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/qst/ - Quests


The last ‘normal’ day anyone ever had, 10/27/2020 has ended. The Collapse is now imminent. In addition to this terrifying revelation, our character has also received both a call to action, and a request for loyalty from the young Mr. Parasol.

Despite a complete blackout across all official media on the topic, the Third World War has effectively already begun, with the United States and the Soviet Union exchanging tit-for-tat blows across the world. The series of retaliatory military actions were started by the United States declaring a ceasefire void and launching a decisive attack in the Indian Civil war, against the Red Ganges Revolutionary Front and their Chink-Com reinforcement. This drastic action was in response to the Soviet colony on Venus attacking and destroying the smaller American Venusian colony, in a desperate supply raid, necessitated (in the eyes of the Red Venusians) as a way to feed their families after a regularly schedule supply shuttle became completely unresponsive.

It is not a question of if this will go nuclear, rather, it is a question of when. Complicating any speculation on all of this is the government’s deliberate silence on the topic; though those gathered here today have concluded that were the government to publicly alert the citizenry to the danger that they were in, and to recommend a course of action, this could be seen by the Soviets as a prelude to a preemptive strike. The possibility of a misunderstanding like that is likely enough, and the stakes are high enough, that so far, no alert has been made. But alert or no alert, there is little that the average individual can do in the face of a nuclear strike, outside of hunker down, and review the basic mechanics of how fallout will work, and the steps needed to mitigate any health risks from it.

But the young Mr. Parasol, who has called our character into his family’s opulent lodge here in Debouche, is not the ‘average individual’. Through carefully analyzing reports, and verifying accounts available in unofficial and unsanctioned media, he was able to correctly deduce both what was happening and why. Seizing upon this; he has called in not just our character, but a number of people, including the Piscataquis County Sheriff himself, Chester B. Arthur. He seeks to lead the town of Debouche Maine through whatever hardships that a nuclear strike might bring.
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>>4455000
While Parasol is cognizant of the impending Winter, it remains to be seen if he will make the mistake of underestimating it. For this year, the belated appearance of the First Frost has been overshadowed by the simultaneous arrival of the First Snow; an indicator that the mild Autumn is going to end abruptly, and that the proceeding Winter is going to be harsh. And that is, of course, discounting any compounding factors, such as the soot and smoke kicked up by the detonation of nuclear weapons, or things that he could have no way of knowing about, regardless of how many reports he read, such as a particularly nasty pet plan of the Supreme Soviet .

>Blue Sitting Room of Parasol Family Lodge, Debouche, Maine. Sometime after 1:15am

“Mr. Mantle, we have a good working relationship. You are competent, and most importantly, you are useful. I need to know, that if things go wrong, I can count on you being there to help me get this town, and the entire lake through Winter. Can I do that?” Parasol is looking at you intently; and you break his gaze for a second to find the rest of the room looking at you as well, including the one man who has yet to introduce himself to you.

Maybe you are overthinking things, God knows that it would not be the first time; but the way that he is talking about ‘counting on you’ is a little … concerning. You do not know how exactly to elaborate or expand on those concerns; it is just that you aren’t exactly sure what you are being asked to agree too here, and after everything that was just dropped on you, on top of the kind of day that you had, you cant really think things. You grimace, and blow air through your teeth as you try to figure out what the best play is here.

While it might be smart to ask some clarifying questions as to what exactly Parasol would be counting on your for, or things in those veins, you don’t know if he’d be able to give you an honest answer in front of the current company; namely the Sheriff. “Getting the town through Winter” sounds suspiciously like “leading the town through Winter”; and you are not sure, if this … nuclear strike happened, how the Sheriff would respond to someone simply assuming control of an entire town. His presence here does not mean that he is entirely privy to everything that Parasol is thinking or planning. With the understanding that asking for further clarification is out, and that an immediate answer is expected of you, your best bet is to simply hedge your ... bets and go along with what Parasol wants. By all means, he is a good man, from a good family, and people would listen to him; it is just that until you know for sure what you are getting yourself into, you aren’t going to commit yourself to anyone fully, except yourself. You mean, that is the obvious, smart play right there.
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>>4455006
“You can consider me your man, Mr. Parasol.” Well, it is not a lie. He can freely consider you his man, or whatever he wants to consider you. His consideration has no bearing on what you actually are. Ultimately, until you get a better sense of what exactly he is asking of you, you will remain your own man. Considering your relatively solitary existence, you are not particularly tactful, and in your isolation, you have become accustomed to just doing your own thing. When it comes to balancing obligations for others against your own wants and needs, you have fallen out of practice. Having to relearn these social skills (which were never very strong to begin with) on the fly, in the middle of … the apocalypse … is going to be tricky, but necessary.

Ah! You had drifted off into your own thoughts. Parasol has been thanking your for following him and you have not been paying attention! He even managed to take your hands in his own, and earnestly clasp them without you noticing. Jesus Christ: mother was right about you, if it is not trash, you are just oblivious. You start nodding along as Parasol keeps speaking, hoping to look somewhat engaged. Honestly, this is not a good look here; regardless of what decision you ultimately make on sincerely following him or not, obviously, you want him to believe that you are truly his effective immediately.

“Anyway, before you get involved in the serious planning here, I need to know. Do you need to take care of anything, do anything for yourself? Personal affairs, get something to eat … Hell, even take a cat nap; you look kind of spacey.” Damn it, he noticed! Well, as long as you are more attentive in the future, and do not do anything (openly) that would go against his interests, it isn’t like he will immediately think you are anything less than completely loyal to him. Setting that aside for now, as he did bring it up, it has been nearly 24 hours since you last slept or ate; and if you could get in touch with mother, that would be one less thing to worry about if this nuclear strike did actually happen. God, how long has it been since you called her? It has been a while, that's for sure...
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>>4455008
> (If you reach 24 hours without food or without sleep, you will start receiving maluses (-3 for every day without sleep, -1 for every day without food; both applied to net rolls. Additionally, when the Health Check is rolled, approximate caloric intake and sleep schedule are considered. If you are not eating enough, and you are not getting enough sleep, it will be easier for you to get sick.) But Parasol is going to resuming his planning session in the Blue Sitting Room immediately, with or without you. If you head off to do other things, you will miss out on opportunities to have any input in his plans. Potentially, you could miss out on giving any input or advice to him at all; and you will just have to roll with whatever they come up with.

>You can choose to remain in the room, or some combination of eating, sleeping, or calling your mother.

>You decide to remain in the room (participate in all of the decisions)
>You decide to get something to eat (miss out on 1 of 5 decisions)
>You decide to take a quick nap (miss out on 3 of 5 decisions)
>You decide to try to get in touch with your mother (miss out on 1 of 5 decisions)

>And for those of us who are just dropping in; here is the archive of the first thread. http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/4413945/
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>>4455012
>>You decide to try to get in touch with your mother (miss out on 1 of 5 decisions)
Family comes first.
And first for sleep deprived hallucinations.
Can we stay up for 3-4 days and then think our pants are spiders?
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>>4455093
Well, it wont get that bad that quick, but yes, eventually you will go all 'Macbeth'. towards the end of the story, Macbeth decides that he can never sleep again, and stays up for a month straight, with predictable effects on his already strained mental well being
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>>4455012
>You decide to try to get in touch with your mother (miss out on 1 of 5 decisions)
I assume we care about her in character, so I'll go with it.
>>
Alright, this has sat long enough. Consider this closed. I'll get writing.
>>
You can go without food and sleep for a little bit longer, but … if there is a chance for there to be a nuclear strike, then you guess you will have to call your mother. If something were to actually happen, then this could be your last chance to speak with her. The mere thought of it is enough to make you feel physically ill. You look up, and see Parasol still looking at you expectantly. “Do you mind if I use the phone? I need to … make a call.” He nods and directs you to where you can find a phone on the first floor. As you walk off, he adds that you need to dial 9 for outside lines. You have half a mind to try to make a joke, and ask him if the place has its own area code too, but you are so tired you are certain you’d just flub it up, or accidentally make it sound mean or something. You head off, and before you can even make it out the door, discussion has already resumed. You can’t make out what they are saying, but you cannot help but pick up on an intensity to the tone.


>Odd Utility Closet of Parasol Family Lodge, Debouche, Maine. Sometime after 1:15am

Parasol’s directions lead you to what appears to be the largest utility closet that you have ever seen; you could fit your entire kitchen in here with room to spare. Most of the space is taken up with floor to ceiling freestanding shelving units. They are standing empty right now, and judging by the uniform layer of dust, they have been empty for some time. You do not know much of anything about architecture, and even less about interior design, but the presence of a seemingly abandoned storage closet, located in what would be ‘prime real estate’ so to speak, right off of the foyer. You do not think that this is a matter of you being paranoid here, it is just a matter of you not understanding, that is all.

Ah ha! Here it is; mounted on the wall, above a utility sink. You dial and silently pray that your mother is still up; she does not own an answering machine, and the only phone in the house is far enough away from her bedroom that she can sleep through it easily. That said, her sleep schedule is worse than yours, so there is a good chance that she is still up, watching television; or more accurately, drowsing in a half-awake half-asleep state in front of the television. On the sixth ring, your prayers are answered, and your mother picks up the phone.

There is some rustling, the sound of someone shifting their weight on a couch and finally “Hello?”.
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>>4455404
You make a point to keep as much concern out of your voice as possible. “Hey Mom, its me, Reg.” You can hear her start to speak, and you know that if you let her get going, this call is going to take much longer than it needs to. “Listen Mom, I can’t talk that much. Everything is fine, well, uh, I mean I am fine, at least. This is going to sound crazy mom, but … it turns out that right now we are closer to a nuclear war than we have ever been, like closer than we were during the Cuban Missile Crisis.” She starts to speak again, but you have the initiative here, so you simply speak over her. “I know none of this is in the news, but that Parasol I work for, the Parasol, he called me over in the middle of the night, on my work radio; he somehow managed to find the frequency. I don’t know how many laws he broke just to get me over here, but he has reports and stuff-” which you realize somewhat belatedly that you did not so much as look at once. Well, whatever. At this point, you are just going to have to assume that they are all as dire as Parasol said they are.

“And these reports prove that there is all of this ‘tit-for-tat’ military action going on, and that both sides are seriously considering taking this thing nuclear.” For the third time, your mother tries to inject, but you keep going. “I know it sounds crazy, but Parasol is completely serious. And if there is a chance that this actually happens, then this might be the … it might be hard to get in touch. For a while.” Now there is silence on the other end of the line; for several-several seconds. “Mom, are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m still here.”

Several seconds later; “Well then, what should I do about it?”. For a single, insane moment you wonder if you have the wrong number. Your mother is excitable and emotional; this calm, down to business tone could not be further from what you expected going into this. Maybe she's still half asleep, or something. Regardless of her mental state right now, the question highlights a serious issue; you are not exactly sure what she should do. If at this point you assume that the nuclear strike is going to happen sometime today, then what does that mean for mother, living in southern Maine, about a 3-hour drive away? What should you tell her do to do?
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>>4455408
Starting at 2am in the morning, every in game hour, we will roll a 1d20. At 2am, if we roll a 1, then the strike has begun. At 3 am, if we roll a 1 or a 2, then the strike has begun, and so on. Basically, it all comes down to how long we have until the strike; and for our character's mother, the risk is ultimately determined by where she is and what she is doing at the time the missiles start flying. I am going to leave this one up overnight, so I can catch some sleep.

What do you tell your mother to do?
>” Your best bet is to hunker down where you are. I will walk you through some basic survival tips, so get a pen and a piece of paper. If anything happens, it is more likely that aid will get to you than it will to us.”
>” Your best bet is to drop everything and come up to Debouche right now; only take what you need to get up here. I have all of the essentials, and everything else can be replaced.”
>” Your best bet is to load up all of the essentials that you have on hand and then get up here to me, right away. Leave everything else, there isn’t time.”
>” Your best bet is to load up all of the essentials that you have on hand and get ready. If the strike happens before stores open in the morning, head out on the roads immediately, before they get destroyed or jammed. If the strike has not happened yet, then go to the stores, and then load up on essentials, then come up once you have a full load.
>” Your best bet is to load up all of the essentials that you have on hand and get ready. If the strike happens before stores open in the morning, head out on the roads immediately, before they get destroyed or jammed. If the strike has not happened yet, then go rent a moving truck, then go to the stores and load up on essentials. Make sure that it is one that can tow cars, so you do not need to spend time unloading the car.
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>” Your best bet is to drop everything and come up to Debouche right now; only take what you need to get up here. I have all of the essentials, and everything else can be replaced.”
In all reality this is what anyone would do
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>>4455419
>” Your best bet is to drop everything and come up to Debouche right now; only take what you need to get up here. I have all of the essentials, and everything else can be replaced.”
I'm not fucking with the nuclear armageddon rolls just so that we can get some extra stuff, she should just get up here ASAP.
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>” Your best bet is to drop everything and come up to Debouche right now; only take what you need to get up here. I have all of the essentials, and everything else can be replaced.”

The math doesn't lie, the risk is very high for possibly few gains, unless we know exactly when stores open, probably around 6 AM, but the odds of getting to that without the strike going off is very unlikely
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>>4455419
>>” Your best bet is to drop everything and come up to Debouche right now; only take what you need to get up here. I have all of the essentials, and everything else can be replaced.”
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>>4455451
The chance of the bombs not going off until 7 AM or later are 43% (19/20 * 18/20 * ... * 15/20 = .43605), so I wouldn't say it's super unlikely. I still don't want to take the risk (especially since the drive to Debouche is three hours and it's our mom for fucks sake), but blargh statistics.
Of course statistics don't really matter because the dice gods will punish us nonbelievers all the same.
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Drop everything
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>>4455000

Here is the achieved previous thread for anyone just joining us.
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/4413945/
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>>4455419
>>” Your best bet is to load up all of the essentials that you have on hand and then get up here to me, right away. Leave everything else, there isn’t time.”
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>>4455426 Drop everything
>>4455437 Drop everything
>>4455451 Drop everything
>>4455463 Drop everything
>>4455530 Drop everything
>>4455858 Drop everything

Well; that is pretty damn unanimous. I'm done with classes for the day, so I'll go take a shower, eat something and then get to writing.
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welp, looks like we'll spend the apocalypse on lockdown with our mom
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“Mom, you need to pull together your things … just what you need to survive. Forget everything else, just grab what you need to survive. Absolute basics; toiletries and clothes. Medicine. Grab some food, preferably non-perishables, but stuff that you could eat without cooking it up in case you get stuck somewhere along the way for some time. Put everything in a backpack or duffel bag, so if something happens to the car you can abandon it if you need to. And get gas. Even if you have a full tank, get more gas while you can; motor oil too. [Objectivity Belief] And please, listen to me here. You need to do this quickly; please for the love of God, you cannot take your time on this. I know we both tend to overthink things, but this is one time that we absolutely cannot waste time. There are no two ways about it; the worst-case scenario is for you to be would be on the roads and then the strike starts. The longer it takes you to get on the road, the more likely you will still be driving when the strike hits; that is a fact.” An idea hits you; a clever aid to ensure that mother does not waste time worrying and over thinking things. “If you cannot decide on taking or leaving something in less than ten seconds, then it is not important enough to take. Promise me, if you can not decide in ten seconds, that you will just leave it; alright?”

“Of course, I – yes. Yes, I can do that. I promise.” You spend a few minutes talking her through what she should focus on. After you have gone over everything you spend a minute trying to reassure her, though it seems that not only does she not need to be reassured, she is the one reassuring you. You do not know if you have not adequately explained the dangers of being on a highway in the middle of a nuclear strike, she is putting on a brave face, or perhaps she does not believe anything is going to happen.

Whatever she actually believes; she is at the very least thinking about things. “Reggie, if cities are going to be dangerous, does it still make sense to be driving through them on the interstate?” That is a valid point; while the only potential target between Debouche and your mother in Gray Maine is the Bangor International Airport; I-95 does pass really close, in fact you might be able to see the airstrip from the interstate, but you are not entirely sure. Bangor International Airport, while being the highest priority target in this part of the state is probably low enough on a Soviet hit list that it might make it out unscathed, especially if we launched first.
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>>4456122
Your concern is not your mother being picked of by an ICBM; rather what you are worried about is that when the strike hits, there is going to be panic, and if there is forewarning, then at this point, the panic will probably be even worse. Part of that panic is going to be a scramble to get out of the cities, which is going to tie things up pretty seriously around Bangor; and in this kind of situation, delays could easily be fatal. So, with that in mind, it seems like it would be a no-brainer to simply avoid the cities and take the long way to Debouche. But if there is a strike (or an alert for a strike) then the routes are probably going to be just as bad as the interstates, if not worse. While there are fewer cars on the routes than on the interstate, the routes are smaller, and while the interstate is graded, the routes typically conform to the contours of the land; and it can get pretty hilly out there. Not to mention, they are generally in worse condition than the interstates (federal money for federal roads; state and local money for the routes). You put a lot of desperate people on those roads, you are asking for serious accidents. And with their smaller size, it is conceivable that an entire road could be blocked off by a particularly nasty crash.

Honestly, you are not sure. If she is on the road while the strike happens, she is in serious danger. Accepting that both roads will become equally unsafe (just in different ways) immediately before, during and after the strike, the logical response would be to tell her to take the quicker way. But that is accepting that both roads are equally unsafe; if Bangor is actually hit with a nuke, then that goes out the window.

>Hope that Bangor makes it out unscathed; tell her to take I-95 to Bangor, then get on 15 and drive all the way to Debouche.
>Hedge your bets; tell her to take I-95 to Waterville, then get on 201 and stay on it to Jackman. Then get on 6 for the final stretch to Debouche. (Adds an hour on to her trip)
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>>4456126
For reference, I highlighted the two choices. For those wondering why we don't take a slightly more direct route when taking the back roads, a lot of the more direct routes only exist to get to Dover-Foxcroft; which if you remember from the first thread doesn't exist. So rather than try to determine which roads would still be there and which would not, I just decided that for the sake of simplicity, none of the roads exist. Is that realistic? No. But it is certainly easier for me!

>>4455798
By the way anon, were you the one who archived it? When I went to put it up I was really pleasantly surprised to find it already there. If it was you, thanks!
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>>4456126
>Hedge your bets; tell her to take I-95 to Waterville, then get on 201 and stay on it to Jackman. Then get on 6 for the final stretch to Debouche. (Adds an hour on to her trip)
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>>4456126
>Hedge your bets; tell her to take I-95 to Waterville, then get on 201 and stay on it to Jackman. Then get on 6 for the final stretch to Debouche. (Adds an hour on to her trip)
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>>4456126
>>Hedge your bets; tell her to take I-95 to Waterville, then get on 201 and stay on it to Jackman. Then get on 6 for the final stretch to Debouche. (Adds an hour on to her trip)
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>>4456146
huh doesn't even look like much of a detour on the map
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>>4456126
>Hedge your bets; tell her to take I-95 to Waterville, then get on 201 and stay on it to Jackman. Then get on 6 for the final stretch to Debouche. (Adds an hour on to her trip)
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>Hedge your bets; tell her to take I-95 to Waterville, then get on 201 and stay on it to Jackman. Then get on 6 for the final stretch to Debouche. (Adds an hour on to her trip)

"How are your prescriptions? Do you have less than two weeks on anything you can't live without, if so, do you have refills you can get filled?"
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>>4456157 Hedge your bets
>>4456182 Hedge your bets
>>4456191 Hedge your bets
>>4456301 Hedge your bets
>>4456350 Hedge your bets

Sorry guys; I managed to fall asleep on you. I'll get to writing immediately!
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>>4456515
Don't worry about it man
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“That is a good point; if something happens in Bangor, then the roads will become a serious morass. What you should do is get off of I-95 in Waterville, well before you get even close to Bangor. Do you have a road map? Bring it, obviously, but consult it before you head out; you want to get on 201 after getting off of I-95. In Jackman, you will want to get on to 6; it will take you the final stretch to Debouche. Changing subjects; do you have any medicine your taking regularly? It might be difficult, but I will try to see if I can’t arrange to get you a supply up here. Give me names and strengths.”

“Medicine? Well, I’m taking a multivitamin, a vitamin D supplement, a dosage of fish oil, Wyrteck 25 mg for allergies, and HydroThyazide 30 mg.” The multivitamin, the supplement and the fish oil dosage, as well as the Wyrteck would probably be relatively easy to find. Wyrteck was prescribed for a long time, but it is sold over the counter now, so again, easy enough to find. The fly in the ointment is HydroThyazide; you have never heard of it, which means that it is not advertised, which in turn means that it is almost certainly prescription only. Getting that would probably be pretty difficult.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do about that. Remember; ten seconds. If it takes longer than ten seconds, then forget it. Objectively speaking, the time it takes you to get up here will determine how safe you will be. Mom … Mom, I love you. Just … please, promise me you will get here as soon as you can.” There is a kindly sounding sigh on the other end of the line. “Of course, I promise Reggie. I guess I will see you soon, then?”

“No guessing about it; you’ll see me soon.” You are about to tell her you love her again, when you realize that you might not be at the homestead when she gets here, which in turn reminds you that the bridge is out. To address this, you tell her where you hid the a key to the farmhouse, and tell her that she’ll need to take the old logging access road into the ‘front yard’ (she never liked the word ‘dooryard’) ‘because the bridge is out’; for now you’ll leave it like that, no more details that necessary. Explaining will only take more time. Well, that is everything you can think of. With another ‘see you soon’ and one last ‘I love you’, you conclude your call, and retrace your steps to the Blue Sitting Room.
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>Blue Sitting Room of Parasol Family Lodge, Debouche, Maine. Sometime after 1:30am

“I understand your concerns, and I am more than willing to meet you halfway on this; no, I have met you halfway on this, more than halfway. But that does not mean that I don’t have a ‘line in the sand’ of my own. I know it complicates things, but there are limits to what I can turn a blind eye to.” Before you even walked in the door, you recognized Sheriff Arthur’s stentorian voice; it seems like there is some manner of argument going on here. You slip through the door and take a good look around. More of the reports have been scattered around the table, and a massive map of Mooseleg Lake has been brought out. Sheriff Arthur and the skinnier of the two Lights, Nate are arguing. The rest of the group, including Parasol, do not seem to be participating in the increasingly heated sounding conversation, but they are intently listening. Except Deputy Sheriff Bean, who is at the drink cart, seemingly more intrigued by the liquors than the argument.

Rather than interrupt whatever is going on between Sheriff Arthur and Nate Light, you sidle up to Bean. “Crazy stuff, isn’t Mantle?” He does not lift his gaze from the bottles as he addresses you. Unsure of how exactly to respond to that, you simply say “yeah, definitely.” Bean pours himself a ‘double’ of a sweet-smelling dessert brandy, while you pour yourself another two glasses of seltzer water from the siphon. He is smiling at that, but unlike George Light does not ‘grief’ you about it. “What did I miss, Deputy Bean?”
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>>4456608
“No need for titles here, just call me ‘Bart’.” ‘Bart’ Bean? Short for Bartholomew Bean? Heh … what a name. “After a bit of the back and forth here, we agreed that we’d assume responsibility for anyone who lives around the lake and who’s willing to work with us. Outsiders and people who don’t want to play along are on their own.” You do not know what exactly to make of the phrase ‘people who don’t want to play along’; it sounds like it is something out of an old gangster movie. You suppose it could be just could be a poor choice of words however; ‘Bart’ here does not strike you as someone who is overly deliberate in word choice. “Parasol was going to try to provide for anyone who showed up and was willing to work, but he had to be talked down from that; things are going to be hard enough without feeding and housing every Tom, Dick and Harry who darkens our doorstep. Need to keep things ‘tight’. That said, Chickless wanted things even ‘tighter’; he suggested physically removing the ‘old, ill, unproductive and antisocial’. But when the boss said that suggestion was in itself ‘antisocial’, so by his own criteria he would be removing himself, he shut up pretty quick. I think he’s sulking now.” Chickless? He must be the guy who did not get around to introducing himself to you yet. And sure enough, that man is pretty openly glaring at ‘Bart’s’ boss, Sheriff Chester B. Arthur, who in turn is either ignoring him or is completely focused on his argument with Nate Light.

You can understand all three of the positions here; and you could find yourself sympathizing with all of them. But considering that a decision was already reached here, it seems that you do not need to come to a decision of your own on this. Finishing your second glass, you refill both them with the siphon. “So now what’s the issue?” “The distinction between scavenging and looting, and when it is appropriate to start. Light there wants us to get a jump start it seems; start scavenging critical supplies and food immediately, as in after we are done here. The boss is willing to secure critical supplies and food, you know, send a cruiser over to the supermarket or the hospital or whatever, to ensure that the place stays in one piece, but is not going to allow any scavenging until there is an emergency broadcast, or tangible proof of a nuclear strike. His idea is to use Deputies to ensure that the scavenging process is as orderly, respectful and effective as possible; you know, maintain a semblance of the rule of law.
>>
>>4456609
The argument is that whatever we would miss out on by not getting a jump start right now would not be worth the chaos that would happen if it became known that the Sheriff’s Office is turning a blind eye to indiscriminate ‘scavenging’, especially before a state of emergency was declared. He says that is the kind of panic that gets people killed. On the other hand, Light says that only ‘securing’ supplies, instead of simply taking them, is an ineffective use of manpower and time.” He finishes his double and pours himself another of the sweet-smelling dessert liquor. “Well, what do you think we should do?”

Hmm….
>The early bird gets the worm, an unassailable argument. Side with Nate Light.
>’Worms’ are not as important as maintaining order, and trust in institutions. Side with the Sheriff.
>You do not have a strong opinion one way or another. Don’t attempt to influence the decision here.

Alright, now I'm headed off to bed. Should be running for most of the day tomorrow (which is already today)
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>>4456611
>The early bird gets the worm, an unassailable argument. Side with Nate Light.

Insert Sun Tzu quote here.
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>>4456611
>>’Worms’ are not as important as maintaining order, and trust in institutions. Side with the Sheriff.
Best to take everything into consideration, our decision has weight here.
If we side with Light, we'd get a chance to get away with A LOT more supplies than we would if we sided with the Sheriff. We also have to get medication for our mother, which may be a lot more difficult if the deputies are maintaining order. They'd surely keep watch on the pharmaceuticals, and especially the stuff requiring prescriptions.
But something else to consider is how tired we are. We're sure to get penalties due to that.
And if anyone starts talking about Mantle, and how he made off like a bandit from Not!Walmart, we'd probably run into issues down the line, with a group trying to strongarm us for supplies.
And blood is sure to be spilled if there is no semblance of order at all.
Way I see it, we can either choose the selfish option, securing more supplies for us, and basically guaranteed to secure more medicine for our mother but let order be cast away and the town descend into chaos faster. I think our best bet is with siding with the sheriff.
>>
>>4456622
It's a valid argument and order should be maintained, but I do think that gaining as much control and resources as possible before it all kicks off is pivotal.
>>
>>4456626
Fair enough. I'm not against playing the opportunist either, but I think this one might bite us in the ass, despite having more immediate personal benefits.
My vote is definitely no where near concrete, pretty good chance that I'll wind up switching.
>>
>>4456629
Oh yeah, same here, I just think that the risk is worth potentially getting far ahead early on and we could use it for long-term benefits if it's enough.
>>
>’Worms’ are not as important as maintaining order, and trust in institutions. Side with the Sheriff.
I think it’s a good idea to maintain some form of civility for as long as we can, plus it’s never a bad idea to be on the Side of the strong arms (police)
>>
>>4456611
>’Worms’ are not as important as maintaining order, and trust in institutions. Side with the Sheriff.

Jesus, nothing has yet happened on American soil and society is already collapsing? Talk of euthanasia and such? Things will get ugly soon enough, no need to go full mad max from the start.
>>
>>4456611
>’Worms’ are not as important as maintaining order, and trust in institutions. Side with the Sheriff.
>>
>>4456611
>You do not have a strong opinion one way or another. Don’t attempt to influence the decision here.
I don't really mind either choice and feel like we should save our opinions for where it matters.
We can't meddle in everything, we're not Parasol.
>>
Alright; lets see here...

>>4456621 Get the worm
>>4456622 Forget the worm
>>4456634 Forget the worm
>>4456664 Forget the worm
>>4456706 Forget the worm
>>4456813 Forget the vote

Well, that is a pretty solid lead. Consider this one closed for agreeing with the Sheriff.
>>
>Blue Sitting Room of Parasol Family Lodge, Debouche, Maine. Sometime after 1:40am
>’Worms’ are not as important as maintaining order, and trust. Side with the Sheriff.

“Personally, I agree with the sheriff here. By waiting until the state of emergency is either declared or implied by incontrovertible evidence of a nuclear strike, we will maintain trust and a semblance of order. And considering that we still have foreknowledge about this strike, with a bit of thought, we can minimize the negative impact of individual looting and ensure that we still get the cream of the crop safely squirreled away. Obviously, waiting means forfeiting some supplies, but I think that Light is overestimating how much we stand to lose, and how much respect we stand to gain.” Bean has been nodding along, nursing his drink. “Sensible Mantle, very sensible. You’ve got my vote.”

Vote?

Oh, they must be putting these things to a vote. You look to the square of sofas and try to figure out who will vote for what, given what you know...

Get the Worm:
Nate Light is the lead advocate of getting a head start on scavenging. As the lead advocate, he cannot be swayed
FNU Chickless is aggrieved with the opposing lead advocate. He can be swayed with a high persuasion roll.

Forget the Worm:
Sheriff Chester A. Arthur is the lead advocate of only securing critical supplies. As the lead advocate, he cannot be swayed.
Reginald Mantle is the player character, whose decisions have been decided by players. As the player character, he cannot be swayed under normal conditions.
Deputy Sheriff ‘Bart’ Bean has already been convinced to follow the Sheriff. He can be swayed with a moderate persuasion roll.

Undecided
Erwin Parasol is undecided. He can be swayed with a low persuasion roll.
George Light is undecided. He can be swayed with a low persuasion roll. As he has an existing relationship with Nate Light, he receives a 1.2/0.8 bonus malus, advantage Light.
Jim Reaves is undecided and unconcerned. He can be swayed with a moderate persuasion roll.
>>
Nate Light has above average skills in Persuasion; he rolls 4d20 for Persuasion tests, and he uses the Intermediate Speech table included below.

Roll of 1 means 0.25x modifier
Roll of 2 means 0.325x modifier
Roll of 3 means 0.825x modifier
Roll of 4 means 1.125x modifier
Roll of 5 means 1.25x modifier
Roll of 6 means 1.325x modifier

Sheriff Chester A. Arthur has outstanding skills in Persuasion; he rolls 5d20 for Persuasion tests, he uses the Intermediate Speech table included previously, as he has Glib Recovery any two rolls of the 5d20 that are 4 or lower (Near Critical Failure) he automatically boosts to 5, and as he has Two-Tongued, die that are granted by the Rhetorical inclination can not be used against him.

Reginald Mantle has below average skills in Persuasion, situationally boosted by the Rhetorical inclination; he rolls (2+1) d20 for Persuasion tests, and he uses the Basic Speech table included below.

Roll of 1 means 0.125x modifier
Roll of 2 means 0.25x modifier
Roll of 3 means 0.75x modifier
Roll of 4 means 1x modifier
Roll of 5 means 1.125x modifier
Roll of 6 means 1.25x modifier

How to approach the debates:
>Let the Sheriff do the talking; as a politician, he knows what he is doing (Arthur and Light’s roll will be evaluated against each other’s normally. As the player, we will roll for the Sheriff)
>Try to get a word in edgewise (you roll as well, and the higher of your and the Sheriff’s roll will be used against Light’s. If you manage a net Near-Critical Failure or worse (if the sum of the two modified rolls is 8 or lower, you will negatively impact the Sheriff’s roll.)
>>
>>4457242
>Let the Sheriff do the talking; as a politician, he knows what he is doing (Arthur and Light’s roll will be evaluated against each other’s normally. As the player, we will roll for the Sheriff)
>>
Alright; this has sat long enough. I need someone to roll 1d6, and someone else to roll 5d20 for our silver tongued sheriff.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4457416
>>
Rolled 3 (1d6)

>>4457419
And here is Nate's roll on the Speech table
>>
Rolled 16, 15, 16, 18 = 65 (4d20)

Well, it looks like the Sheriff will almost certainly win this round. Considering that this was mostly done to introduce the debate mechanics (and that it is pretty much a forgone conclusion) if you are still around, you can roll again; the 5d20 for the Sheriff. On this post is Nate's roll of 4d20
>>
Rolled 19, 15, 2, 4, 10 = 50 (5d20)

>>4457448
>>
>>4457448
Holy shit, that's one hell of a strong roll. Looks like Nate isn't going to give this one up without a fight. But he does have a negative modifier to overcome, and the Sheriff has one more die than he does.

The first gross roll of 16, modified by 0.825 becomes the first net roll of 13.200
The second gross roll of 15, modified by 0.825 becomes the second net roll of 12.375
The third gross roll of 16, modified by 0.825 becomes the third net roll of 13.200
The fourth gross roll of 18, modified by 0.825 becomes the fourth net roll of 14.850

All of Nate Light's rolls sum to 53.625.
>>
>>4457462
Alright, that should carry the sheriff to victory. I think, let me do the math.

The first gross roll of 19, modified by 1.25, becomes the first net roll of 23.750
The second gross roll of 15, modified by 1.25, becomes the second net roll of 18.75
The third gross roll of 2 is boosted to 5, then modified by 1.25, becoming the third net roll of 6.250
The fourth gross roll of 4 is boosted to 5, then modified by 1.25, becoming the fourth net roll of 6.250
The fifth gross roll of 10, modified by 1.25, becomes the fifth gross roll of 12.500

All of the Sheriff's rolls sum to 67.500
>>
In the matter of the 'Worm' debate:

The Sheriff scores 67.500, against Nate Light's score of 53.635; resulting in the final gross of 13.865, advantage to the Sheriff.

In the Get the Worm faction:

Nate Light is the lead advocate of getting a head start on scavenging. As the lead advocate, he cannot be swayed in debate.
Nate Light is still in the Get the Worm faction.

FNU Chickless, being in a state of aggrievement against the opposing lead advocate is well insulated against persuasion. His CR is 30.
FNU Chickless's CR of 30 is not overcome by the final gross of 13.685 from the Sheriff.
FNU Chickless is still in the Get the Worm faction.

In the Forget the Worm faction:

The Sheriff is the lead advocate of holding off on scavenging. As the lead advocate, he cannot be swayed in debate.
The Sheriff is still in the Forget the Worm faction.

Reginald Mantle is the player character, whose decisions have been decided by players. As the player character, he cannot be swayed in debate under normal conditions.
Reginald Mantle is still in the Forget the Worm faction.

Deputy Sheriff 'Bart' Bean observes the debate, as a supporter of the Forget the Worm faction.
Deputy Sheriff 'Bart' Bean's CR of 20 is not overcome by the final gross of 0 from Nate Light.
Deputy Sheriff 'Bart' Bean is still in the Forget the Worm faction.

In the Undecided voter pool:

Erwin Parasol observes the debate undecided, and with a relatively open mind. His CR is 10.
Erwin Parasol's CR of 10 is overcome by the final gross of 13.685 from the Sheriff.
Erwin Parasol is now in the Forget the Worm faction.

George Light observes the debate undecided, but being a blood relative with one of the debaters is not impartial between the two men.
Nate Lights net roll sum of 53.635 becomes 64.362 and the Sheriff's net roll sum of 67.500 becomes 54.000, as dictated by the 1.2/0.8 bonus/malus; advantage Light
For George Light, the effective final gross becomes 10.362, advantage to the Sheriff.
George Light's CR of 10 is overcome by the final gross of 10.362 from Nate Light.
George Light is now in the Get the Worm faction.

Jim Reaves observes the debate undecided and uninterested, he believes that either course of action will be fine, and will side with the winner if his CR is not met*
Jim Reaves' CR of 18 is not overcome by the final gross of 13.685 from the Sheriff.
Jim Reaves remains in the Undecided voter pool; he will side with the winner, or in the case of a tie, he will abstain.
>>
>>4457530
Shit, I must have forgotten the [/i] after 'voter pool'.

Final Vote Tally

In the Get the Worm faction:
Nate Light
George Light
FNU Chickless

In the Forget the Worm faction:
Sheriff Chester A. Arthur
Reginald Mantle
Deputy Sheriff Bartholomew 'Bart' Bean
Erwin Parasol
Jim Reaves (joins the winner)

Well, after some really intense discussion, Parasol cut things off after glancing at his watch, by mentioning that it was nearly 2:00am, and that they should simply put things to a vote before things started to drag. The look you exchanged with 'Bart' at that made it evident that the two of you, having both finally made your way to the square of sofas from the drink cart, both thought that it had already passed that point a while ago. Still, to his credit, Parasol was being tactful about all of this, and wasn't trying to unilaterally order things. It remains to be seen, however, if the lack of authoritarianism on his part is either genuine restraint or he simply hadn't made up his mind. You are kind of curious to see what would happen if he sides with the losing side in one of these debates. For that matter, you find yourself wondering what would happen if the Sheriff lost this vote ...

But that doesn't come to pass. By a show of hands, the Sheriff's plan wins out 5 to 3, though Reaves cast his vote in what looked like an afterthought. Nate Light accepted the loss gracefully and George Light accepted it with a chuckle and shrug. Chickless, on the other hand, is still glaring at the Sheriff, though you don't know how much of that is the defeat of his 'faction' for the second time by the Sheriff, or the previous remark that got under his skin.

Parasol leans back in his seat, and rolls his shoulders. "Alright, so, now that we have decided the initial response, the next question is 'consolidation'." Across the Blue Sitting Room, all seven of the guests, including yourself, lean in as Parasol explains the next issue.

"The question is as old as time itself; efficiency or freedom?" He gestures around the room. "This place is an absolute nightmare to heat. The resources required to keep this place habitable through Winter would be much better spent outfitting a hotel or inn for residential living, or modifying a single family residence to take several families. Consider it in terms of ROI, return on investment; the amount of resources required to sustain one person in a domicile. The estate here would be terribly inefficient in these terms, especially if it was compared to an apartment building, or a modified hotel, or even a more typical house. Things are going to be tight, and it may be that we will need to ask things of people that they would rather not do.
>>
>>4457597
"We have already decided that we are going to have to limit assistance to those originally from the community who are willing to work with us; but we might need to take it further than that. To stretch resources as far as they can, we should be serious consideration to consolidating our people into shared or communal housing." With the utterance of 'communal' a palpable, angry tension surges into the room. No man here is a Communist; and no man here wants to be party to bringing Communism into their community.

That said, the argument about efficiency is solid. After a moment and a quick sigh, Parasol continues: "We could simply let things stand as they are; our people will either live in their property, make their own accommodations with their neighbors, or move into unoccupied property, all on their own accord. This would be the easiest to sell ... actually, considering that is the presumable status quo, it isn't a matter of 'selling it' to anyone. It's free, and if we don't do anything it's what's going to happen without a doubt. It is also going to be extremely inefficient. And it isn't even in terms of just the housing itself, either. Our communities, for better or worse, are spaced with car ownership in mind; and considering that gas is going to run out... it is a complication.

"Things would be easier if everyone is tightly packed into efficient housing, in terms of providing for everyone, and keeping everyone physically safe, though of course, health issues do become more of a concern in tighter proximities. Not to mention keeping things under control." There is a pointed look at the two lawmen in attendance, and then he continues. "If we prepare consolidated housing; then some people will probably jump at it, if we offered it, but not everyone, which could create its own problems. The way I see it, there are three choices here. We can simply let things fall as they may, and use the resources that we'd use on the consolidated housing for other collective projects, like expanding the capacity of the clinic, or improving the Winterization of houses around the lake, like on a lottery, or something. We can make the housing available, and improve efficiency a little.

"Or we could get drastic, and require anyone who wants to receive our assistance to live in consolidated housing." Several people try to speak at once, and it takes several-several seconds for Parasol to regain control of the room. "There would be some exceptions, but for the most part everyone would be consolidated into the most efficient housing possible. And ... if we made food and fuel assistance contingent upon living in consolidated housing, then we wouldn't need to worry about feeding as many people ... as no doubt many would refuse. As I said drastic, and it has the potential to pit the entire lake against itself, but if we are serious about surviving the Winter, then it might be our best option. Something to consider.
>>
>>4457666
'Something to consider'. That might be the understatement of the year. Well, what exactly do you think is the best course of action here?

>Free Market Housing: Do not build Collective Housing, use the resources elsewhere.
>Housing on Command: Build some Collective Housing, do not make residence a requirement for food and fuel assistance.
>Autarky-Ahoy!: Build Collective Housing, make residence a requirement for food and fuel assistance.
>>
>>4457678
And also, I need one anon to roll 1d20 please.
>>
Rolled 20 (1d20)

>>4457681
>>
>>4457684
ayy, lets go
>Housing on Command: Build some Collective Housing, do not make residence a requirement for food and fuel assistance.
>>
>>4457684
Well, we are safe for another hour. Don't forget to vote! >>4457678
>>
>>4457678
>Housing on Command: Build some Collective Housing, do not make residence a requirement for food and fuel assistance.

we did not buy a farm in northern Maine to get snug with the neighbors, but of course it might be a good idea for people who want/need it
>>
>>4457678
>Housing on Command: Build some Collective Housing, do not make residence a requirement for food and fuel assistance.
>>
>>4457687
>>4457702
>>4457704
Alright, that is a strong enough lead that I'm comfortable closing this. Give me a minute, and I will get to writing.
>>
>>4457678
>Housing on Command: Build some Collective Housing, do not make residence a requirement for food and fuel assistance.
>>
>Housing on Command.

Well, you can see the reasoning behind all of these options, but the gain in efficiency, security, and yes, control does not seem to be worth turning neighbors against one another by tying food and fuel assistance to residence in collective or consolidated housing. Likewise, leaving everyone on their own to figure things out is going to be horribly inefficient, and will introduce its own set of problems. At this point, it seems that the best decision is to make the housing available for those that need or want it. Odds are that as the Winter progresses, more people will throw in the towel and voluntarily move in.

Judging by the pockets of conversation, it seems that nearly everyone is on board. George Light is loudly grumbling about ‘fifth columnists’ and ‘Jewish Bolsheviks’, so if you had to guess, he is probably against building the consolidated housing. That said, he is not speaking against it; so, it seems that he is not going to press the issue to a vote, having already realized that he is in the minority. On the other side of the square of sofas, Chickless is still glowering at the Sheriff, who at this point must have noticed and decided against dignifying the attention with a response. From ‘Bart’s’ account of his previous remarks, you would guess that he would be in favor of making the housing mandatory, but like George Light, realizes that the room is largely against it. After several minutes of this, Parasol calls for a show of hands, and to no one’s surprise, the motion to build non-mandatory consolidated housing goes through. That said, while you cannot speak for everyone else, you at the very least were surprised when Chickless voted with the others for the non-mandatory option. George Light simply abstained.

Well, things are moving quickly now. Good thing too, it must be after two in morning. Parasol gets up and looks for a report, and Nate Light excuses himself to go to the restroom. The others lounge around, and some of them make small talk. If you had hidden the map and the reports, then there would be no clue that this was some sort of task-force pulled together to discuss how to survive a Collapse after a nuclear strike.
>>
>>4457856
But while you are still thinking about the housing situation in your town, you begin to think about your personal housing situation. While your house is relatively small, you could definitely fit more people in there if you had too, beyond you and your mother, that is. While more people living under your roof complicates things for you beyond simply multiplying the number of mouths you need to feed, there is a question of security. The fact that you have animals is not public knowledge, but on the other hand, it is not a secret. If you are out, that would leave your mother alone with a number of highly valuable animals. Definitely not an ideal situation; but maybe someone here would be willing to board with you; especially considering that some of them are staying at the ‘Kate’. When you get a minute to speak to them alone, you will seek out …

>No one. You might have someone else in mind, you might want to keep all your food to yourself, but either way, you will not seek to make any invitations at this time.
>Jim Reaves. Perhaps his family would prefer homestead living to squatting at the ‘Kate’.
>George Light. The man clearly appreciates food and would be motivated to defend it.
>Nate Light. You do not know that much about him, but he seems to be personable and gracious.
>Both Lights. You could call the pair of them ‘the headlamps’. Jokes aside, manpower is important.
>FNU Chickless. Seems like a prickly sort of guy, but he also seems dead earnest in surviving this.
>Bachelor Pad: Chickless and the Lights do not seem to mind each other.
>Parasol Company Barracks: Invite Reaves and his family, the Lights and Chickless. Odds are that not all of them will accept, but even if they do, as long as you can scavenge enough to make it until Boadicea calves in a few weeks, you should have enough milk and egg production to feed all of them for the Winter. Maybe.


I'm going to leave this up for about an hour, I have some stuff to do around the house
>>
>No one. You might have someone else in mind, you might want to keep all your food to yourself, but either way, you will not seek to make any invitations at this time.

I'd say wait, and get to know people better before any kind of decision, unless someone has a good idea regarding it.
>>
>>4457857
>No one. You might have someone else in mind, you might want to keep all your food to yourself, but either way, you will not seek to make any invitations at this time.
>>
>>4457857
>Both Lights

I really like your pun, OP. I am supporting this on the prompting of that pun.

Also, they do seem like a good group to mix in if we want more manpower, in a way that the Reaves family is almost certainly not.
>>
>>4457910
Changing to this.
>>
Alright, closing this vote. That is two to one for asking the Light cousins if they want to board with you. Obviously, you aren't going to go do it immediately. I'll get to writing.
>>
The Lights. The two of them seem to be pretty amenable; with out even being properly introduced, George offered to help you process the bull moose, and all he got out of it is was a little bit of backstrap. Which reminds you, when you get home, you will need to get all of that stuff into the freezer, not that the freezer is going to be working much longer, but …

Oh fuck! You knew you forgot something! The meat, the remains of the bull moose are all still on your long-suffering Farm Truck, which you left at Tinn’s homestead. Would he think to check the back of the truck? Probably, he seems like he’d go over every inch of the thing to safety-check the thing. Would he leave the meat out? Yeah, he probably would. Normally, fresh killed meat like that is fine to let sit, even raw and half processed; but that stuff was ‘marinating’ in soiled water for what? Hours? How the hell did you let that slip? You are usually on top of stuff like that. Must be the hours getting to you; it has nearly been a full day since you got up. You swear, if that meat has gone bad because of this, you will never live this down.

…Where were you? Yeah, the Lights. When you get a moment, you will ask one (or both of them at the same time if the opportunity arises) about their living arrangements and if they would want to board with you at your homestead. You could definitely take the two of them and still have food to spare; and judging by their bare ring fingers, they are unwed, so it is not like they would be bringing along any other mouths to feed. Yawn Gosh, this is a comfortable sofa. Even as hungry as you are, you feel like if you relax for a second, you will fall fast asleep.
>>
>>4458008
Sleep is for the weak, and the weak will not survive. RESIST THE SLEEPY.
>>
Hrph! Stay up! You need to stay up! Nate is back from the restroom, and Parasol is talking again.

“So, there are two remaining big questions, after that, we will work out the specific assignments that we will have, before, during and immediately after the strike. The penultimate question is one of ‘gas’. It will be extremely difficult, but we could grow and raise food, after the found supply dwindles down to nothing. We can burn wood for heat, and there are even contraptions that can take wood and make a burnable gas. But what we cannot make is …” Hold on now, was that what that thing was? Your mind jumps back to yesterday, when you found what looked like some manner of woodstove that was hooked up to a generator on the Morrison Farm. It is still sitting there, right where you found it. Should you mention it to the group?

>Maybe you want to keep it for yourself. Maybe you want to make sure it works before getting everyone is hopes up. Maybe you want to clean up after the Tank-Things escapade before you draw attention to the Morrison Farm. Whatever the reason, you will keep your mouth shut on this for now.
>Well, you do not know if it is in working order anyway; and up until a minute ago you were convinced it was just some nutty project of the Morrison with the near-professional quality welds (just of a more subtle insanity than that maceration experiment.)
>>
>>4458140
>Maybe you want to keep it for yourself. Maybe you want to make sure it works before getting everyone is hopes up. Maybe you want to clean up after the Tank-Things escapade before you draw attention to the Morrison Farm. Whatever the reason, you will keep your mouth shut on this for now.
>>
>Maybe you want to keep it for yourself. Maybe you want to make sure it works before getting everyone is hopes up. Maybe you want to clean up after the Tank-Things escapade before you draw attention to the Morrison Farm. Whatever the reason, you will keep your mouth shut on this for now.
>>
>>4458154
>>4458145
Consider this closed; I'll get to writing it up shortly.
>>
Hrph! Stay up! You need to stay up! Nate is back from the restroom, and Parasol is talking again.

“So, there are two remaining big questions, after that, we will work out the specific assignments that we will have, before, during and immediately after the strike. The penultimate question is one of ‘gas’. It will be extremely difficult, but we could grow and raise food, after the found supply dwindles down to nothing. We can burn wood for heat, and there are even contraptions that can take wood and make a burnable gas. But what we cannot make is …” Hold on now, was that what that thing was? Your mind jumps back to yesterday, when you found what looked like some manner of woodstove that was hooked up to a generator on the Morrison Farm. It is still sitting there, right where you found it. Should you mention it to the group?

>Maybe you want to keep it for yourself. Maybe you want to make sure it works before getting everyone is hopes up. Maybe you want to clean up after the Tank-Things escapade before you draw attention to the Morrison Farm. Whatever the reason, you will keep your mouth shut on this for now.
>Well, you do not know if it is in working order anyway; and up until a minute ago you were convinced it was just some nutty project of the Morrison with the near-professional quality welds, just of a more subtle insanity than the maceration experiment. God, you better not get nightmares of that thing.
>>
>>4458398
Whoops! Ignore that previous post please!

Hmm. Why don’t you hold onto that ‘secret’ just a little bit longer? You do not know how to articulate it; but you have some sort of hunch, a genuine gut feeling that talking about it right now is not the best play, at least for you. …Probably has something to do with the state that you left the Morrison Farm in on your way out, but that is neither here nor there.

Now, what were they talking about? Gas? You ‘tune’ back into the conversation, and find Nate Light addressing the group.

“…there is also the question of expiration. Gasoline last about 3 months is properly stored without stabilization agents. Diesel can last anywhere from 6 to 12 months without any further treatment. But propane is effectively eternal; baring deliberate contamination it will almost always outlast the tank it is stored in. This is both good and bad; for the obvious reasons, it is good because that means that the possibility of scavenging more propane does not close at any fixed point. The bad news is that people will presumably want to use it for heating.

There is some confusion around the Blue Sitting Room at this point, but you think you know where he is going with this. And it turns out, you were right!

“Welding. While a blended mixture of oxygen and acetylene is the typical go to for small scale welding, in a pinch, propane can be used. Of course, that means that instead of running out of acetylene first we will run out of oxygen. I have a couple of ideas for that, but for now, having as large of a supply as welding gases is important for whatever emergency building and modification we will need to do in the aftermath. People are not going to be willing to simply handover their propane to us, or their gasoline or diesel, which we can sort of work around with gasifiers. And then there is motor oil and hydraulic fluid; both of those do not have the relatively easy work around like gasoline or diesel does. How to we get our hands on the bulk of this stuff, before it gets wasted or is squirreled away into little hoards?

Well, um … that is, a very good question. Uh….

>Write-in a suggestion on how to convince desperate people living in an isolated area during the Collapse to give you their gasoline, diesel, propane, motor oils, and hydraulic fluids.
>>
>>4458402

QM, is there a sheet anywhere for how much equipment our group has, people, or firearms available? I'm thinking the only way we can really convince people here is to come up with an external foe or trade for services for the gasoline, which I have no idea how it'll go over with them.
>>
>>4458419
Hmm. There really should be one, but I don't have one ready. Alright, I'll plan on leaving this up overnight, in case someone has an idea, then I'll start the run tomorrow with a basic inventory sheet.
>>
Either we trade for it by offering the safety that comes with the communal housing idea or we locate the major stockpiles of it and be in place to grab a semi or tanker full right after the nukes drop. If the nukes don't actually drop and we do something like this we'll be up shit creek. That being said, we can't just cross this bridge when we get to it. Failing to plan is planning to fail and I'd rather have a mediocre plan than no plan. Any other ideas, I'm all ears?"
>>
"Actually, hmmm. Well we could start bringing more people in on our little Circle of Trust who control the supplies we need.Medical supply store for oxygen, welding shop, mechanic,gas station manager- heck maybe some people in our group are already on good terms with the folks we need onboard. Another option would be to halt distributon of these supplies until we need to seize them. Sabotage gas pumps or electric transformers/boxes/fuse boxes supplying them power. Then take over the gas station or whatever and extract the supplies after the bombs drop."

"This is heavy stuff, though, I must admit."
>>
>>4458402
actually I feel that as this meeting drags on it is more and more going into pesky details. I think at some point soon we need to excuse ourselves and head back home. We have meat to freeze animals to feed and prepare our abode for the apocalypse and our mom.
>>
So why exactly are we allowed in parasols inner circle?
>>
>>4458619
Apparently we are "useful"
>>
>>4458619
>>4458628
Our character is not exactly sure. He did a few jobs for Parasol, and he started using us regularly. If you were to ask Mantle, he'd probably guess that he's here because Parasol knows that he's an 'idiot savant' at scavenging.

>>4458445
The collective equipment sheet is going to take a bit more time to finish, and I don't want to burn the 'bump window' of thread if I can in anyway help it.

>>4458464
>>4458527
I can incorporate this into a suggestion; but I'll let you know right now that there will be push back on the idea of actively sabotaging things. Regardless, this vote wasn't that important. The final one of the five is arguably the most important, and will determine which story threads are followed for the rest of the quest.

By the time that the 'gas' discussion ends, another hour will have passed. Just to get this out of the way, can someone roll 1d20 again? This is the 3:00am roll, which means that a 1 or a 2 means that the strike has begun. Also, maluses start to come into play soon, as we will have been without food or sleep for 24 hours.
>>
Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>4458816
Yeah no prob, also I'm up for just not choosing anything since we don't have any real ideas so far.
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>>4458823
Alright, I'll be ready to start the run in an hour and a half, about 2pm Eastern Standard Time.
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>>4458892
Actually, something came up; I wont be able to run right away; but it should take that long to take care of. In the meantime, here is a rare 'meta vote' to make up for the delay (and if it is the desire of the majority, to move things along...)

Should the group:
>Have another debate over how they should secure 'gas'? There are a couple of ideas that the other characters have, but they are all pretty basic.

>Acknowledge that they don't have much of plan beyond securing what supplies they can and maybe requiring payment either for assess to consolidated housing or as a one time 'buy-in' to receive protection, and move on to the more important question.
>>
>>4458974
>Acknowledge that they don't have much of plan beyond securing what supplies they can and maybe requiring payment either for assess to consolidated housing or as a one time 'buy-in' to receive protection, and move on to the more important question.
please
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>>4458974
Let's move onto the last question for now so we can solve that and get some sleep. Let's return to the issue of gas another time.
>>
move onto the last question for now so we can solve that and get some sleep. Let's return to the issue of gas another time.
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>>4458974
>>Acknowledge that they don't have much of plan beyond securing what supplies they can and maybe requiring payment either for assess to consolidated housing or as a one time 'buy-in' to receive protection, and move on to the more important question.
Seems like a decent time for it, lot of other anons around to vote.
>>
>Acknowledge that they don't have much of plan beyond securing what supplies they can and maybe requiring payment either for assess to consolidated housing or as a one time 'buy-in' to receive protection, and move on to the more important question.
>>
>should take that long to take care of
Well, that was a prescient typo. Alright, lets nip this in the bud. With a unanimous consensus, we will move on to the final question. Writing.
>>
>Blue Sitting Room of Parasol Family Lodge, Debouche, Maine. Sometime after 2:30am

Parasol abrupt stops the pockets of conversation around the room and turns his attention to you. “Well Mantle, you are the scavenger of the group. Do you have any suggestions for scrounging up gas?” And all the eyes of the room fall on you. Under the weight of everyone’s gaze, you find yourself hunching over a bit, and without realizing it, your hands go to your temples. Really selling self-confidence…

Your immediate thought is to preemptively seize all fuel and power infrastructure, but that is sort of covered already by the plan to send Deputy Sheriffs all around the lake and try to lock down strategic or valuable locations. But beyond that … “Mr. Parasol, to be honest, I generally do not scavenge fuel, so this is well outside of any practical experience on my part. That said … um, if I had to say something on the broader topic of preventing waste and hoarding, it would be that people are going to burn what they have the equipment to burn until they run out, or they cannot. But the thing that they need is the heat, not the gas or oil or whatever. To that end, make firewood available for them. You could force ‘em to hand it over, in exchange for wood, you could collect gas as a ‘tax’ in lieu of money and give them the wood as part of the assistance, or you could simply make wood available to everyone at a favorable rate; small tank to an entire cord of wood.”
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>>4459580
There is the sound of people shifting in their seats as they consider your words. Parasol in particular looks like he is deep in thought; but from what you can tell, everyone seems to be taking your words into serious consideration. After a solid minute of silence, George Light speaks. “Listen, we need answers soon, but not necessarily now. Mantle here is right; the important thing is the heat, not the gas itself. By giving people wood, they can still heat themselves, the mechanic for getting them to give us the gas in exchange for the wood is an afterthought, if you really think about it. But gas is about more than heating; it obviously is necessary for nearly all of the transportation around the lake. You cannot fill up the tank of a car with firewood, can you? I know … well, I don’t think anyone here wants to play the villain, but unless there is some genuine forcible coercion, people are not going to be trading gasoline or diesel to us in any great quantities.”

Nate Light speaks up here. “Or for that matter, heating oil. While there are slight differences between #2 diesel and #2 heating oil, anything that will run diesel can run on heating oil, with no significant issues.” The room takes this in silence, and for the first time tonight, Parasol looks a bit overwhelmed. You think that George Light hit it on the head; ‘I don’t think anyone here wants to play the villain’. And the one who wants to play the villain the least is Parasol himself. ‘Bart’ said that he had to be talked down from making a blanket guarantee of assistance; he clearly wants to help people, and the idea of forcing people’s hands like this sits with him hard.

In the uneasy silence that follows Nate Light’s addendum to his cousins’ statement, Chickless is the first to speak, softly addressing Mr. Parasol. “Erwin, George is right. We just need to make these decisions soon. Not necessarily now. Move on, before we get bogged down.” Parasol quietly nods, and then moves on to what would be the last of the five questions.
>>
>>4459580
There is the sound of people shifting in their seats as they consider your words. Parasol in particular looks like he is deep in thought; but from what you can tell, everyone seems to be taking your words into serious consideration. After a solid minute of silence, George Light speaks. “Listen, we need answers soon, but not necessarily now. Mantle here is right; the important thing is the heat, not the gas itself. By giving people wood, they can still heat themselves, the mechanic for getting them to give us the gas in exchange for the wood is an afterthought, if you really think about it. But gas is about more than heating; it obviously is necessary for nearly all of the transportation around the lake. You cannot fill up the tank of a car with firewood, can you? I know … well, I don’t think anyone here wants to play the villain, but unless there is some genuine forcible coercion, people are not going to be trading gasoline or diesel to us in any great quantities.”

Nate Light speaks up here. “Or for that matter, heating oil. While there are slight differences between #2 diesel and #2 heating oil, anything that will run diesel can run on heating oil, with no significant issues.” The room takes this in silence, and for the first time tonight, Parasol looks a bit overwhelmed. You think that George Light hit it on the head; ‘I don’t think anyone here wants to play the villain’. And the one who wants to play the villain the least is Parasol himself. ‘Bart’ said that he had to be talked down from making a blanket guarantee of assistance; he clearly wants to help people, and the idea of forcing people’s hands like this sits with him hard.

In the uneasy silence that follows Nate Light’s addendum to his cousins’ statement, Chickless is the first to speak, softly addressing Mr. Parasol. “Erwin, George is right. We just need to make these decisions soon. Not necessarily now. Move on, before we get bogged down.” Parasol quietly nods, and then moves on to what would be the last of the five questions.

“The final question is before us here is what to do with the Consolidated Somerset-Piscataquis Jail. It is the largest structure on the lake, and easily the most fortified.” Even as tired as you are, and with everything that is going on, you find yourself having to suppress a chuckle. Clearly, Mr. Parasol has never seen Tinn’s homestead. “Moreover, while the accommodations there currently are not … desirable per say, the fact of the matter is that given the history of the building, they could presumably be improved. Suffice to say, as far as any consolidated housing we could prepare for our people, would be the gold standard.”
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>>4459582
Reaves speaks up. “History? What sort of history?”

“It used to be a hotel. A massive hotel.” There was more to the history than that, however. The Mt. Kineo House was originally built as a relatively modest hotel, all the way back in 1848. That one had burnt down in 1868, and was rebuilt bigger and better, but that one burnt down too in 1882. In the interim where the hotel was being rebuilt for the third time, the original owners of the hotel washed their hands of it and sold it to the Maine Central Railroad, who both insisted on building the hotel even bigger, and most importantly, having it built out of brick, white washed, then painted the light lime green color of its predecessors. When it was complete, it was the largest lakefront hotel in America, and one of the largest lakefront hotels in the world, capable of accommodating 500 guests. The idea was that by having a hotel, passengers could be enticed out to trips on the Kineo line of the railroad; and this worked as planned for quite some time. However, the Depression and increased automobile ownership eventually made operating the Kineo line and the Mt. Kineo House unsustainable. The line was shuttered in 1933, and the hotel closed for operation in 1938. However, the building itself was just too good to let fall apart, and after some political wrangling was sold to the state to be converted into a county jail, over the strenuous objections of the locals, of course.

Even in its current state as a ‘lock-up’, the ‘Mt. Kineo Big House’ as it is unofficially known, is still pleasant to look at (at least from a distance). Visitors to the lake are always surprised to hear that it is a jail, and it is a common sentiment that it is the ‘prettiest jail in America’. You can obviously understand Parasol’s interest with ‘claiming’ the jail as consolidated housing, but…
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>>4459637
There are a bunch of prisoners in the jail. ‘Bart’ speaks up and echoes your sentiment. “Well, I can certainly see the appeal, but the obvious issue is what the hell do we do with the current residents?” To this, Chickless starts laughing mirthlessly. “Why, we will welcome them with open arms, of course! We will feed and shelter them! What difference does another, what, two hundred mouths mean? We are all going to starve anyway.” That does not go over well with Parasol, he just kind of … curls up a bit. For that matter, it does not go well with the Sheriff either.

“Honestly, what the hell are you trying to do here, with that kind of….”. The Sheriff trails off as words fail him.

Chickless’ face is a twisted into a mask of pure, unadulterated rage; in your entire life, you have never seen anyone look so angry. The naked emotion pouring off of him is nothing short of mesmerizing. But what is the most unnerving, is that despite his look, he somehow manages to keep his voice almost neutral, with only the barest hint of venom sneaking in. The dissociation between his look and his sound is discomforting, to say the least, and no one interrupts him as he speaks.

“It isn’t obvious? I am trying to survive. When a castle faced a famine, a pandemic or a siege, the first thing that they did was to expel the non-essentials. There are about 1600 people living in Debouche, and around the lake, there is about what, 500 more? Call it a total of 2000 people, for the sake of simplicity. We have decided to offer to support all of them. Most of them are probably going to take us at our word, and accept that. With the food on hand, between the markets, restaurants, and other incidental sources, paired with the food that we can count on harvesting over the Winter, namely fish in the lake, small game, and vermin, there is absolutely no way that we could hope to feed everyone. We could not feed 2000. We could not feed half that. We would still be facing losses from starvation at a quarter. An eighth; that would be realistic, and a 1 to 4 ratio of males to females would be optimal. If we stretched things tight, we could accommodate children as well. Beyond that?
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>>4459761
“Not a chance.”

“These people, the unskilled, unprepared and generally unsuited, are a millstone, a millstone that we have willing and causally slipped around our necks, with less thought than a woman would take to pick out a necklace for an evening on the town. They are going to die in great numbers; even if we had enough food to feed everyone, then many of them would still find someway to die on us, after eating our food, burning our fuel and ultimately wasting our time. If all of them were to remain on the lake, the food situation will have gotten desperate enough that neighbors will be seriously contemplating eating one another for Thanksgiving.”

In a blink of an eye, his expression softens back to normal. But the hint of venom in his voice remains. “But it is not entirely hopeless. If these non-essentials stay here, then they, as well as us, will die. If these non-essentials are convinced to head to a city while the road is still clear, then we might be able to make it through. Additionally, the non-essentials would have a better chance in or near the cities than the near-certain death they face here. Expelling them is a kindness, to them, to us, to everyone. No two ways about it.” He looks toward the Sheriff. “You are an idiot, you know. Don’t ever forget that, and you might just survive this.”

You would have no idea how on earth to respond to that, and it sees that the Sheriff does not either.

“You obviously are not planning on feeding, heating and looking after the prisoners through all of this; so how are they somehow different from the rest of the non-essentials? Can anyone explain the difference? I cannot see it. The only difference is that the danger they present to us is physical as well as logistical. Were we to open the doors to set them free, where would they go? To wherever the nearest source of food and shelter is that they could take by force of arms. This lake is surrounded by empty cabins, and as Erwin mentioned earlier, the population of the town and the lake as a whole skew older than average. Facing starvation, these freed prisoners would no doubt target the elderly. Which … well, we can use.”

Use?
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>>4459826
“There are several options available to us; some of them will require further considerations, some of them are suicidal, but for the sake of argument, I will list all of them. We can kill ourselves and everyone else around this damned lake ahead of schedule by keeping them fed and heated. We could just let them out the front door; the fear and panic caused by a mass ‘jailbreak’ on top of a nuclear strike would go a long way to driving non-essentials out of the area. Once they are gone, it would be a simple matter of hunting them down … killing them, to be clear, claiming what they had managed to steal, then scavenging the houses abandoned by the non-essentials. Under the pretext of preventing the remaining escaped prisoners from sheltering in abandoned buildings around the lake, we would deliberately destroy the unneeded, redundant housing that the non-essentials abandoned. Ensuring that if they ever made it back to the lake, they would have no where to live, and would be forced to move on.

“As an alternative, we could drop all pretense, head over to the jail, and simply kill all of them. This option would mean that we would need to find another way to convince non-essentials to leave. Or if you insisted on not killing the prisoners, you could just bus them out to the middle of the north woods and kick them out. Of course, that would still be condemning them to death, but if it was so important that your hands remained clean, then I suppose….

You and the rest of the room are speechless. You feel a … need, an obligation to say something. To tell him that he is wrong, that such measures are not going to be necessary, that … it is all going to be okay. That you will not have to make such hard decisions. That everything is going to be fine. That everyone is going to make it through, and years from now, we’ll all be talking about this like we talk about the Ice Storm of ’97.

You cannot do any of that, of course. Because none of that is remotely true. To your surprise, and your embarrassment, you realize that you have started to cry. It has finally become real for you, people are going to die, and some of them are going to die because of choice you make. As you angrily wipe at your tears with the back of your hand, as your stomach churns and as your head pounds, you find yourself in completely uncharted territory. What can you do? What should you do?

>Kill all the prisoners (excluding fertile women and men with specialist skills)
>Release all the prisoners out the front door (excluding fertile women and men with specialist skills) in a bid to drive off non-essentials
>Release all the prisoners somewhere in the Northwoods (excluding fertile women and men with specialist skills) as a way to wipe your hands of their eventual deaths
>Keep the prisoners alive for now
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>>4459852
>Kill all the prisoners (excluding fertile women and men with specialist skills)

Letting criminals roam the countryside is a very, very bad idea, ethically and pragmatically, but cleaning house? Not so much, I would think.
>>
>Kill all the prisoners (excluding fertile women and men with specialist skills)
Fuck this is dark man. I don’t know if it would be in character to make this choice but it’s obviously the safest bet to make. I guess we could rationalize it as giving them the swiftest and most humane death over booting them out to freeze. Or harm the other residents.
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>>4459852
what if we killed all of the violent/serious offenders, then proceeded to release the guys in there for minor things like embezzlement/petty theft
sure, they're criminals still, but they certainly must be a fair grade lower in the terms of the damage they could cause
plus, we keep a clear(er) conscious, and still can cause some hysteria to get some non-essentials fleeing the area with (probably) less damage
that's what my vote is going to. seems like the best of both worlds. unless we manage to scare off some essentials as well
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>>4459852
>>4459863
>>4459902
+1, but I'll expand a bit.

We should filter the prisoners by the following judgements.

First, can they be trusted?
Second, do they have any relevant useful skills? Architects, engineers, mechanics, farmers, etc.
Third, are they fit, relatively young (more important for women) and sound of body?

I say we kill the unreasonable ones and those who are entirely useless, while retaining the skilled ones and as many trusty fit, healthy people as we can. This will give us a workforce/goon squad, but even if we filter them by the trusty ones we have to be careful not to let them get any ideas of rebellion.
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>>4459933
+1
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>>4459852
>Release all the prisoners somewhere in the Northwoods (excluding fertile women and men with specialist skills) as a way to wipe your hands of their eventual deaths
"You'll all be transfered to another jail"
"congratulations, you are now free"
I just see this going over most smoothly. Also we can let them out somewhere not too far from civilisation so they have a fighting chance. although that would of course mean endangering other innocents...
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if you guys insist on shooting them please also cart them to the woods first. this is the kind of shit you don't do too public.
>>
It is probably worth reposting this from the first thread;

"....And as a point of clarification, despite being used interchangeably in causal language, there are significant legal and practical differences between the two types of institutions, in the United States. Jails are locally run, designated for holding those who have not been convicted yet or who have relatively short sentences, as opposed to prisons, which are for convicted criminals sentenced to long internments. As a rule of thumb, jails typically have worse conditions for their inmates than prisons, which are kept to notably higher and nation-wide standards..."

And here is some more information that our character would know about the situation in the jail;

A decent portion of the prisoners in the 'Mt. Kineo Big House' have not actually been convicted of a crime yet, they are simply locked up awaiting trial; Maine (in both the real world and in this one) does do cash bail, but does not have the bail bondsmen industry that other states in the union have, meaning that if you can not afford to cover the cost of bail levied against you (or if you are held without bail) then you are remanded into jail to await trial.

Looking at the population of actual convicts (as opposed to those simply awaiting trial), most of them are there for misdemeanors. Of these misdemeanors, most are either drug and alcohol related, or they are some flavor of petty theft. Relatively few of the misdemeanors are 'violent'. Of the relatively few felons present, about half of those are 'violent', the rest are pretty much just in there for more serious versions of misdemeanors.

These people aren't monsters by any stretch of the imagination, but that does not mean that they are not dangerous, or capable of violence in the right (wrong) situation. Nearly all of them are 'combat age', that is to say, between 18 and 45 years old, and are nearly all males. Almost none of them have relatives living around the lake, but most of them were from somewhere in either Piscataquis or Somerset county. That is to say that while they don't have the kind of personal ties to the community that might stay their hands, they can be expected to have a basic knowledge of the area.

With few exceptions, they are almost all 'chronic fuckups'. Even the ones that were not in jail for drug and alcohol related crimes are more likely than not to have some level of dependency and addiction issues. Most of them have nothing beyond a high school education or GED, though as most men with rural upbringings, they all can be expected to have some technical aptitude. Anger, impulse control and undianosed mental issues are common issues throughout the jail's population.
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>>4460005
Chickless really hit it on the head; these are just 'imminently' dangerous non-essentials. His frustration is that serious thought will be given to killing or expelling them (to there presumable deaths) but that same thought would never be given to the rest of the non-essentials; who in their great numbers pose a different sort of danger, delayed just far enough out that it could be willfully overlooked.

In his mind, (and to a certain extent, in reality) the non-essentials living around the lake pose a greater threat. Simply put, you can shoot looters, but you can't shoot hunger. I'm going to leave this one up over night, and I'd like to thank everyone for sticking around despite the interruptions on my end today. It's really frustrating; I expected to be able to run much more over this weekend then I wound up actually doing.

Oh, and before I go, >>4459975... Shoot them? You certainly could, but I might have had this choice when I gave you guys the 'combat rebuilt sledge axe' in the first thread. (I'll get an inventory sheet pulled together soon.) The blade isn't wide enough to cleanly decapitate someone, but it is certainly suitable to brain anything or anyone you will come across in the entire state.
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>>4460038
Shiiet man, we can't start this off by going all killing fields bludgeoning people to death with garden tools. Also, might I ask QM, what exactly was the significance of the "what makes a decision right" vote?
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>>4460102
The rationale behind that vote was to one, provide direction for me on 'flavor text', and two, to get a sense of what choices should be made available to the character. And I don't think a sledge axe exactly qualifies as a garden tool, pic related.
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>Kill all the prisoners (excluding fertile women and men with specialist skills)

But only after hooking them up into chain gangs and using them to split the wood rounds(slices made with chainsaws) into logs.
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>>4460005
>>4460038
Right, so they're mostly petty offenders. That changes things. I don't think killing them is a good idea then.

We release the bulk of them, recruit those with useful skills, and some of the more trusty able-bodied men for work team(s)/goon-squad(s).

Hopefully the mass release will drive off some people.
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>>4459852
>>Keep the prisoners alive for now

The nuclear strike hasn't even happened yet!

You can't unkill someone. I'm not even ruling that out as an option, but let's give it sometime. In the meantime, cut off supplies to the prison. If the strike does happen, then we can have the 'kill the prisoners' discussion.
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>>4460235
Changing to this. Murderers/rapists/serious violent offenders still should probably get the (sledge) axe, unless they hold some kind of exceptional skill. Releasing them would only damage the community, and releasing most of those with relatively minor misdemeanors should still build up enough of a panic to chase off the non-essentials. I don't like the part regarding undiagnosed mental illness however.
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>>4459914
I'll go with this. Creating a mostly nonlethal hysteria with the least dangerous prisoners in order to reduce the mouths we have to feed sounds like the best option
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>>4460102
Changing to this
>>4460235
>>
I'm not quite ready to start writing for the day, so I'll just leave this up for a little bit longer. Just wanted to bump the thread, in case the additional information I provided last night changes anyone's vote.
>>
Alright, voting is now closed.

>>4459863 votes to kill all prisoners, excluding the potentially useful. (I for Killing)
>>4459902 votes to kill all prisoners, excluding the potentially useful. (II for Killing)
>>4459914 votes to kill all violent/heinous criminals, keep the potentially useful, and release the rest. Vote retracted by >>4460282
>>4459933 votes to kill all violent/heinous criminals, keep the potentially useful, and release the rest. Proposes vetting scheme. Vote retracted by >>4460235
>>4459937 votes to kill all violent/heinous criminals, keep the potentially useful, and release the rest. Supports proposed vetting scheme. (II for Killing, I for Partial Release)
>>4459954 votes to release all prisoners deep into the Northwoods, excluding the potentially useful.Vote retracted by >>4460451
>>4460195 votes to kill all prisoners, excluding the potentially useful. (III for Killing, I for Partial Release)
>>4460235 votes to release all prisoners, excluding the potentially useful. (III for Killing, I for Partial Release, I for Full Release)
>>4460236 votes to keep all prisoners alive for now. (III for Killing, I for Partial Release, I for Full Release, I for Keeping)
>>4460282 votes to release all prisoners, excluding the potentially useful. (III for Killing, I for Partial Release, II for Full Release, I for Keeping)
>>4460378 votes to votes to kill all violent/heinous criminals, keep the potentially useful, and release the rest. Supports proposed vetting scheme. (III for Killing, II for Partial Release, II for Full Release, I for Keeping)
>>4460451 votes to release all prisoners, excluding the potentially useful.(III for Killing, II for Partial Release, III for Full Release, I for Keeping)

And of course, it is a tie. This is such an important vote, I don't feel comfortable just rolling for it. Not to mention, there is potential for advocates of Partial Release to switch over to Full Release. (Full is releasing everyone who isn't useful, partial is killing the violent/heinous criminals, and then releasing everyone who isn't useful). I will leave this up for just a little bit longer.
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>>4460632
I think you shouldn't count the votes made before >>4460038 and >>4460005, as votes were made without full knowledge of the inmates.
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>>4460756
Well, if no one changes their vote in the next hour or so, to move things along, I suppose I could drop them. I don't know.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

Alright, I have thought about it. And as much as I hate to roll for something as important as this, I'd feel even worse if I just decided to disqualify votes.

Kill roll of 1
Full Release roll of 2
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>>4461069
>Full Release
heh
oh man
looks like shit just got cranked up to 11
>>
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>>4461069
Oh shit nigger, this is going to be interesting.
Silently rooting that these prisoners are actually decent people.
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Hey guys, quick update; I'm still working on the post. At the rate I am going, it looks like it will either be an overnight or morning vote. Sorry for the delays, it's just that this is a really critical decision in the quest, and I don't want to rush this. Wanted to let you guys know, so you aren't waiting around needlessly.
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>>4461192
appreciate the heads up, OP.
your writing is slow going, but always ends up quality.
really critical portion of the quest anyway, best to make sure it's the best it can be.
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>>4461192
yeah no problem
>>
You're doing great so far QM. Thanks for the update :)
>>
>Blue Sitting Room of Parasol Family Lodge, Debouche, Maine. Sometime after 2:40am

You feel on the verge of what might be considered a ‘panic attack’. You do not know, you have never had one before, but odds are this is what they feel like. Always, you have prided yourself on your ‘relatively’ level head. In your line of work, as a scavenger, not an Animal Control Officer, your ability to focus things down, to get ‘just the facts’, has been a saving grace. Many would be scavengers are simply some flavor of ‘functional’ hoarder, they find cubic foot after cubic foot of trash and somehow manage to only see potential. You have succeeded, where they failed because you know how to consider cost and benefit, even, no, especially when those costs and benefits are in non-monetary terms. This is one of your (admittedly few) strengths, you pride yourself on this.

And while every fiber of your being is recoiling at the idea, you know that there is no argument against Chickless here. Assuming that this is going to be … a Collapse, in part or in whole, that after the strike, Debouche and the rest of Northern Maine cannot expect any outside assistance, that we need to feed ourselves through this Winter, and possibly beyond … then he is right. Accepting this feels like your brain is being flagellated; the stress and distress is tangible, in a physiological sense. And by accepting that, you are also tacitly accepting that people, around the lake and around the world are going to die, and in great numbers. As hard as all of that may be to swallow, if that was the extent of it, then maybe you have been able to move on, because you would have to accept it, as it was all out of your hands.

But there is the issue; it is not out of your hands. You are not going to be some bystander in whatever is coming. Having taken a seat in this room, you are taking some level of responsibility for what happens next. Your neighbors, some of your neighbors will suffer … will suffer and die because of decisions that were made here. That you made here. There is a part of you, an irresponsible, childish part, that is so terrified by this that he wants to do nothing more than just run home and wash your hands of all of this. To go to bed, and pretend that this was all some sort of dream. But that is, in its own cowardly way, making a decision here.

At this point, there are no good decisions left. There are bad decisions, and even worse decisions, but none of them are good; none of them are miraculously going to let everyone get out of this alive.
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>>4461480
…Wait…

‘None of them are miraculously going to let everyone get out of this alive.’ That is a certainty. If there is no course of action that saves everyone, then … then it is still sort of out of your hands. It is a childish way to look at it, to insulate yourself from the practical and emotional burdens of responsibility, you see, even in this moment. But at the same time, you cannot deny the relief, or at the very least, the calming, stabilizing effect that this realization, this admission has for you.

And if this is the case, then what you need to do is to get a fucking grip here, and recognize that if there is not an obvious good decision, then objectively speaking, the least bad decision becomes the good decision. Without realizing it, you start gently rocking back and forth in your seat, as you go over this again and again in your head. ‘There is no ‘right decision’, and people, lots of people are going to die regardless of whatever you try to do.’ Under more normal circumstances, that statement alone would be distressing, and the idea of finding relief from it would be sickening and comical by turns, but today, in the state that you are, and in the state that the world is going to be in shortly, it is a godsend. You force that idea through your head, ramming it home again and again, like the bolt action of a rifle. Each time you repeat it, you find yourself a little more fortified, the situation more compartmentalized and rationalized. After several-several-several seconds of this, you begin to feel better (or more accurately, you feel ‘less worse’).

Given the choice between two scenarios of a group (that includes yourself), where in one of the cases the entire group dies, or in the second case, most of the group dies and you probably live, but you have some responsibility in some of the deaths, objectively, the right decision is to ensure that some people … and yourself, of course, make it out alive, right? Your understanding of ‘ethics’ is admittedly limited, but you don’t see any compelling argument why everyone should die … If that is the choice, then really, it is what most people would go with. Maybe it is not ‘right’, per say, but it is practical. And certainly understandable. Call this belief a justification, call it an excuse, Hell, call it a lie. Whatever it is, it is getting you through this.
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>>4461481
Now, ignoring what needs to be done with the rest of the people around the lake, the prisoners. If you and the rest of the group here were not to do anything, what would happen? Well, presumably, the guards would eventually realize what was going on, and they would take matters into their own hands by absconding with the food, probably. Well, that is no good, obviously. So, what changes by killing them? They die sooner, and if done properly, they will be less suffering on their part. But assuming that the Sheriff moves to have the food secured earlier, then that means that there is no food lost, so the only net gain from killing them outright is reducing their suffering. On the other hand, there is the release. Well, that would potentially drive off some people, but there would be others who would probably try to stick around to defend their property from looters. It is a real mixed bag as far as you could tell. Perhaps Chickless does not understand the psychology at play here, despite having accounted for everything else.

You become aware that conversation has resumed around the square of sofas; and as one might expect, the tone has become markedly somber. ‘Bart’ is back at the cart, pouring himself something-or-other. Chickless is speaking to the Lights, who are all listening to him intently and the Sheriff, who is listening to him begrudgingly. Parasol nodding along with the conversation, but he looks green, as if he were about to throw up. Reaves has left the room, but his coat is still over the back of one of the sofas, so he presumably just went to the bathroom.

A thought comes to you; about the type who would stick around and defend their property from the prisoners. There is a serious overlap of people who would stick around on their property to defend is from looters and people who would, upon realizing that ‘shit had gone sideways’, go out an start looting or at least attempting to trade or purchase for critical supplies. It probably would be closer to concentric circles than a Venn Diagram. So, by releasing the prisoners, you will drive off a number of ‘non-essentials’ and simultaneously tie down whatever competition you would have for critical supplies around the lake. Well, that is definitely the better option then. You would go as far to say that It is nothing short of Machiavellian, if that is what he intended.
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>>4461482
But did he? He did not mention it to your knowledge, and you have been listening to him for a few minutes now, and he does not seem to be touching on that point or anything related to it, even though it seems that the plan to release the prisoners has tentative support from the room, (which considering the alternatives, is not surprising). Did he not think of it? You do not know for sure, but you find yourself doubting that; he is deliberate enough to specify a particular ratio of men to women in his plan. If he’d think about things like that to that extent, then he’d probably conclude that some people would stick around to protect their property, which would lead to the realization that this would actually be to your benefit. So what does that mean, he’s concealing it? Why on earth would he do that?

Feh! If this was an oversight, then you feel that you should bring it up, to further cement support for the release plan. Still, you cannot help but feel that this is somehow deliberate. Maybe you are overthinking things, or maybe you are being paranoid; God knows it would not be the first time. How should you deal with this?

>Interrupt Chickless’ conversation and ask if he planned on tying down potential competition for the supplies around the lake by releasing prisoners as well, and why he didn’t mention that.
>Interrupt Chickless’ conversation and ask him what he plans to do about property owners that stay behind to protect property from the army of scavengers that we are going to dump around the lake.
>Wait until Chickless’ is alone later, and then ask if he planned on tying down potential competition for the supplies around the lake by releasing prisoners as well, and why he didn’t mention that.
>Wait until you get a better sense of Chickless’ character to find a time that he is alone later, and then ask if he planned on tying down potential competition for the supplies around the lake by releasing prisoners as well, and why he didn’t mention that.
>This is just you being paranoid, there is no need to bring this up now or ever.

This is kind of an odd vote I admit, but I put it in here to divide up what will be a page or two more of narrative before the next big vote (what to do after the end of the meeting, assuming the the strike hasn't started yet).
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>>4461484
I ma kind of lost here. We think that Chickless intended to lead us on releasing the prisioners so people stay defending their homes from potential looters, while we go around securing as much supplies as posible?
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>>4461484
>Interrupt Chickless’ conversation and ask if he planned on tying down potential competition for the supplies around the lake by releasing prisoners as well, and why he didn’t mention that.

just asking?
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>>4461484
>Interrupt Chickless’ conversation and ask him what he plans to do about property owners that stay behind to protect property from the army of scavengers that we are going to dump around the lake.
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>This is just you being paranoid, there is no need to bring this up now or ever.
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>>4461508
I don't really get it either. chickless is against release in favour of snuffing everyone, right?
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>>4461508
Yeah, that is the basic idea.
>>4461650
We aren't entirely sure, but the implication is that if he is deliberately underselling his release plan, then odds are that is what he is pulling for.

>>4461514
>>4461579
>>4461580
Well, that is a three way tie. I'm not quite ready to run yet, so I will leave this open for a bit longer. This is admittedly a strange vote, based off of suspicion and incomplete information because 'in character' we don't understand what is going on either.
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>>4461666
If it comes down to it, I think confronting Chickless is more important than how we do that.

So, if the tie isn't broken soon, then please switch my vote to >Interrupt Chickless’ conversation and ask if he planned on tying down potential competition for the supplies around the lake by releasing prisoners as well, and why he didn’t mention that.
>>
Alright, consider the vote closed for now. I'll get to writing, expect the post in about three hours from now.
>>
This whole thing does not make any sense. Maybe if you were not so damn tired, you would be able to figure this out. His proposed plan for the full release has an obvious secondary outcome, that it will tie down potential competitors for critical supplies around the lake. This outcome is obviously a ‘boon’ to your group, and a strong argument in favor of this plan, but he is not mentioning it. Assuming that he did think of it, which from your impression of him, you would assume that he would have … why is he underselling his own plan? Is … is this because he wants the group here to agree to kill the prisoners, so he is deliberately underselling the alternative where they are not killed?

But that does not make any sense! He was the one who proposed the plan for the release in the first place. If he favors one plan, then why did he propose an opposing alternative that would be more palatable to the group here? You are not getting anywhere on this at this rate, you will just have to ask him. “Mr. Chickless?” Conversation around the sofas stop, as the others present (Reaves still is not back and ‘Bart’ is now wandering around the room, drink in one hand, a report in the other) look to you.

“Is there any more to this plan? I mean, if we dump the prisoners, then sure, some people will run off, between a strike and a breakout … and there are others that will hunker down, especially to protect their homes from the prisoners. And that is the idea, right? If everyone has either left or is staying home to protect their property from the prisoners, then … we will be the only ones going around and securing the critical supplies around the lake. Did you mention any of this, or did I just miss that?

You cannot make heads or tails of Chickless’ expression, but the surprise on the faces of the others around him almost certainly mean that he did not. Several seconds pass, and then he speaks with an exceptionally even and measured tone. “I didn’t mention any of that, for the simple reason that I had not considered things that far out. It is a very good point though.” What? Really? Is he telling the truth? Are you being unusually paranoid or unusually perceptive right now? Conversation resumes, and the others around Chickless start discussing your idea, and it is Chickless’ turn to nod along and listen. Well, regardless of what he actually wants, it seems that with your addendum to his proposal, the Sheriff is on board with it, which means that it is basically settled.
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>>4462022
You had wondered how it would work; if the majority of the group voted for something, but the Sheriff didn’t, he wouldn’t just go along with it, would he? Parasol might have formed this group, but in the end, he is brought the Sheriff in as a way to ensure that he had his … blessing? You do not know what would happen if that blessing was not given but Parasol decided to go ahead anyway with some plan, but it seems that you are not going to find out right now. Well, things are winding down here, the only thing you wanted to do is to speak to the Lights about boarding with you; but that was before the group decided to release the prisoners.

So, what the hell does that mean for you now? With prisoners added to the mix, is it still practical to stay at the homestead? Or now that the jail is on the table for housing, does it make sense to try to move your things (including your animals and the feed that is still waiting for you at Prague Farmer’s Union) into the ‘Mount Kineo Big House’?

>Plan on remaining at the Homestead, and stick around at the Parasol Family Lodge until an opportunity arises to ask the Lights (discretely) if they want to board with you.
>Plan on remaining at the Homestead, and head back now before it gets any later. Find an opportunity (soon) to ask the Lights (discretely) if they want to board with you.
>Plan on moving into the jail and forget about asking the Lights to board with you as it is no longer necessary.
>Plan on moving into the jail and ask the Lights if they want to board with you in whatever accommodations you pull together in the jail.

>And one more roll of 1d20, for the 4am roll. 1 2 or 3 means that the strike starts.
>>
>Plan on moving into the jail and forget about asking the Lights to board with you as it is no longer necessary.

Dice+1d20
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>>4462035
you'll need to put that in the options field for it to roll.
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Comon nah
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Maybe now?
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Dice+1d20
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>>4462024
>Plan on remaining at the Homestead, and head back now before it gets any later. Find an opportunity (soon) to ask the Lights (discretely) if they want to board with you.

fuck community housing. We have our tank against looters.
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Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>
Rolled 15 (1d20)

Sorry about the clutter.
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>>4462039
"dice" not in caps. it's a mistake I also made when I first rolled here.
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>>4462024
>Plan on moving into the jail and forget about asking the Lights to board with you as it is no longer necessary.
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QM, quick question about the world: if cold war has been going on for over 40 years shouldn't there be bunker complexes everywhere?
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>>4462057
agreeing
>>
Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>4462024
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>>4462024
>>Plan on remaining at the Homestead, and head back now before it gets any later. Find an opportunity (soon) to ask the Lights (discretely) if they want to board with you.
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>>4462024
>Plan on moving into the jail and forget about asking the Lights to board with you as it is no longer necessary.


I really, truly believe that we need to consolidate and centralise if we are going to get through "fine" the jail is a well fortified position apart from the fact that it is going to need a TON of reworking to get "liveable"

Thank God that no one has throught about cannibalising the prisoners yet, I can just imagine someone putting them in a cooler room, and one things go starvation... "oh yeah, here is where the prisoners went" [/quote]
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>>4462214
>>4462121
>>4462214
+1
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>>4462024
>>Plan on remaining at the Homestead, and head back now before it gets any later. Find an opportunity (soon) to ask the Lights (discretely) if they want to board with you.
Yup.
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Alright; the plan for now is to head back to the homestead and look for an opportunity (soon) to get the Lights to board with you. I'll get to writing, but considering how late it is already, this will probably be an overnight vote.
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QM needs to say this is part 2 in the tittle. My dumbass was waiting for this and thought it was part 1.
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>break computer like dumbass
>get it back after a few days
>"huh, wonder what happened on /qst/"
>suddenly we're deciding whether to engage in wholesale slaughter
goddamn, that escalated quickly
I like it
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>>4462778
Whoops! That is one hell of an oversight; I will make sure that I get that straightened out for the next one.
>>4462810
Buckle in!
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>Blue Sitting Room of Parasol Family Lodge, Debouche, Maine. Sometime after 3:20am

Conversation continued around the square of sofas, but with the final course of action decided, you really did not have anything significant to add; the only reason to stay at this point would be if the strike was happening right now, which it wasn’t, or if either of the Lights would get away from the rest of the group so you could preposition them to stay with you on your homestead; though now that you think about it, with the jail on the table, convincing them might be harder than it would have been previously. Still, if you cannot get them, odds are you could find someone else. Or could you? You were part of a group that would soon be dumping more than 200 prisoners on the lake, and securing (hopefully) nearly all of the critical supplies for available around the lake themselves. Odds are, you probably are not going to be that popular with the permanent residents.

Still, food is going to be extremely valuable soon, and a source of food like your livestock is probably … going to make you one of the ‘wealthiest’ individuals around the whole lake. Huh, that is kind of funny to think about, isn’t it? But it is also alarming by turns; as one of the closest things to a farmer that the lakeside community has, no doubt you are going to have a target pained on your back. So long as no one attacks your homestead in significant numbers, you would have a serious, fighting chance to protect them from thieves or would be scavengers. Well, you are not going to be on your own, mother should be here soon. Depending on how long it took her to get out of the house, she could realistically be here as soon as 6am. So long as the strike doesn’t happen before then, she should- no, she will make it in on schedule and on time.

As much as shame as your impending infamy with the residents is, you recognize that there are other options. Considering that you are not going to be killing any of the prisoners, it would probably be a relatively to entice a skilled or exceptionally trustworthy prisoner over to stay with you at your homestead. Or perhaps, maybe even a lady prisoner? Though that would be more in addition, as opposed to an alternative of getting a ‘hired man’ from the jail to board with you. Perhaps it is chauvinistic to say to so, but you don’t think that you could trust the security of your homestead while you were away solely to feminine hands. Failing recruiting a prisoner, you could always try to find another member of Parasol’s group; considering they’d be similarly ‘unpopular’ around the lake, they’d probably not carry the kind of potential ill will towards you that someone outside of Parasol’s group would, but that runs into the same issues that getting the Lights to board with your does, you’d have to compete with the ‘Mount Kineo Big House’
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>>4463061
You will have to worry about this later; preferably when you can think straight. Your head is in a serious fog, and your stomach still hurts, though the sick feelings of dread from earlier have nearly all abated, leaving the more mundane hunger pains. You are not needed here at this time; you will depart for now. Standing up, and mentally wincing at the off balance sensation from rising too fast, no doubt exacerbated by your subtly gimped legs, you announce to the group that you will need to get going back to your place to get some sleep and to get things ready for you, unintentionally avoiding mentioning your livestock to the group. It is as you said, while your owning farm animals is not a secret, perhaps going forward, some OPSEC … no, INFOSEC. Or would it be COMSEC? Whatever. Whatever it is would probably be warranted to prevent you from becoming a bigger and bigger target around the lake. On the other hand, if they do not know, they will not be able to help you provide for them, now will they? Boy, another balancing act.

Parasol, having recovered somewhat from the clear existential dread he was going through earlier thanks you for coming on such short notice, and establishes a plan for you to get back in touch with the rest of them. Through the Sheriff, he has access to Debouche Public Safety’s radio system, so he can reach you easily enough. Still, he insists that if you haven’t heard from him by 11:00am to head into town immediately and check in at the Public Safety Building; Sheriff Arthur is going to be using the building as an unofficial muster point; so someone working with the group should be around there regardless. With that settled, you wish everyone well, and take your leave.
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>>4463063
>Unofficially Restored Logging Road, Your Homestead, Debouche Maine, Sometime after 3:35 am

Driving through the logging road that your restored unofficially (technically illegal, but even you could not be bothered to care about something so ridiculous and unenforceable as that), you notice with a start that the front of your dooryard is lit up by a pair of headlamps! Your first thought is that your mother is here already, but that is impossible, she is driving up, not flying up for goodness sake. Not to mention those headlights are much, much brighter than those on the subcompact you know she drives. So then who on Earth would be on your property in the middle of the night, in the middle of this night?

When you get closer to see the truck behind those powerful headlamps, were your hands not both on the steering wheel, you might have actually slapped your forehead with the realization. Tinn! Obviously, it is Tinn. Who else would be driving around a 6X6 Army truck at this time … or ever, for that matter? As you drive closer however, you understand why he needed to bring this heavy weight out. On top of what must be the strongest gypsy trailer you have ever seen, is your long-suffering Farm Truck! It seems that Tinn took it upon himself to bring it back to you! He’s a bit stuck now, with the bridge being out, but it seems like he is making progress positioning himself to drop the truck off and leave. A wave of genuine gratitude has completely washed over you. With everything that is going to happen, getting that truck back, and the moose meat on it is a huge deal.

'pic related' is a 6X6 army truck with a flatbed
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File: 6X6 Army Truck.jpg (114 KB, 968x454)
114 KB
114 KB JPG
>>4463077
Whoops. Here it is.

Your first instinct is to go over there right now and thank him as soon as you park and offer him some of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 government that you found in the Morrison’s arts and crafts trailer. It is at this point; however, you realize that Tinn does not know about the impending nuclear strike! You should tell him, right? But should you go a step further, and try to recruit him to Parasol’s group? The man is a survivalist, through and through. He would be an incredibly useful member of … the group. Now wait one minute here, can you honestly see Tinn sitting down in a group, alongside LAW ENFORCEMENT and working with others? He is a loner, a recluse! Who hates and is hated by police departments and sheriff’s offices around the state. Maybe trying to recruit him is not the best bet here, not to mention, Parasol never gave you the authority to bring people in. You do not think that he would take exception to it, but with everything that poor guy has shouldered, you do not know anymore.

Alright, so then, do not mention the group, just mention the strike. But does that even make sense? If he isn’t a part of the group, then that means he would be competing with the group. A bonafide cop killer, squaring off against deputies securing and scavenging critical supplies; that sounds like a recipe for violence. On the other hand, you don’t know when, if ever again, you will meet with an amicable Tinn. If you wanted to do him a courtesy of telling him about the strike, or attempt to break through his shell and recruit the man, this could be the easiest it will ever be, hell this could be the only chance that you will get. If the apocalypse well and truly arrives, he might just start shooting people on sight….

>Approach and thank Tinn for bringing your Farm Truck back. Offer a cut of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 in exchange (you do not have any firearms chambered for the round). Do not mention the strike, do not attempt to recruit him.
>Approach and thank Tinn for bringing your Farm Truck back. Offer a cut of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 in exchange (you do not have any firearms chambered for the round). Do mention the strike, do not attempt to recruit him.
>Approach and thank Tinn for bringing your Farm Truck back. Offer a cut of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 in exchange (you do not have any firearms chambered for the round). Do mention the strike, do attempt to recruit him.
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>>4462086
This is a good question; sorry I missed it.

The level of preparedness in this world for a nuclear strike is at the level that it was in our world during the Cold War; which was, as far ensuring the safety of the public frankly pretty abysmal. Public fallout shelters were simply gathering places, where people would wait out the strike. There were a small minority of people who built and maintained fallout shelters on their property for themselves and their families (and kept these stocked with supplies) but this was most common in the 50s and 60s; by the 70s and 80s society had collectively decided to throw its hands up and assume that any war with nuclear weapons would effectively destroy everything, and that preparing for it was pointless. So in answer to your question, for the quest, is that there are some personal fallout shelters, and that some of them are adequately stocked with supplies. That said, most of the houses here are vacation properties or second homes; they are less likely than a primary residence to have a fallout shelter. As far as public fallout shelters, they are basically what they were during the Cold war, designated rooms in solidly constructed public buildings with no accommodations for long stays or supplies.
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>>4463079
>Approach and thank Tinn for bringing your Farm Truck back. Offer a cut of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 in exchange (you do not have any firearms chambered for the round). Do mention the strike, do not attempt to recruit him.

Do it in his own weird and paranoid style. Say you picked it up somewhere, refuse to give any details and tell him to thank you later. A guy like tinn has probably prepared for this for years and is ready to immediately bunker down. I think our best policy towards him is to keep everyone off his back as well as possible. This way we maybe have a fallback if the Parasol administration turns to shit.
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>>4463079
>>Approach and thank Tinn for bringing your Farm Truck back. Offer a cut of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 in exchange (you do not have any firearms chambered for the round). Do mention the strike, do not attempt to recruit him.


Tinn is almost certainly one of those "small minority of people who built and maintained fallout shelters on their property for themselves". He doesn't need our help and he probably isn't a threat in his bunker.

It's basically the same lesson the AFT should have learned after Ruby Ridge: leave some people the heck alone.
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>>4463092
got it, thanks. So there are protocols in place but they are essentially worthless.
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>>4463079
>Approach and thank Tinn for bringing your Farm Truck back. Offer a cut of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 in exchange (you do not have any firearms chambered for the round). Do mention the strike, do not attempt to recruit him.
For a crazy dude who stabbed us with an ice pick, he's pretty cool.
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>>4463079
>>Approach and thank Tinn for bringing your Farm Truck back. Offer a cut of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 in exchange (you do not have any firearms chambered for the round). Do mention the strike, do not attempt to recruit him.
Go giving him with the meat. Food is about to become real valuable, so he may appreciate this a bit more. And as for the .45-70, even though we don't have any rifles chambered in it, that's a fucking massive amount of powder per round. Reloading purposes, improvised explosives, etc.
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>Approach and thank Tinn for bringing your Farm Truck back. Offer a cut of the meat, or the rest of the .45-70 in exchange (you do not have any firearms chambered for the round). Do mention the strike, do not attempt to recruit him.

We can be on good terms with him without bringing him into the group. I have a bad feeling Parasol himself won't live very long.
>>
Alright, that is unanimous. I'll grab some dinner and get to writing the post up.
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>Dooryard, Your Homestead, Debouche Maine, Sometime after 3:40 am

After getting out of your smaller commuter truck, you carefully walk over to the 6X6 on the other side of the remains of your poor little bridge. You know, if everything hadn’t gone so absolutely crazy, you probably be having an aneurysm over replacing that thing. Bridges can get expensive when they are expected to carry the weight of loaded trucks or farm equipment, and if you ever wanted to be able to sell the property, you’d have to actually get building permits for this, which means finding an engineer to sign off on it; all told, the destruction of the bridge here represents thousands of dollars just up in smoke. Forget not worrying about it, you had not even thought about it. Honestly, you are kind of encouraged by that. There have been times when you have wondered about your priorities, when it comes to money, but it seems that when the cards are down, you are able to be objective and prioritize what is and what is not worth worrying over.

As you approach the remains of your bridge, you carefully keep your hand visible, and for the last stretch, getting as close as you dare to the lip of the ravine (as the ground near it may be unstable from the sudden collapse) and at the same time as close as you dare to Tinn (as he is almost certainly unstable) you cover your eyes. There is a squawk, and a sound of laughter over a broadcaster drowns out the dull roar of the 6X6’s engine. “You are a quick study Mr. Mantle, but there is no need to worry about your eyes, I don’t have a spotlight on this truck. The headlights are enough.”

“Jesus Mr. Tinn, thank you for getting that thing over here like this, I appreciate it. I am a bit tight on money at the moment, but if you wanted more of that .45-70 Government, or some of the meat, the stuff on the truck is fresh.” There is a pause, then another squawk. “I appreciate the thought, but in good conscience I couldn’t accept anything for this. You didn’t ask me to do this, so it wouldn’t be right to twist your arm over it.”

What? “Sir, you are not twisting my arm, I’m…”. “Mantle, I wasn’t asked. I cannot expect payment. If I cannot reasonably expect payment, it stands to reason that I do not deserve to be paid. You should only get what you deserve.” You do not really know what to make of this, beyond the fact that you feel that you should drop it. Tinn is hard to figure, but he is a much politer and more decent than you would have expected from someone with his reputation and background. As you nod your head to accept Tinn’s terms of not having terms, you realize that you left your only key to the truck on the key hook in the kitchen. “Mr. Tinn, how on earth did you get the truck on the gypsy trailer?”
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>>4463376
“Oh, I shimmed the window to get into the cab then hotwired her. Don’t worry, after I got her into position, I fixed the wiring back up, should work fine.” At this state of deprivation in both food and sleep, and with everything else on your mind, the only though you can from in response to this revelation is ‘Perhaps ‘decent’ is a bit of a stretch…’.

Between the two of you, it takes a bit to get your Farm Truck off the trailer and ready to go. True to his word, there is no physical evidence of tampering around the keyed start, and the truck starts up and runs perfectly fine. Tinn is about to leave, but you can’t simply just let him drive off, under the circumstances. Even if the man would never fit in the Parasol’s group, even if he might be in competition for the same critical supplies, he deserves to know what the hell is coming.

“Mr. Tinn, before you go. Listen, this is going to sound crazy-.”

There is another squawk and more laughter. “Don’t tell me, you found another tank?” You actually laugh at that; and as you take a second to gather your thoughts again, you realize that Tinn probably has microphones mounted on the outside of this this thing, though you can’t immediately find them.

“No sir, Mr. Tinn. I was called out by Mr. Parasol; he is … well, he ‘flips’ property as a hobby, and he contracts me to do the clean outs. We have a pretty good relationship, I guess. He called me over to his place, tonight when I was still on the Morrison Farm, waiting the thirty minutes after you left, right? He thinks that … that there is a nuclear strike imminent.”

"Oh yeah?"
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>>4463382
You do not know what exactly you were expecting from him, but it certainly wasn’t ‘Oh yeah?’. Does he think you are joking? “Mr. Tinn, I’m serious. Well, I mean, he’s serious.” You explain about the situation on Venus, the Indian Civil War, then about how none of this is being reported and what that implies; and then how things are coming down to the wire; it may just be a matter of hours before a nuclear strike hits. You even tell him how you begged your mother to come up, to get out of the relative danger of Southern Maine. And his response?

“Thanks for passing it along.”

What the actual fuck. Well, at the very least, you know for sure that you aren’t the craziest person on the lake. For a second, you are think about trying to communicate the seriousness of this one more time, but then there is yet another squawk, and Tinn speaks again. “I don’t want to seem ungrateful, and what this Parasol has figured out does sound … plausible, I guess, though I would not definitively if it was credible or not without seeing these reports that he has; but if that is the case, there really isn’t that much that I can do; it isn’t like I can stop the nuke on my own. Perhaps, more importantly, there really is not that much that I need to do. We are outside of the blast radius of any of the targets in the projected strikes; we are already away from population centers, and as no doubt the rest of the town suspects, I am already well stocked. I suppose their correct suspicions about my ‘hoard’ could potentially cause issues, but honestly, I do not think looters are going to be that much of an issue around here, at least immediately. I do suppose I could do some shopping, assuming that the stores open normally…

His nonplussed non-reaction notwithstanding, you realize with a start that he obviously would not know about the plans to release the prisoners from the Consolidated Somerset-Piscataquis Jail! And if so much of one of them had heard about him; a heavily armed survivalist recluse living alone and managed to convince a large enough group to follow him, then they might … well, no. No, Tinn would almost certainly be able to defend his property … still, is there any reason that you should not give him a heads up? Mmm … maybe he would not like the idea of the Sheriff releasing the prisoners, and if he heard about deputies scavenging supplies for a select group, he’d really not like that. And if he figured out that the prisoners were being released to tie individuals (like him) down, protecting their homes, as the deputies when out scavenging ‘unopposed’… well, he might take that real poorly. You have seen him get serious, and it was scary enough, you do not want to think what him getting mad would be like. You do not know, you really do not know.

>Do Tinn a courtesy, and tell him the plan to release the prisoners.
>Do not tell Tinn about the plan to release the prisoners.
>>
>Do not tell Tinn about the plan to release the prisoners.

Loose lips sink ships. Hope he'll understand.
>>
>Do Tinn a courtesy, and tell him the plan to release the prisoners.
>>
>>4463385
>Tell him. Insist the building is a jail, not a prison
>>
>>4463385
>don't tell

he'll be fine, he seems reasonably prepared.
>>
>>4463385
>Do not tell Tinn about the plan to release the prisoners.
>>
>>4463491
+1. He will be on high enough alert.
>>
>>4463385
>>Do not tell Tinn about the plan to release the prisoners.
>>
Alright, lets see here;
>>4463491 Do Not
>>4463668 Do
>>4463715 Do
>>4463920 Do Not
>>4463959 Do Not
>>4463969 Do Not
>>4464053 Do Not

Alright, that is pretty solid. I'll get that post up. Also, while I am thinking about it, as it is nearly 4am, can I get someone to make the 5am roll? Rolls of 1 2 3 or 4 mean that the strike hits.

>One roll of 1d20, please.
>>
Rolled 11 (1d20)

>>4464183
>>
>Dooryard, Your Homestead, Debouche Maine, Sometime after 4:00 am

For someone who insisted on stabbing you with an icepick, Tinn is an alright kind of guy. That being said, you do not know how he will react to the revelation about the plan to release the prisoners; beyond presumably getting frustrated and angry. You really do not have a great read on the man, you expected … well at the very least, you expected some urgency from him when you filled him in on the strike. No, how he thinks, or what he will do in any given situation is enigmatic, at least to you. All you know for sure is that the man is capable and prepared for violence.

You do not think that if he knew that the deputies were going to free the prisoners and start securing supplies for themselves, he will just flip a switch and start rampaging. That being said, if there was someone to do just that, well … yeah. It is a needless risk, without any real positive outcome. Tinn will be ready, regardless if he knows to be ready or not. With your business concluded, you wish him well and watch his 6X6 retreat its way to the access road.

>Please roll 1d6 for Cognition and 2d20 for Intelligence.

Well, at this point, with all of the big decisions having been settled, it is time to focus on the small stuff Just take things hour by hour. Do you use this hour here to …

>Go to bed, and sleep until your alarm would wake you up at 5am? (Will delay gaining sleeplessness penalties 6 hours)
>Get something to eat, then take an inventory of the property?
>Get something to eat, then try to figure out how to get the tank out of the ravine?
>Get something to eat, then try to figure out how defend your house?
>Get something to eat, then try to figure out how to better protect and tend for your animals?
>Get something to eat, then head into town and try to get a jump on scavenging? (Will gain [Roguish Inclination])
>>
Rolled 6 (1d6)

>>4464222
>Get something to eat, then try to figure out how to get the tank out of the ravine?
>>
Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>4464222
guess I'll handle a d20.
>Get something to eat, then head into town and try to get a jump on scavenging? (Will gain [Roguish Inclination])
We need to go about securing some of our mother's medication. Some caffeine pills as well wouldn't hurt.
>>
>Go to bed, and sleep until your alarm would wake you up at 5am? (Will delay gaining sleeplessness penalties 6 hours)

The bed. It calls us.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>4464222
>Go to bed, and sleep until your alarm would wake you up at 5am? (Will delay gaining sleeplessness penalties 6 hours)
>>
>>4464262
>>4464226
I'm not even going to bother with the calculation, that is definitely a pass. Good work! I'm going to take a quick cat nap myself (for inspiration purposes), and then I will get to writing this up.
>>
>>4464222
>Get something to eat, then try to figure out how to better protect and tend for your animals?

we did not feed them today, right?
>>
>>4464289
No, not yet. You usually feed them when you check on them for the day, and let them out of their shelters.
>>
Your head is just about pounding now, and in your generally stressed, sleep and food deprived state, with the departure of Tinn, and before the arrival of your mother or the start of what would be your normal day, around 5:00am in the morning, all you want to do is to sleep. You have a pretty good alarm too, so you do not need to worry about oversleeping either. But before you get some sleep, you decide that you should do something about the tank-thing, and the bridge. You head over to your Farm Truck, and grab the tarpaulins that you originally had used to cover it up, as well as the longest ladder you have and a bunch of old 2x4’s. You load all of this into the faded orange uprights of a lumber cart from a ubiquitous home improvement retailer, and you trundled it out to the bridge, making sure to keep the caster wheels of the cart in the well packed wheel ruts of the dirt drive.

Arriving at the remains of your poor little bridge, you take a minute to seriously look at the tank-thing. Your eyes still have not finished adjusting completely, but it looks to be alright from this upper angle. Of course, the serious damage would be from below. Miraculously, the bucket arm on the back and the A-frame crane seem to have avoided anything worse than scuffs and dings. However, your luck ends there. It is completely boxed in, by the remains of the bridge and the ‘walls’ of the ravine. It is almost funny, the piece of equipment best suited for the vehicle retrieval and earth-working required to do this job is the one that is stuck. You wonder if Tinn has anything that might be able to help free this thing. He has that modified 6X6, with the up-armored cab, and the massive upright exhaust stack strapped on the back. Funny thing, there were still the original stacks still on the …

>Intelligence Test Passed

Wait a minute; was that one of the ‘gasifiers’ you had heard about earlier during the 'gas' discussion? It matches the description more or less, but it did not seem to be running. Maybe because he did not need it to be running at the moment? Well, it certainly fits, a ‘survivalist’ type like him would no doubt be interested in that kind of tech. You wonder if you could get him to look at that unit you found on the Morrison Farm.
>>
>>4464454
But for now, you have to get some sleep while you still can. You drop the tarpaulins to cover up the tank-thing, and once is has been adequately concealed, you lay the ladder across the chasm, and then run the 2X4s across it. After only a moment of hesitation, you gingerly walk across. It is unnerving how much the thing dips in the middle under your weight, but it holds you the whole way across, and the whole way back. With one less thing to worry about, you return your cart its spot in the small garden shed, and head up to bed. You barely even remember walking through the farmhouse, before you knew it, you were in your bedroom and had already pulled off your heavy belt and threw it into the upholstered chair, which it fell out of with a surprisingly loud thud. Uncaring, you then take off your shoulder holster, and hang it from its peg on the wall. Finally, you sit on the side your bed, and remove your scuffed work boots. With all of these preparations out of the way, you just let yourself collapse on the bed, and quickly fall into a dreamless sleep.

>Please roll 1d20 for 6am. Rolls of 1 to 5 mean the strike starts.

I am going to need to take a break here; besides dinner, I have an assignment that is due at 11:30pm. Anyway, the roll will actually decide what happens next. I will try to get another post up for an overnight vote, after I get the assignment off.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d20)

>>4464481
>>
>>4464487
FUCK
>>
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>>4464490
Well, it was going to happen eventually, so no need to feel bad anon.
>>
>>4464507
>Well, it was going to happen eventually, so no need to feel bad anon.
Fair enough. Good luck on your assignment, OP.
>>
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>>4464487
Oh boy, here we go
>>
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>>4464487
buckle up faggots
>>
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>>4464487
Neat and also cool
>>
>Master Bedroom, Your Homestead, Debouche Maine, time unknown.

For the second time in so many days, you awaken to the sound of distressed honking from your geese. You get up, this time forgoing the ‘beater’ rifle, and simply pull your Beretta straight out of the shoulder holster and then rush out to go check on them. However, as you dash through the farmhouse to check on your animals, there is enough morning light in shining in the first floor to see the kitchen clock as you run by.

6:06!

Of all of the days to fucking oversleep! You must have somehow managed to shut off your alarm without waking up completely. Still, there is a slight silver lining here; odds are your geese are not in danger, they are just getting hungry and want to be let out for the day. And thankfully enough, this turns out to be the case. You let the poor things out and give them their breakfast. As you stand in the corner of the paddock, filling up the drinker for the day and blearily blinking sleep from your eyes, you realize something is off. Literally!

You cannot hear your electric fence! At this distance, you should be able to make out the telltale ‘click-click’ that your admittedly shoddy homemade electric fence makes when it is running hot for the night. But there is nothing. Gingerly, you reach out, and touch the live wire, and wait to the count of four. During typical operation, you fence cycles ‘hot’ for a count of one, then no current for a count of two, then ‘hot’ again. Did you not turn it on? You head on over to the switch but find that it is still in the on position. Well, you have 1001 things to do today, what is more chore? As a matter of safety, you switch it to the off position, and then head back into the farmhouse to get appropriately dressed before attending the other animal’s needs.

It is only when you are standing in the kitchen that realization finally dawns on you. The power is out. You stand there, completely dumbfounded. There is absolutely no way that this is a coincidence. Does that mean …

…you slept through the nuclear strike?

That thought stampedes through your brain for several-several seconds before you get a grip. Even if you managed to shut off your alarm; your clip radio still would have been enough to get you up. Still, it is worth checking. You head upstairs, feeling increasingly lightheaded and woozy with worry. The feeling only worsens as you get into your room and gets damn near unbearable as you retrieve your radio from the tangle of your belt. With a deep breath, you press ‘speak’, and completely violating CB etiquette you timidly squeak out a question for anyone that might be listening on the broad band for Debouche Public Safety; “Is everything alright?”
>>
>>4464839
“For God’s sake, who is this? Better yet, just fuck off. This is a controlled frequency you fucking nincompoop. Just because the power is out, doesn’t mean-.

You do not think you have ever been happier to have Edna, the nearly criminally overworked dispatcher and secretary swear at you. ‘Just because the power is out’, that right there might be the best news you ever got, the sweetest thing that anyone has ever said to you. You identify yourself, to hopefully calm her down. Does not quite work that way for you though.

“Mantle? You retard, you actual fucking retard. What the fuck are you doing fouling up the God damned line? If I have work for you, I will call you. Or maybe you want to see if we will pay you to catch the missing electricity, is that it? Jesus-tittyfucking-Christ; there is not enough coffee in the world. I swear, everyone has gone crazy this morning!” Having concluded one of her ‘trademark’ profanity laden rants, she ends her broadcast. It seems that either she is not ‘in the know’ about the plan to use the deputies to secure then scavenge critical supplies, or she does know, but does not realize that you are ‘in the know’ as well. Either way, no need to pester her anymore.

So, it seems that the strike has not happened yet; but the power being out can not just be a coincidence. You get dressed for the day and then let the rest of the animals out after giving them their breakfast. With them taken care of for the day, you stuff the cuts of moose into your ‘deep freeze’; even without power, it is cold enough to at least refrigerate the meat, if not freeze it outright. You keep the brain separate for now, besides health concerns, freezing and then thawing the brain is a messy complicated process; you will just need to keep it from completely rotting away for about two weeks, until you are ready to use it in the tanning process for the hide. With that done, all you really are expected to do is just wait … wait until the missiles hit.

But that does not mean that you can just sit around, you still have stuff that you can do:

>Stay on the homestead and wait for the arrival of your mother, while you plan out how to improve security for your animals, so they do not fall prey to ‘rustlers’.
>Stay on the homestead and wait for the arrival of your mother, while you begin the long process of brain tanning hide, in the old Indian method.
>Leave a note for mother, and then leave the homestead. You still have a lot of animal feed at the Prague Farmer’s Union, even if the place is not open for business, maybe you can get it before things go too crazy.
>Leave a note for mother, and then leave the homestead. Some of the businesses in the town center will have started to open up; and money might not be worth much more than kindling in the immediate future. (Write in 1 business that you could reasonably expect to open at 6am in setting like this)
>>
>Leave a note for mother, and then leave the homestead. You still have a lot of animal feed at the Prague Farmer’s Union, even if the place is not open for business, maybe you can get it before things go too crazy.
Buy a nice pair of steel toe water-resistant boots while we’re there
>>
>>4464845
>>Leave a note for mother, and then leave the homestead. You still have a lot of animal feed at the Prague Farmer’s Union, even if the place is not open for business, maybe you can get it before things go too crazy.
>>
>>4464845
>Leave a note for mother, and then leave the homestead. Some of the businesses in the town center will have started to open up; and money might not be worth much more than kindling in the immediate future. (Write in 1 business that you could reasonably expect to open at 6am in setting like this)
night pharmacy
>>
>>4464889
Or a bakery to stock up on flour and dry yeast
>>
>Leave a note for mother, and then leave the homestead. You still have a lot of animal feed at the Prague Farmer’s Union, even if the place is not open for business, maybe you can get it before things go too crazy.
Pick up boots(if available) and some extra salt licks(to lure in edible prey) while there. Also some oil and a spare chain for the chainsaw which you shoild bring with to clear any downed trees.
>>
>>4464845
>>Leave a note for mother, and then leave the homestead. Some of the businesses in the town center will have started to open up; and money might not be worth much more than kindling in the immediate future.

Nice boots.

Everything else (medicine, animal feed) seems like we could reasonably expect it to be distributed to us as necessary supplies. Time to get the nice shit for ourself
>>
Alright, so that is a tie between getting boots and getting the feed. I thought to take a look on the Paris Farmers Union website, and it turns out they do stock boots. So I will allow you to combine these two choices. I just need to take care of something real quick, then I will get to writing.
>>
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>>4465225
thanks OP
>>
>Dooryard, Your Homestead, Debouche Maine, sometime around 6:25 am.

You know, if you do not hurry up, odds are that something is going to happen to the feed you already bought. And there are other odds and ends that you could pick up at the union, like new boots. You just need to keep telling yourself that money is not going to be worth anything for a while, Hell, that it might not be worth anything ever again. This is the one time to not be frugal, even though it runs against a lifetime of habit. You find an old receipt in the truck, quickly scrawl out a note for mother on the back and stick it under one of the planks on the ladder on the access roadside of the ravine. The slip trails out from its secure spot, so it would presumably catch the attention of anyone who showed up. As you hustle back over the bridge towards your homestead and your trucks, you reflect that in the future, leaving notes like this, confirming your absence is probably not going to be a good idea.

>Town Center, Near Prague Farmer’s Union Store, Debouche, Maine, approximately 6:35 am.

You didn’t want to push your farm truck hard after that ‘time trial’ with Tinn last night, especially as you are hauling the boxed-beaver trailer behind you, but time is definitely going to be a factor here. Still, rushing is not going to change the immutable fact the union is going to be closed regardless of when you get there. But, if Kemper was there late last night, then maybe he will be there early this morning? Maybe?

Now that you are sitting in the truck and have the time to think about it, odds are that Kemper does not come in 3 hours before opening the day after he stayed late to work inventory. Maybe it was a genuine oversight on your part, or maybe it was just wishful thinking, but you cannot rely on anyone being there right now to let you in. Which means that to secure your order, you are going to have to break in and steal what is technically already yours. And maybe while you are at it, a pair of boots (you could leave the money for them, though).

Ignoring the legal and ethical nature of your problem at hand here, there is a more practical concern for you as well. The bales that the union sells, like much of the hay produced locally, are 4X4 rounds, each of which weigh well over 400 pounds when bone dry, quite a bit more than that when wet. With Kemper or someone else on hand, they would use the stores tractor, outfitted with a front loader and a hay spike to spear each of the bales, then deposit them onto the bed of your truck. Assuming that you can’t find someway to get the tractor running, you will either need to leave the bales for now, or start the arduous process of breaking the bales down and loading them pitchfork-full at a time into your trucks.

As you are on the final approach, you crane your neck to see if there are any cars on the parking lot, praying that someone is there, unknowingly waiting for you in your hour of need.
>>
>>4465533
Nope! No one. Absolutely no one is in the parking lot. Frustration and desperation rise, as you angrily throw the parking brake and get out to see if anyone is around. The lot that they key the palletized stuff in is fenced off, as well as the outbuilding where they store the baled hay they keep on hand for sale; some of which is yours. Actually, considering how much you bought, most of it is yours. You are just about to kick the gate with your shabby work boots when a small truck comes around the far corner of the store, from the other side of the parking lot! At first, you think it is Kemper, come to save you … but instead of the management, it was another prospective customer.

Fleckkers, the convicted safecracker! As surprised to see him as you may be, he seems to be even more surprised by the sight of you. Surprised and panicked, in his case. The man is a felon, and you caught him hunting out of season twice, with a rifle no less. Had you a mind to, you could have easily sent the man back to prison; though unless there was a deputy breathing down your neck you would never try to get someone sent up over poaching deer. It is asinine, really. Poaching implies that there is some level of scarcity or exceptional value to the animal; deer aren’t scarce in Maine, in certain areas there are genuine issues with overpopulation and as for ‘value’ they are a nuisance, Hell a danger on the roads, and a vector for Lyme disease. If someone were poaching something important, then yeah, you would step up. But for deer? Fuck no, you might as well be arresting people for killing mosquitoes without a permit. And the whole having-a-gun-as-a-felon thing? Honestly, you really do not think that should be an issue in the first place. You could maybe understand for some crimes, but if they are out of prison, it should be because they are not a risk to anyone. So, denying them that right does not make sense to you.

You have a gut feeling (supported by his reaction to you) that Fleckkers came here to do the exact same thing you were about to; except of course, he would be stealing things that he (presumably) had not paid for, and that he would actually know how to properly break into the place. Even from the distance you are at from him right now, the man looks noticeably shaken. It is almost kind of funny, each time you have ‘caught’ him, he has gotten progressively less collected. The first time, two years ago, he barely even flinched. Now he is shaking. Or maybe that is his truck; he still has not shut off the engine, and his hands are still on the wheel...
>>
>>4465539
You are under the gun (or perhaps under the missile) here, and a thought has come to you. While you could just wave to Fleckkers, and trust that this close call would scare him off from this place … you could attempt to team up with him to secure whatever the two of you are after. Things might get complicated later, as a career criminal would obviously realize that you have livestock on hand, but this might be the one shot you get at securing the feed before shit hits the fan.

>Spook Fleckkers off and then attempt to break in yourself
>Attempt to team up with Fleckkers to rob the Prague Farmer’s Union
>>
>>4465275
Sorry for the delay, I wound up losing this post and having to rewrite it. Not to mention that I realized that the farmer's union wouldn't be open yet, after the previous choice implied that it would be. Sorry about all of that. As a consolation, consider the appearance of Fleckkers here to be a peace offering; a 'mulligan'. A complicating and possibly dangerous 'mulligan', to be sure, but he is here if you choose to use him.
>>
>>4465543
>Spook Fleckkers off and then attempt to break in yourself
I only trust respectable crazies who try to stab us with sterilized ice picks and risk life and limb in one-man car chases, not career criminals.
pass
>>4465557
>I wound up losing this post
this happened to me for many years until I just decided to never write long posts on the forum/imageboard they were for and resorted to wordpad or google docs for everything
I understand the pain
>>
>>4465543
>Attempt to team up with Fleckkers to rob the Prague Farmer’s Union

Another useful friend to have!
>>
>>4465543
>Spook Fleckkers off and then attempt to break in yourself
>>
>>4465533
>Attempt to team up with Flecckers

Look, in another time, we would have called the police or spooked him up. But the apocalypse is coming and this is a two-bit criminal we have been pretty merciful with. Plus, he can hunt and will be able to open up certain containers that we would need to force open. Better recruit him as an ally Assap.

What do we know about him apart from what you ahve talked us about Trash? Family, friends, residence...etc.?
>>
>>4465602
+1, we must pray to dice-jesus
>>
>>4465618
>>4465602
Soon enough, the weirdo faction will take over the town.
>>
>Spook Fleckkers off and then attempt to break in yourself.

Fleckers sounds good in principle to have around but long term I think will bite us in the butt.
>>
>>4465543
>>Attempt to team up with Fleckkers to rob the Prague Farmer’s Union
Hell yeah, man. we need to be on good terms with specialists in what is to come.
It's a bit of a risk to take for him to realize we have livestock, however if we can get him living with us as well that may not be an issue. Our mother certainly wouldn't know about his past, and presumably the Lights don't either since they were staying in the hotel before this happened.
We've done him favors and overlooked things in the past, and he knows that we could absolutely bury him by now. It'd be best to win the man's respect now. Especially with his experience. Very useful ally to have in the near future. We need to scavenge, and secure some medication for our mother, and presumably the lake houses/second homes of the other residents that flee will have some useful supplies we may not be able to get ourselves otherwise.
>>
Back from dinner and pleasantly surprised by all of the discussion!

>>4465607
Well, lets see. In character? Reggie knows that Fleckkers is retired, and lives in a nice brick federal building in Debouche's small 'historic' district. Impressive on his own, but considering that he is only 28 and has never held anything more than basic entry level part time work, it implies that he was successfully able to hide his stolen money from the government, an impressive feat. So he certainly a bit more than a 'two bit criminal', in that regard. He strikes you as decent enough, but the most you ever talked to him was when you had caught him red handed hunting out of season, so you can make of that what you will.

Beyond that, you know that he is 'from away', Pennsylvania specifically. To your knowledge he has no other relatives in the state. While he doesn't seem to have any close friends around Debouche, you have seen him once or twice at the restaurants, diners and bars around the area, chatting with long term residents and visitors alike, so he isn't a recluse like Tinn. He strikes you as generally the cautious sort, which makes that him taking the risk to poach deer with a rifle out of season seem kind of strange.

In case any of this changes anyone's vote, I'll give this until 8pm; then I will close it (rolling to tie break if necessary) and then start writing.
>>
I'll change my vote from scare off to team up.

What is he like physically? Ripped, fat, short, tall, race, face tats, ponytail, dreads?
>>
>>4465922
Stocky, of slightly higher than average height.

Okay; lets run the tally.

>>4465570 Spook
>>4465602 Recruit
>>4465603 Spook
>>4465607 Recruit
>>4465618 Recruit
>>4465636 Spook (vote retracted by >>4465922)
>>4465734 Recruit
>>4465922 Recruit

With 5 for Recruit and 2 for Spook, we have it settled with a solid lead. I'll start writing immediately.
>>
>Parking Lot, Prague Farmer’s Union Store, Debouche, Maine, approximately 6:35 am.

“Fleckkers! Kind of funny running into you here. Why don’t you get out of your truck, so we can have a little talk?” His open shock at seeing you is more or less abated (or hidden), but he still hesitates. “Er, Mr. Mantle, are you asking me, or are you telling me to get out?” For God’s sake, you don’t have the time for this nonsense.

“In a second, I’ll be dragging you out. Get over here.” He casts one lingering look at the road, as if seriously considering driving off, but then cuts the engine, and gets out. Trying to take a more conciliatory tone now that he has started playing along, you force yourself to take things slowly here, figuring that if you just led with ‘break into this building for me’, it probably wouldn’t go over well. “I don’t mean to seem judgmental, but this isn’t the kind of place I’d expect to find you. Did you wake up and decide to start a garden?”

Fleckkers is beginning to look a little desperate again, and after a second of shifting his weight from foot to foot, he sighs and responds with a fairly resigned tone. “I guess I got kind of unnerved by that broadcast.” Wait, there was a broadcast? “I was in the shower, I always like listening to the radio in the shower. Then the it came on, you know this is a broadcast from the Civil Defense Authority, this is not a drill, please stand by for an emergency report … but then just dead air. Then after three minutes the radio came back on, all normal, and the disc jockey did not know what the hell was going on. Then five minutes after that, the power goes out. Without a so much as a breeze or a drop of rain; no way this outage is weather-related. Something has gone seriously wrong; and – and I mean that I’m on my own out here. I wanted to get something to protect myself … and I know, I know you know I have a rifle. But I barely have any ammo, and even if Peckinpaugh’s was open, that is a cop hangout; they would never sell to me. I thought that maybe the union here would be open, and I could buy something heavy. Listen, I know you probably don’t believe me, but I wasn’t looking to do anything more than do some emergency shopping. I mean, who the hell would rob a farmer’s union anyway?”
>>
>>4466028
“Ironically enough, I would. I was trying to figure out how to break in and ‘steal’ the feed I bought yesterday when you showed up. I could seriously use some help. You need ammunition for a rifle? Let me know what caliber, what load, and I’ll buy all I can.” Fleckkers is just looking at you blankly. “I can’t say with any certainty that the power outage is related to the situation here, but that broadcast … that broadcast was an alert. We are directly and openly fighting a ‘shooting war’ with the Soviets right now, and it is only a matter of time before things go nuclear.” Fleckkers’ mouth is opening and closing, like a landed fish, but beyond that, he might as well be catatonic.

“Like I said, I could seriously use some expert help here. And if Peckinpaugh’s wont sell, then I have a 10/22 with about 400 loose rounds; they are yours if I can’t get your ammo.” Fleckkers just looks at you blankly, but finally manages to squeak out a question. “Is it really war? Nuclear … war?” You nod. “It is a lot to wrap your head around, but it is coming, in a matter of hours, probably. Which is why we need to get …”

You are interrupted by a tremor; the first earthquake that you have ever felt in your life. It lasts for several seconds, and it takes only a second more for it to dawn on you what it means. Something big somewhere just exploded; and odds are it was not a volcano. This is it. It has started. God, you hope your mother has made it to your homestead by now. You look to Fleckkers, and realize that he doesn’t understand the significance of the ‘quake. Suddenly, your radio squawks at your belt! Of all of the fucking times ... but you suppose you signed up for this, both as a member of Debouche Public Safety and as a member of Parasol's group, depending on who exactly is trying to call you. The real question here is, are you going to answer the call?

>You have made a commitment to others, if they can't count on you keeping your word, will they still bother with you after today? Hope and pray that your feed is still there, and go answer the call.
>You are one single man, a slightly crippled animal control officer. What the hell is expected of you, anyway? You don't know who this is, or what they want, but you need to look after yourself here. Odds are after you are done here, you will be able to help them out ... or not.
>>
>>4466040
>>You have made a commitment to others, if they can't count on you keeping your word, will they still bother with you after today? Hope and pray that your feed is still there, and go answer the call.

Maybe Fleckkers can 'steal' the feed for us in exchange for the ammo?
>>
>>4466040
>You have made a commitment to others, if they can't count on you keeping your word, will they still bother with you after today? Hope and pray that your feed is still there, and go answer the call.
Alright Fleckkers, you chickenshit, I'm trusting you
for now
>>
>>4466040
>You have made a commitment to others, if they can't count on you keeping your word, will they still bother with you after today? Hope and pray that your feed is still there, and go answer the call.
Fuck it, get Fleckkers to grab our feed.
>>
>>4466057
>>4466074
>>4466111
A solid lead right there; consider this closed, and will get to writing.
>>
>You are one single man, a slightly crippled animal control officer. What the hell is expected of you, anyway? You don't know who this is, or what they want, but you need to look after yourself here. Odds are after you are done here, you will be able to help them out ... or not.

I mean, unless the call is related to your Mom. Even bad men love their Mommas.
>>
>Parking Lot, Prague Farmer’s Union Store, Debouche, Maine, approximately 6:35 am.

There are no two ways about this; you have obligations here. You will need to take this. “Hold on for a second, Fleckkers, I’ll need to take this.” You open up on the frequency and identify yourself. To your surprise, it is Deputy Sheriff ‘Bart’ Bean on the other end. “Mantle, thank God. I didn’t want to drag you into this, I had hoped that we could resolve this internally, but if that ‘quake was a nuke, then we are out of time. Listen, both of the undersheriffs are not going along with the Sheriff’s and Parasol’s plan. Polk is insisting on seeing his duty as the Warden through even to the bitter end; he has refused to release the prisoners, he has refused to so much as tell us how much food and supplies he is sitting on, and now he isn’t even letting us into the jail. He is too stubborn and too dutiful, the captain has resolved to go down with the ship so to speak, and the jailors are listening to him over the Sheriff. If we had more time, we might have been able to change his mind, but we need to be in there right fucking now. And do not even get me started on Carter. He is convinced that if it becomes public knowledge that he was willing to arrest other deputy sheriff’s for ‘looting’, then he will be able to force out Sheriff Arthur.

“He’s going around to where we’ve sent deputies to secure important supplies with a couple of his deputy toadies and a few family friends and actually started ‘arresting’ our deputies and their auxiliaries : he’s hauling them around in a police van. We are stretched so thin that we only have one man minding each of the caches of critical supplies, and he has six or seven with him, in a little convoy. It is no contest. The prick is picking them off, one by one. And that fucking coward stood there this morning and said how all of this was such a great idea! He even waited until he knew that the Sheriff was tied up with Polk at the jail before starting this stunt. He must have got Edna too because no one is picking up! He is still able to communicate though, the only reason we know any of this is because he told Polk that we ‘had gone rouge’, who told us after refusing to work with us. And you are not going to believe this, that fucker Carter ‘tattled’ on us, to the Maine National Guard. Though considering everything they have on their plate right now, I don’t think we need to worry about being arrested and tried for mutiny or sedition or whatever-the-fuck, but I figured I’d let you know just in case they come knocking.” How on earth is it possible for the plan to have fucked up this badly already? How much more fucking damage could that fucking asshole Carter actually do? How the Hell can anyone be expected to deal with this? Wait a minute, if Edna is out of commission, then how exactly are you speaking with ‘Bart’ right now? You put the question to him.
>>
>>4466216
“Parasol gave me this little handheld unit. You should see it, Mantle, the entire thing is about the size of the issued clip radio’s speaker. It is incredible; he has one for you too, by the way. Forgot to gave to you with everything on his mind last night … well, this morning actually. It’s just keyed in for your frequency right now though, I don’t know how the hell to set it.” He sighs. “Mantle, there is a handful of us here, trying to deal with Polk. Hopefully, we can talk it out with him, but as it stands, he has nearly as many jailors under him as we have deputies in the entire department, not to mention he is in a fortified position. We are not in a position to make demands here, and if we wait long enough, Carter will probably have arrested the rest of the office, and then come for us. Some one needs to stop the man, even if it gets messy.”

“You want me to kill him?” There is a pause in the conversation, as a second, light bout of shaking happens. Aftershocks, or perhaps a second explosion somewhere.

“Hell no. I want to kill him. I mean … it should not come to that. The man is a coward; I’ve been working with him for the better part of a decade now, and when he was just a deputy there was a joke in the office; everyone called him a ‘last responder’, always the last one on the scene, last one into danger, if at fucking all. May God damn that absolute fucking piece of work. I do not understand why the hell the sheriff raised him to undersheriff; he could have unironically found a better candidate in the holding cells. Just bring the biggest guns you have, and make a lot of noise, and he will scatter. And if he does not, then it is what it is. We are better off without that fucking coward anyway. Listen, I’ll tell you where everyone is, and you can pull together the deputies that haven’t been ‘arrested’ yet by Carter to confront him; I wouldn’t expect you to do this alone.

There is a slight pause, and in the silence Fleckkers sneezes. “Are you with someone? I thought I heard something.” You look to Fleckkers, who is dabbing at his nose with a handkerchief. He is standing off a way to the side, but he seems to have regained his composure. “Can you trust them in a fight? If so, bring him along.” ‘Bart’ really knows how to put you on the spot; not only has he twisted your arm into potentially starting a shootout with a small convoy of assholes, but he is forcing you to make a call on Fleckkers. In a fight? You do not know if you trust him period…
>>
>>4466218
>”It was only some pheasant, caught in a poacher’s trap.” Leave Fleckkers here to ‘steal’ your feed while you go off and pull together the remaining deputies to confront Carter’s ‘convoy’. Multitasking and concerns about trust.
>“I suppose I will have to.” Take Fleckkers with you to pull together the remaining deputies around town to confront Carter’s ‘convoy’. Safety in numbers, more heads, more ideas.
>”I didn’t sign up for this bullshit.” Flatly refuse this preposterously dangerous assignment, ask for something safer to do instead. (Will not go over well, obviously)
>>
>>4466219
>>”It was only some pheasant, caught in a poacher’s trap.” Leave Fleckkers here to ‘steal’ your feed while you go off and pull together the remaining deputies to confront Carter’s ‘convoy’. Multitasking and concerns about trust.

Polk doesn't actually seem like that much of a problem now. He can sit down in his jail fort for a while and cause no real harm to us. Eventually, something will go wrong for him.
>>
>>4466218
>Alright Fleckkers, do YOU trust yourself on a fight? I know you can shoot a gun fine from those pesky deer you killed and this gonna earn you some major rep with the guys who will own the show here.
>>
Could we just do our own thing? Bring Fleckkers along, go grab Tinn as well? Leaving out the remaining deputies, doubt Tinn would be on board with working with them. But working with us to run off some asshole trying to make a power grab and seize critical supplies?
Though, I suppose showing up at his property after the quake and what we told him about the strike last night would not blow over well. Especially if we brought Fleckkers along. Tinn is a recluse, but a professional paranoid. He may know who Fleckkers is based on his criminal record. And if we show up unannounced with somebody he may recognize as a professional, potentially untrustworthy safecraker/burglar to his fortress of a property, he probably wouldn't take it well. Even if he didn't know who Fleckkers was.
And bringing Fleckkers along to Tinn's property may not be a good idea anyways. Fleckkers may get it in his head to try and clear the place out, but I really doubt it. He seems somewhat like a weasel, and Tinn seriously has a goddamn fortress. Fleckkers may be good at what he does, and is seemingly smart, but I think Tinn would definitely come out on top if Fleckkers tried anything.
Not to mention what Tinn would think of us if he knew we brought Fleckkers along, knowing his past but not knowing if we could trust him or not.
As much as I like the idea of getting some of our contacts together for the fight, and making some noise on our own the more I think about it, the more I think it'll end poorly in one way or another. Curious to see more thoughts on it however.
For now, I'll support this >>4466228 assuming we turn off/mute our radio so Bean can't overhear us mention Fleckkers by name.
Though, I still am still thinking about swapping back to something involving what I detailed in this post, if it's possible and if others seem on board with it.
>>
>>4466228
>>4466228
A vote to ley him choose. If he decides to play It safe, give him our House Keys and a personal memento he can show mum. I really doubt we can get Tinn on our side. Besides, he would probably spook the deputies.
>>
>“I suppose I will have to.” Take Fleckkers with you to pull together the remaining deputies around town to confront Carter’s ‘convoy’. Safety in numbers, more heads, more ideas.
>>
>>4466228
+1
>>
There is some pretty good discussion coming along, but it's getting pretty late, and as there isn't a clear lead at this point, I'll let this vote sit overnight.

See you all in the morning!
>>
>”It was only some pheasant, caught in a poacher’s trap.” Leave Fleckkers here to ‘steal’ your feed while you go off and pull together the remaining deputies to confront Carter’s ‘convoy’. Multitasking and concerns about trust.

But before that, can we persuade the guy? Or at least have a conversation with him? I mean, if he's gonna steal the feed, we'll need a set location.
>>
>>4466225
+1
>>
>Alright Fleckkers, do YOU trust yourself on a fight? I know you can shoot a gun fine from those pesky deer you killed and this gonna earn you some major rep with the guys who will own the show here.

Cant demand this of the guy and rather not leave him withour house keys until he has more to lose by betraying us.
>>
>>4466497
I mean, giving him our house keys is practically just a formality. He could get in pretty easily considering he is a safecracker.
>>
>>4466228
I'll go with this
also, the thought of the deputy getting scared off by our tank sounds glorious, but unfortunately that's not an option now since it's still stuck, and even if it was it's probably best not to let that cat out of the bag yet
>>
>>4466485
+1, let's kick Carter's ass with our gimpy legs
>>
QM, Mom should have already reached the homestead, right?

right?
>>
Also, the sheriff told us to get the biggest gun. Could we load the machine gun from the tank into our truck?
>>
The best position for bargaining in this situation would be from inside the tank with a bullhorn. Carter will fold.

Far as the Warden goes, he is defaulting to his training like most men would in that situation. Give him a little time to really think about the situation and he'll probably come around too.
>>
>>4466797
>>4466894
do we have a good in game reason to receive the lascannon from the forbidden crate?
>>
>>4466896
>do we have a good in game reason to receive the lascannon from the forbidden crate?
Not now, no. We don't even know what is inside it in character, but due to OP revealing what's behind the logo out of character it'd be reasonable to say that Mantle may have recognized the logo by now, so he may have some idea. Keep in mind Reaves is in our group, so as long as we stay in everyone's good graces, I'm sure we could work out picking it up sometime after the situation calms down enough to warrant heading out there. He may be upset about the thrashed gate however. Then again, the man has a family and I am almost certain his wife would force him into staying somewhere a bit less rugged than a dilapidated farm house for the time being, at least until the property can get some work done on it.
>>
Is the tank without the cannon still a worthwhile strategy?
>>
>>4466896
I mean, wasn´t the machine gun on top of the tank? I thought we could unscrew and screw it back into or truck
>>
Alright, I really overslept today. But I am here, and I have nothing else on my plate, so, lets get this started!.

>>4466225 Pheasants (1-0-0-0)

>>4466228 Write In 1 (1-0-0-1)
>Alright Fleckkers, do YOU trust yourself on a fight? I know you can shoot a gun fine from those pesky deer you killed and this gonna earn you some major rep with the guys who will own the show here. Later explained in >>4466246 as a vote to let Fleckkers choose.

>>4466239 Write In 1 (1-0-0-2)
>A tentative suggestion to try to get Fleckkers and Tinn in on the action, but a vote for the Write In.

>>4466273 Forced Hand! (1-1-0-2)

>>4466276 Write In 1! (1-1-0-3)

>>4466485 Pheasants! (2-1-0-3)

>>4466493 Pheasants! (3-1-0-3)

>>4466497 Write In 1! (4-1-0-3)

>>4466592 Pheasants! (4-1-0-4)

>>4466794 Question.
>QM, Mom should have already reached the homestead, right?
We can hope so, but assuming that she took less than an hour to leave, which considering our instructions is reasonable, she is already late.

>>4466797 Question.
>Also, the sheriff told us to get the biggest gun. Could we load the machine gun from the tank into our truck?
You know, I was hoping that someone would ask. Certainly!

>>4466896 Question.
>do we have a good in game reason to receive the lascannon from the forbidden crate?
Well, it is important to remember, it is was intended as a point defense unit on a strategic bomber, so it it isn't like some hand held unit and it needs to be integrated into an appropriately sized power-train to operate.

Of course it is a tie! Okay, I hate rolling for these things, so I will leave this up for about an hour, so I can get an early dinner. When I come back at 5pm Eastern Standard Time, I will close the vote and if necessary, roll for it.
>>
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>>4467040
>She is already late
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

Alright, I guess that settles it, I will roll for it.
Roll of 1 is Pheasant
Roll of 2 is Write In 1
>>
>>4467132
Oh well. Guess Fleckkers would be best off sticking to his guns anyway. Doesn't strike me as much of a fighter.
>>
>>4467152
We still get to play with a machine gun at least.
>>
>Parking Lot, Prague Farmer’s Union Store, Debouche, Maine, approximately 6:35 am.

You look at Fleckkers, and you honestly you do not know what to do here. You guess you like the guy, and from his poaching habit, he clearly knows his way around a gun but there is a big leap from that and getting involved with what could easily escalate into a shootout. Maybe if you asked him? No, that’d take to much to time to explain everything again. You need to move now, and without any hesitation … and if things do come to violence, Fleckkers might fold on you at a critical moment, especially if you were to sell it with the clichéd ‘no one is going to get hurt’. As helpful as a second set of hands would be here, if you cannot count on them completely, then it would probably be best to do this without ‘confederates’.

“No, it was … uh, just the wind.”

“Pity. Alright, let me tell you where we sent everyone…”. ‘Bart’ efficiently recounts the list of locations where deputies were sent and explains that it seems that Carter is working his way towards the town center. Beyond that, it is not clear where he is, or what he will do next. Before concluding the call, ‘Bart’ has one more instruction for you. “If this is actually the strike, the get a mask, something with filters, preferably.” And that was it, you have your marching orders. Just your marching orders; Fleckkers is going to need his own, and probably some level of incentive to stay ‘true’.
>>
>>4467212
>Alright Fleckkers, I know you are a thief, but you are not an idiot. The one thing that you need, guns and ammo, is arguably the hardest and most dangerous thing for you to steal. If you secure this (you hand him the bill of sale from yesterday) and a couple of other things (you will get to specify what you want him to grab) and deliver it to my homestead, then I’ll make sure that you have your choice of guns, real fighting arms, not hunting stuff, and all of the ammo you could possibly need.

>Alright Fleckkers, listen up. There isn’t enough food or critical supplies around the lake to take care of everyone; if we’d split what we’d have evenly, then we’d be thinking about eating each other for Thanksgiving, and if any of us were still alive for Christmas dinner, then we almost certainly would be eating one another. I’m part of a group, comprising of most of the Sheriff’s Office, who are trying to lock down the supplies to make it through. If you secure this (you hand him the bill of sale from yesterday) and a couple of other things (you will get to specify what you want him to grab) and deliver it to my homestead, then I’ll get you into the group.

>Alright Fleckkers, now hear this. I have animals, a small collection of livestock. What I am here for is the feed I bought yesterday for them. Now, I like you, but I do not trust you to not try your hand at ‘rustling’ when things get tight in a couple of weeks, just on your word alone. Or to not ‘gab’ about what I got to anyone else. So, this is what I am going to do; I’ll take you on as a ‘partner’ on my homestead, boarding there, helping with the animals, keeping an eye on the place. You would get a regular share of what the animals produced, so if you were ‘rustling’ or ‘gabbing’, you would be hurting yourself the most. I would still be in charge, of course, but I’d listen to just about anything you had to say. And all of this is in exchange for retrieving the feed and a couple of odds and ends...
>>
>>4467214
>Alright Fleckkers, I know you are a thief, but you are not an idiot. The one thing that you need, guns and ammo, is arguably the hardest and most dangerous thing for you to steal. If you secure this (you hand him the bill of sale from yesterday) and a couple of other things (you will get to specify what you want him to grab) and deliver it to my homestead, then I’ll make sure that you have your choice of guns, real fighting arms, not hunting stuff, and all of the ammo you could possibly need.
>>
Before we offer Fleckkers weaponry, exactly how much do we have? I know we have guns, but I'm assuming we aren't Tinn and don't have a massive armory. Exactly how much skin off our back is it to give him a gun and ammo?
>>
>>4467214
>>>Alright Fleckkers, now hear this. I have animals, a small collection of livestock. What I am here for is the feed I bought yesterday for them. Now, I like you, but I do not trust you to not try your hand at ‘rustling’ when things get tight in a couple of weeks, just on your word alone. Or to not ‘gab’ about what I got to anyone else. So, this is what I am going to do; I’ll take you on as a ‘partner’ on my homestead, boarding there, helping with the animals, keeping an eye on the place. You would get a regular share of what the animals produced, so if you were ‘rustling’ or ‘gabbing’, you would be hurting yourself the most. I would still be in charge, of course, but I’d listen to just about anything you had to say. And all of this is in exchange for retrieving the feed and a couple of odds and ends...
-A nice pair of boots. Steel toe.
-Ammo. What he needs for his own rifle, and a couple boxes of 9mm for our M9.
Anybody else have any other ideas on what to grab?
And could we have him leave some of our cash behind on the counter? If our feed is gone, they may presume we were behind the 'robbery.' Sure, the cash will be obsolete by the end of the day, but that should soften the blow a bit when they arrive to open up shop for the day.
I'm tempted to add masks/filters to this list, but it's a bit of a stretch to assume they'd stock them here. This is a farming supply store. Not a milsurp shop. Plus, if we had taken masks and management puts the two and two together, he'd know that we'd known a strike had been coming, and that the cash would be obsolete anyways. Doesn't look as good on us.
>>
>>4467261
This. Um, extra winter clothes and fuel. Material to insulares a House (I presume our character knows what to buy) cords of wood, canned good (we can eat animal good in a pinch if it is canned meat Gor dogs). Maybe something to reinforce the shed? Also barbed wire I guess. Animal media? Make him pick whatever of the list, but focus on insulation. Exchange trucks if ours is bigger.
>>
>>4467261
Count my previous post as support for the idea. Just adding stuff to the shopping list
>>
>>4467253
Good question:

At the farmhouse, we have:
Our 'beater' 10/22 Ruger, with about 400 loose rounds of .22 LR (FMJ)
Our great-grandmother's Sears-Roebuck single shot break-action, with about 50 loose rounds of 00 Buck and 10 loose slugs.

With us right now, on our person and in the truck, we have
Our sidearm, the M9A3 Beretta, with about 40 loose rounds of 9mm (FMJ)
Our grandfather's Winchester 1895, with about 20 loose rounds of 30.06 (FMJ)

And on the tank, we have:
An M85,the replacement for the M2 Browning; it shoots the exact same cartridges as the Browning, the .50 BMG (AP). You have exactly 185 rounds for this gun. Make them count, .50 BMG will be hard to come by.
An M240, the American designation for the FN MAG; it shoots 7.62x51 and is compatible with .308 Winchester. You have exactly 531 rounds of 7.62x51 (FMJ-T) for this gun. Considering its roll as the coaxial fire control for the main gun, these are orange-tips, tracer rounds. Don't expect to find any more tracers in this or any other caliber, unless you manage to find a military ammo dump. 7.62x51 and .308 are not particularly common rounds (but .308 at least is more common than .50 BMG (AP), so again, make these count.

It is also worth noting that once you have resolved the situation with Carter, you could simply ask one of your allies for a gun and a supply of ammo; or you could simply plan on taking something from the convoy, assuming that something is left behind after you route it.
>>
>>4467261
>>4467282
Good ideas. Unfortunately, Paris Farmer's Union, the IRL store which Prague Farmer's Union is being modeled off of does not sell live ammo. (For that matter, Paris doesn't sell hay on the scale that Prague does either, but consider that hand waved). The whole point of this interaction is that Fleckkers has to go to this store because he can go anywhere to buy or steal ammo in an acceptable time frame. But, to give you guys a better idea of what would be in Prague, here is the website for Paris: https://www.parisfarmersunion.com/

For the sake of convenience, assume that anything on the website for Paris is available in the store for Prague. That should give you an idea of what you can ask for. I'll let this sit until 8:15 pm Eastern Standard time, then I will close the vote, and roll on it if necessary.
>>
>Alright Fleckkers, now hear this. I have animals, a small collection of livestock. What I am here for is the feed I bought yesterday for them. Now, I like you, but I do not trust you to not try your hand at ‘rustling’ when things get tight in a couple of weeks, just on your word alone. Or to not ‘gab’ about what I got to anyone else. So, this is what I am going to do; I’ll take you on as a ‘partner’ on my homestead, boarding there, helping with the animals, keeping an eye on the place. You would get a regular share of what the animals produced, so if you were ‘rustling’ or ‘gabbing’, you would be hurting yourself the most. I would still be in charge, of course, but I’d listen to just about anything you had to say. And all of this is in exchange for retrieving the feed and a couple of odds and ends...
Ammo in:
7.62 nato
5.56 nato
.45 acp
9mm
.22lr
Two new pairs of boot in (size here)
At least one with steel toes
5 pair rubber boots and gloves
5 rolls of clear heavy duty plastic sheeting
great stuff spray insulation cans- all of em
fix a flat- grab a dozen
The biggest chain saw they have
any jerky making kits or pink cure salt- this is sodium nitrite or nitrate cut with plain sodium
Also near canning supplies would be powdered citric acid
2 pressure canners- two different ones if they have more than one
All the canning lids
24 quart jars for canning
A couple canning books
heavy duty garbage bags
goggles-air tight fitting ones- 5 pair
n95 or n99 masks and filters- all of em
A sump pump
24 big salt licks
>>
Alright, so that is three votes for boarding; consider this one closed. I'll get to writing!

>>4467549
>>4467609
No problem, I do that stuff all the time.
>>
Sorry about the ammo in the post. Was typing it up for a while.

The only thing else I could think of would be a couple jugs of iodine(usually used to dip cow udders in to sterilize them but probably good to treat water too) and manybottles of bleach tablets and 5 gallon buckets nested and with lids for water storage.
>>
>>4467624
OP, can we combine answers #2 and #3?
It'd feel weird to have him boarding without being in the group.
If everyone agrees, of course.
>>
>>4467652
>can we combine answers #2 and #3?
I'm alright with this, man.
>>4467549
>>4467627
Nice list anon. Good stuff.
>>
>>4467652
>>4467659
Oh, sorry, I suppose that wasn't clear at all. By boarding with you, he will be recognized as being part of Parasol's group. He probably will not be invited to the 'steering' meetings of the inner circle like Mantle was yesterday, but most members of the group will never be invited either, that is why it is called the inner circle.
>>
>Parking Lot, Prague Farmer’s Union Store, Debouche, Maine, approximately 6:35 am.

“Alright Fleckkers, now hear this. If you did not know, I have animals, a small collection of livestock. The whole reason I am here right now is to collect the feed that I bought yesterday for them. I like you, but the fact of the matter is, I can’t trust you on your word alone that when things get tight in a few weeks, that you aren’t going to try your hand at ‘rustling’; or that you won’t mindlessly, Hell, you won’t deliberately tell other people that I got a little ‘nest egg’ of dairy and egg production squirreled away here.

“So, this is my offer; I am going to give you my receipt for yesterday, we’ll have a quick talk about what else we need to grab, and then we will swap trucks; I’ll go take care of this Carter situation, and you just worry about pulling together everything we talk about here. Make as many trips as you need to get everything to my homestead. You do that, and I will take you on as a ‘hired man’, for room, board, and incidentals. You will not be living by yourself; you will get a share of all the food the animals produce.

You extended your hand, but before you could even ask him if you had a deal, he was already shaking your hand. “Oh yes. Definitely. Thank you, I – I do not know if I can say it enough. Thank you. You can count on me!” And there is the issue here; you have to count on him like this, you don’t have a choice. You’ve already asked his help to break into the union here, even if you changed your mind , and told him to get lost right now, odds are that he might put two and two together eventually and realize that you have animals; or he’d at least suspect it. And after a week or so of going hungry, odds are that he might ‘case’ your homestead, realize he was right, and then try to steal your animals away. The last thing you need is to be in the crosshairs of a professional thief at a time like this. So, you have to bring him on, and secure his cooperation with food. Hopefully, you can get some work out of him, but you do not know…
>>
>>4467876
Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. But which one is Fleckkers? Well, you suppose today, you are going to find out. Still, it rankles you that you have to put so much trust in someone who is arguably one of the least trustworthy people on the entire lake. You spend about a minute with the sneakthief and go over a list of what you will need, and you explain that he will need to use the tractor to load the bales. The man admits that he has never used a tractor before, but is confident that he can figure it out. God damn it; this is just getting worse and worse. Finally you explain how to get onto your property now that the bridge is out, and you mention that your mother might be arriving shortly, and to tell her to straight into the basement through the bulkhead, don’t even bother going through the house, and to shelter under the workbench until you come get her, more or less reiterating what you left on the note for her.

Having said everything that needed to be said, you swap the keys to your trucks, after you remove your grandfather’s hunting rifle from where you stowed it, and sling it over your shoulder, taking the triple bagged grocery bag of rounds and clips with you. You go over the list again with Fleckkers as he grabs the tools of his questionable trade, then get in the cab of his truck. Before you are able to start the engine, Fleckkers steps up on the runners, to say one final thought in passing.

“For what is it worth, Mantle. If you do not make it back, I’ll take care of your mother.” There is something unnerving about the thought, or perhaps it was the poor choice of words (what you hope was a poor choice of words); but for now, all you can do is hope that it was mean in a sincere, reassuring sense. With your new ‘hired man’ making the preparations for his ‘errand’, you drive off, and turn your mind to the task at hand.
>>
>>4467879
You are a single man, facing down a small convoy worth of assholes; obviously, the only way to make this work is an ambush. Your immediate thought is to find one of the caches with one of the deputies still guarding it, and then just lie in wait from an elevation position until Carter shows up and just make a bit of noise with one of the guns pulled off of the tank. That could work, but there are two issues. While you could drive them off in relative safety from a static, elevated position, once they are out of range, they could simply reform and head after the other caches. To ensure that they are put to flight, you need to be able to chase them down, which means attacking from a vehicle, a much more dangerous and difficult proposition. You could try attacking from a static position and then getting in a vehicle or attacking from a static position in a vehicle, but the issue is still there. Every second counts, so unless you are attacking and moving at the same time, they will have a huge head start on you. The second issue is the captive deputies that they already have. Even if you manage to rout them, without attacking from a vehicle, you will never be able to chase down and free the captives; they will just drive for the hills.

The preparations you make now, as well as the spot of the ambush, depends on if you want to attack from a static position or do it mobile. You will need to make this call right now.

>A static attack from an elevated position (includes attacking them then getting in a vehicle and trying to drive them off, or even attack from a parked vehicle and then driving after them); this choice provides greater safety to the character, but comes with the risk that they are not properly routed, or that even if you try to chase them down, you are unable to catch up to them. Will be unable to rescue the captives.

>A mobile attack from an appropriate vehicle; this choice will be more dangerous and difficult, but if executed properly will ensure that the convoy is routed. Provides a chance to chase down and free the captives.
>>
>>4467881
>>A mobile attack from an appropriate vehicle; this choice will be more dangerous and difficult, but if executed properly will ensure that the convoy is routed. Provides a chance to chase down and free the captives.
Fire up, man.
Mooseleg number 1.
If we're heading back for the gun(s), we'd better not use Fleckker's truck in the attack. Best to switch into our other one.
As for the guns, I'm leading for the M240. Tracer rounds coming at them would be a lot more nervewracking. Bonus of being less costly on our end, and if we wind up using the .50 AP rounds, we'd probably wind up shredding whoever is inside, including the captives.
Maybe we could open up with it, and fire at the lead vehicle's engine block?
>>
>>4467881
How about we block the road with the truck, then string them up?
>>
>A static attack from an elevated position (includes attacking them then getting in a vehicle and trying to drive them off, or even attack from a parked vehicle and then driving after them); this choice provides greater safety to the character, but comes with the risk that they are not properly routed, or that even if you try to chase them down, you are unable to catch up to them. Will be unable to rescue the captives.

Safe option. Take out the engine blocks with the M240 and then sprinkle suppressing fire around them conservatively until they take cover and flee. Bring a couple small pop bottle molotovs to rain down on them if they try to advance. Bring zip ties made into cuffs in case they straight up surrender. Use a show of force, maybe demoralize Carter's followers into leaving him or just freeze them into inaction or drive them back to the bargaining table with the Sherriff.
The situation could deescalate if we are patient. Unless, that is, unless we kill one of Carter's people- then they might kill the hostages and become pot committed against us.
>>
Well, with two votes opposing votes, and a question that I am not sure which way it leans, I guess I am going to leave this up for the night.
>>
>A static attack from an elevated position (includes attacking them then getting in a vehicle and trying to drive them off, or even attack from a parked vehicle and then driving after them); this choice provides greater safety to the character, but comes with the risk that they are not properly routed, or that even if you try to chase them down, you are unable to catch up to them. Will be unable to rescue the captives.
I remember what happened when we took an overly dangerous option in space before. I’d rather have our guy survive the first encounter of the real start to this quest.
>>
>>4467881
>>4467930
Alternatively, we could also get some nails/sharp scrap metal and lay it out on their path, hoping to burst their tires, at which point we hit them. They wouldn't be aware of the ambush until they'd be too close to prevent it.
>>
>>4468098
>>4468033
>>4467942
>>4467930
>>4467890
Myabe we could recruit the deputy guarding the supplies, blocking the road with our truck and then using the machine gun from a position further behind (so that the convot gets between our improvished barricade and the recruited deputy and our machine gun. Trapped them in and make them surrender with superior firepower.
>>
Bart gave Mantle the locations of the deputies not yet arrested by Carter. I think grabbing a couple of them and the M240 is a good idea. Set up a not so obvious choke point that looks like a 2 person car crash and throw down some nails. Mantle takes overwatch position and leads the ambush with the M240 up top aiming for engine blocks while the deputies find solid cover below in a position that flanks the convoy relative to Mantle's position so they shoot tires out from there and give verbal commands to get out of the vehicle and surrender. From there, Mantle's deputies either capture Carter and his people or shoot them if they resist.

Yeah, something like that sounds good.
>>
>>4468266
This sounds good. I'll change to this.
>>
Alright, I overslept again. Let's close the vote and see where we stand.

>>4467890 Mobile, vote retracted by >>4468565 (0-0-0)
>>4467942 Static (0-1-0)
>>4468033 Static (0-2-0)
>>4468565 Static (0-3-0)

Well, thankfully everyone voted purely for static, otherwise I'd need to determine what if anything >>4467930 >>4468098 >>4468135 are voting for. Alright, I get to writing this up; and we can definitely use these suggestions.
>>
>Driving through Town Center, Debouche, Maine, approximately 6:40 am.

Your first thought was to run this convoy down in a mobile attack … somehow box in or disable the Sheriffs Office’s wagon to free the deputies inside, but as you think about it, you find yourself casting glances around the cab of Fleckker’s truck. The cab is pretty open, not to mention that you cannot count on the doors offering much protection from gunfire either, especially if bigger guns are brought out. You do not intend on killing these assholes, but the proverbial ‘fly in the ointment’ here is that they don’t know that and will probably try to kill you when you come out shooting. Well, with that out, that means you will set up a static attack; pull together some of the deputies and grab the M240; find a comfy spot and just wait for the assholes to show up.

There is one complication though. Besides the knowledge that Carter is working his way towards the town center, you do not know where exactly he is. If go to get your gun first, you might comeback and find that the deputies that you were going to recruit have all been picked up, and you will need to race ahead of the convoy, relying on some fancy driving to reach deputies that have not been picked up yet, and then scramble to throw together an ambush. Alternatively, if you spend time recruiting the deputies, you may find yourselves all caught out in the open by Carter and his convoy, without your M240 and the advantage of a defensive position. Basically, the question here, is which risk do you take?

>It is better to be ‘undergunned’ with more men, then ‘overgunned’ with one man. Pull together the deputies first, then grab your M240; this will mean a risk of being caught out in the open by the convoy.
>It is better to be prepared by yourself than to be unprepared as a group. Head home immediately to grab your M240, then go to recruit the deputies; this will mean a risk of Carter already being in the town center when you return, necessitating a difficult driving test to avoid him and beat him to the next pool of deputies.
>>
>>4468666
>>It is better to be prepared by yourself than to be unprepared as a group. Head home immediately to grab your M240, then go to recruit the deputies; this will mean a risk of Carter already being in the town center when you return, necessitating a difficult driving test to avoid him and beat him to the next pool of deputies.
The deputies may be on our side, but I don't like the idea of them seeing our tank.
>>
>>It is better to be prepared by yourself than to be unprepared as a group. Head home immediately to grab your M240, then go to recruit the deputies; this will mean a risk of Carter already being in the town center when you return, necessitating a difficult driving test to avoid him and beat him to the next pool of deputies.

This does seem the better option. Besides, we aren't sure Mantle is even on Carter's radar yet.
>>
>>4468666
>It is better to be prepared by yourself than to be unprepared as a group. Head home immediately to grab your M240, then go to recruit the deputies; this will mean a risk of Carter already being in the town center when you return, necessitating a difficult driving test to avoid him and beat him to the next pool of deputies.
>>
Alright, that is a pretty solid lead. I'll call it for heading home and getting the M240. Someone needs to roll for the chance encounter at this point; currently we are at 1-in-9 that you run into the convoy on your way to your homestead. As >>4468738 correctly guessed, Mantle is not on Carter's radar, and even if he was, he isn't driving his truck; if you see him, no worries, he won't try and stop you here. The obvious issue here is that if you see him, then it means he is in the town center, 'arresting' deputies; and the job of pulling together people to drive him off just got harder. The flip side to that is that by seeing him, you obviously get some first hand intelligence on the size and composition of his convoy.

Roll of 1 means that you pass Carter.
Roll of 2-9 means that you do not pass Carter.

>Can I get one anon to please roll 1d9?
>>
Rolled 7 (1d9)

>>4468809
>>
>>4468821
Alright, I will get to writing!
>>
>Dooryard, Your Homestead, Debouche Maine, Sometime after 6:55 am

The thought had crossed your mind that you might wind up passing Carter; he is supposedly working his way into the town center, and to get back to your homestead and the M240, you would be leaving on the only through road out of it to the Northeast; the other roads out of the town center either would take you around the entire lake to get to your homestead, or they’d have you traipsing through the woods, burning time that you clearly don’t have. This is the nuclear strike; you should be at home, hunkering down with your animals, and with mother.

You pulled into the dooryard a moment or two ago, coming in the drive as opposed to the logging road, and your heart sunk when there was still no sign of her. Compounding your fear is a surge of frustration when you realize that while you had the forethought to take your grandfather’s hunting rifle, you didn’t think to grab your own tools … and Fleckkers took his tools off the truck with him. It isn’t a huge mistake, so long as you are on your property, you have small toolboxes full of homeowner and weekend-warrior grade tools all over, scavenged from properties that you cleaned out over the years. Still, as you hustle over your makeshift bridge, you remind yourself that these small mistakes have a way of burying people. You will need to keep your cool. Thankfully, everything else here goes smoothly, and as an added bonus, when you finally manage to remove the M240 from its coaxial mount, you realize that sitting underneath it is a bipod for the rifle. You cannot be sure, partially because the lighting inside the cabin of the tank is lousy, but you think that this is another one of that nameless Morrison’s handiworks. If you can, you should really make a point of finding out more about that guy; partially to find his grave and pay your respects for this incredible tank that he was almost certainly responsible for … and partially to see if you turn up some leads on other projects of his; like that mysterious box in the ‘forbidden shed’. You gather up the machine rifle, the belts of 7.62x51 with the orange tips, and the little bipod, and haul your haul (and yourself) out of the tank, then out of the ravine.
>>
>>4469065
You had been hoping that while you were busy removing the M240, your mother would show up, and surprise you; even if it might make for awkward encounter, her catching you hauling all this firepower out of your new tank, with her rather irrational fears and concerns over firearms or anything that could be considered ‘weapon-esque’. But you would rather her here and shouting and screaming at you over this stuff (which she might have had she actually been here, even under the dire circumstances) instead of her being God knows where. Mother has a preternatural ability to your frustrate plans (and you, and herself for that matter) as well as complicate things needlessly in a fruitless drive towards perfection, but … she is your mother, for God’s sake. You are going to look after her. Or try to, at the very least. On that note, you wonder what your father is doing right now, or where he is. Out of the state, certainly, but beyond that? You do not know. You aren’t on good terms with him, Hell, you aren’t on any terms with him, but you still hope he makes it through this, even though if things really do Collapse here, on account of this strike, then odds will be good that you will never see him again.

You spend a minute grabbing some other things from around the homestead. You throw everything into the cab of Fleckker’s truck, and the head on out to the nearest guarded cache, the Debouche 'International' Airport.

Current Inventory:
>Our 'beater' 10/22 Ruger, 10 rounds loaded with three additional magazines and about 200 loose rounds of .22LR (FMJ)
>Our Grandfather’s Winchester 1895, 5 rounds loaded with 20 loose rounds of .30-06 (FMJ)
>Our sidearm, the M9A3 Beretta, 17 rounds loaded with an additional magazine and about 20 loose rounds of 9mm (FMJ)
>Our Firecracker, the M240B (w/ bipod), all 531 rounds of 7.62x51 (FMJ-T) on the belt.
>Our Combat-Rebuilt Engineer’s Mallet (Melee – one handed, bludgeon)
>Our Combat-Rebuilt Sledge Axe (Melee – two handed, bludgeon-piercing)
>Our Kaiser Axe (Melee – two handed, bludgeon-slashing)
>Our Tire Ticklers, 3 buckets of roofing nails

Alright, so the odds that we run into Carter are going to increase exponentially; from 1-in-9 all the way to ... 2-in-9. Can I get one anon to roll 1d9? Rolls of 1 and 2 means that you see Carter mucking about in the town center; rolls of 3 - 9 mean that you still have time before you need to start driving around like a madman again, to beat him to the next cache (and its guard).
>>
Lets see what happens.
>>
Rolled 6 (1d9)

>>
Alright, so you are still good. I am going to take a bit to get dinner, and then I will get back to writing.
>>
>Debouche ‘International’ Airport, Debouche, Maine, Sometime after 7:05am

You are all on the clock here. It is still kind of early for most people, and for the earlier risers, the ‘quakes and the broadcast telling them to standby for a message that never came, you can expect that everyone is going to stay inside for a little bit longer. But eventually, if when the power does not come back on, they are going to poke their heads out from their little holes and start looking for answers. Without the jailbreak to spook them into staying indoors (or just outright leaving) then the advantage that all members of Parasol’s group have over everyone else is going to slip away, permanently. At this point, everyone should be coordinating the first rounds of scavenging, but with Edna either captured or willing going along with Carter, then everyone is just holding their positions, waiting … for Carter to pick them up piecemeal.

It has been nearly 30 minutes since the first ‘quake; and it is important to remember, that there could have been strikes before, and that was merely the first one that you were able to feel. For that matter, you were fairly certain there was another one on your drive to the airport, but you aren’t entirely sure, the road that you were on at the time was really poorly maintained. You turn onto the access road, and when you see him, you do not know if you should sigh in relief or groan in frustration. The guard here has not been captured, a relief to be sure. Unfortunately, it seems that the Sheriff outsourced this post; instead of a well-armed and adequately-armored deputy with a liveried cruiser, outfitted for chasing down fleeing vehicles, it is Oher, the paramedic, with a fucking ambulance, alongside some teenager who you have never met. Damn it! You were counting on someone who was geared and ready for a fight … not, well, anyone who wasn’t geared or ready for a fight ... Kind of short sighted of you, if you think about it. You suppose given the number of critical caches that need to be covered around the entire lake, the limited number of deputies , and the fact that people probably would not immediately try to steal gas (or planes) from the airstrip here, then this was no doubt considered a lower priority position. You would bet damn near anything that the Sheriff’s and Parasol’s (and Chickless’) plan here was that once scavenging commenced, and deputies were freed up after finishing looting their posts, they’d send one over here to relieve or reinforce Oher.
>>
>>4469361
It is a perfectly reasonable plan. Rather, it was a perfectly reasonable plan; undone by the perfectly unreasonable Undersheriff Carter. As you pull up, Oher asks you (politely enough) to leave, but when you identify yourself and get out to speak with him, he is pleased by your arrival. “Good to see you Mantle; I heard you were in on this too. What is going on with Edna? I cannot raise anyone but the other paramedics, and their really close. Martin’s covering the Debouche Seaplane Base and – “

“Carter. Carter has got it in his head that whole thing is just going to blow over, and that we are overreacting. And because what we are doing is ‘wrong’, he is going to arrest us all, including the Sheriff, and then he’ll be the Sheriff.” Oher just looks at you, mouth slightly agape. Before he can say anything, however, the kid with him speaks up. “So, is this is all illegal, isn’t it?” Hell of a thing to get caught up on in the middle of nuclear war, but some, maybe even most people are like that. “Yesterday, this was illegal. Today, nothing is illegal.” The kid (who is probably only a few years younger than yourself, if you are being honest) chews on that, while you bring them up to speed on the situation at the ‘Mount Kineo Big House’, and ‘Bart’s’ plan to unravel the convoy before it abducts any more of your group.

When your done given them the long and the short of it, Oher speaks up about the plan to scare them off. “Well, scared is one thing, and dead is another. We start shooting at them, who is to say someone doesn’t get hurt?” You do not have an answer for that, and Oher notices. He gets a grim look across his face, and then nodding, says “Well, if that is how it is, then there is nothing for it, I suppose.” He looks at his clip radio, and then back to you. “I could call the boys over, and we could set up shop here, but the issue with that is that they’re both in official vehicles, which Carter is no doubt looking for. He catches them out by themselves, they will either surrender or run. It would buy us a bit more time, but either way, we would still be short on manpower on account of it. Alternatively, we could pile into your truck and go pick them up and find another ambush spot, but that would mean abandoning a vehicle.” He is pointedly looking at his ambulance, and despite your earlier dismay over it not being a cruiser, an ambulance is probably better suited for this kind of work than your truck. An enclosed back, a more powerful engine, not to mention the medical supplies on hand.

Oher concludes; “It seems to me that the more vehicles that we have, the more options that we have. But the issue is, that if we get caught out on our way … then we lose all of the advantages that we are banking on here.”
>>
>>4469364
>Call ‘the boys’ over. There is a risk that one or both of them is intercepted by Carter, as well as a smaller risk that Carter himself shows up here before they do.
>Pick ‘the boys’ up in Fleckker’s truck, abandoning the ambulance here. As you are not in a liveried vehicle, Carter will not accost you if you come across him, but there is a separate risk that he will get to one of ‘the boys’ before you do.
>Pick ‘the boys’ up in Fleckker’s truck and bring the ambulance along. As you driving with a liveried vehicle, Carter will accost you if you come across him, and there is still the separate risk that he will get to one of ‘the boys’ before you do
>>
>>4469367
>>Pick ‘the boys’ up in Fleckker’s truck and bring the ambulance along. As you driving with a liveried vehicle, Carter will accost you if you come across him, and there is still the separate risk that he will get to one of ‘the boys’ before you do
Convoy. We'll take the lead. We may not have men with actual fighting experience, but their medical experience looks like it'll come in handy in this first encounter.
>>
>>4469367
>Pick ‘the boys’ up in Fleckker’s truck and bring the ambulance along. As you driving with a liveried vehicle, Carter will accost you if you come across him, and there is still the separate risk that he will get to one of ‘the boys’ before you do
>>
>Pick ‘the boys’ up in Fleckker’s truck and bring the ambulance along. As you driving with a liveried vehicle, Carter will accost you if you come across him, and there is still the separate risk that he will get to one of ‘the boys’ before you do
>>
>>4469367
>>Pick ‘the boys’ up in Fleckker’s truck and bring the ambulance along. As you driving with a liveried vehicle, Carter will accost you if you come across him, and there is still the separate risk that he will get to one of ‘the boys’ before you do
>>
>>Pick ‘the boys’ up in Fleckker’s truck and bring the ambulance along. As you driving with a liveried vehicle, Carter will accost you if you come across him, and there is still the separate risk that he will get to one of ‘the boys’ before you do.
>>
Alright, that settles it. We'll make a miniature convoy. First, I need a roll of 1d9. Rolling a 1 to 4 means that you encounter Carter driving around to pick up the others, and 5-9 means that you manage to avoid him. Also, I will need two more rolls of 1d9; to see if Carter has already abducted either of the other two paramedics; rolls of 1 or 2 mean that they have been captured, and rolls of 7-9 mean they are still there, waiting for you. (You are not able to call them on the radio without the possibility of Carter listening in)

>Three anons, please roll 1d9
>>
Rolled 1 (1d9)

>>
>>4469436
Well, this certainly isn't optimal. We still need the other votes, but for now, we need to make an important choice.
>Attempt to flee the convoy (difficult and dangerous driving test, if it fails, you will need to make an even harder shooting test or risk capture)
>Make a stand, and drive them off (difficult and dangerous shooting test, if it fails, you will need to make an ever harder driving test, or risk capture)
>>
Rolled 3 (1d9)

>>4469434
>>
>>4469442
>>Attempt to flee the convoy (difficult and dangerous driving test, if it fails, you will need to make an even harder shooting test or risk capture)
With a Bocephus sticker on his 442, he'd light 'em up just for fun.
>>
>>Attempt to flee the convoy (difficult and dangerous driving test, if it fails, you will need to make an even harder shooting test or risk capture)

No plan survives contact with the enemy.
>>
Rolled 7 (1d9)

>>4469434
>Make a stand, and drive them off (difficult and dangerous shooting test, if it fails, you will need to make an ever harder driving test, or risk capture)
If we can down a moose with five shots from a 9mm then we can drive him off. We're sharpshooter Mantle goddammit.
>>
Hmm, it is getting kind of late, and this is an important vote. I think I am going to let this one sit overnight. I should add that Oher and the kid did not have any weapons with them; so this would also be a good time to determine what exactly from your current inventory >>4469080 you gave to who. To streamline things, we will say that we equipped our party completely, and discussed basic contingency plans before driving out and running into Carter's Convoy.
>>
Oher gets the Winchester and the kid gets th 10/22. That be my vote.
>>
>>4469505
Assuming Oher is driving, lets say he has the M9.
Kid has the 10/22.
>>
>>4469458

On further thought, I'm switching my vote to shooting first and driving second.
>>
>>4469553
+1
>>
>Make a stand, and drive them off (difficult and dangerous shooting test, if it fails, you will need to make an ever harder driving test, or risk capture)
>>
>>4469822
+1
>>
>>4469442
>Make a stand, and drive them off (difficult and dangerous shooting test, if it fails, you will need to make an ever harder driving test, or risk capture)
>>
>>4469452 Flight (1-0)
>>4469458 Retracted (1-0)
>>4469553 Fight (1-1)
>>4469634 Fight (2-1)
>>4469822 Fight (3-1)
>>4469884 Fight (4-1)
>>4469889 Fight (5-1)
Well, that is pretty overwhelmingly in favor of fighting it out. I'll be ready to start the run in a few hours or so.
>>
>>4470009
Well, this is completely unexpected. Something has seriously gone wrong with my laptop, it has power, but the damned thing is not turning on.

Hopefully I can resolve this tonight. Regardless, sorry for the delay.
>>
Wait, is it normal to have the same ID across multiple devices?
>>
>>4470452
I've had to post from mobile and my ID was always different. Maybe they're the same if you use the same network though? I always used data.
>>
Sorry to hear you're having laptop problems QM, wish you the best of luck. The laptop thing occasionally happens to me too QM. Have you tried unplugging it, removing the battery and waiting 30 seconds, then reinserting it, then powering it on?
>>
>>4470454
That could be it, I'm on the same Wi-Fi.
>>4470485
That's exactly what I am trying to do right now.
>>
>>4470449
As long as I'm on the same network, my devices have the same post ID. It's normal.
>>
>>4470452
I always have the same ID when on my home network across 3 devices.
>>
Alright! All I needed to do was to get into the works, press on it tenderly, and it is working again! Hopefully that is the end of the issue; earlier today, when I turned it on, there was this 'insufficient' battery alert that I had never seen before, and then when I went to start it for this run, the damned thing wouldn't turn on. But when I just started her again, there wasn't any alert. So, we should be free and clear going forward, fingers crossed.

Now, our group has the imitative here, and Oher and the kid will presumably follow our lead. With that in mind, what do you shoot at first?

>Do it like the A-Team would, and shoot over the heads of the Asshole Convoy to scare them off. No chance of accidentally shooting anyone.
>Try to pin-cushion the engine blocks (relatively easier) or the tires (relatively difficult) of the lead vehicles of the Asshole Convoy. There is a chance that you wind up shooting someone.
>Do it like the A-Team would (in the movie), and just shoot at the members of the Asshole Convoy. Obviously, there is a very good chance that you wind up killing someone.

I'll leave this up for about two hours or so, so I can take care of some other things that I couldn't do without the computer, and then I will close it and get to writing.
>>
>>4470544
>Do it like the A-Team would (in the movie), and just shoot at the members of the Asshole Convoy. Obviously, there is a very good chance that you wind up killing someone.
Carter gets the death penalty, we don't have time for his antics in a nuclear apocalypse. Besides, what are we going to do when we win? Cuff him and throw him in jail? In an apocalypse scenario?
>>
>>4470544
>>Try to pin-cushion the engine blocks (relatively easier) or the tires (relatively difficult) of the lead vehicles of the Asshole Convoy. There is a chance that you wind up shooting someone.
Light 'em up.
>>
>>4470544
>>Try to pin-cushion the engine blocks (relatively easier) or the tires (relatively difficult) of the lead vehicles of the Asshole Convoy. There is a chance that you wind up shooting someone.

Carter on the other hand, can go die all I care - no jail in the apocalypse.
>>
>Try to pin-cushion the engine blocks (relatively easier)

Engine blocks please.
>>
>>4470544
>Try to pin-cushion the engine blocks (relatively easier)
Scare them into submission and then murder Carter later
>>
>>4470544
>>Try to pin-cushion the engine blocks (relatively easier) of the lead vehicles of the Asshole Convoy. There is a chance that you wind up shooting someone.
>>
Alright, so one final question, this one is of preference. Would you guys like to roll for Oher and the kid as well, or do you want to only roll for the player character? I figure this is worth asking, considering that this is the first time we have had 'confederates' with us for a challenge.

>Roll only for Mantle
>Roll for all allied NPCs
>>
>>4470692
>>>Roll only for Mantle
I feel like we should only roll for Mantle, as he is the PC.
You should roll for NPCs, both allied and hostile.
>>
>>4470692

>Roll only for Mantle

That is my preference.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d3)

Alright, so I guess we can get started. I will need 1 roll of 1d6 to start.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d6)

>>4470767
>>
Rolled 17, 17, 17, 14, 17, 4, 20, 2, 10, 15, 10 = 143 (11d20)

And I will need 6 rolls of 4d20. Congrats! We managed to get off 6 bursts before the asshole convoy could even respond.

The roll on this post is for the 1895 and the 10/22. If no one has rolled for a bit, you can roll again.
>>
Rolled 3, 4 = 7 (2d6)

>>4470778
These are for Oher and the kid.
>>
>>4470768
Uh oh. Anyway, feel free to roll for one of the 6 4d20's
>>
Rolled 12, 14, 3, 6 = 35 (4d20)

>>4470785
>>
Well, we still need 5 rolls of 4d20's. If anyone is who has already gone is still around, they can roll again.
>>
Rolled 9 (1d20)

>>4470785
>>
Rolled 7, 14, 19, 20 = 60 (4d20)

>>4470835
guess I'll do one more just to move things along
bad luck with the dice today, it seems
>>
Rolled 8, 14, 15 = 37 (3d20)

>>4470837
>>
Rolled 5, 19, 20, 4 = 48 (4d20)

>>4470835
o my moose hunting dice
>>
Rolled 11, 13, 13, 11 = 48 (4d20)

>>4470785
>>
Rolled 1, 19, 8, 9 = 37 (4d20)

>>
Hey guys, I've started writing this up, but it is getting pretty late, and I have class tomorrow. I don't want to half-ass the very first shootout of the quest, so I will call it here. However, I figure I could fill you in on how this is going to work. Considering that you are all shooting at the engine blocks, and for this first round, the drivers are still sitting behind the wheel of the cruisers; any failed shots have a 1-in-5 chance to roll against the drivers of the vehicles instead. With the volume of rounds that your M240b is throwing out, odds are that someone is going to either be killed outright, or will be grievously/mortally wounded. Which begs the question; if that happens, and you are the victor here, what exactly are you going to do about any potential wounded captives?

>Provide medical assistance regardless
>Provide triaged medical assistance (treating only if there is a reasonable expectation that they will survive)
>Provide nothing, and let them die
>Provide 'mercy', and kill them
>>
>>4470908
>>Provide triaged medical assistance (treating only if there is a reasonable expectation that they will survive)
>>
>Provide triaged medical assistance (treating only if there is a reasonable expectation that they will survive)
>>
>>4470908
>Provide triaged medical assistance (treating only if there is a reasonable expectation that they will survive)

and fuck carter
>>
>Provide triaged medical assistance (treating only if there is a reasonable expectation that they will survive)

Think we should interrogate Carter? Find out if there is a 'man behind the man' or another reason for his actions beyond chasing a promotion during a nuclear war?
>>
>>4471020
+1
>>
Alright guys! I'm ready to run for the day! Let me just finish what I started last night, and then we will get going!
>>
>>4471226
No man, don't let him speak. He might still convince the kid to switch sides or something.
>>
>Debouche ‘International’ Airport, Debouche, Maine, Sometime after 7:05am
“Listen, if your ‘boys’ are also unarmed and in liveried vehicles, then they are pretty much out of luck they stumble across Carter’s crew on their way here. We will pick them up; and figure things out from there.” You motion Oher and kid over to you, and as the two of them hustle over, the kid pipes up. “Should we call ‘em on the radio? To let them know what is happening, and to be prepared?” You shake your head. “Listen, our communications are all unencrypted, and as it stands, that is a massive advantage for Carter. He does not need to talk to anyone, all of his people are within shouting and signaling distance of one another. He is almost certainly listening in; if he realizes that we are on to him, he might speed things up. Alternatively, he could decide that he’s done enough damage, and fuck off to who knows where with his captives, as well as a number of our cruisers and whatever else he’s got his grubby paws on. Remember, he’s been at the Public Safety building, and odds are that hypocrite probably ‘looted’ it to prepare to deal with us.”

That thought, of course, carried with it some serious implications. Considering the close proximity of the Debouche Public Safety Building to the ‘Mount Kineo Big House’, as well as the standing practice that the United States has to funnel obsolete or redundant military hardware to law enforcement, if Carter had the choice of the Sheriff’s Office armory like you feared, then odds are you are going up against some serious weapons. That said, so long as you manage to ambush them properly, whatever advantage their weapons, and their numbers, give them should be mitigated, if not eliminated. Not to mention of course, that you are almost certain none of them are carrying anything as powerful as a M240b. You open up the cab to Fleckker’s truck; and you hand the 1895 to Oher and the 10/22 to the kid. Oher looks really uncomfortable about accepting the gun, but surprisingly the kid takes your ‘beater’ without so much as a twitch of his eyebrows.

Still, it is going to be worth discussing what has to be done here. “Now, we are not setting out to kill anyone here, but they have numbers on us. We need to put some fear into the bastards, and if we can, knock out a car or two. The reinforced bumpers that they got on the cruisers are designed to protect the engine block in a ramming action, but they do not provide much cover if one were to shoot at it.” You turn to the kid. “Obviously, .22LR is not going to knock out an engine block in a single shot, and it probably won’t even if you manage to hit it with all of your shots, but the idea is that when you are being shot at, you really can’t judge the size of the bullets flying. Scared not dead is preferable.”
>>
>>4471783
You look to the ambulance and cannot help but grimace a bit. The hood sits high off of the road, and the rear wheel sits well in from the ass end of the box. If you were to get caught out on the road, this would not be a good vehicle to use as cover in a gunfight. Rather, it would be too good. The large blocky build ensures that the standard procedure for gun fights using vehicles as cover is not practical. Standing behind the tires, as you are supposed to when covering yourself with a vehicle in a gun fight does not provide a safe or effective position to return fire from, like it would with a police cruiser. But … you have an idea. “Listen, if we get caught by the convoy, then we can’t count on ourselves outrunning it; we should plan to fight, then and there if it comes to it. So what you do, if it comes to it, is to park it perpendicular to the convoy, and then get underneath, using the two wheels closest to the assholes as cover.

Oher looks more than a little alarmed by that idea, and starts to speak up. “Is that …?”

“Typical? No, there is not really any ‘typical’ when it comes to getting into gun battles with an ambulance. Effective? Well, it will be uncomfortable, but as I see it, it is the safest place on the entire ambulance that also affords the ability to return fire. … Oh, and in case this needs to be said, when you get perpendicular to the convoy, get out from the side facing away from them. If they see you guys hauling guns around, they might get anxious enough that we lose the initiative.

You distribute the ammunition for the guns, and make sure that Oher and the kid know how to operate each of the rifles. With that, there is nothing left to do but to head out; Martin at the Seaplane Base is the closest, just down the street. You will start with him first.
>>
>Driving in the Town Center, approaching Debouche Seaplane Base, Debouche, Maine, Sometime after 7:05am

Things were going well here, all things considered. You were not going to be challenging the convoy alone, you had reliable guys to count on, and most importantly, you still had the initiative. As a bonus, it seems that no one has really come out for the day yet; so that means no chance (or at least, a drastically reduced chance) of bystanders getting hurt when you finally open up the ambush. Perhaps a bit cynically, you also consider that it means that you don’t need to worry as much about witnesses. Someone sees you in a gun battle with a convoy of police cruisers, they might get the wrong idea. Or even worse, they would get the ‘right’ idea, understand what is happening perfectly, and start acting in their personal interest … and effectively against yours, and the interests of your group. The whole idea of just sitting around and waiting for everyone outside of the group to just leave or get run off really, really, doesn’t sit well with you, even if you agree with Chickless’ assessment that the ‘non-essentials’ are more likely to make it if they up and leave while they can. It just seems …

As you blow through one of the three traffic lights on the entire lake, your reflecting comes to a screeching halt. About two intersections down, there they are. The assholes. All told they have eight vehicles. Four liveried cruisers, with one more unmarked, two trucks, presumably carrying the civilians that ‘Bart’ mentioned, and in the middle, the prisoner transport van.

Fucking Hell, it was not supposed to go like this. Even after all of your big talk, after the plans you have made with Oher to fight them off, if it came to this, you are still really tempted to just drive off. You are facing down at least 8 men, and you are presumably outgunned. For one moment, you consider that if you were to simply abandon Oher and the kid in the ambulance, Carter probably would not even chase you. Hell, considering that Oher was not sitting on a cache at the time, Carter might let him go to … but you snap right out of that. You have a responsibility to the rest of your group; they are counting on you to drive this fucker out of down. You can feel yourself tremble and shiver with adrenaline as you commit yourself. You stomp on the brakes as hard as you ever have in your entire life, and Fleckker’s truck jerks to a stop. As you grasp for the M240b, you can see in the rear-view as the ambulance does the same; without intending to, the road ahead of the convoy is blocked. The cool lake air pumps through you, and even though the sun has risen nearly half an hour ago, the sky still has a red and pink tint to it.
>>
Rolled 8, 5, 10, 5, 12, 11, 11, 8, 5, 4, 6, 8, 3, 9, 1, 8, 12, 8, 12, 3, 7, 8, 6, 7, 7 = 184 (25d13)

It is a beautiful day for a shootout. As you move yourself into position behind the front wheel (and engine block) of Fleckker’s truck, you realize that you are closer to death right now than you have ever been in your entire life … but, strangely enough, now that you have committed yourself to fighting, you are not anywhere approaching as afraid as you were, just seconds ago. It is kind of impressive if you think about it, but the question is will your confidence hold when the convoy inevitably returns fire?

Round One of Combat:

Our Character's Party:
>M.Oher, R.Mantle, and the Kid have the initiative.
>M.Oher, R.Mantle, and the Kid seek to attack the Lead Cruiser of the Asshole Convoy
>M.Oher, R.Mantle, and the Kid are armed and in position to attack the engine block of the Lead Cruiser.

Basic Accuracy Modifiers (for M.Oher and the Kid)
Roll of 1 means 0.125x modifier
Roll of 2 means 0.25x modifier
Roll of 3 means 0.75x modifier
Roll of 4 means 1x modifier
Roll of 5 means 1.125x modifier
Roll of 6 means 1.25x modifier

>M.Oher rolls a gross 3; receives +1 for Precise Rifle, +2 for Glass, -1 for Clean Shot on Moving Target, -1 for Non-Optimal Position (under the ambulance)
>M.Oher receives a net 4, a modifier of 1x to all shooting rolls
>The Kid rolls a gross 4; receives +1 for Precise Rifle, +1 for Post, -1 for Clean Shot on Moving Target, -1 for Non-Optimal Position (under the ambulance)
>The Kid receives a net 4, a modifier of 1x to all shooting rolls

Intermediate Modifiers (for R. Mantle)
Roll of 1 means 0.25x modifier
Roll of 2 means 0.325x modifier
Roll of 3 means 0.825x modifier
Roll of 4 means 1.125x modifier
Roll of 5 means 1.25x modifier
Roll of 6 means 1.325x modifier

>R.Mantle rolls a gross 1; receives -1 for Machine Rifle, +3 for Great Glass, +1 for Bipod, -1 for Clean Shot on Moving Target, +1 for Stable Position (resting on hood of truck)
>R.Mantle receives a net 4, a modifier of 1.125x to all shooting rolls.

Convoy of Assholes:
>The Convoy of Assholes is ambushed by our Character's Party
>The Convoy of Assholes is unable to attack this turn, nor are they able to interrupt the attack for our Character's Party.
>The Engine Block of the Lead Cruiser of the Convoy of Assholes is being attacked; with 8/8 pips of health and a resistance of 'd13' it must roll to defend itself.
>Situational Rules; any shots that are resisted by the Engine Block, on a roll of 1 from a 1d5 have a chance to re-roll against the Driver of the Lead Cruiser

ROLLING!
>>
Rolled 12, 10, 11, 5, 2, 6, 9, 1, 9, 5 = 70 (10d13)

>>4471944
It seems that you can only roll 25 dice at one time
>>
Rolled 4 (1d13)

>M.Oher starts the shooting, his 1985 has a capacity of 5 rounds

Oher 1: Gross roll of 17, with AM 1x, remains 17. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 15.
EB 1 1: Gross roll of 8, with no RM, remains 8. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attack, the Net Roll is 9.
15 > 9; EB 1 takes damage. (15 - 9) yields Gross Damage of 6. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 4, or 0.400 Pips of health to EB 1

Oher 2: Gross roll of 17, with AM 1x, remains 17. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 15.
EB 1 2: Gross roll of 5, with no RM, remains 5. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attack, the Net Roll is 6.
15 > 6; EB 1 takes damage. (15 - 6) yields Gross Damage of 9. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 6.75, or 0.675 Pips of health to EB 1

Oher 3: Gross roll of 17, with AM 1x, remains 17. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 15.
EB 1 3: Gross roll of 10, with no RM, remains 10. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attack, the Net Roll is 11.
15 > 11; EB 1 takes damage. (15 - 11) yields Gross Damage of 4. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 3, or 0.300 Pips of health to EB 1

Oher 4: Gross roll of 14, with AM 1x, remains 14. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 12.
EB 1 4: Gross roll of 5, with no RM, remains 5. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attack, the Net Roll is 6.
12 > 6; EB 1 takes damage. (12 - 6) yields Gross Damage of 6. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 4, or 0.400 Pips of health to EB 1

Oher 5: Gross roll of 17, with AM 1x, remains 17. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 15.
EB 1 2: Gross roll of 12, with no RM, remains 5. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attack, the Net Roll is 13.
15 > 13; EB 1 takes damage. (15 - 13) yields Gross Damage of 2. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 1.5, or 0.150 Pips of health to EB 1

>M.Oher is out of ammunition, and will spend the next turn reloading his 1895's internal magazine.
>EB 1 is at 6.075/8 pips remaining. 6.075/8 = 0.759; EB 1 has lost more than 20% of its health in one turn, and must make a resilience roll or it will be retired from the fight.
0.759 * 13 = 9.872; 13 - 9.872 = 3.128, rounding down to 3. In consideration of its steel-forged construction, the test is lowered by 1 once more. EB 1 must roll 1d13, and if it rolls 1 or a 2, then it retires from the fight.
>>
>>4471977
Well, you've done serious and permanent damage. to the engine, but it is still running. I need to eat dinner and finish an assignment, but I intend to get through this encounter tonight. Even though it is early, can I get the 6 rolls of 4d20 again? Thanks to everyone who is sticking through this rough spot.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

Dice everywhere :)
>>
Rolled 20 (1d20)

1d6 what am I thinking?
>>
Rolled 16, 10, 17, 17 = 60 (4d20)

>>4471983
pictured: the d20s
>>
Rolled 6, 7, 5, 19 = 37 (4d20)

>>4471983
Dog will hunt.
>>
Rolled 15, 4, 18 = 37 (3d20)

Need the rest of the 4d20. Whoops.
>>
Rolled 7, 18, 13, 17 = 55 (4d20)

>>4471983
wow my rolls are fucking nothing
>>
Rolled 4, 3, 4, 3 = 14 (4d5)

Well, the 10/22 almost certainly is not going to do any appreciable damage to the engine block, but there is a chance that it may re-roll for the driver.

>The Kid shoots at EB 1 contemporaneously to M.Oher

Kid 1: Gross Roll of 4, with AM 1x, remains 4. With -4 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 0.
EB 1 6: Gross Roll of 11, with no RM, remains 11. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 12.
0 < 12; EB 1 takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against Lead Cruisers Engine Block to redirect to Lead Cruisers Driver.

Kid 2; Gross Roll of 20, with AM 1x, remains 20. With -4 for the seriously inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 16.
EB 1 7; Gross Roll of 11, with no RM, remains 11. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 12
16 > 12; EB 1 takes damage. (16 - 12) yields Gross Damage of 4. With DM 0.25x for the seriously inadequate round, the Net Damage is 1, or 0.100 Pips of health to EB 1

Kid 3; Gross Roll of 2, with AM 1x, remains 2. With -4 for the seriously inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is -2.
EB 1 8; Gross Roll of 8, with no RM, remains 8. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 9.
-2 < 9; EB 1 takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against Lead Cruisers Engine Block to redirect to Lead Cruisers Driver.

Kid 4; Gross Roll of 10, with AM 1x remains 10. With -4 for the seriously inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 6.
EB 1 9; Gross Roll of 5, with no RM, remains 5. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 6.
6 = 6; EB 1 takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against Lead Cruisers Engine Block to redirect to Lead Cruisers Driver.

Kid 5; Gross Roll of 15; with AM 1x remains 15. With -4 for the seriously inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 11.
EB 1 10; Gross Roll of 4, with no RM, remains 4. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 5.
11 > 5; EB 1 takes damage. (11 - 5) yields Gross Damage of 6. With DM 0.25x for the seriously inadequate round, the Net Damage is 1.5 or 0.150 Pips of Health to EB 1

Kid 6; Gross Roll of 10, with AM 1x remains 10. With -4 for the seriously inadequate round against Engine Block 1, the Net Roll is 6.
EB 1 11; Gross Roll of 6, with no RM, remains 6. With +1 from the reinforced bumper of against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 7.
6 < 7; EB 1 takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against Lead Cruisers Engine Block to redirect to Lead Cruisers Driver.

>The Kid still has 4 rounds remaining the magazine, and at least one more loaded magazine on hand.
>EB 1 is at 5.825/8 pips remaining. EB 1 has not yet loss more than 30% of its health in one turn, and will not need to roll.
>>
Rolled 11, 11 = 22 (2d13)

>>4472086
No redirects; but lets see if that is the case after you are done with the damned thing. (Situational rules, tracer rounds have 1-in-40 chance to start small fires in flammable environments (which includes Engine Blocks))

>R. Mantle Shoots at EB 1 contemporaneously to M.Oher and The Kid.

R.Mantle B1-R1; Gross Roll of 12, with AM 1.125x, becomes 13.5. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 11.000
EB 1 12; Gross Roll of 8, with no RM, remains 8. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 9.
11.000 > 9; EB 1 takes damage. (11 - 9) yields Gross Damage of 3. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 2.25, or 0.225 pips of health to EB 1

R.Mantle B1-R2; Gross Roll of 14, with AM 1.125x, becomes 15.75. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 14.250
EB 1 13; Gross Roll of 3, with no RM, remains 3. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 4.
14.250 > 4; EB 1 takes damage. (14.250 - 4) yields Gross Damage of 10.25. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 7.6875, or 0.769 pips of health to EB 1

R.Mantle B1-R3; Gross Roll of 3, with AM 1.125x, becomes 3.375. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 1.875
EB 1 14; Gross Roll of 9, with no RM, remains 9. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 10.
1.875 < 10; EB 1 takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against Lead Cruisers Engine Block to redirect to Lead Cruisers Driver.

R. Mantle B1-R3; Gross Roll of 6, with AM 1.125, becomes 6.75. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 5.250.
EB 1 15; Gross Roll of 1, with no RM, remains 1. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 2.
5.250 > 2; EB 1 takes damage. (5.250 - 2) yields Gross Damage of 3.250. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 2.4375, or 0.244 pips of health to EB 1

>R. Mantle still has 5 bursts (of 4) left of 6, with 527 rounds remaining on the belt.

EB 1 is at 4.587 pips remaining. EB 1 has lost more than 30% of its health in one turn, and will need to make a resilience roll or it will be retired from the fight.
0.573375 * 13 = 7.454; 13 - 7.454 = 5.546, rounding down to 5. In consideration of its steel forged construction, the test is lowered by 1 once more. EB 1 must roll 1d13, and if it rolls 1 - 4, then it retires from the fight.
If EB 1 passes this resilience roll, then it will need to pass another, as it has lost more than 40% of its health in one turn as well. If the first resilience roll is passed, then this second one must be passed as well.
>>
>>4472140
Well, the Engine Block is still in the fight (if you consider being shot at being in a fight). I need to get that assignment I mentioned earlier complete and off soon, but I intend to finish this encounter tonight regardless.
>>
Rolled 19, 16, 11, 5 = 51 (4d20)

>>4471983
>>
Rolled 12, 4 = 16 (2d13)

>>4472140
>R. Mantle continues to shoot at EB 1 contemporaneously to M.Oher and The Kid.

R.Mantle B2-R1; Gross Roll of 9 with AM 1.125x, becomes 10.125. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 8.625
EB 1 16; Gross Roll of 8, with no RM, remains 8. With +1 from reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 9.
8.625 < 9; EB 1 takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against Lead Cruisers Engine Block to redirect to Lead Cruisers Driver.

R.Mantle B2-R2; Gross Roll of 7 with AM 1.125x, becomes 7.875. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 6.375
EB 1 17; Gross Roll of 12, with no RM, remains 12. With +1 from reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 13.
6.375 < 13; EB 1 takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against Lead Cruisers Engine Block to redirect to Lead Cruisers Driver.

R.Mantle B2-R3; Gross Roll of 14 with AM 1.125x, becomes 15.75. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 14.250
EB 1 18; Gross Roll of 8, with no RM, remains 8. With +1 from reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 9.
14.250 > 9; EB 1 takes damage. (14.250 - 9) yields Gross Damage of 5.250. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 3.9375 or 0.394 pips of health to EB 1

R.Mantle B2-R4; Gross Roll of 19 with AM 1.125x, becomes 21.375. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 19.875 [NCS]
EB 1 19; Gross Roll of 12, with no RM, remains 12. With +1 from reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 13.
19.875 > 13; EB 1 takes damage. ((19.875 - 13)*2) yields Gross Damage of 13.75. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 10.3125 or 1.032 pips of health to EB 1

>R.Mantle still has 4 bursts (of 4) left of 6 in the first round of combat; there are 523 round of ammunition remaining on the belt.

EB 1 is at 3.161 pips remaining. EB 1 has lost more than 50% of its health in one turn, and will need to make a resilience roll or it will be retired from the fight.
0.3951 * 13 = 5.136; 13 - 5.136 = 7.863, rounding down to 7. In consideration of its steel forged construction, the test is lowered by 1 once more. In consideration of the fact that half of its health is gone, the test is raised by 1. EB 1 must roll 1d13, and if it rolls 1 - 7, then it retires from the fight.
If EB 1 passes this resilience roll, then it will need to pass another, as it has lost more that 60% of its health in one turn as well.
>>
Rolled 4, 4, 4 = 12 (3d5)

Oh! There it is! You have managed to kill to the engine! Now, give me a minute, and let's see if you accidentally kill the driver as well.
>>
Rolled 36, 32, 21, 36, 8, 4, 23, 16 = 176 (8d40)

>>4472359
Alright! The driver is not dead, which is good, though it does mean that the deputy behind the wheel is still capable of fighting, if they are of a mind to do so, though the automatic spray of tracer rounds is probably a solid disincentive (and in a pinch, a diuretic). Before we go any further though, I need to see if you accidentally set the lead cruiser on fire. (Each shot carries a 1-in-40 chance to start a fire if it hits a flammable area; and I'd say that a busted engine with gas and oil running through it should be considered flammable)

Also, I have given some thought to what kind of character bonus Mantle should receive for securing the Bull trophy. (So there was the skill bonus, where Mantle went from the basic Accuracy Modifier table to the intermediate Accuracy Modifier table, but there should be a character bonus, like the ones that the Sheriff has >>4457242; Two-Tonged & Glib Recovery) I think I've come up with one that is thematically appropriate to his character and the feat that earned him the skill;

Ballistic Frugality
When the target is visible, the ballistically frugal character will not need to make perception checks to realize that their target is downed, and that they can stop shooting. This means that they will never needlessly waste ammo, shooting at something they no longer need to. This is a useful ability for firearms that operate through volume of fire, such as the M240b or the M85. Where the target is not immediately visible, (such in indirect fire scenarios or when there is poor or no visibility), the character receives three additional die to make this check.

Now, the First Round of Combat has concluded, and I will get to writing the narrative for it. But, I have one final gift to see you through this encounter (considering you have all been really understanding with the delays on my end).

Trigger Technique!

So, currently, you are shooting typically for the M240b; in four round bursts; and 6 bursts to a turn, for 24 rounds. But, you have a choice. You can ease up on the trigger, firing rounds of 3 instead of 4; which would allow you to ascend to the advanced Accuracy Modifier table; so with your current roll of a 4, instead of a bonus of 1.125x, you'd be getting a bonus of 1.25x (which on the basic Accuracy Modifier table corresponds to 6). Alternatively, you could squeeze harder on the trigger, and fire 5 rounds instead of 4, but this would knock you down to the basic Accuracy Modifier table. With your current roll of 4, instead of 1.125x, you'd be getting just 1x. But this option gives you 6 more chances to hit something every turn.

So, what will it be?
>Heavy Trigger (5 rounds to a burst, 1x)
>Typical Trigger (4 rounds to a burst, 1.125x)
>Light Trigger (3 rounds to a burst, 1.25x)
>>
>Light Trigger (3 rounds to a burst, 1.25x)
>>
>>4472384
>>Light Trigger (3 rounds to a burst, 1.25x)
>>
>Driving in the Town Center, approaching Debouche Seaplane Base, Debouche, Maine, Sometime after 7:05am

The convoy seemingly didn't know what exactly to make of the abrupt and sudden appearance of the ambulance, nor how to process it suddenly coming to a stop in the middle of the road. They didn't really react much at all outside of starting to slow down. In retrospect, they probably thought that if an ambulance or any of the liveried vehicles from Public Safety were coming to them, as opposed to sitting on a cache, then it meant that the driver of the vehicle was one of them. That thought, that senselessly positive thought, collectively rattling around the otherwise empty heads of those in the convoy, may see Carter's little 'plot' undone. These people already are completely convinced that the prospect of nuclear war is no big deal; that the government, which had been comically negligent in the lead-up to all of this, starting a war to avenge four astronauts and a completely worthless colony that would never be able to produce anything of value or sustain itself, refusing to warn anyone until the last minute, and then deciding against event that; these idiots in the convoy were convinced that the ship ... no, the fucking fleet of fools that got us into this, were somehow going to be able to get all us out of this unscathed. Save for Carter, you don't wish any harm upon these idiots. Had Chickless not been there to snap you and the rest of Parasol's group out of the terminal wishful thinking that you'd be able to feed and heat everyone this winter, for all you know, you'd be in that convoy right now. I mean, even as much as you disliked Carter, if all you knew was what he told you, and he offered to deputize you...

The point is, that where you had 'woken up', these people were still dreaming, convinced that nothing was really going to change. So they dream-walked (or rather, they dream-drove) as you got into position behind Fleckker's truck, and Oher and the kid got into position under their ambulance. They were about one intersection away when you slung the belt over the hood of the truck and let fly into the engine block of the lead cruiser. Following your lead, Oher and the Kid opened up from the relative safety underneath the ambulance. You watch, with something approaching awe as the bright red gleam of the tracers dazzles their way through the air before ramming home into the body hapless cruiser, before you snap yourself out of it. You spare not even half a second to glace at the rest of the convoy; it seems that about all of the drivers followed their immediate instinct to slam on the brakes. You can't tell, but you think that the trucks in the rear may have rear ended each other. You return your attentions to the lead cruiser, and fire another burst. The radiator, already stove in, now hangs loose. It is weren't for the reinforced bumper, it, and the rest of the front end very well may have fallen off by now.
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>>4472440
Stick a fork in it; that block is fucking done.

While it is a shame that you weren't able to get the convoy quagmired in a proper pile up, but is may just be that what you got is enough. With the lead cruiser 'toasted', they have managed to effectively pin themselves. There is one drawback; with all of the vehicles more or less bumper to bumper, there aren't any clean shots on the engine blocks. But that is not to say that you don't have options. Only a couple of steps out of cover away is an upright utility box mounted to one of the posts of one of the three traffic lights in town; the one that you were in the process of blowing through when you first made contact. Between post and box, there should be enough cover to keep you safe, and the angle it would provide would give you clear line of sight on the engine blocks of the rest of the convoy. If you hurry, then you should be able to get over there without getting shot ...

But as you start to think about it, Carter's voice comes on the loudspeakers of the prisoner transport in the middle of the convoy; and he is down right shrieking; "WATCH THE BACK! OUR BACK! WATCH - BACK! BACK!" OUR! WATCH! The only reason he isn't completely incomprehensible is because he's sticking to four words. With an idea of where to look for him, as the vehicles in the Convoy continue to try to extricate themselves from the bumper to bumper tangle; no one has returned fire yet, and it seems that no one is getting in position to do so either. It takes about half a second to find him.

He's been hunched down by the dashboard of the prisoner transport, and had he stayed there, you might have never seen him. But it seems that his fear got the better of him, so he need to tell everyone to watch their back. Unfortunately, doing that put him in a compromising position. The microphone unit for the loud speaker is attached to the ceiling of the cab of the prisoner transport, and the cord of the microphone itself does not reach all the way from the ceiling of the cab to his hiding spot. So what he's settled on doing is grabbing the speaker in one hand at full extension, and trying to drag it down to where he is hiding the best he can. But even with the cord and his arm at full extension, it isn't enough for him to make it back to safety under the dashboard. No, the cab of the prisoner transport is just too tall ... or rather, Carter himself is just too short. In addition to his arm, his whole head and a portion of his upper torso is all above the dashboard ... and in sight of your 'firecracker', thanks to how high the prisoner transport sits off the road.
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>>4472498
As he is shrieking into the poor, abused microphone, you have a shot. It isn't clean, but it might just be the only one that you get. You probably could just kill Carter in the heat of the moment like this; but then what next? At this point, these sods are just trying to un-jam themselves, and aren't shooting back, and if you just let things sit for a bit longer, no doubt Carter will order them to retreat instead of fight it out. But if Carter was killed, then there wouldn't be any orders; it would be a free-for-all. And sure, probably most of them would flee, but there might be one or two who would fight it out. Killing Carter here and now, would probably mean that you'd need to kill other members of the convoy when shit really hit the fan. Or ... while your plan is already in shambles, so is theirs. They are down a cruiser, and are going to have to rethink their whole plan. That is what 'Bart' and the others wanted, right? Before this morphs into a gun battle, you could just ... leave? After all, discretion is the better part of valor, isn't it?

>Let Carter live (for now), and move into the superior position to continue shooting the engine blocks. (Nominally Easy Physical Test)
>Manlets, when will they learn? Shoot to kill Carter, and if you need to kill others in the ensuing chaos, then so be it. (Shooting Action)
>That was the Hit, this is the Run. While they are disorganized retreat in the best order that you can. (Easy Driving Test)
>>
>>4472500
>Manlets, when will they learn? Shoot to kill Carter, and if you need to kill others in the ensuing chaos, then so be it. (Shooting Action)
this land has no time for traitors
>>
>Let Carter live (for now), and move into the superior position to continue shooting the engine blocks. (Nominally Easy Physical Test)

Trigger Technique: Ease up on trigger.

We might free these prisoners yet.

Move into position and immobilize the prisoner transport by aiming for its engine block.
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>>4472524
+1. He would just continue to be a pain in the ass.
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>>4472500
>Manlets, when will they learn? Shoot to kill Carter, and if you need to kill others in the ensuing chaos, then so be it. (Shooting Action)
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>>4472500
>>Let Carter live (for now), and move into the superior position to continue shooting the engine blocks. (Nominally Easy Physical Test)

I don´t think we should shoot to kill. Yeah, Carter is an asshole and a manlet, but he is too doing what he thinks is right, although with some egoistical uindertones. His plan is to stick to the law until the goverment resolves this mess and getting a raise from the whole thing. We haven´t even heard a shoot, so he truly is arresting and not just killing people.
Killing this soon in the apocalypse is quite drastic. It will be easy to blast away and blow his head off his shoulders, but I don´t think we will be able to sleep well at night after killing a guy whose only sin was being born dumb as a rock and short as a pebble.
Let´s just try to blew up the engine block of the prisioner truck and make them flee abandoning the prisioners behind. This doesn´t has to end in bloodshed.
>>
>>4472586
>>4472604
actually changing to this. Still can kill the guy later.
>>
>Let Carter live (for now), and move into the superior position to continue shooting the engine blocks. (Nominally Easy Physical Test)
>>
>>4472604
Supporting this
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>>4472500
>Manlets, when will they learn? Shoot to kill Carter, and if you need to kill others in the ensuing chaos, then so be it. (Shooting Action)
Kill the head and everything else will collapse.
I don't trust him to not open fire once he gets his bearings.
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>>4472844
Actually, scratch this, I just remembered that we have a permanent boost against him because of his amazing snake eyes intimidation roll. Yeah, we can probably talk him out of anything rash.
>Let Carter live (for now), and move into the superior position to continue shooting the engine blocks. (Nominally Easy Physical Test)
>>
Alright, looks like a pretty clear lead for now. I need to finish up a couple of things, but then I will get started writing for the day.
>>
I forgot to ask for the damn dice rolls!
I need 5 rolls of 1d20. If you have rolled, and no one new is rolling, give it 10-15 minutes and you can roll again. I want to give time to get as many people in.
>>
Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>4473156
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Rolled 13 (1d20)

>>4473156
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Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>4473156
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Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>4473156
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>>4455000
bunp
>>
Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>4473156
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Alright, there we go. Give a me a minute and I will get to writing this up; (obviously you passed the test)
>>
Rolled 16, 17 = 33 (2d20)

>In the Town Center, on the approach to Debouche Seaplane Base, Debouche, Maine, Sometime after 7:05am

When you threw on the brakes at the sight of the convoy, you damn near mounted the curb. While it might have been bad for Fleckker's truck, it would have been good for you; you could have moved to the cover offered by the traffic light post and utility box in almost complete concealment. Still, if you want to try to make some cleaner shots at the prisoner transport's engine block, you will need to move.

Gross Roll 74; -4 for Subtle Gimp, -4 Encumbered, -1 Hungry, yields Net Roll of 65.
Physical Test CR is 30; 65 > 30.

You spare one last glance at the Carter through the scope, playing the fool on the loudspeakers, and then in one relatively fluid motion, you drag the M240b off of the hood, and dash for your new hiding spot. There is the sound of a shot, you can't tell, you think it is coming from the convoy, then what sounds to be two more. But by the time that you even register that the gun battle has truly started in earnest; you have already managed to through yourself into cover. You pull your arms and your legs in, and after frantically checking that you are covered, then even more frantically checking yourself over for shots, you can ... well, you can't exactly breathe easy, but you can turn your attention to the task at hand here. Seeing if you can manage to knock out the prisoner transport's engine block.

Considering that the vehicle you are targeting is carrying allies, that you are in what passes as a 'densely populated' area in Northern Maine, and that the rounds that you are shooting are effectively irreplaceable exotic munitions, you will lighten up on the trigger for the rest of the engagement.

>After thinking about it, considering that we changed how we are shooting, I'll throw out the old rolls for the 2nd round; can I get 6 rolls of 3d20 please? If you have already rolled and no one else is rolling, wait about 10 minutes or so, and then roll again.
>>
Rolled 14, 10, 17 = 41 (3d20)

>>4473456
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Rolled 4, 4, 17 = 25 (3d20)

>>4473456
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Rolled 4, 4, 12 = 20 (3d20)

>>4473456
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Rolled 14, 11, 20 = 45 (3d20)

>>4473456
Dakka
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Rolled 14, 20, 20 = 54 (3d20)

>>4473456
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Rolled 9, 5, 4 = 18 (3d20)

>>4473456
>>
Sorry guys, I went and fell asleep on you all again. I really ought not to run these quests while in bed late at night.
>>
Rolled 17, 12, 11, 18, 19, 12, 19, 2, 10, 4, 3, 13, 6, 15, 15, 10, 11, 3 = 200 (18d20)

>>4473935
Here are the resilience rolls for the prisoner transport's engine block
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>>4473936
I really hope we get a good roll on the shooting table
>>
Beginning of Round Two of Combat

R.Mantle B3-R1; Gross Roll of 14, with AM 1.25x, becomes 17.500. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 16.000
PTEB 1; Gross Roll of 17, with no RM, remains 17. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 18.
16.000 < 18; PTEB takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against PTEB to redirect to occupants in the cab of the PT.

R.Mantle B3-R2; Gross Roll of 10, with AM 1.25x, becomes 12.500. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 11.000
PTEB 2; Gross Roll of 12, with no RM, remains 12. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 13.
11.000 < 12; PTEB takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against PTEB to redirect to occupants in the cab of the PT.

R. Mantle B3-R3; Gross Roll of 17, with AM 1.25, becomes 21.25. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 19.750 [NCS].
PTEB 3; Gross Roll of 11, with no RM, remains 11. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 12.
19.75 > 12; PTEB takes damage. ((19.75 - 12)*2) yields Gross Damage of 15.5. With DM 0.625x for the inadequate round and size of PTEB, the Net Damage is 9.6875, or 0.969 pips of health to PTEB

R.Mantle B4-R1; Gross Roll of 4, with AM 1.25x, becomes 5.000. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 3.500
PTEB 1; Gross Roll of 18, with no RM, remains 18. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 19.
3.500 < 19; PTEB takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against PTEB to redirect to occupants in the cab of the PT.

R.Mantle B4-R2; Gross Roll of 4, with AM 1.25x, becomes 5.000 With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 3.500
PTEB 1; Gross Roll of 19, with no RM, remains 19. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 20.
3.500 < 20; PTEB takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against PTEB to redirect to occupants in the cab of the PT.

R.Mantle B4-R3; Gross Roll of 17, with AM 1.25x, becomes 21.250. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 19.750 [NCS]
PTEB 1; Gross Roll of 12, with no RM, remains 12. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 13.
19.75 > 13; PTEB takes damage. ((19.75 - 13)*2) yields Gross Damage of 13.5. With DM 0.625x for the inadequate round and size of PTEB, the Net Damage is 8.4375, or 0.844 pips of health to PTEB
>>
Rolled 22, 34 = 56 (2d40)

>>4473955
PTEB started the round with 12 of 12 pips and is currently at 10.187 pips. PTEB has not lost more than 20% of it's health in one turn, and will not need to make a resilience roll or be retired from the fight.

Damn it! The Prisoner Transport is going to be a much harder nut to crack than that Lead Crusier was. And the angle that you are at isn't helping much either; instead of shooting straight through the radiator, like you were with the Lead Cruiser, you are shooting at the engine block of the Prisoner Transport from an oblique angle, ensuring that any shots need to pass through more material to reach your target. This position provides the best possible shot ... but will it be good enough to knock down that beast of a Prisoner Transport? And while Carter has stopped screaming into the loudspeakers, which either means that he's hunkered down again, or you managed to strike him with a bullet after deciding not to kill him, odds are that someone else in the convoy is probably going to start returning fire.

Actually, there was that shot that went wide when you bolted over here ... and with that, a terrible thought comes to you. Any second now, you can expect to start to take returning fire, and odds are, you will be pinned down here. If you were pinned down at your previous position, behind the front wheels and engine block of Fleckker's truck, then it would have been possible, difficult and unsafe, mind you, but possible to drive away if things got too much to handle. But here, you don't have that option. Once you are pinned here, you will have to fight your way out, and failing that surrender ...or die. This right now is probably your last chance to make it back to the truck safely, but doing so means giving up on knocking out the Prisoner Transport's engine block, and with it, any realistic hope of rescuing the deputies.

>After checking to make sure that it is safe to do so, retreat to the truck (requires moderately difficult physical test)
>Commit to your position here; you will start to take return fire shortly
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>>4473969
QM, are people panicking or startting to retreat?
>>
>Commit to your position here; you will start to take return fire shortly.

Change target to tires.
We just need Carter to abandon the prisoner transport to escape in another vehicle
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>>4473969
Like, could we try just shouting something like "We are surrounded, retreat, retreat!" see if they finally get the hint to start running
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>>4473973
Actually. Would it be feasible in the space of 3 or 4 rounds to shoot out the passenger window, lay down suppressive fire against the deputies, then dash up and jump through the window to take the vehicle?
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>>4473969
>>Commit to your position here; you will start to take return fire shortly
>>
>>4473969
>Commit to your position here; you will start to take return fire shortly

With our shooting position, can we take out the tires of the truck instead?
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>>4474024
You could, but knocking one or two tires isn't enough to completely incapacitate a vehicle; but it would make it much easier to run down later. Still, if the convoy was able to retreat in good order, you might not be able to run the transport down safely, as the cruisers and other vehicles could provide cover.

>>4473972
You aren't entirely certain, you'd have to forfeit some of your turn to check.

>>4473978
You could, but there is no guarantee that everyone in the convoy will even hear you. Also, there is no guarantee that Oher and the Kid won't hear you and take you at your word.

>>4474012
>Would it be feasible in the space of 3 or 4 rounds to shoot out the passenger window
Yes, that would be feasible.
>lay down suppressive fire against the deputies
You could suppress some of them, but not all of them. Remember, you aren't even sure how many people are in the convoy.
>then dash up and jump through the window to take the vehicle?
Lets see, you are facing at least 8 people, all of whom can be assumed to be armed. The nearest cruiser is about 400 feet away from you, just one intersection down and the Prison Transport is about another 200 feet away from that. You are encumbered by your M240b, and your are also Slightly Gimped. I mean, I really don't think I could reasonable make that Physical Test possible for you, let alone 'feasible'.
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>>4474054
Our position counts as concealed cover, right?
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>>4474064
Correct.
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Rolled 1 (1d3)

Alright, R. Mantle has committed themselves to this position, and will continue with combat.

R.Mantle B5-R1; Gross Roll of 4, with AM 1.25x, becomes 5.000. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 3.500
PTEB 1 7; Gross Roll of 19, with no RM, remains 18. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 20.
3.500 < 19; PTEB takes no damage. Situational Rules; 1-in-5 chance for failed shooting attacks against PTEB to redirect to occupants in the cab of the PT.

R.Mantle B5-R2; Gross Roll of 4, with AM 1.25x, becomes 5.000. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 3.500
PTEB 1 8; Gross Roll of 2, with no RM, remains 2. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 3.
3.500 > 3; PTEB takes damage. (3.500 - 3) yields Gross Damage of 0.500. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 0.375 or 0.038 pips of health to PTEB.

R.Mantle B5-R2; Gross Roll of 4, with AM 1.25x, becomes 5.000. With -2 for the inadequate round against Engine Block 1 and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 3.500
PTEB 1 9; Gross Roll of 2, with no RM, remains 2. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 3.
3.500 > 3; PTEB takes damage. (3.500 - 3) yields Gross Damage of 0.500. With DM 0.75x for the inadequate round, the Net Damage is 0.375 or 0.038 pips of health to PTEB.

You give the Prisoner Transport what amounts to a love tap with your M240b, but as you shift the rifle back into position for your next burst, you finally start to take fire. Automatic fire. It seems that your fears were born out, in his quest to stop you and your group from looting, Carter was willing to loot the reserve armory. An eclectic mix of M4 and M16 variants; hopefully they didn't hand them out to everyone! As you and whoever the Hell is shooting at you are both in adequate cover (and you don't even know where exactly you are taking fire from at the moment, neither you nor the enemy can interrupt each other's attacks. But what is more important is the volume of fire that you are taking, which is ...
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Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4474126
A bit more than you'd prefer, which is none, but considering that you are being shot at with at least two automatic rifles, you'll take it. Besides, what is the most important thing is their accuracy, which is ...

Foemen will roll on basic Accuracy Modifier Table
>>
Rolled 2, 18, 17, 7, 13, 11, 5, 7, 18, 20, 11, 16, 2, 10, 14, 1, 8, 6, 12, 19, 2, 4, 13, 1 = 237 (24d20)

>>4474136
Adequate; they seem to be getting pretty damn close to the mark. Well, hopefully you will get lucky and they wont.

Your current RM is 8x, meaning that all of your Resilience Rolls are multiplied by 8. You roll 1d6 for every incoming shot, so every 1 or 2 that you roll, there is a chance that you take damage. I need two anons to roll 12d6, to account for the fire that you are taking right now. Good luck!
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Rolled 1, 4, 6, 2, 4, 2, 4, 4, 1, 3, 1, 5 = 37 (12d6)

>>4474146
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29 KB
29 KB PNG
Rolled 1, 2, 6, 4, 1, 1, 6, 3, 1, 3, 6, 4 = 38 (12d6)

>>4474146
fuck
>>
Rolled 9, 16, 20, 1 = 46 (4d20)

R.Mantle B6-R1; Gross Roll of 14, with AM 1.25x, becomes 17.500. With -2 for the inadequate round against PTEB and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 16.000
PTEB 1 10; Gross Roll of 4, with no RM, remains 4. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 5.
16.000 > 5; PTEB takes damage. (16.000 - 5) yields Gross Damage of 11.000. With DM 0.625x for the inadequate round and size of PTEB, the Net Damage is 6.875, or 0.688 pips of health to PTEB

R.Mantle B6-R2; Gross Roll of 11, with AM 1.25x, becomes 17.500. With -2 for the inadequate round against PTEB and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 12.250
PTEB 1 11; Gross Roll of 3, with no RM, remains 3. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 4.
12.250 > 4; PTEB takes damage. (12.250 - 4) yields Gross Damage of 8.250. With DM 0.625x for the inadequate round and size of PTEB, the Net Damage is 5.15625, or 0.5156 pips of health to PTEB

R.Mantle B6-R3; Gross Roll of 20, with AM 1.25x, becomes 25.000 With -2 for the inadequate round against PTEB and +0.5 for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 23.500 [PCS]
PTEB 1 12; Gross Roll of 13, with no RM, remains 13. With +1 from the reinforced bumper against shooting attacks, the Net Roll is 14.
23.500 > 14; PTEB takes damage. ((23.500 - 14) * 3) yields Gross Damage of 33.000 With DM 1.125x for the inadequate round and size of PTEB, the Net Damage is 37.125, or 3.713 pips of health to PTEB

PTEB started the round with 10.111 of 12 pips and is currently at 5.1944; it lost more than 20%, lost more than 30%, lost more than 40% and lost more than 50% of its health in one sub-round of combat; it will need to make 4 saving resilience rolls; if any of these rolls are 1 - 7, then the PTEB is retired from the fight.

The expression 'a hail of bullets' doesn't really do it justice, when they are 'hailing' at you. Loud retorts, echoed by the clatter of the rounds themselves bouncing off of the side walk and the street as the deputies try to get a bead on you, prone behind the box and post seem closer to thunder and lighting than hail, but you suppose that the poets or whoever comes up with these idioms don't spend much time getting shot at. Still, you focus down that engine block on the Prisoner Transport, and are rewarded with a shower of sparks for your efforts! Is this it? Is it down? You peer intently though the scope...
>>
Rolled 20, 35, 6, 39, 33 = 133 (5d40)

Nuts, I just lost the write up for the return fire; you didn't take any damage on the first sub-round, from either of the two enemies. And now that you've managed to slay the beast, you will be able to hunker down even further, increasing your RM from 8x to 12x.

Yes! YES! Look at that thing, in the state it is in, it may never drive again! You know, if you weren't fighting for your life at the moment, you might have serious reservations about the equipment and vehicles that you are destroying here, but right now, looking at the newest wreck on the lake, you don't feel anything but elation.

>Find a new target (Cruiser 2, Cruiser 3, Unliveried Cruiser or Truck 1; no worthwhile shot on Truck 2 or Truck 3)
>Completely hunker down; forfeit shooting actions for the rest of this turn in exchange for boosting the RM from 8x to 12x for the rest of this turn
>Dash back to Fleckker's Truck; will require near-Herculean (CR ~80) Physical Test to complete.
>>
>>4474233
HAHAHA!
The Prisoner Transport has caught on fire from one of the tracer rounds (Roll of 1 on 1d40 for successful hits on flammable objects)! Well, hopefully your allies don't burn to death because of it...
>>
>>4474267
I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. I looked at the wrong roll. The Prisoner Transport is not burning. Anyway, I'm going to take a quick break here for lunch, remember to vote on >>4474258.
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>>4474258
>Completely hunker down; forfeit shooting actions for the rest of this turn in exchange for boosting the RM from 8x to 12x for the rest of this turn
>>
>>4474233
>Hunker down
If they dare get back with the prisioners we can send them packing
>>
>Completely hunker down; forfeit shooting actions for the rest of this turn in exchange for boosting the RM from 8x to 12x for the rest of this turn.

How are our allies doing, can we see or communicate with them?
>>
>>4474360
You could try to shout at them, but beyond that, no you really can't see them.

>Completely Hunker Down

F. Man the First
B1-R1; F. Man the First's Gross Roll of 2 can not damage R. Mantle at any possible Resilience Roll.

B1-R2; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 4 means that R. Mantle be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B1-R3; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 6 means that R. Mantle be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.


F. Man the Second
B1-R1; F. Man the Second's Gross Roll of 7 can not damage R. Mantle at any possible Resilience Roll.

B1-R2; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 4 means that R. Mantle be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B1-R2; Gross Roll of 11, with AM 1x, remains 11. With 0.5+ for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 11.500
R. Mantle 1 6; Gross Roll of 2, with RM 8x, becomes 16.000. With +1 for Prone in Wide Cover, the Net Roll is 17.000
11.500 < 17; R. Mantle takes no damage.

It seems that the shots have been going pretty wide, though there was one that got a bit close for comfort. You decide to tighten yourself up even more, and press yourself into the ground. As you do, you notice a penny, sitting on the pavement of the sidewalk. Unfortunately enough, it isn't heads up, so it isn't lucky. Even though money is probably not going to be worth much of anything for a long time, old habits die hard. You deftly pocket the coin, and curl up even tighter.
>>
Round 2 of Combat, continued...

FM1-2-2
B2-R1; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 4 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B2-R2; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 4 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B2-R3; Gross Roll of 18, with AM 1x, remains 18. With 0.5+ for Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 18.5
R. Mantle 1 9; Gross Roll of 1, with RM 12x, becomes 12.000. With +1 for Prone in Wide Cover, the Net Roll is 13.
18.5 > 13; R. Mantle takes damage. (18.5 - 13) yields Gross Damage of 5.5; with DM 0.825x, the Net Damage is 4.8125 or 0.482 pips of health.

FM2-2-2
B2-R1; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 3 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the Second.

B2-R2; F. Man the Second's Gross Roll of 7 cannot damage R. Mantle at any possible Resilience Roll.

B2-R3; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 5 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the Second.

FM1-2-3
B3-R1; Gross Roll of 20, with AM 1x, remains 20. With +0.5 Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 20.5 [PCS]
R. Mantle 1 13; Gross Roll of 1, with RM 12x, becomes 12.000. With +1 for Prone in Wide Cover, the Net Roll is 13.
20.5 > 13; R. Mantle takes damage. ((20 - 13)*3) yields Gross Damage of 21.000; with DM 0.825x, the Net Damage is 17.850, or 1.7850 pips.

B3-R2; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 2 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B3-R3; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 6 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

FM2-2-3

B3-R1; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 4 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the Second.

B3-R2; Gross Roll of 10, with AM 1x, remains 10. With +0.5 Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 10.5
R. Mantle 1 17; Gross Roll of 1, with RM 12x, becomes 12.000. With +1 for Prone in Wide Cover, the Net Roll is 13
10.5 < 13; R. Mantle takes no damage.

B3-R3; Gross Roll of 14, with AM 1x, remains 14. With +0.5 Burst Damage, the Net Roll is 14.5
R. Mantle 1 18; Gross Roll of 1, with RM 12x, becomes 12.000. With +1 for Prone in Wide Cover, the Net Roll is 13.
14.5 > 13; R. Mantle takes damage. (14.5 - 13) yields Gross Damage of 1.500; with DM 0.825x, the Net Damage is 1.2375 or 0.124 pips.

FM1-2-4

B4-R1; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 6 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B4-R2; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 3 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B4-R3; F. Man the First's Gross Roll of 6 cannot damage R. Mantle at any possible Resilience Roll.

FM2-2-4

B4-R1; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 3 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B4-R1; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 6 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.

B4-R1; R. Mantle's Gross Roll of 4 means that R. Mantle cannot be damaged by any possible roll of F. Man the First.
>>
I think now would be a good time to shout something like "nobody needs to die here!"
>>
As you just manage to get the last burst off into the Prisoner Transport, suddenly there is a searing pain in your lower back; you jerk and fold at the waist, squirming like a skewered bug. The sheer shock of the wound takes your breath away, and as you gulp down air, you inadvertently shift yourself slightly out of cover, and take another two shots, both grazes, but one of them looks pretty serious. You can't even see what the wound on your back looks like ...

Oh God no. You aren't paralyzed, are you? You can't feel your legs, but that just might be because everything else feels numb, compared to the pain your going through right now. You give your legs a little experimental kick, and to your relief, they are still working ... though you are racked with pain in the process. You need to stay focused! You can't go into shock here!

3.609 of 6 pips remaining; 3.609/6 = 0.6015; R. Mantle will need to make two Resilience Rolls or he will immediate retire from the fight (time-skipping to its conclusion of the fight, if he remains conscious or his recovery if he falls unconscious here. Alternatively, if the situation arises where he is cannot or will not receive medical attention, he may die, and the Quest will end.)

>I need two anons to roll 1d6; if either of the rolls are 1 - 3; then he has retired. Good luck.
>>
Rolled 5 (1d6)

>>4474603
I will not dissappoint Parasol-san
>>
Rolled 4 (1d6)

>>4474603
>if the situation arises where he is cannot or will not receive medical attention, he may die, and the Quest will end
we may be speedrunning the apocalypse, oh boy
>>
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>>4474607
>>4474610
LETS FUCKING GO LADS
>>
Your vision begins to get fuzzy on the edges, and the slight chill that felt so invigorating, what must have not even been a minute ago has now set deep into your bones. But before you slip any further away, you grab at the M240b, your 'Firecracker'. At this point, it is less of a weapon and more of a totem; you cling to it, and will yourself to remain in the fight, to see this through. You don't know how long it takes, but your breathing becomes a bit more regular, and while your sight is a bit fuzzy at the edges, it seems to be getting better, or at least, not getting worse.

You scoot yourself into a firing position, and before you can even glance through the scope, blessed relief washes over you. The convoy is retreating! And without the Prisoner Transport! With the little scare you gave him Carter presumably is not going to be leading any more raids; and while it is uncertain what the rest of the members of the convoy are going to do, you hope that some of them will seriously reconsider, before anyone gets themselves killed...

"Holy Shit! Mantle, your bleeding!". It's Oher; he somehow managed to sneak up on you ... or more realistically, your barely conscious and you simply didn't notice him. You just breathe, in and out. It still sounds ragged, but it might be getting better. Maybe this injury isn't as serious as you thought. But when you shift your head slightly to look at him over your shoulder, there is naked concern and fear written plainly on his face. So much for bedside demeanor; but then, you suppose this is a curb. Him and the Kid, whose name you still don't know make a series of quick preparations and then get you into the back of the ambulance. The place is an absolute mess, it seems that they took a bit of return fire as well. You can clearly see the early morning daylight filtering in through holes in the back of the ambulance; medicine, ruined equipment and miscellaneous debris crunch underfoot as the two of them attend to you, as you lie stomach down on the gurney.

The Kid, noticing your interest in the surroundings pipes up; 'Good thing they missed the oxygen tank; if that blew, might've broke the bed." Oher rifles though some cabinets before remove a selection of gauzes and medical tapes, before giving his own two cents as he worked. "Pretty sure that this was a ricochet; otherwise the round would have penetrated much deeper. Not to mention that if this was a direct shot, it would needed to have been from overhead. Mantle ... we don't have the luxury of dealing with this properly; so I should just, come out and say it; ... You were hit in your kidney, your left kidney. It could have been worse, much worse, but right now, their is a nasty looking gash right into it. The clinic in town isn't going to open today, and even if it was, they'd just make sure your were stable ... and then tell you to go to First Light."
>>
>>4474802

First Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, was the premier hospital in Central Maine; though its only competition were much smaller municipal outfits.
Assuming that Bangor hadn't been hit with a nuclear strike, then at this point, the hospital still should be receiving emergency patients. But that means ... you'd be isolating yourself in the middle of city. In these circumstances, that is not worth it, right?

>Right, it is not worth it. Get medical assistance here. There will be health complications, and odds are some of them will be serious and chronic.
>No, you can't risk something like this. Get medical assistance in Bangor. There will be no health complications but you will have an interesting time of it getting back to Debouche.
>>
>>4474803
>No, you can't risk something like this. Get medical assistance in Bangor. There will be no health complications but you will have an interesting time of it getting back to Debouche.

Ask Tinn to help us get there and back.
>>
>>4474803
>>No, you can't risk something like this. Get medical assistance in Bangor. There will be no health complications but you will have an interesting time of it getting back to Debouche.
We need to speak to Flekkers about this. Know telling what he'd do if he thought us dead. We need him to watch the property, or someone else trustworthy to do so while Flekkers takes us to Bangor.
>>
>>4474839
>No, you can't risk something like this. Get medical assistance in Bangor. There will be no health complications but you will have an interesting time of it getting back to Debouche.
Agree, we can't leave Flekkers alone with our shit.
>>
>>4474839
>Know telling
Fuck. I need to get some sleep.
>>
Alright, I figured you'd guys would vote this way. I just wanted to put it to a vote here, so if (when) these health issues become a real handicap later in the Quest, no one can say that I didn't give you guys an out.

> In the streets of the Town Center, on the approach to the Debouche Seaplane Base, Debouche, Maine, Sometime after 7:10am

"That ... that isn't going to work. If the clinic is closed, then break the fuck in, and attempt to do what you can with the stuff on hand. Or, the jail has its own infirmary, I don't know if they have a doctor, but they must have someone on hand ... like a nurse, or someone. There are like 2,000 something people living around this damn puddle, there has to be someone who knows something about kidneys. And before I forget, or pass out, or something; call your boys over, and get the other boys out of the back of the transport. Clean things up here; grab anything that is useful, just grab it off of the abandoned vehicles.

"Once you free the guys on the transport, give one or two of them the keys to the truck." It is painful, but you manage to gesticulate towards the remains of your jacket, which they have already cut off of you. "Have one of them get a broadcast out to everyone, tell them what Carter has been doing and then ...

>"Tell them to stay at their posts, and start scavenging immediately."
>"Tell them to muster at the Debouche Public Safety Building, and prepare to hunt down and drive off Carter, if he is still around the lake."
>"Tell them to muster at the 'Mount Kineo Big House'; and hope the presence of nearly the entire department convinces Polk to change his tune."

"And then when that's done ...

>"We will have to make do with what little is at the clinic." (Between what is on hand in the clinic and remaining in ambulance, with only a paramedic and a half to operate on you, you are more likely to develop health complications.)
>"The jail's infirmary is better suited for this than the clinic." (Polk will let you in to use the facilities, material and staff on hand, but in light of your seditious behavior, he might need convincing to let you leave. Ever.)
>>
>>4474987
QM, am I mistaken or did you just read the votes incorrectly
>>
>>4474997
Whoops. I don't know how the Hell I managed that. Thanks for pointing it out. Um, lets see, just pretend that the second half of the vote no longer exists. I'll see to it that you have a chance to straighten things out with Fleckkers. So again, just the first part of the vote is in play.

>"Tell them to stay at their posts, and start scavenging immediately."
>"Tell them to muster at the Debouche Public Safety Building, and prepare to hunt down and drive off Carter, if he is still around the lake."
>"Tell them to muster at the 'Mount Kineo Big House'; and hope the presence of nearly the entire department convinces Polk to change his tune."

Jesus Fucking Christ, I'm speedreading my own fucking Quest
>>
>>4475008
>>"Tell them to muster at the Debouche Public Safety Building, and prepare to hunt down and drive off Carter, if he is still around the lake."
If we're headed down to Bangor, I don't like the idea of speeding along the release of the prisoners. Especially if Fleckkers is the only one watching the place, while protecting our mother as well.
>>
>>4475008
>"Tell them to muster at the Debouche Public Safety Building, and prepare to hunt down and drive off Carter, if he is still around the lake."
Parasol owes us for this
>>
>>4475008
>>"Tell them to muster at the Debouche Public Safety Building, and prepare to hunt down and drive off Carter, if he is still around the lake."
>>
"Tell them to muster at the Debouche Public Safety Building, and prepare to hunt down and drive off Carter, if he is still around the lake."
>>
>>4475072
>>4475074
>>4475148
>>4475172
Alright, consider this closed. I will try to get a post up for an overnight vote, but if I don't expect it early in the morning.
>>
>>4475337
Btw parasol seriously owes us for this. I want Mantle to really get that point across
>>
Hey guys, sorry for the lapse in posting, going to grab dinner, and then I will get that post up.
>>
> In the streets of the Town Center, on the approach to the Debouche Seaplane Base, Debouche, Maine, Sometime after 7:15am

The Kid, whose name you still do not know heads off to free the captives, and Oher takes a quick second to call over the paramedics from their posts nearby. You notice that your breathing is getting labored again; you don’t know how much longer you will be conscious … shock will eventually set in, an when it does, it will knock you out. Strapped to the gurney with the cool air peculating through you, the wound, already painful, with each breath gets progressively more and more painful. Once Oher is finished with his call, you call out to him, and are shocked to hear how weak your voice sounds already. You force yourself to rally, and call out in the firmest voice you can muster.

“Oher!” The man turns to you, and for a second you can see a flash of surprise on his face. He probably did not expect you to still be conscious. “Oher, you got to keep me up; there are things that I need to say, things that need to be done”. The paramedic looks a you for a moment, then nods as he resumes his work. “Okay, shoot. Whadda need?”

>You have been stabilized, but you will eventually lose consciousness here. Vote for one of the following choices. After voting has concluded, an anon will roll 1d4; if it rolls a 1, you have 'retired' or passed out. If you roll a 2, 3 or 4, then you can make another request. After that request, an anon will roll a 1d3, if it rolls a 1, you have 'retired'. If it is a 2 or 3, then you can make another request. After that request, roll a 1d2. If it is a 1, then you have 'retired'. If it is a 2, then you make make an additional request, repeating until there are no more choices available, or you 'retire'.

>”I have got Fleckkers to watch my place and my animals, but I need someone to watch Fleckkers.” Recruit two of the rescued deputies for your Homestead.
>”I called my Mom to come up. She should have shown up by now. Can you put the word out about her?” Give Oher information about your mother, ensuring that whatever happens the group is looking for her and will accept her when (if?) she arrives.
>”I want to make it clear, just how much Parasol and the Sheriff owe me for all of this. Remind them, will you? In front of others, if possible …”. Ensure that you have a Favor to call in from Parasol and the Sheriff
>”I need you to make sure that no one eats any potential breeding stock.” Oher will try to ensure that of any livestock that the group claims, your homestead gets first choice of.
>”I need your help ensuring that my outfit doesn’t get overlooked by the rest of the group.” Oher will try to ensure that your homestead gets preferences of any and all scavenged supplies in your absence.
>”I was hoping to get some female companionship when ‘Mount Kineo Big House’ is cracked.” Receive an appreciably nubile, healthy, and useful concubine for the Homestead.
>>
>>4476466
Took me a while to figure out how exactly I wanted to work this; but I think this will do nicely. If you need any clarification, please ask.
>>
>>4476466
>”I have got Fleckkers to watch my place and my animals, but I need someone to watch Fleckkers.” Recruit two of the rescued deputies for your Homestead.
I don't want too many people, but we do need someone to watch Fleckkers.
Although at this rate I don't think we need the Lights anymore.
>>
>>4476466
>”I called my Mom to come up. She should have shown up by now. Can you put the word out about her?” Give Oher information about your mother, ensuring that whatever happens the group is looking for her and will accept her when (if?) she arrives.
>>
>”I called my Mom to come up. She should have shown up by now. Can you put the word out about her?” Give Oher information about your mother, ensuring that whatever happens the group is looking for her and will accept her when (if?) she arrives.
>>
>>4476598
>>4476557
>>4476545
Alright, that is 2-1 with no new votes for an hour and a half, so I guess I'll close that. I need someone to roll 1d4; to see if we can remain conscious long enough to make another request. Good luck!
>>
Rolled 2 (1d4)

>>
>>4476466
>”I was hoping to get some female companionship when ‘Mount Kineo Big House’ is cracked.” Receive an appreciably nubile, healthy, and useful concubine for the Homestead.
let's get the cunny lads
>>
>>4476466
>”I have got Fleckkers to watch my place and my animals, but I need someone to watch Fleckkers.” Recruit two of the rescued deputies for your Homestead.
I can think of nothing less important to do during the apocalypse than get laid. Everything except that are ok options, although my mistrust of Fleckkers comes first.
>>
>”I have got Fleckkers to watch my place and my animals, but I need someone to watch Fleckkers.” Recruit two of the rescued deputies for your Homestead.
>>
>>4476728
... in case it wasn't clear, Mt. Kineo Big House is not a 'juvie' facility.
>>
>>4476466
>>4476728
I've subdued my inner coomer, changing to
>”I need you to make sure that no one eats any potential breeding stock.” Oher will try to ensure that of any livestock that the group claims, your homestead gets first choice of.
I trust Fleckkers. He's been good to us so far.
>>
Hmm. alright, it has been nearly an hour with no new votes; we'll close it for recruiting the people we rescued.

Now, someone, roll 1d3. If you get 2 or 3, you can make a third request.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d3)

>>4476905
>>
>>4476466
>>”I need you to make sure that no one eats any potential breeding stock.” Oher will try to ensure that of any livestock that the group claims, your homestead gets first choice of.

Without animals to start up large-scale agriculture we will be fucked in the long term, should probably get that out of the way now
>>
>>4476466
>>”I want to make it clear, just how much Parasol and the Sheriff owe me for all of this. Remind them, will you? In front of others, if possible …”. Ensure that you have a Favor to call in from Parasol and the Sheriff
>>
>>”I want to make it clear, just how much Parasol and the Sheriff owe me for all of this. Remind them, will you? In front of others, if possible …”. Ensure that you have a Favor to call in from Parasol and the Sheriff
>>
>>4476912
+1. The other thing we can point out to parasol himself when the time comes
>>
>>”I need you to make sure that no one eats any potential breeding stock.” Oher will try to ensure that of any livestock that the group claims, your homestead gets first choice of.
>>
>>4476912
>>4476958
>>4476993
>>4477102
>>4477126
Alright, so that is a 3-2 lead, with no votes being cast for 8 hours. I'll call it here. Now, someone can roll a 1d2; if you get a 2, you can vote to make another request.

Once we have everything voted on, I'll write it all up into a scene
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>
>>"Oher, I-... I just want to thank you and the kid for fighting beside me. You guys did great. I should have asked earlier, what is his name?"
A heartfelt thanks. Benefit, if any, determined by QM.
>>
>>4477551
Well, Oher is the most senior of the paramedics; thanking him and the kid (presumably one of his relatives) would definitely raise the paramedic sub-groups opinion of you (with one exception, more on that later); obviously, being on good terms with them in this current situation would be a legitimate boon.
>>
>>4476466
>”I need your help ensuring that my outfit doesn’t get overlooked by the rest of the group.” Oher will try to ensure that your homestead gets preferences of any and all scavenged supplies in your absence.
>>
>>4477551
Yeah, this. Feels like the most appropiate thing regarding the situation
>>
Alright, 2-1 after an hour with no votes; I guess we can consider this closed. Well, there really isn't any reason not to keep trying; some one roll 1d2; if you roll a 2, you get to ask for something else. (You guys are doing better than I did when I 'simmed' this; I didn't expect you to get this much...)
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>
>>4477746
based and unconciousness-pilled
>>
>>4477785
time to sleep
>>
Alright, I will get the scene-written up right now.
>>
> In the streets of the Town Center, on the approach to the Debouche Seaplane Base, Debouche, Maine, Sometime after 7:15am

The Paramedics hustle on board, and even though you cannot see all of them you can feel their weight rock the ambulance. The few faces that you can see from your current position actually look kind of scared, grim and … maybe angry? Before you can puzzle that out, a unmistakable rumbling baritone breaks the silence. “Fucks sakes, did Mantle do that?” For fucks sake indeed! Its that ass, ‘Big Nate’!
You had known, Hell, you had rejoiced, when you were told that Big Nate was actually moving ahead with training to be a licensed EMT; it meant that you would need to deal with him and his bullshit every time you went to the municipal dump; among other things, he got the little ‘swap shop’ shut down because he couldn’t be bothered to so much as sit around anywhere that wasn’t ‘climate controlled. But the thought that he would be with the Paramedics had not crossed your mind. Did Parasol really let this guy into the group? The man is a walking, no - a waddling liability; he drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney (and not just tobacco … or marijuana, either) and weighs easily more than 400 pounds, though to his credit, he does carry it as well as you possibly could.

But before you can even muster a response, a voice, that takes you a second to recognize as the Kids, just sounding a bit huskier than before interrupts from the outside of the ambulance. “No, that was me. Everything here was Mantle; except him.” There is a strained pause, and your beleaguered brain tries to catch up, but before you can come to the obvious conclusion, the Kid makes it for you. “He managed to knock out one of the cruisers and the prisoner transport, without so much as hurting fly. So don’t go thinking he’s … some sort of monster.”

Oh God. When you moved from the truck to the utility box, and got shot at, there was the sound of return fire from under the ambulance; and then the next shots were a bit later, and from further up the convoy. Did that Kid kill someone? To protect you?

Fuck.
>>
>>4478046
Oher, as the most senior of the Paramedics, and also as the one who has had the most time to come to terms with this … tragedy … takes charge, and orders ‘Big Nate’ to help Matthew (presumably the kid) break your allies out of the transport, orders Martin to assist him with caring for you, and instructs a man with the curious last name of ‘Birdbox’ who you haven’t heard of (and with a name like that, you’d probably remember) along with a Mr. Jones, who could be one of several people that you know from around the lake to remove the corpse from the street and clear the road as best they can; and to start shifting what remains usable on this ambulance over on to the another; Oher is of the opinion that during the hail of gunfire that him and the Kid received after the deputy was killed the suspension was damaged, and this vehicle will need to be abandoned for now.

All of this is a lot to take in. But as Martin and Oher load you back onto the crash cart to transport you over to the entact ambulance, you break out of your pain induced fog and speak up. “When you get the rest of our guys out of the tuna can over there, tell … them, that they need to get over to the Public Safety Building … Edna is either working with Carter or has been removed; we need to be able to speech to … to speak to one another. Once we have the comms back, have them muster … everyone at the building. No point in starting to loot if Carter is still lurking. You got all of that?

“Yes, I got that Mantle.”

“Good; because there’s more.” You take a deep, painful breath, trying to fortify yourself against the imminent threat of unconsciousness and the growing fears you have your mother’s late arrival. “My mother; I called her up last night. She is coming up here, to Debouche, to stay with me, until this all blows over. Our group … Parasol’s group, is going to look after her … when she shows up. Not a request; mind you. Keep an eye out for her arrival. She drives a black Suub, one of those Scandinavian imports; she looks like me … a lot like me. I take after her.

Oher and Martin bundle you into the new ambulance, and as Oher prepares a transfusion, you continue your conversation with Martin, who you think is cleaning up the wound. “I got a guy to help with my place; a ‘hired man’ in exchange for room and board; its his truck I was in. He’s getting … an early start on Christmas shopping right now.” Martin cracks a smile at that, a rare sight, especially considering the circumstances you are all under right now. “The thing is, while I have him watching the place, I don’t have anyone watching him. I like the guy, its just that I do not entirely trust him. If say any two of the boys that we rescued today wound consider working for me as well, room and board, I’d feel much more comfortable … about that arrangement.
>>
>>4478047
You thought you were doing pretty well there for a bit, you were managing complete sentences through the pain and gritted teeth, but all of a sudden you are aware of how cold you are. Somehow, you know that you are going to lose consciousness and that if you do not speak now, it might be some time before you can get another chance. If you get another chance. “Parasol!” Your exclamation even startles yourself, to say nothing of Martin and especially Oher, who nearly missed a vein for the IV he was hooking you into. “He … owes me for this. Him and the Sheriff. Make them … tell them that I am owed. Publicly, do it … in front of a public.”

In a nearly dissociative state from the pain, you realize that you are practically gibbering at this point. This is it! God, you have to get through this. You can’t die like this; not even an hour into the apocalypse! “Oher. Thank.” Damn it, you can barely speak! With one last push of determination, you force yourself into coherence once more. “Oher. Thank you. You and the Kid, for everything. Do not let … Matthew, right? Do not let Matthew do … go … anywhere bad. Keep him here … so I can thank … for my life. Promise that you will … so I can come back to thank him. …Please promise.”

You do not know what if anything Oher said to that, as finally the wave of unconsciousness broke overhead and you were submerged in an indifferent oblivion
>>
>>4478051
Please pick one of the two following choices;

>Time Skip ahead to when Mantle regains consciousness; and make your way across an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic Northern Maine back to your homestead.
>Perspective Shift to Parasol leading, organizing and managing his group across Debouche and Mooseleg Lake as the apocalypse unfolds.
>>
>>4478051
OP sorry to do this
the favour with Parasol part was 3-2 breeding animals vs informing Parasol
>>
>>4478061
>Perspective Shift to Parasol leading, organizing and managing his group across Debouche and Mooseleg Lake as the apocalypse unfolds.
>>
>>4478062
What the fuck am I doing?
Thanks for letting me know. I even counted the votes, recognized that the breeding animals won, which surprised me because it was 2-1 for the favor when I last checked ... and then proceeded to write for the choice that I knew hadn't been picked. Holy shit, this is embarrassing.
>>
>Time Skip ahead to when Mantle regains consciousness; and make your way across an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic Northern Maine back to your homestead.
>>
Well, I'm thinking that I going to leave this one overnight. If I get a full night's sleep, then fingers crossed, I won't be screwing up the vote counting.
>>
These have been some great big beautiful posts by you QM, no need to be so hard on yourself :) See you tomorrow.
>>
>>4478155
Don't worry QM, it's been an amazing quest so far
>>
>Time Skip ahead to when Mantle regains consciousness; and make your way across an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic Northern Maine back to your homestead.
>>
>Time Skip ahead to when Mantle regains consciousness; and make your way across an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic Northern Maine back to your homestead.
if only because changing perspective will reduce the impact of "what the fuck happened in Debouche" when (if) we get back and it may be a constant fight to stop us from going "man, mantle sure is a great help, i'm gonna give him lots of stuff" while we're parasol
>>
>>4478061
>Time Skip ahead to when Mantle regains consciousness; and make your way across an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic Northern Maine back to your homestead.

We must start doing time-skips at some point if we continue at our current pace of 500 posts per day Mantle might even outlive OP, lol
>>
>>4478440
I chuckled.

Alright; so there seems to be a pretty solid consensus for Time Skip and I counted it twice

I'm not quite ready to start writing just yet, but I just wanted to give a heads up that I'll be starting the run sooner in the day than I have in the past few days, so as many anons as possible can filter into the thread.
>>
>>4478061
>>Time Skip ahead to when Mantle regains consciousness; and make your way across an apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic Northern Maine back to your homestead.
>>
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>Exact Location Unknown
>(Presumably) First Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor Maine
>Time Unknown
>Day Unknown

You had been flitting in and out of consciousness for awhile now, but for the first time since the ambulance, you fully regain consciousness … in what is clearly a hospital bed in a dark ward. Your mouth is so dry; it feels almost as if it was cemented shut, and you still hurt all over. But you are alive, and you feel lucid. Your eyes adjust to the darkness, and in the scant illumination afforded by the glow of equipment lights, you find yourself in a moderately sized open ward. There are probably three dozen beds in here, and with the exception of yours and two others, all of them are empty.

The entire ward is orientated in a horseshoe, centered around a large nurse’s station. You can see that there is someone in there, lit up with what appears to be a fairly dim desk lamp. You cannot tell for sure but judging by their posture they are either asleep or falling asleep. As you become more and more alert, you become acutely aware of a tingling sensation on your left arm. You look, and to your surprise find that you are not just hooked up to an IV, but a what appears to be some sort of pump as well. You shift to your left, only to have the movement arrested … by a manacle on your right ankle, chaining you to the bed.

Oh no. Oh Fuck no. What the Hell is going on here?

>Attempt to ‘shimmy’ out of the manacle.
>Get the attention of the nurse on duty and try to get some answers.
>Go back to bed; you need to recover more before dealing with whatever this is.

>5 rolls of 1d100 for the first Health Check, (with -5 for Paltry Diet I (less than 800 calories a day over 3 days), -5 for Unbalanced Diet, -25 for Unhealthy Environment (hospital), -5 for Properly Dressed Wound (recent and healing) and -15 for Renal Trauma and Sepsis Risk). Net results lower than 60 mean that the character (or animal) is sick. A 1d20 will be rolled, and the results will determine how dangerous/infectious the illness is.
>>
>Calm yourself and try to remember more from going in and out of conciousness.
>>
Rolled 28 (1d100)

>>
>>4478792
I suppose I can allow this as a write-in.
>>
Rolled 89 (1d100)

>>4478767
>Calm yourself and try to remember more from going in and out of consciousness.
I was just going to say go back to sleep, but this is about the same.
>>
>>4478767
Hospital is an unhealthy environment?
>>
Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>4478767
>>
Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>4478792
+1
>>
Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>4478792
+1
and if possible, see if there is any water around.
>>
>>4478870 Yes that was deliberate, but I might lower the malus later. I don't know. But I intend to keep the malus; I got seriously sick twice, and so did relatives visiting a family member at the real world hospital that the one in the quest is based off of; Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center.

We need one more roll of 1d100; but it looks like we made it through with at least 3 really strong rolls. Good job everyone!
>>
Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>4478918
>>
+365 for Gross Roll on Health Test
-5 for Paltry Diet I (less than 800 calories a day for over three days)
-5 for Unbalanced Diet
-25 for Unhealthy Environment (EMMC)
-5 for Serious Wound, Properly Dressed (recent and healing)
-15 for Renal Trauma and Sepsis Risk
------------------------------------------------
310 for Net Roll on Health Test

310 > 60; so R. Mantle does not get sick, and his healing continues at a typical rate.

>Calm yourself and try to remember more from going in and out of consciousness.

There is a surge of raw, black panic, that surges like a geyser of crude oil bursting out of the top of a well. For several-several-several seconds, you are boarding on hyperventilating. But as it is about to overwhelm you, you accidentally shift, and the IV line, as well as whatever else you've been hooked up to flares with pin-pricks of pain. Compared to the pain in your back, it isn't anything, but it is noticeable. And in noticing it, you inadvertently stop focusing on panicking to further inspect the 'line', making sure that you didn't accidentally unseat something important. That lapse in focus is what helps you get through the bout of panic. You just need to keep reminding yourself that things will not get better by panicking about a situation; though they can get worse. There are no two ways about it; you have to keep your head here, to get out this.

And before you do anything potentially risky, like open your fat mouth to that drowsy nurse, or do something suicidal, like attempt to escape, you need to figure out just what the Hell is going on here. The best place to start would be to remember anything else that happened between getting in the second ambulance, and waking up in here. You are trying ... it is all really blurry. But you think you remember something from the ambulance ride over, after you had passed out. Someone ... Oher, you think, was trying to get your attention, to show you something in a brief burst of lucidity you had before passing out again. You think that it was ... a letter. Yeah, that is what they kept saying, remember the letter. Well, that is something at the very least.
>>
>>4479046
Wait a minute ... does that even make sense? Oher would have been busy, either working on keeping you stable or driving the ambulance, so when would he have had time to write a letter? And the man is a paramedic, he would know that someone in the state you were presumably in during the ambulance ride would almost never be able to remember anything that was said to them. Would he even bother to try to talk to you? For that matter, you aren't even sure that it was Oher speaking ... Hell, you aren't even sure if he actually was with you for the trip; he very well could have handed it off to anyone of the Paramedics ... even 'Big Nate'. Even under the circumstances, you involuntarily shiver. You should check to make sure you are not missing any more chunks, if there was a possibility that you had been cared for by him.

Is it possible that this is some sort of hallucination? Or a sort of dream? You were still trying to unravel this when the large medical pump that you are attached to starts to beep loudly. The nurse at the station suddenly jerks upright and turns in your direction. After a loud, dramatic sounding sigh, they get up and head over to your bed, but their attention seems to be focused on the machine, and not you.

>Ask what is Going On
>Feign Sleep
>Actually, go to Sleep

>>4479032 Sorry, I didn't need that one actually, by the time I put the post up, >>4478913
was already up. Anyway, no harm no foul, they had the better roll.
>>
>Ask what is Going On

The handcuff easily could be for our own safety. Patients coming out of a coma sometimes panic or thrash around. We might be able to get some food or at least water.
>>
>>4479092
+1
>>
>>4479092
+1
I think this too. We should probably talk this out, rather than sneak or fight. - if people wanted us dead, we would be dead. prisoners now are, as we have argued, probably too dangerous and carry little usefulness.
>>
Alright, consider this closed. I am eating dinner right now, but as soon as I finish I'll get this written up.
>>
Hey guys, I'm still working on the post, and as it stands right now, it is pretty big and only getting longer, and I am still not to the point where there is actually anything to vote on, so it isn't like I could just prematurely split the post up. I might be able to get it up over night tonight, but probably expect it early tomorrow instead. I don't want to keep anyone waiting needlessly.
>>
As the nurse … or perhaps the technician? As he is bent over fiddling with the machine, you shift in bed towards them and try to just ask what is going on, but you find your voice is barely more than a hoarse whisper, and your words sound unintelligible to your own ears. Even so, the man must have managed to hear you; without taking his eyes off the machine, he speaks. “I’d noticed that you’d been stirring a bit, but even so I didn’t expect you to fully wake up yet.” The man removes an empty canister from the machine, and then turns to you, and give you his full attention. “You must have questions, and as you are not in any state to ask them, I might as well just tell you what I can. You were shot in the back, and your left kidney took a hit. You went into surgery, and you seem to have recovered as much if not more than could be reasonably expected. Right now, you are in the dialysis ward, receiving treatment; standard procedure for serious kidney injuries like yours. Oh, Eastern Maine Medical’s dialysis ward, if that wasn’t obvious.”

He straightens up and scratches the back of his head. “Outside of health …. things are, well to be blunt, they are fucked. But you probably know that already, huh?” What the Hell does he mean by that? “I honestly don’t know how much of our government is still intact, but the Soviets seem to be kicking; every once in a while, you can still feel new detonations.” Did you hear that right? The strike is still going on? Its dark in here, which means that it is presumably nighttime. “To be honest, even if saying this might not be professional or whatever, I kind of envy you. Not in being injured, but the whole sleeping through Armageddon; ‘Rip Van Winkle’-ing it.”
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>>4480070
Rip Van Winkle? Oh no. If he is comparing you to that fable, then just how long have you been out for? You try to speak, to ask how long, but before you can even work your mouth open, the man, as if reading your intentions (or perhaps your mind) tells you. “It is Friday, the 30th … at, uh ...”. The man is trying to reach the face of his watch in the darkness but is having a hard time of it. After a few seconds, he moves back to the machine, the dialysis machine, and using the illumination from several lit light-up indicators, the man is able to finally see the dial. “4:42 am”. You have been out of it for almost two whole days; and even now the Soviets are still able to hit America. This might not be the worst-case scenario, but it is closer to it than you would ever care to get. You immediately think of your mother; hoping and praying that she got to your homestead in one piece.

In your concern, without realizing it, you shift in the hospital bed, and lightly rattle the manacle; your nurse or your dialysis technician, whatever he is, takes it as a question. “Oh that? You are being held as a material witness, by the Maine National Guard’s Military Police. Honestly, I do not know how legal the whole thing is, but I dunno, they are sort of running the show around here. Or, at least, what is left of ‘the show’.” The National Guard? Didn’t ‘Bart’ say that Carter reported Parasol’s group to the National Guard?

Oh, sweet fuck, this is bad. You are not entirely clear on what a ‘material’ witness is, but if you had to guess, you would say that it is some sort of witness that isn’t trusted. And if they are already bending the rules by keeping you like this, you have no idea how far they'd be willing to take things later.

You need to figure out how the Hell you are going to get out of this!

>Hold off on doing anything drastic until you have more information (you will go back to sleep).
>Attempt to coerce/convince this man into releasing you from the 'unnecessary' shackle, and then attempt to make a break for it when he is distracted.
>Attempt to coerce/convince this man into sneaking you of the hospital before the National Guard comes to collect you.

Sorry for the delays getting this out; I wound up rewriting nearly everything that I had, because I felt that it was getting too 'railroady'
>>
>>4480083
Convince him to let us out of the shackle, but stay put. We should be able to make a break for it if we need to.
>>
>>4480083
Convince him to let us out of the shackle, but stay put. We should be able to make a break for it if we need to.
If we can't even speak I don't see us having any energy to run away honestly... or to convince him to let us out of the shackle. May as well try though.
>>
Convince him to let us out of the shackle, but stay put. We should be able to make a break for it if we need to.

Use a writing motion to ask for pen and paper, this way we can ask for the letter we vaguely remember and maybe food and water too.
>>
>>4480175
>>4480305
these
>>
So much to figure out. How many days of dialysis before our damaged kidney wont be damaged by going without. How many days until the trial or the national guard returns and secures the area? What post surgery antibiotic are we on, if any, and what dose? Can we confirm this two days asleep by checking our ice pick wound?

Damn this quest just keeps getting more interesting!
>>
>>4480305
+1
>>
Also check for anything "shanky", in case we need to take someone hostage.
>>
Alright, I will get to writing this up.
>>
Hey guys; just an update. I figured out how I want to do this, I just need to find the type to write this up; my schedule is kind of picking up. I'm starting to writing right now.
>>
Thanks for the update, QM.
>>
>Dialysis Ward
>First Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor Maine
>4:42 am; Sunrise at 6:15am
>10/30/2020

You are having a difficult time wrapping your head around just how wrong things have gone. You are weak as a baby and are being held by the Maine National Guard who know at least some of what Parasol’s group has been up to. And if Parasol fled to Bangor or was able to get in touch with the Guard again, then he would have definitely told them about the deputy that Matthew killed to protect you. And if even the nurse or technician here is commenting on the questionable legality of your detention, somehow you doubt that you are going to have all (or perhaps any) of the legal protections that should be afforded to criminal defendants.

And even worse; you are in Bangor, within a stone’s throw of a potential target, and the Soviets are still somehow able to hit American soil. Not to mention, you are on dialysis; isn’t that permanent? As in, once you start, you need to continue it, or you will just sort of wither away and die? Well, hopefully that is only for kidney failure and not kidney injury. You are going to need to get some answers … and you are going to need to get that manacle off, even if you don't start plotting your escape immediately. You make an effort to speak again to the technician, but still, you are not really audible, let alone intelligible. Fortunately, he seems to pick up on your efforts to speak, even as he still is fiddling with the dialysis machine.

“You want some water? I’ll get some for you, but you cannot drink it until you are done with the dialysis.” Water would be nice, but you were trying to get unchained. Rather than try to speak again, you simply shake your leg to rattle the chain. “Oh that? Uh, I really cannot do anything about that now, but as you are up, there is an MP detective who will be looking to speak with you. Assuming everything checks out, I’m sure he will give the go ahead to release you.” The man finishes whatever he was doing with the machine, straightens up and looks at you. “Before I forget, I’ll go get that water.” With that, he heads off, and after he passes out of your line of sight, you are left with a new question.

Assuming everything checks out, I’m sure he will give the go ahead to release you. What exactly did he mean by this? Aren’t you being held for … well, no, you aren’t being held for sedition, you are a ‘material’ witness, whatever that means …
>>
>>4482083
Suddenly, it hits you like a freight train. They don’t know! At least, they don’t necessarily know, for sure. Carter’s entire knowledge of the conspiracy came from the Sheriff’s presentation about who would be assigned to sit on and then loot what caches. And as you never had an assignment, your name probably never came up in the presentation. So even if Carter managed to pass along the entire ‘roll call’ of the group, then unless the Sheriff went out of his way to mention you by name as part of the group, you are not on the proverbial R.A.D.A.R. as a known ‘looter’. And if Carter made his way to Bangor to give an update to this portion of the National Guard, which isn’t guaranteed, then even still, they might not know, because Carter probably has no way of knowing who exactly was shooting at him; there was the ambulance, so he knows the Paramedics were in on it, but you were in Fleckker’s truck, and the member of the convoy that got the best look at you, the driver of the lead cruiser that was able to get a shot off at you, was killed.

What they know for sure is that there are people in Debouche, mostly from Public Safety, that have 'gone their own way'; and that you were dropped off by some of them with a serious bullet wound. They are being cautious, but judging by the technician’s choice of words here, they are at least giving serious consideration that you were shot at by these ‘mutineers’. Even better, it is entirely possible that Carter has not been able to get back in touch with the Maine National Guard, or perhaps not this portion of the Guard, so they really are in the dark, not even knowing how out of control things have gotten on the lake. Hence ‘material witness’ and not ‘suspect’.

This might not be the end! But you are going to need to figure out how you are going to play this when this MP detective, and you know better than to try to wing it in the presence of a professional. No doubt you will be better off figuring out how you are going to play this before any interrogation starts.

>You could pretend that you do not know what happened or who exactly shot you, beyond that it must have been someone after your animals.
>You could pretend that you were attacked by Parasol’s group defending your animals, and they must have decided to bring you to Bangor because they didn’t want your death on their hands.
>You could say that you were brought into the group thinking that they were going to be protecting the town, and there was an argument when you realized what exactly they were planning to do that culminated in you getting shot.
>Alternatively, you could tell them the truth and offer to become a sort of ‘double agent’ for the Guard
>>
>>4482089
>Other: Pretend your involvence was circumstantial, that you were mostly just there to figure out what the hell was going on and that you got hit by mistake.

Still, we should try to prod at what they know about what happened in debouche, and more - how is the situation in Maine, how long did it take for the US to fall, and so on. we've been out for 2 days, we need to know stuff.

Oh, and most importantly - how long do we have to stay put in this hospital? for all we care, living is far more important than our situation in debouche and parasol.
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>>4482140
+1
it's what I was going to say, innocent bystander caught in the crossfire.
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>>4482140
supporting this
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>>4482140
+1 to this. Play dumb. Was headed into town, next thing I remember I'm here. Nurse told me somebody shot me.
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>>4482140
Supporting. At the very least, hide what information we can until the situation has clarified.

Presumably, what legal orders that exist are trying to get us on conspiracy charges. As long as we stick to what we actually did (try to secure food, call our mother, stop a man we identify as a wannabe dictator from arresting deputies) we shouldn't come off too bad.
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>>4482140
this
We didn't do nothing and this whole apocalypse business is a big surprise to us and we had zero idea it was going to happen
>>
Alright, this is a pretty substantial lead; so I feel comfortable calling it. And as far as our basic story, Mantle will say something to the effect of:

"I woke up to find that the power was out; and after starting the chores for the day, there was the first earthquake. I tried to call in, but when I wasn't able to raise Edna, the dispatcher, I headed into town to see if I was needed. On my way in, I noticed a civilian truck and a cruiser parked outside of Bannaford Brother's Supermarket; the sliding glass front door had been smashed open. I got out, and headed into the store, figuring that the cruiser was there to apprehend the driver of the truck. I tried to contact the deputy on the radio, but before I could get an answer, I was hit in the back."

>Any objections or requested changes for Mantle's story?
>>
>>"I woke up to find that the power was out; and after starting the chores for the day, there was the first earthquake. I tried to call in, but when I wasn't able to raise Edna, the dispatcher, I headed into town to see if I was needed.
Next thing I remember, I'm here."

That's my suggestion.
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>>4482454
Maybe tell that you were approaching the place of the gunfight? they probably know that it happened, and then it sounds suspicious that you "were hit" far from it. honestly, we don't really know too much. I'm mostly surprised local authority is not in more collapse, if anything.
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>>4482454
Alright. I have an assignment that I need to get in for midnight, but I will try to get a post up overnight or early in the morning (Eastern Standard Time).
>>
QM can you clarify how we got hit? we were lying in cover and got hit through the back into the kidney? How is this even possible? I'm asking because our story needs to match our wound.
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>>4483048
ricochet iirc
>>4482484
good luck on your assignment, man. thanks for running
>>
>>4483048
>>4483054
Yep, ricochet off of the traffic light post. Ballistics will be 'wonky' because of that; the MP's will presumably be able to figure out that it was a ricochet, even if we don't tell them, but being hit in the back (clearly not shot) will probably help our story of "I don't know what the fuck happened".

I'm about to get the next post up ... but there will be one final vote before the MP shows up and starts asking questions.
>>
>Dialysis Ward
>First Light Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor Maine
>10/30/2020
>8:06 am; Sunset at 4:31 pm

After concluding the treatment and gulping down the entire pitcher of water that was brought to you by your nurse, who eventually introduced himself as ‘Gus’, you wanted to ask more about the situation in Bangor and the rest of the country. But just as you had almost gotten yourself to a point where you would be confident that you could finally speak again, the alarm went off on one of the other occupied beds, and ‘Gus’ hustled over to attended to the dialysis machine. You tried to stay awake until he came back to the station, so you could catch his attention and ask him your questions, but at some point you must have fallen asleep without realizing it; the dialysis ward, previously illuminated by only the consoles of the machines and a single lamp at ‘Gus’s’ station was now filled with sunlight from some casement windows above the bank of beds to your left. Apparently, you are in a basement.

Gus was nowhere to be seen, and the other beds that were occupied earlier this morning weren’t just empty, they were removed, conspicuous holes in an otherwise evenly spaced collection of beds that horseshoed around the central station in the room. There is a large analog clock, mounted prominently on a pillar near the station, its hands read 8:06. The dialysis machine to your left sits silent, you are not even hooked up to it now, though you still have an IV in. From your position, you cannot see any entrances or exits to the room, but to your right, the wall that your bed is parked against appears to dogleg; presumably that is entrance and receiving area for this ward. You don’t see any other exits, emergency or otherwise, but your view of the ward is partially blocked by a freestanding, enclosed office or something that sits nearly square in the middle of the room, that the nurse’s station radiates from. You call out for ‘Gus’, and while you are pleasantly surprised with how strong your voice sounds, no one answers.

Your next instinct is to find a call button of some sort, but you just are not able to find anything. This is … unnerving, to say the least. The vague sense of unease is not helped by the off colored sunlight; instead of bright white that you would expect at this point in the day, it is still a color that you would expect during sunrise; a fairly dark orange. It is almost enough to make you think that the light was all from a fire right outside the windows, but the light does not flicker like a fire would. You try to sit up, just a little bit, and find yourself racked with pain for your troubles. Well, you definitely will not be making a break for it today … even ignoring the whole ‘chained-to-the-bed’ deal. ‘Gus’ mentioned that an MP detective would want to speak with you, so you should really get your story straight.
>>
>>4483455
Hmm … let’s see. "I woke up to find that the power was out; and after starting the chores for the day, there was the first earthquake. I tried to call in, but when I wasn't able to raise Edna, the dispatcher, I headed into town to see if I was needed.” All things considered, that is pretty close to what was actually happened … but now that you think about it, you did manage to briefly get in touch with Edna. If Edna was a willing member of Carter’s group, and Carter’s group had made it to Bangor, then you will probably need to be careful about this point. You can’t say anything that contradicts or doesn’t line up with what Carter’s group might know, for fear of them speaking against you to the MPs; and you aren’t sure if Edna is (or was) a member.

What exactly did she say to you? Well, she swore a lot; no surprise there but … what was it that she said before she ended the call?

I swear, everyone has gone crazy this morning!

Yeah … that could be taken a lot of different ways, several of which implicate her as a participant in Carter’s group, who were ‘maintaining law and order’. Or maybe a captive. You never saw who was pulled out of the prisoner transport, it could be \ that she was in there with the deputies and the others from Parasol’s group. No, the safest bet here is to assume that Edna is with Carter, and Carter is with or in communications with the MPs; anything else would be a risk. Alright so; “I woke up to find that the power was out; so, I called into dispatch to see if there was anything that I could do to help. When there was not, I started my chores for the day. Then there was the first earthquake. I headed into town to see what was going on, and heard some manner of disturbance …”.

And this is where things get complicated. If you approached the disturbance on foot, then that is going to raise eyebrows; they might think you were trying to get in on the action. If you approached the disturbance in a truck, then there is going to be the issue of how did a ricochet or a stray round manage to penetrate the cab of a truck and an entire car seat at a distance great enough that no one in the convoy managed to see the truck? Because if the truck was far away enough that Carter’s convoy couldn’t see it, then the bullet would have lost quite a bit of steam by the time that it reached you, enough that it probably would not have been enough to penetrate the cab and the seat (and you). But at a range (and trajectory) where penetrating all of that would be plausible would mean that the truck would almost certainly be noticed by someone in the convoy; and if Carter and his boys were here, then they’d immediately be suspicious of that.
>>
>>4483464
Not to mention, there is the question of how the bullet hit you. A bullet wound that you get sitting up in a car seat will look different that a bullet wound that you get standing up … or lying prone. At least, that is what you have gathered from the detective shows of your childhood. So you have to have approached the scene on foot, or at the very least, you had to have gotten out of the truck. How about … “I got out, approached the scene, thinking it was a car crash, but when I realized it was a shootout, I turned around and started running back to the truck. I must have been hit then; I don’t remember anything else.”

You are running this through your head to make sure that there aren’t any holes, anything that could be outright challenged in your story if Carter was with the Guard in Bangor when you hear faint footfalls coming this way, a group’s worth of them, and the first you have heard since waking up this morning. As they draw closer, you can hear the squeaking of boots among them. Doctors and nurses would not wear boots in a hospital; but an MP probably would. But it is okay … there is nothing that could definitively contradict anything that you …

Oh God.

THE LETTER!

If the letter wasn’t a dream, if it actually exists, and it was sitting with the rest of your things that you showed up with at the hospital, then the MPs will no doubt have confiscated and read it. Who knows what the Hell is written in the thing? If it was instructions on what to do next, from members of Parasol’s group, then obviously it will make you out to be a member of the group. God forbid, could it be an explanation of what happened? It does not even need to go into specifics of what you did, so long as it contradicts anything that you say here, then you look like a liar … which of course, you are!
>>
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>>4483474
Now wait; it is possible that Oher and Martin might have realized the situation here, realized that the letter would cause more trouble than it was worth, and abandoned it. In fact, it is possible that they do not even know who you are; ‘Gus’ to your knowledge never called you by your name. Certainly, Oher and Martin are not idiots. They could have figured out the situation in Bangor, and decided not to give you the letter, assuming the letter was even real to begin with. And if they did that, then they probably went a step further and dropped you off without any identification, claiming that you were a unknown John Doe. You breathe a tentative sigh of relief … that is strangled off when you notice the wristband on you … complete with your name.

You are not anonymous, meaning that you were either dropped off with identifying items, or were identified by Oher and Martin when you were dropped off. Whatever the case, it seems that they were not thinking about the situation you’d get into in here … so if the letter was real, then you can count on them not thinking twice about leaving it with you.

The footfalls come to a stop temporarily, and then there is the sound of a door being unlocked. Oh no. No no no! Not now, damnit! You need more time, more time to figure this out!

The letter might not be real. It might just be a dream … or even a hallucination. But as things stand right now, you have no way of knowing for sure. If the letter is real, and it gets you called on your bullshit, that is bad. On the other hand, if the letter is just a dream, but you tell the truth here out of needless fear that you would get caught in a lie, then that is bad too, considering how terrible the truth is for you.

‘Gus’ walks into the main area of the dialysis ward, followed by several armed soldiers, wearing combat fatigues. They are not wearing armbands, but as they gather around your bed, you can make out the badges on their arms. All of them are Maine National Guard. There is a moment where everything else stands still as the one standing at the foot of the bed takes a stenography pad out, and jots something down. In a silence only broken by the scratching of a pen, you are acutely aware of how isolated you are down here. You do not think they would do anything in front of ‘Gus’, but if they told him to leave, then what exactly can he do?
>>
>>4483484
“Good Morning, Mr. Mantle. My name is Ron Spry, I am a Criminal Investigations Warrant Officer with the Maine National Guard’s 488th Military Police Company out of Waterville.” Waterville? That is about 45 minutes or so away from Bangor. It seems that things still have not completely broken down yet, which really is all the worse for you. There is a part of you that wishes that Carter himself was here to interrogate you as well. At the very least, you would know for sure that he was in communication with the Guard, and that would be one less question hanging over your head here. Well, maybe Officer Spry will want to make small talk first, or tell you how things are going elsewhere, and in the process slip up, and reveal something that would indicate how much he –

“What exactly happened to you on the morning of October 29th?”

So much for that.

Fuck.

>Assume that the ‘letter’ was a dream, and go ahead with the fake story that you have prepared.
>Assume that the letter is real and in the possession of the Guard, and tell them the truth.
>>
>>4483488
>Assume that the ‘letter’ was a dream, and go ahead with the fake story that you have prepared.
>>
>>4483488
>>Assume that the ‘letter’ was a dream, and go ahead with the fake story that you have prepared.
>>
>>4483488
>Assume that the ‘letter’ was a dream, and go ahead with the fake story that you have prepared.
>>
>Assume that the ‘letter’ was a dream, and go ahead with the fake story that you have prepared.
QM just managed to join the Quest after reading all the previous posts and I find myself trapped by the story you have created. Keep it up.
>>
>>4483488
>>Assume that the ‘letter’ was a dream, and go ahead with the fake story that you have prepared.

Just as in real life, assume anything you remember is a fake dream
>>
>>4483488
>Assume that the ‘letter’ was a dream, and go ahead with the fake story that you have prepared.
>>
Well, I don't think that this lead is going to be overcome. I'll get to writing.
>>
Throughout your life, you have frequently overthought and needlessly complicated even relatively straightforward things. It is an admitted flaw of yours; and it is liable to be a fatal flaw if you don’t hurry up and say something here. You make a show of swallowing several times and clearing your throat, to buy you a few more seconds; and as you do, you make what will probably be the most important decision in your life, acutely aware that a mistake here will probably mean that it becomes the last decision of your life.

The only reasonable way to make this decision is to focus on what you know. And what you know for sure is … that you don’t know anything for sure. You don’t know if Carter was able to get in touch with these guys after the shootout, you don’t know if Carter is with them now, you don’t know … a lot of stuff. But, what you know, with absolute certainty, is that things are bad and are only going to get worse. If they think you are an enemy … then they probably are not going to be taking care of you through all of this. You will be used, and then, before you become a complete burden, odds are you would be disposed of, or in the best-case scenario, abandoned, which would probably be a death sentence in of itself.

Perhaps, if you were to come clean, then they might consider using you as some sort of infiltrator or informant … but that is not a certainty, obviously. No, the best-case scenario … of being treated and then let go is dependent on them thinking that you are not, and you have never been an enemy of the United States. Which means that you need to lie, to lie and hope and pray that the letter is just some sort of fever dream. With the firmest and clearest voice you can muster, you begin to give your account.

“I woke up to find that the power was out; so, I called into dispatch to see if there was anything – “

“Dispatch?” You had not so much as gotten a sentence out before Officer Spry already started interrupting you. Maintaining composure, let alone your focus, through this is going to be difficult if this is going to be the first of many interruptions. But it does not matter; you cannot allow yourself to waffle over what he does or does not know. You need to assume that he knows almost everything; and accordingly, you need to lie as little as possible. Even if it turns out that he knows next to nothing, beyond your name, even if the information you would give him could potentially tie you to an entire department of seditious public employees, the risk of him knowing almost everything is high enough that it is better to look suspicious than to be caught in an avoidable lie or omission. Or at least, you hope so.
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>>4483953
“Yes sir, I work for Debouche Public Works as an Animal Control Officer; I am the only one for the entire town. They use the non-emergency Public Safety number instead of a dedicated number for Animal Control because Public Works does not have a proper dispatcher, just some secretaries. I called in, and spoke with – “

“Is that standard procedure?” Jesus Christ, he is all over you. The dangerous thing here is that he keeps pulling you off of your ‘script’ with all of these interruptions; which is probably some sort of interrogation technique to get you to slip up. You need to answer his questions succinctly as possible, and then get back on track, otherwise his little trick here might work. “To be entire honest sir, there really isn’t any standard procedure for me. On paper, there is supposed to be a department of employees, with a dedicated office, liveried vehicles and its own chief in the Debouche Public Works building; and that this department, according to an agreement with the neighboring municipalities is supposed to serve the entirety of Mooseleg Lake.

“But in reality, none of that panned out. I am a contractor, not an employee. When they need me somewhere to do paperwork, or to get mandatory training, instead of a dedicated office, they throw me anywhere they can find an open room; usually in the Public Safety building, sometimes in the Public Works building; rarely in the Town Hall itself. Once, they even stuck me in a spare office at the Consolidated Mooseleg Municipal Dump to take a firearm safety –

“Do you typically carry a gun?”

Holy fuck. You just were thinking about how important it was to get back on track without saying anything suspicious or incriminating, and then you go and mention guns. You really, really need to be careful here; he could know about the shootout. “Yes, as an Animal Control officer, I carry a sidearm, a Beretta M9A3, double stacked.” For the first time, another one of the soldiers speaks up. “Just a sidearm? You don’t have a rifle?”

This is getting increasingly dangerous; the rifle that they are alluding to, the one that you do keep in your truck, your Grandfather’s Winchester 1895 was used in the shootout with the convoy. But you have already committed yourself; you are going to lie as little as possible. Besides, they couldn’t possibly know what rifle was used in the attack; and gun ownership is damn near ubiquitous up here, so it isn’t like some big break in their case for you to admit that you own a rifle. “No, I do keep a hunting rifle in the truck that I respond to calls with.”

Officer Spry speaks up again, after scribbling something down on the stenography pad. “Alright, continue.” Fuck, where they Hell even were you in your story. Oh, right, the call with Edna. “Well, the dispatcher told me, in uh, no uncertain terms, that I was not needed. So, I started doing some work around my place, just chores. Then I felt the first –“
>>
>>4483955
>I need one anon to roll 1d6-2 and two anons to roll 5d20 for an Intelligence test. You will be rolling ‘offense’ in an intelligence test against Officer Spry. Roll as high as possible, and pass at least two of the ten tests, or you may have just stuck your foot in your mouth. Remember, to roll a negative like this, you have to write 'dice+1d6+-2'.

If anyone is confused here, Mantle, after having been thrown off by Officer Spry's deliberate interruptions is about to misspeak and say 'the first blast' instead of 'the first earthquake', like he was planning to. Spry believes that the only way Mantle could know about the nuclear nature of the earthquake is if he was part of Parasol's group, and will accordingly get violent with Mantle. Immediately and seriously violent. Of course, this isn't going to be a game-over; there is an out built in.

'Gus' the night nurse accidentally let slip that Mantle slept through Armageddon, and Mantle will eventually remember that. It depends on the results of the intelligence test here if Mantle will remember before torture in starts in earnest or during it. Fail this test, and you pick up an additional injury or two, and the level of suspicion that you are under increases dramatically. Pass the test (2/10) and you aren't going to be seriously hurt, though Spry and company are going to be more suspicious of you. Really pass the test (4/10) and Mantle realizes he is going to misspeak before he says anything, and avoids injury and any increase in suspicion on the part of Spry and company.

I need to eat dinner, and then I have another assignment due at 11:30pm, so this might be the last post for the night. I'd like to get another one up, but I can't make any promises.
>>
Rolled 5 - 2 (1d6 - 2)

>>
Rolled 4 - 2 (1d6 - 2)

>>4483996
isn't it reasonable to have heard from someone that it was nukes however? Emergency broadcasts, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46w1YWTD0DQ is something you don't miss.
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Rolled 13, 2, 2, 6, 2 = 25 (5d20)

>>4483996
Come on, good rolls, we can't afford to go full retard here
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>>4484054
That would have worked, had we not already mentioned that the power was out when we woke up, and we stuck around the house doing chores instead of going somewhere that we could have received a broadcast...
>>
Rolled 17, 3, 14, 2, 14 = 50 (5d20)

>>4483996
Co'on lady luck dont leave us alone
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Rolled 4 (1d6)

Alright, so Officer Spry rolls on the standard basic modifier table.

Roll of 1 means 0.125x modifier
Roll of 2 means 0.25x modifier
Roll of 3 means 0.75x modifier
Roll of 4 means 1x modifier
Roll of 5 means 1.125x modifier
Roll of 6 means 1.25x modifier

With any luck, he will get a really lousy roll here.
>>
Rolled 18, 5, 15, 12, 19, 20, 1, 14, 13, 12 = 129 (10d20)

>>4484234
Well, no need to worry, the modifier doesn't matter, so long as these ten rolls are bad.
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Well fuck
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R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 5 on the Basic Logic Modifier table for the Intelligence Tests; with the malus from Slow-in-The-Head the Net Roll on the Logic Modifier table becomes 3; which yields a 0.75x modifier to all rolls.
R. Spry has a Gross Roll of 4 on the Basic Logic Modifier table for the Intelligence Tests; with no bonuses or maluses, the Gross Roll is equal to the Net Roll; which yields a 1x modifier to all rolls.

INT Test 1;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 13; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 9.750
R.Spry has a Gross Roll of 18; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 18.000
9.750 < 18.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [0/10]

INT Test 2;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 2; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 1.500
R.Spry has a Gross Roll of 5; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 5.000
1.500 < 5.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [0/10]

INT Test 3;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 2; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 1.500
R.Spry has a Gross Roll of 15; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 15.000
1.500 < 15.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [0/10]

INT Test 4;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 6; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 4.000
R.Spry has a Gross Roll of 12; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 12.000
4.000 < 12.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [0/10]

INT Test 5;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 2; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 1.500
R.Spry has a Gross Roll of 19; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 19.000
1.500 < 19.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [0/10]

INT Test 6;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 17; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 12.500
R.Spry has a Gross Roll of 20; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 20.000
12.500 < 20.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [0/10]

INT Test 7;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 3; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 2.250
R.Spry has a Gross Roll of 1; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 1.000
2.250 > 1.000; R. Mantle does pass this INT Test [1/10]

INT Test 8;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 14; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 10.500
R. Spry has a Gross Roll of 14; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 14.000
10.500 < 14.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [1/10]

INT Test 9;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 2; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 1.500
R. Spry has a Gross Roll of 13; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll remains 13.000
1.500 < 13.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [1/10]

INT Test 10;
R. Mantle has a Gross Roll of 14; with his active modifiers, his Net Roll becomes 10.500
R. Spry has a Gross Roll of 12; with his active modifiers; his Net Roll remains 12.000
10.500 < 12.000; R. Mantle does not pass this INT Test [1/10]

R. Mantle will not think quick enough to completely avoid torture
>>
Hmm. I guess I'll need to figure out how to write a torture scene. Expect the next posts sometime in the mid-afternoon (Eastern Standard Time) tomorrow.
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>>4484097
Radios don’t need to be plugged into a wall there are plenty that use batteries. Also I would imagine our truck has a radio.
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>>4484277
Hmm. While this is a good point, we don't know when exactly a broadcast that explicitly mentioned a nuclear strike went out, if at all. If we pretended we got the information from a broadcast, and none had occurred by the time that we were presumably knocked out, or Spry asks us specific questions about the content of the broadcast that we could not hope to answer, then he'll really have no reason to believe us. It would be dangerously easy for him to catch us in a lie doing that.
>>
Where is everyone?
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>>4485576
Just thought I'd check the thread before going to bed and saw your post; I wasn't actually able to run today (yesterday), apologies. Planning on a run after I get stuff squared away for school, which should mean I am able to start writing around 2 or 3pm (Eastern Standard Time); at my typical pace, that should mean that the post will be up around 4 or 5pm - maybe later, considering dialog is always hard for me.
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>>4485668
Dw QM, I don't think Mantle is in a hurry with what his future among MPs is preparing for him.
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Hey guys, a heads up. I'm done with all of my stuff for the day, and I am writing up the next post. Just thought I'd throw a post out there to confirm that I am in the thread and that the run is on for today.
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>>4486085
Slick. Looking forward to it, OP.
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>>4483955
“-of the strikes, so I headed straight into town; didn’t bother to check in ahead to see if I was needed.” Officer Spry, who up to now had been looking only at his stenography pad and scratching and jotting things down intermittently, had now stopped. He was still holding the pen and pad, but he was just staring at you now; with his large, bright eyes peering unblinkingly over the pad at you and his stocky neck slightly cocked to one side he looked for all the world like an owl, perched in the loft of a barn, peering down on…

Prey.

You realize that you have stopped talking. Surprisingly, you do not feel panic, or even anything akin to fear at the idea of you having somehow let something slip. No, instead there is a cold numbness, completely at odds with the warmth of the hospital sheets and the throbbing pain that you have found yourself in. With no other options now, but to see this story of yours through the end, you force yourself to finish it. “…When I had just got into the town center, I saw what I thought to be a car crash, so I stopped, and got out, and approached on foot to offer assistance. I only realized it was a shootout when I got closer, so I turned around and started running back to the truck. That must have been when I got shot.” It was not until you had finished speaking that you realized that the MPs had stopped interrupting you.

Of course, the only logical reason that they would stop trying to trip you up as they had been just seconds earlier is if you had already been tripped. In the silence that follows, ‘Gus’ the nurse fidgets, but you can barely breathe, let alone move. Finally, after several-several seconds of this, Officer Spry starts writing again, and his eyes return to the pad before him as he writes and writes and writes some more. You have to fight an almost physical urge to ask him what’s wrong, what’s going on; but just as you are about to lose that fight and ask, Officer Spry stops writing, and passes the pad off to the solider, the Guardsman rather, to his left and pockets his pen.

“Well, thank you for that account, Mr. Mantle. And I want you to know that I am happy for you, truly. When a citizen and public servant of a town that is by all accounts in open rebellion, a rebellion almost completely comprised of public servants, is found dumped at a hospital with a bullet wound by some of those servants, who of course, are also his coworkers, there are those who might jump to completely unfounded assumptions. I am glad, for your sake, that we can put them to rest here. There are just a few more questions, and then we will be done with you.
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>>4486300
Oh God! Did you misspeak? Were they always planning on killing you? You are desperately trying, racking your brain to figure this out; if you said something wrong, then there is a chance, a vanishingly small chance that you can still talk your way out of this. But you cannot for the life of you figure out what the Hell tipped them off. One of the Guardsmen removes ‘Gus’ from the ward as he protests, as the other two bend over the rails of the bed and restrain you. In the almost reddish sunlight filtering through the basement windows of the Dialysis Ward, the flat, blank looks that the Guardsmen on either side of you regard you with make them look as if they were wearing masks.

Officer Spry unslings his rifle, and for a split second, you think you are going to be shot right where you lay in the bed. But instead, he lowers it gingerly to the floor, and pulls something from a pouch on his belt; it is in the shape of a horseshoe but it is too small and too wide, and does not have any slots for the farrier to nail the shoe to the hoof. Not to mention, instead of a relatively thin rectangular cross-section, this device has a circular one, that tappers a bit towards the two ends. You had just thought that it sort of looks like a pincher, when you realize that there was more to the object that had been obscured by Officer Spry’s hands. There is what appears to be a ratcheting system attached at the juncture of the two tongs.

Seeing your interest, Officer Spry holds it out to show you. “See this Mantle? This is a prisoner come-along; my grandfather worked in corrections at a prisoner, and they were phasing these out when he finally retired, so they gave him one at his retirement party. They are called Iron Claws, used them to manhandle prisoners. They stopped, because even when they were not being deliberately misused to hurt somebody, they had a bad habit of breaking bones.” He runs his thumb over the outside edge of the left pincer, and a mildly introspective look crosses his face. “You know, if you ever told me last weekend that I would be using this curio to torture someone … I do not know if I would have laughed or gotten offended. Honestly. This whole thing isn’t just right out of left field, it’s absolutely insane, and I would never have believed – no one would have believed, that Mainers of all people would be betraying their country, their communities, and each other before the bombs had even dropped. I know it sounds cliched, but I thought we were better than this. Honestly.
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>>4486307
“I mean, if you go anywhere in the state, even the cities, and strike up a conversation with a perfect stranger, how long is it before you realize that you have mutual acquaintances, or you grew up in the same town, or maybe a town or two over? I cannot speak to it being a ‘small world after-all’, but Maine certainly feels like it is a ‘small state’; it really is like everyone knows everybody … I don’t know, I guess I just bought into advertising; I thought that being a Mainer actually meant something more than just sharing a fucking area code for phone numbers. I thought that would count for something; that we could get through stuff like this like the Nips do, with dignity and order.” He pauses here, and brings the Iron Claw close to his face to inspect it himself.

“But maybe it still can. After the shock wears off, and bad seeds have been dealt with, maybe we can still pull through this together. I would really, really like to hope so.” He looks to you, then back at the Iron Claw, and experimentally ratchets the mechanism closed and then back open. “I’m going to have to hurt you, Mantle. Even if you were to tell me everything that I needed to know, even if it was everything that I could possibly want to hear, even if you were somehow innocent, I’d still have to hurt you, that’s the only way that any of this works. The President, God Bless him, if he is still alive, or if there still even is a President, couldn’t stop me. Shit, if you were the Second Coming of Christ, then all that would mean is that I am the second coming of Longinus.

“While these things have a bad reputation for breaking bones, I could not find any information on them doing damage to soft tissue; so were going to find that out for ourselves, Mr. Mantle. I am going to start on your left testicle.”

Still working on the rest, but I need to take a break to eat something.
>>
...well, at least it's not anything important yet
but oh dear lord is this gonna hurt
>>
By the time that Officer Spry had stopped tightening the Iron Claw down, you had come to a realization; the word ‘agony’ is grossly misused. Breathing as heavily as you can, your throat already getting raw from your screaming, in a nearly dissociative state from the pain, you remember reading that injuries to the testicles can be more painful than childbirth. Deliriously, you make a silent resolution that if a woman ever boasts that they are ‘stronger’ then men on account of childbirth, you will beat that woman senseless. You notice that there are two needles sticking out of your arm; at some point during the torture, you must have been injected.

Seeing your attention, one of the flunkey Guardsmen pipes up. “We can’t have you passing out, now can we, asshole?” Wonderful. Torturers with medical supplies and enough knowledge to see them misused as effectively as possible. There is a ching! noise, and Officer Spry opens and removes the Iron Claw from whatever is left of your left nut. Perhaps an unintentional aspect of this part of the torture is that pressed into the bed as you are, you cannot actually see anything. You can only imagine as to what it looks like right now, which is … terrible. Now that you think about it, considering how sensitive the area is, and how you are inclined to ‘catastrophizing’ things, it is entirely possible that your imagining of the injury is worse than the reality. It is a bit of a stretch to call that thought comforting, but you find yourself clinging to it, regardless.

After a moment of consideration, Officer Spry places the Iron Claw in position over your right collarbone. “Well now, Mr. Mantle. Unless you want me to start snapping bits off of you before returning below the belt to finish the job there, you are not going to lie to me again. Understand?” At this, you nod. “You are clearly a member of this ‘Sheriff Arthur’s’ insurgency. It is painfully obvious. So, you are going to tell me what exactly he is planning to do with the trains.” Planning to do with the trains? What trains? What the Hell is he talking about?

You know better than to ask him that, so you tack a truth on to your lie, and after recovering enough to speak, you manage to say that you aren’t a part of any insurgency, and you don’t know anything about trains. Spry just looks at you blankly. “Mantle, just so you know, that left nut of yours probably could another squeeze or two before it is just ribbons. But your collarbone here is nice and long; I don’t know how many times I could break it before I would have to move on. Twenty to thirty times, maybe more if you drank your milk. And in case it somehow has not occurred to you yet, you are bleeding. Don’t think that’s an ‘out’ though, if it gets serious, I will send you to get patched up and then we can pick this up right where we left off. Now, tell me about the fucking trains.”
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>>4486415
“I don’t know –” Spry does not let you finish the sentence before he starts ratcheting the Iron Claw. With each twist, the already tight pincher squeezes on you even harder. “I’d hurry up, Mantle. Even if I set this one pretty loose, it will only take 4 or 5 turns before this starts to break the bone.” This time, you can more or less see what is going on, and Spry’s wrist pushes into the side of your head every time he turns it, so you could keep track that way too. “I don’t know anything about trains. Nothing! And I am not an insurgent!” In a moment of inspiration, you realize that you are focusing on the wrong thing here. You shouldn’t even be mentioning trains; an insurgent is not necessarily ‘in the know’ about all of the plans of their organization, so it stands to reason that even by denying your knowledge of your group’s apparent interest in trains, you might be subtly reinforcing the idea in Spry’s head that you are an insurgent that is simply being kept ‘out of the loop’.

Spry is not giving this up, and he cranks the Iron Claw three times. Even though this pain is not as bad as the ‘nutcracking’, Spry seems to have managed to place the implement right on top of a nerve cluster. You feel yourself shuddering, and after the two flunkeys ensure that you are restrained, Spry speaks up again. “You are one, maybe two turns away from breaking bone here. You lie again, and I will give you five. Now, you tell me. What are they going to do with the fucking trains!” You cannot afford to look like you are hesitating, he might increase the torture to push you over the edge and break you. But that means …

“I am not an insurgent!”

A broken collarbone.

You are seeing spots and dots, and you think you might have actually lost consciousness for a second there, because the three of them are talking as if you weren't there, though you can't make out faces through the fog of pain ... and the veil of your own tears.

"Is it possible that he is actually just a bystander?"

"Anything is possible, but the idea that he just got caught in all of this isn't particularly plausible."

"As bad as him disappearing would be, as far as the doctors are concerned, turning over a torture victim to be patched up would probably be worse. We need to break him, today, without involving medical assistance. That means anything below the waist, or anything 'bleedy' is out."

"Any of you have a multi-tool? Pry a fingernail off, then I'll crush the exposed nailbed and the bone underneath."

Oh Fuck.
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>>4486433
Yo, wtf is wrong with the Maine National Guard? Can't they just beat us like normal MPs
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>>4486433
>Pry a fingernail off, then I'll crush the exposed nailbed and the bone underneath."
I got piss drunk once and bashed off my toenail with a huge metal post
took about a year to grow back
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>>4486558
This is less the Guard, and more of Officer Spry

I'm still writing this up, but we are still a bit away from a point where there is anything to vote on. I'm getting kind of tired, so instead of half-assing my way to a vote, I think I will try to get a full night's sleep and work on it when I get up first thing.

Sorry for the lapses and delays everyone, tests have started up and reports are coming due. With the long weekend, we should be able to get ourselves well on the way back to Debouche, though by the time we have recovered, we might have to walk as all of the potentially available vehicles will either be under lock and key or completely gutted and out of gas. That would be an interesting challenge.
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>>4486672
>Sorry for the lapses and delays everyone
No worries, man. Good luck on your exams.
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cbt :(
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>>4486314
Officer actually got me with his little speech. Made me ponder if we might actually be the bad guys here. Then he said he is going to crush our nut. Fuck that guy!
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>>4486672
Hope you do better on your exams than i'm gonna do!
>>
Just wanted to post a confirmation that I am in the thread and finishing up the posts. Expect the first posts for tonight's run in an hour or so.
>>
When you were much younger, you had accidentally smashed a fingernail off. You had been playing tag outside at night with your cousins, and you had all been using flashlights to see where you were going. You had been playing with your father’s old Streamlight, the same brand that you still use. When you were chasing them around several large boulders on the property, by turning just a bit too quickly, you somehow managed to get just the fingertip of your left index in between the rock and the flashlight. The fingernail was smashed clean off, and for a while, it was probably the most pain that you had ever experienced.

It did not take that long for you to hurt yourself worse than that, considering how clumsy and uncoordinated you were growing up. Still, the incident was memorable; partly because you had never figured out how you managed to hurt yourself so badly, and partly because years later, remembering how your father’s old Streamlight could briefly moonlight as a club, and then go straight back into service as a flashlight without any complaints or issues on its part, you decided to purchase one for yourself. At the time, you had wondered what had become of the old flashlight, but after looking for it, you decided that father must have either taken it with him, or more likely, thrown it away during the divorce.

For a brief second, you wonder where father was, and if he managed to survive the strike. But then, Officer Spry manages to get your attention by prying off a third fingernail. At this point, your pain and injuries have mounted to the point where you are starting to slip in and out of consciousness, as it seems whatever they were using earlier to keep you from passing out was either no longer effective or had since been all used up. You eventually come to again, and Spry, seeing that you are back, resumes with the questioning. “Mantle, for the love of God, you need to talk. Maybe you don’t know anything about the trains, fine. So then tell me about the ring. What does the ring mean?” You try to focus on him as your thoughts race. What ring? The group? No, he is asking what it means; it sounds as if he is talking about a physical ring. You don’t wear any rings, any jewelry at all. But then, Officer Spry takes something out of a pocket, and thrusts it down on your right ring finger. It is an old graduation ring, that you have never seen before. You can partially make out what it says; ‘school’ and ‘19’, but before you can get a better look at it, Spry rips it off of your finger again, and in the process, squeezes your right middle finger which was one of the ones that had been ‘peeled and crushed’.
>>
>>4488035
“You came in with that thing on your finger. And I already went ahead and checked – there were no Mantles that graduated in all of Bangor that year, so it cannot be your father’s. And your not old enough for it to be yours. So how the Hell do you explain that?” That is a very good question; how exactly can you explain something satisfactorily that you have no knowledge of?

Out of the fog of pain that you are in right now, a thought comes to you. Assuming that this was not some sort of trick that Officer Spry was playing on you, then the only logical answer was that the ring was some sort of message from the Paramedics ... maybe in lieu of the letter! It is possible, if they realized at the last minute that the situation here had gone south, then they could have swapped out the letter with the ring from one of them, as some sort of secret message. It is certainly possible! You don't recall any of them wearing rings, but then Paramedics wouldn't on duty. They'd either have them on necklaces or in pockets or ... something. You don't know, but it is possible that this is a message from one of them.

What that message could possibly be is completely beyond you, but … for now, that is not important. You need to figure out what to say here to the MPs. If you tell the truth, and say that you have never seen the ring before, and you were actually dropped off here with the ring on your finger, then it will look like have been caught in a lie, even if it is the truth. If you lie and try to explain away the presence of the ring, and it turns out that the ring is just some sort of trick, that you didn’t come in with one, then you would be caught in an actual lie.

At first glance, it seems that this would just be a coin flip; considering that you have no way of knowing if the ring was a real message or not. But if you think about it, there is something that would tip it one way or the other … Officer Spry himself. Is he someone who would come up with something like this to catch a suspect in a lie, or is he too straightforward for tricks like that?

>Assume that the ring is real message, and lie to explain its presence.
>Assume that the ring is a trick, and truthfully deny any knowledge of it (if the ring is genuine, then this will appear to be a lie).
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>>4488052
>Assume that the ring is a trick, and truthfully deny any knowledge of it (if the ring is genuine, then this will appear to be a lie).
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>>4488052
>Assume that the ring is a trick, and truthfully deny any knowledge of it (if the ring is genuine, then this will appear to be a lie).
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>>4488052
>Assume that the ring is a trick, and truthfully deny any knowledge of it (if the ring is genuine, then this will appear to be a lie).

Anything else would be insane.
>>
Alright, with 3-0, I will consider this closed. I will get to writing.
>>
It is possible that Oher or one of the Paramedics could have given you a class ring as some sort of message, but by the same token, Officer Spry could have devised the ring as some sort of trap to catch you in a lie. It is kind of convoluted if you think about it; trying to entrap a suspect by getting them to admit to possessing something that they didn’t know they had … but would assume that they received from a confederate? You think? The whole ploy is actually really convoluted if you think about it, but in the end, you think it is much more likely that Spry is trying to pull one over on you then you’ve received some sort of hidden message in a ring. Honestly, what exactly could a ring even be telling you?

Spry and his lackeys look at you expectantly; waiting for you to speak, but after everything that you have been through here, it takes time for you to compose yourself enough to speak. It takes some time; you have been passing in and out of consciousness more than you should, you are in near-indescribable levels of pain, you are bleeding from a … very vascular area, and to top it all off, you were already seriously injured. If it were not for those injections earlier, whatever the Hell they were exactly, you would probably have been knocked out cold by now. So, you rally yourself for one final attempt to convince Spry of your innocence or failing that, to go out with your dignity intact. Only your dignity intact.

“Rings? Trains? I do not know anything about them, I did not do anything with them, and I am certainly not with anyone who knows or did anything. I am not an insurgent; I am a fucking dog catcher. But if you are that desperate to know a secret, I will tell ya one. Your grandfather was an asshole. Must have been. People are supposed to get watches when they retire … his co-workers sent him off with piece of actual junk…”. Spry actually laughs at that. “You know, I never thought of it that way, but you are right. This is trash, isn’t it? Actual trash.”

He chucks the Iron Claw at you, and still laughing, draws a baton from his belt. But then, it is like a switch is flipped, and he just stops laughing, mid-laugh, and closes his mouth into a tight line. He starts beating on you; and even though he knows enough to avoid your head, the strikes to your chest and stomach are enough that in your state, you just shut down. Well, this is one way to end an interrogation you suppose...
>>
>Exact Location Unknown, appears to be a dining room.
>Almost certainly no longer in First Light Eastern Maine Medical Center
>You do not know how long it has been since the torture.
>You do not know what time it is, there does not appear to be any natural light.

You come to in what appears to be a dinning room of a private residence; except your hospital bed has taken the spot of the dining table. The dining chairs have been stacked in one of the corners of the room, and if you glance behind you, you can see the table disassembled flat behind you to make way for your bed. There is a china cabinet to your right, and a half-empty IV and a spent blood transfusion bag hanging from one of the knobs, with their lines still in your left forearm. Sitting in front of you is the dialysis machine itself, and you can see some boxes of medical supplies in another corner. Besides the strangeness of the scene, passing out in a hospital and waking up in a dining room, what strikes you is the silence. You can not hear any voices, anything running, any cars. It is quiet enough that even though you are not breathing particularly deep, you can easily hear yourself breathing.

You are clearly on the first floor of a private residence. From your angle right here, you can see into what is quite obviously a kitchen, partially illuminated by the flickering light of what is almost certainly a candle. What the actual Hell is going on? You have clearly been moved. Did they decide to remove you from the ward? Spry or someone mentioned that they would only be able to interrogate you just this once, as handing you over, obviously fresh from deliberate torture, would reflect poorly on them. Did they change their minds, and move you to an off-site location? It is possible, but really, it does not seem likely. Strangely, the thought of being hidden away for round two isn’t sending you into panic like it probably should, and as you become more aware of your surroundings and yourself, you realize that you aren’t in the level of pain that you should be right now. Painkillers: you must be high as kite right now. Fucking Christ: years ago, you swore off the damned things, after you accidently gave yourself an almost recreational dose in high school, recovering from having your wisdom teeth pulled. There had been some primal part of you that had been ‘jonesing’ for another hit, and your inability to reason it away or suppress it scared you enough that you swore off anything remotely addictive … including any painkillers. Of course, recovering from properly anesthetized orthodontic work is obviously not the same as recovering from deliberate torture. Well, you will worry about what this means later; beyond acknowledging that you are currently under the influence, this is not really the time to be thinking about opiates.
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>>4489740
First, you should attempt to judge the seriousness of your injuries. You try to sit up, only to find the movement arrested by shooting pains … and a cast. Right, your collarbone was broken. Besides that, you were bashed in the chest a bit, you were down three fingernails, and … your left nut. You shift yourself in the bed, and find to your surprise that your ankle can freely move! You are no longer manacled! Just what exactly is going on here? Did they decide that you were no longer in any state to run away and it was not needed? Did they switch beds, and just not bother with it again? No, that is not right. Even from your static vantage point in the cast, you can clearly make out blood and urine (and bloody urine) stains in the sheets. This is the same bed.

As you are trying to puzzle this out, an unfamiliar female voice breaks the silence. “Oh, you are up already?” Damn it! There must be another way in and out of the dining room that you cannot see with your neck like this. A young girl, who looks to be of high school age, walks into your field of vision. “Hi. You thirsty?” Well, now that you think about it, actually you are quite thirsty. You squeak out a nearly-incomprehensible yes, but the girl just smiles and walks into the kitchen. You can hear movement, the sound of water being poured, and then her telling someone that ‘their guest is up’.

The girl returns shortly, with a tall glass of water completely with a novelty squiggly straw. Moments later, an older couple follows her into the room. The girl helps you drink the liquid, as the man pulls three chairs from the stack in the corner, arranges them so that everyone present may sit, and then patiently waits for you to finish your water. When you have finally finished, it is his wife (or the older woman you take to be the man’s wife) who speaks, introducing all of them in one fell swoop.
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>>4489741
“My name is Opal Grisham, and this is my husband Jack. You are in our house, just up the street from the hospital. For what little it is worth still, he’s the Hospital Chief for Eastern Maine Medical.” With more than a hint of pride, she adds “he is the one that patched you up.” Sorry, what? The administrator patched you up? Aren’t they usually just pencil pushers? Perhaps seeing your confusion, Mr. Grisham speaks up. “Before I ran the place, I was a general surgeon there. But two decades ago, I got into a bad car accident.” He lifts up his hands to show you, he is missing his pointer and index fingers on his right hand, and there is noticeable scarring all over his left hand. “Lost two on my right, and the left got pretty stiff from being banged up so bad. Even when I had recovered, they could not let me practice. Liability.” He turns his hands around and regards them himself. “So I just started working on the back end of healthcare instead, helping out that way. And that was that for years, until yesterday Gunther comes to me, battered and bruised and all worked up, to tell me that the Guard has been torturing one of my patients in my hospital. It took some doing, but between the two of us, we managed to sneak you out, with enough odds and ends for me to patch you back up.”

For fuck sake, is he saying that he was the one that operated on you? Well, better an out of practice crippled doctor than a complete amateur, you suppose. After an awkward moment, he continues. “Listen, Mr. Mantle. Whatever you are accused of, whatever you have actually done, does not excuse what happened to you at my hospital. I cannot undo the torture, but I can ensure that there will not be a repeat performance. You are stabilized enough for transport; if you feel up to it, Gunther and I can smuggle you out of Bangor, back to Mooseleg lake.”

This is a lot to take in. This whole thing sounds like an actual Godsend, you know, something too good to be true. But you are not in any position to refuse assistance like this. And plus, even if this were some convoluted trap by Spry, what exactly would be the point of it. To prove that you had run away from torture if given the chance? Anyone would, regardless of if they are guilty or not. Besides, he is already convinced you did it. As crazy as it may seem, this appears to be the real McCoy. Still, you have questions. “Who is Gunther?”
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>>4489742
The girl speaks up this time. “My cousin, he’s the one who got you out.” Well, beyond her relation to your savior, that is not particularly illuminating. Mrs. Grisham does a better job of explaining. “Gunther Peake was the nurse assigned to watch over the few recoverable cases in the dialysis ward after all of the ‘terminals’ were moved to hospice; he typically goes by ‘Gus’.” Oh! That makes sense. And it also explains why the ward was almost completely empty. Your next question is about what you came in with. “The Guard is treating your effects as if they were evidence, wherever they are now, we can’t reach them. Did you have anything important with you?” Honestly, you don’t know for sure if you did or not, but at this point, you would be willing to guess if the Guard had concrete evidence of your involvement with the ‘uprising’ in Debouche, then you probably would have been executed after the torture failed to produce any leads for them. If they were keeping you alive, that means they are hedging their bets, which means they are not completely convinced, with means there is not solid evidence. Which, while far from conclusive, indicates that there is nothing an incriminating as a letter or as suspicious as a random class ring.

“I guess I didn’t. How long I am going to be out for?” Mr. Grisham sighs at that. “Normally, I would say that a conservative plan would have you on complete bedrest for one month and then in inpatient observation for another, but of course, this is not normal circumstances. Still, your injuries are complicated. The first surgery to your kidney miraculously held up through your ordeal with this Officer Spry, if it had not, I might not have been able to save you. Still, even taking a solid punch to the gut could present potentially fatal complications with your kidney for the foreseeable future. As far as the fingernails and fingertips are concerned, as painful as it must have been, those should recover more or less on their own. Just keep them in their splints for now. The injuries sustained to your left testicle … were severe. I was able to salvage most of it, so you should not see any appreciable loss in sperm count or in hormonal levels, but like the kidney, if in the foreseeable future you take any serious hits to the testicle, then you risk an internal detachment, which if not removed completely could become necrotic, and from there, fatal. I would suggest that you wear a cup or a codpiece … probably for the rest of your life. Eventually it should recover to the point where sexual activity would be safe, but it will always be easier to injure. Permanently.
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>>4489744
“But the big risk for complications here is your collarbone. Typical, in breaks like the one that you received at the hands of the Guard, a metal brace is mounted directly on top of the bone, and screwed into place, to ensure that the bone heals in the proper shape. That … is beyond my capabilities here. The complications that we are talking about are not potentially fatal, like the kidney or the testicle, nor are they crippling; but they would be chronic. Permanent. Pain, stiffness, increased fragility of the right collarbone from an improper setting, potentially the bone forming a lump in the knitting process. You could lose some of the range of motion in your neck from this. Only time will tell. I would call on an actual Orthopedist, but your disappearance, as well as Gunther’s has been noted. The Guard is looking for you, at they have started their searches with doctors who were in the hospital at the time that Gunther and I snuck you out. Of course, they do not know I have a medical background, or that I was in the hospital at the time, so it will be a while before they think to check on me. By that time, you, Gunther and Petra” – he points to the girl – “will have left the city.”

It is a whole lot to take in, but quickly you catch on. He intends to stay here.

>Attempt to convince him to come you, even a crippled out of practice doctor is better than none.
>The man must have his reasons; you are returning home, and bringing Gunther, a nurse with you. That is more than enough.
>>
>Attempt to convince him to come you, even a crippled out of practice doctor is better than none.
Let him know you have a farm that would be a safe place for him and Gus to stay but keep him out of the loop about Mantle's group.
>>
And Petra too.
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>>4489757
>>4489758
This. And his wife, of course. Might be dead weight, but maybe she'll get along with our mother, or could help with some tasks around the house itself. I dunno, man. He sure as shit won't leave without her, and having an extra (presumably unskilled) mouth to feed is worth the trade-off for a very skilled (slightly maimed) specialist.
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>>4489757
+1
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>>4489745
>Attempt to convince him to come you, even a crippled out of practice doctor is better than none.
Drop it if he wants to take anyone else though
We already have our mom (hopefully), Fleckkers, and a couple paramedics.
We are straight up on the verge of starving through winter, a doctor is very useful but we cannot afford dead weight.
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>>4489757
+1
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>>4489745
>>The man must have his reasons; you are returning home, and bringing Gunther, a nurse with you. That is more than enough.
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>>4489757
I'm just going throw out there that our farm is probably a less than safe place for anyone. Right now, we're a fugitive from the Maine National Guard and they'd have to be fools to not search the cadastre for any properties owned by a Mr. Mantle.
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>>4490173
Why join a group that basically staged a small-scale coup if they won't be able to guarantee our security at some level? if the MNG shows up at mooseleg lake They should find something to prevent their passage at the entrance, resistance along the way ... and if not, it's the Mantle tank © vs the standard tanks of the national guard, and they do carry them. In our dooryard, We crack the nuts, not them.
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Hopefully Fleckers realized that big chainsaw on the loot list would be perfect tool to down trees across roads to the Mantle farm. Don't need to fight the nat guard, just slow them down to the point that most go AWOL to protect their own families and possibly steal supplies ontheir way out.
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>>4490173
I honestly expect all sort of social structure and large scale organisation break down between 2-4 weeks. anything beyond close knit groups or unhit (by nukes and higher ups and outside militia) community will be fractured by that time.


regiments, especially those in duty might last longer, but they /will/ become raiders quickly, at worst they become dirlwagner brigades.
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>>4490346
At the time, I understand that there were protocols where the personnel of the military bases during an attack of such magnitude, They could transfer their families to the barracks and start a kind of community where the family works to support the base, while military personnel are still Uncle Sam's tough arm. Moving that to a post-apocalyptic situation would only make the NG a group like ours, competing for the same resources but with armed and trained personnel.

I strongly believe that they wouldn't come after us YET but they will have an eye on the region and fond memories of the bad boy Mantle.
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Alright, I am seeing a 4-1 split. I will try to get something up, but I have a test tomorrow, and an assignment that I am working on ... so updates will be slower than they have been (which were already slower than they were at the start of the thread).
>>
“So, Gunther, Petra and I will have left Bangor. But not you?” You are of a mind to try to convince the man to come with you, as crowded as it would be at your homestead, a crippled doctor is much better than no doctor. “Yes, for a couple of reasons. Primary among them is that at my age, under these circumstances, I would not be relishing the idea of just up and moving into the middle of a rebellion.” You open your mouth to challenge that, but Mr. … Dr. Grisham continues. “I am trying to implicate you in anything, Mr. Mantle, but the situation on the lake is apparently dire enough that the Guard felt that torturing you was warranted; quite honestly that scares me almost as much as the act of torture itself. On top of that, I am an old man; an old crippled man; if something goes wrong here, in Bangor, I can count on my friends and colleagues at Eastern Maine Medical Center to help me and Opal through it.

“But on the lake, I would know no one, excluding present company, of course. If something were to go wrong, and it seems that things on the lake are going quite wrong, would you be able to help me like Gunther and I helped you? Would anyone else? There is a good little community here, centered around the hospital, and as I am not going to be under any suspicion, I do not see any real compelling reason to abandon it. And finally, if the Guard is willing to do something like this once, then they would be willing to do it again. If I stay, I can try to attempt to disrupt any further attempts at torture. So long as I can, I would see that my hospital does not become a charnel house.

You suck air through your teeth and mull this over. Dr. Grisham seems pretty set on staying here, and as things stand, is not going to be coming with you. Maybe if you were to explain the situation on the lake to him, going into some detail about Parasol’s group, you would have a slim chance of Persuading him to come along with you, but you don’t know … once that particular cat is out of that particular bag, good fucking luck getting it back in. While you are no doubt in their debt, if something were to go wrong, and any of the three standing before you here were to get caught by the Guard, and anything about Parasol’s group either slipped out or was forced out through torture, then that would be bad for you, not to mention, presumably fatal for them…

>Explain the situation on the lake to convince Dr. Grisham there is a community for him there as well, as well as how you got shot, attempting to explain the violence is just a one-time thing. Will require a difficult Persuasion test.
>Do not attempt to explain the situation on the lake, do not Persuade Dr. Grisham. Dr. and Mrs. Grisham will remain in Bangor, and the focus will now shift to the details of the escape.
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>>4493349
>Do not attempt to explain the situation on the lake, do not Persuade Dr. Grisham. Dr. and Mrs. Grisham will remain in Bangor, and the focus will now shift to the details of the escape.
he makes a good point
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>>4493349
>Do not attempt to explain the situation on the lake, do not Persuade Dr. Grisham. Dr. and Mrs. Grisham will remain in Bangor, and the focus will now shift to the details of the escape.
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>>4493349
>>Do not attempt to explain the situation on the lake, do not Persuade Dr. Grisham. Dr. and Mrs. Grisham will remain in Bangor, and the focus will now shift to the details of the escape.
>>
>>4493349
Typographical Error: In case it wasn't immediately obvious; it should have been:
>Dr. Grisham continues. "I am not trying to implicate you in anything Mr. Mantle..."

>>4493437
>>4493529
>>4493536
So three votes already seems to be a pretty solid lead. I will get to writing Dr. Grisham and Peake's plan for your escape.
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>>4493349
>>Do not attempt to explain the situation on the lake, do not Persuade Dr. Grisham. Dr. and Mrs. Grisham will remain in Bangor, and the focus will now shift to the details of the escape.
Good point. Maybe we can attempt to recruit him once again after things up at Mooseleg have settled down some. He's done a lot for us, and it doesn't feel right not repaying him in some way. For now however, it'd be best just to thank the man and leave.
>>
No, the fewer people outside of Parasol’s group that know about the group, the better. For the group as a whole, for you and the other members individually, and for that matter, for the outsiders as well. It is unfortunate that Dr. Grisham will not be coming with you; setting aside the near invaluable medical (or administrative) knowledge that he might have, by remaining here, odds are that you will never see him again, and will never be able to repay him properly for saving you … and your bits and pieces. Disappointing, but understandable. Completely understandable. Even if he knew about Parasol’s group, only those under suspicion by the Guard would seriously consider abandoning everything to relocate smack dab in the middle of an “uprising”. He has his own group; Hell, if you think about it, as the administrator of Eastern Maine Medical, he is sort of leading his own group. That would make it one real hard sell to convince him to come along with you, and you have never been a particularly good salesman. Still, you have to wonder how long all of this will last. The presence of the Guard seems to have staved off the total chaos that you might have expected in a city of this size, but even now, food and fuel must be running low here. Things will probably … inevitably break down. By his own admission, he is an old crippled man; when things get tight...

He does not strike you as someone cut from the same cloth as Undersheriff Carter, head stuck in the sand. No, if anything, he reminds you more of Undersheriff-Warden Polk; completely aware of how hopeless everything is, but intent on following their duty, even if it means ‘going down with the ship’. In the face of certain starvation, Polk kept (is keeping?) true in his duty to feed and care for his prisoners. In the face of imminent violence from the Guard and future violence from the city, Grisham will stay to help and heal. It is asinine because it is so admirable. It is admirable because it is so asinine.

“Dr. Grisham; you have put me in quite a spot. I doubt I will ever be able to repay you for this, even if our paths manage to cross again.” His response is this small, sad little smile. “On the contrary; you can. Protect Gunther and Petra from the Guard by settling them in a place where the Guard cannot hope to reach; Mooseleg. Do that, and you may consider us even. More than even.” Well, you had already figured that this was going to be a one way trip for them; considering how the situation outside is probably deteriorating by the minute; but you hadn’t thought of it as ‘saving them’. You aren’t going to mention Parasol’s group here, obviously but … “Definitely. I can definitely do that. I have some spare rooms at my place, or failing that, there are a lot of summer cabins that could be Winterized. As far as food goes, I am sure I could figure something out.”
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>>4493691
Well, with that out of the way, Grisham explains his plan for the three of you to escape Bangor. Simply driving out of the city like normal is no longer an option. The Guard has sealed off almost all of the roads out of town, and they few that remain open are patrolled. He explains that this precaution was adopted after a large, armed group in Piscataquis County Sheriff’s Office cruisers roared into town less than two hours after the Strike started (before the Guard had mobilized and entered the city), stormed the trainyard and stole “at least four full-size locomotives, along with a rail crane, and some empty boxcars and tankers.” Well, that explains Officer Spry’s questions about trains, but what on Earth did Parasol (or more likely, Chickless) want with choo-choo trains?

Hm. Now that you think about it ... less than two hours since the start of the Strike means, what, before 8:30am? Which was also around the time that you were dropped off at Eastern Maine Medical, presumably. No wonder Spry was so suspicious of you; Paramedics from Debouche dump a gunshot victim off at the same time that deputies based out of Debouche launch a raid. But that begs the question, why the fuck did they use liveried cruisers? That could not have been an oversight…

Focusing on the task at hand, you return your attention to Grisham as he explains your escape plan. One of the other doctors at Eastern Maine Medical has a house just outside of the city limits, which conveniently enough is also outside of the Guard’s roadblocks. Currently, Gunther is gathering and then driving supplies as close to the roadblock as he possibly can, parking, and then, unseen by the posted watchmen at the roadblock, walking the supplies the rest of the way to the safehouse. When you are ready to go, they will do the same for you, drive you as close as they can get, and then carry you on a crash-cart the rest of the way. Once the three of you are at the safehouse, they will load up the other doctor’s truck with the supplies (and you). Meanwhile, Grisham will dispose of Gunther’s truck; ensuring that the Guard has no clues as to where you or Gunther have gotten off to. One question remains; should you depart to Debouche under the cover of darkness, hoping that the roads are still clear and safe, going on three days after the Strike, or do you hedge your bets on the safety of the roads by waiting until daybreak to leave, in turn risking being seen by the Guard?
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>>4493694
>Leave during the night, no chance of pursuit from Guard, moderate Driving test for Gunther (he is completely baseline, just like you were for Tinn’s Time Trial), several moderate chances (1 in 3 odds) for random events/encounters (ex. blocked road that needs to be cleared by hand to advance), several small chances (1 in 9) for hostile encounters (ex. ambushed by literal highwaymen)

>Leave during the day, small chance of pursuit from Guard (1 in 9), nominal Driving test for Gunther (unless pursued by the Guard, then it bumps to moderate Driving Test), several small chances (1 in 9) for random events/encounters, several very small chances (1 in 27 odds) for hostile encounters.
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>>4493699
>Leave during the night, no chance of pursuit from Guard, moderate Driving test for Gunther (he is completely baseline, just like you were for Tinn’s Time Trial), several moderate chances (1 in 3 odds) for random events/encounters (ex. blocked road that needs to be cleared by hand to advance), several small chances (1 in 9) for hostile encounters (ex. ambushed by literal highwaymen).
the dice have treated us in that way during the quest.
>>
>Leave during the night, no chance of pursuit from Guard, moderate Driving test for Gunther (he is completely baseline, just like you were for Tinn’s Time Trial), several moderate chances (1 in 3 odds) for random events/encounters (ex. blocked road that needs to be cleared by hand to advance), several small chances (1 in 9) for hostile encounters (ex. ambushed by literal highwaymen)

Avoiding the Guard seems priority.
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>>4493699
>>Leave during the night, no chance of pursuit from Guard, moderate Driving test for Gunther (he is completely baseline, just like you were for Tinn’s Time Trial), several moderate chances (1 in 3 odds) for random events/encounters (ex. blocked road that needs to be cleared by hand to advance), several small chances (1 in 9) for hostile encounters (ex. ambushed by literal highwaymen)
>>
Alright, it is a pretty strong lead, but I am too tired to write it up, so I guess I will leave this one open over night.
>>
>>4493699
>Leave during the day, small chance of pursuit from Guard (1 in 9), nominal Driving test for Gunther (unless pursued by the Guard, then it bumps to moderate Driving Test), several small chances (1 in 9) for random events/encounters, several very small chances (1 in 27 odds) for hostile encounters.
I feel like the risk of getting chased by the guard is somewhat less than the risk of crashing and getting attacked by armed highwaymen. Both are terrible though.
>>
What are the chances of recruiting a Gaurdsman vs recruiting a hungry highwayman, though? Kind of a crap way to deal with conflict, but in Mantle's current condition he isn't going to be great in a fight.
>>
>>4493699
>>Leave during the night, no chance of pursuit from Guard, moderate Driving test for Gunther (he is completely baseline, just like you were for Tinn’s Time Trial), several moderate chances (1 in 3 odds) for random events/encounters (ex. blocked road that needs to be cleared by hand to advance), several small chances (1 in 9) for hostile encounters (ex. ambushed by literal highwaymen)
>>
>>4493897
Damn it, I wrote up an answer for you, and then I went and lost it by accidentally navigating away from the page. The gestalt of it is that you are probably not going to be in a position to safely recruit outsiders during your trip back to Debouche, let alone formerly (or potentially) hostile outsiders. For recruitment to be possible, you need to either convince a leader of a group to follow you or isolate an individual from the group, and then convince them.

You aren't going to just stumble across avenues for recruitment (discussions with the leader of outside group, or inducting an isolated outsider) during this trip, you would have to willfully seek them out, by approaching hostile or unknown groups under a white flag to talk things out, or going out of your way to capture a lone enemy (or wanderer).

If you try to fight a group, or flee from a hostile group, and fail, then you aren't going to be able to say "well, we will roll to recruit them, as our plan B." No, everyone is on edge, it is going to be difficult to talk things out at all. If you want to talk your way out of things, you have to start by talking your way out of things, which of course, will put you at a disadvantage for fighting or fleeing if the talks break down. It is a trade off.

And to answer your actual question, recruiting a highwayman would be much easier than recruiting a Guardsman.
>>
>>4494352
Thanks QM, good to know how our options work.
>>
So, it was settled, as soon as you possibly can, you will leave the safehouse and head straight for Mooseleg lake, still under the cover of darkness. No doubt you will be able to dodge the Guard, but you have serious concerns about the conditions of the roads, especially as they become more rural and isolated as you enter the Northwoods. Dr. Grisham explains that the Guard is busiest during the night, attempting to maintain order, stopping any would-be looters, and enforcing a nighttime curfew. At first, the idea of breaking an enforced curfew nearly put you off the idea of the night escape entirely, but Mrs. Grisham chimed in and explained that the Guard was only able to effectively enforce it in the city center and around critical infrastructure. Outside of that, there were only occasional patrols, either on foot or in commandeered vehicles, and at the city limits, their only presence was at their roadblocks, and not all of those were manned every night, either. They were stretched thin-to-breaking, and outside of the city center there were many residents who would openly break the curfew, even in the presence of Guardsmen, knowing that the Guard did not have the resources to chase down and hold every scofflaw outside of the more built up areas. So even if the Guard were to see you, unless they were looking for the vehicle you were driving, outside of the center and away from critical infrastructure, they would not bother stopping you.

Well, at this point, all there is to do is to finish packing everything up and wait for Gunther to arrive. In addition to whatever he was able to pull together on his own, Grisham has stuff here as well, both for the drive and to get Petra and Gunther situated when they arrive in Debouche. In addition to home goods like clothes and bedding, there is some camping stuff, like collapsible cots, sleeping bags, an old oil lantern, a small charcoal grill. You can only see some of the stuff as it is walked past the dining room, presumably into the garage, if this house has one. The dialysis machine will be coming with you, as well as any medical equipment or supplies more ‘professional’ than anything you would find in a basic first aid kit. Grisham doubts that he will even be suspected by the Guard, much less searched, but credit where credit is due, the man is being cautious. He goes so far as to round up most of the medical references or texts in the house; considering his job as the hospital administrator, a few medical books won’t raise eyebrows, but an small library might convince an imaginative Guardsman that Grisham could have attempted to heal you himself.
>>
>>4494524
It is kind of telling that you do not see any food being brought out for the trip … or any firearms for that matter. You know that a lot of doctors have a chip on their shoulder when it comes to guns and gun ownership; you have seen a lot of thinly-veiled advocacy for disarming civilians endorsed by doctors. If you had to guess, most doctors come from liberal, suburban backgrounds and most of their exposure to guns was either treating gunshots or studying how to treat gunshots. While any opposition to the franchise on their part with this perspective in mind was perhaps understandable, it didn’t mean that it was any less frustrating getting browbeat by liberals and actual crypto communists to support incremental civilian disarmament with soundbites trying to establish doctors as some sort of authority on gun ownership. You could didn't even need to imagine how that would end. Last you heard, over in Brittan, they now had organizations of doctors campaigning against civilian ownership of steak knives.

As you idly amuse yourself with a thought about finding a bunch of nutritionists to make a public awareness campaign about how Communism is not part of a balanced diet, Dr. Grisham enters the dining room, and to your surprise, he is carrying two guns; a pistol small enough that it could be considered a ‘Derringer’ and the most raggedy looking shotgun you have ever seen in your life. Alright, new theory. Maybe doctors are against gun ownership because all the guns that have are lame...

Dr. Grisham looks uncomfortably at the guns for a long moment, and then speaks, quietly. “I don’t know if I have it in me to ever use these things, even if it was in self-defense. Still, for Opal’s sake, I have to have something on hand.” He extends both out to you. “Tell me which one you want, and I’ll keep the other.”

>Raggedy Shotgun. [Single Shot, Break Action, 20 Gauge] Comes with 8 loose rounds of #3 Buck. Does not have a mount for a light. Does not have a mount for a sight. Has a slot and pin for a sling, but no sling. (Reload time is the same as the Derringer)

>Derringer. [Fires one two shot volley, and then needs to be reloaded, Break Action, .22LR] Comes with 16 loose rounds, can be fired with one barrel loaded for 16 shots or two barrels loaded for 8 volleys at double damage. (Reload time is the same as Raggedy Shotgun)

>“Is there really nothing else?” Do not accept either of these; politely ask for something else. Roll 1d20. 1-5 gets you something worse (which you have to accept), 6-15 gets you something different but approximately as good, and 16-20 gets you something better. Please wait to roll until the vote is closed, otherwise the results of the roll will influence voting.
>>
>>4494535
>Derringer
R. Mantle, profession Superspy
>>
>>4494535
>“Is there really nothing else?”
For math and luck, we have a 1/3 to get something better and another 1/3 to get the same in other flavor, so 2/3 chance to win.

Also, QM The radio bands used are the classic wide bands correct? May we ask if our friendly neighbor and handyman doctor friend has one of these radios? or if you know the band used in the hospital for ambulances and emergency services? It would be interesting to try and maintain a line of contact once we get home, and if it doesn't, do we know the sash used by the Sheriff's office and that we are a normal part of? in the sense of leaving the frequency for "in case of ...". Basically leave our WhatsApp number ingame.
>>
>>4494535
>Derringer.

Consealable, and can be kept as a last resort, while the shotgun outlives it's usefulness when and if we get home.
>>
>>4494761
But it would be somewhat rude, would it not.
>>
>“Is there really nothing else?”

I want the doc to keep the derringer in case he is tortured he at least has a way out instead of spilling the beans.
>>
>>4494761
Sure we could try that. Honestly, I know next to nothing about radios beyond the absolute most basic terminology. A lot of the radio stuff in the quest so far has been pretty 'hand-wavy' so to speak.

So I took a minute to look into it; the distance from Bangor to Greenville, Maine, the real world location of Debouche is about 70 miles. That is well outside of the range of a pair of typical handhelds, at least, a pair of typical handhelds unassisted by a 'repeater' between them. The power is still out, and I'd assume that after three days with no resupply, the few 'repeaters' that civil authorities maintained that had reserve power capabilities have either failed or will do so shortly. No doubt that some of them will be kept on, but those would presumably be pretty tightly controlled. Still, as I understand it from my brief reading, there are older models of 'repeaters' that you can tune into and simply broadcast out from.

Hmm. I certainly can't promise that you will be able to keep in touch, but you can certainly give Grisham the frequency for your band, and he will try to track down a radio to try to keep in touch with you. No guarantees for anything though.

Well, we have a 2-2 tie; I am going to grab a late dinner, and if there is not another vote by the time I get back, I will have to roll for a tiebreaker.
>>
Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4494857
Alright, with a one we roll, and with a two we accept the Derringer.
>>
Alright, someone can roll 1d20 for our equivalent weapon.
>>
Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>4494857
Welp, At a somewhat basic level of how broadband or amplitude modulated (AM) radios work, These depend on the transmission power. They have a defined frequency for public services, another for security and surveillance lines, internal services and public domain bands. Then there are the channels that are the low power that is transmitted on that frequency. One can do without repeaters having an absurd power since they increase the range, Being able to intervene in other bands. Perhaps it is too much to ask, since a hospital would be point A and the public security center of a small town would be point B. The same was a lot to ask, But I leave it to your consideration.

I leave the dice to see what we have, I will cross my fingers.
>>
>>4494954
Well, like I mentioned, I really have been hand-waving away radio stuff. Before I make a hard and fast decision on what is realistic or practical for a quest like this, I should probably do some more reading on the topic.

For the 'equivalent' weapon, I have been waffling back and forth between a choice of two single shot weapons. One is just about as effective as the other two and uses traditional ammo (.22LR) that would be easy to source for the immediate future. The other choice is a much more devastating weapon, but it comes with an extremely limited supply of proprietary ammo. You would not be able to find any ammo ready for this gun, you'd need to bring some 38 S&W special to a gunsmith for him to modify into blanks. Additionally, the actual projectiles that leave the gun are supposed to be retrieved after discharge, so you'll need to keep on top of them, or you will lose possible shots. Considering that I was AWOL for most of the long weekend, I think a good way to make up for it is to offer you guys a choice. If you were curious, if you rolled a 1-5, Dr. Grisham would have given you an unopened '18 pack' of pepper spray and a rape whistle that he bought for Mrs. Grisham. If you had rolled a 16-20, Mrs. Grisham would have noticed what was going on and while the doctor's back was turned, given you one of two fullsize 1911's she bought years ago that Dr.Grisham insisted she return.

Which one boys?

>Survival Rifle [Single Shot, Break Action, .22LR] Comes with 14 loose rounds. Can be dismantled and stored into its own stock. When stored tight in its own stock, it will float on top of calm bodies of water. Does not have a mount for a light. Does not have a mount for a sight. Does have a sling.

>Greener Martini Harpoon Gun {Exotic} [Single Shot, Breech Loading, Armor Piercing, Proprietary 38 S&W Special Blanks and Proprietary Harpoons] Comes with 4 blanks and 2 harpoons. Harpoon line can be added to the harpoons to aid in retrieval or intimidation, or removed for the harpoons to unencumber the ammunition. Effective to 30 yards. Special rules; if an enemy takes any damage from a Greener Martini Harpoon Gun, they must make and pass a resilience roll or else go into shock. Does not have mount for a light. Does not have mount for a sight. Does not have slot or mount for sling. Fork is removable if you wish to fire the harpoons without the line attached.
>>
>>4495050
>Greener Martini Harpoon Gun {Exotic} [Single Shot, Breech Loading, Armor Piercing, Proprietary 38 S&W Special Blanks and Proprietary Harpoons] Comes with 4 blanks and 2 harpoons. Harpoon line can be added to the harpoons to aid in retrieval or intimidation, or removed for the harpoons to unencumber the ammunition. Effective to 30 yards. Special rules; if an enemy takes any damage from a Greener Martini Harpoon Gun, they must make and pass a resilience roll or else go into shock. Does not have mount for a light. Does not have mount for a sight. Does not have slot or mount for sling. Fork is removable if you wish to fire the harpoons without the line attached.
Carter is our white whale and the thought of harpooning him some day is amazing.
>>
>Greener Martini Harpoon Gun {Exotic} [Single Shot, Breech Loading, Armor Piercing, Proprietary 38 S&W Special Blanks and Proprietary Harpoons] Comes with 4 blanks and 2 harpoons. Harpoon line can be added to the harpoons to aid in retrieval or intimidation, or removed for the harpoons to unencumber the ammunition. Effective to 30 yards. Special rules; if an enemy takes any damage from a Greener Martini Harpoon Gun, they must make and pass a resilience roll or else go into shock. Does not have mount for a light. Does not have mount for a sight. Does not have slot or mount for sling. Fork is removable if you wish to fire the harpoons without the line attached.
Enough to win 2 fights against a single opponent. Perfect.
>>
>Survival Rifle [Single Shot, Break Action, .22LR] Comes with 14 loose rounds. Can be dismantled and stored into its own stock. When stored tight in its own stock, it will float on top of calm bodies of water. Does not have a mount for a light. Does not have a mount for a sight. Does have a sling.
Don’t get me wrong guys I love the harpoon gun but I don’t want to meme this so hard. The rifle uses common ammo and collapsing it should make concealment a breeze.
>>
>>4495170
+1
Want the meme one, but Mantle need us.
>>
>>4494535
>Is there really nothing else?

Also, "Alright, new theory. Maybe doctors are against gun ownership because all the guns they have are lame..." LMAO
>>
Alright, I am going to go get lunch, and if there isn't a tie break, then I will roll to break the tie.
>>
>>4495050
>Greener Martini Harpoon Gun
>>
>>4495050
>Survival Rifle [Single Shot, Break Action, .22LR] Comes with 14 loose rounds. Can be dismantled and stored into its own stock. When stored tight in its own stock, it will float on top of calm bodies of water. Does not have a mount for a light. Does not have a mount for a sight. Does have a sling.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

Well fuck. If I had just started the run 12 minutes earlier, the tie would have been broken. Alright. I guess I will roll for it at this point, to move things along.

Roll of One and you get the survival rifle
Roll of Two and you get the meme machine
>>
>>4495785
You know, I can only think of one real world firearm that would be a bigger meme than the harpoon gun from Jaws; and I might just introduce it into this quest at some point. Alright, with the weapon settled on, that means that I just need to write up a couple of scenes. (With any luck, we should be able to make it back to Debouche and our homestead before the thread falls off of the page, assuming nothing goes wrong on the way back).
>>
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You shift awkwardly under the gray comforter they have bundled you up in, but even under the effects of painkillers, you still find yourself wincing at the exertion, so you stop. Offering you half of his arsenal is an incredible gesture, but … you cannot see yourself getting through a fight with a raggedy 16 or 20 gauge. The derringer inspires a bit more confidence, but still, the thing is so small. And while it might almost be an effective weapon with both barrels loaded, if you are going to have to get into fight with a single shot weapon, you’d like the single shot to be a bit more … spectacular, you suppose. “Dr. Grisham, I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but is there truly nothing else? Something a bit more capable, or even just something with a bit more presence? Something that would give a potential attacker pause?” The doctor frowns slightly at that, and you find yourself wincing again, though this time not from pain. But he looks down at the firearms, and as if seeing them in a new light, he starts nodding. “Yeah, I see what you mean. You could barely see the Derringer if you held it in your hand, and this shotgun looks like it would fall apart in a stiff wind, let alone after a few shots.” Presently, you can see his face light up at an idea. “Wait here! Oh, I uh –“. As much as laughter hurts, you find yourself laughing at that, and soon Grisham is too.

After the chuckles subside, Grisham leaves the room for another minute, and soon you can hear someone moving things around upstairs, possibly in an attic. He returns after a bit, with a sizeable dark green box. He carefully places the box on top of your shins, and while it is heavier than you would have imagined, to your surprise (and relief) it does not hurt. “This isn’t exactly a typical gun, so I didn’t think about it. Inherited the thing from an uncle down in Mass.” As he pops the thing open to show you, he adds in passing “took a lot of swordfish with this thing.” Swordfish?

It takes several-several seconds of peering at it in the candle light for it to click. This is a harpoon gun! Well, this will certainly have more presence than those rinky-dink little toys! You force yourself to sit up, to the alarm of Grisham, and find that while it hurts … you are a lot more mobile than you thought you were. You immediately start fumbling through the box to find the instruction manual. Grisham still looks a little concerned about you pushing yourself like this, but he eventually decides against saying anything about it and heads out to check on the progress. But before he can even leave the dinning room, you both can hear the sound of a truck pull up. Immediately, you drop the manual, and attempt to assemble the weapon, on the off chance that this is not Gunther, but before you can get the gun into an operable state (or alternatively, do any permanent damage), Mrs. Grisham’s clear voice cuts through the sudden tense silence.
>>
>>4496421
“It’s Gunther!”

The two of you explosively sigh in relief; you return to squinting at the manual to get the gun properly situated, and Grisham heads out to greet Gunther.

The next twenty minutes or so are a blur. You finish getting the gun loaded, everyone else finishes getting the truck loaded. You properly greet a battered and tired looking Gunther for the first time, and after another glass of water from Petra, it is time to go. “If I wait until the last minute, I might not be able to do it properly, so I would rather do it now. You all have saved my life, and I will never forget that. I understand that you have your reasons for staying behind, but if anything changes, my door will always be open.” If you were not so worn out, you worry that you would be liable to start crying here. The Grisham’s accept your thanks gracefully, and after you share your radio’s frequency, which Mrs. Grisham makes a point of jotting down, at your insistence. But before you can be loaded up, Petra chimes in.

“Oh, I almost forgot …

>“… I got a road map for my Drivers Ed class. If the roads are half as ‘messy’ as you worry they are, then it could be pretty useful, right?” (2+1d2 chances for random encounters at odds of 1 in 3, and 1+1d2 chances for hostile encounters at odds of 1 in 9)

>“… I found this strange looking metal thingy in your sheets. Is it yours? (Receive Iron Claw and a begin trial to bring home a Trophy to permanently increase your pips of health from 6 to 7 and to permanently give you a +1 to all Resilience rolls. Without the help of the road map, you have 3+1d3 chances for random encounters at odds of 1 in 3, and 1+1d3 chances for hostile encounters at odds of 1 in 9.)
>>
If anyone looks at an archive and wonders what the hell happened, I wound up posting and deleting this post because I really messed the picture and formatting up.
>>
>>4496425
>>“… I found this strange looking metal thingy in your sheets. Is it yours? (Receive Iron Claw and a begin trial to bring home a Trophy to permanently increase your pips of health from 6 to 7 and to permanently give you a +1 to all Resilience rolls. Without the help of the road map, you have 3+1d3 chances for random encounters at odds of 1 in 3, and 1+1d3 chances for hostile encounters at odds of 1 in 9.)
the cbt relic will be ours
>>
>>4496425
So I found this looking up iron claw.
>"As uncomfortable as the claw must have been as a police restraint, its re-imagined use as a device with which to remove teeth is far more frightening."
Well, I guess things could've been worse.
>“… I found this strange looking metal thingy in your sheets. Is it yours? (Receive Iron Claw and a begin trial to bring home a Trophy to permanently increase your pips of health from 6 to 7 and to permanently give you a +1 to all Resilience rolls. Without the help of the road map, you have 3+1d3 chances for random encounters at odds of 1 in 3, and 1+1d3 chances for hostile encounters at odds of 1 in 9.)
>>
>“… I found this strange looking metal thingy in your sheets. Is it yours? (Receive Iron Claw and a begin trial to bring home a Trophy to permanently increase your pips of health from 6 to 7 and to permanently give you a +1 to all Resilience rolls. Without the help of the road map, you have 3+1d3 chances for random encounters at odds of 1 in 3, and 1+1d3 chances for hostile encounters at odds of 1 in 9.)
>>
>>4496437
I gave some serious thought to it being used to break Mantle's jaw (and crush teeth in the process) but I realized that Spry would need us to be able to talk, so he probably wouldn't go that far. That said, I didn't think of it being used to remove individual teeth. Something for next time.

Alright, it is already 3-0. I don't think we are going to be on the board in the morning, so I doubt that we will be able to get to Debouche before the thread falls off like I had expected.

So, we need 2 anons to do a roll of 1d3. Also, I'll put this to a vote now. Who should be responsible for the harpoon?

You are the best shot, but are in the worst position. Gunther is a typical shot and rolls on the standard Accuracy Modifier Table and is in a decent enough position, but he is also responsible for driving. Petra is a bad shot, her Shooting tests roll on the substandard Accuracy Modifier Table (highest possible modifier, from the roll of 6 is 1.125 instead of 1.25), but she is in the best position. The position confers a static bonus in the case of Petra, or in your case, a static malus to the shot, to be added or subtracted after the shot is rolled and modified by the accuracy table.

>Gunther, in the drivers seat.
>Petra, in the passenger seat
>You, strapped down to the bed of the truck.

And don't forget the two rolls of 1d3!
>>
Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>4496465
>You, strapped down to the bed of the truck.
>>
Rolled 2, 1, 1, 3 = 7 (4d3)

>>4496467
This roll will decide how many random encounters there are on the road to Debouche.
>>
>>4496473
Okay, so we are looking at two non-hostile encounters. Still need another roll of 1d3 to see if we get into a bad spot.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d3)

>>4496475
I have fallen asleep and I have missed a few things, right? and hey, let's go with the swordfish killer. Also, I think Mantle should carry the gun, since with a single shot weapon there is nothing worth more than precision. Also, as a deterrent, it works better in the hands of a stocky man than a girl, right?
>>
Rolled 9, 4, 6, 7 = 26 (4d9)

Okay, well that is 4 chances for a hostile encounter at 1 in 9 odds. Here is hoping that we don't roll a 1 on any of these four rolls. Good luck everyone!
>>
Okay, so we are two spots from falling off. When I get a minute, I will go and archive this thread.
>>
Can't we let the girl drive and give the gun to Gunther? Otherwise this:

>>4496585
>>
>>4497362
Hmm. I never thought of putting that to a vote, but I suppose you could do that. Just be warned, Petra is still in Driver's Ed, so for any driving tests, she'd be rolling from a substandard handling modifier table.

Anyway, still working on the update. But we can definitely vote on this.
>Petra will drive, and Gunther will take 'shotgun' position.
>Gunther will drive, and Petra will take 'shotgun' position.
>>
>>4497540
>Gunther will drive, and Petra will take 'shotgun' position.
I'd vote this anyway, but since we don't have any hostile encounters there's not much reason to switch.
>>
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Ok, so... If we don't have hostile encounters, why not let Mantle carry the gun? He's definitely going to be more intimidating than either one, and having to shoot is the one with the better aim. Serious question.

Btw captcha don't want let me post e.e
>>
>>4497562
>>4497562
Well, you aren't guaranteed any hostile encounters, but if you get lost, or need to double back (depending on the Driving Test rolls as well as how you deal with the random encounters respectively) then you will need to roll again, potentially for a hostile encounter. Odds are still against it, but there is a small chance that you could still see some action.

I am going to spend the night fine-tuning this encounter, and touching up the narrative, so we can start strong right out of the gate for the third thread.



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