Day 17 (continued)
Having loaded up on supplies to rebuild his farm Alan goes in search of a truck driver he can hire and decides it would be wise to hire some mercenaries as well for protection. He hires three discount mercenaries from a dive bar for a couple of hundred credits each, one of whom is our new friend Ed. Alan, truck, mercenaries and supplies get prepped and ready to leave. Being a little too poor to kit out a professional medical facility Matt and David buy two hammocks, a few scalpels and a handful of medicinal drugs before heading back to the slums to try and drum up some business.
Ian meanwhile, thanks to his early start, has his journey well under way and is on the road south following directions barked at him by the borg leader of the guards. They don't seem to think it is necessary to tell Ian where they are going they simply instruct him step by step like a needlessly aggressive sat-nav. They drive past 'the farm' an enormous food production plant that grows supplies for most of the county and turn west. This leads to them traveling through a wide twisted valley the entrance to which has a twelve mile long bridge built across it. This bridge has become a shanty town community where people with nowhere else to go can come and make a home by building one within the legs of the structure. This has turned the bridge into a kind of barrier that has to be crossed to get into the valley and since the community is largely the poor and those living outside of normal constraints of society they aren't too friendly with the rest of the county.
Into this comes Ian driving his prison bus of convicts. As soon as the bus is within range the residents of the bridge begin pelting it with rubbish, shortly followed by light gunfire. However, it doesn't seem intended to do any real damage and is more a display of dominance, plus the bus is heavily armoured so it's pretty safe. Until they get beneath the bridge. Once beneath the bridge the residents seize the opportunity to up the ante and begin throwing down much larger obstacles to try and stop the bus. Ian takes evasive action as the scene begins to become comical as anvil like slabs of metal are dropped on them as well as a couple of safes and a piano.
Forced off the road by the onslaught Ian weaves expertly between the legs of the bridge and over the rough ground surrounding the dirt road that wasn't all that smooth to begin with. The bus rumbles almost uncontrollably until it exits the far side of the bridge and charges out into the desert to the howling taunts and laughter of the residents of the bridge. Hitting open terrain Ian start to lose control and is forced the bring the bus to an abrupt stop. The people of the bridge continue to taunt them but the guards know they have a job to do and once the bus is restarted they order Ian to continue onwards which he dutifully does.
Matt wanders into a cheap saloon on the edge of the slums in search of business and spies someone at the bar trying to sell batteries and watches (but not watch batteries) to the drunks. It is clear he has a less than legal attitude towards business so Matt approaches him. The man introduces himself as Shanks and whilst disappointed that Matt isn't looking for any batteries or a nice watch he is intrigued by the business proposal put forth in spreading the word about the doc and the mechanic who have set up shop in the slums. He agrees to help.
Alan, Ed, his driver and the other two mercs head out of town. Unfortunately before they can leave the boundaries of 'The Fort' they're path is blocked by a vehicle that flies in at them from a side road. The vehicle narrowly avoids hitting them but skids to a stop in the middle of the junction ahead. This is shortly followed by a variety of police cars swooping in and blocking all the exits, including the way back behind Alan and his gang. The occupants of the first vehicle hop out and begin opening fire on the approaching police who diligently do the same. This leaves Alan and his troop accidentally caught in the middle of a police shoot out, literally.
Their truck blocked and unable to go out on foot without running directly into gunfire from either the criminals or the police our heroes decides to the only choice is to try and help. Alan winds down his window and begins throwing magic nets into the fray whilst Ed hopes out and opens fire. Ed and the police prove themselves relatively inefficient but Alan manages to capture two of the three the men bringing an end to the fight.
Despite this unfortunate beginning, having not managed to even leave town without incident, the group continue on their journey assuming the bad luck is all behind them. It isn't. Less than thirty minutes into their journey the front tyres of the truck suddenly burst and they come to a crashing halt. Shaking it off they realise this could be more than a simple accident and arm themselves. As it happens they were right the do so, the tyre trap was part of an ambush and the truck is quickly set upon by dimensional beings known as "two-faced star people" who essentially look like humans without skin.
No one in the group knows much about them but they are clearly a threat so they decide to shoot first and ask questions later. The star people are not that tough but they are savage and don't give up as a gunfight ensues. Whilst the star people outnumber our heroes they are quickly gunned down by superior skill, superior skill not, however, displayed by Alan as he leans out of the truck and accidentally unloads his rifle into the engine block instead of the enemy ahead of him.
Once the star people are all either dead or have fled the group exit the truck and check out the damage. Despite a few bullet holes the vehicle itself seems to be running fine but it is not going anywhere without two new tyres and they don't have any spares. The road is quiet and they can't afford to stay out here any longer than necessary so it is quickly decided that the driver and one of the mercs will hike back to 'The Fort' to buy new tyres, as long as Alan will pay for them, not that he has much choice. Alan, Ed and the remaining merc wait with the truck hoping there will be no further activity and that the others will get back to them with fresh tyres safe and sound.
As Ian continues his prison run the bus passes by a camp where a tribe of "Cactus People" live, alien life forms who vaguely resemble the native cactus, and reaches a point in the road where the guard commander instructs him to turn left ahead, but there is no road to the left. Ian argues this point but follows order anyway only to find himself driving directly at a cliff-face. The guard commander informs him that as long as they aim for a specific point the cliff is an illusion that they will be able to pass straight through. Ian only half understands and accelerates to full speed. The guard commander tells him to slow down but Ian calmly explains that if they are to get through a cliff face they are going to need to be traveling with some force.
The guard commander calmly explains that it is unnecessary as the cliff is merely an image, it represents no physical threat. Ian calmly explains that he is the driving expert and he knows about these things, if you want to break through rock you need to be going fast. He continues to accelerate. The bus bounces along the rocky terrain. The guard commander becomes more aggravated now, ordering Ian to slow the bus. Ian attempts to state his case again but it is too late to slow down now and they rocket into the cliff wall. The guard commander braces himself as the bus passes through the image of rock and onto the smooth tarmac surface on the other side, however, there is a speed bump just inside the cave and the bus hits it at it's full speed of eighty-five miles and hour.
Alan and Ed look out over the road as the hours tick by. Eventually another traveler comes by and they flag them down and commission them to look out for their comrades on the road ahead. The travelers agree and continue on their journey. Another hour or so passes and the missing members of the group come back on horse drawn carriage complete with replacement tyres. They fix up the truck and begin their journey anew.
Meanwhile the prison bus crunches, bounces, cracks and crashes to the ground again as it jumps of the speed bump sending everyone inside flying around wildly in surprise. No serious injuries are incurred but the bus buckles and screams to a halt in the tunnel. Ian, pleased with himself, looks over the other people inside who just look back in shock and anger. He barely notices and turns his attention back to the task at hand. By sheer luck the bus starts up again and trundles onwards at greatly reduced speed and mobility.
Similarly Alan and his cohorts truck stumbles the remainder of it's journey and with the time lost already on the tyre fiasco it is well into the night before they arrive with no hope of returning before the day is out and Alan will be forced to pay everyone for an extra days work if he wants them to hang around. Unfortunately the truck struggles into the farm and once it comes to a stop the engine coughs a great cloud of black smoke out into the air and splutters it's last. The driver opens it up and looks over it but it is beyond his skill and is going to need professional work which means that for the foreseeable future he, Ed and the other mercs are under Alan's continued employ until they can move on. This simple journey is costing Alan more and more money by the minute.
Earlier in the day the remainder of Ian's journey passes uneventfully and they exit the tunnel onto a dirt road leading up to the heavily fortified, heavily guarded prison know simply as 'the institute'. It is an imposing grey block on the landscape and the bus enters the loading bay where the prisoners are removed. The guards working in the vehicle bay look over the bus with curiosity viewing the variety of damage it has taken. The bus is going to require some work which will delay it's departure but they should get away before nightfall.
Ian keeps his nose clean, just hanging around the vehicle bay as the engineers work on the bus and eventually they are ready to go. They set off in their now slightly dodgy bus, just the guards who travelled up and a couple of prisoners traveling back, either on release or to see out the rest of their sentence elsewhere. The area around the prison is a bit more wild than Ian has seen before and they spy a few of the more terrifying members of the animal kingdom that can be found in the county, but they don't seem interested in the bus. The bus enters and exits the tunnel with Ian continue to drive as fast as he can but nobody bothers to argue with him about it any more.
As the bus pulls onto the road home they turn down towards the "cactus people" camp and as they approach they see an unusual sight, a hefty black storm cloud squatting menacingly over the camp itself. It is an ominous blot on the otherwise bright sunny day. The guard commander stands up to the front window and looks out with curiosity. Ian says nothing but soon the cloud is the least of their problems and the road is suddenly occupied by a herd of stampeding rhino-buffalo, a creature that is basically a crossbreed of those two animals. They storm towards the truck and the guard commander begins barking orders in panic.
Ian screeches the bus to a halt and slams it into reverse pulling a J-turn in order to make their escape. The rhino-buffalo surround the bus, none of them intentionally attacking but a few brush against it as they thunder along. Ian follows the road as best he can avoiding being pushed off onto the rocky terrain around but as it starts to weave the bus overbalances and flips up onto two wheels. Driving at a diagonal angle Ian attempts to keep control of the bus as the rhino-buffalo herd rumbles by, trying to keep them from turning over at least until the herd has passed by. Fortunately his expert driving pays off and the stampede passes leaving Ian free to weave until he manages to right the bus.
Ian brings them to a stop and they examine the bus but no further damage seems to have been done. They regroup and set off back on their pre-arranged route to find that in the scuffle the cloud has vanished. As they pass the "cactus people" camp they see some evidence of destruction but it is not as bad as the beating that the station took and the "cactus people" are tidying themselves up. They choose to continue onwards and make it the rest of the way back to the capital unharmed.
As Alan forks out the money needed to put Ed, the mercenaries and the driver up for the night, not wanting to take them into the farm partly out of paranoia they'll rob him but mostly because he doesn't want them spotting his zombie workforce, as well as paying them an extra days wage. He turns the truck in to a local mechanic who says he'll get it up and running in the morning so he can get back to town with his team and tie up his remaining loose ends. He relaxes and thinks to himself that things could have gone worse.
More to come ... Session Nine - ... the Other Half is Fate
Ian meanwhile, thanks to his early start, has his journey well under way and is on the road south following directions barked at him by the borg leader of the guards. They don't seem to think it is necessary to tell Ian where they are going they simply instruct him step by step like a needlessly aggressive sat-nav. They drive past 'the farm' an enormous food production plant that grows supplies for most of the county and turn west. This leads to them traveling through a wide twisted valley the entrance to which has a twelve mile long bridge built across it. This bridge has become a shanty town community where people with nowhere else to go can come and make a home by building one within the legs of the structure. This has turned the bridge into a kind of barrier that has to be crossed to get into the valley and since the community is largely the poor and those living outside of normal constraints of society they aren't too friendly with the rest of the county.
Into this comes Ian driving his prison bus of convicts. As soon as the bus is within range the residents of the bridge begin pelting it with rubbish, shortly followed by light gunfire. However, it doesn't seem intended to do any real damage and is more a display of dominance, plus the bus is heavily armoured so it's pretty safe. Until they get beneath the bridge. Once beneath the bridge the residents seize the opportunity to up the ante and begin throwing down much larger obstacles to try and stop the bus. Ian takes evasive action as the scene begins to become comical as anvil like slabs of metal are dropped on them as well as a couple of safes and a piano.
Forced off the road by the onslaught Ian weaves expertly between the legs of the bridge and over the rough ground surrounding the dirt road that wasn't all that smooth to begin with. The bus rumbles almost uncontrollably until it exits the far side of the bridge and charges out into the desert to the howling taunts and laughter of the residents of the bridge. Hitting open terrain Ian start to lose control and is forced the bring the bus to an abrupt stop. The people of the bridge continue to taunt them but the guards know they have a job to do and once the bus is restarted they order Ian to continue onwards which he dutifully does.
Matt wanders into a cheap saloon on the edge of the slums in search of business and spies someone at the bar trying to sell batteries and watches (but not watch batteries) to the drunks. It is clear he has a less than legal attitude towards business so Matt approaches him. The man introduces himself as Shanks and whilst disappointed that Matt isn't looking for any batteries or a nice watch he is intrigued by the business proposal put forth in spreading the word about the doc and the mechanic who have set up shop in the slums. He agrees to help.
Alan, Ed, his driver and the other two mercs head out of town. Unfortunately before they can leave the boundaries of 'The Fort' they're path is blocked by a vehicle that flies in at them from a side road. The vehicle narrowly avoids hitting them but skids to a stop in the middle of the junction ahead. This is shortly followed by a variety of police cars swooping in and blocking all the exits, including the way back behind Alan and his gang. The occupants of the first vehicle hop out and begin opening fire on the approaching police who diligently do the same. This leaves Alan and his troop accidentally caught in the middle of a police shoot out, literally.
Their truck blocked and unable to go out on foot without running directly into gunfire from either the criminals or the police our heroes decides to the only choice is to try and help. Alan winds down his window and begins throwing magic nets into the fray whilst Ed hopes out and opens fire. Ed and the police prove themselves relatively inefficient but Alan manages to capture two of the three the men bringing an end to the fight.
Despite this unfortunate beginning, having not managed to even leave town without incident, the group continue on their journey assuming the bad luck is all behind them. It isn't. Less than thirty minutes into their journey the front tyres of the truck suddenly burst and they come to a crashing halt. Shaking it off they realise this could be more than a simple accident and arm themselves. As it happens they were right the do so, the tyre trap was part of an ambush and the truck is quickly set upon by dimensional beings known as "two-faced star people" who essentially look like humans without skin.
No one in the group knows much about them but they are clearly a threat so they decide to shoot first and ask questions later. The star people are not that tough but they are savage and don't give up as a gunfight ensues. Whilst the star people outnumber our heroes they are quickly gunned down by superior skill, superior skill not, however, displayed by Alan as he leans out of the truck and accidentally unloads his rifle into the engine block instead of the enemy ahead of him.
Once the star people are all either dead or have fled the group exit the truck and check out the damage. Despite a few bullet holes the vehicle itself seems to be running fine but it is not going anywhere without two new tyres and they don't have any spares. The road is quiet and they can't afford to stay out here any longer than necessary so it is quickly decided that the driver and one of the mercs will hike back to 'The Fort' to buy new tyres, as long as Alan will pay for them, not that he has much choice. Alan, Ed and the remaining merc wait with the truck hoping there will be no further activity and that the others will get back to them with fresh tyres safe and sound.
As Ian continues his prison run the bus passes by a camp where a tribe of "Cactus People" live, alien life forms who vaguely resemble the native cactus, and reaches a point in the road where the guard commander instructs him to turn left ahead, but there is no road to the left. Ian argues this point but follows order anyway only to find himself driving directly at a cliff-face. The guard commander informs him that as long as they aim for a specific point the cliff is an illusion that they will be able to pass straight through. Ian only half understands and accelerates to full speed. The guard commander tells him to slow down but Ian calmly explains that if they are to get through a cliff face they are going to need to be traveling with some force.
The guard commander calmly explains that it is unnecessary as the cliff is merely an image, it represents no physical threat. Ian calmly explains that he is the driving expert and he knows about these things, if you want to break through rock you need to be going fast. He continues to accelerate. The bus bounces along the rocky terrain. The guard commander becomes more aggravated now, ordering Ian to slow the bus. Ian attempts to state his case again but it is too late to slow down now and they rocket into the cliff wall. The guard commander braces himself as the bus passes through the image of rock and onto the smooth tarmac surface on the other side, however, there is a speed bump just inside the cave and the bus hits it at it's full speed of eighty-five miles and hour.
Alan and Ed look out over the road as the hours tick by. Eventually another traveler comes by and they flag them down and commission them to look out for their comrades on the road ahead. The travelers agree and continue on their journey. Another hour or so passes and the missing members of the group come back on horse drawn carriage complete with replacement tyres. They fix up the truck and begin their journey anew.
Meanwhile the prison bus crunches, bounces, cracks and crashes to the ground again as it jumps of the speed bump sending everyone inside flying around wildly in surprise. No serious injuries are incurred but the bus buckles and screams to a halt in the tunnel. Ian, pleased with himself, looks over the other people inside who just look back in shock and anger. He barely notices and turns his attention back to the task at hand. By sheer luck the bus starts up again and trundles onwards at greatly reduced speed and mobility.
Similarly Alan and his cohorts truck stumbles the remainder of it's journey and with the time lost already on the tyre fiasco it is well into the night before they arrive with no hope of returning before the day is out and Alan will be forced to pay everyone for an extra days work if he wants them to hang around. Unfortunately the truck struggles into the farm and once it comes to a stop the engine coughs a great cloud of black smoke out into the air and splutters it's last. The driver opens it up and looks over it but it is beyond his skill and is going to need professional work which means that for the foreseeable future he, Ed and the other mercs are under Alan's continued employ until they can move on. This simple journey is costing Alan more and more money by the minute.
Earlier in the day the remainder of Ian's journey passes uneventfully and they exit the tunnel onto a dirt road leading up to the heavily fortified, heavily guarded prison know simply as 'the institute'. It is an imposing grey block on the landscape and the bus enters the loading bay where the prisoners are removed. The guards working in the vehicle bay look over the bus with curiosity viewing the variety of damage it has taken. The bus is going to require some work which will delay it's departure but they should get away before nightfall.
Ian keeps his nose clean, just hanging around the vehicle bay as the engineers work on the bus and eventually they are ready to go. They set off in their now slightly dodgy bus, just the guards who travelled up and a couple of prisoners traveling back, either on release or to see out the rest of their sentence elsewhere. The area around the prison is a bit more wild than Ian has seen before and they spy a few of the more terrifying members of the animal kingdom that can be found in the county, but they don't seem interested in the bus. The bus enters and exits the tunnel with Ian continue to drive as fast as he can but nobody bothers to argue with him about it any more.
As the bus pulls onto the road home they turn down towards the "cactus people" camp and as they approach they see an unusual sight, a hefty black storm cloud squatting menacingly over the camp itself. It is an ominous blot on the otherwise bright sunny day. The guard commander stands up to the front window and looks out with curiosity. Ian says nothing but soon the cloud is the least of their problems and the road is suddenly occupied by a herd of stampeding rhino-buffalo, a creature that is basically a crossbreed of those two animals. They storm towards the truck and the guard commander begins barking orders in panic.
Ian screeches the bus to a halt and slams it into reverse pulling a J-turn in order to make their escape. The rhino-buffalo surround the bus, none of them intentionally attacking but a few brush against it as they thunder along. Ian follows the road as best he can avoiding being pushed off onto the rocky terrain around but as it starts to weave the bus overbalances and flips up onto two wheels. Driving at a diagonal angle Ian attempts to keep control of the bus as the rhino-buffalo herd rumbles by, trying to keep them from turning over at least until the herd has passed by. Fortunately his expert driving pays off and the stampede passes leaving Ian free to weave until he manages to right the bus.
Ian brings them to a stop and they examine the bus but no further damage seems to have been done. They regroup and set off back on their pre-arranged route to find that in the scuffle the cloud has vanished. As they pass the "cactus people" camp they see some evidence of destruction but it is not as bad as the beating that the station took and the "cactus people" are tidying themselves up. They choose to continue onwards and make it the rest of the way back to the capital unharmed.
As Alan forks out the money needed to put Ed, the mercenaries and the driver up for the night, not wanting to take them into the farm partly out of paranoia they'll rob him but mostly because he doesn't want them spotting his zombie workforce, as well as paying them an extra days wage. He turns the truck in to a local mechanic who says he'll get it up and running in the morning so he can get back to town with his team and tie up his remaining loose ends. He relaxes and thinks to himself that things could have gone worse.
More to come ... Session Nine - ... the Other Half is Fate
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