Bay 12 Games Forum
Finally... => Forum Games and Roleplaying => Topic started by: mainiac on September 04, 2015, 09:21:57 pm
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Way back when, being the boss was an old mans game. It was a fairly simple matter, you'd blackmail your way into a strongarm position, loot the pension fund for all it was worth and walk away with other people's savings while someone else stepped forward for their turn. These days, it takes a bit of a more hands on approach. You aint nobody until someone tries to kill you, like they say. See this scar here? Deal gone right, cost me three toes too but no pain no gain. See that one? Deal gone wrong. Or have I got them mixed up again? Hm... but what was I saying? I wasn't supposed to be talking about myself. Who was I supposed to be talking about? You asked me about one of the scrappy kids I crossed paths with way back when...
Name: (Whatever you feel is appropriate for the 23rd century)
Age: (Somewhere in the 20s and 30s)
Gender: (Yes please is not an answer)
Hometown: (Presumably on earth? There's no hyperdrive or FTL in this setting)
Starting investments: (One of these: Hydroponics / Nuclear materials / Armaments / Energy / Metals / Polymers / Finance / Real Estate / Recreation and Media / Private Security)
((I thought it would be neat to make a suggestion game to play around with a futuristic setting and the intrigues that money will inspire when the technologies people use are very different. After the starting five questions are answered I'll provide information more information about the setting, I just want you guys to answer these questions while you are still in the dark. After all... we are all in the dark to some extent when we start any venture.))
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Damnit, this looks like it would be amazing as a multiplayer game, but alas, it is a suggestion game, I'm still gonna play though. Question, have rockets increased in speed to the point that interplanetary travel time is reduced to a few months? Two
Centuries is a long time.
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Name: Jefferson Franklin Tyler (Named after the three greatest presidents)
Age: 28-ish?
Gender: Male
Hometown: Boulder, Colorodo
investment: Private Security (or Weaponised Nuclear Hydroponics)
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Name: Jefferson Franklin Tyler
Age: 28-ish?
Gender: Male
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Investment: Private Security
+1
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Question, have rockets increased in speed to the point that interplanetary travel time is reduced to a few months? Two
Centuries is a long time.
Interplanetary trips dont take centuries with rockets already? Even getting to pluto only took New Horizons 9 years. Most spaceflight is going to be to either the moon, Mars, asteroid belt or Jupiter and they're all reachable in about a year, tops. But that's me getting ahead of myself...
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Question, have rockets increased in speed to the point that interplanetary travel time is reduced to a few months? Two
Centuries is a long time.
Interplanetary trips dont take centuries with rockets already? Even getting to pluto only took New Horizons 9 years. Most spaceflight is going to be to either the moon, Mars, asteroid belt or Jupiter and they're all reachable in about a year, tops. But that's me getting ahead of myself...
eh, it's world building. We didn't just waken from a two century coma after all. We know about spaceflight, at least a little.
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I think you misunderstood my statement, what I was asking if we (The humans) have had any significant advances which could speed up spaceflight.
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((Still not started yet but decided to start giving information about the world. I'm going to give a little time before I put up new background questions to see if any alternative character suggestions get more popular. The main character is going to be from Boulder though. Well, born there anyway. Before y'know...))
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2263
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Boulder Colorado, residential district
(http://cache.wists.com/thumbnails/3/73/373013aa1e6de7ae08171150cc823176-orig)
Growing up you never stepped outside. Your parents told you that at a very young age, just like everyone else's did. Dont go outside, the air will eat right through your skin. But you had a picture in your home growing up, taken of Boulder from an airplane flying just outside the edge of town. You can see your apartment right there in the middle. Floor three hundred and eleven, the one with the bit of red. Most people dont get an apartment on the edge of town but you were lucky like that. It wasn't always the prettiest view...
(http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100719031948/finalfantasy/images/0/09/Wasteland_concept.jpg)
But you had an apartment with honest to god windows to the outside and you were proud of that. Mom and Dad paid good money every week so they could see the mountains whenever the rains and fog were lifted. Which wasn't too often of course.
They say it wasn't always like that. Two hundred years ago, everyone had an apartment with windows made of glass. But that was before the world wars. Well before the really bad ones anyway...
(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/2/26/FO4_Trailer_02.10.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/300?cb=20150608204729)
Some people thought that the nukes would be the end of the world. Of course not. Hell, the nukes were just the warmup course before the really nasty weapons were ready. But life goes on. The survivors bury the dead and start building again. But the wars ripped the planet a new one and the outside wasn't safe anymore. That's where places like Boulder came from. Millions of people huddled in giant concrete mammoths to escape the radioactive rains and a whole world developed in the man made darkness...
(http://www.greggirard.com/content/gallery/GIrard_KWC_temple01.jpg)
(http://media2.coconuts.co/styles/article_header/s3/field/image/kowloon_walled_city_1.jpg?itok=WJS1Eep5)
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I think you misunderstood my statement, what I was asking if we (The humans) have had any significant advances which could speed up spaceflight.
((They have, but you spaceflight is probably going to be a bit outside your starting budget)).
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((I've decided that there are going to be 4 "historical" posts providing a background for the world and the story of Franklin's prior years. Each one will feature a life decision before the story skips forward a couple years again.))
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2264
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Being born in the cities, you were aware of the National Guard at a very young age. They had been a fixture in the cities for a long time. When the cities were rebuilt, people were promised a new future. The outside was too dangerous but they they were promised bright new cities of artificial light.
(http://www.storyofbing.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/ff3852_ponte_city_johannesburg.jpg)
After a while the land would be reclaimed and people would move back into the outside. But when the first land was detoxified, the government needed it for crops. And the farmers needed a place to live of course. And really the land should go to the people who deserved it the most, not a bunch of slum dwellers who contributed nothing to society. The years turned into decades and boys and girls became women and men who had never even seen the outside. Eventually the protests started. They never really had a goal, they just clogged the busiest corridors of the cities, creating an obstruction so their grievances would be known.
(https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSvAqzY9VmCxS8WEfTcfpC38r2HfPT8sRPzjwZRQG-JX1oW21L4)
Protests lead to riots...
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSzC0-D6Fnluom1TeDMIPhroDwO1zW8hgpLbcihV5Klv3GlxoMK)
And riots lead to bloodshed...
(http://orig10.deviantart.net/d7da/f/2013/274/7/5/summerglau1__1__by_onasknox-d6orf68.jpg)
Your grandparents can remember a time before the National Guard ran the cities. Your parents never could and by the time you were born they were a fact of life. But still... the Guard are all that stands between your city and chaos. Gangsters run amok in the old district. Bandits hide in the hills ready to attack the intercity convoys. "The Guard, First Line of Defense"
The guard only accepts recruits between their 18th and 19th birthdays. It's a matter of loyalty. It's a matter of commitment. It's a matter of being elite. The guard are the people who go on to become city security officers or join the military. At least you might see the outside before you die.
(http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/13500000/Starship-Troopers-starship-troopers-13578684-1024-768.jpg)
(...okay maybe these ones aren't looking too elite right now)
Of course for you, this is all ancient history. For you, the year is 2264 and like everyone your age you get an email reminding you that you can find out if you have what it takes to be in the national guard. What do you think of it?
A) The National Guard protects my city, I'm doing my part!
B) The National Guard are fascist scum, I'd rather join the rebels
C) Guardsmen, Rebels? Who gives a crap? The gangs in Oldtown, they really run this city
D) (Other suggestion)
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D) The National Guard is a Career path to Power. Everyone could use a retired Guard: City government, Corporate Security, even the Gangs recruit from there. But i have plans of my own ...
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I'm gonna count that as a vote for A but your motivations are noted.
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D) The National Guard is a Career path to Power. Everyone could use a retired Guard: City government, Corporate Security, even the Gangs recruit from there. But i have plans of my own ...
+1.
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D) Of course i'll join the guard. But i'm not doing any of that stupid grunt work and being put in harms way because others are to scared to face reality and bullets. I'll be the one to lead and make sure those under me see the next day. Slowly my name spread as one of the best officers the Guard had and even a legend in the streets as well as the outside world.
Turns out competant leadership is a highly prized commodity.
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I'll be the one to lead and make sure those under me see the next day.
I knew a guy who was in the army and while he was still in boot camp, he was already planning to be an officer. His Drill Instructor found out and gave him the callsign "Cupcake" because anyone who wanted to be an officer needed practice making people take him seriously.
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I'll be the one to lead and make sure those under me see the next day.
I knew a guy who was in the army and while he was still in boot camp, he was already planning to be an officer. His Drill Instructor found out and gave him the callsign "Cupcake" because anyone who wanted to be an officer needed practice making people take him seriously.
I understand that the grunts tend to respect an officer who worked up through the ranks a bit more than the other kind.
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"Ah, the Generals; they are numerous, but not good for much!"
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2266
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In 2264, you joined the Boulder City National Guard with the intention of working your way up through the ranks. Well it became clear pretty quick that was bullshit. You didn't have the political connections to make it on the officer track the easy way and you needed to be suicidally heroic to do it the hard way. You weren't a coward by any stretch but some of those guys... it was like they had nothing to live for. And honestly they might not.
But hey, BCNG wasn't too bad, it meant three square a day and even being enlisted would open some doors for you later on. Still you kept your eyes open and it turned out there was another way. Requisitions. At the end of the day the Guard needs things, food, engine parts, even entertainment, that the Feds dont provide. So they need requisitions to have people with the right skills to buy what they need from shady suppliers, even criminals. Meathead valor wont get the job done in Oldtown. Political connections wont open you any doors. You need people with skills, namely the art of the bribe and knowing how to run before the shooting starts. You took to it like fish to water.
Two years in requisitions wasn't enough time to make you an officer but it was enough time to prove yourself to the higher ups. You were going places. But as you looked to the future you realized you needed to start making choices. Well... it came down to the generals.
It had long been a fact that a successful general could be a celebrity among the troops.
(http://www.thesitcompost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/jenkins.jpg)
Newly promoted General Carl Jenkins, after his success in the Siege of Nagasaki
And celebrity is the pathway to the halls of power...
(http://www.tvjam.ru/uploads/videos/media_store/2014/12/26/19b9e7e1b2170f96fe91.jpg)
Secretary of State Carl Jenkins addressing the Forbes Council. Two years later he would be inaugurated as president.
But there's more then one popular general in the world and some of them take the more direct approach...
(http://www.slate.com/content/dam/slate/blogs/browbeat/2011/09/29/hugo_chavez_caption_contest/WhiteHouseDown_still_Capitol.jpg.CROP.article568-large.jpg)
The white house burns from artillery fire after the assassination of President Carl Jenkins
Backing a general who is willing to fight their way to the top can take you far. But backing the wrong horse can be dangerous to say the least. And so you had to think long and hard about what move to make next...
The Boulder City National Guard protected the city and the area around, but they lacked the heavy gear that made it safe to travel long distances from the city. The long distance patrol was handled by the US 17th infantry division...
(http://www.renegade-revolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Starship+Troopers+Invasion+troopers-677x381.png)
In their armor they could go swimming through acid on the way to the fight and then not even notice the bullets flying around them.
The US 17th infantry was commanded by General Henry Landry. You never had the chance to have an opinion on the guy before he snuffed it. The circumstances of his death were a bit murky. But when Landry bought the farm that the real politics got ugly. Boulder City National Guard worked closely with the 17th and they thought they had the right to name one of their own to replace Landry, Colonel Samantha Carter. Carter you knew a bit more, you'd even seen her face to face. She was a real soldier's general, always making sure the grunts were appreciated. You knew from your time in requisitions that Carter had greased all the right palms ahead of time and she had the friends in the 17th she needed to run the show. But letting Carter be in charge of the 17th didn't sit too well with Landry's old boss and ally, General Hugo Mendoza. Mendoza and Carter had been at each other's throats for years over the food the Feds divvied up to their respective cities. You knew how these things went down... there was going to be a fight. Maybe it's hometown vanity but it seemed obvious to you that Carter had the upper hand; she'd been prepping for this fight for years. So, what was your move?
A) The changing of the guard in the 17th means new billets will be opening up. With your connections in requisitions you could get yourself assigned to one of those new spots. After Carter kicks Mendoza's ass you can have a permanent spot in the 17th. That means leaving Boulder City behind and travelling the world.
B) Carter will be bringing people from the National Guard along with the 17th. You get yourself tagging along there and you can stay in the Guard and get on the officer track for sure while staying in Boulder.
C) Let other people go charging off, you have a cushy job in the guard. Dont rock the boat here, let other people get themselves killed playing politician. When they are dead, you can have their job.
D) You joined the guard to make connections and you've already made them. This isn't your fight. It's time to put in for reserve status so that you can start working as a private security contractor.
E) You joined the guard to meet the people who are really in charge and it's not any damn Colonel or General. You've spent two years pounding the streets in Oldtown and you know the movers and shapers there. Know where the real money is? "Private Security" in Oldtown.
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A) Travelling the World means we get connections on the international market. If we want to go big we need to get around.
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A) Travelling the World means we get connections on the international market. If we want to go big we need to get around.
+1 plus, it'll toughen us up. Cowardice has it's own risks. I just hope the Bugs and Goa'uld leave us alone.
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I agree with the above statement!
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PTW
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A) Travelling the World means we get connections on the international market. If we want to go big we need to get around.
+1
I'll be the one to lead and make sure those under me see the next day.
I knew a guy who was in the army and while he was still in boot camp, he was already planning to be an officer. His Drill Instructor found out and gave him the callsign "Cupcake" because anyone who wanted to be an officer needed practice making people take him seriously.
Or you can do the ROTC track. I always found it hilarious how the military had this "You need to get tough before we respect you" attitude but when a new officer comes in all they do is size them up and if their legit they back off. No prior experienced required for respect.
Then again the military has a very dog eat dog policy. No disrespect to those who fight though.
By the way traveling the world with the 7th infantry means we can charge extra for fencing goods. :)
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D) You joined the guard to make connections and you've already made them. This isn't your fight. It's time to put in for reserve status so that you can start working as a private security contractor.
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+1 plus, it'll toughen us up. Cowardice has it's own risks. I just hope the Bugs and Goa'uld leave us alone.
((NASA has discovered there is an asteroid near Klendathu on a collision course with earth. They believe it should impact within 100 million years if no action is taken!))
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"an army marches on its stomach"
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2267
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When you joined the 17th infantry you didn't expect a cushy ride and boy were you right. The old grunts had a name for the newbies, "packmules". Well, at least you got to shake the "cupcake" callsign.
(http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/1/285x214/188986_1.jpg)
"What's in the pack?" "Beans." "What else is in the pack?" "More beans."
It was hard slogging at first. The 17th had an even higher physical fitness requirement then the Guard and you were shocked to find out that 17th wasn't eating as well as the Guard when you signed up. It gave you a twinge of pride to know that your requisitions outfit in the Guard was doing a better job then these Feds. No wonder the 17th wanted Carter to take over.
After weeks of slogging your ways up and down the corridors of Boulder, you finally passed physical examination and got assigned your first patrol. You stood in the airlock nervous as a highschooler on prom night as the other soldiers around you made jokes about who was sleeping with who. Then the airlock opened and you stepped out into the broad new world. Furtively, you removed your goggles for a few minutes and looked at the outside world with your naked eyes for the first time.
(http://www.coastalbeauties.com/images/blog/Skincare/stock-footage-blazing-dry-hot-desert-sun-time-lapse.jpg)
Honest to god, I was standing right there and looking out more then a kilometer
As exciting as it was to see the Sun for the first time, you had signed up for a fight and it wasn't going to be a long wait. Three months into your time in the 17th, Colonel Bose called the whole outfit out to the parade yard, dressed in full uniform.
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01722/iran_1722753c.jpg)
There you get the news you've been waiting for and more. Colonel Carter just got named acting General of the 17th by the Governor. And she just came back from Washington with Big News. Carter comes out to the cheers of the 17th and tells them she knows what they've been putting up with, the bad food, the bullshit from the top and having their hands tied. She holds up a piece of paper, an executive order signed by the President himself. She read it out word for word and then summarized it succinctly:
"The 17th and our brothers in the Guard are authorized to secure the food supply of Boulder and bring the people responsible for stealing our food to justice. Boys, it's time for us to open a can whoop-ass on Mendoza!"
You cheered like everyone else at the announcement but later you couldn't help but think about the way the order was phrased. The 17th was ordered to enforce the Federal rationing laws and arrest anyone illegally redirecting food. But Mendoza was never mentioned by name even though everyone knew it was about him. After Landry snuffed it, Mendoza started shipping all of Boulder's food to Wichita instead so it didn't take a genius to see it was Mendozas the 17th was going to bring in alive or dead. So the President wanted Carter to take out Mendoza... but was covering his ass the whole time, not actually saying it. Fucking politics, everyone always covering their asses.
But still, your job was clear. Your job was you were going to slog a big fucking pack all the way to Wichita. Mendoza had hovercraft that made it too dangerous to send the tanks and planes. Instead the 17th sent small units like your to hump it all the way to Wichita, slowly picking off Mendozas forward posts. She was a smart one, that Carter. Mendoza finally got frustrated and sent his air power in at Colorado Springs, exactly where Carter was waiting for him to strike. You weren't at that battle but you hear the Boulder National Guard tore the hovercraft a new one...
(http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/firefly/images/6/64/Vlcsnap-14804.png/revision/latest?cb=20081008210545)
Hovercraft under artillery bombardment near Colorado Springs
After Colorado Springs, the way was wide open to Wichita and the 17th swept into the city with tanks leading the way and you enjoying the first car ride of your life. But Mendoza didn't go down easy. The siege of Wichita became brutal fighting in the depths of the city. Your squad only got fed most days because you knew how to trade for food with the "smugglers" who sold food that was "lost" from the convoys.
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y102/supcheese/themessage122.jpg)
When you finally got Tracy that tin of beans after the hungriest part of the siege, he opened it up expecting to find a snake inside. He said those cold beans were the best food he'd had in his life.
It was weeks of brutal fighting against the soldiers of Mendoza, the Wichita Guard, even gangs and bandits who worked as mercenaries for Mendoza. But block by block, the 17th cleared out Wichita. Then the news hit. Mendoza had blown his brains out but before he did, he gave an order for "mutually assured destruction". Missiles flew out from his compound east of Wichita carrying poison to the croplands of west Kansas. Within three days, the entire harvest was dead.
(http://www.bloomberg.com/image/ikdWyL4eezz4.jpg)
If I can't have it, nobody will.
The loss of everything you were fighting for hit you like 10 tons to the chest. The rest of the news was enough to make you feel downright suicidal. General Norris in Oklahoma saw his opportunity and seized it. He was moving north from Tulsa and the 3rd armored had just landed at Corpus Cristie to join him. The 3rd armored, fresh from crushing the insurgency in Columbia didn't hump it's supplies cross country like the 17th infantry. The 3rd armored brought it's whole damn supply depot with it in an Amphibious Nuclear LandKruzer. ANLs, they call them Anals because that's a lot more pleasant then what they'll do to you. Norris announced on the airwaves that any soldier of Carter or Mendoza who didn't surrender would be considered a traitor.
(http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/552824b16bb3f72c2528a776-480/hitler-gustav-railway-gun.jpg)
50,000 tons of American military might. Pointed at your hometown.
The 17th tried to retreat back to Boulder but the 26th Airborne took the city long before the 17th could make it. Norris sent the 3rd armored after Mendoza first which gave some of the 17th time to head towards Colorado Springs. There were a lot fewer of you in Colorado Springs then there was in Wichita. It was even rumored that Carter was dead for a while but when you are out on patrol you find her, very much alive. Although you couldn't say as much for the two dead bandits nearby. She is just sitting there, calmly, craddling her cracked helmet in her hands.
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQFS7tmbgdnVwAQmCw02veINGyjoz3tm3yUd5TIBVU_Yj2-4hg7)
You quickly removed your helmet and gave it to the general and then scrounged a helmet for yourself off a dead bandit. Carter thanked you tersely and just sat there a while, thinking. Finally she spoke but you never knew if the words were for your benefit or hers.
"About seven thousand left. Assuming Hong makes it through with the K-concentrate I have protein to feed them for two months. After that... well with thermal de-poly and the phosphorus from the 155s I can feed about two thousand on yeast for a while. Might feed a few more with banditry but that's going to be hard in the mountains. So about two thousand."
Carter never made eye contact with you but instead just stood up and shook her head before she took a hazmat cloak from a bandit and walked off into camp without you. "It's too much to ask you soldier... I know, I know."
Carter left you sitting alone in the moss covered hills outside Colorado Springs and wondering what there was left for you to do...
A) Head west into the mountains with Carter. There you can join the insurgency and wait for the day that Norris get's what's coming to him. Carter needs people with your skills in the lean years ahead.
B) Sneak back into Boulder. You can't live there under your old name but you know people in Oldtown who can give you a new identity for the right price.
C) Join a cave dweller community in the mountains. There are still people who hide out there, away from the government controlled cities. They could use a hired gun.
D) Leave the United States of North America. If you can pay a smuggler to sneak you into Asia or Europe you will be far enough away that the government wont care about some rebel from a lost cause.
E) Surrender. Norris might be willing to make use of his former enemies. Facing the music is the only way you might be able to legally live in the USNA.
F) Other suggestions.
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E. Our ambition's are to be the greatest mercenary leader and were not going to backdown from a fight. No man or woman who got to the top and stayed their backed down from fighting in polotics, war, buisness, or sports. Move with the Colonel but arrange a private meeting with one of Mendoza's units. Call a truce and use our combined assault to punch Norri's teeth down his throat. Who the hell does he think he is calling us traitors and inviting himself to a private party.
Oh and secretly hint to the Colonel that we need less moping and heroic action to kick Norris teeth in.
E. Surrender to General Norris with our unit but leave most of our food with Carter. Tell her were going to take him out from the inside.
While our unit surrenders we'll walk into the camp as a trader selling food. We'll sneak in with the best two soldiers we know have our back/are good at this and take out the general with a silenced weapon. Then sneak back into the trader and leave before the commotion is over. Then make it back to Carter and tell her if Norris is dead or not.
No way can we become a legit mercenary CEO if were an outlaw or not liked by our Government.
EDIT: Sorry didn't see that F. was taken.
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C) Join a cave dweller community in the mountains. There are still people who hide out there, away from the government controlled cities. They could use a hired gun
Common! Hard mode!
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But I want to have a Nationally recognized Mercenary company like Blackwater. Not some Deset pirates like the LAPD :(
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E. Our ambition's are to be the greatest mercenary leader and were not going to backdown from a fight. No man or woman who got to the top and stayed their backed down from fighting in polotics, war, buisness, or sports. Move with the Colonel but arrange a private meeting with one of Mendoza's units. Call a truce and use our combined assault to punch Norri's teeth down his throat. Who the hell does he think he is calling us traitors and inviting himself to a private party.
Oh and secretly hint to the Colonel that we need less moping and heroic action to kick Norris teeth in.
E. Surrender to General Norris with our unit but leave most of our food with Carter. Tell her were going to take him out from the inside.
While our unit surrenders we'll walk into the camp as a trader selling food. We'll sneak in with the best two soldiers we know have our back/are good at this and take out the general with a silenced weapon. Then sneak back into the trader and leave before the commotion is over. Then make it back to Carter and tell her if Norris is dead or not.
No way can we become a legit mercenary CEO if were an outlaw or not liked by our Government.
EDIT: Sorry didn't see that F. was taken.
+1.
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A) geurilla it up in this business. Norris will fall. They always do.
Also, well written back story stuff. Nicely done.
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C. Because fuck that. America is a fucken wasteland now, especially with most of the crops gone, there will be lean years, better to go to europe, were good experienced soldiers come in handy as mercenaries. Then when we have our mercenary outfit we come back and help Carter if she is still alive that is.
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C. Because fuck that. America is a fucken wasteland now, especially with most of the crops gone, there will be lean years, better to go to europe, were good experienced soldiers come in handy as mercenaries. Then when we have our mercenary outfit we come back and help Carter if she is still alive that is.
She won't be. Besides a high risk assasination mission sounds like what naked snake would do. An we all know how Big Boss turned out to be the best Merc. ever. Hell the fucker has a Nuke at his base to scare the U.S and the USSR.
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What? Who is Big Boss and who is Naked Snake? O_o
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I gotta say, I was not expecting surrender to be such a popular choice.
C. Because fuck that. America is a fucken wasteland now, especially with most of the crops gone, there will be lean years, better to go to europe, were good experienced soldiers come in handy as mercenaries. Then when we have our mercenary outfit we come back and help Carter if she is still alive that is.
Just in case you haven't guessed... europe is not exactly doing great either.
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I gotta say, I was not expecting surrender to be such a popular choice.
C. Because fuck that. America is a fucken wasteland now, especially with most of the crops gone, there will be lean years, better to go to europe, were good experienced soldiers come in handy as mercenaries. Then when we have our mercenary outfit we come back and help Carter if she is still alive that is.
Just in case you haven't guessed... europe is not exactly doing great either.
I thought my custom suggestion of infiltration and assasination was winning. Did i miss something?
What? Who is Big Boss and who is Naked Snake? O_o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_3:_Snake_Eater
Check up on that links plot. Basically a guy code named snake kills a Soviet Colonel, kills his mentor who defected (although he didn't like it), and destroys a nuclear launching device known as metal gear. Which is sort of akin to the ANL.
Ninja'd. Well at least people want to fight. I'm okay with Guirilla fighting.
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A) geurilla it up in this business. Norris will fall. They always do.
Also, well written back story stuff. Nicely done.
+1.
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I thought my custom suggestion of infiltration and assasination was winning. Did i miss something?
Derp, reading comprehension fail on my part, I thought you meant surrender with the unit then try to become an assassin. Although Boromir wants you to slightly elaborate on your plan or I'm not going to consider it a real suggestion:
(http://cdn.meme.am/instances2/500x/1724012.jpg)
I mean... a guy in Norris' position doesn't exactly invite strangers in for tea without checking their credentials...
Okay vote tally right now:
2 for assasin (3man75, hawk132)
2 for guerrilla (playergamer, orzak)
2? for cave dweller (UkrainianRanger, ghazkul)
1? for Europe (ghazkul)
Ghazkul seemed to mean europe but he said "C" which is heading for the caves
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In my mind General Norris is haivng the 3rd armour moving from another location. That invovles setting up camps or taking over small outposts.
Us and the small unit would walk in and pretend to be traders selling food to the troops and gas (were good at fencing). We'll have someone that we can trust do the bartering and keep the attention of the guards on them while we sneak out from the back of the trading caravan and into Norris's tent. Then shoot him with a tranquilized weapon and then go back to the caravan as stealthily as we had left it.
Then we'll move out before anyone notices the General just go nipped. At no point do we talk to him rather we just sell to his grunt soldiers who are probally hungry and in need of gas for their tanks/trucks.
With him dead the army will have to move back because their legitimacy is dead. Nor can they pin the blame on anyone specific since no one knows exactly who did it. Colonel Carter gets promoted and we become a Mercenary CEO with Carter giving us her approval. It's always nice for a General to like you for that "back in the day you saved my bacon".
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What? Who is Big Boss and who is Naked Snake? O_o
All I'm going to say is, "WHOA-OHHHHH!"
I gotta say, I was not expecting surrender to be such a popular choice.
C. Because fuck that. America is a fucken wasteland now, especially with most of the crops gone, there will be lean years, better to go to europe, were good experienced soldiers come in handy as mercenaries. Then when we have our mercenary outfit we come back and help Carter if she is still alive that is.
Just in case you haven't guessed... europe is not exactly doing great either.
I thought my custom suggestion of infiltration and assasination was winning. Did i miss something?
What? Who is Big Boss and who is Naked Snake? O_o
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_3:_Snake_Eater
Check up on that links plot. Basically a guy code named snake kills a Soviet Colonel, kills his mentor who defected (although he didn't like it), and destroys a nuclear launching device known as metal gear. Which is sort of akin to the ANL.
MGS3 Snake Eater is the first in the series as far as story goes. Shagohod is not a Metal Gear. It is nuclear-capable, but far from a Metal Gear. The first Gear doesn't come around until the late 80s or early 90s, after Big Boss becomes a monster.
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It's a bit putting the cart before the horse though... You dont even know where the man is, he could be in DC or gone back to Columbia for all you know. He's gonna have bodyguards. (Carter was alone because she was running for her life but Norris is on the up and up.) Military camps dont generally let people wander around the officers quarters without ID.
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Fuck it everybody wants to join Carter, fine...lets join Carter then...
Herpaderp, just noticed i meant D not c...ohwell. Anyhooow Carter gets my vote simply because sticking this shit out will be hilarious fail especially since im wondering how mainic wants to bring us back to a CEO position of a Private Security firm from being guerillas in the Wastelands of the US.
Also yes i guessed that Europe is a Wasteland, but since Europe is less prone to complete desertification than the US (Great Plains Dustbowl and half of it being already a desert), i had hoped for somewhat more stable if more warlike conditions...basically back to the Middle Ages for Europe...except with more snow and nuclear winter (seeing as a nuclear war would prolly melt the pole caps, cool the gulf stream and cause eternal winter-> at least in Europe)
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im wondering how mainic wants to bring us back to a CEO position of a Private Security firm from being guerillas in the Wastelands of the US.
When did I ever say you were going to be a CEO? :p
These days, it takes a bit of a more hands on approach.
spaceflight is probably going to be a bit outside your starting budget
I mean, you can call yourself CEO if you want.
XD
You guys still liking the choice of Private Security? It's not like you can go back in time and be born into wealth and privilege but you could change your starting investments.
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IMO, Armaments can be a nice switch.
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nah. I like this just fine,
Besides, it's post apocalyptic. We've bounced back from worse. We're building back story for someone on the rise. Carter is not the main character, she's part of our backstory.
Get it together man.
Also, America is the Breadbasket of the world. the desertification in game was due to nuclear holocaust and worse. Sit back, relax, and learn your future history. We'll figure out what's what as we go.
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nah. I like this just fine,
Besides, it's post apocalyptic. We've bounced back from worse. We're building back story for someone on the rise. Carter is not the main character, she's part of our backstory.
Get it together man.
Also, America is the Breadbasket of the world. the desertification in game was due to nuclear holocaust and worse. Sit back, relax, and learn your future history. We'll figure out what's what as we go.
It has been done before in history where General's bodyguards fail to detect an assassin or they fit in by taking someones ID. Hell were in the same army so no one can tell our no name face/ID from the other grunts. But okay.
I'll go with A since it'll be nice to see this guerrilla war through. Plus who wouldn't want to work for someone who fought in an insurgency campaign against a larger more disciplined army with tanks?
Hell most Mercs. are on their own in actuality so having a boss who can give you some advice would be nice.
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ptw
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“Icarus flew too close to the sun, but at least he flew.”
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2268
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The day the General came in from the west, Colonel Bose called your company into the mess hall tent. You looked around and saw that your company is down to about a platoons worth of soldiers, demoralized and hungry.
(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZBgqiCC2UMk/hqdefault.jpg)
The Colonel was blunt, times were hard and they wouldn't get easy soon. There food wouldn't last long split among everyone who was left. Those who wanted to could take two weeks of food and head east. The General stepped forward to speak and you could still see the injuries from that morning with some nasty looking corrosion from the atmosphere exposure she took. She thanked the troops in few words and said she didn't think anyone could have done more. After that she had nothing left to say. There was an awkward silence as soldiers started slipping on their helmets, getting their rations and leaving. There were a lot of faces you never saw again. After a while, just a handful of you were left lingering around with the General and Colonel. Feeling like someone needed to say something you spoke loud enough for everyone to hear.
"What time do we break camp heading west?"
The pair of them stared for a second, as if amazed you knew how to speak. The general bit her lip before she answered "2200 sharp, got to get a good night's march in before the eyes in the sky realize we're gone."
It was a hard trip through the mountains but the old hands of the 17th knew this land. They pointed out the familiar sights to one another while the new inductees from the National Guard like you just tried to keep up. They didn't mind taking their times to help the Guardsmen keep up though. You'd stopped being packmules a long time ago in Wichita. Now you were men and women who'd been through hell together. After a couple nights marching you arrive at a box canyon just before dawn. You hunker down for the day but one of the old 17th hands tells you to take a good look at the sun; you wont be seeing it for a while. You and a few other guardsmen check the satellite tables to make sure it's in the clear then head back to the summit.
(http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5567ed90ecad04c80a23ad5b-480/kurdish-peshmerga-fighters-mosul.jpg)
You take one last long look towards the east and the morning sun. You stare at the land that might have given you plenty but now is nothing but poison. You see the sun for one last time and then it's time to make the last march and head underground.
(http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/a5e2d61e9e53fe0ced19a1f1c0336157db8a626f.jpg)
There are mining tunnels in the Rocky Mountains. You had known that, but you'd never realized just how damn many there were. The caves ran for more kilometers then you could count.
(http://www.mining-recruitment-jobs.com/africa-jobs//wordpress_miningglobal/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/underground_mining_jobs_in_africa271.jpg)
You lost track of time as you walked single file along endless mining tunnels with old broken rails. You realized that this tunnel was longer then even the corridors that looped around the city limits of Boulder. You used to think that the cities were the greatest structures ever built by mankind. As you walked along the century old passageways you were amazed by what the world must have been like before, that people would make something as large as these tunnels and then not even remember them. Finally you arrived at a space that isn't man made.
(http://www.sondoongcave.org/photos/sondoongcave-19.jpg)
For someone who spent most of their life in the city, the wide open caverns felt like being back outdoors. And the old hands from the 17th said it wasn't even the biggest cavern.
Despite the amazing size of the cavern, there wasn't much time to explore. There would be months of hard work ahead of you to stay alive. Staying alive meant growing a yeast crop before the K-concentrate ran out. That meant heading back into the old mining tunnels and finding coal for the yeast then extracting that coal with improvised tools. There were long hours of back breaking work stirring the plastic barrels that were all you had for yeast vats. Artillery rounds needed to be disassembled with crude tools to get at the life giving phosphorus they contained. Communications had to be run through kilometers of corridor so that scouts on the outside could talk with base camp and listen in to broadcasts from the outside world. But it was work with a purpose and that purpose kept you going and maybe kept you sane.
Finally after months, optimism started to return to the camp. The yeast had warded away the spectre of starvation. You'd be alright until you ran out of phosphorus. There were just under a thousand of Carter's Renegades so you should be able to last a few years. And the communications team finally got you patched in to a fiber optic cable. You went from being completely in the dark about the outside world to suddenly having the entire internet at your disposal.
(http://nextconnecttech.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Information-Superhighway.jpg)
It's a metaphor
Looking through the old news it became apparent that Norris had given half hearted chase to your rebels for a couple days but had soon pulled back. He wasn't really even interested in Boulder, he was already looking towards the next fight. The President had belatedly questioned General Norris' attack on Carter and Mendoza but didn't rescind the arrest warrant on Carter. The entire four state region of Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas was declared under martial law by Presidential decree. But the President didn't have troops on the ground to actually enforce the decree. Norris was openly defying the presidential order. Another civil war was brewing, this one nationwide.
A few of the troops talked about helping in the fight against General Norris but there wasn't much you could do and as Carter put it "Fuck the president, he can rot in hell." There was nothing to do but watch from the sidelines. Norris called for President White to negotiate and resolve the crisis peacefully but while he said that on the airwaves, the rebellions in Louisiana and Missouri suddenly had a surge of manpower in the form of "volunteers" from the Norris camp. With his administration looking weak, President White flew out to the border states to try and resolve the crisis. In news that might have shocked you a couple years ago, President White was kidnapped by his own generals while visiting the Baton Rogue state house. White was impeached in absentia and lacking a quorum in the electoral college, Congress declared a new president by acclimation...
(http://th07.deviantart.net/fs44/PRE/f/2009/146/9/7/yes_he_can_chuck_norris_by_zoking16.jpg)
Cordell Norris, 127th President of the United States
It was not the happiest night in the world when you got news of General Norris' inaugeration. It was probably a good thing no one at Cavern Forge (as you called your new home) had any alcohol or things might have gotten really ugly.
The next day, you got summoned to a briefing with the General. You were surprised, Generals dont usually brief Corporals.
(http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ld5xdceubY1qeejdqo1_500.png)
The general didn't have anything to say about the election but she said that it was time to send an expedition back to topside. Cavern Forge wasn't going to starve anytime soon but to do anything more then survive the 17th needed supplies. Norris was distracted so now was the perfect time to start sending teams back to the surface. When it came to rusting up supplies, you were the officer for the job. By the way, congratulations on your promotion, Lieutenant. Take a couple days to come up with your mission plan and tell me who you need for the job.
You return to your quarters with your head spinning from the promotion from lowly Corporal to officer. What's the plan going to be... Lieutenant?
A) No plan at all, you've noticed that every major decision in your life so far has been you going with your first option so now you are reduced to literally living in a cave, eating goddamn fungus so you need to STOP PICKING A EVERYTIME
B) The fighting in the east means that Norris' troops aren't expecting an attack from the west. Organize a strike team to go scout the surface and find a military target that has what we need. Then make a commando raid and take what we want by force
C) There are people who have been living in these mountains a lot longer then we have. We have abundant manpower and could offer them protection from Bandits and Federal troops in exchange for their assistance
D) Norris isn't paying any attention at all to Colorado. We could send teams in to Boulder and Grand Junction and make contact with the gangs there. They need mercenaries and we can deliver cans of whoop ass by the truckload.
E) There's no point in exposing ourselves to Norris' troops. We need supplies and we need to undermine his regime. The way to do both of those is to take the food that is owed us from the civilian population in west Kansas. Norris will look weak and we get what we need without a fight.
F) Other suggestions
G) Other other suggestions, sky is the limit
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E. Viva the revulocion.
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I like C. Assist the locals in return for assistance from the locals.
...
What was wrong with A every time before? I thought they were the best options for our charcter - they built character: honor, ambition, courage, hard experience.
Our guy now knows how to work the supply chain and finagle the system, how to fight and lead, how to survive on next to nothing. He knows hope and defeat, and hope. He is cynical (of those in power), and politically aware. And he's no gang stooge, no cold opportunist, and no political flunky.
Edit: oh, and he's shown a certain degree of one of my favorite virtues: loyalty. At great personal cost.
I like what we've become, myself :P
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A. Because duh.
C.
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E
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Well right now the vote is tied so I take it that the plan is to take what you want by force while killing anyone else who takes what they want by force.
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Well right now the vote is tied so I take it that the plan is to take what you want by force while killing anyone else who takes what they want by force.
Raids on government facilities and proNorris factions?
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Going to change my Vote to B (Fighting Norri's military while his guys are busy fighting whoever it is in the west). We'll make a good impact, get valuable equipment, new troops at gunpoint, and military grade rations.
Or C since having friends in the mountain homes can net us food and cover from Norris. Plus we can get them to spread the word that Norris blows and is most likely responsible for a shadow coup.
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I'm going to give a little more time for a tiebreaker vote though.
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I'm going to give a little more time for a tiebreaker vote though.
How much time is that?
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I'm writing the history of the 4th world war right now. Having trouble finding a decent pic to work for an ANL going into the water though. For some reason the Nazi's never drove a Gustav into the ocean despite that it would have been FREAKIN AWESOME.
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I'm writing the history of the 4th world war right now. Having trouble finding a decent pic to work for an ANL going into the water though. For some reason the Nazi's never drove a Gustav into the ocean despite that it would have been FREAKIN AWESOME.
Maybe photoshop?
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There wasn't any photoshop during WWII...
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There wasn't any photoshop during WWII...
There is now. Also not to rush but I am dying to see how this war plays out. Love your writing man :D
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I'm writing; I'm writing.
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((History of the 4th world war to provide background to the Norris Presidency, I'll make a further post later with a player choice. Also, I really need to correct this trend of longer and longer posts.))
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1940
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In May 1940 the guns roared to life in western Europe again. Although outnumbered, German troops attacked their better equipped opponents in an aggressive strategy. Group B feinted north into the Benelux while Group A attacked in the south, allowing for an encirclement over over a million French and allied soldiers, the largest encirclement in history up until that point and for more then a century afterwards. In a month and a half, France fell and the entire world was shaken. War would never be the same again...
Across the Atlantic Ocean, the American industrial giant was shaken from it's distrust of European affairs. A month after France surrendered, the American Congress passed the Two Oceans Navy Act. Abandoning the principle of mutual disarmament that had underpinned the Washington naval treaties, the act called for an unprecedented expansion in military power. The tonnage of the American navy would soon surpass that of all other nations combined.
(http://www.warbirdsresourcegroup.org/images/Mark_Allen_M3/1944_12_Ulithi_1280x_zpsa29ec064.jpg)
A photo of part of the US 3rd fleet in 1944 with six fleet carriers it represented about a quarter of American carrier strength.
At the time of this photo, the opposing forces to the 3rd and 7th fleet consisted of a single fleet carrier and escorts.
The commission of the first Essex class carrier in 1942 was the start of three centuries of American rule of the oceans. With it's control of the Oceans, the entire world was within reach of the American military.
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(http://i1.wp.com/www.defensemedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Afghan-Special-Forces.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999)
American intervention in Africa
(http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2013/05/30/article-2333402-1A0FA9D0000005DC-150_634x400.jpg)
American intervention in Asia
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2173
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American control of the oceans would be seriously challenged for the first time during the 4th world war. Still reeling from nuclear fallout and manmade pathogens, the US military could not afford to maintain overwhelming supremacy in the face of the People's Republic of China naval buildup. With their control of east Asia, the PLAN was able to create small, stealth missile craft by the tens of thousands. Although unable to directly challenge the American navy, the nuclear armament of these craft made the Pacific ocean too dangerous for American naval interdiction.
(http://files.abovetopsecret.com/images/member/5a0bbb1c14e1.jpg)
The Chinese occupation of Hawaii was the first major invasion of the United States in nearly three centuries. In June 2173 Chinese paratroopers landed near San Francisco and the world was held like in May 1940...
(http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/siteupload/2015/07/red-dawn-paratroopers.jpg)
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2175
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The Chinese offensive bogged down in the Rocky Mountains as the US resorted to hiding nuclear weapons on the routes through the mountain to foil any Chinese advance. Strained by their conflicts in Asia, the Chinese were content to deny the Pacific coast while they constructed a fleet capable of matching the US Navy. Knowing that they could not match Chinese production, the American navy looked for an unconventional way to recapture the Pacific coast...
(http://www.igorstshirts.com/blog/conceptships/2012/jaime_jones/jj_06.jpg)
USS Enterprise, First Amphibious Nuclear LandKruzer in 2095
At first the LandKruzer was assumed to be a purely terrestrial weapon. The Chinese assumed that it was part of the American counter offensive towards Los Angelos and not a cost effective platform. Between it's armor and anti-nuclear rail gun defenses it was nearly indestructible but a single massive railgun platform could not justify the massive cost of the beast. But after it's baptism in fire at Yuma, the first LandKruzer offensive went not toward Los Angelos or San Diego but towards the strategically unimportant town of Ensenada. Then, the Chinese and world media lost track of the behemoths completely. Soon after the true military use of the LandKruzers became clear...
(http://a57.foxnews.com/global.fncstatic.com/static/managed/876/493/Railgunblast.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
The LandKruzer rail gun armament was capable of operating beneath hundreds or even thousands of meter of water. Slow moving torpedo could never achieve the saturation effect of rapid cruise missiles. Hundreds of submarines could launch thousands of nuclear torpedos at the LandKruzer and all would be disabled by railguns kilometers from the vehicle. The railgun system was in turn a danger to any submarine or surface ship nearby. Two years earlier Chinese light craft had made the Pacific unsafe for American surface vessels. Now the tables were turned with the Chinese ships forced out of the Eastern Pacific. With the 7th Fleet once again interdicting Chinese air traffic American forces were able to recapture the west coast...
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSGI7I654ZBatNgaYHX0po7O23LmFbny8YE7J6BGHlI2YX0m21F)
Battle of Los Angeles
Then once again an offensive was launched across the Pacific...
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRfntjfgX0ZY7inDJqQD_YMPyl_J82jk08ft3u_FZD2-H_zkUQt)
Everything old is new again.
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2178
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With the occupation of Beijing by American and Indian soldiers, the presidents of the two countries declared that the new world order would prevent the mass destruction of the third and forth world wars from being repeated. Stringent bans on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons were declared in the New Delhi Accord. However the real shift came with the strident new doctorines espoused by American Secretary of State Carl Jenkins.
The US military was at it's peak strength but the American population was exhausted by war and famine.
(http://www.reformation.org/en-dust-bowl3.jpg)
Another long war would be uncertain. The only way to maintain security would be to allow no new threats to arise. Canada and Mexico would no longer be allowed to conduct independent foreign policies. The shipworks of East Asia that were devastated by the war would not be allowed to be rebuilt. Not only would Americas former enemies not be allowed to develop the capability for LandKruzer technology but even allies would be prevented from developing their own LandKruzers. The past century and a half had been defined by American hegemonic leadership. Jenkins defined a new world order of unilateral military domination where no one, friend or foe, would be allowed to stand as equal. Even as America struggled with lawlessness and hunger at home, it's military would continue to be able to enforce a one sided peace across the entire Earth...
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I'm a little lost.
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Just providing a little 22nd century background to put the next set of events in context. Am I going to far back?
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I don't know I just thought it was a bit out of the blue. I was expecting an update on our guerrilla war/personal character story.
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The next post will deal with the Norris presidency and the return of Carter's Renegades to the surface. I just need to take care of some work stuff before I write that up. Maybe tonight? Maybe tomorrow?
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There had long been legends of the mountain men west of Boulder. They never set foot in civilization in their lives and didn't fear the acid rains of mutagenic spores. It was said that even before the nuclear war started the mountain men had fled into the mountains to practice their strange religion that had made them outcasts hundreds of years ago...
(https://33.media.tumblr.com/2ac124dabcd6c2e5d5c563a34d64ef49/tumblr_ms295wkbgW1r8h0lzo1_500.gif)
Note the highly anachronistic headgear and the fact that he is standing outside without his eyes bleeding
Your goal was to meet these wildmen. To that end you headed northwest into the heart of bandit company. But instead of bandits you find a scout from a civilian caravan heading across the Rocky Mountains.
(http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110422110238/fallout/images/thumb/d/df/FOOK_Ranger_Patrol_Armor_MkII.jpg/500px-FOOK_Ranger_Patrol_Armor_MkII.jpg)
The traders are wary of your well armed group but eager to have well armed company as they head near bandit company. In fact they're even open to the idea of long term employment. When you explain your intention to scout of bandit company they are impressed but wary. The caravan master says she'd consider contracting your group for regular escort services between Colorado Springs and Provo but need the chance to evaluate your capabilities.
Five days later you see raiders approaching and Captain Hawkins orders your squad into and ambush position while you ask the caravan master to have her people take cover...
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcREgO4jnrem00bYjlA_DLwvXmRO7aLnreNXOrRzSo3Ev2yx8SQr)
The scourge of the wastes.
The bandits mistook your group for just another caravan, not professional soldiers. Your squad makes short work of them and reminds them of the punishment for terrorism...
(http://johndenugent.us/images/crucifixion-many-rebels-roman.jpg)
If the condemned are well hydrated before crucifixtion, they can survive long enough for atmosphere or rain exposure to cause festering acidic sores across the entire body.
The stark reminder of American military law and American military professionalism makes the caravan master agree to a long term arrangement and recommend your services to some of the other caravans in Provo. Provo proves lucrative, you convince several caravan masters that the 17th can make the Colorado Springs-Provo route safe again. You have secured employment for about 200 members of the 17th Infantry. Given the depleted condition of the 17th, 200 servicemembers is about all you can equip for combat at the moment so you dont start looking into other routes.
On the trip back from Provo however you are disappointed that you haven't achieved your main goal of contacting the mountain men. They are the real masters of survival and are the ones that could let you permanently stay outside of General Norris' reach. The traders all seem to think that the mountain men are real, some swear they've seen them. But the mountain men are extremely shy around outsiders, no surprise since they live in the heart of bandit country. But you did hear a couple accounts of traders who were lost and alone in mountain men country who claim to have been saved by the hermits. It seems like the only way to make contact is to go alone and unarmed. So you leave your weapons and armor with your squad and head north with nothing but a hazmat suit...
(http://orig01.deviantart.net/d1b7/f/2014/019/8/d/fremen_s_by_foxinshadow-d72v87y.png)
For days you wander without seeing another soul. There's no food or water in these parts. There aren't even bandit trails, these mountains are too lifeless for there to be anyone to steal from. It's enough to make you think that the mountain men are a myth, but so many people insist they are real.
At night you are awoken with a shock by a voice booming in the dark cave you have taken shelter in.
"HELLO- oh sorry that was a little bit loud, let me dial it back."
Confused and disoriented you turn on your light and frantically look around but no one is there.
"Who's there?"
"Maybe I'll answer that, maybe I wont. First you tell me what you are doing so far from Boulder, Corporal Tyler." You can't pin down where the voice is coming from and the cave is definitely empty.
"How do you know my name?"
"Facebook facial recognition, duh. Why do you even need to ask something that obvious?"
"The mountain men have Facebook?"
"The mountain men have a lot of things, Jeff. Look, what is a National Guardsmen doing wandering out in the mountains?"
"Uh... I didn't update my Facebook profile in a while, I'm not in the National Guard anymore. I'm with the 17th Infantry and we were hoping to make contact with the mountain men."
"17th Infantry? The guys who got their asses kicked by President Norris?"
"Yeah."
"Huh... stick around for a while, I'll get back to you."
Then the voice says nothing else and you are stuck in an empty cave in the middle of the night with only yourself for company. You investigate but cant ever find the speakers the sound must have come from.
Hour pass...
More hours pass...
You fall asleep again. When you wake up you aren't in a cave anymore.
(http://images.bit-tech.net/blog/2010/09/my-first-lan-party/2-406x200.jpg)
The temple of the mountain men located deep under the Rocky Mountains.
The mountain men are willing to let you stay for a few days but dont seem very interested in making a deal with you. Your questions about their survival are met with a shrug and a nonchalant answer of "geothermal power". You insist that they must need food, must need materials from the outside world and eventually one of them rolls her eyes at you and shows you that they do not.
(http://www.voxeljet.de/typo3temp/pics/167d365f79.jpg)
A hundred years ago, 3D printers like these were commonpleace
(http://assets.inhabitat.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/01/verticrop-farming-vancouver-lead-537x387.jpg)
The energy consumption on indoor farming has always been prohibitive but it is sometimes a viable technology.
This puts a damper on your plans. The mountain men have everything you want, but they dont want anything you have. You wont be able to learn about mountain survival from them unless you can figure out something to offer in trade.
A) Give up and go home with your tail between your legs, at least you made the deal with the caravans
B) (suggestion for a way to get what you want from the mountain men)
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C.
"Hold on. I busted my fricking ass for like 4 years stopping people in food riots. Years that made me cringe at my own humaity for beating up on and even killing poor people that were hungry or trying to feed their kids.
An you guys just open this up and say "Well we have geothermal power and food growing.". Do you even know how much of our species is left in these cities? Not much and less with all the god damn military coups going on.
Seriously I need to know why you guys haven't come to save the day with this stuff, you'd easilly win any election and the stomachs of thousands of people."
*Sob*
"Do you even know what life is out their? You lot are..ya know what. Forget I came here and i'm forgetting this. I'll just tell anyone that the great mountain people have separated themselves from the rest of the world and don't give a frick about humanity. Screw everybody.
Oh and just so you know next time i'm kicking Norris's ass , you'll see through facebook dammit!"
((Leave them with that and conquer them later. Wow these guys suck.))
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C.
"Hold on. I busted my fricking ass for like 4 years stopping people in food riots. Years that made me cringe at my own humaity for beating up on and even killing poor people that were hungry or trying to feed their kids.
An you guys just open this up and say "Well we have geothermal power and food growing.". Do you even know how much of our species is left in these cities? Not much and less with all the god damn military coups going on.
Seriously I need to know why you guys haven't come to save the day with this stuff, you'd easilly win any election and the stomachs of thousands of people."
*Sob*
"Do you even know what life is out their? You lot are..ya know what. Forget I came here and i'm forgetting this. I'll just tell anyone that the great mountain people have separated themselves from the rest of the world and don't give a frick about humanity. Screw everybody.
Oh and just so you know next time i'm kicking Norris's ass , you'll see through facebook dammit!"
((Leave them with that and conquer them later. Wow these guys suck.))
I don't think we need to be quite so ... butthurt.
I can think of half a dozen very understandable reasons they didn't come to the surface to help: WWIII, WWIV, food riots, constant warfare, bandits, the assassination of president Jenkins, the kidnapping of the next president, the rise of president Norris, ANLs. It's chaos up there, and one does not expose a long hidden bastion of civilization to anarchy and military aggression. Few would have been saved, and much would have been lost.
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seriously those guys are right. Look at the world and what the guys out there made out of it. Why should they fix the mistakes of other? We should ask them for their long-term plans.
Also still thinking we should beat it to europe. Maybe in Europe things are better. Going there with the Remnants of the Renegades and come back with the Redcoats to kick ass and take names.
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Let's Ask the mountain men why they invited us inside, and why they allowed us to see all this. Then, ask if they will be willing to teach us some survival skills. We'd be willing to rotate people through some kind of workforce and do grunt work and the like. Tell them we simply don't understand them enough to know if there is anything we can offer in exchange, except loyalty. We don't forget our friends, nor do we forget the kindness of strangers, and if circumstances change, we will lend support to the mountain man cause, within reason.
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"Seriously I need to know why you guys haven't come to save the day with this stuff, you'd easilly win any election and the stomachs of thousands of people."
"And what good do you think thousands would do in the world, my young friend? There are two million people in Boulder and half a million in Colorado Springs alone. Do you think we are wizards or magical creatures?" You self appointed tour guide gives you a skeptical gaze.
(https://media2.giphy.com/media/wJ08JKDJEEF44/200_s.gif)
Look the ears are round, ok?
"I wish matters were that simple, Jefferson. But it's not technology the surface dwellers lack but the willingness to use them. You have great nuclear power but you use it to make weapons of war. Boulder city can make far more then our machines can but the citizens dont use that power. What do you think the people of Wichita would think of your bravery?"
"A young soldier named Mendoza once insisted we could change the world. Our seeds would let him feed the people and stop the wars. But the more land he reclaimed in Kansas, the more food the President demanded from him. Mendoza grew power hungry and died a vengeful and angry man. The people of Wichita were scattered to die in the poison wind and acid rains."
"There is a saying from long ago that we still remember under the mountains. 'Everyone is the hero of their own story'."
Puzzled you ask the woman why the mountain men brought you into their home.
"One lost national guardsman isn't a threat to us. Although it seems to me now that you weren't really lost."
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"I'm not gonna claim I made the world better. I made a lot of mistakes. I just wanted a better life. Your help might not transform the world out there, but you could make life better for a few. I think that matters. Do you think it matters? I guess you'll have to judge for yourself whether the risk that I'll become something awful outweighs the hope that I will do good in the world, even if just a little."
((I voted against the whole "why didn't you help" line of questioning. Oh well, it gives us insight. I think it lowered their opinion of us though.))
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((I think it lowered their opinion of us though.))
((Nah, it was a pretty legit line of questioning so I wanted to answer it even though the votes were against it. No opinion penalty.))
Then, ask if they will be willing to teach us some survival skills. We'd be willing to rotate people through some kind of workforce and do grunt work and the like. Tell them we simply don't understand them enough to know if there is anything we can offer in exchange, except loyalty. We don't forget our friends, nor do we forget the kindness of strangers, and if circumstances change, we will lend support to the mountain man cause, within reason.
"Even supposing I could convince my people to risk an extended period of contact with the surface, you would be asking us to pick sides. We stopped our support of Mendoza as soon as he was in a conflict. You are already in a conflict. Suppose you had a 3D printer. Soon you would make guns with it."
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"I can't really argue with that line of logic. I don't know what to do, really. I am not going to abandon my people, I can't. Maybe some of them would give up arms for a peaceful life down here, but I think those have already left, long ago. The rest are in too deep. We may be simple caravan guards now, but we're still soldiers, fighting for what we think is right.
Can I at least have a way to contact you? Who knows, I might find someone who can use what you have in a way you would find acceptable."
((I can't really see this character being of much use to the mountain people. That is, unless someone else discovers their location, and they need military aid. But I am sure gonna veto any attempt to leak any info we have on them.))
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The woman has a brief conversation with the man operating the 3D printer. There a soft hissing sound for a moment from the machine. Then she opens the door and removes the newly created object.
(http://api.sonymobile.com/files/SmartWatch-3-SWR50-black-1240x840-79054d32a0d13a97bedae3d0b12f62af-79054d32a0d13a97bedae3d0b12f62af.jpg)
"Did you know that right now there are still more then 7000 operational satellites in orbit around earth? Rather impressive, is it not? This watch will let you send me messages from most places if you press the button and tell it "Message for Cassandra". Expose the surface to sunlight to keep it charged. My people used these watches when we made pilgrimages across the surface, before it became too dangerous. I would be interested in your experiences on the surface. Oh... and if you ever find a forest, send me pictures and I will be most grateful. And if you find anything you think might entice my people to open their doors, I will hear you out."
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"If at first you don't succeed. Fine i'll take your watch and send you a Forrest picture one day. Then i'll come back with improvements from Boulder city.
I'm the vengeful guy that will surpass everyone expectations. See ya around."
Leave back to camp and see what's happened in our time gone.
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"If at first you don't succeed. Fine i'll take your watch and send you a Forrest picture one day. Then i'll come back with improvements from Boulder city.
I'm the vengeful guy that will surpass everyone expectations. See ya around."
Leave back to camp and see what's happened in our time gone.
-1 for ingratitude and hostility :)
"Thank you. I will keep your request in mind. If I find other wildlife that might be of interest I will send pictures of those as well. I wish your people life and peace, and will keep in contact. You've been very gracious hosts."
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"If at first you don't succeed. Fine i'll take your watch and send you a Forrest picture one day. Then i'll come back with improvements from Boulder city.
I'm the vengeful guy that will surpass everyone expectations. See ya around."
Leave back to camp and see what's happened in our time gone.
-1 for ingratitude and hostility :)
"Thank you. I will keep your request in mind. If I find other wildlife that might be of interest I will send pictures of those as well. I wish your people life and peace, and will keep in contact. You've been very gracious hosts."
1+
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At least ask for a small backpack of food for the road.
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At least ask for a small backpack of food for the road.
sure, why not.
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"Thank you. I will keep your request in mind. If I find other wildlife that might be of interest I will send pictures of those as well. I wish your people life and peace, and will keep in contact. You've been very gracious hosts."
(The ego trumps the id today.)
Cassandra nods appreciatively at your words. "And I wish you peace as well, Jefferson. I am truly sorry that it is such a precious commodity right now. At least let me offer you the hospitality of a meal and a place to stay the night while the storm rages above."
Cassandra leaves you at "the mall", basically a mountain people version of a mess hall.
(http://www.honoluluhi5.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/windward-mall-farmers-market-2-1.jpg)
You have none of the food people's ration coupons or money but amazingly you need neither of them. You are allowed to just go to any of the different food counters and ask for food. And they just give it to you. As much as you want. For free. The food all seems to be vegan but there are many strange dishes that you have never had before like "slurpees" and "oreos". Between the strange customs and food you are bewildered a bit and your outlandish garb doesn't exactly make you blend in. However the curiousity you attract is friendly at least. Some of the young mountain women invite you to dine with them and eagerly listen to your tales of the outside world.
You never do find your way to the guest quarters that Casandra told you about that night. You spend the night bridging the cultural gap with a young woman named Tara instead...
...
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/19/Dance_Dance_Revolution_Hottest_Party_2_gameplay_2.png)
Pretty sure it was something like this
The mountain people have incredible archives. They have digitized centuries of history and created virtual reality simulations. Your host takes you on a brief tour of the world as it was two hundred years ago. It's nice to know that in some small way the old world is still preserved.
You have a mission so you can't stay and play video games with the mountain people forever. You are blindfolded and taken to the surface and left many kilometers from the cave the mountain people took you from. You were dropped off to the south, which is convenient. You trace your way south, find the trade route between Boulder and Provo and find a merchant caravan willing to share the trip. Soon you have returned to Cavern Forge.
The 17th gives you a warm reception. Captain Hawkins and the rest of your patrol arrived with the payment from the first successful merchant escort trip. The payment is food, real food. The monotony of k-concentrate and yeast is finally broken with some honest to god bread and eggs. Your brothers and sisters in arms are impressed in your role in securing the work and the food it brings.
Carter and Bose are keenly interested to hear your reports of the mountain people, especially when you explain their role in the west Kansas reclamation zone. Carter isn't terribly surprised however,
"I always knew Mendoza was up to something. The man was a godawful general and lacked common sense yet he kept managing to bungle though. So this is how he afforded buying off Landry so long. Losing West Kansas was an even bigger deal then we thought. But it might not be so bad if these mountain men are as powerful as it sounds like. If we only had something to trade with them we could have everything we need."
Then it's your turn to be brought up to speed. The deals you brokered are requiring the 17th to leap back into action. Patrols need to be exfiltrated from Cavern Forge without drawing attention and meet up with the merchants without attracting Federal attention. Your skills are going to be needed again to head into Colorado Springs and smooth things over with the merchants, making sure the meetups go smoothly and low profile and making sure the merchants and soldiers dont clash with each other. Between the patrols and the ongoing yeast effort, the caves are bustling with activity. Several months go by as you move from one deal to the next, travelling back and forth between Colorado and Utah several times. The patrols seem to be going smoothly so far but there seems to be trouble brewing again. At least this time you are only stuck in the middle and not a part of it.
Although rebellious generals and governors (often one and the same) are nothing new, there are rumblings of rebellion coming out from Utah that dont look like a traditional coup attempt. The black market for weapons in Provo is booming as the people there buy all the smugglers can deliver. They're stockpiling weapons for an outright revolt against the military, against the president, against everything. It's foolhardy of course, nobody actually rebels against the army and lives very long. And yet, and yet... President Norris doesn't have any troops to spare for Utah with the war in India dragging out so long. And with the 17th turned rebel and the National Guard units in Colorado shattered, the Provo government can't expect any help from it's closest neighbors. When you evesdrop on the conversations of the people of Provo, listen to their anger everytime a food riot turns ugly, it sounds like rebellion cant be too far off. It wouldn't hurt to start contingency planning and with the right preparations there are a lot of ways you could play this...
A) A rebellion in Utah will ruin our trade routes. Way too much Federal attention to operate in these mountains. We need to look east to find a new venture.
B) A rebellion in Utah is going to be bad for Boulder. We still have friends in the Guard there and if Provo revolts, Boulder is going to be in the path. We should be ready to offer our services to the Boulder National Guard, nearly 1000 veteran soldiers wont get turned away in a time of desperate rebellion.
C) A rebellion in Utah is going to be bad for Norris. We could offer our services to the rebels and wage guerilla warfare in the mountains. Veteran soldiers attacking supply lines in the mountains will play havoc with the efforts to suppress the rebels. If Utah actually did succeed in their dreams of independence, Norris would look weak.
D) A rebellion in Utah is going to be bad to be nearby. The only thing good about the mountains is that there isn't Federal attention. If the Feds are coming back, we want to be gone before they do.
Of course as you plan it's worth keeping in mind the limited resources that Carter's Renegades have left at their disposal. Given your leadership role in the past few months you've gotten an image of the less then ample resources the 17th still has:
984 soldiers. Every one of them is a capable fighter but many of them have additional skills. The trained construction engineers, scouts, electricians, medics and the like that were the expert core of the group were most likely to follow Carter into exile.
309 fully repaired combat armor suits. These are vital to having soldiers fight at their full potential. Without them, casualties would skyrocket. They allow soldiers to brave the surface elements.
254 significantly damaged combat armor suits. These are all not fit for service but might be repaired if you ever get access to military grade supplies again.
45 salvaged or bartered ad hoc combat suits. Taken from bandits or merchants these are much worse then your standard combat armor but do let you brave the surface elements.
945 HAZMAT suits. Not providing protection or visibility in\r combat and too cumbersome for agile movement, they will let you brave the elements.
Small arms for about 1500 soldiers.
About 12,000 rounds of small arms ammunition
Four man portable rocket systems
14 rockets
About 200 kilograms of explosives.
About 300 kits left of first aid supplies
24 small electric vehicles (mostly two metric ton cargo)
Various small radioisotope thermoelectric generator producing about 200 kWh of electricity a day in total
Yeast and K-concentrate stockpiles to last about six weeks
About 12 million calories of yeast harvested each week. If this was the only supply of nutrition for the soldiers, there would be a deficit of a couple million calories a week given the strenuous work the soldiers perform requires more then 2000 calories a day.
About 14,000 food vouchers coming in from merchant escort duties a week. When you were living in the cities, you needed about 5 of these a day to keep from going hungry. It's key to troop morale to provide them with at least some real food to go along with the yeast and K-concentrate. Right now the soldiers on the patrols are turning all of the revenues over to the division, this might be a potential source of discontent or even embezzlement in the future but right now morale is still high.
Right now the Division has "banked" about 20,000 food vouchers and the soldiers themselves own quite a few vouchers from before the exile, maybe 10 each on average.
About 200 soldiers at any given time are actively on merchant escort duties and are getting fed by the merchants. The better quality of food and interesting duties means everyone wants these assignments even though the soldiers dont keep the payments.
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Only 12 rounds of ammo per soldiers? I think stockpiling some more might be a priority.
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Only 12 rounds of ammo per soldiers? I think stockpiling some more might be a priority.
could be worse (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDXPNtaD6ZY)
Hmm, I'm gonna have to think on this one. That's a tough situation to navigate. Looking for greener pastures might be the most pragmatic move at this point. (not literally "greener pastures," what with the radiation and chemical warfare and element and such, but you know.) On the other hand, staying nearby and being a source of stability in the chaos, building a base where the army likely wouldn't come, and sort of building a proto civilization, to help rebuild after the inevitable disaster coming, would be a risky yet potentially rewarding path. Kinda have to see how the situation develops. Hmm. Going back to Boulder might be pragmatic too, but I don't know ...
sort of a side issue here:
Carter wanted to find something to trade with the mountain men. I like the idea of "trading peace." As the leader said peace was a rare commodity. I like the idea of becoming instrumental in brokering peace, maintaining it, and developing a more table civilization. Of course, there are other bartering options, but I want to hold of on exploring those just yet.
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I say option: A because there are places to go and caravans to escort for supplies. Also we need to find out how to contact rebel leaders and help the revolution win. If they do our crimes are wiped clean, Carter becomes a rebel general, and we can finally start our Mercenary career in a post-apocalyptic country that was recently taken over by Rebel forces.
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I say option: A because there are places to go and caravans to escort for supplies. Also we need to find out how to contact rebel leaders and help the revolution win. If they do our crimes are wiped clean, Carter becomes a rebel general, and we can finally start our Mercenary career in a post-apocalyptic country that was recently taken over by Rebel forces.
Most of your comment here favors option C.
To be clear, I am still thinking on this one.
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Gunning for them as hitman to hire is not joining the rebels. We need to get recognized by these guys and have Carter become one of their Generals. If we have a hand in the leadership
then there less likely to backstab us and not forgive our crimes.
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Okay A) is the fuck up option. It has lead us down a road of disaster. We can't go east apart from Europe because Murica knows and hates us.
Option B) will be supporting the Norris government. Thats our chance to stabilize America and become friends with the government. Look at todays PMCs: you want to be employed by the governments not by private people.
Option C) will be causing instability. Because after Utah rebels successfully america will break apart in civil war once more. Its already close to a third world state in terms of stability so there is that. If the rebellion fails we are fucked.
Option D) is not really a good option it will lower morale, we will make no money and our grizzled crew of veterans will slowly fall apart.
Thus i vote either OPTION E: Go to fucken Europe or Option B: Support the Government
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obviously I downvote Europe.
remember that whole "nothing else is any better off" bit?
A isn't as fuck-up as you think. Norris is otherwise occupied, and we would be dealing with caravans and the like, not invading fucking Washington. Besides, we are a minor threat to Norris at best. We were an excuse for him to seize power. His hatred wasn't directed at us. We were a stepping stone. (and btw, getting a little tired of the 'Murica' meme. It's insulting).
B is an option. I don't really want to get aggressively military, and food riots in Boulder could be horrible. I still think caravaning would be a better option (but if A were as fuck-up as said, B would be worse - just handing ourselves to an enemy.)
C ... I think Ghazkull is right that following this will promote instability. I also think ignoring the situation will allow it to get even uglier. Perhaps there is a way to act as negotiator here? Maybe find a way to eae the tensions, or smooth the transition, or bring the parties together for discussion beore the bullets stat flying?
D has the risk that Ghazkull mentioned, but that fate is by no means guaranteed. West toward the coast might be better opportunities, or northeast toward New York and New England. If the area hasn't been reduced to a nuclear cinder, then people might still live in that region - it is now the most populated part of the country, with the West coast not far behind.
Still leaning toward sticking around, but staying out of the line of fire and acting in a secondary role.
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So what do you want to do? sticking around and doing nothing is the same as option D.
Mind im open to anything sensible. I know im in the minority with Europe, but doing nothing while hiding in the hills seems counter-productive.
Working as a negotiatior will not work i can tell you that right now. Once they started stockpiling weapons it is a foregone conclusion where this will lead. Especially since the ruling dictator Norris is not exactly known to show mercy to even vocal criticizers. The rebels would weaken their position by negotiating and would propably get themselves killed in the long run.
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Which is why i'm saying to help them IF they're open to letting Carter take up leadership or at least be part of whatever top level leadership they have.
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I'm voting C). Any other course has a risk of losing morale, in my opinion. Plus attacking isolated outposts and mountain convoys will improve our supply situation immeasurably (ammunition, supplies for fixing invaluable damaged suits etc) and recognition from the rebels should follow once they see what we're contributing to their efforts.
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Which is why i'm saying to help them IF they're open to letting Carter take up leadership or at least be part of whatever top level leadership they have.
So you are saying instead of working for the rebels, offer to lead them because Carter's group has military experience. Interesting.
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Which is why i'm saying to help them IF they're open to letting Carter take up leadership or at least be part of whatever top level leadership they have.
So you are saying instead of working for the rebels, offer to lead them because Carter's group has military experience. Interesting.
Yep.
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Right now there doesn't seem to be much of an opinion in any direction. I'll give it a little more time and then go with option F:
F) Wait and see how this shakes out a while more before arriving at an opinion.
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I'm going to double post with a bit of a backtrack and comment on the mountain men for a moment. It seemed like everybody thought of them like, well, a 19th century diplomat. They have technology so that makes them very powerful. Powerful allies are good to have. The alternative is to think of them as a capitalist. They have technology so that makes them very rich. The rich are good customers because the rich can afford to buy anything they want and they can offer anything you could want in exchange. Just because the mountain men can practice autarky doesn't mean they have to...
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So we might offer to clear the mountains of bandits for them?
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Perhaps something they might want long term but it's still a bit of an imperialist mindset...
How about this: imagine for a moment that Cassandra handed you a wad of "Dwarfbucks" that you can use to buy things from the mountain people that you would then take to Boulder and sell. The mountain people could sell you pretty much anything you want to buy. But what would you want to buy from them the most? What would you want to buy from them the least?
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A) on the Mountain men. I didn't think of the mountain men as anything but powerful and wealthy. I thought of them as isolationist and pacifist, needing nothing we can offer, and offering nothing to a warlike company.
B) On 'aiding' the rebellion by putting Carter in charge. Notice how the rebellion is "against the military." Note that it is a different kind of rebellion than Mendosa's or Norris'. That makes having a military unit swooping in and taking charge really probably a bad idea. the rebels will see us as the same kind of beast as they are throwing off. Anyone familiar with the French Revolution?
3) on Losing Morale, and choosing to aid the rebels to prevent it. Morale is more about the success or failure of an option, than about which we choose. With two exceptions: 1) are we sending people into a familiar situation of despair? That is, We've already done the whole: fight a rebellion, fight for food" bit, and our troops are likely pretty embittered and not likely to be happy to be sent to their deaths in a similar fight. 2) is the cause unjust or viewed as repugnant? In this case, I'd say no. but if we choose an option that the troops will think is repugnant (signing up with Norris might fit this category) then Morale will drop, even i it pays well.
I suggest making new convoy contracts. Get a feel for where caravans are likely to go during this turmoil, and setting up a base in that region. additionally, yes, thinking about what the mountain men will offer and what they want is worthwhile. Perhaps we could head north toward Canada in search of wildlife?
As for what we'd take to boulder .. food? Clothing? I forget what Boulder was like when we left. And th GM has hinted at least once a round that there are criminal operations in Boulder that would hire us. I think that is the route he expected us to go at first.
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As for what we'd take to boulder .. food? Clothing? I forget what Boulder was like when we left.
Well the city has been under martial law for the past two generations and has food shortages that just got worse after Mendoza and Carter started fighting. The 17th is gone and the National Guard is decimated meaning that bandits pretty much run the area around the city now and the government doesn't have nearly as much ability to control the gangs of Oldtown anymore. So Boulder is doing pretty badly. Their situation is a lot like yours actually, they have shelter that they dare not leave and need to devote most of their efforts just to eke out a crude survival. Most people at this point will probably be eating yeast fed off the energy from the cities aging nuclear generators. They can do a little hydroponics on the windowed parts of the city but the extreme weather means the plants dont have terribly much light to grow and they dont have great fertilizers, equipment or seed strains anyway.
Despite the desperate shortages though, most people have very little productive labor. They are doing things like carefully recycling every scrap of food or material. When a customer walks into a store, there is a sales clerk ready to lavish them with attention all the time they shop and the sales clerk has two assistants on beck and call. There are so many people to work on the few hydroponic farms that they carefully tend to each plant and the farms dont even grow enough to feed the farmers. Not that the farmers could afford to eat real food anyway with the prices after the kansas shipments stopped, all the farmers can afford is the products of the yeast farms and the eggs that are the main source of protein for most of the population.
In a nutshell, the city lacks the means to support itself.
And the GM has hinted at least once a round that there are criminal operations in Boulder that would hire us. I think that is the route he expected us to go at first.
It was probably the most lucrative option available but you guys instead went for the least lucrative option at every possible turn. Y'all are like anti-capitalists.
Anyone familiar with the French Revolution?
Oh! I am! I am! What part do you want to see? I am drawing a bit more from 3rd and 5th century Rome however.
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You know, if we went back to Boulder we could do a ton of good.
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As for what we'd take to boulder .. food? Clothing? I forget what Boulder was like when we left.
Well the city has been under martial law for the past two generations and has food shortages that just got worse after Mendoza and Carter started fighting. The 17th is gone and the National Guard is decimated meaning that bandits pretty much run the area around the city now and the government doesn't have nearly as much ability to control the gangs of Oldtown anymore. So Boulder is doing pretty badly. Their situation is a lot like yours actually, they have shelter that they dare not leave and need to devote most of their efforts just to eke out a crude survival. Most people at this point will probably be eating yeast fed off the energy from the cities aging nuclear generators. They can do a little hydroponics on the windowed parts of the city but the extreme weather means the plants dont have terribly much light to grow and they dont have great fertilizers, equipment or seed strains anyway.
Despite the desperate shortages though, most people have very little productive labor. They are doing things like carefully recycling every scrap of food or material. When a customer walks into a store, there is a sales clerk ready to lavish them with attention all the time they shop and the sales clerk has two assistants on beck and call. There are so many people to work on the few hydroponic farms that they carefully tend to each plant and the farms dont even grow enough to feed the farmers. Not that the farmers could afford to eat real food anyway with the prices after the kansas shipments stopped, all the farmers can afford is the products of the yeast farms and the eggs that are the main source of protein for most of the population.
In a nutshell, the city lacks the means to support itself.
So, importing hydroponic vertical (https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSSAxJENqfWckGxUM4YAlns2wDxB_L90IJ1Ww4dpnQLjn3psP3NGA) gardens (http://bilinterior.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/plants-on-walls-vertical-gardens-wonderful-vertical-garden-house4.jpg), seed stock, and fertilizer would be best, along with becoming a sort of security force for the food production regions of Boulder. We could organize workforces for mining out underground facilities and making new living and growing places, and perhaps ask the Mountain men about methods of tapping geothermal energy.
And the GM has hinted at least once a round that there are criminal operations in Boulder that would hire us. I think that is the route he expected us to go at first.
It was probably the most lucrative option available but you guys instead went for the least lucrative option at every possible turn. Y'all are like anti-capitalists. We went with morality and adventure over greed and criminality.
Anyone familiar with the French Revolution?
Oh! I am! I am! What part do you want to see? Oh geez. No one wants to see the Spanish InquisitionFrench Revolution I am drawing a bit more from 3rd and 5th century Rome however.
You know, if we went back to Boulder we could do a ton of good.
I think I agree. Time to head to Boulder.
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I think I agree. Time to head to Boulder.
Um, how exactly? Like wanted criminals and whatnot? You thinking head back to hide in Oldtown or something?
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You know, if we went back to Boulder we could do a ton of good.
Doing what? Just stopping the bandits won't solve the food problems. Plus wouldn't norris send a strike force to
Like kill us dead? An then set us on fire?
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Option B, offer our services to the Boulder National Guard.
Clear out the bandits, bring in food and open trade routes.
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^that or ask the Mountain Men if they want to expand and that we could be their non-essential meatshields
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((There doesn't seem to be a consensus, so I'm just moving things along a bit.))
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2269
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While the 17th was restoring a little bit of stability to their patch of the world, things were just as unstable as ever across the Mississippi. President Norris had come out in top but faced disloyalty and risk of coups from below. So he returned to the oldest trick in the book and tried to rally the population together with an outside war.
(http://content.artofmanliness.com/uploads/2008/11/chuck_norris.jpg)
India had resisted American hegemony going all the way back to the forth world war. Their role in securing victory meant that even the imperialist president Jenkins had been reluctant to make them toe the line. Escaping the worst of the weapons of mass destruction of the forth world war, they had grown into an economically powerful rival to the militarily powerful United States. A nominally friendly but complicated alliance lasted for many years until President Norris, who spoke of the dangers of the powerful Indian military.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/96/Agni-II_missile_%28Republic_Day_Parade_2004%29.jpeg/1920px-Agni-II_missile_%28Republic_Day_Parade_2004%29.jpeg)
In 2265, India possessed over 20,000 ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets anywhere in North America.
Norris made demands of India for disarmament and when the demands were inevitably rebuffed, ordered a sneak attack on the Indian military in 2268.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/USAF_F-16A_F-15C_F-15E_Desert_Storm_edit2.jpg)
Norris was confident that with nuclear landkruzers he could interdict the coastal cities of India and force them to accept his demands. Furthermore he could send the generals he feared the most far away, thus removing threats to his power at home. For eight months this strategy seemed to go well as Mumbai, Surat and Kochi were seiged into surrender. Then came Colombo...
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HAlU2DcfOgI/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAAAA/dikG_Ko-0HA/s0-c-k-no-ns/photo.jpg)
No, not Columbo
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Beira_lake_at_Nite.jpg/300px-Beira_lake_at_Nite.jpg)
Colombo, in Sri Lanka
In September of 2269, India revealed it's new weapons system against the 9th Armored.
(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jMhfrnbnkxw/TZrTqglsqbI/AAAAAAAABk8/-DghDEGkYoc/s1600/ab.jpg)
This new weapon released a burst of subatomic particles that disrupted nuclear power generation through thousands of meters of water. The machinery of the landkruzers fell inert as the nuclear generators died. Swarms of nuclear torpedos soon followed and for the first time in history, landkruzers were defeated
(http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/3/v/c/0/j/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.13vezb.png/1425502320201.jpg)
Wreckage from the UST Andrew Jackson, pride of the 9th Armored
In a fit of rage, President Norris labeled the Indian Expenditionary Force traitors causing the garrisons of Mumbai, Kochi and Surat to prompty defect and abandon the occupation of India. Within a week, India had effectively won the American-Indian war. It was unprecedented, the US simply did not lose wars. Nuclear Landkruzers were not defeated. The military might that controlled the world was suddenly broken...
Riots and rebellions broke out worldwide.
(http://www.tricycle.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/TheRiots_WEB.jpg)
Splinter states rose up around the world, Nagasaki, Pyongyang, Bielefeld, Marsailles as the American backed governments suddenly found themselves unable to cope with the seperatism. Even the United States was rocked by rebellion. For the first time in 300 years, huge swathes of American territory openly declared independence from the Federal government, Cuba, Alaska, Quebec, Yucatan, Utah, Houston, Mexico City.
Within hours of the start of the Utah uprising, the National Guard had been driven out of Provo.
(http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01967/riots-fire-2_1967399c.jpg)
Survivors of the Provo Guard started fleeing east from the rebels, some ending up in Boulder, others joining the 17th. Religious persecutions between Mormons and non Mormons broke out in Provo and Boulder, followed soon by new waves of refugees and war.
It was obvious that Federal troops weren't coming. Norris was soon killed by his own people in DC and at least four different Generals made bids to replace him. The holy warriors of Utah soon push the Boulder National Guard east and put Boulder under siege. The steady pounding of artillery starts to tear down the mighty walls of the city.
Most of the 17th made it safely to Cavern Forge as the fighting started up. A few scattered units were stuck behind the battlelines but you can still muster a force of about 300 in all. And of course you still had nearly 700 soldiers who have small arms but dont have the combat gear to fight on the surface. There was still a crucial shortage of ammo and a nearly complete lack of heavy equipment. Given these realities, the senior staff pushed Carter towards different courses of action:
A) Join the winning side, help the holy warriors overrun Boulder and Federal troops are gone from this area for good
B) Boulder needs us, head around to the south and join up with the Boulder National Guard
C) Boulder needs us, attack the rear areas of the Utah holy warriors.
D) We dont want to be involved with either side. Claim our own stake of territory and keep both sides out.
E) We dont want to be involved with either side. Leave the area and head towards Texas. With Dallas in open revolt we can safely leave the county and go anywhere in the world.
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B. It's time we step and i'm sure Boulder is looking for any and all help right now. Besides now that the president is dead and the country is at civil war (again.) we can later use the city as a bargaining chip to help one of the four generals take power.
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D)
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C: In post-apoc combat, supply lines are even more vital. We don't have enough men to make a huge difference in open combat, but raiding supply lines and destroying morale is possible. We might even get more combat gear for our other troops.
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C: In post-apoc combat, supply lines are even more vital. We don't have enough men to make a huge difference in open combat, but raiding supply lines and destroying morale is possible. We might even get more combat gear for our other troops.
Switching vote to this.
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Man. It's hard to see how we could have prospered in any of our choices, given the direction of history and all. Shit be real, yo. and even had we established ourselves in Boulder, we'd be getting torn down right now. Besides, what with food being such a precious commodity, and the weather being what it is, it's hard to imagine anything but "underground farmer" as being particularly safe, effective, and productive.
Also, how did we lose 300 people? Weren't we more or less laying low and trying to keep out of trouble?
C: In post-apoc combat, supply lines are even more vital. We don't have enough men to make a huge difference in open combat, but raiding supply lines and destroying morale is possible. We might even get more combat gear for our other troops.
Switching vote to this.
+1
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Also, how did we lose 300 people? Weren't we more or less laying low and trying to keep out of trouble?
You didn't. You actually gained a few people from the Provo Guard. 700 is the number of people in addition to the 300 ready for combat.
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Also, how did we lose 300 people? Weren't we more or less laying low and trying to keep out of trouble?
You didn't. You actually gained a few people from the Provo Guard. 700 is the number of people in addition to the 300 ready for combat.
I looked back, looks like I misread something. Sorry. Nothing to see here.
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No worries, mate.
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-----------------------------------
2269
-----------------------------------
(http://www.screenloot.com/ps/fl/4088.jpg)
Gear up boys, we're shipping out!
Although the 17th was outcasts, they still felt loyalty to their hometown and prepared for war. The forces from Provo didn't even know their rear areas were exposed to the 17th. The initial attacks quickly overran the rear garrisons of the Utah forces and let the 17th seize desperately needed ammunition.
(http://www.gizmocrazed.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Battlefield-Bad-Company-2.jpg)
The real target was the supply camps along route 70 that served as bases of operations for the troops in the mountains west of Boulder. These were vital to maintaining the siege of Boulder and could potentially resupply the entire 17th with the equipment the rebels took from the armories of Provo. You quickly marched north as part of a 200 man detachment, hoping to hit them while they were still unprepared.
Unfortunately the camp you hit was unprepared but more strongly garrisoned then you expected. Heavy infantry formations had pulled back from the frontline for refit.
(http://wallpaperbeta.com/wallpaper_3840x2160/warface_battle_monster_games_ultra_3840x2160_hd-wallpaper-370397.jpg)
Hard to take these down with small arms.
The heavy weapon troops fired off the last rockets and the raiding party broke off the attack, retreating west with Utah troops in pursuit. A long chase through the mountains ensued. Finally you end up chased all the way back to Cavern Forge, having failed to seize the bounty you were hoping for...
(http://d28xlskrkqci73.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Metro_2033_front.jpg)
Looks like yeast for breakfast boys. And Lunch. And Dinner.
The attack wasn't a complete failure however. The sudden attack on their rear made the Holy Warriors pull units back from the front, letting the National Guard counterattack and retake the foothills west of Boulder. Their attack on Boulder frustrated, the Holy Warriors instead redoubled their efforts to take Colorado Springs. The old trading route from Provo to Colorado Springs is too heavily guarded to try more raids but the territory between Boulder and Cavern Forge is not as dangerous before.
Carter decides that the next operation will launching an attack to link up with the Boulder Guard. The Holy Warriors still dont know where Cavern Forge is so a quick attack will let you seize the lightly defended northern country. This will allow evacuating the non-combat ready personnel from Cavern Forge to Boulder where they can hopefully get re-equiped and join the fight. That is assuming that the Boulder Guard can be convinced to reequip them. You are asked if you want to join the forces heading to Boulder.
A) Head to Boulder and convince the mayor of the good work the 17th has done so he will clear our names and give us pardons
B) Head to Boulder and convince the mayor that the Federal government is useless. Boulder needs to declare our independence like Utah has, grab what's left of the farmlands to the east and start taking care of itself. The 17th can be the core of the new army of the Colorado Free State.
C) Head to Boulder and convince people that Boulder is exposed and serves no purpose. The people of Boulder should take a lesson from the mountain men and evacuate underground to Cavern Forge where they will at least be safe. With proper preparations, Cavern Forge can be a real home.
D) Other?
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A I think?
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B)
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A) i guess
although im still for option E) Europe, Europe is fighting for independence perfect ground to make a name as a Mercenary Company
also, Bielefeld doesnt exist. Its a Mythos. There is no Bielefeld, there never has been a Bielefeld and there never will be a Bielefeld in germany. /badgermanjoke
What in gods name has gone wrong in Germany that Bielefeld has become the Capital? I mean that would mean that Berlin, Munich, Hannover, Bremen, Stuttgart, Bonn and roughly 50 other more important cities had to be nuked to Nirvana for it to work out.
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I vote B, GO CFS!
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Ugh. B. Colorodo Free State. Only, Work on a side project making Canyon Forge self sufficient. Meanwhile, keep our ears open for rumors of wildlife. I want to find a forest. And work on getting The important bits of Boulder underground.
Why this is about 'captialism' is beyond me. It's Apocalyptic 'survival' instead. Oh, sure, we took non-lucrative choices, but it seemed to be either that or live as parasites off the weak. Seriously, that's not capitalism, that's corruption.
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A.
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B.
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Looks like a close vote, 4 to 3. I can't split this one Solomon style though.
What in gods name has gone wrong in Germany that Bielefeld has become the Capital?
Not the capital, just the first city to rise up in revolt. After all, Marsailles hasn't been a capital of France for 2000 years and Nagasaki was never a capital of Japan AFAIK.
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so, head to boulder, appeal our case, sense the mood of the people and government of Boulder, and act toward independence / reconciliation with the government on that basis? No?
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well i presumed in all these cases that they wer ethe new capitals after one of all those wars
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so, head to boulder, appeal our case, sense the mood of the people and government of Boulder, and act toward independence / reconciliation with the government on that basis? No?
I like it. Decide then whether we say "Hey think you can clear our name?" or "Hey man screw the corpse Emperor President and this Federation. Lets go independant!".
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Sounds reasonable.
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(The pictures were slowing me down a lot so I'm going to increase the ratio of text to pictures and see if that makes this reboot successfully.)
The men and women that found their way back to Boulder were very different from the well equipped military force so long ago. It takes a minute to think back and realize it was back in '67, two years ago. You marched out like the conquering army you were, armed to the gills. Two years later you trudged your way back without weapons or armor, although but now possed with a new resolve and hardness... you few, you happy few, you band of brothers.
When we finally re-enter the steel caves of Boulder it's like a strange new world. There is artificial light everywhere. There are people everywhere. You have lived in a world where you were responsible for everyone you see and suddenly you are surrounded by stangers again.
Someone shouts "WE'RE FUCKING HOME!" and a cheer goes up from the soldiers. Colonel Bose asks you to join him for a beer and you suddenly realize you haven't drunk alcohol in 2 years. A lot of the 17th seems to have the same thought. For years you guys carefully horded the few ration coupons that you had with you when you left, now it's time to spend them like sailors and paint the town red.
The celebratory mood wears off the next day when you and Bose show up at the armory, expecting to discuss the terms of integrating the 17th into the Boulder National Guard. There has been a changing of the guard in Boulder and the new quartermaster demands a full accounting for every piece of equipment checked out in '67. It's an absurd request. Most of the soldiers who checked out that equipment are gone even. To your horror you find out that about two thousand former members of the 17th ended up in punishment battalions, doing hard labor. The quartermaster, Cartwright, makes a non too subtle threat to the effect that the rest of you could join them if you prove to be more trouble then you are worth. You hardly expected to be met like conquering heroes, after all you did get the city conquered by Norris, but it's clear that the 17th's name is mud even if you are willing to help in the fight against Provo.
The negotiations to get the 17th back in action drag on. During that time the city isn't covering your meals and Bose is forced to start distributing some of the hard earned ration coupons from the merchant escort jobs before the Provo-Boulder war. When the news gets out that half your ration coupons were printed in Provo, quartermaster Cartwright adds a few absurd suggestions that you are enemy agents to the mix. You and Bose consider going over Cartwright's head to Mayor Indbur you discover that Cartwrights attitude is just trickling down from the Mayor's own hostility...
Word gets out that members of the 17th are taking jobs on the side and you can't blame them for that, the ration coupons aren't going to last forever. But what you can blame them for is that a lot of them are taking unsavory jobs in Oldtown. It's not like there is tons of honest work available for them so signing up for "private security" in Oldtown is the only work they can land in a hurry. Cartwrights foot dragging takes on a new meaning as you start hearing news of members of the 17th ending up in the infirmaries or jails.
It is several days into these trials and tribulations that you receive an email...
To: Jefferson.Franklin.Tyler@boulderschooldistrict394.net
From: DisciplinaryReviewBoard@bouldershooldistrict394.net
Subject: Academic Suspension Appeal
Mr Tyler,
You are hereby notified that the Disciplinary Review Board has processed the appeal you filed on July 17th, 2263. Investigation of your claim that the defective RFID tag on the school computer you checked in late on the date of April 3rd, 2262 has been substantiated. The late fees you incurred have been waived and your disciplinary suspension has been expunged. Full privileges have been restored to your academic account immediately including enrollment in apprentice-track programs and registration for graduation events.
Further inquiries may be filed with the Disciplinary Review Board through your school account.
However soon after that email arrives, a different, less useless email arrives...
To: tip-ur-canoe-like-a-pimp@gmail.com
From: <Unknown sender>
Subject: Job-Offer
My Tyler,
If you wish to discuss a job offer for the fine men and women of the 17th infantry division in your care, please come to the FitzGibbons building between the hours of 7 and 8 pm tonight.
Intrigued, you head to the meeting in the posh part of town. The building has private security (well armed private security) and DNA checks that verify your identity before you are allowed admission. You are instructed into an elevator that has no control console and quickly whisked upward. Pleasant classical music plays. The elevator opens and you see a window in front of you looking out over the city. Literally, over the city. You are in the upper floors of a tall building, story 500 or so and you can see out over all the smaller buildings. You admire the view, the glass is so high quality it's like it isn't even there and you can see the entire city from here.
"Ahem, sir, may I guide you to the counsel chambers?" A stiff man in a black suit greets you.
"Chambers you say?"
"Yes sir, it is where the members of this business association entertain guests such as yourself. Right this way, sir."
You step through a door and turn back to ask a question but the door has silently slid shut behind you. You turn instead to see your hosts...
(http://www.razorfine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/community-app-development-and-condiments2.jpg) (http://www.drunkmonkeys.onimpression.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/app-devlopment-hickey-slider.jpg)
"This is some sort of a business association?" You ask in confusion. It's full of people lounding around and eating food. Your eyes rest upon a bowl of apples. Real apples. Not the synthetic shit, not any sort of sauce, just a bowl of apples sitting out and no one even touched them. A woman in a white gown makes a gesture to her assistant who takes an apple, puts it in your hands and hurries back to her place by her bosses' elbow.
(http://www.razorfine.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/community-app-development-and-condiments4.jpg)
The woman in the white gown welcomes you to her "little oasis" and asks you to sit. She isn't very interested in answering any questions about herself but does seem very interested in flattering you and the 17th. It is something of a relief to hear a sympathetic voice after all the trouble that Cartwright has put you through. Your host flatly describes Cartwright as an ass and explains that she thinks she could make far better use of the 17th.
"Certain business interests" as she describes them, could make good use of a professional military force to clean up the city. Her associates are unsatisfied with the progress the Guard has made in enforcing the law in Oldtown. The way your host sees it, the 17th could return order to the bad part of the city, arrest the lawless and troublemakers and have them replace your former comrades from the 17th who ended up doing hard labor. And there is no need to go through the Mayor. The mayor doesn't respect you, it's time to make friends who will show you the respect and pay you deserve.
She does a good job of glossing over the fact that she is proposing an extralegal hit squad for herself and her wealthy friends. Something that is very, very illegal. Which means she is either very stupid or she is not afraid of the Mayor enforcing the law. Hell, maybe she is hoping he will try and she is planning to start a civil war in the city. There are certainly strings attached she isn't talking about. And there's a whole other sticking point...
"What I think about your offer is immaterial, Mam. Colonel Bose is the officer in charge of the 17th division members in Boulder City. You'd need to get his approval. Frankly, I'm not even sure why you would invite me here."
"The Colonel is a fine military man and loyal, but I need someone who can understand the language of money. I'm proposing a business arrangement. I've heard how the 17th works, I want someone who can sign a contract and convince the 17th to fall in line with or without Bose and Carter."
"Cut out Bose and Carter? Surely you can't be serious."
"I'm always serious and dont call me Shirley, the name is Miss Bennet, thank you very much. You are the man I want, Mister Tyler. But if you want to go running home to daddy for permission, I wont stop you."
You find yourself back in the elevator, listening to 200 year old music again. (https://youtu.be/eBShN8qT4lk?t=38s) The apple is still in your hand and you haven't even taken a bite. You do now. It takes delicious.
There is no choice regarding the woman's offer of course. Loyalty is a virtue you have proven over and over in the last two years. You report the matter to Bose according to the proper chain of command. Bose takes the matter... stonily.
-------------------------------------
You and Bose have a meeting with the mayor the next afternoon to discuss the efforts to clear the 17th for service again. What it really comes down to is that if Mayor Indbur would just issue a blanket pardon, everything would be simple. He seems to be realizing that but still seems to hold a grudge about the way that Carter acted like she was above the law two years ago. You meet Bose in the lobby and are surprised when he hands you an earbud attached to his personal HUD gear. It's a common piece of battlefield equipment, the HUD's subdermal microphones let's it "hear" words right out of Bose's mouth without him making any noise. This lets him give orders directly to you via earbud without risk of being overheard and without a radio signal to intercept. While it's common the battlefield, it's surprising that Bose brought one to city hall.
"Tyler, you aren't going to be attending the meeting with the mayor today. I need you to head home and tell Captain Shepherd that she is now the commanding officer."
You never were issued an officers HUD with the subdermal implants so you lack any means to reply without being overheard. Instead you just shoot a quizzical glance to Bose.
"The mayor is going to let the 17th die just so he doesn't have any rivals to his power. Miss Bennet has arranged for a weapon to be smuggled into city hall. The meeting today will give me a chance to kill both Indbur and Cartwright and I'm taking it."
You know this conversation will be monitored of course so are powerless to reply. The best you can come up with is flashing Bose the hand signal for "danger".
"I know it's a suicide mission, Tyler, that's why I need you to turn around and leave right now. That is a direct order, soldier. I need you to be far away when this happens."
Colonel Bose doesn't give you any time to try to formulate a response. He snatches the earbud out of your ear and walks away towards the elevator. You dont even have time to consider what he just said, he isn't giving you time so you can't second guess him...
A) Colonel Bose believes he is doing this for the greater good, follow orders and be ready to take care of the 17th.
B) You don't send friends to their death, dammit. Interfere with Bose's plan.
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A. It's time to go all out and take down this mayor.
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Jesus. If it was that Carter "acted like she was above the law" that kept the mayor from acting in our behalf, we could have convinced her to kiss a little ass "for the greater good" and accept some token disciplinary action.
Ah well ...
a) There is nothing we can do here that wouldn't cause more harm than what is already happening.
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a) There is nothing we can do here that wouldn't cause more harm than what is already happening.
Pull a fire alarm and cause a lockdown?
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a) There is nothing we can do here that wouldn't cause more harm than what is already happening.
Pull a fire alarm and cause a lockdown?
maybe. gimme a while to reconsider.
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RIP Colonel Bose
(http://images.rapgenius.com/08f41a86035d3cb523db49006c5d8449.213x400x1.png)
In the end, solder instincts take back over. Bose gave a direct order and he is the one in charge. You turn and walk away, careful not to run or seem excited. It's a bit weird, here you are a conspirator but you can just calmly walk back the security checkpoint like there is no concern.
You exit the building and head over to the residential district where Shepherd is staying with her brother in a dingy apartment. The old woman is slow to come to the door when you knock and sticks a gun in your face by way of greeting before she gets a look at your face. Recognizing you she casually twirls and holsters the piece "Oh it's you, Tyler. How'd the meeting go?"
You anxiously start explaining everything at once and tell Shepherd you need to check the news blogs. But the headlines aren't reporting an assassination or a lockdown at city hall. Did Bose fail? You explain more and keep scanning the news. Finally Shepherd finds something... "building repair crews" got called in to fix an "atmospheric exposure event."
"Heh, Bose was a tough old bastard, those bastards didn't stand a chance." Shepherd gives a sigh and points the story to you which you read several times, no understanding.
"How does this story tell you that Bose pulled it off? I dont see anything there..."
"That's because you've only been a captain three weeks, Tyler. If you'd ever been an officer back in the guard you would know that Boulder doesn't have any building technicians with hazmat suits like these. Those guy you see in that picture are the guard cleanup crew. They're the guys we sent in to make the crime scene looks right for the police and cameras. And they work for the guard, not for the mayor. So the guard is calling the shots again and the only way that happens is... well over the mayors dead body." Shepherd's thin mouth twitches slightly in amusement at her own joke.
"The guard has specialists just for this?"
"Ex-detectives mostly. Pay's better setting up the crime scene then taking it apart again. But we need to talk about you for a second, you are the last one Bose spoke to and you are his closest confidant. You need to go into hiding for a few days. You know how to disappear?"
"Yes mam."
"Attaboy. Just like my husband."
The choice of where to disappear is obvious... Oldtown. The lowest levels of the city where the Guard only travels in packs. In Oldtown you tell someone you plotted to assasinate the mayor and they would thank you for it. Of course they might just stab you anyway on principle so you still need to watch your back.
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--rXOPNQq9TQ/UqYTb-oEQuI/AAAAAAAABEI/lLg3B8xsrMA/s1600/vlcsnap-2013-12-08-21h47m11s196.png)
You can read the news of course but you are probably going to be stuck in the slums for several days at the least. The question is what is your game-plan now that Bose and the mayor are both dead.
A) Oldtown is a stinking cesspool, I can tell just from looking at it. With they mayor gone, I'll make sure that the 17th takes Bennets offer to come in here and clean house
B) I still have contacts in Oldtown from my days in requisitions. With the mayor out of the way, the 17th can get back in the fight and my friends in Oldtown can provide us with the weapons to start fighting for our city again.
C) Fuck politics. It's time to take a well deserved vacation, join a goddamn fighting league and smash a dude's face until I feel better. Or something, whatever. The world can do without me for a couple goddamn weeks. I'll come up with a plan then.
D) <other ideas>
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A.
Assassination group underway. Well be like the diamond dogs or XOF from mgs V.
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A
Wars'll get fought and the 17th won't really make a difference.
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three thousand of our folks are sitting in penal companies, which propably means they have been selected for mine clearing duty with their bare feet or some such shit.
A) is the answer. They'll bring back our folks.
also maniac did you get so fed up with our a) choosing that you took the morally right choice to b) and now we're still choosing A)?
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three thousand of our folks are sitting in penal companies, which propably means they have been selected for mine clearing duty with their bare feet or some such shit.
A) is the answer. They'll bring back our folks.
also maniac did you get so fed up with our a) choosing that you took the morally right choice to b) and now we're still choosing A)?
I think he just eliminated the morally right choices altogether.
A.
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I think he just eliminated the morally right choices altogether.
There were never morally right choices. I just was narrating through the eyes of a self-righteous 18 year old and now I'm narrating through the eyes of a jaded 23 year old.
Some choice are perhaps more immoral then others...
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Slightly adjusting my suggestion. It's still going to be A but I want to use our money and connections with that lady go get our comrades back from those penal forces.
Time to bring back the 17th as the most elite force of warriors Boulder has ever seen.
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Bump
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Awaken, awaken, awaken (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCUnhoe0rpU)
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(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSl7Y4kV-_8dJrKgLliEzDjspn-0eDqkNTJMGvM3Kp77Cbsgunv)
It's beautiful looking out over Oldtown. You can see everything you are going to conquer and burn to the ground...
Disappearing into the criminal underclass leaves you out of the action but it keeps you safe and gives you time to think. Oldtown isn't organized so differently from the upper levels. Up above you had the power structures like the city government, the infantry and the corporations. Eash time you have the street people answering to the people who run the show like yourself and who in turn answer to the bosses like Carter, Indbur and Bennet. It's all about raising the people who are loyal to the next level. Every desk jockey in city hall wants to be appointed to the ward council. Every store owner wants to get on the rationing committee and have a chance for real money. You encourage loyalty to the group and the group can survive even if you kill off most of the leadership. When Carter lost her war and the 17th was removed from Boulder, what was left of the national guard flocked to Cartwright because he was a soldier even if he was a moron. So if you want to clean out Oldtown, you can't just take out most of the goons or take out most of the bosses. Most of the 17th got trashed but that just made it so the strongest survived. If the strongest survive, they'll be back to kick ass soon enough...
As you ponder your conquest, half a mile above you the politics are sorting themselves out. Bose and Indbur are both dead and Bennet was clearly ready for the brief power vacuum. A week after the mayor's tragic accidental death, Bennet, Shepherd, the new mayor and other leading citizens of the city are signing a new city charter in front of the cameras. Their speeches inform you that Boulder City is now proud and independent. Carter's return to the city and the appointment of Shepherd to the head of the national guard informs you that it's safe for you to come out of hiding. When you meet Carter she is eager to get the 17th back into the fight to prove the usefulness to the city and get your brothers and sisters in arms liberated from the work camps. However you have little trouble convincing Carter about the politics of the situation. Back before the war, the 17th was strong and it ran the city. Indbur knew that so that was why he was such an ass when you and Bose wanted to help him. Build the 17th back up to it's former glory and give it a charismatic leader and pretty soon Carter would be back to bossing Indbur around. Now Bennet is in charge. Sure mayor Luiz is supposed to be in charge but the newly independent Boulder City has a new executive council controlling the purse strings and Bennet packed that council with her corporate cronies. Bennet doesn't want a strong military ally any more then Indbur did and for the same reason. To get your people back from the work camps, you need to play by Bennet's rules, that is to say corporate rules. With Carter's permission, you start making arrangements.
Three weeks after Bose assassinated Indbur, you are in city hall, signing the incorporation paperwork for Tyler Private Security Services. You recruit dozens of unemployed vets from the 17th and the city government allows for a "work release" program to let an equal number of your comrades out of the work camps. The rumors that you have a lucrative contract signed with Bennet means the banks are willing to offer you millions of dollars in credit, enough to buy proper gear again. It's corporate security crap, not good enough for atmospheric exposure but putting on real gear feels like having a skin again.
You inspect your newly formed private security force with pride. These are men and women who have been through hell and can unleash that fury on their enemies. They are just the tip of the spear of the massive campaign you have planned but they'll administer a mighty ass kicking for the opening chapter. Ready to go, your forces board an elevator for Oldtown and you walk straight up to the Red Sands Arena, a notorious fighting ring that openly advertises it's fights to the death. You ignore the doors and instead create yourself a new entrance out of a wall, stride right into the penthouse of the crimelord Wilson Hu and unload a clip of automatic ammunition into the ceiling by way of salutation. Screams of terror fill the suite and the various slaves and hanger-oners flee the room. Soon the civilians are gone, leaving you and your hit squad staring across a disheveled room at Hu and his enforcers. Hu speaks first.
"What the fuck do you think you are doing? This is Oldtown. There are rules here. You toy soldiers aren't welcome here."
You dont bother to raise your voice in reply to Hu's question. "I am here from the electric company, citizen."
"Is this a fucking joke? I'm a dues paying member of the Syndicate. I have Netan on speed dial."
"Yes, that is what I am counting on. Please call mister Netan and ask him if he wants to pay his overdue electric fees."
"You want me to call Anthony Netan and ask him about overdue electric fees."
"That is correct."
"Do you have a deathwish? Netan owns this city."
You snap your fingers and a bullet whizzes past each one of Hu's ears.
(http://www.therpf.com/attachments/f45/total-recall-2012-kriss-vector-sight-identify-14052_7.jpg-265556d1387277014)
"Make the call before I decide you are no use to me."
Hu fumbles for his cell phone, makes a call and then stammers an apology. "...these fucking lunatics are asking if you intend to pay a goddamn electric bill... yeah I told them that... I have no fucking clue how..." The cell phone goes silent and Hu stares at a moment before summarizing. "He says no."
We hit a toggle on your radio and relay a message topside. "Alright, Shepherd. We have kicked the hornets nest. Commence Operation Infinite Shitstorm."
The ground rumbles and the lights flicker then go out. Outside the windows, the glow of the city fades as a blackout rolls out over Oldtown. Hu's enforcers curse in confusion as a flashbang detonates. Your men are of course properly equipped and aren't troubled. Instead they simply start shooting. It's over in seconds.
You spread out among the room, handcuffing the living but unconscious criminals. Tranquilizers usually aren't worth the bother but you want these men alive, they're not just bounties now, they're property. You exit the way you came in and see that not one light is shining in Oldtown.
(http://comicsalliance.com/files/2013/11/Arrow_2_7_1.jpg)
Carrying the unconscious prisoners on your backs you proceed to the elevators. A confused crowd has gathered around. The elevators have stopped working and the doorways are all sealed. Of course that's not a problem for you, a few warning shots disperse the crowd and your emergency override allows your men and prisoners to exit Oldtown while leaving everyone else trapped below.
Next comes the payout, the first of many you hope. Bennet had promised you a few bucks for the arrests but that isn't the important thing. The important thing is that you are the proud owner of sixty percent of the shares of the defunct electric utility that no one in Old Town has paid for years. Oldtown doesn't even bother with dollars, food vouchers are the only currency worth anything down there. There are a few legal pretexts to bother with but these men stole from you and can't pay you back... in the newly Free City of Boulder that means one of two things, either they work off their debts in the work camps or they're no use to anyone...
(http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/7/7c/FoT_FailScreenMale.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20131110191803)
With the opening shots of your war fired, you prepare to head back into Oldtown again and again and again. The criminal scum is cold and in the dark and soon to be hungry. Section by section you will siege them out. Weeks of fighting turns into months as you ruthlessly carve a path through the most lucrative real estate in Oldtown, arresting entire neighborhoods and letting the judges sort the innocent from the guilty. Tyler Private Security Services grows. You cut deals with the other security firms to provide muscle for the "pacified regions". You rule like an emperor over a ghosttown of scarcely inhabited neighborhoods, populated by the small trickle of people released back out of the camps. But the Syndicates are starved of territory and the executive council eagerly looks forward to when they can start putting paying tenants back into Oldtown. Bennet promises you that when you succeed, you will have a seat on the council.
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2272
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Netan stares at you across the conference table. The Syndicate enjoys the finer things in life as much as the upper story crowd. You run a finger across it. Oak, finely varnished. You think back to Cassandra and wonder where the tree this table came from was grown. Netan is prattling on about an offer you have no interest in.
(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/stargate/images/0/08/Netan.JPG/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20061202195134)
"... you have no reason to doubt my resolve and you can imagine how many of these attacks my men can make."
"Yeah, the problem, Natty-bud, is I just dont give a shit. Go ahead, set off more bombs, kill a few more people. There will be plenty of survivors to get me paid and you aren't killing anyone important. In fact, please keep setting those bombs off. I love having the city police round up and execute any of your men that slip through my net."
"You are bluffing."
"You can think what you want, Netan. But my one and only offer is that you get the fuck out of my city"
"... I think, unfortunately, that I believe you."
"Then you know you must accept."
"I would rather die."
"-"
(http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ms12AIwrs2I/maxresdefault.jpg)
As the explosion tosses your body across the room, you briefly contemplate how a suicide bomb inside the body would not have triggered the weapon detectors that protected this negotiation room. There is blackness and a bright light...
A) Head into the light
B) Head away from the light
-
B) Uh head away from the light? -> we didn't die in battle so this can't be anything good. If we go there they sent us to some burning shithole. Better to be alive than that. 'Sides we only go when theres valkyries that show us the way.
-
Death on a negotiating table is death on the truest form of battlefield.
-
Death on a negotiating table is death on the truest form of battlefield.
I guess.
B) It's time to launch a retaliation whatevers left of Netans gang and his familly. They are NOT going to have agreed to what he did today because although we can't get him, we can get them. An we can do it while breathing through tubes.
-
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2272
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(http://i463.photobucket.com/albums/qq357/nailbender_cpf/beam.jpg)
The light. The light is bad. You must go away from the light.
"...li-....li-...ba-"
"He's trying to say something!"
"Just keep calm Tyler, it's going to be alright."
"...li-...ba-"
"Hold him down tight! The internal bleeding is bad."
"Where are those damn sedatives?"
"...li-"
Just go away from the light, Franklin, just go away from the light.
Suddenly a wave of comfort washes over you, sweeping away the pain.
Just go away from the light, Franklin.
The light fades away and you go back into darkness.
(http://www.internetmonk.com/wp-content/uploads/The_Darkness_Wall_By_Kon_2560X1600.jpeg)
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(http://i829.photobucket.com/albums/zz219/BFThompson/Screencaps%20Stargate%20Album%202/ScreencapS2FifthRace15.jpg)
You wake up in the city infirmary, unable to move anything beneath your neck. The pain is pretty bad but the medics give you morphine whenever you want which helps. Apparently the sedatives are necessary to keep your thrashing from killing you. It was touch and go for a while.
The fog in your brain slowly fades and you start learning what happened. It was a suicide attack done by someone who wanted you and Netan out of the picture. They couldn't get close enough to the table however. With you and Netan both wounded the negotiation turned into a bloodbath as both sides opened fire. Your guys won, obviously. Now Netan is a prisoner, and breathing through a tube. With him out of the way the Syndicates have splintered, launching attacks on your men and on each other. The desperation of Oldtown your blockade has created has reached a fever pitch.
The medics refuse to allow you to interrogate the prisoner but a message is relayed to you. Netan still refuses to accept exile from the city. He demands you give let him die or accept a negotiated surrender. His men will turn in their weapons and allow the national guard to return to Oldtown. The people of Oldtown will start obeying the city enforced labor ordinances again. However the Syndicate loyalists have to be accommodated in any arrangement, city bureaucrats from topside can't be running the show in Oldtown, Netans men have to be in positions of power.
The mayor wont like the city administration getting cut out but the Bennet has run roughshod over the mayor's office ever since Indbur kicked the bucket. The Executive Council will love being able to reinstall rent paying tenants in Oldtown and getting those people back into the labor system. If the executives heard about this deal they would certainly go over your head to accept it. If you tried to resist the deal they would just put the other mercenary companies in charge. For this reason your people wisely aren't letting anyone see Netan or sharing any news of the deal. It would be profitable to accept this deal but Netan isn't going to just roll over and play nice, the Syndicates will still be there to cause trouble...
A) Accept Netans offer and put an end to the bloodshed
B) Reject Netans offer and give him the swift death he requests
C) Reject Netans offer but keep him around for now.
D) Reject Netans offer but release him as a gesture of good faith, he didn't violate the ceasefire at the negotiations and you are a man of honor
-
since this meeting was in a private place, there were only Netans and our own men there. I presume we know our men apart so it can't be one of ours.so the suicide man was placed there in Netans cohorts.
furthermore we now face the problem of an angry population. Of course we can all shoot them to pieces, but they already started suicide bombing. Our. Men. thats bad. That's really bad. If people are desperate enough to do this, they will continue to kill us if Netan is kept there or if we kill him. And as much as i hate suicide bombers there is no good tactic for them besides mass murdering Oldtown...which isn't exactly what the CEOs want.
The other possibility is that we accept Netans offer giving us the problem that Netan is now one of our customers...meaning we get some really fun shit assignments.
Then there is the thing of releasing him and denying him...which propably will lead to the above...
all pretty shitty choices.
Sooo just as an idea how about this one: we accept his offer and before he departs he gets his own suicide bomb implanted without his knowledge. When he meets with his cohorts...he goes boom and takes the Syndicate leadership with him. Just spitballing here at the moment.
-
I presume we know our men apart so it can't be one of ours.so the suicide man was placed there in Netans cohorts.
Netan's people are drawn from the entire Syndicate. The Syndicate has competing interests. And keep in mind that a very similar thing happened topside with Bose and Indbur. Bose and Indbur were on the same side... until they weren't.
And as much as i hate suicide bombers there is no good tactic for them besides mass murdering Oldtown...which isn't exactly what the CEOs want.
The CEOs would prefer a supply of indentured labor but they really want that Oldtown real estate. You have two means of income. One is the indentured labor of the people you capture alive. The other is the bounties that Bennet is paying per section of Oldtown wrestled from the Syndicates. A big chunk of the profit from the labor goes to you since you are the one they are in default to. The bounties paid for capturing city blocks on the other hand are just a small fraction of the profits that territory is worth to the Executive Council in the long term. As such the Executives dont care as much for the number of people as for the amount of territory and how soon you can end the fighting.
Netan is now one of our customers...meaning we get some really fun shit assignments.
Well Tylers Private Security is the most elite of the private security outfits in Boulder so Netan wouldn't offer you a job unless it was valuable enough to justify hiring the best.
Sooo just as an idea how about this one: we accept his offer and before he departs he gets his own suicide bomb implanted without his knowledge. When he meets with his cohorts...he goes boom and takes the Syndicate leadership with him. Just spitballing here at the moment.
Oooooh, that's pretty evil. It would be a bit risky and it would definitely point fingers back to you.
-
Okay so the CEOs don't give a fuck who lives and dies...that is...excellent. My type of job.
Uhm with the fun shit assignments i meant that he would make sure that we are getting handed to some suicide missions so he can take revenge on us.
anyway:
E) They want to play Hardball with suicide bombers? fine. Accept Netans offer, plant a suicide bomb in him without him noticing...oh and in all of his cronies we need to release...wait for the right moment...boom. When that business is finished mop up the Syndicate, but this time properly. Enough of the niceties, we have enough people in the labor camps that we dont need to care about new prisoners. Make sure they drown in their own blood. Show them what pure terror means. If faced with a guerilla force you can only work effectively if you don't have to take care of a civilian population. Since that is not the case here: Flamethrowers, Chemical Weapons and street by street cleansings till they understand that there is no conditional surrender to be had. That we don't care how many die, that we don't give a single, flying, fuck if we have to walk over mountains of dead people. Oldtown is the prize. Not its people. They are an optional goal. If they want to resist they will see what they will get from that.
^ this can only end well.
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ghaz, you read that wrong. the executives are getting far more out of the ground then we are, whereas we're the ones profiting from taking prisoners.
D.
-
Just gonna toss a few population numbers around. Boulder has a population of over two million people, swelled by a trickle of refugees from Colorado Springs and the east. Oldtown is the ground levels near the middle of the city and the upper subterranean parts of the city and had about five hundred thousand people before the siege started. Of those about 50,000 were members of the Syndicate in one capacity or another. Two years of conflict has shrunk the population of Oldtown to about three hundred thousand people. About fifty thousand of those managed to get admitted into the relatively law abiding population of the upper levels. Some of those were sleeper agents who started striking back with terrorism. About fifty thousand have ended up in the work camps, displacing pretty much the entire population previously in the camps. Most of the rest have remained in the areas of Oldtown that have been captured by the mercenary gangs and are under city government administration again.
Uhm with the fun shit assignments i meant that he would make sure that we are getting handed to some suicide missions so he can take revenge on us.
He wouldn't be your boss. The opposite actually. Netan is offering to bring the Syndicate into the city administration, under Mayor Luiz. Mayor Luiz answers to the Executive Council. Sealing this peace deal would result in you getting a seat on the Executive Council. The Executives represent the monnied interests if the city that took over after Indbur died.
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ghaz, you read that wrong. the executives are getting far more out of the ground then we are, whereas we're the ones profiting from taking prisoners.
D.
Tell him to have a month's worth of ceasefire at least. It seems like we BOTH need time to recover and it'd be a good time to spy/recon the syndicate. He would have to deal with his lower level management that decided to start bombing each other/bomb our meeting also so he's probally going to have to clean house a bit.
We on the other hand just have to hold on to what we have and maybe capture some sleeper agents. Then when the month is up just start up the sieges again but starting with the local syndicate leaders we know were responcible for the bombing/possibly linked to the bombing. Explain to Netan that were not after him just the people that wronged us. Which is just a way to attack him without him getting too uppity and if he does..
Okay so the CEOs don't give a fuck who lives and dies...that is...excellent. My type of job.
Uhm with the fun shit assignments i meant that he would make sure that we are getting handed to some suicide missions so he can take revenge on us.
anyway:
E) They want to play Hardball with suicide bombers? fine. Accept Netans offer, plant a suicide bomb in him without him noticing...oh and in all of his cronies we need to release...wait for the right moment...boom. When that business is finished mop up the Syndicate, but this time properly. Enough of the niceties, we have enough people in the labor camps that we dont need to care about new prisoners. Make sure they drown in their own blood. Show them what pure terror means. If faced with a guerilla force you can only work effectively if you don't have to take care of a civilian population. Since that is not the case here: Flamethrowers, Chemical Weapons and street by street cleansings till they understand that there is no conditional surrender to be had. That we don't care how many die, that we don't give a single, flying, fuck if we have to walk over mountains of dead people. Oldtown is the prize. Not its people. They are an optional goal. If they want to resist they will see what they will get from that.
^ this can only end well.
-
Boulder's a shithole. Leadership anywhere in this game world, with the exception of the mountain men, is an invitation to murder. I say we hop on the internet, search out areas of natural wilderness,and do some traveling, taking pictures and gathering samples, then return to the mountain men and retire. If we need a seat on the council in order to have the funding ans 'security' to attempt this with a minimum of interference, so be it.
Alternatively, we to our traveling tour, then instead of heading to the mountain men, we inquire of them as to a likely place we could set up a similar compound, and take our men and women and settle there and build an underground oasis like the mountain men have - or as close as we can manage.
Also, we watched Bose do the suicide bomb in the body trick. How did we fall for it also?
-
Not sure where the consensus lies here. I'm getting a vibe to stop the war from Ozrck, getting a vibe to fight honorably from Playergamer, getting a vibe to burn the earth from Ghazkull and getting a vibe to fight honorably and then burn the earth from 3man75. Doesn't seem mutually incompatible so I'll give it a little more time and then go with whatever strikes my fancy if a consensus doesn't emerge.
Alternatively, we to our traveling tour, then instead of heading to the mountain men, we inquire of them as to a likely place we could set up a similar compound, and take our men and women and settle there and build an underground oasis like the mountain men have - or as close as we can manage.
Well Cavern Forge is already pretty close to that.
-
Much like a mud hut is close to Taj Mahal. Nevertheless, it's a good enough starting point. Let's find something worth trading with the Mountain Men and turn Canyon Forge into something worthwhile. But stay in Boulder until we can make a good go of it.
Eh, accept Netan's offer, with the provision that violent crime be curbed and the Syndicate cooperate in efforts to feed and house the needy. Let the Syndicate and the council remain in opposition. We got what we wanted out of this. No need for more. Or are we the very thing we fought against so long (Norris, the old Mayor, that guy who stole all the food, etc.). Are we merely opportunists who feed off the suffering of others? I had hoped from the beginning that we weren't, but when we chose otherwise, it inevitably went poorly for us. Only when we were willing to crush our enemies , see them driven before us, and hear the lamentations of their women were we rewarded.
-
What do you mean being the good guy got you in trouble? Take a step back and consider the cause Tyler joined when he signed up with Carter. Consider it like someone not from Boulder would see it.
The closest Tyler has been to being an angel so far is when he set up protection for the merchants between Boulder and Provo and that went pretty well and got him a promotion.
-
3man75's proposal.
1. Let him go on the condition of a ceasefire and a pledge (done on camera) that he will reign in the syndicate's suacide bombing.
2. Impart explosives on him and the other survivors.
3. Make sure he is followed and spied on by our own people and wait for him to meet his the other Syndicate leaders.
4. Blow up the meeting. Publicly denounce the syndicate for blowing up their own guys and go after them like we use to. Without leadership and popular support they'll fall this time.
4 - step plans are best plans.
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Man, I've really created a monster here. :P I gave you what I thought was the evil option and you said "NOPE, not evil enough!" I might just pull a dues ex machina on y'all at this rate.
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Man, I've really created a monster here. :P I gave you what I thought was the evil option and you said "NOPE, not evil enough!" I might just pull a dues ex machina on y'all at this rate.
Isn't this what the FBI does all the time to catch dudes in the Cartel? Release a trusted messenger/leader and let them go back to HQ. Hopefully they get others together and then BOOM raid by the swat team/Milatarized task force. Of course my way revolves around explosions per recomended by Dr. Michael Bay.
-
It also relies on them not looking out for the exact same strategy that just failed...
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thats why everyone gets those bombs, so the detectors go wild and people go..."ah goddamnit that thing is crap." because the other option would be that everyone has bombs in his/her chest cavity...which would be ridiculous.
i will put an addendum to my Option E then:
In case explosives do not work, keep Death Squad ready for the conventional way
3man: using option D here and then going my way has one massive problem: You give him no reason to get the leaders together since he can continue as before until the CEOs intervene, since you basically say: nope we dont accept your offer now go back home. It also gives no reason to release his cronies.
On top of that with no agreement and no reason given to release him or his men would look awfully suspicious, whereas if we com to an "agreement" we have perfect justification to release the lot and they HAVE to meet to agree that they will stop bombing and agree to accept our offer.
Ozarck: we can't just leave we are currently employed. Once boulder is cleeaned up we will have enough cash to get back our military grade armours and shit and then we can deal with the Mountain Men in an effective way. They will rather hire us if we are a well-equipped military force rather than a bunch of half-starved veterans.
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Man, I've really created a monster here. :P I gave you what I thought was the evil option and you said "NOPE, not evil enough!" I might just pull a dues ex machina on y'all at this rate.
3Man and Ghazkull have been pretty consistent in wanting to do it evil, and you've been pretty consistent in the "evil pays" system, so this shouldn't be a surprise.
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nah i was teh loyalty to our group guy and the lets go to europe guy. But since that didn't work out i decided to just go full on military crackdown corporate goons. At least until our company is rich enough and well-equipped enough to do the Mountain Men and/or Europe shtick
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nah i was teh loyalty to our group guy and the lets go to europe guy. But since that didn't work out i decided to just go full on military crackdown corporate goons. At least until our company is rich enough and well-equipped enough to do the Mountain Men and/or Europe shtick
oh right. My bad. It's been a few weeks.
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nah i was teh loyalty to our group guy and the lets go to europe guy. But since that didn't work out i decided to just go full on military crackdown corporate goons. At least until our company is rich enough and well-equipped enough to do the Mountain Men and/or Europe shtick
Would love to create a global Empire tbh.
thats why everyone gets those bombs, so the detectors go wild and people go..."ah goddamnit that thing is crap." because the other option would be that everyone has bombs in his/her chest cavity...which would be ridiculous.
i will put an addendum to my Option E then:
In case explosives do not work, keep Death Squad ready for the conventional way
3man: using option D here and then going my way has one massive problem: You give him no reason to get the leaders together since he can continue as before until the CEOs intervene, since you basically say: nope we dont accept your offer now go back home. It also gives no reason to release his cronies.
On top of that with no agreement and no reason given to release him or his men would look awfully suspicious, whereas if we com to an "agreement" we have perfect justification to release the lot and they HAVE to meet to agree that they will stop bombing and agree to accept our offer.
Ozarck: we can't just leave we are currently employed. Once boulder is cleeaned up we will have enough cash to get back our military grade armours and shit and then we can deal with the Mountain Men in an effective way. They will rather hire us if we are a well-equipped military force rather than a bunch of half-starved veterans.
I've kinda changed my mind on using option D. An yes he would because if you remember they are literally out of fricking control and killing each other. Their leader needs to start getting shit together again or his organization will tear itself apart along with the rest of the city.
On top of that we could lie about agreeing to his deal IF he gets his goons to stop suicide bombing.
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ûhhh... that is my entire point ;P
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(http://41.media.tumblr.com/b389862f203e45a5d280bc55377ed179/tumblr_n13t9ixhgv1qc0fkfo1_r1_1280.jpg)
You awaken in a spacious bedroom you've never seen before. You are in the upper floors of the city, where the richest citizens live. The bed you lie on is the greatest object you have felt in your life. If sex was a bed it would be this one. Shakily you get to your feet and look out over the splendor of Boulder, visible from the upper levels. From up here all the misery of the world is invisible, all you can see are the glimmering lights of the elegant exterior of the city.
"What am I doing here?" you wonder aloud to yourself.
"Well it's your condo." comes the reply of a nearby voice. "I'm not surprised you don't remember it though, you bought the place six months ago but never set foot inside. You need a social life, Tyler."
(http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y242/iiradned/Gatewrold/continuum61a.jpg)
"General!" you reply in surprise, quickly grabbing a blanket to make an impromptu toga.
"It's Colonel, actually. Boulder doesn't need two generals in the National Guard now that the war with Provo is done. Shepherd... seemed right for the job." Carter has the decorum to look away from your partially naked body but you have the suspicion she stole a couple glances.
"Oh yeah..." you remember something about that happening topside while you were fighting in Oldtown. You had more pressing concerns at the time. Still do actually. "Colonel, I was in the middle of a delicate negotiation..."
"You were, Tyler. I countermanded your orders. You should put some pants on and come into the living room. The place looks great."
You quickly dress and limp into the living room as fast as you can for an explanation. "What did you do, Colonel?"
"Well, I went to check on you while you were lying in the hospital. You were getting kinda crazy there, Jeff. You were talking about gassing the entire population of Oldtown and strapping bombs to people. It was back and forth between the lucid and the crazy."
"That wasn't crazy, that was-"
"Jeff, you kept going on about putting a bomb and microphones in a critically injured man. What do you think the Syndicate doctors were going to say when they gave him a medical scan?"
"...hm."
"Those drugs did a number on you, kid. Look, you just need to take it easy for a few days here. The war with Provo is done, the Syndicate cut a deal which you got the credit for and you have done pretty well for yourself here. Sit your ass down. Enjoy the view. I know I never gave you what I promised eight years ago but hey Tyler, you came out pretty well. You dont need to keep fighting forever."
(https://jessecrall.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/theodore-twomblys-apartment-in-her.png)
It is a hell of a view
You sit down on the couch and find a beer in your hand. You first beer in... eight months. You drink deeply and it occurs to you...
Jedi) Carter has saved you from yourself. Victory against the Syndicate wasn't what was important. What was important was taking care of the people you were loyal to. The last prisoners from the 17th were released over a year ago. You have won the war. What's more important is that you now win the peace and work to protect your city in the dangerous world that exists now that the United States has fragmented.
Sith) Carter has betrayed you. She has interfered with your plans because she can't stand that you are a successful leader while she was a failure. You can't let a lesser person hold you back. You need to keep building up Tyler Private Security until you rule this city.
Investor) Carter doesn't understand. The fighting was just a means to an ends, not your final goal. You aren't going to stop at being a petty mercenary. This city was built by men and women of talent and ambition, in a different age when people still worked on a mighty scale. You have the talent to build something equally magnificent and change this world in a way that no mere soldier could.
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"Colonel. The fighting may be over and I may live in a very nice hotel. *sips beer* but I am not done.
I got great curse of ambition now and I want to expand the company into the entire country. Then the entire world over to bring back real civilazation and real progress. Just look around at this crap.
Were inside a dome and I know that somewhere out their there are people that can rebuild the earth itself to destroy this nuclear radiation killing the planet. Then we can live like we were meant to..sorry. I think the meds have me by the balls still. Forget it, I'll just kill whoever the Government feels needs it. So is the Syndicate leadership willing to meet with me in private? I want to talk to Netan about the bombing. Make sure were square for now on."
Lets just make amends and build up our power little by little. Who knows the Syndicate could be a partner in that arena. Basically option 1) JEDI.
Not really Jedi but pretty okay I guess.
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A hotel is a place where people rent rooms on an ongoing basis from the building owner, who owns the individual rooms. A condo is a home or commercial parcel purchased by the tenant from the building or neighborhood owner.
(https://media1.giphy.com/media/Y2nbrJyAR6RiM/200_s.gif)
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Megalomaniac Idealist Crusader) "Stop fighting? I haven't even begun. Boulder is still a shithole. And if you go beyond that you find Raiders and Bandits and god knows what irradiated crap those wars spawned. And then look at that corrupt piece of crap we call a government. Hell you and Norris both made bids for President by starting a Military Junta. No offense there, but seriously when did we go from Democratic Superpower to Third World Shithole? We have Nuclear Cruzers but can't feed our own population propably? What kind of crapsack shitplace is this? I'll tell you one thing, i'll only ever be done fighting and working when this entire country stops being a irradiated, bandit-infested, wartorn piece of crap and goes back to being what the history books told about it. And then i will march on to Europe and do the same and to Asia and to whatever other places looks as abominable as this one. And then and only then maybe i'll retire."
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Doesn't really address the if the means to that change is using military power to support others, using military power to dominate or moving away from military power towards other forms of capitalist endeavor.
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well both of them of course...who says a mix isnt possible?
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jedi, of course. Win the peace, protect those loyal to us. Carter may have overridden us, but, she's proved her worht as a commander before, and we've been lucky to work under her.
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jedi, of course. Win the peace, protect those loyal to us. Carter may have overridden us, but, she's proved her worht as a commander before, and we've been lucky to work under her.
This seems sensible. Perpetuating the politically motivated murders is, after all, not a good way to go about stopping the politically motivated murders. Barring reconquest by the Feds, winning the peace is the way to power for us.
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Jedi)
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Investor) Wasn't this our main intention in the first place?
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Investor) Wasn't this our main intention in the first place?
It was once upon a time but the date kept getting pushed further and further off. Now the story has progressed to the end of the prologue and I'm wondering how the heck I can proceed given how the nature of the protagonist has drifted from what this was originally supposed to be about.
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Investor) Wasn't this our main intention in the first place?
It was once upon a time but the date kept getting pushed further and further off. Now the story has progressed to the end of the prologue and I'm wondering how the heck I can proceed given how the nature of the protagonist has drifted from what this was originally supposed to be about.
Your fault for letting ideas fester for so long. Plus the prologue gave us way too many opportunities.
I'll switch to: "Okay fine Colonel. So what next for you and me? An Boulder for that matter? We still have a food shortage for the lower cities and words won't feed them forever.
Do we go to war now like we did in the past?"
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Yeah it's not your fault, I created choices that I didn't want taken and didn't use my power as narrator to guide things like I could of. But at this point I'm thinking I might need to just leave well enough alone. The story feels kinda done to me even though Tyler still has a future in front of him. What the story really turned into was an exploration of the world, how the military turned to warlordism, how the areas turned against each other and the reasons why people see these warlords as a necessary evil.
I have thoughts about how the story would continue to develop. The mountain men aren't just going to sit under their mountain forever. The US government factions still exist out in the east and there's a whole issue of the Indian global primacy I haven't touched on. But I wonder if it should be Tylers story anymore. It might just make more sense to start with a new character from the Mountain Men or Grand Island or Mumbai or Annapolis.
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I would argue now is the time for Tyler to start his quest as the owner of the most powerful private military of this world. That an attempt to set something right along the way but that's just me.
I think everyone should vote on whether they want to be the most powerful Private military, start a new character that has simply watched all this go on, or just something else. um hum, I charge the GM respectully to call le vote.
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Oh he's nowhere near the owner of the strongest private military in the world. He has the most elite mercenary band in the city but it's hardly the only one.
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Oh he's nowhere near the owner of the strongest private military in the world. He has the most elite mercenary band in the city but it's hardly the only one.
Time for some hostile takeovers then don't ya think? I think so :D
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Not very Jedi of you, Tyler.
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Not very Jedi of you, Tyler.
Buisness takeovers are just buisness not personal. All we have to do is use our sources of money and initial payouts to encourage take overs.
No need for blood. An if it gets to that point we'll just ask the Boulder police to file a report of attempted attack to get them to back down. After which we'll just be like "Look, were not here for a war. We respect your position and we shall part ways but we want peace in our time. Okay?".
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"Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown."
-1599
"Mo money, mo problems."
-1997
"L'argent ne peut acheter le bonheur. Personne ne est content plus."
-2234
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2275
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There was a legend that a traveler from the east shared, of the old national arboretum. Few people still cared about a bunch of plants so she was happy to share the tale when you showed an interest. The national arboretum was not just a collection of trees. Back before the nuclear attacks on Washington, DC, the government could afford to make entire natural environments indoors. The national arboretum was the largest such structure in the world, allowing visitors to travel through massive jungles, deserts and tundras. The arboretum was destroyed during the wars and thoroughly picked over by looters but supposedly not all it's treasure was found. Although no one claimed to be growing such plants, merchants would occasionally show up with supplies of priceless chili powder or vanilla extract. From these incidents the rumors started that in fact that national arboretum exotic specimens had been secretly removed before the war. Supposedly somewhere there was a vast treasure trove of exotic plants. Hunting for a two hundred year old collection of seeds was considered a fools errands by most but a priceless treasure trove did make excitement for a fair number of fools.
You consider going hunting for the treasure. It might be nothing but a myth but it presents the lure of adventure and the chance to visit the east. But sadly, the path of treasure hunter isn't available to you. You've gone respectable.
(http://slayerevival.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/0716.png)
Cotton is more expensive then Rayon but it commands respect
Boulder survives because you keep it united. The Syndicates would come back if you were out of the picture. The mercenary bands are benign as long as you are the de facto figurehead. Who might rise to the top if there was a power vacuum. Bennet might be dangerous without a counterweight. Carter would probably shoot off her mouth. The peace with Provo wont hold forever. Oh and there's the aging nuclear reactors of course. Leaving Boulder would be too dangerous for the city.
But the story is there, in the back of your mind. It's an itch that you want to investigate. And you still have that watch. The watch that has come through countless firefights and explosions without so much as a scratch.
(http://api.sonymobile.com/files/SmartWatch-3-SWR50-black-1240x840-79054d32a0d13a97bedae3d0b12f62af-79054d32a0d13a97bedae3d0b12f62af.jpg)
Good as new
You can't head east yourself but you decide to give the watch to someone. Cassandra said that the mountain men were tracking it. You start considering the different people you could send. Someone young and resourceful. You can send several people but you can only give the watch to one of them. Eventually you decide to give the person who will lead the expedition. Your best choices seem to be.
A) A journalist from Mumbai. They came to the (formerly) United States of North America to report on the Indian occupation forces in California. They ended up settling in the Colorado Free State and became a protege of yours. Their telejournalism in Oldtown helped improve some of the worst parts of the cities. Their experience at getting people to talk and turning leads into solid facts will be an asset on the expedition.
B) A soldier from Witchita. Although they were on the losing side of the Boulder-Witchita conflict, they eventually moved to Boulder and joined Taylor private security. They proved themselves to be the best of the best in the fight against the Syndicate and the skirmishes with the northern bandits. Their ability to survive where others would give up hope will be an asset on the expedition.
C) A young scientist from Boulder. This young scholar has an affinity for technology and study that few people seem to possess this day and seem to know more then people thirty years their elder. They distinguished themselves in the effort to investigate the ruined farmland of Kansas. You know for a fact they have been keeping information about their parentage secret. You suspect they know that the Mountain Men are more then just a myth. Their secret knowledge and resourcefulness will be an asset on the expedition.
D) An archivist from the east. They were part of the hereditary caste of people entrusted with the defense computer network information systems. After the death of president Norris, they came west and did some sort of hard to understand work which added a bunch of stuff to the public libraries. Their credentials and ability to access abandoned computer records will be an asset on the expedition.
Who leads the expedition?
What is their name?
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(C, and his name is Kier Fiorre, Smartest human in the world!
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c)
puuh no idea bout names...Kier Forre sounds like a reference to something though.
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I decided to add a choice D as well.
The name Kier Fiorre seems quite appropriate to the scientist character.
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A) A journalist from Mumbai. They came to the (formerly) United States of North America to report on the Indian occupation forces in California. They ended up settling in the Colorado Free State and became a protege of yours. Their telejournalism in Oldtown helped improve some of the worst parts of the cities. Their experience at getting people to talk and turning leads into solid facts will be an asset on the expedition.
Having a Diplomat keep trouble from brewing is always a good idea. Name: Jillian von Tarv.
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"nihil sub sole novum"
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2275
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Councilman Jefferson Tyler was a calculating man so when he invited you to his private suite at the Colosseum you had a suspicion he probably wanted something out of you. It's not like he would have been funding your research for the past two years without expecting something in return. So you were prepared when he took you aside during an intermission and started grilling you on your research. At least he had the class to do it in a friendly way and offer you a drink, unlike some of the backers you have had in the past. On the other hand, Tyler seemed to actually care about more then when he'd get a payoff. That was a bit of a complication. It's not like you could tell him the real reason your research was so successful. Well at least you can share the partial truth...
"The essence is understanding the evolutionary effects on the symbiotic lifeforms of our crops. The effects of the genophage didn't end when the original pathogens died out a hundred and fifty years ago. There is still a process of forced mutation that-"
"-creates evolutionary pressures away from the desired phenotypes due to the shifting nature of the environmental threats. I read your publications Dr. Fiorre. I'm just wondering why you were able to salvage so much of the original Kansas project so quickly. I've got a statistician who says it should have taken you ten thousand generations but you did it in a few hundred. How'd you work so quickly?"
Well shit. The high school dropout was actually understanding what you were saying this whole time. You should have made your publications more difficult to follow. And he's right, it did take ten thousand generations when you did it the first time. Tyler gives you a moment to collect yourself and gets himself another whiskey on the rocks. It's the third you've seen him drink in fifteen minutes. He isn't even slightly inebriated.
"High tolerance to alcohol intoxication is a common mutation in the United States since the forth world war. Unfortunately it doesn't give high resistance to liver disease. You should be careful, Sir."
"Answer the question, doctor."
"Well I made a few lucky guesses based on the old project."
"Seems like some pretty big lucky guesses."
"What can I say?"
"Well, can I expect you to make similarly lucky guesses in the future?"
"Unfortunately the old work wont be much help to me from this point. At this point we are facing seriously genetic vulnerability in symbiotes because we are trying to replicate two billion years of evolution with a couple years of gene splicing. It will take many years before we will have crops and microorganisms that are fully compatible again."
"What if you had access to more plant species from before the war? Would the genetic diversity help?"
"Sure it would help but the wars destroyed most of the genetic diversity of the planet. There probably aren't even a twenty thousand plant species worldwide that were around before the third world war."
"What if that weren't true?"
"I would be delighted."
"Tell me, Dr. Fiorre, have you ever heard of the National Arboretum?"
-----------------------------------
After mulling over the story of the National Arboretum, you decide to check out this statistician, Mary Carlson. But as soon as you and Tyler part ways, you find yourself flagged down by a journalist who had spent the whole night glad handing his way from one person to another.
(http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/buffy/images/b/bf/012Kal_penn.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120825175927)
How can you not love that face?
"Ah, so you must be the last member of our expedition. I'm Jillian von Tarv. No relation. Are you doctor Kier Fiorre?"
"I'm sorry, have we met?"
"Oh no, I'm just in the business of getting to the bottom of things. Have you followed my work on CongressionalWorldNews.com?"
Huh... Congressional World News? Yeah, there was some Indian reporter.
"Yeah I've saw that thing a couple weeks back about the gangs. But what's this about an expedition?"
"Oh well it's just putting the pieces together. Tyler has been talking to Mary Carlson, Strider, myself and now you. Carlson has conenctions and assets in the east so that's where we must be going, Strider is one of his best lieutenants so it's going to be dangerous and now we've got you to explain what we are looking for. So, do you mind if I tag along while you talk to Mary?"
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ISD6EDz7EC0/TvEQiW1mc8I/AAAAAAAAAEs/GWdFiX6Yiso/s1600/felicia-day-glasses-WIDE.jpg)
Watch out, she was a big enough nerd to see through your bullshit
"Doctor Carlson I presume?"
"Oh please, Doctor Carlson is my mother's name. Plus I'm not a doctor. Um... who are you?"
"Oh, sorry about that. I'm uh, Kier Fiorre."
"Oh right, sorry."
Hey, at least you aren't the only awkward one here.
"So uh, what's this that Tyler and Tarv are saying about a vault of plants?"
"Oh yeah, it's out there. Probably."
"Probably?"
Mary shrugs. "Hey, I just run the numbers. Tyler gave me a list of where and when old species have been rediscovered. My model says there's probably something out there."
"Huh, does your model tell you anything else?"
"Well... it's probably in Maryland... or Maine... or Mississippi. But we probably want to start in DC."
"Hey, I just heard about this ten minutes ago. What makes you think I'm going to go on this wild goose chase?"
A smug laugh barks out behind you and you turn and see a woman who had been watching you unannounced the whole time.
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcROnK7ux1eY0zXQarE91myvHr_KBLSZ91VWbVoFk23hAvj0rNRQ)
Callsign Strider. First name, unknown. Last name, unknown.
"Cuz if you dont come along, we find some other nerd and they get to go down in history as the biggest nerd ever who saved the human race."
Well damn, she does make a good point.
"Call me Strider, everyone else does. Welcome to the team."
"Okay, what the hell. Did everyone but me figure out what was going on?"
"Much as I like watching a nerd (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZEdDMQZaCU&feature=youtu.be&t=2s) feel inadequate, you don't need to worry, Doc, Jillian explained it to me. But hey, let's cut the shit. Dont act like you aren't going. This is your chance to be part of something legendary. Hell, this might even be your chance to not die a virgin. Go tell Tyler you want in."
-----------------------------------
Not sure if you were persuaded or bullied, you return to Tyler.
"So, did you like the team I picked out for you? I've got a few other handpicked men and women for you but those three are the ones you are going to need to rely on the most. I think they are people you can rely on."
"So this is my team?"
"Yeah, I think this mission calls for the best of the best and that's you. And you know more then you let on, that's going to be an asset. If anyone has a chance of cracking this, it's going to be you. So how about it, Doctor, you want to make history?
-----------------------------------
Tyler gives you one last surprise, his watch. You feign ignorance of course but you know exactly what it is capable of. It's exactly the same as the watch your father wore.
-----------------------------------
The first question is how you are going to make the trip east. The lands between Boulder and the Atlantic coast are dangerous, filled with bandits and warring factions. The coast itself is still in a state of civil war with all three sides claiming to be the legitimate government of the entire USNA. And if people thought you actually might find the trove they'd probably kill you for your information. Keeping your Colorado origins and mission secret would probably be a wise move. All three of your experts suggest different approaches.
A) Mary suggests taking an indirect route, join a merchant caravan and slowly make your way down to the gulf then travel along the coast. It will be a slow route but allow you to arrive in an inconspicuous fashion. Mary stresses the need to keep a low profile, she saw the civil war in the east first hand and tells you keeping your head down is the best way to avoid making enemies.
B) Tarv suggests traveling quickly by hovercraft. Start out heading east for Grand Island then hop from city to city all the way to the coast. You will attract attention traveling by air but a little attention can be an asset as well as a danger.
C) Strider suggests arming yourselves to the teeth and heading north east into bandit country. You can cut a path straight across Canada by just shooting every bandit in your way. You can leave bandit country around London or Montreal and no one will know where you came from.
D) Reject all three plans and come up with something else
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((Isn't there an actual seed vault in Norway though? Of course that would mean the game going in an entirely different direction, but...))
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((TBH I didn't think about that one at all. :P Furious replanning is now in progress.
But keep in mind that seed banks dont last forever and it's been over 100 years since the start of the forth world war. The seed bank would need to be actively maintained to last this long. And it's not just the seeds you need but the complete genetic diversity including most crucially the microbiotic species from before the war that weren't mutated or subjected to natural selection by the new environment. Pre-genophage plants still exist, it's just really hard to grow them properly.))
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((Er... It's in permafrost, those seeds will be viable pretty much forever.))
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((Yeah but the problem is more then just having seeds. The problem is that the WMDs in the last world war were deliberately designed to kill off the environment that made agriculture possible. High tech salting the earth. One solution is to make GMO crops that can survive in an environment of acid rain and retroviruses. However this requires genetically engineering bacteria which have very specific traits. Bacteria evolve very, very quickly if they have specific traits that aren't selected for. Although traits that keep plants alive are good for the bacteria as a whole, they aren't good for the individual bacteria. So it's difficult to keep a farm going because you need to constantly be fighting to keep the desirable genetic traits for bacteria in your biosphere.
The seed vault AFAIK only built around plant death, not planet biosphere death.
Or someone just nuked the vault to make their WMD campaign more effective.))
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((Hmm. And you can't just make plant organelles that have the same function?
Most apocalypse scenarios do have severe die-offs, but yeah.))
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((Hmm. And you can't just make plant organelles that have the same function?))
((As bacteria?))
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((There's no reason why it's impossible. It'd probably need a special organ but you could totally churn out stuff that would do stuff with advanced enough stuff. And I just overused stuff, but...It shouldn't be impossible to replicate those functions. Or select for plants with them normally. Maybe really hard though.))
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((Either way, it's not going to have a short term impact on the story while I need an action to continue.))
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For those wondering, yes, it is a refrence.
A, no sense in dying, make sure to add rocket thrusters.
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(http://pics.imcdb.org/0is210/darwinawardsjatochevy3io6.6038.jpg)
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((Holding off in the hope of getting a little more of a quorum before I start writing.))