senior officer Mikael van Atta

OK. 8-Ball suggests Mitzi could set Red on tracking on the weapons' origins. this may bring us some interesting knowledge (or turn out to be a dead end, we won't know unless we follow the lead).

So, it implies the Visigoths are running guns, including they ran them for the Montello Madmen. In fact, that is welcome news. Given the, ummm... tolerant weapons laws in Nevada, what hey do is actually more like engaging in grey market economy, rather than actual black market. Dodging taxes, licenses and the like, but peddling otherwise legal merchandise. 

So. Montello Madmen. Let's stick to the name, it helps us identify the group, regardless of where they settle. We're still after them, and that's fine.

Town of Montello. 8-Ball agrees we can't leave it to fend for itself, given there aren't enough people there (not that there were enough people there to start with. 60 people, I mean, likely about half of that being able to bear arms at all... 10-15 families. The point is, we can't afford to garrison it in the long term, so we should pull our forces as soon as it is feasible. And maintain presence by QRF dispatch if necessary (plus, perhaps, regular patrols. If we have the manpower to do this).

Oasis. The repairs are going to take quite some time (weeks or months. Depending on the extent of actual work needed). I agree we need to maintin control over this junction. Still, unless our backers intend to increase our numbers to allow us garrisoning spots in the county, we have to be wary of spreading our forces thin.

Wendover & The Wendover Source. I suspect it to be a small group or even a single person (though, of course, they might be havign siginifiacnt backing). Still, at this point, the Wendover Source doesn't need a lot of manpower (or firepower) on their own. They act by proxies: the Madmen, the Devils, and whoever else. Still, we need more info on Wendover, so let the SIGINT people work on it. i'm not sold on the sting operation idea, unless it is never meant to be an actual convoy coming close to Alpha & the Desert Devils.

Visigoths of Halleck. Yes, I remeber they are the official authority in Halleck. Which is why we should announce ourselves in advance, schedule a meeting with local leaders. And the message I believe we should convey is: we don't mind your business, we're not here to disrupt it. We know you guys are running guns, probably other stuff too - be it drugs, untaxed goods, and so on (two red lines, however: slavery and cannibalism. We sincerely hope you don't dip your toes in either of these. We have came out of our way to erase people who did, and we intend to do it again) and we don't have anything against that, nor we want to provide competition to you. Just one caveat: we have US Marshalls breathing down our neck, so you guys please be discrete, for your own sake: Whyte Hats are able and willing to turn a blind eye, but the Marshalls are likely to be less understanding. Our goal is to make the road 80 safe for trade and transit, and I guess you wouldn't mind having your own transports safer, too. We intend to be good neighbours, and we hope we'll find Visigoths to be the same.

Desert Devils. We'll need to wait for more intel to actually act against them. We definitely can't defeat them in open battle, but once we get more info, we might be able to limit their power, perhaps wage a guerilla type campaign against them. 

The next few days:

Yes, 8-Ball is all for it: have the Militia (3rd Commando) train with Whyte Hats. Has the commando managed to secure enough vehicles for their own transport? Also, the topics for them to cover for now is mobile warfare (light cavalry style), defense and delaying action. Training them for offensive operations can wait.

As for the raid on Jackpot, we'll need to have it planned well. If all we can bring in is a 5-man covert team, we can't really rely on firepower.

Well, so there we are.

• Montello Madmen do no longer hold Montello. However, they have managed to pull out with majority of their personnel, vehicles and weaponry. We have lost the sight of them, but they are bound to come back at some point, and pester us again. The town of Montello is currently under our protection, requiring Wythe Hats to station a squad of troops there. In my assessment, we should pull the troops out of there as soon as possible: Montello isn't on our main route of responsibility which is Wendover to Battle Mountain), the town has now less than 20 inhabitants if my count is right, and we have not enough manpower to garrison it sufficiently to actually defend it agaisnt a return of the Madmen (or any other gang that is larger than just a few people - any significant crew from Jackpot would be my first group of suspects). Holding a force there dillutes our manpower. Having it under aerial surveillance, equipped with a good radio (so they could call for help) and within reach of our QRF force should be the limit of long-term protection. Road 233 isn't our main road of interest, road 80 is. Note: have we collceted theremains of the ATGM tubes? I mentioned before that the Madmen have gotten a lot of weapons from the same lot (at least of Ronin rifles) and it might be worthwile to track them to the source. We might be able to, perhaps, pinpoint their backer.
• Oasis Tax Collectors (whoever they were) are out of the game. The settlement is manned by allied (though not very friendly) group, the Oasis Snakes, and currently also by a squad of Wythe Hats troops (again, I suggest redeploying them as soon as it is feasible). Being relatively close to Wells and along the road 80, it is easy to reinforce if we detect any trouble brewing. 
• The Wendover Source. We know it does exist, as it was found calling shots from Montello and the Desert Devils (I wouldn't be surprised if they had someone else in their pocket, too). As these are two separate, non-aligned groups (as far as we know), this implies to me it wasn't a Madmen-paid source, but rather a major player on their own. Someone who has interest in keeping Northern Nevada unstable and closed to trade. The Wendover source is not likely to intervene directly, but it seems to be very well informed, and having significant influence. It would be wise to assume assume it can bring much more trouble than we have seen so far. Since we know the frequency the Wendover Source is using to communicate, would it be possible for us to place (hidden) direction-finding stations around Wendover, monitoring this frequency? With just two such devices we would be able to triangulate the signal's source very precisely, unless they both happen to be in line with the source. With three, it would be even easier (it is, of course, a job for someone competent in electronic warfare, though I guess someone who is good in electronics could do that, too).
• Jackpot Raiders sit on the road 93 to Idaho. It would be useful to 1. keep them in check, 2. open the road to Idaho for trade, but I consider it to be a low-priority goal. We have taken them down a notch (or three) for Christmas, but once the weather improves, they may try something again. 
• Visigoths of Halleck. We haven't been in contact with them, and I believe we should pay them a friendly neightbourhood visit. Get ourselves an appointment with their leadership, persuade them we don't intend to endanger their interests. Perhaps even attempt to persuade them into cooperation, if we can find any leverage (I don't see any now). A show of force when dealing with them would be also in order, IMO: make them know that while we don't intend to step on their toes, we got the numbers and firepower to make their life miserable if they decide to step on ours. 
• Trade Town. Given their reaction after the cannibal case, I think they can be reasoned with. Though they are much better armed than the Visigoths, and thus our display of force isn't going to really impress them (but given our recent actions, we should have enough reputation to still be considered a significant force in northern Nevada). Again, we should pay them a visit and talk to their leadership.
• Desert Devils. In my assessment, the #1 military treat to our operations in Nevada. Can't be reasoned with, and are way too strong to be directly confronted in combat. I don't have infromation on their legals status (as in: do we have an "open season" on Desert Devils and can engage them at our convenience, or do we need to observe any limitations in our rules of Engagement?). We know they have signinficant ground firepower (inc. 4 full-blown tanks, although these are scarcely used due to logisitcal constraints) and an air wing. We don't have any exact data on their home base (perhaps Theresa could provide us with some satellite photos from her sources? Don't need to be real-time, some pics from a few days ago (or a week or so ago) would be enough. We can't at this point use our air nor ground assets to effectively put the Devils out of the equation. IMO we should think of the way of elliminating their air wing first. Finding their source of fuel and spare parts (maintianing both the tanks and air wing is liley to require signinficant amounts of both) might also be a way to elliminate, or at least severly limit these.

Note: we are lacking any serious HUMINT sources (as in, people who'd provide us with information). We have nice SIGINT (signals intelligence), we get sensible photo reconaissance, but HUMINT is always the msot valuable type. Any ideas how to solve this? Rules-wise, Mitzi (being Fixer) is the character best-equipped to be making new friends and finding contacts...

9 hours ago, Snowyn said:

Wyn forgets exactly how this is done, but remembers that it's quite possible. Or if they have helmets there's the old garotte to cut off blood supply until target is unconscious. And then using zip ties to handcuff both wrists-behind-back and ankles, and some sort of gag to stop any yelling if/when they regain consciousness. And then dragging them away from casual sight, either into a nearby building/shed/whatever or into the building where the hostages are being kept as we rescue those folks.

Listen Up You Primitive Screwheads, p. 107.

1. Knockout. Requirements: MArt with Strike or Kick key attack (Arasaka-Te counts) at +3 or better. Attack with a -3 modifier. If successful, causes a Stun roll with -2. If Stunned, that's effective for 2x MA Level of rounds. One point of damage results.
2. Coup de grace. Requirements: MArt at +3 or better, target Stunned. Attack with -2 modifier. Does normal damage, also, calls for a Diff 25 Endurance test. Every point of failure means the target is unconscious for 1 minute.

As for 8-Ball's plan regarding hostages:

• The Hovertransport is to arrive on your call, Stealth Team, however not sooner than the ATGM positions facing that direction are neutralized. Therefore you may choose to not call it in. Either until the situation is safe enough (as per your assessment) or at all. 
• Calling it in means you'll have 10 fully equipped troops to estabilish a foothold in the town, and effectively force the Madmen to fight on two fronts. 
• In 8-Ball's assessment, using the Hovertransport to evacuate the hostages will bring them to safety, thus making sure at least half of the civilians are out of our hair. No need to worry about stray bullets hitting them, no need of worrying about the Madmen finding their hiding place while you search for the rest of the hostages. As to resources comitted to that - we already have a force blocking the road SW of the town that isn't doing anything but blocking the road. And still has to block that road. They may as well take care of the civillians.

Ultimately, Mitzi, that is the plan the company-level commander (8-Ball, in this case) has drawn. You'll be the person on-site, you'll have to adapt the execution of the plan to circumstances you'd be facing in a given moment.

• You know that (according to the plan) there is a Hovertransport with 10 troops, ready to reinforce your position, laying in a covered position SW of the hostage house, and it can make it there in ~3-4 minutes from receiving your call. 
• You know the idea is to use the transport to get the hostages out of town and to a safe location.

However, the old military adage is that no plan survives the first contact with the enemy. Therefore, the plan is more about "what we want to achieve, and how we think we could achieve it", rather than a cookie recipe. We'll have to adapt, change and improvise as the circumstances change and situation unfolds.

• Note: if Mitzi decides at some point she won't be needing the Hovertransport and / or its troops complement in town, inform 8-Ball. The Hovertransport and its 10 troops are each a significant asset we could use elsewhere. However, once they're comitted to some task, they likely won't be available to do anything else. Therefore, don't dismiss them out of hand: they're where they are for a reason. For example, they are the only piece of manpower we can use in the QRF / fire brigade role (eg. if we need to pull your slightly fried bacon out of the town, because something went wrong and you need to be rescued). The only other support you might get is an airstrike, and even that is risky, given the MANPADS ( @Allen, yes, I'd risk, or even sacrifice the drones to save my people, if faced with such a choice).

Sorry, I (Mike) am not good enogh to give you a complete OPORD, especially in this situation.

As for the artillery fire, it is planned the way it is planned because some of these heat signatures are likely to be the civillians. We don't know which ones. Not necessarily grouped all 20 together - might have been divided into smaller groups. 

Also, I'm not convinced the Madmen would sally out if they are faced with artillery shells falling on them every time they twitch a finger in one of the buildings. 

OK, let the artillery control do their job - 8-Ball will assume they know how to do stuff. His primary concern (that he'll make clear to them) is running out of ammunition early in the fight. 

Yup. I still gorram don't like how the situation looks like. 

How's the weather, and what is the forecast for the next few hours?

Yes, the A-20 is to stay out of sight (and hopefully out of mind) of the Madmen. Have it parked behind a cover. Still positioned for a move to intercept anything that tries to run north - it is fast enough to be unmatched in a straight run here, and thus letting the Madmen some headstart if they try to run NE shouldn't be a bother. 

So, plan A: 

1. Open with artillery barrage at 6:05. Fire slowly, but accurately (I don't know how fast our gun team can load and fire, but even if it is once a minute, we still have mere 40 rounds, so 40 minutes of continous barrage. Maximum Metal lists ROF of 1 for a 105mm howitzer - firing at that rate will make us run out of ammo in 2 minutes, which is totally unacceptable: that would be a great suppression fire, but it doesn't fit our purose. If we want to provoke the Madmen into sallying out, we need to make them think we aren't in a hurry, and that we can keep blasting the gun at them all day long). Once a minute, or once every two minutes is good, then.
2. Start by neutralizing the known ATGM positions. If (by stealth team's assessment) these targets aren't neutralized, fire for effect.
3. Continue updating on recon. We might find some more juicy targets: ATGM positions, troop concentrations and the like.
4. If there are no juicy targets, target the Madmen barracks and the bar / cantina (that's purely for morale purpose, I don't expect to find anyone in these, really. Keep in mind it is a dual-purpose mindgame: 1. Shell buildings they consider important, as in "we know what matters to you", 2. Shell empty buildings, as in "we don't really know where you are, and our drone surveillance isn't good enough to let us make a mincemeat of you if you sally out").
5. Keep the stealth team ready, also, keep the Hovertransport ready. 
6. Once the Madmen sally out, wait for them to get sufficiently far away from Montello before shifting fire to them (so they won't change their minds and go back).
7. Move the stealth team in to secure the known location of hostages. 
8. Move the Hovertransport to reinforce the stealth team. 
9. Pack as many hostages as possible onto the Hovertransport (nominally, it carries 10 passengers, but this is rated for combat-equipped troops. We might need to squeeze the people into the troop compartment as tight as sardines in a can, but I believe we could manage to squeeze all 20 of them in there for an uncomfortable, but hopefully short run). Evacuate them to safety. Likely to our SW blocking prosioin on the road - we have a BTR and a Humvee stationed there (and we don't plan to use them for anything but blocking), they should be able to take care of the civillians for the time being. 
10. Use the stealth team with the hover-deployed force to secure other buildings in town, sweeping Marauder leftovers and trying to find the other hostages (& secure them).
11. Check for the other heavy weapons positions. 
12. Call support / reinforcements as needed.

Plan B:

6. If the Madmen don't sally out by dawn, move the infantry out of the Notch and get within ~1500-1200m (we haven't observed them to have much in terms of anti-personnel weapons effective on that distance, did we...?) on foot. Goad them via the portable loudspeaker, in 8-Ball's best gangese. I bet he knows enough insults to make quite a few people lose their tempers. Especially once he throws in some (translated) Chinese ones, and some Spanish ones (translated or not, to be decided as the flow carries him).

Then follow as per plan A.

Plan 😄

If plan B doesn't work, use aerial recon / thermal to asses the location of the Madmen. I assume that they aren't properly trained to cover their rear, so they will be paying attention primarily to the direction of the Notch, and our infantry force prancing in front of them.

Once time is right, secure the known hostages and call in the Hovertransport to evacuate them.

Use the hover-delivered troops to force the Madmen into figting us on two fronts - inside the town, and NW of it (close in the infantry force, provoke the Madmen to open fire from defensive positions at extreme distance and call 75mm fire on specific buildings).

In the meantime stealth team and drones try to locate the remaining hostages, andthen secure them. Rolling in an armored vehicle to take them away optional, if we can (reasonably) securely bring one in.. 

Plan D :

Move the infantry force from the Notch towards Montello, and try a frontal assault. Slow, deliberate one: we don't have enough people for a classic infantry assault, and if it comes to Plan D, we generally have to assume there are still ATGMs ready to fire at any vehicles accompanying us. Identify enemy posions and call in artillery, drone and sniper (Theresa, if she can find a suitable position to remain undetected and safe from retaliation) fire on them. Work forward until:

A. We reach the town and engage the Madmen in house-to-house fighting, or

B. We lose enough men to make our operation untenable, and are forced to retreat, or

C. The situation changes, allowing us to follow the plan as stated in above variants, or

D. The Madmen decide to evacuate town and flee NE. In that case, leave them to the Dacian Wolf, and secure the town.

Note: if the Madmen try evacuating SW (foolish, as they know we were in Oasis, and they should be aware of the presence of our blocking force there. But it may still happen), use the blocking force's heavy weapons and drone suport to stop them. 

Note #2: Retaining the ability to execute plan B to D means 8-Ball needs to be with the infantry force at the Notch.

Note #3: Drones shall refrain form using 3,5" rockets against targets in Montello. Unless specifically called to (as in, we have ran out of 75mm ammo, and we really need to mess up a strongpoint housing a heavy weapon). Use ATGMs and machineguns if attacking with drones. And that, again, only if we have no other option, given the presence of MANPADS.

Now please roll me some Tactics and tell me where 8-Ball's tactical savvy does see holes in that plan...

OK, we may roll with it.

I must inform you guys I'm getting completely confused by the way information is being presented: I was absolutely convinced we deploy during the night (inc. moving the Krupp) and will be ready to do anything at dawn.

We absolutely could try pulling it at night, asuming that:

1. We get ready in time,
2. We have sufficient nightfighting capability. 

As mentioned before, if the Madmen don't sally out, we might try classic infantry assault. On foot. It might actually work. Or at least keep the Madmen busy while the stealth team works in their rear.

Ah. I thought these were hit probabilities, rather than chance of a heavy weapon being present.

We'll need to adjust the plan, then. Shell #4 and #3, just do it carefully (take our time aiming). Hope #1 and #2 reveal themselves to our surveillance. Hope the Madmen sally out to silence our gun.

The stealth group isn't to attack the #4 ATGM position in that case. Stay low until you assess the time is right to do something.

Also, in that case, I'd prefer, if possible, to have the Dacian Wolf set to intercept north-east (preferably out of sight), and the GMI Hovertransport hidden in the ravine. 

• The plan is then to have Dacian Wolf counteract any withdrawal towards north-east (leave the road apparently unguarded, as a possible avenue of retreat for the Madmen. As Sun Tzu says, always leave your enemy an avenue of escape).
• The GMI Hovetransport, with its squad of hoverborne infantry, is to be ready to secure the building in which hostages are kept - once the situation allows. Perhaps surrounding buildings, too - that's up to the commander on site.

Reasoning: A-20 is a terror in the open field and against vehicles. In town, it loses its advantage of speed, and there isn't much room to maneuver. Hovetransport however can quickly deliver a squad of troops, and then support them form a safer position (so it would be difficult for Madmen to sneak on it with an RPG or something). Not to mention that if everything goes according to plan there won't be any Madmen left in town at that point. 

If #3 and #4 positions are shelled, and ATGMs there neutralized, the Hovertransport shall be able to advance from the raving (south-east of Montello, right?) relatively safe form ATGM fire. Still risking an RPG, HLAW or some other nasty surprises (say, a .50 cal hidden somewhere), but not a guided missile.

Also, do we have a loudspeaker available for 8-Ball to goad the Madmen to sally out? If not, he'll have to do it over radio (we got their frequency, right? The transmission was encrypted, but I guess they can still hear open channel audio?), the problem being - only those on the radio will hear him, and they can swith the radio off to not have to listen to him anymore. Not that easy if somebody is blasting a loudspeaker at you

Plus, waiting for the daylight recon data. 

@Snowyn- if you were curious what our BTR-15 armored vehicles are, they seem to to me to be based on BTR-80 APCs.

Do we have it confirmed that the heavy weapons (or at least the ones with highest probability) are ATGM launchers? 

If so, we need to keep from comitting our vehicles into killzone of such weapons. Which is considerably deep. A HATGM is going to make a short work of a BTR-15 or our hovers (Dacian Wolf stands a chance, given the skill of its pilot - and if memory serves me, it has a hardkill countermeasure of some sort - was it an anti-missile gun system...? - but still, if hit with a HATGM, it is likely a toast).

Suggest to keep the Dacian Wolf hidden. If it cruises around, it will be visible (and if it is visible, one of the HATGMs can fire at it - it is likely to be within its effective range. I don't remember the game stats, but IRL several models are effective in the 4-8km range). 

So, I stand by my initial suggestion:

1. Shell the (suspected) ATGM position in the area of C street and 765 road.
2. Shell the (suspected) ATGM position in the area of 1 street and 2 street.
3. Have the stealth team neutralize ATGM position in the area of 1 street and 765 road (hostage warehouse is nearby, we don't want a stray shell hitting it. Or even nearby).
4. Ignore (for the time being) the ATGM position in the area of 1st street and A street. I intend to neutralize it by infantry attack through the town, in the final phase of the battle. Still, have a drone in the air keeping an eye on its whereabouts.

The two positions in green (#3 and #4 on the list)  we can can hit with a high probability whenever we want anyway.

Also, the gun team is not to hurry with reloads. Rate of fire isn't essential when engaging the ATGM positions. Accuracy is more important. Also, we don't have a lot of ammo for the Krupp (40 rounds, of unknown quality), and we need it to last long enough for the Madmen to get irritated with it and get the idea they should come to us and silence the gun. Once they sally out, well, it will be a different game (but still, don't hurry it too much before they are really comitted to it).

Given our stealth team has learned one of the hostage locations - do we have any good leads as to where the rest of the civillians might be? Eg. from thermal imaging scans - buildings with higher concentration of heat signatures?

Also - do we have recon on other heavy weapons in the hands of the Madmen, or it seems only some RPGs, MANPADS and infantry small arms? If so, classic infantry assault may be a desperate option (I mean, trying to pull it on a numerically superior opponent in prepared positions), but still one on the cards. It can be done, it has been done in the past. ATGM are useless against dispersed infantry in the open, and RPGs, even with HE rounds, aren't going to be much better. Still, 8-Ball isn't looking forward to pulling anything akin to Goose Green...

Well, of course this one will have to wait for the appropriate moment, but 8-Ball will want model and serial numbers on the enemy ATGMs (both launchers and spare missiles. Even if they get destroyed or spent, we have a good chance of finding the casings with numbers). If the Madmen are packing the same model (say., Militech Anvil 2 HATGMs), and from the same lot, it would make tracking their suppllier (and backer) easier. Either through Mitzi's black market contacts, or the Marshalls investigation. I mean, a crate of rifles or an RPG-A could, more or less, have just fallen off a truck with nobody the wiser. HATGMs are more expensive, with less supply, smaller demand and generally easier to track, once we set appropriate people on the case. 

Even if it is legal for an Average Joe in Nevada to pack a HATGM (which, well, is not ulikely, given what we have seen about Nevada so far), I guess few Average Joes bother to do so. So, again, it might be more manageable to track the stuff back.

8-Ball's instruction for the squad leaft in Oasis regarding picking up the pieces: we're interested in assault rifles, referably Ronins, machineguns (primarily SAWs and GPMGs) and other possible heavy weapons (weren't there some RPGs around...?). Also, explosives.

If there's a decent sniper rifle around, we might take it into consideration. 

We want to leave the Oasis Snakes (a good name for this particular group, I guess) enough guns to make them happy and well-armed, but I don't see a point in leaving them lots of guns for sale. 

Body armor, I guess, we'll take (most of it requires repairs), though if there are pieces that the Snakes want for themselves, let them have it.

Apart form that, night vision, comms equipment & observation equimpent, if available. If you run into something you can't tell, keep it for further assessment. I mean, we can always throw it away afterwards, right?

As for LATG 37mm ET - how much does ammunition for it cost (I need a rough estimate on the costs of running it. I know the HATGM are a few thousand eurobucks a pop, but how is the LATG - a few hundred, a thousand (I have consulted Maximum Metal and SoF2. This puppy is 1000eb-a-pop...)? Cases and propellant can be dirt cheap, but DPU 37mm slugs - not necessarily...)? Angel will be tasked with repairing it, and devising mounts for it - one for vehicle mounting, and a separate one for use as a field mount (probably wheeled, as to allow moving it on the field - I expect the LATG is of simialr size and weight to WW2-era small AT guns, like the 37mm Bofors. It is of course a different design, given it is magazine-fed), so - low-profiled, and easy to camouflage. As well as mounting system to alternate between ground and vehicle mount with basic tools and a few minutes time. Also, get me a smart-rig aiming system for that thing (or a targeting computer). Given its inherent accuarcy and low rate of fire, there's no spraying & praying: we need to make every shot count.

Collect the corpses. After cyberware is recovered, we'll have them cremated and get rev. Scott to do the rites for the bandits (she didn't had a problem with the canibals, she should be willing to handle the more conventional scum. Note: I guess a donation to the congregation will be in order. We have some possible funds incoming from selling the stuff we have captured, so it can come from that). Our techs can restore the cyberware to usable condition when they have time. Note to Mitzi: unless we want to keep any of it, the cyber (and guns we don't need) I think it should be sold (offering first-buy opportunity to White Hats personnel - i.e. the troops). A part of the income from selling the loot should be distributed among the troops as a bonus - does wonders for morale (Leadership 101 ). Yes, I know our morale is high - just a few weeks into an op, we kicked down some serious butt, we took no casualties (a few wounded among the Team, but no fatalities, and no troops injured) - but it wouldn't hurt.

If there's time and energy left, get the wrecks and damaged vehicles off the road, preferably into the Oasis's parking / garage lot. It's been agreed that the Snakes are to keep them, so be it. 

Regarding the attack on Montello - I'd suggest eliminating the heavy weapons positions on the north-eastern edge of the town as priority. I'd prefer to capture them intact, but that's just preference - safety of our troops is more important. 

• Try knocking out the northernmost emplacement with our 75mm in indirect fire mode. Use drones to adjust fire as necessary.
• If possible / necessary, follow with westernmost one.  This will open the entire area paralell to C Street to our vehicles. And / or make the Madmen mount up and sally out to attack our gun emplacement. 
• southernmost one (guarding the road to Oasis) is the least important one. We don't expect to enter the town from that direction, and let's be honest: 40 or so rounds for the 75mm isn't that much.
• Have our sneaky-sneaky people (Mitzi & co.) get their eyes on the easternmost one. Determine what kind of a weapon it is (I suspect another ATGM...) and, if possible, neutralize its crew. Silently, so the Madmen won't start hunting for our force in town - with luck, they won't even know they lost it. But that's only if you assess the chances as being strongly in your favor. Preferably make your move once the shelling starts, as this will have the Madmen focus their attention elsewhere (and hopefully cover any sounds of gunfire). With Theresa calling in fire, you can coordinate your shots with shells coming down on the other targets.

I'd like to see a map of the area with locations / assumed sectors of fire for the enemy heavy weapons, please.

From that point, we either take battle defending the gun emplacement (if the Madment sally out) or enter the town from the general north (as to avoid anti-vehicle fire) and go house to house (I'd prefer the first option, but...). Question: do we have a loudspeaker? 8-Ball could use his gang experience (the Madmen are, after all, a gang of a kind) to goad them into attacking. If not, he'll use radio (we do have the frequency they were using to receive comms from Wendover, so I assume they do listen to it. We don't need to crack their codes to talk to them open text), but that'll be reaching only the folks that have access to it, while a loudspeaker could reach everyone who have ears...

8-Ball at the raid site might not have Forensics skill (it did not suit any of his profiles), but I guess his Awareness can be still useful for anyone with actual Forensics skill (if we play by the Rulebook - 8-Ball is able to literally pull Sherlock Holmes levels of observation and reasoning).

Taking Angel to Oasis - I'm fine with that, but keep in mind Angel is not a people person. Give im a technical problem to solve, and he's happy dealing with it, but building a relation with the Snakes in Oasis is something better left to someone else.

@Allen1if Angel is aware he'll be required to go outside of the Whyte Hats base not wearing his issue Whyte Hat kit (including the Militech Dragon), and he's on it with enough forewarning, he's going to take a lever action .44 rifle with him (or perhaps he had one transferred to Wells during one of his earlier trips?). Either the one he made during the Voodoo Boys crisis, or any subsequent, improved variants that, I assume, followed it as a part of the development process (I assume they are all identical in terms of game stats).

I'm kinda not up to speed, but I'd suggest JJ ride to Oasis with someone the residents already know and accept. 

So, someone from the Jamal's expedition to Oasis. Taking Jamal along may be a good idea, too - likely no-one is going to need medical attention, but I believe the Nomads will appreciate being given such an offer. This in turn would allow smoothing down some of the feathers JJ managed to ruffle on her first visit.

As for the tactical part of law enforcement, let me repeat (nad possibly re-phrase). The Marshals do have authority over that (I don't know how it exactly works from the legal standpoint, but I recall our first gig with Nails: as we hit it, 8-Ball asked Nails "haven't you deputized us, like, half an hour ago?"), they do set the rules. Including Rules of Engagement. As I mentioned previously, 8-Ball isn't going to be happy about having to challenge the opponents to drop their guns and surrender, if that means forfeiting the element of surprise, but he can and will adapt to that. However, he will demand the Marshalls to set the RoE - I mean, if they want us to follow specific rules, they absolutely must explain to us the rules we are to follow. In a situation like this there is no space for "figure it out yourselves". He'd also maintain it would be advisable for everyone to at least have the option of supressed fire. Maybe carrying a supressed sidearm, or perhaps having a clip-on / quick-detach supressor for their long gun (way more convenient than screwing a "can" on a threaded muzzle of a gun, though of course more complicated in design and more expensive IRL).

On an unrelated topic, guys: how do we plan this month? In two weeks it is Easter Saturday (I should be able to attend on that day, as it is afternoon and evening for me, but it might be different for you folks).

asking, because I need to confirm my presence (or absence) on other potential events in April 

I guess no, but in that case 8-Ball would tell the Marshalls to please kindly look the other way. Cause he's aimin' to misbehave. Big time. Which is the polite way of expressing what the French call le mot de Cambronne. 

Sadly, there's nobody who would be taking Penny's case personal. And our immediate attempt of gaining the information what happened in Oasis and who was responsible did not succeed. We allowed the trace to get cold, and we got involved in a situation with the Ranch 333 and the cannibals. 

The alternative was to descend on Oasis in force, take down everyone trying to resist and squeeze the information of those who survived. Which would make us massacre a Nomad family who had nothing to do with Penny, and antagonize the local Nomad community as soon as the news broke out. And they would.

Perhaps we could then rinse, repeat in Montello, but we really aren't sure what is going on there. So apart from making potnetially more enemies (and some more dead bodies) we likely wouldn't be any better. 

We're playing politics here. And that's one dirty, stinking game. But if we are to succeed, I'm seeing no other option than playing it. 

11 hours ago, TigerGuard said:

 Sacrificing Penny (I believe that was the nanny’s name) to protect Whyte Hat personnel begets the question of how many members of Wells or Elko may be placed upon the alter of tactical preparedness?  I understand that we accomplish nothing by wasting our lives running into a hail of bullets, but we also waste our public relations by being overly cautious. 

I think we have a misunderstanding there.

Penny's situation is not being pressed on, because we aren't sure it was the Montello group who are behind her kidnapping. We do suspect. If we knew - 8-Ball would simply request to roll there in force - with enough men and guns to take the group down, if they don't surrender, and hopefuly enough to make them surrender to the Marshals.

Protecting civilians is commendable, facing danger in the line of duty is acceptable, but a good rescuer is one who is still alive.

Yup. Which is why we're going to do some good recon on the Montello group, rather than just go there and wreck the town. While we know miss Penny will be sold down the river by the time we get to act.

Once we are cleared to go tactical, 8-Ball can be slipped off the leash: give him mission parameters, and he'll work with that to make things happen.

Still, if the matter is discussed, he'll stress out he doesn't see how an armed group like the one we dealt with can be brought to lay down their arms and effectively surrender in a situation in which they are in a prepared position, and confronted by visibly smaller and supposedly weaker force. No matter how many velcro patches saying "Police" that force slaps on their clothes. If we had managed to surround the compound with a hundred Whyte Hats with heavy weapon support and called for surrender / arrested everybody, that could work. Maybe. And maybe we would have to kill a dozen people first.

Being the police and playing by the rules is fine, but here there are people who aren't playing by the same rules, and don't intend to. 

Yes, 8-Ball keeps applying battlefield logics to our situation (note: he isn't familiar with the history of the Waco siege - even if it happened at all in this timeline. Same with Ruby Ridge). And he tactfully omits the obvious problem that Becky from the Ranch 333 wouldn't have survived any siege. 

So if the US Marshals want to play by the (police) rules, fine - but 8-Ball refuses to send troops into a situation that - for all the tactical assessment - is a deathtrap. You guys want to make arrests, make the conditions such that make arrests probable.

Also, we need clear, codified Rules of Engagement.

Y'know... this really goes for a slug-fest. And rolling bucketloads of dice. 

Las year I was writing a set of vehicle rules for a rules-light cybrpunk RPG (Sprawl Goons, @Geist's brainchild). Now, one important note on how combat mechanics of sprawl Goons work: the degree of a success determines the damage. 

In character-combat, it doesn't really matter if you were hit by a squirrel gun, or an assault rifle: a just so-so hit (barely meeting the difficulty threshold) means a minor loss of hit points (IRL, a grazing shot or a flesh wound), an attack that seriously exceeded the threshold (a really solid hit!) can one-shot a character. Armors increase to-hit difficulties, and that's where high-power personal weapons come in handy: a light armor is simply ignored by hard-hitting guns. 

For vehicles, I have simply classified them into those that are armored for combat duties (and thus impervious to small arms), and those that are not. In short, use a SMG or assault rifle on a van, and you will eventually shred it / turn it inoperable. Use one on an armored van (like a bank truck - or military armored scout car) and all you gonna achieve is pissing off the folks inside.

Sure, with lighter anti-vehicle weapons there is some gray zone (a .50cal will make short work of an armored scout car, but won't really do much to a Main Battle Tank), but keeps us from cramming the game about street punks and corporate samurai with details that really don't come up in most games.

Bring in an RPG, an autocannon or the like, and you can start seriously try to kill any of them. 

Sure, those are hard&fast rules for a rules-light system. But we're generally talking here about weapons intended to kill armored combat vehicles in one shot - just watch some Youtube footage from the current conflict in Ukraine: ATGMs one-shotting main battle tanks.

IRL, you don't need to know how many SDP has a tank left after you hit it (or once you were hit in it. You need to know the result of that hit, which, from your perspective, falls into 3 broad categories:

1. Vehicle neutralized - combat ineffective (which may mean it is destroyed, or disabled, or at least will be immediately abandoned). Crew attempts to bail out if able to.
2. Vehicle damaged, but operational - limited combat effectiveness. You'd want to finish it off if you have a chance, but it is no longer a prime target.
3. Vahicle still fully operational - whatever damage it took, isn't noticeably affecting it. You'd better hit it again.

...and the longer I play various RPGs, the more I find myself in the same position: I don't need details while in combat, I need to know whether I still have to worry myself with that parsticular one, or I need to finish it of later, or hopefully it is completely out of my hair.

12 hours ago, TigerGuard said:

I'm not completely sold on the concept of using a suppressed weapon. Marshal Law is a representative of not only the Federal Government, but also the face of law and order.  I now realize that I've never verified that my armor is marked with Police or Marshal  identifiers, but I will remedy that in the coming sessions.  Going forward, I do not think I want to jeopardize my status by allowing the possibility of video or pictures to be misused to somehow suggest that Marshal Law is part of a death squad.  I did make certain to identify myself as a LEO prior to engaging in combat with the guard outside the building, that pretty much negates the benefit of being issued a suppressed weapon.  I completely understand the tactical situation you foresee, but I question if a Federal Marshal is the proper component for such missions.  In future situations, perhaps it would be better to have Marshal Law in a stand-off position where he can support with his long rifle.  I realize there probably are no restrictions on a Federal Marshall using a suppressed weapon, but at this time and in this place it does not feel proper.  I will scour the various less-than-lethal options and see if there is something that can be ordered from Mitzi's man in Vegas.

Yup, I get it. And you are right - Marshals, given their legal restrictions, are not a good choice in such a situation. 

From what I know, law enforcement tactical teams can afford to not be death squads due to having serious numerical and firepower superiority. And surprise advantage, if they can get away with. And shock & awe with stun grenades, if it seems things are likely to get hairy. And good recon. And usually this does the job - not that there weren't some serious mess-ups in history. Magdalenka case always pops up in my mind. Just two members of a gang / organized crime sindicate, one of them with military experience. Well-armed, well-prepared, in a prepared position, and aware (there was no surprise on the police's side). The policemen - members of two differnt tacticla police units - were over 20 in number. Three dead, seventeen wounded (many of whom suffered permanent injuries). The bandits died in a house fire resulting form the fight.

We were going in here with ~4x disadvantage in numbers. In a military handbook - this is generally considered a recipe for a disaster (which I keep calling it a balls-to-the-wall operation). 8-Ball is concerned about bringing his troops back alive, and getting the job done - when Marshal Law explains to him the legal ramifications, well, that becomes something new to 8-Ball. An another factor he needs to take into account. And yes, he isn't going to be happy about it, but he'll adapt.

Regarding less-than-lethal options, there are a few. I'd suggest to start with considering a ranged taser (like Mitsubishi or Militech Taser) that's rebuildt as an underbarrel accessory for Marshal's rifle. It would require setting Angel on the job, but I see no reason why it couldn't be done. I believe they aren't overtly loud, either.

Another option would be changing from a rifle to a shotgun (or autoshotgun), as there are several less-than-lethal ammunition options (stingers, rubber rounds, and even Stundart taser rounds, though those are pretty expensive. I'm sure a few others are out there). Note that a shotgun can be readily supressed. Now the downside of switching to a shotgun is you sacrifice a lot of range compared to a rifle (then again, we usually fight at ranges that don't really warrant rifle's ability to reach out several hundred meters), and that rate of fire and magazine size are quite limited (also, realistically, shotgun magazines are really bulky). We have captured at least some autoshotguns in the last raid (I recall one or two Arasaka Assault ones. And Whyte Hats could probably lend you the CA Hurricane 8-Ball carried - though actually never used - during the raids against Voodoo Boys. It is a gun popular with various police departments, so again, shouldn't turn heads in the hands of an US Marshal), and 12ga rubber rounds should be easy to get over the counter, especially once Law flashes his Marshal ID at some reasonably well-supplied gun store. Getting a supressor for it, well, that's an another kettle of fish, but Angel can handle it, I guess (TBH, only making one for the twin-barrel Hurricane autoshotgun would be a challenge...).

A Militech Mini-Grenade Launcher can be used as underbarrel gun, and it can fire 10ga shotgun shells right out of the box. So all the stun rounds that are available in 10ga will work. Downside - supressing it will be really tricky. And it is a pump-action weapon with a tube magazine holding just 4 rounds...

Another non-lethal option would be a paintball gun, and yes, these can be supressed as well to make them really quiet. Youd have to rely on drug-loaded pellets and them seeping through target's armor (or releasing aerosol on people not wearing breathing protection), but sizeable ammo hoppers and high-ROF are absolutely doable. 

A few notes after the last job. 

1. OOC, as 8-Ball has little idea how these things work - but for the Marshalls it is, I guess, everyday bread: depending on how one reads it, our captive bandits are facing an arm's-long list of charges at Priority 2 or even 1, assuming we use Protect & Serve rules. This means enhanced interrogation techniques are likely to be allowed. Which, in turn, means you should be able to squeeze every last drop of info from those two guys.
2. I consider it reasonable to unscrew the cyberlimbs off the leader before he wakes up in the hospital. The doctors should have among them someone well-enough versed in cybertech to be able to do it. We defintiely don't need a raging cyberpsycho devastating a clinic. Also, keep an eye on both captives to prevent any unfortunate "accidents". 
3. After reviewing the footage from Battlemapper / helmet cams, 8-Ball decides it was, after all, a well-executed operation, given the circumstances (well, it was all-or-nothing, balls-to-the-wall raid). However, he stresses that everyone should be equipped with supressed weapons if reasonably possible (obviously, supressing Jesse's minigun is beyond the level of things that are reasonably possible. T.J's FN RAL, however, isn't.). Keep it in mind, folks. Take care of the issue now, because once we get a next deployment like this one, there won't be time to do so.
4. Definitely, double-sized magazines on primary firearms are the way to go. 

Now, while 8-Ball isn't a talkative person, and not easy to read (between his natural Cool and the chips he keeps plugged in), he remains pretty much bothered by what we have encountered. The ordeal Becky went through, and the death of the other Ranch 333 employee (not really about the two the raiders killed on the spot, we couldn't do a thing about it). From a military point of view, with the assets at our disposal, the way we did it seemed the only way reasonable, the sole one with any chance of success. And we did succeeded. 

But still... well, he tries his best not to second-guess himself over it.

Yup, that'd be it  

I'll do my best to be on time, though if I'm not, don't get mad at me guys (there's some stuff brewing up at the local Red Cross station, and I just don't know if we'll be able to deal with it all in time).

Uh, guys... remind me please - it is this weekend you switch to summertime, and thus we're starting the game effectively one hour earlier?

Well, I belive we need allies in the area. City of Wells is fine and dandy, but any other local group we could persuade to help us (in any way. At this stage, information is the most valuable resource I guess), or at least keep out of the mess would be welcome.

As I wrote above, we do have an avenue of approach towards the Snake Natiion of the Snake Reservation. If successful, this could in turn give us additonal avenues of approach towards other Nomad and Native groups in the area.

Perhaps we could also try probing the Visigoths' stance.

@Snowyn since you asked what a "technical" is: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_(vehicle) - you might also want ot read an article on the Great Toyota War, too. I have a feeling we might be seeing a lot of it around there in Nevada. 

Regarding Constable Humphries and Wells Militia 3rd Commando, 8-Ball is going to put his time and effort into it.

• Have them re-equipped with modern firearms (Militech Ronin should do fine. AKR-20's or Federated Light 15 would be effectively just as good. Whatever Red can get us, though preferably a set of the same stuff, so the militia gets as unified equipment as possible).
• Give them the "piglet" 5,56mm MG from Whyte Hats stock in NC. If they find the watercooled jacket to be too cumbersome, Angel can revert the gun back to original, aircooled, quick-change barrel later. 
• Persuade the 3rd to switch to a weekly training schedule. "Sundays, after church" is 8-Balls proposition. They don't need the new guns to start training new tactics anyway. 
• Train them as a three-squad mounted infantry / light cavalry platoon, if they can pony up the 4 technicals 8-Ball spoke with the constable about. Even if we need to start with a single technical, that's good enough for training purposes - how to mount and dismount from one, how to patrol, how to react to enemy contact. 8-Ball will be teaching them that their vehicles are for transport only, and should not be taken into a fight itself if it can be avoided. It would be advantageous, if the vehicles had a radio (CB or equivalent), but that can be added at later stage (hand signals can do for now). As long as any of them is large enough to carry 6 milita (2 in the cab, 4 in the back, preferably with some room to spare), they are fine.
• should we capture enemy vehicles of similar class, we can later replace militamen's private vehicles with dedicated technicals, add pintle mounts with heavy weapons, as well as improvise some armor. 
• Wells defenses could be, possibly, improved by setting up fixed fortifications. Trenches, foxholes, sangars, you name it. Building these is merely time and effort (you don't really need more than some folks with shovels, though having some construction wood, an excavator etc makes it more effective). 8-Ball can easily design a system of field fortifications for Wells. However, this would require building these mainly on private property, and keeping it all maintianed would require an effort from the citizens / militia. So, he will present such an option to the constables, but he doesn't expect it to be accepted. 

As for our strategic plans in Nevada:

• If memory serves me, Mitzi was given some trinket by Fawkes' brother the first time we were in Wells, with a comment to show it to his people should she ever want to talk to them. I'm not sure it'll work on the Snakes in Oasis, but should do to give us access to the Snake Reservation. And people from the reservation can, hopefully, make the Snakes in Oasis talk to us. 
• I belive we should pay a courtesy / political visit to the Visigoths in Halleck. Or have their representatives visit us. Given they consider themselves running the town, with a magistrate, town clerk and so on, we should be able to make an appointment. Proposed negotiating position: we're new guys on the block, we don't look for trouble with you. From what we heard, you do not raid other folks, we're glad to hear that. There are rumors you guys are involved in smuggling - we don't give a damn about it, not our business and we don't intend to interfere with that (notable exception: we're mortally intolerant of slave trade), just plase do everyone a favor and keep it discrete, as we have US Marshalls peeking over our shoulder (so pretty please, with a cherry on top: plausible deniability). Keep in mind that if Interstate 80 gets safer, it'll attract more traffic - and the town of Halleck will profit from that, too.
• Desert Devils. I don't really know what we can do about them as of now. They are said to have a holding near Alpha, I'd love to have it scouted (likely, by drones, probably at high altitude to mitigate the risk of detection / engagement). There are a lot of them, and we can't take them all out as of now.
• Jackpot Raiders. We need intel, preferably HUMINT (i.e. people who'll talk). We've taken them down a notch for Christmas, but it doesn't solve the problem in the long run.
• Montello Madmen. I'd leave them to their own devices for now. We don't know much about them, and we have more pressing matters. It would be advanageous to talk to some Nomads about those guys, though.
• Snake Nation Reservation. We have some connection to those guys by the way of the Aguinaldo Family. We definitely have to talk to them. There's no beef between us and them, and they doesn't seem to be raiding (save for their vendetta against Petrochem).
• Trade Town. One of the key pieces in the puzzle IMO. 

Well, I guess those "guards" will be seeing us as competition in business. Not that they're going to try anything directly, not against a platoon of motorized infantry with heavy weapons and drone support.

But we should expect some covert, underhanded attempts to limit our capabilities. 

In fact, I guess even the large raider groups like Desert Devils aren't going to attack our convoys directly. Or at least, not more than once. too much effort, too high cost (still, if they get hungry enough, 500 Devils with tanks and aircraft, plus potential support from other groups are more than we could expect to be able to handle). What we need to be wary of - and actively prevent - is them building up a coalition. 

Well, in that case:

• Angel suggests painting the gun's name on the barrel. While a gun shield would be easy to make (I'd rate it more Basic Tech regarding the actual manufacturing: take a plate of adequately strong steel, use a cutting torch to cut it into shape. Some Weaponsmith would be useful to make sure it doesn't get into the way of operating the gun too much), it is easier to operate the weapon without a gun shield (it does get in the way). And the main purpose of the shield, being protecting the crew from small arms fire is not likely ot be an issue (and for potential shrapnell, a gun pit would do way better. Either dig one, or mek one out of sandbags).
• Inform the troops that Luther's Sports Bar and Grill is where Whyte Hats aren't welcome. And everywhere else, you guys and gals better behave yourselves. We need to win some hearts and minds here.
• OK, Knowles sisters are among the Whyte Hats & Friends staying behind in Night City. We don't have to worry about their success in Nevada, then.
• Sounds like caraemonial raising of the flag every morning could be a good idea, but blasting the anthem out of the loudspeakers, well, not necessarily. I guess there's adequate ceremonial signal for raising the flag? AFAIK, here it is played on a signal trumpet. Guess the Marshals don't have anyone to do that in person, but sounding it off from a record about as loud as a real trumpet goes could, maybe, be acceptable? Well, or a noth quieter. I assume the idea is to make the City of Wells know the Federal Government is back in town (in one form or another) and doing their job - not to irritate the whole neghtbourhood every morning.
• 8-Ball wants it noted (and inform the troops) - the next time we kick some bandit ass, he'd like some prisoners. That is, if possible. Primarily to use one or two as messengers: send them home with a message. Whatever we'd wish to convey (maybe even in writing. Also, being known to accept surrender and treat one's prisoners well decreases the chances of opponents fighting to the death. The Marshalls may of course decide to dispense frontier justice to captives with lead (well, they are in charge, and it is within their power to do so), but if that happens, it'll happen on their call.

1 hour ago, TigerGuard said:

4 ) I would like to suggest a business to business overture to both Great Basin Beverage and the 333 Ranch to attempt to come to an arrangement for monthly purchases from both.  If we can agree to buy enough beverages from Great Basin to cover what they have been losing to bandit raids, perhaps they'll let us put up some observation cameras along their perimeter to extend our eyes.  And if the Ranch is willing to make a sale to us once a month, that could go a long way toward keeping morale up amongst our people is they would have fresh food once a month.   

I could also see Cossack making arrangements with them to start making kvass  for a little taste of home. Technically, if they can brew beer, they have all the stuff and skill to make kvass. Though likely they have to be told how to apply them.

That's a valid point, but once we take into account potential damaged, burning vehicles and other side-effects of armed combat, I don't think an occassional firebomb is going to make that much of a difference. Especially given that you need to be pretty close to your target to even consider using a Molotov's cocktail. 

When it is dry, even a stray rifle bullet may be enough to start a fire. There's enough problems with that on military shooting ranges here.