STATE ZERO | Hired Guns

[cl0ud]

One of the men, a man with a gunshot scar on his right cheek and a mesomorphic build raises his hand, his voice is deep and gravelly, "Yeah, where can I sign up?"

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Jacob grins and extends his right hand toward the man. "Right here. What's your name, brother? What's your story?" he questions, giving the stoic looking man a stiff shaking of his hand - now THIS guy seemed like someone that the company needed.

After learning a bit about this new recruit, Jacob turns his attention back toward Emil and his other buddy. "So?"

 

[cl0ud]

"Name's Ignacio Voelkerding. I hail from an ancestry in the mountains by Ires¹, a village named Grimsgil. After shit hit the fan in Ires, I decided to roam around the countryside, trying to fend for myself. I ended up with a band of survivors up by Menno². We traveled for awhile in the Wastes³, fighting bandits and mugging scavs. When our leader died, the group broke up. I headed east and found myself in Lowell not too long after. And now I'm here," he said.

When you turn to the other two, they nod their heads as well and shake your hand. The last man that hadn't introduced himself spoke up, "Name's Adrian Harper, cap."

Your Survivor Info. tab has been updated.

1 - Ires is another neighboring country of Atlano, although located in the far northwest.
2 - Menno is the capital of Altdon, one of Atlano's fourteen provinces.
3 - The Wastes is a section of land in south Altdon and north Antilly where a nuclear meltdown resulted in fallout in the area, making it toxic. The Infected in the Wastes are known to carry many rads on them, and an infection from a Radioactive Infected will result in a lethal dose of radiation before the virus can reanimate the dead person.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

The only remaining thing Bento has to ask the men is asking Emil what his last name is, for the sake of transparency. (Because I think it looks weird in the survivor info tab for everyone else except him to have their last names listed.)

After everything is settled with the new recruits, Bento leaves town supposedly with the rest of Squad 1, unless they decide to stay for drinks or anything. When reaching the mercenary camp, Jacob decides to put Ignacio into Squad 2, Adrian into Squad 3, and Emil into Squad 4. He gives them both a nine-millimeter pistol, and tells them both to choose who gets what between a pump shotgun and an uzi as a primary weapon.

Finally, Jacob decides to round all of the new recruits up excluding Ignacio, and have them familiarize themselves with the Tactical Carbine, Tactical Rifle, Bull Pup Rifle and Assault Rifle. He allows them to fire off a few rounds at some empty cans, and tries his best with the aid of his fellow companions to judge who is the most accurate with what weapon. All three weapons are to be kept on their semi-automatic fire mode.

 

[cl0ud]

"Sorry, boss. Surname's Rhynard," Emil says.

When you head back to the tent city, your men are all cooking with pots, socializing, wrestling, or cleaning and maintaining their weapons. They welcome the new recruits before they throw some playful insults their way, with the recruits responding equally. You walk over to each of the squad leaders and tell them to welcome their new members before they lay out bedrolls in their tents for the recruits.

Wyatt Davis, Calvin Cadwallder, Adrian Harper, and Emil Rhynard gather around your tent where you showcase a tactical carbine, tactical rifle, bull pup rifle, and an assault rifle. While they inspect each of the firearms, Yu takes a handful of old tin cans and set them up on a wooden block about thirty meters away from your tent. Yu, Tusing, Hansen, and yourself stand by as your recruits let off rounds from the rifles.

Emil Rhynard seems to be the most accurate one, being the only one that lands a hit on one of the tin cans that earns him an applause from the other recruits.

Your Survivor Info. tab has been updated.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

After the target practice, Jacob tells Emil he did a good job and tells him to expect an upgrade to the firearm he's carrying as soon as Jacob can find something for him; probably a combat rifle, which is what the group typically uses to train their recruits, specifically those who desire rifles of higher and automatic caliber.

With all of that said and done Jacob will have a quick meeting with Yu and work out their finances, wanting to know how much money he will have to pay at the end of the week to the combination of the mercenaries and the new recruits, YU&B being at it's highest number at the moment and Bento wanting to make sure he could afford it.

After the relatively simple meeting, Jacob sleeps for the night or what is left of it and, in the morning, finds Yu. The two of them head into town to locate the vendors Bento was searching for last night, while Jacob tasks Squad 1 with surveilling the new recruits, making sure they're adjusting well to living with the company and not doing anything stupid like stealing food.

 

[cl0ud]

You and Yu walk into your tent, with Yu sitting across from you, holding a notebook. "Alright boss, here's the nitty-gritty. If we hand out upkeep at 100%, we'll be paying out $1,550 to the boys this week. $200 each for the leadership, me, you, Ira, and Will, and then $75 for the rest of the group excluding Wyatt and Calvin. Although, if they find out everyone else is getting paid, they might ask for their own wages. Assuming our money doesn't shift at all, we can afford to pay off the group for another 5 weeks before we go broke," he says after he totals up all of the numbers he's written on the margins of notebook. "Payday is in three days."

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Jacob mulls over these details, and decides to lower the weekly wages of Adrian Harper, Emil Rhynard, Calvin Cadawallader, and Wyatt Davis to $60 and the wage of William Hidgon to $65, with the promise of full wages once they have defined themselves in battle or otherwise of their loyalty, bravery, and combat efficiency. This includes telling Cadawallader and Davis that they get paid, not wanting to rip them off like that.

After the wage adjustments and Yu sharing his thoughts on them, Bento and Yu head into town and look for those aforementioned vendors.

 

[cl0ud]

"Noted," Yu says, scribbling in the details to his notebook.

As you browse around Fowlerville's shops and street vendors, you don't find anyone carrying an empty vest or any suppressors.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Jacob resolves to instead of trying to buy either of those things, he will locate vendors carrying guns in town, looking to purchase better weapons for the recruits, as well as melee weapons for those who don't have them, and also wanting to sell a few firearms as well.

Simultaneously, Bento gives Yu the golden wristwatch that was given by Ramos and instructs him to find somewhere to sell it.

 

[cl0ud]

You find one of the outside vendors who's selling weapons.

BRITT'S BULLETS​

Item	Amount	Value
9mm Pistol	3	$149.50
Revolver	2	$138.00
Uzi	1	$287.50
SMG	1	$345.00
9mm Round	104	$0.58
.357 Round	29	$0.92
.45 Auto Round	67	$0.69

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Before approaching the vendor, Jacob radios to Keith Atnip and asks him to give his brass knuckles to Ignacio, seeing no reason why he would need two melee weapons.

Jacob also gets on the radio and offers for Matthew Yu to equip the Heavy Assault Rifle that is stored, replacing his Tactical Rifle, which would then be given to Paul Harris, his Mini-Uzi being offered for sale.

Jacob radioes Walter Grant and tells him to equip the Assault Shotgun in storage, replacing his SMG which should be brought to Jacob to be sold.

Jacob offers…

• 4 Uzis, $200 each
• 1 Mini-Uzi, $120 (If Yu decides to give his Tactical Rifle to Paul Harris in exchange for the Heavy Assault Rifle)
• 1 Assault Rifle, $415
• 1 Pump Shotgun, $300
• 3 SMGs, $240 each (including the ones Bento has equipped and the one previously equipped by Walter Grant)

Jacob buys…

• 20 .357 rounds, $18.04

Afterwards, Jacob asks this Britt character where he might be able to find melee weapons in town, as well as suppressors, body armor, and specifically an empty rig for Jacob to finally make use of the six armor plates purchased in Boonton with. If there's nowhere in town, perhaps somewhere nearby?

 

[cl0ud]

Paul Harris cannot have a Grenade Launcher and a Tactical Rifle equipped at the same time.
Britt refuses to pay your prices for the items, but sells you the .357 rounds.

"There's no one in town with any of those things. And not no one I know of nearby who sells 'em, either," Britt says.

Your Survivor Info. & Supplies tabs have been updated.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Jacob simply replaces Yu's rifle with the Heavy Assault Rifle and aims to sell the Tactical Rifle.

Jacob adjusts his prices...
- 4 Uzis, $115 each
- 1 Mini-Uzi, $80
- 1 Assault Rifle, $340
- 1 Pump Shotgun, $200
- 3 SMGs, $200 each

 

[cl0ud]

Britt purchases the Mini-Uzi and the Pump Shotgun only.
Matthew Yu arrives at Britt's Bullets, "I sold the golden wristwatch for $500, boss."

Your Supplies tab has been updated.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

"Good work," Jacob says to Yu, pocketing the $500 that Matthew had put hands on. "Sold Britt a shotgun and a mini-uzi for $280. I'm tellin' you, Matt, we make almost as much money being arms dealers as we do being mercenaries," Jacob boasts with a laugh.

Paul Harris equips an SMG along with his grenade launcher, assuming he can do so.

As the two of them exit the town limits, Jacob expresses concern. "Do you feel like we're prepared to deal with the possibility of pirates on the Sandy Springs contract? I remember you tellin' me that the criminals are using dynamite - what if it's more than that? You don't think they could've...requisitioned some Atlani naval equipment, do you?" Jacob asked, thinking of how fucked they would be on a ship getting targeted by a fucking cannon. "If we underestimate the firepower of these guys, our mercs could be sitting ducks out in the ocean, lambs to the slaughter. The pay isn't even that good either, only $108. Should we press for more?"

 

[cl0ud]

"I don't think that they have anything from the Atlani, boss. The only crew I knew that has Atlani ships is a huge pirate federation in the east. The only port here in Capitalia is Port Claflin, but that's protected by the Atlani. As for the pay, that's up for you to decide, boss. We have plenty of money right now to keep the crew going, so missing the contract wouldn't hurt us that bad. But- we could always just commandeer the ship and take whatever loot it has. Although, it'd probably hurt our relations with Sandy Springs," Matthew says as the two of you walk out of Fowlerville.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Jacob chuckles. "Ya know, that might not be a bad idea. We could wait until it's out at sea, then take the crew hostage and force them to beach the ship somewhere that we'll have the convoy waiting. Execute the crew and burn the ship, and no-one will ever know what happened to it; we would just have to do it quickly and not get caught by the Sandy Springs Sea Patrol. Then again, I doubt the moral strength that our new recruits have to do that, but we couldn't let word get out that we might betray you if you hire us, so killing them would be the only option, no witnesses. We don't have anyone from Sandy Springs in our company, do we?" Jacob questions. Bento normally wouldn't be so cruel to some upstanding merchants, but this was a dangerous job they were asking the company to perform, and $108 wouldn't cut it.

 

[cl0ud]

"The fellows we picked up here in Fitzhugh seem like they can keep their lips shut. And if it's not the oath that keeps 'em quiet, it's gonna be the money. Wyatt and Calvin on the other hand may not be cut out for such work. We'll have to see how they respond wh- I mean, if we go that route. As for people from Sandy Springs, not as far as I know of," Matthew says, providing a slight shrug at the shoulders.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

"Wyatt and Calvin will be a part of the team to drive the convoy to the spot where we'll unload then, so they don't have to witness the hold up. The executions will take place aboard the ship once it breaches, and we just won't let them aboard to see the bodies and be vague about what happened. But if they start asking questions or talking shit about our methods, well...you know what will have to happen," Jacob said menacingly, prepared to off the two recruits if need be. "Give Davidson a call and ask for the reward to be raised to $300, or to include something valuable they have to offer. If they decline, we'll go ahead with the $108 price, but hold them up once we're out at sea," Jacob says.

Once they arrive at the camp outside Fowlerville, Bento calls for his men to be ready to move out in a few minutes, not yet explaining the plans to take hostage the crew if they won't pay more for their services.

 

[cl0ud]

Yu nods, pulls out his flip phone, and then walks outside earshot of any of the other mercenaries. On your word, they start to pack up their tents and cooking utensils. They also perform some quick maintenance on their guns, cleaning them, letting off a few testing rounds, and then disassembling and reassembling them. After about twenty minutes of the group packing up and putting everything into the vehicles, Yu returns to where you are.

"They said the most they can do is up it to $200 and throw in a crate of canned meat."

 

[Lord Bradorian]

"Call back and tell 'em that it will do. Once we get there, I want you, Ira and Hansen to recon what additional security they will have besides us, as well as the cargo they have on board, and any other ships in the Sandy Springs harbor which might bear the insignia of their naval guard. Depending upon what we'll be up against if we decide to hold up the crew, we'll rob them or just carry out the contract," Jacob explains. "Either way when the ship leaves Sandy Springs, I want the dirtbikes put in the back of the SUV, and Wyatt to drive the ATV, Calvin to drive the sedan, Frank to drive the hatchback, and Hansen to drive the SUV toward Eagle Rock. If we decide to hold up the ship, they'll stop halfway between Fowlerville and Roslyn and prepare to receive us and the loot aboard the ship."

With that, Jacob and the convoy heads toward Sandy Springs. Once there, Jacob's squadmates will perform their reconnaissance as stealthily as possible, trying to blend in with the rest of the mercenaries who should be headed toward the ship anyway to prepare to board. Simultaneously, Jacob will meet with Davidson to discuss the contract.

 

[cl0ud]

Yu nods after finishing up writing down your instructions. He salutes you and then walks off to dispatch your orders. After all the troops are packed up and ready to go, and the squad leaders run through their checks, your group heads off towards Sandy Springs. You travel along the coastline to avoid getting into a conflict with patrolling Wardens in the Wabasso area. You arrive at the docks of Sandy Springs, a beach town. Wyatt Davis, Calvin Cadwallader, Frank Cooper, and William Hansen stay on the outskirts of town in their vehicles.

The ship itself is a makeshift paddle steamer, fitted from wood, tarps, and a few pieces of metal here and there. A dockworker is manning a dock lift, bringing up crates and bodies from the concrete dock to the starboard. A small shed is bolted into the concrete below with the doors open. Inside, a woman with her hair tied up in a ponytail looms over a ledger and a clipboard, checking off things and then bringing a flip phone to her ear every now and then and calling someone on board, presumably. Also on her metal desk is a closed lock box.

Looking around, you don't spot any other mercenary-type looking fellows, but there are multiple sailors on the ship that have rifles. There's also an RB-M boat stationed along the docks, with a group of four men sit around, laughing loudly and eating sandwiches. They're armed with rifles as well, although they do have armor- in the form of padded pieces. One of them does have a ballistic vest, though.

 

[Lord Bradorian]

Bento is curious to know whether or not those four armed and armored men are Sandy Springs militiamen or if they were escorts of Davidson's ship. However, all-in-all he feels like they could easily take this ship if the sailors with rifles are the only thing they need to worry about. He makes his best attempt to count how many armed sailors there are, and identify they weaponry.

After that, Bento leaves the rest of the recon up to the rest of Squad 1, and goes to meet with Davidson. He walks into her room with a smile, though he does carry himself professionally. "Hello ma'am, I'm Captain Jacob Bento of YU&B Hired Guns. You wanted to hire my company to protect your ship on a voyage from here to Eagle Rock, for $200 and one crate of canned meet. Is that correct?"

 

[cl0ud]

There's seven armed sailors on board, but there's fifteen sailors overall. It's possible there's more weapons stationed on board. Their weapons are mostly the same, automatic and assault rifles, although you do spot an assault shotgun. Most of them are also armed with a small pistol, although it's unclear whether it's a service pistol or just a regular nine-millimeter pistol. As for the foursome of armored men by the RB-M, there's no identifying markers indicated if they're freelances, escorts for the ship, or Sandy Springs navy.

After you introduce yourself, the woman doesn't bother looking up, grasping a calculator and crunching numbers, "Money's in the box. Meat's on the ship. We leave in two hours."