>>4559272
Past Threads:

1: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/4430603/
2: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/4473866/
3: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive/4514185/

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>>4559272
Huh. This thread knocked the old one off... it's a bit poetic when you think about it.

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>>4559272
Thanks OP. I'm the QM of this quest, and will be starting with updates either in the next six hours, or in about a day. We're pending on a decision on whether one of our high ranking underlings is going to be Chinese Joan of Arc Battle Nun (actually a PLA infiltrator who got in too deep to get out and is slowly "going native") or a former Yugoslavian logistics officer who nearly broke from the horrors he saw only to swept up in America's civil war (can't catch a break.) Feel free to ask questions or engage in miscellaneous discussion or whatever else until the update. Or after the update, actually.

To fill in anyone wondering what the hell is going on, I basically asked for one of my players to post the OP instead of doing it myself. I am willingly giving up text formatting options and control over when the thread goes up in the vain hopes that I can escape the QM Curse that kills just about every quest. Including this one, actually. The original QM dropped the quest and I decided to pick it up, hence the strangeness of early thread 1 and some of the weirder parts of the setting I had to find creative ways of working around. I try to aim for a decently sizable update (generally multi-part) or two once a day and I give a promise to not ghost. I may miss a day from Internet issues or drinking, but if I ever hiatus/drop, I'll make sure you let you guys know exactly what's going on without just disappearing.

Pic related is a rough map of the starting area we're in. The map of the USA OP posted is a rough map of what you think the USA might look like. It's rough and outdated, but it's hard to get accurate data in a civil war!

>>4559298
The map may be rough and outdated, but I absolutely love it. The anon who did it is a madlad, and I love you for it.

>Chinese Joan of Arc Battle Nun

Because the logistics officer is better suited at dealing with logistics, as is best either at Mobile or in Maricopa handling supply issues and skilled personnel recruitment and training. At least in my mind that is.

>>4559298
>former Yugoslavian logistics officer
Surely the messenger will, once and for all, confirm that God is indeed a Serb. On another note, logistics sounds like it would lend to more professionalism in our military structure. Important when we're fighting communist hordes, bandit rabble, and Native American raiders.

>>4559318
A Yugoslav vet is a great addition, but why would we send a logistics officer to conduct an investigation on some kidnappings and stolen cattle? He can be doing actual logistical work for the cult instead of wasting time on Maricopa relations maintenance.

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>>4559318
>Serb
Tiny little comment before the Yugoslavians find this and lose their shit. Dragomir would be a Croatian, not a Serb. The Balkans types can get really mad if you confuse one for another... But yes, he would be the former Kebab Remover meme guy trying his best not to slip into full blown genocide mode

>>4559301
>The anon who did it is a madlad
That he was. Pic related is the original map from the first thread by the original QM

And a general note is that you obviously get a limited number of these guys starting out. You might pick up more along the way if the faction grows very significantly or to replace dead or otherwise out of action cardinals, but the starters should feel like significant choices. And, of course, feel free to suggest your own ideas if you have any late lightbulb moments.

Posts of interest from last thread listed below:
>>4558648
>>4558464
>>4558336

reposting the five cardinals:
1: meth addict cardinal / morale cardinal
2: meth dealer cardinal / money-motivated cardinal
3: planning-oriented war cardinal (Richard Mueller)
4: planning-oriented peace cardinal (Bob Musella)
5: "doesn't make plans until he has all the info" cardinal

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>former Yugoslavian war vet

Female cardinal sounds very heretical.

>>4559413
Funnily enough, I imagine it would be her that suggest and support the totally not!heretical Black site, among the less moral and more devious methods that we are considering, as her background would naturally lead into those lines of thought outright without moral inhibitions becoming a problem.

Now, I do like the Yugoslavian, but his background means that he'll most likely have the most moral objections to the less savory ideas we've been considering, and given his importance in logistic, would be in the best position to know about it and have the power to cause the most resistance. Add in the depression factor, and you basically have a powder keg at the heart of our organization, that may go off at any time.

But if you want to choose him, go ahead, I don't really mind and I still think it's a cool idea. I would just be wary of our actions, ethical or not, and of how our inner circle would interpret them.

>>4559431
We can change the background character and name to suit our needs a bit better. I'd prefer one that fought in the war and did some personal removing.

>>4559439
That's fine, but you'd have to change core elements of his character, and I think the original Dragomir would have been very interesting by itself. An old civil war vet, who escaped his personal Hell only to realize years later that he just exchange jailers. It's a fascinating premise, and I would hate to ruin it just to make it more compatible to our needs. One of the elements I find engaging in this quest are the narrative ones, and I just... I think it would be a shame, to nip his story in the bud like that.

It probably is just me that has this sort of holdup though. If the other anons are on board, I'll quiet down.

>>4559450
There are other facets of the Battle Nun to consider, as well. I put some thought into her character creation, and for the life of me, I'm at a loss to explain my thought process here. Maybe my thoughts will clarify themselves after some shuteye.

>>4559368
Reminder that number 1 already exists I believe he's the schizophrenic actor.
I vote yugoslav (or as the one anon corrected, croat) war vet for perhaps number 5, since it seems he would fit in there, and number 2 would be a good fit for the chinawoman.

>>4559713
We probably should have some more "normal" characters in the mix. I think we should have Not!Jessie as a deacon or something.

To be honest we could do with a relatively ordinary guy to balance out "Ex-Marine Opiate-Expert", "I sell Faith and Meth" McCult Head and "So undercover, I've became the mattress" man. Like a welder, a carpenter's son, a farmer or a electrician or something.

>>4559947
How about a former sergeant who got a less than Honorable discharge for handing out pep pills to help his platoon out on long patrols in the middle east. ended up saving many lives by keep his soldiers alert and awake, from stepping on mines or failing to notice ambushes or reacting to attacks in time, but he got sold out by some green face butter bar officer that recently was assigned to his unit. (Guy got him and a few soldiers blown the fuck up later).

>>4559947
I don't know how he would be apart of the leadership of a cult so soon after joining, if he's just an ordinary man. I'd say we wait until we get a bit bigger, then we can pick one of the Maricopa converts to be our regular man on the inside.

>>4559954
Eh, we've already got a military guy (two counting DEA man) who dealt drugs. Feels too much like a copy-paste and doesn't address my point.

>>4560115
Ordinary people are the ones who rise to power all too frequently. Ordinary is consistent, ordinary is useful. We made a trek from California to Arizona with a large group of people, few of which probably had extensive wilderness skills, over unforgiving terrain with dangerous locals and limited resources.

Reasonably speaking, we did not walk the distance (assuming we came from the Cali-Arizona border alone and stuck to the major roads for ease of navigation, we're talking 144 miles of walking which is about 48 hours without rest (read: almost certainly more than 48 when we did it)) without some serious planning. Now seeing as our cult head ain't a wilderness survival expert and hadn't been preparing for this for years, I've got to assume that one of our followers stepped up to the plate.

Now the person in question could be anything from a stockmaster who figured out how much water and other material was needed, who could carry what and so on or it could be a guy with knowledge of how to travel across such country, either as a hobby (mountaineer) or a lifestyle (hobo / wild man) who figured the best route, where water could be found naturally and so on.

Similarly, we've done quite a bit of construction work since our arrival, who's to say that a particular member of that group hasn't stood out from the rest. Someone with genuine experience in the field or with a knack for leading or just someone who works longer and harder than anyone else.

>>4560363
Ordinary is not this cult. We'd have to get new converts to get ordinary in our ranks, and time for them to be proven capable of higher position and authority.

Your right in the fact that we probably have a foreman or construction worker on hand to help direct the construction, and some sort of tracker/hunter if it comes to it, but I doubt they would be involved in the major decisions and direction the cult takes. Not yet anyway. Given time, trust will build up enough for it.

Plus, a murder-hobo would be funny as shit to see as a Cardinal, but I imagine he would be a straggler from the California cities or suburbs, and would be unsuited to leadership tasks.

>>4560383
>Ordinary is not this cult
We've received detailed descriptions of at most a half-dozen of our 200 converts (including the dead), You are right that what we've seen of the cult aren't ordinary but if the entire cult is made up of individuals as exceptional as our current Cardinals, god knows how that is possible.

>I doubt they would be involved in the major decisions and direction the cult takes.
Why not? I gave logical examples of individuals who would rise to the notice of their superiors / the Messenger, where they'd be involved in major decision making because they have perfectly "ordinary" skills need to solve a problem effectively. Why wouldn't the guy who got us to Mobile become a Cardinal? Why wouldn't the guy who actually knows how to construct, given how much of that we're doing (if we take the position that cardinals = has important skill)?

>Not yet anyway. Given time, trust will build up enough for it.
Why wouldn't they be trusted, given they've followed us this far and through all this? All of our followers have abandoned relative safety and comfort (be it California or Maricopa or elsewhere) to join us, knowing what we are and the inherent dangers. Unless you mean "trust in their skills" which would make even less sense given I gave specific examples where these individuals would prove and show their capability.

>I imagine he would be a straggler from the California cities or suburbs, and would be unsuited to leadership tasks
To be fair, hardly a requirement for Cardinalhood (Cardinalship?) since DEA man isn't exactly a natural born leader.

>>4560439
The entire cult isn't made up of exceptional individuals, but the Inner Counsel would be.

It's mostly relies on loyalty and trust. Why would the Messenger promote an ordinary individual to an important high ranking position if his only skill is construction work or guiding people, especially considering these a regular folks who don't really subscribe to our Program and are only here because California was taken by the commies and that there are no 'safe' places in a civil war. They came with us because we provide security, not because they believe in our message yet. Plus, ordinary Americans wouldn't approve of half the shit the cult is considering, whether it be selling meth, creating Black sites for conversion, making chemical weapons and gassing our enemies. We are disregarding basic human rights here, and I don't believe that the majority of the regular people, who grew up with these rights as a cultural facet, would even come up with these ideas, must less approve.

I'm not against the idea, but I have serious doubts that someone considered regular would rise to the top leadership position without the Messenger knowing about him before our exodus from California, and no one in their right mind would place an unknown quantity into the top ranks of their leadership after a few weeks, even if they contributed to our collective survival.

I'm sorry, I just don't seriously believe that a random Joe is going to become a Cardinal of our cult just after 6-7 weeks after knowing the dude.

>>4560485
>The entire cult isn't made up of exceptional individuals, but the Inner Counsel would be.
That is slightly more reasonable but I still disagree.

>Why would the Messenger promote an ordinary individual to an important high ranking position if his only skill is construction work or guiding people
Why wouldn't he is the better way to phrase it surely? Can you say why he wouldn't want to raise up someone with a useful and practical skill?

>especially considering these a regular folks who don't really subscribe to our Program
Okay few issues there, one, you can't say they don't subscribe to our program. Given we've had no one attempt to run away nor any mention of internal issues and, as I will momentarily discuss, the cost of joining us.

>only here because California was taken by the commies and that there are no 'safe' places in a civil war
My point is that they decided "ah yes, rather than staying here with friends and family under a moderately stable government where I have most modern living standards and don't have to fear much of anything so long as I don't get in the way of big business, I shall instead join a meth-cult founded out of the currently least popular branch of Christianity and follow them west across a desert on foot to a tiny town knowing that not only am I joining a cult but even if their intentions are pure, that doesn't mean the journey or destination is safe" and that they didn't do this out of some sense of loyalty or faith.

More simply put, you are arguing that joining us wasn't a clear downgrade, or rather wouldn't be to a sane person, compared to a technocratic regime that just wants the economy to keep flowing? That to me seems preposterous.

>They came with us because we provide security, not because they believe in our message yet
In your opinion, QM has confirmed no such thing and has arguably, narratively, confirmed against such a thing.

>We are disregarding basic human rights here, and I don't believe that the majority of the regular people, who grew up with these rights as a cultural facet, would even come up with these ideas, must less approve
You would be amazed how little people care about that shit when it isn't in an abstract sense of "its evil, I guess". I mean the US regularly performs "enhanced interrogation" and no serious change ever comes of it.

>I'm not against the idea, but I have serious doubts that someone considered regular would rise to the top leadership position without the Messenger knowing about him before our exodus from California
Okay, I think I've found the source of the issue here: for some reason you think I want a RECENT convert in our Cardinals; all I am saying is "hey, how about a cardinal that doesn't have a backstory like something out of spy thriller, a dark action film or a gritty war drama?". We've thus far had a drug dealing soldier and a undercover DEA agent and people's plans for the next were "Mulan-but-Christian" and "Yugoslavia never dies".

>>4560520
That's alright, disagreement is healthy.

Loyalty. He only knew them for a few weeks, and it was very busy, to say the least. He wouldn't have time to build a rapport with them, and you don't give away top positions just because a man has a useful skill.

Keep in mind we\re in the middle of a civil war, and a whole bunch of bandits and weirdos are running around, killing people. They are safer with us even if we're one of those weirdo groups.

The Californian point is delusional. It can be argued that California is a failing state as it is in real life. After the chaos of an American Civil War and subsequent Chinese invasion? We are the safer option. Also, you just undermined your own point that there would be no regular people joining up with us. On an unrelated note, it's funny you'd think a recently acquired CCP colonial state would be stable, have modern living standards, and wouldn't have much to fear if they don't get political. And they don't care about the keeping the economy flowing, Communism is more about power politics than it really is about economics, despite the common misconception.

On another note, if it's just cult members that came with us, they wouldn't be regular people, would they?

Some people still threw a hissy fit when the US government does "enhanced interrogation" in the name of National Security, away from the public's view. It's an entirely different situation when they see it happen right in front of them, especially when they think 'God, that could've happen to me!'

Funnily enough, I was interested in a Cardinal Saul. And you have to admit, we're not exactly flush with sane, stable individuals here. This was originally a meth cult, after all.

The real source of the issue is that I don't think the Messenger would just appoint someone out of the blue, with a random skill, into one of the highest positions in his organization. You don't get a regular Joe in the inner circle in normal politics, and this is a meth-dealing cult we're talking about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-n1AyJgaeY

The messenger trusts his protegee keeps him in his inner circle. He is by no means anyone extraordinary. Just a regular guy who did a few extraordinary things.

>>4559713
that's Mueller, he's n4

>>4560608
No mueller is the nick cage drug dealing war vet, the other guy was mentioned.

>>4560520
>all I am saying is "hey, how about a cardinal that doesn't have a backstory like something out of spy thriller, a dark action film or a gritty war drama?".
I can get behind this. Actually normal guy in abnormal circumstances sounds fun as well.

>>4560613
It does, but a normal man doesn't get promoted into being a cult Cardinal just out of the gates. It's going to be after the normal people begin settling in and start rising through the ranks, like with any fast growing organization.

Keep in mind, many Al-Qaeda and ISIS fighters were just regular people in the Middle East making a career choice in a lot of cases.

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Because I don't want to pick the overused yougoslavian veteran trope, I suggest this:
>"doesn't make plans until he has all the info" cardinal

>Nick Mahoney
>Extroverted, Loudmouthed, Contrarian
>Used to make a living out of writing in for a magazine that ranged from topics such as UFOs to other kinds of conspiracy theories. When the US Civil War started, he closed himself inside his home-made bunker, convinced that the Civil War would end in nuclear armageddon. Despite the fact that his supply could've lasted for years, after a few months the lonileness and curiosity got the worst out of him, so he came out one day outside to a now California occupied by the Chinese. Himself being well aware that the Chinese are secretly a puppet to the lizard people (who've been secretly fighting for control of the earth against the NWO) he found life in California no longer bearable, joining the Sun Belt Crusaders (whom he regards as the only faction neither owned by the lizard people or the NWO) by proving his loyaltly by giving up all of his bunker supplies.

>>4560613
we have 3 cardinals?

>>4560646
Unofficially, yes. He hasn't made an onscreen appearance yet.

I love the meme, just don't think he'd be able to buy a Cardinal position with just Bunker supplies let alone the fact that we could've probably just taken the supplies by force.

He will be an amusing addition later down the line though.

>>4559276
I do think we are forgetting why we are talking about Cardinals in the first place.

DIPLOMATIC ACTION LOCKED IN:
>Investigation: Stanfield, a once independent small community of farmers on the far south of Maricopa, is reporting incidents of cattle rustling and even a couple of kidnappings. The M.M.P. is too thinly stretched to do anything about this settlement with it on the opposite direction of the POZ. Go to Stanfield, figure out what's going on, and deal with it.

You wrote down a small summary of this quest given to you by your patron. Preparing for the expedition, you reference it.

QUEST STARTED:

[Where's the Beef?!]

Objective:
>Find out who's causing the cattle rustling and kidnappings in Stanfield
>Put an end to it

Acceptance Bonus:
>Maintaining patron-client relations with Maricopa

Completion Bonus:
>???

Stretch Goals:
>Build relations with the Stanfield community
>Get more information on the region south/east of Maricopa

>CREATE A CUSTOM CARDINAL TO GO ON THE QUEST

I do hope this simplifies things a bit. Going to grab some shuteye now.

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And with these votes, I think we have a winner:

When you heard Dragomir of all people volunteering, it came as a bit of a surprise. Being the "logistics guy" of the operation, he is normally reserved and has so far stayed behind in most all of the major events. That's not to say he's been a burden. If anything, he's one of the most valuable men in the operation. Without him, things like transferring large numbers of prisoners, making sure people are properly equipped, constructing various projects like the farms, and many other essential tasks wouldn't have gone so smoothly. Hell, if it weren't for his contacts in transportation from his time as a commercial farmer, the exodus to Arizona might not have even been possible. There are more "flashy" alternatives, but you'll give the Croatian Calculator his opportunity to shine.

>POV SHIFT TO SELECTED CARDINAL:
>Dragomir Trkulja
Hailing from the former country of Yugoslavia, you had pretty normal early years. As a very bright mathematics student in university, things were looking up. That was until the war started. While politically neutral yourself, you got swept up by things and found yourself in the army. Starting out fairly low on the chain of command, you managed to get promoted to the position of logistical officer once your superiors noticed your talents. There, you put your highly analytical mind to use in the basics of logistics. While the work was hard with the constantly changing situation, you did as good of a job as possible and were instrumental in a number of small victories you tell yourself were necessary evils.

>Trait Gained: Human Calculator: Your highly analytical mind can open up special options/insights.
>Trait Gained: Gifted Administrator: Experience in logistical work and formal training in mathematics reduces the odds of certain negative events and can grant minor bonuses for not just you, but others as well.

During the war, you were conscious of just how many evils were being perpetuated. You wanted to leave your bloodsoaked homeland and go somewhere you could live a good life. You arranged to be "fast-tracked" to America. It involved a combination of calling in a few favors, smuggling, overstaying visas, and tapping into a network of shady lawyers. But it worked. Before you knew it, you were a fully naturalized citizen and in the business of commercial farming in California. The business turned out to be very different from the type of farming you knew about in Yugoslavia, and in a very good way. Instead of breaking your back in the fields, you managed the operation via phones and spreadsheets.

>Trait Gained: Almond Farmer: You are knowledgeable about modern agriculture and distribution networks.

For a while, life seemed good...

[1/?]

>>4560684

[2/?]

But things started to slowly get worse. You would have your doubts about things like God. You returned to the Catholic faith after your arrival to America. Going to church and being part of the community, you found that it just wasn't quite right for you. The environment was, for lack of a better term, too permissive. You wanted the harshness of repentance, but you instead found a church that was "soft." You watched as the church rapidly backpedaled on many social issues you found important. And with this recent Pope, it was too much. Even before the unspeakable disaster at Lagos. Politically, you started to see the slow degradation of brotherhood and friendship that binds a country together. This all compounded and reinforced your already solemn nature.

>Trait Gained: Forlorn: Your reserved, dour disposition brings down the spirits of those around you. Receive a penalty to morale when leading men.

A chance encounter got you acquainted with the Messenger, or "Mr. White" as he was known back then. He opened your eyes to the true extent of the corruption in the Papacy, and well as the solution to it. Honestly, you were dubious about the prospect of him being Pope. It sounded absolutely insane and you were prepared to absolutely dismantle his arguments. You ended up finding yourself completely trounced by one of the few men you have had to admit being more intelligent than you. It took a few meetings to accept it, but you eventually got on board the true faith and began helping out the group. A lot of it involved helping with "distribution for "Schrödinger" as he was known in the business then. It's not the most savory of ways to pay for church operations, but it was and still remains a necessary evil.

After the botched presidential assassination and the absolute insanity that followed, you sunk into despair at what was going on in the world. Your worst fears were coming to pass. These idiotic Americans had no clue what they were getting themselves into and they tore themselves apart. You fear that you will relive the hell that was your first civil war. By that you don't mean having to deal with being unsafe or poor living conditions. By that you mean becoming a full blown demon. Before you were promoted to logistical officer, you were part of a unit that, by sheer misfortune, found itself in the worst places of the conflict. You've seen it all. Human shields, systematic rape, outright genocide, and other unspeakable acts. At first, it made sense. It was a necessity to kill civilians, they might have been soldiers acting in perfidy. And the rape? Well people get caught up in things, you would tell yourself with less resolve. By the time you witnessed your comrades lining up the... it's all too much. Even to remember. Every night, you pray you don't find yourself in that hell again as one of the demons.

>Trait Gained: Standing on the Edge: You can still hear their voices crying out...

>>4560685

[3/3]

Today you found yourself making the decision to volunteer to investigate the Stanfield Incident. You're painfully aware of the reality that your position as a logistician may make those around you question your zeal and dedication to the cause. This incident, thankfully, sounds like something you can hopefully deal with using just intelligence and basic problem solving skills. You also fear that if you don't take this opportunity to solve this, you might be called to take care of something worse later on. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of curse," as these Americans say.

The Messenger is pleased with your decision, and chooses to allow you to deal with this mission. It's an important one, since it is the first one for your faction's new "patron" and it will silence any possible doubts about your usefulness, which encourages you all the more to succeed.

Before you venture out to Stanfield, you must make the decision of how to carry this out. Who should you bring, and how should they be equipped? You can think of at least three valid approaches to this...

>Investigations Unit: Go to Stanfield with only a small selection of people. Avoid being conspicuous and just investigate, whether that means going out to crime scenes or talking to persons of interest. Escalate only if needed.
>Gendarmerie: Go to Stanfield with about a platoon's worth equipped with SWAT gear and less than lethal force weapons (along with the guns) and present yourselves at the law.
>Show of Force: Go to Stanfield with the full two platoons including vehicles, the full crusader's regalia, and at least one machine gun from the Sierra Estrellan base. Make a show of overwhelming force and hopefully scare the hell out of whoever's behind this into submission.
>Alternative Plan: [Write-In]

I'll respond to some of the talk that's been going around in the next posts. It seems a bit weird and disjointed, blame it on the liquor, as always

>>4560686

>>4559413
Alright, so I'm going to level with you guys. If previous threads haven't given it away, I am not a practicing Catholic and I have no deep understanding of how that church is supposed to work. I got all of my real knowledge of the church structure and that sort of thing somewhat recently by googling stuff and watching some Youtube videos. That said, even if the players 100% voted for some geriatric Karen whose closest encounter with Christianity was organizing the Bible via Dewey Decimal System at the local public library, which is what comes to mind when I look at that picture, I wouldn't let it happen exactly as voted. I would tone things down significantly, add some actually interesting stuff, and come up with some ass backwards justification as to why a woman can even be in the position. Which, based entirely on Google, seems somewhat possible. The rule for only priests/bishops being cardinals apparently only goes back to 1917, so the Pope (i.e. Walter White) can probably make an exemption, rule change, or "clarification" to let a lay person or nun into the position. Is it kind of retarded? Yes, yes it is, but not that much more than an American meth cook deciding he is the Pope and leading a crusade. And hey, the Pope even called it "theologically possible," so there's that!

This isn't just to be flippant and completely disregard basic logic. It's more of a "creative liberties" thing that I think works within the context of the setting.

That's all to say that I would make changes to make it work if you guys voted for a Chinese religious nut/PLA agent. For a bit of a look "behind the scenes", you guys earlier picked an option to settle theological disputes, which I put in as a one time opportunity to let you guys do some kinda borderline heretical shit and get away with it, like having a female as a "cardinal."

/DrunkenRant

>>4560687

Oh, and on a similar topic, a cardinal doesn't fully exist until "locked in" with a vote. There were references to who cardinal #1 would probably be in the Project Killdozer stuff and elsewhere, but that can always be later revealed to have actually been somebody else or somebody being confused or whatever else. Don't feel "locked in" unnecessarily, is what I'm trying to get at.

On the "everyman" cardinal, that's a valid option. Having a perfectly normal guy who was just an accountant or something boring is absolutely valid. Granted, all of the current ideas have been shit straight out of movies and shit (The Infiltrator, Nic Cage, and maybe GTA 4?!?) but that's just because people naturally like exciting shit. Which is fine. We all probably do. As for why you have some consistently interesting people, part of that is explained by Walt having chosen these guys. As a minor spoiler, Dragomir didn't just have a "chance meeting," but he was somebody that Walt thought would be useful (maybe obvious reasons there) and could likely convert. And he went looking for a money launderer when he picked Mazur, obviously/obliviously not being careful enough.

Some of you guys noticed it's weird that the Pope has been handing out cardinal positions to odd fellows. That's actually intentional. As the Breaking Bad clip somebody posted shows, Walt can have horrible judgement and often makes very questionable decisions (Gus is completely correct that Jesse is about the worst person you can partner with). It's why a D.E.A. agent has already slipped in and why I would have no problems with a PLA infiltrator as well. The cult is fairly small and had no real territory. Even at the current point it's still pretty tiny as far as things go. The cardinal positions are kind of ceremonial initially, at least for this group, so you wouldn't have to work up the "chain of command" too much. Just being an "exceptional individual" is enough to put you in consideration at this point. This will obviously change if/once you guys do things like secure large regions like Phoenix or Tucson.

>>4559947
>So undercover, I've became the mattress
I laughed at this way harder than I should have

>>4560646
I bet this guy would have fun conversations with Redfield after a few beers... 10/10 would write for

>>4560686
>Investigations Unit: Go to Stanfield with only a small selection of people. Avoid being conspicuous and just investigate, whether that means going out to crime scenes or talking to persons of interest. Escalate only if needed.

Makes the most sense considering his disposition and traits, as well as the mission goals.

>>4560688
>Granted, all of the current ideas have been shit straight out of movies and shit

I mean, so's Breaking Bad, so I don't see a problem with it. It's the same with the Space Marine 40k stuff as well, I think it just adds more flavor to the quest.

The execution of the writing is partly why I like this quest so much, and have sunk a lot of thought into some of these ideas.

Just glad I caught the update before the shuteye, mate :^)

>>4560646
>Yugo Vet
I still want one. He can run our blacksite.

>>4560655
Guys we can get mid ranked characters that don't have to be Cardinals. Bunker man can be a lower level Pastor or Bishop

>>4559272
Bent Seen

>>4560703
True, and having both Mahoney and Redfield as Pastor's would be amusing as all Hell.

Also, good luck with getting him to run the Black site. The fact that the Chinese practically got building and operating such sites down to a science somehow escapes everyone's notice is amusing in of itself.

>>4560555
I'd continue arguing this but I doubt it'd come to anything and the decision has been made. For the love of god though, our next Cardinal better not be in any way trained for combat or I'm going to be disappointed in the creativity of /qst/.

>>4560687
>I am not a practicing Catholic and I have no deep understanding of how that church is supposed to work
Don't worry QM, according to the Orthodox, Protestants, Mormons, Anglicans, Metaphites and so on, the Catholics don't know either.

>Is it kind of retarded?
I mean the whole point of a Pope is to make changes to religious laws, as the will of God on earth (until Christ returns).

>On the "everyman" cardinal, that's a valid option. Having a perfectly normal guy who was just an accountant or something boring is absolutely valid
Vindicated. On this point: part of me wants to write a John Henry-esque figure solely because it seems appropriate to me, that we'd have some muscle bound goliath that could outwork a steam engine.

>I laughed at this way harder than I should have
My purpose is fulfilled.

>>4560703
Agreed, we should probably adopt some lower rankings. Using the Arch and Regular designations, we could have 7 ranks: Pope; Cardinal; Arch-Bishop; Bishop; Priest; Friar / Monk. Similarly for military shit we could probably just adopt ranks like Page / Squire, Knight, Knight-Master, Chapter-Master, etc.

Depends on how heavily we want to lean into the Crusader / Church thing.

>>4560688
We can "stay truer" to the faith with abbess, prioress which seem to be on levels in ranks to Bishops?

>>4560714
>>4560715
I was also thinking of a salt of the earth type of guy like Huge Mungus +Jeremiah Johnson.

I think we should worry about organizing a branch off of militant "Templar" orders and ranks later on when we get bigger.

Kai, k? On.

>>4560715
Same, though I would be interested in your response. After all, disagreement is healthy, and how else are we going to test ideas if they aren't contested?

Though I don't see how your vindicated. After all, isn't John Henry more than just a regular man? They don't make statues for just anyone you know :^) Just joshing. I love the enthusiasm.

Honestly, using the Church rankings for the Administration and Crusader jargon for the Military would be appropriate. Don't know if the meth business should be apart of the Administration or whether it would be it's own separate branch. Thoughts?

>>4560719
>Hugh Mungus +Jeremiah Johnson.

I love it. I imagine he'd be one that got us past the some of the mountains in California during our exodus.

>>4560729
>Thoughts?
Administration. That or you set up monasteries that produce specific goods (e,g medical supplies, chemical weapons, etc) and use them to keep the manufacturing methods, equipment and knowledge in isolated, secure and religiously sound communities.

>>4560686
>>Investigations Unit: Go to Stanfield with only a small selection of people. Avoid being conspicuous and just investigate, whether that means going out to crime scenes or talking to persons of interest. Escalate only if needed.
Let's try not to stand out too much for now. We're here to investigate, id rather not draw too much attention

>>4560686
>Investigations Unit: Go to Stanfield with only a small selection of people. Avoid being conspicuous and just investigate, whether that means going out to crime scenes or talking to persons of interest. Escalate only if needed.

>>4560686
>>Investigations Unit: Go to Stanfield with only a small selection of people. Avoid being conspicuous and just investigate, whether that means going out to crime scenes or talking to persons of interest. Escalate only if needed.
Observation for intel.

>>4560734
The monasteries are not a bad idea for small communities. It would be very interesting to see how it would work out, in fact.

>>4561569
Monasteries that make cheese are awesome.

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>>4560701
>>4560893
>>4561069
>>4561275

OPTION SELECTED:
>Investigations Unit: Go to Stanfield with only a small selection of people. Avoid being conspicuous and just investigate, whether that means going out to crime scenes or talking to persons of interest. Escalate only if needed.

You decide that you don't need anything more than a few good men. This is, first and foremost, an investigation. Showing up with a large, conspicuous force might be useful security theater, but it could also complicate things. Four others join you as you drive over to Stanfield with no more firepower than would be acceptable for an average American to carry (i.e. just short of carrying grenades).

After a quick stop at the M.M.P. headquarters to pick up a warrant, just in case you need to flex some authority, you begin to drive south. Passing by the Reservation, then by a residential area, and finally a racetrack Maricopa apparently has at its outskirts, you reach the farms of Stanfield. The strong smell of bullshit hangs over the air as it emanates from the large facilities that hold the cattle. It reminds you of similar areas in California's Central Valley you would pass by along the I-5 doing business in commercial farming.

>Insight gained from Human Calculator & Almond Farmer traits

You were presented with the complaints that outlined the general situation. While the complaint doesn't have much in the way of specifics, you can still make a few reliable inferences from it. There were multiple instances of cattle rustling without any real information who who did this, so whoever's behind this probably knows what he's doing. It's also very unlikely to have been from within Stanfield, or Maricopa in general for that matter. Cattle are identified, whether it be via tags or tattoos or brands or some other method. The farmers would have tried to sort this out themselves and would have probably been successful if the cattle were in the hands of a dairy farmer. This, therefore, had to have come from one of the communities in the "Sun Corridor" between Maricopa and Tucson, from the Reservation, or some other, likely nomadic, group...

[1/3]

>>4563795

[2/3]

The other major thing to note in the complaint was that there were two kidnappings. Both happened at the same time along with an occurrence of cattle rustling. Both victims, two middle aged women, were bringing young cattle in for the night earlier than usual. You believe they were likely witnesses and were kidnapped for that reason, which would then mean that the perpetrators were either well armed enough to scare them into submission or planned around it and had some kind of element of surprise. As rustlers who had taken dozens of cattle, they would have easily had the space to transport them.

You go over to the dairy farm where the kidnappings occurred and speak to the farmer in charge.

"Hello, Mr. Schmidt, correct?" you ask the grey haired man bearing the company's logo on his clothing.

"That's me," he says, looking over you and your men with some suspicion. "What're you guys here for?"

"We're conducting an investigation on behalf of the M.M.P. We were informed of multiple incidents involving cattle theft and an incident involving two kidnappings. First we'd like to confirm some details."

"You guys are the police?" he says with some evident incredulity.

"We're conducting the investigation on their behalf and have full authority to search, make arrests, all of that."

"So you're the b-team then. Well, what do you want to know?"

You go over your inferences and he seems to mostly agree.

"You know your stuff? Done your research on the biz'?" he asks.

"I've worked in it."

"Out in Russia?"

"In California. I worked in almond farming." You ignore the comment on your accent. You don't feel like explaining the difference between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, much less Yugoslavia and Croatia...

>>4563796

[3/3]

"Good to know the person in charge actually knows what he's doing, at least a bit. Anyway, what are you going to do about these guys?"

That's a good question. You can see a couple of potential approaches to this. You could focus on trying to figure out who these people are and from where through some means. You may be able to lay some kind of "bait" in the form of some cattle "conveniently" left out to pasture for too long, but equipped with trackers. It might not inspire confidence, but it could work. You can't imagine them being able to defend themselves very well if they're caught in the middle of things by an organized group. You might also try to just capture the rustlers through some means. If they're from the south or eastern corridor, you could probably post around the intersection of the I-8 and Route 42. If they are from the Reservation, then you figure they'd have to go along Route 84 to avoid being spotted by anyone. Either way, you'd need to call in backup from Mobile and hope they arrive in time, which they may not. Alternatively, you could split up and look out on each of the entrances, settling for just knowing which vague direction they're from.

You end up telling farmer Schmidt that you plan to:

>Post along the I-8 and 42 to try and ambush them with Mobile reinforcements, hoping they'll arrive in time.
>Post along the 84 to try and ambush them with Mobile reinforcements, hoping they'll arrive in time.
>Split up and cover all entrances to Stanfield, settling for just knowing where they're from.
>Convince the farmer to let you use some of his cattle as "bait" and maybe even enlist his help with other farmers in trying to capture them. [Roll 2d20]
>Patrol the highway and see if you just stumble into them.
>Go somewhere else in Stanfield and ask for more information [Where?] [What?]
>Do something else [Write-In]

Big delay on this one. Sorry guys, something I thought would happen next week got moved up by about a week. So next week's delays became this week's and it took a bit longer to make this likely lower quality post. By Friday (or late night Thursday Burgerstan time) things should be back to normal. I would have rather not had it happen so soon in the thread, but I got blindsided by things.

Rolled 15, 1 = 16 (2d20)

>>4563798
>Patrol the highway and see if you just stumble into them.>Convince the farmer to let you use some of his cattle as "bait" and maybe even enlist his help with other farmers in trying to capture them. [Roll 2d20]

I don't feel like telling this guy everything, OPSEC you understand.

>Go somewhere else in Stanfield and ask for more information [Where?] [What?]
>Do something else [Write-In]
What we really should do is focus on the bottle neck, that is the cattle. So put some trackers, and lay em out for easy bait, the type of bait that's an easy score with less hassle than kidnapping.

Also ask when was the last instance of theft.
Survey the land and the area around it, they will obviously overlook the farms and grazing land that cattle graze on. Unless they just show up whenever and start hustling cattle when they get there, which is unlikely but would explain how the kidnapping would plausibly end up happening.

Talk to the other folks including the family friends and neighbors of the missing women. Can't rule anything out like other motives or coincidences and opportunity vultures.

Check all the cattle against known marks and tags, etc just to be sure someone doesn't have a cow that aint theirs.

Call in folks from mobile, 2 squads, probably don't need a full platoon. Bring survielnce gear and cameras, spy equipment and long range radios. Set up on the roads and record passively, and along the farms and grazing lands.

Talk to local police and community leaders, farmer market sellers.

>>4563798
>Go somewhere else in Stanfield and ask for more information

A dozens of cattle? That's a particular type of transport. I would canvas the area along the highways, asking people living in the area if they seen trucks or cattle transports at night, as it would be unusual and noticeable.

We should also call in for reinforcements while we're at it, so they get here on time.

>>4563798

>>4563816
+1

If we can make it a quick update. Also, no worries mate. Life always conspires against us somehow.

>>4563816
Yes, you can just say "nah, that's top secret". The idea is that you guys are still deciding on a plan of action.

>they will obviously overlook the farms and grazing land that cattle graze on. Unless they just show up whenever and start hustling cattle when they get there, which is unlikely but would explain how the kidnapping would plausibly end up happening.
Interesting observation. I'm not sure I should comment on this more.

>Talk to local police and community leaders, farmer market seller
We're temporarily acting as the local police, who are focused on other things. Just wanted to make that clear since that might have been lost on in the last thread when we made the choice of taking this quest over the two others. The farm owners (like the guy we're talking to) are the local leaders.

I just felt like dropping in and clarifying some things that might have been a bit hazy about these incidents happening quite recently

>>4563798
>>Do something else [Write-In]
>"You will have a plan of action by the end of today. For now, we'll be speaking with many people to get as much information as possible."

>>4563873
>Interesting observation
I'm just rambling like a demented anon.

>acting as the local police
I figure they might have some fat old sheriff somewhere in a dusty office, but I guess the don't even have that huh?

>>4563892
Supporting this. We don't have a lot of guys. We came here with a force only really large enough to be a scouting group, to investigate. So, lets investigate rather than making any plays that would require more forces than we brought along.

>>4563892
This
>>4563798
also this, but ask to call for a meeting of local leaders for tomorrow night. a good chance to size up our ability to expand into this area and also distract while we set up a "bait" ambush.

>>4563816
>>4563819
>>4563892
>>4564371
>>4566026
Combining these selections

OPTIONS SELECTED:
>Convince the farmer to let you use some of his cattle as "bait" and maybe even enlist his help with other farmers in trying to capture them
>Talk to as many others as possible to get info
>Call in some Mobile Infantry to do recon
>Tell Schmidt little for opsec's sake

You've decided that the way to handle this is to just continue to get information and investigate. You'll spend today talking to the farmers and ranchers who have been hit as well collating whatever data you can get. While you won't be able to get anything from cops in the area, since you guys kind of are the cops, you should be able to easily receive information on previous incidents. Whoever's doing this is probably doing it out of desperation or are just really high in risk-seeking behavior if the frequency (every day for the past few days) is to be believed. You're also going to call in a few guys, less than half a platoon, to help with recon and bring some equipment. You should be able to figure out who they are, where they're from, and could probably deal with them tomorrow.

"We have a plan to deal with this," you tell him. "By tomorrow, we should have an idea of who they are and we might be able to stop them. Once we have better information, I will probably call more of who we have and deal with this." You wanted to be more positive, but your morose nature got the better of you. "In any case, I'd like your help. I'm thinking we could use your help, along with any others you might know. If we could lay out a bait-"

>ROLL: NAT ONE OVERRIDE
>CRITICAL FAILURE

"Bait? What the hell are you talking about? You want me to give up my cattle for some plan you're not even going to tell me about?" Schmidt interjects with indignation.

"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that-"

"Maybe you know your way around a farm, but I wouldn't trust you for a second if you think I'm gonna put MY cattle out on the line in a time like this. If I'd known this was what the M.M.P.'d send, I wouldn't have even bothered sending the complaints."

"You're wrong. We'll take care of this," you tell him, your pride somewhat wounded.

"I hope you are," he says, ending the conversation...

[1/3]

>>4570419

[2/3]

You take the hint and leave the dairy farm. You didn't think you'd get such a negative reception, but apparently the choice to ask for the use of his herd as bait combined with erring on the side of opsec really rubbed off on him the wrong way.

"So, what do we do now, Dragomir?" one of your men asks using your first name (you didn't want to be too formal for this operation.)

"We follow the plan. Let me explain..." You tell them your plan, and they obey your orders.

You get your subordinates to go around to the various farms and get whatever information they can get under the role of detectives working for the M.M.P., which is loosely true. You personally spend the time getting your hands on any records and other materials potentially pertinent to the case. Along the way, you call in for a small number of Mobile Infantry to come on over with recon equipment. While they don't have much fancy technology like drones, that's made up for by miscellaneous aid/loot combined with experience as lookouts.

Looking over the case reports and looking over them multiple times, a pattern emerges. Everywhere that's been raided has been accessible by the 42, either directly or with some twists and turns. That nixes the possibility that it came from the nearby Ak-Chin Reservation, and that makes it less likely to have came from the Sun Corridor or from within. What your "detectives" tell you confirms this with vague reports of things going on towards the south. Unfortunately, they were also unsuccessful in marshalling any support among the people. And after the blunder at Schmidt's, they didn't even both trying to pry into anyone's personal lives to see if this might be the result of some backwater yokel's family feud.

It's harder to get an idea of what times the attacks occur, but you can eliminate some times from scant info about what times people were present. It's kind of hard to do, since there are quite few people looking over the rather sizable amount of cattle, but you do get a band of times to work with. Assuming these guys are brazen enough to engage in theft during the daytime/been lucky enough to have not been spotted doing so, which you do, the range of times is anywhere from just before sunset to early in the morning. Looking at the setting sun, that means that they may very well have already struck...

>>4570420

[3/3]

The Mobile Infantry arrives with the cameras and other equipment asked for. This ups your total strength present to about half a platoon, being generous, equipped mostly for recon. You have about as much information as you think you'll reasonably get from Stanfield, and must now act. Or not act. Perhaps discretion really is the better part of valor?

In any case, you decide to:

>Post near the 42 to the north and wait, hoping to get some surveillance on them, but keeping close enough to ward any attacks of opportunity if discovered.
>Split up and passively survey as much of the 42 as possible. Discreetly try to follow anyone spotted.
>Concentrate forces very south along the 42 and ambush anyone spotted, mostly to scare anyone off.
>Screw waiting, fully commit by going down the 42 immediately and snooping around for anything out of the ordinary and being proactive.
>Surveil Stanfield, expecting this to be an "inside job" by one of the locals instead of some outside force.
>Pack up and head to Mobile. It's too late in the day, and you can figure this all out tomorrow.
>Totally abandon your duties and head over to the casino to mess around, those guys aren't stupid/crazy enough to rustle 3 or more nights in a row!
>Go your own way [Write-In]

God damn, I didn't expect THIS much of a delay. Rather than wasting time with explanations/excuses, I'll just continue as if nothing happened and try to get the next update out quicker than usual (already have secretly rolled for what the mysterious "rustlers" have chosen to do behind the scenes).

>>4570421
>Split up and passively survey as much of the 42 as possible. Discreetly try to follow anyone spotted.

If we know where they go with their plunder, then we have a chance to recover stolen property, as well as learn of their base of operations.

>>4570421
>Split up and passively survey as much of the 42 as possible. Discreetly try to follow anyone spotted.

>Split up and passively survey as much of the 42 as possible. Discreetly try to follow anyone spotted.

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>>4570445
>>4570601
>>4570700

OPTION SELECTED:
>Split up and passively survey as much of the 42 as possible. Discreetly try to follow anyone spotted.

You waste no time and split everyone up into three groups covering as much ground as possible. If anyone spots them out, they'll continue to passively observe and use radio communications pass on any relevant info or commands. You grant each team, two squads of Mobile Infantry and one squad of Crusaders, the ability to decide how the group will act if they spot anything, within reason. Pulling out a map of the area, you decide on three ideal areas. Each of them are high up, have good views of the highways, and should be rugged enough to provide good concealment.

Wasting no time, the three groups drive to their respective locations. Knowing a stakeout in the cold desert night could have been possible, you packed for this particular contingency and made sure to tell the Mobile Infantry what to get ready for. It occurs to you that they're quite well suited for this, having experience in recon in rugged lands like this from the Mountain Base scenario, and that if anything your group is the least suited to this. Still, you arrive at the site without incident, pick out a good place to park, and begin the boring work of looking over the same patch of desert and highways for potentially hours, hoping you're not too late. You see no indication of anything as you prepare, so that's good.

>SECRET ROLL FOR STEALTH AND FOR ENEMY ARRIVAL
>OUTCOME: VERY POSITIVE

The burning red sun of the badlands descends and brings the dark of night. In the distance, you can see the patchwork of lights that is Maricopa and further still, the massive illuminated blob that is Phoenix. To the south is the pitch darkness of the wild, largely unsettled land. Hours pass. In this time, you reminisce on your time in America. Your lost in a form of meditation as you slowly forget the outside world and lose yourself in your thoughts. Thoughts of your arrival in the 90's under dubious circumstances, of you working your way up in the agricultural business, of family in Croatia you wish you visited more often, and of your religious awakening pass by your mind as you almost forget why you even came here.

"Big-Boss, this is Klendathu, do you read me?"

"Huh," you briefly stammer out into the radio before you compose yourself. "Loud and clear. Report in."

"I can barely make it out, but there's a vehicle coming from the south. It's got lights covered or really dimmed, but not so good I guess, I can see it from here. It's just sort of hanging around, I think it's like a scout or lookout or something. Hold on, give me a second..."

[1/2]

>>4571496

[2/2]

He describes how the car seems to be moving around the pastures. You figure he's likely looking out for any Stanfield lookouts. Another pass is made, before the vehicle disappears behind some hills from the perspective of "Klendathu" squad. The other squad, "Dantana," mentions that they can just barely see the car park and "go dark" as it lies in wait. They must think the coast is clear.

After a little time, you're told a few trucks go up the highway and at the back is a large vehicle with a semi-trailer attached to the back. The men from the trucks are observed getting out and cutting the fencing open. Cattle are moved from lounging in the cool desert night and into the trailer where they're packed in like sardines from what Klendathu can tell through the optics.

Instead of doing anything, your guys stick to the plan and let this happen. The theft goes seemingly unnoticed and the rustlers ride out. The cows they took, probably smaller ones too young to be grain-finished, are only a small portion of the total herd but still worth quite a bit in the current climate. On the way out, the portion of fence is quickly mended and they're off.

"Big-Boss, requesting permission to pursue, over."

"Negative," you tell him. "Wait until Dantana confirms the lookout is gone."

A little more time passes before the lookout starts the car and does a quick sweep. With knowledge of what's going on, it's easy to not get spotted. After he goes off into the night along the 42, squad Klendathu decides to follow.

>SECRET ROLL FOR STEALTH
>OUTCOME: NEGATIVE
>PREVIOUS EVENTS BOOST THIS TO "NOT GREAT, NOT TERRIBLE"

The squad drives down the 42 and follows the path you observed the thieves take. They follow with instructions to play it safe. The group returns fairly early, saying they found the thieves at a small site that looked to be abandoned. There, among a few buildings, the group was camped out, seemingly filling up their vehicles and apparently drinking? Klendathu squad didn't get a good look, as some of the guys outside seemed to get a bit jittery and spooked. From what the Mobile Infantry tells you, there are more guys at the hidden site than were present for the theft, but not too many more. You wish they had more details, but they decided going any further was too risky.

You now know where this is coming from, what kind of people are doing it, and how. You determine the best way to handle the situation from here is to:

>Ignore the gut feeling/instincts of the Mobile Infantry and press on for more intel yourself.
>Launch an attack on them, hoping to get them by surprise and scare them off.
>Wait until tomorrow to do anything and just go home. Bring a more sizable force and deal with it. [Specify Details]
>Just approach them and have a talk with them. Maybe diplomacy and cooler heads will prevail?!
>Go back to Maricopa/Stanfield and talk to somebody. [Who?] [What?]
>Do something else... [Write-In]

>>4571499
>>Do something else... [Write-In]
dudes right now are probably slighly spooked (and perhaps drunk) as they might have spotted some of our vehicles. They are probably somewhat alert right now. We will wait a few hours when their guard is down and then launch the attack

>>4571499
>Wait until tomorrow to do anything and just go home. Bring a more sizable force and deal with it.
>Just approach them and have a talk with them. Maybe diplomacy and cooler heads will prevail?!

Go up to them tomorrow, park our car blocking one of the exits and let them come to us to talk.

While we do this, we surround them.

>>4571539
>>4571760
Both option are good, though I'd rather deal with them when they're drunk and half-asleep. We can call in reinforcements now so they can be here in time.

>>4572239
Should I take this as vote in support of the >>4571539 plan to 1. call in backup, 2. wait in the area and continue observation until these guys leave or reinforcements eventually arrive, and 3. start a battle on the condition the crusaders arrive and the thieves are present? This plan is mutually exclusive with the other plan, of course.

>>4572666
Yea. I sort of expected more votes to happen.

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>>4571539
>>4572239

OPTION SELECTED:
>Call in backup and continue observation until these guys leave or reinforcements eventually arrive
>Start a battle on the condition the crusaders arrive and the thieves are present

You make the unorthodox decision of calling in backup. South of Stanfield and in the wild, almost empty desert, you're at the very edge of communication range. Still, attacking them here could be a good opportunity and backup's the only sane way to do it. You're simply not equipped for a fight with what you currently have, which is a half of a platoon that's outfitted for recon, not any sort of combat.

Through the static and intermittent disruptions, you communicate that you want backup. They were first under the assumption that you got into trouble, but after some repeating, Mobile got the message. They were surprised that you decided to call this late into the night to some far away place, but you're nonetheless informed that reinforcements are to come.

Meanwhile, you all head out, following the path Klendathu squad took. It's a good ways yet south still. You're comparably far from Stanfield as Stanfield is to Mobile, if you had to guess. Your group makes an "illegal turn" onto another road, the 415. Carefully following the lead of the vehicle in front of you, you slow down and continue along the path. Taking a turn now onto a dirt road, you all follow it for a while before pulling over. Now, on foot, your group continues until the Mobile Infantry tell you to stop.

You barely notice there's a gigantic, gaping hole in the earth. It's extremely dark out here. You can barely see in front of you.

"Over there, look." You see some figures by what looks to be some kind of campfire, probably propane. You're given some optical equipment, and can see further. There, a group of men are grilling some meat and having a good time. There looks to be beer, and some of the guys are doing strange motions you can't quite make out.

"Enjoying themselves after a successful heist, it looks like," you say with a hint of resignation.

"Looks like it," you're told. "Can you get a good look at what's going on behind them?"

"Ehh," you say as you squint into the equipment and try to get a good look. "No, not really. Looks like they're moving something and doing something with the big vehicle. Do you think we can reposition, get closer maybe?"

"No," you're told. "These guys are on edge, even if it doesn't look like it. One of them got spooked and fired a shot into the dark. A few others joined in, and they kept shooting, I think for fun. These guys seem, you know, not a hundred percent..."

[1/2]

>>4573182

[2/2]

"Where are we, anyway?"

"Honestly, I have no clue. We're somewhere in Indian territory, but this place isn't in the maps. Looks like some abandoned place for, I don't know, mining maybe? There are at least two big holes in the ground."

"I don't think they're just local Indians," you say. It's obvious, since one of the thieves is very clearly black, and the overall group seems to be multiracial.

Over the course of the observation, you notice them shifting around and a barrel being pulled out from one of the abandoned looking buildings. They refill the vehicles and place things, you can't quite tell what, into the buildings. This place is clearly being used as a supply cache.

Hours pass, and backup hasn't arrived. You're not surprised, since this place is far away. Even if they were ready immediately and rode out the second they got the signal, it would still take a while to get here. They would have to first drive to Maricopa, get allowed in, drive through the city until they hit Stanfield, then continue for miles. And, of course, not everyone is going to be on standby 24/7. Preparing for battle takes time, even under the best of circumstances, which these clearly aren't. You learned that in the bloodbath formerly known as Yugoslavia. You really wish you didn't.

After filling up their cars, having a quick victory grill, nearly getting into a fight apparently, and doing whatever else, they look like they're heading out. You ask for an update on where the backup is.

"Klendathu to Sebastian, do you copy?" The Mobile Infantryman's rubs his temple listening to the radio. "Repeat please... affirmative, loud and clear... understood, continue on, over and out."

"Where are they?"

"They're just past Stanfield. They'll be here in twenty at the absolute earliest."

Seeing them getting ready to leave, it's obvious you won't be able to engage them here, not tonight. Based on where they are, it's clear they're going to leave through another route somewhere to the east. You run through your options in your head, deciding on a plan to:

>Stalking them further, hoping to keep on their trail until backup arrives and engages, wherever the path leads. Maybe they'll be slow enough with their loot the crusaders will catch up?
>Abandon any pursuit, it's a fool's errand. Instead, focus on stripping the place clean when reinforcements arrive. The disappointment the crusaders will feel at being blue balled on a battle will pale to the possible downside from being led to a trap.
>Don't pursue, but instead start firing shots right now, forcing either a battle or making them flee prematurely. If they flee and leave things behind, good. If they decide a fight, then pray the reinforcements arrive in time for a landslide win.
>Take an alternate approach [Write-In]

>>4572702
3 votes is pretty good for 2020 /qst/. I'm pretty sure earlier some times there were fewer replies. Plus, I expect a loss of momentum after the shitshow last week.

>>4573183
>Stalking them further, hoping to keep on their trail until backup arrives and engages, wherever the path leads. Maybe they'll be slow enough with their loot the crusaders will catch up?

We will strip the place clean later, the priority being the criminal band in front of us. May be part of a bigger organization or surprisingly forward thinking leadership, judging by the supply cache, and may be able to pick clean their other supply caches in the area if we get them to talk. Though judging by the disorganized and rambunctious nature of the group, they are probably criminals or former inmates. We'll have to execute them after interrogation, because I have an inkling what those motions are...

>>4573183
>Stalking them further, hoping to keep on their trail until backup arrives and engages, wherever the path leads. Maybe they'll be slow enough with their loot the crusaders will catch up?

i wanna see where they go.

>>4573183
>Stalking them further, hoping to keep on their trail until backup arrives and engages, wherever the path leads. Maybe they'll be slow enough with their loot the crusaders will catch up?

If we were playing as muller or if we had come up with a more fanatical more crazy cardinal i would make a write in for walking up to them with a crate of bibles, stand ontop of it, and start preaching and prosthelytizing, making allusions and references to thief and verses advocating punishment and sin, just to distract them and stall for time. Freak them out a bit.

>>4573218
>>4573383
>>4573698
I'm retarded, I noticed I forgot to write, after the choices,

>Roll 2d20
>If abandoning pursuit, auto succeed

If nobody wants to roll (or everyone dreads the possibility of the nat 1), I'll do it behind the scenes

Rolled 17, 12 = 29 (2d20)

>>4573734
Sigh*

Rolled 18, 13 = 31 (2d20)

>>4573734

Rolled 16, 2 = 18 (2d20)

>>4573734

Rolled 11, 7 = 18 (2d20)

>>4573734
>>4573383

>>4573218
>>4573383
>>4573698

OPTION SELECTED:
>Stalk them further, hoping to keep on their trail until backup arrives and engages, wherever the path leads. Maybe they'll be slow enough with their loot the crusaders will catch up?

"We're following them," you order. "When the last of their vehicles head out, we're going to carefully go along their path. With the cargo of cattle, they're not going anywhere fast. As long as we can keep a trail on them, backup will get to them in time."

"Got it. I took a count of how many vehicles I got. Once they're all out, I'm gonna follow them." The Mobile Infantryman looks into his optical equipment and thinks for a moment. "They're definitely not coming out the way they came. I don't even think they have paved roads, it's just dirt paths like the one we detoured on."

"Taking dirt roads with a semi trailer in pitch dark? These guys are something else," you mutter. It's a stupid move if what you've heard about truckers getting mislead by GPS is anything to go by. Yet, it does make tracking them harder and is probably why there's been so little to go off of. It's disgustingly high risk, but definitely has potential reward.

While you wait for them to start leaving and for the Mobile Infantry, you check up on the backup. You confirm the directions for them, and force them to repeat them back to you. The last thing you want is for them to take a wrong turn and keep driving until they realize they're totally lost.

The thieves finish packing up and doing whatever they're doing. Rear headlights come to life and move due east. After a small delay, the semi with the load of cattle trudges behind the others.

"Wait for it," the man beside you says. After five minutes, a final car comes out of the darkness and follows the others at a higher speed. Whether it was a lookout or just a straggler, you don't care.

The creeping pursuit begins...

The terrain here is very dark and dangerous to navigate. Carefully following the road, you move slowly. It's too risky to use high beams or follow anything close to proper safety procedures, especially with how easily these guys get spooked if that story about the gunshots is to be believed. From what little you can make out, there are a quite a few small buildings, large cylinders perhaps carrying liquid, and other places that might contain hidden items over this abandoned site.

You follow the Mobile Infantry in front of you as they thread the needle, keeping the exact distance needed to just barely see where their targets are headed without actually being close enough to be spotted. In the early morning hours, the darkness provides the cover needed to make this sort of thing possible, and these guys prove surprisingly competent at it.

>STEALTH ROLL: VERY GOOD
>EXACT MODIFIERS UNKNOWN
>RESULT: SUCCESS

[1/3]

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237 KB JPG

>>4574308

[2/3]

Actually catching up to them is no big deal though, as the prey is going fairly slowly over these dirt roads. They're ballsy enough to haul a semi of cattle on this poor excuse for a road, but they're not stupid enough to do it while speeding.

During this time, you keep in constant communication with the backup and meticulously keep them on track. You're good at keeping these directions straight in your head and manage to get them to take the correct turns and not end up as a wreck. It helps that they can use high beams.

>Situation modified by trait: Human Calculator
>AUTO-SUCCEED ON DIRECTIONS

Backup has made it past the "mining" area and the initial twists and turns. There are no signs of having been caught, and the thieves are still moving somewhat slowly on the long straight path everyone's travelling on. You make one final call.

"Big Boss to Sebastian, do you read?"

"Yeah, lemme turn the music down. What is it?"

"I can see your high beams from the distance. You're almost there. We're going to be pulling over and letting you guys take it. Remember, do NOT shoot that trailer. It's just cows. Capturing them alive is preferable, but I trust that to you all."

You hear a chuckle. "Yeah, pull over. You'll be hearing us soon. Deus Vult, over and out."

Your small group gets out of the way as it becomes clear the backup platoon is speeding up. Before you can even ask what was meant by "hearing us," your question is answered.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxlRJsQ7p2k

Their speakers on full blast and trucks going way past any ideas of speed limits, the crusading platoon sweeps in. As always, they're absolutely fired up and ready to go.

>+4 overall to Morale
>-1 from Forlorn trait
>+1 from the turning the Hussar meme dream into reality (suiting battle music sort of, kind of matching what's going on)

From your vantage point on the side of the road besides some shrubs and low vegetation, you watch the "battle" unfold. In the pitch black and totally caught off guard, the opposition barely mounts a defense. Utterly confused, the only opposition to the crusaders comes in a few of them shooting from their windows or failing to take cover behind their vehicles. They barely even make it out of their cars before getting shot.

>+8 from surprise ambush at night
>+1 from superior weaponry
>+2 from superior armor
>-1 from minor exhaustion

>Final Result: 17 + 14 = 31
>Divine Success

>>4574309

[3/3]

You hate to see violence like this, but you justify it to yourself by the fact that these men seem to be nothing more than common criminals emboldened by the collapse of America and smart enough to get away with it. Until now, at least. Still, it doesn't feel quite right to you, even after a few prayers.

You all catch up to the bulk of the crusaders. The remaining thieves have been captured as prisoners, their guns tossed all over the nearby desert. The operation wasn't a total success, in that at least a couple of thieves have been shot, probably fatally. The trailer also has a bullet hole through it and there is an awful amount of noise coming from it for obvious reasons. Also, one of the crusaders, seemingly high on power, is forcing one of them to crawl around on the dirt and follow odd instructions, almost like he's playing that one American game. Twisting was its name, or something like that. When you go to stop him, he says he just needed to make sure the guy was disarmed.

In any case, no friendlies were hurt, the cattle are in your possession, the enemy is totally subdued, and you can even see somewhat normally with the floodlights you told the backup to pack.

Now, in the early morning hours, you are somewhere in the deserts of Arizona with a bunch of prisoners, a full group of crusaders, and at least a dozen heads of cattle. What do you do?

>Interrogate the prisoners right now and figure out where they were going. Keep them bound in the desert while you go to that destination yourselves.
>Circle around back to the abandoned site. Sweep the place and keep the prisoners there for the time being.
>Force them to dig their own graves and execute them all before heading back. [OPTION CURRENTLY UNAVAILIBLE]
>Go straight to Stanfield and return the cows to their owner. Process the prisoners at Mobile and call it a night. Everything else can wait.
>[Write-In]

>>4573744
Look, here's the thing. I'm going to be honest with. I'm kinda retarded.

>>4574311
>>Circle around back to the abandoned site. Sweep the place and keep the prisoners there for the time being.

>>4574311
>Interrogate the prisoners right now and figure out where they were going. Keep them bound in the desert while you go to that destination yourselves.

We still got the rest of the cattle to worry about, plus the victims. We'll get to a proper sweep and clean up operation of the supplies caches later.

>>4574311
>>Interrogate the prisoners right now and figure out where they were going. Keep them bound in the desert while you go to that destination yourselves.

and then

>Go to Stanfield and return the cows to their owner. Process the prisoners at Mobile and call it a night. Everything else can wait.

>>4574311
>Circle around back to the abandoned site. Sweep the place and keep the prisoners there for the time being.

We know they've stolen a fair bit more cattle than this, we need to keep moving and get to where their main base / next point of contact up the chain would have been so we can try to secure as much of the cattle as possible.


Also, holy crap we actually managed to do this with basically no failure whatsoever. Mobile Infantry for the win.

>>4575214
I think you chose the wrong prompt then, mate.

I'm doing my part!

>>4575214
>Also, holy crap we actually managed to do this with basically no failure whatsoever. Mobile Infantry for the win.
I was doing rolls behind the scenes to determine things like stealth, perception, backup arriving in time, etc. MI mostly clutched it in stealth/shadowing them and things could have turned very sideways if they didn't (them getting captured or killed, hell, even crashing into a giant hole in the ground). And I was fully prepared to have them just disappear before your eyes while the backup was still getting their boots on, but those guys decided to fuck around (hence them deciding to have a premature victory grill).

>>4575289
I think his idea is that maybe there's evidence of what he's looking for at the abandoned site, maybe? If the tie isn't broken in either direction, I'll just flip a coin or something.

>>4574311
Changing vote (>>4575214) to

>Interrogate the prisoners right now and figure out where they were going. Keep them bound in the desert while you go to that destination yourselves.

>>4575289
>>4575309
It's been a long week.

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>4574311
>Circle around back to the abandoned site. Sweep the place and keep the prisoners there for the time being.
Make them dig 6x3 feet holes 6 feet deep just for fun!

>Look, here's the thing. I'm going to be honest with. I'm kinda retarded.
So am I, but that doesn't mean I still don't want to be so lazy, that I am to lazy to roll and would sooner type out 3 paragraphs arguing and justifying why I shouldn't be made to roll for whatever lazy bs reason I can come up with.

I don't know if I made any sense!

Have a roll!

>>4574318
>>4574632
>>4575314

OPTION SELECTED:
>Interrogate the prisoners right now and figure out where they were going. Keep them bound in the desert while you go to that destination yourselves.

"What should we do, cardinal?" one of the crusaders asks.

"They were headed somewhere. Could be a real base of operations, could be where they keep the rest of the cattle, or something else. We should figure out where and go there ourselves."

"An interrogation then. You got it!"

"Yes, an interrogation. Don't rough them up too much. I-I'll be with the Mobile Infantry." You're visibly uncomfortable with this and wish to have no part in this directly. You know interrogating these thieves is the correct decision, but dealing with them yourself reminds you of Yugoslavia too much.

You help the Mobile Infantry squads recover the weapons strewn about and confiscating keys and doing other tasks that don't involve pointing guns at people and screaming at them. The crusaders, meanwhile, put their zeal and insanity to good use. With their intimidating presence and very, very obvious willingness to kill, the thieves start squealing.

From what they tell you, they were headed to some ranch where they were going to offload the cattle to people who knew what to do with them other than just immediately slaughtering them for food. In exchange, they were paid in food and money used to buy drugs. These guys were, if they are to be believed, former convicts from the "Free Men of Red Rock," which refers to some prison the inmates took over and formed their own faction from. When asked why the prisoners were attacking this area, which is on the opposite side of the Sun Corridor, they responded by saying that raiding too close to home was a bad idea...

[1/2]

>>4575531

[2/2]

You're naturally skeptical, but this is what multiple people independently say and there's evidence from maps with various locations circled. Apparently, these thieves, the "Red Rock Raiders" as they referred to themselves as, have a number of areas circled and marked up on the map. The comment around Stanfield's location says "Easy Target!!!" and had a few question marks with arrows pointing to Maricopa. There were similar arrows pointing south, but it seems like they mostly kept to the farms and small communities on the northern Sun Corridor region.

With good evidence to go off of, you join with the crusaders and begin to head off along the directions given to you by the Red Rock Raiders and confirmed by the maps. Bound up and with their keys, guns, and other possessions confiscated, you're totally confident nothing will happen. You give the Mobile Infantry a break by assigning them to "guard duty" and leave the recidivists to stew on their misdeeds (and to stew nearby packed the semi trailer of cows slowly filling with noxious bullshit).

As your crew is driving confidently through the desert trails, you radio to "Klendathu" and confirm that nothing has gone awry. You also get confirmation that they are unable to reach anyone in Mobile, which is to be expected this far away. Eventually, your group reaches the end of the dirt roads and is back on real asphalt roads. Passing through a literal ghost town, there doesn't seem to be much around here except for small communities and farms. That, and a red large circle around "National Guard Airpark" with a couple of skulls and a note saying "DO NOT GO." This is sufficiently ominous to get rid of any ideas you might have of travelling south along the I-10 from the ranch of interest. In any case, you know the rancher is expecting some people to visit him and a security detail the raiders described as "we can take 'em!" Given how one sided the earlier engagement was, that gives you confidence you can take them in a fight, if it comes to that.

"We're about here, Cardinal."

"Good, good. Anyway, let me remind you all of our plan here," you say.

Actually, what is the plan here?

>Looky-loo: Just drive around, jot down notes from afar, and play it safe. [Automatically pass, no matter the roll]
>Shakedown: Show up with the force and have a "friendly conversation" consisting of threats and requesting "peace" and the paying back of damages.
>Friendly Chat: Actually have as much of a friendly conversation as possible, trying to figure out as much as possible and maybe gain something from them? [Specify]
>Night Raid: Strike without bothering to talk to them to have the greatest advantage possible. Take whatever you can and leave an impression.
>[Write-In]

And, of course:
>Roll 2d20

>>4575347
'twas a reference to a humble purveyor of water filters

>>4575532
>Shakedown: Show up with the force and have a "friendly conversation" consisting of threats and requesting "peace" and the paying back of damages.

A straight up night raid without warning does have benefits but risks us hitting neutrals / "relative" innocents. Plus if we can avoid shooting anyone, that is more people we can give to the Stanford / Maricopan authorities to do with as they will.

Rolled 9, 13 = 22 (2d20)

>>4575535
Missed that I needed to roll.

Rolled 20, 2 = 22 (2d20)

>>4575535
rolling for this

Rolled 3, 14 = 17 (2d20)

>>4575532
>Looky-loo: Just drive around, jot down notes from afar, and play it safe. [Automatically pass, no matter the roll]
First pass, second pass we get a little.... Hard.

>>4575532
The plastic in those filters turn my hogs gay

>>4575532
>Looky-loo: Just drive around, jot down notes from afar, and play it safe. [Automatically pass, no matter the roll]
we already did our mission. Miraculously we did not get any of our men killed. I'd like to keep it that way.

>>4575532
>Shakedown: Show up with the force and have a "friendly conversation" consisting of threats and requesting "peace" and the paying back of damages.

Remember lads, they did kidnap people. We need to get them back if we're to call this a success.

>>4575535
>>4575538
>>4575714

OPTION SELECTED: [Behind Scenes Tie Breaker]
>Shakedown: Show up with the force and have a "friendly conversation" consisting of threats and requesting "peace" and the paying back of damages.

"We're here to have a word with them. They bought stolen goods, so it is our right to take them back and make them pay damages," you remind them. It's a pretense to try and extract resources from these guys, but there's merit to it. You can't reasonably go all the way to the prison complex. Even if you did, getting anything from them would probably be difficult due to their likely size, defenses, and overall strength. Shaking down the buyers is a more reasonable way of securing peace.

Your group speeds past the large facilities housing the fattened cows being finished with grain in the months before the slaughter. A wide open gate with light flooding out from it comes into view. Braking hard, the crusaders' five vehicles from a rough semi circle and take positions behind their vehicles.

In the ranch's entrance, a group of maybe two dozen max has taken rough defensive positions behind cars or other pieces of rough cover. They were probably prepared to take a defensive posture, even if they had no idea that a platoon of crusaders was on its way. Nonetheless, they are clearly outnumbered, outgunned, and on the backfoot.

>-3 penalty for hasty enemy defenses
>+3 bonus for numbers and superior equipment
>+1 bonus for having the logistical sense to grab useful equipment (floodlights, loudspeaker, etc)

One of them shouts over to you in a rough voice with a slight country accent. "The hell's going on? You got your payment and-" he pauses. "Wait, who are you guys?"

You grab a loudspeaker (you had them bring on just in case) and speak. "We are the Sun Belt Crusaders of Mobile. We are here on account of your criminal redistribution of property stolen by the Red Rock Raiders as representatives of the Maricopa Militarized Police. What do you say in your defense?"

The guy doesn't speak, but his confused expression might as well be screaming "what in the goddamn?" There's some murmuring among members of the group, although they keep their rifles ready. Before you can continue, your men take the initiative...

[1/3]

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>>4576265

[2/3]

"Hey you little shits!" one of them shouts, the one just under you in the chain of command. "If you don't want to do it peacefully, just shoot already! Those Red Rock faggots went down too easy, give Cardinal 'Turkula' the excuse to let us off the leash. I didn't even get the chance to make 'em dig their own graves." He fires a few shots into the air, the .308 rounds thundering through the still air. A few others follow the direction of their leader and fire as well.

You make the snap decision of committing to the bizarre diplomatic strategy, playing the part of the "good cop" and giving one last communication through the loudspeaker. "Again, we seek only the redress of damages and the end of raids in the Maricopa-Stanfield area. Stand down, and I will make them stand by."

You can only hope cooler heads will prevail.

>-2 penalty from strange faction introduction and confusing situation
>-2 penalty from losing control over your men (influenced by Dour trait)
>+5 bonus from sincere "madman diplomacy" (fanaticism)

>FINAL RESULT: 13 + 2 = 15
>Success

They do. The ranchers lower their arms. "Alright, alright. You got us, we were buying from the raiders. It was either that or being a potential target. You guys said you're from the Maricopa County Police?"

"We're representing Maricopa, the city in Pinal County. Again, this is because we found out you're buying the stolen merchandise. We have the testimony of the raiders, whom we have captured, and your guilt is obvious. We require reparation equal to the damages caused, as well as punitive damages."

The speaker on behalf of the ranchers is already walking towards you guys with his hands in the air. "No lawyer, a 'representative' of 'militarized police' and talk about digging our own graves, where some Russian guy is wrangling around," he pauses and looks around. "Whoever these guys are. What kind of justice is this...?"

>>4576268

[3/3]

"This is frontier justice, as you Americans say. You yourself admitted guilt, so the fact finding is done and we can move on with a guilty verdict. Call it a 'speedy trial.' And I am Croatian, thank you very much."

"Do you promise to leave us the hell alone if we give you what you want?" he asks, now close enough to have something like a normal conversation.

"Of course. We would much rather be dealing with things in our own backyard than travelling miles out here. Hand over the damages and return the women, and we'll be on our way."

He grumbles, exchanging a few confused looks with some of the men and women. "I'm not sure about that last part, but I'll be willing to give you guys a reasonable settlement on the condition you stay the hell away. If the Red Rock Recidivists come over, I'll make sure they raid elsewhere. Plenty of other places to rustle cattle from not in your jurisdiction."

Now, it's time to decide in what form the damages paid will be in. Given the autonomy you have in dealing with the situation combined with the fear and extortion, you can select from one of a number of different kinds of "punitive damages." Some will probably have to be given to Stanfield like any proper policing outfit should, but you will undoubtedly be able to secure a good portion of loot for the Sun Belt Crusaders if you so choose.

You decide on taking:

>Loads of cattle. Use high estimates for how many were taken and apply a multiplier for punitive damages. Return to Stanfield with the load and make things whole (and then some) to settle this issue.
>Assorted items of use. Get raw W.P. for all of the troubles that have been caused.
>Trade equipment. Take trucks and trailers from this rancher, giving the crusaders the ability to engage in real trade and haul things around if the need comes up.
>Everything. Renege on your agreement and have the crusaders slaughter them all. Take as much as you can, giving a portion to Maricopa/Stanfield, and leave this place totally devastated.
>Nothing. Take pity on them and merely leave them with a stern warning to not deal with the raiders again.

In addition, during this time you can ask questions about the Sun Corridor, the region between Phoenix and Tucson. If you wish to, ask about anything you might have in mind to a reasonable amount. Do note that they can only answer so much in this time frame, so questions will be ignored past a certain point if excessive.

>[Write-In Questions]

>>4575579
That wasted 20, nooo!! As consolation, have an early update!

>>4576271
>Trade equipment. Take trucks and trailers from this rancher, giving the crusaders the ability to engage in real trade and haul things around if the need comes up.

>[Write-In Questions]
Start asking about the missing women. Unacceptable that we cannot defend the honor and safety of women under our region.

Ask the raider captives about the women as well seeing as they took them.

>>4576271
>Loads of cattle. Use high estimates for how many were taken and apply a multiplier for punitive damages. Return to Stanfield with the load and make things whole (and then some) to settle this issue.

Trade equipment is kinda meh in my opinion. Our current trade product is meth which is high value-density to the point whereby our Mobile Infantry quadbikes and shit would genuinely suffice for trading. Unless we plan on trading away surplus food or something, I don't see us needing it any time soon.

Cattle meanwhile we can take back to Stanfield, get a good opinion with them (useful for securing preaching rights there amongst other reasons) and certainly get praise from Maricopa for our handling of things. Plus we might even be able to snag one or two for ourselves which'd be nice as a morale booster (since we could have a cult barbecue).

>[Write-In Questions]
1) If they know of any other ranches or groups more broadly which traded with the Raiders.

2) If they ever saw any captives taken by the Raiders, and if so when, what direction did they leave and were they female?

>>4576271
>>Assorted items of use. Get raw W.P. for all of the troubles that have been caused.

Would it be possible to try to indoctrinate this group? at first look the dont seem like bad forlks.
They obviously are not well of if they are paying thiefs to get by, we could offer to let them move in to Mobile.

>>4576293
i dont think we need a ton of of cows, where would we keep them? hopefully when we absorb Stanfield we can have Dragomir optimize the agriculture.

>>4576362
We aren't taking a significant amount of the cattle, most of it goes back to Stanfield (says so in the option and is part of my logic for choosing it since it should result in the most opinion benefit).

>>4576362
I was thinking we'd force convert the raiders, but it seems like we may have to return them? Idk there was no deal for them...

Converting the raiders might be our way for a future foothold into the prison

>>4576293
Supporting this. Good point about the trade equipment. We have a huge excess of food right now, but iirc we are consuming more than we are producing. Then again, if we want to dirty our hands with associating with Phoenix, we could definitely find a good price for it there. However, if they found out where it was coming from, and we can't keep up with annual shipments, they may just try to come and take it and I don't see that going well for is. They absolutely have us beat numbers-wise. Lets just keep flying below the radar and bolstering our strength. Get that barbecue going.
>>4576271
>As consolation, have an early update!
Good enough for me. Thanks for running, man.

>>4576271
>Trade equipment. Take trucks and trailers from this rancher, giving the crusaders the ability to engage in real trade and haul things around if the need comes up.

As clarification, the "Loads of cattle" option refers to taking a harsh amount of cattle and giving it to Stanfield, which is under Maricopa's jurisdiction and maybe just taking a token carcass or two for a bbq. Even if we wanted to, taking a bunch for personal use is not reasonable since there aren't facilities to house cattle or enough people to eat the literal tons of beef. And to preempt any questions about logistics for that option, it would be done by borrowing the ranchers' equipment to go over the same roads as before, and passing by the abandoned site to do that sweep you guys wanted to earlier (where the next "scene" would be). I can see where the confusion might lie, since food is a resource that's tracked.

>>4576293
+1, and the trade equipment would be for us hauling our barter away, since WP is just a generalization of high value iteams. I would be up for taking the exact amount in missing cattle, and the rest with either trade equipment or WP.

Oh yeah, I presume we're going to take possession of the vehicles that the Raiders had when we attacked them? If so I think I should point out that means we're getting a cattle trailer from them as well as a bunch of cars. This means we've got at least some bulk-hauling capacity from that trailer so I'd argue that trade equipment would be surplus capacity.

>>4576620
You mean future capacity. Remember, our plan for the moment is rapid expansion, so future-proofing at be a smart option. Then again, cattle may have a high price in the city, so it would be fair game as well.

>>4576664
Rapid expansion of our military and population does not correlate with additional need for bulk-haul capacity. Even if it did, we are securing ever more vehicles from our raids and fighting which provide a sufficient capacity for most uses and we do have plans to construct facilities to enable the extensive modification of vehicles and the probable creation of new ones (with certain parts needing to be supplied externally to do so, e,g engines).

Further, given a large portion of our plans involve absorbing population from Maricopa (and Stanfield) who would presumably bring their property with them, there is a decent chance we will avoid issues with lack of capacity. Admittedly most converts will be quite poor but eventually we will receive some more wealthy supporters even if only because they think it politically beneficial to secure our loyalty by closer ties.

>>4576665
Good point. We really need to up our PR game, and our Construction projects hunger for WP, so we should think up alternative methods to working on both.

>>4576687
Improving PR is fairly easy assuming we're smart about it. Increasing recruitment from the poor would be as simple as creating a alms-centre where the wealthy can give W.P that we then use to help the poor by providing housing, food, medical services and so on. The cost for the poor being that they've got to listen to our preaching and the benefit more broadly being that it gives us a clear, visible, impact on the community we do this in to forcibly raise our PR.

Alternatively, we could look into getting tax exemptions for Crusader-owned or Crusader-controlled businesses. Then there is a incentive to convert and "donate" your property to the Church since then you are exempt from taxes and will probably be left in a position of management just because you've the most familiarity with your business and so on.

Another possibility is hiring people to come work for us in Mobile and relying on the relative social isolation created by having a small number of outsiders surrounded by the cult to encourage social interaction, connection-making and thus conversion.

>>4576696
>>4576665
i think our biggest problem right now is how slowly it takes to build stuff. We have plenty of WP yet way too many construction plans. I'd like to see if there's any way for us to get any sort of construction equipment to speed up the process
for now, supporting >>4576380

>>4576696
>Another possibility is hiring people to come work for us in Mobile and relying on the relative social isolation created by having a small number of outsiders surrounded by the cult to encourage social interaction, connection-making and thus conversion.
i love this idea

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>>4576293
>>4576428
>>4576464

OPTION SELECTED:
>Loads of cattle. Use high estimates for how many were taken and apply a multiplier for punitive damages. Return to Stanfield with the load and make things whole (and then some) to settle this issue.

You decide that the proper punishment would be to seize assets used in the crime and to take cattle. The number you settled on was quite high, but this would hopefully act as a deterrent. You thought about taking other assets such as the trucks and transportation equipment but you decide against it. As useful as it might be for some circumstances, the Messenger seemed pretty adamant about building relations with Maricopa and this could make for a good first impression.

On the topic of deterrence, you ask if he happened to know if any other ranchers worked with the raiders. It took a bit of prodding and playing up the "investigation" angle, but you get an answer.

"Not that I know of, but I wouldn't put it past some of the people if they get scared into taking the 'plata' over the 'plomo,'" he says in reference to the Spanish saying about cooperating with unsavory elements.

You begin to plan the logistics of actually shipping the haul of cattle out to Stanfield. It's quite a haul and has to be transported over a good distance and through unfavorable terrain. Luckily, you are one of the most competent men around to do this, so it's no issue.

>Logistical problem automatically passed via Gifted Administrator trait

As you prepare to leave, you ask one last question about whether or not he noticed any of them with captives in tow, especially women.

"Women? No, Red Rock's a men's only pri-, oh, you mean if they had any women captive. No. They were going out to capture cows, not people? Why would you ask about that?"

You conclude the encounter, both sides eager to get this over with as much as possible. A portion of your group stays at the ranch to keep an eye on things, and the rest of you head out towards the ambush site. The Mobile Infantry are still there, some of them napping, and the prisoners are still safely bound up. You all load them onto the vehicles and go to the site along the way to Stanfield, where help can be called in to make good on the deal.

You all arrive at the abandoned site, and now have the opportunity to get a good assessment of it. Revealing the area with floodlights, it's apparent that this, indeed, was a mining site. Not only are there square holes in the ground, but some of the mountain is dug into. Interestingly, there is no mining equipment. No trucks, no leftover power tools, nothing of that kind. The buildings aren't particularly dilapidated, so it had to have been abandoned somewhat recently. If you were to guess, the Wuhan Viral Pneumonia outbreak called everyone home, and at some point, the mining company completely pulled out, seeing an economic reopening impossible under the political chaos. In any case, it's all moot, idle speculation...

[1/2]

>>4577792

One of the lower level Crusader leaders ungags one of the raiders and asks, "where'd you guys keep everything?"

The captive sneers. "Fuck you, I-"

He's interrupted with a quick kick. "Answer the question."

"If I tell you, will you promise to let me go? You guys seem religious, show some mercy, yeah?"

"Sure, I'll show mercy, now tell me where it is. We're gonna find out anyway," he says dismissively.

"Thank the Lord Jesus, hallelujah. You'll keep your promise, right? As a God-fearing m-"

"Get on with it."

The prisoner rats out the location. There are quite a few places they're keeping things, and they even had the foresight to lock the doors and hide the keys in various locations. You would have probably gotten in regardless, but it saves some time.

The supplies they kept were mostly things like gas, tools like wire cutters, and other things that would come in handy but not be worth hauling around all of the time. Also, you find significant quantities of (formerly) illicit drugs, mostly fentanyl and other opioids. Overall, the haul is not a massive one, but it's fairly good.

>30 W.P. acquired in miscellaneous loot

As this is happening, you see the crusader from earlier storm out from one of the buildings. With murderous intent, he pulls out his high powered rifle and loads a mag into it. He's walking straight towards the prisoner from earlier.

"Mercy! You said you'd show mercy, that was a pro-"

The frenzied pleading by the raider is cut off by a loud gunshot and a louder cry of agony. What looks to be his knee is blown open in a jet of blood.

You rush over there with a bad feeling, wanting some answers.

"I found the women."

"I see," you say. "Is there any evidence th-"

"Yes. It's obvious." The two of you share a look. You understand what he's referring to, and he knows it. Everyone else shares similar feelings to him, and you do as well, even if as the leader you're supposed to keep things under control.

You were really, really hoping this wouldn't happen. But inside, you knew it would. The dominant question now is how you will deal with this.

>Tell him there's a proper way of doing things, and that no matter how obviously guilty these guys are, that they have to be taken to Maricopa and locked up, like any other criminals.
>Leave to "take a smoke break," under the condition that the prisoners are left in (barely) enough of a shape to "stand trial." Let them release some steam, but try to keep some level of justice.
>Pull out your pistol and execute the kneecapped man as an example to the others. [Your conscience tells you this is not a good thing to do for your sanity]
>Reprimand him, telling him that every soul should be given the chance to find redemption in Christ. Even vile scum such as this. Have them taken to Mobile for the Messenger to determine their fate.
>[Write-In]

I didn't want to get too graphic (blueboard), but it should be obvious what happened... civil wars aren't all fun and games

>>4577795
>Leave to "take a smoke break," under the condition that the prisoners are left in (barely) enough of a shape to "stand trial." Let them release some steam, but try to keep some level of justice.

Not surprised, these were criminals after all.

>>4577795
>Leave to "take a smoke break," under the condition that the prisoners are left in (barely) enough of a shape to "stand trial." Let them release some steam, but try to keep some level of justice.
>[Write-In]
Take a peek at the condition of the women assuming they are still alive.

Have the women (if alive) tell us which ones, and who the worst offenders were. Execute the worst offender infront of the rest.

>>4577795
>>Leave to "take a smoke break," under the condition that the prisoners are left in (barely) enough of a shape to "stand trial." Let them release some steam, but try to keep some level of justice.
Rough, man.

>>4577829
[Your conscience tells you this is not a good thing to do for your sanity]

>>4577795
>[Write-In]
Tell him there is a proper way to do things: biblical punishment; it is said in the Old Testament that the punishment of rape is death; this however will have to wait until they have given ALL their worth in information and should be done publicly to reassure the public, threaten anyone who thinks similarly and so on.

They will be taken back to Stanfield, to Maricopa. They will be given a fair trial. They will be shot or hung or god damn castrated BUT they will be treated fairly until then. "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's" applies here, where we act as servants for Maricopa and they have specified what we are to do.

>>4577795
>>Leave to "take a smoke break," under the condition that the prisoners are left in (barely) enough of a shape to "stand trial." Let them release some steam, but try to keep some level of justice.
i say we break him like a horse.

>>4577849
We can just order or imply it to be carried out by our underlings.

>>4577795
>[Write-In]
>BLACK SITE

>>4578087
>>4577795
also down with this

>>4577804
>>4577829
>>4577831
>>4577907

OPTION SELECTED:
>Leave to "take a smoke break," under the condition that the prisoners are left in (barely) enough of a shape to "stand trial." Let them release some steam, but try to keep some level of justice.

"A 'smoke break,' huh?" the crusader asks suspiciously.

"Yes. When I get back, we'll finish loading everything up and start driving to Maricopa. There, we'll leave these guys at the M.M.P. H.Q. and they'll be given a proper trial. Of course, if by the time I come back some of these captives happen to have injuries that I didn't notice before, that's no issue."

"I see," he responds. You turn your back and begin to walk to one of the mining pits, pulling out a cigarette as you do so. You can hear panicked shouting and general commotion.

Sitting on the edge of the mining pit, you take a break and reflect on today's events. Things went as well as you could expect. You might have gotten lucky on spotting them as they approached and with them getting overconfident, but the end results can't be argued with. You hope that success here means you won't be called to do anything big by the Messenger for a good while. You don't feel comfortable out in the field. It brings back bad memories.

With those captives, you knew that they were undoubtedly guilty and deserving of punishment. You had half a mind to pull out the shovels and pistols and m- do some unsavory things. You must always keep vigilant not to become possessed by the demons you seek to drive out. That was the mistake in Yugoslavia. But maybe this time, it would have been justified. Those recidivists weren't the innocents out by the River Sava, after all...

[1/3]

>>4578871

[2/3]

You toss the cigarette butt into the pit and return to the main group. The captives are looking significantly worse for wear, with blood and even some teeth all over the area. They're not dead though, and even the one who got shot in the knee seems to be alive, which is probably good. The Mobile Infantry seem to be currently looking after the two disheveled women and generally helping to get things carried off. Soon, everyone is on the road.

As the sun begins to just barely start peeking above the horizon, you arrive at Schmidt's ranch. As per their wishes, you drop them off there, where their family is. Schmidt and his family were surprised, to say the least, but very glad. Especially the child of one of theirs's present.

"We have matters to attend to now, but tomorrow - I mean - later today, we'll be contacting you as a witness and about returning your stolen cattle, along with damages."

"Returning the- you guys found them?" he asks, more than a little dumbfounded.

"We have replacements, along with some extra for damages."

You all leave north for Maricopa and leave Schmidt and his family. You'll figure the details out later. On reaching the H.Q., you let the guards take the captives off of your hands and you dismiss both the crusaders and the Mobile Infantry. Tired as hell, having stayed up all night, you have mercy on them and let them go. You, however, aren't done yet. You still have a mountain of paperwork to process between the stuff with the prisoners and handling the cattle shipments and a number of other topics. While waiting for people from Mobile to arrive and help take care of things and for some M.M.P. bureaucrat to get you the proper forms, you take a quick nap in the waiting area, happy things got resolved the way they did.

>END OF POV SWITCH TO DRAGOMIR TRKULJA

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>>4578873

[3/3]

>QUEST COMPLETE: [Where's the Beef?!]

Objectives Completed:
>Find out who's causing the cattle rustling and kidnappings in Stanfield
The events of the quest saw the discovery of the Red Rock Raiders, the culprits in question.
>Put an end to it
The next days would confirm that the Raiders no longer had plans to raid the southern Maricopa area. The ranching continues as normal and beef will continue to be served in Maricopa, even during the 2nd US Civil War going on.

Acceptance Bonus:
>Maintaining patron-client relations with Maricopa
Mayor Preis thanks the Sun Belt Crusaders for their speedy, complete, and decisive solution to the cattle rustling incident. The patron-client relation is secure.

Completion Bonus:
>Miscellaneous loot from the abandoned mining site.
As the client of Maricopa, you receive no special rewards for the task completed. You do, however, pocket the supplies/equipment from the cache the raiders set up.

Stretch Goals:
>Build relations with the Stanfield community
While cardinal Trkulja's blunder in trying to gain the support of the ranchers put off a lot of people, this was more than mended when they saw not only the return of normalcy, but also generous reparation. The Sun Belt Crusaders are spoken of positively in Stanfield.
>Get more information on the region south/east of Maricopa
It was discovered that the Red Rock prison was taken over by the inmates and is now some sort of raider faction in the northern Sun Corridor. Their operations extend as far as the "National Guard Airpark" and formerly as far as Stanfield.

While Trkulja handled the situation out in Stanfield, an envoy was sent out to Goodyear. As part of "right wing Phoenix" and under protection of the friendly "Boogie Nights Boiz" (apparently their real name), the place is relatively friendly to you and shouldn't require a large military escort.

Who do you choose to send to Goodyear?

>Cardinal Musella
>Cardinal Mueller [Unavailable while preaching]
>Cardinal Trkulja [Unavailable, at Stanfield]
>Yourself
>Nobody in particular [Fast track things, no major scene/pov switch]
>[Write-In] a cardinal

>>4578087
>>4578723
The subtext behind handing them to the Messenger was that he would have most likely sent them to the Black Site for induced conversion (brainwashing)

>>4578874
I just noticed I forgot to put the second prompt:

>[Write-In] the general goals of the diplomatic envoy

Basically, just a "what" in addition to the "who." This envoy is, as a reminder, being sent because that was selected during the vote for what to do with the first half of the week.

And for anyone who just stumbled into this quest and might be a bit confused, that "quest complete" doesn't actually refer to the whole of 2nd US Civil War: Sun Belt Crusaders! It just refers to the quest (i.e. mission) given to the Crusaders by their patron/suzerain, the independent city of Maricopa. It's a way to conceptualize minor story arcs, like the previous one about the Sierra Estrella raider base.

>>4578874
Cardinal Musella or the Messenger, potentially both if we really want to work Goodyear.

Goal: Establish relations, communication, preaching rights, and gain material, military support, or intel from the factions there.

Essentially, a proper introduction, establishment of good relations, and seeing what support we can get from this venture.

>>4578874
>Cardinal Musella
i am a little concerned about sending a alphabet boy to meet with the boogie boys.
also im very curious to see how things are going in Mobile.

>>4579148
But wouldn't it be helpful to have him to be able to spot a honey pot or anyone that glows in that group? You know how these things are, and as much as I want to bring Walt in for this, I don't want to risk his safety in the first meeting.

Its that or we make another cardinal.

>>4579755
good point, didnt think about that angle. maybe we could get a lead on the airplane crash guy, or run into another deep cover alph boi

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>>4579124
>>4579148
>>4579755

POV SWITCH SELECTED:
>D.E.A. Agent Robert Mazur

You have been tasked with visiting the region of Goodyear with the goal of figuring out more about them, establishing relations, and seeing if there's anything to gain. Since your dealings with Maricopa, you've been designated as the "diplomacy guy" by the cult, and you were the "trusted choice" for the envoy.

Before you leave, you take stock of what you know about Goodyear and the broader Phoenix area. First, you know that Phoenix is currently in the midst of a massive war that has forced everyone to take a side, and Goodyear has taken the side of the right. You also know that Goodyear has a lot of ranching and farming, which makes it a valuable agricultural zone, similar to Maricopa. You also know that they've chosen to defend themselves not by taking up arms and forming a militia, but by instead hiring mercenaries.

On the topic of mercenaries, you know they are employing a strange domestic terrorist organization called the "Boogie Nights Boiz," unless they've changed to a stupider name in the meantime. They did take a liking to your group and are the natural choice to go with for this. Even if you really, really hate them for bragging about killing "fed fucks," as they said it. Hopefully, there's a fellow undercover agent among them, even if you really have no idea how you'd figure that out or what you would do if you did.

You get a couple of good men at your side and call in your contact with the "Boiz" to pick you up. As you wait in the outskirts of Mobile, watching workers on the "final yard" of Mobile's repair (the construction aid helped), one of your guards points out an off road vehicle coming towards you guys. It's them.

The off roader, which is covered in strange decals and has all sorts of modifications, stops in front of your small group and two heavily armed men in aloha shirts step out. "Hey, Rob right?"

"Yes. And you are..."

"My name's Frank, but most of the Boiz call me AJackson1812." Close up, you notice numerous patches with strange symbols and indecipherable phrases. "So, yea, get in the Wrangler and we'll be off to Goodyear."

Your guide, "AJackson1812" proves to be especially chatty during the car ride. "So, we basically got three sorts of zones out in Goodyear. There're the farms & ranches, which you're gonna get a real fuckin' good whiff of. There's also the manufacturing areas, where they make all sorts of crap, and there's of course all of housing and shit, where everyone lives. It's not too bad, since most of the violence was out on the farm places from that Native base. Since then, we've just been running out our contract, staying cozy in the Boog, you know...?"

[1/2]

>>4581241

[2/2]

Cozy? Why would somebody use that phrase, of all things, to describe mercenary work in a civil war?

"Hey!" one of your men interjects. "What's the situation in Phoenix? What kind of fighting they got going on?"

"Gettin' to the fun shit! Yeah, lots of close quarters, fighting for every block sort of thing. Goodyear's far from the battle line here west, that's out in Avondale and Peoria, so we don't see much action."

"We'd have been sniping commies for weeks if those cringe pussies in leadership weren't scared of 'domestic terrorism,'" the other guy chimes in mockingly. "Those glowers had it coming!"

Cringe? Glowers? As you try to decode the jargon, the conversation continues.

"Sniping? Dude, it's close combat, just rush them with bayonets. Works every time."

"Bayonets? Yo, you guys one time actually did a bayonet charge?"

"No. We did a bayonet charge, twice. The second time, we had gas masks on."

"Holy fuckin' based!"

What on earth does he mean by "based?" Based on what?! You are totally at a loss, unable to decipher this younger generation's newfangled lingo.

Interestingly, the two factions seem to share a mutual kinship in their peculiar élan. While Goodyear is not the same as this faction of weapon obsessed lunatics, they are no doubt a useful connection to have. You know, at the very least, that they have access to all sorts of exotic goods they've assuredly been hoarding for years in hope of a total disaster scenario like this. And what happened with those federal agents? Maybe you'll get information that can help you get out of this hellhole and back with the D.E.A. from these guys, somehow?

During this time, the thick smell of fresh cow feces fills the air. "Aaand that's the smell of Goodyear! Its ranches, at least. Anyway, Rob, where do you want to go exactly? Again, if you want to talk to farmer types, this is the place. There's also the manufacturing places a little further up, and the residential area, where the local leadership and important people are, is up a good bit to the north."

You decide you want to go to Goodyear's:

>Agricultural Zone: It's always good to check up on the interests/concerns of the people who keep everyone fed.
>Manufacturing Zone: Maybe the Crusaders can buy some useful supplies and equipment from here?
>Residential Zone: This is where most people live, and the natural place to get a hold of leadership or scope out for preaching.
>Boogie Nights Zone: Cut the official diplomacy crap and tell the Boiz you guys just want to fuck around. See where they take you.
>[Write-In]?

>>4579148
>>4579821
Updates on Mobile (and "Ondrejko"?) will come as they develop, perhaps when this first half of the week ends! It's just taking a bit longer than expected since we've been going into deep dives with the situation of other places/povs. Me kind of letting random stuff delay me also doesn't help. I could only write about half of the update yesterday...

>>4581242
>Agricultural Zone: It's always good to check up on the interests/concerns of the people who keep everyone fed.
Get a bit of work out of the way, get a feel for these bois and how legit are they.

Then we party and make connections
>Boogie Nights Zone: Cut the official diplomacy crap and tell the Boiz you guys just want to fuck around. See where they take you.
They'll help us meet people and maybe give us discounts or special items.

>>4581242
>>Residential Zone: This is where most people live, and the natural place to get a hold of leadership or scope out for preaching.

Best get the main stuff out of the way first.

>>4581242
>>Boogie Nights Zone: Cut the official diplomacy crap and tell the Boiz you guys just want to fuck around. See where they take you.
>>[Write-In]?
see if the boogie bois or anyone here might want meth

>>4581242
>Boomer man struggles to understand the memes
Truly, the best timeline.

>Manufacturing Zone: Maybe the Crusaders can buy some useful supplies and equipment from here?
OR
>Residential Zone: This is where most people live, and the natural place to get a hold of leadership or scope out for preaching.

As much as I want to hang with the Boiz, fact is we need to establish contacts for preaching or trade here. Ideally both but honestly, I'd rather focus on trade since we've got Maricopa to work our way though and this place can probably supply us with shit looted from Phoenix of substantial value / rarity.

>>4581406
all can it a win if we get through negotiations without getting hit with a "OK Boomer"

>>4581406
Quick, someone give him a energy drink!

>>4581698
kek

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>>4581328
>>4581406

OPTION SELECTED:
>Residential Zone: This is where most people live, and the natural place to get a hold of leadership or scope out for preaching.

"Drop us off at the residential zone around city hall, or wherever their leadership is. We have things to discuss."

"You got it. We'll put in a good word to try and fast track you guys."

One of your men nudges you in the arm. "C'mon, you don't think we can't-"

"No, no. We have important work to get done."

The driver passes by the ranches and farms, thank God. It almost made you long for the days everyone wore masks. You can, along the way, see some area with large silos and what looks to be a rock crusher. Continuing forward, the desert abruptly opens up to suburban housing tracts. Neat rows of nearly identical suburban homes pass by for a while and then it's back to open desert. Crossing over a bridge, you enter the more central area of Goodyear.

"If you're trying to get official stuff done, you're going to want to go to City Hall. That's where their provisional government is set up. I'll even throw in a good word, try to accelerate things."

The group continues on, both in its travels and in the inane conversation. You've mostly tuned it out by this point. The three of your guys are dropped off at the city hall and "AJackson1812" pulls you aside for a moment. He tells you to mention his faction to the person at the front to get fast-tracked, and to call his guys to get picked up when you're done.

You enter the building and find the lobby to be pretty full, with a long line of people, all spaced out. The guard at the front gives you a mask, and you & your guards, are forced to all stand 5 feet apart. This is very strange to you, since pretty much everyone forgot about the Wuhan Viral Pneumonia pandemic after cities started burning and the U.S. federal government collapsed. Even Maricopa, which prided itself in being a continuation of "business as usual," dropped it with the health guidelines.

While you get in line quickly, one of your guards immediately goes up to the front, flaunting the mask mandate and ignoring the line.

"Ma'am, we're on important diplomatic business. We need to-"

"Boo, you need to put on your mask and wait your turn."

He looks to you and in response you motion to him to cut it out. The last thing you need is to have a hothead botch things. Luckily, you're pretty sure the lady at front didn't get a good look at you. You patiently wait in line until you eventually get your turn...

[1/2]

>>4582892

[2/2]

"Hello ma'am," you say. "I have important matters relating to trade and diplomatic relations to bring up."

"Fill this form out," she tells you.

It's a bog standard form, and you start working on it. "Also, my faction has been recommended by the folk contracted to protect this area."

"The Boogie people?" You nod. "Give me a second." The obese woman walks through a door behind her and appears a few minutes later. You hand over the completed form and show some fake identification.

"Thank you sir. Your estimated wait will be four and a half hours."

"Four hours? I think you may be mistaken, th-"

"That's the wait. Take a seat in the lobby."

"Hey, can I leave and come back or something?" one of your men interjects.

"Are either their names on the form?" You shake your head. "Then they can leave. If you're on the form, then you must stay on premises at all times or forfeit your spot."

Oh God damn it. At least Maricopa's bureaucracy actual gets along at a decent place. Here, you might as well be at the DMV, even while fast-tracked! You take a seat with your men with one seat between all of you, because apparently the Global Health Council's word still holds weight around here.

"Hey, we're going to the fried chicken place down the road. Want any?" You decline the offer and let them go. Better to let them out than keep them here and risk them doing something rash out of boredom.

You try to occupy yourself, but boredom soon overtakes you. You even doze off a few times, and almost lose track of the time. Checking your watch, a bit over four hours have passed. You check your estimated wait time on a display, which reads that you have almost two hours to wait. Because of course it does.

As you wait, you start writing down an extra set of notes, basically to kill time. For the purpose of this meeting with the higher ups at Goodyear, you write down:

>Trade: Try to see what kind of resources you can get from this place. [Specify what Mobile wants to buy or sell from Goodyear]
>Labor: Attempt a deal to get workers from here to go to Mobile and help with construction.
>Fighting: Maybe Goodyear will want the services of the Crusaders in protection?!
>Alliance: Do your best to sell Goodyear on the idea of a defensive pact with Mobile.
>Alternative: [Write-

As you decide, you get a call.

"Musella? This a good time?" you hear from one of your men.

"What's going on? Where are you guys? What's the background noise?"

"We, uh, we kind of got bored waiting and chatted it up with the Boiz. The bar's doing Happy Hour, and the Boiz invited us to a Boogie. You're about done, right?"

>NEW OPTION AVAILIBLE:
>Boogie: Forgo your spot and go do whatever the hell a "Boogie" is

Also:

>Roll 2d20

An update obviously inspired by being forced to wait for unreasonable periods of time and the stickiness of various institutions. Truly, I present the greatest horrors of the known universe to depress everyone's spirits this Christmas!

>>4582896
>Bureaucracy
Proverbs 14:23 and 18:9.

>Boogie: Forgo your spot and go do whatever the hell a "Boogie" is

Screw dealing with the bureaucrats, lets go get drunk and probably get introduced to important locals that way rather than the official government route. Worst comes to worst, we just deal with the Boogie Boiz as a intermediary for Goodyear stuff.

Rolled 4, 3 = 7 (2d20)

>>4582896
>Trade: Try to see what kind of resources you can get from this place. [Specify what Mobile wants to buy or sell from Goodyear]
Construction equipment, and industrial tools?

I dunno, can we just put a placeholder or a fake cutout of ourselves in line?

Rolled 14, 11 = 25 (2d20)

>>4582896
>Boogie: Forgo your spot and go do whatever the hell a "Boogie" is

Rolled 10, 3 = 13 (2d20)

>>4582896
>>Boogie: Forgo your spot and go do whatever the hell a "Boogie" is
we can always come back tomorrow

>>4582896
>Boogie: Forgo your spot and go do whatever the hell a "Boogie" is

We'll make an appointment for later. If the leadership want to talk with us, they'll seek us out.

We can easily take control of the power structure by subverting the bureaucracy later, if need be. It's utter nonsense waiting here.

Rolled 1, 6 = 7 (2d20)

>>4582896
>>Boogie: Forgo your spot and go do whatever the hell a "Boogie" is

Rolled 6, 13 = 19 (2d20)

>>4582896
>Boogie: Forgo your spot and go do whatever the hell a "Boogie" is
this has to be a fucking joke. no fat lady is going to stop us from getting stuff done

>>4583177
for real, fuck this fat bitch.

>>4582920
>>4583047
>>4583056
>>4583146
>>4583155
>>4583177
>no fat lady is going to stop us from getting stuff done
I can assure you, the fat lady working at the City Hall or the DMV type bureaucracies can and absolutely will make you wait hours in line with no alternative!

"Done?! I'm still waiting here in line. And why are you guys at a bar? What's a Boogie?"

"We came back and saw you were sleeping, so we decided to check some stuff out and-"

You hear what sounds like somebody forcibly butting into the call. "Ayo, fuck that mask shit! If I'm g-"

"Ay, get back, I'm trying to chat with the boss," you can make it. After some garbled back and forth, the voice on the other end becomes loud and clear. "Sorry about that."

"Are you guys drunk?"

"He's a little, yea... and if you don't want us to pick you up, I might be too. Anyway, you in?"

Oh God, what the hell have these guys gotten themselves into? You know, for an absolute fact that if you go, you will be dragged into their "adventures" for a while and also lose your spot. It would completely change your plans and make negotiations later on (tomorrow at the earliest) more difficult. Even s-

"Sir," the guard told you. "I'm going to need you to quiet down."

God fucking damn it.

>Events influenced by trait: Cucumber Cool

A man of lesser tolerance might have burst into rage. You know your "colleagues" would have. Instead, you tell the guard to have a nice day, and make a quick response. "I'm in..."

[1/4]

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>>4583487

[2/4]

OPTION SELECTED:
>Boogie: Forgo your spot and go on whatever the hell a "Boogie" is

>Future Goodyear diplomacy might be complicated by this...

As you wait to be picked up, you think about what this encounter has taught you about Goodyear. Namely, that it is largely operating like "business-as-usual," down to the bureaucratic inefficiency and lack of urgency. It's somewhat expected, since Goodyear is in the sweet spot where it's far enough away from the POZ to be safe, but still close enough to Phoenix where outside threats aren't as present. With the removal of the Sierra Estrella base, this is doubly so. But then why did this beacon of normality contract mentally unstable domestic terrorists? You ponder these questions, and more, until your ride arrives.

A pickup truck blasting heavy metal pulls up to the curb.

"Get in the back," one of your guys shouts from the shotgun position. "We're going to pick some stuff up."

You sit in the back of the pickup and it speeds off.

"... yeah, so get this. So those guys in the mountains, they told us which road the raiders would take, so we drove around the bend and set up an ambush and..." the conversation between the crusader in the front and the driver continues. Based on how they're talking, you're sure the crusaders got a little chummy with the Boiz.

"What's going on?" you ask the crusader next to you.

"We're going to pick up some ammo from one of the supply areas and go shooting."

Supply areas? If they're letting your guys help grab ammo from one of their supply caches, they've clearly gotten more than just a little chummy. "Wait, shooting? You mean target practice?"

"Yeah, kind of. We're heading out to a spot somewhere north-"

"Agua Fria!" the driver says. "There's a good spot, high up, where we can set up a quick position and start shooting those commies. You can get a good view of Peoria, where the fighting's intense! We'll shoot the breeze, just help us lug our shit and do some spotting. John says you guys don't have autos, so we'll spot you guys some FALs to have fun with."

"Wait, what are we doing exactly, and where?"

"You mean the spot? It's on top of an elementary school. It's been empty since Wuhan Pneumonia. We'll just take potshots at idiots dumb enough to poke their heads out. They don't see it coming, and we got the sun at our backs in the evening, so we'll be fine. Just keep quiet when we're back. Pussies in leadership don't like the idea of 'unauthorized attacks' or whatever..."

File: The Shake.jpg (71 KB, 900x506)

71 KB JPG

>>4583489

[3/4]

Elementary school? Potshots at random people? Unauthorized attacks? In any case, they're pretty cavalier about this and your men obviously approved, so it's all probably fine. That's what you tell yourself, at least. Eventually, your travels west stop at a house. There, the driver leaves and talks to a man in an aloha shirt, who opens up his garage. Everyone begins to fill up the back of the truck with boxes of ammunition, miscellaneous equipment, and an obviously illegal arsenal of weaponry. Some of their equipment here is better than the stuff the D.E.A. gets, especially the night-vision optics. After everything's secured on the bed, the driver and the presumed homeowner momentarily chat, occasionally pointing at your group. Before you can walk up and ask anything, the two of them end the conversation and you guys are back on the road.

The drive back's uneventful, and you soon reach the aforementioned bar. Walking in, it's a bit rowdy and mostly patronized by the colorfully dressed terrorists. The smoke of both tobacco and marijuana fills the air as various spirits fill the glasses. The place shows signs of dilapidation, but it's fairly good all things considered. They even have an old styled jukebox playing music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRWCK9zGynA
I was going to link to the version with footage from the 60's Congo Crisis, but I decided that devastated villages, rows of dead civilians, and an actual summary execution might just be a bit too fucking much for a blue board. Besides, it wouldn't fit with the Christmas times...

"Jackson, you son of a bitch!" a dark skinned, presumably Hispanic, man says as he locks into a handshake you vaguely think you've seen in some action movie.

"Micho! I brought the goods"

"And your friends too. Are these the dudes you were talking about?"

"Yeah, they're pretty based. C'mon, let's play some pool until it's time."

Your small group goes to a table and starts to set up the game. You feel pretty out of place without the garish uniform of sorts these people have. Nonetheless, your partners do a great job of blending in and being the right level of gung-ho and extraverted without seeming nosy or insincere. They are somehow completely carrying your awkward self through this...

>>4583490

[4/4]

"So Musella, you've been pretty quiet." MichoacánPP, or Micho for short, says while he sets up the table. "What do you do?"

"Well, I'm a religious official first and foremost," you lie. "I used to handle a lot of the finances and behind the scenes stuff, but I do a lot of official diplomacy now. I was attempting to work with the official Goodyear government, but I ran into a setback."

"The wait caught you off guard?"

"I must've dozed off three times waiting hours, but the place has worse wait times than a DMV or the Internet guys when they put you on hold."

"Did you get Bertha at the front?" he says, adjusting the rack a final time.

"I don't know who it was. She was a bit of a heavy Afr-"

Micho starts to laugh. "Yeah, you got Bertha. Anyway, got any questions, mister official diplomacy guy?" he says half jokingly.

"Actually..."

What do you choose to ask him, if anything?

Select up to two questions:

>"Where did you guys get all of this stuff?"
>"What's the political situation with the right wing alliance?"
>"How is the war against the POZ going?"
>"What is your perspective on the recent history of Phoenix?"
>"What's this newfangled lingo you millennials are using, with words like based, glower, boogie and whatever else?"
>"Why do you guys trust us? I mean, I could be a federal agent for all you know..."
>"For the whole 'shooting at people' thing, can I just sit back and play waterboy? My, um, arthritis is acting up!"
>"Nah, I'm good, no questions."
>"If it weren't for the blessings of the four Chaos Gods and the previous fight with Ka'Bandha, would Sanguinius have been able to slay Warmaster Horus Lupercal on the Vengeful Spirit?"
>[Write-In]

A somewhat large update after what was hopefully a fun Christmas where you had fun drinking joyously with family, and not a depressing Christmas that involved nursing your sorrows into a glass alone because everyone else got the plague. Also, if you guys are wondering how we're suddenly so close to the BNB, I rolled to see if the two guys accompanying would sneak off and hang out with the Boiz out of boredom. They did. I also rolled to see how they would be received, and they got a crit followed by another very high roll, so they ended up basically calling you over and doing your job for you in a less than 1% chance event. Again, some of the dice have been on fire this game. Make use of it while it lasts! And yes, waiting at the city hall for an assload of time was completely normal, since glacial bureaucracy is a trait Goodyear has...

>>4583492
>"What's the political situation with the right wing alliance?"
>"How is the war against the POZ going?"

Honestly the only important questions. Their trust in us is built out of thinking we're amusing / cool. They got this stuff pre-war or made it themselves (/k/ does maintain engineering specs for many guns, for "education").

What we can't really guess at or know is if the POZ is losing, if the alliance is falling apart or if we can influence it from current knowledge. This is our best chance to brush up on the avalanche hanging over our heads and see if we can't help.

>>4583492
>>"How is the war against the POZ going?"
>>"What is your perspective on the recent history of Phoenix?"
>"How is the war against the POZ going?"
>"What is your perspective on the recent history of Phoenix?"
>[Write-In]
any tips on getting in good with goodyear? the obviously have some experience. info about the economy in goodyear and also the state of religion

>>4583492
>>"If it weren't for the blessings of the four Chaos Gods and the previous fight with Ka'Bandha, would Sanguinius have been able to slay Warmaster Horus Lupercal on the Vengeful Spirit?"
>What's the best drink this bar has to offer?

Not useful questions, but the Warhammer one cracked me up enough to take it easy.

I will say, even if this makes diplomacy a bit more complicated, taking the rare event was worth it. Now, on to the bonding!

>>4583783
Supporting this. We can get down to brass tacks later on.

>>4583492
>"Where did you guys get all of this stuff?"
>"If it weren't for the blessings of the four Chaos Gods and the previous fight with Ka'Bandha, would Sanguinius have been able to slay Warmaster Horus Lupercal on the Vengeful Spirit?"

>>4583783
>>4583906
>>4583987
Gah, I wasn't expecting you guys to actually take the meme option!! Not that I'm complaining...

OPTION SELECTED:
>"If it weren't for the blessings of the four Chaos Gods and the previous fight with Ka'Bandha, would Sanguinius have been able to slay Warmaster Horus Lupercal on the Vengeful Spirit?"

"..." Micho looks at you with silence...

"..." and nobody is quite sure how to react to this, of all questions.

"Nah, probably not," he answers as he breaks the rack. "Even without the Chaos fuckery and both of them being fresh, Horus still takes it. It'd be a hell of a fight though."

"You don't think Sanguinius couldn't take it? He was one of the most skilled fighters among the primarchs."

"C'mon, it's not about skill. It's about who would be willing to kill. Sanguinius killing the brother he felt closest to, arguably the one he loved like those of his own legion? No way man. He wouldn't have had it in him. Maybe in a friendly duel Sanguinius would have gotten the better of Horus, especially if he could get in the air and fly around. In a duel to the death on the Vengeful Spirit? No way. Sanguinius loved Horus too much to do it, even if he could."

"No homo," the other Boogie Boi snickers.

"No homo, yeah, damn straight. Sanguinius was a good boy!"

"Uh, cardinal, you know 40k?" one of your guys asks you as he lines up for a shot.

"Of course, game's been out since the eighties, why wouldn't I?" This much is true, you do remember watching others play the game when you were young and trying to wrap your head around what was going on in the lore. "Never got into the tabletop though. It was too expensive back then."

"Too expensive -back then-" Micho chuckles. "God damn. I don't want to break the bad news."

"Don't. I don't want to know how they messed things up," you say while taking a shot. The ball just barely bounces off of the corner of the pocket.

"It's for the best. Hey, how'd you know I was into 40k, anyway?"

"I noticed you have a Imperial Guard patch, so there you go."

"Good catch. Anything else..?"

[1/2]

>>4584683

[2/2]

>>4583584
>>4583646

OPTION SELECTED:
>"How is the war against the POZ going?"

"Yeah, about that," his demeanor momentarily turns dour. "It could be better. After some early successes, we've started to lose territory. We were better armed and prepared, and still are, but they're catching up fast."

"C'mon dude, don't blac-"

"I'm not. I'm being honest. We should've crushed them months ago. Now, it's a slog and we shouldn't underestimate them."

You're surprised by his honesty. It's good to know that they're comfortable enough to not just bluster, at least. "He might have a point. How well armed armed and organized can these guys realistically be?"

"Hey man, you'd be surprised. Most of them are unorganized pussies who drink bean water instead of milk, but are fanatical and willing to die for the cause. They also have the support of a good amount of the original law enforcement since the shitshow with the mayor, so they got an elite core. Those guys also have tricks up their sleeves like using drones and false surrenders and-"

"Have you guys noticed any sleeper agents or bombings targeted at infrastructure?" you interrupt, remembering the raid on Maricopa.

"Sleepers? You mean like members of them hiding among us? Yeah, I think that's happened out in Scottsdale, before the encirclement. I don't remember 100%, actually. And I'm pretty sure they've bombed roads or bridges, but there's a general agreement that nobody messes around with power or water or stuff like that."

"Although maybe we should," mister "AJackson1812" cuts in.

"We're on thin ice as is. Anyway, your turn to rack."

A short time later, some of the other "Boogie Nights Boiz" arrive and you all get together to plan for the "Boogie." The general plan is to head out to the aforementioned area (school) and set up positions to snipe at positions across the dry riverbed.. With superior optical equipment, a good defensive position, and rifles designed to kill from about a mile away, they seem fairly confident they'll get some "free kills" in this area the POZ has only recently taken and is therefore not very well entrenched in according to them. Your job will be to help in set up, monitor cameras, and provide suppressive fire in the event that enemies (i.e. literally anyone on the wrong side with a gun) try to close distance for a counter attack. Since you don't have much real combat training (you're allowed to talk about) you will be put in a safe "observer" position.

Before heading out, you have the chance to provide some input and make a few suggestions. They're not obliged to follow you, but perhaps you have some things to comment on?

>No questions or comments, just go with the flow
>Ask to sit this "Boogie" out. Even with their promises, you can't be sure this won't go belly up somehow
>Ask to have a more active role
>Suggest bringing drugs and alcohol to have fun with?!
>[Write-In]: Highly encouraged, as always!

>>4584686
>Ask to have a more active role

Better seem 'rad' with the bois, and this will help ingratiate our group with them. Even if the situation goes tits up, it'll just mean more opportunity for some combat bonding. And on that note...

>Suggest bringing drugs and alcohol to have fun with?!

Drugs and alcohol would be useful in this endeavor, though in not enough quantities to interfere with combat operations. We'll save the true partying for when we're on our way back to the bar.

>>4584758
>>Ask to have a more active role

>>4584686
>>[Write-In]: Highly encouraged, as always!
explain the diplomatic position you are in and tell them that it is very important that tings dont go belly up, ask to be more in control of the situation or a more active role
>Ask to have a more active role

>>4584686
>>"What's the political situation with the right wing alliance?"
can we also ask this before we go shooting? id like to know about the other factions in the area and im sure the could tell us a bout the factions they are aligned with.
also can we ask for a map of current borders, or a rough estimate?

changing from this >>4584783
to this >>4584860

>>4584860
Probably a good idea since we might end up shooting civies stuck in the crossfire.

>>4584860
+1

File: Sat View of Phoenix Area (...).png (2.38 MB, 1164x822)

2.38 MB PNG

Hey guys, QM here to just say that the update is coming. It just got a little delayed due to some electric problems in my area and having to rewrite a bit from the (totally fine) change in votes in the meantime.
And on the topic of a map, you guys are almost certainly going to get one unless you do something really stupid like get Musella killed. Just know that the map will be very rough, probably outdated the second it's made, and definitely incomplete.
Pic related is a satellite map of the Phoenix area. That tiny urban cluster at the very bottom center part of the image is Maricopa, the large community that is currently the Crusaders' patron. Mobile, the village we're based in, is almost impossible to even see unless you're me and you've become an expert on Arizonan geography because you QM a 4chan quest. Yes, Phoenix really is that fucking massive, so the map you'll probably get at the end of the Boogie Nighs Episode (hopefully to be done soon, I'll try to put out updates quicker than usual for a little bit) will probably only be of a "small" area to Phoenix's western part (still probably multiple times larger than Maricopa)

>>4586697
awesome! cant wait! thanks again QM for running this quest i love it.

>>4586846
+1. This quest wouldn't be the same without you, QM!

>>4584860
>>4585658
>>4585687
>>4585728

OPTION SELECTED:
>[Write-In]: Press for general information on Phoenix's situation

You consider trying to press for a more active role, but decide against it. Not only are you the proverbial fish out of water, but you also gain much from being passive and observing. Part of your mission here is to get intel on the hellhole that is Phoenix, after all. Also, as far as anyone knows, you're some finance guy who really shouldn't have much experience in combat, and asking to be calling shots might attract some heat. Instead, during the meeting, you take mental notes and try to figure out details about the general situation.

The target of this "operation" is a forward position the POZ is setting up along a stretch of highway on the currently dry Agua Fria river. The location is fairly far into friendly territory and only narrowly connected to the main POZ forces currently wrangling Peoria from the grasp of the right wing coalition apparently called the Phoenix Coalition for Restoration (PCR). The large empty riverbed isn't a perfect defense, but it can't be crossed with normal vehicles and its width is longer than the effective range of most rifles used. Holed up in a storage facility, the revolutionaries have been able to hold onto the territory for a few days and have been making progress in taking commercial spaces and maybe even some of the apartments on the east side of the Agua Fria.

"Maybe we can get the support from some of the PCR people in Peoria?" you ask, wondering why it is that the PCR has allowed a salient so deep into their territory to go seemingly uncontested.

"Fat chance of that," you're told. "They said they got more important things to deal with. We technically aren't even allowed to make this attack, but if anyone asks we'll say we heard something happening and came in to defend or counterattack or some shit."

They go on with the plan, which consists of splitting into two groups named "ATF" and "DHS," apparently because they want to be "ironic LARP Alphabet Boiz" or something equally incomprehensible. DHS will set up defenses in the elementary school with both long range snipers and with surveillance gear like cameras and night vision. ATF will then engage in a long range firefight from a residential area at the edge of effective range of most rifles. Once the revolutionaries have been "baited," DHS will snipe their positions. Then, depending on whether or not the defenders choose to hole up or continue defending, ATF might move along the highway to get close enough to use grenade launchers or they might let them continue getting sniped.

"Will the locals allow us to use their homes?" you ask.

"Don't worry about that. I wouldn't be surprised if, like, half of those homes are abandoned, anyway..."

[1/2]

File: PCR Flag.png (8 KB, 800x480)

8 KB PNG

>>4587690

[2/2]

Finally, your group (part of DHS) will be tasked with keeping an eye on things. This means monitoring surveillance cameras to be quickly set up in an ad hoc CCTV system, feeding useful information for the snipers, checking for reinforcements, watching for drones, and helping to lay suppressive fire in case anything crazy happens like a surprise attack across the river bed. In effect, it's all of the "boring" work that doesn't involve shooting at things. You're actually fine with this, since surveillance is something you're very, very familiar with as a D.E.A. agent and you have a lot of experience quickly setting up ad hoc camera networks. You just never thought you'd do it in service of domestic terrorists to promote the aims of a meth cult. You often wonder where your life went wrong.

"Do you want me to help lookout for drones, or do you think two will be enough?"

"Two guys should be enough to keep watch on the skies. POZ loves their drones, but most of the intense stuff's in the east, so I doubt they have much here. They'd have been spotted."

And with that, the plan is mostly set. You're given some body armor with a giant "PRESS" patch sewn into it (where do this find this shit?) and a basic run down of how the cameras are supposed to work, in which you actually correct them on a few points. Your buddies are also given FAL rifles that are a mishmash of parts that are either brand new, or look to have come from an African bush war in the 60's.

"We're gonna kick fucking ass," the leader of the DHS group, "AJackson1812," tells you three. "Just keep an eye on shit and watch us do the fun shit."

With that, you all head out on SUVs modified with some armor and decked on with all sorts of designs. The most prominent of these is the maroon flag of Phoenix Arizona, the symbol the PCR has adopted for itself. For all the shit they talk about the PCR, they're still hoisting their flag. You all move due north by northeast of Goodyear, to the "town" of Agua Fria.

As a famous cavalry officer once said, "war is the realm of chance." Any number of events could affect the situation for your side or your opponent's before the skirmish properly starts...

>Roll 3d100 for events

>>4586697
*Boogie Nights Episode

Rolled 13, 37, 8 = 58 (3d100)

>>4587693
I assume one Anon rolls a 3d100, and if I'm wrong and we're supposed to roll 1d100 each, just tell me.

>>4587702
Should have went with the 1d100.

Rolled 60, 63, 98 = 221 (3d100)

>>4587693

>>4587709
I submit to your superior wisdom, oh fickle God of War.

Rolled 84, 45, 61 = 190 (3d100)

>>4587693

>>4587702

Your group, "DHS," drives up north along one of the highways at Phoenix's eastern edge. This far from most of the fighting, it's mostly views of farms with the occasional fortified position. Among the farms you notice a massive airstrip.

"That's Luke Airforce Base," one of the Boiz comments. "I bet they had all sorts of fun shit there before Paxton cleaned the place out."

"Hey, rumor's that they still got some fighters and shit over there, stuff they were still repairing I hear. No way we're gonna see them used, though."

You remember hearing about a "reorganizing" of the military aimed at consolidating forces and hammering areas like the Rust Belt into dust. Part of you is glad that here in the Badlands, random lunatics like the POZ revolutionaries or the Boogie Nights Boiz were denied such weapons. Part of you also shudders at just how much of a bloodbath the East Coast must be.

The vehicle turns right and starts heading east. The driver stops at a set of highway defenses, leaves the SUV, and tell you guys to wait. Looking around, you see numerous American flags and the guy Frank, or rather "AJackson1812," is talking to is wearing combat fatigues. After a short chat, the driver returns.

Before you can ask it, he answers your question. "This is the Marley Security Zone. A lot of military guys, big on Americana, think of themselves as the stewards of the air base but don't like to do much past their turf. They're pretty based." Again, he neglects to inform you on what these guys are based on, unless he's perhaps referring to the fact that they're related to an air base (you feel like that's optimistic.)

Going further east, you come across another set of "highway defenses," if you can even call it that. It's basically one guy in a little both. It reminds you of when Dick talked about the Maricopa Indians putting some random politician's kid on the border as a sinecure type of job, except this time the obvious teenager clutching his AR is probably here because of other reasons.

"Uh, heading to Peoria?" the kid in the booth asks with a bit of a high pitched voice.

"Yep, we've got an emergency call to help." You know this to be a lie.

"Yeah, cool. You can- I mean, wait, you're part of the PCR right?"

"Uh huh, officially part of them as the BNB mercenaries and everything. You probably don't even need to bother logging us or anything."

"Th-thank you! We could really use the help out here!" The inexperienced youth is left behind in the rear view mirror.

"What just happened?" you ask.

"He's the token guy they got guarding the west side of United Peoria. They've been getting their shit kicked in by the POZ, if we're honest. Classic case of biting off more than they could chew..."

[1/???]

>>4588025

[2/???]

Before you can ask him to explain what he means, your group gets a call from ATF, the other group. "DHS, this is ATF, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear."

"We're going to be a bit late. Minor car stuff, don't worry. Continue as normal, we'll be there by sundown and go with the plan. Over."

There's a brief pause before a reply is given. "Understood. DHS will trust in the plan. Over" For some reason the other mercenary giggles at this.

"Good. Over and out."

"Are you sure we shouldn't have waited for-"

"Nah, we're good. We were going to kill time waiting around anyway, now we'll just run a tighter schedule. I trust those guys."

He proceeds to relay the message to the three cars behind yours and the plan continues as normal. Going through this area you notice a mix of nice, identical suburban homes mixed in with decidedly lower quality residences. The palm trees, mix of upper middle class whites with lower class Hispanics, and the ever present threat of violence reminds you of Southern California, where this all began. Of course, that last aspect is ramped up drastically. In the distance you can see smoke, presumably from the battle between the POZ and "United Peoria" currently raging. You all arrive at the abandoned elementary school to be used in the plan.

From the outside, it's clear this place hasn't been used since well before the Civil War. You can still see signs saying "LIMITED IN-PERSON SCHOOLING 2021-2022: APPLY ONLINE " outside. It reminds you of the good old days when everyone was just worried about some Chinese super plague. As you reminisce, some guy from one of the cars behind goes to the gate, does something you can't quite make out, and starts to pull it back.

"School's back in session!" the bearded man in an aloha shirt shouts to you all. Your crusader guards take the FALs and you're left holding the box of surveillance gear.

"Alright, remember the plan Boiz! Get in, give it a once over, set up the equipment, and wait for the ATF to show up. This time, guns in hand, not in lake!"

Lake? You're still not accustomed to this manner of speaking. In any case, you stay back for a bit and begin to set up a range extender, including checking the security settings to make sure it doesn't get hacked into due to rank incompetency. Surprisingly, these guys don't seem to be complete idiots. While you wouldn't normally consider wireless systems to actually be a g-

A burst of gunfire is heard from inside. And then another. There's screaming...

>>4588028

[3/???]

"The fuck's happening?" one of your crusaders mutters to himself as he gets ready to run towards the source of the noise, automatic rifle in hand. "You two stay back, I'll figure this shit out." You're not about to be one to volunteer to go out nor one to stop him.

Some time passes. More gunfire and some screams can be heard. You wonder about just what in the hell is going on. After a little bit more time, you get a call giving you the all clear.

Entering the school, you see two Hawaiian-shirted gentlemen, one of whom is visibly streaked by blood, tossing a body onto the grass outside. You look at the corpse and can recognize it's horribly dressed and was in a bad state even before the burst of high caliber rifle fire turned parts of it into a gorey mush. The blood covered man, who is clearly viscous and a killer, though a youth (at 24?), tells you that the guy was high or on a bender or something and tried to attack him with a knife. You have no clue how he got in, since the doors seemed locked and there wasn't exactly an RV meth lab outside, but you don't have time to answer much. Apparently, he wasn't alone, and that there were a bunch of these random potential junkies around. The Peorians have clearly been slacking if this is the state of the former town of Agua Fria.

You climb up the stairs and get to where most of the Boiz are. There's clearly a commotion going on. Apparently, the gunfire has spooked the revolutionaries on the other side of the riverbed and they're massing troops for what can only be presumed to be some kind of attack. You're not sure why they would do this, since you'd think the distance is a bit too far and they're already very overextended as is. Nonetheless, that's what they're doing, and they look to outnumber the fairly small group you guys have.

"DHS to ATF, do you copy?"

"Affirmative."

"Where are you fucks?"

"Minor issue's taking longer than normal, still waiting for repair. Is everything going to plan? Over."

"Hey, the commies found us out and I think they're going to try and cross the river and go full Santa Anna on our asses. Over."

There's an uncomfortable pause from the other end. "Hang in there. We'll get there as soon as possible. Over and out..."

>>4588030

[4/4]

Now, it must be decided how to proceed. While the nat-

"LISTEN UP BOIZ, RIFLES BY YOUR SIDES. WE'RE NOT GOING OUT LIKE PUSSIES! IF THOSE BASTARDS ARE SUICIDAL ENOUGH TO COME FOR US, WE'LL GIVE 'EM HELL. EVEN IF IT MEANS EVERY LAST ONE OF US DYING!"

>Influence among Boogie Nights Boiz much too insufficient to select tactics
>Tactic Selected by Boogie Nights Boiz: Remember the Alamo

"Oh God no, not like this," you think to yourself. Of all of the potential ways you would get killed, and there have been a lot since you've worked with the Cartel, you couldn't think of a worse potential outcome than dying alongside some millennial domestic terrorists who speak entirely in jargon.

Still, you've been in worse times. If there's one thing you've learned, it's that until somebody gets death-rolled by a crocodile, it can always get worse. Given the situation, you decide the best single action you can take before things get totally out of hand is to:

>Rig up the cameras as quickly as you can to give advance warning and cover blind spots to enhance the ability of the defenders.
>Try to form a fireteam with your crusaders and maybe a few Boiz to protect yourself and have some influence in how things go.
>Grab a rifle and start blasting. Ride the Boogie!
>Lock yourself in a bathroom or something and hope that it all sort of blows over...
>Completely run away from this place and try to get back to Goodyear with your guards by any means!
>Run away towards the POZ revolutionaries, hoping that if they capture you, you might get back in contact with the D.E.A. and escape home by some one in a million miracle!
>[Write-In]

And for your action:

>Roll 2d20

Also, there will be another 3d100, because of the Clausewitz quote. You guys aren't obliged to roll if you don't want to. I could just do it behind the scenes.

>>4587702
>13 37
l33t 4s f1_1ck br0. Shame about the 8... although that doesn't have to be a bad thing, necessarily...

So, I'm leaning towards getting a killdozer or two up and running ASAP. Not even for our own use particularly but instead to help the Right-Aligned Alliance contain the POZ. Direct firing one of our mortars into enemy strongpoints would greatly help them push back the enemy and it seems like the POZ lack any heavy weapons to really counter such vehicles.

>>4588032
>Rig up the cameras as quickly as you can to give advance warning and cover blind spots to enhance the ability of the defenders.

I presume we're still gonna grab a gun with this option even if we're not particularly going to engage in the firefight?

>>4588036
+1

>>4588032
>Rig up the cameras as quickly as you can to give advance warning and cover blind spots to enhance the ability of the defenders.

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>4588032
>>Rig up the cameras as quickly as you can to give advance warning and cover blind spots to enhance the ability of the defenders.
leaving rolls for someone else

Rolled 26, 85 = 111 (2d100)

>>4588271
completing ur rolls...

>>4588362
i figure if we do Bo3 then i might as well not take all 3 rolls.

honestly im not sure if QM dose Bo3 or averages them .

Rolled 14, 19 = 33 (2d20)

>>4588032
>Rig up the cameras as quickly as you can to give advance warning and cover blind spots to enhance the ability of the defenders.

Though the fireteam should be our backup plan. We still have our meth filled bibles, right?

And I prefer to know in advance how much we're fucked.

>>4588036
>>4588156
>>4588175
>>4588271
>>4588422

OPTION SELECTED:
>Rig up the cameras as quickly as you can to give advance warning and cover blind spots to enhance the ability of the defenders.

"God damn it," you mutter to yourself as you tear into that box and rip out the security cameras. You know that if there's any time to plug up the blind spots of this God forsaken excuse for a defensive position, it's now. "Hey John, set this thing up along the area overlooking the riverbed!" you say as you hand a screen and one of the cameras to one of your guards."

You go to a visitor's map of the elementary school and immediately try to visualize the place, thinking about blind spots. This would normally be a task for a professional, but thankfully you have some experience in this due to that one time you had to quickly rig up a cartel hideout with cameras and make sure as much of it was covered for investigative purposes. Thankfully, the federal agencies train their dogs (such as yourself) well, so you're quite capable. You notice a couple of areas that wouldn't be in view of defensive positions from windows. Notably, there's one spot in the corner that would be totally blind and quite vulnerable due to it being not only accessible rather easily, but containing an area of vulnerable infrastructure that could severely compromise the position if attacked. All in all, you taking the few minutes to plan ahead and the D.E.A. training lets you ignore a few surprisingly redundant spots and know where to actually cover, greatly enhancing the efficacy of your efforts.

>Left Behind: +6 bonus in rigging surveillance gear

Charging up the stairs and shooting a large padlock off, you get to the roof. There, you have a good look at the revolutionaries, even if it's unclear. They're getting in their cars and seem to be quite well armed. What they lack in quality, they seem to make up for in quantity. Each of them has quite a number of arms and just looking at them it's clear they're either ready to die for the glorious people's revolution, or are too scared of disobeying orders to look anything but. Which situation is reality is ultimately irrelevant...

[1/???]

>>4588856

[2/???]

You grab the cameras and rip off the detachable part of the sticky side. It's supposed to just be a temporary adhesive to help in setup, but you know that it can last for several hours (i.e. long enough) and ignore the bulk of the process which requires properly securing them and whatever else manufacturers put there to cover their asses in case of a lawsuit. You set up a camera facing the highway and have it zoomed in a good amount to make out details on what the enemies have. You also have a camera covering the blind spot around some of the water/power/gas infrastructure. While there's a supposed agreement not to mess around with those things, there's absolutely no reason not to cover your "friend's" asses in this. In addition, there's another camera set up in order to cover the massive earthwork that separates this side fo the dry Agua Fria from the other. While it shouldn't matter, since the opposite side can't even be seen from the first floor, you know that the disutility of the small probability event is more than enough to make up for the opportunity cost. You're surprised that your economics degree taught you that of all things, but you're not going to complain.

Actually, you don't even think of the previous point. Instead you simply set the system up as fast as possible. From your experience, you intuit that the only important thing to do quickly is the actual setting up of the physical cameras. As you rip off the adhesive and set these up in the right directions, you notice that some of the revolutionaries decide to start firing on you. They're, as far as you're concerned, fucking insane for even trying since they're on the opposite side of the dry river and thus out of effective range. Nonetheless, they try. A lesser man would have lost his cool and waited for fire to subside and thus allow them to move closer into effective range. You keep your cool and just keep on working, even as the leaden stream of gunfire starts to flow in your direction.

>Malus from being under non-trivial fire negated from trait Cucumber Cool

Bullets fired from afar whizz harmlessly beside you as you work like a demon and get your shit done before they're in actual range. Granted, by the time you're done they're already pouring along Route 60. From the rooftop position, you can see them gathering in their vehicles and driving out from that storage area they're using as a stronghold. You would ponder the philosophical implications of this, but there's no fucking time for that. You head towards the entrance to the lower floor and notice a Boogie Boi sniper up there...

>>4588860

[3/???]

"Hey, get your ass to that corner over there," you say while pointing to the relevant area. "From where you are, you're just getting a view of empty air you don't need, but if you move you'll be able to cover the far side of the Route 60 if you need to." The marksman is surprised, to say the least, but he follows your advice and repositions. It's not much of an overall advantage for this impromptu Alamo, but you'll take every edge you can get.

>Final Result: 19 + 6 + 0 (due to trait) = 25
>Optimal Success

You get to the penultimate floor, where everyone is hunkering down, and do a final check.

"Hey boss," one of your crusaders starts. "We can't figure out the password to this. It lo-"

"Give that to me," you say. Quickly, you go to a settings menu and fix the obvious mistake they've made. It's as simple as not turning on the right settings on the configuration menu, but it's nonetheless important enough to merit you fixing their fuck-up. "Just keep an eye on the screen and make it known if anything strange happens."

You make the final move of place a low lying camera to check for anyone coming in close. Again, it's only going to last for a short while at best, but at this point you'll take that. You are still flabbergasted that these Marxist revolutionaries have taken the decision to go for a sudden attack, but you are going to do your damnedest it goes as well as possible given the circumstances. Now, it is all up to these mentally deranged domestic terrorists that happen to be the only things separating you from the end of your mortal coil.

>Bonus of +25 from remarkable surveillance roll
>Malus of -20 from commotion from the previous incident

Travelling down the stairs so fast you might as well be falling, you reach the bottom floor. Sandbags have been set up, bipods have been erected, and vital roadways are already prepared for suppressive fire. Given their superior defensive position, equipment, and insane drive to hold out against all odds, these "Boiz" are in a good position to hold out...

>+20 Bonus for superior equipment and defensive positions

Unfortunately, their opposition seems to be quite determined and zealous as well. Even as a veritable hail of .308 fire rains down upon them, they keep coming. While a few "boomers" take up positions from their home windows and try to ward off the flood of insurgents, it is woefully insufficient. Any degree of POZ fire is able to quickly suppress the third party activity and make the fight solely a matter of the "DHS" Alamo fighters and the POZ revolutionaries...

>>4588861

[4/???]

>Bonus from boomers engaging in self defense negated by high POZ roll

And on the topic of POZ revolutionaries, you notice that they're made of surprisingly sterner stuff than expected. Instead of breaking or even being shaken up when faced with automatics fire, they stay in position. Wading through the barrage of bullets presented to them, they make it past the relevant section of Route 60 and are now at the surface streets. A scant few "boomers" poke their heads out from their homes and try to fight back, but a concentrated barrage of POZ fire either suppresses them into inaction or outright kills them. You can't tell the actual outcome yet.

Final Result: 26 + 25 = 51
>Bare success

As they approach,, the friendly fighters have solidified their positions. With sandbags set up and overlapping lines of sight, the Boiz are not completely caught off guard. They are hunkered down and lay down fire, but are woefully outnumbered. Cutting off one avenue, another is left inevitably free. The advance is slowed down, but not at all halted. They have now gotten behind defensive positions and are in a slow, but steady advance towards the school. While they are weak in the sense that they are approaching a stronghold, they are still continuing and are making good progress up. They are already in effective range of their weapons, and the fight is turning deadly. If it weren't for the defensive advantage, it would be likely that the Boogie Boiz would sustain notable casualties. Thankfully for you, the correct domestic terrorists are holding onto their lives, if not their defensive territory...

>>4588866

[5/5]

"DHS TO ATF, ARE YOU FUCKERS MOVING TOWARDS US ALREADY?!?!"

"ATF to DHS, we are on our way. Can't promise an ETA, but we'll be there, promise! Over and out...."

"God damn it," you think to yourself. You could really use some backup right the fuck now. You've heard some screaming from the ATF defenders, and you desperately hope those aren't casualties, what with the numeric disadvantage. The advance is halted, but not by much.

Now, the POZ revolutionaries have their attack in full swing. Help is apparently on the way. Also, you guys might get overwhelmed before they arrive. You can only pray, as much as an atheist/agnostic can, that the revolutionaries don't manage to overtake you guys by the time support arrives.

Again, you have to decide how you and your guards act. And again, you have very little say over how this battle goes yourself, but with your influence you decide to:

>Keep up with monitoring the feeds and feeding info, hoping for the best...
>Grab a rifle and start blasting. Ride the Boogie!
>Lock yourself in a bathroom or something and hope that it all sort of blows over...
>Completely run away from this place and try to get back to Goodyear with your guards by any means!
>Run away towards the POZ revolutionaries, hoping that if they capture you, you might get back in contact with the D.E.A. and escape home by some one in a million miracle!
>[Write-In]

Also...

>Roll 2d20 for your decided action.

Also, roll 3d100 if you dare. If not, that's fine, it will still happen behind the scenes...

>>4588405
These aren't Bo3 or averages. They're all rolls for what different groups/situations have as events, as implied/said earlier (I can't remember if I explicitly mentioned that, and I'm way too fucking drunk to check right now without passing out).

>>4588422
>We still have our """bibles""" right?
Absolutely. Any true crusaders would have them on hand...

In case of emergency, open Pervitin bottles!! Thankfully, we're not there, yet...

I almost deleted this update out of drunken insanity, holy shit thank God for the ctrl+z function. Seriously, I'm going to pass out any minute now, forgive me or any retarded mistakes, since I will probably have no memory of even writing this update!!!

Rolled 2, 7 = 9 (2d20)

>>4588871
>>Grab a rifle and start blasting. Ride the Boogie!
GET SOME
Enjoy the drunken ride, QM. Thanks for running

>>4588871
>Grab a rifle and start blasting. Ride the Boogie!

time to as the the boogie boys would say slot some commies

Rolled 7, 3 = 10 (2d20)

>>4588927
woops dropped my dice

Rolled 24 (1d100)

>>4588871
>Keep up with monitoring the feeds and feeding info, hoping for the best...

I do dare, and I'll leave some dice for those who dare with me.

Rolled 20, 11 = 31 (2d20)

>>4588871
>>Keep up with monitoring the feeds and feeding info, hoping for the best...

Rolled 74, 71, 23 = 168 (3d100)

>>4588871
>Keep up with monitoring the feeds and feeding info, hoping for the best...

>>4588871
HAPPY NEW YEARS.

NEW
GAME
+

>>4589786
+1

Happy New Years, lads!

>>4589786
Happy new years boys

>>4589786
Happy hogmanay.

>>4588871
>[Write-In]
Search out enemy VIPs to target or shoot. Anyone hanging back and overseeing the attack, anyone manning machineguns behind the mass of men. Survey the enemy looking for anyone with whistles, trumpets, gongs, or fireworks, BBEG dressed in white uniform.

>>4589143
>>4589245
>>4589247

OPTION SELECTED:
>Keep up with monitoring the feeds and feeding info, hoping for the best...

>Auto-pass due to non-combat nature of the decision

This isn't your fight. Rather, it technically is since you are in it, but you weren't the person who decided to randomly go on a risky "target practice" raid and have it go belly up due to incomplete information on enemy forces and their methods. You take the "safe" job of keeping an eye on the situation and feeding useful information. Paradoxically, the smaller force means that there are fewer persons to act as "slack," as in no auxiliary forces. This means that it's very important every person has the maximum impact and so having a dedicated watchman is important. This is, at least, what you tell yourself and the others.

The bulk of the forces are all facing north, where the revolutionaries are beginning to attack in earnest.

>Boiz tactic selected: Strike First, Strike Hard

"THEY'RE STILL OUT FAR!" the leader of the Boiz here shouts. "LINE UP YOUR SHOTS AND TAKE OUT AS MANY AS YOU CAN."

The revolutionaries move through the surface streets, weaving around buildings, abandoned cars, and infrastructure in an attempt to keep safe while moving up. They have a lot of space to work with, but no matter how they advance, they have to go through a large straight route aptly named "Main Street." No doubt years of paranoid target practice starts to come in handy. One by one, their large force starts to get whittled down bit by bit. You know this because every time they get a kill, these guys have to make some kind of loud remark.

While the POZ fighters are under long range fire and taking casualties, they are nonetheless proving themselves to be more competent than given credit for. Instead of moving up as a giant horde, they break up into small vehicle based squads, alternating between laying down suppressive fire and moving up the field as much as they can before alternating. It's a crude version of what actual militaries and law enforcement agents (such as yourself) are taught to do in such a situation. The efficacy of their suppressive fire is in question due to the range and defenses, but as they fan out, it becomes more and more difficult to defend. You can see disabled vehicles and the odd body left on the road, but the revolutionaries have made the successful trade of lives for land

The battle starts to slow down for a moment. By this point more locals have been swept up by the POZ advance and are harrying the attackers. Their resistance is weak and totally disorganized, again amounting to random locals taking potshots before fleeing once any amount of organized fire comes in. Still, it's enough to halt the advance...

Or so it seems...

[1/3]

>>4589973

[2/3]

>Event altered by decision

From the security footage, you notice a plume of either smoke or dust rising from the east, around the ridge of the arroyo/dry riverbank. You wouldn't pay it mind, but it lingers too long for comfort. Then, you spot a woman poking out from it.

"They're sending people over the arroyo to our east," you call out.

>POZ tactic revealed: Cloak and Dagger (use an unseen, cunning flank attack)

"The hell? Lemme see that..."

Observing the feed, the two of you see more people going "o'er the hill" and moving up. "You three, get over to the east side, keep them back, and take out as many of those fucks as you can. The rest of you, get ready, they're gonna try and do some shit."

As commanded, two of the Boiz and one of your crusaders heads out east. And as suspected, the lull in the attack recommences. Thankfully, the effect of the enemy's tactic is negated due to the decision to keep on watch. Sometimes, cowardice does pay off.

>No malus from enemy sneaking mission

With this new surge, the previous bonus in equipment and defenses has diminished. Now at a much more effective range, the odds have started to even. More importantly, they are better able to leverage their main advantage, which is quantity.

>+15 Bonus for superior equipment and defensive positions
>-20 Malus from inferior numbers

Again, having better awareness of the battlefield is, in this particular situation, is a notable boon. Once more the outnumbered defenders are able to concentrate force as needed, although it's less necessary given the combat is now under full swing.

>+5 Bonus for active surveillance

Regarding morale, it would be an understatement to call these Boiz "enthusiastic." They really don't seem to have any thoughts of retreating or much care about the fact that they could literally die here and now. This ends up not being much of an advantage, as the revolutionaries seem to have an equal level of fighting spirit. Both sides end up following their respective plans to the best of their ability, resulting in a wash for this issue.

>No bonus/malus for morale

A final advantage is that the fighters advancing along the east are going through open terrain. They evidently banked on the cover of concealment, since there really is no other source of cover in that area, the odd willow tree notwithstanding. While it's only a small fraction of their overall force, it's still nice to have.

>+5 Bonus for exposed enemy unit...

>>4589975

[3/3]

>FINAL RESULT: 74 + 5 = 79
>Situation Improves?

The POZ attack from the east is thoroughly rebuffed. As is the issue with any "scalpel" styled attack, small forces are fragile and easily broken under the right circumstances. A hail of automatic fire mixed in with precision shots from above makes short work of the would be infiltrators. The ones who aren't shot scurry up the slope of the arroyo back down to safety.

To the north, the main forces continue their attack. They have more success, in that they manage to inflict casualties on the Boiz. One of them is injured by a shower of broken glass from a gunshot, for instance. Another is shot when gunfire manages to penetrate the defenses set up.

As friendly forces are whittled, so too are the attackers. They continue to take casualties. Nobody's bothering to keep count, and given how their positions are being obscured as they use the suburban terrain as cover, it would be pointless to try.

The pace of the battle once again stalls out. With one final stretch of somewhat open area to cross over before being in spitting distance of the proverbial gates, the attackers take the time to regroup and destabilize. As much as they're getting damaged, they're doing a damned good job of keeping cohesion from what you can tell.

>POZ Result: ???????????

As the defenders prepare for yet another push, something unusual happens. The attackers begin moving north. That is, they seem to be falling back. One one hand, some of them are clearly excited, seeing this as a success that needs to be capitalized on. On the other hand, there are casualties. Of course, there could be foul play or something else going on.

For your part, you attempt to convince these guys to:

>Fully Commit: Move to more open positions and try to rack up as many kills as possible, since the rout is always when a fighting force is most vulnerable.
>Bless and Save: Do the Christian thing and helping out the wounded, keeping everyone else on suppression duty.
>Slip Out: Take this opportunity to get to the vehicles and get the fuck out of doge.
>Hold Fast: Stay hunkered down and wait until they've either gotten out, or pull some kind of trick.
>[Write-In]

And now, we are all finally in the new year. Yes, even the American Samoans or the hypothetical random dudes on boats in the time zone just barely west of the International Date Line. Oh, and before I forget:

>Roll 3d100

>>4589786
If you think this wild ride won't be continuing, you haven't been paying attention! Am I referring to the game or to reality? Does it even matter anymore!?