to reach one for the sake of the door?
14. Is the exit to the surface the mutants have marked the one under the gas station or somewhere else?
15. Will any of the mutants volunteer to accompany Sean and answer any questions on the go, like "what is behind this door" and "where is the circuit breaker panel" sort of thing? Sean will be the first to actually go through that door and will try to ensure the safety of the accompanying mutant.

Sean takes all the keys and key cards from Bart. He instructs Bart to look in the raiders' backpacks for any computer equipment (mostly laptops and storage are of interest).
Shoot Da Moon
The mutants confirm the raiders have mostly pulled out by now. They were already ready to pack up all the time, apparently not confident in being able to keep the territory in case of attack.

The turrets might have been left behind to slow pursuers, yes.

The mutants seem unbothered by security measures that aren't bombs or turrets.

The mutants are unsure of landmines. They have not seen much of that, but it could've been set up in areas further away.

The mutants are unsure of the lab's status, or remnants. They recommend caution.

The mutants disagree with each other on the cameras - one thinks the cameras should be abandoned by now while another thinks the last raiders would be manning the cameras.

No computers in the living quarters. Mutants off-duty mostly amused themselves with reading, story-telling and card games.

The safest route is back through the door Sean and his friends came from, and then into a door that is marked with a star. No security features besides cameras, last they checked.

The lab has three entrances. The closest one is located in the corridor outside, Sean and his allies came in from that corridor. The door to the lab is marked with a triangle. Turrets are guarding each door into the lab, so watch out for that.

The doors in the corridor lead to the living quarters, the lab and the hospital.

That door in here leads to a storeroom.

The gun turrets used automatic rifles and fire 7.62mm or some other common NATO rounds. They have at least 100 rounds loaded into them. They think there are five turrets in total? They're semi-dumb, able to recognize IFF tags programmed into them, but otherwise dangerous. They can be remotely controlled.

A reinforced door can be found in a room past the storeroom. It leads into a corridor, deeper into The Gutter.

The exit to the surface is indeed under the gas station.

The mutants are fine with escorting Sean and helping him, yes. Anywhere is better than here.

Bart hands over the stuff to Sean. Then he checks the backpacks, but finds no computer parts.
He just finds 25 sticks of dynamite, power drill, bike lock with chain, 10 shotgun shells, first aid kit, 10 gallons of gasoline, 20 chemlights, 10 batteries, 50 bullets for a SMG, cable ladder, and a folding shovel.
u-b
Sean orders the officer above ground to dispatch one small team with one BAR guy (maybe a team of two, at the officer's option) to gather all the stuff that is left from the bikers, excluding the bodies themselves. The bikes are to be sorted into two piles: one working and one not working. Everything else should be trown in a car.

Meanwhile Sean attempts to devise a plan. It comes roughly as follows and he checks it with the mutants before executing it:
1. We want to get to the lab and assume the turret is placed in direct view of the triangle door here. If it is not, the plan is to be modified accordingly.
2. Assuming the door is opened by pulling from our side. If not, the plan is to be modified accordingly.
2. We get one of the dead raiders, strip him of any apparent identification tags and badges (both visual and IR), put Bart's face mask on him (Bart is not wearing it at the moment), duct-tape him to some pole or something, duct-tape to his hands some long arm and then prepare to show this contraption to the turret beyond the door.
3. Two men are stationed on both sides of the door, Sean checks the door for traps. If it seems safe, Sean opens the door from handle side and we begin to show the moving guy to the gun turret, again and again until it's exhausted.
4. If that does not work, the other man closes the door from the hinge side and we think again.
5. If it works only part way, we close the door, then repeat with next dead raider.

If the mutants approve the plan, we execute it. The raiders should still be warm, so if the turret has thermal vision, that should be fine as well.
Shoot Da Moon
The officer hears the order from Sean and gets to carrying it out. He tells Sean and his fellows that his team will need about ten minutes to finish the job.

The mutants consider Sean's plan to be...morbid. But perhaps sound. They tentatively agree to try it...

Sean prepares what he needs, getting a dead raider ready for baiting the turret. The IFF tag is embedded in the raider's collarbone. Digging it out with a blade takes only a minute.

The mutants show Sean to the lab door. They brace themselves as the door is opened and Sean gets his first peek inside.

The room beyond is not what he expected. First off, all the Old World tech that was once inside has been recently but utterly gutted. All the machines have been stripped of parts or outright wrecked by smashing or explosions.

There is a turret beyond pointing at the door, but it has also been gutted. It has no rifle fitted into it. No power pack inserted, no power cable hooked up. Its stand is fixed to the floor but is otherwise just an ugly thick metal decoration.

The door itself is not trapped, but the room beyond (what was once the lab) is now thoroughly boobytrapped with explosive devices set to blow if any of the machines are inspected too closely or if parts of the floor are treaded on. Landmines, tripwires and the occasional sensor rigged to the skeletons of machines are there to make sure nothing here is salvaged, it seems. That includes the remains of the turret.
u-b
Sean thinks he might have dared to unleash Tariq in there, but as for himself, he rather thinks it would not worth the bother. He takes a M67 grenade from Bart's backpack, commands everyone to get safely away, throws the grenade approximately in the center of the lab, closes the door and makes some distance before all sorts of things in there start exploding. If all explodes as planned, he makes his way back to check the door leading to the hospital and maybe open it to have a look inside.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's throw is a little off. But the grenade still lands within the lab and is in good position to blow it all up.

And it does. A few seconds after closing the door on the lab, a massive explosion rocks the room, shaking dust from the ceiling and almost tearing the lab door off its hinges. A nasty chemical smell hangs in the air as the smoke wafts out of the ruined lab. Sean has easily racked up some severe property damage with that grenade.

Moving on, Sean finds the door to the hospital and finds it safe to open. Peeking in, Sean is again dismayed to find the area beyond has been ransacked and wrecked, leaving behind nothing useful. Just the discarded shells and containers of what was once a full array of Old World medical equipment, stripped of supplies and operating parts.

No explosive traps here, though...
u-b
Sean lets it be and checks the door to living quarters, maybe opening it to look at what is beyond if that seems to be safe.

He then asks the mutants of two things:
1. Is there anything interesting in the gutter nearby that the raiders might or might not have razed that we could possibly check?
2. How many exits to the surface are there nearby? Assuming the raiders do not want to take a long trek through the gutter, can we limit the set of most likely exits they could have taken to something like 3?
Shoot Da Moon
The door to the living quarters is safe. Opening the door and looking inside is also safe, no booby traps.
But the room's contents are very disturbing despite the safety - a pile of dead people (about 15 to 20 at a rough count) has been left to rot in the middle, apparent victims of the raiders' callous campaign of death and terror. The corpses are a few days old, judging by the decay...and the smell.

The mutants answer Sean by telling him that they tried to steer clear of The Gutter for most of their lives. The people who explored The Gutter were few and well-trained for the task...and they mostly died on droves. Only scant details of their discoveries ever reached their ears. There might be a passage into an Old World underground train system? It could certainly work as an escape tunnel, if the dangers did not eliminate you on the way out.
The mutants think there are about three to five exits to the surface within 50 yards of the lab. The mutants know of 2 for certain, one goes to the gas station. Would Sean like to be lead to them?
u-b
Sean felt kinda reassured that the dead here were not the result of this one attack, but thought his earlier appearances might have played a role in putting the raiders on the edge, which might have contributed to the outcome. Nothing could be done to fix it right now and Sean did not plan a proper burial in these circumstances, so...  "You can pack your things, if there are any, and do whatever else short of proper burial. Then I will ask you to help us through the store rooms to pick up the most valuable things that might still have been left there and we'll be back to the surface."  Having said that to the mutants, Sean goes to the room with dead and unconscious raiders. The method for embedding IFF tags suggests these are not changed often. They might be reprogrammable or, more likely, just numbered, but if the raiders don't have some central login handling system, it might be a while for the tags to get all rights revoked maybe... at lest, it should not hurt to try. Sean chooses one most promising unconscious raider and kills the other three. Then he tells Bart to get the tags out of the dead ones. Then he checks the door to the storeroom and, if that seems fine, the storeroom itself.

Sean is not quite sure about following the guys through the gutter, but 50-yard radius seems fine all by itself. He asks the relevant question when it comes to his mind:
1. Did the raiders seem to have transported anything in bulk through the gutter? Especially through it train system? Or was it generally through those 5 exits nearby?
Shoot Da Moon
The mutants grab backpacks for themselves and get to stuffing supplies into them.

After that is done, the group moves onto the storeroom. The dork is not boobytrapped. It seems the raiders thought they didn't need to lock this place down too hard. That was their mistake. Empty boxes, foot prints all over and vacant imprints on the dust tell a tale of frequent traffic and juggled logistics.

The storeroom has a stockpile of food and water kept in an Old World appliance called a fridge. It's running on both a hookup to external power (probably provided by a generator) and a huge battery. Aside from that, the storeroom has been recently cleared out, the raiders ported away a few heavy loads on hand-trolleys when they pulled out. That probably would slow them down (and the tires are distinctly trackable), but is it worth following them?

The remaining supplies can easily be taken out of the fridge and transported.

Back to the scene of the slaughter and rescue.
The defeated (and dead) raiders had a total of 58 cigarettes, 86 pieces of candy, 5 small flasks of booze, 3 lighters, 6 blasting caps, 6 road flares, eight small knives, a box of coloured chalk, 32 pistol bullets, 71 pills of various illegal drugs in 5 plastic bottles, 20 preserved trail rations, 2 pairs of brass knuckles, a big roll of duct tape, 18 candles, 4 whistles, 7 waist packs, 5 boxes of matches (a total of 43 matches left) and a screwdriver on them.
Bart, Lemus and the militiamen handle the task Sean gives them. Grim work. The tags are removed, slick with crimson. They all look operational, still. Sean did not have any of them shot by his marksmanship.

The mutants look unsure, thinking for a moment, when Sean puts the question to them. They eventually come to the conclusion that the raiders probably have weapons, bombs, ammo, chemicals and Old World machinery with them. They could have used the Old World train tracks for long distance transport, if they had a pump trolley on the rails or something to that effect.

"You know, those rail cars that have the passengers see-saw up and down on a hand pump to move?"

But raiders definitely exited this place through the other 5 exits, too. They know how to scatter for safety when the shift hits the fan.
u-b
Sean gets the idea about the pump trolley. He tells the mutants to sort through  the stuff  to gather what they consider usable enough to worth hauling. He also asks them and the rangers officer about whether we should bother destroying the corpses from which we have extracted the tags to conceal what we did. We do have the dynamite and an explosives man, so that can be done quickly, but it will be obvious we did that, so maybe just take them outside for the predators to eat?
Shoot Da Moon
The mutants start the long process of gathering and examining the stuff for packing.

The people voice the opinion that destroying the corpses won't be necessary; no raiders are going to come back here any time soon. Any corpses down here could be undiscovered for a long time.
u-b
Sean orders the M16 guy to light his hand flare and lets the BAR guy use his tactical light, then leaves the people, the mutants and the dogs where they are underground, goes outside, fetches his flashlight and a replacement hand flare and brings them both underground, where he lets people work, including sorting and hauling stuff, saying he expects a report on how much time they would estimate they need in about half an hour. He gets back outside again, where he observes the loot gathered there and starts to think how to haul most of everyone and everything with minimal amount of fuss.

 
 Spoiler 
I'll need a list of the loot from the bikers etc. as found aboveground, including the conditions and quirks of all their bikes. Then I will think how much can be taken along and what we will do with the remainder.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean's ally lights a flare and his other ally turns on the flashlight.
Sean makes the trip without any fuss, but he does note some fires are still burning even now. Dirty smoke rises into the air.
Back down underground, Sean gets the time estimate. They'll need about 30 minutes of work, if they can find a good enough hand cart or something. Otherwise, they may not be able to transport some things out, as they're too heavy or bulky to haul by hand.

The bikers (what corpses they can find and scavenge) each had a cheap SMG (20 bullets left in each internal magazine), leather jacket, leather pants, boots, door keys, leather gloves, a helmet and a belt on their bodies. Some of it is in bad shape, probably not worth recovering. The bikes are all pretty banged up, each is wobbly (-1 SR), mistreated (-1 HT) and unresponsive (-1 Handling). And that's not counting the battle damage Sean and his buddies inflicted on them.
u-b
Sean looks over the loot and concludes there is no way in hell we can transport it all, with those 11 bikes that almost no one can ride. The next most valuable things seems to be heap of SMGs (no problem with these) and the fridge, in about that order. Sean thinks. He orders the rangers driver guy to make it so the bikes can make it to Radar Base, even if they will need major repairs there and then. As for the drivers for them. Sean contacts the Radar Base over encrypted radio and requests some help. Namely, a dozen of bike-capable people in the bus of theirs. That can be Waffle House people, Militia people or just Settlers people, as long as some of them can defend the whole lot along the trip. By Sean's records that should be just over 20 miles, so should not take long if both the bus and the people are there. He says he will expect a "will do" / "won't do" reply in half an hour or so.

Then Sean thinks about moving the fridge. The waight should not be much of a problem for Lemus and Sean, so Sean considers the bulk, walking along the way we now take to the surface and back and see if the fridge will get stuck anywhere.

 
 Spoiler 
Okay, regarding the fridge. It likely weighs some 200 pounds when empty, which is a Medium load for each of Sean and Lemus if holding it horizontally on both ends. A man can slowly lift 8xBL overhead, which would be 312 lbs for Sean, so we can even lift it up with some outside help to keep the balance. And it probably can fit into the pickup truck if we leave the tailgate open. The main problem seems to be about the underground passages and fridge's bulk. Can Sean estimate if it will pass or if some man-hours of shoveling are needed or we just cannot move it that way? Sean is unwilling to explore other, possibly trapped, ways at the moment.

Please review  the loot Sean plans to be taking  (lines 470+, marked "Fresh Loot"). I've also allocated some ammo, batteries and first aid kit to others of their kind. The rest of what is already accounted for (like leathers, cigarettes, knives and suchlike) can be freely taken by bike-transporting crew. We can also provide other payment ontop of that as appropriate.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The ranger suggest that he can call in help with the bikes, but that'll take time. The bikes can eventually be transported elsewhere, but it'll need another few hours at least. He can arrange a convoy of some type with enough people...

The Radar Base picks up, and gets to work organizing people. Bike riding is common amongst travellers and mercenaries, so it won't be too much of a problem. Gunmen with good weapons to defend the ride over is more of a question mark, but the radioman is still confident that Sean's request is doable.
20 miles is not a big problem.
Eventually, he gets a reply back, "Done. Expect the bus in about 2 hours."

Getting the fridge back to the surface would be most easiest if they could take the elevator under the gas station. The mutants show Sean the way. It's a simple 45 yard walk from the storeroom to the lift. Once it's on the surface, the task gets easier.

(OC: All people involved in transporting the fridge may combine strength (see Low Tech page 9, add BL scores), but also may have to make a single Lifting ST roll (teamwork, roll the largest score) at an encumbrance level penalty to avoid hurting themselves or damaging the load on the way. Leadership rolls can complement.)

The fresh loot is distributed around the people allied with Sean. Payments to those helping can be easily made with the useful stuff found here.

(OC: loot sheet looks good.)
u-b
Sean is not quite sure about using the lift. He rather expects it might be trapped, including beyond his ability to notice. Since we are to remain here for at least two hours, Sean would prefer to not use the lift and transport the fridge through the tunnels, even if that means more work walking (not very difficult for Lemus and Sean, who can easily handle the fridge's weight), lifting (maybe with more people to help) and maybe shoveling (to make the tunnel wider where needed, if that's not, like "everywhere"). So, opting for more work instead of more risk. If that cannot be done, Sean will consider his options.

Sean tells the ranger to make sure the least-damaged bikes are made road-capable first, as we can cram some requiring a longer repair onto pickup truck along with the fridge. The target time is two hours and then we will see.
Shoot Da Moon
Transporting the fridge through the tunnels is a nerve-wracking and tiring experience, but Lemus helps everyone avoid dropping it or hurting themselves while muscling it around. An alternate route to the surface is made possible by moving in a north-westly direction -  the tunnel slopes upward and comes out into an alleyway between buildings, the opening camouflaged and blocked by painted wooden boards.

The ranger fetches the mechanics' tools from the car. It'll take a while to repair some damage on the bikes, but they have the time.

So far, the work and the wait have been uneventful.
u-b
With the fridge loaded onto pickup and choice loot stowed in Humvee, Sean lets the parallel processes of sifting through the storerooms, fixing the bikes and riding here from the base continue by themselves while he does nothing much. Basically, he rests and observes. He has some concerns about maybe more incoming opposition, but now that the base is deserted and the bell is not ringing thinks it might be something more limited, like placing a sniper here and there or planting a mine on the road or something. This would require some coordination (which, without the radios, might take some time) and some dedication, but unfortunately Sean does not see how he can do anything about that sort of abandoning the bikes, which he is not ready to do. So, he does look around without moving around and waits for the bus to arrive, ready to maybe assist it if it's attacked on the way.
Shoot Da Moon
Nothing exciting or bad happens while Sean and his allies wait for the bus to arrive.

The new arrivals get to work as soon as they step off the bus. The loads are prepared for a journey back to base. It takes 30 minutes of work, and it gets done smoothly.

Then Sean and his allies may finally get out of here, back home to safety.
u-b
After the things are packed, Sean orders the men to load NBC gear on pickup and the whole caravan to depart and head to the radar base. We don't really do any decomtamination here because we didn't move anywhere deep, so we'll just quarantine anyone in contact for some short time at the doc's opinion, wash the NBC gear back at base and that's likely it. At least the people other than mutants, raider and Sean did not breathe anything unfiltered there underground, so minimal residual contact, if any, should not be too bad.

 
 Spoiler 
1. If we are back safely, I'll want to know what the mutant guys managed to loot from the storage. Sean likely won't try to claim it, but might want to buy something or the other if they would be selling.
2. In the same case, Sean asks the bus party whether they got enough loot to cover their services. Sean is not going to be cheapo here, so anything below "Sure it does!" will see some action from him.
3. In the same case, Sean will consult Waffle House men if they would like Sean to donate more gear to the arsenal, usable by them for defending the base. Like maybe pistols for the crossbowmen to supplement grenades and explosive bolts or maybe full-power rifles to replace the crossbows altogether or what, depending on people's skills.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The gear is packed away. The caravan departs.

It takes a bit, but everyone arrives safely back at base just as the daylight dims some more (much to the relief of the mutants, who are not used to surface light). The doctor examines who he can. He finds no outstanding problems, but he recommends the lot of you take it easy and rest, just to ease stress.

The mutants found a stockpile of chemicals (including a few different kinds of fuel) and improvised explosives kept in a locked container elsewhere in the underground while they were searching the place for supplies.
The bus party is satisfied with food, water, fuel and bullets as payment. A gun would be great, too. They'd like an even $40 worth of barter for the trip.

The Waffle House men are interested in SMGs and shotguns. Pistols are perfectly fine, too.

(OOC: I think we can get the other PC directly involved in gameplay now?)
u-b
The whole bus party, including Waffle House men and additional men, get the following to distribute as they will: 58 cigarettes, 86 pieces of candy, 5 small flasks of booze, 3 lighters, 6 blasting caps, eight small knives, 20 preserved trail rations, 2 pairs of brass knuckles, 18 candles, 4 whistles, 7 waist packs, 5 boxes of matches (a total of 43 matches left), a screwdriver, and also leather jackets, leather pants, boots, leather gloves, helmets and belts that are still of some value. The same party also gets 180 cans of food, 180 bottles of water, 302 pistol cartridges and just enough fuel to cover whatever was burned for the trip*. They also get one Cheap Bergmann MP18 to sell or keep or whatever.

Anyone participating in the trip are welcome to join the militia if they are not already part of it, subject to the officer's approval.

As for Waffle House men, Sean is not really inclined to arm people with loot. Meaning, that could be done, but we can do better. Currently, 10 of their number are accounted for here at the base and just giving them loot will not bring them (or maybe other men like them, if they look to increase the numbers) on par with the militia we are already equipping. So, we can learn what they can effectively use and give them best of that sort (currently, the ten men that are accounted here have 5 crossbows and 5 pump shotguns, the later seem to have "good enough" guns as it is, at least clearly better than those we looted). Will take a bit more time, but, in Sean's opinion, worth it. On the other hand, if they intend to send the gear back home, Sean is less interested in it, unless they can also provide something (maybe infos will do or they would like to do some work looting some places or something), but again thinks we can do better than arming people with cheap SMGs, unless the people are trained to use just that.

As for the Rangers, they should have a much larger share of the profits, so Sean asks what they would like to do with it before he allocates something. Maybe they want to further upgrade their gear (but they seem already well-equipped, so Sean is not quite sure how, beyond getting Tariq busy, which Sean plans to continue to do) or send some wealth or equipment back home to either extend or upgrade the gear of their comrades in there or fund their ops or free them from their current work to have more men at our ops or something. Sean would like to know which it'll be, or we can simply continue to upgrade the militia, which is already under one of their officers' command, like, maybe directly with bikes, to give them a more active stance.

He asks the doctor if he has some work-related use for the fridge and/or the recovered chemicals.

He gives two IFF tags to Simone and two to Waffle House radio men and asks them to look at the thingies to find out:
1. How they are powered.
2. How they are activated (and whether we can send them a valid request).
3. How they respond (and whether we can learn something from responses).
4. Anything else we can learn of the thingies, like any markings of them, manufacture date or what not, including whether we can clone those, in  any  form-factor.

 
 Spoiler 
*I would like to know how much the bus is supposed to have used, in gallons.

You see Sean is already running operations here at the base. Richard is welcome to take part or run his own.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The bus party is pleased with their payment. Their members privately haggle with each other over who gets what.

The militia takes aside any volunteers, prepping them for medical examinations, questioning, and testing abilities. Getting fully inducted into the militia will takes days (if not more than a week), so it's best to get started now...

The Waffle House men are fine with no new weapons.

The Rangers mostly try to take bullets, food, water and other useful consumable items like flares or matches. Some express interest in candy, the treats are rare in this part of the state. Most of them seem to want to return to their old posts, as Sean looks to be finished with them. They ride the bikes, but they prefer bigger vehicles for getting around.

The doctor says that the fridge can be used to store all sorts of things that medical work needs preserving. From blood samples to disinfectants.

Doing research on the IFF tags will take time (one day, at least) and - much more inconveniently - someone who actually knows enough about Old World electronics. They may need to try reaching out to Gunmetal to see if any tech experts are interested.

(OOC: the bus trip takes about 4 gallons.)
u-b
Sean is unsure what to do about the rangers' desire to leave. Meaning, the war isn't over, we still haven't got the general, there should be more enemy bases scattered around for us to attack and so on and so forth. Are the rangers dissatisfied with the work Sean is offering? So far it turns out to be safe enough and resultative enough. Of course, Sean cannot guarantee the same in the future, but assures them he'll do his best. Is the work they want to return to better in any specific way? Sean does not expect it pays better, does it? Sean would like to have the rangers assigned to him and  maybe  taking their leave from him now and then when he has no immediate mission in mind, but that's about it. He would prefer not to request them from any permanent or semi-permanent assignment or work with a different group each time, because that would complicate his planning. Can they accommodate such an arrangement?

 
 Spoiler 
Basically, I'd like to learn whether there are IC or OOC reasons and what those are.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The Rangers confide in Sean that their main concern with returning to their posts is because they fear The Rangers may get involved in a active conflict with another paramilitary soon. They do not want to be caught away from home if war breaks out.

They're fine with Sean, his allies, and his operations. But the threat of a war cannot be ignored.

The potential enemy they may come into conflict with is a rival semi-army calling themselves The Troubleshooters.
The Rangers have been hostile to them ever since the gang managed to take over an Old World fortified building as a base - the Rangers wanted that place for themselves, since it's both very close to their territory's most "sensitive" parts and it probably had an Old World stuff stash.

Currently, negotiations are ongoing, no actual violence between the two factions have happened yet. But the gossip says that The Troubleshooters are growing hostile, confident in that they can simply fight The Rangers off.
Volthawk
Richard's still recovering, but he joins the returning soldiers for the debrief and overhearing the Rangers mention "Troubleshooters" piques his attention. He joins the conversation after taking a few moments to consult his relevant notes and raider intel, and asks for more information about these people. The name had come up before in intel they'd captured, alongside the Rangers and some other groups the exiles know about, and the hadn't been able to put any information to the name. If nothing else, the raider army seemed to put them in the same category as the Rangers and some of the other more organised groups the exiles had come across, so he could see the cause for concern. Still, he couldn't help but be curious. What were the Troubleshooters involved in, beyond that base? The name made him guess...mercenary work?
u-b
Sean does not know any details about the recent trouble with the Troubleshooters, but maybe remembers something about the gang itself. He also has its radio frequency. He is not sure if he wants to get involved or if the Rangers want to get him involved, but if they don't mind, he'd rather get some intel on those Troubleshooters and maybe then make some informed decisions. Of interest:
1. History and origins of the gang.
2. Businesses the gang is involved in.
3. Employer(s) of the gang.
4. Apparent allies and enemies of the gang.
5. Composition of the gang (preferably in detail, what sort of men add to what total number).
6. Equipment of the gang:
6.1 Travel equipment (vehicles, animals, ...).
6.2 Combat equipment.
6.3 Other notable equipment, if any (radios, computers, workshops, labs or what not).
7. Location(s) of the gang.
8. Stated goals of the gang.
9. True goals of the gang as seen by the Rangers' intel department.

Sean would also like as much detail about the potential conflict as he is cleared to receive:
10. Where and what is that fortified building?
11. Do the Rangers want to use the building? If so, (why) were they not using it before the Troubleshooters took it?
12. Or maybe Rangers just want the Troubleshooters to vacate the building? Will they care if the building gets otherwise occupied?
13. What is the timeline of this conflict?
14. What is the history of two gangs' relationships?
15. Would the Rangers mind if Sean and Richard get involved and try to negotiate?
16. If so, what would be the Rangers' negotiation position? Optimum outcome? Minimum acceptable outcome? Demands? Potential concessions?

Right now, Sean does not mind if the Rangers mostly leave to protect their vital interests and proposes the following, which can be further amended:
17. All of the Rangers, except the officer heading the militia will return to their duties until the gang feels safe again, when we will discuss further plans.
18. The Rangers are to take their current gear, use it by themselves and maybe eventually return with what's left of it.
19. The Rangers are to leave what of their old gear is allocated to Radar Base militia with Radar Base militia. We will talk if they'll want some of it back.
20. The Rangers take no major loot from the last raid, but from now on can ask Sean for any amount of any specific gear they need, and Sean will do his best to provide it.
21. Sean assigns Lemus as their officer's personal bodyguard.

 
 Spoiler 
Also, do we get any experience from the last raid?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean vaguely remembers that The Troubleshooters is a large militia that controls and protects part of Vermont's central west.

The Rangers explain a bit about them.
According to them, The Troubleshooters are a bunch of thieves that hit the big time 9 years ago by invading a Shelter and taking all the Old World tech for themselves. They mostly exploit their technology by running extortion rackets on surrounding settlements. The gang answers to a single leader, a brutal and savvy warlord named Black Alice. They work with drug dealers all the time, but they are otherwise independent.
The Troubleshooters are allied with small local rogues - spy networks and criminals paying tribute to them. So far, only the Rangers have risen to oppose them.
The Troubleshooters are 40 strong, a mixture of men and women.
The Troubleshooters are equipped with riding animals, bikes, and a few cars. They prefer fire (particularly petrol bombs in bottles) and explosives as weapons. They also have advanced Old World energy weapons and combat robots, poached from the Shelter. They also have surprising expertise with Old World computers and robotics. Their gang uniform seems to be a red jumpsuit.

The Troubleshooters have their home base around the western border of Vermont. Not many know the exact location. They have a light presence all around the middle of Vermont, usually towards the western half.

The Troubleshooters have no goal beyond profit and power, at everyone else's expense.

The base in question is a Old World police station in a partially restored town. The Rangers hoped to claim it in order to keep an eye out for threats coming in from New York state. They couldn't get to it before now because certain flare-ups of a disease and mutant raids made the region too dangerous. The Rangers want to take the building as their own specifically. The conflict technically started 5 weeks ago, but it only really started getting hot 1 week ago. The exact details are known to other squads, who were personally involved in the dust-up. The Rangers did not even know the Troubleshooters existed until 3 months ago. 2 months ago, The Rangers actually ran into squads of Troubleshooters, who demanded they stay out of their territory. The Rangers ignored them, and the Troubleshooters failed to notice until recently. Once the Troubleshooters noticed, fights between the factions started happening. The Rangers prefer if outsiders stay out of this conflict, it's a sensitive topic. Just let them handle it.

The Rangers are fine with Sean's proposal regarding the stuff. Lemus helps out.

(OOC: every Player Character earns  3 bonus Character Points  from raiding the underground lab under the gas station and saving some mutants.)
u-b
Sean proposes the Rangers pack and leave tomorrow morning or something and we'll use the time to sort through the gear (they probably want less NBC suits and more 40mm grenades, Sean will try to arrange that).

Eventually, in private with Richard and with the radio off, Sean asks if Richard can have a chat with Funny Platoon and get their take on The Troubleshooters:
1. First to double-check on the infos we got from the Rangers.
2. Then maybe get any additional info.
3. And then to have Gunmetal's stance towards the gang (like, if they want them well, ill, quo or don't care).

 
 Spoiler 
I have intended to assign Lemus to the only Ranger remaining here at this base. So, not sure how much he helps out other than preventing possible incidents. Or did they mean assigning Lemus to their main force? That can be done too, I just want to know which it is.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Lemus can act as someone's bodyguard, no problem.

(OC: Richard may need to make a reaction/skill roll for both radio calls when fishing for information.)
Shoot Da Moon
Richard gets on the horn and spends 5 minutes working the knobs, seeing if the Funny Platoon can be persuaded to help with inquiries.

One of them is free at the moment and okay with sharing information, lucky for him.

The contact takes in what Richard tells him, and is a little put out. He comments that The Rangers are clearly biased and jumping to conclusions. The Troubleshooters are not some gang or raiders, they protect communities when they are called upon. They do seem to keep to themselves, but they are not thieves or marauders. They are not criminals or involved with criminals. Their leader is Black Alice, yes, but she is simply a commander of decent character.

The Troubleshooters have little contact with Gunmetal. Gunmetal seems to distrust them for having advanced tech and a home base in a Shelter.
u-b
Sean mostly leaves it to Richard to do actual negotiations, but if consulted, his proposal would be roughly like this:
1. We inform "our" team of Rangers that the intel does not add up, what the Funny Platoon intel is and that Funny Platoon probably has better intel over a longer timespan.
2. We inform "our" team of Rangers that because of the above, and because our common enemy sees both Rangers and Troubleshooters as their enemies, we feel pressed if not intervene, then at least investigate.
3. We start investigations right now, calling Major Chalmers over a secure channel and describe the situation, including the Funny Platoon intel and our reasoning as above.
4. We also tell Chalmers that we've seen more than two cases of neutral an allied forces being fed cooked intel to instigate conflicts.
5. We ask Chalmers to strongly advocate not doing anything rash or irreversible until the Ranger's intel and the channel of its delivery are double-checked.
6. We ask to be informed of how it turns out and if we can further help in any way.
7. Optionally, we request a clearance to contact the Troubleshooters. Sean understands "our" team of Rangers told him not to get involved, but he's seen the effect of cooked intel at least twice already and he  strongly  dislikes the idea of another externally-provoked conflict.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Alright, Richard, you can roleplay that out however you choose. You do not need to roll anything again for it, you've done that already.)
Volthawk
With the information from the Funny Platoon on his mind, Richard returns to the Rangers on base and asks more questions about the source of their intel - he doesn't outright  say  that they're being fed false intel, not yet, but just asks a little more on what the source of the intel is. By the sounds of it, contact between the two groups has always been quite limited, so does that mean that they were getting this information on the Troubleshooters from third parties, informants and passers-by, that sort of thing? Or have Rangers come back confirming that they saw them doing this kind of criminal activity first-hand? He does mention the Funny Platoon having contradictory information, but not as an accusation, presenting the other side and seeing what they have to say about it, doing a little fishing to see what details he can get. After all, if it was being fed to them by a third party, this whole thing may be one of Mailer's attempts to sow division between factions on the surface, but if Rangers themselves are coming back claiming to have seen it all...then that means either the Platoon was wrong or some Rangers are on Mailer's payroll, and neither is a topic he intends to suggest unless he has as much information as he can get.

When he gets on the radio to Chalmers, though, he speaks a little more freely and lays out both accounts of the Troubleshooters as plainly as possible, trusting the man to not take offence but see the awkward position the exiles are in when it comes to understanding the reality of the situation. At Sean's suggestion, he does mention the wider context about Mailer's spies running operations to insert false intel, and suggests that may be to blame here - it depends on how exactly the Rangers got their info, of course, but there's always the risk that, say...the locals they talked to and learned about the extortion racket from may have been misrepresenting the situation. On the whole though, he's mostly happy to just hear the situation from someone a little higher up the heirarchy from the guys in the squad here, in case there was context he was missing. In any case, he advocates for deescalation and not trying anything too drastic for the time being. Naturally, Richard also mentions that the exiles are around and willing to help if the situation requires, and he inquires on whether the exiles paying the Troubleshooters themselves a visit will be something that will cause serious problems with their relationship with the Rangers. He'd be delighted if the Rangers were willing to sign off on them going on a fact-finding and information-gathering mission - given that by the story Richard was told, that sort of thing didn't happen when the Rangers made contact with the Troubleshooters, and instead the situation rapidly escalated between two groups wanting a piece of territory, a sticking point that doesn't apply to the exiles - but ultimately at the end of the day the exiles were their own people and would likely be going regardless. That said, Richard personally is hopeful that his people and the Rangers can still remain in each others' good books even after they go and pay the Troubleshooters a visit.
Shoot Da Moon
The Rangers claim they got their information on The Troubleshooters by area traders and concerned citizens residing in the Troubleshooters' turf. The Rangers simply brush off Richard's concern about misinformation. They seem to think he's just ignorant. Richard wonders if this is just a knee-jerk reaction. They do indirectly admit their source is not first hand.

Chalmers, meanwhile, simply accepts that their intelligence is lacking, maybe even wrong. But he also implies that he can't do that much about it, considering his current position and the higher-up's recent decisions. It may be too late to do any more intelligence gathering. The exiles and their allies won't be able to get a meeting with his superiors, they keep themselves distant from outsiders. Whatever the exiles do, they're going to have to do on their own.

He thanks the exiles for their concern and their help anyway.

The radar base settlement continues to go about their assigned work as the exiles plan out their next move. The sun will be going down in a few hours.
u-b
Sean lets the doc have an exclusive use of the fridge and asks him to interview the rescued mutants to see if they can be of any use to him. They have been working in a bio-lab, so even if they don't have the exactly matching specialties, maybe they have at least the right background to be able to assist with this or that. In either case, they probably need medical attention and Lemus does too, so the doc is asked to supervise that and choose a plan of how everyone to be treated, which will be executed by some other doc(s) here at the base.

Sean then thinks what we should do with the situation between Troubleshooters and Rangers. He suggests that maybe we should radio the Troubleshooters over their open channel and then use some fancy way to establish a secure channel... Sean is not sure this can be done, he is not a cryptographer, but we can consult with Simone and the local radio men about the details. We won't be able to guarantee we talk to the men we want to think we talk to, but that can be to some extent inferred from the talk itself, both before and after the channel goes secure. Of maybe even better, Waffle House men already have a secure comm with Troubleshooters, given that both sides radios are supposed to be capable of that. If we can do that, we tell them somebody on their territory is badmouthing them and trying to pull them into some totally unnecessary and potentially armed conflict. We then also tell them who we are and that we would like to meet with them and discuss trade, war and politics.
Shoot Da Moon
The doc appreciates the fridge. The mutants will make good assistants and colleagues, too.
The medical examination reveals the rescued have some light injuries, usually bruises and other hurts typical of beatings. The treatment of such wounds is routine, nothing special. Mostly ice, ointment, bone-setting, and bed rest.

The radiomen will try to contact the Troubleshooters, but it may take some time to learn the right frequencies from other community broadcasts. Give them a day to skim scuttlebutt.
u-b
Sean approves a day to contact the Troubleshooters. He meanwhile contacts Gunmetal and asks if they can do electronics and plastics. Namely, investigate the IFF tags and fix the drone (which is fine, systems-wise, but the plastic is broken). If they cannot do one of the other, Sean tries to contact the person from which we have bought the drone and ask them the same.

Sean does not bother the doc with the prisoner, preferring to practice handling his wounded himself, but even with some extra care does not seem to make things any better (or worse) than they already are. This takes the rest of the day.
Shoot Da Moon
The patient is beyond Sean's uncertain care. He may need to practice his medical treatments more...

Contacting Gunmetal is easily done. They curtly inform him that they can certain trade in what goods and services he is interested in...but he will have to compensate them at a mark up. Prices for these matters can only go up. This is specialty expertise he's asking for, after all. It will also take time.

(OOC: next day? Tomorrow's gonna be DAY 87 if so.)
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles bunk down for the day. They rest as well as they can while their allies carry on their assigned tasks.

The rest of the day goes by peacefully. The night is unpleasantly cool, but nothing bad seems to happen during it.

 DAY 87 

The next day begins peacefully. It's quiet, no bad weather.
u-b
In the morning, Sean does the following things:
1. Check with the Rangers if they are okay leaving 6 bikes Sean has previously allocated to them to use by the militia. They've previously mentioned they prefer bigger vehicles, so maybe they are? That would make the militia that much more mobile. Whatever their decision, Sean wishes them luck and once again asks not to initiate anything irreversible.
2. Check with Waffle House people if they are okay running delivery to Gunmetal and back, to be paid off Sean's account balance with them.
3. Inform the Gunmetal we won't be taking the mission to investigate the building for reasons of having neither the drone nor the troops ready at hand (and we probably won't have either in time to complete the mission).

 
 Spoiler 
The bikes in question are line 316 in the doc, as opposed to the Rangers' own bikes on line 295.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The Rangers are feeling a little reluctant to give up the bikes. They want to haggle about keeping them. How many of the bikes does Sean NEED?

The Waffle House people can scrounge up mercenaries to make the delivery, no problem.

The Gunmetal dispatch curses a little at the update.
u-b
In fact, Sean totally does not mind if the Rangers have the bikes as long as it's understood they should not be sold unless necessary ( maybe  we can come up with another arrangement if they just need funds or gear). He has expected they already had enough transportation without those bikes (at two per bike, but still), but if they can think of  any  solid use-case (like Sean has originally issued those extra bikes to allow for transportation of rescued / captured men), they are welcome to have them. Sean has all the bikes he needs at the moment, even if he parts with those six.

Sean then attempts to contact the person from which he has bought the drone and ask if there is  any known  way for him to have  good Late Old World  radio surveillance equipment. He's willing to pay a ****load of goods for the best of its kind, or might be inclined to do something dangerous.

Sean asks the radio men if there was any special fuss anywhere they are aware about anything that happens yesterday. He particularly expects it would be Bread Basket area or Raiders frequencies. Or, for that matter, any other news.

Sean hands Waffle House men the whole drone set and 3 IFF tags and tells that they can be on their way wherever they find convenient (no huge time pressure, but Sean would like  either  expected delivery time  or  a notice when they actually depart).

Then Sean plans to spend the day with militia and candidates, helping to sort the men into full-time, part-time and unfit, as well as by skill.

 
 Spoiler 
Not sure what skill Sean heeds to help the Rangers Officer sort the militia. Sean has Detect Lies 13 and if we use just that, Sean won't be doing most of the talking, but will still have some understanding of what we're ending up with. He can also test skills he has, like shooting.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The Rangers have no plan to sell the bikes. They want to ride them.

The radio contact informs Sean that trying to get his hands on Old Tech is very difficult now. Gunmetal policy frowns upon it, and everyone else either does not have it for sale, does not want to annoy Gunmetal by selling it, or will outright sell it for even higher prices. A markup of x2.5 is common, and the merchants are hard to find and impress. It may take a day or two, at least, before anyone bites on Sean's call out.

The radiomen note that a lot of chatter on regional gossip channels has already mentioned Sean's latest adventure, yes. There's currently a real ugly "gold rush" of scavengers flooding in to pick over the bones, see what was missed. Already, there's been a shootout between greedy wanna-be thieves.

The Waffle House men handle the goods tenderly. They set off, prepared and well-armed.

The militia appreciate Sean's calming presence. Their nerves have been wracked a little.

(OOC: I think the Leadership or Administration skill is what you're looking for?)
Shoot Da Moon
Time passes, and Sean is called over by the radiomen in the evening. They got in contact with The Troubleshooters.

"Alright, what do you want, mister...Pyres, was it?" The voice on the other end asks, a chirpy and confident young male cadence.

(OOC: Sean, lay out what you want to talk to the Troubleshooters about, and then make a roll reaction to see how it was received.)
u-b
Sean was intending to fetch Richard first, but having the Troubleshooters man already on the line, opened like this:

 "Sean Pires of the Radar Base Guys. We'd like to establish a contact with you and arrange a meeting to discuss trade, war and politics. We can receive or send a delegation or do it right over the radio if you do trust it well enough. Specifically, there is a large well-known group that wishes ill to both of our organizations as well as some other organizations and we have learned they are increasingly active trying to instigate armed conflict between those they wish ill to. We have a man who can provide all the gory details. But besides that, we might have more common interests. Shall we name place, time and method?" 
Shoot Da Moon
The voice on the other end seems unconvinced.
"Okay. Let's talk over the radio, for now. No harm in talking..."

There is a pause. Probably the radio operator putting his hand on the mute button while he informs his superiors of Sean's offer. When the person talking on the horn comes back, he seems a little stressed, a little annoyed.
"Tell me about this enemy of yours. What's their uniform, their name? Whatever you have, your witness, present it to me if you can. Our organization has indeed had trouble with another, several in fact. With one enemy, it's been to the point of skirmishes. The violence has been escalating. Do you know anything about that?"

There is chatter in the background. People are arguing a little, trying to keep it down. Maybe he just said too much to an outsider?
u-b
Sean sends one Waffle House guy to fetch Richard and tell him to bring intel papers with him.

 "Something. It is a pressing matter and we  will  speak of that. But we'll start with the long story first, about our real enemies. Those don't wear uniforms and go by a number of names, like Gamblers, Snake Eyes, and others, depending on the tattoos on the backs of their necks, but we refer to them collectively as Raiders or Slavers. We have not sure if you've had any problem with  those , but in these parts they have been recently causing the following trouble, in addition to their usual business of capturing slaves: they have incited some mutants from Springfield to attack a neutral settlement near that town, they cooked some intel to incite the mutants of the north of the state to attack various human settlements and they have captured a mutants' bio lab to have mutants produce artifical horrors to release into the wild. You see the weak part in here is the mutants, who are disorganized and don't know any better, but the active part is the Slavers. We, you,  and  Vermont Rangers are on their priority target list, among with a few other groups. We are not sure if you have been fed stuff about the Rangers group, but Rangers definitely have been fed stuff about you. We are thus rather worried. Here is Richard, our intel guy, he'll provide additional background and answer any questions you might have in as much of detail as we are able." 
Shoot Da Moon
The Troubleshooter on the other end pauses, and then confirms; "We do in fact have problems with raiders and slavers, with tattoos on their necks. Five playing cards in a row; Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, all of which are spades."

There is muffled discussion. And then;
"Okay, tell us more about these guys. We think we have the location of a hideout that belongs to them. But we have not managed to organize an attack on them yet. If you want our co-operation, pulling off a takedown would convince us that you're on our side, I guess. There's a bounty on them, we can pay you."
u-b
Sean has the mic off for a moment then tells Richard:  "Tell them about the slavers, then confirm we are in, then ask if they'll want to post two or three men of theirs to authenticate  both  sides and to observe it first hand. We'll post bigger team and will do better part of the action." 
 
 Spoiler 
I guess Richard can roll just Diplomacy to keep things perfectly safe. Richard's -2 is better than Sean's, but he still can roll lower.
 
Volthawk
Richard nods and takes the radio.  "Well, where to start...we have a personal emnity with these guys, you see - one of their major players likes to play games with people and set them up as prey for the raiders to hunt down, and we just happened to survive well enough that we could build ourselves up and retaliate. We've been getting involved in other bits and pieces to make allies and get supplies, of course, but the ultimate goal of it all is kicking their whole army out of Vermont and getting our hands on Mailer, the one I just mentioned being the cause of our personal problems. We've taken a few prisoners over the last few months and captured intel here and there, building up a picture of their reach, and they're quite spread out throughout the state - they've got a factory and mining operation up north, that's where most the people they enslave end up, they've got several Shelters under their influence, either through conquest, trickery or...well, we're pretty sure they originate from at least one Shelter, and a whole load of camps, minor bases, and staging points spread all over. We also recently found out they have some presence in the Gutter too - that was the lab Sean mentioned. Best we can tell, their agenda is destablisation with the ultimate goal of conquering the whole lot, and the important thing is that these guys appear to just be scattered gangs but are part of an organised outfit, and have spies everywhere - they've been feeding people false intel all over the place with the intent of causing chaos. There's a possibility that's part of the reason behind escalations you've been seeing recently." 

He sighs, leaning back in his chair as he thinks it over.  "Point is, if you've got a group of them that need taking care of, we're there - we can send the bulk of the raiding force and take care of most of the fighting if you like, and you can bring enough men to satisfy that we're being above board with this and to confirm what we've been saying about this enemy. And if you want more information, I've got the intel we've collected in front of me so we can discuss details. Just...be careful about escalating things with any of the other factions near you at the moment, there's a risk you're being played." 
Shoot Da Moon
"That's quite a tale." The Troubleshooter seems convinced. "The threat goes deeper than we thought...Send over the intel."

The Troubleshooter tells Sean and Richard about the hideout they found. It's what the Old World used to call a "motel" and it is a structure where travelling people used to stop at for the night to rest and recover. The Troubleshooters think there's about 15 bad guys holed up in there, having fortified their position with overwatch, landmines and barricades.

The Troubleshooters agree to have three of their men sent over to assist and observe.
They warn the exiles that they've heard unconfirmed reports of an invading army from outside the state that has attacked both the raiders AND the innocent people of Vermont, for unknown reasons. This supposed invading paramilitary has Old World tech at its disposal and have committed horrible sadistic crimes. They call themselves "The Sacred Snakes" and wear a green uniform.

(OC: the hideout location is 87 miles from the radar base, going south-west.)

Tariq gets to work on weaponry in the meantime.
u-b
Sean makes sure the following is communicated:
1. Time to meet with Troubleshooter men (we propose to meet early evening tomorrow).
2. Place to meet with Troubleshooter men (presumably somewhere not far from the motel).
3. How we are to recognize each party (visual descriptions, special signals and approach protocol).
4. Anything else Richard wants communicated.

Then Sean goes to the Rangers officer in charge of militia and together tries to assemble a small band of volunteers for undisclosed combat mission tomorrow. The officer won't be going, but it's his militia, so he'll have a say.

 
 Spoiler 
We have Bart and three long-standing militia men, which, I presume, are going, but checking for any new men too.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The Troubleshooters agree on early evening tomorrow, there is a decently quiet town ruin near the motel that can work as a meetup place, they have an entire book of codephrases and gestures to help identify friendlies. Not to mention an uniform; a red jumpsuit.

The Rangers officer gets to work rounding up fighting men. He thinks he knows a few good candidates.

Bart and the three reliable militiamen are right with Sean. They are confident in their duties. They are proud to be loyal.
u-b
Sean has no other plans for the rest of the evening, so has a short nap, but during the night, when the conditions are especially good for the short-wave radio transmissions, he goes to the radio room and spends good four hours there while the radio men try to contact any stations outside of the state and invite them to chat.

 
 Spoiler 
I guess the radio men roll their skills a few times and Sean makes a few reaction rolls and we play it out a bit sort of thing. How many contacts are established would depend on a number of things, including whether the Waffle House personnel already know whom and how to contact, and how many stations there are listening and able to reach us.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean does contact some other radio operators in the state. They are not too active in the evening but there has at least been plenty of time for gossip and news to be collected and checked for accuracy.

(OC: did you mark off the food and water consumed for today and yesterday? Sean can try a reaction roll.)

What does Sean wish to discuss? General regional events?
u-b
Sean asks the stations contacted that he's looking to investigate cross-border threats to inhabitants of Vermont. He probably does not get anything useful and tries to contact the stations further away. If any operator outside of the state is contacted, Sean wants to chat about the general life conditions of the parties on both ends of the comm:
1. Who they are (we are Radar Base Guys).
2. What's troubling them, if anything (we have a number of problems, of which organized Slavers/Raiders, unnatural mutated animals and potentially rogue Shelters are the most prominent at the moment).
3. Any major local powers (we mostly have regional gangs, but the Slavers and rogue shelters are potentially cross-border, also, we've heard of "The Sacred Snakes", but don't know who they are).
4. Anything they want to discuss.

 
 Spoiler 
See HT38 sidebar and B38 about short-wave communications, if we have them. If not, the range to a medium TL8 radio with an extensive antenna would be up to 210 + N*10% miles by voice or 3..10 times that by code, where N would be the operator's margin of success. Less fancy stations would be more difficult to reach, but still posible when talking by code (most likely Morse for TL7 or less).
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean has no luck with the nearby radio stations, but the boosted signal out to the further operators yields results.

The radio men stationed out on the eastern border, in particular, report incidents of attacks by a paramilitary calling themselves "The Sacred Snakes." According to certain accounts, the invaders seem to answer to a single leader, a mysterious "Witch Queen." They think the invaders are coming from New York state.

Pushing further out, Sean contacts some radio operators living out there. They claim to have encountered The Sacred Snakes on the regular, as they are the top warlord's army in New York. While their leader is never seen or heard from, the army itself is quite active, running an extortion racket within New York and occasionally raiding across state borders. The Sacred Snakes are evil to the core, their crimes are extensive and diverse. Torture is one of their favorite past-times.

Mutants are not much of a problem in New York, although reports of combat robots gone amuck are common.

The biggest regional power in the state is The Union, a Shelter-based miniature nation based in New York City. It rarely extends its power beyond the islands, so it does not come to blows with The Sacred Snakes (who mostly claim the outer edges of the state as their turf) much. From time to time, The Sacred Snakes try to raid the NYC and get driven back by the city-dwellers.
The Sacred Snakes are the second biggest player.
Everyone else is a minor figure.

The radiomen in New York are curious about Vermont's Shelters. They heard that all of them had some kind of trouble or sabotage just as the Old World fell? Some act of treason or madness?
u-b
Sean explains that there indeed seem to have been both treason and sabotage of the local Shelters at about that time, but the details seem murky to those not involved in it. That said, we have Shelters still locked up complete with human population, Shelters opened up to establish some notable cities, Shelters plundered out with no one left alive... so this varies. Not every Shelter got successfully sabotaged, some of which maybe because they were on the  other  end of the deal.  Shall Sean assume it went the better way around in New York? Sean thanks the operator for the information and asks if he can have the frequency and callsign of some outer relations and/or secutiry branch of The Union? Or actually, any major station of theirs that can be reached, Sean is not picky. Sean also roughly describes the local Gutter and asks if New York features something of the sort.
Shoot Da Moon
The New York radioman explains that the Shelter in NYC is very large by the standards of the project, of course. It opened up to the New World 30 years ago. Nothing particularly bad happened to it before or since (although it has come under (unsuccessful) attack more than once). No-one else he knows is aware first hand of any other Shelter, in New York state or any other.

The radioman can't really give out information about other operators without security measures. If Sean has encryption, that's mostly fine, but he warns him to be careful about what he says on the air. There are spies everywhere. He shares only a few contact frequencies that are publicly known and somewhat safe. The Union does not have many outposts outside of NYC.

There is The Gutter in New York. The parts of it under NYC are the most well-known and explored by far.
u-b
Sean records all the callsigns and frequencies, including those of the radio man he has just talked to, thanks the radio man again and says goodbye. He has no other plans for the rest of the night and goes to his room for a nap.

Assuming nothing untoward happens before the morning, Sean's plan would be to...
1. Tell Richard about the conversation with the man in New York.
2. Suggests that Richard investigates some or all of the following, at his option:
2.1 The prisoner.
2.2 The Sacred Snakes via Funny Platoon.
2.3 The Sacred Snakes and The Union via The Union (we maybe can do some business with the later, especially if they do import stuff from abroad). We have the encryption and can use either of the following ways at The Union's option:
2.3.1 Large radio station, voice mode, accessible to Waffle House men.
2.3.2 Medium radio station, text mode, accessible only to Richard and Sean (assuming The Union's radio station is Large).

Sean would sort through the gear and the vehicles for today's trip when Tariq would report that he's made an RPG-7 and two training round, which Sean would immediately test somewhere outside where no one is looking, bringing it there and back in a large frame backpack and picking up the fired training round for disposal where no one would find it.
Shoot Da Moon
The night passes by, peacefully.

 DAY 88 

(OC: mark off meals consumed, if necessary.)

The next morning is a flurry of activity as Sean makes preparations. He hustles up men to get everything ready, packing and checking the stuff needed for the task ahead.

Test-firing the RPG and grenade launcher goes off without a hitch, Sean figures out that the GL is made a bit too...crudely. The sights are quite off as a result. The barrel is also a bit wonky.

(OOC: the bug lowers the GL's Acc to 0.)

Richard has plenty of time to do what Sean tells him to do.

(OC: I believe an actual player is in charge of Richard? He's not a NPC? He may make rolls on his own if so.)
u-b
Sean is tentatively satisfied with the GL. He points at its deficiencies so that it can be later improved upon, but right now it is  so much  better than nothing that he admits being absolutely happy to have it... if only we've had some grenades to shoot. He discusses some options with Tariq and it is decided that the best thing for now would be a full-fledged thermobaric warhead. Tariq sets to make one and in less than half an hour comes back with  four (!!!). Sean is absolutely impressed and, trusting the man's word about the quality of the explosives, does not bother to check. He asks if he could have some rocket halves too, in addition to the one that we have. An hour later Tariq comes back with one. Apparently, that's more tricky for him than doing the warheads, but Sean is satisfied enough and thanks the man for his service. Meanwhile, he assembles the men and the gear.

 
 Spoiler 
Currently we have two types of militia, in addition to our veterans:
1. The original Winchester Model 92 / Mail Corselet militia. These are mostly self-governed and mostly do economic activities, being expected to defend themselves and the settlement if needed as they see fit, maybe following the Officer's orders and overall defense plans while at it.
2. Garand or AK-47 / Concealable Vest / Trauma Plate militia. These are under the Officer and are to do a substantial amount of military activities, including practice, guard guty and fortification. Up to full time, in fact.

The first kind can volunteer to be approved into the second kind. The second kind can volunteer to come with Sean for this one. Assuming there are no more than 15 of the second kind, how many volunteer?


 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 I believe an actual player is in charge of Richard? 
 

Yeah, I expect Volthawk is to follow or ignore these diplomancing suggestions as he sees fit.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 Currently we have two types of militia, in addition to our veterans:
1. The original Winchester Model 92 / Mail Corselet militia. These are mostly self-governed and mostly do economic activities, being expected to defend themselves and the settlement if needed as they see fit, maybe following the Officer's orders and overall defense plans while at it.
2. Garand or AK-47 / Concealable Vest / Trauma Plate militia. These are under the Officer and are to do a substantial amount of military activities, including practice, guard guty and fortification. Up to full time, in fact.

The first kind can volunteer to be approved into the second kind. The second kind can volunteer to come with Sean for this one. Assuming there are no more than 15 of the second kind, how many volunteer? 

(OOC: Sean, make a reaction roll for the militia, no other modifiers besides what he brings to it (his Reputation, for example, definitely applies here). That should decide how many volunteers.)
Shoot Da Moon
Everyone reacts well to Sean's rousing.

He can convince  all of the militia  to peel off from their regular duties and escort him to another big battle. It seems they're all really chomping at the bit to strike out and fight evil.

They line up with their equipment and discuss what Sean has planned.
u-b
Sean is very pleased with this level of support but has to tell the men that he'll need some of them to remain here, both to guard the base and to conserve the fuel. The team will depart in three cars: sedan, pickup and van. He would prefer if each car had two drivers, in case people get hurt. These will be Sean, Richard and four men from the militia, which Sean picks mainly on that basis. He then picks two more and thanks everyone who has applied.

 
 Spoiler 
The team will be:
1. Sean
2. Richard
3. Bart (with shotgun and RPG-7 camouflaged in a backpack)
4. Dog x2
5. Veteran militia with M1 Garand x3 (carrying 20 grenades and crash kit for Sean to use)
6. New full-time militia with AK-47 x6

I've sorted through the doc and updated the gear allocations, including consumed food, but not fuel (I hope to be done with that in a week). I think both Sean and I are ready to leave, but we'll have to wait for Volthawk to resolve his part. The topics might arise in the conversations, so we better resolve that before meeting with the Troubleshooters.

@Volthawk: We have some HT227 truth serum, in case that is relevant.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The miltiamen get organised into teams. They talk excitedly among themselves about the action to come. Like it's all one big adventure.

(OC: Volthawk, post about your PC's actions.)
u-b
Richard decides not to drug the prisoner guy and asks the following questions over the course of three hours while Simone takes notes:
1. The guy's name, rank, role and place in his organization.
2. The guy's superior's name, rank, role and place in the organization.
3. The organization learer name, rank, age, attitude and personality (like a general, an executive, a spiritual leader, first among some equals or some such; fair or harsh; competent or incompetent).
4. The organization's name and age (how long since it has been established).
5. The organization's relationships with other organizations, each of them.
6. The organization's relationships with notable individuals, each of them.
7. Specifically, the organization's relationships with Bread Basket in general and with any factions or individuals therein.
8. The organization's base(s) of operation. Territories of control and/or interest.
9. The ultimate purpose of operating the facility where this guy has been taken. Meaning not to have "create things" for an answer, but more of "achieve outcome" sort of thing.
10. Any notable routes or places in The Gutter the guy is aware of.
11. His personal history of service in the organization, including rectuitment, training and individual missions.
12. The reason(s) he has joined the organization.
13. The reason(s) he is still loyal to the organization. Hm. Is he?
14. All the details he knows about all the Shelters he can name. ALL the details. About ALL the Shelters.
15. The same about all the shelters WE can name.
16. All that he knows about Bread Basket, Gunmetal and Red Brisk.
17. All that he knows about Vermont Rangers, Troubleshooters, Funny Platoon, The Ripcords, Radar Base Guys, Sacred Snakes, The Union.
18. Where and how he got that IFF tag? What it is valid for, where we can enter using it? Is it personalized? Will it be somehow revoked now that he's MIA?
...

 
 Spoiler 
That is numbered 1 to 18, but some questions are extensive, so let's say the asked part will be spread over 36 individual "questions" of 5 minutes each, maybe repeating the most promising of those if the individual claims not to know. So, like, 36 secret rolls of Interrogation and 36 secret rolls of Detect Lies. Not sure if and when "lenghty interrogation" kicks in, but it will be a total of 3 hours for a start and will then continue depending on what questions are actually asked (maybe 3 hours are not enough to ask them all) and answers we've got.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The prisoner answers questions.
He is named Robert, he is just a lowly soldier of little importance, he carries out combat operations on his superior’s say-so.
His commander is named Broken Pipe. He is a leader of several squads and fireteams. He receives general orders from a radio boss. He thinks Broken Pipe is dead, killed by rifle fire.
The general leading the gang bosses is a ruthless warlord stationed at a base up in the north tip of Vermont. He does not know his name, that’s far above his position. The general is one of a handful, all giving orders form the northern base, where a factory, slave camp and base are. The general routinely rules by fear and force, killing any minion who does not accomplish his mission. Rumors say he outright has people butchered and cooked for dinner.
The organisation has no real name. It just calls itself, “The Army” and “The Mission.” He thinks it’s been around for 50 to 75 years? Certainly longer than he has been alive.
The Army simply wants all other factions in Vermont wiped out, as far as he knows.
He doesn’t know much about notable individuals outside of his organisation. They could be just enemies?
He knows his Army wants to wipe out Bread Basket, to cripple the region’s food supply. He has heard that the Bread Basket citizens are all secretly mutants, and they are trying to keep that under wraps.
The Army’s prize settlement is a huge base in the north. It is incredibly well-guarded and armed. They otherwise have a motley of hideouts, encampments and stolen homes. He knows of a few, he helpfully gives the locations on a map. The Army permanently controls not much else besides the northern base, but they do occasionally try to attack little settlements in the hopes of gaining a foothold. Right now, they want Red Brick and Bread Basket to be weakened or even destroyed most of all. But that’s a long term goal.
The facility was meant to produce weapons with which they can terrorise and destroy settlements. They wanted every place within 20 miles of the lab taken under their control, and the bio-weapons looked like a good way to do it. Once that was done, they could expand the operation to try striking at the bigger settlements, like the cities.
The prisoner knows a bit about Gutter routes and safe places. He freely shares what he knows, commenting that his usual assignment had him stuck in The Gutter for months at a time, guiding squads through the tunnels.
The prisoner was born into the Army. He was raised and trained in a base far to the south, outside of Vermont. When he was 16, he became a soldier proper. And assigned to a squad, under a boss. He mostly acted as a backup, support, a regional transport guide, raided a settlement once every 3 months. It was boring. He joined because the alternative was death at the hands of the Army’s internal security agents. And besides, it’s not like he knew anything else, or cared about doing anything else with his life. Loyalty, to him, is simply a matter of who is best in place to kill him if they disapprove of his actions. He’s loyal to the Army, sure, because they’ll just murder him if he betrays them or tries to leave. What is it to you?
He does not know much about Shelters. He’s never seen one. He knows that they are priority targets, but everyone knows the Army ain’t ready to raid one yet, not even close. Shelters are practically Armies all by themselves. He has heard of his fellow raiders attacking a Shelter once in a great while, but it’s always a suicide mission that overconfident dummies try when they get too greedy. He knows a bunch of big settlements, the cities, grew out of Shelters. He figures any in-depth info about Shelters is kept classified by his superiors, and he does not care.
Bread Basket is a major target, because it provides food to the region, but it is hiding something. Gunmetal is the biggest prize, but everyone knows it’ll never fall until the Army is way way way way more successful in wrecking the region because it has advanced tech. Red Brick is a juicy target, it is compromised by its vice trade, no-one trusts it, the Army wants it destroyed so the region loses its medical expertise and rival gangs to the Army. He doesn’t know the details of what the Army plans to do to attack the cities.
The prisoner only knows about the Rangers, Troubleshooters, and the Ripcords. He knows that they are enemies of the Army. Wanted dead. He has not fought them personally. Not his department.
His gang boss gave him the tag. They stole it from lab techs, he thinks. It’s valid for tech around the lab. It ain’t personalised, just issued equipment. He has no idea how the tech works.


  
 Spoiler 
That is numbered 1 to 18, but some questions are extensive, so let's say the asked part will be spread over 36 individual "questions" of 5 minutes each, maybe repeating the most promising of those if the individual claims not to know. So, like, 36 secret rolls of Interrogation and 36 secret rolls of Detect Lies. Not sure if and when "lenghty interrogation" kicks in, but it will be a total of 3 hours for a start and will then continue depending on what questions are actually asked (maybe 3 hours are not enough to ask them all) and answers we've got.
 
 

(OC: I prefer to have one roll for every hour of interrogation, not for every single discreet question.)
u-b
Richard is not sure what Sean would want to do about the hideouts and encampments, but rather suspects Sean would like to do  something , so he questions specifically about each one of them:
1. Name, type and purpose (camp in the woods, single building, hidden stash, whatever; (semi-)permanently occupied, occasionally visited, whatever).
2. The number of occupants and the type and the amount of traffic (army, slaves, cargo, vehicles).
3. The defenses (forces armaments, fortifications, installations).
4. Location (assuming this was already given to Richard, but I'd like to have it too, relative to the mutant lab).
5. Presence of radio equipment. Presence of bells. Presence of valuables and vehicles.
6. Which one of those was used to host the multitude of quick-response bikers and what are the other quick-response forces beyond that.

Then Richard asks about some other stuff:
7. How do they tackle the diseases of The Gutter?
8. How do they source weapons and transportations? If something is produced at the northern factory, can he explain the strange choice of weapons they produce? Like, Bergmann MP18 would be a  very  strange choice to produce nowadays. Or do they have a stock that lasted them 50+ years?
9. What can he say about Massachusetts as compared to Vermont? About Boston? About Springfield? What role has the army there, what activities it does there? Are there any other factions or unaffiliated groups or individuals?
10. The same questions about two states south of that.
11. What is the purpose of marking themselves with tattoos? Is it to prevent desertion or why else would not normal ID documents suffice?
12. Is there a way how we can learn who are their allies/agents inside Bread Basket? Meaning, they were smuggling chemicals out of the city, so there must have been some and maybe there still are?

 
 Spoiler 
Did the prisoner say anything actionable about The Gutter? Like some places worth visiting or some routes from/to aboveground places worth visiting?

This should total 2 more hours of interrogation and we'll then proceed with the next steps.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The prisoner reports that most are single buildings or camps in the wilderness. Each is mostly for either storage of "gathered" resources or outposts for launching raids. They are given codenames, mostly in the form of animals, colours and numbers.
Most of the sites have only one or two gangs worth of soldiers - between 9 and 15. Vehicles are uncommon except for motorcycles. Slaves and cargo are often transported from the places by trucks, cars and vans going north to the big base. Couriers going to the places are often on bikes or in sedans, to drop off supplies and messages every one or two months.
Most places have only foot soldiers and their improvised fortifications for defense. Nothing worse than maybe an automatic battle rifle or explosives. He has heard of guys who got a machine gun, once.
The locations tend to be in either small ruined towns or in the woods near a big road. Easy to hide that way. There's three within 30 miles of the lab, to the east, the south and the north-west.
Only one place he knows of, has a radio. There's a big bell tower for far-reaching alarms at one outpost (the north-western), yes. Plenty of loot kept in storage - macho piles of supplies. Bikes aplenty, but only eight cars and one van total.
The camp to the south is where the biker waves come from. They got a whole garage of tools, fuel and a junkyard. The guys at the bell tower might have a bunch of squads on standby, it did a month ago.

The Gutter disease is usually avoided with the right routes through the area.
The factory produces a lot of stuff, but sometimes weirder stuff is taken by raids, shuffled around, issued to random squads that get desperate and then call in backup on short notice. The SMGs were found in a huge stash stolen somewhere in a big Old World city ruin (was it Burlington? Springfield?) a while back, spread around because nobody really knew what else to do with them and any other SMG got called dibs by big dawgs, leaving the scraps for the lower rungs. As for the factory, that's not his department.
The prisoner has never been to Boston. He knows southern Massachusetts to be full of renegade combat robots that kill humans on sight. Springfield is a huge wreck, but it has loads of good fun drugs for sale and stashes of goodies to loot if you don't mind constantly fighting off mutant animals and disease. The Army has a few "orphanages" and training centers to raise soldiers in Mass State just on the border to Vermont, but he has not been there since he was a kid, as by design. The Army sends squads over to Springfield mostly for punishment duty, routine patrols, and scut work. Lame stuff, like scavenging supplies. The locals in Springfield are lone wandering mutants and hopeless bums who got kicked out of respectable settlements or who are on the run from Red Brick mafias. Losers you can kill by the dozens and never run out, it don't matter. Everyone else just stays out of Springfield.
The prisoner has never been further south. He expected to die in Vermont, never see any other state.
Tattoos are for identification, building in-group boundaries, stopping desertion, easier to carry then papers, don't have to remember code phrases, good for keeping score.
The prisoner shrugs. He doesn't know jack about Bread Basket operations or spywork. "Not his monk circuit keys," or whatever.

The prisoner can help with The Gutter. He draws rough maps and directions. A handful of POIs.
u-b
Richard thinks he's done with the man for the moment. He calls in Sean to check if the infos gotten are sufficiently clear and they together clarify the little bits that are not.
1. Did he specify the locations for more than these three? How many are with the coordinates given?
2. If there are more than those three, we'll want the general areas covered.
3. Sean will see if the descriptions of the locations match actual maps. If we can have the maps detailed enough, then "a general store building at Some Street 66" should match the store marked there.
4. Does the general area above overlap with where we are to meet Troubleshooters? Was the motel there explicitly named?
5. How many points of interest total are named in the gutter? What are the kinds of those points?

The prisoner is then cleared to receive the best medical assistance we can provide and to get a semi-comfortable solitary cell until he's in full health.

Richard then calls a public frequency of The Union and proposes them the following, in order:
1. Establish a two-party encrypted channel without validating the indentity of the parties. The parties will not be initially 100% sure who the other party is, but...
1.1 From now on, we will be sure it's the same party that we have talked to before that.
1.2 No other parties will be able to decipher anything beyond timing/locating the transmissions.
2. Asks whether The Union does any cross-border or maritime trade in goods or information and whether it is in any way safe to reach them from Vermont.
3. Asks whether The Union is willing to disseminate any information about either or both of the following parties to a party that claims to be, or might find itself, a victim or an enemy of those.
3.1 The Army of neck-tattoed slavers.
3.2 The Sacred Snakes.
4. Asks whether The Union is willing to disseminate any additional information about anything at all (territorial claims, manifestos, advertising, warnings, good advise, whatever).
Shoot Da Moon
The prisoner knows of two more locations where the army has set up a camp in the wilderness. He gives good directions. Marks the map. It appears the camps are camouflaged tents pitched in small clearings surrounded by trees. The maps the exiles have already are not too detailed. But they seem to match up pretty well. The Troubleshooters’ turf is not particularly close by to the locations. The motel was not given a name, it’s been lost to the ages. Only a description. The building is coloured green. The POI in the Gutter seem to be mostly sections of the subway tunnels (including a discarded train car) and maintenance stations, made into hidden outposts.

The prisoner is happy to be let go. Back in his cell, he has time to think, he sullenly mutters.

The Union agrees to set up a channel. They have the gear, and the expertise, they just want to take a hour to get it all setup. And record the various code phrases and shared info.
The Union has not made much trade outside of their state. They certainly are afraid to go north. Trade coming in from the port is usually from the south or west. It is definitely not safe to come to NYC from Vermont. A thick wall of hostiles in many different flavours block the roads and wilderness.
The Union is reluctant to share info. But the exiles seem trustworthy, so they’ll try. They warn that communication disruptions are getting more frequent since the last two months. Bad guys may be messing with radio towers and computer networks, or something. They will send updates on miscellaneous stuff to the radar base staff whenever necessary, yes.

But The Union has no urgent news to share with Richard and the exiles for now.
u-b
The  men  have their late lunch and leave for the meeting point, Sean leading the way in the sedan.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: mark off the meals and water consumed if you have not already.)

The convoy of autos moves out, crossing the state.
Sean’s excellent scouting allows the exiles and their allies to detect something strange from a decent distance away while they’re on the road.
There’s a wrecked bus on the side of the road. It’s not a school bus, and it might post-date the fall of the Old World, manufactured by wastelander industry. Sean deduces that there was a bunch of people around the bus a day ago, but they are long gone.
The wreckage is easily ignored and avoided thanks to Sean’s canny instincts.

(OC: check out the bus or no?)

It’s been 45 minutes since they left the radar base and rode out. If they stay on track, it’ll only be another 2 hours of driving to arrive at the spot…

(OC: I believe you guys are moving at 25-30 miles per hour in those vehicles? The destination is 87 miles from the radar base, IIRC. Otherwise, my post here is wrong about the drive.)
u-b
Sean stops the car some 100 yards from the bus wreck, gets a few men with him and advances on foot to within 50 yards, where he stops and takes his time to observe the surroundings. If nothing particularly suspicious is seen, he intends to sneak alone all the way to the bus, observe the surroundings from there and if there is  still  nothing suspicious seen, examine the bus and the footprints to make sense of them.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean stops the car some 100 yards from the bus wreck, gets a few men with him and advances on foot to within 50 yards, where he stops and takes his time to observe the surroundings. If nothing particularly suspicious is seen, he intends to sneak alone all the way to the bus, observe the surroundings from there and if there is  still  nothing suspicious seen, examine the bus and the footprints to make sense of them. 
 

The men stand by and keep watch. The scene is quiet, deserted.

Sean sneaks around a little closer, finds no people have been here for at least half a day, and the activity was light. Plenty of animals, some of them mutated, populate this area. Bart the Hunter, in fact, stops Sean to warn him that there’s big snakes slithering around where the bus wreckage is. There is probably a nest of huge vipers inside.

Sean can indeed hear the sound of snakes in the underbrush in the distance.

Sean realises that people once set up some sort of noisemaker trap with mechanical junk here, but it got tripped by a clumsy person. That happened a day ago, judging by the weathering on the metal. A broken string lies limp on the ground near a fallen tree.
u-b
Sean considers bringing the men a bit closer and then doing either of the following:
1. If the wiper nest is in the bushes away from the bus, he could throw an explosive grenade in there.
2. If the wiper nest is in the bushes at/under the bus, he could throw a flashbang in there (after which the snakes would presumably retreat).
Shoot Da Moon
Sean has his men tighten up.

Bart’s scanning of the bus has him confirm that there’s a nest of snakes inside there. He would bet his right eye on it. The hunter recommends to Sean that they simply retreat, ignore the nest, leave it be. After all, why disrupt nature if it’s not necessary?
u-b
While Sean is still quite curious about the formerly trapped snake bus, he decides it might be indeed better not to spend time on it at the moment. He marks the location on the map and the group is on its way.
Shoot Da Moon
Retreating, Sean and his allies get back on the road, driving through wilderness and on a sufficiently intact road.

25 minutes later, they spot another interruption ahead; it appears to be some kind of improvised checkpoint blocking the road, and manned by a bulky and tall mutant.

The two-headed and four-legged mutant is armed (a long arm) and armoured (metal siding). A nearby sign displayed on the road block reads “TOLL” and features chest-high sandbag walls for cover.

Thanks to Sean’s superior scouting, the mutant has not spotted them yet. They can simply find another road that leads where they want, one not blockaded by this sort of “checkpoint” or other foe.
u-b
Sean leaves the pickup and the van where they are, with the men disembarked, aiming and ready, then rides the sedan all the way to the checkpoint (or wherever he is commanded to stop) to ask how much would be the toll for three cars and what entity he would be paying.
Shoot Da Moon
The super mutant rubs his chin (the one on the left) as Sean approaches.

“How does…half a rifle bullet per person and a rifle bullet per car sound to you?” The mutant offers. He points at a big iron strongbox planted upon the sandbag wall, marked “TOLLS PAID.”

Tolls can be paid in food, water, actual bullets, fuel, quality metal for spare parts…

(OC: I rolled a reaction in secret for this.)

“I can also give directions, no extra charge.” The mutant smiles (on his right head, his left head keeps scanning the area). He pulls out a folded state roads map out of his jacket to prove to Sean that he’s familiar with the area.
u-b
 "Yeah, seems about right."  Sean takes a spare mag and counts 8 bullets off of that.  "As for directions, what organization to you represent and what territory do you claim? Are there any special dangers I should be aware while traveling on and that way?"  Sean points ahead the way he was going.  "I would also want to learn about local businesses, like goods to buy and sell, a gas station, whatever." 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
  "Yeah, seems about right."  Sean takes a spare mag and counts 8 bullets off of that.  "As for directions, what organization to you represent and what territory do you claim? Are there any special dangers I should be aware while traveling on and that way?"  Sean points ahead the way he was going.  "I would also want to learn about local businesses, like goods to buy and sell, a gas station, whatever."  
 

The centaur accepts Sean’s payment with cautious gentle-ness. The bullets go into the strongbox, and the mutant waves the travellers through the checkpoint.

The mutant seems a little annoyed at Sean’s curiosity.
“I represent only myself. Just trying to make a living out here. I guess I consider this little piece of road here my home, for about a mile around. Real beauty, isn’t it? No big trouble around here, as far as I know. Otherwise, running a toll would be real pain in the heads, yeah? I guess I could justify a bigger price for the road pass if the turf was a war zone, but who has the guts?”

As for the businesses, the mutant leads Sean over to a table and puts down his map. He points at a spot marked on the map with a big meaty clawed finger. “Here. Big independent merchant outpost. That’s where I go to do shopping. 2 miles from here. Follows these roads…”

The mutant traces the route from the current location to the marking. “You’ll know it when you see it. They have big signs. It’s safe there, even with the drug trade going so strong. They paid up protection money to Red Brick gangs. Expect some premiums on booze and smokes. Firearms are cheaper than usual. Plenty of food and water. Not many batteries or fuel. Lots of gambling. Beware of thieves.”
u-b
Sean notes the location of the merchant outpost, then continues to lead the caravan to the meeting point.
Shoot Da Moon
The exiles and their allies move on through the wilderness and roads.

Another 30 minutes of driving, and Sean spies yet another unusual event on the horizon.
By the side of the road, there is a big group of parked cars and some vans. By those vehicles, there is a crowd of people apparently having some kind of party. The centre of their revelry appears to be a square stage of some sort, wherein two men lightly dressed and buff are waving to the crowd, ready to put on a show.

Sean saw it from far enough away that the convoy can easily just ignore it. Does he stop and check out the road-side happening?
u-b
Sean decides to ignore this one.
Shoot Da Moon
The convoy easily goes around the gathering. No-one tries to stop them, or even notices them.

Another 15 minutes of driving fast down a straight road, and another gathering is on their radar. They don't need Sean's excellent scouting to catch this one; they very much hear this one way before they see it.

In the middle of a town ruin, there's a huge crowd of rowdy (and probably stoned or drunk) folks. They are cheering on a loud music show in progress upon a two-story building. The show is "enhanced" by Old World tech like speakers and electric guitars.

And drugs, what with the gangs openly hawking merchandise right there. They have a whole squad of gunmen keeping unwanted people away from a massive keg of booze, selling small bottles of the stuff.

A closer look at the concert reveals all the performers, all of their bodyguards, the dealers and most of the partiers are armed.
u-b
Sean takes Richard with him for this one. They both come armed, but not quite alarmed. Sean suggests Richard asks if this is a public or a private event and, if it's public, what it is and what its terms are.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean takes Richard with him for this one. They both come armed, but not quite alarmed. Sean suggests Richard asks if this is a public or a private event and, if it's public, what it is and what its terms are. 
 

The guards at the gathering’s edge explains that they may join in…but it costs $20 of barter (equal to two rifle bullets, which is the preferred payment) per person.

Cause trouble, and it’ll be a beating and kick out. No selling wares without giving the boss a kickback.
u-b
Sean decides to pass on this one and is back on his way.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and his allies drive on, reaching their destination with no more disruptions.

The meeting place is an empty shell of an Old World building - it’s small, one story, only one real room, it seems. Whatever it used to be, all signs of its previous life have been removed by scavengers and time.

Waiting for them is a single woman, wearing sturdy survival gear. She shows the newcomers the agreed-upon hand sign to them, and they return the response confirming their identity.

“Glad to see you.” The woman greets them, most of her features hidden under thick and extensive clothing. Even her hair colour is kept covered by a camo-print hood. “Let’s talk business.”
u-b
Sean introduces his forces, but not quite their weapons, then proposes the woman to introduce her forces that would take part in the operation (three men in red jumpsuits or whatever it was supposed to be). Sean would ask the following if and when said forces are introduced:
1. The distance to the target from where we are at the moment. The route from here to there and anything that can be said about that route and the surroundings thereof.
2. Any defenses, vehicles and/or traps at the target?
3. Is the target expected to hold innocents (like captives or slaves) or can be freely obliterated?
4. Is the target expected to hold notable valuables or can be freely obliterated?
5. Any regular traffic from and to the target? Nearby target's allies and communications with them (roads, radio, bells or what not).
6. Anything else they want to tell us about the target or the upcoming operation.

Sean then estimates how much time we have until it starts getting dark (say, -3 darkness penalty).
Shoot Da Moon
The woman admits that her forces are currently in hiding nearby, in case the meeting goes wrong. But they are all equipped with decent weaponry - petrol bombs and explosives in particular. She could manage to requisition any Old World energy guns for this, sadly. They could not find any particularly good armour, either.

The target is a motel just five blocks away, to the south. As long as they stay off the streets, no scouts should have a clear sight of them. They can simply work their way through other buildings and alleyways.

No vehicles have been sighted at the motel. The motel is pretty secure. A sniper on the roof. A barbed wire fence. Concrete barriers for cover. Big stone blocks around the perimeter to stop vehicles ramming in. Probably landmines. Sand bags in front of every entrance, apparently blocking them. Almost certainly even more defences inside. No idea how the occupants move in and out of the place.

Nobody but the bad guys is expected to be inside.

The bad guys may have stocks of supplies and offensive gear, but that’s not a priority.

Strangely enough, not much traffic has been observed. All of it they witnessed was just bad guys moving around inside, but no idea how they got in and out in the first place. They could have a radio inside.

The sniper on the roof is dressed in a Kevlar vest, armed with a good scoped rifle and has excellent binos.
He takes cover behind the big sign on the roof. Comes up via a ladder, changes shifts with a fresh shooter every 4 hours.

It is somewhat dark right now.

(OOC: EDITED, the current time after the journey is now late afternoon. Darkness penalty is -3, it will get worse sharply within 1 hour.)
u-b
Since the forces are to participate in the operation, Sean would like them to participate in the planning. Should we go meet them? Go fetch them? Call them over the radio? What would be the criteria for this meeting to be declared going right? Whatever she answers, she's not going alone anywhere. Meanwhile, Sean has a few more questions:
7. Any specific reason to call them bad guys if they move nowhere around and do nothing much?
8. How large is the motel, like N meters by M meters and X windows by Y windows in two directions horizontally and Z stories vertically? Is there a basement too?
9. Would it be in any way problematic to obtain a few plain wooden doors somewhere in the area? Sean has a multitool to unscrew them or such.
10. Is there one set of rifle + binos that changes hands every shift or does each man have his own? If the later, how many different men taking shifts there? Same question whether they have personalized Kevlar vests.
11. Any good spot from which we could observe the ladder and/or the sniper's position on the roof (his observant head sticking out is minimally enough; it does not have to be anywhere too near)?
12. About those sandbags blocking the entrances (and windows?) - do they allow to shoot from inside of the building? If so, how large are the openings?
13. What would be the closest distance one could get without undue risk of being spotted by the sniper? What would be the furthest distance from which one could see most of the motel?
14. Generally, does it have other buildings on all sides or something other than just a street on any side (a lawn, a garden, a junkyard, what not)?
15. How long has this installation observed and how long it is believed to be roughly in its current state?
16. Any smoke coming from the building any time at all, like as if by wood stove used for cooking or maybe in the winter for heating?
17. What is the motel made of? Bricks? Wood? How sturdy it seems?
18. Any locals living anywhere nearby?

 
 Spoiler 
Also, roll some Detect Lies, I guess, maybe with some penalties for her features covered. Does Sean see her face, at least?
 
Shoot Da Moon
The woman calls in her allies with a small radio. They are two men, both in red jumpsuits festooned with some heavy leather gear used for camping, survival and combat. They nod to Sean, acknowledging his presence.
The planning and discussion starts.

The bad guys at the motel have definitely opened fire on local travelers coming near the motel, and further investigations identified their men as raiders who have attacked hamlet with intent to slaughter all the inhabitants indiscriminately. Their raids were done purely to kill people, stealing stuff optional and taking slaves never.

The motel is two large buildings side-by-side. One appears to be made up of mostly small residential rooms. The other has a large office as a part of it, the "check-in."
The larger building is the one with the office. It's 19 meters wide and 43 meters long. Windows are all along the east and west sides of the building, next to doors.
The smaller building is 25 meters wide and 19 meters long. Windows are all along the north and south sides, one per room, except for the west and east most rooms, which have additional windows (2 on both west and east walls).
Both buildings are ground floor only, nothing above.
No idea if they have a basement.

A lot of wood in this area got scavenged. Metal, too.
(OOC: Roll Scrounging skill to try, penalty is -5, takes a base time of 1 hour.)

The sniper has one set of gear, it gets given over when they switch off. Their kevlar, however, seems to be one for each man, not shared.

A good perch to observe is a 2 story building 75 yards north-east of the motel. That's how their scout did it. Be careful, the enemy could have grown wise to it.

The sandbags certainly don't block the windows enough to prevent firing out. Most are boarded up. Maybe they have murder holes? The openings are about 1 yard wide and long at most for the windows left open.

Safest close distance would be approximately 50 yards, if the sniper was not canny enough to suspect anyone hiding behind a car wreck (there's a derelict parking lot north of the motel). Furthest out from the motel without line of sight getting blocked is 100 yards unless you came from the south (but there's no good cover coming from the south).

Only the north side of the motel has many buildings. The south side is open road leading in and out of town. East and west are just wilderness, not very forested. The motel has parking lots north and south, behind the fence. Just north of the larger building is an attached swimming pool, empty of water, also behind the fence.

Scouts have checked it out two weeks ago. Only once, over a period of 9 days. The raiders may have been occupying it for months or just under a year?

No smoke.

Old World bricks. Very sturdy.

Nobody living here. That's how the raiders stayed under the radar for so long.

Sean thinks the woman is telling the truth. He can see her face under her hood, it's dirty but calm.
u-b
Sean then proceeds to the actual planning. He asks how, and if, the men were intending to get close to the buildings and especially past the barbed wire. If they can handle that by themselves, that's one less problem for Sean to solve. Sean then asks how the men would propose we do given that we have some riflemen, two dogs and two thermobaric rockets for RPG-7. Maybe we...
1. Take out the sniper.
2. Position the men where they can more or less see the motel's perimeter from behind some cover (and, preferably, from indoors, where it will be darker).
3. We use one rocket per building to have a good start.
4. Then we have the Troubleshooters throw fire and explosives while our riflemen cover them from some distance away.

Sean is also open to other suggestions.
Shoot Da Moon
The woman says she had no idea on how to bypass the fence, except by clearing out the raiders first (with shooting) and then pulling it down with a winch and car. She was hoping Sean had a better idea.

She thinks that staying away, and using rifles to snipe the raiders is the best approach. Laying siege to them that way over the course of days is probably the safest, if very slow. (They can afford to wait out the raiders, since they have supplies and maybe backup.)

The sniper is a priority target, of course. Killing him and anyone else who comes onto the roof or out of the buildings should keep the raiders pinned down.

Good positions with lines of sight on the motel AND cover is sadly unavailable. At best, some angles on the motel are secure. Unless the men can make their own cover.

Keep the rockets on standby. Serious firepower should be kept in reserve in case of the unexpected, not used in the opening salvo.

Fire and explosives should be used to pressure anyone bunkering down after the sniper is dead and the first salvos have been done. Let them stew in hiding for a few hours before breaking out the fire bombs, so we know they're good and suppressed. Then flush them out.
u-b
Sean says he's not quite in the mood to have a prolonged siege. For one, the building might have a connection to The Gutter, which will not only negate any prospects, but may also endanger the besiegers, which might also be the case if they have a radio link. Sean would definitely prefer to demolish or burn down the building, at least to the point where it would be of no further use for the raiders, then quickly move on to other plans, while maybe reserving an option to visit here again if they fix or rebuild it. So, hit-and-run sort of thing. This was supposed to be an operation to test the sides' allegiance? We do not have to eradicate everyone? Or do The Troubleshooters have interest in the buildings themselves? Besides, any idea how one gets a "very sturdy" motel? Are The Troubleshooters sure this was not some other kind of Old World building?
Shoot Da Moon
The woman shrugs. If they blow it up quick and fast, so be it.
The woman was not given much of a briefing, she was simply told to help the exiles attack the motel and defeat the raiders. Why, she thought it was just a bad guy hunt.
Simply wrecking the motel and defeating most of the raiders should be enough.
No interest in the building/s.
The woman does not know much about building materials. Only that it is hard to demolish.
She’s certain the motel is the right target.
u-b
Sean thinks he's mostly narrowed the possibilities down to a few, and maybe even to one that would be subject to actual contact with the enemy. He commands one militia man to start making a speaking trumpet out of plastic pieces he's to cut from the bottles and a roll of duct tape. Sean does not care how many bottles and how much tape will be used as long as the usage is reported to him after the fact. He wants the trumpet to be as large as practical while still reasonably handy. If necessary, there could be more than one try. After the man gets to work, a few more questions are to be clarified:
19. Any idea how the inhabitants observe the surroundings during the night? Like, active or passive night vision gear or plain illumination? The same about The Troubleshooters.
20. With all those mines and wires, are there any clear aboveground escape routes that the inhabitants could take and that The Troubleshooters would want to have covered?
21. Same about approaches for any possible help from the outside.
22. This being our parties first contact and being based on a third-party radio frequency handout, would they mind if everyone present demonstrates the back of their necks? If they do not mind, we start with Sean and then all of our men. If they do mind, Sean asks for their reasoning.
23. How many of them have portable radios on their persons?
24. Any questions of relevance they would like to ask Sean before we begin?
Shoot Da Moon
The militiaman follows orders and cobbles together the instrument, curious about what exactly Sean plans to do with it. It’ll take him about 20 minutes of tinkering and testing, he guesses.

As for Sean’s questions;
The woman tells him the raiders use lighters, flares, and flashlights at night. They seem confident that no-one around will see the lights and attack. The Troubleshooters have flashlights and flares, too, not to mention one pair of NVGs.

The woman does not think the raiders have an above ground escape route besides simply temporarily disabling their outer defences. She’s never seen them exit the motel, anyway. They’re holed up there good, from what she knows.

She thinks they could call for backup on the radio, she does not know of any other raider outposts within 25 miles of the motel. So it could take over a hour for a response to show up. She thinks.

The woman and their comrades show Sean and his allies their bare skin. Nothing like a tattoo is on any of them, just scars, burns, bruises and animal bite marks. They’re clear. The Troubleshooters seem a little confused about the check.

No raiders are carrying a radio. Maybe they have only one?
(The friendly woman and her comrades have small radios for communicating with each other, if that’s what you mean.)

The woman expresses curiosity about Sean himself. What’s his story? Why did he contact The Troubleshooters? Who is he working for?
u-b
Sean says he mostly works for himself, which is kind of accidental. Or, we can say, his band works for themselves, but Sean mostly directs the operations. Sean, Richard here, and a few other people, have gotten themselves on the raiders' priority target list, were unable to remove themselves from said list, fought for their lives, and then realized that fighting raiders can be  very  profitable, even when funded only by raiders themselves. So, now Sean scales up those efforts, both for business and personal reasons... like, you know, less men to try get him killed and "greater good"... So, anyway, he tries to organize the raiders' enemies, which are, like, almost everyone, to stop squabbling amond themselves... well, or at least  pause  that, until the raiders and the new threat are dealt with, and instead join the business of raiding the raiders or something. We won't necessarily noticiably profit from this one, but that's fine as well. The story of how Sean's group have ended up on raiders' priority target list is better told at some other time. For now, let's say we are not ex-ones of those.

Having said that, and not waiting for the speaking trumpet to be completed, Sean takes Bart, NVG guy and nobody else, and asks the NVG guy to lead him to 2 story building 75 yards north-east of the motel. On the approach, Sean does his best to look for traps  and  ambushes, being the first to cross any opening from one cover to another as directed by the NVG guy. Then he intends to enter the building as directed, looking for traps all the way, and take a quick glance at the motel from the second-story window. Other than that, Sean intends no one to be ever in line of sight to motel.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean does a fine job keeping an eye out in the journey over, although the way is thankfully under-guarded. The raiders seem to be relying on their sniper lookout for dissuading intruders and attackers, and so have not set up any more traps. They seem to be undermanned, too, seeing as they have no patrols on the streets around the motel.

Sean finds no man-shaped tracks around the block, which he chooses to interpret as a good sign. Animals are around, using the buildings as nests and hunting grounds, the circle of life going on with no regard for man’s conflicts.

Sean realises that the building 75 yards north-east of the motel IS a good spot for observation…but it’s also not a great place to stay, as it’s showing its age. It could fall apart if the fighting gets too heated.

Disaster strikes when Sean and his allies start to enter the building. Someone one jostles and trips in the shadows, and the NVGs fall, landing hard against a wall, breaking. The Troubleshooter makes a very angry face at the group. That’s one piece of valuable technology they can’t exploit now…
u-b
The broken NVGs were a problem. Not so much for the operation, but for subsequent relations if Sean would be unable to make the men whole. This was not an urgent matter, so Sean decides to handle it after the op. The building being in bad shape was more relevant to the op, though probably not quite problematic. Sean considers using it simply as cover and takes a quick look around the right corner to see if anything is blocking his line of view or if he can see the whole motel, buildings, roofing and all. He gets out of sight again to process the information.

 
 Spoiler 
Luckily no critical failure this time around. I'll ask the questions about what's observed once you give me the general picture. Those might or might not need more peeks, we'll see.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean manages to make his way through the building to its roof, and accidentally leans on the wrong wall. It cracks and shutters.

(OC: the failed Stealth roll worsened the building’s structural integrity modifier to -4. Make the usual rolls for the stuff on AtE2 page 34-35.)

From the roof, he can see that the motel has a lookout - he’s taking cover behind the big “Motel 23” sign atop the place. Sean thinks the lookout has a pair of binoculars, but he’s currently looking away from his direction right now. He’ll eventually start looking this way, though…
u-b
Sean raises his rifle, aims at the observer for three seconds, then shoots a few rounds and starts looking for any signs of activity, all while having the least possible amount for himself exposed. He plans to do that for three seconds at most, then step into full cover. He comments his actions while at it, expecting Richard to relay that to main group:  "It's me. Fine so far, no help required." 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean raises his rifle, aims at the observer for three seconds, then shoots a few rounds and starts looking for any signs of activity, all while having the least possible amount for himself exposed. He plans to do that for three seconds at most, then step into full cover. He comments his actions while at it, expecting Richard to relay that to main group:  "It's me. Fine so far, no help required."  
 

Sean brushes off the dust and rubble from the ceiling.

And take the shots. It nails the man on the motel roof in the arm, probably blowing it off with brutal force. He observes the man falls behind the sign and seems to remain still. Did he pass out? Sean’s pretty sure anyone else in the motel would realise their man has been hit.


 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Anyway, none of the above is enough to warrant change of plans, so here is the list of things Sean considers:
1. What is the distance from the buiding of ours to the motel's outer perimeter? What is the depth of all of the preimeters? What is the distance from the inner perimeter to the motel? Here Sean estimates how close it would be possible to approach the buildings without steping in contact with any barbed wire or such.
2. Any signs of mines outside of outer perimeter? I guess the mines themselves should not be visible, but if the place is frequented by the animals, maybe there is a ligher wire fence before main barbed wire to keep the animals out or maybe they have shot some animals as not to leave them on the minefield or maybe some animal went onto the minefield and there was an explosion the results of which have not been cleaned up? Or is the asphalt still mostly intact and visibly clear?
3. Other than that, it's mostly 75 yards of open ground / parking lot?
4. Looking from our side, is the observer on the right building or on the left building? Which building is larger? Does Sean see most of two buildings from his position or is one more or less behind the other? Does Sean see the ladder that the observer would take to get up there? Does Sean see the door closest to that ladder?
5. How is the whole setup illuminated?
6. What would be the size modifier to put a rocket inside the building, preferably near the center? I guess if a window would be boarded by visibly thin plywood, that could count nearly as "a hex" at +4, but if it's mostly covered by sandbags, it might be much less, including negative. 
 

 
 Spoiler 

1) the building is 75 yards from the door to the motel’s fence. The motel itself is another 10 yards behind the fence.
2) the landmines are on the inside of the fence, but those are just the ones Sean sees.
3) yeah, open ground. The parking lot of the motel is within the fence.
4) right building, the one with the office. Right is larger. He sees both buildings, but only from the north. The area behind them is obscured. Sean does not see a ladder.
5) Sean sees little lighting on in the buildings right now. He thinks he can see a moving light off in the distance through tiny cracks, but he has no clear shot.
6) the called shot for a rocket into a building through a window would be -4, not taking attacking a hex into account.
 
u-b
Sean repositions to behind the left side of the building, where he would not have a line of sight to the sniper's position, and observes the left motel building through the scope to see if some parts of it seem occupied or if someone tries to peek out or do some notable sort of stuff like shooting an illumination rocket. He does that for up to 20 seconds.

 
 Spoiler 
It should be much darker than -3 inside a boarded building, so maybe they use some light. Or maybe they would like to illuminate the surroundings or just stare too much and be seen.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean does see a few flashes of light inside the motel at the 5 or 6 seconds mark, barely, through the cracks in the barricaded windows. He guesses they might be staying low, crawling. Then another few glimpses of light moving at the 13 to 15 seconds mark.

He sees no-one exit the motel from his position.

At the 20 second mark, he does hear the sound of several vehicles approaching from afar - outside the motel.
Looking around, he quickly spies several vans driving towards the motel from the south (extreme left, from his position), on the road.
They’re at least 250 yards away from the motel, by his reckoning, going at about 40 yards a second.
u-b
Sean makes sure the companions stay in full cover from both the motel and the vans and he is at least in some cover, then looks around to reassess his retreating options (like, what exactly would be the way back to the group if it retraced the way here and would it the best way or not given the circumstances), then turns his attention back to the vans.
1. How many are there?
2. Are they with any lights on?
3. What is the distance between the first and the last?
4. Are they in any way uniform (type, color, marks, etc.)?

If they all go straight to the motel, Sean intends to observe them until the first one stops or is out of sight.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean can retreat to the north, he thinks.

There are 4 vans.
They have lights on.
They’re following each other close behind. Maybe half a car length between each one.
The vans are decorated on the side with some silver paint. Some kind of circle. He does not recognise it.

It has been 4 seconds. The vans have driven another 160 yards, he thinks. They might be slowing down? Haven’t changed direction…
u-b
Sean asks the troubleshooter man if he knows the silver circle emblem, which might be a bit more complex than that, Sean is not sure from the distence. He also asks the man if he has any ideas what the approaching vans got to be. Then he asks who exactly was gathering intel and was this man or that woman personally among that contingent. Sean does not add anything much, but at least both Bart and Richard should have heard that.

Meanwhinle, sean does not turn his scope off the vans. He is not quite sure he is safe, at least he is out of line of sight of the main building, but he would like to see the vans stop and start to unload or, failing that, get out of his view.
Shoot Da Moon
The Troubleshooter thinks for a moment, and then says,
“I know of The Scared Snakes, who have a silver symbol depicting a snake eating its own tail. They are complete madmen, coming here from out of state. If they are here, they will try to murder us and worse, no hesitation.”

As for the vans, specifically, he has no idea, since he would need a close look at the people inside.

The man admits that he is just the boots-on-ground and has no real participation in the information gathering process. The intelligence agents of their faction mostly run their operations without input from soldiers - they report to their superiors.

Talking takes 2 seconds, the vans drove another 60 yards in that time. The vans are definitely slowing down. They are now 30 to 50 yards from the motel.
u-b
 "Sacred Snakes, huh? Makes sense. Anyway, that might be four full vans and some gear up from the original assessment. Shall we proceed, retreat or scale up the operation? Raiders are one thing, but semi-proper proper army... maybe we won't control the battlefield with our present forces however way this goes. Also, are there stronger buildings than this one anywhere nearby?" 

Sean observes, allowing the vans to reach a full stop. He does not mind if the man consults someone over the radio. He does not have high hopes of being informed about buildings by man who wasn't here before.
Shoot Da Moon
The woman seems determined, “We should kill the Sacred Snakes if we can. They’re a threat to the entire region. Any thinning of their numbers is good for the future.”

Her male comrade cuts in, “I’m pretty sure this building we have here is the best one available, unless we retreat to over a quarter of a mile…”

Another second passed while there was chatter. Two of the vans reached a spot about 20 yards south of the motel and stopped. The other two vans continued to drive down the road, coming closer to the building Sean and his allies are in.

The two stopped vans south of the motel don’t have cover, but they seem unconcerned about that…
u-b
Sean takes out a cigarette lighter, positions himself out of line of sight of either motel building, but halfway in line of sight of the vans, waits for the vans to come a bit closer, lights the lighter's tiny flame and waves it three times left to right, then shuts it off and looks for the reaction.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean sees the stopped vans south of the motel have soldiers hustling out of them.

Meanwhile, the vans driving north managed to cross another 50 yards of distance, past the motel and towards the building where Sean is. That’s two seconds…

The vans are 15 yards away from Sean’s building when he stops waving the lighter flame around, 2 seconds after THAT. They didn’t seem to notice the lighter, but they are definitely heading toward Sean’s position, and will be there in about 1 second.

By now, the vans south of the motel have unloaded a whole big fireteam, and are driving away to the west.
u-b
Sean shoots a long burst at the approaching vans, then either steps or walks further behind the corner depending on how string the basement seems.  "Ready." 
 
 Spoiler 
Will either step or extra-effort-heroic-walk behind the building depending on what seems to be required to avoid being hit by a van.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean’s gunfire rings out loudly across the mostly empty streets.
He’s sure he hit the drivers of the vans, but neither seem to go out of control after he shoots. Perhaps they ducked?
As for the burst on the van, 4 shots hit the side of the vehicle. It does not seem to damage the vehicle that much, and any passengers inside the van could be unharmed.

(OC: made some rolls in secret.)

Now Sean cannot see the vans or the soldiers south of the motel. Or the motel itself, for that matter.

He’s certain the vans, if still driven, will be coming towards his position…

(OC: combat time starts.  TURN 1  now.)
u-b
Sean reloads his rifle with a fresh magazine in about a split-second and shoots a long burst at the approaching vans.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Are you okay? Please post a second of combat actions for Sean and his NPC allies. 
 

Well, sorry about the delay. Just having an impression that Sean has bitten more than he can safely chew, so was procrastinating to see if a magical way to resolve this would appear in my head. Other than that, I am fine, I'll try to be more rapid in the future.

The following assumptions were made writing this post:
1. The vans are NOT hitting Sean starting turn 1.
2. It seemed that way would be the case on the end of turn 0.
3. Therefore NOT executing the conditional clause in post  #1385i .
4. (Therefore) Sean can still see both vans on turn 1.

I'm villing to make corrections if the assumptions are not true.

Will either step or extra-effort-heroic-walk behind the building depending on what seems to be required to avoid being hit by a van. This means doing nothing much if they seem to be heading at the front door and not Sean.

Tracking FPs: 2 spent so far (one on dodge and one on reload).

Bart will probably have shotdun with MFs and will aim or shoot at any man that makes himself seen to him (e.g. past the house). And the Troubleshooter guy likely has had his best grenade in hand and is now pulling the pin. Can he throw it over the house at a hex on the other side without incurring the -10 penalty for "target not seen"? Like, a hex is a hex, it is not going anywhere, so maybe a lesser penalty would be more appropriate.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Both vans pull up to the front door of the building Sean is at, one 3 yards behind the other. They’re parking.

If the vans did not notice Sean before, they certainly do now. The gunfire is very obvious.

The bursts hit home without much trouble.
The van in front is definitely hit hard, it’s still road-worthy judging by the engine noises, but the bullets tore up the vehicle’s frontal paint job and probably wrecked an internal mechanism.
The van behind the first is also hit multiple times, more than the first but with weaker shots.

Bart squints down the barrel, anticipating a counter attack.
The Troubleshooter prepares a grenade.
(OC: if he aiming at a hex he can’t see, let’s give him a -6, because he can’t correct for obstacles or uneven terrain features.)

 TURN 2 

Sean can see the driver of the front van has unbuckled his seatbelt and is now ducking down. He does not think any of his shots hit him.
He can hear the clunky sound of the vans’ back doors opening up. Uh-oh.
u-b
Still crouching halfway behind the corner, Sean shoots another long burst at the vans and instantly reloads. The troubleshooter man throws his grenade. Bart just stands ready.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean has 24 (+24 +24) rounds for his rifle and 9/12 FP.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The Troubleshooter fails to land his grenade well. It’s about 8 yards off-target, at least. Sean thinks it landed south-east of where it should be.

Sean’s gunfire ventilates the van in front 6 times, causing it to noticeably stall out a bit. Sean may have hit the grille and ruined a fuel line.
The second van also gets shot, but less times and with weaker power.

(OC: Sean’s range from the vans is 5 and 9 yards, BTW. Sorry that I didn’t mention that earlier.)

 TURN 3 

Sean can see a van driver peeking out through the windshield - the glass is star-cracked in places by the bullets.
He sees 3 men climb out of the first van and 2 men out of the second van, from the opened back doors. They quickly move around the sides, so three of the men display from his sight as they take the far side of the vans. He can still see 2 soldiers walking around the side of the van facing towards him. They are armed with shotguns and they have heavy armour on their heads and main body.
u-b
Sean shoots another long burst at the three men he can see. If he does not hit the first two, he then steps behind the corner to have full cover.

 
 Spoiler 
To clarify: those are their  trigger  arms (or right arms if there is any doubt).
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean’s gunfire burst loses 3 bullets to swivelling between targets.

The soldier closest to Sean has time to scream out “Contact!” before the bullets are fired at him. He junks hard left as the burst is unleashed, the 3 shots whizz past his jittery form. Sharp instincts, this one.
The second soldier also pegs Sean’s shooting, springing to the left and letting the gunfire whiff.
The driver ducks down when he sees Sean turning towards him, too, and the bullets going straight at his head with extreme speed miss, again spiderweb cracking the glass.

Sean suddenly hears a heck of a racket coming from the second van (the one further away). Are they moving a big metal cargo out of the back? Why? He can’t see from where he is now.

 TURN 4 

With Sean in hiding, he can’t see what his targets are doing. Probably waiting for him…
u-b
Sean goes to check another corner, not intending to do more than a peek right away. Bart aims the gun at the corner that Sean has just left. The Troubleshooter man presumably throws one more grenade.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: The Troubleshooter did Fast Draw another grenade. He fails his Throwing roll, though. Do you know what the fuse is on the last grenade?)

Sean moves back.
(OC: which corner of the building is Sean heading to? Is he going east (further away from the motel)? The sides of the buildings lengths have been established earlier, right?)

Bart stands on guard, sweat pouring down his forehead, gun aimed at where the hostiles will surely advance.

A muffled cacophony (loud enough to be a generator or forklift) of heavy machinery is in the distance.

 TURN 5 

The soldiers are yelling out to each other, but the communicated message is unclear. None of them come around the corner.
(OC: note to self, roll next turn.)

Then the grenade explodes. It sounds a little distant, and the soldiers sound extremely shaken by the sudden blowup.
u-b
Sean keeps moving right, gesturing with the rifle in general direction of the corner of the building he's moving away from.  "Next one there."  Bart keeps his aim and the troubleshooter, fast-drawing another grenade, pulls its pin, starts cooking it and takes one step towards the left corner.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 OC: which corner of the building is Sean heading to? Is he going east (further away from the motel)? The sides of the buildings lengths have been established earlier, right? 
 

Hmm, not sure about the size of the building. It should indeed be more than Sean's one move of 7 yards. The intent was to move from peeking at something around the left side of the building to peeking at something around the right side of the building, as seen from "our" side as opposed to motel+van side.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The grenade in the Troubleshooter’s hand feels ominous. Sean feels a little winded from all that extra-fancy gun handling he did back there. Bart keeps his gun steady…

 TURN 6 

  
 Spoiler 

Hmm, not sure about the size of the building. It should indeed be more than Sean's one move of 7 yards. The intent was to move from peeking at something around the left side of the building to peeking at something around the right side of the building, as seen from "our" side as opposed to motel+van side.
 
 

(OC: Okay. Sean is moving around the square building then? I’d say each side of the building is 10 yards. Getting to the other corner would mean going around the backside of the building.)

The soldiers are shouting to one another. They do not chase after Sean. They figure that going around the corner might get them shot. Smart.

There is gunfire popping off in the far distance. Perhaps the other fireteams from the vans are engaging raiders in the motel?
u-b
Sean moves all the way to the right corner at our side of the house and takes a quick peek around it. The grenadier moves to the left corner at our side of the house, cooking the grenade for two seconds now. Bart keeps his aim, ready to pull the trigger.

 
 Spoiler 
   
Is it something like this now at the end of Sean's turn 6 before the rest of our men act? Bart is likely at (1), but not sure.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean moves all the way to the right corner at our side of the house and takes a quick peek around it. The grenadier moves to the left corner at our side of the house, cooking the grenade for two seconds now. Bart keeps his aim, ready to pull the trigger.

 
 Spoiler 
   
Is it something like this now at the end of Sean's turn 6 before the rest of our men act? Bart is likely at (1), but not sure.
 
 
 

Sean sees no soldiers coming around the corner when he peeks. They do not want to risk it, apparently.

(OC: I thought Bart was behind Sean when he was shooting the soldiers, and stayed behind at the first corner Sean ducked around. I guess position 1 is what you want?
The vans have pulled in sideways, not front facing the building like the drawing has. Small detail.)

 TURN 7 

There is a fierce firefight going on at the motel, the distances make the rapid gunshots sound like a poorly organised fireworks display.

The soldiers in front of the building have gone silent.
u-b
Sean draws a flashbang and pulls the pin without leing go of his rifle. That goes rather awkward, so not quite as fast as it possibly could, but Sean is fine with that. Since no men seem to have emerged from around the corner, Sean starts to monitor the inside of the building too. Meanwhile, the Troubleshooter man throws the grenade aiming some 5 yards past the far corner. He gets it off the target somewhere and steps back to take cover behind the corner, pulling Bart after him too.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean has Fast-Draw (Ammo) and Dual Ready (Grenade). I gues he cannot use the later without dropping the rifle, which he does not want to do. So maybe he can fast-draw and then spend the second to pull the pin. It's fine if the rifle ends up unready (held on an arm, tight against the body or something).
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean juggles his rifle a little, tucking it into his armpit as he readies the stun grenade. He can't really fire it without doing it one-handed and awkwardly. But that's okay, he thinks...

Sean sees no movement inside the building. He probably would have heard the soldiers entering the building, it still has a lot of crud on the interior floor. (Did the building still have its doors? Sean can't remember.) He's sure he could spot anyone EXITING from the building at his location, since there is still a back door and it looks creaky.

The troubleshooter is sure he botched the throw. Darn. The grenade went off into the dark, past the building and where the vans would be.

Bart allows himself to pulled away, but he grouses a bit. He spoiled his aim, he says.

 TURN 8 

Speaking of the building's front, there is loud movement there. Sean thinks he hears soldier entering the building. And the vans are starting to move, too, driving a little away. They're going towards the motel. They both manage about 3 yards from a park in one second, Bart and the troubleshooter see the vans pull out.

The recently thrown grenade explodes shortly after that. It sounds about the same and as big a blast as the previous one. Nobody seems to react to this boom with panic or screaming, so maybe the soldiers are safely far away from the explosion.
u-b
Crouching mostly below the line of windows, Sean moves about half the way to building's front. He peeks inside at the point halfway along the wall. The Troubleshooter guy draws another grenade, pulls the pin, but does  not  start cooking it. Bart is preparing to react to any activity approaching his position (he either aims at the nearest left corner OR into the building OR at the egress depending on what he does and does not hear).
Shoot Da Moon
All three of them hear movement inside the building. It sounds like a handful of people, plus some kind of machine outside (near Sean’s position). No line of sight yet, though.

 TURN 9 

Sean hears a man say “Just finish them off, don’t waste any more time on these jokers.” And footsteps. He spots one soldier moving from cover to cover, briefly. These guys are wary.

The vans continue to drive away. Picking up speed.
u-b
Crouching, Sean reaches the far right corner and takes a quick peek around it. The troubleshooter man, hearing the activity inside, starts to cook the grenade and approaches the door that Sean has first used to check the building. He stops next to it, using the wall for cover. Bart, at his corner, aims through a window somewhere inside, likely at the door to the room that contains the said window.
Shoot Da Moon
The front of the building, from what Sean sees, has one soldier and one human-sized robot standing guard at its front entrance, now that the vans are driving away. The rest of the soldiers must have gone inside.

The robot is a tracked turret-like combat sentry. It’s only “limbs” seem to be two mounted arm-like integrated long arms on the sides of its main body. It has optical sensors built into one “face” of its main body. It is keeping a lookout, and it looks in Sean direction…

The Troubleshooter thinks he sees two soldiers moving inside the building, doing the usual bounding over watch to go from cover to cover. He knows where they are, but he does not literally see them.

Bart sees one soldier through the window, getting into cover but unwittingly exposing himself to Bart’s line of sight. Should he shoot before the enemy notices him right back?

 TURN 10 

(OC: everyone will lose FP from the stress of fighting after this combat is over.)
Sean is sweating. He’s sure the robot didn’t notice him. That won’t last.
u-b
Sean drops the flashbang grenade right in front of him, quickly raises the rifle and shoots a long burst at the man and the robot's two weapons. Sean has no idea how much fire he must put into the robot's other parts to render it non-functional, but the weapons... well, at least they are a known quantity. The Troubleshooter man throws the grenade inside the house and remains next to the door, listening. Bart shoots a moving target and possibly gets home hits. He remains in some cover between the corner and the window.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean will take a Step back after the attack if he can. The flashbang is dropped in a way that it will eventually affect the man, the robot and Sean himself (and maybe to a lesser extent some people inside the house, it will be centered at about the corner). Next round I'll want to know what Sean can see of the vans.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean drops the flashbang grenade right in front of him, quickly raises the rifle and shoots a long burst at the man and the robot's two weapons. Sean has no idea how much fire he must put into the robot's other parts to render it non-functional, but the weapons... well, at least they are a known quantity. The Troubleshooter man throws the grenade inside the house and remains next to the door, listening. Bart shoots a moving target and possibly gets home hits. He remains in some cover between the corner and the window.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean will take a Step back after the attack if he can. The flashbang is dropped in a way that it will eventually affect the man, the robot and Sean himself (and maybe to a lesser extent some people inside the house, it will be centered at about the corner). Next round I'll want to know what Sean can see of the vans.
 
 
 

(OC: the Darkness penalty is -3.)

Sean manages some fine shooting. His three shots at the soldier easily hit, and shred the enemy’s arm. The scumbag is instantly taken out of the fight by the injury.

The shots to the robot, by stark contrast, do not affect it at all. The hits simply bounce right off!

The grenade the Troubleshooter throws lands 2 yards too short. It will explode in 3 seconds. The soldiers he saw stay in cover, perhaps unaware of him.

Bart manages to blast the enemy’s bare arm. The pellets tear up the skin and muscle with ruthless abandon. He screams bloody murder as he falls to the ground, gruesomely maimed by the lead rain.

Sean sees the vans are picking up speed, driving away. He can see the back doors are closed. Then he steps backward, into cover.
The soldiers who just got their arms destroyed by the shots yell for their comrades, yelling that they are under attack, not that the gunshots’ booms left any doubt.

 TURN 11 

Sean didn’t hear much from his position.
u-b
Sean thinks he might have some options against the robot, but does not want to pursue them with the rest of opposing team still active. He sneaks half the way back along the wall. The Troubleshooter man decides he is too close to the grenade for his own good, so retreats to Bart's side. Bart aims along the wall to shoot at the first man exiting the door.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean and his ally reposition. Bart does not check on the enemy he downed, but he’s sure the enemy’s allies are coming over to him, perhaps to rescue him. The Troubleshooter hears enemy soldiers in the building running around, too. No-one comes through the door.

The robot Sean just shot at moves into view past the corner, apparently chasing him. It has turned to face him…

 TURN 12 

Sean knows that the robot means to fire upon him in a second…
u-b
Sean continues to withdraw, this time at full speed, and ends up turning around the corner out of line of sight of the robot. He sees Bart aiming somewhere his way and the Troubleshooter guy near him.  "Run!"  He makes a gesture somewhere northeast. They run.

 
 Spoiler 
What would be the roll to identify the robot's vitals, if any, and could Sean use his technique to target them, given the thing is not exactly a creature?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean continues to withdraw, this time at full speed, and ends up turning around the corner out of line of sight of the robot. He sees Bart aiming somewhere his way and the Troubleshooter guy near him.  "Run!"  He makes a gesture somewhere northeast. They run.

 
 Spoiler 
What would be the roll to identify the robot's vitals, if any, and could Sean use his technique to target them, given the thing is not exactly a creature?
 
 
 

(OC: Expert Skill (Robotics). Not likely. But you never know.)

The men know better than to doubt Sean’s panic.

The injured enemies continue to scream for help inside the building. Sean can hear the robot trundling after him, its treads crushing the stones and dirt underneath. In the distance, there is still gunfire going off at the motel.

 TURN 13 

With the bot behind him, Sean needs a plan…
u-b
The flashbang explodes. Sean quickly reloads with APDS and aims at the corner, expecting the robot to come. The men continue to run, then the grenade explodes.

 
 Spoiler 
Reloading using Extra Effort 8/12 FP remaining, a mag with 12 rounds is dropped to the ground. Then taking Aim and Wait at single hex.
 
Shoot Da Moon
The huge bang really adds to the nerve-wracking chaos of the firefight.

Sean’s two allies continue to make a run for it. They are very worried about Sean, but figure this is their only option.

The robot trundles up to the corner Sean just turned. It is just after around the corner. It has partially turned to face Sean.

 TURN 14 

Sean aims at the robot, meeting its cold unfeeling metal gaze. He feels a little sick.
u-b
Sean shots a longish burst all over the robot and then quickly retreats in the direction of the epicenter of the most recent grenade explosion, as at least that place is supposed to be safe. The men run, taking a look back.

 
 Spoiler 
I assume the grenade has already exploded (see OOC) and hope Sean makes inside the door with a Heroic Retreat Effort 7/12 FP, but not quite to the actual point of explosion.

1. What do I have to roll to re-enter the building?
2. How's the building itself and the people inside?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean manages a good spray, but he finds (to his horror and frustration) that the robot’s chassis absorbs even the special shots without significant reaction. The Old World tech was built to tussle with Old World militaries.
Sean gets his rear off the streets and into the building through a nearby window.

The last frag grenade the Troubleshooter threw explodes (a wall between it and Sean protects him), causing the place to creak and stutter, shaking dust from the ceiling.
A staircase up to the above floor is nearby (3 yards).
Sean sees no soldiers around. He can’t hear much thanks to the stress of combat and the loud noises. Smelling something is also out, the building is too gross and it overcomes out that particular sense.

 TURN 15 

The robot didn’t catch up to him and fill him full of lead that second, so perhaps Sean is in a better position than before?
u-b
Sean tries to get upstairs the way that would:
1. Get him there reasonably fast, but...
2. Let him spot the people there no later than they spot him, and...
3. Preferably don't leave him as a target to shoot.

The men run for their lives.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean has a move of 7. He will advance at a move of 5 for as long as is necessary to get completely onto the upper floor, BUT, if he sees someone, he takes a step back down the stairs right away (costing two reserved hexes of movement).
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean makes it up the stairs, and sees no-one else in the building. Perhaps all the hostiles cleared out?

Bart and the Troubleshooter are making a clean getaway. They do not look back.

 TURN 16 

If the upstairs are safe, Sean can maybe recover from the chaos.
u-b
Sean makes sure the upstairs is not occupied (maybe it is several rooms?), then peeks out of the window in the general direction of the vans, looking for...
1. The vans themselves (heading, distance, whether the drivers are seen).
2. Any people in the same general direction, including the man Sean has shot.
3. How it's going at the motel.

He does not yet look for the state of the robot, but listens.

 
 Spoiler 
What does the robot sound like? Tracks, servos + silent battery power? Internal combustion power? Any shots fired by it (like at our retreating men).
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean senses no-one else upstairs with him. Peeking out, he sees the vans containing to drive away, picking up speed, towards the motel. He notices a small squad of enemy soldiers are milling around the front of the building wheee the vans once were, with two injured soldiers being hauled on shoulders by comrades. He has to be careful to avoid being seen by the sentries as they gather just outside the door. The motel shootout seems to be taking place around the bigger building, along the side farthest away from his POV and half obscured from view by the building. It’s definitely an exchange of rapid gunfire.

The robot sounds like it is running on an internal battery with servos and advanced machinery. It’s locomotion is treads, like a tank but a singular “wheel.” It has not fired its weapons yet. If it hasn’t entered the building by now, it will soon.

 TURN 17 

Sean stops peeking when he thinks the soldiers at the door start looking up.

(OC: drop out of combat time? Wait and see?)
u-b
Sean pops up just enough above the windowsill to conveniently target the group and shoots a long-ish burst, this time counting on targets not expecting the attack more than on sheer volume of fire.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean’s marksmanship is truly amazing; he manages to bull’s-eye each of the enemies.
A split second after, four of them explode, lighting up the night and heavily damaging the front of the building.

(OC: I’m invoking Sean’s Unluckiness Disadvantage, his shots hit pipe bombs carried by the soldiers. Rolling damage for 4 of them.)

When the smoke clears, it is obvious to Sean that nothing is left of the targets.

 TURN 18 

Sean finds himself quivering, caught off-guard by the blow-ups.

(OC: no need to roll Dodge, Sean is far enough away and behind enough cover to avoid damage from the explosions.)
u-b
The events of this night keep on surprising Sean with an impressive regularity. Right now, he is surprised by all of the explosion as well as by the fact that he survives them unscratched. His heart is pumping like mad. Halfway in shock, he changes the window and then does two things at once: first, he looks for any targets near the motel buildings (maybe the vans will turn to expose the drivers, or some other targets present themselves) and listens for any activity in the house that he's in. He expects to do this until he hears or sees something, or for 15 seconds at most.
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Out of combat time then? Sean loses FP equal to encumbrance level due to exhaustion.)

Sean is sweating so much, he has problems keeping it out of his eyes.

Catching his breath and staying in the shadows, he checks outside the building.
The vans are still facing away from the building, picking up speed. They’re on the road leading over to the motel. He can’t see the combatants going at it at the motel. He can hear their gunshots, though.

Inside the building, Sean hears the robot moving around the ground floor. It’s right under his position, if he had to guess.
The front of the building is cracked and beat-in by the bomb blasts. Large smears of blood and chunks decorate the ground and wall. The front door was smashed off the hinges. Sean wonders if the structural integrity of the place is weakened.
u-b
Hearing no men inside, Sean starts reporting in, barely above whisper.  "Okay, the situation is quite complicated. The Sacred Snakes are attacking the Raiders. They seem to have been not far from here to begin with and took my shot at the Raiders' sniper as a command to begin. Came in four vans, all of which will have escaped to maybe bring reinforcements from I don't know where. I took out the Sacred Snakes men who have disembarked near us, but now have to deal with their robot, which is armed with guns and armored as hell, so my APDS rounds are ineffective. It's on the first floor below me. My men should have been able to escape and should be on their way to you. Ask the locals if they can get some HEAT or, failing that, HEDP somewhere nearby, and overall would want to be involved. How copy?" 

Sean keeps observing the scenery and listens to what Richard would say. He also wonders how the robot got directly under him after he cheanged the position after shooting. Does the thing have rather good hearing or does it wander on the first floor at random? Sean wonders if he can get out of the building without the thing noticing. This will probably need some additional testing because he'll have just one try, but it'll probably have to be done before the smoke dissipates.

 
 Spoiler 
Sean loses one more FP for no encumbrance and is at 6/12. We don't have the map of the building, so I've rolled Tactics to choose the best way. Features considered:
1. Smoke.
2. Stairs.
3. Windows.
4. Stealth.
5. Darkness.
6. Fancy vision.
7. Luring the robot around the first floor by walking the second floor to get some time and/or range for the actual getaway.

Any bonus or penalty to climb down through a window? What time it is going to take and what would be the modifier on the accompanying stealth?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard sounds put out by Sean’s request. “HEAT rounds? This isn’t Gunmetal City, they don’t have big explosives on tap.”
Richard also explains that there aren’t many locals nearby to begin with - no doubt the raiders chose this spot to set up a base because it was thin on people. At best, they might have to travel 15 miles away to seek out camping spots.
“I recommend just getting the heck out of there, someone else can kill them later.”

Sean wonders if the robot was drawn to its current locations by the explosions. It might have idly looked around for survivors or enemies on the assumption that the explosions were deliberate attacks. It might not be SMART even if it has good senses, and thus a flashy distraction like a flare or a noisemaker could allow an escape.

The smoke is going but it’s outdoors and thus could be completely disrupted by a wind.
There are three sets of stairs going down. One set going up.
4 windows on each side of the building.
Staying hidden is not much of a problem. Little light, lots of walls, no mirrors, windows are high enough to easily duck under. Making noise is the main danger.
Darkness is still the same as it was during the fight but it will get MUCH darker in less than a hour. Maybe even pitch black.
Sean still has his NVGs. The robot may not have any special vision.
Luring the robot shouldn’t be hard, but he’ll need to avoid sounding like a target (no actual talking, for example), or the robot might decide to simply open fire up into the ceiling.

Climbing down out of a window would be risky. The actual climb is only mildly difficult thanks to rough and creaky materials. Would take at least 20 seconds. Very likely to make noise. The fall would pretty painful but perhaps not lethal, if you’re an optimist.
(OC: -1 to Climbing rolls. -3 to Stealth. 7 yards fall.)
Shoot Da Moon
The woman thinks it over and then decides that she will come to Sean’s aid. She asks Sean to play it safe, stay in hiding and keep us updated on the robot’s movements. She thinks the backup will arrive in 5 minutes.

Richard thinks the woman is sincere but is also afraid to go into battle. He can stick with her, and readies his own help for Sean.

As for Sean, he detects no change in the robot’s movements downstairs. It is still in the building, patrolling.
The gunfire at the motel has paused.
u-b
Since the robot seems to be patrolling only the building itself, Sean decides that it might be possible to get out and not really be seen. He chooses the set of stairs closest to the smoke, waits for the robot to be in the other side of the building, then starts descending. He makes a loud noise on his way down and immediately reverses the direction, trying to hide on the second floor once again.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean was correct to flee upstairs to hide.
The machine started to move around the building towards the sound he made. He is sure that darn thing is searching the place for him now.
But if it had actually saw him, it would have opened fire by now.
u-b
Sean reports, barely above whisper, that he'll likely stay put for some time, and will also observe and report. He would be interested in learning any and all of the following as soon as it is known Richard's side:
1. What can be known about the backup:
1.1 Number of men.
1.2 Armaments.
1.3 Tactics and plans.
2. What would be the goal:
1.1 Rescue Sean.
1.2 Hit the site.
1.3 Clear the site.
1.4 Take control of the site.
1.5 Ambush all movement to and from the site.
3. What would be Richard's team's role in the plan.
4. If and when the contact with Bart is reestablished.

 
 Spoiler 
Can you remind me what the stairs up likely lead to? Please skip until Sean sees anything interesting.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Richard explains;
The woman has a squad of 6 Troubleshooters on standby.
They have petrol bombs, grenades of many types, a few Old World energy weapons including one flamethrower, anda grenade launcher.
Their plan is to quietly surround the building, get Sean out stealthily, and then level the building with an all-out attack from all sides.

The goal is to rescue Sean and then destroy the combat machine.

Richard is there to pitch in, offering any and all firepower he has.

They’ll try to find Bart, or at least contact him on the radio.

The stairs up from the floor Sean is currently on, lead to the roof.

A minute later, Sean manages to catch sight of both Bart and their ally 35 yards away from the building, trying to hide. He’s mostly safe, having gotten low behind a wreck of a car.
Richard and the Troubleshooters start arriving at the scene, 40 yards away to the west, 2 minutes later.
Sean could try breaking radio silence.
He has not heard much movement from the robot downstairs in the meantime.
u-b
Sean generally acknowledges the plan. He observes the motel to see if the plan would have any interference from there. Richard is welcome to take the grenade launcher from Bart and be on standby with it in case the house does not collapse from the grenades. Sean notes we might need it later for any other bots, so, if the building collapses and the robot does not get out, that is not to be used. Sean does not object the use of the flamer to burn the robot, whether the building collapses or not. If anything, that is supposed to affect its sensors. He says that our riflemen are to cover the whole affair from outside interference (where are the vans, by the way?). He says he'll start to move on command.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 He has not heard much movement from the robot downstairs in the meantime. 
 

He also neither heard nor seen the robot leaving?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean generally acknowledges the plan. He observes the motel to see if the plan would have any interference from there. Richard is welcome to take the grenade launcher from Bart and be on standby with it in case the house does not collapse from the grenades. Sean notes we might need it later for any other bots, so, if the building collapses and the robot does not get out, that is not to be used. Sean does not object the use of the flamer to burn the robot, whether the building collapses or not. If anything, that is supposed to affect its sensors. He says that our riflemen are to cover the whole affair from outside interference (where are the vans, by the way?). He says he'll start to move on command.

 
 Spoiler 

He also neither heard nor seen the robot leaving?
 
 
 

The motel is quiet at the moment. He thinks the squad of soldiers that attacked the motel managed to get past the perimeter defences. They might be inside one of the buildings right now. Room to room clearing is likely. They were definitely prepared for this, but Sean waxed their backup here and distracted the combat robot. So maybe they’ve stalled out their attack, turtled up in cover waiting for the second batch to join them from the opposite direction. They almost certainly have grenades of their own, but have not used them yet.

(OC: I rolled your Tactics skill in secret. Sean rolled a 10.)

The vans are driving on the road, they eventually pass the motel’s side, and then keep going. Fairly far away at this point. Might even be leaving the area completely.

His allies on the radio confirm the plan.

Sean has not seen or heard the robot leave the building. A programming glitch?

When the people are in position, they radio in and tell Sean to give the go…

(OC: what’s the plan for both Sean and his allies? What do they do and when? I have their sheets on standby, no problem there.)
u-b
Sean is generally fine with the Troubleshooters' plan, he makes no amendments. He tries to sneak out of the building using the third, so far unused, stairs. The men throw their stuff as soon Sean says them to do (which is likely as soon as he's out of the building, unless the robot becomes active before that). Richard stands aiming RPG-7 at the building, but does NOT use if all things go as per the plan.
Shoot Da Moon
Sean is canny and wise, he manages to get to the ground floor and then sneak away from the robot, eventually creeping out of the building.
He thinks the robot is somewhere around the center of the building.

He can retreat from the building however far away as he needs before giving the order to start the assault.

(OC: How close do you want the shooters to be before they open fire, to decide a Range penalty? Darkness penalty is till -3. Roll skills (I know what their base levels are, don’t worry about that) and damage. How far does Sean retreat from the building?)
u-b
Since the robot does not even move, Sean delays giving the command... until eventually he feels safe enough to just command a retreat. The plan seemed sound enough, but he was no architect and was not totally sure it'll work. He takes two loaded mags from Richard and has everyone retreat to the nearby building(s) of their choice, above first floor, even if it's some distance from here. Then he observes the scenery.

 
 Spoiler 
Did the vans leave for good or do we still see them? If it's the later, what would be the range? Do we see the building with the robot and/or the motel from where we are and if so, at what distances?
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Since the robot does not even move, Sean delays giving the command... until eventually he feels safe enough to just command a retreat. The plan seemed sound enough, but he was no architect and was not totally sure it'll work. He takes two loaded mags from Richard and has everyone retreat to the nearby building(s) of their choice, above first floor, even if it's some distance from here. Then he observes the scenery.

 
 Spoiler 
Did the vans leave for good or do we still see them? If it's the later, what would be the range? Do we see the building with the robot and/or the motel from where we are and if so, at what distances?
 
 
 

Sean’s allies take his advice and try to find some good positions.
(OC: they get to places that are 40 yards away from the building.)

He takes the ammo from Richard.

The vans have parked 30 yards away from the motel, south of it. No soldiers see coming from or going into them. The building where the robot is remains visible. The motel is harder to keep in sight.
u-b
Sean proposes to wander off and look for a line of sight to the robot. If that can be from (vicinity of) some other building, that's a plus. Richard will have to be ready to illuminate a tac light for a second straight at the robot if it gets out of its building looking for Sean. If we have a line of sight from a distance, we could target the thing without risking the bulk of the men. The main point of the plan would be to never have Sean too close to the rest of the men when potentially in sight of the robot, so that we are never forced into a close combat with it. Sean is not sure such a line of sight can be had given the surroundings, the layout of the building, and the location of the robot in it. If Sean can have a line of sight at the robot, he'll try to improve it the following ways:
1. Get more distance and/or...
2. Get some cover and/or...
3. Get some concealment and/or...
4. Get some elevation.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean proposes to wander off and look for a line of sight to the robot. If that can be from (vicinity of) some other building, that's a plus. Richard will have to be ready to illuminate a tac light for a second straight at the robot if it gets out of its building looking for Sean. If we have a line of sight from a distance, we could target the thing without risking the bulk of the men. The main point of the plan would be to never have Sean too close to the rest of the men when potentially in sight of the robot, so that we are never forced into a close combat with it. Sean is not sure such a line of sight can be had given the surroundings, the layout of the building, and the location of the robot in it. If Sean can have a line of sight at the robot, he'll try to improve it the following ways:
1. Get more distance and/or...
2. Get some cover and/or...
3. Get some concealment and/or...
4. Get some elevation. 
 

Eventually, after 45 seconds, the robot emerges from the building, coming out of the front door where the vans used to be. It seems to be scanning the area, looking for targets.

Sean can get plenty of distance. Cover and concealment is harder, only other buildings in the ruined town provide good examples. (The nearest building to the front door is a good 25 yards.) Some are two story deals, allowing about 10 yards of elevation.
u-b
Having spotted the robot, Sean positions himself crouching on the second floor of some appropriate building and tells Bart to use the laser rangefinder to measure the distance to Sean (Sean describes the house he's in) and to the building from which the robot emerges (though that would be an easier estimate). Not having an opportunity to use a calculator and not having measured the angle to begin with, Sean adjusts for range as well as he can and shoots at one of the cameras. He misses, possibly hitting a piece of armor. He looks for the robot's reaction, ready to duck if he sees weapons pointed his way.

 
 Spoiler 

 
 Originally Posted by Shoot Da Moon 
 Sean can get plenty of distance. Cover and concealment is harder, only other buildings in the ruined town provide good examples. ... Some are two story deals, allowing about 10 yards of elevation. 
 

Hm, can I take you on it and say it is 200 yards second story? If it's closer, please adjust as needed, it will still be a miss. Not using IR laser for this one.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Having spotted the robot, Sean positions himself crouching on the second floor of some appropriate building and tells Bart to use the laser rangefinder to measure the distance to Sean (Sean describes the house he's in) and to the building from which the robot emerges (though that would be an easier estimate). Not having an opportunity to use a calculator and not having measured the angle to begin with, Sean adjusts for range as well as he can and shoots at one of the cameras. He misses, possibly hitting a piece of armor. He looks for the robot's reaction, ready to duck if he sees weapons pointed his way.

 
 Spoiler 

Hm, can I take you on it and say it is 200 yards second story? If it's closer, please adjust as needed, it will still be a miss. Not using IR laser for this one.
 
 
 

It’s 200 yards in a straight line. The elevated position cut down on the effective distance.
The shot goes very wide. Sean’s hands must be shaking from the tiring effort he put in earlier.
Even from the large distance, the robot easily hears the very loud crack of the rifle shot. It does not *spot* Sean, but it does become aware that there is an active shooter around. It starts moving a little, looking up and down the street.
Sean curses as he ducks down.
u-b
Sean does not mind that the robot is aware of his presence. As long as the thing moves around looking for him, he thinks himself "safe" as far as those things go. He would not stick around if the robot  stops  and  aims , or, at least, does something not visually different from that. He pops out from another window, aims and shoots again. He misses, but if things are the same will shoot again the third time.

 
 Spoiler 
If Sean makes the third shot and robot's camera is hit, Sean will try to spot a difference in behavior. If there is none, he will continue on the same way, changing position a little after each shot.
 
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean does not mind that the robot is aware of his presence. As long as the thing moves around looking for him, he thinks himself "safe" as far as those things go. He would not stick around if the robot  stops  and  aims , or, at least, does something not visually different from that. He pops out from another window, aims and shoots again. He misses, but if things are the same will shoot again the third time.

 
 Spoiler 
If Sean makes the third shot and robot's camera is hit, Sean will try to spot a difference in behavior. If there is none, he will continue on the same way, changing position a little after each shot.
 
 
 

The robot seems to locate Sean’s general location by the sound of the gunshot. It turns to face his way, and seems on guard.

So Sean does not unleash his third shot, realising the darn thing is onto him.
u-b
Sean waits for the robot to start moving. It has been rather loud so far, but it's a long range, so Sean says the men, who are much closer to the thing, to listen and report to him. He plans to make the next shot after the robot starts moving, assuming that happens within a minute or so and the robot does not stop while he aims.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean waits for the robot to start moving. It has been rather loud so far, but it's a long range, so Sean says the men, who are much closer to the thing, to listen and report to him. He plans to make the next shot after the robot starts moving, assuming that happens within a minute or so and the robot does not stop while he aims. 
 

The robot tries to find where the shot came from, for 3 seconds, and then it starts retreating back inside the building through the open front doorway. It might be seeking cover and concealment.
u-b
This heavily-armored robot being non-aggressive is something Sean has not accounted for. Still, as he's told the robot starts to move, he'll aim, and, if he has full four seconds, shoot.
Shoot Da Moon
Over the next minute, Sean’s allies report hearing a few more scattered gunshots coming from the motel, but then it’s silence.

Another two minutes later, one of the backup reports sighting two vans coming towards the building where the robot is from the north, the exact opposite direction the motel is in. Perhaps the two vans circled around the town and are now coming in from a direction that is new? (The 2 vans currently at the motel have not moved since they last parked.)

The robot remains out of sight the whole time. It is probably still in the building, Sean knows there are no underground passages out of there.

The two newly sighted vans are driving at a rate of about 5 yards a second. They’re currently about 500 yards away from the building. Their fronts are facing the direction of the robot’s building.
u-b
Sean declares he prefers short-to-medium range combat with the approaching vans, so we are not to engage them at the moment. People should take their positions in the buildings of theirs and hide, leaving at most one observer per building, or even just one observer total if they have enough comms. They are to pop up and attack after the passengers are out of the vans. They are to target limbs mostly. The only exception is Richard, who is to be ready with RPG-7 taken from Bart, but should not shoot until enemy troops escape hide inside the building or something. Sean says he's willing to discuss less ambitious plans, but this one is his. He reloads with APDS once again and observes. Unless the vans change course, he's good.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean declares he prefers short-to-medium range combat with the approaching vans, so we are not to engage them at the moment. People should take their positions in the buildings of theirs and hide, leaving at most one observer per building, or even just one observer total if they have enough comms. They are to pop up and attack after the passengers are out of the vans. They are to target limbs mostly. The only exception is Richard, who is to be ready with RPG-7 taken from Bart, but should not shoot until enemy troops escape hide inside the building or something. Sean says he's willing to discuss less ambitious plans, but this one is his. He reloads with APDS once again and observes. Unless the vans change course, he's good. 
 

Sean’s allies understand his plan and reposition themselves into what he wants.

The vans continue to drive towards the building.

(OC: What distance do you want the vans to get to before you and your comrades open fire? The vans are not going to change course, they’ll eventually reach the building and park out front if no-one interferes.)
u-b
The vans park at the front door after arriving there. Only drivers get out, opening the back doors, the vans have no other passengers in them. The men quickly aim and then shoot. They don't really conserve the ammunition, but manage only a few actual hits. Sean starts to aim at one guy's chest using the iron sights and no laser.
Shoot Da Moon
The onslaught of bullets from all directions comes out of nowhere to the targets.

(OC: Failed Stealth roll is no problem, given the enemy’s Observation roll also fails. No active defense.)

One is shot in his unarmored arm, the other is shot in the unprotected leg. It seems all the other shots missed.
Both hits are nasty to completely wreck the limbs, and send both hostiles down and out with massive blood loss and without a fight.

The drivers are left fallen by their vans. They look to be unarmed, but they definitely have torso armour and helmets.
u-b
Sean proposes the men to mostly take cover again and then do the following:
1. We wait for one minute and observe.
2. Proceed with the following if nothing seems to happen.
3. Give the NVG guy Bart's NVGs.
4. The NVG is to approach the vans to handle them at his own discretion.
5. At his discretion, he is covered by Bart and is preceded by Bart's dogs.
6. He is to approach the vans from the front, use the vans' opened back doors for cover / concealment against the robot and under no circumstances risk it any more than necessary.

The goals would be to:
7. Determine if the robot reacts to the arriving vans in any way.
8. Determine if vans' cargo reacts in any way to the vans' doors being opened.
9. Assuming no reaction...
10. Check if anyone is left inside the vans.
11. Check if the keys are left inside the vans (Sean considers it to be too risky at the moment to search the drivers).
12. Decide if his team is to try driving the vans somewhere (either locally, out of sight of both the motel and the house, or regionally, one-way to Troubleshooters' base).
Shoot Da Moon
The men agree. They bunker down, getting their heads covered.
A minute passes by. The injured enemies continue to bleed dramatically through their torn limbs. Ouch.

The combat robot emerges from the front door of the building to investigate, trolling up and down to survey the vans, the fallen men, the bullet holes…It does not render aid to the injured drivers, but it probably does not have the capacity to do so anyway.
It does not locate Sean or any of his allies.
It simply remains patrolling out at the front of the building.

The robot seems to recognise the vans as part of its forces. It mostly ignores the KO’d dying men.
The vans remain inert. There seems to be no cargo. The keys are probably still in the ignition but it is not confirmed without getting to the vans.
No approach is possible without risking an efficient death as long as that robot is there…
u-b
Sean reloads with FMJ and shoots at the robot again. And again misses the camera. The robot also seems too smart for Sean's taste. Sean ducks and waits for a report to come in about what the thing does next.
Shoot Da Moon
The robot seems to take Sean’s attack personally.

It begins towards where the shots came from, at a rate of 12 yards a second. It has not opened fire yet, but it is clearly searching for a target.

(OC: It Moved 12 yards closer to Sean.)
u-b
Hearing that the robot moves in his direction, Sean once again attempts to shoot one of its cameras. This does not get any better than usual.

 
 Spoiler 
Please clarify what the house Sean is in made of - bricks, concrete, timber, planks + boards or what not.
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean’s shot was on target…but the robot was ready for more fire, and jukes to avoid the bullet.
The robot continues to advance, undeterred by Sean’s offensive.

The place Sean is hiding in is made of concrete - all its other features (the wooden doors, for instance) were slowly worn down and destroyed by the ravages of time. No maintenance has been made, of course. Only the bare concrete managed to survive the weather and the years.

(OC: The robot is still moving at 12 yards a second.)
u-b
Since the robot keeps moving, and thus presumably isn't aiming, Sean keeps shooting at its cameras, until the robot either stops or gets too close for Sean's current position.

 
 Spoiler 
That's up to 8 seconds of aiming and shooting, so the robot could end up like 96 yards closer (or less depending on any obstacles, please specify the resulting distance).
 
Shoot Da Moon
(OC: Sean’s position is 250 yards away from the building (the elevated position means the range penalty is less for him), the robot has travelled 96+12+36= 144 yards so far.)

The robot is moving in a serpentine manner, trying to avoid the gunfire.
(OC: all-out defense.)

Sean’s shooting barely misses the squirrelly war machine. Looks like someone installed Windows Survival Instinct on it.

(OC: it continues to advance at 12 yards a second.)
u-b
Sean takes cover somewhere inside the building where it would put both a wall and a floor between him and the robot at most robot's positions and tells Richard to put down that GL for a moment and try to observe the robot and maybe snipe one of the robot's cameras if the thing resorts to patrolling around Sean's building or such.
Shoot Da Moon
The robot, according to Richard’s reports, continue to advance towards Sean’s position.

When it reaches the building Sean is in, it begins firing a rapid fire laser weapon out of its left weapon arm, blasting away at the building’s windows and surrounding wall.
Sean doesn’t need Richard to tell him that, as he sees and hears the window sill and other parts of the opening get blown away by lightning fast burning red light. It takes quite a bit to chew through the concrete, but the robot stands outside anyway, apparently to shoot away and through the cover around the windows.
Fortunately, Sean took cover further inside the building, rather than near a window. The lasers miss him. The ceiling, thanks to the angle of the shots, now has many fine beam holes in it.
The building has little if any flammable materials left in it, so fire is not problem.

But the lasers keep coming!

(OC: the robot is just outside Sean’s building, so any shots at it from Richard will have that range penalty.)
u-b
Richard takes Bart's rangefinder and measures the exact distance to the robot. He takes Bart's NVGs and looks at what the robot is doing to observe that it's using one specific "arm". He gives those things back to Bart. He then loads a mag of fine-tuned match-grade ammo, aims, and waits for the robot to turn that shooting arm to him sooner or later. He is not particularly in hurry. Sean wonders how much batteries the thing has and stays put for the moment, considering, if the robot does not move at all, the possibility of retreating somewhere straight in the opposite direction.
Shoot Da Moon
Richard sees that the robot’s laser fire is exclusively coming from only one of its weapons arms.
The lens of the laser shooter is not only very small but also mostly turned away from Richard. It would be a ridiculously hard shot even if it presented itself.

The robot pauses in its shooting once it has somewhat demolished the walls around the windows on the side of the building where Sean sniped it from.

Sean is out of sight of the robot, safe from the fire, but that could change if the robot really started digging in, lasering away at more of the building. It has not changed its position yet,

Richard, meanwhile, is totally concealed from the robot, thanks to the distance and the distraction of trying to murder Sean by tearing down the building with barrages of tight-beam energy blasts. He can get in a free shot…

But then it goes wide!

The robot seems to take notice of the missing bullet, so it starts to move around the building (breaking off the attempt to find Sean), ducking around the building’s corner behind a wall at full speed. Richard can longer see or shoot the bot from his position.
Another of Sean’s allies may have to fire at the bot.
u-b
Sean listens for the bot's activity and, unless it seems to be a retreat, does the following:
1. Ask what Richard just did and get a response.
2. Reposition to Richard's side to stay there for a while unless alerted by Richard.
3. Look at the damage done by the bot.
4. Remind the people to watch for the motel and the vans there and take a glance himself.
5. Look outside, left and right, to find a good concrete two-story house some 50 yards from this house as measured nearly perpendicular to the line between this house and Richard.

If the appropriate house is found, Sean proposes Bart and flamthrower guy to take a wide detour to approach that house from the side opposite the one facing Sean's house, all while covered by Richard and Sean and taking along Bart's NVGs and Troubleshooter's radio. If they agree, and do, they are to get into position on second floor facing Sean's house, take a peek and report if they can see the robot.

 
 Spoiler 
I assume the robot's laser beam can be seen in NVGs and by Sean, but can it otherwise be seen by naked eye in some color or is it only IR?
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean hears nothing. The concrete is too thick for most sounds. There seems to be no window near the robot’s corner.
His allies inform him the robot is not retreating.
Richard tells Sean he tried to snipe the robot’s visual sensors. He almost managed it.

Sean carefully moves to where Richard is closest, but it’s not much help.

Examining the laser blasts, Sean sees that the concrete was easily melted but was thick enough that penetrating it required repeated hits.
(OC: the laser got through DR but the HP of the building material is much higher than brick.)

The men watching the motel radio in that the vans at the motel are still parked. There appears to be no more fighting going on inside the motel, for whatever reason. Maybe all the raiders are dead?
Sean sees the motel is quiet. He does not see any movement anywhere.

Sean does not spot any two-story buildings made of concrete within 50 yards. There’s a feeble wooden shed left in the desolate ruins, no windows and only a single door, just across the street from his position. It’s shaky, though, ready to be knocked down flat by any serious action. Other than that, there’s 2 small brick structures, both single story, 50 yards near the building but neither is at the right position in relation to Sean’s building. They do not have windows facing the building, so Sean cannot see into them.

The robot’s lasers can be seen with a naked eye. They are red.
u-b
Given the robot's inactivity, Sean proposes two Troubleshooters to examine the vans and the drivers, look for any remote terminal(s) to our robot guy (though Sean does not have high hopes) and, at their option, steal the whole lot, including survivors, from here to some "there" of theirs.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Given the robot's inactivity, Sean proposes two Troubleshooters to examine the vans and the drivers, look for any remote terminal(s) to our robot guy (though Sean does not have high hopes) and, at their option, steal the whole lot, including survivors, from here to some "there" of theirs. 
 

The Troubleshooters agree to Sean that they’ll get right on it.
(OC: this task will take at least 1 minute.)

In the meantime, Sean stays put. He does not hear anything, but his allies watching from outside report the robot is on the move. It is going away from the corner, still out of sight of Richard, and moving towards a door on the building side opposite from where Richard shot from.

It looks like the robot is entering the building’s ground floor.
Richard will need to reposition or the robot will have to move way out, if he is to shoot at the machine again.
u-b
Sean understands that investigating the vans would be super fast and is fine with it, as long as the men have the radios to be warned of any dangers coming from the bot. Sean takes a position in a room facing Richard near the wall opposite to the window. The intent is to either have the bot close to the window  or  have both the wall and the floor between Sean and it.
Shoot Da Moon
In 2 minutes, Sean’s allies radio in.
They found the drivers to be carrying pistols and some other stuff like ammo. They have excellent armour on, the men are taking that for themselves.
The vans are empty. No machinery, certainly.

In the meantime, the robot has disappeared from view. Sean does not hear it. There are fewer windows overall in this building. Richard certainly does not spot any movement from where he’s watching.
u-b
Sean asks if it would seem prudent to steal the vans. This might lure the robot out of the building, so both vans would have to be driven at once and both would have to be driven behind some building before the robot gets to incinerate them. Richard can cover them for a moment by shining tac light at the thing, but still the layout on the ground must be considered before the decision is made.
Shoot Da Moon
 
 Originally Posted by u-b 
 Sean asks if it would seem prudent to steal the vans. This might lure the robot out of the building, so both vans would have to be driven at once and both would have to be driven behind some building before the robot gets to incinerate them. Richard can cover them for a moment by shining tac light at the thing, but still the layout on the ground must be considered before the decision is made. 
 

Richard and his allies think it over, and then agree that using the vans to lure the bot might work.

(OC: if Sean or anyone else has Tactics skill, roll it now to see if there’s any problems with this plan.)

The Troubleshooters certainly have found the keys to the vans, and the engine turns on without a problem. These ones have not been shot up by Sean, after all.

Richard asks Sean to tell him when to try shining the light, after he gets in position.

Richard asks what they should do after the bot gets distracted. Run it over with the vans?
u-b
Sean proposes that the plan would be like this:
1. The troubleshooters try to get the vans behind some house (preferably behind the Richard's house, but any other house will do). They try to do this either fast or quiet, at their option, switching to fast at the slightest provocation.
2. Then, after they no longer have a LoS to the robot, they leave the area as fast as they can, in effect outrunning the robot even if it tries to catch them.
3. They are to hit some span of a paved or otherwise hard road before they park anywhere, for the reason to throw the robot off their tracks.
4.  If  the robot acts on that in any way, Bart will be the one to try hitting its cameras or laser lens.
5. Richard will shine at the robot from the moment it makes the first shot to the moment the last car is behind some house  or  the moment he is shot at.
6. He is then to change position and get handed a loaded GL, which he is to use if the robot gets close enough.
7. We absolutely do not want to hit the robot with the vans.
8. The primary goal is to get the vans where they would not be damaged by GL fire. Everything else is optional.
9. Meanwhile, the man making the megaphone should either get back to the task or report he is done.
Shoot Da Moon
The Troubleshooters agree with the plan.
Richard thinks it might work, but he warns the Troubleshooters may not be great at driving. They can certainly figure out the keys, the ignition, the pedals, the wheel, and so on. But if things go bad, they may not be to manage, seeing as the vans are relatively slow and clumsy. On the plus side, maybe the robot will not catch onto the drivers being not on its side?
(OC: the robot may roll Observation skill.)
The bot does not seem smart, so the lure may fool it and draw it in.

The Troubleshooters start the vans and begin driving. They stick to the surfaces Sean recommended to avoid being tracked easily. The vehicles are not very fast, with bad acceleration and mediocre top speed.
They report that the horns of the vans are working, so they can make loud noises when they need to. They casually hint to Sean that they’d like to keep the vans for themselves after all this is over.

The drive over takes about a minute, and the vans are going fairly fast when they reach the robot’s location. This is it…

They honk their horns and continue to speed up, trying to blaze past the building as fast as possible. 4 seconds later, the robot emerges from the building’s door, investigating the noise.

The vans are about 65 yards away by then. They are driving away to a building 20 yards away for cover. They should be out of sight in 2 or 3 seconds.

If anyone wants to shoot or enact their phase of the plan, now is the time!
(OC: make the attack roll. You chose the range, the darkness penalty is the same.)
u-b
Sean is not exactly comfortable aiming at the robot from such a short range, but he  does  want to make the vans safely out and he hopes he can drop down to the floor if the thing ever switches attention. Richard is much more comfortable aiming from the distance, even when he is declaring his presence in such an obvious way. And the next second, if they can see their targets, they shoot...

 
 Spoiler 
Whoa! That's not quite how I planned things to happen, but let's roll with it now...
 
Shoot Da Moon
Sean lets off a burst of gunfire…and it hits the bull’s eye!
The single shot hits the interior of the weapon arm, wrecking the integrated laser gun. There is a small explosion, the wiring and battery of the energy weapon destroyed by the bullet.
The rest of the burst narrowly misses.

As Sean hits the dirt and slips into shadows, Richard dutifully hits the robot with the light, distracting it.

The robot turns to face Richard despite its recent “injury” so Richard opens fire upon it.
Unfortunately, the gunfire goes wide.
The robot moves back into the building, out of sight.
u-b
Sean wonders what is the other weapon of the robot and if it even works at all. He does not want to learn it the hard way at the moment. He keeps in mind that soon enough, when the megaphone is complete, Richard will start the negotiations (or at least he will try to). But not to idly waste the time, he tries some little provocations. First, he tries to chat with the robot, talking from different spot each time, changing position quickly and listening for any reaction, even if not quite a response:  "Hey, you, the robot!"   "You know your side has been defeated?"   "Are you authorised to conduct negotiations?"   "Knock on a wall if you are!" 
Shoot Da Moon
The robot responds to Sean’s noises with no speech or even beeps/boops.

Instead, it opens fire with an automatic rifle towards anywhere it hears Sean making noise. Each time, the gunfire does not hit Sean - it may not even penetrate the concrete floor.

The attempts to communicate go nowhere. Eventually, Richard finishes the megaphone.

(OC: What does Richard say?)

(New IC thread;  https://forums.giantitp.com/showthre...e-Disease-3-IC )