I was just thinking how excellent it would be to have a post-apoc quest thread.

We are a thin, spry girl with a scoped hunting rifle and a knife.

I look for anyone that is alive and try to build a stronghold.

The year is 2028. You are 2nd lieutenant Rodge Carter. You were on leave and visiting old friend in Dallas, Texas when the bombs fell. Over the past month you have traveled your way towards California, and the military base that you knew to be there. It was constructed to withstand any, and all attacks, from virus bombs, to gassing, to direct nuclear strikes, and was meant to be a safehouse to evacuate politicians to in the event of an emergency. It has hydroponics labs for growing food, and well stocked medical bays. In short, it is full self sufficient.

You are currently 10 miles away from the base. It is SW of your current location. Between you and it lies a small, destroyed town. With you have enough food to last you 2 days (canned beans, bread, bottled water, etc), your M16 rifle, a backpack, a pair of binoculars, and 6 magazines of ammo.

What do you do?

I'm going to check the scene. Where am I? What's going on?

>>8695013
NO EAGLE

WE ARE A WAIF. A SCARED TEENAGE GIRL WITH A HIGH POWERED RIFLE.

I want to be the little girl, dammit.

>>8695013
Scout the town with my binoculars before I approach. I'm assuming we're rather genre-savvy when it comes to post-apocalyptic wastelands.

Can I drive around the town?

>>8695054

You are currently sitting in a small hollow on top of a hill overlooking the town. Behind you is a highway, with broken and burned out cars littering it. To your left the highway curves and enters the city; to your right is dense forest. You can see a small lake beyond the town; the water looks scummy even from here.

OOC: You also have a bedroll, and M16 magazines hold 30 bullets for the purposes of this quest.

>I think we should take a plow straight through the town. Most likely to meet up with anyone alive, and fastest way through

>>8695093

You no longer have a car, seeing as it ran out of gas several miles back.

>>8695088

Peering through your binoculars, you see no signs of movement. Many of the houses and stores are boarded up, and the wood seems fresh, not having had time yet to become age and become weathered. Ash fills the town, blowing in small drifts across the streets, and you can see a small red flag hanging out a second story window.

>>8695100
Eagle goddamit. A survivor is not supposed to be a manly military man with an assault rifle. A survivor is sympathetic, scared, and totally random.

We are a waif.

>>8695152
>>8695068
>>8694983

OOC: next quest i do, this is gonna be the main character

>>8695162
Fine.

Ready M16. Approach house cautiously. Any sudden movements and we waste them, unless they are a woman of suitable breeding age.

> alright, no opposition
I'm going to approach the town, making a straight line for the base.

>>8695190

Only upon hostile action do we retaliate.

>>8695190
>>8695198
combine these

>>8695190
>>8695198

You break camp, unsling your rifle, and approach the town. Debris crunches under your feet as you come up into the town, and the ash and dust billow around you. You approach the house with the flag hanging out the window and stop, rifle at the ready. All around you, the houses seem to be in much better condition than those further down the street, which bear fire and gunshot marks. Listening closely, you can hear faint scratching and murmuring from the house with the flag.

questions: What is our MOS? Are we infantry, non combatant, tanker?

Wood being fresh means almost nothing, it could just be new wood put up a month ago. Still, we could use any of the supplies held in the town, if it's vacant.

I say we try to move to a better (closer) vantage point, and keep a look out. Stealth is our ally here.

>>8695248
I'm going to look in the windows cautiously (so as not to be seen)

>>8695248
After >>8695262, enter house carefully, looking for any possible traps, and see who or what is inside.

Without delving too much into human psych, scratching seems to be more primitive (like a zombie) I say gun at the ready and speak softly to see what responds.

>>8695257

Infantry, you served in the Third Venezuelan Conflict, and your actions there brought you to the attention of several high ranking military personnel. You were visited in the hospital after an insurgents bullet shattered your femur by General Gareth, and he was the one that offered you the cushy post at the base that you are headed to now, after you had recovered and taken your leave of course.

>>8695257
fuck, just a little too late. namefagging.

Remember our military training, we know that doors are most likely to be booby trapped or watched. Is there any way to get onto the roof or another entrance?

Also, this damage to houses says that they've been fighting zombies/robots, not other humans. We could announce ourselves, perhaps.

I say look for more clues or figure out a way to peer inside. If there's moaning it could me there is only one wounded person inside, or a ZOMBAY

>>8695262

The windows are boarded up, and from this close you can see the shiny nails and smell the fresh wood. They cant have been boarded up more than a week ago.

>>8695307
>>8695279

You look around the door carefully for any sort of trap, then quietly prod it open with the barrel of your rifle, then set quietly in, drop into a crouch and sweep the area. Finding everything clear, you whisper "Hello? Anyone there?" slightly softer than normal speaking voice.

You are now inside the house. Behind you is the street, with the door open. Ahead of you stretches a hall, at the end of which you can see a flickering yellow light, behind what seems to be a barricade made out of several chairs and a sofe. To your left is a closed door. You can see stairs leading up behind the barricade, and a shadow on the wall.

Approach with our rifle held upraised in our left hand, right hand empty. announce our self

Investigate the house further before going inside. Walk around the house and examine it for interesting/unusual things. Listen for more noises, and try to spot alternate ways in.

>>8695371
Speak again, in the direction of the shadow. If it does not respond, open the door to the left

>>8695371
Make our presence known. Silence is aggressive, and we want them to assume we are friends.

Keep rifle ready.

>>8695372

Negative, we need to keep both hands on our rifle. We'll be able to shove a zombie away with it or shoot, or buttstroke a human. We can't afford to lose it by grappling.

Other than that I agree, keep our back to a wall and check all those dark corners.

Check: do we have a flashlight or anything similar mounted on our weapon?

>>8695433
This;
Then This
>>8695394

>>8695394

You speak up again, slightly louder this time: "Hello. Who's there?"

At the sound of your voice there is a sudden cessation of the murmuring, and you see a face briefly appear at a gap in the barricade, before it quickly flashes out of sight again. Then, from behind the barricade, you hear hear a strong female voice reply "Don't move! We will open fire! Identify yourself!".

>>8695461
Report your name and rank.
Don't move, and show no hostility, but keep both hands on your weapon

>>8695433

You have no attachments on your M16. You are currently holding the rifle with both hands, your back is against the outer door (which you closed for security), and you are facing down the hallway towards the barricade.

>>8695461
We are going to so fuck the shit out of her.

Tell her your name and rank. Be friendly. Ask who "they" are.

>>8695508
>oy, military man, keep it friendly :|

>>8695533

Neutral Evil is the only way to survive the apocalypse, bro.

>>8695508

don't play the stereotype please.

inform them that we are passing through.

>>8695553
military is supposed to mean discipline, so at minimum Lawful evil, which does not include rape imho

but anyways

>>8695577
WWII russians disagree

>>8695577
>>8695570
>>8695553
>>8695533
>>8695508

Now see, if we were a little girl we could have avoided all this.

>>8695508
>>8695471

"This is Second Lieutenant Carter. Identify yourselves as well please."

You hear a sudden burst of talking from behind the barricade, too low for you to hear more than a few scattered words: "...he's......need help......military!...." The barricade suddenly shifts, a chair is lifted out of the way, and a the upper torso of a woman is revealed. She wears army fatigues, same as you, and salutes you. "I am Sergeant Haynes. I am the current leader of the group occupying this house." She carries a worn looking M16 as well, and you notice that she never relaxed the entire time she was talking to you, ready to swing her weapon up and fire at you.

What do you do?

Thirding name and rank. No hostility or movement on our part.

>>8695461
Lower our rifle to the "ready" position. This is more than likely a civilian, who may not just shoot. Then just as the previous said identify name and rank, pull out dog tags or military ID to prove if necessary, but other than that nothing else, we have no idea who these people are.

>>8695592
As do the Spartans.

>>8695577

unless your name is Rance, then...

>>8695612
Sorry, was late.

Tell her at ease and ask for a brief of what she's encountered. Figure out if she's national guard, reserve or active, and what her combat experience is, including the last month. We need to make sure of people, if even they seem to be fairly experienced.

Definetly ask what the moaning was about.

>>8695608
Inform her that we are passing through. Try to find out information about the area, esp. clean water sources, food, safe places to hide. Avoid telling her about the military base unless necessary.

>>8695612

This and >>8695608 casually ask her what she has going here.

We've gotta keep it military boyos, unless we want to look like chumps in front of the civvies, in which they'll start muckin' about. She's a sergeant and we're an officer, despite being junior grade.

First law is survive, second is sexytime.

>>8695654
>>8695657

"At ease soldier." She relaxes her stance, and lowers her rifle, as do you. "What are you doing here? I heard a moaning sound coming from here as I was passing by. What was it?"
"We have a wounded soldier, Sir, and we have civilians here. You likely heard them talking."
"Whats your situation?"
"We have barely any food and water left, and we have to support a wounded man and 4 civilians. Any help you could provide would be appreciated, Sir."
"Okay. Know anything about what happened out there?" you ask, waving your arm to indicate the town outside.
She shakes her head. "No sir, we just moved into this house a couple of days ago. We have no intel and no manpower to recon the town, and we're just lying low till we recover our strength."

>>8695729

Time to look over the civilians, then the wounded. Also what do we know a bout this base we are heading to?

>>8695729
Have we seen firsthand experience of the zombie infection? how does it spread? traditional om nomming or something new?

As an infantryman we probably have much better experience with at least buddy aid (combat first aid) than the troops/civvies arranged here. I say we check out the casualty, see what his chances of survival/recovery are.

We don't have enough for to share, really, but since these people just got there that means that there might still be some to scavenge, and we're running low ourselves.

I would personally put the sergeant in charge of the guard in the house of the wounded man and depart my self with one of the soldiers to forage, perhaps one more, but stealth is the best option here.

Also, figure out what the civvies used to do, doctors, nurses, firemen, cops or any number of myriad skills could come in handy. They probably don't have any local knowledge though.

>>8695829
sorry, misread. So it's this sergeant, one wounded soldier and four civilians, right? So, to doctor >>8695829, figure the most capable/most knowledgeable civvie and grab them to go foraging. Sneaky over brawn, we've got a gun but we don't want to start a zombie/robot shitstorm.

>>8695807

The base is nearly fully self sufficient you hear, with massive stockpiles of ammo and fuel, as well as solar and tidal power backup supplies. Its situated on a small outcropping over the ocean, and has been engineered to be earthquake proof, a necessity this close to the San Andreas fault line. It has a hydroponics lab to grow food in, and thanks to the advancements of science, it can grow full crops in about 2 months. In addition to the hydroponics, it also has massive stockpiles of non perishables, and is capable of keeping at least 500 people fed indefinitely. It has only one access route, and that route is overlooked by several points in the base, strategically located for gunners and snipers. It is also equipped with the latest luxuries and medical facilities.

Sergeant Haynes moves aside, and you clamber over the barricade, then help lift the chair back into place. Turning around, you enter a small circle of candlelight. A small bed is laid out, upon which a man lays, clearly struck by fever and with a blood soaked bandage around his lower torso. Near him crouches another soldier with her back to you, the markings on her uniform identifying her as a medic. On the other side of the candles huddles a family of 4: mother, father, and 2 children, boy and girl, each about 10 years old.

>>8695931
>small outcropping over the ocean

FYFT

>>8695931

great. do we take them with us or do we leave them to rot?

>>8695931
This changes things, since there's a medic. She should stay with the wounded man (AFTER WE MAKE SURE HE'S NOT GONNA EAT ANY BRAINS) and we go lootan' with the sergeant.

>>8695829

No firsthand experience, and the only things you know about it you heard on your car radio before the station went down. No one knows yet how its caused, and all people can agree on is that it definitely spreads through direct contact with blood, and that it has a chance of not affecting you if immediate action is taken. Other than that, infection speed and probability are still unknown.

>>8695931
How did he get the wound?

>>8695956

OOC: I should probably describe that better: A small outcropping of rock, jutting out into the ocean. The rock goes all the way down to the seafloor, and its anchored firmly to the mainland.

>>8695963
I say at the very least take the soldiers with us, the family is a maybe. Are we a bad enough dude to tell civvies to fuck off?

But if they made it a month they may actually be a pretty hardcore bunch...idk.

>>8696030
Zombie survival instincts say fuck that. No chances, if he got assaulted that badly by a zombie, put him out. If the family slows us down, they're better staying put and quiet until they starve or dehydrate.

If this is unacceptable, we just walk out. We owe them nothing and they owe us nothing. We could casually remind them that, if we could hear him...well...they could.

Scratch foraging, we're only ten miles away from the supposed base...but I sense that something bad's happened to it.

We need to see if we can get some wheels, or otherwise we're gonna have to leave mr zombie bite behind.

>>8695975
>>8696007

"How'd that man get wounded Sergeant?"
"He took a two by four with a load of nails in it to the gut. Some trap someone left for us in this house."
The medic looks up from her ministrations and you can see that shes younger than the sergeant, and less calm as well. "He's got a high fever. I guess that wound's gotten infected, or it may have been the water he drank....I've done the best I can, but he needs better medical attention than we can provide."
"Okay then. Sum up your supplies."
"We have enough food to last us all a single day on regular rations, maybe three if we ration carefully. Corporal Anders refuses to eat, but the kids more than make up for that."
The medic chimes in: "Ive got maybe four or five feet of bandages left, and barely and painkiller. I'm running low on disinfectant as well."
"Hmm....how about ammo? How much do you have left?"
"Plenty of that, sir. We have 20 magazines of M16 ammo, including the corp's backpack, and at least 15 magazines for our pistols."

>>8696132

ahh hell take them with us. worse thing that happens is that they are denied access, right. I mean we also need people to repopulate the world, so saving this family and these soldiers couldn't hurt.

>>8696116
Yeah, I agree. we can take able-bodied people with fighting or other skills only. This is the survival of the human race, then we can't afford sympathy. The medic and sergeant haynes are definetly in, but what did the family do? are they worth saving?

Actually, that could get complicated. They won't leave without their kids, etc. I say take haynes to the side and tell her what has to be done.

>>8696170

You pull Haynes to the side and whisper to her. "Look, Sergeant, there's a military base about 10 miles from here. Thats where I've been headed. I think I could get the rest of you there, but how are the civies? Will they complain? Are they strong enough to handle the trek?"
She whispers back. "They wont complain sir, we marched nearly 20 miles in the past few days, and we didn't get a peep out of them. They seem to be strong, and the kids treat this all as a giant adventure; they never run out of energy. The corp can still stagger, and he'll be fine with a bit of march, just not stealthy."

Dilemnas. The medic will more than likely not leave the corporal, and the sergeant may not blindly follow your orders to leave.

PARAGON CARTER OR RENEGADE CARTER?

I say we hit that when we get there. We need either a car or to forage for some crap to feed these people/get them water to drink. Needs to be boiled or bottled, and the corporal is more than likely going to die of sepsis unless we get him some hardcore biotics.

>>8696233
goddamn corporal anders is a hoss already

Well then, I say move out, we've only got ten miles to go. Be on the lookout for some transport but we need to stay away from the city and stay in wooded/covered areas as much as possible. Keep formation with wounded and civvies in the middle, military on the outside to protect the middle and make sure we don't get hit by friendly fire as we get closer.

>>8696233

ok if they were able to march 20 miles to this place, then they can make another 10. make a device to carry the wounded for when he needs it.

Any chance of the town containing medical supplies? Is it a worth a shot poking around? I got the impression the boarded up shops implies they're not empty, which can be good or bad.

>>8696302
>>8696287

"Alright then, gather them up and we'll head out."
Haynes nods to you and spins around to address the rest of the group.
"ALRIGHT LISTEN UP. Lieutenant Carter here has offered the chance for us to accompany him to a military base. Grab your kits and get ready to move!"
A brief flurry of activity starts as everyone begins to pack up their meager belongings, then they line up in front of you as Haynes introduces them.
"Corporal Anders, hes an amazing sharpshooter and meddles with explosives." The corp pulls off a ragged salute and then slumps back against the wall.
"Our medic, Lauren Atwood. Clever, she can patch up anybody." The medic looks down modestly, not catching your eyes, then looks back up and salutes.
"The Morris family: Jacob and Jennifer, and their kids, Luke and Nicole." The civilians nod politely to you and smile, whispering thanks.
Haynes marches back down the line and performs an about-face. Saluting you she says: "And finally myself, Sergeant Haynes. We are ready to move out upon your order sir!"
Jacob speaks up "Um, sir, we found a truck outside earlier, its got room for all of us, but its basically running on fumes now. It can get us a few miles at least though."

>>8696385

fumes it is then.

Wait, would it be possible to conduct a quick search of a nearby pharmacy?

>>8696466
>>8696498

Everyone staggers out of the back door of the house, and into the truck a few yards away. You raise the question of any pharmacies or food markets that could be scavenged, but everyone replies that those that they had seen were all gutted by fire. The civvies climb into the back seat of the truck, with the kids sitting on their laps. Corporal Anders is laid in the open back of the truck, with his bedding and a few looted cushions around him. Lauren jumps in the back to help keep him steady, and Haynes turns to you to decide who will drive and who will ride shotgun and watch out for people or risks.

>>8696498

ok lets do that instead.

>>8696564
It would be best if we had ourselves looking out for danger, since we're in command. Get the dad to drive and sergeant haynes to ride shotgun, if she's got a better marksman score than the medic. Anders is obviously in no shape to be riding shotgun or shooting.

>>8696651

You bark a few orders and everyone shuffles around, Jacob moving to front seat, Haynes jumping into shotgun, Lauren jumping down from the back taking Jacobs place with the kids, and you taking Laurens place in the open back, standing up and bracing yourself against the roof, scanning the horizon, and calling out directions to Jacob.

You get about 6 miles out of the truck before it finally groans it's last, and everyone gets out. You can actually see the base from here, squatting on its outcropping. The road leads directly to it, and you are standing just at the outskirts of the town, next to a junkyard on your left, and an abandoned gas station on your right. Scorch marks cover the station, and the fuel pumps have split; obviously from some sort of gigantic explosion.

My guess is that this base was either hit in the attack or is already full to capacity. Places like that don't go unused when SHTF.

Doubt we'll find anything but we should at least check the gas station.

>>8696854

Searching through the ashes, all you find is a single heavy safe, bolted to the floor and bearing thousands of scratches and dents from where people have been trying to open it. A small faded plaque proclaims the safe to be "F R PR OF", and the lock is still securely locked.

OOC: Argh, i should done this quest earlier. Im staying on for maybe half an hour longer, then i hit the sack. Archive or keep giving commands; ill be back tommorow or next week with more Remnants Quest.

>>8696877
Before leaving the gas station, let's give the safe a farewell kick. We should head to the junkyard for a quick look before committing ourselves to go the rest of the way on foot. Haynes for backup, everyone else stays with the vehicle.