OCC- I was busier today than I thought I'd be, so I didn't get a chance to update until now. Stardreams and other new players, you can jump in and take over your characters any time you're ready.
EDIT: I've now completed the update. Some of the text was sent to me by Welsh, and I have edited it and incorporated it into this post.
IC-
West of Brownson-
Erica Spears looked ahead of her as she piloted her helicopter to the west.
She spotted the three military helicopters as they headed off to the west, as well as smoke rising from the T-Bone. There was also a large group of zombies below on Route 30, ahead of the truck. "Do you guys see that?" she asked.
"
I do indeed," said
Michael, peering out of the cockpit while he reloaded his Glock.
"
You better believe it," said
Kimberly as she reloaded her shotgun. "Those guys in the truck have some trouble ahead.
Maybe we can help them out. I noticed that those...things...are attracted to noise, and this chopper's a hell of a lot louder than that semi. Maybe we can draw them out of its path."
"Good thinking," said
Erica as she banked the helicopter. "
Those other choppers don't look like anything I've ever flown, but it's hard to tell from so far away. They look vaguely military. Do you think they caused that?"
"I bloody well hope not," said
Michael. "
I recognize those birds. They're Hueys, UH-1Ns to be precise. My guess is they're flying out of Warren Air Force Base. I wonder what they're doing here?"
"Hang on tight - we're going in!"
In the truck,
Baldwin took back his Colt Viper after
Wallace finished reloading it. "Thanks, man," he said. "You might want to load your own piece next. I hope those folks back at the T-Bone are okay, but you never know what those PMS mofos are gonna pull. Someone oughta put a cap in their asses. I'll be happy to be that someone, but I need more ammo, a bigger gun, and a lot of backup. I guess Trooper Richards didn't have a chance to tell you what the deal is with them.
"You can be sure those Nazi asswipes know what's going on today, and they ain't just going to be sitting on their butts. There's a whole bunch of stuff at the T-Bone they'll be itching to get their hands on. My own truck's filled with food,
David has a load of lumber and hardware supplies, and you've got a tanker full of gas. All that's better than gold now. Not to mention the goodies ol'
Hammond has stashed away in his bomb shelter. I'm talkin' guns, drugs, all sorts of stolen merchandise. He and
Earl have been workin' with the PMS. The skinheads got a meth lab up at their compound, and
Hammond and
Earl use the trucks here to move it all up and down the highway.
"There's worse, too. They got slaves up in that compound, kept in cages. They'll probably try to use them as hostages to get what they want - including that chopper. When they find out their leader
Horst is dead, they'll be pissed as hell, but they're weaker without him. When we get back we gotta get organized and hit them before they hit us, and rescue those people."
Baldwin picked up even more speed. A zombie here and there tried to approach the truck, but it was gone before they could do anything to it. A couple of them reached out for it only to be knocked aside. As he rounded a bend, he saw a large group of them in the road. The trees had blocked his view of them earlier, and there was no way to stop in time - nor was stopping a good idea. "Hope you're buckled up!" he shouted, pressing the accelerator to the floor.
Before the truck reached the mass of zombies, the helicopter
swooped in under Erica's expert guidance and
hovered over a spot south of the road. Drawn by the sound of its chopping blades, the ghouls began wandering off the road towards it.
Baldwin remained calm and plowed through the remaining zombies on the road, knocking them aside. It wasn't the best driving,
but it was good enough. The big rig quickly cleared the mob, which turned and tried to pursue, but it was too fast.
(
Wallace and
Joe Barring, roll Sanity.
Wallace gets a +10 bonus on this roll.)
West of the motel-
"Coming, Sarge!" called
Corporal Alanen. He turned to
Thayer, and to
Ortega who had just climbed the stairs to the balcony. "Give me your mines and cover me." He took his squad's Claymores and went downstairs to where
Sergeant McCain was waiting. When he got there, he bent down and picked up the pack of cigarettes. "Where do you want them, Sergeant?"
East of the motel-
"Good shooting,
Black!" called
Captain Lereux. "You don't need my permission every time you take a shot; just follow
Sergeant McCain's rules of engagement. You should leave your Claymores behind for
Duran in case he needs them and then get up to the roof."
"Okay, we're clear," said
Lieutenant Elizabeth Malone. "We're going inside.
Malanowski, you'll take point. If there are any nasty surprises waiting inside, you can handle them. The captain's got the keys. No sense breaking down the doors when we might need to lock them. Leave your Claymore behind so it can be deployed.
Lewis and
Mikhalin, you're with me. Once
Malanowski makes sure the interior is clear, we'll enter the communications room and try to make contact with the base."
"Yes, ma'am," said
Igor Malanowski. "I hope it works better than my radio." He took the keys from
Captain Lereux, left his Claymore at the ammo crate, and went up to the front door.
Malone was not far behind him, with
Lewis and
Mikhalin trailing after her.
Sergeant Black and
Airman Sheen reached the front of the motel and left their mines at the ammo crate. Then they scaled the ladder that was already leaning up against the east wall of the motel, a rope tied around the top rung securing it to the massive satellite dish on the roof. Once there, they began setting up their observation post there and took a look around from their higher vantage point.
(
Sergeant Black, roll Spot Hidden)
Inside the motel-
Malanowski unlocked the front door and entered the lobby carefully, pointing his M4 around the room and peeking behind the counter. "Lobby is clear!" he called. He made sure the small kitchen area was unoccupied and systematically but quickly made his way through the motel's ground floor. The last room he checked was the comm room itself, which was also locked. He found the key, opened the door, and scanned the room. "All clear, Lieutenant!" he shouted.
"Let's go," said
Malone as she led her two assistants through the lobby and into the comm room. "Stand guard at the door to this room,
Malanowski. You're our last line of defense. I'll call you if I need you."
"Yes, ma'am," said
Malanowski, taking up his post.
In the Comm Room-
Malone looked over the equipment. "It's old, but it should still work," she said. "
Lewis and
Mikhalin, see if you can figure out how to operate it, then try to contact Warren AFB." She went over to the teletype and began reading the text messages that had come in.
Her two assistants began to examine the comm gear. It dated back to the 1970's, or possibly even older. An assortment of tools was laid out near the apparatus, and it appeared that someone had been working on it recently.
(
Lewis and
Mikhalin, roll either Electronics or Computer Use, whichever is higher.)
Between the motel and the T-Bone-
"On my way, Sergeant," replied
Airman Carlos Duran. He ran towards the motel, a smile on his face. He reached the ammo crate and picked up the mines that the others had left.
Angela Blanco and
Zorie Spooner finished examining
Mr. Foo, and he put his jacket back on. "Is there any place else around here where we can keep you for observation?" asked
Angela.
"Probably not," said
Mr. Foo. "The diner isn't safe.
Earl does have a trailer out back, though. He won't like it being used for quarantine, but the real problem with it is that if more of those things attack I'll be trapped and unable to get to safety. I don't move as fast as I used to. Maybe if I climbed up on top of it..."
"I suppose that will have to do if there's nothing better." The doctor turned to
Stephanie. "Your turn."
"Look," said
Stephanie, "none of the rest of us were touched by them, and some of my friends at the diner are hurt. You can examine the three of us later, but they need your help now. We can talk more on the way over there."
"Hurt? In what way? Do you think they're infected?"
"I don't know anything for certain, but I'm really worried about them. I only saw them on the roof of the diner, from the motel's roof. Please, can we go?"
"All right. Their injuries do need treating, and they're at much greater risk of infection. Let's go,
Zorie. You should come too,
Mr. Ramirez."
Stephanie picked up the computers, while
Jenny grabbed the first aid kit. The group began walking to the east, towards the diner. They moved slowly so that
Mr. Foo could keep up. "You mentioned that advanced technology is causing this phenomenon, but no technology I've ever heard of is capable of such a thing."
"I was getting to that, but I think you'll find this even harder to believe. I told you how the meteor showers were depositing the compound. Well, the meteors last night were a bit different. They contained EBEs." When some of the people listening gave her blank stares, she said: "Extraterrestrial Biological Entities."
Ellen Cody still looked puzzled. "Aliens," said
Stephanie at last.
"You're right, that is harder to believe. I've followed your reasoning so far, but this is rather extreme. I'm a scientist, like yourself. I would require proof of such a claim, and there is no proof of the existence of extraterrestrial life."
"But the universe is so huge," said
Jenny. "Surely we can't be alone in it! There must be other planets that can support life out there. I've always thought so, anyway. That's what got me interested in astronomy in the first place."
"Whether or not there are other planets that can support life, there's not a shred of evidence that such life exists or that any of it has ever come to Earth."
"Until today,' said
Stephanie. "I spoke to two other operators thousands of miles apart over the comm system who had no way of talking to each other. Both independently described the same winged insectoid creatures emerging from these meteorites. They resemble mosquitos, and they're very deadly. One of them reported that the meteorites were spewing a reddish-orange gas that smelled of rotten eggs. That can only be sulfur. I've speculated that these creatures may breathe sulfur the way terrestrial life forms breathe oxygen. They're in the same periodic group, after all. Plus, the timing of the meteor shower and this outbreak can't be a coincidence. It's just one more thing pointing to this phenomenon being extraterrestrial in origin."
"But you haven't seen them yourself. The reports you got could be part of a misinformation campaign, which could explain why they're identical. Those other listening posts could have been compromised."
"That seems highly unlikely."
"Perhaps, but not as unlikely as what you suggest. If I'm to believe in aliens, I'd have to see them with my own eyes - and preferably dissect one to be certain."
"I'd like to dissect one too, but we'd be lucky to survive an encounter with them. One of the operators was attacked and presumably killed. Those walking corpses are bad enough."
Stephanie looked at
Jenny and grinned. "I didn't know you were an astronomer. That's a field I haven't given enough study, but one that really interests me. We'll have to talk later when we have a chance."
(
Ramirez, roll Psychology and Idea.
Zorie Spooner may roll Psychology and Idea as well, though she does not have the Psychology skill. The base skill level for Psychology is only 5%.)
As they walked away,
Captain Lereux looked in their direction and
noticed the computers that Stephanie was carrying. "Hold on there!" he called to them, hurrying over. "What have you got there, young lady?"
Stephanie stopped and turned. "Oh, these?" she said. "These cases contain laptops belonging to myself and
Dr. Hausmann. They were damaged earlier, and I brought them here so
Mr. Foo could repair them. He only had time to fix one so far."
The captain looked suspicious. "And what data have you got on them?"
"Data that relate to our secret research. If you want to know more about it, you can come with us and I'll tell you, or you can use the communications gear to contact the Crisis Response Center in Omaha, Captain."
"You're not going anywhere until I say so. How do I know you haven't copied classified data you received over the network onto those hard drives?"
"With all due respect, Captain, the network doesn't work that way. It's a very old system that transmits voice only, not data. I wish it could send data, and then I could have sent our research data on to Omaha. My own laptop is damaged, and I didn't have any time to use
Dr. Hausmann's anyway since it was fixed. I don't even have clearance to see what she was working on, so I don't know myself what's on it. Now if you'll excuse me, my friends are hurt and they need our help."
"I said you're not leaving. Now open up those cases."
In the parking lot-
David smiled back at
Alice as they walked towards his truck. "I know where you're coming from. We've got more in common than you think. I travel a lot too in my job, and since I never stay in one place for long I don't have a steady girlfriend. Maybe that can change now, though. As for not getting my hopes up, well, I think there's a good chance you'll fall for my charms and my rugged good looks.
"I wish I had another gun to give you, but I just have my pistol. Some of the others on the roof who weren't as lucky as I was had some guns that fell off after the blast, but they might be damaged and they'll definitely need cleaning. There were also some guns in
Hammond's basement, so maybe you can use one of them. I've also got something else in my truck I think you might find interesting. Not a gun, but very cool all the same."
Alice watched the soldiers take positions. Considering the circumstances today, perhaps martial law had been laid down. From her own historical knowledge she knew that soldiers are often ill equipped or trained for police work, but the Air Force troops are an exception. Still, the men were far away from a safe command and were on their own. The orange suits suggested a biological weapon had been deployed and so the military may decide to take extreme measures. Yet they seemed to be few in number. Why would the Air Force send so few men on a mission here?
(OCC-
Alice, roll Idea).
They arrived at the truck, which
fortunately was almost completely intact. Only the windows had been blown out by the force of the explosion. "Good thing I parked far enough away this morning."
David opened up the passenger door and then the glove compartment. He fished out some maps and gave them to
Alice. "These highway maps are very good for planning routes. They cover the entire country except for Alaska and Hawaii. Should be a snap to find Red River Hot Springs, Idaho and the best way to get there." He examined the cab's interior. "I've also got one of those GPS electronic mapping things, but it doesn't seem to be working today. Come around to the back, and I'll show you what I'm hauling."
The two of them walked to the rear of the truck, and
David opened up the trailer. Inside was enough equipment and materials to construct a small building. There was plenty of lumber, as well as tools such as picks, shovels, and hammers. A pair of portable generators, both in working order, were also present.
David pointed out two chainsaws amongst the tools, and a couple of containers of fuel to keep them running. He grinned wide. "Cool or what?" he said.
Beth led
Samantha around the southeast corner of the diner to rejoin the other survivors.
Randall helped
Jimmy to his feet and handed him back his shotgun. The two of them followed the women as the lad slid a new shell into the shotgun to replace the one he had fired.
East of the diner-
Randall told the others gathered what
Corporal Cole had said to him. "We'd better be real careful what we tell these guys and what we let them see us do," he said. "I don't trust any of them, particularly not
Cole. Anyone who thinks
Hammond,
Earl, and
Rita are 'good people' is at best a terrible judge of character. I may have told him too much already."
Gary continued to inspect the damage. What he saw he didn't like. Structural damage to the west wall, and damage to the both the north and south walls.
"To be safe we should pull down some of this roofing lest it come down on us," he said. "The walls to the north, south, and west seem stable already, but we'd need to fill up that gap in the north wall. But it's the roof I am mostly concerned with. It could easily come down, and if it does it might cover up that access below." He pointed out where the structure was most badly damaged. "But I think we can shore up the roof here, even maintain some limited access if we fortify the interior walls. We have to keep that access below open. I don't like the idea of retreating underground, but if we're overwhelmed that might be our only escape."
After
Duke set down the crate of weapons,
Bo looked inside as he went by. "Doctor, I think you should have a pistol, just in case," he said. "One of us can load it for you when needed. There's only one in the box, a .45 automatic."
"How about I take that one, Trooper," said
Sally, "and give her your Beretta?"
"Good idea. It's got a bigger clip so it won't need reloading as often, and less recoil so it'll be easier on the arm. I can keep it in my holster for you when you need to use your arm for something else."
"Gut," said
Dr. Hausmann. She took the Beretta and extra clips from
Sally, while the nurse took the last remaining pistol from the box and several clips.
"No shotgun shells in this one, but maybe there are more downstairs.
Jim, you should grab yourself a rifle and some clips, and follow us."
Bo went inside with
Sally and
Dr. Hausmann.
In the diner-
Having handed the crate of guns to
Duke,
Mitchell began poking around the ruins of the kitchen while
Robert put out the fire. The blast had torn through the kitchen, knocking most of the foodstuffs to the ground. Glasses were shattered and cans had been sent tumbling to the ground.
But not all of it was lost and may be recoverable. The walk-in refrigerator remained in fairly decent shape, and within it he could find various foods. As he worked through the ruins of the kitchen towards the walk-in, he remembered that this is where they placed the body of
Horst, who no doubt had begun to go ripe with the electricity off. Thinking of that
Mitchell also considered that much of the food that was in the refrigerator will go bad in a day or so.
When
Robert finished putting out the fire he called to
Duke, "I think we should see about helping out
Gary." The extinguisher was now empty, all of the foam having been needed to put out the flames, so he discarded it.
Robert then called out to
Gary. "We got a short look at what's below. It seems there was some kind of prison down there. We didn't have a chance to inspect it all, but maybe we should once this place is safer."
Gary nodded as he came back inside. "Yeah. We might find something useful. But if this place comes down on us first... I'd hate to be trapped down there."
Sally and
Dr. Hausmann carefully made their way through the wreckage and down the stairs.
Bo went with them.
Underneath the T-Bone-
Kerry was apparently frightened by
Bob, although the big man had done little to warrant this fear. As a pilot flying for the National Parks, Bob had flown more than a few medevac runs for injured park visitors or even victims of crime. Although he was no expert, it would appear that the girl had suffered some trauma that had left her visibly shaken.
Meanwhile,
Lynne began
going through Azadeh's pockets and things. "I wonder if she's got any ID?" she asked. "I think she was staying at the hotel last night, but I never seen her before. Ah, here we go! It says her name is
Azadeh Samimi." She struggled to pronounce the foreign name.
Max bounded down the stairs and into the room. He went over to
Kerry and jumped into her lap. She absently began stroking his fur, and he curled up and closed his eyes.
Dr. Hausmann and
Sally came down the stairs into the main room.
Bo followed them in. All three noted that the room had electric light. "Electricity? I thought it was all out," said
Sally.
Lynne looked up. "There's some kind of generator down below that
Duke and
Robert found," she said. "You're a doctor? He's come around but she's looking pretty banged up."
