CapnJim's Post-Apoc Stuff: PEZ Encounter #5 Epilogue Pg. 7...21 Nov 23

[Doug ex-em4]

That gets my anticipatory juices flowing, which is not as messy as it sounds. Looking forward to seeing what occurs next.

Doug

[Bullshott]

Looking forward to seeing what happens next.

This reminds me that I really must get around to playing the final scenario of my current campaign arc.

[CapnJim]

Looks like it will go down Tuesday.  I'll post the lead in before then, and the AAR afterwards...

[CapnJim]

Richards had left for the Society's Orientation Course a couple days after SEA30 pulled back out of the PEZ.  They re-stocked on ammo and med-kits, even getting some Hot Load ammo for Pyle and his SAW.  Pyle dug that.

Newkirk had talked to Carter about O'Rourke.  Turns out O'Rourke was a natural scrounger, so carter promoted him to the teams 2nd Scrounger.  Too bad Dr. Smith couldn't get a Detector for him.  It was on back order, and would be a few weeks before it came in. 

The boys were enjoying a little down time.  They had cleaned everything up, and then cleaned it again.  They even had a chance to polish up on some reaction drills.  But everyone know it wouldn't last long.....

About a week after they pulled out of the PEZ, Carter got a call.  It was Dr. Smith.  He'd drop by their base that evening.  They all knew what that meant.

And they were right.  Dr. Smith told them the scuttlebutt was that the military was planning to shut down the Hard and Medium Areas in the PEZ.  Nobody in or out without credentials.  And not the kind of credentials he could get for them.  Nobody knew when yet.  So SEA30 had to go in first thing in the morning.  And by "Go in", Dr. Smith meant go into the Medium Area.  A cabin on the south shore of Sandusky Bay, a few miles northwest of the Hard Area (the P.E.N.I.S. site itself).  SAE's contact inside the PEZ saw a rucksack lying on a dock behind said cabin (it was pinging his detector), and Dr. Smith wants it.  So, SAE is gonna go get it.  Or at least try to.  They were going deeper in the PEZ, so they had no idea what to expect. 

Carter told the boys to get some sleep.  SP was tomorrow at dawn minus 1 hour...

Here's where they are going, looking from the east (the rucksack is at the end of the long dock)....

   

Here it is looking from the west...



And here is the crew and the cheat sheet.  There are several possible hot spots here, so we'll see what/who they encounter...



I'm gonna do Hot Spots a bit different with this one (see the cheat sheet).  I'll report what I think in the AAR...

[Khusru2]

A lovely table layout.
Looking forward to the incursion report

[clanmac]

A lovely table layout.
Looking forward to the incursion report

What he said. Table looks awesome.

[mikedemana]

Looks great, Jim! You did a great job blending in the surface areas to look very natural.

Mike Demana

[CapnJim]

Thanks, fellas!  Resistance was a bit stiffer this time.  And I swear I'll get to the AAR here soon...  

[CapnJim]

SAE30 made good time getting to the Objective area early the next morning.  It was still dark.  Quite dark.  Carter had them come in Bay Boulevard from the west.  As MacGuyver drove Jupiter 2 over the bridge just west of the Objective site, Newkirk warned the crew - "The detector is pinging big time all over the place here.  There could be Hot Spots anywhere.  I can't tell". 



"OK" Carter responded.  "Stop here" he said as they pulled in front of the house next to the Objective site.  "Newkirk, you take Pyle and O'Rourke and move between these houses.  I'll take DeSoto and Malloy around the other side of the house.  MacGuyver, you and Robinson bring Jupiter 2 up behind me, and light up the dock where that package is. Everyone, BE CAREFUL!"  Everyone did as they were told...









...except the "Be careful" part.  Newkirk hopped the fence between the houses, and tried to squeeze between 2 possible Hot Spots.  He failed, as they were both indeed Hot Spots, and he triggered both of them.  2 Giant Snakes came up out of a hole not yards from Newkirk, while 6 figures popped up at the shore along some rip-rap.



For a moment, everyone froze, trying to see who they faced in the dark.



The figures at the shoreline fired first.  And missed.  Darkness affects everyone, it seems.  But even with that, first blood went to SAE30.  Pyle had hopped the fence and moved up, opening up with his SAW and dropping one of the figures at the rocks.  And Newkirk fired at the snakes, causing them some concern.



But not a lot of concern.  The snakes went on the attack, with one going for Carter (as you may recall, Carter hates snakes), and the other Newkirk, biting him and knocking him to the ground.  O'Rourke had moved up along the fence, and he and Pyle dropped more of the figures in the dark.   





Carter had his snake dead in no time, and Newkirk shrugged off his bite and killed his.  Pyle and O'Rourke kept the figures' heads down, which allowed the rest of the team to move in on them.  MacGuyver had brought the van up, lighting up the dock with its headlights.  He and Robinson dismounted. and joined in.  Too bad for Robinson, though,  He got out on the dock, in the light.  And went down from an AK47 shot... 



SAE30 closed in of the folks at the shore line, who were now lit up, and clearly more of those damned Cold Bloods.  DeSoto ran to see about Robinson.



DeSoto worked on Robison, bringing him back to.  A Cold Blood bugged out, jumping in the bay and swimming away, never seen again...and in his last dying act, the last Cold Blood standing shot down O'Rourke as he himself went down... 



DeSoto ran over to O'Rourke to tend to him, while MacGuyver got back into Jupiter, and backed it up the the dock.



The crew who were on the dock backed away (with Robinson limping back to the van).  Newkirk bounced a rock off of the rucksack, skipping it into the water.  And out of the water, to their right leapt a Giant Frog!



While Newkirk ran out to check on the rucksack, the boys who could fired on the frog in the dark...it went back down into the water...



...and came back out and up on land right in front of the van.  2 of the boys from SAE30 killed it, while Newkirk discovered that the rucksack contained an anomaly.  He managed to trip it, though.  He was freaked out a bit, but at least he didn't get hurt...Carter order the rest of the team into the van - they needed to get Robinson and O'Rourke some medical attention.



While carter was yelling at him to hurry up, Newkirk searched the package.  In it, he found a rifle scope and $1,350 in cold hard cash.  And he ran back to the van.



He and Carter mounted up, and MacGuyver maneuvered the van to get out of there.



Newkirk asked Carter about the 2 Hot Spots.  Carter told him they needed to get going, and get Robinson and O'Rourke out of there.  Maybe they'd come back to look at them.  But for now, SAE30 hit the road...



And there it was.  They had faced their stiffest test yet.  2 men had gone down, but it was a good thing they had just stocked up on med-Kits.  And they left 2 Hot Spots un-searched.

And, things were about to get even more interesting...stay tuned for the epilogue.... 

[Vagabond]

I'll be back 

[Bullshott]

Good to see the team back, but I suspect they may be getting overconfident. Accidentally tripping one Hot Spot is unfortunate, but tripping TWO Hot Spots is careless! Also, having to bring in the van to illuminate the area is just sooo 20th century. Spend some of your winnings on a good set or two of NODs.

[mikedemana]

Fun battle report, Jim! I was kind of hopping, er hoping, that the frog might get away...  . Poor little guy, what did he do to get gunned down?? 

Then again, they are in a wildly dangerous zone, so I guess it makes sense that all flora and fauna that moves is a threat.

Mike Demana

[Spinal Tap]

What a great AAR and pictures - loving it.

[CapnJim]

I'll be back 

I await your well-thought-out comments with bated breath...

Good to see the team back, but I suspect they may be getting overconfident. Accidentally tripping one Hot Spot is unfortunate, but tripping TWO Hot Spots is careless! Also, having to bring in the van to illuminate the area is just sooo 20th century. Spend some of your winnings on a good set or two of NODs.

Yes well, perhaps Newkirk is getting a bit big for his britches.  You can't trust a crook, not even your own.  What with simultaneously tripping 2 Hot Spots (which led to O'Rourke's and Robinson's unfortunate situations), and blowing the Anomaly roll, methinks Carter is going to have a (foul) word or 2 with him...and yes - once they can locate some, the acquisition of NVDs is indeed in order.

Fun battle report, Jim! I was kind of hopping, er hoping, that the frog might get away...  . Poor little guy, what did he do to get gunned down?? 

Then again, they are in a wildly dangerous zone, so I guess it makes sense that all flora and fauna that moves is a threat.

Mike Demana

That frog wasn't no cute little bugger.  Had it gotten into contact with one of the SAE30 boys, it could have been dicey.  And wait until they get to deal with the crabs...

What a great AAR and pictures - loving it.

Thanks!

And now...

PEZ Encounter #5 - The Epilogue

"MacGuyver - get us out of here!" barked Carter.  DeSoto reported that O'Rourke and Robison were doing OK, but they needed more care than he could provide.  They tried to reach Dr. Smith on the radio, and their cell phones, but things were wonky in the Medium Area.  "Get on US6, and head to Fremont to their hospital." Carter told MacGuyver.  And he did as instructed.  It was still dark, darker than it should be. And dang hot, too.  As they drove west on 6, they could see the Military checkpoint at the edge of the the Medium Area.  And it was way more guarded that an hour ago when they came in.  "Uh oh" chimed in MacGuyver, "What do we do now?".  "Just take it easy.  Let's see what the deal is, but my guess is they shut things down already" was Carter's reply.

MacGuyver slowed down as they approached the checkpoint.  There were 2 Humvees with .50 cals, and several military men standing around.  The men in uniform waved them to a stop.  "What do you want to do?" inquired MacGuyver.  Carter:  "Stop the van now.  Be ready to blow the roadblock or even turn around if we have to.  Everybody stay calm."

Again, MacGuyver did as he was told.  He stopped about 50 yards from the checkpoint.  And they waited to see what would happen...

I guess that's the Prologue to their next encounter, too,     Stay tuned to see what happens....

   

 

[Vagabond]

Firstly, this all looks pretty damn good, I knew it would suit your style of games and writing,  especially now you've figured out the picture thing. 

The tables all look good, I  liked the shoreline one especially, interesting idea having the docks running out into the water, no cover and no where to hide. 
However the thing I  enjoy most is the level of hard competence and authenticity your guy's have, it's the same with your Vietnam games. There's a tension and immediacy in your writing style that fits with the game background, I  wonder if you've had any military experience. 

I'm looking forward to the next encounter, sounds like it might be against tougher opponents than previously.

Final thought, and I wonder if you should rethink the loot table in the rules. The idea of killing a giant snake and discovering a wad of cash and a red dot sight seems a bit implausible, I'm sure you could come up with something more in line with your story, even if the way of totalling success remains the same in the campaign system.
Cheers