OVERCAST: Bradbury's Brigade

[Lord Bradorian]

VAN ASSAULT MEMBERS (Squad #)
♂ Phillip Colbourne (4) [Driver]
♀ Agnes Workman (2) [Shotgun]
♀ Hilda Peachtrees (3)
♂ Jack Fowler (3)
♀ Clover Moore (3)
♂ Dale Gomez (1)
♀ Reina Hemlock (1)
♀ Cecilia Batrey (1)
♂ Harry Travers (7)

Due to the fact that the Humvee's fifty-caliber machine gun is still active, Dylan tells the van attack team to hold off and for now just make sure they're prepared to attack.

Bradbury advises Savoy to move far back enough to disengage and flank wide around where the Humvee was last seen and try their best to remain undetected, sleuthing between buildings and other forms of cover. Once there, observe the Humvee and wait for the gunner to peek his head out; then, take it off.

Benson is ordered to remain entrenched on the other side of the building, spreading out to almost form a semicircle around it (and make them less vulnerable to grenades.) He is told to exchange fire with the NPA in the building, but to conserve ammo; "When I give the word (when the van departs), light that building up. Until then, just a few potshots, enough to give them something to think about."

With their latest murders completed, Dylan tells Squad 7 to retrieve a few more firebombs and push up to Squads 4, 5, and the .50's position in the parking lot, except for Harry Travers; they are to use the bombs to target the Humvee if it is to get in range, or any NPA footmen who do the same. Wade Goodman can decide to either push up with his comrades, or fall back to Dr. Gores to get his minor wounds treated.

Transmission to Heckby - "Lieutenant Heckby, it's Bradbury. I was unable to send men out to kill the siren, I needed them to defend the factory; but there's an old NPA command center in the commercial district, the controls might be there. The battle continues over here, we've taken heavy losses but the government's are heavier, we've whittled their attack force to about half it's original number, assuming there aren't more on the way. How goes the fighting on your end?"

 

[Lorsh]

Wade decides to continue fighting.

Your van squad is prepared to move whenever you give the order.


Truman continues to exchange fire with the western enemy remnants. Nobody gets hit on either side, but Truman's men manage to send enough bullets flying to convince the remaining enemy troops to retreat. They throw a smoke grenade and flee the battle using the northwestern road. The SAW gunner fires off his remaining rounds before simply ditching the weapon on the ground. Truman says he only saw three soldiers, with most of them looking wounded, so they probably won't be coming back to fight anyway.

Benson's squad keeps engaging the NPA troops on the western side. However, Benson himself ends up getting shot, a 5.56mm round punching through his flak jacket and wounding him severely.

Savoy's men attempt to head around and flank the humvee, but their initial barrage of bullets isn't enough to take out the new gunner, as he pivots the .50 turret in time to protect himself from the incoming rounds using the gun shield. While firing her revolver at the humvee, Bri Belfort gets her arm blown off by the turret, dying from shock and blood loss. The other members of Savoy's squad manage to take cover, reporting that they saw a few soldiers run out from the building towards the humvee, possibly preparing to retreat, or attack.

When you try to reach Heckby, you receive a reply from another voice, probably a random comm officer or militia member. "We're basically getting overrun here. We can't do anything- we're going to abandon the post. Out."

 

[Lord Bradorian]

(These NPA run very quickly, must be fresh recruits. Gives me hope that the soldiers around here aren't amazing at what they do. My men always come back; there's just turn tail.)

Dylan sighs at the news of the forced move of Heckby's garrison, knowing that could cause trouble in the short-term. He has thoughts of possibly relocating himself. He'd scout out the area, see what threats are nearby. Post lookouts on the horde. Kinda like a pregnancy, he needed to see the first signs to decide whether to abort.

Dylan congratulates Squad 7's movement up to the parking lot by going to Lucio and asking him hastily for his Tac-SMG, claiming he'll be operating in close quarters and would be better equipped with Dylan's combat shotgun. Once obtaining the SMG, Dylan addresses everyone in the factory; "Use your sights, and your scopes. Aim accurately, and efficiently. Analyze a soldier's behavior, where he fires from. Find his opening, and end him."

Next, Dylan will head to where Caden is. "How's it looking? Can you see the Humvee? Can you hit the buildings and weaken softpoints in their defenses?" While conversing, Dylan lies prone and sets up his own aim with the Tac-SMG at one of the men in the building, looking for a target to open up on. He didn't have the longest range weapon, but he could make them tell he was shooting at them.

Truman is instructed to immediately pursue the northwest squad survivors, especially hunting the SAW gunner himself, recovering and carrying his gun as well as the firearms carried by the other soldiers, even if they are empty. If he can take the soldiers alive, he should do so; if not, executing them would suffice. The moment he is engaged, he should dig in. The moment he takes a casualty, he should retrieve the fallen weapon and pull back.

Benson and Savoy are instructed to immediately fall back from their positions and get to the Southern flank of the base, someone keeping pressure and possibly applying field first aid if the squads had that kind of equipment on them. A sedan will come to pick the wounded Lev up, while the rest of the Assault Squad and Squad 6 continue up into the base on foot. If the sedan is fired upon when picking Benson up, the Assault Squad and Squad 6 remnants should provide suppressive fire to get Lev evacuated quickly and without complication.


Dylan asks for a trio of volunteers within the factory to drive out the sedan to quickly rescue Lev Benson, picking him up once his men and Savoy get near the south flank of the factory. Dr. Gores is to immediately treat Lev once he arrives.

Bradbury calls for the MG Team to open fire after it sets up in the parking lot, along with the accompanying squads. The van team is moved up to the edge of the parking lot where everyone else is, adding cover to the extended rebel infantry position and adding their explosives, assault and hunting rifles to the base of fire that would be coming from this position. A few uninjured rebels should help the wounded Creedy and Jenkins back into the factory under the covering fire of the rest of the rebels in the parking lot, and brought to Dr. Gores.

The pulling back of their supporting squads showed a shift in the rebel gameplan as a reaction to the new developments with the Humvee. The rebel commander had been aggressive with the usage of his men so far, and his men had been brutally efficient; so many soldiers lie dead, but so do rebels. Now, the leader was trying to consolidate his forces, and prepare to react to what the men to the east were planning. If they were to retreat, Dylan's men would quickly fan out and scout the surrounding area, gathering remains from the battlefield on both sides. If the NPA meant to press forward and attack, the strong frontal rebel position in the parking lot would give them something to think about, hopefully balking their assault.

Transmission to Heckby: "Let the ARF in the north know, Bravo NPA has lost fourteen men here so far today, including a jeep. Four more wounded. They are weak; this might be the best time to hit them," Bradbury replies to the unknown voice; hopefully he could pass the message along.

"This is almost over. Just gotta weather a bit more of a storm," Dylan says to Caden as he lies next to him.

 

[Lorsh]

Jenkins and Creedy had been hit while running outside, having not reached cover. They are writhing out in the open. Wyatt Johnson breaks cover, rushing out to help Creedy, slinging his rifle and preparing to drag him by the shoulders to safety, but unfortunately an NPA rifleman paints the asphalt with his brains, shooting Creedy a few times as well and killing the two of them. Jenkins is successfully rescued, on the bright side.

Your MG crew opens up. Their initial burst possibly managed to take out a few hostiles, but having a .50 caliber heavy (emphasis on heavy) machine gun does not allow them effectively operate, especially since they had been told to shift positions constantly. Their closeness to enemy positions allows NPA troops to focus fire on them while they are trying to pack up again. Bullets rip through both gunners despite their attempts to remain behind cover, and they are killed.


Your sniper team attempts to follow the surviving soldiers, though it proves tricky finding them considering they have left the grid into the general unmapped ruins. Your snipers run into an ambush from a single wounded soldier who must have opted to stay behind to stall. A provo sergeant had been lying in wait, slouched against the wall a ruined building. He sprayed a pair of your snipers with his auto-carbine when they came around the corner, killing Ivy Andreas and severely wounding Kade Mercer. Truman and Malick Pines (the only able-bodied member of Truman's team left) managed to return fire and take him out. Following your orders, Truman pulls back. He and Malick drag Ivy and Kade to a safe spot instead of grabbing any weapons, however.


Benson and Savoy's teams begin to fall back. A car is dispatched, and manages to pick up Benson and Felix, successfully delivering them back to the base. The rest of the men from their squads arrive shortly after.

You manage to open fire toward the windows of the east building a few times, but you're not sure if you hit anything. Enemies start appearing less frequently and the amount of fire whittles down a bit.

There is no response from Heckby's outpost on your radio.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Bradbury asks Truman if he was able to recover Kade and Ivy's sniper rifles, if Kade even dropped her's. Then, he tells him to return to the base, not bothering with trying to do anything else with that squad. Kade is put with Dr. Gores, and Ivy, who Dylan was especially fond of, is brought and lied down within the factory. Dylan holds the corpses' hand, tears forming in his eyes, before paying back his attention to the ongoing fight. Truman is told to post his snipers around the factory to act as lookouts for additional troops in the area who might be coming as a second wave.

Dylan has the remains of Assault Squad and Squad 7 take up positions within the factory and continue shooting at the men in the east, hoping that the additional assault rifle fire being poured on from both the van team and now Benson's troopers would be enough to take a few more NPA out and send them running.

With the news of Folder and Roderick's death, Dylan radioes for the MG to be thrown into the back of the van for protection, and that he all that is done with it for now.

Now, the rebels waited and continued peppering the building, seeing what the enemy would do.

 

[Lorsh]

Truman says he'll go back to gather weapons once everything has settled down.

The NPA eventually stop returning fire entirely, suggesting they have retreated through the opening left by the absence of your eastern squads.

The battle looks like it may be over. You could try to attack the enemy as they retreat, but some of your men don't look particularly willing to continue, considering the losses that have already been sustained.

Music

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Dylan breathes out of his mouth loudly, relieved by their retreat. Dylan heads down from where he was with Caden and rallies his men together, calling back in the men who were in the parking lot.

"Today was an expensive defense of our newly found home. A defense, more than of this factory, but of an ideal. To be free and safe from the tyrant dogs. And though we have lost many good fighters today, we have survived the oppressors' onslaught, and killed many of their number. Those who are injured, rest and recuperate; those who aren't, continue to man the windows. They might come back, and if they do, we get the first shot off."

Dylan then looks to Hilda. "Are you prepared to bring a team out to kill that siren, and recon the size of the horde we have up our ass?" He questions, saying the last bit quietly. Hearing that there was a large concentration of infected around wasn't good for anybody's morale; Dylan still had nightmares from offing his neighbor's little girl, who had torn his throat out with her bare-hands. It was the hardest thing he ever did. Many people had told him since the outbreaks that it was the living that scared them; Dylan was terrified of the capabilities of both.

After a period of five minutes if there is no attack, everyone who feels prepared to do so will sweep the perimeter. They will leave in squads in intervals of twenty seconds. Stealthily and slowly clear the area, report any wounded but alive rebels or NPA found in the area. Once the perimeter check is completed, all deployed troops gather fallen weaponry and armor/empty rigs return to base and Hilda heads out.

Peachtrees leaves with the previous van team minus the van, feeling they were a strong and capable force to quickly take a look at the going siren. Dylan knew it would probably have a horde stacked on top of it; but they could at least just tell him and pull back. Everything was about safety right now, no more losses could be taken.

 

[Lorsh]

Your wounded are accounted for. 12 units of medicine were used to treat the various injuries, and Dr. Gores writes down the estimated recovery times for the patients. 5 units of alcohol were also used for sanitation purposes.

Ben Waters comes up with an after-action report. Today, you suffered 19 dead and 8 wounded, or 27 casualties overall. 45 out of 64 of your original rebels remain alive. Currently, 3 of your squads are now understaffed/destroyed. The enemy suffered 20 dead and an unknown number of wounded. This was arguably a tactical failure due to suffering such losses despite having greater numbers and better fortifications than the enemy, but you still achieved overall strategic victory due to the fact you successfully defended the base.


Your men collect the equipment from the dead. Some of them are reloaded before being placed back in the armory. Henry Cooley comes up with a list of what was gained/recovered.

The NPA jeep is inoperable due to having sustained damage, but Anders manages to salvage 3 fuel, 20 scrap, and 5 components from it. The general-purpose MG that had been mounted on the jeep is also saved, with ammo to spare.

Spoiler: Gear

Dead Rebel Gear
Heavy MG [50]
Assault rifle [25/25, 25/25]
Burst rifle [15/15, 9/15]
Mini-carbine [12/12, 8/12]
Compact SMG [20/20, 15/20]
Tac-SMG [30/30, 20/30]
Tac-SMG [30/30, 25/30]
Sniper rifle [5/5, 3/5, 0/5]
Hunting rifle [5/5, 5/5, 2/5]
Hunting rifle [5/5, 5/5, 2/5]
Sporter compact [5/5, 1/5]
Pump shotgun [6, 10]
Pump shotgun [6, 6]
Pump shotgun [6, 8]
Sawed-off [2, 6]
9mm pistol [12/12, 10/12]
9mm pistol [12/12, 10/12]
9mm pistol [8/12, 0/12]
9mm pistol [12/12, 5/12]
9mm pistol [12/12, 10/12]
Revolver [6/6, 8]
Revolver [6/6, 4/6]
.22 pistol [10/10, 10/10]

Dead NPA Gear
General-purpose MG [70/80, 0/80]
SAW [0/100]
Auto-carbine [0/30, 30/30]
Auto-carbine [10/30, 30/30]
Tac-SMG [5/30, 30/30]
Gov't carbine [0/15, 15/15]
Gov't carbine [3/15, 15/15]
Gov't carbine [1/15, 15/15]
Gov't carbine [2/15, 15/15]
Gov't carbine [0/15, 15/15]
Gov't carbine [8/15, 15/15]
Gov't carbine [5/15, 15/15]
Pump shotgun [2, 10] *slugs*
9mm pistol [12/12, 12/12]
9mm pistol [12/12, 0/12]
9mm pistol [10/12]
9mm pistol [0/12]

Five minutes pass with no enemy movement, only distant gunshots from outside of this area. Hilda departs with her team, cautiously.

Before long, she radios back, saying that she and her team found a few bullet-riddled corpses on the street. The retreating soldiers apparently made a mess out of a few looters (probably from the nearby supermarket outpost) that had drawn too close. Her team managed to pick up some extra ammo from the bodies of the looters, but she tells you that it might be dangerous if her team inadvertently ran into the NPA again.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Dylan asks Truman what became of Ivy’s weapon.

A detachment of five volunteer scouts are to scour the area around the base stealthily, looking for signs of another assault or incoming infected.


Bradbury has the bodies of the NPA gathered and burned down the street from the base following the scouting, being stripped of everything on their persons. This includes any personal effects they have on them; what they have, he wants taken, no matter what.


Bradbury has the bodies of the rebels gathered outside of the building that the NPA in the east were held up in, and has the digging of graves for all those who died during the fighting begin immediately. Their personal effects are untouched, and they will be buried with them. On each grave, he would like a small piece of paper to be placed upon it which will only have on it their name.


Upon learning that the GPMG was recovered from the jeep, Dylan asks the Assault Squad if any of them would be willing to trade-in their Assault Rifle for it, preferably someone possessing enough strength to reliably lug the thing around in a combat situation.


In terms of the Heavy MG, it is placed into the factory and kept there to be used in the event of another base attack, and Dylan asks Ben to elect rebels who he feels would be efficient in the usage of such a weapon.


The government carbine ammunition is switched around so that as many of of the carbines as possible have two fully loaded magazines with them, and the spillover ammunition is simply placed into stockpile along with the empty carbines.


The auto-carbine ammunition is switched around so that there are two fully loaded magazines put to one gun, and the empty auto-carbine is put into stockpile. The auto-carbine with two magazines is equipped by Greg Wolfe, leader of Squad 7.


The rebels are permitted to take a look at all of the weapons scavenged from the battlefield including the government carbines that had been reloaded and equipped with an extra mag, discluding the spare auto-carbine, MG and GPMG, the latter being saved for a member of the Assault Squad. If they decide to change out any of their weapons for anything else, they are to notify him.


Agnes Workman, Caleb Hall and Cole Basbez join Squad 6, which becomes Squad 4, and Squad 7 becomes Squad 5. The three’s former squads no longer exist in the eyes of the battle organization of the rebels in the factory.


Bradbury replies to Hilda; “Keep your wits about you and move carefully, and slowly; give the NPA time to get well ahead of you. Scout that siren, and see what we’re up against. If you run into any soldiers, only engage if you have them outnumbered and outgunned - if not, fall back. If you decide not to engage and they haven’t detected you, report them to me and fall back. After you scout the horde, pull back to base and we'll send a different team out to the controls in the commercial district."


Dylan convenes with Amy Totter. “We lost a lot of people today; too many to afford in the long-run. We need to bolster our numbers. Hilda mentioned on the radio that the NPA gunned down a few of the looters probably in the supermarket nearby - maybe that could serve as motive for them to join up?” Dylan questions. “Any ideas are welcome, but the bottom line is that if we might not survive the next attack if it comes with more lethality, not with this amount of men.”


Additionally, Dylan asks Ben if he feels that a relocation of base would be a smart idea, considering the NPA know where they are and there are a ton of infected nearby.


Dylan asks Sergio if he has the capability to repair Benson’s flak jacket. He also discusses the possibility of manufacturing a mount for either of the MGs on one of the pick-up trucks, to turn it into a technical. To offer better protection to the gunner, he would also want to build out of scrap some metal walls that would extend upward off of the hull of the pickup's bed, high enough to protect the gunner without debilitating his field of vision. And, of course, the vehicle itself would need to be reinforced with scrap metal so that a few shots to the engine wouldn't knock it out of service.

Dylan gives Lucio back the Tac-SMG and takes back his combat shotgun, telling Cecilia to give White his assault rifle back once he has recovered and take back the Tac-SMG.

 

[Lorsh]

Ivy's weapon was included in the manifest.

Your scouts find no evidence of an incoming attack by either humans or infected.

Further stripping the NPA dead, 60$ NPA scrip are found. Must have been some personal spending money. In a few of the soldiers' packs, there are MREs worth about 14 rations, and some booze worth 3 alcohol as well. 6 combat knives were also taken from the corpses. Other miscellaneous items included wristwatches, lighters, notepads, pens, cigarettes, service IDs, and photographs. One soldier even had over a dozen cutouts from porno magazines stuffed throughout his uniform.

Some of your men start digging graves for the rebel dead. The bodies of the dead NPA soldiers are piled up and burned, spending 1 unit of fuel.

Samuel Dunn, another veteran militiaman from the Assault Squad and Lev's 2iC, tells you that the general-purpose machine gun would be better suited as a defensive weapon.

The Heavy MG is put away in the base, and the ammo is sorted.

The squads are reorganized.

Sergio says he could try to repair the armor with 3 components.


Ben doesn't seem sure. "If we move, the NPA will just find out where we are again before long. It will be a hassle to move all of our supplies and find a suitable new base in the first place. Then again, it might be worth it, if it's too dangerous here. We're not sure how many infected are in our area, they seem concentrated in the commercial district," he says.

Amy considers recruiting from the supermarket gang. "We could send someone to try and convince them... they might not mesh well, but they seem to be well armed. They might be useful manpower. We could also try recruiting by that free civilian zone with the bar and such, or see if any of Heckby's men need someone new to join up with... if any of them even survived."


Hilda tells you that she and her men will be careful, and will do their best to find the command centre. After about 45 minutes, she says that she can see the old alarm substation from the commercial district, though it is located near several NPA posts. She can see several gendarmes(1) stationed at the substation, although it's difficult to determine exactly how many. Some have long guns, but not all.


(1) After the Marshals came to power, it was decided that the civilian police would be reorganized as a force under military control. Nearly all law enforcement agencies were merged, coming to exist under one umbrella, called the Gendarmery Corps, which was officially part of the army. For the most part, they maintain the same duties and appearances as pre-outbreak law enforcement. Their main uniform consists of blue coveralls and peaked police caps.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Dylan has a change of mind about NPA bodies. If there are any left out of the twenty that were being burned or were still recognizable albeit charred, instead of incineration, Bradbury would have them strung up on the border between the Commercial District and the Industrial District. This urban playground of factories now belonged to his crew and only his crew, due to Heckby's troops being overrun and the civilian element to the east being beneath having military control of anything. And the tyrant neighbors that Bradbury's group had needed to know that they weren't welcome. Using whatever ropes the faction possessed, they would tie simple nooses around the necks of the dead soldiers. On each one a message should be wrote and attached to the corpse; "TWENTY SOLDIERS DEAD. HOW MANY WILL IT TAKE? GET OUT OF OUR CITY!" The elements of Squad 4 that are at the factory still will go out with the corpses in the bed of a pickup truck, moving slowly to weave through the debris and allow their infantry support to keep up. This infantry would be the three-man team that currently is the Sniper Squad, who will cover Squad 4 from afar while they hang the soldiers' bodies up.

Combat knives are issued to Ben Waters, Burt Truman, Lev Benson, Hilda Peachtrees when she returns, Greg Wolfe, and Harrison Savoy. Dylan straps the spare machete to his side. The spare hunting knife is issued to Lucio White. The six baseball bats are offered to anyone who wants to lug one around in order to have some kind of melee capability that isn’t the butt of their rifle or their fists.



The 9mm pistols’ magazines are refilled with the ammo purchased from Heckby, a total of 51 bullets being loaded into the magazines. Then, a 9mm handgun is taken by Dylan, replacing his .22, and nine-mils are furthermore issued to Burt Truman, Samuel Dunn, Lucio White, Hilda Peachtrees when she returns, Bray Peterson, Greg Wolfe, Jack Fowler, and Brandon Swanson. The two revolvers, their ammo being switched around to make two full cylinders for each firearm, are issued to Rita Greenbaum and Wade Goodman. The .22 pistol is given to Harry Travers.


An assault rifle is issued to Wade Goodman replacing his sporter compact, an auto-carbine with two full magazines to it is issued to Saul Richards replacing his sporter compact, a burst rifle is given to Nico Torrez replacing his sporter compact, a government carbine is given to Thomas Vito to replace his repeater, and a government carbine is given to Brad Locke to replace his mini-carbine.


Dylan agrees with Dunn. Until it could be figured out whether the GPMG could possibly be mounted onto the back of a pickup, Dylan decides to also have it kept at the base, however he orders for one person who is on lookout duty to carry it around, that person changing as much as is necessary, so that it it is always on-hand to defend against anything that comes at the base.


Dylan also agrees with Ben. “You’re right. Relocating would be pretty bothersome; however at some point in the future we’re gonna have to. When all of the NPA has been eradicated from southern Broxbane, there will be no point in staying in this zombie-infested region - our primary objective is to defeat the NPA, the infected can come after. And despite the word going around that the NPA are gonna have to ditch the city soon, I have a feeling they’re gonna have plenty of freed up forces after the ARF have been kicked out of Parliament.” Bradbury stated, foreshadowing his worst fear - the motorized division here in Broxbane. “But for now, our best bet would be to stay where we are.”


Responding to Hilda, Dylan orders her to perform covert reconnaissance of both soldier and police positions in and around the substation. Due to the fact that the siren wasn’t drawing the infected to the factory, it wasn’t really a priority target; but it was still a good idea to know what was nearby. She is to start counting heads, and see if she can spot any heavy hardware in the area. If she is detected or comes under fire at any point, she and her team will fall back. Dylan explains to her the intention to reinforce her current team soon, and make a play to take the substation by force, but only once he understands exactly what he would be dealing with.


Responding to Totter, Dylan tells her to take whatever bodyguards she deems necessary over to where Heckby’s post was, and see if she can locate any survivors of the conflict with the infected. In doing so, she should steer clear of the fecks and if she must kill, do it quietly.

Dylan asks Sergio to try to repair Benson's flak jacket with 3 components.

Dylan issues a flak jacket to Henry Cooley, Kade Mercer, and Samuel Dunn, and gives a ballistic vest to Josh Oates. Fowler gives Lucio's ballistic vest back to him.

 

[Lorsh]

The majority of your men do not appear enthusiastic about the idea of travelling several blocks away from safety to screw around with some dead bodies. Still, Cole Basbez, Brad Locke, and Harry Travers volunteer to do it using a wheelbarrow.

Totter leaves with Phillip Colbourne, Dale Gomez, and Samuel Dunn as her escorts.

Your denoted equipment rearrangements are made, and your men appear to appreciate the widespread issuing of sidearms, although their squad leaders remind them that they have to keep them clean and well-maintained.

Some 5.56mm rounds are taken from the old Sporter Compact magazines and used to refill Nico's burst rifle's second magazine so that he has an extra one on hand.

The 9mm pistols are reloaded using the ammunition you have in your stores.

The flak jacket is successfully repaired!

A few of your men manage to rig up a simple mount for the GPMG to be put on the back of a truck.

Sergio Anders talks with your quartermaster, and takes the spare mini-carbine for personal defence.

Sergio says he can use 5 components and 50 scrap to add decent armor a vehicle.

Hilda surveys the area the best she can. There may be more, but she has seen at least nine policemen so far, including some officers equipped in tac-squad gear. Hilda says that a heavy MG emplacement was spotted at the substation, located behind some sandbags at the front entrance.

Hilda says that one of the alarms is quite close to the substation itself, and she thinks that the policemen may try to turn it off or simply relocate if it starts drawing the undead towards them. Hilda tells you that there are soldiers at Delta NPA that may support the substation if it comes under attack.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Bradbury is grateful that a wheelbarrow was found around the area instead of using a pickup, and hopes to send a message with the hanging of the soldiers. Whether his militiamen enjoyed doing it wasn't a concern to Dylan; it was important to him to make the soldiers in the Mixed District understand that Bradbury's Brigade was no pushover. Since he didn't want the three of them getting jumped by infected, bandits or soldiers during their hanging of the bodies, Dylan reminds Truman's boys to go along with the three of them and keep an eye out from afar, if not for the objective of putting up the warnings, for the sake of their fellow rebels' safety.

Dylan tells Sergio to armor up the pick-up that had the gunmount added to it, and also asks Sergio how difficult it would be to patch up that hole in the roof.

With this new technical, Dylan decides he wants to be sure of where it could be operated. So, he asks Ben about his knowledge of how clear the surrounding roads are, and of any major streets that would still be open to be traveled on. He specifically asks about routes to Echo Reb.

Hilda's orders are to pull back and loop wide around the alarm closest to the station, approaching Charlie Reb from the south. They should first scout the rebel outpost; if it seems that friendly forces still control the post and haven't been taken out by the infected or the NPA, Hilda will make contact and explain her identity and allegiance, before trying to negotiate the set up of a radio connection between whoever is in charge and the factory.

 

[Lorsh]

Your goons head off to strap up the bodies, overseen by Truman's marksmen to make sure nothing bad happens to them.

Echo Reb should be reachable with simple vehicles.

Hilda acknowledges, and moves her squad to check out Charlie Reb and possibly make contact.

The hole in the roof is patched up so that it doesn't let in the rain or cold, but not much else can be done about it. It's not a big problem anyhow.

Sergio says he can start work on upgrading the vehicles tomorrow.


Amy Totter gets back to you on the status of Delta Reb.

"They're walking dead now. I can't see any of Heckby's men still alive; they must have all fled, gotten eaten, or turned. No more gunshots, sir... damn, there must be hundreds of them. I swear, this city is falling apart."



Afterwards, Hilda calls you back on her radio as well.

"Charlie Reb's fucked, Bradbury. Army must have done a surgical strike; it's just a few of ghouls munching on reb guts. There's fresh shell casings, and a couple vehicles still smoking. Might of all happened today or yesterday. We need to update our maps."



It's getting late. You don't have long before darkness washes over these dead streets.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Dylan shakes his head as Totter revels in her grief at what Broxbane had become. "You're right Amy, tearing at the seams. But when the fight is done, and the bucketheads are running with their tails between their legs, we'll still be here to put it back together. And this time, without the citizens being scared to walk down the street for fear of an NPA beating. Anyway, RTB for the night."

Dylan slams his fist down onto the table in the command room when Hilda gives him the news about Charlie Reb's destruction. How long before his company of rebels were all alone in this part of the city? "Got it. Return to base, we're done with scouting for the night," Dylan instructs, sighing as he grasps the reality of the destruction of the allies in the north.

Dylan says alright to Sergio, and tells him to get started on it tomorrow.

With all of those things in order, Bradbury tells everyone that they are done with any kind of special duties for the night. Eat, sleep, keep watch; all that was left is to wait for the bodies to be hung and then those people to return, along with Hilda and Totter. Although, he does ask Ben if he thinks it would be a good idea to attack the substation under the cover of darkness, possibly waiting until very early morning, or if that may be too dangerous considering the amount of threats lurking around that would be more difficult to perceive in the darkness.

Not being tired, Dylan takes his shotgun and heads out into the cold air to keep watch along with his on-duty guards.

 

[Lorsh]

Truman and the volunteers from earlier return, having placed the bodies in several locations and spray-painted messages to go along with them, to demoralize and deter the NPA and their loyalists. Hilda, Totter and their tagalongs also return home safely.

Rations of food and alcohol have been deducted. Though you only have 45 men now, around 60 of today's rations were already eaten by the time you suffered your losses. The next days will be less of a strain on food due to your smaller numbers, at least.

Ben tells you that it could be just as dangerous to your own troops as it would be to the enemy if you were to attack in darkness, especially with the amount of zombies around.

You take watch with several others, eventually rotating out and going to sleep.

You wake up in the morning. The lookouts reported no visual contacts. The sirens kept going throughout the night, making it hard for your people to sleep.

Sergio starts work on the technical's vehicle armor. You now have a shortage of components, and a meager supply of scrap metal.

Your map has been updated by Ben.

4 units of medicine were used in ongoing treatments. There will be a shortage soon.

Felix Locce, Steve Carter and Wade Goodman have recovered from their wounds.

Ted Jenkins has been stabilized and is expected to recover in 3 more days.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

At the beginning of the day, Dylan gives several orders toward fortification of the factory. Six hours will be taken to perform these duties, and afterward a period of a half hour to rest, after which several teams will go out to perform various missions, and those who are not sent out will continue these fortifications. Everyone, including officers and Dylan himself, will work on this, the only exception being sentries.

- The rest of scrap will be used to fortify the factory itself; block up broken windows and leave only small holes to shoot from, reinforce destructible walls, etc.
- Tires in moderate or above condition found in the parking lot and down the dirt path near the east building should be harvested and stacked to form tire walls. These tires will be packed with earth to reinforce them. These tire walls will be used to form an MG emplacement behind the first row of old cars in the parking lot, and also placed where the two southern roads meet the road below the factory.


- Foxholes should be dug and scattered to the north and west of the factory, each big enough to hold a few fighters. The wood will be used sparingly to make low walls in front of each foxhole; spare tires can be used to do this as well.


After the six hours of fortifying and half hour of rest, Dylan gathers all of his veterans and officers within the command room for a briefing similar to yesterday. These include Hilda being specifically called upon, who is asked to mark down exactly where the firefight in the Mixed District took place yesterday morning.

After Hilda marks the location on the map, Dylan asks Ben to publicly announce the specific location in the Mixed District, so that anyone who leaves the base knows exactly where the NPA have been encountered.

"Lina, what do we know about NPA Bravo and NPA Delta? Aside from knowing that Bravo has that .50 Humvee and twenty less men than it had yesterday," Bradbury questions his intelligence officer, curious as to whether or not a strike at Bravo to eliminate them once and for all would be wise before they get reinforced. "Also, you told me about a high school to the north that the NPA have occupied, and the ARF have eyes on," Dylan said, before leaning forward and placing his right index finger onto Alpha Reb. "Get up there and figure out if they're still alive. Make contact, and then after continue scouting to the north of us, for ARF or NPA elements, civilian settlements, anything of interest including that school. While you're at it, take a look at what they've got at the Substation," he said before taking a momentary pause in the briefing to place two Tac-SMGs and two magazines on the briefing table in front of him.

"You and your chosen partner will be using these for this mission. Smaller, more concealable. I want you to blend in, stick to shadows; if you ARE seen by someone you don't want to see you, I want you to just look like a pair of unarmed scavs. To further your ability to conceal your identity as a rebel, you'll trade your flak jacket for Oates' ballistic vest, which you'll wear under your clothes; your partner will do the same, taking Fowler's vest and giving him their armor, if they have any. That's only if whoever you choose doesn't already have a vest, though." Dylan explains, nodding to Cooley to go retrieve the vest from Josh and give him Lina's flak jacket for now. "Listen, if things get hairy, whip out the SMGs o and neutralize the target; but only if a quiet kill is out of the question. As for infected, avoid their detection altogether if you can, either by sneaking or killing them before they realize you're there. Understood? Leave your primary weapons here, and take them back when you return." Dylan states, taking a breath. "The rules of engagement for this operation, is that there is no engagement. Not unless you have no other choice, or you can do it quietly and undetected. If you're cornered by anyone, infected or human, call it in and you'll receive immediate reinforcements, given that there isn't fighting going on here." Before he forgets, Dylan also produces a nailbomb and two firebombs. "Oh, and take these just in case, to get out of any sticky situations."

The spare machete is given to Burt Truman, just in-case his team ever runs into a situation where bullets could be saved by using a blade, or stealth is required.

Dunn is offered the spare hatchet to use as a replacement for his slimjim, but Dylan says he'd understand if he wants to hold onto it to pry shit open if need be. Either way, the unused melee weapon, whether it be the hatchet or crowbar, will go to a different member of the Assault Squad, who ever Samuel chooses.

9mms go to Jake Green, Frederick Popov, and Dale Gomez. A revolver goes to Jon Moore. 22. pistols go to Ted Jenkins and Josh Oates.

Kade Mercer is offered the sawn-off as his sidearm; if he takes it, his 9mm handgun is given to Kendal Goodman.

One of the two auto-carbines is given to Lucio White along with the two full mags; his Tac-SMG goes into storage.

Fifty 5.56 rounds are withdrawn from two sporter compacts, one auto-carbine, two gov't carbines, and one mini-carbine. Sergio's mini-carbine is swapped out for a Tac-SMG if he doesn't decide to argue, and the 5.56 rounds in that make it seventy rounds. These are loaded into the SAW, which is given to Samuel Dunn, who's assault rifle is given to Brad Locke, replacing his gov't carbine. This carbine is also unloaded and it's bullets put into the SAW, topping off it's magazine.

The two hunting rifles in storage are sreprimanded of the bullets assigned to thrm; ten of the twenty-four bullets are loaded into the GPMG to fill it up, the other eighteen .308 rounds are given to Truman to reload his battle rifle with, due to the fact that he was running dangerously low on ammunition.

Anyone who is operating weapons that are compatible with the 9mm, .45, or shotgun shells/slugs in reserve are permitted to reload their magazines if they had been at all depleted.

Dylan questions his council of men if they feel anyone is fit in terms of marksmanship to join the sniper team, taking up Ivy's rifle.

Dylan asks Gores if he would be willing to train one member of each squad to be a equipped with the knowledge to save the life of someone wounded in action.

Brandon Swanson is moved into Squad 1 if he or any of his squadmates have no complaints about it, wanting to fulfill the ranks of the understaffed squad and add to it’s long-range capability.


Totter, along with bodyguards that she chooses from within the ranks are tasked with heading up, either on foot or in a vehicle, to the bar area and both looking to obtain information from ARF agents there, as well as locals, and to recruit whoever seems interested to join up. They are given a nailbomb, pipebomb, and firebomb to carry with them in case they encounter hostiles during their mission.

Once Sergio has finished the armoring of the technical, squads 2, 4 and 5 along with the guntruck should go out to scavenge, Caleb Hall acting as the gunner and switching weapons temporarily with Thomas Vito to make the infantry of Squad 4 as strong as possible, and Nico Torrez acting as the driver. The three squads are issued three firebombs, two nailbombs, and a pipe bomb to be divvied up between them as Peachtrees, Peterson and Savoy see fit. The squads should all stick closeby one another being not more than a block away from each other at any point, with the technical rotating what squad it accompanies every ten minutes. However the squad leads should coordinate so that the technical has a clear and efficient route to the other two squads in the event they come under attack. If any squad comes under fire at any point, the other two squads and technical should immediately reinforce them, flanking their opposition. The scavengers are also allowed to take down a few structures for construction materials while they're out if they so please, and are given access to whatever tools they desire in the factory.

Dylan adds the police station that Heckby had talked about on his city map, using the map that he had acquired from the late rebel leader.


Dylan himself then departs down the street to the supermarket where the civilians had been seen, along with Squad 1 as bodyguards. This crowd didn’t seem like the most trustworthy type, but perhaps they would be on board to help Dylan and his men take that alarm offline, and help to get some revenge for the death of those who may or may not have been affiliated civilians that Bravo's retreating platoon slaughtered. They leave with a pickup truck, the bed of which is filled to the brim with forty-five trade goods, three shovels, and three baseball bats. Dylan carries with him a nailbomb, while also bringing out two firebombs, one carried by Gomez and one by Hemlock; just in case these looters aren't the talking type, and the envoys needed to make a quick escape by making a barrier of fire and shrapnel.

All explosives issued to outgoing teams are to be put back into storage once they return, assuming they are not used. These bombs are considered high-priority equipment, and should a carrier of one of them fall in combat, it is strongly encouraged to try to recover it; however it was not as important as someone's life, and thus recovery of the bomb shouldn't be attempted if doing so would mean death for he or she trying to get to it. The bombs have varying degrees of strategic value - a firebomb is less important than a nailbomb, and nailbomb less important than a pipebomb.

 

[Lorsh]

[my fucking WIP post i had going just disappeared so i'm not putting in any effort, AHHHHHHHHHHHHH rlly pissed off]

[literally not doing the weapon reassignments, they take way too much time. i need to figure out a way for you to do them yourself. try copy pasting them and keeping the small text format and stuff.]


Some tire walls are made.

The rest of your scrap is used repairing the base from any damage sustained during the gunfight.

Digging foxholes behind the fence would be pointless, the fence is in the way, and would end up getting damaged by bullets and obscuring the view of the anyone in the foxholes.

You don't know anything about Delta or Bravo.

Neither ballistic vests nor flak jackets are particularly concealable and would be pointless to switch out. Lina and her buddy presumably leave with their other stuff.

You don't have anyone that wants to become a sniper.

Gores begins offering first-aid lessons.

Brandon joins squad one.

The high school is not in the area represented by your map.

Totter's team leaves.

Your scavengers leave.



You and Squad 1 leave to go to the supermarket after piling into the truck that has been visibly loaded with supplies. The truck transverses through the rubble and trash in the street, and manages to pull near the corner of of the store, more like a small grocer rather than a supermarket. A few ragged-looking civilians milling in the streets clear out as they see your vehicle approach, retreating into alleys and ruined buildings.

When you near the grocer itself, a dude with an assault rifle materializes on the sidewalk, aiming into the cab. "Turn the fucking truck off!"

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Dylan quickly turns off the truck, having been the one driving and levels his combat shotgun on the dashboard, ducking down to make himself less vulnerable in case this guy gets trigger happy. "Hey, easy! We're not enemies. Let's just all lower our guns, we didn't come to fight you." he calls out. He subtly gestures to the bag of bombs they had between the passenger and driver seat of the truck to the rest of Squad 1, silently ordering them to be prepared with them.

 

[Lorsh]

A few more looter dickheads with assault rifles come out from around the corner, cautiously aiming at the truck, mostly at hip-level. The rebels in the bed of the truck have their guns raised as well, creating a standoff. Things are tense, but nobody opens fire. A few random civilians just gawk at the scene from the sidewalk, while others run for cover in case things escalate.

A woman with graying hair held back by a red headband and a mouth full of rotten teeth appears by the driver's side window, tapping on it with her fingerless glove. Whether or not you lower it, she speaks loudly. "Who are you?" You can see that she has a .45 pistol in her other hand, but doesn't have it raised yet. Still, the other goons keep their guns trained on the truck.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Dylan's eyes dart back and forth between the armed citizens approaching him, preparing to tear one apart with his shotgun if need be. He spots the woman with the red headband and .45 as she walks up to the pickup, and he rolls down the window with one hand, keeping his shotgun barrel on the dashboard.

"Name's Allen, I'm a higher up in a reform camp nearby; our scouts noticed some activity here, and we wanted to come introduce ourselves. We have goods to trade, and look to have peace; we've already got our hands full with the army." Dylan insists, "Nobody needs hurtin'. Can't we lower our guns, and talk over a cigarette? We want a defensive pact. If you need help, we help you."

 

[Lorsh]

The woman's eyes seem to light up when you say 'higher up', and her grin goes more crooked. "Eh, okay. That sounds pretty cool, actually. Just wait here, one sec." The henchmen seem to lower their rifles, and your men lower their similar armaments. The woman leaves the window, moving some distance away, beginning to speak on a walkie-talkie. She keeps glancing back over at the truck, but you can't hear what she's saying.

Swanson, who is riding shotgun next to you, seems worried about the situation. "Boss... I feel like they're going to try and ransom us," he says. "You told them we were reform- ARF would have money to give these dipshits."

 

[Lord Bradorian]

"Fuck it. You might be right; can't chance it," Bradbury replied to Swanson. "What do you think, boys? Brandon and I paranoid or you think it might be true?" Dylan questions the two quietly in the back.

"Stay frosty and get bombs ready. We're not leaving without putting a dent in these guys, keep an eye out for sudden movements toward us and shoot anything aggressive." Dylan announced to everyone, licking his lips and searching through the windshield for a grouping of looters. Ones closeby to each other, that he could damage with the nailbomb he had efficiently.

 

[Lorsh]

"I mean, they might not want to piss off ARF either," Swanson shrugs. "But still, we can't assume they're bright either."

The three rebels in the back are Dale Gomez, Reina Hemlock and Cecilia Batrey. They all shrug, seeming uncertain, but are clearly nervous about the situation. They look like they're having hard time keeping their fingers off the triggers of their rifles, but are deferring all decisions to you. Gomez gets his flip lighter ready, while the girls set the bottled firebombs down on the bed of the truck in preparation to throw them in case you give the order.

The woman with the bad teeth is still talking on the radio, but she looks like she's about finished. You can see the trio men with Zasher assault rifles bunched in relative proximity to each other, but there also seems to be a man on the roof of a nearby building. Some distance down the street (30-40 meters), you can see three more men with rifles, and one guy with a pistol moving up towards you, possibly to provide extra security in case demands are made.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

"Swanson, get down and line up a clear shot at the marksman they got up there and fire on my mark," Bradbury tells the newly added to Squad 1 Brandon, and turns back to Reina; "Throw, then neutralize the target on the walkie with the headband. " he orders, before turning and holding out the nailbomb to Gomez. "Fire and nail, got it? Try to hit the three guys to the north," Dylan says to Dale.

"Wait for my signal..." Dylan said in a strained whisper, holding his weapon just below the dashboard. He too got onto his walkie-talkie, quickly getting onto the radio with Ben. "Assault squad and GPMG technical to me, several bandit contacts, combat likely imminent. Roll 'em and have them set up around the corner."